I was my father's beloved daughter, raised at a distance from the palace. I lived freely and without restraint. I drank fine tea every day, rode fine horses, and wore the finest silk. The man who was my father in name treated me exceedingly well, always afraid that anything might happen to me and leave him unable to answer for it.
But who could have known that, even far from the palace, trouble would still find me? The joys and sorrows, love and hatred of the mortal world were no fewer than those within the palace.
Not only that, the kingdom I had always regarded as a paradise on earth was quietly on the brink of collapse. The Xiongnu and Han forces closing in on both sides had already left the small kingdom of Loulan surrounded by enemies. Yet it seemed even Heaven did not want us to prosper. The once-lush oasis in the desert was gradually drying up, and the people's hope with it.
That was when he appeared, offering me a dazzling vision amid the chaos. He said there was an old saying, passed down for generations, that could turn Loulan's fortunes around. He also said that to succeed, he would need my help. Once it was done, Loulan would return to its former glory, and he would marry me so we could be together for all eternity.
The verse said to be an old saying was so beautiful.
"After a hundred years, the sands descend from the sky; the city falls, and new life begins."
But even when I died, I never learned that the verse had a second half.
Theme: The twists and turns of fate
