Chapter 21

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Translator: Anne

Editor: Miqi

Proofreader: Ashlyn Rose

Prelude

The wind and sand in the desert flooded the abandoned and lonely building. The ghostly charm was the prelude to love… Before all the stories began, who opened the door of the millennium years? Turning all the mountains and rivers, shaking all the sutra pipes. Trying not to overstep, just to touch one’s fingertips.

******

Prologue

The last word should never be followed by a plural number, whether it is a thing or a person. The most majestic and beautiful period of time also makes forgetting a person difficult.

No matter whether it was a hundred years ago or a hundred years later, there was or will be a contest for selecting imperial concubines in Tangling Dynasty. However, the most mysterious and exciting contest was in the 27th year in Rongrui. This was both because the famous beauties selected had their own backgrounds, and because of the three mysterious and weird examination questions.

It was a month after Tangling’s prince, Shangguang Jinghao, had married Princess Qiao Mei, the second daughter of the Lord of the Beidi desert, in Tangling’s territory.

There was no doubt the prince would marry this concubine. The prince was a brilliant figure; at the age of ten, he had offered the emperor a strategy for breaking up the army in wartime. Of course, the emperor’s most beloved son would only be matched with the most beautiful woman.

What is beauty?

It was said that when Qiao Mei was 12 years old, Beidi was at war with other tribes. Qiao Mei walked through the confrontation between the armies, and in an instant, all the bows and arrows that were being held high by the enemy fell.

People gave this beauty a name, “Qingcheng”. Qingcheng could match the crown prince.

In the concubine selection contest, the emperor chose the princess for the prince’s brother, Prince Rui.

When it came to Prince Rui, he was an inexplicable person. Before the recent Xingyang victory, he was just an ordinary prince. When he was just eight years old, his face had been ruined and his left foot had been slightly crippled because of a fire that had broken out in his mansion. After that night, the prince had covered his face with an iron mask and became quiet. He was not outstanding like his brothers, not to mention the crown prince. When compared with the best of his brothers, Prince Xia, Prince Xian, and Prince Ning, they were all superior in literary and martial arts.

Xianyang was one of the frontier cities in Tangling. In the Western Xia Dynasty, several generals were fighting with other countries, while the crown prince was getting married. The emperor intended to send the valiant Prince Xia to supervise the army. At court, Prince Rui had suddenly appeared and asked to be sent. His reason was simple, it was his mother’s hometown; Chang Fei, his mother, had died from an illness many years ago.

No one had expected the emperor to send the prince to war after long deliberation, just like how no one had expected Prince Rui to defeat Xixia in one night after the Tangling army had suffered so many defeats. Some people said it was concubine Chang’s luck, while others said the prince was not a simple person.

After receiving this type of news that shocked the Manchu Dynasty, Emperor Longtan was very happy. Unexpectedly, he planned to set three test questions in Prince Rui’s house, to pick new concubines. Named Prince Rui’s selection of concubines. All the other princes and the ministers would be the witnesses. At this time, Prince Rui, who was about to be surprised, was still on his way home.

Although the candidate to succeed Datong would fall on either Prince Xian or the second prince, there were still more than thirty princes in total. Prince Ning and Prince Xia had already formed their own faction, their strength could not be underestimated. However, the changes in Xianyang caused the court’s political situation to change once again.

There were dozens of beautiful female relatives of the court officials and they were also from great families. Among them, there were four that were well-known: Qin Qiuyu, the daughter of a valiant general who possessed excellent martial arts; Wang Yuzhi, the daughter of the imperial tutor known for her wisdom; Lang Linling, the empress’ niece; and finally, the fifth daughter of the northern Lord — Qiao Mei’s sister, Qiao Rong, who was a stunning beauty.

Who would become Princess Rui? Would it be one of these four women? A lot of people had been talking about it, and various gambling games had been set up. The major families of Chaoge had also placed their own bets.

So, what about you? Did you make the right bet?

The wheel of fate had started a new and unpredictable turn because of this concubine selection. Some people were destined to meet and become the drop of blood on the tip of their hearts. At this time, the ninth king seized his concubine, there was less than an hour before the concubine selection contest, less than a year before the emperor became ill, and a year before Princess Rui competed with Qiao Mei at the palace banquet.