I seem to remember that on the day the princess left, Liangzhou wasn't snowing at all. She left us at Crane R…
I seem to remember that on the day the princess left, Liangzhou wasn't snowing at all.
She left us at Crane Retreat and walked alone towards Hometown Tower.
Mingzhu worried about her and wanted to hold a lantern for her, but she waved her hand in refusal.
She was someone so afraid of the dark, needing to hold a lamp to sleep every night. Yet she said she was going to that high tower named Hometown Tower to find the moon that could illuminate the road home.
We were worried but dared not disobey her, so we could only follow her step by step.
We followed her strolling past the fragrant wine pool, climbing the endless snow-capped mountains, then watched her gracefully enter Hometown Tower.
The moonlight that day was truly beautiful, as if it could wash away the frost and wind from her temples.
The princess, dressed in white, only wore a hairpin. She said she was sorry for making us exiles like herself.
But how could we blame her? Without her, we would have frozen to death in the overwhelming snowstorm long ago.
I watched as she climbed the tower called Hometown Town, gently stretching out her hand to brush away the thin mist.
At last, the moon was willing to light her way home.
The moonlight gushed forth like a shattered silver vase, flowing from her brows and hair to the mortal world. The light gathered at the bottom of the pond, then filled the entire Hometown Tower.
The princess's figure emerged in the pouring moonlight. I clearly saw layers of imperial palaces behind her, row upon row, like a blooming peony. She danced gracefully in the moonlight, as bright and beautiful as she was before marriage. We also lifted our skirts, waded through the moonlight, surrounded her, and danced to the rhythm, our colorful sleeves fluttering.
Her shadow, Chang'an's shadow, my shadow, all shattered together, then brewed into ripples by the moonlight, rippling forth the glory of the prosperous Tang for one night.
I watched the wrinkles on my hands slowly fade, yet crystal-clear frost gradually formed between our brows. The moonlight was so cold, cold enough to freeze one's bones.
Oh, so it seems...
I must have remembered wrong. The day the princess left, Liangzhou had a very, very heavy snowfall.