The princess had only just come of age. Staring blankly at the youthful face reflected in the mirror, Lin Jiayan felt not the slightest bit happy about being sixteen again.
Lianxin carefully dressed her hair, adorning it with an array of jeweled ornaments.
The princess had previously been gravely ill, bedridden for a long time. The luxurious robes, ornate hairpins, and precious jade prepared for her had all gone unused. Though she had not fully recovered, her spirits were visibly better now, and she could at least get out of bed and walk around a little.
A smile never left Lianxin’s face as she happily helped the princess into layer upon layer of magnificent garments.
“You’re that happy?” Lin Jiayan couldn’t help asking as she watched the maid’s beaming expression.
“Your Highness is getting better. Of course I’m happy.”
Lin Jiayan shifted her neck uncomfortably, feeling as though several pounds of gold and jewels were piled atop her head.
Honestly, this princess’s constitution was terrible. She became breathless after walking a few steps and dizzy after speaking for a short while. Over the past two days, she had even calculated whether it might be possible to jump from the carriage and escape, but now it seemed completely impossible.
“Um… that Hu Mu, the king of the grasslands—how old is he?”
The last thing she wanted was to transmigrate into another world only to be married off to some old man.
“I don’t know, Your Highness,” Lianxin replied. “But I’ve heard that his youngest son is around the same age as you. I imagine the king himself is probably close in age to His Majesty.”
“Huh?”
Lin Jiayan’s vision went dark. She nearly lost her footing.
“Why is my life so miserable…”
Lianxin hurriedly supported her.
“Your Highness has misunderstood! You’re being sent to marry Bule Hu Mu’s youngest son, not the Wolf King himself.”
“Oh… that’s better…”
Better, my foot. What exactly was I relieved about?
In her mind, Lin Jiayan pictured a burly giant with a scruffy beard and bulging muscles, happily gnawing on a bloody leg of lamb. Shaking her head, she banished the image of the savage barbarian from her thoughts, then silently cursed that shameless emperor who had sold his daughter for political gain at least three hundred times.
As Lianxin inserted a golden twin-lotus hairpin into her hair, she tried to comfort her.
“Your Highness shouldn’t worry so much. I’ve heard that the Taiji has followed the Khan into battle since childhood. He’s exceptionally brave and has earned countless military achievements. Bule Hu Mu personally designated him long ago as the future Khan. One day you’ll be the honored wife of the Khan—a blessing countless people could only dream of.”
You can have that blessing yourself, thank you very much.
In Lin Jiayan’s imagination, a bearded, muscular warrior rode a horse while wildly waving a saber and cackling maniacally.
With a sigh, she plopped down onto the couch.
“Can I just not go? What if we run away?”
“Your Highness, please don’t say such things!”
Lianxin turned pale with shock and immediately dropped to her knees.
“That’s a crime punishable by death. Please think carefully before speaking.”
“Stop kneeling every time something happens. Doesn’t it hurt your knees?”
Lin Jiayan reached out, trying to help her up.
But Lianxin merely shuffled backward on her knees and lowered her head deeply in submission.
“I was joking. With this body, where could I possibly run to?”
That was the honest truth.
Even if she were given the chance to escape right now, this frail body would probably collapse before she made it three hundred meters.
Besides, she had arrived in this era completely unprepared. She possessed no special talents. The medical theory she had learned in school had barely been put into practice, and without modern diagnostic equipment it seemed practically useless.
For now, all she could do was take things one step at a time.
“Your Highness shouldn’t be so discouraged,” Lianxin said gently. “You’ve spent so long confined within the palace walls that you’ve become stifled. Perhaps the vast, boundless freedom of the grasslands will actually be good for your health.”
Whether it would help in the future was impossible to say. Right now, however, Lin Jiayan felt as though altitude sickness was going to kill her.
After analyzing her symptoms—frequent dizziness, headaches, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations—she concluded they were all caused by altitude sickness. Combined with the princess’s already fragile constitution, even a mild case had nearly cost her half her life.
Wrapping her arms around her slender waist, she squeezed her hips and then touched her flat chest. She couldn’t help letting out another long sigh.
She was far too skinny.
Even by modern standards, where thinness was often admired, this body was excessively frail and undernourished.
The peach-shaped glutes, toned abs, elegant neck, and sculpted shoulders she had worked so hard for in the gym were all gone.
Overnight, she had been sent right back to square one.
No wonder she felt depressed.
By evening, the carriage finally came to a stop.
Lin Jiayan had been dozing against the carriage window when Lianxin entered carrying a bowl of medicine.
“Your Highness, it’s time to take your medicine.”
“Where are we?”
She yawned, noticing that the procession had halted.
“We’ll reach Ge Commandery tomorrow. It’s already late, so the convoy is stopping to rest for the night before setting out again at dawn.”
The black liquid in the bowl emitted an overwhelmingly bitter smell.
Lin Jiayan gagged and pushed it farther away.
She normally paid close attention to fitness and health and rarely got sick. It had been years since she’d taken medicine. There was absolutely no way she could force herself to drink that concoction.
“Can I get out and walk around?”
She had been awake in this world for two days already, spending every moment either sitting or lying down. The constant rocking of the carriage made it feel as though all her bones were falling apart.
“Your Highness, that would be improper.”
Lianxin hurriedly stopped her.
“Until you meet your future husband, you must not show yourself in public. Even Imperial Physician Liu can only examine you through a gauze curtain. It would be against protocol.”
Ancient people sure had a lot of rules.
Lin Jiayan pouted and gave up on the idea.
Lifting the curtain of the carriage, she looked outside.
As far as the eye could see stretched endless grasslands. The sun was slowly sinking beneath the horizon, painting the clouds golden.
If she could forget her terrible situation for a moment, the scenery was actually breathtaking.
She still hadn’t adjusted to the altitude, and the symptoms persisted. She had little appetite for the dinner Lianxin brought and managed only two small chestnut cakes.
Seeing how tired she was, Lianxin helped her wash up and change clothes.
It had taken one or two hours just to dress and style her hair that morning. Then she had spent the entire day sitting idly in the carriage without seeing a single person. At night, another hour or more was required to remove and organize all the accessories.
Lin Jiayan truly couldn’t understand the logic of ancient people.
Without Lianxin, she wouldn’t even know where half those colorful jewels and ornaments were supposed to go.
That night, the headache kept her from sleeping.
She desperately wished she could pull out an oxygen tank and take a few breaths.
Another day of missing modern technology.
After finally managing a little over three hours of light sleep, Lianxin woke her again for yet another round of dressing and grooming.
Sitting before the bronze mirror, Lin Jiayan struggled to keep her eyes open, her head repeatedly drooping forward.
Lianxin had to support her head with one hand while arranging her hair with the other.
“Your Highness, we’re almost at Ge Commandery. Please wake up a little. You can’t meet your future husband looking like this.”
Rubbing her eyes, Lin Jiayan sleepily lifted the curtain and looked outside.
A city came into view.
Even from a distance, she could see riders on horseback passing through its streets.