CHAPTER ONE

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The voice of the eunuch who came to deliver the decree was not loud, his narrow throat seemed to contain a sharp thorn, and he chiseled every word into the eardrum of the person: "Men over fourteen years old will be chopped off, ten Men under the age of four migrated for three thousand miles, women over the age of sixteen hanged　　themselves, and women under the age of sixteen were sold into slavery by officials..."

There was only deathly silence in the prison. The prisoners are males, and the ones on the right are female relatives, but most of them will not survive. In the narrow and dark corridor, for some reason, there was a swishing cold wind swirling. Finally, someone among the female relatives began to cry, suppressed, and sobbed in a low voice. And Mu Dajun stared at a pair of blood-red eyes, and yelled angrily through the iron grid: "Why are you crying? My daughter of the Mu family, is she afraid of death?"

　　Rushuang tightly grasped the rough iron grid, as if exhausted. It is only with strength that she can hold back those tears. After all, she can't wait anymore. Everything in the past has collapsed, sixteen years of rich life, sixteen years of love from the jewel in the palm, she once thought that the years to come would be like ten years. Six years ago, it was average, even more beautiful and better than before, but no more, no more. Everything was wiped out under the power of the emperor.

　　She bit her lower lip tightly, and kept biting the blood, and with the blood, she almost gritted her teeth and said the words: "Daddy, I am not afraid of death."

　　She is not afraid of death, she is only afraid of living, she is just afraid to survive alone, she is the youngest daughter of her father, apart from her, there are probably few women in the family who can survive. She was just afraid to live like that.

　　But if she wants to live, she must live, kill him alive, and pay for blood with blood!

　　Even if he is the Ninth Five Supreme, she will definitely avenge the Mu family, and she will live, for sure!

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At four o'clock, I woke up like frost, there was a soft rustling outside, and the window lattices glowed white, it turned out to be snowing. Rushuang had frostbite on her feet, and it was so painful and itchy, she couldn't help rubbing it lightly under the quilt, Xiaohuan also woke up now, and called out in a daze: "Miss." Putting her feet on her chest: "I will warm you up."

　　Her heart ached. When she was a child, the nanny would often warm her feet like this. Now the nanny's bones have long been turned into the loess of Xilin Mountain, and there is only one left. Xiaohuan and herself depend on each other for life. The snow outside the window is getting bigger and bigger, and the north wind whimpers and sneaks in through the gaps in the cracked window paper. This is the first heavy snow this year. She thinks that the piles of solitary graves at the foot of Xilin Mountain are covered by this snow. Some of them were like a few white steamed buns scattered in the wilderness.

　　Thinking of steamed buns, I couldn't help but feel more hungry. I only ate one cold rice dumpling all day yesterday, and saved a nest for Xiaohuan. She was still a child and couldn't go hungry. Thinking of steamed buns made my stomach feel uncomfortable as if it had been emptied.

　　I didn't expect that when I was hungry, a steamed bun could make me greedy like this.

　　The good old days were like a dream. When it snowed like this in the past, my mother would definitely order a few clever girls in the room to collect the snow from the plum blossoms to make tea. Among the women's relatives in the capital, who doesn't know the good tea in Mu Mansion? The tea is the best silver mountain snow bud, and it is sent to Xichangjing with the tribute and fresh water tanker. It takes ten and a half months for the ordinary three-masted sailing boat to eat enough wind on the thousands of miles of water. Gong Xian's tank boats have strict time limits all the way, sails are used when there is wind, and fibers are used when there is no wind. They need to travel 200 miles of water every day, and they will reach Xichangjing in only six or seven days. Therefore, the unparalleled silver mountain snow buds can still be as fresh as ever when they are sent to the capital. The pewter tea box is exquisite and shiny, with fine carvings on the top, and it is lit with emerald blue. Once the tea box is opened, the fresh tea fragrance is like mercury, pervasive, soaking into every pore of the person. In the tea room, the faint fragrance lingers for several days.

　　One part of the window paper was cracked, and the north wind blew the cotton paper on the window rustling. It was too cold to sleep, and the chilblains on her feet were itching again. Don't want to, it's better to think about how to get through tomorrow. It was written in the book that "days are like years", but in fact, each day is more difficult than each year, but in three or four months, she almost felt that there were thirty or forty years, and occasionally saw her face in the washbasin, almost even her own face. I don’t even recognize him—what’s even more bleak is my state of mind. I’m afraid that in three or four months, I will have a full head of hair.

　　Every time she suffers so much that she can hardly bear it anymore, she thinks about dying, thinking that it would be better to die, but in an instant, she will think of her mother's last order: "Shuang'er, please take care of Yun'er..."

　　Yun'er is Her youngest brother is only thirteen years old this year, and the imperial edict ordered that all males over fourteen years old be beheaded, and all males under the age of fourteen be exiled for three thousand miles. Growing up in the military camp, although he was young, he had a resolute disposition, no matter what, he did not want to live by idling, and decided to die with his father and brother. In the end, it was Mu Dajun who slapped him: "Unfilial!"

　　Mu Yun received the old father's slap in the ear, and suddenly understood that he was the only male in the family under the age of fourteen. If he wanted to die, Mu Yun Since then, the family has never been seen again. The old man's sentence: "Unfilial!", is like three nines of ice and snow, pouring down from the back. He widened his blood-red eyes, without saying a word, knelt down and kowtowed three times to his father, stood up and said only four words: "My son obeys orders 　　　　".

General Mu Da, who had an army of hundreds of thousands of troops trampled down the gap in Dinglan Mountain, finally couldn't help crying when he saw his youngest son like this.

　　That was the first time she saw her father shed tears... and the last time, when her father cried, her mother naturally cried... She cried even more sadly... Afterwards, all the women in the family died, the official prostitutes , she and Xiaohuan were sold here as slaves...

　　There was a huge tear hanging on the side of the cheek, icy cold... until it was cold to the heart... so cold... as if it would never be able to start again Gaining a little warmth... She curled up into a ball, and finally fell asleep in a daze.

　　The next day the snow stopped and the sky cleared up. The pavilions, terraces and pavilions seem to be installed in crystal basins, exquisite and translucent. This is the first snow since the beginning of winter, but Rushuang has no interest in admiring the snow. After drinking a bowl of porridge, she has to work. Xiaohuan was wearing an old jacket, which made her look more shy and arched. It was so cold that my shoes were soaked in snow when I stepped on the snow, and my feet were already numb from the cold. Rushuang's hands clinging to the broom were also red, swollen and bruised from the cold, but she was sweeping with wooden skin, a thin layer of ice formed on the snow, Xiaohuan took a wooden shovel to shovel in front of her, but she was still sweeping with great difficulty. But they could only bury their heads and work hard, because they had to finish the cleaning before Chen Shi, and if they couldn't finish the work, the twelve people in their group would be starved. 　　Because of vigorously sweeping the snow, my body gradually warmed up, but my exposed hands and feet were still numb to the point of being unconscious. Hurry up, seeing that the sweeping should be finished before Chen Shi, Rushuang was slightly relieved in her heart. She is the weakest in body, and she has never done rough work before, and she is always not agile enough to do things. Every time she gets everyone involved and is punished, she feels really sorry. 　　There was a faint sound of hooves in the distance, and the leader who led them to sweep the snow heard it, and hurriedly said hello. The dozen or so of them hurriedly packed up their brooms and wooden shovels, led by the steward, and respectfully knelt down along the base of the wall, bowing their heads deeply. 　　I don't know how long it took before I heard the crisp sound of horseshoes, from far to near, answering as if stepping on the heart. Rushuang buried her head low, only to feel a "huh", a gust of wind blew in front of her, the horse's hooves kicked up snow and water splashed, a few drops splashed on her forehead, she was already numb from the cold, let alone reach out wipe. She was about to lower her head even more when she suddenly heard a long hiss from Xilvulu. Because the head was lowered, all four hooves could be seen turning around. The horse was restrained for some reason, and the buckskin boots on the purple gold stirrups could be seen clearly. The soft and dense wind hair trembles in the wind, like the gentlest touch of a child. 　　The voice of the man on the horse was low, because of the proximity, Rushuang felt a shock, as if it sounded from the top of his head, revealing a bit of lazy impatience: "Who told you to sweep all the snow?" 　　Dai Guan trembled with fright , trembling and kowtow again and again, only to say: "Damn the slave! Damn the slave!"

　　The man on the horse raised his eyebrows slightly, and lightly beat his palms with a whip. There was the sound of chaotic footsteps not far away, and all the attendants of the brigade chased after him. The leading eunuch Xia Jinhou grabbed the reins and bowed panting: "My lord... my lord... you can't... you can't... kill your slaves."

　　Prince Rui casually pointed with a horsewhip: "From now on, you are not allowed to sweep the snow in this garden." Xia Jinhou repeatedly In response to "yes", all the people did not dare to show their spirits. The guards of honor, the guards and the servants of the internal officials were all respectful, and even the dozen or so handymen who were kneeling under the wall were holding their breath like puppets. Not moving at all. 　　They were all respectful faces, Prince Rui suddenly felt his interest faded, he turned his face away, saw Xiaohuan who was kneeling closest to him, his heart suddenly moved. Question: "Where is my king's bow?" In the 　　past, the emperor Taizu won the world with bows and arrows, so the ancestors of the Celestial Dynasty taught that the clan's children must carry bows with them to show that the descendants will not forget the hardships of founding the country. The head of the internal affairs department carries the imperial bow on his back, known as the "palm bow", and is inseparable from the emperor Sumeru. Whenever there is a great dynasty, the imperial bow is placed at the gate of Chaoyi, so the great dynasty is also called "Zhi Gong". 　　When Prince Rui asked such a question, the bow-wielding officer hurriedly took a step forward, and untied the longbow wrapped in yellow silk from his back. Prince Rui casually picked up a white-feathered arrow from the quiver, pointed to Xiaohuan who was kneeling closest to him, and said casually: "You, get up." Xiaohuan was so frightened that he even forgot the rules. Hastily raised his face, stared at the prince in brocade clothes and sable fur with staring eyes. 　　Prince Rui seemed to have a ray of smile: "Get up, get up." 　　Xiaohuan stood up timidly, Rushuang suddenly remembered the terrible rumors she had heard when she first entered the mansion, she felt like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, her scalp suddenly went numb, She opened her mouth wide, barely able to control her tongue, and with all her strength, she finally shouted: "Xiaohuan! Run!" 　　Xiaohuan trembled in fright, and suddenly understood, her face turned pale , Rushuang's voice was high-pitched and sharp, hardly like her own voice: "Run! Run!" Guan Dai was so frightened that he was dumbfounded, and just stared blankly at Rushuang, several internal officials stepped forward Come to push and shout: "Bold! How dare you yell in front of the prince!"

　　Xiaohuan finally came to his senses, and ran towards the Moon Cave Gate. Prince Rui sat on the horse with a calm and serene expression. Rushuang struggled desperately, more internal officials rushed up, trying to restrain her. She watched helplessly that Xiaohuan, like a frightened little white rabbit, had already run to the door of the Moon Cave, as long as there were ten more steps, Xiaohuan would be able to pass through the courtyard gate. Turning the corner, as long as you turn the corner... Prince Rui slowly opened the bow to the full, and casually narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he knew that the prey was doomed. Rushuang opened her mouth wide, but she couldn't make any sound, letting the tears run down her face. Like lightning, there was only a sound of "嗖", and the arrow was going like the wind. She watched the white-feathered arrow sink into Xiaohuan's vest, and "chucked" out through her chest.

　　The bright red blood splashed far away on the snow.

　　Xiaohuan staggered two steps, and finally fell forward.

　　The dripping blood on the remnant snow is like a stern weed, dripping with astonishing pain. Rushuang burst into tears, all the strength in her body seemed to be sucked out at that moment, the internal officials pressed her firmly on the ground, her face was pressed into the snow, hot tears melted into the cold snow, she Thinking of that hot morning, I held my mother's hand tightly, and refused to let go. The jailer beat her desperately with a leather whip. The hot whip hit her arm, causing her to jump in pain, and she refused to die. Let go, no matter how you refuse to let go. She could only cry hysterically: "Mother! Mother!"

　　Fingers were broken one by one, and more people came up and dragged her away, pressed them on the stone floor covered with wet straw, and stuffed her with straw. The mouth of the prison... the straw in the prison has never been changed, and many mice crawled around at night, and even climbed on her feet. She woke up screaming, and mother always hugged her... hugged her Her... Tears blurred her vision, and a piercing pain burst from her chest... She had never been so desperate. They took everything from her, her father, her mother, her brother, her wet nurse...all the happiness she once had, and the family who loved her and loved her, and now it's Xiaohuan again! Her little ring! The last relative she had by her side in this world was lost again just like this.

　　Tears rolled down, she thought she would never cry again, she thought that she had nothing to lose, God's will was like the cruelest joke, from the carefree life of rich clothes and fine food, to suddenly It was a bolt from the blue with nothing, she lost everything, so she thought she had nothing to lose. But Xiaohuan, they still took away her only Xiaohuan. The tears became cold, like the dirty snow on the side of her face, and her heart was only cold, her body was twitching violently, and the blood in her chest was twitching, like a raging wave hitting her mind one after another embankment.

　　She was like a wounded animal, struggling with the last despair, even if she died, she would not die in such a humiliating way.

　　Prince Rui looked at the frail woman in the snow who was pinned down by the internal officials, and suddenly became interested: "Let her go."

　　The internal officers who were holding her body hurriedly let go, and she immediately struggled to stand up, He bent down on the saddle and held her chin up with a rough riding whip. The moment he saw her face, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly, as if the glare of snow reflected on the glazed tiles made him unable to open his eyes. Open your eyes.

　　She has a pair of dazzling eyes, like two sharp knives with a cold light, with a lingering hatred, as if she wants to dig out two transparent holes in his body. Her head and face were covered in messy and dirty snow, her braids had been loosened, and a few strands of hair stuck to her cheeks messily. Because of the extreme hatred and anger, her face was flushed unhealthily. But the chin that was forced to lift had an unbelievably soft and beautiful arc.

　　He lost consciousness almost for a moment.

　　Xia Jinhou who was beside Prince Rui seemed also taken aback.

　　Prince Rui finally pulled back his horsewhip, and his voice was already as calm as a fresh wind: "Your surname is Mu?"

　　She bit her lip, the fishy and sweet breath lingered in her mouth, and there was an uncontrollable surge of blood in her chest, she said nothing. language, as if unheard. Prince Rui's eyes gradually became sharper, as if he was angry at her indifferent face. Xia Jinhou was very uneasy, he glanced at Dai Guan who was shrunk to the side, and the Dai Guan replied tremblingly: "To my lord, her surname is indeed Mu."

　　Sure enough, Xia Jinhou's heart suddenly sank, Prince Rui didn't speak any more, but just looked away, looking at the residual snow falling on the pine needles in the distance. The prince's salary is the highest, and Xingzong loved the prince the most in the past. When the government was divided, he was rewarded with countless manors and fields. Prince Rui is good at calligraphy and painting, and is good at art and travel. The West Garden of the huge palace is carefully constructed everywhere, with every step and every scene, beautiful and beautiful. Looking around, in the snow, all the towers and pavilions are like crystal carvings, glowing with an unreal bright luster. Xia Jinhou turned countless thoughts in his mind for a moment, and because he knew it, he was even less sure. But this sentence had to be said by him, he bowed and said: "My lord, please show me."

　　It seemed that the question was wrong, because Prince Rui glanced at him, Xia Jinhou didn't dare to say anything, and waited for Rui. Prince's onset.

　　After a while, I heard Prince Rui say: "Reward her with a whole body."

　　Xia Jinhou heaved a sigh of relief, bowed and said: "Observe the order." He ordered the left and right: "Drag to the Xichangzi." The Xichangzi is at the Xijiao gate. Outside, it is a special place in the mansion to burn garbage. There are seven or eight couplets of low houses outside the site. It was originally a warehouse for pulling garbage trucks. The execution ground of the servant girl. As long as the servants in the mansion heard the word "Xichangzi", they would involuntarily shiver.

　　The servants on both sides came up and dragged Rushuang away, and she didn't struggle. It was not far from the back garden gate to the west corner gate. She was dragged staggeringly by the servants, and when she stepped out of the west corner gate, she could smell a burnt smell. Going out from the high gray walls and deep alleys is the quiet and empty West Field. The snow here has not been swept by anyone, and the black ash accumulated over the years is completely covered under the snow. Two servants dragged her through the arena until she reached the westernmost part of the arena, where the doors and windows of several lonely houses were open, and the black holes looked like monsters devouring people.

　　The servant gave her a push on the back, and she stumbled into the house.

　　There is nothing to love in life, so why fear death?

　　Death is such a warm word, mother is waiting for her there, and there are father, brother, nurse... so many family members... and Xiaohuan, Xiaohuan who grew up with her since childhood... What's so good about her Scared, now that is the destination she longs for the most. Just as a wanderer longs for home, and a baby longs for its mother, she now longs only for this death. It's just Yun'er...she was entrusted by her mother-in-law at the end of her life...Yun'er moved to the side of the border for hard labor, and was exiled for three thousand miles... She still had a thought, hoping that she would be lucky in this life and know his safety, but she never thought that she would be able to see him again now... There is no chance, but he is a dignified man from the Mu family, so he will definitely not fall into the family reputation!

　　The servant tied the rope into a tight knot, helped her stand on the stool and tied the rope, and pulled the stool before she could stand still.

　　The neck tightened suddenly, and the weight of her whole body was suddenly suffocating. She struggled instinctively, trying to grab something in vain, waving her hands and feet in the air. There was a slight sound of wind in my ears, and the sound of chaotic and hurried footsteps sounded far away. When I was very young, Xiaohuan and her were playing on a swing under the peach blossom tree, swinging high, looking up and seeing the scorching flower branches blooming above their heads. As if it was the most gorgeous sunset, countless petals fell one after another and landed on her hair and blouse, like a rain of the most gorgeous and beautiful flowers, Xiaohuan giggled and pushed her to a higher level Farther away in the sky... the last sound was vaguely heard, it was hurried footsteps from far to near, mixed with gasping panting, the special thin voice of the inner officer: "Quick! Quick! Let her down, the prince has an order! Let her go!" Come down..." The soft darkness surrounded her, like a sweet and mellow dream, surrounding her tenderly.

　　She never felt cold again.

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