The Sharp Chill of Spring

[2025-06-08]: I'm not writing this anymore.

[2023-11-20]

"The plot takes priority in the early chapters. This is an old-school novel, not a power fantasy. The pacing is slow, and it's probably going to be angsty. Enter at your own risk."

"This is a completely fictional setting, utterly disconnected from historical clan states. Please go easy on me and don't nitpick the history."

[2023-11-05 Plot Blurb]

Everyone knows Huan Yang is the daughter of a great general who protects the state. She's bright and bold, and a skilled spearfighter. Yet no one expected her betrothal to the Chief Councilor's only son to vanish overnight.

Before Huan Yang had time to grieve, she heard people throughout the imperial city gossiping and mocking her for being cold-hearted and ungrateful. They claimed she had rejected the marriage out of disdain, simply because the Chief Councilor's son had become lame.

She could only laugh bitterly to herself. She was the one who had been cast aside, yet now she had nowhere to vent the bitterness in her heart.

One night, autumn leaves turned yellow and blanketed the ground.

A battle report arrived from the northern frontier: her elder brother had given his life defending the city, and died after the Helian clan trampled and humiliated him.

When the news reached the estate, her mother fainted on the spot. Miss Shen, who was already betrothed to her brother, turned deathly pale. Her father panicked and even dropped his cane, repeating, "Impossible, impossible..." Yet within a day, a cenotaph had appeared outside the capital.

Dressed in white, Huan Yang knelt before the grave until the moon had crossed the sky, but she still couldn't understand: how could her peerless, invincible elder brother have fallen in that desolate northern land?

She refused to believe it!

Without telling anyone, Huan Yang rode through the night to the Northern Army.

She would see with her own eyes where her brother's remains lay buried, and take Helian Qixiu's head herself!

Author's note: I want to break free from ornate language and will try to use fewer words. The writing style may be a little uneven, but the focus is on the story itself. I hope you enjoy.

Theme: Though the wild geese and cranes may not return, there will come a time when they do