--The prequel to Dreaming at Fengzhai: Falling Tang Blossoms, New Tea--
Su Lin, courtesy name Tangxi.
But everyone knows Su Tangxi, not Su Lin.
"If the Su family hadn't been confiscated, perhaps... the girl I found beneath the crabapple tree would be my fiancée by now."
The setting sun beyond the frontier was beautiful. The "young man" in armor reined in his horse and looked back, unaware that he himself was the woman he lamented.
Tangxi didn't understand why she had to follow this man. Song Mingyu, the ninth son of the imperial family, was born under an ominous sign. Why was I, Su Tangxi, willing to trade my life for his, condemned to endless unrest?
I could be a disciple of the divine bird Qingluan, healing the sick with a needle in my left hand and punishing the wicked with a sword in my right;
I could be the master of the Fengxi zither, whose music could uncover the royal family's secrets and enchant an entire city.
But from then on, Su Tangxi's zither would play for no one, for she had played the dirge of a dynasty.
When all was settled, the man on the dragon throne finally understood: the imperial seal could not save any more people, nor could it ever bring back the woman trapped forever in the cycle of reincarnation. It had only left him with endless regret.
Only when he passed the Drunken Immortal Tower, where they had shared drinks and laughter years ago, would he hear the storyteller strike his block and say:
"Alas, red crabapple blossoms fell, only for new tea to flourish... To find out what happens next, tune in for the next chapter."
--A little note--
I never intended to write this prequel first. I planned to write it after finishing the main story of Dreaming at Fengzhai. But the entire story of Fengzhai came from my dreams, and I was afraid time would wear down my memories until one day I could no longer write about this past. So I put the main story aside for now and began writing this one first.
Everything has come full circle. This book's past foretells the future of Dreaming. Cause and effect turn in a circle: cause can become effect, and effect can become cause.
[Note] The story is set at the end of the Song dynasty and blends unofficial histories and old tales with mythological adaptations. Please don't take it as fact~
Theme: An old friend suddenly crosses your mind; when you look back, the land has already turned to autumn
