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Fourteen years ago, Suliang had been abandoned. Everyone was well aware that the front had to be given up to the Hu Ren kings. Every year, it burned the wealth and manpower of the Great Long Dynasty. In fact, it was more beneficial to give it up than to relentlessly still hold onto it.

Knowing so, a Hu Ren king named Batzorig wanted to take advantage and provoke Great Long. So he prepared 25,000 men and attacked Suliang with the purpose of conquering. 

But the barely 5,000 troops made of the young and old men of Suliang itself were like warriors of King Yama. They battled without a care for their lives. Their courage grew when two imperial children were fighting with them. A prince and a princess.

But after all, war was determined not by spirit. The side with more men, more provisions, sharper weapons and tougher defense would win.

It was just that after four days and four nights, no one was left standing standing in the battlefield. What used to be dry fields became a river of blood littered with corpses over a several li.

Reinforcements that came way too late were horrified at the sight. It was said that even the sun seemed to drip blood. And the rain that came was red.

From a mountain of dead bodies, a figure desperately crawled out. Under the thundering clouds and amidst the howling winds, Long Xu Le emerged. From that day onward, there was only one King Wan Li. It was her.

There were talks that she was the scourge of the battlefield. That she was a demon meant to curse the world. No one dared to get close to her but no one dared to disobey her.

Long Xu Le was both respected and feared.

She fully subdued Suliang prefecture under her rule. In respect to the warriors she lost, Long Xu Le named her military arm Danwan.

The Danwan troops grew and she crushed all kinds of insurgency in Suliang and nearby provinces.

>丹 - dān - red and wan is the same character as her title so it can be called Ten Thousand Red troops<

And with her hands, she cultivated Suliang from a backwater province to be a bustling prefecture. Gone were the days they cowered in fear against enemy attacks. Their city walls were reinforced and their houses were warm.

To Suliang, she was a demon god. Yes, she was sent from hell but she didn't give up on them. Here, the influence of the throne seemed so distant. There was only King Wan Li.

Xiao Hao witnessed all of her achievements with his own eyes. He watched her grow up and knew the story of her life. The people only knew the outer shell of Wan Li Wang. They didn't know the real reason why she stood as King. The wretched and miserable things she had to endure just to keep standing until today. 

Long Xu Le didn't know the thoughts running inside her confidant's mind. Right now, she only remembered Sangyu's lingering gaze on the beauties sent. Her glass eyes seemed to have some flicker of life for a moment.

"Xiao Hao..." She called.

"Yes, master."

"Have someone watch Sangyu well," came the dull voice.

"You're worried the young prince will make a mistake?" He worded it carefully.

Long Xu Le continued walking leisurely. "No, mistakes are made to grow. It's his heart."

Xiao Hao paused. She worried that the prince would fall in love and break his heart?

He was one of the few people who truly knew her.

Her priority had always been Long Sangyu. She did all those hideous things in order to protect him.

Every time he remembered those years, he couldn't help but gnash his teeth in anger and maybe guilt. But he also reminded himself that everything back then was done. There was no point in recalling.

He opened his mouth to speak. "Rest at ease, I won't let anyone hurt Yu'er."

Xiao Hao only heard an impassive "En." as she entered her residence. Then, he disappeared to carry her orders.

The night went back to its peaceful state.

A scheme was discovered but on the other side, the beginning of the tugging of heartstrings took its place.

Zhang Yunlei stood calmly in the middle of his Gangqiang Ju's stone garden. An inexplicable sad tune played from his flute.

The servants who heard it couldn't help but feel wistful. They didn't stop him. The notes knocked on their hearts and conquered it.

A lone gentleman playing his feelings for the moon.

Long Sangyu happened to pass by. He would randomly lead patrols in the palace every now and then. But tonight, he heard a strange thing.

When did the wangfu ever hear such music?

It was always solemn all year round.

"Who lives here?" He asked, puzzled.

His personal attendant and guard couldn't help but look at him. Xiao Bao sighed in his heart.

You told your eunuch to arrange this and you forgot?

"It's Zhang Mei Ren."

Junwang's face blanked for a moment. "Ah," He must have remembered.

Then he ordered the other patrol guards. "You, go ahead. This prince will check here."

When the guards went out of their sight, Long Sangyu hit Xiao Bao's head. Totally losing his princely mask.

"You were cursing me in your heart just now right?"

Xiao Bao was indignant. "I wasn't!"

"Keep saying that, I know that your heart is black! Unlike Uncle Hao who Da Jie can rely on, I'm stuck with you every day. Life is really unfortunate."

Getting accused like this, even though it was true, Xiao Bao would never admit it.

The attendant pointed at the prince's face. "How dare you compare me to my father. I have my own merits!"

Then he whispered in an angry tone. "If I compare you to wangye, you're just dust!"

His attitude wasn't that of a servant to his master. In fact, if one looked at the two, both of them looked like young masters from a well-off family.

And just like two teenage boys, the two engaged in a rowdy fight. Totally destroying the melancholic mood brought about by the flute.

"How dare you drag Da Jie in our conversation! I'll kill you tonight." Long Sangyu was also whispering this.

>Da Jie - eldest sister<

It was an unspoken rule never to talk about Wan Li Wang behind her back. As there were rumors before that those who said bad things were dragged in the middle of the night to be flogged.

That rumor became widespread to all of Suliang that the people just spoke in hushed tones whenever bringing her to the topic. There were only a few who could be so daring.

Xiao Bao was the first to give up. "Okay, let's stop this. How old are you this year? We shouldn't fight like this anymore."

This was always his line. Junwang's expression darkened. Whenever they get punished by Da Jie for fighting, Xiao Bao with his honey tongue would always be the one to appear reasonable.

He was suffocated for a bit. And with one last hit, he stopped and fixed his clothes. The latter also did the same.

"Your highness, you have dirt on your face."

Long Sangyu touched his cheek. "Where?"

Xiao Bao snickered. "Got you."

The prince realized he was played again.

"You. You!" He wanted to hit his right-hand man so much but the person dodged.

It was a good thing that Feng Yanyan didn't witness all of these. Who knew if he would faint on the spot.

The Ping Junwang that he knew was the male lead of the book. He was bright and handsome, giving warmth to everyone. But his true nature was cold and vindictive. He did the dirty work of his brother King Wan Li.

Nobody knew how many lives suffered under his hands when he was yet to reach two decades old.

Long Sangyu, who was standing here today, was still bright and warm. But he was pure through and through. He could laugh from the bottom of his heart and he could form deep bonds. He could empathize with people and Suliang adored the prince for all the good deeds he did.

If Wan Li Wang was the god and pillar of Suliang, Ping Junwang was the carrier of hope and symbol of youth.

Wan Li was elusive and mysterious. Ping was vivid and down to earth.

Zhang Yunlei was shocked by the sight before him. He just came over when he heard some rustling.

It turned out to be Ping Junwang. His Highness looked as though he was angered to death by his attendant. So even if by etiquette, Zhang Yunlei should greet, he didn't take any further steps.

The two realized another presence and stopped bickering.

The mei ren saw them look at him. "This one greets your Highness. Is there something Zhang can do for you?"

For a moment, Long Sangyu forgot why he was even here. He glared at Xiao Bao. Because of this bastard.

Looking at Zhang Yunlei holding the flute, the prince remembered.

"This prince heard music here just now and came to look."

"Oh," Zhang Yunlei smiled. "If your Highness permits, this one can play for you."

Xiao Bao inched closer to Long Sangyu. He knew his master's habits. He was a carefree prince and he liked listening to music with alcohol in hand. So he whispered. "Should I warm some wine?"

That's a good idea. The prince was glad in his heart but didn't show it on his face. He merely nodded.

His attendant retreated to get the wine from his courtyard.

Zhang Yunlei welcomed the prince to his residence.

"You transformed your place a bit."

Most courtyards had a fixed design and Long Sangyu could see that he added a touch of his own here and there. The prince's gaze stopped.

This is?

Beauty Zhang noticed his line of sight. There was a wall with an unfinished mural of orchids.

"I... this one took the liberty of painting the walls. Of course, I sought permission from the head eunuch first." The gentleman paused a bit. "If your Highness finds it unpleasant, Zhang will restore the former color."

"No need. It looks good." Long Sangyu smiled. He was appreciative of the arts.

Zhang Yunlei seemed to hesitate for a few moments. His Highness already sat behind the stone table, looking homely. This had always been his nature.

Uninhibited. If he saw something he liked, he would look at it up close. So Junwang didn't see anything wrong with his sudden visit.

"You have something to say?" Long Sangyu prodded the young man.

If Beauty Feng had a disastrous beauty, then the gentleman in front of him had an upright and feeble look. He seemed to be trusted by his peers.

"Y-yes. This one would like to thank your Highness for sending supplements and medicine to treat my wound."

"Oh," Junwang had a flash of realization. "It's nothing. The palace will take care of the people sent by Her Majesty. It is not something to thank for."

Looking at the prince in front of him, Zhang Yunlei didn't know why he was disappointed. He needed to wake himself up. His current status wasn't something to be interested in. His Highness was only perfunctory when he sent those things. Nothing more.

His heart, that was almost giddy these past few days, finally settled down.

Before long, Xiao Bao returned with the wine. The servants of the courtyard prepared a heated wooden pad for the wine.

Zhang Yunlei let the flute sing under the moonlight and the prince enjoyed the wine. It was warm and peaceful.

Whether each person had their own thoughts or not, only they themselves knew.

Edited: Feb. 10, 2023