Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

A narrow dirt road winds like a snake among the rolling mountains.

A single-horse carriage is speeding along the road at an alarming pace.

Every time the wheels rolled over the stones, the entire carriage would be thrown high into the air and then slammed down, as if it were about to fall apart at any moment.

"Giddy up! Giddy up! Faster! You stinky peach, didn't you eat?!"

A small head with two buns peeked out of the car window.

A small, fair hand gripped the window frame, and on her pretty, puffed-up face, a pair of clear, watery eyes were wide with anxiety.

Her long eyelashes fluttered, carrying a hint of unreasonable urging.

Xiao Tao, the young maid who was driving the carriage, was so frightened that her pretty face turned whiter than the wildflowers by the roadside.

She gripped the reins tightly, feeling as if her soul was about to be tossed about.

"Miss! My dear miss! This is already a death-defying speed!"

Xiao Tao turned around and called out with a sob in her voice.

"The horse's practically foaming at the mouth! Any faster, and we won't be heading to Zhenbei City, we'll be heading straight to meet the King of Hell!"

"Pah! Pah! Pah! Don't talk nonsense!"

The girl in the carriage, Princess Xia Man'er of Southern Xinjiang, shrugged back in dissatisfaction and sat back down in her seat, pouting.

But she simply couldn't settle down.

The small feet, clad in exquisite embroidered shoes, stomped incessantly on the carriage floor, revealing the owner's impatient mood.

She lifted the car curtain again, watching the scenery rushing past, feeling a tickle in her heart.

It's so slow.

Why is it still a mountain?

When will we be able to reach the North?

I wonder what Brother Lin Mo looks like now?

He's definitely taller than when he was a kid, right? And even more handsome!

Maybe...maybe they've even grown a beard?

Oh dear, that won't do, it'll prick you.

Xia Man'er was lost in thought, her cheeks flushing red without her realizing it, her thoughts drifting back to ten years ago.

That year, her father went to the capital to report on his duties, and he took her with him. She was always running around in the mansion, almost tearing the roof off.

In that unfamiliar yet dazzlingly prosperous place, everyone treated the King with utmost respect and also treated her, the young princess, with courtesy.

But that kind of politeness is distant and boring.

Only Brother Lin Mo is different.

He would use his savings, accumulated over a long period, to buy the biggest and reddest string of candied hawthorns from the vendor's stall.

Then, like presenting a treasure, he handed it to her, watching her eat it with a beaming smile.

He would lead her over the high wall of the backyard, slip into the Imperial Garden, and climb up the tall magnolia tree.

She took a nest of fluffy chicks that hadn't even opened their eyes yet, just because she said "So cute".

As a result, they were discovered by the patrolling imperial guards, causing chaos and disorder.

Her father was so angry that he wanted to punish her by confining her to her quarters to copy books, but it was her brother Lin Mo who stepped forward, patting his little chest and taking all the blame upon himself.

Finally, General Lin pinned him to a bench and gave him a good spanking.

Afterwards, she secretly went to see him and found him lying on the bed, grinning and grimacing, but still smiling foolishly at her.

"Little Man'er, don't cry, it doesn't hurt."

"A real man doesn't need such a small injury."

From that moment on, this name, this person, was like a seed that took root and sprouted in her heart.

But good times are always so short.

Her father had finished his official business and was going to take her back to the southern border.

On the day they parted, she cried her heart out, clinging tightly to Lin Mo's leg and refusing to let go.

"I don't want to go back! I don't want to be separated from Brother Lin Mo!"

"I want to stay! I want to marry Brother Lin Mo!"

That's what she shouted at the time.

Then, her usually stern and imposing father, who would never flinch even if the sky were to fall, became so angry that his beard stood on end and his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

And then...

Her father tied her up like a dumpling with rope.

Amidst the watchful eyes of the servants who wanted to laugh but dared not, she was forcibly shoved into the carriage back to Southern Guangdong.

As the carriage started moving, she saw through the crack in the window that her brother Lin Mo was chasing after it.

He ran while calling her name, and finally fell into the dust, becoming a smaller and smaller black dot.

At that moment, she experienced for the first time what it meant to be separated by life and death, and what it meant to be heartbroken.

Just like the picture books her nanny secretly told her about, those lovers who were forcibly taken by bullies, obstructed by their families, and tormented by fate.

It turns out that what was written in the sketchbook was all true.

From that day on, she secretly vowed that when she grew up, she would break free from her father's "clutches."

She returned to the capital and married her brother Lin Mo!

She waited and waited, counting down the days.

But a few years later, a bolt from the blue arrived.

The Lin family's property was confiscated.

Lin Mo's family... all contracted the plague on the way to exile... and died.

died.

These two words pierced her heart deeply.

From that day on, her world lost all color.

The sky is gray, the flowers are gray.

Even my favorite osmanthus sugar cake tastes like chewing wax.

She locked herself in her room and cried for three days and three nights, refusing to eat or drink.

He had lost a lot of weight, which terrified his father and everyone in the palace.

She threw away all her brightly colored clothes and put on a plain white dress.

She stopped laughing and making a fuss.

Every day I just sit by the window, staring blankly at the sky, and that's all I do all day.

She felt that her heart, along with her brother Lin Mo, had died on that cold road of exile.

Such days went by for many years.

Until a few days ago, the name that haunted her dreams once again resounded in her ears like a thunderclap.

"Have you heard? There's a rebel in the North named Lin Mo!"

"It's that remnant of the Lin family from back then! He's not dead!"

"He's not just not dead! He killed Prince Zhenbei, Yuwen Biao! Now the entire northern border is his!"

boom--!

Xia Man'er felt as if her whole world had exploded with dazzling fireworks.

So... so Brother Lin Mo didn't die!

Her brother Lin Mo is still alive!

Not only did he survive, he also killed a major villain and became the King of the North!

Wuhu! Take off!

Those few days, Xia Man'er was so happy that she couldn't sleep at night. She would roll around on the bed with her blanket, laughing like a fool.

No wonder he's her Lin Mo brother!

He is the most powerful, the most majestic, and the most extraordinary hero in the world!

After the joy came overwhelming anger.

She stood with her hands on her hips in her room and gave her father a thorough dressing-down.

You stinky daddy! You wicked daddy! You big liar!

I've been lying to myself for so many years!

You made her heartbroken for so long for nothing! This is blatant bullying of a woman! A crime compounded!

If she had known earlier that her brother Lin Mo was still alive, she would have run away long ago. Why would she have been living like a living dead, depressed and unhappy for so many years!

No, we can't wait any longer!

We can't wait a moment longer!

So, on a dark and windy night,

Relying on her thorough knowledge of the Prince's mansion's layout, she changed into night clothes, covered her face,

He pulled along his "highly skilled in martial arts," but somewhat timid, personal maid, Xiao Tao.

The two of them managed to evade all the patrols and guards, steal two of the finest horses, and successfully slip out of the impregnable palace.

"Brother Lin Mo, I'm here!"

Xia Man'er clenched her little fists, silently vowing, "This time, no one will be able to separate us!"

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but stick her little head out of the window again.

"You brat! Can you hurry up?! I'll treat you to ten servings of osmanthus sugar cake!"

"Miss! There's a bend ahead! It's a cliff! Ah—!"

Xiao Tao's scream, accompanied by a dangerous drift of the carriage, echoed throughout the entire valley.