Video Editor

The cold wind whipped up snowflakes that lashed against the windowpane. Zhuang Yushan huddled in a corner of the Dali Temple prison, his fingers unconsciously stroking the silver needles hidden in his sleeve.

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and she quickly pressed the needle tip against the vein in her wrist.

“Yushan”.

The familiar voice made her hand tremble, and the silver needle fell onto the brocade quilt.

Zhou Ruyin stood at the door, wrapped in a gray squirrel fur cloak, the hideous scar on her left cheek glowing dark red in the candlelight.

"Mother?" Zhuang Yushan stumbled forward, but quickly withdrew his hand when he touched Zhou Ruyin's sleeve. "Why are you here?"

Zhou Ruyin's trembling hand touched her daughter's thin cheek: "Let your mother take a good look at you."

Her fingertips traced the bruises on Zhuang Yushan's neck, and her voice suddenly choked with emotion, "I heard that the Prince of Qi..."

"It doesn't matter anymore." Zhuang Yushan grabbed his mother's hand, large tears falling onto the back of her hand. "I accused you like that in court, and you still..."

"Silly child." Zhou Ruyin hugged her daughter and smelled the strong medicinal scent in her hair. "How could your mother blame you? It was my fault. I taught you to please this person and depend on that person since you were little."

She suddenly coughed violently, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Zhuang Yushan hurriedly helped her sit down, and only after lifting the cloak did he see the blood-soaked bandage around his mother's waist: "Did Zhuang Shiyang do this?"

"It doesn't matter anymore." Zhou Ruyin wiped away her daughter's tears. "Listen! Your mother has come to take you away this time."

The sound of the night watchman's drum came from outside the window, and Zhuang Yushan's expression changed drastically: "It's too late! Prince Qi has poisoned me with the Entangling Silk Poison, and I have to take the antidote on the fifteenth of every month."

"Don't worry! Zhuang Hanyan is in charge of the capital now, she will definitely help you find the antidote."

"Impossible! Zhuang Hanyan hates me so much, how could she possibly help me?"

"Yushan, you and I, mother and daughter, have both misunderstood Hanyan. She is much more magnanimous than we imagined."

"But...but she and Su Ning are ultimately rebels, and one day they will surely be wiped out by the loyalist army."

"What's the point of thinking so much! Let's just let things slide and kill that Zhuang Shiyang of yours first to vent our anger."

"Okay, Mother, I'll listen to you."

……

In front of the Dali Temple, Prince Qi was brought out bound hand and foot, his magnificent brocade robe covered in mud and snow.

"You vile woman!" Upon seeing Zhuang Hanyan, the Prince of Qi suddenly broke free from his restraints and pounced on her. "How dare you rebel against the court? Let's see how long you can remain arrogant!"

Zhuang Hanyan dodged to the side, and a jade seal rolled out of the King of Qi's sleeve.

She bent down and picked it up; it was the Ministry of War's transfer order seal that had been missing for many years.

"Your Highness, please be careful with your words." She handed the jade seal to the arriving bailiffs. "Although treason is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family, the first to be executed is you, the Prince of Qi."

King Qi suddenly chuckled maliciously: "Haha, do you think Fu Yunxi can live to see the day of the trial? Zhuang Shiyang's poison is incurable. You can all just wait to be buried with me!"

"Take him away!" Fu Yunxi's cold voice came from the steps.

His face was as pale as paper, yet he stood ramrod straight. "Madam Su, please allow me a moment to speak."

In the side hall, Fu Yunxi had just closed the door when she spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Zhuang Hanyan supported his swaying body, her hands feeling its icy coldness.

“A secluded dwelling.” He gripped Zhuang Hanyan’s wrist. “Zhuang Shiyang entered through the secret passage…”

Before he could finish speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

Chai Jing rushed in, covered in snow: "Han Yan! Zhuang Shiyang is about to confess."

Fu Yunxi tried to get up, but Zhuang Hanyan pressed her back into her chair: "I'll go."

She removed Fu Yunxi's waist tag. "My lord, you may wish to take a look at this first."

He pulled an account book from his sleeve and stuffed it into his hand.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, and Zhuang Shiyang's fox fur coat was already soaked through.

He wiped the coal dust off his face and heard footsteps coming from all directions.

At that moment, Zhuang Hanyan's voice came from outside the prison, "Father, when you poisoned my mother three years ago, did you ever think about this day?"

Zhuang Shiyang slowly turned around and suddenly burst into laughter: "Haha, Han Yan, you don't look too good."

"Hmph! What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Do you already know that Fu Yunxi has been poisoned? I heard that if someone is poisoned with the Seven-Day Intestinal Severing Powder, they will eventually die from intestinal perforation and abdominal rot?"

A gasp of cold air came from the shadows.

"Is that all the nonsense you're going to spout?"

"..."

The torches in the Dali Temple dungeon flickered.

At this moment, Zhuang Shiyang was chained to the rack. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and sneered, "Here to ask for the antidote?"

"Let's make a deal." Zhuang Hanyan opened the cell door. "The antidote in exchange for freedom."

Zhuang Shiyang's cloudy eyes darted around: "How can I trust you?"

"Based on this," Zhuang Hanyan revealed a map of the secret passage hidden in her sleeve, "the secret passage beneath the Zhuang family ancestral hall is unknown even to the Wei family, except to you and me."

"Okay! I promise you."

At three-quarters past midnight, a group of yamen runners escorted a prison cart out of the city.

Upon reaching the mass grave, the leader suddenly removed his mask, revealing himself to be Zhuang Shiyang.

He kicked the unconscious guard beside him to the ground, and just as he was about to reach for the key, he suddenly felt a chill in his back.

“Father is still so impatient.” Zhuang Hanyan turned the gold needle inserted into his Mingmen acupoint. “The antidote prescription hasn’t been written yet.”

Zhuang Shiyang collapsed to the ground, watching helplessly as Fu Yunxi emerged unharmed from the prison van.

He finally realized: "You set me up."

"Not even a fraction as good as Father." Zhuang Hanyan knelt down and pulled out the silver hairpin from his hair. "You used this hairpin to poison Mother back then, didn't you?"

Back in the secret chamber of the Zhuang mansion, Zhuang Shiyang was chained to the stone chair where Ruan Xiwen had been imprisoned years ago.

Zhuang Hanyan pushed the paper and pen in front of him: "Write."

"Tomorrow," Zhuang Shiyang said breathlessly, "I need to think things through."

"Okay," Zhuang Hanyan suddenly agreed readily, "but you don't have many more chances left."

"What do you want to do?"

"Father, I forgot to tell you, Su Ning has resurrected Mother and Uncle Yuwen."

"Impossible! Is Su Ning some kind of ghost or god?"

“Su Ning is a hundred times more powerful than ghosts and gods. No matter what you do next, it will be useless. You will eventually be judged and despised by the whole nation.”

"..."

"Don't worry! Before you die, I will make sure you see your happy mother and Uncle Yuwen."

“You… Zhuang Hanyan, I am your biological father. You cannot kill me and destroy my spirit like this.”

"Haha, I thought you didn't know! Why didn't you think of this when you were plotting against us?"

"I……"

With a "bang," Zhuang Hanyan took out a women's pistol and fired a shot directly at the side.

The loud gunfire and stray bullets terrified Zhuang Shiyang. "Huh? What is that?"

"A Western-style musket." Zhuang Hanyan blew away the smoke from the muzzle. "A deadly weapon crafted by artisans in Su Ning's possession."

"what?"

Zhuang Hanyan kicked away the razor blade in Zhuang Shiyang's hand. "Now, are you going to write it or not?"

Zhuang Shiyang suddenly chuckled mischievously: "You think the antidote really exists?"

He coughed up blood, "There's absolutely no cure for the Seven-Day Intestinal Severing Powder!"

The secret room fell into a deathly silence. After a long while, Zhuang Hanyan smiled softly: "Coincidentally, Lord Fu was not poisoned by the Seven-Day Heartbreak Powder either."

She took out a porcelain bottle and threw it in front of Zhuang Shiyang. "Would you like to try it? It tastes very similar, doesn't it?"

Zhuang Shiyang opened the porcelain bottle with trembling hands, his face instantly turning deathly pale. This was the antidote he had hidden in a secret compartment in his study!

"Impossible! This..."

“It was Yu Shan who changed it.” Zhuang Hanyan turned and left. “Your most despised daughter is now the youngest pharmacist in the Imperial Medical Academy.”

Before the stone gate slammed shut, she took one last look at Zhuang Shiyang, who was slumped on the ground: "I forgot to tell you, Su Ning and I have already pardoned Zhuang Yushan and Aunt Zhou."

"Hmph! He's nothing but a monkey in a crown."

"We'll see."

……

As dawn broke, Zhuang Hanyan caught up with Zhou Ruyin and her daughter, who were about to embark on a long journey, at the city gate.

Zhuang Yushan handed over a prescription: "Cook this medicine and drink it; it will clear away the remaining poison from Lord Fu."

"Thank you." Zhuang Hanyan stuffed a stack of silver notes into Zhou Ruyin's hand. "The house in Jiangnan has been arranged. You can live a good life there."

Looking at the majestic city gate, Zhou Ruyin suddenly said, "When I first entered the Zhuang family, your mother once said something." She turned to Zhuang Hanyan, "She said that a true noblewoman is not defined by how high a branch she climbs, but by how deep her roots are."

"..."

As the carriage drove further and further away, Chai Jing appeared silently behind Zhuang Hanyan: "Hanyan, Zhuang Shiyang has confessed. The Pei Dafu case involves many important officials from the Six Ministries."

"No rush." ​​Zhuang Hanyan looked towards the palace. "Let the bullets fly for a while."

On the snow, two rows of footprints stretched into the distance.

As the sun rises, it dyes the fresh snow crimson.

……

Water droplets condensed on the stone walls of the secret room. Zhuang Shiyang was huddled in a corner when he suddenly looked up when he heard the sound of the iron door opening.

Zhuang Hanyan walked in carrying a food box, the candlelight casting a long shadow of her.

"Father, please have your meal." She placed the food box on the stone table, lifted the lid, and the aroma of braised pork immediately filled the air. "These are all your favorite dishes."

Zhuang Shiyang's Adam's apple bobbed, but he hesitated to pick up his chopsticks.

Zhuang Hanyan chuckled, took out a wine pot, filled two cups, and drank them down first: "Afraid I'll poison you?"

"You swore an oath..." Zhuang Shiyang said hoarsely, grabbing a wine glass and gulping it down, the wine dripping down his white beard. "You said that if you broke your promise, you would die a horrible death."

Zhuang Hanyan poured him another full glass: "Yes! If I were to harm you, may my intestines rot and my belly burst." She suddenly leaned closer, "Just like the poison you gave Lord Fu."

The candle flame flickered and burst.

Zhuang Shiyang stared at his daughter's features, which resembled his own, and suddenly asked, "Do you hate me?"

"Why don't you answer me first?" Zhuang Hanyan placed a piece of fish into his bowl. "In this life, have you ever truly loved anyone?"

Zhuang Shiyang's chopsticks stopped in mid-air.

After a long silence, he looked dazed and said, "Xiwen... I only ever loved your mother, Xiwen."

He ran his fingers along the rim of the bowl as if it were some precious treasure. "That year, during the Lantern Festival, she solved my nine-linked ring riddle puzzle..."

"Then you broke her legs and imprisoned her in a dark room for seven years." Zhuang Hanyan sneered, "What a deep affection."

"That was an accident!" Zhuang Shiyang suddenly became agitated. "The night Pei Dafu came to our door, she insisted on running away... and then she fell down the stairs..."

His voice lowered, "I've already hired the best doctor for her..."

Zhuang Hanyan slammed down her chopsticks: "The doctor added datura to the medicine he prescribed, which is why she's been in a constant drowsy state."

"..."

The sound of a night watchman's drum came from outside.

Zhuang Shiyang suddenly grabbed his daughter's hand: "Hanyan, I was forced! Pei Dafu is threatening the lives of the whole family."

"So you strangled your mother with your own hands?" Zhuang Hanyan pulled her hand away, "using the mandarin duck handkerchief she embroidered for you?"

Zhuang Shiyang was struck dumb.

That blood-stained handkerchief, he clearly already...

"Looking for this?" Zhuang Hanyan took out a cloth bag from the bottom of the food box. "Before my mother died, she bit her finger and wrote down your crimes on it."

She stood up and straightened her skirt. "Don't worry, I'll let you go. As for the others..."

She glanced meaningfully at the half-open door, "It's hard to say."

Zhuang Shiyang gulped down his third glass of wine.

Once the footsteps faded away, he rushed to the door and found that it was indeed unlocked.

As he walked through the dark corridor, he heard Granny Tao's cries for help coming from the woodshed.

"Master! Save this old servant!"

Zhuang Shiyang paused for a moment, then ran towards the backyard without looking back.

As the wind and snow rushed towards him, he realized that the entire manor was eerily empty.

The iron lock on the back door was rusty and couldn't be pulled open no matter what.

"Shiyang."

A soft, distant call startled Zhuang Shiyang so much that he fell to the ground in the snow.

Zhou Ruyin stood under the corridor in a bright red wedding dress, holding a black lacquered wooden box in her arms and a jewel-encrusted dagger in her right hand. It was the wedding gift that Ruan Xiwen had given her years ago.

"You...you stay away!" Zhuang Shiyang crawled backward on all fours, "Yushan! Yushan, save me!"

"You can't kill me! Since you and Su Ning have chosen to rebel, you will be the Empress, the ruler of the six palaces. How can you let your father's family bear such a crime?"

"Hmph! Father, you're overthinking it! As long as Su Ning treats me well, what does it matter if she has a maternal family or not?"

"What? You wretched child! I should have strangled you a long time ago."

"Hmph! Father, it's too late for you to regret it now."

At that moment, footsteps approached from afar, and Zhuang Yushan, dressed in the official robes of the Imperial Medical Bureau, rode up on horseback.

Zhuang Shiyang, as if seeing a savior, rushed to the horse's side: "Yushan, it was only a temporary measure for your father! You can't just watch your father die..."

“Father,” Zhuang Yushan looked down at him, then suddenly laughed, “Do you know how the King of Qi died?”

She leaned down and whispered, "Tie your whole body with a fishing net, then slice you to death."

"what……"

Before Zhuang Shiyang could react, Zhuang Yushan had already stormed off.

Behind her, Zhou Ruyin's dagger made a piercing sound as it scraped across the snow.

“Zhuang Shiyang, do you still remember?” Zhou Ruyin opened the wooden box, inside which was half a moldy mung bean cake. “The first thing you gave me on the day I entered the manor.”

Zhuang Shiyang turned and fled, but where could he go in prison?
He scrambled desperately to hide, when suddenly he saw Wei's figure appear in the prison.

"Mother! Open the door!" He pounded on the door frantically. "It's all your fault! If you hadn't pushed me to succeed since I was little, how could I have ended up like this?"

The sound of Buddhist prayer beads falling to the ground came from inside the door.

Wei's aged voice came through the door: "Amitabha... Today, this old woman... wishes to deliver the souls of those who have committed karmic offenses..."

"Ah..." Zhuang Shiyang's scream pierced the night sky.

Zhou Ruyin followed his trail of blood at a leisurely pace, cornering him like a cat chasing a mouse.

As the stone gate slammed shut, Zhuang Shiyang witnessed the most terrifying sight of his life...

Ruan Xiwen sat upright in the main seat, her legs completely unharmed.

Beside him stood Yuwen Chang'an, who looked at him with a face full of contempt and mockery.

I originally thought that Zhuang Hanyan's talk of resurrection was just nonsense, but I really didn't expect that there really is such a thing as "resurrection technique" in this world.

Granny Chen emerged from the shadows carrying a lantern...

“Zhuang Shiyang,” Ruan Xiwen smiled and extended her hand, “Haha, why have you made yourself look so disheveled?”

On the third day of the third lunar month, which should have been the season when peaches and plums were in full bloom, a heavy snow fell instead.

Zhuang Hanyan stood under the plum tree, watching Su Ning take the pulses of Yuwen Chang'an and Fu Yunxi.

"The poison has been cleared." Su Ning put away the silver needles and smiled at Ruan Xiwen, who was waiting anxiously. "Don't worry, Mother-in-law."

Yuwen Chang'an grasped Ruan Xiwen's hand: "Xiwen, I..."

"Shh." Ruan Xiwen pressed her finger to his lips. "Watch the fireworks."

Zhou Ruyin and her daughter lit fireworks in the courtyard.

Zhuang Yushan, dressed in the official robes of the Imperial Medical Bureau, was no longer the timid and sheltered young lady she once was.

Sitting on the veranda, Madam Wei finally threw away the calming medicine she had been drinking for over a decade.

Chai Jing draped a cloak over Zhuang Hanyan's shoulders. "Your Majesty, the Dali Temple has sent word that Zhuang Shiyang..."

"Let's not talk about this on such a joyous day," Zhuang Hanyan interrupted him, pointing to the snow piled on the plum branches. "Doesn't it look like pear blossoms from Danzhou?"

Su Ning suddenly leaned over and shoved a hand warmer into her hand: "Zhuang Hanyan, I've done everything I promised you."

Zhuang Hanyan looked into the distance and saw her mother leaning on Yuwen Chang'an's shoulder with a smile. Granny Chen was busy distributing plum blossom cakes to everyone, and even the usually stern Fu Yunxi drank a couple more cups.

The snow was falling heavier and heavier, but no one was in a hurry to go back inside.

Zhou Ruyin pulled her daughter along as they danced the Hu Xuan dance in the snow, their bright red skirts swirling into a blooming flower.

Zhuang Hanyan suddenly remembered that many years ago, she had also stood in the snow like this, watching the happy family in the main house.

"Are you cold?" Su Ning asked softly.

"With you here, I'm not cold at all." Zhuang Hanyan shook her head and pressed the hand warmer to her heart.

There used to be a hole there, but it has been gradually filled in.

She reached out and caught a snowflake, watching it melt into a glistening water droplet in her palm.

Just like those unbearable past events, they will eventually melt away in the spring sunshine.

...(End of chapter)