The wind is cold and the days are getting shorter.

The Zhou family was ransacked, and when they pulled out the radish, they brought out the mud. A large-scale purge of officials in the court took place, and for a time, people were in a panic and were shrouded in worry.

Inside the prison of the Ministry of Justice, there were even more miserable howlings of ghosts and wolves. As the year was drawing to a close, it seemed particularly depressing.

Zhang, wearing a long plain velvet embroidered gown, was led by the jailer to a relatively clean single cell.

As the jailer unlocked the door, he respectfully reminded her, "Madam, if you have anything to say, please speak as soon as possible. It will take at most an incense stick of time. We cannot afford to delay any longer."

Zhang nodded slightly to the jailer and said politely, "I understand."

The jailer then closed the door and walked out.

The smile on Zhang's face gradually faded, and she looked down with indifference at the brave and powerful Marquis Tao Bosong who was sitting in the straw pile.

In such cold winter weather, Tao Bosong was only wearing a thin prison uniform. He was shivering from the cold, his face turned blue, but he could only wrap himself tightly in a worn and dirty quilt to keep warm. He looked extremely miserable.

He raised his head and looked at the elegant Zhang in front of him, his lips trembling, "Madam, you are here, I thought you would not come."

He paid a jailer to deliver the message to Zhang, but he was still a little worried. Now that Zhang came, he was relieved. A husband and wife are bound by love for a hundred days, which shows that she still has him in her heart.

After all, Zhang and Tao Bosong had been married for nearly twenty years, so she saw through Tao Bosong's little tricks at a glance.

She raised her hand to gently tuck her temple hair, tilted her head towards him, and said softly, "Why don't I come? Seeing your desolate look makes me very happy."

Tao Bosong's expression froze, but he soon forced out a difficult yet flattering smile, "Madam, we have been husband and wife for so many years after all. As the old saying goes, it takes ten years to be able to ride the same boat together, and a hundred years to be able to sleep on the same pillow together. Why are you so heartless?"

Zhang sneered, "Tao Bosong, we are divorced. I am no longer your wife."

Tao Bosong choked again, silently clenched his fists, endured and endured, and did not talk about the old relationship with Zhang. He just said, "I have ended up like this now. I know I was wrong. But the bitter cold, poor and barren land of Yan is not a place for people to stay. Husband... Susu, I know you blame me in your heart, and I don't expect you to help me, but I ask you to say a good word for me in front of A Ti. No matter what, I am her biological father!"

Zhang sneered as if she had heard something hilarious, "Father? Now you remember that you are A-Ti's father? When you were scheming against the Zhou family, why didn't you think about your daughter?"

Tao Bosong was embarrassed for a moment and slowly lowered his head. After a long while, he murmured angrily, "I... I regret it."

Regret.

Zhang chewed on the word, and the emotions in her chest gradually subsided. She smiled with a mocking smile, "Yes, I regret it."

She also regretted that she had not treated her daughter well in the past, and now... it was too late to regret.

"There is no medicine for regret in this world." Zhang said calmly, "You can keep your life, which is already a special favor from His Majesty and the Crown Prince. As for the rest, don't even think about it."

Having said that, she took a step to leave.

Tao Bosong got anxious when he saw this, and staggered to get up to help. However, he had been tortured, and was cold and hungry. As soon as he stood up, his legs went weak and he fell back down. He could only shout weakly, "Susu, Susu! Let A Ti beg for me. The prince dotes on her so much, if she just opens her mouth to beg for mercy, maybe I won't have to go to Yandi."

Zhang paused, turned her head, and glanced at him indifferently, "Ati is no longer our daughter."

Tao Bosong was startled, thinking that Zhang meant that his daughter would belong to another family after she got married, so he said quickly, "Even if she gets married, she is still our daughter. She has the blood of our Tao family in her veins. She..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhang suddenly yelled hysterically -

"No, she is no longer! You are not a good father, and I am not a good mother. We are not qualified to be Ati's parents! Not qualified!"

Tao Bosong was startled and stared at her sudden loss of control.

Zhang only felt her eye circles swelling and her nose sore, and she didn't explain much. She just suppressed the surging emotions in her heart, took a deep breath, and said, "You can go to Yandi peacefully.

Tao Bosong, I just hope you and I will never meet again from now on."

She left decisively without looking back.

Tao Bosong sat on the ground in a daze, his face full of panic and sadness.

………

Three days before the Winter Solstice, more than 200 people from the Yongweihou Mansion embarked on the road of exile to Yan.

That day, the first snow fell in Chang'an City, and the snow was as white as goose feathers and heavy.

The snow continued to fall until the winter solstice without stopping, so Emperor Zhaokang simply gave his court officials a holiday in advance and let them go back early to celebrate the winter solstice.

The turmoil in the court seemed to have subsided with the coming of the festive season, but little did people know that this was just the calm before the storm.

Inside the Zixiao Hall, new tea was brewing on a small stove, with the aroma of tea wafting in the air and hot steam rising up.

Pei Yan was tall and tall, and he sat upright. He twisted a letter in his slender hands, scanned it hastily, and threw it into the small stove on the side. He smiled gently and said, "Uncle, the fish has been baited."

Gu Qu took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Sometimes women can be just as cruel as men."

Pei Yan curled his lips and said nothing.

After drinking a cup of tea, the uncle and nephew sat up straight and talked about business.

While things are turbulent and changing on this side, the Yaoguang Palace on the other side always maintains a peaceful and stable atmosphere.

Green ant new wine, red clay stove. [1]

However, what was being cooked on the small stove in the Yaoguang Hall was not wine, but a pot of glutinous rice balls brewed in sweet and fragrant osmanthus wine.

Seeing that the food was almost cooked, Tao Ti divided it into two bowls, one for herself and one for Qinghe sitting opposite her.

"If you think it's not sweet enough, add another spoonful of acacia honey yourself."

"It smells so good, it tastes good just by smelling it."

Qinghe gently stirred the white wine-brewed dumplings in front of her with a spoon. After they cooled down a bit, she scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and put it into her mouth.

The glutinous rice dumplings are soft and chewy, and the sweet soup is filled with the elegant aroma of brewed wine and the rich fragrance of osmanthus. It has just the right sweetness to warm your heart and stomach.

"This is the most comfortable thing to eat in winter." Qinghe sighed with enjoyment.

"Today is the winter solstice, and I plan to cook glutinous rice balls and dumplings tonight."

Tao Ti ate the wine-brewed dumplings and said with a smile, "I made sesame and red bean paste dumplings, and shepherd's purse and pork, shrimp, leek and pork, mutton and celery, and zucchini and egg dumplings. When you go back later, bring some to share with the princess."

Qing He thanked him politely and talked about the recent events in the palace. "I heard Pei Lingbi was very crazy. She was crying and laughing at the same time. It was very scary. Is she going to be like this for the rest of her life?"

Tao Ti said, "I don't know either."

Qing He shook her head and said, "Alas, what a sin. I heard that in the past month, the Queen has only visited her twice, and the Third Prince has only visited her once. Tsk, even the closest relatives are no more than this."

Tao Ti could not feel the slightest sympathy for Pei Lingbi's experience. After all, it was all her own fault that she had come to this point, and she could not blame anyone else.

Qing He talked about the trip to the hot spring villa again. She was looking forward to it, but Tao Ti was not very happy.

"His Highness said he is very busy these days and has no time to go with me."

If she had not agreed early on to go with Qinghe and Xu Wenchan, she would have wanted to give up and not go.

Qing He comforted him, "There are so many things going on in the court these days, it's normal for the cousin prince to be busy. Anyway, you are with us, and we will be busy on the road. It's so comfortable to soak in the hot springs. I guarantee that you will forget about the cousin prince after soaking in the hot springs."

Tao Ti glanced at her with a smile, "Do you want to take a hot spring bath, or do you want to meet Brother Xu Qi?"

Qing He blushed, but she didn't deny it. She just said shyly, "After the New Year, I will go back to Longxi to get married. I won't be able to see him for half a year..."

Being in a long-distance relationship for more than half a year is undoubtedly hard for a couple in love.

The two chatted as they ate. After finishing the dumplings brewed with osmanthus wine, they ate the sweet roasted sweet potatoes and hot roasted potatoes.

When it got dark, Qinghe left with a box of dumplings and a box of glutinous rice balls.

The wind and snow got stronger at night.

Tao Ti was lying on a rocking chair holding Yuanbao, with a white fox blanket on her knees. She looked as leisurely as a retired old lady in her sixties or seventies.

"Well, His Majesty is getting busier and busier. He can't even accompany me to the hot spring resort..."

"Meow~"

"When he left this morning, he seemed to kiss me and said he would spend the winter solstice with me. Do you think he will be late again?"

“Meow.”

"Alas, being a crown prince is already so busy. If he becomes the emperor in the future, won't he be even busier? Well, by then I will open more shops and make more money to keep myself busy, don't you think so, Yuanbao?"

"Meow~"

One person and one cat chatted across channels and they were having a very interesting conversation.

I don't know how much time had passed, but when Pei Yan arrived, covered in cold wind and snow, Tao Ti had already fallen asleep in the rocking chair holding the cat.

The house was warm from the heating stove. She slept with her head tilted, her eyes closed. Her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings in the dim light. Her delicate cheeks were faintly pink, and she was sleeping soundly.

Seeing this, Pei Yan's eyes softened and he took off his black cloak with fighting flower and cloud patterns and handed it to Linglong on the side.

Linglong took the crane cloak and retreated quietly.

Pei Yan walked slowly to Tao Ti's side. Yuanbao was the first to wake up. He glanced at the man with his beautiful eyes, as if he recognized him. He meowed very calmly, jumped out of the mistress's arms, and went back to his cat nest obediently.

The cats are awake, but she is still asleep.

Pei Yan bent down and subconsciously wanted to pinch her face.

He stretched out his hand halfway, stopped, and retracted it.

Having just come back from outside, his hands were still very cold.

He put his hands to his mouth, blew hot air on them, and rubbed them until they were somewhat warm. Then Pei Yan reached out and touched the tip of her small nose.

Tao Ti opened her eyes in a daze, with sleepy eyes, and only saw a hazy and slender figure.

"I'll carry you to bed to rest." Pei Yan said gently.

Tao Ti didn't wake up until he picked her up. She hugged his neck and muttered, "I won't sleep now. We haven't eaten dumplings together yet."

She waited until so late because she wanted to spend the winter solstice with him.

Pei Yan stopped walking, lowered his eyes, stared at her for a long time, and said in a very gentle tone, "Okay, eat dumplings."

He kissed her delicate eyes and eyebrows, then put her down steadily.

The dumplings and glutinous rice balls had already been wrapped and cooked quickly.

After a while, a big bowl of dumplings and glutinous rice balls was placed on the small sandalwood table.

Tao Ti didn't eat dinner, and didn't feel hungry when she fell asleep. Now that she woke up, her stomach was empty. She picked up the dumplings and put them into her mouth one by one, chatting with Pei Yan about daily trivialities.

Pei Yan would occasionally agree with a few words, but most of the time he just listened quietly with a smile on his face.

After finishing this belated winter solstice meal, it was already late at night. The two washed up and went to bed to rest.

The curtains had been changed to a lotus-blue one embroidered with double-petaled red plum blossoms. When they were let down, they blocked out the candlelight outside, separating the bed curtains from the outside world into two different worlds.

In the darkness, Pei Yan hugged Tao Ti and said in a deep voice, "Ati, I'm sorry."

Tao Ti nestled in his arms, and the slight sleepiness that had just begun to brew was dispelled by his apology.

She raised her head, brushed her forehead against his chin, and whispered, "What are you sorry for?"

Pei Yan said, "I couldn't spend time with you these days, and you came back so late."

Tao Ti was silent for a moment. To be honest, Pei Yan spent less time with her, and she was a little depressed, but she also understood that he was busy with work and was not deliberately ignoring her.

Well, isn’t love all about mutual tolerance and understanding?

She raised her hand, touched his handsome eyebrows, and then touched his increasingly distinct jawline, and said in a soft voice, "It's okay, you're not going out to play without me."

"It's almost done. It will be done soon."

Everything needs to be settled and have an end.

In the quiet night, the rustling sound of falling snow outside the window is particularly obvious.

Pei Yan tightened his hands on her waist slightly, his deep black eyes flashing with a dark light, and he kissed the corner of her lips and coaxed her, "Be good, wait for the Lantern Festival, I will take you out of the palace to visit the temple fair and see the lanterns, okay?"

Tao Ti rubbed her face against his chest, showing her intimacy, and her voice was a little lazy and sleepy, "Keep your word... I also want to buy a big bunch of Tanghulu!"

"Yes. As long as you like it, I will buy you all the Tanghulu in Chang'an City."

"Okay." Tao Ti chuckled, and then fell asleep peacefully in his arms.

That night, she dreamed that she fell into a candied haws pit, which was filled with all kinds of candied haws.

She ate one after another, cramming her teeth like crazy, and then...she got cavities.