The snow in Chang'an always carried the gloomy weight of an ancient capital. As the wet flakes fell thick and heavy upon Suzaku Avenue, Xiao Ning was kneeling outside the vermilion gates of the Crown Prince's residence. The stinging impact of the ice particles on her face was nothing compared to the bone-chilling frost in her heart. Faint sounds of flutes and strings drifted out from within the estate—Xue Zhifeng was hosting a banquet.
Seven years ago, she had been a frequent visitor here. Back then, Xue Zhifeng was still a buoyant youth with expressive brows and bright eyes, who always loved to tug at her braid and say, "A-Ning, when I become Crown Prince, I will marry you and make you my Crown Princess, the most magnificent bride in all the world."
She had nodded with a blushing face, clutching the jade hairpin he had given her, taking it for a promise larger than the heavens themselves.
Chapter 122