The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

At the end of the long street, the black iron carriage moved slowly forward in the snow.

Inside the carriage, Shen Yan leaned against the soft cushions, her back aching so badly that she was covered in cold sweat, and every breath she took brought on a tearing pain.

She bit her lower lip, not daring to groan, only raising her tearful eyes to look at the man opposite her:

"Your Highness, thank you so much for coming to our rescue today..."

"No need."

Bei Chenji sat in the shadows, his eyes unfathomable in the dimly lit carriage.

He removed the rhinoceros-hide glove that had been torn by the whip tip, and the red, swollen whip mark on the back of his hand was particularly glaring in the dim light.

"Just remember," he looked up at her, his gaze as cold as iron, "you owe me a favor."

He paused, then added:

"When I need you to do something, remember to obey."

Shen Yan's fingertips curled slightly, her nails digging into her palms:

"The Cloud Painting...I will remember it forever."

The carriage left deep ruts on the snow-covered streets, and the copper bells jingled dully in the wind.

The carriage remained silent for a long time.

Just when Shen Yan thought he wouldn't speak again, Bei Chenji suddenly spoke:

"Snow in Tangxi".

He murmured the name as if savoring some unfamiliar poison.

"It's different from before."

Shen Yan's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly looked up at him.

In the dim light, Bei Chenji's profile was as hard and cold as a stone carving.

He gazed at the snowflakes flashing past the window, at the icicles hanging from the eaves of the houses on both sides of the long street, and a playful, almost excited smile slowly curved his lips:

"interesting."

He chuckled softly, a glint of predator's eye shining in his eyes when he spotted new prey.

"My little niece is more than I expected..."

He turned to look at Shen Yan, his eyes gleaming dangerously in the shadows:

"It's much more interesting."

Shen Yan pursed her lips, and the pain in her back suddenly intensified.

The pain seeped into her bones, into her heart, into a corner she thought she had firmly in control, but which was now beginning to loosen and crumble.

She had a vague feeling that something was quietly slipping into an unknown direction.

Some of the things she had painstakingly built up over the years to survive, some of the steps she used to climb, and some of the future she considered hers for the taking.

On this very night, they were all shattered by the whip of that foolish Princess Mirror, who should have been trampled underfoot.

Outside the car window, the wind and snow had quietly stopped.

The eaves of the capital city have shed their heavy snow cover, revealing dark blue roof tiles, with glistening icicles hanging from each of the flying eaves.

The sky is like a black silk ribbon washed clean, with billions of stars breaking free from the shackles of clouds, pouring out into a vast and boundless sea of ​​stars.

The light was dense and low-hanging, as if one could reach out and scoop up a handful of starlight like shattered diamonds.

"The snow has stopped."

As Tang Xixue stepped through the moon gate of the Hall of Longevity, she murmured to herself.

She suddenly stopped.

The frosty white ribbons in her hair were lifted by the night breeze passing through the courtyard, brushing against her cheeks.

A subtle fragrance drifted on the breeze.

She looked up, her gaze passing through the intertwined branches of the century-old plum tree.

"These plum blossoms are blooming so beautifully."

The branches were covered with unmelted snow, and ice crystals encased the crimson flower buds that were about to bloom, shimmering with a crystal-clear luster under the starlight.

Then, her gaze went beyond the plum branches and landed directly on something higher up.

That starry sky she had never truly gazed at since her return.

She stared blankly at a certain point in the sky.

The languor and weariness in his eyes receded like the tide, replaced by a deep, almost trembling sense of realization.

Her red lips parted slightly, but no sound came out; only warm white mist dissipated in the cold air.

for a long time.

"Crane Embracing Immortal..."

She murmured his name very softly, her voice carrying the coolness of the starry night and a sudden, unexpected sorrow.

"Aren't you the most skilled at deducing heavenly secrets and the most discerning of gains and losses in the Nine Provinces?"

She leaned against the rough, sturdy trunk of the plum tree behind her, her snow-white cloak rustling softly against the bark.

Her upturned face was completely bathed in starlight, her skin was so white it was almost translucent, and the tiny frost crystals on her eyelashes reflected the starlight, twinkling and shimmering.

"How..."

She suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, yet so gentle it brought tears to one's eyes.

"They would do such foolish things too."

That person's destiny star is always the easiest to identify.

No need to rely on astrological charts or memorize star diagrams; simply look up on a clear night.

In the entire sky, the brightest, most dazzling, and most radiant star must be him.

Jade Balance.

The fifth star of the Big Dipper, it is blessed by the celestial spirit and surrounded by the imperial aura of Ziwei.

His star was so bright and clear that it seemed to be something that should not exist in the mortal world; it was called "Ziwei Illuminating His Fate".

The flowing radiance was not simply silver-white, but rather faintly tinged with a noble pale purple glow, like the pearly sheen of the finest silk unfolding under the moonlight.

The old imperial advisor once sighed, patting the young man's still somewhat thin shoulders:

"Huai Xian, you are such a bright star..."

"So bright that it might not be tolerated by the mundane world, so bright that... even the Heavenly Dao would have to be wary of it."

Fragments of memory, like sparks rising in reverse, illuminate the dusty corners deep within the mind.

It was a starry night like this.

At that time, she stood on tiptoe, her soft fingers tugging at the corner of his sleeve.

"Brother Huaixian, there are so many stars in the sky, which one is yours?"

He chuckled softly upon hearing this, extending his well-defined hand and pointing to the most dazzling spot on the dome:

"The brightest one is called Yuheng."

"And what about Zhizhi's?" She immediately tilted her little face up, her eyes reflecting the starlight, shining incredibly brightly. "Where are Zhizhi's stars?"

He was stunned.

My gaze searched through the vast sea of ​​stars, again and again.

The star trails were as clear as the lines on his palm in his eyes, but that night, he searched for them for a very, very long time.

As time went on, the expectation in her eyes gradually faded, and the corners of her mouth began to turn down in a wronged manner.

Finally, he could only squat down and gently rub the top of her head.

"Zhizhi's star... hasn't lit up yet."

Seeing that the tears were about to fall, he quickly softened his voice and coaxed:

"When Zhizhi grows up and becomes incredibly amazing, the stars will shine brighter than her brother's."

She then stopped crying and smiled, nodding vigorously: "Then Zhizhi must grow up quickly!"

But later...

Her star never shone.

Instead, it grew dimmer day by day, like a bright pearl buried under thick dust, its halo so faint that it was almost swallowed up by the vast sea of ​​stars.

Finally, on that desperate night five years ago, amidst a raging snowstorm, the nameless dark star, which had been drifting on the edge of the star map, suddenly lost its last glimmer of light.

On the path of fate, the trajectory belonging to Tang Xixue should have ended there completely.

This corresponds to the moment when the transmigrated woman takes over the body and her original soul is on the verge of collapse.

It should be so.

Tang Xixue gazed up at the starry sky, her pupils reflecting a grander picture of destiny unseen by mortals.

At this moment, in that scene—

Her nameless and dim destiny star, which should have long since faded away, still stubbornly shines.

Although its light was as faint as a candle in the wind, it existed with undeniable reality.

What's even more awe-inspiring is that the trajectory of this dark star is tightly bound and pulled by countless slender yet resilient golden threads of light.

The other end of the light filament was firmly attached to the dazzling and bright star, Yuheng.

Between the two stars, a forbidden and heaven-defying bridge was formed.

The vast and boundless fortune of the Jade Balance Star, like a warm and ever-flowing river, flows day and night across that bridge.

It continuously feeds the dying dark star, sustaining its most fundamental vitality.