Snow sealed off the mountains and waters.
It repainted the world anew.
The weather turned much colder.
The fireplace burned.
The princess thought she had gone mad again.
Unable to distinguish between life and death.
Not only did she see her dead child,
But she had even imagined what he would look like grown up.
She found herself utterly ridiculous.
Always so skilled at deceiving herself.
And the deceptions grew more and more real.
She could even imagine such detailed scenes as the persimmons on the stove cracking open from the heat.
She even smelled the fragrance of dates.
Saw the dates start to smoke.
They caught fire.
She saw a little figure, using tongs to throw the burning dates into the tea.
The fire went out.
Princess Huiyun was stunned.
It wasn't a dream.
The little one, having finished with the dates, saw her face streaming with tears.
Mianmian cautiously asked, "Grandma, are you crying because you're envious of my mother's big family? If you'd like, I can be your mealtime companion from now on. You can call for me when you eat."
Princess Huiyun was called back to reality by the child's words.
She thought she was hallucinating.
But to her surprise,
When she looked up, the person was still there.
And was even walking towards her.
The little one ran up to the man.
Throwing herself into his arms, sweetly calling him "Papa."
Her damp, slightly cool hand was grasped by the man.
He gently rubbed it a few times.
They were right in front of her now.
The princess's eyes were red.
But she wore a mask.
Qin Luoxia pulled her husband over.
Smiling, she said, "Aunt, I've brought my husband."
Jiang Changtian was a bit confused, wondering where this aunt came from. His father Jiang Bai's sisters shouldn't be here, they had all passed away.
So was this Xia-mei's aunt?
Xia-mei said her father was gone by the time she could remember things.
Could this person claiming to be Xia-mei's relative have some ulterior motive?
Jiang Changtian's mind raced through these thoughts, but outwardly he bowed gracefully, also calling her "Aunt."
Zi Congheng silently observed the scene.
He actually knew that Princess Huiyun had certainly guessed his father's identity, but had mistaken the person.
He didn't explain.
The truth would come out eventually anyway.
Princess Huiyun finally understood why things hadn't seemed to add up before.
The one performing the Buddhist rites was her nephew, the Crown Prince.
And the Qin woman wasn't the Crown Prince's concubine, but the wife of the man before her.
The annoying little brat who looked just like her called this man before her "Papa."
Princess Huiyun worried she was in the midst of an episode. She didn't even dare to speak.
Fearing that if she did, everything before her would vanish with a "poof!", leaving nothing behind, not a trace.
Qin Luoxia confidently introduced her children.
"This is our eldest, Feng."
Princess Huiyun saw the youth with a scar on his forehead, carved into the shape of a flower, and her tears flowed even more freely.
She must be having a delusion.
She even had a grandson, and he was already so grown up. She had even imagined a scar on his face. How awful of her. There shouldn't be any scars, they would hurt.
"This is Elder Sister Yu. She's already married. Her husband is Old General Meng's grandson. He treats Yu very well, and they've already given us two great-grandsons. We'll bring them for you to see in a bit, Aunt. You can be their great-great-aunt."
Qin Luoxia understood the feeling of joyful tears upon seeing long-lost relatives.
Aunt looked proud, but see, she was just an ordinary person too, so happy she was crying.
Meng Shaoxia also called her "Great-aunt."
His scalp tingled a bit, feeling something wasn't quite right.
How could little Yu have such a great-aunt?
Tai'an Temple? A mysterious great-aunt???
Princess Huiyun didn't dare make a sound, thinking she was having an episode, but her tears kept flowing uncontrollably.
Then Qin embraced her.
Qin usually saw her aunt as quite energetic, but hadn't expected her to be so light and airy.
Very thin.
Hugging her felt like there was hardly any flesh.
Aunt Yin was much more robust.
This aunt was indeed related to her husband's family, all too thin.
Princess Huiyun fell into a solid embrace, warm and comforting.
"Auntie, don't cry anymore. From now on we're all one family. This place is nice, but a bit too lonely. Why don't you move in with us? Mianmian likes you, you two can play together."
Princess Huiyun cried even harder.
Mianmian: ...
"Feng is about to get married. If you come, the wedding will surely be more complete and grand. You missed Yu's wedding, but you're just in time for Feng's. Later you can see Cong Brother get married, and Mianmian get married off. Your best days are still ahead, let's not cry anymore, Auntie."
Qin Luoxia spoke while patting her aunt's back, very gently.
But it still nearly sent Princess Huiyun to her grave.
Princess Huiyun coughed several times.
Then her mask fell off.
Everyone saw an old lady who looked very much like Mianmian?
Not exactly an old lady, very beautiful, but aged. She had a patch of scars on her face, looking somewhat disheveled, but still strikingly attractive.
Seeing such a face, Jiang Changtian was stunned.
He stood before the woman, shocked into taking a few steps back.
The sky began to snow heavily, large flakes drifting down, landing on his head, face, and body.
He suddenly cried out: "Mother?"
Somewhat hesitant, somewhat unfamiliar, somewhat...
After calling out once, he couldn't manage a second time, his mouth opening, slightly trembling.
Tears also rolled from his eyes.
He had called Old Lady Jiang "Mother" thousands of times, and each time she had responded with undisguised disgust.
Looking at the person before him, he fell to his knees in the snow.
Not feeling the cold.
He also feared it was a dream.
The icy snow would remind him this wasn't a dream.
But Princess Huiyun felt the pain.
She could kneel herself, but her child could not.
Even if this was just a delusion during an episode, she wouldn't allow her child to kneel in the snow. How cold it must be.
"The snow is cold. You mustn't kneel. Get up."
He still didn't rise, continuing to look up at her, calling out once more: "Mother."
She didn't dare respond, her lips quivering.
She feared that if she answered, everything would disappear.
"Mother, how could you be so cruel? Do you know how I've lived all these years? When I was little, I was often locked in a pitch-black room. She always said I was evil spawn, that evil lurked in my eyes. She wouldn't let me eat, she made me kneel in the snow, she let dogs eat meat in front of me, making me - starved for days - fight dogs for food, then said I was worse than a dog. She said I was unfilial and unbrotherly, unfit to be human. She said I seduced my sister-in-law and had designs on her. She said I poisoned my own father. She said I was born evil... I just wanted to survive, Mother. Do you know how hard it's been for me to live?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I didn't know you were alive. I'm sorry, I don't deserve to be a mother. I didn't know..."
Princess Huiyun trembled all over.
Each sentence the man before her spoke felt like another cut to her heart.
She didn't know. She didn't know her child was still alive, living such a difficult life.
No wonder Qin carried so many weapons when she went out.
Who was it? Who had harmed her and her son?
She wanted them all dead.
Cut into a thousand pieces.
"Mother is here. Mother is alive. As long as Mother lives, she won't let anyone bully you again. Whoever bullies you, Mother will help you get revenge. Mother promises. Will you please get up now?"
