The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Memories come flooding back like snowflakes.

The Mei family was a distinguished family; the grandfather, Grand Tutor Mei, was a veteran of three reigns, and the father, Hanlin scholar Mei, was renowned in the capital.

However, when factional strife broke out, the Mei family became the discarded pawns.

Her father committed suicide in prison, and her mother followed him. The once bustling Mei family mansion was now left with only her, a fifteen-year-old orphan, overnight.

On the day the white banners fluttered in the mourning hall, two young men arrived, walking through the snow.

One was the Seventh Prince, Qi Si, dressed in a black outfit, his features already showing a formidable presence.

One was Pei Zhao, the eldest son of the Pei family, dressed in a simple blue robe, his eyes filled with sorrow.

They burned three sticks of incense before their father's spirit tablet, then turned to her, who was kneeling on the prayer mat, looking lost and helpless:

"Yaoyao, as long as we are here, you will always have a home to return to."

Later, she attended the Beichen Cultural Banquet, where she and Shen Zhangzheng became acquainted through literature and regarded each other as close friends.

Amidst the apricot blossoms and spring rain, the elegant young man in blue plucked the most beautiful sprig of white plum blossom and handed it to us, his eyes reflecting the light of the entire spring.

"Beyond the sparse shadows and chilly fragrance, the east wind is the first to care."

She thought she had found her soulmate, so she left her hometown and married him.

From then on, the two sat facing each other, burning incense, amidst the shadows of plum blossoms under the paper curtains, engaging in endless book-gambling and tea-spilling conversations, their music in perfect harmony.

He planted a courtyard full of white plum blossoms for her, and when they were together, he would always help her draw her eyebrows and adorn her hair with flowers. He would comb her hair and paint her eyebrows in the morning, and hold her hand and snuggle together when they read at night.

Those days spent chatting by the window amidst plum blossoms, and preparing meals with delicate hands, made her deeply believe in the promise of painting eyebrows and the vow of growing old together.

But the Shen family's grand gates and deep courtyards were ultimately beyond the reach of poetry and literature.

Her mother-in-law disliked her because she was an orphan with no one to rely on and was unworthy to be the wife of the prime minister. She also resented that she had only given birth to one son in the three years after her marriage.

Those words, seemingly kind but actually harsh, those subtle criticisms, are like the early spring rain soaking through clothes—leaving no visible marks, yet chilling to the bone.

She gradually learned to hide the weariness in her eyes when drawing her eyebrows in the morning, and remained as gentle and graceful as ever in front of him.

The white plum blossoms in front of the courtyard bloomed and fell. She stood under the plum tree they had planted together, her shoulders covered with fallen petals, and her sleeves filled with a subtle fragrance.

She recalled how he gently wiped away the flower petals from her skin, and how he said, "My heart is like a plum blossom, growing purer in the cold," when they whispered sweet nothings under the moon.

She swallowed all her grievances and let them dissipate like the faint fragrance of plum blossoms under the moonlight, never causing him any trouble.

Only occasionally, when I look in the mirror, I stare blankly at my increasingly gaunt face, and recall the trembling fingertips of myself when I received the white plum blossom in the spring rain amidst apricot blossoms.

At that time, she had a newly written poem hidden in her sleeve, and her hair was still damp with the misty rain from outside the Wenhua Hall.

Until that day, the mother-in-law hosted a banquet and poisoned Shen Zhangzheng's wine.

The day the mistress brought the child to the door was Shen Xian's third birthday banquet.

The woman knelt in the hall, weeping bitterly, while the baby in her arms whimpered.

Shen Zhangzheng's face turned ashen. He looked at her in a panic, his lips trembling but unable to utter a single word.

To name the baby in court was a mistake.

The harmonious relationship between the zither and the lute was nothing but an illusion.

Shen Zhangzheng always said, "Yaoyao, your mother is getting old, you should give in to her."

But this time, she couldn't give in.

She didn't even want him anymore.

The mother-in-law slammed her hand on the table and said, "You can leave, but Xian'er must stay! How can you take away the bloodline of the Shen family?"

She looked into the depths of the hall—three-year-old Shen Xian was being held tightly by the nanny, the child's eyes wide with confusion, not understanding what the adults were arguing about.

She recalled that she had been in the same situation, losing all protection overnight.

In the end, she left the Shen residence empty-handed, leaving a note that read, "Never see him again in this life."

The apricot blossoms have faded, and the plums are still small.

Shen Zhangzheng chased after her, tugging at her sleeve, his voice choked with emotion: "Yaoyao, I'll handle it, wait for me..."

She didn't turn around.

"Yaoyao, marry me."

Pei Zhao said this while helping her organize the books left by her father.

The late spring sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled shadows on his blue robe.

She was stunned.

"It's a fake marriage."

Pei Zhao explained in a gentle voice, his eyes as clear as the yellowed scrolls in his hands.

"Shen Zhangzheng is an upright gentleman. If you remarry, he will not bother you anymore. Brother Pei will protect you."

"But Brother Pei..." she hesitated, "this will hold you back. What if you meet a girl you truly love in the future..."

Pei Zhao smiled.

The smile was gentle, but there was a hint of loneliness in his eyes.

"I have dedicated my life to the country and its people, and I do not concern myself with personal matters. The urging from my elders is actually troubling me."

He paused, then softened his voice.

"Consider it a favor to me, and also a way to give yourself peace of mind. From now on, we're family."

Thus, she became Mrs. Pei in name only.

On the wedding day, red candles burned brightly.

She sat in the bridal chamber dressed in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, her veil still on, when suddenly a commotion broke out in the courtyard.

Immediately afterwards, the door was kicked open, and Qi Si, dressed in military uniform and still carrying the dust and sand of the frontier, barged in.

His eyes were bloodshot as he ripped off her veil.

Their eyes met, and his eyes were filled with disbelief and pain: "Yaoyao, why? Why won't you give me even one chance?"

He grabbed her wrist so hard it hurt her.

"I've achieved so many military exploits, all I ask for is my father's permission for the marriage... Why can't you... have pity on me..."

"I really like you, Yaoyao, look at me..."

He forcibly took her back to the palace, and held her, crying like a helpless child.

Hot tears fell onto her neck, and she was startled to realize that she herself felt the same pain and throbbing in her heart.

It turns out she cared about him too.

It's even possible that... in their youth, they had already developed feelings for someone without realizing it.

But by then, she was already Mrs. Pei.

Qi Si was obsessed with her, and he recklessly dragged her into intimate acts.

Every moment of clarity after indulgence brings even deeper pain.

In the end, with tears in his eyes, he personally delivered her to Pei Zhao.

She did not tell the truth.

Because the late emperor had suddenly died, the court was in turmoil, and the regent, Qi Si, who was entrusted with the care of the young emperor in a time of crisis, was in a difficult situation and surrounded by dangers.

Pei Zhaoming outwardly severed ties with him, but secretly continued to help him.

As the wife of Grand Scholar Pei, she absolutely could not be involved with him at that time, otherwise she would bring him endless attacks and troubles.

It's all the fault of fate; they missed each other time and time again.

By a twist of fate, they always missed each other at the most crucial moment.

"Slender and graceful..."

Qi Si's voice pulled Mei Ruohuan back from her memories.

He stood in the snow outside the window, his tears still wet, his whole being exuding a broken and fragile aura.

He cautiously asked the question that had been weighing on his heart for five years:

"Do you think... I'm the one who ruined Pei Zhao? The Pei family?"

Mei Ruohuan pushed open the door.

Her plain dress brushed past the threshold as she walked step by step toward him, bathed in moonlight and light through the thin snow.

His steps were light, yet each step felt like it was treading on his heart.

"How could that be?" Her voice was soft yet firm, her gaze as clear as the sky after a snowfall. "Ah Si, didn't you say you would always protect us?"

She paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Yaoyao will always believe in A-Si."

These words were like a bonfire in the dead of winter, instantly warming his heart, which had been frozen for five years.

He looked up abruptly, staring at her in disbelief. His heart, which had been dormant for so long, began to pound wildly, pounding out with a dull echo.

"Then...then why won't you see me?" His voice was filled with a deep sense of grievance that followed immense surprise. "I clearly sent out a visiting card..."

Mei Ruohuan stopped a step away from him, slightly taken aback upon hearing his words, then revealed a hint of realization and guilt:

"I'm sorry, Ah Si. I've been copying ancient books inside these past few days, hoping to earn some money... I haven't been paying attention to what's outside the door."

"I haven't received guests in a long time, so I didn't know I had an invitation."

She spoke calmly, as if she were talking about something trivial.

But to Qi Si, these words felt like a thousand arrows piercing his heart.

Copying for money? Unaware of your arrival?

His beloved Yaoyao, the person he cherished dearly, was going through such a difficult time!

He could barely breathe; his heart was breaking.

"Yaoyao...it's my fault!"

He took a sudden step forward, wanting to grasp her hand, but fearing he might frighten her, his arm froze in mid-air, his voice trembling, filled with endless self-reproach and regret.

"It's my fault for finding you so late! And for making you suffer so much!"

"I failed to protect you, I failed to protect Brother Pei, and I failed... I failed to take care of your child..."

He thought of Pei Zhao.

Even though the two almost broke up because of Yao Yao's affair, Pei Zhao remained diligent and conscientious after entering the court.

He wholeheartedly assisted him in governing the country and ensuring the well-being of the people, and was honest and upright, never neglecting public duty for private gain.

Such a virtuous and upright person, with a heart for the world, ended up in such a state...

And he couldn't even take good care of his orphaned children.

Mei Ruohuan quietly watched his pained expression, then suddenly took a deep breath.

She looked up, her gaze clear as she looked at him, then swept over Pei Yanchuan, whose expression was complicated, behind him.

Then, in the calmest tone, he uttered those words that were enough to shake the heavens and earth:

"Ah Si, Pei-gege and I... have never consummated our marriage."

She paused, then looked tenderly into the room:

"Lin'er and Ranran, they are not Brother Pei's children—"

The candlelight flickered in her eyes, reflecting a kind of resolute determination.

"It is our flesh and blood."