chapter 1

I died on a snowy day.

Originally, I could have held out until the spring of the coming year, but Chu Heng could not wait any longer.

The dagger pierced my chest inch by inch, and blood flowed all over the couch.

Still, his hatred was not appeased.

He twisted the hilt, letting the cold dagger churn my flesh and blood.

The pain nearly robbed me of breath, yet I still stubbornly asked:

“Why… is this?”

I did not understand.

Chu Heng and I had known each other since childhood, playmates from our earliest years.

For more than ten years, my father and brother had been loyal to the sovereign and devoted to the country, giving him their utmost support.

Even before he consolidated imperial power, we had already surrendered our military authority and voluntarily accepted blame.

Yet he still found a fabricated charge, condemning the entire Xie Clan to death.

“Why, Chu Heng?” I gripped his wrist tightly.

Chu Heng’s face was paler than the vast snow outside. Though he was the one delivering the fatal blow, his expression was as if I had betrayed him.

“This is what you all owe Ruoruo.”

He spoke through gritted teeth.

Ruoruo?

Liu Ruo?

The memory was so distant that it took effort to recall the name.

And the face behind the name, delicate as a willow in the wind.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Ten years.

So, all these ten years, Chu Heng had never forgotten her.

He had blamed her death on me, on the entire Xie Clan.

“Chu Heng, you really are a…”

Fool!

The last two words never left my lips; Chu Heng had already pulled out the dagger.

Red blood spilled freely, a drop landing beneath my tongue.

Metallic and sweet.

Just like that year, when my mother, eyes red from crying, stewed a bowl of Blood Swallow’s Nest for me.