It had been four months. It was enough.

He smiled slightly, taking up his flute to play a joyful farewell song for her. The tune was clear and echoed across the extravagant palace, following her shadow as it stepped out of the rows of palace doors, over the golden door sills, the tall corridors, the red palace walls, and finally into the vast lands.

The Tang Empire had helped him out as he was rejected by his family, almost ruining the bright future he had ahead of him. Since the battle at Yuegong, he had defied all odds to live. He had been driven to desperation, to the extremes where he had nearly lost his life. He had been despised and shunned by his family and country, turning into a public enemy and being spit on thousands of civilians. Even if he died, he was not able to enter the ancestral records of his family. He became the number one rebel of the royal capital. As he rose from the ashes of the dead, he single-handedly rebuilt his reputation as he came to be known as the King of Qinghai, taking West Meng by storm. The time had not come, but he used his troops to carry out an assault in the east, providing a lifeline for her.

The Xia Empire coveted the Tang Empire; Yan Bei dispatched troops towards the east in order to avenge the theft of the emperor’s wife. They were willing to give up their empire, which they had painstakingly built, in order to return to the land of their ex-tormentors in chief. They used their million troops as a wager, managing to achieve some of their wishes.

Zhuge Yue, I thought that I was the craziest person alive. However, when I compared to you, I am insignificant. Li Ce mocked himself in his thoughts. How could he compete with a lunatic?

We have all been assigned to wander on a predetermined path by the heavens. I cannot break free, and neither can Yan Xun. Only you are brave enough to break free repeatedly and jump into the whirlpool again. Ultimately, I lose out to you, and I accept this defeat with grace.

The tune was lively and fast, appearing comical as compared to the officials bawling their eyes out below.

Sun Di stood on the steps of the palace and gazed towards that defiant shadow. As the joyous tune permeated his ears, he felt a sense of loneliness instead. The paths of the palace were long and cold, as it was surrounded by tall palace walls on both sides. The fragrance outside was faintly detectable.

On such a bright, warm day, the ripples emerged from within his heart, slicing through the lonely fog in his heart and sweeping up the thin layers of dust in the lonely palace. He had always been like this, viewing the happenings of the world through the slightly drunken look in his eyes.

As night fell, the officials had cried their throats hoarse. Some of the elderly ones were stricken with illness, and had been taken away in stretchers.

An extravagant layer of lights blanketed the entire Jinwu Palace as it seeped through the thousands of doors. His memories were blurry. Just like a thin thread that had dislodged itself from a piece of cloth, a slight jolt was sufficient was able to cause the piece of cloth to disintegrate.

Li Ce walked down the steps of the ladder as the officials crawled towards him, crying for him to mind his health and not to fool around. “All of you are indeed loyal to me. I have sorted my thoughts out. Please rise quickly,” he said.

The audience cried out in joy, appreciating the fact that the emperor had come to his senses.

“In order to reflect on my actions, I have decided to adjourn the court sessions for three days. All of you should go back, think hard, and research on ways to make our country prosperous.” As he finished his words, he walked into the distance while the officials were dazed. Before he walked out of the palace, he ordered his inner servants, “Host banquets for the next three days. Bring all the ladies to Roufu Palace.”

The audience was once again rendered speechless as the emperor gallivanted away into the distance.

Once one stepped out of Baizhi Pass, one would have reached the territory of Xia. Although it was wintertime, the climate was still warm towards the southwest of Xianyang. When Chu Qiao stepped out of the pass, it was actually raining. As she stood on the passageway leading into Xianyang City, she felt hesitant, not knowing if she should have walked in. The past 11 years of her life had been eventful. The first eight years of her life had been filled with dark times, while the last three years had been doused with bloodshed. Now that she had finally broken out of the chains of her fate, she did not know where to wander to.

Her initial sense of excitement had subsided; calmness and rationality had taken over. If it was really true, what kind of person would he be now? How could he mix around with a person of her status? She had caused him to nearly die a few times. Was she going to destroy whatever he had now, yet again? If her thoughts proved to be wrong, Li Ce’s words would have meant that Yan Xun had let her go out of mercy. How would she view this matter then? Presently, she no longer had any more courage to ask about anything else. Hence, she resided in Xianyang City. She rented a small house with one door and one courtyard in a remote place. Two willow branches hung in front of her door, but had wilted.

Seven or eight days passed in a flash. As Xianyang City welcomed the new year, decorations were placed everywhere. The festive mood in the city was joyous. The landlord opposite, seeing that she lived alone, invited her over repeatedly to spend the new year. However, she rejected the landlord’s gestures.

Another few days had passed. As the annual Lantern Festival neared, a bout of snow fell at dawn. However, before the snowflakes touched the ground, they had melted. The remnants of the snow accumulated on the tree branches. Into the distance, the snowy white mountains were visible; streams flowed at its feet. The city was covered in sycamores, giving off a spectacular sight.

The landlord was a chubby lady in her thirties. She looked friendly and had two children; a boy and a girl. Her husband was a teacher in a private school within the city; their household was considered well-off. The girl seemed to like Chu Qiao a lot. As she passed by her door, she would often gaze into her house. Her brother, seeing her curiosity, supported her on his shoulders and allowed her to sneak a peek inside her house.

In the evening, Chu Qiao went out herself as she did not want another invitation from the landlady. The sky had not darkened; the light markets had not opened either, but the streets were bustling with life. There were crowds everywhere; roadside stalls were set up in neat rows along the main street. Merchants selling various commodities like wine, food, and cosmetics littered the streets. Chu Qiao, finding the atmosphere overly crowded, avoided this street.

Due to the festive occasion, the women of the well-off households, who did not usually leave their houses, wandered out into the streets. There were sedans and horse carriages everywhere, as they passed by Chu Qiao. Sounds of laughter drifted out from the carriages occasionally as they blended together with the warm winds. It was a peaceful and harmonious sight.

As compared to the people who were dressed flamboyantly, Chu Qiao was dressed in relatively plain clothes. However, as they belonged to the imperial palace of Tang, it appeared more majestic and exquisite as compared to normal plain civilian clothes. The cloth was pale pinkish grey in color; the dress was pale blue and white in color. Magnolia flowers were embroidered on the sides of the dress, looking like freshly bloomed lotus flowers from afar. Coupled with her gentle and calm demeanor, she attracted countless stares from scholars and noble young masters as she walked along the long street alone. Some of them tried to approach her to strike up a conversation, but were rendered speechless as they got closer to her. They felt that her calmness was unlike an ordinary lady; she gave off an aura that looked like she was ignoring them. As they hesitated, she had already wandered away.

As night fell, the full moon rose up into the sky. The stars were far and few, as the moonlight shone onto her shoulder. This was not her first visit to Xianyang City. Three years ago, when she led her troops out of Zhen Huang City, she bumped into Zhao Chun’er and her brother who were in trouble. After she escorted them back home, Zhao Chun’er sent troops after her. As she escaped from there, she set foot in this city.

Time had passed by in a flash. No one had heard from Zhao Song all these years. The influential and powerful prince back then had probably been ousted from the political scene of Xia, due to his disability. As for Zhao Chun’er, she had seemingly vanished into thin air. No one knew of her whereabouts.

The corners of Chu Qiao’s mouth rose. The smile was ever so slight, disappearing even before it reached the sides of her face. It was like a layer of thin fog which had been dispersed by the cold winds. Perhaps, Li Ce was right. In this world, the overly intelligent would never be happy.

A large patch of lights lit up in the distance. They were multi-colored and appeared majestic. The sounds of fireworks echoed out, along with the laughter of the children and the shouts of the vendors advertising their products. They drifted with the wind across the lake and to her ear. To her, it seemed like a bright fire had been lit up, but did not give off any warmth. The sounds seemed to be originating from another world.

It had been a long time since she had celebrated the Lantern Festival.

She looked up, seemingly being transported back in time to that day. There was a little red pony, and a child wearing a white robe holding a white rabbit lantern. As the child followed the young man, he turned back and gave off a cold look. She had always thought that that look emphasized cruelty, and that he looked down on the lifeforms below him with disdain.

Presently, as she reminisced about the past, she was seemingly able to see the bottom of his eyes clearly. If they had not navigated through the lights that day… if the fireworks from the children had not startled her horse and caused her to sprint out of the city, spending the night together with Yan Xun, would things have panned out in a different way?

Perhaps not. Perhaps things would have still remained the same. The swords that were to be raised would still have been raised. The words of betrayal would still have been uttered. Everything would have been pre-planned, according to the heavens. No one would have been able to break out of the wheel of fate. However, at the very least, if not for that separation, she would not be imagining that he was alive presently, as she associated her memories of past Lantern Festivals with him.

She had subconsciously walked a long distance now. A thick, tall elm tree, estimated to be about 30 to 40 years old in tree years, stood by the side of the lake. Pieces of red cloth were strewn everywhere, together with colored paper. It was a superstition that the villagers held close to their hearts, as they believed that a deity resided in the elm tree. They believed that the thicker the tree, the higher probability that supernatural forces resided within it. Over time, villagers which had fallen on hard times would visit the tree to pray for peace, in the hope of finding light at the end of the tunnel

Chu Qiao stood under the tree as an unknown emotion surged from within her heart. She did not know what was on the tree. She looked up quietly and half-squinted her eyes, fixating on the same spot for a long while emotionlessly. Her gaze seemed to transcend through time like clear water.

She did not know what had happened here three years ago. When she was purchased by the Zhan family, one person had rode past this place. That day, the sunlight was bright. He stood desolate under the tree as they missed out on seeing each other by mere inches.

Chu Qiao reached into her pocket and felt a jade pendant inside. As she held it in her hand, she went into a trance.

This pendant was the one that she had nicked from Zhuge Yue when they fought at Tian Chengshou’s residence back in Wupeng City. Thereafter, she disguised herself as a dancer and was discovered by him. He demanded the jade pendant from her, but she was still spiteful back then. In a fit, she had said that she had dumped it into the lake, causing the servants in Tian Chengshou’s residence to dig up the lake to no avail.

On the day that she left Yan Bei, she did not bring anything else but this pendant along with her.

As time passed, the memories stuck by close to her heart, exemplified by the jade pendant. She looked up, feeling a sense of bitterness in her eyes.

After many twists and turns, they had still been destined to part ways. Circumstances were different now that time had passed. They had been separated and placed far apart, but the feuds concerning their countries still lingered in the space between them. Furthermore, given her current state, what right had she to approach him? Where would she get the courage from?

Chu Qiao closed her eyes and tossed the jade pendant upwards. In that split second, thousands of complex emotions played themselves out in her mind. The heavens had made a fool of them. They were not to be after all.

Plonk! As she turned to leave, a crisp sound echoed out from behind her. It sounded like a finger which had brushed against a guqin string. The sound was smooth to the ear, and pierced through her spine. Chu Qiao turned back in panic, only to see that two jade pendants had fallen from the tree, landing perfectly in each of her hands.

The pendants were white and shiny. They were similar in design; they were actually an identical pair.