The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Xingze South Border, Nine Dragons Waterfall.

The nine silver dragons that once surged forward have now frozen into ice.

The waterfall was frozen in mid-air, with nine ice pillars hanging down from the mountaintop, maintaining their surging posture, yet not a single drop of water fell.

Only the water vapor turned into frost, condensing on the cliff.

The pine trees on the mountainside were bent over by the weight of the snow, and the vines were frozen into icicles.

The birds have long since disappeared.

Only a deathly white silence remained between heaven and earth.

At the foot of the frozen waterfall, Si Xingzhou stood with his hands behind his back.

The star-studded imperial robes were filled with the north wind, and the deep blue hem left a long trail on the snow, just like his restless thoughts at this moment.

He stood there like a statue forgotten in the wind and snow.

The imperial aura emanating from him had not dissipated, but it was weighed down by a weariness he had never shown before.

"Chu Yi".

He opened his mouth, but his voice was mostly torn apart by the wind.

"Your subject is here."

Chu Yi bowed in response, his lowered gaze not daring to look directly at the emperor's profile.

Si Xingzhou remained silent for a moment.

The wind and snow had accumulated a thin layer of white on his shoulders.

"Do you think she'll be alright?"

Chu Yi was stunned.

He had served His Majesty for so many years and had never heard His Majesty speak in such a tone.

There was no imperial majesty in that voice.

There was only one kind of anxiety, a near-fragile unease.

That's the tone an ordinary man would use when he's worried about the woman he loves.

"Why does Your Majesty ask that?"

Chu Yi raised his head, his eyes filled with inquiry.

"Princess Jing is a lucky person, Your Majesty should not be so worried."

"Shouldn't it be?"

Si Xingzhou repeated the sentence in a low voice, his voice tinged with bitterness.

"I also think I shouldn't have done that."

"But my heart is not under my control."

Chu Yi's heart skipped a beat.

His Majesty Xingze has fallen deeply in love with Princess Jing.

"Your Majesty, Princess Mirror is the new Goddess of Medicine, celebrated by all the people of the Nine Provinces. Ten thousand lanterns are lit for her, and all the people pray for her."

"She is a person of great fortune."

"Now, our concern is for the Nine Dragons Waterfall. Spring planting is just around the corner... This is the lifeblood of Xingze. Your Majesty, you must prioritize the affairs of the state."

Si Xingzhou looked towards the frozen Nine Dragons Waterfall.

Nine icicles gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light against the leaden sky, like nine inverted swords.

"Of course, I prioritize the well-being of the nation."

He reached out and caught a falling snowflake.

A snowflake fell into his palm, melting into a tiny drop of water from his body heat, like a silent tear falling.

He slowly clenched his fist, holding the drop of water in his palm.

It was as if he was clutching something that was about to slip through his fingers, yet he refused to let go no matter what.

"Mirror Weaving".

"You promised, on the third day of the third month, the Zhiyue Sea Kingdom will wait for A-Zhe."

"You never lie."

"Right?"

The wind howled and the snow fell heavily.

No one replied.

"His Majesty……"

As Chu Yi gazed at His Majesty's retreating figure, he suddenly felt that the figure was more lonely than ever before.

The thoughts of an emperor are beyond the comprehension of his ministers.

The love tribulations of an emperor are not something a subject can take for him.

He stayed with his emperor, waiting together.

Waiting for the wind and snow to stop, waiting for the returnees to come home.

The wind and snow poured into his collar, but he was completely unaware.

The hand hanging by her side had somehow clenched into a fist.

He has a younger brother.

When I was young, my hometown suffered a disaster. On the way to escape, my brothers got separated. One went north and the other went south, and we never heard from each other again.

He searched for his younger brother for many years, from his childhood to the present, from an unknown nobody to the most trusted confidant of Emperor Xingze.

He was Xingze's strategist, and he used countless connections to search all over the Nine Provinces, but that small figure seemed to have vanished into thin air and never appeared again.

He didn't even know if his younger brother was alive or dead, what he looked like, whether anyone gave him food, or whether anyone gave him a warm coat.

He kept his younger brother's name etched deep in his heart and never told anyone.

But every time it snows or winds, that scar will ache faintly.

It was as if it was reminding him that there was still someone he hadn't found.

"I will definitely come back."

Chu Yi slowly closed his eyes, suppressing the surging bitterness in them.

"Ah Qiao".

He called out silently in his heart.

"Where are you."

At the same moment, the tornado carried Tang Xixue and the other two through layers of clouds and over countless mountains, finally throwing them into a deserted wasteland.

The snow was falling heavily.

Snowflakes, as thick as goose feathers, poured down from the sky, leaving only a vast expanse of white between heaven and earth.

Beyond three steps, one cannot see a person clearly; beyond five steps, one cannot even discern the direction.

The amulet Tang Xixue wore suddenly burst into brilliant light the moment she fell.

The light was gentle yet firm, like a small, bright moon, enveloping her entirely.

It kept out all the power of the hurricane, which was enough to tear a person apart.

That was a protective talisman crafted for her by the Imperial Preceptor He Lichen using his own life essence, and it was hand-drawn stroke by stroke by him during countless sleepless nights.

Every line silently protects her at this moment.

They finally landed before the amulet's light faded.

Thanks to the protection of that amulet, she was unharmed even after falling from a great height.

Feng Zhuo was the first to get up from the snow, shaking off the snowflakes all over his body, looking just like a puppy that had just dug itself out of a snowdrift.

He spat out a few mouthfuls of snow that had been poured into his mouth, and then moved his hands and feet a bit.

"Ah Xue! Are you alright?"

His voice sounded muffled in the wind and snow, yet it still carried the urgency unique to a young man.

"fine."

The sound of Tangxi Snow came from the wind and snow, as steady as ever.

"And you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm perfectly fine! It's just that this damn wind almost blew me to the ends of the earth."

Feng Zhuo patted the snow off his body and grinned.

"But I can find my way back no matter where the wind blows. Anyway, I'll be wherever Ah Xue is."

Stop being so cheeky.

Tang Xixue glanced at him. He was truly her source of joy. Even in this situation, seeing him made her happy.

Mu Liang's figure appeared silently beside her, his gaze quickly sweeping over her.

"Is Your Highness injured?"

"No. What about you, A-Liang?"

"I have nothing to report."

Mu Liang shook her head.

"Before the amulet's light faded, I saw that Your Highness's robes were cut by an ice blade, leaving a tear."

"It's broken, so be it. As long as no one is hurt, that's all that matters."

Tang Xixue glanced down, completely unconcerned; her long hair had already been blown about by the wind.

Mu Liang didn't say anything more, but silently took out a spare tie from her bosom and handed it to her.

Tang Xixue took the ribbon and touched his fingertips to it.

Thank you.

Mu Liang shook her head slightly and stepped back half a step behind her.

"Your Highness, this is an icy abyss."

His gaze swept around, and his voice regained its composure.

"Our location seems to be quite deep, and the snowstorm is too strong; it's not advisable for us to go out for the time being."

Tang Xixue nodded, her gaze sweeping over her surroundings.

This is not ordinary ground, but a huge ice fissure.

They were flung into a bottomless icy abyss by the tornado, with swirling snow and faintly visible ice formations overhead.

Beneath our feet lies ancient, dark ice that gleams with a chilling blue light.

The ice wall was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the three figures, yet blurring them in the wind and snow.

"This place is eerily cold."

Feng Zhuo rubbed his hands together and exhaled a puff of white breath.

"It's even colder than the snow-covered areas of northern Xinjiang. How thick do you think the ice is?"

"Ten-thousand-year-old black ice, at least a hundred feet long."

"It's cool at dusk," he said softly.

"A hundred feet? Does that mean we've fallen to the very bottom of an ice cave?"

Feng Zhuo looked up at the hazy, gray sky above and couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

"Without this protective amulet, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to withstand the fall."

"So Brother Huaixian saved our lives."

Tang Xixue took out a communication talisman and quickly traced its surface with her fingertips.

"Let me let the outside world know I'm safe."