Red Blossoms Next to a Cold Stone and Warms Its Heart

Chapter 1

A soft breeze blew his hair from his face, long white strands dancing behind him. Under a twisting tree stood someone dressed in blush red. A long veil embroidered with golden thread covered her face, but he still knew she was beautiful.

"Donghua," the name sounded warm and sweet when she spoke it. No one called him by his given name, no one was allowed. But, he wished she would say it again.

A longing flooded his mind. He wanted to know who she was. He needed to know who she was. Stepping forward, he reached his hand out and flipped over her veil, but she escaped his grasp. All he saw were red blossoms. They scattered around him, fragile phoenix flowers caught in his hair.

Dijun woke reluctantly from the warmth of his dream. Although he ignored it well, loneliness shadowed over his cold heart. Maid servants entered and bowed. They helped him change his clothes and then scurried out. The room was overflowing with silence which he had long since accepted. As soon as he left his room, court officials crowded him. Each pushed for their own agenda. Though loud, their words hardly meant anything at all.

How boring, he thought. Nothing can break such monotony.

"Your Majesty!" One of his more trustworthy aids spoke frantically. He was talking so fast, Dijun could not understand the words.

"Si Ming, speak clearly."

"Your Majesty! The Yinying Clan has returned! They raided multiple towns on our and Qingqiu's border! What shall we do?"

Another war, how boring. They had just put down a small rebellion from the Ghost Tribe. Before that, it had been the Eastern Sea. It seemed there could never be a moment of peace. The Yinying Clan was always at odds with his Taichen country. So, this news was neither surprising nor concerning to Dijun.

"Calm down, Si Ming. The Yinying Clan is unrefined. Their leader is old and senile. Defeating them again will be simple."

This did not seem to calm the official. He continued to speak in a hurried manner with his head bowed.

"Your Majesty, that's just it. We just received news that their lord passed away. Someone new has taken control of their forces, but no one can figure out who! All of our spies have been captured!"

This made the Emperor pause. He had personally chosen their spies who were all highly skilled and quick thinking. If a single spy had been captured, then he would assume it was due to a careless mistake. But all of them? Impossible, unless...

An inside job. Could We have a traitor by Our side?

"Hmm, this is a little more interesting. Si Ming, summon Mo Yuan. Let us go to court so we may make our move."

Si Ming rushed off to find Mo Yuan while the other court officials stupidly tripped over themselves to sing his praises. Behind his back, they were never so loyal. Dijun sighed, he hoped this new leader of the Yinying Clan was worth his efforts. Or else he may die early of boredom.

In court, things proceeded as he had predicted. Bickering nonsense, more talk of marriage proposals, this time to bond Qingqiu and Taichen. He rolled his eyes. How stupid. As if Taichen was unable to defeat the Yinying Clan's miniscule forces on their own. They just wanted to see him married and continue the royal lineage. They just wanted an easier target for their manipulating schemes. Dijun was uninterested in all of this.

"This humble general believes assistance may not be too foolish this time, Your Majesty."

Dijun was slightly surprised by Mo Yuan's words. He had never brought up such frivolous things before.