The gate of the cottage creaks, a dog barks, on a snowy night, a traveler returns home...
On this snowy New Year's Eve, even if I don't have the worry of a thatched cottage and a cold bed, I'd still like to be with you, hand in hand, and cast aside past worries.
Qīng mǐn.
It was already late in the day, and the snow had made the window paper shine brightly. Qingmin stood up from his seat and looked down from the top of the building.
The snow on the street had just cleared, and it was still a vast expanse of white. There weren't many pedestrians, but they walked in twos and threes, carrying their purchases for the New Year's festivities, hurrying home. The windows of every household shone with the warm glow of lanterns, scattered and twinkling like stars, yet cozy.
She stretched out her hand and pushed open the window. A wave of cool air, mixed with the smell of gunpowder from firecrackers, rushed in.
In the distance, the faint sound of children's laughter and nursery rhymes could be heard.
New Year arrives, melons and fruits are offered to the stove god, girls want flowers, boys want firecrackers...
Qing Min listened intently, and suddenly burst out laughing, with a warm and melancholic look on her face.
When she was a child, she had secretly slipped out of the palace and heard this ballad on the streets.
The song's voice is like yesterday, who would have thought that it has been 26 years since then?
She sighed softly, gazing down at the crowd returning from "Cuise Lou" with wine, her heart filled with endless melancholy.
This half-life journey, through trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, have long been countless. A sojourner beyond the frontier, lingering in the capital city, yet always unable to get accustomed, except at the turn of the year, alone by myself.
If Xuan Min were still alive and by his side, he would not be afraid of any kind of hell.
However, twenty-five years ago, she was already swallowed up by that mysterious and deep palace, never to appear again.
Twenty-five years have passed...
She picked up the copper mirror and gazed at her own face, although she was still beautiful, there were a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes - time had taken its toll, she was no longer that delicate and lovely imperial princess who shone brightly in the capital.
She smiled wryly in her heart, but through the mirror, she continued to admire herself.
If Xuan Min were still alive, would she have also become like this?
She thought of her twin sister, that pure and lovely smile, and her heart ached violently. Her slender fingers clenched into fists, almost piercing through her palms.
Outside the window, a cold north wind blew in, and the songstress downstairs was singing a melancholic tune.
Longing for you in Chang'an
A beauty is like a flower beyond the clouds...
This magnificent sound was originally a perfect match, like splitting rocks and breaking through the dawn. Alas, there were few guests to appreciate it, and by the end, it had added a hint of sorrowful desolation.
She listened to this old tune in the palace and thought of when she was twelve years old, sneaking a peek at the new top scholar with her sister, and couldn't help but shed tears.
The wind grew stronger and stronger, blowing through the room with a mournful sound. The sky outside gradually darkened, and before long, snowflakes began to fall again.
Snowflakes danced in the air, and the distant city walls were covered with a layer of snow, no longer as solemn and majestic as they used to be.
Gazing blankly, I feel an eternal sorrow. In this vast and desolate universe, only I remain, standing alone and forlorn.
The heavy snow fell in a vast and mighty manner, covering the city walls and shrouding the capital...
Just like the winner's written history book, with dense black ink covering everything, how many brilliant and elegant characters were erased by this blackness?
She thought of another woman, about the same age as herself.
She was born with a heavenly beauty, even if fate is difficult, she never yields.
She, a sword-like flying fairy outside the human world, a person as fleeting as a morning flower with a thin life, leaving in this world only that sparkling and beautiful glance and smile.
"Wait for me, I will definitely rescue you all!"
That time, she and the Tartar prince's bet ended in a draw, the two sisters were not released but lived under the king's account for seven years, during which they had no worries about food and clothing.
Looking at those humiliated and dead women of Zhongyuan, the two sisters, countless times feeling grateful and fortunate!
It wasn't until seven years later that Hu Lu Wangzi summoned them, his eyes red with grief, unable to contain himself. Only then did they learn that Lin Chen, who had once defeated the enemy with a single sword and retreated nine times from the Tatars, was no longer in this world.
She was sent to the underworld by her own husband with a cup of "poisoned wine".
……
The snow continued to fall, threatening to engulf everything in sight, and Qingming suddenly felt a sense of desolation...
Lin Zhen left, his sister left, no matter how heroic and outstanding they were, like beautiful flowers, all disappeared in the midst of this boundless red dust. This mundane world, what kind of ties does it have?
She sat quietly like this, letting the cold wind blow wildly, and felt a sense of emptiness and desolation in her heart.
Until a burst of footsteps, thumping upstairs, she suddenly woke up with a start.
"It's you!!"
It's almost unbelievable, cheers of extreme surprise.
"It's me!"
The man in his forties, still refined and handsome, with a hint of frost on his temples, showing an air of elegance.
"The palace still holds an endless night banquet..."
He said with a hint of disgust.
I really can't bear Lin Yuan's elegant and refined appearance, so I found an excuse to slip out.
The man flashed a mischievous grin typical of a young boy ——
Afraid you're alone, cold and clear, with a lot of random thoughts.
Qing Min gazed at him intently, somehow mustering up the courage to stretch out her arm and tightly wrap it around him.
"Stay... with me..."
Night falls and snow is expected, but this room is full of fragrance.
Qingmin tightly hugged Qu Yun, gazing at his sleeping expression, and smiled softly.
Suddenly, she thought of a line of poetry:
The gate of the cottage creaks, a dog barks; on a snowy night, a man returns home.
Are you the one I've been waiting for, the person who returns on a snowy night?
On this snowy New Year's Eve, even if I don't have the worry of a thatched cottage and a cold bed, I'd still like to be with you, hand in hand, and cast aside past worries.
No matter how bleak and desperate the world is, as long as you are by my side, I am willing to gaze up at the hopeless dust with you, looking forward to the day when flowers bloom in profusion and spring arrives with warmth.
She smiled sweetly, still tinged with sadness, yet had a different kind of beauty.
The two of them held each other tightly, without a single gap between them, as if they were both immersed in a sweet and fragrant dream.
At this time, neither of them could have imagined that after the spring had passed, due to the death of a small palace maid, someone from over twenty years ago would reappear in the world.
At that time, the storm was brewing again, and the battle situation was treacherous. This sweet and warm scene, however, was unknown when it could be replayed.
