Breaking the Formation

The heir of Prince of Zhenbei's manor was named Wen Heng. She had heard his name many times, but had never met him.

When they first met, rain was pouring down.

A sword tip gently lifted one corner of the curtain hanging in front of the carriage. The person inside asked her, "What makes you so sure?"

Fang Sining answered, "Because the pursuers can't find you anywhere, but I managed to intercept you here."

"Your name."

"Fang..."

"Think carefully," Wen Heng said. "You get one chance."

Fang Sining froze, tightening her grip on the reins. The blisters on her palm stung as they rubbed against them. "Jiang Mian."

Her mother was surnamed Jiang. When she was young, she was restless in her sleep, so her family called her Mianmian.

From then on, Fang Sining no longer existed in this world. There was only Jiang Mian.

For years afterward, they dodged assassins together, weathered downpours, and slept in the wilderness. They rode horses and drank together; they killed and saved people together, and, without realizing it, came to love someone.

As they stood side by side watching another downpour, their sleeves brushed and their umbrella tips touched.

It was a love neither of them ever spoke aloud.

Beneath the corridor on a rainy night, Jiang Mian used the hint of intoxication to tell him, "I'm going to reach the very top, where I can pluck the stars for company with a stretch of my hand, and look down on all living things."

Wen Heng did not look at her. "There is no such place."

"There is," she said. "You've stood there too long, so you think it's boring. I've never been there. I can only look up at it. From the highest place, I could do so many things. Will you let me?"

That place was not given to her by Wen Heng. She won it for herself, with words as sharp as knives in the imperial court.

The young emperor gazed at her for a long while. Suddenly, he felt that the character "Mian" did not suit her at all. She was dazzling as the morning sun, just as she had been when they first met.

[A little scene]

With the realm finally at peace, the ancestral hall of the Prince of Zhenbei's manor, not yet rebuilt, was in ruins. They knelt side by side to pay their respects.

He honored his ancestors; she honored those who came before her.

Wen Heng asked, "What should we do about that old bastard from the Li family?"

The former emperor had opened the city gates and surrendered. They ought to treat him leniently, but with a family feud as deep as the sea, Wen Heng could not accept it.

Jiang Mian gazed at the memorial tablets before them. "Are you asking Jiang Mian, or the Chancellor?"

"What's the difference?"

"Do you want to kill him?"

"I do."

Jiang Mian smiled and said lightly, "Then kill him."

She bowed again. After a long while, she rose and gently brushed the dust from her clothes. "But tomorrow in court, the Chancellor will stop you."

[Important notes!!!]

1. If you judge by whether they end up together, this is a bad ending: they don't get together, and each marries someone else. The author thinks it leans toward a happy ending, since they understand and trust each other completely, even if they don't end up together.

2. The female lead is the Chancellor; the male lead is the new emperor.

3. Don't scrutinize the details. The author is terrible at this and is just making things up. There are countless great stories on Jinjiang. If this one isn't for you, let's move on.

4. The story has an outline, and the plot won't be changed. Criticism and suggestions are welcome, but not writing instructions. Thanks for understanding.

5. Hope you enjoy reading.

Theme: How often have we looked upon kings and nobles?