On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, during a small New Year's Eve banquet, on the ice on the Meilin Trail, a poisoned sleeve arrow penetrated the wind and snow and pointed directly at Shen Zhiyuan's heart.
But Emperor Xiao Che, who was supposed to receive congratulations from officials in the Qianyuan Hall, appeared behind her like a ghost, holding the arrow with his bare hands.
Blood dripped down the black dragon-patterned sleeves. He looked at her astonished eyes and chuckled amidst the roar of fireworks exploding all over the sky:
"I caught you, I... Escaped."
