The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Outside the Lintai Hunting Grounds, the snow-covered landscape was shrouded in the deepening twilight, turning the world into a desolate silver-gray.

The other candidates had already left, leaving only two figures waiting quietly under the lamp.

Feng Zhuo leaned against a stone pillar with his arms crossed, his red clothes as dark as fire in the snowy night, his gaze always fixed on the end of the forest path.

Pei Yanchuan stood quietly to one side, his thin blue robe covered with a layer of fine snow, yet he seemed oblivious.

Until the moon climbed to the top of the pine tree, the crisp sound of hooves came from the depths of the snow-covered forest.

"Why are you still here?"

Tang Xixue rode out on horseback, her dark figure breaking through the moonlight and snow mist, as if she had come from a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Feng Zhuo suddenly straightened up, and Pei Yanchuan also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah Xue!"

Feng Zhuo stepped forward, grabbed the reins, and his fingertips touched the cold bronze ornaments on the bridle.

"You've finally come out. Why bother with that sickly fellow? He looks fragile, but he's probably more dangerous than a venomous snake in the forest!"

He led Zhuxing into his designated stable with practiced ease, his brow still furrowed as he turned away.

"If he really wants to do something to you, it's impossible to guard against."

"Your Highness should indeed be cautious."

Pei Yanchuan echoed softly, a look of worry appearing on his scholarly face.

"The actions of the Divine Physician Zheyue...have always been unpredictable."

He disliked gossiping about others, so these words were a very serious reminder.

"See? Even your little bookworm understands this principle."

Feng Zhuo casually straightened Tang Xixue's slightly disheveled cloak ties, his tone half helpless and half anxious:

"Ah Xue, please listen to my advice, okay?"

Tangxi Xue leaped off her horse, her snow-white cloak billowing in the wind like crane wings.

She raised her hand to brush away the snowflakes clinging to her temples, her voice as gentle and calm as a melting stream:

"Yes, I will be careful. Today was truly an accident—Si Xingxuan is temporarily residing in Lintai. If something were to happen to him here, it could cause turmoil in the Northern Territory. After all, the greater good is paramount."

Feng Zhuo's eyes lit up.

"You've thought things through."

His brows relaxed, and a sense of satisfaction shone through the sharpness unique to the young general.

"That sickly fellow is truly not going to die. If his brother were to go mad, the entire land would tremble."

"Whenever Si Xingzhou's younger brother is involved, he shows absolutely no imperial composure."

He scoffed lightly, yet had to admit, "Those brothers... truly share a deep bond."

Tang Xixue nodded slightly, indicating that the two should go together.

The moonlight stretched the three people's shadows long, overlapping them on the snow, like a faint silhouette.

"Congratulations to Ah Xue for achieving the top rank again in today's archery and horsemanship assessment."

Feng Zhuo walked beside her, his tone revealing an undisguised pride:

"You didn't see how interesting those arrogant guys looked when they heard you shot a tiger all by yourself."

"You've only talked about me."

Tang Xixue glanced at him sideways, a faint smile appearing in her eyes, like the first ripples spreading across an ice lake.

"Ranzhi, did you have any success on the hunting grounds today?"

"We hunted a red fox."

Feng Zhuo answered crisply and decisively. In the warm yellow glow of the palace lanterns, the young man's handsome face was coated with a soft radiance, and the flickering candlelight reflected in his eyes shone as brightly as stars.

"The fur is of the finest color, a fiery red with hints of gold, glossy and smooth. Once it's tanned, I'll use it to make the collar and glove covers for your cloak; it will surely be both beautiful and warm."

As dusk settled, the copper bells on the eaves of the Lintai Terrace rang out with delicate, clear sounds in the night breeze.

Pei Yanchuan stopped at the corner, and Chaotang Xixue and Fengzhuo bowed solemnly.

"Your Highness, General Feng," his voice was gentle yet clear, "Yan Chuan still needs to stay in Lintai to organize the books in the library, so he cannot see you off today."

As a poor family member, he studied and practiced martial arts during the day, and at night he also had to take care of miscellaneous tasks in the library.

His ailing mother and young sister relied on his meager salary and subsidies to survive.

Medicine money, tuition fees, firewood, rice, oil, salt...

Each stroke weighed heavily on his thin shoulders.

Tang Xixue stopped and turned to look at him upon hearing this.

The snow reflected in her eyes, which were clear as a mirror, showing no trace of reproach.

"Yanchuan, take the eagle we hunted together today back with you. Its feathers can be used to make ornaments, and its bones can be used in medicine. It should fetch a good price at the market."

"The road to success may be arduous, but I hope you can ride the wind and rise without being trapped by wind and snow."

She suddenly spoke, her voice soft and gentle like falling snow.

Pei Yanchuan stood there, stunned, a sudden tightness in his throat.

The eagle was hunted by the two of them together, but if it weren't for her exceptional archery skills, she would have had no chance of catching it on her own.

He had already decided to leave the prey to her, but he never expected that she had already seen through his predicament and paved a warm road for him in such a thoughtful and dignified way.

"...Thank you, Your Highness."

He bowed deeply, his voice slightly hoarse, all the unspoken gratitude and shock hidden within that bow.

He was not a man of many words; for many years he had carried the storms of life alone, burying himself in his work, and had long been accustomed to the cold and silence.

Until she shone into his dark years like the morning sun breaking through the clouds.

Feng Zhuo watched quietly from the side, unusually refraining from making any sarcastic remarks.

"Hurry up, it's time to light the candles in the library."

Tang Xixue gently reminded her, her gaze tender.

Pei Yanchuan straightened up, glanced at her one last time, and turned to walk into the deepening twilight.

The road that was once covered in frost no longer seemed so long and cold because of this ray of light shining into reality.

Feng Zhuo gazed at his straight yet slender back and suddenly whispered, "He will go very far."

"Hmm," Tang Xixue nodded slightly, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"The scales lie dormant, awaiting the winds and clouds, until they finally transform into the form of the Nine Heavens."

Night finally fell completely, and the lights of the pavilion shone like stars.

"Oh, right, Ranzhi." Tang Xixue turned to Feng Zhuo, her eyes sparkling, "The tiger we hunted today is yours."

Feng Zhuo was stunned.

"Thank you for coming for me."

Her voice softened, like snowflakes falling into her palm.

"I...I didn't..."

The boy's ears turned red, and he turned his head away, but he couldn't hide the panic in his words.

"Burn it."

Tang Xixue took a step closer with a lantern in hand, the light illuminating her delicate jawline, her voice clear and melodious like an ice string reflecting the moon.

I just want to hear the truth.

Her snow-white cloak fluttered in the wind, its tassels swaying, and she gazed at him quietly.

"……yes."

Feng Zhuo finally sighed in defeat, a rare hint of shyness appearing between his wild brows.

"I'm just afraid you'll get bullied and hide away crying."

"Hmm." Tang Xixue's eyes curved into a smile as she gently tugged at his sleeve. "Ran Zhi still treats me better."

"snort."

He turned his head away, trying to hide the corners of his mouth that were trying to turn up in a crazy smile, but a familiar, sour, and throbbing pain rose in his heart.

"Don't think that... I'll soften up just because you praise me a few times."

But a smile still peeked out from the corners of her eyes and brows, sparkling in the night breeze.

Only he knew how frantically his heart was beating in his chest at that moment—

She was the one who personally plunged the sharp blade into his heart back then, and the wound has not healed to this day; it still hurts when touched.

Yet, he still pathetically gets nervous for her, comes for her, and even...

Seeing her today, I like her even more.

"Alright, alright, I know. Ran Zhi is now as cold as ice towards me."

Tang Xixue's lips curled up slightly.

"It's good that you know."

He personally helped her onto the carriage waiting outside the mountain gate, and only stepped back slightly when he saw Chaohan and Muliang protecting her on either side.

See you tomorrow.

He waved his hand, and when he turned around, that bright and unrestrained smile was still on his face.

But the moment he turned his back, all the smiles vanished like the tide, leaving only a cold, icy look in his eyes.

The night wind whipped up the hem of his red robe, making it flutter like a flag.

The snow illuminated half of his profile, revealing a face devoid of any youthful spirit, only a chilling stillness.

"Whoever dares to touch Ah Xue in the slightest, I will make them wish they were dead."

He muttered to himself, each word sharp and chilling.

The sound of tire tracks faded into the distance, while he stood in the snow, like a sword slowly returning to its sheath.

The ambush in the hunting grounds was like a boulder thrown into a still pond, stirring up ripples in the twilight.

Before the iron cavalry of the Marquis of Zhenbei had completely withdrawn, the imperial edict pierced the night sky like a frosty blade—

Emperor Shengchen was furious. The black-clad envoys of the Execution Platform rushed to Lintai overnight, and the imperial guards went out in all directions, but the candles were not lit all night.

Shen Xian, the Minister of Justice, personally took charge of the investigation.

What truly held the breath of the court and the public in suspense was the attitude of the person at the highest point of the Imperial Academy.

At the end of the cloud-covered steps, the windows of the Moon-Viewing Pavilion were half-open, and the night wind swept in fine snow.

He Lichen, dressed in a plain white crane cloak, stood by the window, not holding a scroll, but gazing at the hunting grounds and forests that had sunk into darkness in the distance.

Her ethereal profile appeared even more exquisite and icy under the glass lamp.

"They really think Lintai is a lawless place."

He suddenly spoke, his voice like the wind sweeping across a cold river when a lone fisherman is fishing, quiet yet carrying a lofty and solitary quality.

Songjun, who was standing in the shadows, slightly raised his head.

He Lichen turned around, her robes flowing like clouds across the smooth stone bricks.

His eyes held a cold glint like shattered stars, and each word he uttered was as sharp as ice.

"check."

Songyun immediately lowered his head: "Yes."

"Participants," He Lichen's voice was flat, yet it caused the surrounding temperature to plummet, "Kill."

The last word fell very lightly, yet it was like a thin blade precisely piercing the night, startling distant crows that cried out in hushed tones as they flew over the high pavilion.

"Yes, ma'am."

Song Jun responded again, his figure silently disappearing into the darkness, as if he had never existed.

The snow fell silently outside the window.

The wind rustles through the bamboo leaves, sounding like a thousand sharp swords ringing out in unison.