winter night snow

"Really? You're saying there were no of Zhuoyu's belongings in that room? Zhao Peiming just walked out by himself?" Fu Qinxiang smiled and took a sip of tea, savoring the slightly bitter aftertaste.

"Absolutely true."

"Where is Zhuoyu? Have you found it?" Fu Qinxiang glanced at the cups that Zhuoyu had touched, which were brought up by the servant, but she couldn't find any flaws. So she pushed the tray to the side.

"Not found yet."

Fu Qinxiang glanced down at Fu Chengxi, whose expression was unusually calm, yet his chest heaved like a raging torrent. She paused, then chuckled to Heng Hui, "Just say that Zhuoyu mysteriously disappeared while serving General Zhao. We'll submit a memorial requesting instructions and vow to investigate to the end."

"Report!" The assassins rushed into the house, their sweat instantly enveloping the room.

"Zhao Peiming has submitted a memorial impeaching you for drugging a maidservant in her wine, which is detrimental to your official conduct!"

Fu Qinxiang gripped the armrest tightly, her expression suddenly tense: "Go on!"

"He somehow obtained Zhuoyu's suicide note and presented it along with the leftover wine from the banquet and the servants who cleaned up the mess! Now the Emperor has sent someone this way!"

"Damn it..." Heng Hui gritted his teeth, "This wild horse actually tried to bite back."

Fu Qinxiang smiled easily and said, "The authenticity of the will is still uncertain. As for the so-called wine, witnesses, etc., can they be taken for granted just because Zhao Peiming says so?" She leaned forward slightly, her hair falling naturally to her chest. "He is already at the border, and he has no way of being involved in matters of the court. At this moment, he is eager to strike first, and he must think he has it all figured out. However..." As she said this, everyone looked expectantly. Fu Qinxiang clapped her hands three times, and a person walked out from the side hall.

This is a perfect replica of Zhuo Yu! Her figure, expression, and appearance are all like a reflection in a mirror, and even the mole between her eyebrows is incredibly lifelike.

Fu Qinxiang enjoyed the astonished looks of the crowd and slowly said, "This little wild horse is starting out and wants to be my enemy. He's a bit ungrateful." After saying that, she summoned "Bracelet Rain" to her side, gently rubbed her soft hands, and said in a kind tone, "Have you remembered what I taught you? If you say it right and act it well, your parents will have plenty of mansions and palaces, and you will have a lifetime of wealth and honor."

One of the assassins couldn't contain himself and started jeering, "Hey, it's better to be born lucky than good. Look at my face, how much do I resemble Zhuoyu? Why don't you take me in too, play a maid or a young lady, and I can rise to prominence faster, hehe."

"Fine, I love you, then how about you cut off that damn thing of yours first?" Fu Qinxiang replied coldly.

This time, everyone burst into laughter, and the man scratched his head and remained silent. "Bracelet Rain" and the group laughed along, taking the opportunity to observe Fu Qinxiang's expression.

Upon entering the hall, Zhao Peiming's attendants were already waiting, along with the imperial physician and witnesses, all standing below the steps. Fu Qinxiang stepped forward gracefully and asked with a smile, "I wonder what Your Majesty has summoned me here for at this time? I am willing to go through fire and water to serve you faithfully."

The emperor raised his hand, and the men stepped forward to surround Fu Qinxiang, showing her the evidence in their hands one by one, and said: "You held a farewell banquet for my important ministers guarding the border, took the opportunity to drink, and then used poison to murder your maid. Do you have any defense?" As soon as he finished speaking, the guards on both sides made a move to seize her.

Fu Qinxiang curtsied languidly, a hint of coquettishness in her voice. "Your Majesty actually believes his nonsense? My beloved servant, Zhuoyu, is of lowly birth and completely illiterate. Her will must have been forged by someone else. This wine is a tribute item; if she were to drug the General without authorization, wouldn't I be guilty of a capital offense? As for the attendant, there are many people and faces at the banquet. It's possible that the General simply chose one of his trusted confidants to impersonate her!" Her eyes darted around, and she put a finger to her lips, striking a seductive pose. "Besides... since the General insists that Zhuoyu is dead, then who is this?"

After he finished speaking, a person knelt in from outside the hall. The emperor ordered the guards to escort him in and said to the servant at the banquet, "Take a close look. Is this the maid named Zhuoyu from the banquet that day?"

The witness stepped forward timidly, glanced at the woman twice, and then suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I deserve to die! The banquet was a long time ago, and I really couldn't recognize Zhuoyu's appearance... really..."

Fu Qinxiang thought to herself that she didn't want to offend either side, when "Zhuoyu" suddenly interrupted, "This servant deserves to die! This servant deserves to die!"

Fu Qinxiang feigned surprise and said, "Zhuyu, don't be afraid. Report everything to the Emperor so that we can get to the bottom of this matter."

"Bracelet Rain" then burst into tears, "Your Majesty, this servant...this servant saw that General Zhao was handsome...I risked my life to secretly add a sleeping potion and took advantage of him...This servant deserves to die, this servant deserves to die!"

"Fine! I've always treated you well, yet you dare to plot against the General! You've disgraced me, Fu Qinxiang, and even harmed a great general of the Great Zhao?!" Fu Qinxiang declared vehemently, "In my humble opinion, he should be executed without pardon, as a warning to all the servants!"

The Emperor hesitated, glancing at Zhuoyu—the girl, her face flushed, was now hanging precariously from the elbows of the two guards, sobbing as if she were about to die. He then looked at the sole witness—the man dared not raise his head, trembling on the ground like a leaf, his robe soaked through. Fu Qinxiang, on the other hand, bowed earnestly, her expression unreadable.

Even Zhao Peiming, who couldn't defeat the old snake himself, dared to openly impeach him, probably because he was confident of victory. "Zhu Yu, leave her here; I will interrogate her personally. All other witnesses and evidence must be preserved for further investigation! This matter concerns the reputations of the General and the Grand Preceptor; losing such trusted advisors would be a great loss, and I cannot afford to be careless!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Qinxiang raised an eyebrow and stepped back, saying, "Then Your Highness must investigate thoroughly. If General Zhao is wronged, I will be torn to pieces."

The emperor watched helplessly as Fu Qinxiang, clad in silk robes, floated out of the hall.

"Do you think I'll be punished for all the things I've done over the past ten years?" Fu Qinxiang got out of the sedan chair unhurriedly and squeezed Heng Hui's hand.

"...Didn't you never believe in these things? Did you dream about that broken Buddha statue in the backyard again? I'll go smash it right now," Heng Hui said helplessly.

"I dreamt of an old friend—Jiang Zhong." Seeing that the sunlight was just right, Fu Qinxiang slowed her pace as she walked through the hall, wanting to savor the warmth that didn't belong to her.

The winter night was filled with heavy snow. Fu Qinxiang, draped in a mink coat and wearing a woolen hat with a ring of pigeon blood that gleamed through the snow, looked like a jackal who had just had a hearty meal, standing out starkly against the pristine white world. Two dark figures moved behind her with each step.

Fu Qinxiang entered the room, where Jiang Zhong was concentrating on writing a memorial. The candlelight barely illuminated half of his face, which looked haggard with graying hair. Several withered branches were wrapped around his writing brush, making him look like a sculpture.

Fu Qinxiang was satisfied. She chuckled and stepped into the room with a deafening thud in her beaded boots. The two people behind her looked like ghosts in the light.

"Why aren't you afraid?" Fu Qinxiang leaned closer to Jiang Zhong. Jiang Zhong always had a cool, refreshing scent of pine and cypress, but to Fu Qinxiang it was too pungent, more like her nasal cavity being pricked by its needles.

Jiang Zhong put down his pen, slowly closed his eyes, and said, "There is no reason for the righteous to fear the invasion of evil." His tuft of white beard was illuminated by the light, making him appear almost transparent. In the shadows, one of the two men looked smug, while the other frowned in sorrow.

"Let's send our Prime Minister Jiang off in style." Fu Qinxiang said, then turned and left, surrounded by the fragrance of peonies.

The two men exchanged a glance, and with a swift movement, the knife fell.

“Brother, we will be punished…we…” one of them tugged at the sleeve of the knife-wiping man, cowering in fear.

The man slapped him and cursed, "You bastard! Your life is more important! If your mother finds out you said that, we'll all end up like Jiang Zhong!"

The younger ones fell silent. The snow was soft, and stepping on it brought a strange sense of loss. He looked down at the footprints he had made, which gradually overlapped with those of Fu Qinxiang—his "mother." He began to question the path, wondering if he had seemingly followed the guide closely but had actually lost his way.

A gust of wind blew, making him squint. He could only warm his frozen, red hands by breathing on them. He missed his days as a wandering healer. Seeing the smiles on the faces of those as homeless as himself, feeling their pulses, made him feel as if those cherished by others far from home were given a second life in his hands. His elder brother, a Robin Hood-like figure who robbed the rich to help the poor, a true "knight-errant" in the eyes of the people, had been recruited by Fu Qinxiang. After his brother was recruited, he and Fu Qinxiang followed her, acknowledging her as their mother. From then on, his brother's blade was no longer aimed at the powerful and wealthy, but rather at those who opposed their mother, regardless of good or bad, right or wrong. Unlike before, they were now well-fed and warmly clothed. Thinking of this, he tightened his fur collar, huddled in the warmth, and painfully numbed his last vestiges of consciousness.

"Hurry up! Keep up!" The older brother called out a few more times from ahead, then simply reached out and pulled him along. "Don't keep thinking about nonsense. We're just doing this for money. She's the one who'll get her comeuppance, it has nothing to do with us!" The older brother suddenly stopped, rubbing the small hand together. "Thanks to you for saving him and feeling his bones and arteries, otherwise I would have had to feel around to finish him off! Jiang Zhong should thank you from the afterlife."

"Brother, let's go." He pulled his brother back and walked forward on his own. The two shadows blended into the night, and the footprints of the three people gradually became only visible as one person.

Fu Qinxiang didn't wait for any of them, nor did she face Jiang Heng directly. She only vaguely saw Jiang Zhong's face in the straw mat, his eyes bloodshot and glaring, without hatred, only a raging fire of anger.

She should be the only one who is afraid, yet she is the only one who is not afraid.

But then she dreamed of those eyes again. Ten years had passed since then, and Jiang Heng was about to come of age. Only she, Fu Qinxiang, had aged. From her former "spiritedness" to the present, when the situation was about to be settled, she had thought she was only missing an opportunity, but that opportunity had taken twenty years to arrive. She hated seeing spring grass sprouting upwards, especially two strong, seemingly in sync plants.

That look was clearly one of certainty, certain that the good would be pushed aside by the new generation, and the bad would be doomed to perish in the mud.

"When did Jiang Heng and Zhao Peiming meet?" Fu Qinxiang suddenly broke the silence, startling Heng Hui.

“…Wasn’t Jiang Heng taken away by Zhao Chen first? It must have been Zhao Chen who took the opportunity to bring it up, hoping to have someone to help him in court later… But judging from his behavior in court, Jiang Heng still harbors resentment towards Zhao Chen,” Heng Hui sneered. “Jiang Heng was utterly ruthless towards Zhao Peiming.”

Fu Qinxiang seemed to be deep in thought before finally heading from the small courtyard into the main hall. As she stepped inside, she said, "That makes sense. But we must keep a close eye on them. If they join forces, who knows what kind of chaos they might cause in the future."

Fu Qinxiang thought, "I'd rather Zhao Peiming become smarter through her own hard work than have her guided by some expert."