Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

Seeing her confusion, Ling Xianru sighed softly.

He poured himself a cup of tea, drank it all in one gulp, and then continued, "With your intelligence, how could you not suspect my origins? But what I'm going to talk about today has nothing to do with that. Back in the Southern Frontier, I was ambushed by a pack of wolves."

Southern Xinjiang has a complex terrain. Outside the city, there are many jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards that roam at night, and cannibalism is a common occurrence.

If you encounter a pack of wolves, you will often face certain death.

Wei Rong seemed to be able to recall that incident from back then.

She was at most six years old at that time, an age when dogs and cats don't care about her, and she didn't like learning to write, so she would run away whenever she had the chance.

On the night of the full moon each month, the wolf pack gathers together.

Six-year-old Wei Rong didn't know what life was. At that time, her grandfather was already in poor health. She heard that the wolf king's pelt could withstand the freezing north wind in the southern border, so she begged her father's deputy general to take her hunting a wolf.

The deputy general couldn't dissuade her, so on a full moon night, he led a hundred soldiers deep into the desolate mountains.

Wei Rong no longer remembered the moonlight that day, but it seemed that the moonlight was exceptionally bright on the night of the full moon, and the wolf pack howled.

Wei Rong sat in front of her deputy general's horse and saw a group of Hu merchants trapped at the bottom of the hillside.

"Arong, something's wrong." The lieutenant reined in his horse.

Six-year-old Wei Rong, who was too young to discern danger, looked up and asked, "Why is that wrong? There are people surrounded by wolves, and we can rescue them."

The lieutenant looked around.

The terrain of this desolate mountain is such that it is a huge basin in the middle, surrounded by high peaks. If they were to escape unscathed at this moment, it would only be considered a failed hunt.

But if they went down, they would become another target for the wolf pack.

"Those merchants aren't from Dajing. There's no need for us to take the risk. Who knows how many tigers and bears are lurking in this forest? If we fight the wolves and the bloodshed attracts the tigers, we might not even be able to escape unscathed!"

The wolf pack below was shrinking, completely surrounding the group of Hu merchants in the middle.

From a distance, they seemed to be outnumbered. The few who fell were quickly torn apart by the wolves, and swords and knives were no match for the hundreds of wolves.

The Hu merchants spotted them and waved from a distance, calling for help.

"Uncle Cui, Father said that we should not harm the common people. These foreign merchants are just ordinary merchants. You also said that the smell of blood will soon attract other wild animals, and they will not be able to hold out for long."

Deputy General Cui frowned, wanting to persuade him further.

But six-year-old Wei Rong had a stronger will: "We have bows and arrows. I won't risk the lives of my soldiers, but I can't just stand by and watch them die here. Let's carve a bloody path for them. What fate brings, we'll see. Is that alright?"

On one hand, Vice General Cui regretted not being able to resist the pleading of this beautiful young girl and taking her out hunting. On the other hand, he also felt the compassion of a general and couldn't bear to see innocent people living and dying here.

In the ensuing tug-of-war, Wei Rong raised the token in her hand, which she had secretly obtained while Wei Beimu wasn't looking: "All soldiers, listen up! And those below, listen up too! We only brought two hundred arrows to help you break through the encirclement. How things turn out is up to you!"

Although she was still young, she possessed the commanding presence of a general, inherited from Wei Beimu. Even with her voice still childish, she dared to command her soldiers: "Release!"

Arrows rained down on the wolf pack.

The group of Hu people, having narrowly escaped death, desperately protected the person in the middle as they broke through the encirclement.

That bloody path, a mixture of human and wolf blood, was shrouded in dark clouds. Rain began to fall at some point, and the air was thick with a foul, fishy stench.

The group of foreign merchants eventually emerged from the wolf pack, leaped to the bottom of the cliff, and disappeared.

Wei Rong did not hunt down the wolf king, but she did get a fine wolf pelt, which she made into a cloak for her grandfather.

However, as a result, he was forced to kneel for five days by Wei Beimu and was also beaten.

Wei Beimu said she was incredibly bold and dared to do anything, and that she would probably turn the Wei family upside down in the future.

The rattan cane was lashed at her without any mercy, to teach her a lesson.

She looked listless, the small figure kneeling on the porch with her brows furrowed.

Lieutenant General Cui bore joint responsibility. The tall man, having been subjected to military law, limped over to her, clutching his backside: "Young lady, shall I plead with the general again to have him pardon you?"

"Forget it, you got beaten up even worse than me." Wei Rong sighed deeply. "I don't know if the beating we both took was worth it, or if those guys are even alive."

It turned out that her worried expression wasn't because she had been punished, but because she was concerned that the group of people hadn't escaped.

Lieutenant General Cui smiled and comforted her, "No matter what, it's still a better chance of survival than being surrounded by a pack of wolves."

Thinking about it, Wei Rong was delighted again.

At the age of six, worries come and go quickly.

She knew from a very young age that one should do one's best and leave the rest to fate. Now that she had already helped, the rest of their fate was up to those foreign merchants.

It was after this incident that Wei Beimu racked his brains, trying to find a way to keep his daughter from running away.

It so happened that a painter was traveling in the southern border region, so he invited him to be his teacher.

The painter was well-traveled and knowledgeable, and his paintings depicted scenery that was more vivid than those described in books.

Driven by curiosity, Wei Rong began to study diligently at school more often.

One day, the general's mansion suddenly received a letter addressed to the eldest daughter of the general's family.

There was only one young woman in the mansion, the general's beloved daughter, Wei Rong.

The housekeeper handed the letter to Wei Rong, who blinked her big eyes. She could only understand a few words, and the signature at the end was so complicated that she had never seen it before.

She took the letter to her father, who was so busy that he only glanced at it before returning it to her: "This is a letter of thanks from the merchant you saved, thanking you for saving his life."

Wei Rong suddenly realized that the merchant was really verbose, even though it was a whole page long. He was not as concise as her father.

Little did they know that the words on that letter also carried a youthful air, still immature.

The phrase "meet at a teahouse in the city and express your gratitude in person" was completely ignored.

However, Wei Rong was very happy to save someone for the first time and to learn that the person was not dead. She used her newly learned painting skills to draw a picture, folded it neatly, and solemnly handed it to the steward to send it back for her.

After that, Wei Beimu disciplined her very strictly, and her opportunities to leave the mansion decreased dramatically.

She was confined to the school, watching swallows fly to and fro under the eaves every day, and watching flowers bloom and fade in the mansion.

When he was eight years old, the political situation in the court changed, and the late emperor summoned the Wei family back to live in Yunjing.

Wei Rong has left the vast land of southern Xinjiang forever.

She pulled herself out of her reverie and looked at Ling Xianru's face. Her memory had faded, and she had forgotten many details.

"So you're one of those foreign merchants from back then?"