The fierce, biting cold of deep winter descended on Great Yan, north and south alike, without anyone noticing its arrival.

All things withered and fell silent. Great Yan, which had only just endured the flames of war, teetered on the edge in the bitter wind.

Ever since news of Jianzhou’s siege had reached Jinzhou, the Qingfeng Army dispatched several soldiers with powerful voices each day to stir up trouble outside the city gates, embellishing and elaborating on what would happen after Jianzhou fell. Officials of the fifth rank and above who had accompanied the imperial entourage had been kneeling before Beichu Garden day after day, imploring Fu Xuanmiao to send someone to negotiate a peace with the rebel army.

The calls for negotiation grew louder after Li Wu pledged to withdraw after a successful negotiation and return the Empress Dowager.

The common people did not want war. The soldiers did not want to fight to the death. Officials did not want to abandon their families trapped inside Jianzhou. The tide of anti-war sentiment rose high within Jinzhou. They had assumed that with the Qingfeng Army using the Empress Dowager as a bargaining chip, the new emperor would be forced to yield — but on the very same day, Fu Xuanmiao had taken up residence in Jinping Temple, a century-old ancient monastery within Jinzhou, citing the need to pray in seclusion for the nation’s welfare, and refused to come out.

Everyone understood perfectly well — what seclusion? It was nothing more than a ploy to evade the Qingfeng Army’s demands.

Inside Beichu Garden, A’Xue’s expression was grave. She dipped a finger in water and slowly traced several characters on the rosewood tabletop: “The officials are all being kept out of Jinping Temple.”

A’Xue was the maidservant who attended to her. No matter how one looked at it, A’Xue’s freedom of movement was far greater than that of her mistress. In recent days, Shen Zhuxi had relied entirely on A’Xue to gather information on the outside world.

“…He’s pressuring Li Wu.” Shen Zhuxi said quietly.

With Fu Xuanmiao locked in seclusion and refusing to come out, the next move depended on what Li Wu would do — whether he would take a step back and return Fang Shi unconditionally, whether he would go head-to-head and simply kill Fang Shi, or whether he would continue to hold Fang Shi as a hostage.

Shen Zhuxi knew clearly what Li Wu’s choice would be.

“Fang Shi is going to be returned…” she said.

A’Xue nodded. Her assessment was the same as Shen Zhuxi’s.

“Fang Shi will likely be housed here in Beichu Garden as well, but since she helped me once before, and she has also been in contact with Li Wu, Fu Xuanmiao will certainly not allow us to meet.” Shen Zhuxi thought carefully. “…We need to plan ahead and find a way to make contact with Fang Shi as soon as possible.”

But Beichu Garden was full of Fu Xuanmiao’s informants everywhere. Though Fu Xuanmiao himself was not here, his shadow loomed over Shen Zhuxi at all times. Could she really deceive heaven and earth and make contact with Fang Shi right under Fu Xuanmiao’s nose?

She had no confidence.

Yet she could not afford not to try.

She had no choice but to try —

A hand — calloused on the palm, yet warm — quietly and soundlessly closed over Shen Zhuxi’s fist, which she had unconsciously clenched.

It was A’Xue.

She gave Shen Zhuxi a reassuring smile, and the jagged, dark-red scar on her neck peeked out a little from below her collar. She met Shen Zhuxi’s eyes with a calm, steady gaze and silently mouthed the words, one by one:

“This servant believes in Your Highness.”

In desperate circumstances, trust is all the more precious.

Back when Xiangzhou was on the verge of falling, with ammunition exhausted and rations depleted — could the current situation be worse than being trapped in Xiangzhou back then?

Courage surged and filled Shen Zhuxi’s heart. She gripped A’Xue’s hand tightly in return, and in her heart, she had already made up her mind.

Even if it were nothing but a futile struggle — not until the very last moment —

She would not give up!

……

Jianzhou’s officials and their families were trapped. The emperor himself was trapped in Jinzhou. Great Yan, under its newly enthroned ruler, was plainly shrouded in a veil of misery and gloom — and yet an imperial wedding between the emperor and empress, condemned by everyone as ill-fated from the start, drew back its curtain in defiance of all opposition.

With only ten days remaining until the wedding, all the markets and shops throughout Jinzhou were suddenly ordered to close for one day, and all citizens received a strict command to remain behind closed doors for the duration of that day.

Eyes filled with unease and dread hid in the cracks of doors and windows lining Jinzhou’s main street, following the slow procession of a carriage under heavy military escort. The measured and disciplined sound of footsteps intertwined with the beat of hooves and the rolling of wheels as the procession traveled down the deserted main thoroughfare of the city, coming to a stop before the overflowing crowd at the gates of Beichu Garden.

“The Empress Dowager!”

The officials dressed in court robes who had been keeping vigil outside, the moment they saw Fang Shi step out of the carriage, dropped to their knees in unison. They had knelt outside the gates for days already without ever managing to soften the new emperor’s heart. Now, seeing this last hope, their eyes filled with tears.

“Empress Dowager! You must urge His Majesty to put the dynasty above all else!”

“Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager — you must stand up for the people of Jianzhou!”

Fang Shi’s thin and frail body was weighed down beneath the magnificent and burdensome official robes of the Empress Dowager. She kept her head lowered, silent and unresponsive. The heavily swaying pearl and jade crown seemed as though it would snap her delicate neck then and there.

She walked step by step, supported by the palace maids, toward the entrance.

One official lunged forward, attempting to kneel at Fang Shi’s feet, and was shoved aside without mercy by the armor-clad guard who stepped forward.

The heavy gates of Beichu Garden slowly swung shut, once again cutting off the cries and pleas from outside.

A yellow palanquin bore Fang Shi, swaying with each step, as it made its way deeper into Beichu Garden.

Fang Shi raised her head and looked at a corner of a tower peeking through distant flowering trees and hanging gauze curtains. She said: “…What place is that?”

A palace maid was startled, and answered instinctively: “That is where the Princess of Yue resides.”

As soon as the words were out, the palace maid realized she had made an error, and lowered her head in frightened apprehension. Fortunately, Fang Shi asked nothing more, as though it had been merely an idle question.

After the palanquin came to rest in a quiet courtyard, the palace attendants inside the courtyard came forward one after another to escort Fang Shi inside.

The palace maid who had been questioned only let out a long breath of relief once she had followed the palanquin out of the courtyard.

A palace maid she was on good terms with, maintaining an ordinary expression, slowly walked to her side and gave her sleeve a quiet tug. From behind tightly pressed lips, she let slip a low murmur of exasperated reproach:

“You nearly caused a catastrophe — has everything His Majesty said slipped your mind?”

“I haven’t forgotten!” The palace maid who had made the mistake lowered her voice too, her tone urgent and defensive. “I was just caught off guard. The Empress Dowager just now —”

Rumor had it that the Empress Dowager had developed an eye ailment in her younger years, leaving her vision nearly completely blind, able to see only the blurry outlines of things close by. So how had she just now been able to make out a single corner of rooftop peeking through branches far in the distance?

Before she had a chance to voice her small bewilderment, she was cut off by her friend.

“Don’t say another word! You’d better pray the Empress Dowager was only asking idly — otherwise, you might not be able to keep your little life!”

The palace maid knew she was in the wrong and fell into guilty silence, pressing her small, fleeting doubt down to the bottom of her heart.

In the courtyard — well-staffed yet utterly silent — Fang Shi sat alone on a daybed, her eyes, even dimmer and more vacant than those of an ordinary person, gazing quietly at the palace attendants moving back and forth before her, busy carrying her belongings.

“…Does this place have a name?”

After Fang Shi’s soft voice settled, the palace maid standing in attendance nearby finally registered the question and bent in a bow to answer: “In reply to the Empress Dowager, this place was formerly called the Firefly Courtyard. His Majesty disliked the image of fireflies drifting through life in haste, spending their days in a fleeting rush, and so renamed it the Snow Courtyard.”

“The Snow Courtyard…” Fang Shi murmured softly under her breath.

A firefly’s life is hurried — but at least it has its brief and brilliant moment.

Like a boundless hell with no way out — what does an endless, inescapable snowfield have over a firefly?

“This servant is Zisu, a first-rank palace maid who will henceforth attend closely to Madam. I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager.” A palace maid with a composed and steady manner bowed to Fang Shi from three steps away, and said with neither subservience nor arrogance: “If the Empress Dowager has any instructions, Zisu is at your call at any time. The Empress Dowager has endured a long and wearying journey by carriage — would you like this servant to prepare hot water?”

Fang Shi nodded in silence.

A large rosewood bathing tub, ample enough to hold five bathers, was quickly brought into the room and filled with basin after basin of hot water. Under Zisu’s personal and attentive service, Fang Shi removed the heavy, elaborate court robes, and under Zisu’s watchful eye, every article of her clothing and every personal item was placed on a wooden tray and carried out.

Carried off to where, and for what purpose — Fang Shi understood perfectly well. Her heart was like dead ash. She simply gave up asking.

After bathing and freshening up, the palace attendants helped her change into an embroidered brocade everyday robe bearing a dignified golden phoenix.

As Zisu was supporting Fang Shi toward the inner chamber, Fang Shi stopped in the middle of the hall.

She gazed at a streak of crimson evening glow filtering through the rice paper windows, and said: “…I’d like to go for a walk outside.”

“Empress Dowager, it’s already getting late today. For the sake of Your Highness’s health, it would be better to rest earlier.”

“Can it truly be that I don’t even have the right to go for a walk?” Fang Shi said coldly.

Zisu lowered her head, but her expression did not waver in the slightest: “…Your Highness speaks in jest. The Empress Dowager is the most esteemed woman in Great Yan — wherever you wish to go, you may go. It is simply that your wellbeing is precious, and must not be trifled with. Your Highness may rest for a few days, and once His Majesty concludes his seclusion, he will personally accompany the Empress Dowager on a tour of Beichu Garden.”

“And if His Majesty remains in seclusion for a day, am I to be confined to this courtyard for a day?”

Zisu kept her head lowered, seeming not to have heard Fang Shi’s contemptuous question.

She spoke calmly and serenely: “If the Empress Dowager is truly feeling stifled, you may stroll about in the Snow Courtyard’s small garden. The garden has not only flowering trees and ornamental rockeries, but also a small bridge over a flowing stream with koi carp. The Snow Courtyard is a small world unto itself. Your Highness need only remain here to cultivate peace of mind and await His Majesty’s emergence from seclusion.”

“…Cultivate peace of mind?” Fang Shi said. “Do you mean to say that I have done something wrong and am in need of reflection and introspection?”

Fang Shi’s anger turned to a bitter laugh. Her hands clenched into fists beneath her sleeves. Though her fury was undisguised, on that pale and gaunt face, there was not the least bit of intimidating effect.

“The Empress Dowager has misunderstood this servant.” Zisu said gently.

“If I were to have you killed — I shouldn’t need to wait for His Majesty to come out of seclusion for that, should I?” Fang Shi said.

“Zisu is a mere insignificant servant. The Empress Dowager may kill me whenever she pleases.” Zisu said. “If the Empress Dowager dislikes Zisu, then kill, and be done with it. There will always be someone to fill Zisu’s place in attending to the Empress Dowager. As long as the Empress Dowager is content, this servant would die without regret.”

Fang Shi was so enraged she couldn’t get out a single word, and a sickly flush rose on her pale face.

“Those close to His Majesty, upon learning that the true phoenix had returned to her perch, took particular care to instruct this servant to tend well to the Empress Dowager’s daily needs.” Zisu said. “Not only will all things be as before, but the calming herbal decoction the Empress Dowager is accustomed to will be ready shortly. Once it arrives, the Empress Dowager should drink it and retire to rest early.”

In name, Fang Shi was still the Empress Dowager — and yet she no longer had even the power to defy a head palace maid. Helpless, she was ushered against her will into the inner chamber, like a puppet on strings maneuvered into position on the bed.

Before long, Zisu handed her a bowl of steaming herbal decoction.

A familiar smell drifted toward her nose. Perhaps because it brought to mind Fu Xuanmiao — who had used the pretext of praying in seclusion to refuse the peace talks, and yet could still send a calming decoction from a distance — this scent, once so familiar, nearly made Fang Shi retch.

She suppressed her nausea, accepted the bowl, and with a porcelain spoon merely stirred the liquid without drinking, waiting until the steam rising from the surface could no longer be seen before she drained the entire bowl in one breath.

Zisu gave what appeared to be a respectful bow and walked out of the inner chamber carrying the empty bowl.

Taking advantage of the brief moment when Zisu was passing off the empty bowl, Fang Shi rushed to a potted ornamental plant in the corner of the room and, drawing on the strong wave of nausea — physical and psychological combined — quickly expelled the herbal decoction she had just swallowed.

She had just hurriedly wiped the residue from the corners of her mouth and returned to sit on the bed when Zisu walked back in. She caught sight of Fang Shi sitting rigid on the bed, and a faint furrow crossed her brow, as though she had sensed something was not quite right.

Fang Shi did not move a muscle under her scrutinizing gaze, until Zisu withdrew her eyes, having found nothing, and stepped forward to help her lie flat on the bed.

“Now that the Empress Dowager has taken the calming decoction, this servant will withdraw. If the Empress Dowager needs anything, she may ring the bell to summon me — this servant will always be just outside.” Zisu said.

Fang Shi lay staring blankly up at the canopy above her, as though she had not heard a word.

After Zisu departed, the taut and rigid expression on Fang Shi’s face gradually relaxed, slowly melting into an inexpressible shade of sorrow.

Through the layers of the embroidered coverlet, her right hand moved to rest over her chest.

There lay a small, two-finger-wide arrow case.

It was a personal belonging she had hidden under the cushion of the daybed shortly after entering the room, while no one was watching. It was also the only thing she had brought out from the Qingfeng Army’s camp.

After bathing in the side room, she had taken advantage of the palace attendants tidying up afterward by returning to the daybed for a brief sit and quietly retrieving the arrow case.

She took out the arrow case that had been hidden in her lapel and raised it above her eyes.

Ordinarily, she looked at people and objects with a single sweeping glance that passed over them as if through shapeless mist — she could only catch a vague and blurry outline. These past few days, she had vaguely felt — perhaps it was the glare of the daylight — that everything she looked at had become considerably clearer.

It was very difficult not to believe that this was some kind of sign heaven was sending her.

The pattern of treasure-pearl carvings etched by hand on this arrow case was as clear as it had been many years ago, when her eyes had still been whole and she had watched that person lean against a carriage and carve with such concentration.

Memories of the past rose vividly before her eyes. No matter how the years assailed her, she could not forget — would not forget — for those were the only colors she had ever managed to hold in her entire life.

Could not forget —

Would not forget —

“A debt of blood must be repaid in blood. It is only right and proper.”

The child she had endured ten months of suffering to wrest back from the gates of death, bloodying herself in the process — a child she had never raised for a single day, whom she had not even held once from the moment of birth — had stared into her eyes without blinking, and pressed her to give the most agonizing answer of her life —

“And if the one who incurred this blood debt were your own flesh and blood?”

The shadow of the arrow case swam in her tear-blurred eyes.

That day, she had already made her decision.