On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor went on an inspection tour.
Su Ruodan mingled among the common people, and when the imperial carriage passed by, she suddenly rushed out of the crowd.
"Protect the Emperor!"
When the Imperial Guards' spears were held to her neck, she finally saw the face of the emperor in the imperial carriage and the unfamiliar woman beside him.
"Throw it out."
Yin Jiuxiao was talking to Zixi with his head turned to the side, a smile on his lips that she had never seen before. He didn't even glance in their direction, but simply waved his hand.
Three words, spoken lightly, like throwing away a piece of trash.
She was abandoned in a corner of the street.
Her chapped hands are now covered in chilblains, and she can't even hold onto the broken pieces of the hairpin.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Was her rebirth nothing more than a self-deluded dream?
So... she really was nothing.
Then one snowy night, she stumbled and collapsed at the back gate of a minor official's residence.
When the young master of the manor returned from his outing, he saw her pitiful state and had her carried inside.
"Can you read?"
The young master asked her a question, and Su Ruodan nodded.
"Can you do accounting?"
She nodded again.
The young master laughed: "Then stay here and be my concubine who keeps accounts."
Su Ruodan remained silent for a long time, overcoming her negligible pride, and finally slowly knelt down: "...Thank you for taking me in, young master."
*
"Madam, it's time to take your medicine."
The maid called softly.
Su Ruodan sat by the window, gazing at the distant outline of the palace, her expression calm.
She is no longer the cynical eldest daughter of the Su family, but a dutiful concubine who occasionally helps her husband check the accounts. Her life is peaceful and stable.
"Just leave it there."
She said calmly.
After the maid left, she took out a piece of the faded jade hairpin from under her pillow, which she had kept all along.
"I won't go back. I have to find out the truth..."
She murmured softly.
Outside the window, willow catkins fluttered in the spring air, much like the scene when she and her younger brother left home to travel that year.
This time, however, no one was waiting for her to return home.
But she was still unwilling to give up, and was willing to wait in vain.
——————————
Su Ruofan had just put down her luggage when there was a knock on the door.
Two guards in black armor stood outside the door, with imperial gold talismans hanging from their waists.
"Young Master Su, His Majesty requests your presence."
He was startled; sure enough, His Majesty had been monitoring their movements all along.
As she followed the guards into the palace, Su Ruodan was somewhat nervous the whole way.
"This humble subject kowtows to pay respects..."
Zi Xi was stuffing candied fruit into Yin Jiuxiao's mouth when she saw him come in, and she casually withdrew her hand.
"No need, I don't have time for nonsense."
Yin Jiuxiao wiped the frosting off his lips.
The gilded incense burner emitted wisps of blue smoke, and the emperor's voice was colder than the smoke itself.
“I know you were misled after the assassination attempt on me five years ago, but considering Minister Su’s diligence and his willingness to retire to his hometown, I spared you both.”
"Two years ago, I released your sister."
Unexpectedly, the emperor was so blunt. Su Ruofan looked up abruptly, only to meet a pair of abyss-like eyes, and immediately lowered her head again.
And His Majesty said that he released his sister two years ago?
Why didn't the older sister go back to her hometown to find them?
When the guards escorted Su Ruodan into the hall, Su Ruofan looked at her in disbelief.
The woman in front of him, heavily made up and dressed in a light gauze dress, was really the sister he remembered who had led him on horseback through the long streets, full of vigor and spirit.
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