The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Does the young imperial uncle know why I'm hiding here with you?"

Tangxi Xue asked.

Why?

Bei Chenji looked down at her.

She shone like a pearl cleansed of dust.

The dullness in her brows and eyes had faded away, replaced by a light that shone from her very bones.

Gentle and warm, like snow under the sun.

The dark clouds that had been weighing on his heart were finally dispelled, layer by layer.

He wanted to know too.

Why did her soul choose him?

Why him of all people?

"Because... this place is the warmest for the little prince."

Tangxi Xue smiled gently.

This time, the past is like smoke on paper; with a gentle turn of the page, it is never to be looked back upon.

She had been wronged in the past.

It wasn't that five years later, the young imperial uncle spoke coldly to her because of the time-traveling woman's evil deeds.

It wasn't that he glared at everyone in front of them, showing no mercy whatsoever.

It was earlier than that.

Even when she was still young, the young imperial uncle had already been keeping his distance from her.

Sometimes, he would bring back strange little trinkets from outside the palace, casually passing by her and slipping them into her small palm.

The palm still carried the chill of the wind and snow outside, but the object itself was warm.

Overjoyed, she ran to him with the object in her arms.

He only glanced at her from afar before turning and leaving.

She was left standing there alone, still clutching the warmth he had given her, her eyes filled with helplessness.

She didn't understand back then.

She thought the young prince disliked her.

She thought she was being too clingy and annoyed him.

So she dared not get too close, for fear that he would dislike her.

But he would secretly protect her.

She was frail when she was young, and when her elder brother was summoned away by the late emperor and was not by her side, there were always people who couldn't stand her following behind him like a little tail.

On one occasion, several members of the royal family pushed her to the ground.

My knees hit the cold stone slabs, and my palms were scraped.

With red eyes and enduring the pain, she wanted to run back to her elder brother and complain.

After running a few steps, I suddenly realized that my waist was empty.

Her favorite tassel pendant had fallen off sometime during that time.

She went back to look for it.

Then, she saw the royal prince who had pushed her, whose wrist had been broken by the young prince.

The cracking sound of dislocated joints was particularly clear in the silent corridor.

The boy was in so much pain that his face turned deathly pale, but he didn't dare to scream. He could only sob softly.

"If anyone dares to bully Xiaoxue again..."

Bei Chenji's voice was as cold as a blade, each word cutting into people's hearts.

"I wouldn't mind personally teaching him what manners are."

"Your elder brother's punishment is nothing more than copying a few pages of a book and confining him to his room for a few days to reflect on his mistakes."

"If I were to take action, I would ensure that you never again be able to hold a pen and write a single word in your lifetime."

He released the boy's hand, letting him slump to the ground, and glanced indifferently at the others.

"Xue'er is young, and you all think she's weak and easily bullied... Have you even asked my sword?"

"I'd like to see who dares to lay a hand on her from now on."

"Whichever one you extend, chop it off!"

As soon as those words were spoken, the royal family members turned pale with fright and ran away in a panic.

She hid behind a pillar, covering her mouth, and remained silent.

But tears kept falling down her cheeks.

It doesn't hurt.

It is warm.

His unpredictable distance made her feel insecure and anxious.

It made her little heart rise and fall, and she could never find peace.

She kept wondering whether the young prince liked her or hated her.

Now she finally understands.

I understood his difficulties, his hesitation, and his cowardice in not daring to approach him.

It is also clearer.

Every bit of warmth he gave her was so precious.

He has no family.

The Beichen Prince's Mansion, which had once sheltered him, had long since crumbled in blood.

He was left all alone, holding up this crumbling, isolated city.

He has no lover.

He locked himself in the Frost and Snow Hall.

Day after day, year after year, they instinctively resisted even the approach of others.

He has no friends.

The warriors in the Zhan Tang revered him like a god, while their colleagues in the imperial court feared him like a tiger.

No one dared to come within three feet of him.

He trusts no one.

Even the pillow is concealed with a sharp blade, and even one's confidants are kept at a distance.

Even Yuan Qi, who watched him grow up, was one of Emperor Shengchen's men.

He doesn't love anyone.

That heart had been frozen for so long that he himself had almost forgotten whether it could still beat.

Yet it is a lone star beneath the abyss.

He poured out all his remaining goodness and love on her alone.

This love was his final act of tenderness towards the world.

Am I the warmest?

Bei Chenji was stunned.

Those purple eyes widened slightly, as if they couldn't believe their ears.

Could someone as cold and aloof as him, a jinx even the heavens fear, possibly warm her heart?

At that moment, he felt as if his heart was about to melt.

It was a seed that had been dormant all winter, awakened by the rain to sprout its first new shoot, and then it blossomed into a lovely little purple flower bud.

I've counted how many flowers have bloomed and faded, and gazed upon how many clouds have rolled and unrolled.

The moonlight paints the long night white, and the morning dew washes away the dust and smoke.

The green hills await the snow, their peaks turning white.

He was waiting for her, to share the seasons together.

"Little Imperial Uncle. Of course it's warm, and... it's also burning hot."

Tang Xixue was still nestled in his arms, her voice as soft as melting honey.

She clearly sensed something.

Like wisteria vines that have been dormant under the spring ice for a season, suddenly awakened by the warm breeze, quietly stretching out their dormant branches.

"Xue'er...don't bully me like this."

Bei Chenji's voice was extremely hoarse.

This is not something he can control.

Her breath fell on the side of her neck, like a drizzle soaking a withered branch.

Inch by inch, it awakened all the dormant desires within him.

The burning desire made his internal organs ache, almost driving him mad.

"Does my little uncle still want to send me away?"

Tang Xixue leaned against him and asked softly, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings brushing against flower stamens.

The purple cloak had been taken off and was piled up on the side of the couch.

Her long purple gauze dress billowed out like clouds and mist, spreading across the crimson brocade rug like blooming purple snowflakes, breathtakingly beautiful.

"Xue'er... is she snuggling into my arms again?"

Bei Chenji was really tormented by her.

How could she be so bad?

It's clearly snow, yet it insists on going into the fire.

It is clearly the moon, yet it insists on falling into the abyss.

Isn't she afraid of being burned alive by flames? Or swallowed by the abyss?

"Hiss... Don't put your hand there."

His breathing suddenly became erratic.

"You heartless little brat, behave yourself."

He wanted to push her away a little, but he was afraid that her luck was not stable, so he could only let her provoke him and endure it.

Like a willow tree, its branches still covered in thawing snow, trembling as it receives a wisp of warmth.

"Little Imperial Uncle, even if you're not behaving properly, what can you do to me?"

Tang Xixue now knows.

Someone is all talk and no action.

Obviously...

"If you don't want to be executed on the spot by this king, then don't move."

Bei Chenji's usually cold and serious handsome face was now tinged with a shimmering haze.

A thin layer of crimson blush spreads across the pale white background, inexplicably alluring.

"I'm so scared."

Tang Xixue said she was afraid, but her fingertips were restlessly messing around on his chest.

His eyes suddenly darkened, like the last ray of light being swallowed by an abyss as dusk settles.

"Little Xue'er, you're just taking advantage of the fact that I can't bear to bully you."

Bei Chenji's voice deepened, like the night wind passing through a bamboo forest, carrying a suppressed tremor.

He didn't move.

They simply let her do whatever she wanted.

What else can he do besides spoil him?