Fortunate Life of My Sweetheart

The Third Year of Yuanxing, late autumn, the skies over Yunzhi County south of Xilin Country were turbulent with wind, signaling the imminent arrival of a severe storm. The people of Yunzhi County were full of anxiety, and so were the villagers of Houling Village, who were now gathered in the house of Village Chief Qin Daliang.

"Village Chief, won't you say something?" In this season rich with autumn's essence, the villagers were so anxious they were sweating profusely.

"Exactly, we've heard Qingping City has been conquered by Feng Zhao Country, and Yincheng is next. If we don't leave now, it will be too late!" Another villager said, equally agitated.

Village Chief Qin Daliang was heavy-hearted yet had to feign a calm and unconcerned demeanor to comfort everyone, "Folks, don't panic just yet. Feng Zhao Country has provoked our Xilin Country time and again, but have they ever succeeded?"

Qin Daliang glanced at the villagers with solemn expressions and forced a smile, "Why has Feng Zhao Country been repeatedly defeated? You all know very well in your hearts. As for the fall of Qingping City, I certainly don't believe it!"

To the villagers, Qin Daliang's words were a sobering wake-up call.

"Right, how could Qingping City be taken? It has a treacherous terrain and is heavily guarded. How could it possibly fall?" The villagers felt like they had received a splash of cold water, feeling surprised, joyous, and angry all at once while also feeling a sense of relief. Their emotions were quite complex, "This must be the enemy's trickery. They want us to fall into chaos first, so when they attack Qingping City and Yincheng, they will not need to exert much effort."

"Exactly, it has to be that way!"

As residents on the border between two countries, their attention to and sensitivity toward war matters was naturally much higher than that of people in other places.

Not long after the villagers had left, Qin Daliang's youngest son, following his father's instructions, hurriedly left the family courtyard to inquire about the situation in Qingping City. In his rush, he failed to notice the figure in light blue hiding by the corner of the wall...

Moments later, in front of a mud-brick house at the eastern end of Houling Village, a woman in blue struggled to remove a door from her house. Then she called her daughter to help carry their unconscious little girl to the dismantled door, tied her up with a rope, ignoring the man's yelling inside the house, and went round the back of the village along the bumpy mud road, heading straight towards the tail end of the village.

The continuous jolting caused Qin Xiaoruo's stomach to churn violently, feeling nauseous without being able to vomit. Her eyelids felt glued shut, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't open them.

What kind of lousy carriage is this, why is it so bumpy?

Qin Xiaoruo cursed silently in her heart as her back was sore from being jostled.

It took a good while before the "carriage" finally stopped, followed by the sound of fading footsteps.

Qin Xiaoruo hadn't even had time to ponder when a dull ache in her head set in, with various images interweaving, threatening to split her skull open.

After another excruciating pain, Qin Xiaoruo completely lost consciousness.