Unstoppable Consort

A flurry of hoofbeats echoed along the official road leading from the northwest to the capital. Atop a white steed, Sang Hongyun’s eyes blazed with fury, her heart aching with the desperate wish for wings to fly home. The news of her grandfather’s sudden death had taken a month to travel from the capital to the northwestern camp. Never had Sang Hongyun imagined that in just half a year’s absence, her family would be struck by such calamity.

Behind her, four female soldiers followed in utter silence, unwavering in their loyalty. They switched horses but never riders, racing through the nights. Bloodshot lines webbed Sang Hongyun’s eyes, and her legs, swollen and raw, could no longer bear her weight. Blood had seeped through the fabric, dried and clotted, each movement stabbing her with excruciating pain.

The imperial decree and a secret letter from home arrived together. Her father clutched the pages, weeping with inconsolable grief. Though a woman, Sang Hongyun held the rank of Sixth-grade Attendant Commander in her father’s army—a modest position, yet beloved by all. That night, the Commandant of Shaanxi and her father, Sang Zhongyang, secluded themselves in the study with her, meticulously discussing the family’s future. Though the imperial edict allowed Sang Zhongyang to return home for mourning, the state of affairs in the capital was dire. In the end, they decided Sang Hongyun would return in his stead to preside over the funeral rites and observe three years of filial mourning, departing for the capital at once.

Along the journey, countless rumors