"'But she's so ugly that people will judge her wherever she goes'...... The duck said, "It has nothing to do with us anyway, as long as she doesn't marry our duck."

"One night, as the glorious sun set toward the western wilderness, the ugly duckling saw a flock of large birds flying out of the woods, their beauty never before seen in her life. They are bright white in color, with slender and soft necks, spread their beautiful wings and fly to a warm state.

"Winter passed, and the ugly duckling found herself surrounded by several whooper swans, which made her very ashamed, because in her mind, she was so ugly. However, those whooper swans pecked at her feathers gently...... Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the water and was surprised to find that it was so beautiful...... Spring is coming, and the sun is shining warmly again. Lilacs shook their branches into the water, and people began to sing and dance merrily when they saw the ugly ducks. They excitedly shouted at her, "Look! That swan is so beautiful!

Ning Que casually drew something with a piece of scorched wood on the ground next to his feet, lowered his head and smiled and told the very old story. The story sounds simple, but expresses a mixture of sadness and happiness. The little boy listened with wide eyes as his body lay on top of the princess, and even the princess herself was engrossed in the story. Didn't notice that Sangsang woke up and joined them. She had heard the story since she was very young, but still listened attentively, with the occasional childlike smile on her face.

It was late at night, and finally, when the story was told, the children fell into sweet dreams. Li Yu was silent for a long time, and suddenly said, "Your story is too profound for Xiao Ye'er to understand." But I still want to thank you for reminding me of these things...... I would learn from that mother duck and be proud of him as my child. After we returned to Chang'an, he would no longer be ridiculed or even discriminated against. But can he soar like the swan...... It's all up to him.

Ning Que smiled and rubbed his head, then replied, "Actually, I didn't think about it that much. It's just a story I made up when I was a kid to comfort Sang-sang, because she always felt inferior because of her swarthy and not-so-pretty appearance.

"Anyway, it's a good story," Li Yu said with a smile, "and it sounds encouraging that a despised ugly duckling has finally grown into a respectable white swan through her efforts."

Ning Que's hand holding Jiao Mu stiffened slightly. Then he raised his head and said seriously: "You misunderstood me. The story is more desperate because an ugly duckling can't grow into a swan. She can... Because originally she was a swan, just like Your Highness and the little prince in your arms. But a real ugly duckling never grows into a swan.

Li Yu stared at the young man silently. Thinking back to his words, she vaguely understood something.

Their dialogue is derived from fairy tales and seems to be quite profound - it seems to have plunged headlong into the lake of life and turned into scum with no signs of appearing. However, after careful consideration, it was found that the two speakers were no more than two young people between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. At one point, they took off the clothes of a noble princess and a Shubi Lake woodcutter.

There are situations like being trapped at the bottom of an igloo well where a person forgets things like status and wealth and their interactions become pure. In the forest, beside the Beishan Road that had just experienced a bloody battle, beside the burning bonfire, Tang Gongfei Li Yu and Ning Que simply became a storyteller, a storyteller.

Because the wounded were sleeping around, the storyteller lowered his voice, which made the storyteller lean forward and move closer. As a result, they naturally sit together, shoulder to shoulder, huddle around the campfire, and talk about some pointless gossip before going to bed.

After a long time, the darkness gradually dissipated, and the sky above the forest changed from a star to a faint light of dawn. From the southern part of Kitayama Road, the sound of horses' hooves was heard.

Lu Qingchen and Ning Que opened their eyes at the same time, exchanged glances, and then woke up the rest of their companions. A steppe barbarian put his ear to the ground to listen, and after a while, he raised his right hand and made a gesture. He made a gesture, clenched his fists, and waved it vigorously and quickly, indicating to his companions that many people, including armored cavalry, were approaching from the south.

As the campfire burned, under the charred wood was gray dust, covered with embers that were still glowing. The bodyguards and steppe barbarians struggled to their feet, took out their well-prepared long single crossbows, and then aimed at the still dark Beishan Road. Since everyone was faltering from serious injuries and they knew the strength of the approaching ranks, they decided that there was no point in hiding and could only calmly wait to be saved or killed.

The leaves on the North Mountain Road rolled along the path, and a dozen horsemen rushed out of the dim early morning twilight, and the people on horseback were wrapped in thick black armor. Their horses ran as fast as the wind, and their hooves trembled the ground like heavy thunder. When the burning embers vibrate, they emit a small puff of soot and smoke.

These are the most elite black-armored cavalry of the Tang Empire!

These cavalrymen were wrapped in those heavy armors, and once they were the first to attack on the battlefield, they never faced any opponent in the world. Even the mighty Great Juggernaut could not deal effective damage to these armored warriors.

Even in the light of dawn, everyone could clearly see the arrow and sword wounds on the armored cavalry rushing on the road, indicating that they were under attack. Perhaps they were ambushed at the southern foot of the mountain. In any case, one can imagine the anxious mood of the cavalry, who had absolutely no equipment for jungle warfare, but were still forced to cross the North Mountain Road overnight.

More than a dozen armored black cavalry roared past the entrance to Beishan Road. At the front was a young knight in armor, dressed in a red cloak. From a distance of about 328 feet, he looked at the people around the campfire and shouted, "I am Hua Shanyue, the commander of the ancient mountain, and I am here to ask His Highness!"

Hearing Hua Shanyue's name, the bodyguard carrying the crossbow arrow suddenly relaxed and responded loudly. Ning Que lowered his eyes and looked down at Princess Li Yu who was leaning on his shoulder. Her eyelashes twitched slightly. He couldn't help but smile and raise his eyebrows, silently putting down the boxwood bow in his left hand.

The horses were as fast as lightning, running at full speed, hooves beating, along the North Mountain Road, rolling or trampling the fallen leaves that covered the road. The young general, who claimed to be Hua Shanyue, grabbed the saddle and flew off the road on horseback. He hurriedly ran to the campfire, knelt down on one knee with his hands folded, and then said in a hoarse voice: "I am responsible for the belated rescue, and even death cannot be reversed, so I ask His Highness for forgiveness."

At this time, more than a dozen armored black cavalry had already rushed into the forest. Those elite martial artists of the Tang clan had exhaustion engraved on their faces, dismounted one after another, knelt behind Hua Shanyue in a row, and said in unison: "Your Highness, please forgive us."

They didn't know when Li Yu opened his eyes. She seems to have just woken up, or ...... She's been awake for a long time.

Li Yu looked at the Gushan commander Captain Hanayama Yue who knelt in front of her, the loyal young general, and all the cavalry who had obviously experienced bloody battles when they rushed here. She smiled, gave an encouraging look, and said, "Please hurry up, unless you really want to be punished."

She was still very happy to see that the cavalry of the Tang Army came to help overnight and was ambushed in Nanshan, Beishan Road. They feared for her life and possible death all night. As for the cavalry, a year has passed, and they finally met the virtuous princess, how can they not be excited?

Hua Shanyue raised her head excitedly, ready to say something. But then he saw the princess sitting next to the shoulder of another soldier with a particularly natural expression. Seeing this scene, he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, with a trace of sadness and displeasure in his eyes, and frowned slightly.

The moment the young general raised his head, Ning Que, who had been looking at the cavalry, saw his face clearly. He had a handsome and cheerful face, sword-like eyebrows, and a bit of wisdom.

Hua Shanyue is still very young for an ancient mountain commander captain, and he has to lead a whole team of armored black cavalry. There is no doubt that he was the most elite and outstanding of the young people of the Tang Dynasty, and he was the best in terms of shrewdness, tolerance, and ability.

But, unfortunately, there was always a threshold that he could not cross, and a few years ago he even fell. And this threshold is the love he buried in his heart. A kind of love that has long been known to all Tang people.

This is the deepest and strongest love for Li Yu, the fourth princess of the Tang Dynasty.

Hua Shanyue suddenly showed a sad mood, naturally not for Li Yu. Because he didn't dare to disrespect the princess, even in the current critical situation. He was just very jealous of the soldiers beside her, and thought to himself: "What a bold and reckless person, how dare you be so close to the princess, the princess is noble!" Not only close to her, but almost right next to her!

He had never been so lucky in his life to be so close to the princess. If possible, he couldn't wait to draw his sword and cut off the young man's shoulder!

Hua Shanyue hid this jealousy and his cold emotions very well. He will continue to do so, at least in front of the princess. Therefore, Li Yu only saw a trace of shock and displeasure flashing in his eyes.

She hesitated slightly, then felt the warmth coming from her arm, and understood the reason for the difference in the young general's eyes. She subconsciously raised her hand to comb the hair on her temples to hide her embarrassment. She herself didn't plan to sit next to Ning Que and hang out by the campfire for a night. Although it is a situation, it is really inappropriate for Princess Tang to be so close to a young man.

Princess Li Yu slowly stood up.

So, the maid who had heard the story no longer existed.

The warmth of their arms was quickly blown away by the morning breeze.