Fu Zhiyu didn’t like snowy days very much. It seemed that every time it snowed, he had bad luck.

On a snowy day last year, shortly after he succeeded to the throne, because Xie Ke won a big battle and returned to the court, Fu Zhiyu was in a hurry to get back to the palace. On the way his horse was frightened, he fell on the snow and injured his arm. The injury had never healed, and when he was approving the memorials for a long time, his wrist would be faintly painful, as if pricked with pins and needles. His position was not yet firmly established in the imperial court, and because of his health, he was subjected to a lot of criticism from the old ministers. 

In the winter of the year before last, before Fu Zhiyu was seated on the throne, Xie Ke was seriously wounded and caught up in the stalemate on the front line. Fu Zhiyu received a secret report and left everything in the capital, torn with anxiety, rushing to the rescue with his trusted doctor. Xie Ke was rescued and everything was fine, but Fu Zhiyu’s mother, the imperial concubine, fell gravely ill, and he missed the last chance to see her. When Fu Zhiyu returned to the palace, all he saw was a coffin. He was also censured for absence without leave and was given 30 rods that cost him half his life and left him sick. During his recuperation, Xie Ke never visited him once.

Six years ago in the winter, Xie Ke refused to come to see him for three months. When they met again, it was after the New Year when Xie Ke brought his newly married wife to appear before the emperor. Fu Zhiyu looked at her from a distance. The youngest daughter of Prime Minister Xue was indeed a rare beauty. When she stood next to General Xie, anyone who saw them had to admit that they were a match made in heaven. Fu Zhiyu smiled obediently all the way and vomited blood when he returned home. He decided to cut off the relationship completely, but who knew that the next day Xie Ke would take the initiative to come to his palace again?

…It seemed that it was all because of Xie Ke.

Going back further, it was when he was sixteen years old and accidentally fell into the icy lake in winter that Xie Ke rescued him.

Fu Zhiyu still remembered the young military man untying the cloak and wrapping it around his cold and almost unconscious body. He struggled to open his eyes and saw Xie Ke’s profile. At that time his gratitude for the life-saving grace gave the heartbeat to a decade of longing. Now it seemed that it must have been the beginning of bad luck.

If it hadn’t been for this sinful relationship with Xie Ke, he wouldn’t have been in this state now.

Unfortunately, now that Fu Zhiyu thought of these memories, there were no more ripples in his heart.

“Don’t cry,” he coughed twice and struggled to prop himself up from the bed, “…pour a glass of water.”

The palace maid in front of the sickbed finally stopped crying. She seemed to be unprepared for the emperor who was in a coma to wake up suddenly. She was stunned for a long time before wiping her tears with her sleeves. She took the teapot from the table on the side and touched it. The water was cold.

The emperor’s palace didn’t even have a cup of hot tea. If it was normal times, all the people in the palace would lose their heads. But now it was different. The army had reached the city gates and everyone knew Fu Zhiyu wouldn’t be the emperor much longer. Now he was sickly, lying in bed basically in a coma; maybe he would die before the army came in. All the people in the palace had run away and only this one palace maid was willing to stay.

“This slave will go boil water…”

“Forget it,” Fu Zhiyu waved his hand, “let’s drink whatever we have.”

He had a terrible headache and his throat was burning. A few sips of water made him feel a little better at least.

It was rare for Fu Zhiyu to be awake for a long time. After drinking the water, he rubbed his eyes, only to notice that it was dark around. He asked the palace girl hoarsely: “What time is it now?”

“It’s midnight,” the palace maid choked, “Your Majesty, this slave heard that the rebellious subject will attack the city tomorrow…”

The rebellious subject?

Fu Zhiyu was taken aback for a moment and it took him a while to react. The rebellious subject was referring to Xie Ke, the great general of the state he had personally appointed.

The palace maid was still wiping her tears when she suddenly heard the emperor on the sickbed laugh softly.

“What are you… laughing at?” (She’s using the formal “you” everywhere.)

“I think the title given to him at that time was wrong,” Fu Zhiyi smiled and shook his head, “He shouldn’t be called the Great General of the State, he should be called the Great General of the Stolen State.”

The military power was his, the secret service was his, the military achievements were his, the hearts of the people were his. And Fu Zhiyu endured and retreated again and again. Because he loved Xie Ke deeply, he did not retain even a trace of the dignity of the emperor in front of him. The poison from Xie Ke; he was unprepared and easily stepped into the trap, falling into a coma for dozens of days. Under such conditions, it would’ve been really shameful had Xie Ke not rebelled.

He even had a very legitimate reason. There was no other choice but to rebel; when an incompetent monarch was in power, people had no way to make a living.

The palace maid was shocked; finally, thinking that His Majesty wouldn’t be angry, she mustered up the courage to say, “This slave, this slave will take you to run away. As the saying goes, on a green hill you don’t need to worry about wood to burn, you…”

In the little faint light in the hall, Fu Zhiyu could see the face of the palace maid in front of him. She was a young innocent girl; her eyes were red and swollen from crying, like rabbit’s.

“I haven’t seen you before, which palace are you from?”

The palace maid knelt down hurriedly and replied in a trembling voice: “This slave is just a rough servant palace maid of Xinzheku (a division of slaves and servants engaged in lowly servitude and hard labour). There is no one left in the palace and the guards serving His Majesty have also left. I came here secretly…”

When the soldiers besieged the city, the remaining forces with a bit of brains had turned to Xie Ke, and the people who were only loyal to Fu Zhiyu were already dead. The full palace ran away cleanly; the last to stay around was a rough palace maid who had never seen him before. Enough to show how much of a failure he was as an emperor.

Fu Zhiyu’s eyes dimmed at the thought; he stretched out his hand to signal the palace maid to get up.

“What is your name?”

“Qiu, Qiu Rong.”

“Not a bad name,” Fu Zhiyu nodded, “help me change my clothes.”

“You…” Qiu Rong’s rabbit eyes widened, “won’t you run?”

“As long as the city is not taken, I am the emperor,” Fu Zhiyu said, “The emperor cannot run away.”

He had been ill for days and had lost a lot of weight, and his dragon robe looked empty when he put it on. Qiu Rong clumsily helped him fix his hair and clothes, and it was not until dawn that he managed to look presentable.

Qiu Rong helped Fu Zhiyu step by step to the throne room, where the solid gold dragon chair was placed. Fu Zhiyu sat down and watched the sky light up.

It was winter again, and he saw that it was starting to snow outside. The cold wind was blowing in, but Fu Zhiyu didn’t feel anything.

Maybe it was the final radiance of the setting sun (dying flash of lucidity before demise) but he actually lasted so long without passing out from the poison in his body. Fu Zhiyu coughed, a little dazed, and said to Qiu Rong, “I should have known it would be like this…”

Qiu Rong didn’t hear him clearly. She was a rough palace maid who didn’t learn any rules, so she leaned in and asked, “What did you say?”

“The first time Mother Concubine knew about my affair with Xie Ke, she said that I would definitely die by his hand in the future,” Fu Zhiyu smiled. He didn’t even use “we” when referring to himself anymore. He propped his face and spoke of his memories, “Mother Concubine was right. I didn’t admit it at the time, but I knew in my heart that she was right. Xie Ke never loved me, only used me.

But I always had illusions. I thought that if I did more and treated him well enough, maybe he would like me a little bit. You see, what good can come from liking him madly like that? The situation in front of you is probably retribution.”

Qiu Rong only thought she had heard something scary. Her rabbit eyes reddened again. She wiped her eyes and said hesitantly, “You… you are a good person.”

Fu Zhiyu didn’t know how to describe his current mood. He even gathered his dragon robe to wipe away the tears of the palace maid and then smiled: “I was born in the imperial family and with this kind of infatuation, look what happened to me. If there is a fight outside, find a place to hide, they won’t make it hard for a little palace maid. Live well and think of yourself more, don’t follow my example.”

Qiu Rong shook her head and said, “I’m not leaving.”

Fu Zhiyu didn’t have much energy to persuade her; it was hard enough for him to stay awake. He didn’t have to wait long before there were voices outside the throne room.

It was said that the city was to be attacked today, but in reality, there was no more resistance in the capital. All Xie Ke needed to do was to lead his soldiers to the palace. Fu Zhiyu watched with narrowed eyes as the group of men walked in. The one at the head was Xie Ke.

“I didn’t die, are you a little disappointed?” Fu Zhiyu coughed twice and glanced at Xie Ke.

Xie Ke was not wearing armour today. He was wrapped in a white fox fur cloak, somewhat similar to the one Fu Zhiyu had seen him in for the first time.

“You… abdicate voluntarily,” Xie Ke said after a long silence, “and I will give you the antidote.”

“And then? Bestow me the title of Prince Heshun (heshun = gentle, compliant)? And I’ll be a prisoner for the rest of my life?” Fu Zhiyu wanted to laugh, but his body wouldn’t allow it. He sighed, “Xie Ke, I have wronged many people, but not you.”

Xie Ke didn’t say anything. He took a deep look at the man on the throne, his eyes full of complicated feelings.

But Xie Ke’s ruthless heart was something Fu Zhiyu had experienced countless times. Even if he was wearing a dragon robe and sitting on a dragon chair now, he didn’t have any choice. Voluntarily abdicate? That was what Xie Ke called it. After all, the imperial seal had long been in his hands.

Fu Zhiyu got the antidote on the third day after Xie Ke ascended the throne. He really gave Fu Zhiyu the title of Prince Heshun. The title came with no real power, and Fu Zhiyu was placed under house arrest in a mansion near the palace.

The silly palace maid, Qiu Rong, was still with him. The girl was so stupid that she was happy to see Fu Zhiyu looking better after taking the antidote.

“It’s good to be a prince,” the girl knew no rules and was outspoken in front of Fu Zhiyu, “being an emperor is exhausting.”

Fu Zhiyu laughed and didn’t answer her.

After he got the antidote and was given a lot of decoctions by the imperial doctor to keep him alive, his body did get a little better. His face had some flesh again and he looked beautiful. One night while sleeping he felt an inexplicable rush of heat. He half-opened his eyes in a daze and saw a familiar face.

It was Xie Ke.

Fu Zhiyu had little ability to resist, so he suffered through what happened next. He looked up with his eyes wide open, but all he could see was darkness; there was no light in the room.

In the process, he couldn’t help but think hard about what he had liked Xie Ke for before for so long, about the times when Xie Ke had given him a little hope.

But now, there was only a dead silence left in his heart, and he didn’t even bother to groan.

“Wait for me a little longer,” Fu Zhiyu heard Xie Ke whispering in his ear, “it’s just a temporary grievance…”

Fu Zhiyu wanted to laugh a little bit when he heard it, but he couldn’t laugh now, he didn’t have the strength.

He had heard many different versions of this from Xie Ke’s mouth, but not once had it ever come true.

Disgusting liar.

Fu Zhiyu didn’t sleep all night and lay awake until noon. Qiu Rong didn’t know what had happened and thought he was sick again and was terrified.

“It’s all right,” Fu Zhiyu said, “help me go out to sit in the sun.”

Qiu Rong did as she was told. A recliner was placed in the pavilion in the small garden a few days ago. The spring sun was the most comfortable, and it was also good to lie there and look at the flowers, birds, fish and insects.

She helped Fu Zhiyu sit there and happily went to the kitchen to bring her master some newly made cakes to eat. When she returned, she yelled loudly and unruly for her master to try her handiwork, but there was no answer.

Puzzled, Qiu Rong went around to the recliner to take a look, only to find that her master was dead.

Fu Zhiyu’s eyes were closed as if he was taking a nap. Some fresh red marks still could be seen on his neck, and a feathered arrow had pierced his heart precisely, blood dripping from the wound.

If Qiu Rong had known better, she would have noticed that there was a small sign on the end of that feathered arrow.  It was a new arrow made after the new emperor took office, excellent for assassination, guaranteed to kill with a single shot, for imperial use only.

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