Also known as Record of Drinking Snow.
In the winter of the thirteenth year of Qianlong's reign, the snow fell harder than usual over the Forbidden City. Half a foot of snow had piled up on the window lattice of Suiyu Pavilion, while icicles hung from the eaves, nearly an arm's length long. They were crystal clear, but cold enough to pierce the bones.
Ruyi sat by the window on a soft rosewood couch, turning a warm jade game piece between her fingers as she gazed absently outside. The red plum blossoms beneath the covered walkway were in full bloom, their branches weighed down by snow, their color so vivid it seemed ready to drip blood. They reminded her of the red mourning silk worn by the palace attendants three years earlier, when Empress Fucha had died aboard a boat in Dezhou. They also reminded her of an even earlier time, when Hongli had picked a branch for her at the prince's residence
