In the third month of late spring, amidst a profusion of blossoms adorning the trees, orioles trilled throughout Chang'an.
As daylight faintly shimmered and the morning stars gradually faded, the first dawn drum echoed from the bell tower atop the imposing main gate of the imperial city. One after another, bell towers along the Heavenly Street and major thoroughfares joined in, their thunderous rolls sweeping across the meticulously arranged grid of over one hundred walled wards, rousing the slumbering majestic capital from its repose.
With the night curfew lifted and ward gates swung wide, the chilly, empty streets soon brimmed with a cacophony of rising and falling human voices. Oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages sped forth from heavily guarded mansions and grand courtyards, merging into the dense, bustling flow of humanity on Vermilion Bird Avenue.
On the horizon, clouds and mist swirled, while golden morning light broke through the layers, cascading down to envelop countless households in a dazzling, radiant glow—a splendid tableau of peace and prosperity.
Within the Taiji Palace, maidservants carrying gilded bronze basins and freshly picked dew-laden flowers moved along the winding corridors.
The rustling of their vibrant skirts brushing against recently polished floral-patterned bricks resembled the gentle patter of fine rain.
Chunru lifted the curtain, entered the inner chamber, and set down the bronze basin.
Just as she had replaced the incense in the burner, faint, pained moans suddenly emerged from behind the large black-lacquer screen inlaid with landscapes and figures.
"Elder Brother... Elder Brother..."
Chunru stepped around the screen, drew aside the gauze canopy, and her gaze fell upon the Seventh Princess's face, her brow furrowing with concern.
"Your Highness?"
She wrung out a cloth to wipe Seventh Princess Li Yaoying's face, softly calling her name.
The Seventh Princess, delicate in health, often suffered from nightmares. Despite numerous physicians consulted, her condition showed no improvement, and her attendants had grown accustomed to it.
Hearing Chunru's gentle call, Li Yaoying awoke from her horrific dream.
Tears trickled from between her thick lashes, tracing paths down her fragrant cheeks.
Chunru asked tenderly, "Did you have another nightmare? Was it due to exhaustion from last night's grand palace banquet?"
Li Yaoying, her eyes blurred with tears, stared blankly for a long moment at the dappled sunlight filtering through the screen into the inner chamber.
Before her lay the opulent bedchamber, not the hellish battlefield of her dream.
The terrifying visions of rivers of blood and scattered limbs gradually faded.
Li Yaoying slowly regained her senses, smiled faintly, casually wiped her damp eyes, and rose to wash and dress.
It was only a nightmare.
Chunru picked up a golden comb adorned with kalavinka patterns to style her hair, saying cheerfully, "His Majesty and the Prince of Qin have won a great victory. News of their triumph has spread throughout Guanzhong. The Prince of Qin will return in triumph soon."
The Seventh Princess calling for her elder brother in her dream must have been out of concern for the Second Prince, the Prince of Qin, who was campaigning abroad with the Emperor.
Whenever the Prince of Qin went to war, the Seventh Princess would be plagued by nightmares.
Li Yaoying picked a half-bloomed peony and tucked it into her hair beside her temple. Glancing at her reflection in the mother-of-pearl inlaid octagonal bronze mirror, she smiled gently: "I know. Second Brother will surely return safely."
The scenes she had witnessed in her dream would not come to pass.
The maiden in the bronze mirror smiled at her lips. Though she had not applied any makeup upon rising and traces of tears remained on her face, her natural beauty was breathtaking, her countenance as radiant as hibiscus flowers.
The faint redness around her eyes added an indescribable, enchanting charm.
Chunru stared, mesmerized, feeling as if half her body had melted.
She wished she could shatter into a thousand pieces if only to smooth the slight furrow in the Princess's brow.
Li Yaoying glanced at her maid through the mirror, her eyes sparkling with a naive playfulness.
In that instant, all enchantment receded, like a lotus emerging clear from water—natural and unadorned, both cool and pure, yet tenderly moving.
Chunru snapped back to reality, lowering her head to focus on arranging the Seventh Princess's hair.
...
Half an hour later, the streets grew even more lively.Li Yaoying wore a green brocade Huihu robe woven with gold roundels and linked pearl patterns, a veil hat on her head as she galloped on horseback through the bustling main street. She halted before a secluded courtyard, removed her veil hat, and gazed back at the lively market district behind her.
Who could have imagined that just a few months ago, this capital city that had flourished for over a century was still a scene of ruins and devastation, bearing all the scars of a troubled era?
Li Yaoying dismounted, casually drew her soft whip to dust off her black leather boots. Catching the rich aroma of ghee sesame cakes in the air, she smiled faintly.
Peace was soon to come.
Better be a dog in peace than a human in chaos!
The last emperor of the previous dynasty, given to extravagance, debauchery, and cruelty, frequently waged wars and oppressed the people. Within just over a decade of his reign, the empire descended into chaos, with uprisings erupting everywhere and aristocratic families successively rebelling.
Thus began years of turmoil.
As the Central Plains fell into disarray, nomadic tribes seized the opportunity to invade from the north. Battles raged, and beacon fires lit up the sky.
The year Li Yaoying was born, her father Li De, with the support of powerful aristocratic families, became a warlord commanding a million troops.
Fourteen years passed in a flash. Through relentless campaigns north and south, Li De gradually defeated his northern rivals and finally led his troops to capture Chang'an last winter.
The last emperor had already died at the hands of rebels years earlier while fleeing to Jiangnan. In recent years, Chang'an had changed hands repeatedly, with even foreign tribes establishing dominance here, committing arson, slaughter, and plunder.
After enduring repeated warfare, this magnificent capital had long lost its former prosperity.
When the Wei army entered Chang'an, they maintained strict discipline, causing no harm to the common people. Li De continuously dispatched envoys to build relations with northern tribes, reclaim various minor forces, and win over local aristocratic families, gradually stabilizing public sentiment.
As the saying goes, long division must lead to union. After several months of governance, the Guanzhong region became settled, tribes from all directions came to pledge allegiance, and Chang'an began to slowly regain its vitality. Its former prosperity seemed just around the corner.
Aristocratic families, esteemed scholars, and elderly commoners repeatedly submitted joint petitions urging Li De to ascend the throne.
After multiple polite refusals, Li De selected an auspicious date to formally proclaim himself emperor, establishing the Wei dynasty.
As Li De's seventh daughter, Li Yaoying became the precious Seventh Princess now that her father was emperor.
Having witnessed so much suffering and displacement during the chaotic times, Li Yaoying considered herself fortunate to finally see peace approaching.
As a daughter of the Li family, she never wanted for food or clothing, traveled with fierce slaves and armored guards for protection, and had managed to grow up safely through the turbulent years—this was already great fortune.
Her mother was gentle and loving, her elder brother protective and doting.
Though she had inexplicably traveled from the stable modern world to become the Seventh Lady of the Li family in this unfamiliar era, it wasn't too bad.
Unfortunately, Li Yaoying soon discovered she had an elder half-brother named Li Xuanzhen.
The famous Li Xuanzhen, Emperor Taizong of Wei.
Li Yaoying had read the book "Great Wei's Li Xuanzhen."
At the end of the book, the male lead Li Xuanzhen led troops to conquer Southern Chu, Western Yue, and over a dozen smaller regimes. After his victories, he immediately returned to Chang'an to force his father Li De to abdicate, ascended the throne himself, led campaigns to pacify the grasslands, completely unified north and south, suppressed aristocratic families, promoted commoners, and through both civil and military achievements laid the foundation for the Great Wei's golden age.
After repeatedly confirming that Li Xuanzhen was indeed her elder brother, Li Yaoying trembled with fear.
Her relationship with the male lead Li Xuanzhen wasn't just a matter of having different mothers.
They were enemies.The Li family had guarded Wei Commandery for generations and were a prominent local clan. Li De, born as a lesser son, endured a lonely and difficult childhood. At twenty-five, he married Tang Shi, the daughter of a merchant family. At twenty-eight, he joined the military and gradually distinguished himself, soon surpassing his legitimate elder brother to become the head of the Li family and was appointed as the Military Commissioner of Wei Commandery.
Later, when chaos erupted across the land with beacon fires rising everywhere, Li De seized the opportunity to recruit soldiers under the pretext of defending his homeland. Leading his clansmen in an uprising, he gathered tens of thousands of followers and won several minor battles.
Li De was often away leading troops, while Tang Shi remained in their hometown to care for their son, Li Xuanzhen.
When Li Xuanzhen was two years old, a group of fleeing rebel soldiers rushed into Wei Commandery. Taking advantage of the weak defenses, they stormed the commandery city, plundering everything.
The servants left behind in Wei Commandery sent word: Tang Shi and her son had been tragically killed by the rebel army.
Enraged, Li De fell into an enemy trap during battle, suffering heavy losses. All his personal guards died in combat, and he himself was severely wounded. Within a month, he lost several cities.
As the Wei army faced imminent collapse and the Li family’s hard-earned legacy teetered on the brink of ruin, his clansmen urged Li De to ally with influential noble families to consolidate his power.
Although the Li family was prominent, they were not considered part of the aristocracy and had never been accepted by the noble clans.
After recovering from his injuries, Li De followed his advisors’ suggestion and went to the Xie family—the most powerful aristocratic clan at the time—to propose a marriage alliance. He promised that if he achieved great success in the future, he would enthrone the Xie family’s legitimate daughter as his empress.
The Xie family had wealth, manpower, and prestige but lacked capable military commanders. They agreed to marry their legitimate daughter to Li De. The two families set a wedding date and made a pact to share prosperity.
Unbeknownst to them, Tang Shi was still alive.
A woman of delicate constitution, she had managed to escape the rebel soldiers with Li Xuanzhen, enduring hardship and displacement until she finally found Li De—just in time to witness the Xie family’s legitimate daughter marrying her husband in a grand, lavish ceremony.
Tang Shi caused a major scene, but the wedding had already taken place, and Li De could not annul the marriage.
With the support of the Xie family, Li De quickly expanded his influence and regained his strength.
While he was invincible on the battlefield, conflict brewed in his household.
Xie Shi, born into a noble family, looked down on Tang Shi, whose ancestors had made their fortune selling lumber. Tang Shi, in turn, resented the Xie family for taking her husband and spent her days cursing Xie Shi.
Caught between his noble-born wife and his original spouse, Li De found it difficult to offend either, leaving him overwhelmed.
Li De’s dilemma extended to his servants: both women had been formally wedded to him through proper ceremonies. How were they to be addressed?
In the end, they vaguely referred to one as Lady Tang and the other as Lady Xie.
The two women feuded for years. As Li Xuanzhen, the eldest son, and Li Zhongqian, the second son born to Xie Shi, grew older, the conflict extended to the succession of the heir position.
The Xie family, with their distinguished lineage, had endured through multiple dynasties. Li De’s rise to power relied heavily on their support. The Li family elders believed Tang Shi’s status was too humble, while Li Zhongqian, as the son of the noble-born Xie Shi, deserved to inherit the title.
Seeing that her son could not compete with Li Zhongqian, the fiery-tempered Tang Shi dressed in the wedding gown she had worn when she married Li De and set herself on fire.
Before her death, she laughed bitterly and cried out, “My lord, my lord, you have betrayed me after all!”
At the time, Li De was with his army. When news of Tang Shi’s death reached his tent, he spat blood and collapsed unconscious.
Within half a month, the once-heroic commander, who had dominated battlefields for years, aged over a decade, his black hair turning half white.
Only then did the world realize the depth of Li De’s affection for his first wife, Tang Shi.
Li Xuanzhen became the heir.
Xie Shi’s heart turned to ashes.Though you did not kill Bo Ren, Bo Ren died because of you. Li Xuanzhen believed Lady Xie was the chief culprit who drove Tang Shi to her death, harboring bone-deep hatred for Lady Xie and the children she bore.
Li Yaoying’s birth mother was precisely Lady Xie, and the second son, Li Zhongqian, was her full-blooded elder brother.
On her deathbed, Tang Shi urged her son to avenge her in the future.
In the book, Li Xuanzhen firmly remembered his mother’s dying wish, using others to force Lady Xie to her death, setting traps that led to Li Zhongqian’s demise, and not even sparing the distant collateral branches of the Xie family.
As for Lady Xie’s youngest daughter, the book only mentioned her in passing, without even giving her a name—she likely died very young.
…
Li Yaoying was speechless, choked with emotion.
Discovering she was an obscure character destined to die young, with her powerful elder brother constantly scheming to torment her mother and brother—and surely planning to kill her as well—what could she do?
Li Yaoying once tried to reconcile with Li Xuanzhen, only to find it impossible.
Li Xuanzhen’s hatred for the Xie family was utterly irreconcilable.
She could only strike first.
But this path proved even more unworkable.
Li Xuanzhen was the male lead, blessed with great fortune and opportunities. Though he often found himself in perilous situations, he always managed to escape danger at the last moment, as if aided by divine intervention.
Li Yaoying made several attempts against him but not only failed to harm him in the slightest, she ended up battered and bruised all over.
Sometimes, merely contemplating how to trouble Li Xuanzhen in her mind would immediately bring on splitting headaches and physical discomfort.
Li Yaoying recalled the two ironclad rules in the book:
The male lead could be stabbed full of holes and still not die.
Whoever harmed the male lead would face divine retribution—it was only a matter of time.
Li Yaoying rolled her eyes skyward.
Was she doomed to accept her fate, waiting for Li Xuanzhen to seize power and execute her and her second brother?
Unwilling to yield, Li Yaoying remained vigilant against Li Xuanzhen while seeking other ways to ensure her survival.
Over the years, she carefully countered Li Xuanzhen’s schemes, managing to preserve the lives of her mother, Lady Xie, and her second brother.
According to the book, Li Zhongqian should have died a year ago, and Lady Xie would have soon after taken poison to end her life. Li Yaoying had temporarily altered their fates.
She knew she couldn’t change the ultimate outcome—she had only bought her mother and brother a few more years of life.
But so what?
Every extra day of life was a day gained.
…
The street-corner eatery was bustling with people. Sesame Flatbreads fresh from the oven filled the air with their rich aroma, and the clamor of voices drifted from afar—a picture of peaceful, stable times.
Li Yaoying set aside her thoughts and stepped onto the stone stairs.
Her guards stepped forward to knock on the courtyard gate.
From inside came grumbling curses. A pale, lean young man in his twenties pulled the gate open, glanced at the stern-faced guards standing behind Li Yaoying, and frowned deeply. “What brings Your Highness here?”
Li Yaoying beamed brightly. “The spring warmth still carries a chill. I heard you’ve been coughing lately, Du Lang, so I came to check on you.”
This down-and-out young man before her was Du Sinan, who was supposed to become Li Xuanzhen’s right-hand man—the very one who devised the vicious plot that framed her second brother, Li Zhongqian.
Two years ago, Li Yaoying had sought out this disheartened scholar, preventing him from becoming Li Xuanzhen’s strategist and thereby extending Li Zhongqian’s life by a year compared to the book.
Du Sinan’s expression was icy, his gaze fixed on the faint smile flickering at the corners of Li Yaoying’s cheeks. A stifled breath caught in his throat as he let out a series of cold laughs.
“This humble Du is unworthy of Your Highness’s concern.”
Unfazed by the undisguised mockery in Du Sinan’s tone, Li Yaoying stood at the foot of the stairs and cast a smiling glance toward the corner of the alley.A furtive figure stood there observing for a moment before turning and disappearing into the morning light.
It was one of Li Xuanzhen's men.
Li Yaoying's lips curved slightly.
Though she couldn't kill Li Xuanzhen's trusted strategist, she could certainly cause them some trouble.
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