A godlike man stood in the snow under Mount Xiqi. As he turned around, his jade-like beauty was nestled within the black fox fur collar. His pitch-black, deep eyes, high nose bridge, and thin, red lips were all arrogantly aloof and noble.
The north wind howled as white snowflakes swirled around.
That face, handsome beyond compare, eyes like bright stars, looked steadily at her.
Gu Ying's heart shook, and she raised her hand to hold her suddenly aching temples, shaking her head slightly.
She was already unable to sleep, and now she was even more awake.
Hai Tang had been sleeping on the low couch outside the curtained canopy bed. Today she had been slapped and doused with a basin of cold water by Jiang Ling'er, catching a chill. She had extinguished the lights and gone to bed early.
"Mistress...Mistress..."
"Mistress, run away quickly..."
"Mistress, run away quickly!"
Hai Tang's intermittent murmurs came from outside.
Gu Ying eased her own pain for a while, then groped to put on a thick fox fur coat. Taking an oil lamp, she went to the outer room.
Hai Tang's face was flushed as she lay on the low couch, burning hot, delirious with fever.
Gu Ying was afraid she would die in her sleep, so she patted Hai Tang's cheeks to wake her up.
But when Hai Tang opened her eyes, it was as if she saw a ghost. She screamed, "Ah! You witch, who exactly are you? Why do you look exactly the same as my mistress!"
Mistress? What mistress?
Gu Ying didn't understand. She held Hai Tang by the shoulders and said, "Hai Tang, what's wrong with you? Look closely, it's me!"
Hai Tang's eyes were full of terror, wildly avoiding Gu Ying's gaze. Tears streamed down her face as she cried, "Don't kill me...don't..."
"No one will kill you, Hai Tang. What's wrong with you?"
"Mistress, mistress," Hai Tang cried mournfully again. "You must leave quickly, they will harm you..."
Gu Ying's heart chilled sharply. For some reason, a burst of cold shot up her back. "Harm me? Who will harm me?"
Hai Tang continued crying, gasping for breath as she pushed Gu Ying away. "Mistress, run away quickly..."
Gu Ying frowned. She really had no choice but to let Hai Tang lie back down while she herself went to the small kitchen to brew medicine for her.
Outside, the cold wind howled. The pitch-black night was like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.
Gu Ying shrank her neck and went into the kitchen. Only then did she realize her medicine bowl was as cold as an ice compress. She really couldn't drink it, so she casually poured it into the drainage under the eaves.
Yet the entire Hidden Fragrance Manor gave off an indescribable gloom.
It made her heart even more uneasy.
...
The next day, Hai Tang's high fever finally receded.
Gu Ying had kept vigil at her bedside all night, dreaming one strange dream after another.
Hai Tang woke up with a blank look in her eyes. Seeing the woman slumped next to her, she said hoarsely, "Miss, why are you here?"
Chaotic great fires swallowed people in an instant, like a fiery dragon. A tearing pain came from between her legs, followed by the cry of a baby, like thunder splitting the clouds.
Gu Ying opened her eyes wide, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat. For a long time she couldn't regain her senses.
"Miss..." Hai Tang's eyes were also confused.
Gu Ying moved her eyes. Only then did she realize she was in her bedroom. There was no great fire, nor a bawling baby...
She felt bitter inside and gave a wry smile. "I just had a nightmare and dreamed I gave birth to a very cute child. It's just that the child didn't look much like me. It looked like..."
Who did it look like? She couldn't say, but it didn't look like Jiang Yin either.
Hai Tang's eyes flickered. "A child?"
Gu Ying said strangely, "Yes, in the dream there was also...a strange man...He..."
Again she couldn't continue. Those images were too fuzzy, as if they had happened, yet as if they hadn't.
She only knew that man...held her and fell back into the large red mandarin duck embroidered quilt, kissing her passionately. His scorching body heat nearly burned her up completely.
Yet she did not feel averse to him at all. On the contrary, she liked being intimate with him, wishing they could be entwined for all eternity.
Gu Ying's face reddened slightly in embarrassment. She felt as if she had done something wrong behind Jiang Yin's back.
But Hai Tang suddenly grabbed Gu Ying's hand, staring blankly. "Mistress."
The moment she uttered "Mistress", she froze.
Gu Ying looked at her puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Hai Tang opened and closed her mouth, frowning. "Medicine."
Gu Ying's eyes narrowed. "Last night you..."
Like her, Hai Tang often took medicine. But having gone to bed early last night after catching a chill, she had forgotten to take her medicine. So neither of them had taken any medicine.
Hai Tang pursed her lips, looking at Gu Ying in confusion with watery eyes. "Miss, don't you find it strange? We can't leave Peach Blossom Town, nor can we leave Hidden Fragrance Manor. Usually no one comes here, yet the manor is heavily guarded all around."
Gu Ying said, "Jiang Yin has no official position or fame, so where do the guards come from?"
Hai Tang shook her head. "I don't know either. When I woke up, I was already inside Hidden Fragrance Manor. Before you came, I had always served Lady Jiang and Jiang Ling'er. Every night they would have me drink medicine before sleeping."
So it had been the medicine all along.
Gu Ying's expression grew serious. "Let's not take any medicine starting today."
Hai Tang nodded heavily.
...
Bianjing.
In the thick snowstorm, a low-key black mule carriage set off from Zhenguo Duke Manor, heading towards the city gates.
The cries of the baby inside the carriage were especially shrill.
The commoners taking shelter from the snow on the street sides couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
"Have you heard? The young mistress of the Duke Manor died in childbirth... Now there's only the widowed Crown Prince with the little Crown Prince."
"No wonder the child is crying so sadly. He lost his mother as soon as he was born, how pitiful."
"The young mistress was perfectly fine, how could she suddenly die?"
"Giving birth is a woman's gate of hell, her status doesn't change that."
"Didn't the Crown Prince only just wake up recently... Where is he going now?"
"I heard after the young mistress died, the Crown Prince went mad looking for his wife everywhere. He was too overcome with grief to search himself earlier, and only recovered somewhat recently."
"But with her dead, how can he find her?"
Everyone sighed long and deep. Zhao Changdu won a major victory at the border and defended the country, with great military might. The common people had always respected and loved him.
Knowing he had become a widower, every household prayed for him, hoping he could soon emerge from his grief.
But that tactless fellow had to come stir up trouble.
"Yo! Isn't this Bianjing's fresh new widower, Zhao Changdu, Crown Prince Zhao!" A man on a tall horse slowly blocked the carriage path. "Where are you going? How can you leave without saying goodbye to Princess Lesu?"
The carriage stopped in the snowy mist. Other than the child's cries, there was no movement inside.
A godlike man stood in the snow under Mount Xiqi. As he turned around, his jade-like beauty was nestled within the black fox fur collar. His pitch-black, deep eyes, high nose bridge, and thin, red lips were all arrogantly aloof and noble.
The north wind howled as white snowflakes swirled around.
That face, handsome beyond compare, eyes like bright stars, looked steadily at her.
Gu Ying's heart shook, and she raised her hand to hold her suddenly aching temples, shaking her head slightly.
She was already unable to sleep, and now she was even more awake.
Hai Tang had been sleeping on the low couch outside the curtained canopy bed. Today she had been slapped and doused with a basin of cold water by Jiang Ling'er, catching a chill. She had extinguished the lights and gone to bed early.
"Mistress...Mistress..."
"Mistress, run away quickly..."
"Mistress, run away quickly!"
Hai Tang's intermittent murmurs came from outside.
Gu Ying eased her own pain for a while, then groped to put on a thick fox fur coat. Taking an oil lamp, she went to the outer room.
Hai Tang's face was flushed as she lay on the low couch, burning hot, delirious with fever.
Gu Ying was afraid she would die in her sleep, so she patted Hai Tang's cheeks to wake her up.
But when Hai Tang opened her eyes, it was as if she saw a ghost. She screamed, "Ah! You witch, who exactly are you? Why do you look exactly the same as my mistress!"
Mistress? What mistress?
Gu Ying didn't understand. She held Hai Tang by the shoulders and said, "Hai Tang, what's wrong with you? Look closely, it's me!"
Hai Tang's eyes were full of terror, wildly avoiding Gu Ying's gaze. Tears streamed down her face as she cried, "Don't kill me...don't..."
"No one will kill you, Hai Tang. What's wrong with you?"
"Mistress, mistress," Hai Tang cried mournfully again. "You must leave quickly, they will harm you..."
Gu Ying's heart chilled sharply. For some reason, a burst of cold shot up her back. "Harm me? Who will harm me?"
Hai Tang continued crying, gasping for breath as she pushed Gu Ying away. "Mistress, run away quickly..."
Gu Ying frowned. She really had no choice but to let Hai Tang lie back down while she herself went to the small kitchen to brew medicine for her.
Outside, the cold wind howled. The pitch-black night was like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.
Gu Ying shrank her neck and went into the kitchen. Only then did she realize her medicine bowl was as cold as an ice compress. She really couldn't drink it, so she casually poured it into the drainage under the eaves.
Yet the entire Hidden Fragrance Manor gave off an indescribable gloom.
It made her heart even more uneasy.
...
The next day, Hai Tang's high fever finally receded.
Gu Ying had kept vigil at her bedside all night, dreaming one strange dream after another.
Hai Tang woke up with a blank look in her eyes. Seeing the woman slumped next to her, she said hoarsely, "Miss, why are you here?"
Chaotic great fires swallowed people in an instant, like a fiery dragon. A tearing pain came from between her legs, followed by the cry of a baby, like thunder splitting the clouds.
Gu Ying opened her eyes wide, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat. For a long time she couldn't regain her senses.
"Miss..." Hai Tang's eyes were also confused.
Gu Ying moved her eyes. Only then did she realize she was in her bedroom. There was no great fire, nor a bawling baby...
She felt bitter inside and gave a wry smile. "I just had a nightmare and dreamed I gave birth to a very cute child. It's just that the child didn't look much like me. It looked like..."
Who did it look like? She couldn't say, but it didn't look like Jiang Yin either.
Hai Tang's eyes flickered. "A child?"
Gu Ying said strangely, "Yes, in the dream there was also...a strange man...He..."
Again she couldn't continue. Those images were too fuzzy, as if they had happened, yet as if they hadn't.
She only knew that man...held her and fell back into the large red mandarin duck embroidered quilt, kissing her passionately. His scorching body heat nearly burned her up completely.
Yet she did not feel averse to him at all. On the contrary, she liked being intimate with him, wishing they could be entwined for all eternity.
Gu Ying's face reddened slightly in embarrassment. She felt as if she had done something wrong behind Jiang Yin's back.
But Hai Tang suddenly grabbed Gu Ying's hand, staring blankly. "Mistress."
The moment she uttered "Mistress", she froze.
Gu Ying looked at her puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Hai Tang opened and closed her mouth, frowning. "Medicine."
Gu Ying's eyes narrowed. "Last night you..."
Like her, Hai Tang often took medicine. But having gone to bed early last night after catching a chill, she had forgotten to take her medicine. So neither of them had taken any medicine.
Hai Tang pursed her lips, looking at Gu Ying in confusion with watery eyes. "Miss, don't you find it strange? We can't leave Peach Blossom Town, nor can we leave Hidden Fragrance Manor. Usually no one comes here, yet the manor is heavily guarded all around."
Gu Ying said, "Jiang Yin has no official position or fame, so where do the guards come from?"
Hai Tang shook her head. "I don't know either. When I woke up, I was already inside Hidden Fragrance Manor. Before you came, I had always served Lady Jiang and Jiang Ling'er. Every night they would have me drink medicine before sleeping."
So it had been the medicine all along.
Gu Ying's expression grew serious. "Let's not take any medicine starting today."
Hai Tang nodded heavily.
...
Bianjing.
In the thick snowstorm, a low-key black mule carriage set off from Zhenguo Duke Manor, heading towards the city gates.
The cries of the baby inside the carriage were especially shrill.
The commoners taking shelter from the snow on the street sides couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
"Have you heard? The young mistress of the Duke Manor died in childbirth... Now there's only the widowed Crown Prince with the little Crown Prince."
"No wonder the child is crying so sadly. He lost his mother as soon as he was born, how pitiful."
"The young mistress was perfectly fine, how could she suddenly die?"
"Giving birth is a woman's gate of hell, her status doesn't change that."
"Didn't the Crown Prince only just wake up recently... Where is he going now?"
"I heard after the young mistress died, the Crown Prince went mad looking for his wife everywhere. He was too overcome with grief to search himself earlier, and only recovered somewhat recently."
"But with her dead, how can he find her?"
Everyone sighed long and deep. Zhao Changdu won a major victory at the border and defended the country, with great military might. The common people had always respected and loved him.
Knowing he had become a widower, every household prayed for him, hoping he could soon emerge from his grief.
But that tactless fellow had to come stir up trouble.
"Yo! Isn't this Bianjing's fresh new widower, Zhao Changdu, Crown Prince Zhao!" A man on a tall horse slowly blocked the carriage path. "Where are you going? How can you leave without saying goodbye to Princess Lesu?"
The carriage stopped in the snowy mist. Other than the child's cries, there was no movement inside.
