The Yinglong

Ying Yuan was originally the young master of the Ying clan. Born with the innate Dragon Bone—a rare gift—he was hailed as a martial arts prodigy the likes of which had not been seen in a century. However, his stepmother, in her ruthless pursuit of power, forcibly extracted his Dragon Bone and transplanted it into his younger half-brother, Ying Tianjun. Stripped of his power, Ying Yuan was reduced to a cripple. It was only with the aid of his childhood sweetheart, Tang Qinghe, that he managed to escape the clutches of the Ying clan. Yet, in her selfless act to protect Ying Yuan, Tang Qinghe was left behind—forever trapped in the past, ten years ago. Over the ensuing decade, Ying Yuan campaigned across the land, battling his way to the very pinnacle of the Great Xia Dynasty. He brought the Five Bureaus to heel, commanded the Six Paths, and assumed absolute authority over the Dragon Abyss! The Imperial Family bestowed upon him a personal decree, officially recognizing him as the "Ying Emperor" of Great Xia! Nevertheless, he never once forgot the solemn vow he had made to Tang Qinghe all those years ago: to locate her family and ensure the safety of her younger sister. Thus, Ying Yuan returned to Qingzhou in search of the Tang family's whereabouts. However, trailing close behind him arrived an Imperial marriage decree from the Royal Family. The patriarch of the Shen clan—at the time, the foremost family in Qingzhou—had once been a pillar of the nation; now, advanced in years and teetering on the brink of death, he was fading fast. In gratitude for his past contributions, the Imperial Family had betrothed the Shen clan's eldest daughter to Ying Yuan, hoping he would safeguard the Shen family's legacy. Instinctively averse to such an arranged marriage, Ying Yuan prepared a lavish array of gifts. He intended to visit the Shen clan in person to offer his apologies, formally dissolve the engagement, and provide them with generous financial compensation. However, the Shen family—ignorant of the true situation—mistook Ying Yuan for a lowly toad presumptuously aspiring to court a swan. Believing that their family had been singled out for favor by the Ying Emperor himself, they subjected Ying Yuan to a barrage of insults and humiliation, hoping to drive him away in shame. What they failed to realize, however, was that the man standing right before them was none other than the Ying Emperor of Great Xia. Humiliated and incensed, Ying Yuan stormed out. By a stroke of coincidence, he stumbled upon Tang Jiuge—the very sister he sought—in the midst of a heated argument with her grandmother. Ying Yuan was overjoyed at this unexpected reunion. Tang Jiuge, however, mistook Ying Yuan for a mere chauffeur. Desperate to escape her grandmother's relentless pressure to marry, and seeing no other way out, the cornered young woman actually offered to pay Ying Yuan to act as her shield—by marrying her. And so, through this bizarre twist of fate, the two of them—quite inexplicably—ended up obtaining a marriage certificate.