The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

She bent down.

She reached out and gently stroked his brow bone.

Those brow bones are beautifully formed, like distant mountains shrouded in mist, gentle yet with sharp angles.

Her fingertips slid down his brow bone, across his eyelids, across the bridge of his nose, and finally landed on his slightly pursed lips.

"Undyed".

She called his name softly.

Her voice was so low it was like a murmur, as if she were afraid to disturb his sweet, drunken dream.

Tonight is our wedding night.

He did not wake up.

His lips twitched slightly.

The smile was extremely faint, as faint as moonlight falling on the surface of water, which dissipates with a gentle ripple.

But she still saw it.

Once you see it, you can't take your eyes off it.

Looking at that smile, she suddenly remembered that year at Lintai, when he walked past her.

It was a smile like that, faint and gentle, yet it warmed one's heart, like being touched by a spring breeze.

She remembered those words:

"Susu, may you live a long and peaceful life."

fool.

She cursed silently in her heart.

How can I be at peace without you?

She lowered her head.

A kiss landed on his brow.

The kiss was so light, as light as a petal falling on the water.

As light as the camellia petals that fell from the wind onto her shoulder under the camellia tree that year.

"Undyed".

She called out again.

This time, she didn't say anything.

She slowly began to undress him.

His outer robe was moon-white, clean and tidy, just like him.

She took off her clothes one by one, her movements as gentle as if she were afraid of disturbing a perched butterfly.

He's so handsome.

she thinks.

She knew he was handsome from the age of thirteen.

But looking at him now, she couldn't help but praise him again in her heart.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on his face and coating it with a thin layer of silver.

His eyebrows, his nose, his lips, his jaw.

Every part looks like it was meticulously sculpted by God, so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off it.

She looked at him.

Suddenly he laughed.

That smile held contentment, tenderness, and a secret joy unknown to anyone.

Now, he is finally by her side.

On this wedding bed that should have belonged to someone else, in this bridal chamber that should have belonged to someone else, on her wedding night alone.

She reached out and gently took his hand.

Those hands were beautiful too, with distinct knuckles and slightly cool fingertips, like jade.

She placed his hand on her heart, letting him feel its thumping beat.

Listen.

She said softly.

My heart beats for you.

She looked up at the two cups of nuptial wine on the table.

The mandarin duck cups stood there quietly, their rims touching, as if waiting for someone.

She got up, walked over, and picked up a glass.

Then she returned to the bedside and gently placed another cup to his lips.

The wine moistened his lips, and he subconsciously pursed them, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

She smiled.

He drank the glass of wine in one gulp.

Then she leaned down and pressed her lips to his.

The wine passed from her lips, little by little, into his mouth.

His brow furrowed slightly, then relaxed.

It was like tasting a familiar flavor in a dream.

She straightened up and looked at him.

Her lips, moistened by the wine, gleamed slightly, making her even more beautiful than before.

She reached out and gently wiped the remaining wine stains from his lips with her fingertips.

"Let's drink the nuptial wine."

She said softly.

"From now on, you are mine."

Outside the window, the moonlight was like water.

She blew out the red candle.

The gauze curtains fell, enveloping everything in gentle darkness.

He carried a faint scent of wine, as well as the familiar aroma of his own.

Like camellias, like the first snow, like the spring breeze of Lintai that year.

He opened his eyes, his mind hazy, and called out to her through teary eyes, "Susu..."

She thought she might need to drug him, but little did she know that he wouldn't need to drug her at all.

He kissed her lips.

She closed her eyes.

The corners of her lips curved slightly.

That night, she finally got the person she wanted.

In his drunken dream, he finally married the girl he loved.

He opened his eyes at dawn.

I found myself still in that teahouse where I had passed out drunk.

The morning light shone through the cracks in the window and fell on his face, somewhat dazzling.

He raised his hand to shield himself, only to find that he was still clutching the withered camellia in his hand.

A few more petals broke off.

He looked down at the flower for a long time.

Then he got up, opened the window, and looked at the magnificent palace to the east.

That's the direction of the Eastern Palace.

She was there.

He stared at that spot for a very long time.

Then he chuckled softly.

That smile was faint, as faint as the morning mist, as faint as the wind at Lintai that year.

He didn't know what happened that night.

We'll never know.

But in that dream, he and Susu were considered to be husband and wife.

He simply looked down at the camellia in his hand and softly said:

"Susu, may you live a long and peaceful life."

Outside the window, the morning light is just right.

He stood in the light.

And she was slowly opening her eyes in one of the palaces of the Eastern Palace.

The people around me are gone.

But the scent on the pillow, the warmth of the bedding, and the faint touch on the lips are still there.

She reached out and touched the empty seat next to her.

That spot is already cold.

But her heart was warm.

She curved her lips into a smile and chuckled softly.

"Fool, do you even know that you've already married me?"

The sunlight streaming in through the window fell warmly on her face.

She closed her eyes, burying the unspoken words, along with the memories of that night, deep within her heart.

The Empress Dowager lowered her eyes, and the smile on her lips deepened.

She knew him.

With his detached nature, he couldn't survive in Baiyujing.

Tangxi Lifeng might let him off the hook for a while, but if he keeps loitering around under his nose, he'll eventually become suspicious.

The mind of an emperor can never tolerate a saint who has been betrayed.

So when that poor little thing left Baiyujing, she simply stood on the city wall and watched her go.

The snow was heavy.

It was so big that you couldn't see his face clearly.

She waved gently, as if bidding farewell to an old friend.

From then on—

He went to live with the green mountains, the bright moon, and the ever-changing clouds and blooming flowers.

She, along with their child, went to fight for the world, for the throne, and for everything that should have belonged to him.

She and the children will take back everything that was taken from him.

Same as above.

One by one.

With interest.

The Empress Dowager picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

Her phoenix eyes turned slightly, landing on the two figures beside her: Tang Xiye and Tang Xixue.

One possesses natural majesty, sitting upright like a pine tree; the other is exceptionally beautiful and talented, with unparalleled elegance.

She raised her own precious child.

The smile on her lips deepened.

They learned from a young age that if they wanted something, they had to fight for it and grab it themselves.

Crying won't soften your opponent's heart, and begging won't make your enemy lay down their knife.

Only what you hold in your hands is truly yours.

When one ascends to a high position—

Great Confucian scholars naturally debated the classics.

Bu Ran, look, this world now belongs to your son!