The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

As time passed, the weather grew colder. The biting wind, like a sharp knife, relentlessly scraped across people's faces and bodies, stinging them with a stinging sensation. The icy air seemed to penetrate the very bones of the human body, chilling the air from within. Snowflakes danced in the air, like angel feathers, lightly falling to form a thick layer. The earth was blanketed in white, a scene of silvery beauty beyond measure.

The Winter Solstice has quietly arrived. The earliest of the 24 solar terms, the Winter Solstice is also known as the "sub-year" or "longest day" of the year. It's also a crucial winter milestone, marking the beginning of the coldest period of the year.

Cai Xing lifted the thick door curtain and walked into the hall. She warmed her hands by the stove before saying to An Lingrong, who was wrapped in a quilt on the bed, "My lady, I will help you change your clothes. You may leave now!"

"Oh, it's so cold, what's the point of watching ice skating?" An Lingrong complained while putting on makeup. She didn't have a good impression of ice skating. In the play, in order to gain favor, she took muscle-relieving pills and practiced ice skating, which led to her lifelong inability to have children.

"I heard from those little eunuchs that the ice skating performance is so exciting and lively!" Caixing said excitedly.

"Is Sister Mei going?"

"The Empress has sent someone to tell her that she will not go because the weather is cold and the roads are slippery." Caixing helped An Lingrong put on her cloak, put on her hood and took out a hand warmer, and then the two of them went out.

Along the way, An Lingrong was in low spirits until she saw the lively scene on the lake, and then she perked up.

The best time for ice skating is after the winter solstice, because only after the winter solstice can the ice formed by the water in Taiye Lake reach a certain thickness and firmness.

While unifying the Jurchen tribes, Nurhaci encountered a formidable opponent, the Bart Tigers. Several offensives failed. One winter, Nurhaci again attacked the Bart Tigers, but they were besieged. He discussed with his officers and soldiers the possibility of sending reinforcements. However, the icy and snowy journey to the Bart Tigers was 700 li, making it extremely difficult for the reinforcements to reach them. Before they could even arrive, the besieged troops were annihilated. In this critical moment, a general named Fugulie volunteered to lead his troops to the rescue. His troops tied iron bars to the bottoms of their shoes and used them to glide across the ice, covering li a day. Like a divine force descending from the sky, they defeated the Bart Tigers in one fell swoop. Nurhaci was overjoyed, and from then on, ice running became a military sport. After the Qing Dynasty entered the Western Han Dynasty, it became a national custom and a compulsory course for the sons of the Eight Banners.

The palace selected an auspicious day and sent people to the ice skating rink to make various preparations in advance, placing salutes, erecting large flags, and marking the route with lime.

The surface of Taiye Lake was as smooth as a mirror. Arriving at the lake's edge, Yongzheng changed to a large sedan chair, slowly pulled by human hands. As he reached the center of the lake, firecrackers blared from all directions. Following the blast, over a hundred people dressed in colorful robes and adorned with flower crowns glided quickly to the emperor's side, kneeling and bowing.

The guards, each with a bow and arrow hanging from their waists and flint-like blades on their soles, glided across the ice like lightning, sometimes darting like fish in the water, leaping up and diving, all the while drawing their bows to full length and aiming at the hanging bouquets, shooting them one by one. Every time they hit the target, a string of firecrackers would naturally blast from the bouquets, a truly astonishing sight.

Then began the "rushing to wait" event. Before the race began, a large banner (the large flag carried by generals on campaign) was erected two or three li from the emperor's ice bed. The skaters lined up in their skates, a long rope stretched in front of them. Everyone concentrated, waiting for the start signal. A cannon fired from the distant banner signaled the start, and the skaters rushed toward the imperial throne. The finish line was set not far from the throne. As the skaters neared the finish line, the imperial guards pulled them back. Silver prizes were awarded based on the order in which they arrived.

This was somewhat similar to speed skating in later generations, and An Lingrong watched it with great interest.

After the guards withdrew, a woman in red approached from afar, dancing gracefully like a swan on the lake. Following the trembling of her ice blades, she began to glide, gradually increasing her speed. She leaned forward slightly, her arms swinging naturally, and her blades carved graceful arcs under her feet. Her skating was perfectly coordinated and fluid, like an elf moving across the ice.

Suddenly, she jumped lightly, her body completed a perfect rotation in mid-air, and then landed as softly as a feather. The whole movement was elegant and precise.

Yongzheng on the stage was stunned!

An Lingrong sighed inwardly, this woman's ice skating skills were superb, far surpassing her own in the past.

When the song ended, the woman slid slowly towards the stands like a willow swaying in the wind.

An Lingrong felt something was amiss. She stared at the woman, a strange feeling welling up in her heart. She felt there was something inexplicably familiar about her, but she couldn't quite place the source of this familiarity. She tried to get a closer look at her face, but it was too far away to make out clearly.

While she was thinking, the woman spun gracefully, as light as falling snowflakes, and stopped right in front of Yongzheng's desk. She presented the red plum in her hand and said, "Greetings to the Emperor and the Empress."

Yongzheng took the red plum, his eyes flashing with surprise, and then he smiled and said, "Your dancing is like a fairy descending to earth, it really makes my eyes light up!"

The woman lowered her head, not daring to look directly into His Majesty's face. Her voice was as clear and melodious as an oriole's: "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty. I am truly humbled and unworthy."

The Queen smiled and said, "Does the Emperor still remember who she is?"

Since she calls herself "concubine", she must be a woman in the palace! Yongzheng became interested, "Oh?"

"Please introduce yourself to the Emperor!"