Snippets from the book (SPOILERS!)

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR BOOK...

Junxian City

-------------

When Han Ye left Qingnan City half a month ago, the winter plums in the general's residence were in full bloom. In those days, he sat in the corridor carrying a worn book and holding a pen, pretending to be an immortal, just to be able to watch over Di Ziyuan every day for a moment as she hurried back to her house.

Even if the sky is cold and windy, and they never talk to each other, he is willing to do so.

But now, looking at Di Ziyuan standing in front of him, Han Ye frowned and took several steps to reach her, grabbed her wrist and said angrily, "What are you doing here in Jun Xian City? Don't you know what this place is now?"

He did not ask how she knew where he was hiding, but only thought that the Jun Xian City was not a place where she should come at all. The calmness between the young man's eyebrows broke instantly and only worry remained.

This kind of Han Ye...

With a curve of the eyebrows, the usually cold face carried a rare touch of playfulness, "I heard that the winter plums at this time of the year in Jun Xian City is the most beautiful, so I came to enjoy the flowers. Here you go."

Listen, what reason is this!

The clear voice came into his ears. Han Ye was about to reprimand Di Ziyuan for a few words, but when he looked up and saw the smile at the corner of her mouth, he was suddenly stunned.

Her smile and the brows are glowing.

He had never seen such a Di Ziyuan before.

When the world talks about the name Di Ziyuan, there is always a string of synonyms - the Crown Princess of Dajing back then, the female bandit of Jinan a few years ago, and the Di family’s Marquis of Jing'an. Even Han Ye had forgotten that she was actually only a half-grown girl of nineteen.
Such a rare Di Ziyuan, so rare that he was at a loss, even fearing that the sound of breathing was too heavy.

Perhaps, only when he was in the enemy's desperate land, far away from the court, not knowing whether he would live or die, could he see such a Ziyuan.

The cautiousness on Han Ye's face was too obvious, and Di Ziyuan looked down. The two hands are separated by the petals of the flower delicately and heavily together, exceptionally well-fitted.
An unknown emotion flashed under her eyes, and she lightly drew her hand back and put it behind her back, seemingly unintentionally asking, "How am I like this?"

"How like what?" Han Ye obviously hadn't come back to his senses and only dazedly asked after.
"If I go to meet Mo Tian like this, will he believe that I am Xi Yunhuan, the eldest young lady of the Xi family?" The smile on Di Ziyuan's face just now converged, and in an instant it became the indifferent look Han Ye was familiar with.

So that's how it is...... The warmth within reach is no longer. Han Ye sighed slightly and withdrew his lone hand that was still frozen in mid-air, shaking his head, "No need to do so, Xi Yun Huan grew up in a military and martial house. Your usual appearance is rather like her."

"Yes." Di Ziyuan rubbed her chin, quite agreeing.

Han Ye understood the meaning of her words, and his expression darkened, "The Xi family and the North Qin royal family have joined in marriage, and Mo Tian came to the Jun Xian City. Are you going to pretend to be Xi Yun Huan at the dinner party tomorrow to lure Mo Tian away?" Before Di Ziyuan answered, he added, "This solution will not work, Lian Lanqing and the King of Northern Qin originally came to set me up. At this time Xi Yunhuan's appearance is too suspicious and will definitely make the King of Northern Qin doubtful. Mo Tian's man, Sang Yan, is about to cross into the ranks of the masters. Guixi is not by your side, you can not risk it. Ziyuan, the Da Jing armies cannot lose both of us at the same time. I will have my dark guards escort you, and you will leave Jun Xian City and go back to Tong Guan immediately."

Han Ye was intelligent and guessed her plans in a flash. Di Ziyuan interrupted him, "Don't you also plan to blend into tomorrow night's banquet to retrieve Old General Shi's ashes? You are allowed to come for the sake of Shi Zhengyan, but I can't come for the sake of An Ning? Besides, you know that it is easy to get in but hard to get out in the current Jun Xian City, how can I get out?"

Contradicting Han Ye, Di Ziyuan didn't appreciate his feelings at all, and asked pointedly. Han Ye dared to lead a few guards into Junxian City like this, presumably he had something to rely on. However, Jun Xuan once said that Lian Lanqing led a search in the city for three months after entering, found all the secret trails that entered and left the city and had them guarded by heavy troops. Even if Jun Xuan already knew these exit channels, she did not dare to rush into it.

Hearing Di Ziyuan's mention of Anning, Han Ye's anger was extinguished completely. He was silent for a while, and his voice was muted: "Ziyuan, that year I came to the northwest garrison as the crown prince, old General Shi did not approve. North Qin and East Qian has always been a lot of war and chaos. Just in case, in the year I entered the Jun Xian City, the old general used the excuse of repairing his residence and secretly built a hidden path in the back garden of the General House Academy. This hidden path leads to the five-mile pavilion outside the city; even Zhengyan does not know."

Seeing that Di Ziyuan looked surprised, he took off a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Di Ziyuan, "There is a North Qin granary in the military camp west of the city. I will have my dark guards set fire to the granary at noon, so you can take advantage of this time to blend into the general's residence. Take this jade pendant and go to the back kitchen to find a deaf and dumb old servant named Li Zhong. When he sees the jade pendant, he will lead you to the back garden to take you out of Jun Xian City. "

Di Ziyuan silently looked at the jade pendant that was handed in front of her. The word "Shi" engraved on it is harsh and heavy. It should be a token engraved by Shi Yuen Long's own pen.

Di Ziyuan took the jade pendant, rubbed the crystal clear texture on it, lowered her eyes and asked, "What about you?"

"You go out of the city first, and when Lian Lanqing is out of the general's residence, I will come afterwards after getting back the old general's ashes."

The plan was good, Han Ye's voice was steady and not at all audibly different.

Di Ziyuan narrowed her eyes slightly. The emotions were not visible in the ink-black pupils.
The secret passage that Shi Yuen Long prepared for Han Ye is Han Ye's reliance. But the general's residence is heavily armed, and once the channel is opened, it will certainly give rise to movement and suspicion, which means ...... this road can only be used once, and after that it is useless. Han Ye entered Jun Xian City without any certainty, but as long as there was a ray of hope to retrieve the ashes of old General Shi, he would come. Han Ye did not anticipate that she would come to Jun Xian City, but he gave up all his previous plans the moment he saw her appear in Jun Xian City.

Di Ziyuan is very perceptive, and she threw the jade pendant towards Han Ye, slightly narrowing her eyes. "Han Ye, Lian Lanqing laid the trap to capture you. Not to mention the granary being burned, even if the army of Dajing came down to the city gates, he would only send his lieutenant to meet the enemy, and he himself would never leave the general's residence where Old General Shi's ashes were placed." Her voice rose slightly and her gaze was like a torch, "You won't go to the general's residence at all, but will go to the military camp west of the city and set fire to expose your identity to draw out Lian Lanqing and Mo Tian, right?"

If Han Ye showed up in the Jun Xian City, it would be useless for Lian Lanqing to guard the general's residence. Han Ye is trying to use himself as bait.

If it weren't for this critical moment, Han Ye would almost scream for Di Ziyuan's cleverness, but...
Seeing Han Ye frowning and trying to force her out of the city, Di Ziyuan suddenly walked in front of Han Ye and called him.

"Hey, Han Ye." Di Ziyuan said softly.

Han Ye looked up at her.

"Who do you think I am?" Without waiting for the young man to answer, the corner of Di Ziyuan's lips hooked, and her expression was full of willfulness, "I am Di Ziyuan, do you really think that I ran this thousand miles to come to Jun Xian City to die? Lian Lanqing wants to capture me, let's see his ability. He dares to strike at you ......"

The ink color in Di Ziyuan’s pupils little by little furled open, curled into a sharp vortex and slowly dispersed. Her eyebrows were vigorous, and she said word by word:

"He has to see whether this Marquis allows it or not."

The cold wind blew by, and only Di Ziyuan's clear and powerful voice echoed in the silence of the empty plum garden.

Han Ye was stunned and raised his eyes towards her, only to see the unmistakable seriousness and certainty in Di Ziyuan's eyes. Han Ye sighed softly, "Ziyuan..."

The words have not yet fallen, Di Ziyuan has waved her hand towards the study, "My body now is not as good as when I was a bandit to withstand the torment. It's freezing cold outside, and you are not afraid of chilling me. Let's talk inside. Don't worry, Mo Tian won't touch me yet. You don't need to rush me back. I came all the way here, you really think I'm here to cause you trouble!"

Di Ziyuan's dissatisfaction with Han Ye was overflowing in her words, and her attitude was resolute. She looked like a scoundrel who wouldn’t leave if you tossed her. Han Ye couldn't do anything about it, so he had to follow her towards the study.

However, Di Ziyuan didn't see that Han Ye quietly held the palm of his hand behind him, carefully hiding a snowy white plum blossom stained with dew.

Perhaps, she just threw it casually, but Han Ye cherished it as a jewel.

An hour later, when Di Ziyuan had put together the plan in her mind, there was a moment of silence in the study.

She sat cross-legged on one side of the soft couch with her chin resting on her hand, twirling the grapes in the small porcelain jar and tossing them into her mouth. She looked towards Han Ye, "What about this plan of mine?"

Han Ye sat opposite her. The two of them were separated by a small table full of food. At this time, Han Ye was looking down and peeling the thin skin of the grapes for her. Hearing this, his hands kept moving, only a touch of contemplation in his eyes.

The only chance they had was to lure Mo Tian out of the dinner by appearing as Xi Yun Huan. As long as Mo Tian was in deep crisis, Lian Lanqing would have to mobilize the General Palace guards for the safety of the Northern Qin ruler, and the General Mansion would be in chaos.

If, as you say, there are checks and balances on the royal family from the Xi family and King De, Mo Tian will indeed not touch Xi Yun Huan. And now that Lian Lanqing is vital to Mo Tian, he must not allow Xi Yunhuan, who knows the reason for the Lian clan's demise, to appear in front of Lian Lanqing." Han Ye paused and said, "Let Mo Tian destroy himself and stall Lian Lanqing, this is indeed our best chance.
Although Lian Lanqing is extremely smart, he has a weakness. He is a courtier and loyal to Mo Tian. Given the choice between capturing the Prince of Dajing and preserving Mo Tian's life, he will choose the latter without hesitation.

“You have shown your face in front of the King of Northern Qin? Let him know that Xi Yun Huan is here about the death of Lian's clan?

Di Ziyuan nodded, "If not, how could he be anxious."

Han Ye glanced towards the triumphant Di Ziyuan and pondered: "You provoked the King of Northern Qin in a grand manner in the Jun Xian City controlled by the Northern Qin army, and still managed to put harsh words in front of me in a superior tone ......" He trailed off slightly and suddenly asked. "Ziyuan, how did you know that Xi Yunhuan was involved in the tragic death of Lian's family ten years ago? And how did you lure her out of Langcheng without alerting Xi Hong?"

Han Ye leaned down, his long, narrow phoenix eyes hooked, and a touch of timely doubt appeared under his eyes as he handed the peeled grapes to Di Ziyuan's mouth, "Here, open up. In the city of Jun Xian, how did you shake off Sang Yan's tracking and find your way to me?"

This handsome and well-defined face is less than a foot from Di Ziyuan, and his dark eyes were filled with a little bit of doubt. His thin lips were pressed just at the right time, making him look very sincere and full of charm, and he was exceptionally good looking.

Just as Han Ye had never seen the coquettishly smiling Di Ziyuan, so too had Di Ziyuan never seen such a gentle and mesmerizing Han Ye. She didn't react for a moment, but with the well-defined hand in front of her, her mouth opened and she lowered her head and ate the grapes. Her tongue accidentally swept Han Ye's grape-stained fingertips gently.

Han Ye was stunned. His hands in mid-air paused, his whole body remained frozen in the act of leaning over, and his ears lit up with fiery red in an instant.

Self-inflicted punishment, can't live; that was Han Ye at this time.

"Xi Yunhuan knew about the death of the Lian clan. I knew it a while ago. This time, the news of the marriage between the Xi family and the royal family of Northern Qin and your departure from Tongguan were sent to me together, so I thought it was a good opportunity, and I let ......"

After finishing her grapes and speaking halfway, Di Ziyuan suddenly felt that something was wrong. Han Ye, the murderous little bastard, dared to seduce her with his male charms and set her up! She had been licking blood on the knife's edge for decades for nothing!

If the old ancestor Di Jun Nan knew that the secret of the two families of the Di monarchs had guarded for more than a hundred years was leaked out this way, I fear that she would have to spring up from the Jiuhua Mountain to beat her up.

With this thought, Di Ziyuan raised her head and was ready to angrily rebuke Han Ye's shameless behavior, but ran into a pair of dark, unreadable eyes. She somehow suddenly couldn't say those words with teeth and claws.

The two people just stared at each other for a while. Di Ziyuan finally could not be angry, her mouth opened and she gathered a bit of strength, and was about to speak......

But Han Ye laughed for some reason. He rubbed his fingertips with intent, reached over, tucked Di Ziyuan's wind-blown hair behind her ears, tapped on her forehead, and smiled at God Ziyuan's anger-filled eyes: "Well, this is indeed a good opportunity. Fortunately, you have long found out the secret of the tragic death of the Lian family, and pretended to be Xi Yun Huan to restrain Mo Tian, or I, the Crown Prince of Dajing, am afraid that I will have to break down in Jun Xian City and fall in the hands of Lian Lan Qing, unable to return."

Han Ye's words are warm and gentle, and sincere, and most importantly, he has good looks, and his smile is extraordinarily soft and unbearable.

It is no wonder that those capital noblewomen could not move their eyes when they saw Han Ye as if they were wolves looking for meat, there is really a reason for this.

Being so coveted by people, and not even having a concubine at this age, is not easy.

Di Ziyuan had been cold-hearted for more than ten years, but she somehow suddenly remembered that Han Ye had done such a difficult and sincere thing for her, and the little confidence she had just accumulated suddenly broke. She coughed heavily and muttered: "It's fine if you know it. It's rare for me to save people personally, but you were ungrateful to drive me away. This is a life-saving favor, and you will have to pay it back later." She paused and then added: "Who has no support for the family, our Di family is also an old family. What's strange about having some means and methods? Even if Northern Qin and Mobei are farther away, our family has some ability to investigate some hidden things."

Han Ye smiled and listened to her explanation, not continuing the topic, nor did he ask further questions.
He had led the army for three years in Jun Xian City, so he was familiar with the cities in the northwest. Before Shi Zhengyan went to the East Qian border, he delivered to him all the secret agents and underground forces that the Shi family had operated in the northwest for decades, but even so, he never knew the secret secrets of the Northern Qin Dynasty and could not have set up the plan so perfectly under Lian Lanqing's interception.

From the Northern Qin dynasty to the Mo Bei and Jun Xian City, Ziyuan cast a heaven-defying net in just half a month, almost without missing a beat. This is far beyond the power of a Jinan family; although it has long been known that the Di family is unfathomable, but such a thing that can not be easily done with the power of an imperial dynasty, how exactly did she do it?

What kind of existence did his father's decision destroy, and what kind of hidden problems did it leave for the Han family's descendants?

Di Ziyuan's ability, Di Bei City' s depth, what the Di family can do in the future... to which step can they go? What will be the ending that he and Di Ziyuan are waiting for after going through this war?
All of this is almost a thought that appeared in Han Ye's heart instinctively as the Crown Prince of Dajing. This moment is probably the best opportunity to get Di Ziyuan's words or plead with her to be generous and let go of her grudge.

Di Ziyuan left behind the 100,000-strong army of Qingnan City, not caring whether there was still a return journey, to rescue him from a thousand miles away, and planned everything to save his life at the expense of showing the Di family's cards to others...

His life and death, in Di Ziyuan's heart, may be far more important than he thought.

This is really the best opportunity to find out the enemy's weakness and strike a blow.

But Han Ye tilted his head and looked out the window.

The dawn has appeared, and the winter sky in the northwest is clear and transparent. Heaven and earth are in line, seeming to cut through the haze and drive away the darkness.

He looked back to see that Di Ziyuan was burying her head and stretching her claws in the porcelain jar, tossing around looking for food.

He had been looking forward to this moment for eleven years, but did not expect it would be in the middle of a great battle on the border of the North where life and death were unknown.

Han Ye suddenly didn't want to ask.

If Di Ziyuan can do this for him even with ten years of planning and the enmity of the Di family, what else can he ask? No matter how they end up, no matter how she chooses in the future, Di Ziyuan has been kind to him, Han Ye, and to him, the prince of the Han family, to the utmost.

Even though Di Ziyuan never said it--maybe even she herself didn't know why she did all this.

But Han Ye knew that his eleven years of heartfelt thoughts suddenly, on this day, had come to fruition.

That was enough.

btw not seeing you around lately, hope u keep checking in so that u don't miss when loa airs 

Hi! Is there a scene when Han Ye realizes that An Le and Luo Mingxi worked together?

Hi fernanda, I really can't even if I wanted to...it's very hard to pinpoint the exact moment when he for sure knows. He connects the dots one by one, but there's no point where he thinks, "Ah! She's Ziyuan!" He continues on like usual, and she doesn't even realize he knows for 10 or so chapters.

Oh, and the question above that...once Han Ye realizes Anle is Ziyuan, he of course knows that Luo Mingxi is working with her because the Luo family has always supported the Di family. So, there's no particular "Aha!" scene for that, either. Novel Han Ye (and probably drama Han Ye, based on Gong Jun's statement that "he hides everything in his heart") is has a very good poker face!

SPOILERS EVERYWHERE

Luo Mingxi's role is expanded, and he seems more involved in plotting. His personality seems darker. He's more obvious in his emotions; in the novel he's very calm, reserved, and unruffled. He's also never rude to Han Ye in the novel; they're not friends, he hasn't spent all that time in the capitol, so they're basically people who were close friends in childhood but now haven't met for 10 years. LMX only came to the capitol to escort his sister for the crown princess selection. LMX also hasn't seen DZY for 10 years, either. LMX came to the capitol when they were children to accompany DZY, who was sent there as a sort of political hostage. He was never her bodyguard, but just a friend from home to keep her company in the capitol.

In the book, Di Jinyan supposedly died at age 4 of an illness in the East Palace and was buried. Since he "died," there was no need to execute him with the rest of the Di family. HY actually arranged to have him cared for by a former serving lady in the city in an orphanage for a couple years. After that, he was planning to have him apprenticed to someone so he'd be well cared for, however the plan changed when HY was attacked and gravely wounded while protecting the kid. Instead of going for help, HY waited until the guards found him and then told them the kid had saved him. That was how he brought the kid to palace and submitted to the emperor that he owed this kid his life and therefore wanted to foster him. HY nearly died doing this, and later we find out he occasionally has health problems from that episode. This is why novel Wen Shuo, despite knowing that HY is both very smart and very good at martial arts, still wanted to follow him during the Mu Tianfu arc--he wanted to protect him. Wen Shuo knows that HY lied about what happened back then but not why; but HY is his savior, mentor, teacher, brother, and father figure, so when HY tells him to lie, he lies and just trusts that HY always has his best interests at heart. People don't recognize him because Di Jinyan mostly stayed at the East Palace (all HY's people) and it was several years later that he brought a beggar/orphan in to raise. Also, who would think that the crown prince would nearly die on purpose?

S

 Sssnoopyyy:

Omgosh I wish we got to see that in the drama! I guess like any other adaptation, things get tweaked here and there. I’m surprised LMX hasn’t seen DZY for 10 yrs, they haven’t even kept contact? I wonder how he managed to place her in a safe spot at a young age and for them to worked together.

HY sounds very intelligent in the novel, wish we got to see more of that too. Feel like they really watered down the main leads in the series. Was disappointed with Anle in the recent eps - all she does is mention the 80000 men and her family to remind herself but not much action on her part. I know they’re trying to show her conflicting feelings but I hoped she would be more resolute and rational. Was also sad when she misunderstood LMX of all ppl - quite a naive thought and irrational since killing fake DZY would not be a good move right now.

It was not illogical to doubt LMX judging by what he exhibited , honestly. And LMX in the novelhad no such fallout with her because he didn't act like revenge is all she has to see & remind her each second as if the revenge were more important to him than her. He understood her very well. The fact that she won't use any dirty trick to clear the name of her clan which suffered by the same dirty tricks.

HAPPY ENDING? Thats all i need to know before I invest my heart ??