Chapter 246: Fateful Moment
Tuya’s eyes held a tender affection that spanned mountains and seas.
Xue Sui gently caressed the silver bells, feeling their warmth, her eyes reddening slightly.
A princess from a foreign land would ultimately be confined within these red walls, enduring half a lifetime of torment.
“The Buddhist scriptures the Princess gifted me, Xue Liu will recite them daily.”
Her newly shaven scalp glowed softly under the lamplight.
“It’s just that these silver bells are too precious; Xue Liu should not accept them.”
Tuya shook her head and gently fastened the silver bells onto Xue Sui’s wrist.
“I envy you, being able to sever worldly ties with your own hands, while I…”
As her fingertips brushed her wrist, Xue Sui felt a chill.
She suddenly understood the loneliness in Tuya’s eyes.
This woman, revered as a Saintess, was ultimately just a tribute to imperial power.
“Princess, take care.”
“Take care.”
Emperor Chong Zhao had not broken his word.
The next day, he sent Wang Chengxi to deliver an imperial decree, granting her permission to leave the palace on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month…
–
The 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the Little Year, a day for offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God.
Suitable for travel, suitable for praying for blessings, suitable for weddings.
It should have been an excellent day.
But before dawn, snow like goose feathers began to fall, blanketing the red walls and adorning Shangjing City in a world of white.
At Mao Shi, Xue Sui tied her plain headscarf and put on her cloak. She bid farewell to Tuya in Hanzhang Hall and, guided by two eunuchs, slowly walked out of the palace.
As soon as she reached An Fu Gate, she saw two carriages parked beneath the snow-covered palace lanterns.
Xue Sui pulled her cloak tighter around her head and, with Xiao Zhao’s support, slowly approached, looking at the silhouette of a figure.
Li Huan stood with his hands behind his back, the corner of his dark blue Yun Jin brocade cloak lifted by the wind, like a lone eagle with clipped wings, poised to fly but unable to.
“Greetings, Your Highness Prince Duan…”
Her voice was crushed by the wind and snow.
With a hint of bitterness.
Li Huan’s back tensed slightly, and he slowly turned to look at her.
“I have received His Imperial Father’s decree and will personally escort you to Shui Yue Nunnery.”
He glanced back at the blue-curtained carriage behind him.
“I have had people gather all your belongings from Tan Qiu Courtyard. You can check them later. If anything is missing or unsatisfactory, just let me know, and I will have someone deliver it…”
The trunks were neatly arranged, and Jinshu and four maidservants were accompanying them.
It could be said that Li Huan was very thorough.
Xue Sui lowered her gaze and clasped her hands, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Her deerskin boots crunched on the frosted bluestone, making a soft sound.
Li Huan slowly approached, raised his hand to signal the carriage to be ready, and personally lifted the curtain for her to board.
Xue Sui glanced at the grey-blue lining peeking from his sleeve cuff and lowered her eyes as she stepped onto the carriage stool.
Both were silent.
The carriage rumbled out of the palace gate, with no further words exchanged.
Xue Sui, wrapped in her cloak, leaned against the carriage wall, listening to the clamor of the marketplace mixed with the rumbling of the wheels.
“Sugar—húlu—”
“Delicious sugar-húlu—”
“Candied fruits—sugared chestnuts—”
“Freshly arrived rouge and powder, young ladies, take a look—”
The hawkers’ cries rose and fell, mingling with the scent of scented powder from the rouge shop, entering her nostrils as if from another lifetime.
Suddenly, joyous music drifted from ahead—
Gongs and flutes intertwined, startling the pedestrians by the roadside to stop and watch.
Xiao Zhao lifted the bamboo curtain, her gasp caught in her throat.
“Young Lady, look! It’s the Eastern Palace procession!”
Xue Sui’s heart tightened, and she peered through the gap in the gauze curtain.
Twelve pairs of Jinwu Guards led the way with halberds, followed by Ministry of Culture officials in crimson official robes, holding imperial jade scepters. Behind them were twenty-eight large red lacquer gift boxes. The contents, such as Xuan Xun silk, geese, and jade tablets, were tied with brocade red silk, shimmering with festive colors in the snow.
The Crown Prince rode a magnificent, spirited snow-white horse with a silver saddle, slowly passing along the Imperial Street. The gems on his golden crown sparkled brilliantly in the winter snow.
Li Huan suddenly rode his horse closer to the side of the carriage, his voice like falling ice shards, rustling down.
“Today is the Eastern Palace’s betrothal ceremony. His Imperial Father has ordered the Crown Prince to personally go to the Duke of Zheng’s Mansion to propose, showing the imperial family’s favor…”
The Crown Prince’s betrothal was naturally an extremely grand affair.
Xue Sui glanced at Li Huan’s noble and dignified face and suddenly understood why Emperor Chong Zhao had her leave the palace today and why he had allowed Li Huan to escort her…
She let out a laugh.
The joyous music grew closer, mixed with the gasps of the common people.
“His Highness the Crown Prince is personally performing the live goose ceremony for the betrothal…”
“The Crown Princess is truly fortunate!”
“The betrothal is already so grand. Won’t the wedding day stretch for ten miles?”
“Of course! It’s clear that His Highness the Crown Prince is very fond of this Third Miss Guo…”
The common people’s murmurs were low but distinct.
Xue Sui looked through the gauze curtain. Li Zhao’s figure was somewhat blurred by the falling snow. His silver saddle and white horse, the man on horseback stood as straight as a pine or jade pillar, but his shoulders seemed thinner than before. His face was indistinct, only the line of his jaw was sharp as if carved by a knife, as if covered with a thin layer of ice…
Handsome, aloof, and unattainable.
But he should be happy about marrying a bride, right?
As long as he took his medicine on time every day, the influence of the Love Silk Gu would be minimized. Once she reached the nunnery and found Senior Sister Yuheng, she would remove the Gu for him. From then on, he would be free from the love poison, live harmoniously with the Crown Princess, and firmly hold his position in the Eastern Palace…
It would also be a perfect ending to the story.
“Your Highness, it’s the Prince Duan’s Mansion carriage,” Guan Ya reminded him in a low voice.
Li Zhao’s hand, gripping the reins, suddenly tightened.
He looked indifferently at the blue-satin carriage, his expression as if frozen by ice and snow.
According to ritual, the Crown Prince’s procession had priority.
Li Huan signaled a servant to lead the horse aside…
After the procession stopped to the side, he bowed.
“Congratulations to His Highness the Crown Prince on a successful betrothal.”
“You are too kind,” Li Zhao replied expressionlessly.
“It is His Highness the Crown Prince’s joyous day; do not be late for the auspicious hour.”
Li Huan moved aside and gestured with his hand, “Your Highness, please—”
Li Zhao pursed his thin lips, “Imperial Brother, you are too polite!”
His voice came through the carriage curtain, terrifyingly calm.
The joyous music grew more piercing, hooves shattering the thin frost on the ground, and the Eastern Palace procession moved forward majestically…
Just as they were about to pass the Prince Duan’s Mansion carriage, Xiao Zhao suddenly lifted the carriage curtain by half a foot.
“Congratulations, Your Highness…”
Li Zhao turned his head to look.
Snowflakes hit the blue-satin curtains, and as the curtain fluttered, it revealed a woman clad in a plain grey monk’s robe. Her eyes were like snow, and she sat with grace, hands clasped, her face serene, like a Bodhisattva descended from a mural.
They looked at each other across the crowd, unable to meet.
Li Zhao turned his horse’s head, and the procession continued forward.
The red lacquered canopy rumbled past, and amidst the crowd’s gaze, a wisp of subtle fragrance, torn from the wind and snow, drifted into the blue curtain.
It was just like that night in the Ministry of Justice Prison, when he had fiercely pulled her into his burning embrace, the subtle scent emanating then…
The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, rushed into the carriage.
Xue Sui suddenly came to her senses, and the prayer beads in her hand dropped.
She bent down to pick them up but found her legs weak, almost falling.
“Young Lady, be careful!” Xiao Zhao quickly supported her elbow.
Xue Sui tried to steady her breathing, not looking at the panic and concern in Xiao Zhao’s eyes.
“It’s nothing. This wind and snow are making me a bit dizzy.”
The procession moved far away, and the carriage slowly set off.
Only after the convoy disappeared around the street corner did Li Zhao look back and discover that his palm had been cut by the reins, drawing blood.
All his immense anger was defeated by that trembling voice.
In a daze, he seemed to see again the little girl curled up in the rock crevice beneath the rockery at Pu Ji Temple, covered in blood, yet calmly and stubbornly telling him to leave quickly…
“You hurry and go… they’ll hit you… hurry and go… don’t let anyone see you…”
“Who are they? Tell me, and I’ll help you get revenge, I’ll protect you.”
“No one can protect me… don’t meddle in other people’s business!”
“Ungrateful.”
“…”
The wind, carrying fine snow, whipped against his face, freezing into ice crystals.
From then on, the palace walls were deep, separating them by ten thousand layers of the mortal world.
One, amidst the lively procession, walked towards imperial power; the other, in a desolate carriage, headed for a nunnery.
Ultimately, it was a misplaced affection.
–
The carriage drove out of the city gates, its wheels leaving tracks in the snow.
Finally, at dusk, it stopped outside Shui Yue Nunnery.
Li Huan dismounted and personally lifted the carriage curtain for Xue Sui.
Xue Sui, wrapped in a grey cloth cloak, stepped down from the carriage and looked up at the plaque above the nunnery gate, her eyes as clear as autumn water and the vast sky.
“Ping An, I can only escort you this far.”
Li Huan gazed at the nunnery gate, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“Whenever you wish to return, send word, and I will come to pick you up.”
“Having shaved my head, I have no more attachments. Farewell from this moment—”
Xue Sui took three steps back, bowed, her plain face full of refusal.
“Thank you for escorting me, Your Highness. Please send my regards to my elder sister…”
Li Huan’s brows were furrowed deeply, “She is not well. She waits for news from you every day, and her health has deteriorated significantly. The Imperial Physician says her pregnancy is unstable…”
Xue Sui looked at his hesitant expression and understood.
“From now on, I will be at Shui Yue Nunnery, offering three sticks of incense at dawn and dusk daily, praying for my elder sister and Your Highness.”
Li Huan was silent for a moment, then turned to leave.
“Your Highness,” Xue Sui suddenly called out to him.
Li Huan stopped, and Xue Sui slowly walked forward, stopping and lowering her gaze.
“In Qing Hui Hall, it was indeed I who changed the medicine. Consort Xiao died by my hand.”
Li Huan looked up at the swirling snow overhead, “I know.”
Xue Sui stared into his eyes, “Then why didn’t Your Highness finish the job?”
“Seeing you and Li Zhao lose your loved ones was enough to satisfy my hatred…”
Li Huan gave a self-deprecating laugh, swallowing the rest of his words.
“Let us consider all our past dealings as settled, and we are even.”
A faint smile touched Xue Sui’s lips, and she said softly, “Then let us each fulfill our own paths.”
“If there is a next life—” Li Huan’s Adam’s apple moved, and he gazed at her frosty, indifferent face, saying softly, “I wish we were born into an ordinary family, to enjoy flowers in spring and gather around a stove in winter nights, without needing to understand the nation or the world, and without having to yield to the shackles of fate…”
“This life has not yet passed; I do not hope for the next.”
Xue Sui lowered her eyes to avoid his burning gaze and bowed to take her leave.
The snow grew heavier, and the old plum tree outside the monastic room had its branches bent under the weight.
She looked at the vast expanse of white and signaled Xiao Zhao to go and knock on the door.
The nunnery gate creaked open.
The mountain wind swept through, a world of silver and white, exuding a profound tranquility…
Xue Sui turned and walked towards the nunnery gate, stepping over the high threshold…
The joyous music from Zhuque Street had long since faded, and the man on the silver saddle was merely a distant dream…
She took out half a piece of ambergris from her sleeve and gently tossed it into the incense burner in the courtyard…
Li Huan stared intently at her slender back until the nunnery gate slowly closed. Only then did he mount his horse…
White hair and black silk in an instant, three lifetimes of reincarnation as a youth.
Today I recommend Cheng Xiang’s 《A Thousand Miles to Share the Moon’s Glow》, which perfectly matches this scene of parting （*manual doge*）.
Winter gives way to spring, with fine rain falling incessantly.
Flowers bloom in all seasons, waiting for you to pluck them.
For you, sweet words and honeyed phrases.
Turn into firewood, rice, and cooking smoke.
Your eyebrows are curved, and your face is flushed red.
In the vast sea of people, one glance feels like ten thousand years.
Floating and falling, you reside in my heart.
Never hearing of the mortal world or its clamor.
Living a simple life through the years.
Can you return and raise a cup for a joyful conversation?
You said you would never fail your beloved in this life.
A thousand miles to share the moon’s glow.
Alas, the person is gone, and the building is empty, like smoke.
White hair and black silk in an instant.
Three lifetimes of reincarnation as a youth.
Can we, can we continue our past fate?
