Chapter 1.1

During the Zhenguan era, the world was at peace, and both civil and military achievements flourished, marking the most glorious chapter in the history of the Tang Dynasty.

In the city of Yangzhou, there was a martial arts school named “Yangwei Martial Arts School.” Its fame did not come from any particular distinction in the martial arts taught there, but rather because its owner, Li Shengming, had a daughter as beautiful as a flower!

Since Li Yuhu turned fifteen and came of age, her beauty had been widely celebrated! Almost everyone in Yangzhou knew of her!

There were two renowned beauties in Yangzhou. One was Li Yuhu, the “flower crown” of the Yangwei Martial Arts School in the eastern part of the city. The other was Miss Du Bingyan, the belle of the wealthy Du family in the northern part of the city.

Those who had seen them described them well—Du Bingyan was like a lotus emerging from clear water, pure and untouchable, so lofty that even if you climbed a ladder to heaven, you couldn’t touch the hem of her garment.

Li Yuhu, on the other hand, was a stunning rose, breathtakingly beautiful but covered in thorns. Anyone who wanted to marry her would likely be left wounded and battered. Marry her? Sure! As long as you had enough skill to avoid being beaten to death! But skill alone wasn’t enough; a prerequisite was a vast fortune, as Li Shengming’s greed was famous far and wide. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry off his daughter sooner, but rather that he was calculating, hoping to catch a big fish!

Very few things could cause a stir in the city of Yangzhou!

In the busy farming season of March, the streets and alleys of Yangzhou were abuzz with shocking news—the two renowned beauties of Yangzhou would be getting married on the same auspicious day in late March. One was to marry in Chang’an, and the other in Quanzhou!

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The Li family, on the other hand, only sent two carriages and twelve musicians. Li Shengming, who had a penchant for squandering other people’s money while meticulously hoarding his own, was stingy with his finances. Yet, fearing a loss of face, he instructed the sedan bearers to follow closely behind the Du family’s procession to make the Li family’s departure seem more impressive.

Traveling from Yangzhou to Quanzhou would take about half a month, while going to Chang’an would take ten days. After leaving Yangzhou, the route diverged at Shilibo. After passing the Land God Temple, one caravan would head south while the other would go west. However, the grandeur of the procession would end there.

The weather today was gloomy, and rain seemed likely. After dismissing the celebratory musicians and the farewell servants, light rain began to fall from the sky.

“We should wait until the rain stops before continuing. Let’s move the bridal sedan into the temple to take shelter from the rain,” the matchmaker from the Du family called out, coordinating with the matchmaker from the Li family to have the brides rest in the temple and avoid getting wet and thus bring bad luck.

However, another carriage driver disagreed. “Let’s keep moving! If we delay, it will be dark soon. The mountain of Shilibo is rumored to have tigers; it’s safer to travel during the day rather than at night.”

The rumor about tigers in the mountain of Shilibo had been circulating for the past two months, but no one had been harmed, which had diminished its credibility. Other bearers chimed in, “If you want to get wet, you can go ahead! Are we afraid of one big tiger with so many of us here? Besides, who will take responsibility if we bring bad luck to the bride?”

Seeing the rain intensify, everyone agreed to wait for the rain to pass before continuing. Thus, both bridal sedan chairs were carried into the inner hall of the temple, while the others warmed themselves by the fire and had some refreshments in the outer hall.

“Miss Du?” A clear, melodious voice came from the left sedan.

“Miss Li?” The voice from the right sedan was soft and gentle.

Li Yuhu quietly pulled aside the curtain of her sedan, saw that no one was around, sighed deeply, and stepped out, stretching her limbs. She lowered her voice, “Miss Du, since it’s just the two of us here, may we have a chat?”

It didn’t really matter whether it was good or bad. Li Yuhu had already opened the other sedan’s curtain, waiting for Du Bingyan to come out!

They had both grown up in Yangzhou for eighteen years, had heard of each other’s names, but had never met. It was a pity that they only had this chance to meet before parting ways the next day! Li Yuhu wasn’t keen on comparing their beauty; she just wanted to see the renowned young lady known for her gentleness and grace. After all, they had been talked about together since they turned fifteen.

Du Bingyan removed her veil and stepped out of the sedan, encountering a beautiful and radiant young woman. Li Yuhu’s beauty was already famous, but what stood out the most was her vibrant energy, which gave her pale cheeks a healthy blush, and the spirited and intelligent look in her eyes that accentuated her youthful vitality! Compared to her own frail and melancholic appearance, Du Bingyan felt overshadowed by Li Yuhu’s brilliance.

Li Yuhu couldn’t hide her admiring gasp. As expected from a noble lady of a wealthy family! Her delicate oval face had finely arched willow-like eyebrows, eyes sparkling like autumn water, a straight nose, and two exquisitely shaped rosy lips—even though they were pressed together in melancholy at the moment, they were still beautiful! Truly, even the most skilled artist would struggle to capture her beauty on canvas! Even Yuhu, as a woman herself, was almost enchanted to the point of losing her soul!

“You are so beautiful!” She took Du Bingyan’s hand, and they both sat down on a straw mat nearby.

“You are not inferior to me,” Du Bingyan replied with a gentle smile. Being from Yangzhou and marrying on the same day, it was a delight to finally meet.

At the same time, both brides, who should have been radiantly happy and shy, sighed softly in unison.

Li Yuhu twisted the veil in her hands, feeling the heaviness of her phoenix crown and the discomfort it brought. She had heard about Du Bingyan’s future husband and wasn’t sure of the truth, but it was clear that they were both unhappy brides.

“Congratulations on having a husband from a distinguished family,” Du Bingyan said softly, her tone sincere. She didn’t wish for anyone else to share her unhappy future.

“I won’t be much better off than you, no need for congratulations,” Li Yuhu said, pulling at the tassels on her wedding gown. If possible, she would have preferred to escape the marriage and shed this symbol of her bondage.

“Ah?!” Du Bingyan had thought Li Yuhu would be the happiest of all. Her curiosity was piqued, but she didn’t want to pry too much into others’ private matters.

However, Li Yuhu was a straightforward girl. From the moment she met Du Bingyan, she felt a sense of mutual understanding and quickly considered her a confidante. Having harbored her frustrations in silence for months, she poured her heart out to Du Bingyan.

“If you knew that ‘General Dingyuan’ Yuan Buqu is my betrothed, but was mistreated by my father ten years ago, you wouldn’t think my future would be very glorious!”

Both the Yuan and Li families came from martial arts backgrounds. Over twenty years ago, the Yuan family had done a favor for the Li family, and Li Shengming, feeling grateful, had promised that if he ever had a daughter, she would be married to the Yuan family. The year Li Yuhu was born was also when the Yuan family’s martial arts school was thriving, so the Li family was happy to formalize the engagement.

However, the Yuan family later moved to Luoyang to develop their business. Within a few years, they faced numerous challenges from Jianghu martial artists eager to test their reputation. Although they managed to win these challenges, they could not escape the clutches of malicious forces, leading to the downfall and destruction of the Yuan family.

When Yuan Buqu returned to Yangzhou at the age of eighteen to seek refuge with the Li family, he intended to focus on his martial arts training to avenge his family and restore their reputation.
However, his destitution revealed Li Shengming’s true nature—greedy and disdainful of poverty. He had no intention of marrying his daughter to Yuan Buqu, so he sent his ten-year-old daughter away to her mother’s family while keeping Yuan Buqu around as a free laborer. Li Shengming pretended to take Yuan Buqu in, putting him in a servant’s room and providing him with meager food and lodging. He was even so stingy that he wouldn’t let Yuan Buqu approach the training grounds.

Yuan Buqu wasn’t a fool; he saw everything clearly but was determined to endure and hone his skills despite the hardships.

After two years, Yuan Buqu decided to strike out on his own. He informed Li Shengming that he wished to marry and return to Luoyang to continue his development, understanding that staying any longer would only bring more humiliation. Li Shengming responded by falsely accusing him of stealing the Li family’s jewels, having him brutally beaten, and then throwing him out of the city to fend for himself. Naturally, the engagement was annulled.

Several years later, Yuan Buqu’s legendary rise began. He participated in the campaign to pacify Gaochang and was later promoted by the Grand Chancellor Fang Xuanling, making significant contributions to the stabilization of the empire. He steadily ascended to the position of a general, his exploits widely known and celebrated everywhere.

At this point, Li Shengming began to regret his past shortsightedness. He scrambled to find the engagement letter written by Yuan Buqu’s father, Yuan Zhengtang, and sent it to the “Dingyuan General’s Mansion” in Chang’an, hoping to gain favor with this powerful family. Despite his slim hopes, Li Shengming’s shamelessness knew no bounds. Even if he couldn’t secure a marriage alliance, he hoped to extract some benefits from Yuan Buqu, blinded by greed and without thinking about Yuan Buqu’s elevated status and influence now.

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