Chapter 19 A Bowl of Wontons
When Father came to see me, he wore an old robe. He carried a food box in his hand. When he opened it, there was a bowl of steaming wontons inside, sprinkled with bright green onion.
"Your mother wrapped these with her own hands. She said you loved them most when you were small."
Father passed the wontons to me. His hands shook badly.
"I have already arranged everything. Tonight I will take you away, to Jiangnan, to hide our names, and never return to Changan."
I took the wontons. The steam stung my eyes until they hurt.
The taste of the wontons was familiar, like that snowy night many years ago, when Mother sat under the lamp, wrapping wontons as she said, "Wen Yan, remember. A son of the Wen Clan may die, but he must not yield."
"Father." I pushed the wontons back. My voice caught. "Your son cannot go."
"Why?" Father's voice rose sharply. "You truly mean to die for him? You want to watch the Wen Clan be destroyed in an emperor's hands?"
"The Wen Clan will not be destroyed." I looked at the white hair at his temples, and suddenly remembered Elder Brother's blood letter from my previous life.
"When your son is dead, Your Highness will remember this feeling and protect the Wen Clan.
Father, this is the only thing your son can still do for the Wen Clan.
My death will not hold up to investigation.
The Wen Clan will not be pursued. Elder Brother already has arrangements at the northern border.
After this, the clan should walk farther. "
Father suddenly covered his face. Suppressed sobs echoed in the empty cell.
I turned my back and watched snowflakes drift past the window.
It turned out that living a second life had not been to rewrite the ending. It had been to finish this fate with my own hands.