In winter, the candlelight burns very quietly without moths or insects dancing around it.
The remaining half bowl of medicine gradually congealed and turned black at the bottom of the coarse earthenware bowl. The woman, who had been struggling to resist, finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep. Xiao Nanhui sat in silence, staring at the half bowl of medicine for an hour, until Xiao Zhun's personal guards arrived to relieve him. Only then did he leave the tent in a daze.
The sky was gloomy, with clouds covering the moon.
She suddenly recalled the time when she was little and listened to Dujuan tell stories. Dujuan was only a little girl then, and sometimes she would secretly drink a little peach wine diluted with water and would talk nonstop for a whole night.
This is what Dujuan said in the few times she mentioned the old stories of the palace.
She was only twelve years old when she entered Prince Shuo's mansion. Initially a humble fire-cooking maid, she was later transferred to the small kitchen in the inner courtyard because of her good cooking skills, and gradually began to hear about the goings-on in this prestigious compound.
Prince Xiao of Shuo entered the government at a young age, beginning his campaigns in his late twenties. Within a few short years, he achieved numerous military exploits, earning him the title of Prince. This remarkable figure was, in private, a somewhat melancholic and silent man. His eldest son, Xiao Heng, resembled his father most closely: calm, easygoing, and compassionate. His third son, Xiao Jin, was well-behaved and precocious, possessing a measured approach despite his youth. Only his second son, Xiao Zhun, differed from his father and brother in his unyielding character, uncompromising in his actions. His temperament, like his mother's, a reclusive and chivalrous background, embodied an unstoppable spirit.
Xiao Zhun was unwelcome among the children of the powerful and wealthy in Que City. Furthermore, his mother's humble origins made him a more withdrawn and stubborn young man, raised amidst ostracism and hostility. But no one expected that Xiao Zhun would eventually find a "friend," growing closer and closer to the equally eccentric young master of the Bai family. The two became inseparable, forming a close friendship far surpassing the ordinary friendships of the powerful and wealthy.
But Du Juan later learned that the Bai family had no "young master" at the time. Besides their eldest and second sons, who were approaching adulthood, Bai Heliu only had a daughter, Xiao Zhun's own age. It was never a good idea for a woman from an official's family to dress as a man and associate with a young man from an aristocratic family. Furthermore, the position of Chief Censor was sensitive and could attract controversy. The relationship eventually faded, and no one mentioned it again.
The following spring, a relentless southerly wind blew across Chizhou, leaving the air with a moist, sweet, and fishy scent, like that of the seaside.
Sixteen-year-old Xiao Zhun accompanied his father, Xiao Qing, and other male relatives of the clan to the then-exorcist Su Yin, on a spring hunt in Yu'an City, a hundred miles outside the capital. On the eve of their departure, Du Juan's bedridden brother passed away from a lung disease contracted during the winter. With their elderly mother in great condition, Du Juan, the eldest sister, was forced to take leave from the family to return home to attend to the funeral and was removed from the Xiao family's spring hunt entourage.
Back then, she hadn't anticipated that, half a month later, only one person would return from the long, seemingly endless convoy. The clever servant who led the horses and swept the courtyard, the beautiful maidservant in the mistress's room, the gossipy kitchen maid—none of them returned. They became a tiny speck of red in the Xiao family's blood debt, slowly fading with the passage of time.
When Du Juan talked about the past, she often talked about her brother, who had exhausted her financial support and dragged her down for half her life, and ultimately saved her life with his own death. Due to taboos, she didn't say much about the "young master" of the Bai family.
After sobering up, Du Juan always warned her repeatedly: Never mention the past with the Bai family in front of Xiao Jun. She agreed to all of her warnings, thinking that Xiao Jun must hate them extremely, so she naturally couldn't mention it in front of him.
The Bai family committed treason and killed the entire family of the loyal and brave Prince Shuo. This is a blood feud that cannot be blurred by any friendship. Therefore, Xiao Nanhui has never cared about the legendary legitimate daughter of the Bai family.
But now, seeing Xiao Zhun's attitude towards the woman surnamed Bai, she suddenly felt uncertain.
Were all those blood feuds she had experienced as if they were her own fake? Then why had she spent all those years drinking ice and exploring, defending her country, hoping to one day reclaim her lost territory and avenge her past shame?
Xiao Nanhui felt that she should go to Xiao Zhun in person to find out.
But that was Xiao Zhun's scar, how could she uncover it herself?
Anxiety and depression weighed on her repeatedly. She walked between the tents, took deep breaths, and tried to expel the foul air in her lungs, but she couldn't do it.
A figure emerged from the tent in front. It was Su Pingchuan.
He saw her coming from afar, but she seemed not to see him and passed by right under his nose.
"Hello."
Xiao Nanhui stopped and looked back.
Su Pingchuan threw the things in his arms to her: "Your things."
She caught it and it was a cloth bag. When she opened it, she found that it was a broken flat string.
From the moment Xiao Zhun cut off the flat string, her thoughts and memories were in chaos. She could hardly remember how she ended the battle and how she followed the Subei Army back to the camp.
Now that she suddenly thought about it, she had to admit that she was somewhat thankful that the other party had helped her put away the Pingxian.
"Thank you very much."
This is the weapon Xiao Zhun made for her, and it is the weapon she has been using since she was fourteen years old.
She thought it was a weapon that would accompany her throughout her life.
He touched the severed end with his fingers. It was sharp enough to cut a person's fingers. Xiao Zhun's marksmanship was as sharp as ever. Once he struck, there was no room for maneuver.
Su Pingchuan looked at her expression and said slowly, "I've already shown it to the master craftsman in the weapons camp. The mechanism in your spear is too complicated. If it breaks, there's no point in keeping it. Have someone make a new one after we return to Quecheng."
Xiao Nanhui seemed not to hear what the other party said, and continued to touch the broken gun barrel reluctantly.
Her palms were so familiar with the temperature and texture that when she picked it up this morning, she never thought it would be the last time.
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