Tangli Fried Snow

In the very heart of the northern capital, within the Imperial Censor's residence, beneath layers of gauze curtains, a middle-aged man, utterly drunk, was fast asleep, embracing a plump Pekingese dog. The dog looked completely innocent, its large eyes filled with a desperate desire to escape, but its master held it too tightly. Despite its many attempts, it remained silent, lying quietly beside its master, waiting for him to turn over next time.

A stunningly beautiful girl stood before the bed, looking at her father's disgraceful state with disgust. She spoke to the beautiful woman beside her, saying, "Father's mistress tonight is quite pleasing, at least she's pretty and can't speak." After a pause, she added, "And it didn't cost any money."

The beautiful woman had elegant black hair styled in the most fashionable half-up hairstyle in the capital. She gently stroked her long hair with one hand, her beautiful eyes fixed on the man on the bed. The deep wrinkles between her brows betrayed her inner thoughts, but she only twitched her lips slightly before finally uttering a sentence: "At least I know where he is tonight, don't I?"

The beautiful woman and her daughter smiled gently and said, "Pianyue, can we talk?"

Lin Pianyue turned and left, saying as she walked, "I'm going to take a bath."

The beautiful woman glanced again at her husband, whose shameful behavior had become apparent, and then left the room with her daughter.

In the luxurious and spacious bathroom, four or five maids were serving her. They filled a circular pool, about three meters square, with buckets of hot water. Amidst the steaming vapors, the girl slowly removed her clothes. She had exquisite and perfect black hair, and her body was as white and soft as if it had been soaked in milk. Her two peaches had begun to develop, and her nipples were almost fully formed. She slowly stepped into the bath, and the warm water immediately submerged her slender waist. She gently squatted down, letting the water cover her chest, neck, and up to the top of her head.

She slowly raised her head above the water, found a comfortable position to lean back, and began to enjoy the hot bath.

Looking at her daughter's increasingly mature and beautiful body, the beautiful woman said sincerely, "Pianyue, you've grown up, you've become a young woman." She gently stroked the water in the pool, "It's time for you to get married."

Upon hearing the word "marriage," Lin Pianyue's good mood vanished instantly: "Do I really have to marry that playboy? He's an illegitimate son!" She turned to look at her mother, "Can't I marry Brother Yunxi? You know we've been friends since we were little, and we've always been very close. His family is rich and powerful, so what are you unhappy about? Why do you want to marry me off to that playboy Jin Cheng?"

The beautiful woman coaxed her gently, "Although Jin Cheng is the second son in the family, his father has already elevated his mother to the rank of secondary wife. His eldest son, who is of the main lineage, is in poor health, and the title will be his sooner or later. If you marry into the family in a couple of years, you will be a future countess. Although Yun Xi's family is wealthy, he has three older brothers and is the fourth in line to the throne. Although his father is a count, he may not necessarily be a count."

She paused, then continued, "Jin Cheng's sister is the Empress, and he is the Empress's youngest brother. As long as she remains Empress, the Jin family will prosper forever."

“Brother Yunxi is also very good. Even if he can’t inherit the title of Earl, his family is so rich. Even if I marry him, I will be very happy.” Lin Pianyue said to her mother in a pleading tone, “Please, Mother, let me marry Brother Yunxi. I don’t want to marry Jin Cheng.”

The beautiful woman gently stroked her daughter's soft hair. "Silly child, when it comes to marriage, you can't just look at the present; you have to consider the long term. The Jin family commands the most elite troops in the country, a full 100,000 well-equipped soldiers. Every soldier has excellent armor and an iron sword, and the cavalry has three companies. How could a family that can afford to maintain such a powerful army be short of money? The Sheng Yunxi family may seem wealthy, but they're already at their limit. If you marry into their family, you'll have to face his three older brothers and sisters-in-law, and their countless children. Your married life won't be easy. The Jin family has the ability to make their daughter the empress and has even given birth to a prince; they are the true rising stars."

“You are my most beloved daughter, so of course I have to plan for your long-term future. The worst thing a person can do is to be short-sighted and only look at what’s in front of them. If your grandfather hadn’t been so short-sighted back then, only seeing the appearance and family background of the man in bed and not seeing that he was actually a good-for-nothing who only knew how to drink and play with women, how could I have gotten to where I am today?”

Lin Pianyue remained silent, lost in thought, before submerging her head back into the water.

The moon hung on the treetops, and the only sound was the chirping of crickets. Lin Pianyue combed her hair while looking at the moon outside the window. Suddenly, she felt agitated, and a surge of anger rose and fell in her chest. She couldn't wait to vent it.

Taking advantage of the maid's absence and the fact that her governess and mother were asleep, she secretly slipped out of the room through the window and went to the Lin family's stables. The grooms were already drunk and fast asleep. She quietly led Hei Yun out, leaving a crack in the door.

On the deserted street, Lin Pianyue, wearing a cloak and veil, rode a tall horse at full gallop. The whooshing wind and the sound of the horse's hooves filled her with inexplicable excitement, and the exhilarating ride made all the pent-up emotions in her heart disappear.

All the unhappiness in my heart disappeared tonight, replaced by a feeling of boiling blood.

At an inconspicuous bend, a boy carrying something ran out from a side road. Before Lin Pianyue could react, Hei Yun stomped on the boy's chest. Without even a scream, the boy flew more than ten meters away and crashed heavily to the side of the road, his fate unknown.

With a loud neigh, Black Cloud raised its front legs high, spun around a few times, and snorted.

Lin Pianyue tightly controlled the horse, adjusting her posture with effort. Her blood went from boiling to freezing, and then from freezing to boiling again. In just a moment, she made her decision.

She spurred her horse and gripped the reins tightly with both hands, disappearing into the night in less than a minute.

Fortunately, she wasn't far from home. She returned to the side gate of the Lin residence as soon as possible, took Heiyun back to the stable, fed it some food, and then hurriedly returned to her room. She changed into her pajamas, but her heart was still filled with unease.

She's only fifteen, still a child, and she has absolutely no way of dealing with what happened tonight.

Helpless, she secretly went to Song Weilan's room. Her current room was long ago separated from her father's, and it was located next to the Buddhist hall at the far east end of the courtyard, with the door tightly locked.

"Mother, Mother, open the door quickly!" Lin Pianyue knocked on her mother's bedroom door, her voice trembling.

After a while, Song Weilan opened the door, her clothes disheveled. She quickly closed the door and said to her daughter, "Honey, what's wrong? Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Lin Pianyue trembled all over and had to repeat herself several times to explain the situation clearly.

"Listen to me, calm down." Song Weilan looked into her eyes and asked, "Did anyone see anything?"

Lin Pianyue was breathing rapidly, her eyes filled with tears. After thinking for a full minute, she firmly shook her head: "No, no one saw it, there was no one around."

“Honey, you just had a nightmare tonight. Go back to bed right now and sleep soundly. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Lin Pianyue turned around, trembling, and said as she walked, "It's a dream, it's just a dream."

…………

"Wei Lan, the dragon is waiting for your arrival, why don't you come over quickly?" A naked man on the bed said, pointing to his dragon.

Song Weilan gave him a charming sidelong glance. "Erlang, you heard everything, didn't you?" She slowly walked to the bedside and grasped the dragon with her soft, boneless hand. "Pianyue has gotten into some trouble. Can you help her sort it out?"

Shen Shibai's dragon trembled. "Then it depends on your performance. I'll have Qingshan take a look first. Once the dragon is satisfied, I'll handle it myself."

He went to the window, snapped his fingers, summoned a guard, whispered a few words to him, and the guard left to carry out his orders.

Shen Shibai returned to the bed, looked at the beautiful woman, and said, "Now it's up to you." He then gave a wicked smile.

A fast horse galloped down Zhuque Avenue, and soon Qingshan found the poor boy.

He dismounted and checked under the boy's nose with his finger; the poor boy was already lifeless.

He looked around and saw that this was the back gate of a theater, a rather secluded place where few people would come at night. Not far away, there was an overturned wooden bucket. The poor boy was clearly from a poor family, dressed plainly and wearing straw sandals. He was probably out fetching water, but he didn't know why he would come out to fetch water in the middle of the night and lose his life for nothing.

There were very few traces at the scene. He quickly covered it up, put the boy and the bucket on the horse, and rode away with him at breakneck speed.

Qingshan found a mass grave far away, randomly picked a pit, and threw the boy in. He also carelessly tossed the wooden bucket into the ditch.

A boy died quietly, as if he had never been born.

When Qingshan rode back to the Earl's mansion, the master had just finished his business and was coming out of Song Weilan's room with a satisfied look on his face.

Shen Shibai asked, "Is it cleaned up?"

Qingshan bowed and said, "Don't worry, everything has been taken care of."

"Which captain is on duty for the city defenses today?"

"He is the third son of Vice Minister Liu."

Shen Shibai straightened his clothes and said, "Then let's go back to the manor. Let's go through Zhuque Street."

The group rode slowly towards the residence of the Vice Minister of Revenue. When they reached the vicinity of the theater, Shen Shibai waved to Qingshan. Qingshan's heart tightened, and he spurred his horse forward. He saw the official gently point to a straw sandal lying by the roadside.

Qingshan's expression changed drastically. He dismounted, picked up his straw sandals, and lit them with a flint in a corner. After a while, the flames disappeared, and he returned to his master to report.

Shen Shibai looked at him coldly, without saying anything.

Just a few days later, Qingshan was transferred to the army as an adjutant, and his colleagues congratulated him.

Only Qingshan knew that Shen Shibai, who had given him the money bag, hadn't done a good job, and that he had been promoted in name only but demoted in reality, and that he would probably have difficulty getting promoted in the future.