Prologue

The dark clouds were low, and the cold wind they blew caused the flags of the empire’s army to sway.

Standing in the ice and snow was the city, Yancheng, which looked like an isolated island, surrounded by soldiers of Daliang.

The young general at the head was wrapped in silver armor and his scarlet cloak fluttered behind him. Raising his hand, he spat out a command that felt colder than the ice and snow they stood on; “Siege!”

As this command was spat out, there was a sudden rumbling sound.

There was a commotion on the already crumbling city wall, followed by a high pitched shout from the Northern Qi general; “General Shao, look at who we have here, it’s not too late to call off the siege.”

The voice went silent and a woman was led onto the city wall.

The woman’s long black hair was gathered behind her ears, revealing a clean and pure face. The northern wind slashed her tender face like a knife, making her lips redder and her face whiter, like a jade hibiscus sealed in ice.

The area suddenly fell silent.

The young and handsome general in his silver armor didn’t show any emotion, but rather, raised his hand again.

The army under the city wall took another step forward, and their oppressive but inevitable momentum forced the people on the city wall to tremble with fear.

The Northern Qi general grabbed the woman and pushed her in front of him, shouting angrily, “General Shao, can you see her clearly? This is your wife, and if you retreat, I will keep her safe and sound; otherwise, your wife will die!”

The young general was taken aback.

A subordinate beside him whispered; “General, that is indeed your wife.”

The young general took the reins of his horse and gave a long look at the woman on the city wall.

It turned out that it was indeed his wife.

Seemingly feeling the man’s gaze on her, the woman on the city wall turned slightly to him and looked at him from a distance.

The northern land had been ravaged and robbed by the Qi people many times, and now the city had finally been seized. He didn’t know how much blood was shed to bring about today’s battle for recovery. How could he just stop because of her?

Although she was a woman, he still had his national integrity.

The young general who made the Qi people feel terrified, and the husband who she had finally seen for the first time since their marriage, she knew it would be impossible for him to give up the opportunity to recover the mountains and rivers.

The woman opened her mouth to speak to him.

But it was too cold, and they hadn’t spoken for a long time, so she didn’t utter any words to utter to him.

A thought had just flashed in her mind, when a sharp arrow, barely in her line of sight, struck her in the chest and it was followed by severe pain.

She lowered her head subconsciously and saw the blood spurting out from her chest and the warmth brought by the blood quickly dissipated in the cold wind.

This bastard didn’t even give her a chance to say a word for her sake.

At the moment of her death, the woman thought bitterly.

“General…”

The subordinates beside the young general couldn’t help shouting.

The young general looked calm and retracted his bow, lowering his eyes to hide the guilt in them, he coldly spat out the command he had given earlier; “Siege!”

In the early spring of Mingkang’s twenty-fifth year, Yancheng finally was recovered. The second son of Jing’an Hou, Shao Mingyuan, the general of the Northern Expedition, was awarded the title of Champion Hou and returned to Beijing triumphantly.

And his wife Qiao Zhao, full of passion, stayed on the Yancheng city wall forever.