The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Stepping through the palace gates is like entering another world.

The magnificent palaces and towering buildings, with their golden roofs gleaming warmly in the winter sun, resemble ancient jade that has been polished by time for thousands of years.

The winding corridors, like a dragon meandering among the palaces, hold memories of bygone years at every turn.

The palace walls, deep and secluded, shut out the hustle and bustle of the world, leaving only a serene and solemn passage of time, flowing slowly across the vermilion walls.

"Your Highness, we have arrived."

Qingdai lifted the carriage curtain and gently held Tang Xixue's arm.

"Please walk slowly, the ground is still covered in frost."

"It's alright."

Tang Xixue stepped off the carriage and looked up at the plaque not far away.

Qianqiu Palace.

The three gilded characters hang quietly above the vermilion gate.

A warm feeling instantly welled up in her heart.

Like a frozen river surface suddenly cracked by the spring sun, the spring water below gurgled and surged, so warm that she wanted to cry.

This is where my memories began.

"The Empress Dowager will surely be delighted to see you!" Qingdai smiled, her eyes crinkling. "The Empress Dowager adores you the most."

"I love Mother Empress the most too!"

Tang Xixue's lips curved into a smile, sweet and soft, full of undisguised affection.

Today she wore a red and white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a bright red brocade cape over it. The snow-white fur collar was fluffy and soft, covering her fair face and making her eyebrows and eyes even more beautiful and charming.

A red plum blossom tassel hairpin swayed gently in her hair, like icicles hanging from the eaves being stirred by the spring breeze, or like newly blooming red plum blossoms trembling and swaying in the wind.

She walked along the snow-covered bluestone path toward the Qianqiu Palace.

Behind them stretched a vast expanse of snow, their footprints, some deep and some shallow, winding their way to the palace gate.

Those footprints resembled the path she had walked over the years—winding, long, yet ultimately leading to her return home.

"I wish to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. Please inform her."

"Greetings, Princess Mirror!" The eunuch guarding the gate's eyes lit up. "No need to announce your arrival, please come in!"

In front of the Qianqiu Palace stands a huge snow-pagoda camellia tree.

It is said to be a hundred years old.

It was the peak of the flowering season, and the layers upon layers of white petals, piled high like snow and jade, looked ethereal and otherworldly against the backdrop of lush green leaves.

It looked as if hundreds of white butterflies were perched on the branches, or as if fragments of jade falling from the heavens remained suspended in place.

When the wind blows, petals drift down, gently landing on the snow-covered stone steps, making it impossible to distinguish which petals are snowflakes and which are flowers.

Inside the hall.

Empress Dowager Bai Yining was standing in front of the carved window.

Today she wore a crimson-purple palace gown with gold phoenix patterns, her hair styled in a high bun, exuding an air of grace and majesty honed over the years.

That kind of majesty was not fierce, but calm, like an ancient pool that had been there for thousands of years, silent yet commanding respect.

But at this moment, what those delicate hands held were several sprigs of snow pagoda camellias that had just been broken off from the courtyard—white petals and green branches, still covered with the morning dew.

She lowered her eyes and examined the flowers for a moment, then turned around, intending to insert the flower branch into the celadon vase by the window.

"Mother Empress—!"

A crisp, youthful voice suddenly shattered the tranquility of the hall.

The Empress Dowager's hand, which was holding the flower branch, trembled suddenly.

She turned around.

Then I saw that red figure.

He rushed towards her from outside the palace gate, his footsteps treading on the snow-covered ground.

The sunlight spread behind her, making her red dress even more intense, like a burning flame, or a tree of blooming red plum blossoms, breaking through the winter chill and entering her eyes.

That red.

That familiar, vibrant red, the one she had longed for for five years but dared not touch.

"Zhizhi is back!"

In that instant, the Empress Dowager felt as if something had struck her heart hard.

Those longings that had been deliberately suppressed for five years, those that dared not be touched, now surged forth like a dam breaking.

The camellia in my hand fell to the ground with a "plop".

White petals scattered on the ground, like shattered moonlight.

"My beloved Zhizhi—"

The Empress Dowager spoke, her voice already choked with emotion.

She opened her arms and embraced the red figure tightly.

The familiar temperature.

The familiar fragrance of crabapple blossoms.

That familiar, soft "Mother."

For the past five years, she has dreamt of this scene countless times in the dead of night.

I dreamt that the child ran in through the palace gate, her skirt fluttering like a butterfly drawn to a flame, and rushed into her arms, tilting her little face up and sweetly calling her name.

But every time he woke up, he was faced with an empty palace.

Only the clear, cold moonlight offered a silent comfort.

now--

It's not a dream anymore.

"Zhizhi... my Zhizhi..."

Her voice trembled, and tears finally welled up in her eyes.

"Good child...is the way back difficult?"

She gently stroked Tang Xixue's back, one stroke after another, as gently as she had when she was a child, to lull her to sleep.

It's as if they're trying to make up for the five-year gap all at once.

"It's alright now, Mother will be here for you from now on."

Hot tears fell, one by one, onto Tangxi's snow-white hair and onto the snow-white fur collar on her shoulders.

The tears were shockingly hot.

It was the longing that had lasted for over 1,800 days and nights over the past five years that finally found an outlet.

"The road to see the Empress Dowager is not difficult at all."

Tang Xixue lifted her head from her embrace.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, but her eyebrows and eyes curved into two shallow crescent moons.

"I'm fine, I'm perfectly okay."

The glistening teardrop trembled on her eyelashes, trembled again and again, but ultimately did not fall.

She looked up and smiled at the Empress Dowager.

That smile was so sweet, so endearing, it broke my heart.

It seemed as if he was afraid his mother would worry.

It was as if she was afraid her mother would know how long, dark, and cold the road she had traveled.

His shoulders were covered in snow, but he returned without saying a word.

They only said the sky was clear and the breeze was just right.

Looking at that little face that was forcing a smile, the Empress Dowager felt a dull ache in her heart again.

She was in so much pain that she could barely speak.

Her knitting.

He must have traveled a very, very long way and endured a great deal of hardship to have his first reaction upon finally returning to her side not to cry, but to laugh.

She smiled and said, "Mother, Zhizhi is back."

He said with a smile that it wasn't difficult to walk at all.

He smiled and said, "It's okay."

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes.

He hugged her even tighter.

She is a very strong person.

The year the late emperor passed away, the crown prince was young, the court was in turmoil, and all the civil and military officials had their own agendas.

She ruled from behind the curtain, stabilizing the court.

Over the years, she witnessed countless open and hidden attacks, endured countless hardships and dangers, and never showed the slightest weakness in front of others.

When all the civil and military officials knelt in the Golden Palace, none of them dared to look directly at the figure behind the curtain.

But at this moment.

Holding her beloved daughter, whom she had lost and found again, she could no longer hold back her tears.

The invincible Empress Dowager, at this moment, was simply a mother who had finally waited for her child to return.

A mother who waited for five years.

A mother who shed tears in front of a Buddha statue on countless nights.

"Ouch--"

Granny Lan stood to the side, covering her mouth with her sleeve, her vision already blurred by tears.

Looking at the figures embracing tightly, she burst into laughter through her tears, her smile carrying a sense of relief and joy that she had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Finally... the little princess is back!"

She murmured softly, as if afraid to disturb this beautiful scene.

So softly it was as if she feared this was a dream, and that a single sound would wake her.

Their mistress had waited for over 1,800 days and nights.

now--

They're finally back!

Granny Lan wiped her eyes, gazing at the little princess's figure, her eyes reddening with laughter.

so good.

very nice.

In the courtyard, the snow-capped camellia blooms quietly.

The white petals are like snow, with a delicate fragrance, and they gleam with a warm light under the winter sun.

Sunlight filtered through the flower branches, casting dappled shadows on the ground, illuminating the snow-covered bluestone, and the two figures embracing tightly.

Like two flames, burning together in front of the palace in winter.

At this moment, time seems to flow backward.

Let's go back five years.

It's like going back to those peaceful days when the little princess was still running around in the Qianqiu Palace, and the Empress Dowager was holding a freshly picked camellia and telling her, "Zhizhi, run slower."

At that time, she was so small that she stumbled and fell when she ran, but she always wanted to rush into her mother's arms and look up at her for a kiss.

At that time, her mother would always bend down, kiss her forehead, and then brush the fallen flowers from her hair.

Now, she has grown up.

But the way he rushed into his mother's arms remained unchanged.

"Weaving."

The Empress Dowager called softly.

"Um?"

Welcome home.

"Yes, Zhizhi, you're home."

Tang Xixue buried her face in her arms and quietly shed tears.