The One Who Strayed from the Path

Archived on 2020.1.16 After Shang unified the Three Kingdoms, it became the rightful ruler of the realm. The remnants of Xia and Zhou who sought to restore their states were all branded as rebels. The Shang emperor appointed his chief minister, Qin Jiuque, to wipe out the rebels. Ning Hongyi was Qin Jiuque's most loyal attack dog, with countless souls of fallen-state refugees beneath her sword. Ning Hongyi wielded a sword. The Xia and Zhou loyalists, devoted to restoring their states, gnashed their teeth whenever they spoke of her, calling her a crooked-boned swordswoman with a filthy blade, a groveling servant who was no man. In the eighth year of Yanhe, Ning Hongyi suddenly drew her sword and struck at the emperor during a state ceremony in Shang. She failed, then fled. The emperor was enraged. The capital's experts were dispatched all at once, but not one could find Ning Hongyi. Even three years later, people still talked about that stunning sword stroke in the Shang capital, and the fallen swordswoman who had vanished without a trace. Qin Jiuque was a high-ranking minister of Shang, wielding troops for his own ends while neglecting their management, and possessing immense wealth that he squandered without restraint. There was only one exception: the private treasury in his manor. It was guarded by heavily armed soldiers year-round, its defenses impenetrable. No one but Qin Jiuque himself could enter. People saw him go in empty-handed and come out empty-handed, but never saw him carry any treasure out. Naturally, some grew curious. But whenever anyone asked him about it, directly or indirectly, Qin Jiuque only smiled and said nothing. Over time, people joked that aside from the emperor's treasury, it was the most impregnable private vault in the realm. Some said its floors were carpeted with fine silks and its rooms filled with gold and jade. Others said it held rare treasures from across the realm, containing everything imaginable. No one would believe that this supposedly impregnable vault held nothing but a broken sword. The sword was named Hongyi. Undercover swordswoman x corrupt minister Notes: 1. Ning Hongyi = Ning Chuan. Their love is real, their enmity is not. 2. An ensemble story. Read with caution if this isn't your thing. 3. Set in an imaginary dynasty. Historical nitpicking is not welcome. Theme: Country and family