Chapter 001 Chapter 1

In the depths of winter.

It started snowing in Kyoto two days ago.

It is said that auspicious snow means a good harvest. The first snow of this year was very heavy. In just two days, Kyoto was submerged in snow, turning it into a city made of snow.

The same is true in the palace.

In Shoukang Palace, after Xu Duanyi got up, washed and dressed, she went to the main hall where Empress Dowager Zhaoyu was.

She was the niece of Empress Dowager Zhaoyu and the only princess of a different surname living in the palace in the Great Xia Dynasty.

He was of noble status and was highly regarded by Empress Dowager Zhaoyu, so he had lived in the palace since he was six years old.

It was freezing cold.

Xu Duanyi went out holding an umbrella, accompanied by her personal maid Bixi.

The palace maid at the main hall door saw her coming from afar, and hurried out in the wind and snow to greet her. When she approached, she first greeted Xu Duanyi.

He spoke respectfully, calling her "Your Highness".

"It's snowing hard, go in first." Xu Duanyi didn't want the palace maids to suffer in the snow, so he took them to the corridor first.

While Bi Xi was putting away her umbrella, Xu Duanyi was patting the snowflakes off his white fox fur coat with a handkerchief. He looked forward and saw that the main hall door was still closed. He looked to the side and saw that the row of vermilion doors and windows were also still tightly closed.

"Auntie hasn't woken up yet?"

She lowered her voice and asked the palace maid beside her.

The palace maid nodded with a helpless expression on her face.

"After you left last night, the Queen Mother had a headache for half the night and fell asleep only at dawn." She sighed again, "Aunt Danfeng and the others were very worried."

"Princess, you have to persuade the Queen Mother. It's not okay to keep doing this."

Xu Duanyi naturally knew that this wouldn't work.

My aunt has not been in good health in winter, and now there is the matter of Baozhu... But the matter has not been resolved yet, and there are so many discussions in the past. How can my aunt sleep?

Although we were in the porch, we could still feel the wind and snow outside.

The palace maid was afraid that she would catch a cold outside.

If they manage to freeze the beloved child of the Empress Dowager, they will have no chance of survival.

Thinking of this, the palace maid stopped talking.

"It's windy outside, Your Highness should go to the inner hall to rest first."

As she spoke, she was about to open the door for Xu Duanyi.

Xu Duanyi did not agree, and called for someone to stop, then said, "Since my aunt is not awake yet, I won't go in and disturb her for now."

"Let Auntie have a good sleep. I'll go to the kitchen first."

After Xu Duanyi gave some instructions to the palace maid, he took Bi Xi and walked towards the kitchen again, holding the umbrella, intending to instruct the kitchen to make a few more dishes that his aunt liked.

She didn't have to do these chores.

It was because Empress Dowager Zhaoyu was in a bad mood recently. Xu Duanyi had always respected her aunt, so in order to avoid the other people not serving her properly, she naturally paid more attention to these little personal matters.

All the way to the kitchen.

Passing by a long corridor, you can hear the voices of palace maids and eunuchs talking from afar.

"Do you think our cousin can really break off the engagement with the Prince of Nan'an?"

"If you ask me, this matter is still unsolved. Ever since the fall of the Nan'an Palace, Miss Cousin has to go to the palace to argue with the Queen Mother every year about this matter. But look, does the Queen Mother agree? I think this matter will be the same as before, and it will be resolved in a few days."

The others nodded.

Someone suddenly spoke up: "I think I'm really going to quit this time."

"Tell me about it."

The person who originally held an opposing opinion continued, "This time, not only is Miss Cousin coming to the palace, but also the old ancestor of the Duke of Huguo's mansion and the Duke's wife are here. The Queen Mother has never had such a headache before. I think this marriage is really going to fail this time."

"and……"

The man kept the question in suspense on purpose.

Seeing her like this, the others were naturally itchy and asked hurriedly, "And what?"

The man pretended to be reserved and was coaxed. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a light cough.

This light cough caused the people who were originally talking together to stand up tremblingly. They looked outside and saw the figures of Princess Jiashun and her personal maid.

Immediately——

Everyone's faces turned pale.

While he was trembling with fear and braved the snow, he greeted Xu Duanyi: "May the Princess be blessed with good health."

Xu Duanyi looked at the group of people kneeling in front of him. He did not say a word to blame them, but he did not ask them to stand up immediately either.

"It's freezing cold, and you want to be lazy. It's not a big deal, but don't say things like this again. Do you understand?"

How dare those people say no?

Especially the person who had spoken the most just now, he didn't care about the cold, and kowtowed to Xu Duanyi to apologize: "I spoke out of turn, please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Xu Duanyi asked the man to get up.

They were not made to stand in prison as punishment. After giving them a warning, they were allowed to go back.

But how dare those people continue to hide?

After greeting Xu Duanyi, they each went their separate ways.

Xu Duanyi didn't say anything and continued to lead Bixi to the kitchen.

There was no unnecessary expression on her face, but she was thinking about Baozhu and Xie Qingya's marriage in her heart.

Baozhu and Xie Qingya's marriage was originally arranged four years ago.

At that time, Xie Qingya was a young general who had made many outstanding achievements. He was very popular, had a noble status, and was extraordinarily handsome. There were countless people who wanted to marry him, so his aunt decided to arrange a marriage between him and Baozhu, thinking that Baozhu would marry him to the King of Nan'an after she reached the age of 15.

According to the original plan, the two were going to get married in the early spring of next year.

Who would have thought that a few days ago Baozhu suddenly came to the palace crying and insisted that her aunt take back her decision, saying that she would rather die than marry Prince Nannan.

If she is really forced, she will hang herself or bang her head against the wall!

Anyway, this marriage will not be allowed to happen.

In fact, this kind of thing has happened frequently in recent years. Ever since the fall of the Nan'an Palace, Baozhu has been dissatisfied with this marriage.

But in the past, she was afraid of her aunt's authority and would only cry a few words, but not like this time when she made such a big and decisive cry.

But no matter how loud she made a fuss, anyone could see that she was just bluffing and was unwilling to really die, so her aunt would naturally not pay any attention.

Unexpectedly, within two days, my grandmother and aunt also hurried into the palace, and they also wanted to cancel the engagement.

After careful questioning, the aunt learned that Xiao Baozhu had set her eyes on this year's top scholar and wanted to marry him. But she was afraid that they would not agree, so she had secretly had an affair with him, thus losing her virginity.

When my aunt found out, she was extremely angry.

But under such circumstances, it is impossible for Baozhu to marry Xie Qingya again.

Even though the Nan'an Palace has lost its power now and the young Nan'an Prince is no longer the same as before, if such a thing were to get out, it would bring shame to the royal family and the Xiao family.

What my aunt cares most about is face.

My aunt has been so angry about this matter that she has been unable to sleep well and has been suffering from headaches for days.

Xu Duanyi sighed.

After Bixi heard this, she glanced at her master beside her and asked her, "Are you thinking about Miss Biao and Prince Nan'an again?"

Xu Duanyi hummed lightly.

Bixi didn't say anything, just continued to hold the umbrella and helped Xu Duanyi walk forward. After a while, she spoke: "I don't know how this matter will be handled?"

Xu Duanyi didn’t know either.

The marriage was arranged four years ago.

Although the Nan'an Palace is now in decline, it still has the reputation of the old Nan'an Prince and the Grand Princess, and there are still many old ministers in the court who value Confucianism.

If my aunt and the Xiao family really planned to break off the engagement, these old ministers would definitely have to kneel before the emperor again.

Besides, they had been dissatisfied with their aunt and the Xiao family for a long time.

If the Xiao family had other daughters of the right age, they would probably have chosen a different one, but the Xiao family only had one daughter, Baozhu.

Therefore, Xu Duanyi could only shake his head: "Let's see how my aunt and uncle will discuss it."

Xu Duanyi estimated that her aunt would choose a good marriage for Xie Qingya, or give him some other gifts to make up for the Nan'an Palace...

She only hoped that if her aunt really wanted to choose a new marriage for Xie Qingya.

She hoped that the girl would treat Xie Qingya well in the future.

He is a good person and deserves to be treated well.

Even though Xie Qingya has changed a lot now, and there are rumors that he is a playboy and a dissolute man, Xu Duanyi still believes that he is a very good person at heart.

The world outside the umbrella is still white.

Xu Duanyi looked at the vast snow in front of her, and vaguely remembered that it was also a snowy day like this when she first entered the palace in the 13th year of Jian'an.

At that time, she was only six years old.

Because her mother died in childbirth, her aunt was afraid that her father would not be able to take good care of her, so she personally sent someone to bring her into the palace.

At that time, she had just lost her mother and entered the palace for the first time, so she was very timid.

Her aunt let her play with her cousin.

But my cousin was already thirteen years old at that time and had already started to handle government affairs with my uncle. How could he have the time to pay attention to a child like her?

But Xie Qingya——

He was her cousin's study partner at the time and was only two years older than her.

His cousin asked him to take her out to play, and although he was not happy about it, he still took her out to play for many years.

All the happy and joyful scenes in her childhood were related to Xie Qingya.

Think of the old days.

Xu Duanyi couldn't help but smile.

She was wearing a white fox fur coat to keep out the cold and wind, and she was holding the hand warmer that Bi Xi had just handed her in her hands. At this moment, she was looking forward with bright eyes.

Xu Duanyi was a dignified and gentle person. She was raised by Empress Dowager Zhaoyu since she was a child. She was well versed in etiquette and rules, and could be regarded as a role model among the noble ladies in the capital.

Normally, even if she smiled, it was only a faint smile.

When was it like this?

The snow is so dazzling that it looks just like a bright and warm sunny day in spring.

Bixi was right beside her, so she naturally saw the familiar smile on her face.

After being master and servant for so many years, how could Bixi not know what her master was thinking?

Perhaps she is the only one in this world who knows the thoughts hidden deep in her master's heart.

Perhaps——

Bixi's heart suddenly moved.

She really couldn't bear to see her master suffer like this.

The master is still so young, she can't really stay in the palace forever without getting married. She couldn't help but say: "Master, maybe..."

But when the words came to her lips, Bi Xi immediately shut up when she thought of the current appearance of the Prince of Nan'an.

He spoke subconsciously because he couldn't bear the fact that his master couldn't love him.

The reason why he shut up now is that he is dissatisfied with the way the current Prince Nan'an behaves... Since the Battle of Nagano, the Palace of Prince Nan'an has lost three legitimate masters in succession, leaving behind the current little Prince Nan'an and a pair of dragon and phoenix brothers and sisters.

The twin dragon and phoenix siblings are still young and cannot take on any responsibility.

The once famous Little Nan'an Prince, however, became a playboy known to everyone in the city. He spent his days hanging out in bars and brothels, hanging out with some bad friends.

How can such a playboy be worthy of his master?

She was also afraid that her master would suffer a lot of grievances after marrying him. Thinking of this, she found it difficult to say the words of advice she had originally wanted to give.

Xu Duanyi knew what she wanted to say, and also knew why she left it unfinished.

She smiled, her expression became calmer, and she whispered to Bixi, "Don't ever think about this again in the future."

"It's impossible for me and him."

"I have never thought about getting married in my life."

When Xu Duanyi said these words, he did not feel any pain in himself.

There was something wrong. Bi Xi was really mistaken. She had never felt miserable before.

From the time she fell in love with Xie Qingya, to her aunt betrothing her to her cousin, to her cousin's death and Xie Qingya's engagement to Baozhu...she never said anything.

She likes Xie Qingya.

But who says that if you like someone, you must be with him? She watched from afar, hoping that he would be well, and that was enough.

That's enough.

"master……"

Bixi frowned when she heard that, and was about to say something when they arrived at the kitchen.

Seeing that there were many people over there, Bixi was afraid that people might hear something they shouldn't hear and ruin her master's reputation, so she quickly shut up.

…

Just as the master and servant walked into the kitchen.

A "rare guest" also arrived outside the gate of Shoukang Palace.

This rare guest is none other than Cao Da, the current Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Household and the Eunuch in Charge of the Imperial Seal.

The palace servants of Shoukang Palace never imagined that Master Cao would come in such a cold weather. Although they were surprised, they dared not fail to report it.

It’s because Cao Da’s identity is really unusual.

When the late emperor was still alive, he was always by his side. After the late emperor passed away, he and the current Empress Dowager Zhaoyu cleaned up the inner court together, and together they supported the young emperor to ascend the throne.

Now he is the Superintendent of Eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department and is the ancestor of all the people in the inner court. He manages the inner court and is in charge of approving documents. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the Prime Minister of the inner court.

When the news reached the main hall, Empress Dowager Zhaoyu had just woken up.

She slept terribly this time, and when she woke up, she still had a terrible headache.

Just as she was about to call Dan Feng in, she heard some whispers coming from outside. So after Dan Feng came in, Empress Dowager Zhao Yu pressed her temples and asked impatiently, "What's going on outside?"

Dan Feng didn't expect that she woke up, and hearing her hoarse voice, he hurriedly poured her a cup of tea.

After Empress Dowager Zhaoyu finished drinking, she said, "Cao Da is here."

Empress Dowager Zhaoyu frowned when she heard this. Her already bad mood became even worse when she heard this name.

"What is he doing here?"

Without thinking, she said, "Let him go."

Her relationship with Cao Da is no longer as good as it was when the new emperor first ascended the throne.

Cao Da has been acting more and more rashly in recent years, and she is becoming more and more annoyed with him.

Therefore, I couldn't bear to see him when I was already in a bad mood.

If it had been any other time, Dan Feng would have naturally gone down to give the order after hearing her say this, and would never dare to disobey her and upset her.

But today she hesitated for a moment, and still replied: "Cao Da said that he has a way to solve your current troubles."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Zhaoyu's expression froze.

After a moment of silence, she finally spoke impatiently: "Let him in."