The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Tang Xixue seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and turned to Feng Zhuo, who was still dripping wet but looked as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

"Someone, bring General Feng a clean set of clothes."

Upon hearing the sound, Li Shuang, the personal maid who had been standing outside holding her breath, immediately bowed and entered with a brand-new brocade robe that had been prepared beforehand, her movements light and silent.

It was a set of crimson, embroidered qilin-patterned, close-fitting clothes, made of fine material, and the size was just right.

"Burn it."

Tangxi Snow gestured to the scorching wind.

"Go to the side hall to change your clothes, lest you catch a cold."

Feng Zhuo pursed his lips, his gaze lingering on her calm face for a moment with complicated emotions, before glaring fiercely at Si Xingxuan.

"Si Xingxuan, don't you dare try anything underhanded while I'm away..."

He took the clothes, turned around and strode towards the side hall. His wet footprints left a trail of dark marks on the floor tiles. His back was still straight, but he seemed to have lost some of the tense and hostile aura he had just displayed.

After his figure disappeared behind the screen, Tang Xixue slowly stood up, her heavy cloak slipping down slightly with the movement.

She nodded slightly to Si Xingxuan:

"Wait a moment, and after I change my clothes, we'll meet in the study."

She turned and walked into the inner hall behind the huge sandalwood screen inlaid with treasures, her figure obscured by the exquisite carvings and hazy silk paintings.

"Young Master Sixing, this way please."

Li Shuang immediately stepped forward and gestured for Si Xingxuan to enter.

Si Xingxuan withdrew his gaze from the screen, and the willow-leaf dagger at his fingertips vanished as if it had never been there.

He flicked his sleeves and followed Li Shuang out of the warm pavilion, through the corridor, and into Tang Xixue's study.

"Young master, please have a cup of tea first."

Li Shuang remembered this Divine Physician Zheyue, who was the noble young master that Her Highness the Princess had been pursuing madly not long ago. She had heard that he was unpredictable, so she would have to treat him well.

"This is your princess's study? It's spotless."

The study was exceptionally clean, indicating that the palace maids cleaned it regularly.

"His Highness's study is naturally clean."

Li Shuang said weakly that the princess hadn't set foot in the study for the past few years, as she was busy chasing after those geniuses every day.

"That good-for-nothing probably can't even write..."

Si Xingxuan casually sat down in a rosewood armchair by the window, picked up a teacup, and drank the finest Xue Ding Han Cui tea.

Even though Princess Jing is a disgrace to the royal family, Emperor Shengchen has not yet cut off her expenses?

He glanced at it briefly, and a cold, mocking smile appeared on his lips.

The rosewood desk was so shiny it reflected a person's image, and the ancient books on the display shelves were arranged meticulously, with a faint fragrance of Singaporean agarwood filling the air.

It's too clean, so clean that there's not a trace of human presence.

There were no creases left by frequently read scrolls on the desk, the ink stick in the inkstone was brand new and had never been ground, and even the wolf hair brush that seemed to be used often had an excessively neat tip.

This place is more like a meticulously arranged exhibition space that no one actually steps into.

"Oh……"

He gave a barely audible chuckle, his fingertips tapping the armrest intermittently.

He wanted to see how long this supposedly ignorant Princess Mirror could hold out with her delaying tactics.

His figure was as serene as an orchid, as cold and aloof as an abyss.

Before long, a very soft rustling sound came from the snow piled up on the veranda outside the study, like an ice flower blooming.

Immediately, the sandalwood door was silently pushed open by a pale white hand, and a young girl, carrying the crisp night air, gracefully stepped inside.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Her voice fell like dew clinging to the tip of a flower petal in the morning light, gentle and soothing to the soul.

Si Xingxuan looked up when she heard the sound.

The candlelight seemed to flicker for a moment.

Tang Xixue appeared in a flowing, icy white dress, her long, dark hair cascading down her back.

She wore a snow-white fox fur cloak, the fluffy and soft fur surrounding her delicate chin, making her look even more like a piece of jade.

"Is Princess Mirror planning to use her beauty to seduce me?"

"What a pity, I can't stand a vase that's all show and no substance."

Si Xingxuan's eyes deepened almost imperceptibly, and his words, spoken as if coated with poison, were utterly merciless.

"I have already experienced the coldness of Young Master Sixing's heart, so I will not humiliate myself further."

Tang Xixue's skin was as white as snow, and under the candlelight, it glowed with a delicate and lustrous sheen. Her hair was adorned with icy tassels, and snowflake earrings adorned her ears.

Her temperament was extremely pure and clear, like fresh snow on a mountain peak.

You had better keep your word.

Si Xingxuan sneered. Some people have no credibility whatsoever, and he wouldn't believe her.

"The person who liked Young Master Si Xing was me yesterday, and has nothing to do with me today."

"After all, when it comes to looks and temperament, the Imperial Preceptor is superior."

"I'm the kind of person who... is very fickle and easily bored with the old."

At this moment, Tang Xixue walked gracefully through the hazy glow of candlelight and snow, toward the large rosewood desk.

Each step was like walking on a silent rhythm, composed, elegant, and imbued with innate nobility.

The study door was not closed, and through the crack, a figure in fiery red could be seen standing tall in the wind and snow under the eaves.

"Isn't it true that people are fickle and easily bored? I'm the one who gets rejected."

The young general, Feng Zhuo, stood motionless, dressed in a sharp crimson outfit with a black leather belt around his waist, like a pine tree rooted in the snow.

He did not step into the study, but instead fixed his sharp, hawk-like eyes on Si Xingxuan and Tang Xixue.

"Qingdai, grind the ink."

Tang Xixue sat down behind her desk, ignoring the oppressive gaze from outside the door, and gave a soft instruction.

Her anger was always a case of being tough on the outside but soft on the inside.

"Yes, Your Highness."

A maid dressed in a light blue palace gown, with calm and composed features, stepped forward in response. She skillfully poured water into the She inkstone, picked up a piece of fine pine soot ink, and began to grind it slowly and deliberately.

The ink stick touched the inkstone, producing a very subtle and even rustling sound.

A faint hint of surprise flashed across Qingdai's eyes. Having served the princess for many years, she knew that Her Highness had stopped writing anything since that serious illness.

Tang Xixue didn't say much, but reached into the jade box that Qingdai had brought and took out a piece of white paper with a dense and tough texture, which she then carefully laid out on the table.

Then, from the Jade Brush Mountain, he selected a wolf-hair brush for small regular script.

A moment later, she raised her wrist, picked up her brush, and dipped it in thick ink.

The candlelight cast her slender shadow onto the bookshelf behind her, swaying slightly.

Her expression was focused, her snow-white face seemed to glow in the warm yellow light, and her eyes were clear as ice and snow.

The pen tip touches the paper steadily and firmly, without the slightest hesitation or sluggishness.

Lines of text flowed from her pen.

The air was filled with the subtle scent of pine soot and ink, mixed with the faint, cool fragrance of crabapple blossoms emanating from her.

From a young age, she was praised as a prodigy, possessing a photographic memory and a keen mind.

Even that legendary copy of the "Tai Su Dan Jue" was only glimpsed in her mind amidst countless fragments of chaotic memories.

At this moment, however, it reappeared in her mind with perfect clarity, without the slightest difference.

Through the steadily moving pen tip, the image is vividly and accurately revealed on the snow-white paper under the candlelight.

Si Xingxuan gazed silently at the profile she was writing, and deep in his eyes, the dark fire that wanted to turn her into a perfect puppet burned even more intensely.