Mountain Lord

Lan Shanjun was an orphan raised in Huailing, growing up on the kindness of neighbors and learning the trade of a butcher. She was planning to open a slaughterhouse, but fate had other ideas. At sixteen, she was brought back to Luoyang and told she was the legitimate second daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, lost to the family years ago. At first, she thought Heaven was rewarding her for the hardship of being a butcher. But after another ten years of anxiously trying to please her family and desperately arranging a marriage, after enduring a decade of scorn and finally being locked in a dark, sunless courtyard, she realized the truth. Her journey from the countryside to the capital must have been punishment for all the pigs she had slaughtered, not a reward. Another year passed. Imprisoned in that little courtyard, with no sunlight and no sense of the passing days, she lived on cold leftovers and spoiled food, enduring every hardship. Yet she remained unwilling to give up and too afraid to die. The only thing that brought her comfort was a book she found in the darkness. The window had not been sealed shut, and a ray of spring sunlight still found its way inside. She slowly made her way to the window and read by its light. It was a journal, recording a boy’s thoughts from the age of six to sixteen. He was full of passion and lofty ambitions. He thought of himself as a sharp sword, waiting only for his sovereign to draw him from its scabbard. She recognized the writer. It was Yu Qingwu, who had also been led to the execution platform on the day she was sent away from Luoyang. So when she returned to the age of sixteen and met Yu Qingwu for the first time, she thought of him as a tragic friend who existed only on the pages of a book. As she struggled to take control of her fate in Luoyang, she sometimes shut out the voices around her. Through the bright light of spring, she glimpsed his inner hesitation and anguish, and the lofty ambition he pursued with a clear conscience, even though it led to certain death. A sudden anger rose within her. Their fates were so alike. Neither of them deserved to die at the mercy of the powerful. They both deserved to live. Before meeting Lan Shanjun, Yu Qingwu wrote in his journal: teacher, the realm, the people. After meeting Lan Shanjun, Yu Qingwu wrote in his journal: Shanjun, Shanjun, Shanjun. #Shanjun is stubborn, but that’s fine. I’ll be the one to give in.# His heart followed hers. He bowed his head and pleaded, “Shanjun, I tried to hold myself back.” Shanjun: tiger. Journal: diary. Thanks to the lovely reader who made the cover: @Mo Yu Jiu A note on something some readers might be concerned about: The heroine was married in her previous life and had children. The male lead was inexperienced. In this life, both of them are inexperienced. My next novel, *Peacock Terrace*, is now available for advance collection. Please add it to your library! According to popular rumor, Grand Tutor Yu Yanfeng monopolized the court, gathered cronies, took bribes, and committed countless crimes. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he loathed Yu Yanfeng so deeply that he confiscated his entire family’s estate, had them all executed, and even ordered his corpse whipped after death. He also had a play written about him, ensuring that everyone would curse his name. Even though Lan Fengchun lived in the countryside, she had seen the play *The Scheme to Eliminate the Traitor* beneath the theater stage. At the time, she thought of it as nothing more than a play. When she got home, she told the story to a distant cousin who had just come to stay with her family. After listening, her cousin laughed softly. “Such a villain… He deserves to die.” But he died soon afterward, saving her life. Lan Fengchun had never imagined she would owe someone her life. The debt weighed so heavily on her that she could barely sleep, but the person who killed him was a powerful figure at court, and she had no way to fight back. So when she decided to go to Luoyang alone to seek revenge, ready to risk her life, her only goal at first was to make sure his death was not treated as insignificant. But after finally avenging him, she saw her cousin’s bronze statue beneath Peacock Terrace. He would kneel before the terrace for all eternity. Grand Tutor Yu Yanfeng. Lan Fengchun thought then: I owe him far more than I knew. Yu Yanfeng faked his death and escaped. Now he has returned to Luoyang, ready to make a comeback. But then he sees his poor little cousin. She is sharpening her knife to avenge him. And she thinks he’s the enemy. Yu Yanfeng: “…” “I know you’re in a hurry, but let’s not rush. Here, put the knife down.” Fengchun: peacock. They say the name comes from how peacocks spread their tails in spring. Theme: Never give up hope.