A bronze oil lamp lit up a room in Changchun Palace. The blue magpie stood next to the lamp, its elegant feathers occasionally licked by the flame. A girl was grinding ink before the desk. Her eyebrows were long, akin to the guards of a fan, and because the window was opened, tiny petals of snow were hanging from it.


    Hearing the sound of footsteps, she blinked and the snow petals fell down into the ink-water. She turned around and immediately walked over to Consort Li.


    This girl was the older of the two disciples of Consort Li, Tang Roulan. Typically, she wore a veil that hid her exquisite features. Only in Changchun Palace would her cover be removed, showing her beautiful appearance.


    Tang Roulan was worthy of being known as the next generation’s number one beauty. Although Tang Hong was also beautiful, she was too vicious and cruel. Tang Roulan’s temperament was full of sweetness and purity, giving her the feeling of a girl next door.


    Tang Roulan said, “Master, the fetus is still developing. Let me bring you back to your chambers.”


    Consort Li said, “You think your master is so weak?”


    Tang Roulan was a bit shy as she replied, “I dare not master.”


    No one knows just how powerful Consort Li was, but as her disciple, Tang Roulan was closer to understanding her realm than most people. Consort Li had once demonstrated a technique before her, shattering mountains and parting lakes with a single move. Even the ancient books did not speak of anyone accomplishing such a fate, causing Tang Roulan to believe if Consort Li was not a ‘shen’, she was closer to the state than the two other ‘xian’ experts.


    “You went to Lu’an manor?” Consort Li suddenly asked.


    Though Consort Li was not an Empress, the authority she held far surpassed any empress throughout history. Her questions were always direct, because she never needed to be vague.


    The surface of the ink shook as the inkstone trembled. Tang Roulan dared not to hide anything before Consort Li. She replied in a soft voice, “Yes.”


    Consort Li’s gaze looked past Tang Roulan’s shoulders and into a certain manor where jars of preserved vegetables could be seen. She said, “I don’t plan on partaking in this matter. This elixir of immortality is only for those without any talents. For those people, even if they live a hundred, a thousand years, they would still be squished under my finger.”


    Tang Roulan carefully replied, “Master, I don’t doubt that I can reach ‘xian’ state through cultivation. It is because I disdain those using the lives of others to exchange for his immortality that I intend to destroy the elixir of immortality.”


    Consort Li was quite pleased with these words. She declared with scorn, “They are fools.”


    Tang Roulan remained silent, thinking to herself that refuting her master’s word would make her even more foolish than those ministers. She eventually said, “Master is correct.”


    Consort Li raised her hand, pinching Tang Roulan’s cheeks that were so soft that it seemed as though water could be squeezed out. She said, “Did you meet that kid?”


    Consort Li appeared very young, but she had every authority to call the son of the former Prime Minister a ‘kid’. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Tang Roulan knew Consort Li was teasing her and showed a slightly aggravated expression. She answered lightly, “He arrived too late. By the time I had left, he still had yet to arrive.”


    “If you had wanted to see him, you could have waited a little longer.”


    Tang Roulan lowered her face and said, “I just returned to Lin’an today, and wanted to see master as soon as possible.”


    Consort Li pinched Tang Roulan’s face a little harder. She laughed, saying, “What a sweet mouth you have.”


    Then, Consort Li sighed. “Us old folks have to see the younger generations get ferried off. Before I knew it, a good cabbage has already been eaten by a pig (好白菜都被猪拱了 - A good woman has been ruined by a bad guy).”


    Tang Roulan stuck her tongue out at Consort Li, saying, “He’s not a bit. Pigs aren’t as handsome as he is.”


    She was not a little kid anymore, but she could be innocent because the person she was facing was Consort Li, her master since she was a child.


    Consort Li knew Tang Roulan was fooling around. She had a faint smile as she said, “That pig doesn’t like you or me. I won’t stop you from pursuing your heart, but remember to focus on your cultivation.”


    Tang Roulan was silent for a moment. She then said, “After that night… it should be impossible for him to like me anymore. After all, I was partially responsible for his father’s death.”


    Prior to the death of the Prime Minister, Jing Wen had only been wary of Consort Li, but afterwards, he had become completely hostile to her. Were it not for the powerful deterrence that is Consort Li’s cultivation and Jing Wen’s lost cultivation, it’s likely he would have tried to assassinate her as he had done with Hong Fu.


    Consort Li scoffed and said indifferently, “So what if he doesn’t like you. Just pull him into bed and force him. As long as your cultivation is higher, what can he do?”


    “Man doesn’t like seeing their woman above them, so we must stay above them, stepping on them until they are afraid to touch our position. Look at His Majesty - even though on the surface, I am below him, we are actually on equal levels.”


    Tang Roulan hesitated for a long moment. Although she was familiar with Consort Li’s belief, declaring them in such a crude and direct way - even using the Emperor as an example made the advice a bit difficult to accept.


    Eventually, Tang Roulan asked softly, “Isn’t that too extreme? Don’t he see me as a shameless woman afterwards?”


    “So what if it’s too extreme? Is my disciple not allowed to pursue her happiness? Besides, it is not as though you did anything wrong that you. You mere pointed out a few truths to Jing Wen. The rest was his own choice.”


    Tang Roulan knew what Consort Li said was correct. On the night of the Prime Minister’s death, she did not harm Jing Ping or his entourage in any way directly. She had even saved Jing Wen’s life once. She said, pouting, “But still…”


    “If you don’t want to, then don’t do it.”


    Tang Roulan was surprised; she couldn’t understand how Consort Li suddenly went against her previous advice.


    “For most people, life is just a short seventy years.” Consort Li looked down towards the dark pool of ink, her eyes full of emotion. She gave a faint smile, “The emotion that brings the most pain and joy is love. Since love can’t bring you any joy, then why pursue it?”


    Tang Roulan quietly thought; I’m at least a Qi Manifestation cultivator with over a hundred years of lifespan, and master is at least a ‘xian’ cultivator. How can they be measured by the standards of normal people?


    “For a woman to survive in this world is not easy. For them to stand on their own is even harder. To stand atop of the world is an incredible challenge that only a few can overcome. For you to spend so much time on matters of love is stupid. You either pursue it wholeheartedly or abandon it altogether. What use is there being hesitant?”


    Tang Roulan thought what her master said was reasonable. She lowered her head and remained silent.


    Consort Li could Tang Roulan had made her choice. She had watched Tang Roulan grown up from a little girl that could barely finish a sentence to where she is now. In the end, her face softened as she said.


    “Since you made mind, don’t look back. You needn’t force him now, but there is no reason you can’t be aggressive. Besides, isn’t it interesting?”


    Tang Roulan tilted her head. She was confused why Consort Li found this matter interesting.


    Consort Li said, “You and he were once partners. Although he hates you now after exposing the truth, there should still be affection left. If he feels committed to you, I really wonder if he would choose his parents, or chose you.”


    ---


    The winter in Lin’an is predictable, but one can do nothing to prevent it. They could only wear a few more layers of clothes, or toss a few more pieces of coal into the warmer.


    Naturally, only the wealthy could afford these luxuries that allowed them to pass through winters. The poorer citizens of Lin’an could only climb onto their bed, hoping to preserve their body heat and energy as they fall into the comforts of dreamland.


    Of course, there were not only the destitute that were climbing onto beds and hiding beneath blankets.


    The winter snow reflected the golden sunlight, giving Jing manor a brilliant hue. The view was beautiful.


    Jing Wen naturally cannot see this view. Besides, his attention was on the long and smooth dark hair on his bed. He didn’t understand. How could that woman be here?