Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 1 Youth
My lads!
Charge with me!
Pei Qinghe shouted sharply, gripped her long sword tightly in her right hand, and kicked the horse's belly hard, sending her beloved horse, which had accompanied her in battle for more than ten years, galloping away.

The eagle flag embroidered with the red character "Pei" fluttered in the wind.

Ahead lay the routed imperial army, fleeing in disarray.

Behind them stood the incomparably brave Pei family cavalry.

Winning this battle would mean she would no longer have to flee to Tibet; her Pei family army could truly establish itself and carve out its own territory. From then on, she could ensure that everyone around her could live a peaceful and prosperous life…

A venomous arrow, hidden like a snake, silently pierced her back amidst the muffled thunder of horses' hooves.

She first heard the roars of her personal guards, and then she felt the excruciating pain.

Who shot me in the back?

Who betrayed her?

Grief-stricken and filled with resentment, she turned her head with all her might, catching sight of that ferocious, triumphant face in her pupils. Then, she closed her eyes and fell heavily off her horse.

The world was plunged into darkness.

The afterlife is not peaceful either.

The mournful cries kept echoing in my ears.

There is no peace and quiet for even a moment.

She frowned impatiently.

"Qinghe," the crying voice came from near and far, calling her name repeatedly: "Qinghe, wake up."

Her fingertips twitched.

A pair of soft hands gripped hers tightly, and scalding tears dripped onto the back of her hand.

She forced her eyes open.

What came into view was a pair of eyes red and swollen from crying, and a beautiful face that was haggard, desolate, and desperate.

This is her mother, Madam Feng, a well-read woman skilled in poetry and painting, and a renowned beauty in the capital during her youth. At the age of fifteen, she married the military general Pei Zhongde as his second wife, much to the dismay of many who lamented that a clever wife had been wasted on a clumsy husband, a beautiful flower stuck in unappealing dung.

When she was young and didn't understand, she also felt sorry for her mother. Such a beautiful and delicate woman was married to a rough and violent general who was more than ten years older than her. She could only see her husband a few times a year and spent most of her time alone in her empty room.

The current crown prince is the legitimate son of the late Empress Zhang. He was made crown prince at the age of twenty-four. He is filial and benevolent and has an excellent reputation in the court and among the people. There are many officials in the court who support the crown prince.

Pei Boren, the eldest uncle, served as a seventh-rank tutor in the Crown Prince's palace and was highly trusted and relied upon by the Crown Prince. Pei Zhongde, the father, was one of the Twelve Imperial Guards Generals, commanding three thousand elite cavalry.

The Pei brothers aligned themselves with the Crown Prince and pledged their loyalty. This led to the massacre of the Pei family.

After Empress Zhang's death, Emperor Xiaowen made his favorite concubine empress. Empress Liu, who came from a palace maid background, was the most favored concubine, and her son was Emperor Xiaowen's favorite. Emperor Xiaowen enfeoffed his youngest son as the Prince of Wei, with his fiefdom only a few hundred miles from the capital.

After coming of age, the Prince of Wei married the daughter of General Situ Xi. With Empress Liu supporting him in the harem, his father-in-law in charge of the imperial guards, and Emperor Xiaowen's favoritism, the Prince of Wei's power grew rapidly in recent years, rivaling that of the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince and the King of Wei maintained a semblance of peace on the surface, but in private they were constantly at odds.

The King of Wei was ruthless, targeting officials loyal to the Crown Prince with underhanded tactics; demoting or dismissing them was considered lenient. Pei Zhongde, who commanded three thousand elite cavalry, became a thorn in the King of Wei's side.

With a single move, the King of Wei brought the Pei family to their doom.

Pei Zhongde was framed and executed for treason, and his family property was confiscated. All the men of the Pei family were beheaded, and only his cousins ​​under the age of eight were lucky enough to survive. They were exiled to Youzhou along with the women and children of the Pei family.

The elderly grandmother, unable to endure the hardships of exile, fell ill and died en route. She didn't even have a coffin; her body was wrapped in a straw mat and buried by the roadside. The frail mother, Madam Feng, was surprisingly strong and made it to the place of exile.

The journey to exile was over a thousand miles long and took more than half a year. Of the Pei clan, which started with more than three hundred members, only two hundred remained after arriving in Youzhou; nearly half of them had died.

The weather in Youzhou was cold, and the area was mountainous, forested, and teeming with wild beasts. The tribespeople, accustomed to the warmth of the south, fell ill one after another. They needed doctors, medicine, food, and above all, shelter.

That year, she was only thirteen years old, a time of youthful stubbornness. Ignoring her mother's objections, she led her older and younger cousins ​​up the mountain to search for medicinal herbs, only to encounter a half-grown tiger. Her older cousin was killed by the tiger, and her two younger cousins ​​were injured. She fought bravely to kill the tiger, but her cheek was scratched by the tiger, leaving a horrific scratch mark.

Mrs. Feng cried bitterly, then wiped away her tears and went out in the middle of the night, not returning until the afternoon of the third day.

She brought back a doctor and a cartload of rice.

No one asked where Mr. Feng had gone.

After that, the younger and prettier women in the Pei family would often go out for a few days and then bring back food. This continued for several years until she and her cousins ​​grew up.

At sixteen, she became the most valiant hunter in the mountains.

At the age of eighteen, she led her younger cousins ​​into a bandit stronghold, killed all the bandits, seized the granary, and used the stolen gold and silver to recruit soldiers, buy horses, and purchase weapons.

Mother Feng no longer had to endure humiliation, exchanging her beauty and body for food.

When she was twenty years old, Ms. Feng committed suicide by swallowing gold, leaving behind a suicide note before her death.

Qinghe, your father is dead, and my heart died with him. For your sake, I endured seven years of hardship. Now that you are grown up, I can finally close my eyes in peace. I will go to the underworld to reunite with your father.

She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and buried Feng herself. In the years that followed, she relentlessly killed bandits, robbed wealthy and unscrupulous households, and dealt with military bandits who plagued the village.

In the final years of the Jing Dynasty, natural disasters were frequent, corvée labor was heavy, and the people suffered greatly. Rebellions broke out frequently throughout the country, and the Xiongnu and Xianbei tribes in the north repeatedly invaded. The Jing Dynasty was nearing its end, and leaders of various uprisings declared themselves kings. She established the Pei family army, and the world called her General Pei.

Among the dozens of rebel armies, the Pei family army, though not numerous, possessed the strictest discipline and the strongest fighting force. She led the Pei family army to victory against the imperial army, victory seemingly imminent, when unexpectedly, she was attacked from behind…

It is a blessing to be able to reunite with loved ones after death.

Pei Qinghe blinked hard, exhaled a breath, and moved her lips: "Mother."

Huh?
Why does her voice sound so delicate and childish?

Pei Qinghe's eyes widened in astonishment, her heart pounding wildly, and she instinctively reached out to touch Feng's face.

Tears streamed down Madam Feng's face as she pressed her cheek against her daughter's trembling little hand: "You've finally woken up. You had a high fever after returning from the execution ground the day before yesterday. I was so afraid that you would follow your father and your brother and die like that."

The skin beneath my palms was warm, and wet with tears.

Pei Qinghe felt as if she had been struck by lightning; her whole body jolted, and her chaotic mind quickly cleared.

She quickly looked down at her shrunken self. Then she looked up, her gaze sweeping around until she found a small bronze mirror, about the size of a palm.

She reached out and grabbed the bronze mirror, its blurry surface revealing a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

The hideous scar on his right cheek was gone, leaving it smooth and white, like a peeled egg.

His eyes shone like stars, and his thick, dark eyebrows exuded a heroic spirit and stubbornness.

This is Pei Qinghe at age thirteen.

She didn't reincarnate after her death; instead, she returned to fifteen years ago.

My new book, which I've been preparing for over two months, is finally released! \(^o^)/~
Let me first talk about the setting of this book: a chaotic world of infrastructure building, a thrilling and action-packed story. The female protagonist, Pei Qinghe, fights her way to power from scratch, creating a brand new era. I strive for innovation, and each book will have a different setting. I hope you all enjoy my new female protagonist, Qinghe! ^_^
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(End of this chapter)