The Ugly Empress by Yun Guo Shi Fei / 丑娘娘 by 云过是非

Chapter 1 - An Ugly Empress

Xue Junliang waved off his official, gesturing him to back off, as he walked closer still and stopped just one step away from Teng Yun.

Looking down at his opponent, Xue Junliang said, "General, maybe you don't know me. You've never met me, but I have. Three years ago at the battlefield, I saw you once. At that moment, I was in awe and I thought..."

He paused, then he gave a slight smile as he continued, "This person, damn it!"

Finished saying, he flicked his sleeves, then strode pass Teng Yun and out of the hall, "Come, let me show you some of Xue Country's military skills."

A guard made an order and at once Teng Yun was pulled up and dragged out of the main hall. The entire court officials,both civil and military, followed after them. The majestic procession walked on as the space became more and more open, and finally came to a large and empty field.

The empty field was vast, surrounded by flags. Lined at the west side was a row of targets, at the east side was shelves of weapons, at the north facing south was a dragon seat, and at the south was built extensive training grounds.

Xue Junliang walked straight to the side with the targets. He lifted his chin, an order which the guards immediately understood. Teng Yun was quickly tied up, arms behind his back, and secured against a wooden stake. When the ropes were done, the guards silently retreat.

Xue Junliang narrowed his eyes and stretched his arm. A military officer in red came over to him, in his hands was a long bow which Xue Junliang took. Then another officer handed him a long arrow.

Teng Yun shifted his gaze to Xue Junliang's eyes, and suddenly wanted to laugh. Only now he understood what this Xue Wang had in mind; he wanted to assert his power.

Where did he want to shoot? Teng Yun's throat? Or heart?

Under the glaring sun, the arrow was illuminated with its blinding radiance. Xue Junliang raised his bow and pick the arrow; the five jade-strings on his tassel crown swayed gently.

Suddenly, it came to Teng Yun's mind that this enemy country's king was actually somewhat likable, so domineering and majestic; and also an excellent leader.

But... his own name was Teng, added that he was Teng Country's prince.

Teng Yun was nineteen when he was appointed as a Great General and sent to lead military troops. For ten years, he helped his country dealt with civil war then went to defend his country from outside forces. Even after ten years fighting, he failed to save his country.

King of Xue gripped his bow, raised it. Then he pulled the arrow. And unclasped his fingers. Teng Yun never wavered...

"Zap!"

Then there was a splash of blood...

***

Teng Yun head's was pounding. He could sense the he was lying down, but the whole world was spinning violently. He tried to open his eyes but found he was so weak all over from head to toe. He felt so dizzy as if he had been sleeping for too long.

He was sure he'd been killed by Xue Wang, so how was he conscious now? Was it possible that Xue Wang's bark was worse than his bite? Was he actually a dimwit? Couldn't he shoot arrows properly?

As the thought came to mind, Teng Yun wanted to laugh. But his laugh was pulling at a wound on his face and he could feel it stung.

Groggy from sleep, he opened his eyes. He saw he was lying on a bed with the curtain open, inside what looked like a grand room with exquisite furnishing.

Teng Yun gave out a slight smile. How kind of Xue Wang to be treating a prisoner like this.

He tried getting out of the bed but felt so weak and fragile he fell off it; hands grazing the floor as he flailed about. Since when he had to stop to fret about a wound on his hand?

Teng Yun tried standing up with the help of a wooden shelf next to him. On top of the wooden shelf was a polished and smooth bronze mirror.

The maidservants who waited outside the room heard a loud banging and rushed in. When they came inside, they immediately covered their mouth to hide a snicker.

One of them, who was wearing peach-colored clothing, ran over and lifted Teng Yun who had fell on the ground again. She said with a laugh, "Empress, are you scared by the bronze mirror? The mirror is not the monster here, it is you."

Hearing the maid calling him with 'Empress', his eyes grew wide. He roughly pushed the maid's hands off him and grabbed the fallen bronze mirror on the ground. It was so big that Teng Yun, who was now so weak couldn't even hold it up. Reflected in the smooth mirror on the ground he could see a woman with a graceful figure but oddly ugly face.

The woman was wearing a brocade gown, her built slender and elegant. But her face had bruises-like marks that looked awfully and shamefully ugly. If people see her face, no doubt they'd think she was a ghost. Even Teng Yun was shocked.

Teng Yun stared at 'himself' in the mirror and couldn't repress a shiver all over.

The maidservant scolded, "Empress, be careful! This bronze mirror was sent to you by Her Highness Defei. If it's broken, even if you're an Empress, Defei can have you punished because she is Da Wang's favorite consort."

[T/N : Fei (妃) means imperial consort; De (德) is given as title, means virtue. Defei (德妃) literally means 'virtuous imperial consort' and is ranked below the Empress. {edited}]

Teng Yun, after all, was a man raised on battlefields so he quickly calmed down. Still looking down at the mirror in the ground and he took in the maidservant's words and finally came to conclusions.

There was only one country had an empress this ugly. The empress was no one other than Xue Wang, Xue Junliang's first wife.

The Ugly Empress' name was Feng Yun, blood-related sister of the King of Feng country. Other than the fact that she was ugly, she was also said to have weak constitutions. By her maidservant's rude words, it was easy to conclude that a certain favored consort put a large bronze mirror in this Empress' room. It was a common trick.

[T/N : Note that the Empress' name was Yun (云), the same as Teng Yun's. It means cloud.]

As Teng Yun said nothing, the maid grew bolder and her mocking words grew even ruder. Perhaps this was something that happened on daily basis, so she didn't find anything fishy with this Empress.

"Empress, you... Ah!"

The maid didn't get to finish her sentence before she suddenly touched her cheek while looking at Teng Yun incredulously. If it wasn't for the sting on her face, she'd thought the slap was just an illusion.

Teng Yun stared coolly at the maid and smiled, "What to do, will I get slapped back by a lowly servant?"

"Em.. Empress..."

"Get out of here, take the bronze mirror and give it back to Defei."