The Exiled Princess of Annihilation, Reborn as a Concubine's Daughter

  The cold wind on the vast plateau howled with snowflakes, like a sharp knife cutting through the bone. The yellow clouds at the horizon had turned into a dark red color, and were now pressing down low, as if a giant mouth was about to swallow up the entire snowy expanse!

  The dark banner flapped loudly, and in the midst of the fluttering snowflakes, Helianthus Blue forcibly pulled out the long sword stuck in her opponent's heart, and the scorching hot blood gushed out, adding another layer of black to her already drenched battle robe.

  Slaughter! Endless slaughter!

  No pursuers followed, He Lianjianlan wiped away the blood stains on her lips with a raised hand. She slightly lifted her eyes, seemingly wanting to take a look at the distant Yuexue Mountain, but the blood clots that had already formed ice flowers on her eyelashes blocked her line of sight. No matter how wide she opened her eyes, she could no longer see the appearance of the Western Xia divine mountain.

  The long sword in her hand had somehow frozen to her flesh and blood, and the ill-fitting hard armor was deeply embedded in the wound on her shoulder, each exertion a tearing pain.

  Blood beads dripped from her feet, freezing into ice before they even hit the ground. She couldn't tell if it was hers or someone else's. At this moment, there wasn't a single spot on her that wasn't stained with blood - her tattered battle robe, her tangled hair, and even her originally flawless face were all covered in dark icicles. With each step, fine droplets of blood fell off with a soft rustling sound.

  She didn't dare to turn around and look back, because she knew that right behind her, the heads of her father and mother were hanging on the flagpole in front of the royal tent, their eyes wide open with resentment and hatred, and the last drop of blood had already flowed out from their broken necks.

  Zhu Lan, who loved wearing skirts, was now disheveled and lying there, having been ravished to death by the Western Liang soldiers. Su Lin, who often took her hunting, had his waist severed by swords, with crimson entrails spilling out. And then there was Huan Shao, who would play the flute and sing ballads for her; he protected her, but his eyes were shot out by random arrows, and he finally fell under the hooves of the horses amidst the chaos of the army, never to stand up again!

  The 50,000-strong tribe now only has her left. He Lianjianlan lifted her left hand, which was covered in blood scabs, to gently touch the corner of her eye. Fortunately, it was dry. Her gaze fell on the vast expanse of white ice stretching out before her, desolate and hopeless!

  The red clouds at the horizon grew lower and lower, accompanied by a faint rumble of thunder, and the snowflakes that had been falling rapidly came to an abrupt halt. Helián Jīng's body tensed up, her head raised, and she stared intently at the red clouds. In an instant, her eyes, which had been lifeless until then, flashed with a resolute determination.

  A faint sound of iron hooves hitting the ground came, and a fierce glint flashed across her eyes. With great effort, she threw away the long sword in her hand and walked towards the Western Cooling soldier who had been pierced by her arrow earlier. The blood hole on the soldier's chest was already covered with ice flowers, and his big eyes were wide open with a dead air, as if he saw the ghost of death.

  Kerlin bent down and searched around the waist of the corpse, pulling out an object.

  A fierce gust of wind howled, and with a "whooshing" sound, a pale blue smoke bomb exploded in the gloomy sky. Hekiren Blue stood quietly on the icy ground, ignoring the mud beneath her feet and the corpses around her, turned around and knelt down towards the direction of Yuxue Mountain.

  Time flies by the minute and second, the girl picks up the ice and snow under her knees to clean her face, with a quiet and solemn look as if waiting for the sacrifice on the mountain of God.

  When the earth-shaking hoofbeats and the white banner with a deep blue background arrived in this land, the 50,000-strong Western Liang army saw only a small figure in their line of sight. The slender figure stood quietly among the countless corpses, kneeling down with such piety.

  The soldiers' eyes lit up, and the whole army was ordered that whoever caught the fugitive princess of Western Xia would be rewarded with 100,000 gold coins and a promotion of three ranks. The snowy plain was too vast, and most of the people they sent out returned empty-handed. When they saw the signal, they were even a little unbelievable that the princess had been found by their men!

  The sound of hooves shook the ground, like a mountain torrent rushing towards Helianthus Blue. Perhaps it was because they knew that capturing this princess would mark the end of the battle, or perhaps it was because the lure of wealth and power was too great for them to resist, so they fought with even greater ferocity than on the battlefield, without noticing the danger sweeping in from afar.

  "Follow me, to hell." A bloodthirsty glint flashed across Helian's tranquil face, and amidst the earth-shaking momentum, this Western Xia princess calmly closed her eyes.

  In the 472nd year of the Imperial Calendar, on October 5th, the Western Xia tribe to the west of the mainland was completely annihilated in a bloody massacre by the neighboring country of Western Liang. The Western Liang Left Camp Army encountered the "Grassland Reaper" Blood Storm while pursuing the fleeing Western Xia princess and all 50,000 men perished. Western Xia Princess Helian Caolan also died in this disaster at the age of 18.

  ——

  Night, as black as ink.

  In the abandoned small courtyard of the State of Yan's prime minister's residence, a wind lantern that was about to go out hung in front of the corridor, gently swaying with the mournful cries leaking from inside the house.

  "Jin Se girl, Xi Er is almost gone, please go and inform Master Xiang, ask a doctor to come and save my Yun Xi, after all, she is the second miss of the Xiang manor, Jin Se girl, please..."

  A middle-aged woman in a coarse linen garment knelt on the ground, her plain face streaming with tears. Her normally neat hair was now disheveled and trailed on the ground, picking up dirt and dust that she couldn't be bothered to brush off. Her eyes were filled with a pleading expression as she gazed at the woman in front of her who wore fine silk clothes, like a dying person grasping at their last shred of hope.

  The beautiful woman who had just entered the door curled up her mouth, lazily yawning, "It's so cold at night, you called me over just for this? How annoying!" After a slight pause, a hint of gloom flashed in Jin Se's eyes, "Second Miss? I didn't know there was another Second Miss in this mansion?"

  The woman kneeling on the ground clenched her fists and slapped herself in the face, "It's all my fault, I said something wrong. Please, Miss Jinse, ask a doctor to come and treat the maid who is sleeping inside. If she can be cured, I will serve as a slave or servant to repay Miss Jinse's great kindness. Please, miss!"

  Jin Se smiled contentedly, a hint of excitement flashing in the corner of her eye. "Oh my, how dare you say that? Jin Se is just a maid in this household, while you, Auntie, are the true master of this house. Aren't you trying to shorten my lifespan?"

  Lu Qingyi was on the verge of despair. In her life, she had never been humble, even when she was imprisoned in this dilapidated courtyard for over a decade, she remained fearless. But today, it seemed that heaven felt that the injustice done to her was still not enough, and now wanted to take away her Yun Xi, and with it, her life. Compared to these, what did dignity matter?

  The girl in the green dress bowed her head deeply and crawled forward, saying, "Miss, you are wrong. I have no status in this mansion. If Miss saves Xi'er's life today, from now on, Luo Qingyi will follow Miss everywhere, as a slave or servant, working tirelessly without complaint."

  "Oh?" Jin Se's eyebrows rose, she gently bent down, one hand lifted Luo Qingyi's pale chin, looking at her increasingly weak and pale complexion, the corners of her mouth curled up, "It's really a deep mother-daughter relationship, since you said you want to treat me like this, then I'll ask you something, and you must answer me truthfully, right?"

  Lu Qingyi closed her eyes slightly, and when she opened them again, she looked straight at Jin Se and said, "I absolutely dare not deceive you, miss!"

  Jin Se was very satisfied, she suddenly stood up and said to the green-clad maid standing outside the door, "Go, call all the servants outside the courtyard in. Today, Luo Niang has something to say to everyone."

  Jin Se was the head housekeeper of the mansion and also the personal maid of Gu Yingxue, the eldest young lady of the Prime Minister's residence. She was a capable person in the mansion. As soon as she spoke, the little maid quickly ran out of the door and came back with several maidservants following behind her.

  Jin Se lowered her head and carefully examined the somewhat bewildered Luo Qingyi for a moment, "Ah, thinking about it, Jin Se has been in the manor for seven years, always wondering why someone like Madam would live in such a place. It's really heartbreaking for Jin Se."

  She glanced around the humble interior, her words seeming to hold a hint of genuine sympathy for Luo Qingyi, but what followed was as sharp and venomous as a dagger.

  "Jin Se listened to many people in the mansion guessing that Gu Yun Xue was not actually Master's child, so Madam, why don't you tell me now, is Gu Yun Xue a wild seed born from your affair with another man outside?"

  Jin Se's voice grew heavier, her eyes seemed to be gazing at Luo Qingyi's eyes with a hook-like gaze that was as poisonous as venom. The smile on her face deepened, and she leaned in close to Luo Qingyi's ear, whispering, "If you say it is, the doctor will come tonight. If not, Jin Se will give you a mat, and directly send the person inside to the pauper's burial ground. What do you think?"

  Lu Qingyi sat on the ground in despair, her fingernails had already been dug into her palm, now mixed with the dirt on the ground, it was a dark red piece. Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes as she turned to look at the bed curtain falling in the inner room, gritting her teeth tightly. If she betrayed this name, she would never be able to redeem herself. How could she put Yun Xi in such a situation!

  Jin Se's gaze fell heavily on her, time passing second by second, Luo Qingyi's eyes turned red, the anger and hatred pent up in her chest almost tearing her apart.

  Jin Se was somewhat impatient, "Madam, if you don't answer, Jin Se doesn't have time to watch you be sad here, is it or isn't it——"

  "No!"

  Luo Qing's voice was hoarse from shouting, but she suddenly turned around, her eyes flashing with an overbearing aura, "She is not a wild child, her status is even higher than Gu Yingxue's—"

  "Bang——"

  A loud slap landed on Luo Qingyi's face, and Jin Se's eyes gleamed with venomous coldness as she hummed, "You cheap woman! Can you even call out the name of our Eldest Miss?"

  Luo Qingyi's face turned red as she shifted her gaze, casting a sharp glance at Jin Se. The latter took a step back and forced herself to calm down, saying, "Hmph, what if I'm not a wild child? After tonight, the Gu manor will no longer have a person named Gu Yunxi. As for you, even if you die in this courtyard, no one will come to collect your body!"

  Lu Qingyi's face turned pale with rage, her eyes filled with hatred.

  "Hahaha!" Jin Se looked at Luo Qingyi's appearance and laughed with relish, turning around to point fiercely towards the inner room, "Guards! Take that cheap woman in the inner room and wrap her up in a mat to throw her out to the outer city's pauper's graveyard right now!"

  Luo Qingyi's expression changed in an instant, "Stop! You can't move her!"

  "Stop, all of you stop! Don't take her away, don't...stop!" She trembled as she stood up, wildly grabbing onto several robust women. Jin Se made a signal with her eyes, and immediately a few maidservants stepped forward to pin Luo Qingyi to the ground. Luo Qingyi's voice was hoarse from shouting, but she didn't have the strength to struggle free from their grasp. As she watched those people head towards the bed in the inner chamber, she could only close her eyes in despair.

  "Who dares to move me——"

  In the humble room, this sentence suddenly emerged without warning, carrying a chilling solemnity.

  Jin Se stood by the door, her hands trembling uncontrollably. She fixed her gaze on the bed curtain in the inner room, which was slowly being lifted by a pale small hand.

  Digression

  New article starts, kneeling and begging for patronage, still a positive drama style, one-on-one without any deviation, asking all beautiful ladies to collect it!