Seeking Shelter

In the fifteenth year of Zhengchong, Great Qi sent troops against the Xiongnu. The Commandant for Suppressing Bandits volunteered to lead three thousand men in a surprise attack on the enemy's rear, but then vanished without a trace. Rumor had it that he had been captured by the Xiongnu.

When the news reached court, the emperor flew into a rage and wanted to exterminate his entire clan.

Cen Li spent the whole night awake. As soon as the palace gates opened at dawn, she went in to request an audience and knelt outside Chengming Hall.

The palace doors, usually left open for her, were shut tight. The morning mist turned into a fine drizzle that soaked through her clothes, and a bone-chilling cold seeped into her marrow.

The morning court session ended, and the sound of the outer court ministers leaving drifted from afar. The tightly shut doors remained completely still.

Then a pair of brocade boots stopped in front of her.

The umbrella tilted slightly, shielding her from the fine rain. A clear voice, like jade, reached her ears. "Marquis Xie lost his title over an old matter, but he still commands respect in the army. That is why the young master Xie was put in charge of the troops this time. His Majesty is indeed furious, but he may also be using this as an excuse to act. Princess Yangjia, having studied history since childhood, should understand what I mean."

Cen Li looked up in a daze. The rain had washed everything around her into dark shades. A young official in blue robes stood tall and composed, his bearing extraordinary.

The fine rain had soaked one shoulder. His soft words came with the raindrops. "Might I, Zhiyi, be fortunate enough to win the princess's favor?"

Cen Li: "..."

Dividing power among the nobles and elevating men of humble birth: these were the policies Emperor Zhengchong had pursued for years. He suppressed the nobles by finding fault with them, while elevating men of humble birth through... marriage alliances.

*

Endless yellow dunes stretched in every direction. The marching army trudged across them like a line of ants, led by an unexpectedly young man.

Sand coated his bright armor. His lips were cracked and bleeding, but his gaze was sharp as a blade. Nothing about him suggested that his army had been cut off from all reinforcements in this vast desert.

A man beside him gave a bitter smile. "After losing this battle, we'll be punished when we get back. Our wives and children might even run off with someone else. We might as well..."

"We haven't lost yet."

The man fell silent, embarrassed. Xie Ding gave a faint, indistinct smile. A moment later, he murmured even more quietly, "She won't."

A-Li would never do that.

And he would win.

Someone in the capital was waiting for him to return.

Waiting for him to distinguish himself and come back in glory to ask for her hand.

P.S. I'm writing to indulge my personal tastes. The setting is so far removed from history that there has been no serious historical research. The plot and setting exist entirely to serve the melodrama.

Theme: Let a good name endure for generations, and live with a clear conscience