The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"To be punished?"

Tang Xixue suddenly turned around, her gaze suddenly sharpening.

"reason?"

Mu Liang remained silent for a moment before saying:

"Tonight, we kidnapped General Feng and trapped the Imperial Advisor. Someone has to take the blame."

"This time, it's my turn."

Behind these few words lies the unspoken survival rule that the two brothers have known for many years: someone must bear the emperor's wrath for the mess left behind by the princess's outrageous behavior.

One is in the open, the other in the shadows, taking turns to receive punishment in exchange for a moment of peace and indulgence.

Tang Xixue felt a sudden stab to her heart.

The execution platform.

She had never been to that place, but had heard of it countless times.

Beneath the golden brick and jade steps lies the coldest and dampest corner of the palace, where guards and palace servants who have made mistakes are dealt with.

Thirty-seven instruments of torture, each capable of inflicting a fate worse than death, yet under the watchful eye of the imperial physician, he was kept alive.

It was a warning, a deterrent, and the coldest manifestation of imperial power.

When those time-traveling women acted recklessly, did they ever think about who was silently bearing the consequences of each mistake they made?

They felt no pity for them, regarding them as worthless as weeds.

But those two silent brothers were the ones who grew up with her.

It was Chao Han and Mu Liang who, when she sneaked out of the palace, would stand in her way with a stern face to stop her but secretly let her pass, and silently follow in her shadow to clear away any traces.

When she was young, she learned archery. When her arms became sore, Chao Han would silently step forward and steady her bow.

She would have nightmares, and the chill of dusk would silently appear outside the curtains until her breathing returned to normal.

They are not tools in storybooks that lack the ability to feel pain.

He is someone she cares about.

"Change your clothes."

Tang Xixue's voice suddenly turned cold and clear. The gentle weariness and sadness from before vanished instantly, leaving only a chilling light in her eyes, like a sword drawn from its sheath.

"Go to the execution platform."

Before Li Shuang could react, she walked straight to the clothes rack behind the screen.

"Your Highness, it's almost midnight. At the execution platform..."

Wei Yu hurriedly opened her mouth, but was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

"How can I sleep soundly while my men are being punished there?"

Tang Xixue ripped off the half-fallen fox fur coat from her shoulder and threw it aside. The movement created a gust of wind that made the candlelight flicker.

Li Shuang and Qing Dai exchanged a glance, dared not persuade her any further, and immediately stepped forward to serve her.

Fuyi had already appeared silently at the door, her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to accompany him.

Mu Liang's figure stirred slightly in the shadows, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she simply blended more quietly into the darkness.

Only those eyes, unseen by anyone, flashed with an extremely complex emotion.

It was worry, it was shock, and perhaps, a trace of warmth that had been suppressed for too long...

Once upon a time, their Mirror Princess saw a lake filled with spring water in her eyes.

Clear and bright, shimmering with a warm glow.

It illuminates the suffering and dignity of everyone.

Later, she became incredibly cold.

The light went out.

She might make them run around all night on a whim;

Out of inexplicable anger, they might smash the items they had carefully prepared.

They will get caught up in one incomprehensible conflict after another, leaving behind a mess and danger, which they will then forget.

They sustained one wound after another.

Some shielded her from open and hidden attacks, while others bore the burden of palace rules and punishments for her.

Chao Han's back was covered with old and new whip marks, while Mu Liang's arm bore deep, bone-revealing knife wounds.

They knelt on the cold stone bricks of the execution platform and fought bloody battles at the end of the palace road on stormy nights.

During countless long nights of vigil, I watched that once warm figure become unfamiliar and distant.

But they are still here.

When they were young, Princess Mirror came with a lantern in the dark of night and rescued them from the cruel arena.

Two wounded and abandoned boys, left to die, huddled in a corner in despair.

She was like a ray of dawn piercing through the darkness.

The voice was young but clear: "It's alright now, you'll follow me from now on."

The fire she ignited in their hearts has never been extinguished.

Therefore, I am willing.

He was willing to give up all his martial arts skills in exchange for a peaceful night's sleep for her.

He was willing to exchange his body full of wounds for a moment of her joy.

She was willing to use her silent back to shield her from all the open and hidden attacks aimed at her.

I am willing to spend the long nights of my life guarding the brief yet eternal dawn given to me by the girl with the lantern in my memory.

Even if she no longer remembers.

Even though the future is bleak and uncertain, people's hearts are filled with turmoil.

They are willing.

My will is as firm as a mountain, my heart is not a stone.

"Walk!"

Tang Xixue's voice cut off all hesitation, as clear as shattering ice.

"The heavy snow outside hasn't stopped, Your Highness, please wear more layers."

She allowed Li Shuang and Qing Dai to quickly fasten her thick snow-white brocade cloak, the moon-white satin shimmering with a subtle, understated luster under the candlelight.

She turned around, her steps quick and swift, the hem of her cloak drawing a clean arc as she stepped directly into the deep night outside the palace.

"Would Your Highness like a sedan chair or palanquin prepared?"

"Let the sedan chair follow."

Tangxi Xue walked very fast, while the sedan chair followed behind.

He walked silently beside her, always half a step behind, his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, his knuckles slightly tense.

Her figure, illuminated by the swaying palace lanterns under the corridor, resembled a silent, sharp blade.

In the deeper shadows, the chill of dusk, like smoke and mist, firmly protected the slender yet upright figure ahead within an invisible vigilance.

"The Execution Platform isn't far from our Hall of Longevity, but no one dares to approach it on ordinary days."

The night was deep, and only their hurried yet orderly footsteps echoed clearly and lonely on the cold bluestone slabs.

"Your Highness, we have arrived."

The imposing, dark gate of the execution platform soon came into view.

The lanterns hanging high above the gate tower cast a dim yet cold glow, illuminating the three large characters "司刑台" (Execution Platform) in intaglio, creating a chilling atmosphere that kept strangers at bay.

The guards standing watch at the gate had armor frosted with frost and solemn faces.

"Halt! This is the execution platform, a restricted area. Unauthorized personnel are not permitted to enter!"

The leading imperial guard blocked their way with his halberd, his voice sounding particularly cold and hard in the cold night.

"Open your eyes and see clearly!"

She stepped forward, blocking Tang Xixue's path. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling edge honed by years of martial arts training, like a thin blade scraping across ice.

"Who are you, mere spectators? This is Princess Mirror!"

The guards were taken aback by these words, their gazes passing over the cold, sharp shoulder line of the robe and turning towards the rear—

Several palace lanterns lit up one after another, their dim yellow light dispelling the darkness in front of the door and surrounding a person in the center.

A moon-white cloak covered half her face with its hood, revealing only her beautifully sculpted jawline and a pair of eyes that shone brilliantly in the darkness.

The girl stood there quietly, without uttering a word, yet she exuded an icy nobility and unquestionable majesty that seemed completely out of place in this bloody place.

"...Greetings, Your Highness."

After a brief silence, the guards finally reacted, bowing respectfully as their armor clashed with a dull thud.

His manners were impeccable, yet the scrutinizing gaze beneath his lowered eyelids was difficult to completely conceal.

The leading guard straightened up, his tone softening slightly, yet tinged with an almost dismissive realization:

"His Highness has arrived at the execution platform late at night..."

"Did you hear that Minister Shen is here? So you came here specifically to find him?"

The underlying suspicion and disdain in his words, like an undercurrent beneath the ice, were quietly surging.

Who doesn't know that Princess Jing of Chenyao already has a notorious reputation?

Arrogant and absurd, obsessed with the pride of various nations, this is the most despicable joke in the inner palace during leisure time.

The execution platform, a gloomy place filled with blood and filth, is completely out of place for someone of noble birth.

Despite the late night and the cold, she suddenly appeared here. What else could it be for but the exceptionally handsome Shen Shangqing?

It's just another shameless and obsessive entanglement.

This thought was clearly written in the guard's undisguised eyes, and also permeated the subtle exchanges of glances among the other guards around him.

Tangxi Xue stood under the lamp, taking in all of this.

In the shadow of her hood, a cold smile played on her lips, offering no explanation, nor needing one.

She simply raised her hand slowly, pointing to the heavy door in front of her that seemed to lead to the underworld, her voice carrying clearly in the cold night, devoid of any warmth:

"Open the door."