Liu Ruyan closed her eyes, a crystal tear slipping down her cheek. "What a pity... Since ancient times, deep affection leaves only regret. The Emperor is no longer the man he once was."
Lu Yun's lips twitched in irritation.
Lu Yun thought this Consort Mei had lost her mind. The howling winter wind made her shiver, and she could hardly bear to stay in Liu Ruyan's company any longer.
"Bring me a cup of hot tea," Lu Yun said, her eyes darting as she beckoned to the attending maid, Xue Mei.
Xue Mei bent down, picked up the teapot, and poured the tea.
Steam curled upward.
The tea was warm, not scalding. Xue Mei carefully held the small white jade teacup and offered it to Lu Yun. Lu Yun pretended to reach for it but deliberately let go—
Clatter—
The cup shattered on the ground, tea soaking into Lu Yun's silver winter robes. She gasped in feigned surprise and stood abruptly. "Oh dear, my clothes are ruined. Consort Mei, I must return to Changxin Palace to change. Let us admire the plum blossoms another day."
Xue Mei froze in shock—she had seen clearly that Lu Yun had dropped the cup on purpose.
Liu Ruyan's expression darkened. "Go then. I shall invite you to admire the plums tomorrow."
This was exactly what Lu Yun had been waiting for. She pretended reluctance before taking her leave.
Snowflakes drifted down, leaving only Liu Ruyan and Xue Mei in the plum garden pavilion.
Liu Ruyan's displeasure was evident.
Meeting Lu Yun today had given her a rare sense of finding a kindred spirit. The other consorts in the palace were unbearably vulgar—none appreciated the noble beauty of plum blossoms. Instead, they huddled in warm chambers playing cards, embroidering, reading cheap novels, or sipping tea and cracking melon seeds with the princesses, laughing without a care.
Liu Ruyan despised their behavior. These were imperial consorts, yet they carried themselves like common market women.
Utterly crude.
To finally encounter someone like Lu Yun, who shared her refined tastes, had been a delight. But before they could even discuss poetry, Xue Mei's blunder with the tea had cut their meeting short.
"Xue Mei, you’ve been making too many mistakes lately," Liu Ruyan said sternly, her beautiful eyes filled with disappointment.
Xue Mei opened her mouth to explain. "My lady, it was Miss Lu who dropped the cup on purpose—"
"Lies?" Liu Ruyan's voice turned icy. "Miss Lu is a woman of quiet elegance. Why would she trouble you deliberately? Clearly, you were distracted and spilled it yourself, yet you dare shift the blame?"
Since entering the palace, Liu Ruyan had often been melancholy and lax in discipline. The servants of Yuxiu Palace were neither harshly treated nor particularly favored.
Xue Mei had been personally chosen as her personal maid—once efficient and reliable, but lately, her attitude had grown careless, even defiant at times.
Liu Ruyan was deeply displeased. Her authority was being challenged.
Her voice was calm but cold. "I have been too lenient with you, and you’ve forgotten your place as a servant. Kneel beneath the red plum tree for an hour and reflect on your mistakes."
Xue Mei’s heart plummeted.
An hour in the snow would cripple even the strongest body. Her legs would be ruined. She dropped to her knees, tears streaming. "My lady, this servant... this servant knows her fault."
Liu Ruyan said indifferently, "Then kneel. An hour is not so long."
The wind howled, scattering sparks from the brazier in the pavilion.
Xue Mei’s heart sank into an abyss. Staring at the endless white snow, she felt her heart freeze over.
Palace maids were allowed to leave at twenty-five. Xue Mei thought bitterly—she might not live to see spring.
...
Night fell.
After dinner, Li Yuanjing eagerly pulled Shen Wei into a game of Go. Shen Wei had no interest in the game and repeatedly refused, but Li Yuanjing eventually pressed her onto the divan and set up the board.
The room was warm, the copper brazier filling the air with the scent of plum blossoms. Shen Wei shamelessly cheated, moving pieces and altering the board, yet she still lost miserably—twice.
She slapped a piece down. "I’m done."
Li Yuanjing chuckled. "Go requires a tranquil mind."
Shen Wei retorted without shame, "How can anyone stay tranquil in this cold?"
Just then, footsteps approached. Cai Lian entered and bowed. "My lady, Princess Nanzhi requests an audience. She seems distressed."
Seizing the excuse to escape the game, Shen Wei said, "Bring her in."
Soon, a tearful Li Nanzhi stumbled in, her clothes dusted with snow.
Her eyes were red from crying, her gown stained from falls along the way. The moment she saw Shen Wei, she rushed forward, sobbing. "Lady Consort, please save her! Save Aunt Xue Mei—she’s dying!"
Shen Wei pressed a warm hand-warmer into Li Nanzhi’s grip and spoke gently. "Don’t cry. What happened?"
Li Nanzhi hadn’t noticed the Emperor’s presence. Sniffling, she explained.
Returning to Yuxiu Palace from Cining Palace, she couldn’t find Xue Mei. Upon asking, she learned Xue Mei had been punished—made to kneel in the snow. The cold had numbed her mind, and in her delirium, she must have said something that enraged Liu Ruyan further.
Xue Mei had collapsed in the snow, nearly frozen to death.
Though carried back to Yuxiu Palace, she remained unconscious, her breath faint. Worse, Liu Ruyan had forbidden calling a physician.
Li Nanzhi cherished Xue Mei deeply. On countless nights when she’d lacked a mother’s love, Xue Mei had been her comfort.
She couldn’t bear to watch Xue Mei perish. After pleading in vain with Liu Ruyan, she had braved the snow to beg Shen Wei for help.
"Lady Consort, please save her. Aunt Xue Mei has been so kind to me—she can’t die..." Li Nanzhi’s voice broke, tears falling unchecked.
Shen Wei wiped her cheeks. "Don’t cry, child. I’ll help."
She turned to Cai Lian. "Go to the imperial hospital at once and fetch Doctor Mo to Yuxiu Palace. If Consort Mei interferes, ignore her."
Cai Lian, who also cared for Xue Mei, immediately rushed out into the snow.
Outside, the snow had begun anew. Shen Wei bundled Li Nanzhi in a thick cloak and sent two maids to escort her back to Yuxiu Palace.
When she turned back, Li Yuanjing was still studying the Go board—though he had heard everything.
He set down a piece. "Come. One more game."
Shen Wei demurred. "It’s late. Tomorrow, I must visit Yuxiu Palace. Your Majesty, will you rest with me instead?"
"A servant isn’t worth such trouble," Li Yuanjing said, faintly puzzled.
Shen Wei sat beside him. "The Empress Dowager once told me that Qing State is built upon countless humble lives—small and weak, yet together, they form a nation."
Li Yuanjing’s brow arched slightly.
Exhaustion tugged at Shen Wei. She pulled Li Yuanjing toward the bed and soon drifted asleep. He held her, lost in thought.
Outside, snow fell silently. The red plums in the courtyard blazed like blood. The night passed, uneasily, into dawn.
...
The next day, the snow ceased, and the skies cleared.
After attending to palace affairs, Shen Wei invited Zhang Miaoyu to accompany her to Yuxiu Palace—to check on Li Nanzhi and see if Xue Mei’s condition had improved.
The entrance of Yuxiu Palace was piled high with snow, and Zhang Miaoyu nearly tripped over the thick accumulation at the threshold. Frowning, she scolded the palace maids, "Why hasn't the snow at the entrance been cleared?"
The servants trembled as they replied, "Your Highness, it’s not negligence on our part! Our mistress finds the snow beneath the eaves quite beautiful and forbade us from sweeping it away."
Zhang Miaoyu rolled her eyes in exasperation and muttered, "Such pretentiousness."
