*Slump—*
As the courtyard gate was pushed open from within, a scattering of snow clinging to the eaves shook loose and slid down.
Xu Yuan stared for a moment at the empty threshold of the inner courtyard and the unbroken, pristine expanse of white before instinctively poking his head out to glance to the side. There, beside the courtyard gate, stood the ethereal princess in her crimson robes.
Li Qingyan stood leaning against the wall beneath the eaves, her arms crossed over her chest. Her slender eyelids drooped as though lost in thought, undisturbed even by the sound of the opening gate, while the dusting of pure white on her shoulders and through her hair spoke of just how long she had been waiting.
Stepping out at an unhurried pace, Xu Yuan brushed the glistening white specks from her shoulders and hair, asking with a rather peculiar expression, "Why so early today? What are you brooding over?"
Li Qingyan slowly lifted her gaze. Her slender lashes were likewise dusted with picturesque white. After staring at him for several breaths, she glanced toward the doors inside the courtyard and said in a cool tone, "Prime Minister Xu and the others are back?"
The formations of the inner courtyard isolated the inside from the outside, but opening the gate temporarily lifted the barrier. With none of the figures inside muffling their voices, hearing them clearly was no difficult task given Li Qingyan's cultivation.
Xu Yuan chuckled and countered, "What, still shy even now?"
The familiar jest earned him a roll of Li Qingyan's eyes. "Prime Minister Xu gathered you all here for some important matter, surely. Come take a walk outside with me instead."
Xu Yuan shifted slightly aside to clear the way, jutting his chin toward the interior. "Today is Xinyao's birthday, which is why everyone's here. Won't you come inside and join the fun?"
Li Qingyan remained standing at the gate without moving. "That wouldn't be proper."
"Li Qingyan, I told you before: until you and I leave the capital on this journey, you are free to come and go from the Prime Minister's Manor's inner courtyard as you please." Xu Yuan glanced at her, turned around, and walked back inside, speaking leisurely, "Besides, in the future those two originally envisioned, this courtyard always had a place for you. What's improper about it?"
Li Qingyan fell silent for a moment before following with a soft sigh and a faint smile.
The courtyard gate shut behind them.
Winter mornings were always tranquil. Walking along the lane, the snow crunched beneath their boots.
Listening to the stirrings within the inner courtyard, Li Qingyan suddenly asked out of nowhere, "Leaving soon?"
Xu Yuan paused, amused that this breast-bound princess was sharp as ever. He chuckled and replied, "Not certain, but most likely."
Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, her tone teasing. "Your Prime Minister's Manor... why do you make even parting feel so ritualistic?"
Xu Yuan lowered his eyelids, his warm voice deep and touched with amusement. "Partings in chaotic times are always precious. After all, no one knows whether tomorrow or misfortune will arrive first. From here on out, we'll only see less and less of each other."
"Family affection?"
"Mm."
"What an absolute anomaly."
"Perhaps, but shouldn't it be this way?"
"..."
Li Qingyan fell quiet for a few breaths before smiling softly. "Yes... It should be."
When the two walked past the study, the rustle of Great Yan's Prime Minister turning pages was audible from within. The courtyard gate was open, and looking through, one could see the study door was merely unlatched. But since his old man didn't call for them, neither took the initiative to go inside and greet him. Still, the two snowmen in the study's courtyard—one large, one small—caught Li Qingyan's eye. She turned her head instinctively with an odd expression, as if asking who could be so childish.
Xu Yuan thought for a moment and smiled. "Xinyao. She likes commemorating Second Brother and my mother this way, but she doesn't have the craft for it, so every year she can only pile them into vague human shapes."
Hearing this, Li Qingyan said nothing more.
After walking several dozen paces more, just before reaching a turn, they ran into someone unexpected. Xu Changge, who had been practicing swordplay in his own courtyard, had actually tidied his attire and stepped out, bumping right into the two heading back to Xu Yuan's quarters.
"Eldest Young Master."
Li Qingyan bowed solemnly toward Xu Changge as he approached.
Given Wuyuan's illustrious military renown, Xu Changge did not show his usual disdain or indifference. Just as he cupped his hands to return the courtesy, however, a loud smack rang out, followed by that boy's cheeky, roguish voice:
"What 'Eldest Young Master'? Call him Eldest Brother."
Having this scoundrel tease her in front of an outsider almost provoked Li Qingyan to lose her temper, yet in the end she compliantly called out, "Wuyuan... greets Eldest Brother."
"Er..."
The corner of Xu Changge's stern eye twitched slightly, his composure cracking. With her actually addressing him that way, he was momentarily at a loss as to what etiquette to return.
While he stood rooted to the spot in awkward indecision, Xu Yuan had already sauntered up beside him, propping an elbow casually on his shoulder and asking with a sidelong grin, "Up so early—heading over to pay respects to Father?"
Xu Changge merely shot him a cold glance, spat out, "Going to the kitchen to make breakfast," and with a subtle shrug of his shoulder sent Xu Yuan stumbling back several paces before walking away without a backward glance.
Rubbing his numb forearm, Xu Yuan shook his head with a sigh.
*Looks like I didn't hit him hard enough last time. This pretentious bastard still doesn't know who's boss.*
To the side, Li Qingyan glanced with an odd expression at Xu Changge's receding back. His words just now had genuinely caught her off guard.
*Make breakfast?*
That hardly matched the image the Prime Minister's Manor's Eldest Young Master projected to the outside world—a cold, aloof immortal descended to earth. If the public ever found out, who knew how many maidens would be struck dumb with shock.
Xu Yuan patted the princess on the waist and casually explained, "He's the eldest. Back in the day, if he hadn't cooked, the rest of us siblings would have starved to death. His cooking is decent enough—you can look forward to it, but don't set your hopes too high. Nothing he cooks can compare to this young master's craft, after all."
Li Qingyan gathered her thoughts. While novelty lingered in her heart, what she felt most was a quiet poignancy.
The relationships within the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister's Manor bore no resemblance to high nobility; they were as pure and simple as those of a rustic farming household.
The courtyards of the siblings in the inner manor had been built side by side in order of age. Entering Xu Yuan's quarters, Li Qingyan kicked off her lotus boots as naturally as if returning to her own home and plunked herself down against the head of the bed.
With the time of parting at hand, Xu Yuan naturally had no intention to cultivate today. Shedding his heavy coat and hanging it aside, he looked back and asked, "Qingyan, seeing you lost in thought by the gate earlier—are you leaving the capital as well?"
Li Qingyan made no attempt to conceal it. Crossing her legs, her phoenix eyes followed him as he moved about the room, teasing with a light chuckle, "Indeed. Heading north to lead troops again. Just not sure whose family will take the beating this time~"
Xu Yuan fell quiet for an instant, then casually summoned a bottle of fine wine from the cabinet in the room and replied with a smile, "Shouldn't be my family, at least. I haven't provoked you people, after all."
Seeing him bring out wine, Li Qingyan sat up slightly, her crimson dress spreading across the bed like flower petals. "Didn't you quit?"
"I said I quit *for now*. Today's a happy occasion; a small drink won't hurt."
"We're on the verge of parting..."
"Yet it is also a reunion, isn't it?"
"..."
Cut short, Li Qingyan merely lowered her eyes and smiled gently. Padding barefoot to the table, she sat down and propped a scented cheek in her hand, gazing at her lover with eyes bright as the moon. "Drinking before breakfast?"
Xu Yuan poured her a cup and slid it across. "What does morning or evening matter to a cultivator? It's all about mood."
"You really have an endless supply of nonsense excuses."
"Then don't drink."
"I'm drinking anyway."
The spiritual wine slid down her throat, its warmth diffusing into every limb and bone.
Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes shimmered like fireflies, faintly dazed as she toyed with the bronze cup between her slender fingers. Her voice drifted softly: "Aren't you going to ask why I am being dispatched to the northern border today of all days?"
Silence fell upon her words.
Xu Yuan's hand holding the wine flagon paused slightly. "It seems something happened in the imperial palace last night."
"Yes. And nothing minor, either."
"His Majesty passed away?"
"..."
Li Qingyan rolled her eyes, looking at him as though he were an idiot. "You certainly dare to guess. If that had really happened, I would most likely be under house arrest by now. How would I have the leisure to run over to your place?"
Xu Yuan shrugged and reminded her, "If you can't talk about it, you don't need to force yourself."
Li Qingyan appeared utterly nonchalant, twirling a lock of long hair around a slender finger. "Your Prime Minister's Manor will probably receive word soon enough anyway, so there's no harm in letting you know early."
At this point, her phoenix eyes suddenly sharpened. Staring intently at Xu Yuan, she said word by word, "Li Zhaoyuan was assassinated."
"That wasn't me."
Xu Yuan denied it instantly, without a second thought.
Li Qingyan's fist clenched instinctively. Suppressing the urge to punch the bastard, she snapped in exasperation, "Can you be serious for once?! Since I'm telling you about it, I obviously know it wasn't you!"
Xu Yuan arranged the wine vessels, took his seat, and casually tied back his long hair, chuckling, "Then was it the Crown Prince? Or perhaps your imperial mother?"
Li Qingyan gave a cold snort. "Quick on the uptake, at least."
A sliver of curiosity stirred in Xu Yuan's heart. "I actually guessed right? How did they do it? Calculating by His Majesty's remaining lifespan, he should have already passed down your imperial family's sacred art to Li Zhaoyuan. Trying to assassinate him now is courting death, isn't it?"
Li Qingyan fell quiet for a moment before uttering three words: "The Imperial Shadow Guard."
"Mhm... Poison, then," Xu Yuan murmured.
Ignoring his murmur, Li Qingyan continued in an even tone, "The assassination nearly succeeded, but unfortunately, that brat Li Junqing stabbed my imperial mother in the back. He had sold out the upper echelons of the Imperial Shadow Guard to Li Zhaoyuan long ago."
"Pfft—"
Xu Yuan couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
When it came to being an absolute scoundrel, that bastard Li Junqing truly ranked among the very finest under heaven.
Li Qingyan was genuinely tempted to lose her temper.
Every time she brought up serious business, this fellow would clown around!
Suppressing her anger, she ground out, "Li Zhaoyuan almost died. Don't you feel any regret?"
"Of course not—because I think this whole drama was staged by Li Zhaoyuan himself."
Xu Yuan finally reined in his smile, his expression turning serious.
"With the Sage Emperor's current prestige, raising anyone to the throne would indeed be effortless. But deposing a crown prince is ultimately a major affair of state, and Li Zhaoyuan remains a prince without deep backing. Thus, for his own future and to preserve the stability of your imperial faction, his best move was to hand your royal father a knife."
Li Qingyan's heaving chest gradually settled. Pressing her red lips together, she said softly, "I considered that possibility as well, but when I went to see him last night, his frailty didn't seem feigned."
"Then he really did almost die."
Xu Yuan smiled faintly, extending his forefinger to tilt up the princess's chin, asking with narrowed eyes, "Have we faced few life-or-death gambles along our way? If even we had to go through that, then for Li Zhaoyuan to seize the throne, he naturally had to pay an even steeper price."
Li Qingyan stayed silent for several breaths, then brushed his hand away. "Since you already have a firm grasp of things, I won't say more."
At that, her expression grew cold, her aura turning sharp as a vanguard spearhead in battle.
"Xu Changtian, my going to the northern border is actually to guard against your Prime Minister's Manor."
"That's not hard to guess. After all, the Sect Alliance in the Three Northern Provinces has been purged. Aside from our Prime Minister's Manor, whom else would you be sent north to guard against?"
"With the Sect Alliance at our doorstep, don't you feel indignant?"
"Does indignation accomplish anything?"
"No."
"There you have it, then."
Xu Yuan was calm and composed, as though long accustomed to surging waves. "In truth, I understand your royal father's thinking. Seeing his own empire hijacked by our Prime Minister's Manor and dragged toward the abyss of war just as his life draws to an end—anyone would deliberate over and over before placing their stones. Still, what occupies your father's mind most should still be crushing the Sect Alliance."
Here, Xu Yuan looked directly into her eyes and said earnestly, "Yet as the ruler of the dynasty, he will do everything in his power before his death to take out one last insurance policy for your imperial Li clan."
Li Qingyan beckoned the wine flagon over, filled her cup, drained it, and said, "It seems you're prepared as well."
Setting down his cup and glancing out the window, Xu Yuan sighed wryly. "Everything my father has done lately falls just short of explicitly announcing that he might die, handing power over to me in advance. Anyone who couldn't see that would have to be an utter fool."
Xu Yuan paused, lowered his eyes, took a sip from his bronze cup, and added with a faint smile, "Even so, Qingyan, I still want to believe in my father. I want to try believing in the bond those two peerless figures shared across their lifetimes. If things don't turn out as hoped, I am prepared for that too. But what about you, Qingyan? Your birth mother and elder brother are about to die—aren't you going to see them one last time?"
The formations within the room kept the biting chill of the wind and snow at bay. Looking through the lattice window at the snow-covered withered trees and the lakeside pavilions, Li Qingyan's thoughts seemed to drift into the distant past. Yet think as she might, memories of those two held virtually no weight in her heart.
"Rather than going to see two strangers who happen to share my blood, staying at your place puts my heart far more at ease. Besides, Changtian, if I were to go, it would be interpreted as a political stance."
"In that case, let's speak no more of public affairs today. Parting is already on the horizon, so let us not squander our time together."
Xu Yuan put away the wine set, rose, and smiled sidelong. "Come, let me take you to taste Xu Changge's cooking. Qingyan, let me tell you—that repressed, pretentious brother of mine will probably whip up an exceptionally lavish breakfast knowing you're here."
As he spoke, Xu Yuan took her slightly cool hand in his, pulled her up, and pushed open the wooden door, stepping out toward the inner courtyard.
Then—
*Smack!*
A plume of snow burst in front of Xu Yuan's face without warning.
Just as he froze, wondering which insolent scoundrel dared attempt an assassination on the Crown Prince right inside the inner courtyard, he caught sight of a graceful, fluid figure standing brightly by the courtyard entrance. Beaming with a radiant smile, she stared at him with an elongated black box clutched in her hands.
"Brother, let's have a snowball fight~!"
"..." Xu Yuan.
*Xu Xinyao, a snowball fight, and you fucking brought a gun?!*
Just as he was about to retort—
*Whoosh—*
The whistling shriek of air rent the silence once more. But once an expert of the Transcendent Realm was on guard, how could he possibly fall for such a crude trick again? With a slight tilt of his head, the snowball whizzed past his hair.
Yet right at that instant—
*Bang!*
The snowball exploded directly beside his temple, showering both him and Li Qingyan beside him in a cloud of snow.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan murmured, "Qingyan, looks like you and I need to clean house together..."
Before the words had completely left his lips, however, he saw a half-foot-wide snowball expanding rapidly before his eyes from the side.
"..." Xu Yuan.
*Thud!*
Looking down at the man knocked flat onto the ground, Li Qingyan dusted the crushed snow from her hands and scoffed playfully, "Who's in the same family as you?"
Sitting in the snow, Xu Yuan glanced down at his robes, plastered white inside and out, then curled his lips into a meaningful grin as he looked at the two women who had somehow reached a bizarre tacit understanding. Slowly, he uttered four words:
"Don't run if you have the guts."
With that, blood-red flames ignited within his dark pupils.
"..." Li Qingyan.
"..." Xu Xinyao.
"Xu Changtian, have you no shame?! You're using cultivation techniques in a snowball fight?!"
"Ooh... Father! Eldest Brother! Third Brother's bullying me, save me—!"
"Xu Changtian, if you keep using techniques, I'm really going to get mad."
"Ah, so cold—!"
"Changtian, that's enough."
"Xu Changge, get out of the way."
"Stop. Today is Xinyao's birthday."
"Think you're tough now, you sore loser?"
"*Sigh...*"
*Thud!*
"Hss... This karma Dao charm of yours really has something to it. I couldn't even dodge..."
*Thud!*
"Wait a second—"
*Thud!*
"Damn it, Xu Changge, believe it or not, I'll pop my Dao domain right now!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Snow drifted down in flurries, floating into the study.
Listening to the boisterous clamor outside the courtyard, the graying middle-aged man finally closed his book and closed his eyes with a faint smile.
The forty-seventh year of Jiajing, the seventh day of the eleventh month. Heavy snow.
The Prime Minister's Manor gathered to celebrate the fourth daughter Xinyao's birthday, a reunion before parting.
On the same day.
Upheaval shook the Palace City.
Consort Qin was assassinated and slain, Crown Prince Cheng was deposed, and Prince Yuan was invested as the new Crown Prince.
Chapter 760