The General Awaits His Nightly Visit

[Excerpt One] Clutching the porcelain bowl in her hands, Qing Tong looked up at the cold-faced man before her. “Your Highness, what should I do?” “What should you do?” The Ninth Prince glanced up lazily with a faint smile. “I believe you know.” “Heh, heh, heh!” Her eyes opened in a bleak smile. Qing Tong stared at the dark brown liquid on her wrist and laughed bitterly. “I regret it. If I had another chance, I would never choose to meet you again!” “I don’t care either!” The Ninth Prince rose gracefully from the tiger-skin chair and stared into Qing Tong’s ashen eyes. “I told you I didn’t want your love. You forgot! The truest thing you’ve said to me so far was what you just said. In your next life, stay out of my way when you see me!” There is a kind of tree called the Qing Tong. It grows in the clefts between mountains, its crown reaching higher than the sky. People have never been able to cut one down, so it is also called the “Mountain-Gazing Tree.” It grows by the mountain and along its slopes, simple and unassuming. It has none of the lovely names of the mountain flowers and grasses, nor the sturdy setting of the pines on sheer cliffs. It simply stands guard over the mountainside beside it, quietly, then grows old as the years pass, rots away, and is finally buried in silence at the foot of the mountain. Should it be called faithful, or devoted? She! Was also called Qing Tong! Luo Qing Tong, a woman from a mountain village who took her father’s place in the army. She had neither extraordinary beauty nor an imperious personality. Like the Qing Tong tree, she was simple and unassuming, and she had the same wish: to protect that person! Because… she loved him! Because… she loved him so much! The old women in the village often said that Qing Tong trees were guardians of hardship, because what they did was wait for a stubborn stone to nod. But what she had to do was even harder than waiting for a stone to nod! [Excerpt Two] Watching Qing Tong disappear through the city gate with the two children in tow, alongside Yelü Hong, the Ninth Prince quietly dismounted. He walked straight to the city wall, covered his mouth, and steadied himself with one hand against the wall. Turning his back on everyone, he waved them away! In the slanting evening sunlight, Chen Lin approached with concern and cupped his hands toward the Ninth Prince, whose expression remained calm. “Your Highness!” The Ninth Prince calmly covered his mouth and looked up, raising his eyebrows slightly to signal Chen Lin to leave! Watching Chen Lin walk away, the Ninth Prince frowned. Another mouthful of blood poured out, and at last the blood forced its way between his fingers, dripping one drop at a time into the dust! [Character Introductions] Huangpu Jiu: The most handsome man in the empire, the ninth son of the current emperor and the empress’s own child. He is the younger brother of Prince Ru, the current ruler of the court, and the commander-in-chief of all the empire’s armies! He wields power over the entire court, second only to one person, and is supremely arrogant! That is the Ninth Prince! Yelü Hong: A Khitan prince of peerless beauty! His father is the Khitan emperor, his mother the Khitan empress, and his elder brother the Khitan crown prince! But unlike them, he was expelled from the imperial palace by his own mother at the age of ten and exiled to the frontier, where he was made a prince in name only. His body is covered in scars, and his past is filled with shame. Together, they forged this unconventional prince! Tuoba Hong: Crown prince of Chu. He is gentle and a perfect gentleman. Conquering the two passes of Tong and Ping is the first thing he must do on his path to becoming emperor. What he will do, what will happen, and what the future holds are all still uncertain. There are only two kinds of love in this world: loving and being loved. Of course, there is also protecting and being protected. Those who love: Qing Tong: I am willing to spend my whole life loving him, even if it comes to nothing, even if it only brings me more sorrow! Huangpu Jiu: I don’t know whether I’ll go to heaven or hell, but wherever it is, I’ll follow her, because she has given up so much for me. Yelü Hong: Love? Yes, I love her. I don’t care about those pointless things, because I’m no saint either. Tuoba Hong: She is everything to me. I will not let her go. Those who protect: Qing Tong: I only want to use everything I have to preserve his smile. No other reason, only because I love him. Huangpu Jiu: Even if I go to hell, I won’t let anyone lay a finger on her. For her, I can turn against the whole world! Yelü Hong: I don’t know what it means to be moved, and I’ve never been moved before. But I really hope she can be moved, because she is Luo Qing Tong, and because she and The Outcast