"Brother Xiao, once you've purged the traitors at court, shall we go to Hanshan Temple and carve a new jade token?"
"All right."
Later, he purged the traitors at court, but imprisoned her in Yanxi Palace. She carved a new jade token, but it shattered in the fire.
Later still, he knocked on the door of her embroidery shop wearing a bronze mask. She touched the scar on his forehead and smiled. "Xiao Yu, this time it's your turn to say, 'I hope you've been well.'"
Snow fell against the vermilion walls. The shattered mirror was whole again, but neither of them knew that the plum-blossom pastry from Hanshan Temple had long since taken root in their hearts, blossoming into a spring that would never melt.
"What people call tragic love is just this: when I protected you, you didn't understand; when you understood me, I had already wronged you. And yet, of all the things in this world, fate is the one thing no one can escape."
