The years I was in the human world

"Brother, if there is a chance, please go to see the lush and wild Jiangnan area on my behalf." When Xie Fu came out of retreat, she looked at the vast snowfield and sighed. It would be a lie to say that she had no regrets, but compared with the interests of her family and country, her love for her father seemed insignificant.

At that time, Xie Yang vowed that in just three years, he would be able to raise the strongest war horses, train the bravest soldiers, conquer the capital of the Wuxiang people, and welcome Xie Fu back to his homeland.

It seemed as if heaven had destined the Chu dynasty to be destroyed. Just after a year, the Wuxiang people returned and unilaterally tore up the alliance between the two parties. As for the reason, it was hidden in a gift sent by King Wuxiang.

In the war a year ago, the Han people were defeated step by step, so this year the Wuxiang envoy was also arrogant and disrespectful to the emperor of China. He handed the box containing the gift to Chen Ping, but he was arrogant and rude and spoke to the emperor in a not-so-fluent Chinese:

"Pass on our great king's order, asking the Han emperor to send a real princess within three months, and not to use the slave women as a perfunctory measure. Otherwise, Wu Xian's iron hoof will surely break through the twelve gates of the Middle Earth."

When the box was opened, a strange smell of medicine mixed with blood came out. The emperor looked into the box and was horrified. He dropped the box by mistake. The wooden box fell to the ground, and a carefully embalmed head rolled out. The beautiful face was preserved lifelike.

"Afu--" Xie Yang was so frightened that he lost his manners in front of the palace. The other court officials were also shocked to see that the head was none other than Xie Fu, who had married last year.

But the princess who was so glorious last year has now become a headless ghost in a box. Who wouldn't sigh?

The envoy was completely unaware of the courtiers' thoughts and continued to tell the emperor about King Wuxiang's dissatisfaction: "... How can a woman born as a slave be the king's concubine? You Han people are bullying us!"

The Wuxiang barbarians did not know that aristocratic families with profound backgrounds were sometimes more noble than the royal family, and when they asked for a princess in marriage, they got a concubine named Xie Fu. According to the Han people's concept of family status, King Wuxiang was marrying above his station. But they did not understand this. They only knew that the emperor of the Central Plains was reluctant to give up his own daughter, so he sent a minister's daughter to make up the number.

A subject is a slave, which is a humiliation to Wuxiang. King Wuxiang was furious and chopped off Xie Fu's head with a knife. He ordered the envoy to return Xie Fu's head to the Western Dynasty in exchange for a real princess.

"You killed my Afu, and you still want a princess?!" Xie Yang shouted in anger, "You are a bunch of ignorant barbarians. Not only did you tear up the contract, but now you still want a princess? Dream on!"

"Yang'er, step back!" Xie Ling's face was not good either, but he was older and much calmer than Xie Yang.

"So you Han ministers can make decisions on behalf of the king? Han emperor, your slaves don't seem to respect you very much." The envoy was still shouting recklessly.

Xie Ling glanced at him coldly, but said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I think that the princess's marriage is already a great shame, how can she marry again?"

Xie Fu was already a noble lady, but the Wuxian barbarians dared to cut off her head at will to intimidate the royal family.

It was just an excuse to ask for more things. Even if the real princess was sent, as long as the Wuxiang people wanted more things, they would tear up the treaty again and again.

If we compromise and send the princess this time, then next time, I'm afraid it will be a hostage. What about the next time?

The emperor understood this principle, but the Wuxiang cavalry was eyeing the border covetously. If he refused, there would be war. The court now was not ruled by the Chu family alone. The emperor wanted to fight, but the aristocratic families headed by the Du family might not think so.

"What do you think, Prime Minister Du?" The emperor looked at Prime Minister Du.

"Your Majesty, I think that last year's war was costly and laborious, and it is not appropriate to start another war." Prime Minister Du's words sounded high-sounding, but in fact he did not want to fight. Once the war started, all the money and food would have to come from Jiangzhou.

The more Jiangzhou went out, the less money he had to enrich the foundation of his Du family. It was a century-old dynasty and a thousand-year-old family. Prime Minister Du didn't care whether the one sitting on the throne was from the Wuxiang family or the Chu family.

All he cared about was the continued prosperity of his Du family.

Prime Minister Du was the chief among the civil officials, and the Du family was the most prominent. He advocated peace, and the situation in the court became overwhelmingly in favor of peace.

If the Wuxiang people want a princess, then give them a real princess. Chu Zhaowu has been confined for life for being involved in the poisoning of the former crown prince. If she is sent out as a marriage partner this time, the emperor will no longer feel guilty about the last time and even feels that it is justified.

When Chu Zhaowu received the imperial edict of marriage at the princess's residence, she laughed so hard that tears came out of her eyes. In front of the eunuch who announced the decree, she rolled up the edict and threw it into the lotus vat as if it were a toy for playing pot-pitching.

"The princess is so bold, is she trying to disobey the emperor's order?" The eunuch was so shocked that he threw the emperor's edict into the water tank to drown it. Is the second princess crazy?

“Even if I resist, what can I do?” Chu Zhaowu laughed and then covered her face and cried, “My Afu is dead, and my father wants me to marry the enemy who killed her. No, I won’t marry!”

It was never her decision whether to marry or not. The eunuch looked at Chu Zhaowu with pity, which was just a desperate struggle. Destroying the imperial edict would only make His Majesty more disgusted.

"Why, do you think I am talking nonsense in vain?" Chu Zhaowu saw the sigh in the eunuch's eyes, but she was not annoyed. Instead, she laughed excitedly, "I will never marry even if I die!"

The eunuch who announced the decree left with a sigh and a shake of his head. The slightly mottled red door of the princess's mansion closed in front of him. Chu Zhaowu suddenly lost all her energy and fell to her knees, lowering her head and crying and laughing: "Afu, why did you die... I haven't brought you back yet..."

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. She stood up from the ground and muttered to herself nervously: "Afu, they all think I'm talking nonsense..."

Chu Zhaowu was carefully wiping a long sword, but she was wondering how her father, the emperor, who was keen on pretending to be a loving father and a filial son but was actually extremely biased, would react if she died.

Surprised, or angry? After all, if she died, it would be the seventh sister who would go to marry. Father loved the seventh sister so much, he must be heartbroken. Otherwise, how could Father understand the pain in her heart after Afu's death?

Chu Zhaowu has always been a narrow-minded person. She hates the biased and hypocritical emperor and despises the arrogant Seventh Princess. As for the other princes, in her eyes they are all trash seeking fame. The only slightly better one is Chu Zhaoli, but he is also a coward.

Chu Zhaowu climbed over the wall and left the princess's mansion with a long sword in hand. Although her house arrest had not been lifted, because she was going to marry a foreign prince, the imperial guards outside the mansion had been withdrawn early, and only a copper lock was hung on the red door, so no one stopped her when she came out.

It was a snowy winter day. Chu Zhaowu walked through the palace road in a red dress, which looked even more scorching and dazzling against the pale snow. Normally, a confined princess should not wear such a gorgeous color, but she had been obedient all her life, and now she suddenly wanted to do something unorthodox.

"...Second sister has always been aloof. So what if Xie Fu replaced her? She still has to marry Wu Xian." The Seventh Princess continued to speak without restraint in the Imperial Academy. Chu Zhaowu looked at her dimly for a moment, then suddenly rushed in with a sword in hand.

The Seventh Princess was startled, but then she noticed Chu Zhaoyun who was also in the Imperial College. She calmed down and teased Chu Zhaowu even more unscrupulously: "Second sister, why are you holding a sword? I heard that you threw away the imperial edict from your father this morning. Don't you want to go to the marriage?"

"I am going to marry the prince, are you happy, Seventh Princess?" Chu Zhaowu looked at the Seventh Princess, her eyes flashing with inexplicable emotions. If she didn't go to marry the prince, then the Seventh Princess would go. In the beginning, she also wanted to protect her.

But for some reason, they hated each other more and more, and even regarded each other as mortal enemies.

"If my second sister goes to marry, it will ensure that our borders will be safe for several years. If the borders are safe, the people will be safe. How can I not be happy?" The Seventh Princess asked with a smile, but the malice in her beautiful eyes could not be concealed. "It's just a pity for Miss Xie. She has lost her head in her prime."

"Seventh sister, aren't you envious of the 3,000 acres of fiefdom that the princess gets to marry into a foreign kingdom? How about I give it to you?" Chu Zhaowu also grinned. Her face looked even more beautiful against the backdrop of her red dress. It seemed that she had nothing to be soft-hearted about.

"What do you mean, second sister?" The Seventh Princess suddenly felt extremely uneasy. She always felt that something bad was going to happen to her, but she couldn't think of what other means Chu Zhaowu could use.

"Yu'er, can't you understand? As long as I die, you will be the only princess." Chu Zhaowu stroked the sword lightly, and then committed suicide in public when no one could react. The Seventh Princess was closest to her, and her head and face were covered with blood.

When Chu Zhaowu fell down, there was still a happy smile on his face, and he stared at the Seventh Princess with malicious eyes, as if saying, Seventh sister, do you like the gift from your second sister?

The Seventh Princess stood there in a daze, and after a moment she came to her senses and broke down in tears. Chu Zhaoyun was also shocked. No one had ever thought that Chu Zhaowu would commit suicide in public, but the consequences of this incident were quite terrible.

The emperor, who was already in a state of panic because the Wuxiang people had invaded the south again, became even more furious when he heard about it. Chu Zhaowu was dead, and the seventh princess was so scared that she returned with a high fever. He had no choice but to point the finger at Chu Zhaoyun, who was there but failed to prevent the tragedy.

"You useless piece of shit, are you just here to eat and watch your sister commit suicide?" The emperor looked at Chu Zhaoyun, who was kneeling there with an unconvinced look on his face, and couldn't help but think of Chu Zhaoli's good points. At least the latter would not disobey him. "You are not as good as your elder brother in handling things!"

After scolding the crown prince, the emperor still had to deal with the remaining issues brought about by Chu Zhaowu's suicide. The Wuxiang people specifically asked for a princess, but Chu Zhaowu was dead, so who would go to marry? The seventh princess?

The emperor was reluctant to do so. He was partial, and among his seven children, he only truly loved the third prince and the seventh princess. The seventh princess had been very delicate and charming since she was a child, and she was good at making people happy, and she often made the emperor smile.

It is no exaggeration to say that she is the apple of his eye. The image of Xie Fu's death is still lingering before his eyes. How could he bear to let his daughter suffer at the hands of the Wuxiang barbarian?