Forever Cherishing the Snow

She had known what she wanted since she was a child.

Not the empress’s throne, not affection, but the dragon throne, the highest seat in the land.

There were two men in her life.

One was an emperor who loved her to the very core. He knew she was using him, yet still placed his kingdom in her hands.

The other was a boy she had picked up from a cage. She named him “Wushang,” hoping he would kill for her so she would never have to be hurt again.

They both did as she wished.

On the day she ascended the throne, snow fell in great flurries. She thought she had won everything.

Only many years later, standing alone on another snowy night, did she understand:

Everything she had spent her life winning was something she would have to leave behind.

All that remained were the two people she had destroyed.

And an apology she had never found the chance to say.