Plum Blossoms After Seven Winters

Chapter I - The Marriage Decree

Snow fell soundlessly over the capital.

The red walls of Shen Manor stood buried beneath winter frost while servants hurried across the courtyard carrying braziers and hot tea. Beneath the covered corridor, maids whispered behind their sleeves, their voices filled with pity familiar enough to wound.

"Another year..."

"They say the Liang family requested postponement again."

"Seven years already. If this continues, Miss Shen will become a laughingstock."

The older maid sighed softly. "Lower your voices. Miss Shen will hear."

But Shen Li had heard worse.

Inside the warm study, she sat beside the window copying scriptures in steady strokes while snow drifted beyond the lattice frame. Her expression remained calm, elegant as still water, though the charcoal in the brazier had long since burned low.

Seven years.

Seven years since her engagement to Liang Wenxuan had been announced before the entire capital.

At sixteen, she had believed herself fortunate.

The Liang family held prestige. Liang Wenxuan was talented, handsome, charming.

And he had once looked at her beneath festival lanterns and sworn:

"When I gain merit in court, I will marry you properly."

At the time, she had believed him sincere.

Now she was twenty-three.

Still unmarried.

Still waiting.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.

"Miss."

Her personal maid, Qingyu, entered with unusual hesitation.

"There is news from the Liang residence."

Shen Li did not look up. "What reason is it this year?"

Qingyu's expression twisted awkwardly. "The young master... attended Minister Zhao's birthday banquet yesterday."

That alone explained enough.

Liang Wenxuan loved excitement. Loved gatherings. Loved wine.

Too much of all three.

"And?" Shen Li asked quietly.

Qingyu lowered her voice. "They say Young Master Liang became drunk and made a wager."

The brush paused.

Ink spread slowly across paper.

"A wager?"

"At the banquet, several young nobles teased him for delaying the marriage again. They asked whether he intended to wed you before turning old and gray."

Qingyu hesitated harder now, clearly afraid.

"Young Master Liang laughed and said... said..."

Shen Li finally raised her eyes.

Qingyu knelt immediately. "This servant deserves punishment."

"Speak."

"They say he offered your marriage decree as part of the wager."

Silence.

Outside, wind rattled bare branches against the courtyard walls.

Shen Li stared at her maid without expression. "To whom?"

Qingyu swallowed. "To Prince Rui."

For the first time in years, Shen Li's composure cracked.

Not visibly.

Only the slightest tightening of her fingers around the brush.

Prince Rui.

The Emperor's youngest brother.

Commander of the northern armies.

The man children feared enough to stop crying at the mention of his name.

A prince wrapped in blood and war.

He rarely returned to the capital, yet his reputation alone could silence entire court assemblies.

Liang Wenxuan had wagered her marriage decree against him?

Even Qingyu looked horrified while repeating it.

"They say His Highness accepted."

The room became very quiet.

Shen Li lowered her gaze slowly toward the unfinished scripture before her.

Black ink had ruined the final line completely.

After a moment, she set the brush aside.

"Was he very drunk?"

Qingyu looked startled by the question. "Yes."

"I see."

No anger.

No tears.

That frightened Qingyu far more.

"Miss..."

Shen Li stood and walked toward the window. Snow reflected pale light across her delicate features, making her appear colder than winter itself.

For seven years, she had endured humiliation for Liang Wenxuan.

Whenever noble ladies mocked her, she endured.

Whenever relatives advised her to break the engagement, she endured.

Even when Liang Wenxuan forgot promised meetings, delayed wedding dates, or treated her patience as something natural-

she endured.

Because somewhere deep inside, she still believed years of devotion would eventually become love.

Now he had wagered her away during a drinking game.

As though she were an object.

Not a person.

A bitter laugh nearly escaped her throat.

Nearly.

Then hurried footsteps echoed from outside.

A servant rushed into the courtyard shouting: "The palace eunuchs have arrived!"

Qingyu's face lost all color.

Shen Li closed her eyes briefly.

Too fast.

The imperial palace moved far faster than gossip ever did.

Moments later, the entire Shen household knelt in the front hall.

Snow blew through the open doors while a palace eunuch stood beneath bright lantern light holding a golden decree.

The atmosphere suffocated everyone present.

Shen Li knelt calmly beside her parents.

Across from them, servants trembled visibly.

The eunuch unrolled the decree.

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees-"

His sharp voice echoed through the hall.

"Shen Li, eldest daughter of the Shen family, is virtuous, graceful, and suitable for marriage."

"Prince Rui has rendered great merit to the empire through military achievement. As reward and blessing, this marriage is hereby bestowed upon Prince Rui and Shen Li."

"The wedding shall take place on the fifteenth day of the first month."

"Let the Ministry of Rites oversee all preparations."

The decree snapped shut.

The hall remained silent.

Everyone understood what this meant.

The Emperor had personally acknowledged the exchanged decree.

There would be no reversal.

No refusal.

No escape.

The eunuch smiled thinly. "Miss Shen, receive the decree."

Beside her, Madam Shen's hands shook violently beneath her sleeves.

Her father's face had gone pale.

But Shen Li...

Shen Li lowered her head gracefully and raised both hands.

"This daughter accepts the Emperor's grace."

The decree settled into her palms, heavy as fate itself.

-

By evening, the entire capital had exploded into chaos.

Tea houses overflowed with gossip.

"The Liang heir actually handed over his fiancée!"

"To his own uncle!"

"I heard the Emperor laughed for an entire quarter hour before approving it!"

"Poor Miss Shen..."

"No-perhaps she's fortunate instead."

"Fortunate? Prince Rui kills people without blinking!"

"And Liang Wenxuan humiliates women without blinking. Which is worse?"

The capital could not decide.

Meanwhile, inside Liang Manor-

something shattered violently.

Madam Liang stood trembling beside the broken porcelain vase at her feet.

"You fool!"

Liang Wenxuan flinched.

"Mother, I only spoke carelessly after drinking-"

"Carelessly?" she snapped. "Do you think marriage decrees are toys?!"

Liang Wenxuan looked more irritated than guilty. "Who knew the Emperor would take it seriously?"

Madam Liang stared at the son she had spoiled for years and suddenly felt exhausted.

"So after seven years of delaying her, this is how you repay Shen Li?"

Liang Wenxuan frowned. "She'll marry a prince now. What exactly is she losing?"

The moment those words left his mouth, the room fell silent.

Even the servants looked disturbed.

Madam Liang's disappointment hardened completely.

Because for the first time-

she realized her son had never deserved Shen Li at all.

Far away, snow continued falling over the capital.

And in the northern palace reserved for Prince Rui-

a black-clad man stood before the window reading the imperial decree silently.

A trusted guard finally asked carefully: "Your Highness... do you regret accepting?"

Prince Rui's gaze lingered on the name written upon the scroll.

Shen Li.

After a long moment, he answered quietly:

"No."

Then, almost to himself-

"I only wonder whether she will."