In the first year of Yongding, the new emperor Zhou Wenzhen crushed the remnants of the previous dynasty, replaced the old regime, and ascended the throne.
At the same time, Yan Pingluo, the former ruler, was left destitute after his dynasty fell. His attempted suicide failed, and after enduring humiliation, he was imprisoned deep within the palace.
No one knew that the new emperor, who received three prostrations and nine kowtows from everyone by day, knelt beside the bed of that prisoner by night, begging Yan Pingluo for even a moment of kindness.
By the third year of Yongding, Zhou Wenzhen thought he had finally melted Yan Pingluo's heart, hard as stone.
But in the bitter depths of winter that year, as snow fell thickly, Yan Pingluo calmly took his own life beneath the city walls, closing his eyes amid a vivid pool of blood.
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When he opened his eyes again, Yan Pingluo had returned to the year he was still crown prince, revered by all and beyond anyone's reach.
Zhou Wenzhen, meanwhile, was meek and deferential, just a guard assigned to serve in the Eastern Palace on his first day.
A sea of blood and boundless hatred lay right before him.
Yan Pingluo stared intently at Zhou Wenzhen, kneeling at his feet. The boy's vulnerable neck was now so easy to cut down, and revenge could be his in an instant.
Yet his fingers paused only briefly at Zhou Wenzhen's neck before moving to rest on his shoulder.
"If one day you hold power in your hands, will you kill me?" Yan Pingluo asked, brushing the snow from Zhou Wenzhen's shoulder.
The youth hesitated. It seemed he did not dare look directly at the crown prince. After deliberating for a long while, he raised his head, his gaze burning bright. "This subordinate swears to serve Your Highness the Crown Prince with his life."
Yan Pingluo stared at the man before him and forced a hasty smile. "Well said. Then I'll have you executed."
But in the end, he still couldn't bring himself to harm Zhou Wenzhen.
The past cannot be reclaimed or cast aside. It cannot be buried, nor forgotten. In the end, only his own sea of hatred and love remained.
Theme: Face your fate
