"The grand army returns in triumph to pay respects to the Emperor! All carriages, clear the way!" Banners blot…
"The grand army returns in triumph to pay respects to the Emperor! All carriages, clear the way!"
Banners blot out the sun above the streets of Chang'an. The Fourth Prince sits high upon a crimson charger, his armor gleaming, his spirit soaring. Truly the peerless young general of the Empire. He's come to the capital both to deliver news of the victory and to petition for rewards for the troops.
Just as the vanguard neared the capital, a rival set of imperial banners appeared on the horizon: it was the crown prince's carriage. The Fourth Prince's brow furrows. He had long heard that the Emperor harbored doubts toward the border legions. To send the Crown Prince to contest the road now, was this a ploy to suppress the army's rightful rewards? The border troops bled for this victory; their dead are beyond count. Should he yield to the Crown Prince and fail to secure honors befitting such a triumph, with what face could he return to the frontier? Resolute, he coolly ordered his aide, "Do not yield an inch. We enter the gates directly."
Under his canopy, the crown prince was equally troubled. His grasp on the throne was already tenuous. Today, led by some unknown design, he found his path blocked head-on by the Fourth Prince's triumphant return. To yield would not only erode his prestige among the princes but, more perilously, stoke the Emperor's suspicions against the military, a recipe for imperial disaster.
"Press on. We shall not be the first to retreat."
Amidst the bustling streets, a masked woman gazes toward the horizon. This is Li Qingyun, Princess of the Realm. Upon hearing that her Fourth Prince brother is returning to the capital, she knows she must be the first to welcome him home. As she waits by the roadside, an imperial guard hurries over with urgent news: "The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince are set to collide at the gates. Neither will give way. Bloodshed may follow!"
Li Qingyun furrows his brow, pauses thoughtfully, and then commands, "Send my carriage now!"
The princess's carriage speeds down the main street, drawing closer to the border troops. Startled at first, the soldiers swiftly fall into formation. The Princess leaps onto the lead carriage. Seeing her silhouette, the vanguard general laughs heartily: "The Flying General is here! Clear the way!"
The Fourth Prince spurs his horse forward, his booming laughter echoing as he greets her. As it happened, the Princess had once donned male attire and slipped into the Fourth Prince's ranks. It was only amidst the heat of battle that he discovered his "soldier" was his own sister. Together they charged through blood and fire, forging a sibling bond tempered by the anvil of war. Utterly unbreakable. While she was a paragon of riding and archery, she possessed a catastrophic lack of direction. In the chaos of war, she would charge blindly through enemy lines, earning her the mocking, yet affectionate, title of "The Flying General."
Their joyful reunion speaks for itself. Learning the border troops' steadfast resolve, Li Qingyun contemplated the situation before resolutely drawing her brother back into the carriage.
"The border legions have their grievances, but our Second Brother's seat is equally precarious. If you trust me, Brother, board my carriage. Today, I shall escort both my brothers into the Imperial City together!"
"In this den of vipers we call a capital, if I cannot trust my own sister, I have no one left to believe in."
The carriage races forward, pulling up alongside the crown prince's procession. Yet, within the Crown Prince's personal retinue, a snake lay in wait. Seeing the Fourth Prince and the princess arrive together, he realized the plan was falling apart. Panicked, he drew his bow and fired an arrow straight at the Fourth Prince's face!
The Fourth Prince, a veteran of slaughters, did not even flinch. He snatched the arrow out of the air with a bare hand, a terrifying, murderous aura erupting from his silhouette.
To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next episode.