Vol. 1 Chapter 1 - The Ugly Empress

There existed an ugly queen often gossiped about by others in the state of Xue.

The ugly queen’s surname was Feng, the royal surname of the state of Feng, and she was the sister of the current Feng’s monarch. Naturally, there was only one reason for her to be married off to Xue—a diplomatic marriage.

–

Not an inch of healthy skin was left intact on Teng Yun’s body. In just two short days of captivity, his skin had been flayed all over from being beaten.

Weighed down by shackles, he even wobbled as he walked. He was in an extremely weak state, and if he could choose to crawl, then he would never have chosen to walk like this. Unfortunately, this was not his homeland, thus he could not show a hint of cowardice, even as a captive.

He was pushed and shoved by the guards as they escorted him to the grand hall.

Everyone inside was watching this legendary character, Teng’s God of War, a proud figure who had always known to be invincible on the battlefield, was right here defeated, the vicissitudes of his state visibly reflected on his body.

Only those crystal-clear dark eyes shone brightly without showing any hint of weakness.

Everyone felt chilled to the bottom of their hearts. A man like this was sadly someone they could not spare.

Teng Yun raised his head and saw the only person seated in the hall, dressed in a black python robe and wearing a black crown. His narrowed eyes and pursed lips seemed to show some hint of amusement, but it was a smile that did not reach the eyes.

This man had a handsome appearance and the black court dress on his tall body gave him the natural air of a king. This was a ruthless man who was proud, but also commanded his troops with thunder-like violence and wind-like swiftness, not lacking of a good monarch…

Teng Yun had long heard of this man. He was the monarch of the state of Xue, Xue Junliang.

Xue Junliang looked at Teng Yun with a disdainful look as if he were doing him a charity.

“General Yun, raise your head and let Us take a look.”

Teng Yun raised his head as commanded without resisting. Only, his gaze was anything but friendly. They were cold and filled with hostility as he watched Xue Junliang closely. This man was his lifelong enemy.

Xue Jungliang was not angry. He slowly stood up, descended from the jade steps, and walked over.

“Your Majesty, no!”

A black-robed civil official standing at the front of the room had forgotten his manners in the heat of the moment and hurried over to stop his ruler.

The man presented in the hall was the prince of their opposing state and one that was referred to as a God of War. Contrary to his current weak appearance, he was a bloody Asura out on the battlefield. Thanks to this iron general, the faltering Teng was able to last for a surprising ten years.

Teng Yun could not help but laugh at the reaction of the officials, but that laugh also contained the despair of an arrow at the end of its flight.

Xue Junliang waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, but he continued taking slow and leisurely steps over to him, stopping just a step away from Teng Yun.

Looking down at the man, Xue Junliang spoke, “This general may not know it, but though you have not seen Us, We have seen you. On the battlefield three years ago, We were able to catch a glimpse of this general’s majesty. We were shocked then. We thought…”

After a pause, a smile pricked up his lips and he slowly continued, “This man must die.”

After he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve and walked around Teng Yun, walking out of the hall in a large stride. “Come, let us show you how martial arts are practiced in Xue.”

Once they received the order, the guards nearby immediately dragged Teng Yun up and pushed him out of the hall while the officials in court followed from behind, walking out in one stream. The area before them became more open until they arrived at an open field.

The wide field was surrounded by flags in each direction. A row of targets was set up on the west and a row of weapon racks to the east. The dragon throne was placed from north facing south, where the training ground was.

Xue Junliang walked straight to the targets and raised his chin. As if on cue, the guards tied Teng Yun to a wooden stake nearby.

After tying him up, the guards withdrew respectfully.

Xue Junliang narrowed his eyes. When he extended his hand, a general in red came forth and offered up a long bow to him, which King Xue took, followed by another man who held out an arrow to him.

As Teng Yun watched this procession, he suddenly felt the urge to laugh. He finally knew what this Xue Junliang was playing at. He was trying to assert his authority.

So, was it going to be an arrow to the throat or through the heart?

The sunlight was blinding, and the arrow shone with a strong glint. As Xue Junliang pulled back his arrow, the five jade tassels swayed faintly.

Teng Yun suddenly found that the enemy sovereign actually felt slightly inspiring at this moment. He was domineering and imposing, as well as a wise monarch. Unfortunately… his surname was Teng, and he had been born as Teng’s prince.

Teng Yun became a great general at nineteen and led his army out to war. For the ten years that Teng was embroiled in civil unrest, he was out at war. Only, those ten years were still not enough for him to save his nation.

The way King Xue held his bow, pulled his bow back, held his arrow, and even the way he let go, Teng Yun did not let a single movement escape his sight…

“Clang—”

Then, blood covered his vision…

—

The back of Teng Yun’s head felt numb. He felt as if he was lying down, but the sky was still spinning and it made him nauseous. He wanted to open his eyes, but he was completely powerless to do anything and slept drowsily for a long time.

He remembered that he had been killed by King Xue, so how could he be conscious? Could it be that King Xue was in fact just putting on a show and was not even competent enough to shoot an arrow straight?

While thinking about that, Teng Yun let out a bitter chuckle, but when he laughed, he ripped open a wound that caused his face to throb in pain.

He had no idea for how long he slept but he found himself laying on a bed as soon as he opened his eyes. The curtains were not pulled down, so he could see a sizeable room around him that was exquisitely furnished.

Teng Yun snickered, thinking to himself that King Xue truly was a generous man to even treat a prisoner like this.

He pushed himself up, but his body felt extremely weak, so weak that he fell headlong off the bed. Teng Yun pushed himself off the floor but it felt like his arm would break in half, but how could he be bothered with the state of his arm right now?

Teng Yun dragged himself up by supporting himself on the wooden shelf nearby where a smoothly-polished bronze mirror stood.

The maids outside the door immediately rushed in at the commotion, but as soon as they entered, they covered their mouths and snickered.

A maid in a peach pink dress ran over to help Teng Yun up, laughing, “Your Majesty, were you frightened by the mirror again? That’s not a demon or a monster in the mirror, but Your Majesty herself!”

Teng Yun’s eyes went wide at being called “Your Majesty”. He pushed her hand away and grabbed the mirror that had fallen to the ground. The bronze mirror was extremely large, and Teng Yun was too weak that he could not pick it up, but he could still see very clearly the woman in the mirror with a graceful figure but an ugly face.

The woman was wearing a brocade dress and had a slim and graceful figure. Only her face was swollen and hideous. If a stranger would have seen her, they would think that she was a ghost, so it was not strange for Teng Yun to be shocked.

Looking at “himself” in the bronze mirror, Teng Yun’s hands shook uncontrollably.

The maid in pink snapped, “You better be careful, Your Majesty. You better not break the mirror gifted to you by Consort De. If it breaks, then even if you are the queen, Consort De is still Hig Majesty’s favorite consort. You would probably get a scolding from her.”

Teng Yun was a man who had grown up on the battlefield, after all, so he quickly calmed down. Looking at himself in the mirror and hearing the words of the maid, he had a general understanding of what was going on.

What nation nowadays would have an unfavored and ugly queen? This was most likely the official wife of Xue Junliang.

The ugly queen’s name was Feng Yun, the half-sister of King Feng from their mother’s side whose face was said to be extremely ugly and even her nature was weak. It had become commonplace for the maids to verbally abuse her while the favored concubines placed large bronze mirrors in her chambers.

As Teng Yun kept quiet, the maid in pink began to tease him more and more, her words growing meaner and meaner at each turn. Probably since they were used to it, they did not notice anything wrong with the queen.

“Your Majesty, you… Ah!”

Before the maid could finish speaking, she suddenly held her cheek and looked in disbelief at Teng Yun. If not for the burning pain on her cheek, she would have thought that the crisp slap she heard earlier was an illusion.

Teng Yun glared at the maid, sneering, “What about me? Does a lowly servant have any say in what I choose to do?”

“Your… Majesty…”

“Get out, and while you’re leaving, return that mirror to Consort De.”