Chapter 6 — Red Plum Blossoms in the Snow

My mother collapsed to her knees before me with a dull thud, her hands clutching tightly at the hem of my dress.

"Mother was wrong! I have failed you, child! Please, forgive me this one time!"

"I promise I will never do it again! Now that you are the Heir Apparent's consort, please lend your sister a hand. From this day forward, I will serve you like a beast of burden if only you show mercy."

I looked down at her face, which was streaked with tears and snot. The bitterness that had surged in my heart began to cool, finally settling into a hollow, tranquil void. It turned out that she never sought forgiveness out of genuine remorse; she only did so because my new status as a consort meant I could be of use to her. I pulled the fabric of my dress from her trembling grip and stood up. She looked up at me, her tear-stained face revealing a mix of panic and desperate anxiety.

"I will not do anything to harm you."

"Regardless of all else, you are still my mother, but let us never speak of these matters again."

Stepping out of the main gate of the Chu estate, I stood on the threshold and took a deep breath. The early winter wind blew against me, scattering the stagnant chill that had long settled in my chest. Just as I was about to board the carriage, I noticed a figure standing at the entrance of the alley. I did not know how long Bui Minh Vien had been waiting there; his face still bore the bruising from our encounter at the teahouse, and he looked so utterly wretched that he barely seemed like a man anymore. Seeing me emerge, he took two hesitant steps forward.

"Consort."

I paused, standing about twenty feet away, and watched him. He seemed to want to say something, his lips parting several times, but in the end, he only managed a low murmur.

"What happened years ago... it was my fault."

"Tinh Dao has been sent away to the rural manor, and the foolish things I said at the teahouse that day—I was wrong."

"Can you… can you give me another chance?"

I cut him off, my voice calm and detached.

"Did you come to find me today of your own volition, or is this the will of the Bui family?"

Bui Minh Vien froze, a look of profound embarrassment flashing across his face.

"It was the Elder Madam of the Bui household who sent you, was it not?"

"Now that the Vinh Xuong Prince’s estate has grown so powerful, your family is afraid. You are here to sue for peace."

"And so, you come to speak these sweet words, hoping that I might soften my heart and put in a good word for you and your family before the Heir Apparent?"

Bui Minh Vien’s face turned deathly pale. He opened his mouth to protest, but as he met my gaze, the words died in his throat.

"You need not say anything more. I let go of what happened all those years ago a long time ago."

I had indeed hated him once, but I had exhausted my capacity for hatred. Even looking at him now, allowing him to occupy another moment of my thoughts, felt like an unnecessary burden. The days that followed were far more peaceful. The Bui family ultimately could not stir up any more trouble. Tieu Thua Tac had his men investigate the physician who had forged my medical records years ago. Following that thread, they uncovered evidence of how the Elder Madam had bribed witnesses and fabricated my illness, all of which was presented to the Censorate. Bui Minh Vien’s father was demoted two ranks, and Bui Minh Vien himself lost his official post, relegated to a remote province to serve as a minor clerk.

As for Chu Tinh Dao, it was said that after being sent to the country manor, she suffered a miscarriage and her health withered away. The Elder Madam, who had never liked her to begin with, cast her out entirely without even the decency of a divorce decree. With nowhere to go, Chu Tinh Dao returned to the Chu house in a disheveled state. But my mother was barely able to fend for herself, let alone care for her. I heard they fought many times behind the closed doors of the inner courtyard. Later, my mother sent several letters to the Vinh Xuong Prince's estate, but I did not reply to a single one. She begged for an audience, but I simply instructed Luc Chi to tell her that the Consort was unwell and unable to receive guests, and after that, I heard nothing more.

The blink of an eye brought us to the twelfth month. I curled up in the warm pavilion, wrapped in a blanket, and read through a play script. Tieu Thua Tac returned from outside, his coat dusted with a light layer of snow; he brushed it clean before entering. In his hands, he carried a parchment parcel, which he set before me as if it were a priceless treasure.

"Sugar-roasted chestnuts from that old shop on the west side of the city. Weren't you always craving these back in Thanh Chau?"

He rubbed his hands together to warm them as he boasted, "I stood in line for nearly half an hour. Hurry, have a taste."

I opened the oiled paper, and the aroma of roasted chestnuts wafted toward me, the warmth rising to brush against my face. I picked one up, peeled it, and held it to his lips.

"You are an Heir Apparent, and yet you went to buy roasted chestnuts yourself?"

Tieu Thua Tac replied, perfectly reasonable, "And what of it? Can an Heir Apparent not buy chestnuts for his own wife?"

"Whatever my Huynh desires to eat, it is only right that I buy it with my own hands. It is a joy to do so."

I was amused by his thick-skinned charm and peeled another, popping it into his mouth. He mumbled something with the chestnut still in his cheek that I could not quite make out, so I leaned closer.

"What did you say?"

He pulled me, blanket and all, into his embrace. "I said, when spring arrives, I will take you to Jiangnan to view the peach blossoms, far away from all the chaotic affairs of the capital."

I leaned against his chest, listening to the steady, rhythmic beat of his heart. Outside the window, the snow drifted down with a soft, rustling sound, while inside the pavilion, the charcoal fire burned with the perfect intensity, shutting out the biting cold of the world beyond.

"Very well. When spring comes, we shall go to see the peach blossoms."

He gave a soft laugh and held me tighter. On the old plum tree outside the window, a thick layer of snow rested upon the branches.