Yun Xing transmigrated.
The good news was that her new family's circumstances would let her grow up without worrying about food or clothing. The bad news was that her family had dwindled until only she and her gravely ill grandfather remained.
On his deathbed, her grandfather called her to his side and earnestly urged her to do certain things. Yun Xing agreed to everything, claiming she would live a quiet life, but when she met the unspoken worry in his eyes, she lowered her gaze in silence.
Following her grandfather's last wishes, Yun Xing disguised herself as a man, changed her surname, and settled in Qingyang County.
She couldn't spend the rest of her life idling away. After much thought, Yun Xing decided to revive the family's old profession. She planned to pass the provincial examinations, return here, open a private school, and become a teacher.
The times were turbulent, and signs of unrest were emerging. Yan Xian'ge appeared to have been demoted and sent away as punishment, but secretly he had been ordered to investigate several corrupt officials, as well as search for members of the Yun clan, who were living in seclusion near the border.
Qingyang County was his last destination. By chance, he came upon a wedding that had turned into a funeral.
He heard that the county magistrate's son had been welcoming his bride when she stabbed him. In the end, he could not be saved.
Using the investigation as an excuse to stay, Yan Xian'ge followed the trail all the way to the teacher who had committed the murder, where he met Xie Yunxing, praised by everyone in the county.
The person stood amid the wind and snow, black hair and blue robes fluttering in the gale, a blood-dripping dagger in hand.
When Yan Xian'ge met her resolute gaze, his heart skipped a beat. By the time he came to his senses, he had already chosen to let her go.
After he finished investigating the county magistrate, he asked around for news of the Yun family, only to unexpectedly reunite with Yun Xing.
"I let you go that day, and now you dare show your face before me again." Remembering how he had lost his composure that day, he scolded her in a low voice.
"I ask that Your Excellency take me along." Yun Xing gave a calm, unhurried bow, still as poised and gracious as ever. "I, Yun, am in a hurry to take the examinations and earn an official degree."
The young master of the Yun family, who had come first in all three imperial examinations, had become the talk of the capital.
In contrast to his beauty and literary talent, his temperament was so bland as to be dull. He spent his days refusing visitors and never saying a word.
Only two people kept coming back despite his cold reception: Princess Huaishu, who had left the palace to establish her own residence, and Yan Xian'ge, the Vice Minister of Personnel, who had only recently been sent away.
Gradually, people began to say that beauty was merely skin-deep, and his literary reputation came from borrowing the prestige of the Yun name. Perhaps Yun Xing was a classic case of someone whose fame exceeded his abilities.
It was only when that young man steadily climbed the ranks and became one of the most powerful ministers at court, his wings and claws fully grown, that people suddenly remembered the legends of the Yun family's famous ministers.
"Never defeated, fit to be the emperor's teacher."
Theme: Strive with all your might
