The late autumn wind, carrying a bitter chill, swept across the flying eaves of the Forbidden City. Zhu Zimo's fingers trembled slightly as she held the white jade cup. The tea had long since grown cold, reflecting the Golden Dangle Hairpin in her hair, its heavy weight making it hard to breathe.
That afternoon filled with the sound of cicadas suddenly flashed vividly in her memory. Ten-year-old Gu Wenyan wove wild flowers into a wreath and placed it on her head, his mischievous smile dazzling in the sunlight. "When I grow up, I will surely come to marry you with a sedan chair carried by eight bearers." Back then, she had blushed and chased him all over the courtyard, startling the fallen blossoms everywhere.
Who could have imagined that those past vows would shatter into dust over time?
Chapter 109