Chapter 29: Jade Purity and Ice Clarity

  In the twelfth lunar month, when snowflakes are tiny and a hundred flowers have all withered, several plum blossoms as thick as an arm's embrace in the East Garden of Yanxi Palace are blooming exceptionally well. Their jade-like petals and golden stamens proudly defy the cold, bursting into bloom. Before entering the palace gate, the fragrance of plum blossoms wafts over, floating amidst the stillness and chill of winter, refreshing one's heart and spleen.

  This morning, there was something that delayed him, and he arrived at the Yanxi Palace a bit late. However, he didn't seem to be in a hurry, but instead walked slowly.

  Every corner of the Yanxi Palace exudes peace and tranquility, even in the depths of winter when all things are barren, there is still a hint of greenery to be seen everywhere. He vaguely remembers that some of the flowers and trees were planted by himself and the Empress Dowager, including a row of Winter Jasmine vines not far away, which climbed up the crimson walls with deep green color in the quietness of the world, and the snowflakes became a foil, making this green color more eye-catching. Every summer, when the wisteria flowers bloom, they are intertwined with gold and silver, elegant and refreshing, even more charming. He slowed down his footsteps, and a faint smile appeared on his lips, which were usually cold and calm.

  A gentle breeze passed, and a thin layer of snow was rolled up in the wind. The plum blossoms in the courtyard swayed slightly, and several petals fell down with a faint fragrance. Following that, a few soft giggles floated over. Ye Tianling turned around to look, and saw a palace maid standing under the plum blossom tree, and it seemed like someone was picking plum blossoms on the tree.

  The white jade-like long skirt brushed against the branches, shaking off the plum blossoms. Bi Yao said anxiously: "Young Mistress, why don't you come down? I'll go call the palace maids to pick them for you."

  Among the delicate branches and snow shadows, you are actually holding a small bamboo basket in one hand and supporting a plum blossom branch with the other. You're standing on the wooden ladder under the tree, somewhat precariously stepping on the flat, extended flower branches. From the side, it looks as if you're elegantly standing amidst a tree of jade-colored flowers, your clothes fluttering gently in the breeze.

  As Xiu Bai's fingers moved lightly, she held several plum blossoms in her palm. She occasionally lowered her head and spoke to Bi Yao standing under the tree, seeing Bi Yao's nervousness, smiled and said: "This short tree, what are you afraid of? It's more fun to pick some yourself."

  Bi Yao said: "If the Empress Dowager finds out, she might scold us severely."

  "You don't say it, who knows? If you know, then it's what you said!"

  Dan Juan and Qing Chen were also among the branches, saying: "Yes, sister doesn't say it, nobody knows!"

  "Bixiao glared at her: 'You're so talkative!'"

  You dust smiled and put a few plum blossoms into the basket, raised his head to look, this direction happened to be facing Lianchi Palace.

  She leaned on the branch, looking through the flying eaves and thinking of that palace in the Daming Palace where the only imperial concubine was named after her. She seemed to see the calm and serene expression of Lotus Concubine. This beautiful woman, who was even more beautiful than the elegant lotus, what role did she play in the dozens of years of two generations of emperors? For several days, she had been thinking repeatedly, but still couldn't decide what to do. If everything were true, wouldn't everyone in this Daming Palace face a fate of overthrow?

  Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Bi Yao calling out from below: "Fourth Highness!"

  She looked down and saw Ye Tianling standing under the tree with his hands behind his back, his gaze had just returned from the direction of Lianchi Palace, and fell to her eyes, with a hint of strange color passing silently. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, Qingchen felt a little guilty under his gaze, facing such piercing eyes, those secrets related to him seemed to have nowhere to hide, and could not escape his eyes, nowhere to hide.

  "What are you doing in the tree?"

  "You want this plum blossom?" he asked with a smile, holding out the flower in his palm.

  At night, she gazed down at the delicate yellow petals unfolding one by one, with the fine stamens clearly visible, lightly resting on her soft hand like thin jade. The fragrance of the winter plum blossoms wafted up, carrying their unique sweet scent. Qing Chen signaled to him to lift his hand, and as he tilted his palm, she placed the flower in his hand. He seemed to smile faintly and said, "Come down, it's dangerous up there."

  "You've only picked half of it."

  "Underneath there are so many, why insist on taking the top branch?"

  "You see, the plum blossoms on that branch are different from those below. Before yesterday's snow, it seemed to have rained a bit of icy rain, and those few branches of preserved plum blossoms were exceptional."

  The night sky was following her finger to look, originally high branch place has several branches of plum blossoms wore ice rain, the weather suddenly cold then wrapped a layer of frost, at this time from the light thin sunlight looked like a piece of transparent ice pendant, hanging high on the branch. Occasionally flashing through the clear luster in the ice, as if giving the central plum blossom a crystal outer garment, the icy dew was fragrant, with an ethereal beauty.

  "You look good?"

  The moonlight fell on her delicate face through the plum blossoms, and he paused for a moment before saying softly, "Not bad, very beautiful." However, he still gestured for her to come down.

  You descended the ladder from the branch, jumped onto the ground with a spring in your step, and said: "You've come at an inconvenient time today, Her Majesty is still napping, if you're not in a hurry, wait for a while."

  Yè Tiān Líng nodded, stretched out her hand to help her press down the flower branch. Qīng Chén picked a few from above and said: "Replace one branch, so each goes with a few flowers, the tree still has sparse and dense beauty, and it won't destroy the original beauty."

  Ye Tian Ling said: "No wonder you're picking so slowly." Although he said that, he didn't seem to be in a hurry either. He casually plucked a flower branch with his hand and let Qing Chen pick it.

  Then the two of them strolled and stopped under several trees, Qingchen looked up at the sky with her head tilted back, selecting and picking, Yeting's figure was tall and slender, just one stretch of his hand could reach the place she couldn't, in a short while they had picked another half basket, she smiled: "If you came earlier, I wouldn't have to bother."

  Ye Tian Ling's expression was relaxed, with a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips, and he said: "What do you want so many dried plums for?"

  You've seen the flowers, that's enough, let's head to the palace together: "Winter plum blossoms clear heat and detoxify, regulate qi and stop coughing, they're a great medicinal material, can also be made into fragrances or used for soaking in water to grind ink. In Yanxi Palace, many plants are actually very useful, look at that Clematis vine, its flowers are cold in nature, sweet in taste, can treat wind and dispel melancholy, reduce swelling and clear heat, applying the juice on the face can remove wrinkles and retain youth. Those two White Fruit trees, their fruit gathers lung qi, calms asthma and coughing, promotes blood circulation, can alleviate symptoms of cold and numb hands and feet, but don't eat too much, as they're slightly toxic. There are also some flowers and trees now hidden by ice and snow that we can't see, but each has its own uses.

  Ye Tian Ling walked slowly with his hands behind his back, looking around the familiar palace gardens. As she spoke, it was as if he had entered a different world, and the scenery had changed. Today, he seemed to have more free time than usual, staying in the Yanxi Palace to watch Qinger play with the plum blossoms she had picked, and then accompanying the Empress Dowager for dinner.

  After that, Bi Yao and the others presented several small cups made of jade, and Qing Chen said: "This is tea brewed with dried plum blossoms that were sun-dried a few days ago."

  The Empress Dowager said to Ye Tianling: "Whatever flowers and plants she gets her hands on, they all become incredibly useful, now I have over a dozen varieties of fragrant flower tea here."

  Ye Tianling said: "If I had known earlier, Sun Er should have accompanied the Empress Dowager to plant more trees and flowers at the beginning."

  "You've heard that many of the plants in this Yanxi Palace were planted by Your Highness's own hands, haven't you?" The maid presented a basin of clear water for her to wash her hands. As she spoke, she turned her head towards Ye Tianling and saw that his sleeve had risen slightly, revealing a black beaded bracelet on his wrist - the same one made of obsidian that she had seen long ago.

  Those beads shone with a deep, steady luster, calm and quiet. Qingchen gazed at Lingtian's strong and powerful wrist as he held the teacup, lost in thought for a moment.

  Regarding the Nine Turns Luminous Array, she had asked Mo Bu Ping in detail. Mo Bu Ping was very clear about the origin of the Witch tribe and the Luminous Odd Stone, as the Ming Yi Building itself had a complex connection with the Witch tribe. However, after the Ming Yi Building surrendered to the Heavenly Dynasty, the Witch tribe's influence slowly withdrew from it. Over the past hundred years, the Witch tribe's people have become scarce, and it is now very difficult to see their tracks. As for the Soul Transfer Forbidden Technique that she was concerned about, Mo Bu Ping had only heard of its existence but did not know the specifics, and pointed out that such a technique must be against the principles of yin and yang, going against heaven's will, and its methods were often cruel or bizarre, which is why it was banned.

  And this nine-turns Lingshu formation is something that no one has ever seen before. The nine Lingshu crystals were lost in the war, and those that still exist are now stored in the palace after Shi Di unified the world. As for these words, Xun Chen felt that things seemed to have made some progress, but upon further reflection, he was disappointed again. It seems that the only thing that can be done is to collect these Lingshu beads first. She was staring at Ye Tianling's wrist in a daze when she heard him clear his throat softly.

  She woke up with a start, the empress dowager was smiling as she withdrew her gaze, while Ye Tianling's eyes were filled with inquiry as he met her gaze. She had something on her mind, and with a lackluster expression, she pursed her lips, smiled apologetically, and slowly sipped her tea. Ye Tianling found it strange, wanting to ask, but hesitated in front of the empress dowager, not knowing where to start.

  After that, you dust seemed to be in a low mood and didn't laugh like this afternoon. Ye Tianling looked at her from the side and said: "It's late, Grand Empress Dowager should rest early, I'll come over again tomorrow."

  The Empress Dowager nodded and said: "Qīn Chén, you go see off the Fourth Prince."

  She was taken aback, Ye Tian Ling came and went every day, never needing anyone to send him off. The Yan Xi Palace was like his home, and he wouldn't get lost anyway. But since the Empress Dowager had instructed her, she followed Ye Tian Ling out. Along the way, she walked with her head down, distracted, until they reached the palace gate, where the guards from the Ling Wang Fu were already waiting. They bowed: "Your Highness, slow walk."

  Unexpectedly, Ling Tian didn't move, she looked up in confusion and saw him turning his head to look at her, his deep black eyes seemed to be piercing, with a profound meaning: "When did you become so polite?" He said casually.

  "Put aside the complicated emotions in your heart for now," he said. "In the Forbidden Palace, you are always the King of Tianxia, and I am just a troublemaker if I don't show respect. Fourth Brother." The last two words were spoken softly, accompanied by a smile, as he pointed to his wrist: "By the way, this black onyx is best worn on the right hand, which can ward off evil spirits and bring peace and safety."

  "Was it this that you were just looking at?" Ye Tianling raised his hand slightly:

  "You rarely see such a thing... it suits you well."

  "This was bestowed upon me by His Majesty, otherwise I would have sent you on your way."

  You dust knows that the heavenly emperor's gift cannot be given to people at will, so he smiled and said: "Then I can only miss it."

  "Like what can be told privately to me, don't stare blankly in front of people again."

  You dust just let the empress dowager see a joke, her pretty face turned red, and she muttered: "If it can be controlled, it's not called daze."

  A hint of a smile flashed across his eyes, and Ye Tian Ling stood at the front of the steps, turning his head to look towards the bright lights of Yan Xi Palace. He said, "The Empress Dowager has been in good spirits recently, and her chronic illness has even lightened up considerably. It's all thanks to you."

  You know that he is extremely filial to the Empress Dowager, saying: "The Empress Dowager has so many imperial grandsons, but she thinks of you every day and only you come to Yanxi Palace every day."

  "It's quiet here." Ling Danchen said softly: "I grew up with the Empress Dowager since I was a child, so I'm naturally different from others."

  "You dust asked casually: 'Why isn't it with Lotus Princess instead?'"

  As soon as she spoke, she regretted it. She saw a flash of gloom on Ye Tianling's originally gentle face, and the stars in his eyes shattered into cold fragments, as if something had broken into pieces and would never reappear. The night wind carried the faint chill of early winter, blowing up her sleeves, and she shivered slightly. All the ease and leisure of the past half-day were suddenly swept away by the snow, and in an instant, winter had taken possession of everything before her eyes.

  "The night sky was clear and cold, the voice echoed in my ears: 'Night is deep, it's cold, go back.' After finishing speaking, he turned around and left, the dark blue long shirt cut out a different color in the sparse night color, and then merged with the thick darkness in an instant, disappearing into the depths of the palace."

  You stood there for a long time, lost in thought, with a hint of sadness welling up from the bottom of your heart. It wasn't because he suddenly turned cold towards you, but as you watched him walk away and saw the fleeting glint of ice in his eyes, you knew that he was actually using his cold expression to hide something - some unspoken pain, helplessness, or loneliness.

  For a moment, Qingchen felt an urge to tell him all the secrets she knew in her heart. If it could untie the knot at the bottom of his heart and keep the gentle softness in his eyes, she was willing to try. However, in the darkness, she could no longer see his figure. Qingchen turned back to face the heavy palace gates, the night sky like a curtain, the bell drums slow, the vast Forbidden Palace quietly approached, gradually shrouding everything in silence.