My Mother Was Prince Xue's Beloved, Who Died Young

My father looked fierce and had a limp, but he was the kindest person in the world.

He startled the carriage of Princess Changle and had his spine broken by a beating. Blood ran halfway down Vermilion Bird Street.

The neighbors said Princess Changle was Uncle Xue's most beloved person and urged my mother to give up on revenge.

My mother did just that. She neither cried nor made a fuss, but the day after we laid my father to rest, she brought over a ladder and told me to hang a pair of bright red lanterns outside the courtyard and keep them lit all night.

That was the secret signal the emperor had agreed upon with the person who saved his life ten years ago.

When the red lanterns shine through the night, the living and the dead shall meet.