General Bruce Meng seemed to notice Ian Song's darkened expression and sped up his narration: "Lady Lila Pearce's real name is Qin Nongyu. She was originally a princess of the small border state of Sear. After Sear was destroyed by Soren, she was captured by Soren's soldiers and presented to the King of Soren, who then bestowed her upon his younger brother, Duke Warren of Soren.
Duke Warren was Soren's most powerful general, famous for his many military achievements.
In the third year after Lady Lila Pearce married Duke Warren, he was ambushed and killed by a poisoned arrow while leading troops on campaign. Enraged by his brother's death, the King of Soren personally led an expedition, but died of illness on the march. The neighboring states seized the opportunity, and three months later, Soren was destroyed.
Thus, rumors spread that Lady Pear Blossom was an ill-omened woman: born in Sear, Sear was destroyed; married into Soren, Soren was destroyed.
After Soren's destruction, Lady Lila Pearce formed a women's song-and-dance troupe and traveled across the Everland Divine Realm. Three years ago, she arrived in the Qi Kingdom, where Duke Marcus of Cira became infatuated with her and, despite fierce opposition from his entire court, forcibly took her as a concubine. Three years later, our Qi Kingdom was destroyed."
At this point, General Bruce Meng's face was full of bitterness.
After hearing General Bruce Meng's story, Ian Song couldn't help but click his tongue. "General Meng, don't tell me you also believe the Qi Kingdom's downfall was because of Lady Lila Pearce?"
"I didn't believe it at first, but everyone says so, and I can't help but believe it. Besides, three kingdoms really did fall after taking her in!"
"Oh, please!" Ian Song scoffed. "Blaming a woman for the fall of kingdoms is just pathetic. If you ask me, the destruction of Sear, Soren, and the Qi Kingdom had nothing to do with Lady Pear Blossom—it was all just coincidence!"
General Bruce Meng wanted to argue with Ian Song, but thinking of Ian's almost supernatural abilities—and the fact that they still needed him to protect the crown prince on the journey ahead—he could only remain silent.
"Alright, let's talk about the other three beauties," Ian Song said with a dismissive smile.
General Bruce Meng nodded and continued, "The second great beauty is called Serena Hart. Serena is incredibly beautiful and a master swordswoman. Her assassination skills are unrivaled, and countless people have died by her hand. But Serena never kills the innocent—everyone who falls to her sword is a villain of the worst kind."
Ian Song's eyes lit up at that. "Now that's interesting. By the way, is Serena Hart married?"
"Serena Hart's movements are mysterious, and her background is unknown. I have no idea whether she's married or not," General Bruce Meng replied.
Since Bruce Meng didn’t know, Ian Song didn’t press the issue and asked, "Who's the third beauty, then?"
General Bruce Meng went on, "The third great beauty is Lyra Hale. She's a prodigy in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—there's not a soul in the realm who can surpass her in any of these arts. However, Lady Lyra always veils her face in white silk, and no one has ever seen her true appearance."
"What's the point of covering her face? Is she just really ugly or something?" Ian Song muttered to himself.
General Bruce Meng's face darkened immediately. "Young Master Song, you’ve got it all wrong. Even though Lady Lyra veils most of her face, the part she leaves exposed is stunningly beautiful. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be ranked among the Four Great Beauties of the realm."
Ian Song nodded in agreement. "Maybe you're right! Go on, tell me about the fourth beauty."
"The fourth great beauty is Vivian Gee. She’s a genius of the highest order and currently serves as the Chancellor of the Kingdom of Quinn—the only female chancellor in all the Everland Divine Realm. Quinn used to be a small northwest state, but after Vivian Gee took office and pushed for reforms, it’s now one of the strongest nations in the realm. The reforms have been going for six years."
At this point, General Bruce Meng couldn't hide the admiration in his eyes.
"A female chancellor?" Ian Song was stunned. Wasn't this supposed to be a feudal era? How could a woman possibly be chancellor?
Or maybe this Vivian Gee is a transmigrator?
After all, in today's webnovels, transmigration has been done to death.
Suddenly, Ian Song remembered that before coming to this world, he'd read plenty of novels—but all of them were male-oriented. So could this world be modeled after a female-oriented novel instead?
Night fell like ink.
At the foot of a sheltered mountain, several campfires crackled, sending out bursts of 'snap, crackle, pop.'
At that moment, Ian Song was roasting a wild rabbit over one of the fires. The rabbit was turning a golden brown, and the mouthwatering aroma began to drift through the air, making Crown Prince Daniel Jiang, sitting by another fire not far away, swallow his saliva again and again.
During their days on the run, General Bruce Meng had led the prince and princess through hardship. Used to luxury, Daniel Jiang now had to make do with rough food and wild vegetable soup at every meal. So when the scent of Ian Song's roasted rabbit wafted over, he simply couldn't resist.
Seeing the rabbit was almost done, Ian Song took cumin, chili, and salt from his storage ring and sprinkled them evenly over the meat, instantly intensifying the delicious aroma.
The surrounding soldiers couldn’t help but swallow their saliva, but none dared approach—after all, Ian Song’s display of power earlier that day had been terrifying.
Finally, Crown Prince Daniel Jiang couldn’t hold back any longer. He tossed aside his flatbread and strode over to Ian Song, eyes blazing with determination.
Princess Jade Fox was startled and whispered, "Your Highness, what are you doing?"
But Daniel Jiang was completely entranced by the smell of meat and ignored her. He marched up to Ian Song, looked down at him from above, puffed out his chest, and said arrogantly, "I want your roast meat. Hand it over, now."
Ian Song gave him a playful smile. "And why should I give it to you?"
"How dare you! I’m the crown prince! If you don’t give me your roast meat, I’ll punish you!"
Hearing this brat’s threat, Ian Song couldn’t help but laugh out loud, his eyes full of mischief. "I’m the one who saved your life—what exactly are you going to punish me for?"
Just then, General Bruce Meng returned from patrol with a few soldiers and saw the scene. He hurried over. "Young Master Song, His Highness is still a child. Please don’t take offense!"
A fallen phoenix is no better than a chicken—if they offended Ian Song, and pursuers came again, who would deal with them? So General Bruce Meng quickly lowered his stance and apologized.
But his apology only made Daniel Jiang angrier. The little prince glared and barked, "Bruce Meng, how dare you!"
"Forgive me, Your Highness!" General Bruce Meng quickly knelt.
"I want roast meat! If you don’t give me some, I’ll punish you!" Daniel Jiang said, eyeing the golden, fragrant rabbit in Ian Song’s hand.
General Bruce Meng looked troubled and could only give Ian Song a pleading look. "Young Master Song, would you please..."
"No."
Ian Song flatly refused. A deposed crown prince still acting all high and mighty in front of him? Someone clearly needed to teach this kid a lesson! There was no way he was giving up the rabbit—Daniel needed to understand that Qi was gone, and nobody was going to spoil him anymore.
General Bruce Meng could only sigh bitterly and, still kneeling, said to Daniel Jiang, "Please wait a moment, Your Highness. I’ll go catch a rabbit and roast it for you right away."
"No! I want his rabbit!" Daniel Jiang shouted, pointing at the one in Ian Song’s hand.
Just then, two eerie, mocking voices suddenly echoed around the camp:
"Heh heh, so it really is the Qi Kingdom’s remnant crown prince, Daniel Jiang."
"I hear there’s a huge reward for capturing him."
"Whoosh!"
A long banner shot through the air and stabbed into the ground. It was black and white, with a huge skull drawn in the center—ominous and terrifying.
Seeing the banner, General Bruce Meng’s face changed dramatically. "The Black-and-White Twin Fiends!"