A scheming Central Plains princess sent to marry abroad x a rebellious young wolf from the grasslands
That day, Qieruo killed several bandits and "rescued" a delicate Central Plains princess.
She lifted her head from beneath her grand, cumbersome wedding dress. Her face was spattered with blood, and she gazed at him timidly with bright, dark eyes.
She was a troublesome princess, even going so far as to demand that he escort her to the tribe.
Qieruo scoffed. "Why not escape while you have the chance?"
"I am a princess, and I bear responsibility for the peace of my country's border. If I escape, the people there will be ravaged by the tribes." The Central Plains princess's eyes were swollen and red, but her voice was exceptionally firm.
She took her dowry and crossed one sand dune after another, making her way toward the tribe.
The Central Plains princess tugged at his sleeve. "Qieruo, please."
"Qieruo, thank you."
"Qieruo, you're so kind."
And so, for the rest of his life, he was intoxicated by that spring breeze from the Central Plains that turned the barren desert green.
She had made up her mind to marry into the tribe and refused to leave with him.
He thought, then he would become the tribe's king himself and make himself the one she was to marry.
When Li Shanyan turned thirteen, she received the imperial decree ordering her to marry into another country.
Her mother said, "As a princess adored by thousands, this is your fate."
Li Shanyan didn't understand fate.
She only knew that after leaving Chang'an, she would never again taste the cherry preserves her mother made or see the grapes ripen on the vine she had planted herself in the palace. She might never return for the rest of her life.
Over the course of a year, she learned the language of the grasslands and studied farming and weaving with the old farmers.
At fourteen, dressed in her wedding clothes and weeping, she left Chang'an.
It was her first journey far from home, and she headed north.
Bandits attacked along the way, wiping out the entire wedding procession. Li Shanyan hid in a corner, trembling as she clutched a dagger for protection.
She looked up. An arrow pierced the chest of the person in front of her.
Warm blood covered Li Shanyan's face. The person before her fell, and she raised her eyes to see a young man standing atop a sand dune in the distance, bow drawn.
His clothes snapped in the wind, and her wedding dress was stained with blood.
Li Shanyan thought, it didn't matter who became king of the tribe. She absolutely would not marry that old, stinking king.
This young man, on the other hand, had potential.
So she tugged at his sleeve and looked up at him with trembling, bright eyes. "Qieruo, I'll pay you handsomely to escort me to the tribe."
"Qieruo, here. My mother made these cherry preserves for me. They're delicious."
She stroked his fluffy curls, then combed his messy hair and tied it up.
Li Shanyan did not believe in fate. If fate truly existed, she would make it submit at her feet.
She devoted herself to building up her influence, brought weaving techniques with her, and taught the people of the grassland tribes how to farm.
She was determined to make the most beautiful rose bloom in the barren desert.
Later, Li Shanyan used the same trick again. All she had to do was tug at Qieruo's sleeve.
And the haughty Wolf King would turn into a little puppy, crawling at her feet.
Theme: She isn't without a branch to lean on. She is the branch.
