Chapter 2 Two Hundred Miles of Pure Snow
The empress was saddened, but even more so, she was afraid, hoping that she hadn't heard the king call her by the wrong name.
She lowered her head, focusing her gaze on her nose and contemplating her inner thoughts.
"Go to sleep," Xu Heng instructed calmly.
"Yes." The Empress mustered her courage and stole a glance at the Emperor—his expression was ordinary, without the slightest change, still as calm as usual.
The Empress was momentarily stunned, wondering if she had misheard. Had the Emperor actually called the wrong person?
Moreover, although she had never met the deposed empress, she had heard many rumors about her misconduct and the emperor's dislike of her.
Seeing the emperor cast a glance at her, the empress quickly lowered her head, not daring to look any further. She only took off her outer phoenix robe and removed her phoenix crown before climbing into the inner bed—the emperor always slept on the outer side when he came to Kunning Palace to retire, so that it would be convenient for him to get up at dawn to go to court.
Xu Heng stood by the bed, waiting for the Empress to crawl to the innermost part of the bed and lie down before he climbed onto the outer side. The two slept fully clothed, as usual, covered by two thin quilts.
There was always a half-arm's length between the blankets, which was always properly maintained and never exceeded.
After an unknown amount of time, the Empress heard a noise, groggily opened her eyes, and saw that the Emperor had already gotten up and was putting his arm into his dragon robe. She struggled to get up and muttered to herself in a daze: Is it already dawn?
The Empress was about to get out of bed to help the Emperor dress, but Xu Heng stopped her, saying, "There's no need to get up. I won't be staying tonight."
The Queen paused, stunned, and slowly realized that it was still late at night, which made her heart pound with fear.
Xu Heng did not glance at the Empress again, completely ignoring her changes.
He put on his dragon robe, straightened it out, combed his hair and adjusted his crown, and walked towards the entrance of the sleeping quarters.
The emperor opened his umbrella and walked into the inky darkness of night.
The heavy rain continued to pour, and the night wind howled, blowing several umbrellas inside out.
Kunning Palace was some distance from the Emperor's residence, Funing Palace. Xu Heng walked slowly with a calm expression. The chief eunuch, Qingfu, also walked ahead, holding an umbrella and carrying a lantern to light the way for the Emperor.
Xu Heng kindly reminded, "Qingfu, the road ahead is slippery, let's walk slowly."
"This old servant thanks Your Majesty for your concern. Your Majesty, please watch your step."
Xu Heng nodded. The rain was so heavy that fog could be seen even at night. He couldn't explain it, nor dared to speculate on what he was thinking. In any case, he wasn't sleepy at all; he just wanted to go back to Funing Palace.
Upon arriving at the Fu Ning Palace's sleeping quarters, the eunuchs saw that the emperor was soaking wet and the scene was chaotic.
"It's alright, you may all leave now." Xu Heng quickly changed his clothes and dismissed everyone.
As he watched the door to the bedchamber being quietly closed, Xu Heng's tense face relaxed, and he sat down on the dragon bed alone.
Instead of lying down immediately, she gently raised her hand and helped herself to the edge of the bed.
A sense of bewilderment welled up in his heart, just like the fog he had encountered along the way.
This is the emperor's sleeping quarters, where empresses and concubines are not allowed to stay overnight. However, a woman slept on this dragon bed—it was the first night he and Wang Yuying moved into the Funing Palace. According to the rules, the empress had to leave at night, but he insisted that Wang Yuying stay. He said that in the past, in the northern frontier and in the Prince Su's residence, they always slept together, and he couldn't live without Wang Yuying.
That night, Xu Heng even used a vulgar folk saying to Wang Yuying, saying that he couldn't sleep well without his wife cuddling him.
Wang Yuying turned around and glared at him. Her eyes were naturally upturned, which always made her look particularly charming at times like this.
She stayed without much hesitation and spent the rest of her days on the dragon bed in the Funing Palace. Xu Heng was afraid she would be alone in her room, so no matter how busy he was, he always made sure to return to the palace before dark. If he had too much official business to attend to, he would bring the memorials back to the palace to review them. Whenever he saw her propping her head up on the bed and looking at him, he couldn't help but move the memorials from the table to the bed and review them while leaning against the headboard. Wang Yuying would usually move Xu Heng's left arm aside, crawl in, and press her head tightly against his chest. He would glance down at her and see her smiling and dependent face, and he couldn't help but smile too, his heart swelled with happiness, and his left arm would tighten imperceptibly.
She would wait for him to finish revising the memorials before going to bed together. Sometimes, when Wang Yuying lay down with her back to Xu Heng, he would gently poke her back with his finger to make her turn around.
She immediately turned around and said with a smile, "Oh my, who looks so wronged?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Heng bit her nose and kissed her lips. They cuddled for a while before falling asleep in each other's arms.
Life is so wonderful, it's like living in a honey pot.
Before Wang Yuying entered the palace, Xu Heng never dared to imagine that there would be genuine laughter and joy in the palace, or that there would be heartfelt happiness.
His origins were not honorable. The late emperor favored Empress Yuan, but she remained infertile for many years. Pressure was mounting from both inside and outside the court, and the late emperor finally came up with what he thought was a compromise—he had the imperial physician select the most fertile palace maid, sleep with her, and then remove the mother, keeping the child. The son born was entrusted to Empress Yuan's care, and this was Xu Heng.
Initially, as the only imperial heir, Xu Heng lived a very comfortable life, surrounded by admirers and showered with favors. However, when he was five years old, Empress Yuan suddenly became pregnant. The late emperor was overjoyed, while Xu Heng, at the very age of just beginning to understand things, heard gossip and experienced the coldness of human relationships.
Empress Yuan gave birth to a princess, and six years later she gave birth to a son, who was immediately named crown prince by the late emperor. Xu Heng's life became extremely difficult.
Every day, stepping onto the palace's blue bricks felt like treading on a thin layer of ice; returning to his Prince Su's residence to sleep felt like entering a cold coffin—a life of rigid routine, devoid of any human warmth. Until he encountered the General Who Conquers the West returning to the capital. He stood by the street, watching a young woman in a white shirt and red skirt, adorned with jewels, riding her horse across Zhuque Avenue. The hem of her skirt fluttered in the wind, and he suddenly realized the street's name was indeed fitting. A truly beautiful and vibrant phoenix flew by, ignited, leaving behind fragmented red embers that lingered before his eyes, never fading.
The girl pulled on the reins and raised her hand, revealing a purple jade bracelet on her right wrist. She suddenly turned around and smiled at him. A pair of purple and blue fluorite pendants on her ears were longer than her fingers, particularly flamboyant, and jingled.
Xu Heng stood there for a long time, always looking in the direction the girl had left.
He immediately sent someone to inquire, and it turned out that she was Wang Yuying, the only daughter of the General Who Conquers the West.
Later, she married into the Wang family, and he and Wang Yuying got married.
He wondered how someone could be so vibrant, as fiery as the sun, as full of life as wild grass. It was as if she carried her own paints—cinnabar, orange realgar, peacock green, azurite, brilliant gold leaf, and silvery mica powder—all splashed freely into Xu Heng's life, which was originally only black and white, making everything around him as bright and beautiful as she was.
Just one year after their marriage, Xu Heng was demoted to a commoner and exiled to the harsh northern frontier.
He ground the ink and picked up the brush, and had just written the character "和" (harmony) when Wang Yuying grabbed the brush and asked him what he was going to do.
“I can’t be a burden to you, Yingniang,” he replied, his voice choked with emotion. “I have to plan for your future…”
"I don't want any plans!" Wang Yuying cried, tears streaming down her face. She said that to love someone is to love them for a lifetime, and divorce would be the death of her. Her tears dripped onto the paper: "Have you forgotten what I said on our wedding day? Are you cursing me to die a horrible death?"
"I haven't forgotten, I haven't forgotten," Xu Heng hurriedly replied. On their wedding day, they separated a pair of white jade pendants, each holding one half. They knelt on the ground, and he said that if he ever betrayed Wang Yuying in this life, had three wives and four concubines, or divorced his wife and remarried, he would surely die a violent death. She also swore that if she ever married another, she would not have a good end.
Xu Heng raised his hand to wipe away Wang Yuying's tears, but as he wiped, his eyes grew hotter and hotter, and he ended up wiping his own eyes. He and she repeated their vows again and again, their tears falling onto the paper, indistinguishable from one another. The word "and" had long been smudged into a blotchy of light ink, and the paper curled up after it dried, forming little bumps.
Wang Yuying went to northern Xinjiang with Xu Heng.
It was extremely cold there. Every winter, heavy snow would block the doors, so they could only stay indoors and fry radish balls, which she loved, using radishes that were only available that season. But no matter how much they ate, how much firewood they stored, or how bright the fire they lit, they still felt cold. The two of them would often huddle together for warmth, snuggling up and talking to each other to get through the days.
Summer arrives, the most beautiful season in northern Xinjiang, when you can go horseback riding in the mountains. The snow has melted, the grass is lush and green, stretching as far as the eye can see, and a cool breeze is blowing.
Recalling this, Xu Heng sighed softly. He knew that during her three years in the northern frontier, Wang Yuying had two regrets: first, her family members had passed away one after another during those years, and she hadn't seen them; second, she had suffered from severe cold, making it impossible for her to conceive in this life.
Later, the crown prince died, and Xu Heng, as the late emperor's only male heir, was urgently summoned back to ascend the throne.
After ascending the throne, Wang Yuying was unable to bear children, and he only had one empress. Fearing a repeat of the previous emperor's fate, court officials flooded the imperial study with memorials urging Xu Heng to take concubines and select a consort. Xu Heng initially kept it a secret from Wang Yuying, bearing the burden alone. Later, when he could no longer hide it from her, he ran breathlessly back to the Funing Palace, stroking her hand and promising, "You can rest assured."
How did things turn out like that...?
Xu Heng was restless and looked out the window. He felt as if the rain outside had seeped into the house, making him feel sticky and damp, and he couldn't feel comfortable at all. The weather had been getting hotter and hotter since the Dragon Boat Festival, and the rain was getting heavier and heavier, like putting a person in a steamer, making it hard for him to breathe.
Xu Heng parted his lips and took several deep breaths before he felt a little better.
He gazed out the window again, and after a long while, the torrential rain gradually turned into a flurry of snowflakes, leaving only the vast expanse of the snow-covered plains of northern Xinjiang before him.
He admitted that he missed Wang Yuying.
"Qingfu, grind the ink." The chief eunuch who was waiting outside was summoned into the palace.
Qingfu assumed Xu Heng was going to continue reviewing memorials, since the emperor was often diligent in his duties at night. He took out a piece of cinnabar ink to grind, but Xu Heng saw this and stopped him, saying, "No need for cinnabar annotations."
Looking at the bright red cinnabar, he thought of Wang Yuying.
"Your Majesty, it's ready." Qingfu worked efficiently and quickly finished grinding the black ink, gently reminding the distracted emperor.
Xu Heng nodded, took a purple brush from the brush holder, dipped it in ink, and wrote a ballad praising the young couple. The paper mentioned the years in the northern frontier, relived the newlywed bliss of the Prince of Ning's mansion, and depicted the inseparable love in the Funing Palace.
He wrote down all his memories tonight, and the feelings of his youth came vividly to life under his pen.
Xu Heng finished the first few sentences in one go, but he paused for the last sentence. Like a traveler who was nervous about returning home, he hesitated for a long time before writing down his true thoughts—to summon her to the palace to meet the emperor.
After completing the poem, he did not use his usual dragon-shaped seal, but instead took out a round amber seal from his sleeve, which he kept close to his body and admired. The seal had the two characters "Qingfa" engraved on it. His study when he was Prince Su was Qingfa Hall.
He stamped the letter with his personal seal, and his heart finally settled down. The feeling in his chest was no longer as heavy as before. Xu Heng sealed the Yuefu poem in a letter and handed it to Qingfu: "Take this to Yuqing Temple in person, and bring some gifts for..." He paused, "...Yujing Miaojing Immortal Master. If she wants to return to the palace after reading it, bring her here."
"Yes, sir." Qingfu accepted the order.
"Wait until after curfew before going. Don't break the rules," Xu Heng instructed again. "Do this quietly, the fewer people who know, the better."
Qingfu agreed again, and a troop of light cavalry, carrying the emperor's rewards, waited until 3 a.m. when the curfew was lifted and the city gates reopened before heading out of the city to Fuyou Mountain.
A note from the author:
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