In the third year of Longqing in the Great Zhou dynasty, the late spring drizzle was as fine as sorrow, wrapping around the vermilion threshold of the Prime Minister's Residence. Mu Shinian clutched the blood-stained confidential report, her knuckles turning white from excessive force as her nails nearly dug into her palms. The words "Qi Yancheng colludes with the enemy" on the paper were as fierce as a ghost's, and though the ink was still wet, the fate of that person was already sealed.
"My lady, the bridal sedan chair from the General's Mansion is already waiting outside the gates," said the maid Bitao with a sob, breaking Mu Shinian's train of thought.
In the bronze mirror, the young woman was dressed in a vibrant red bridal gown, yet between her brows was a layer of frost that could not be melted away. Three days ago, Li Xiyan led his personal guards to barge into the Qi residence. As the cold blade of a sword pressed against Qi Yancheng's throat, Mu Shinian heard the sound of her own heart shattering. The youth who had once broken plum branches to pin in her hair in the plum grove was now bound by iron chains in a dark room, his eyes filled with pain and resentment.
Chapter 39