Er kämpft in allen Himmeln und unzähligen Welten

Kapitel 1

A long introduction

In the spring of the twenty-fourth year of the Celestial Empire, I saw the monsoon for the first time.

I knew from the beginning that Jifeng didn't like me.

At that time, a maid knelt in front of me, trembling like a leaf. The old woman said that she had found the gold lock that I had been searching for in her room. When asked, she stammered and could not speak. I was annoyed by her and couldn't help but say, "Then kill her."

Princess Ping'an was frail and violent from birth, a fact known throughout the palace. The palace maid let out a miserable scream. My brother walked over, smiling broadly, and asked me, "Ping'an, who are you going to kill this time?"

I wanted to say, "Brother, why do you smile so compassionately? I told you a hundred times that even if you killed her, you wouldn't necessarily kill one or two people. Unlike you, who just smiled and wiped out an entire family." But then a young man walked out from behind him. He didn't say anything, just glanced at me, and I suddenly felt as if my tongue had been sucked out of thin air, and I was rendered speechless.

It was June, and the Imperial Garden was bathed in bright sunlight. But as soon as he stepped out, the surroundings suddenly darkened, as if all the light had fallen upon him. My smiling elder brother instantly paled in comparison to a shadow. I was speechless, and there was silence around me. Only my elder brother's voice continued, addressed to him, "Ji Feng, this is our Princess Ping An. From now on, she is in your care."

He remained silent, his eyes sweeping over the maid still kneeling on the ground, then looking at me. It was the first time I had seen such a handsome face, and I was completely captivated. After hearing what my elder brother had said, I felt even more satisfied and stopped caring about anyone else. I sat down in the chair, reached out my hand to him, and waited for him to come and hug me.

The emperor laughed even louder this time, and said to him, "Ping An doesn't like to walk, he loves to be carried. You'll understand later."

I stubbornly held out my hand, but he didn't move, until everyone around us started wiping their sweat. Suddenly, the eunuch following behind the emperor shouted in a shrill voice, "How dare the son of a disgraced official disobey the princess's decree! How audacious!"

I was taken aback and turned to look at my elder brother. He nodded slightly at me, probably to tell me not to be afraid.

What is there to be afraid of? There is a perverse rule in this dynasty: a minister who has committed a crime sends his son to the palace to serve as a servant to a prince or princess. If the prince or princess is innocent, all is well; but if she is guilty, the minister's entire family, who are imprisoned in the imperial prison, are executed and buried with her.

Even if he died for the sake of the princes and princesses, there would be benefits. The entire family in the imperial prison would be spared. Those who should be exiled would be exiled, those who should be enslaved would be enslaved. He died, but dozens or even hundreds of people lived. It was still worth it.

Everyone in my family, young and old, except me, is a bit abnormal. They are two-faced and treacherous. My father seized the throne by killing the short-lived emperor of the previous dynasty. During that time, he killed many people who should and shouldn't have been killed. As a result, people who want to kill us keep coming one after another. Assassins appear everywhere we go. We don't dare to go out without a few bodyguards by our side.

Just imagine these sons of disgraced officials having to spend their days with the sons and daughters of the people who wanted to kill their entire families, and worrying about them losing a single hair. The same goes for the people in the imperial prison; whether they live or die, it's all torture. This kind of mental abuse is infuriating to even think about.

My elder brother has had several imperial attendants, but he always likes to go out of the palace to wander around, so his attendants all leave quickly. As for me, I have never left the palace and I am still young, so I have never had an attendant before. No, no, I have one now, starting today.

Thinking of this made me happy. I thought how much my father loved me and always gave me the best. I wanted to see him again, but suddenly everything went dark. He had already walked to my side, bent down, and picked me up.

That day, Ji Feng was dressed in black with a wide, tightly cinched dark purple belt. I was wearing a loose silk robe, and as I leaned on his shoulder, I looked down and saw the hem of my robe draped around his waist. I felt inexplicably satisfied and turned to him with a smile.

He looked at me expressionlessly. I had been arrogant since childhood, relying on my father's favor, and had a reputation for being fearless in the palace. But when I looked at him like that, I felt a chill and my body trembled.

I have been sickly for many years and have a bad temper. It is rare for me to be so nice to someone, but I was met with such a cold response. I felt annoyed and unconsciously raised my eyebrows and snapped at him.

"Who gave you the right to look at me like that? Do you want me to kill you?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them, because he immediately turned his face away and never looked at me again.

Chapter 2

I panicked for no reason, and not wanting him to see my weakness, I snorted and got off him. As soon as I landed, I pointed at the unfortunate maid who had been forgotten in the room and yelled.

"Why are you still letting this disgusting thing stay here? Drag her out, give her a good beating, and never let me see her again."

The emperor, unfazed, chuckled and left. The maid was dragged away by the guards standing outside the door, screaming all the while, "Princess, I won't do it again next time, please let me stay, please let me stay, please let me stay..."

Those around him wiped their sweat. "Where I stay is filled with screams all day long, but it's actually the safest place in the palace. If you don't believe me, go see where my brothers and sisters stay; they change into a whole new batch of faces every few days. Last time, one of my maids secretly met with someone, and all she got was a few dozen slaps from the old nanny, and she was kicked out of the palace looking like a pig's head. I wonder if she has a house full of children and grandchildren now."

My intention in doing this was to let Ji Feng, who had just arrived here, know that my words about "death" were not my true intention. Also, I thought it best not to provoke me. I didn't expect him to stand right next to me, watching the maid being dragged out, without saying a word, and his eyes naturally didn't fall on me at all.

I sighed, and roughly understood the meaning of "rotten wood cannot be carved". But suddenly a gust of wind blew the hem of his black clothes to my hand and touched my fingers. I was startled and looked down to see that I had grabbed it. Afraid that others would see, I quickly let go and my face burned.

Looking back, I guess I'm just naturally shameless. Everyone else is trembling with fear when it comes to me, but I'm the one who's always cold to me. I just want him to smile at me.

Unfortunately, Ji Feng never smiled or spoke, which made me secretly ask my brother if he was mute.

My elder brother laughed wildly and said to me, "Ping An, you're really something. You've made him mute before you even killed him."

I was furious. It turned out he wasn't mute, he just wouldn't speak to me. I stormed off to settle the score with him. I set off in my carriage back to the palace, and once inside the courtyard, I didn't ask anyone to follow me. I rushed into his room all by myself.

I had my own selfish reasons for not having anyone accompany me. I was afraid that if I got angry, I would say something I would have to take back later. My brother's guards also came back with the imperial carriage. I brought few people with me, so he took the trouble to bring them along and take some things back with me. They don't know me. If they really did everything I said on the spot, and I had to stop them in time, wouldn't my dignity as a princess be ruined?

Actually, Ji Feng's room is to my left. This morning, I went to my brother's place to ask if Ji Feng had a mute condition. I was afraid that he would be hurt by hearing it, so I didn't let him come with me when I left. I didn't expect it to turn out like this. Thinking about how I was so considerate of him, but he treated me like this, I was naturally furious.

The courtyard was very quiet, with the faint sound of water. I like to wear soft-soled shoes so I can walk without making a sound. His door was closed, and when I reached out to push it, I stopped before I could even touch it.

Steam rose from the crack in the door. He was standing with his back to me, stepping out of the wooden tub. I didn't want to make a sound, but I heard myself gasp. My nose felt hot, and I covered it with my hands. My lips were already smeared with the strong, hot taste of blood.

He must have heard the noise, because he turned around abruptly, his eyes and brows filled with frost. Even through the narrow crack in the door, I was so frightened that I took a big step back. When I looked up again, the door was already open. He was dressed hastily, his clothes were just casually tied around his waist, and his collar was slightly open. I saw that figure again in front of me, and I couldn't put my hand down to cover my nose.

He looked down and saw it was me. The frost in his eyes suddenly turned into a storm, and he only said one sentence, "Princess, please have some self-respect."

I felt a chill run through me under his gaze. All the grievances I had accumulated over the past few days suddenly welled up inside me, and I couldn't help but burst into tears. Even as I cried, I still tried to put on the airs of a princess and scolded him, "You, you dare to do this! How dare you tell me to have some self-respect! How dare you! How dare you... I've been thinking about you every day without saying a word, and I even went to ask my brother if you have a mute condition..."

At first, I spoke with a princess-like air, but then I became incoherent and nonsensical, to the point that even I couldn't listen to myself. I burst into tears and gave him one last order while waving my sleeves, "You, you're not allowed to come any closer. Get away from me, get away from me!"

I turned and ran out of the yard, but unfortunately, I had a slight limp and couldn't run fast. I bumped into someone before I even reached the door.

Everything was dark before my eyes. When I looked up, I saw Ji Feng. I hadn't grown tall enough, or perhaps I wouldn't grow any taller. I had to look up to see his face, but he had already squatted down and was looking at me with a frown.

I rarely have the chance to look him in the eye so closely. I was stunned for a moment, and my eyes were blurry with tears, so I couldn't see his expression. I only felt the chill gradually disappear, and then I remembered that my face must look extremely disheveled, and I wanted to reach out to cover it.

But then he felt a warmth on his face as he wiped it with his hand. Naturally, his palm was covered in a mixture of snot, blood, and tears—a whole bunch of all sorts of colors.

Few people touch my face. I was surprised and exclaimed "How dare you!" but my voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

He seemed to sigh, looking utterly helpless, and finally reached out his hand, asking me, "Hug?"

I wanted to forcefully slap his hand away, but my body betrayed me, and in the blink of an eye, I clung to his neck, still feeling a bit resentful as I leaned on his shoulder. So I simply buried my head and wiped the mess on my face all over his neck.

Chapter 3

In the sweltering heat of July, I hate this time of year the most because I'm stuck in the yard all day, and it's hard to even go out for a stroll. Sometimes I can't help but lose my temper and sweep the medicine bowl off the table.

The old nanny, always taking advantage of her age, stood beside me and scolded, "Princess, how could you go out in this scorching sun? If you get heatstroke, the Emperor will blame us."

I wanted to say, "Nonsense, if you don't blame me, why would you?" But when I turned my head and saw Ji Feng standing next to me, I swallowed my words.

Lately, I've become more and more like him; I'm a man of few words, and I try to say as few words as possible.

Last week, I finally found out the number of people from the Ji Feng family imprisoned in the imperial prison: 327. It was my elder brother who told me this. He was probably afraid that I wouldn't understand what this number meant, so he specially ordered a senior imperial guard to whittle a large bunch of bamboo skewers for me, which he spread out densely on the table for me to count.

My brother's perverted ways had become a habit, so I didn't take it seriously. I rolled up my sleeves, gathered up the bamboo skewers, and handed them to my little nephew sitting next to me, saying, "Your father gave these to you to play with. Learn some math, and I'll test you next time."

My little nephew is only three years old. After hearing what I said, he burst into tears. I took advantage of the chaos to leave, but unfortunately, no one was there to carry him, so I couldn't walk fast.

I never bring Ji Feng with me when I come to my brother's place, and I don't know why.

When I saw Ji Feng again after I got back, I felt like there were always 327 shadows hovering over his head. Looking at him, I couldn't help but admire him. With so much pressure, it's no wonder he doesn't smile. If it were me, I would have been unable to bear the burden and would have been walking on the ground every day.

I whine to Ji Feng that I was about to suffocate if I didn't step out of the yard soon. At first, Ji Feng ignored me, but later he couldn't resist my persistence and just said, "What if you get heatstroke?"

I'm so upset. I'm very prone to heatstroke. Once, on a hot summer day, I was admiring flowers with my father in the Imperial Garden. He took my hand and we walked a few steps in the sun. Although my father loves me, he rarely has the opportunity to be so intimate with me. I was naturally overjoyed and even pointed at the flowers, saying that my father picked them for me. When I looked up, I felt that the world was all white. When I opened my eyes again, I was already lying in bed, surrounded by a group of imperial physicians, looking at me with trepidation.

I felt restless in bed that night, and my nanny was sleeping soundly beside me. I secretly got up to go out for some fresh air, but she suddenly opened her eyes and asked, "Princess, where are you going if you're not sleeping?"

I was discouraged. "Can I use the restroom instead?"

The old woman got up and brought out the golden chamber pot from behind the bed. The silk handkerchiefs were all prepared, just waiting for me to finish.

Looking at this set of things, I was overcome with sadness. I could only pretend to sit on it for a while before finally saying, "I suddenly don't have that idea anymore, is that alright?"

When I climbed back into bed, I really wanted to bang my head against the bedpost, but I managed to hold back. The window was left slightly ajar, and I stared blankly at a corner of the moon until my nanny's snoring started again. Suddenly, that corner of the moon grew bigger, and the window opened silently. A full moon appeared in front of me, followed by a dark shadow.

I wanted to scream, but I had already been lifted off the bed. A familiar scent wafted over me. I was so used to being held like this that I was overjoyed. I reached out and wrapped my arms around his neck.

Looking down, I saw that the old woman was still slumped on the footstool, but her snoring had stopped. I sighed, "Ji Feng, who will dress me tomorrow morning?"

He reached out and lifted the cloak from the clothes hanger, wrapped it around me, and then spoke in a very low voice, "It's just acupressure. Your nanny will dress you tomorrow morning."

I had never heard of such a magical thing before. I grabbed his finger and looked at it, even poking it at myself. "Which finger did you use? Where did you use it? It's so good! Teach me."

His expression was a little distorted, but he didn't say anything. I finally gave up, leaned my head on his shoulder and said, "Take me out for a walk, I'm so bored."

There's a curfew in the palace, and I've never left the courtyard at night. The Imperial Garden is shrouded in shadows, and groups of imperial guards patrol the area from time to time. There's no way around it; my family has assassins, so there are many rules at night.

Ji Feng carried me along the rooftops, my body completely wrapped up, my head buried in the cloak, unable to see anything or know where he was taking me. Yet, I felt only excitement, without a trace of fear. Finally, he stopped, opened the cloak, and saw my eyes. His usually unwavering expression cracked slightly once more.

"Aren't you afraid I'll take you out of the palace and kill you?"

Chapter 4

I think the monsoon is cute, 327, my life, 327.

Thinking of this number reminds me of those densely packed bamboo skewers; I wonder if my little nephew broke one or two.

A night breeze blew through the quiet Imperial Garden, where lush greenery obscured the vibrant flowers of the day. The darkness was overwhelming, the trees undulating like waves of ink in the wind. In the distance, the lights of patrolling guards twinkled. This place, the most familiar to me in the world, felt strange to me today.

But I liked this feeling, especially with Jifeng by my side. The moonlight was bright, and it was the first time I had seen his face in such light. I found him even more handsome, and naturally, I was so happy that I didn't want to blink. Jifeng kept looking at the lights in the distance, and when he finally spoke, he didn't even look at me.

“Princess, if all you want to do is look at me, then go back.”

I said, "Where am I looking at you? I'm looking at the moon."

His lips twitched, and his originally sharp, resolute features instantly softened, revealing an irresistible allure. I was afraid I was hallucinating, so I grabbed his arm and asked, "Are you smiling? Smile again, I want to see."

The soft lines on his face suddenly hardened, and he turned his face away, refusing to look at me again.

I sighed and silently repeated the number in my mind: three hundred and twenty-seven, three hundred and twenty-seven, to console myself for the dignity of a princess.

When you like someone, you can throw away your dignity. It's not a big deal, really. I've gotten pretty good at it lately.

I sat with him in the tree and we chatted, but he refused to speak anymore, so I had to talk to myself.

"Ji Feng, do you know what it's like outside the palace? I read a book that said there's a place outside the palace called a restaurant that sells baijiu (Chinese liquor) and a pound of beef, which is very delicious. Have you ever eaten there?"

He didn't answer, and I wasn't annoyed. The moonlight was enchanting tonight, and I was surrounded by countless beauties. As I sat there, I felt dizzy and happy, and I was talking to myself.

"A pound of beef must be delicious. Everyone who enters a restaurant orders it. They sit down, throw their bundle on the table, bang on the table, and shout, 'Waiter, bring three bowls of white wine and a pound of beef!'" I recalled the words in the book, lost in reverie.

His lips twitched again, this time slightly distorted, showing how hard he was trying to hold back. I patted him and said earnestly, "Ji Feng, just say what you have to say. You don't need to hold back so much in front of me."

His reaction was to suddenly hug me tightly, because my movements were too big and I lost my balance, almost falling headfirst off the tree.

Although he moved quickly, my upper body had already drawn a semi-circle in the air. I felt dizzy and lightheaded. Because my mouth was open, cold air rushed into my mouth, and I couldn't help but cough.

There was a voice: "Who's there? Let's go check it out."

I tried to cover my mouth, but everything went black as he covered my head with his cloak, and then I was lifted into the air.