No dia em que o noivado foi cancelado, eu casei novamente com meu tio imperial por meio de três casamenteiras e seis presentes de noivado.

On New Year's Eve, a heavy snow fell over Shengdu.

Flakes drifted down, settling atop the red lanterns hanging from the eaves. In the alley, children dressed in new clothes ran past, carrying red lanterns, their laughter swirling with the wind that lifted the spring couplets pasted upon the doorframes.

"Elder sister, it's snowing outside. Aren't you going home for the reunion dinner?"

Changle leaned against a bench beneath the eaves of the medical hall, her slender fingers catching two falling snowflakes. Beside her sat a bowl of medicine, now cold.

She had caught a chill two days ago, which lingered without improvement. Today, a high fever finally drove her to seek out the healer. Her head still felt heavy and clouded; she barely registered the little girl's question.

"Did you come to the clinic alone, elder sister? Where is your family?" A little boy tilted his head, eyes wide with innocent curiosity.

Changle watched a snowflake melt instantly upon her burning fingertip before she withdrew her hand and replied to the boy.

"They're all dead."

The boy froze. His mother hurried over, scooped him into her arms, and apologized profusely to Changle.

Changle shrugged it off with a small smile, brushed off her skirts, stood, and walked out of the medical hall, treading over the broken snow on the stone steps. She boarded the carriage waiting at the door.

Lin Dong, who had come out holding a parcel of medicine, spotted the untouched bowl of medicine left under the