First snow
The sky gradually brightened.
The pale morning light seeped through the clouds; the flames had long since burned out, leaving only charred rubble and wisps of smoke. A wind blew in from outside the palace walls, carrying an eerie stillness. A moment later, a few snowflakes drifted down slowly, swirling gently in the air.
It turned out to be the first snow of the winter.
Zhou Weikan withdrew his hand, which had partially lifted the curtain. The heater in the carriage was almost burnt out, with only the aroma of tea lingering in the air.
With slender fingers, he picked up a still-warm cup of tea and slowly savored it.
The person opposite him, whose hands had been bound almost all night, still sat upright. However, his eyes, which were usually filled with romanticism, were now bloodshot, and his chiseled face was now shrouded in exhaustion.
Snowflakes fluttered down outside the window. Dou Yanxun's eyes darkened, and his voice became hoarse as he said:
"A whole night has passed, how long does Young Master Zhou intend to keep me trapped?"
His hands bore countless bloody marks from attempts to break free using brute force and internal energy, the veins now bulging, some even turning a dark purple. Yet he still couldn't escape those gleaming golden shackles.
All night long, his heart was in his throat. Even through the thick palace walls, he could clearly hear the shouts of battle echoing along the imperial road outside the carriage. First came the clamor, then the shouts of the soldiers, followed by chaos, and then a brief period of calm.
Occasionally, the echoes of horses neighing and swords clashing could be heard, but they were quickly swallowed up by the sound of the wind, and now the sound of snow.
Until all sounds returned to silence.
The world must still be in turmoil. But at this moment, all he cares about is the safety of that one person who has always been on his mind.
Zhou Weikan completely ignored Dou Yanxun's questioning and did not answer a word. He simply raised his cup and sipped his tea, a tiny ripple spreading across the clear tea soup.
After a long while, he put down his teacup, his lips twitched slightly, his handsome face was too pale due to illness, and his tone was so indifferent that it was almost flat.
“Lord Dou has asked me this several times,” he said. “I have answered this question before, and the answer has remained the same.”
Dou Yanxun watched Zhou Weikan cough a few times and then drink tea to suppress it, his expression cold and stern as he said:
"You don't have much time left, do you?"
Zhou Weikan's fingers trembled slightly as she held the teacup, seemingly oblivious to what she had heard. She simply raised her eyebrows and looked out the window at the silently falling snowflakes.
It almost submerged the entire imperial city.
Soon, people will forget the carnage that unfolded here last night. The blood and bones will eventually be covered by the snow, and no one will know what happened here anymore. History may be rewritten, or it may not. But those who ultimately stand atop mountains of corpses and seas of blood always hold the power of discourse. Ordinary people, once dead, are simply gone. Aside from their parents and children, who else truly cares?
Ignoring Zhou Weikan's silence, Dou Yanxun continued in a cold voice:
"You are as wealthy as kings and nobles, possessing vast fortunes, and have a reclusive divine physician like Renquan Shanren by your side, yet you still look sickly. This shows that your illness is a chronic and intractable disease... an ailment that even a peerless divine physician cannot cure."
Zhou Weikan raised her eyes, interrupting Dou Yanxun's words, but her eyes betrayed a faint jealousy.
"She's even willing to tell you about the Renquan Mountain Man; she really is willing to tell you anything."
Dou Yanxun shook his head. "She didn't mention it; I guessed it myself."
He stared intently at Zhou Weikan and said again:
"You could have quietly enjoyed the wealth you could never spend in several lifetimes, traveling and indulging in the pleasures of life. Yet you were willing to risk your head to conspire with the Crown Prince to usurp the throne, which shows that you are adventurous by nature and not someone who is complacent and stagnant."
A knowing glint flashed across Zhou Weikan's eyes.
The next moment, Dou Yanxun shook the chains on his hands and sighed softly:
"However, your Zhou family is shrewd and calculating, and you won't even let the Crown Prince go. Those weapons that the Crown Prince paid a lot of money to have you forge are nothing more than a mixture of good and bad, half genuine and half fake. They are probably inferior products that you didn't even bother to put any effort into, and may not even be as well-made as the chains that bind me. If the Crown Prince is really persuaded by you to raise an army, he will end up with a tragic end."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Weikan couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips into a smile.
"What? I've never denied that I'm nothing more than a petty, opportunistic man. Lord Dou, are you now speaking so righteously to seek justice for your former master?"
"Dou Yanxun is all alone. He has never had a former master, and he will never have a new one to serve."
Dou Yanxun withdrew his gaze, earnestly corrected him, and then stared intently at his own wrist.
"...Deep down, we both know perfectly well that your secret cooperation with the Crown Prince was never for fame or fortune or for your own selfish desires."
A soft crackling sound came from the stove.
Zhou Weikan kept his eyes down, twirling the tea lid with his fingertips, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.
"You want to stir up a storm in this calm river—to watch those self-proclaimed noble boats capsize, to watch order collapse, to watch people's hearts crumble, to watch the seemingly peaceful world fall apart, and then... let it overturn, and then teeter on the brink of collapse."
"Just like today."
As soon as he finished speaking, the only sound in the car was the sound of falling snow.
Zhou Weikan's smile faded, and she put down her teacup. The incense burner inside the carriage had burned out sometime earlier, and a chill mixed with the snow vapor gradually seeped in from outside the window.
He has always been sensitive to the cold, and now that he has been suddenly exposed to the chill, he couldn't help but cough repeatedly.
Dou Yanxun looked at him calmly until Zhou Weikan covered his lips with a handkerchief and finally stopped coughing, then continued:
"I presume I have already answered Young Master Zhou's question. Now, please let me leave as agreed."
That was a question Zhou Weikan casually posed to him shortly after he was escorted onto the carriage.
If he wants to leave this place and save Lin Xu, he must answer his question unless he can break free of these chains.
This question has always been like a dagger troubling Dou Yanxun's mind. Ever since his first encounter with Zhou Weikan, ever since both of them couldn't help but fall in love with Lin Xu, and ever since they both joined the camp of Crown Prince Wei Yun in his quest for the throne.
During these times, this question lingered in Dou Yanxun's mind, never settling down for a single day.
The question itself was almost ridiculously simple: who exactly is he?
Zhou Weikan remained silent for a moment, then smiled again. His gentle, jade-like face, devoid of color, was like a sculpture carved from ice and snow, a perfect statue devoid of emotions. However, when he spoke, the disappointment in his eyes, like piled-up snow, gradually flowed out.
"You're really smart. No wonder she can't see anyone else anymore."
Dou Yanxun bent down and slowly stood up. He had been sitting for so long that even his legs were starting to go numb. He sighed almost inaudibly, lifted the carriage curtain, and stepped down from the carriage.
"...Actually, Your Highness has not trapped me with my legs, but only with my hands. My accompanying Your Highness tonight for tea and snow appreciation is entirely of my own free will. In this way, I can consider it an honor to have met Your Highness."
The cold wind, mixed with chill and snowflakes, suddenly and recklessly seeped into every corner of the carriage.
Zhou Weikan's cold laughter rang out behind him.
"You're only rushing there now? Aren't you worried that the outside world will be a complete mess and it will be too late?"
Dou Yanxun left a footprint on the soft snow and looked back at the face inside the carriage.
“Your Highness cares about her no less than I do. From the moment Your Highness still intended to imprison me, I knew that she would be safe and sound tonight.”
A hint of annoyance surfaced on Zhou Weikan's face. It was rare for someone who was usually gentle and refined, like a spring breeze brushing against snow, to show such an angry expression.
He seemed to remember something, his eyes darkened, and his voice was almost drowned out by the wind and snow:
"Don't tell her about my affairs."
Dou Yanxun walked forward, almost without stopping, leaving footprint after footprint in the wind and snow, which were quickly blown away by the wind and snow. Soon, the surroundings were a vast expanse of white.
Even the sunlight seemed blindingly bright.
The imperial road had long been covered by blood and snow, and the world had returned to silence.
The imperial carriage bearing the banner of the royal merchant slowly drove out of the palace gate, its iron wheels making a very soft sound as they rolled over the thin snow.
Zhou Weikan remained seated in the carriage, his clothes neat and his expression calm as usual. He clutched the silk handkerchief in his hand tightly, and fine traces of blood had already seeped out.
The carriage moved slowly along when, without anyone noticing, a woman in military attire quietly slipped into the carriage, her hair still covered in snow. The woman had a delicate face, but her expression held a bravery and solemnity that rivaled any man's.
She knelt on one knee and whispered:
"Reporting to the patriarch, the palace coup has been quelled. Prince Mao has been imprisoned for his rebellion. With the help of Liao Yan and Marquis Liangping, the rebel army has been completely wiped out. The emperor and the crown prince were both frightened, but their lives are not in danger."
Zhou Weikan's fingertips paused slightly, his gaze seemingly looking through the bloodstains and slush on Fangxing's boots to what had just happened here. His brows were furrowed, and he seemed lost in thought. After a long while, he finally spoke softly:
"And her?"
Fangxing hesitated for almost a second before lowering her head and answering:
"The lady was exhausted from running around all night and nearly fainted when Liangping Marquis was seriously injured. She has now been put to rest for the time being."
Zhou Weikan gently closed his eyes, his voice low and even:
"She...refused to come?"
Fangxing looked up at him, her eyes filled with not only fear but also pity. She hesitated, carefully choosing her words:
"The palace is heavily guarded now, and I am sorry that I was unable to speak with you, Madam."
Zhou Weikan looked away and simply tapped lightly on the carriage wall.
The horses quickly quickened their pace, the sound of the snow being crushed by the wheels, and the carriage gradually disappeared into the vast expanse until it vanished completely on the horizon.
.
The first snow fell for more than twenty days.
Located in Jiangnan, Mujing was unusually blessed with such heavy snow, a rare occurrence amidst its usual incessant drizzle. The blanket of white snow offered a semblance of peace to these turbulent years. As December arrived, few remembered or mentioned the major events that had occurred in the court and among the people during the winter of the eighteenth year of Yuanzhen.
Empress Jiang, always dignified and composed, angered the emperor by harming a noblewoman and was banished to the cold palace. Prince Mao, wielding immense power and renowned for his military exploits, suddenly captured the crown prince and attempted a coup, only to be subdued by his own nephew, Duan Jinru. Emperor Su, already bedridden for half a year, was enraged by these two major events, but mercifully spared Prince Mao's life, confining him to his palace, stripping him of his title, and reducing him to commoner status.
Those who had followed Prince Mao for many years were not so fortunate. Many, despite not participating in the coup, were still executed and their families wiped out. The court and the country were thrown into turmoil. Civil officials lost the emperor's favor, and military generals, leaderless, dared not act rashly. Crown Prince Wei Yun, who narrowly escaped death in the Prince Mao rebellion, lost all face, not only losing the support of many ministers but also earning the reputation of a cowardly coward.
In contrast, Duan Jinru, who disregarded the bond between uncle and nephew and personally captured Prince Mao, enjoyed a meteoric rise to power.
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