Chapter 001: The Clear Sun Over The Snow

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Translator’s Note: ✨ The previous chapters are getting a glow-up! ✨ They’re being fully edited and translated to match the original novel. Here’s the polished chapter! ??

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“When I was very young, Wanniang told me that the most respected woman in the world is the Empress, and the palace where the Empress lives is called ‘Kunning Palace.’ I asked Wanniang, what is Kunning Palace like?”

“Wanniang said she didn’t know.”

“I sat under the eaves of a leaky roof in the countryside and thought, if only I could become one of those wild geese flying across the sky, soaring to the prosperous capital, flying into the Forbidden City, and seeing what Kunning Palace looks like, how wonderful that would be!”

The palace gates were dark and closed, with only one window slightly open on the left side.

The sky was overcast, the light dim.

Once a bustling place, Kunning Palace was now empty, not a single palace servant in sight.

Only Jiang Xuening knelt tall at her desk, her delicate, fair fingers holding an incense stick, gently stirring in the incense burner placed on the desk. Thin wisps of smoke rose slowly through the gaps. Her golden phoenix-patterned gown spread out behind her, with intricate cloud patterns glimmering faintly in the dim light.

“Later, I really did go to the capital. The heavens played a great joke on me, giving me a reckless heart that I shouldn’t have, but letting me grow up in the countryside, without the grace and poise of a distinguished lady from the capital. Yet, they placed me in this bustling, competitive place, only bestowing upon me a beautiful face…”

Jiang Xuening’s appearance was strikingly beautiful, radiant like a lotus in full bloom.

Her brows were delicately curved, her eyes slightly upturned, and her lips tinted red, a natural allure. Having held power for years, she had cultivated a rare elegance and dignity.

When she lowered her gaze, it was enough to make one’s heart race.

You Fangyin stood quietly behind her for a long time, listening to her faint, almost ethereal voice. Thinking of the life she led in the eyes of the world—filled with schemes, chasing fame, and striving for power—she suddenly felt a bit disoriented.

A sadness began to well up in her heart.

They both knew, she could not escape.

Jiang Xuening suddenly smiled. “Fangyin, recently, I’ve been thinking, was I truly wrong?”

As a child, she had been raised by Wanniang, unaware of her true origins, running wild in the fields and mountains outside the village. She was a bird no one could control, only Wanniang’s rouge and powder could bring her back home.

Wanniang came from a humble background, a woman among women.

She said the world belonged to men, only they could conquer it; as for women, they needed only to conquer men, and they had conquered the world.

After returning to the capital, she met Yan Lin, the young lord of the Yongyi Marquis’ residence. He took her to dress as a man, and they played recklessly in the city. Even her parents didn’t dare to discipline her too much, there was a hint of childhood romance between them.

Later, the Yongyi Marquis’ residence became involved in the plot against the Prince of Pingnan.

The Yan family was exiled thousands of miles away.

The young man, still unworthy of the title of an adult, scaled the high walls of the Jiang residence at night to find her. His voice hoarse, he gripped her hand tightly. “Ning Ning, wait for me. I will return to marry you.”

Jiang Xuening, however, told him, “I will marry Shen Jie. I want to be the Empress.”

She still remembered how, as a boy, Yan Lin looked at her with a piercing gaze, like a struggling beast trapped in a corner. His eyes reddened, and his teeth clenched.

That night, the boy shed his innocence, let go of her hand, and disappeared into the darkness.

Five years later, she was already Shen Jie’s Empress.

The path to the throne was not smooth, and throughout her short life, she encountered many like Yan Lin.

For instance, Xiao Dingfei, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Or Zhou Yin, the Commander of the Jinyiwei.

Even Princess Leyang, who later perished at the hands of the barbarians, Shen Zhiyi…

But no one expected that the boy from the past would make a return. After achieving military success on the frontier, Yan Lin pledged allegiance to Xie Wei, under the banner of “clearing the emperor’s side,” and returned in armor, leading an army to surround the capital. He took control of the entire Forbidden City and placed her under house arrest.

Shen Jie had been poisoned and lay on his sickbed, unable to attend to state affairs.

Thus, Yan Lin openly entered her palace, dismissing the servants each time he arrived.

No one dared to speak out, inside or outside the court.

Everyone knew he was Xie Wei’s right-hand man.

When Xie Wei slaughtered half the imperial palace, it was Yan Lin who guarded the palace gates to prevent anyone from escaping. When Xie Wei ordered the execution of the Xiao family’s nine generations, it was Yan Lin who led the charge, breaking open tightly shut doors to drag out men, women, and children…

Now, he stood outside her palace gates with Xie Wei, the former Imperial Teacher.

Shen Jie had passed away, leaving behind a decree for her to govern the state in his stead.

However, the crown prince, adopted from the imperial family, had not yet ascended the throne. On his way to the capital, he was beheaded by the rebellious Heavenly Sect faction, and his head was displayed at the city gate.

Now, it was her turn.

Jiang Xuening blinked slowly, her long, curled lashes casting a faint shadow across her eyes. Her expression, for the moment, bore the solemnity of a world full of uncertainties.

You Fangyin gazed at her with a touch of melancholy.

Jiang Xuening had already set aside the incense stick, closed the incense burner, and picked up the large brocade box from the desk. She opened it carefully. Inside was the Imperial Seal and a decree she had written and sealed an hour before.

The decree read that she willingly followed the late Emperor to the grave and requested the Grand Tutor, Xie Wei, to support the state, assist in governing, and select a virtuous ruler to succeed the throne.

Jiang Xuening suddenly raised her head to glance out the window.

The snow that had fallen all night had stopped, and the sun broke through the dark clouds, casting a brilliant beam of light into the gloomy palace.

She murmured softly, “Had I known this would be the ending, why bother struggling so? I would rather have traveled thousands of miles, seen the vast rivers and mountains, and been a free bird. This life, after all, was nothing more than stumbling into palace walls, a cocoon of prosperity…”

You Fangyin remained silent.

Jiang Xuening then asked, “Fangyin, if you had the chance to choose again, would you still come?”

You Fangyin was the most unusual person Jiang Xuening had ever met.

She was originally a poor concubine’s daughter from a noble family—clumsy and pitiable—but after falling into a river, she completely changed her personality. From then on, she became prominent, engaging in business, opening a bank, and establishing commercial associations. Within just a few years, she had become one of the wealthiest and most influential merchants in Jiangning.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call her “You Bancheng” (You of Half the City).

However, her luck was poor. She made the mistake of siding with the wrong faction in the palace struggle. Even though she later pledged allegiance to Xie Wei, she had been kept under watch and confined in the palace.

The two of them, having fallen to such a pitiful fate together, became close confidantes who could share everything.

Jiang Xuening listened to her tales of rising from nothing, many of which were intriguing. She even complained about the foreign lands she had visited for trade, where even steam engines had yet to be seen.

Jiang Xuening didn’t know what a steam engine was.

But You Fangyin often said she wasn’t from this place, but from a faraway land that she could never return to.

She also spoke of a great secret from the previous dynasty. If one knew it, any person with even a little bit of sense would never have made such mistakes in this palace struggle.

Unfortunately, she had learned about it too late.

You Fangyin sighed deeply, bitterly smiling, “In this miserable world where birds don’t even poop, who would want to be here?”

Jiang Xuening hadn’t heard such crude words in a long time. She momentarily dazed, then suddenly remembered the time. She raised her voice, calling, “Master Xie!”

Outside the vermilion palace walls, the white snow lay thick on the ground.

A sea of people stood outside the palace gates.

Yan Lin stood by with his sword at his side.

The leader, tall and imposing, did not respond to her call.

Jiang Xuening knew he could hear her.

He was the most scheming person in the entire Daqian Dynasty.

A saint’s appearance, but a devil’s heart.

He was the imperial tutor for two emperors, the grand tutor to the crown prince. So many people respected him, admired him, and looked up to him. But little did they know, beneath that lofty and noble appearance was a heart filled with resentment, bloodshed, and ruthlessness: the sword given by the Emperor was stained with the royal family’s blood, and the rivers of the capital had turned red; the hands that once played the guqin and held a brush were also responsible for the execution of the Xiao family, their bodies piled high.

He was the only person Jiang Xuening could never win over, no matter how much she tried.

“You killed the imperial family, executed the Xiao family, and eradicated the Heavenly Sect. You hold power and my life in your hands. By rights, I have no right to make demands of you,” Jiang Xuening said, a single tear suddenly falling from her eye and landing on her hand. “In this life, I have used many people. But when I think of it, I have wronged Yan Lin, and Yan Lin has taken revenge on me; I used Xiao Dingfei, Zhou Yin, and they used me to rise. I schemed against Shen Jie, and now I must follow him to the grave. I owe them nothing…”

Her life, full of ups and downs, had been marked by such betrayals.

She pulled the dagger from her sleeve.

The cold, shining blade reflected her eyes and the golden hairpin in her hair.

Her body trembled, and her voice shook. Tears filled her eyes, but she couldn’t afford to cry. With each word, as if she were weeping blood, she said, “But there is one person who lived a life of integrity and strict governance. It was I who pressured him, misled him, and tarnished his reputation. He is a good official, and I sincerely hope that Master Xie will remember the blood debt you owe me from when I fed you my blood on the way to the capital. Let me trade my life for his, and give him a path to survival…”

Who could have predicted that the seemingly cold and heartless Empress, who appeared devoid of emotion, would one day offer her life to save a mere Ministry of Justice official?

Was it that she lacked a heart, or that no one else had managed to warm it?

The person outside the palace gates stood motionless for a long time.

After a while, a calm voice finally spoke: “Yes.”

It was such a pleasant sound.

It felt as if it was from a long time ago.

Jiang Xuening let out a relieved smile and resolutely raised her hand—

“Pfft.”

The sharp dagger sliced through the delicate skin of her neck with a sound like paper tearing. Along with that, it seemed that the sound of a long sword clattering to the ground echoed from outside the palace gates.

She too collapsed.

The exquisite golden hairpin fell to the ground, its embedded deep red gemstones shattering and scattering. Warm blood trickled down the steps, slowly spreading across the cold stone floor, reminiscent of the shallow creek she used to play in barefoot as a child.

She had wandered into the palace walls, wrapped in its grandeur, and now it had become her tomb—swallowing her bones, burying her life.

Outside the window, the sun finally emerged, casting its light on the snow. Gradually, the snow began to melt, bit by bit.

It felt like a long dream, a dream in which all cause and effect were blurred, with only the sharp pain of the blade passing through her neck remaining clear.

It hurt.

Jiang Xuening thought, if she had known, she would have chosen a painless way to die.

“Cough.”

It seemed as though something was pressing on her chest in the dream, making it hard to breathe. She coughed and finally managed to open her eyes with great effort.

But what she saw startled her.

She was lying on a disordered couch, more precisely, between two men. Close by was a young man’s refined and elegant face, nearly touching hers. He even raised a hand casually to pull her closer.

Jiang Xuening felt a shock run through her.

The scene reminded her of when Yan Lin had returned to the capital, placed her under house arrest, and silently entered her palace, making her unable to sleep in peace…

She immediately slapped his hand away and scrambled off the couch.

The young man, still half-drunk, opened his eyes in confusion. He seemed surprised by her actions, sitting up and reaching out to pull her back. “Hmm, Jiang Xuening, let’s sleep some more—”

“Impudent!”

Having once been an empress and commanded ministers, Jiang Xuening instinctively slapped him across the face at his audacious words and actions!

“Slap!”

The loud sound finally roused the other person on the other side of the couch, a young man dressed in a black robe, sleeping with his sword beside him.

He opened his eyes, his long brows, straight nose, and thin lips radiating a sharp aura. Upon seeing the scene, there was a momentary confusion, but it quickly turned to cold realization as he saw the disheveled clothes of the young man and the five red finger marks on his cheek, as well as Jiang Xuening’s shocked and angry expression.

With a sharp “clang,” the boy reacted instantly, stepping in front of Jiang Xuening and drawing his sword, the tip pressed against the young man’s throat.

The youthful face, still tinged with a hint of immaturity, was now covered in frost.

He coldly asked, “What did you do to her?!”

The young man was first surprised by the boy’s impulsive action of drawing a sword, and then he looked both aggrieved and innocent, covering his cheek. “What could I have done? I haven’t even taken off my sleeves!”

The boy furrowed his brows, his gaze skeptical.

This “prince”…

Jiang Xuening suddenly froze.

It wasn’t until now that she realized she reeked of alcohol and was dressed in a dark green robe embroidered with bamboo patterns in silver thread. She was dressed as a boy, and the hand she had used to slap him was still burning with pain.

She had cross-dressed as a man.

It wasn’t a dream.

And then, the faces of the young man being threatened by the sword and the boy who was standing in front of her protecting her began to surface in her memory: one was the future emperor, Prince Linzi, Shen Jie, and the other was the future traitor, the Marquis Yan Lin!

So this was the “rebirth” that You Fangyin often mentioned?

In her past life, she had been cautious, carefully manipulating the men around her. In this life, she had slapped the future emperor as soon as she began…

Was it too late to kneel and apologize now?

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