"Hisss... it hurts so much..."
"Hisss... am I going to die...?"
"Hisss~~"
Beside a pool, a small white snake lay in the grass.
A gash had been torn open along her back, and the whole snake looked to be at death's door.
Not long ago she had merely slipped out to forage, hoping to eat a few rats and fill her belly — and had never expected to run into a hawk.
She had escaped with her life, but her injuries were heavy.
When is Xiaoqing coming? Will she even be able to find me...? The white snake thought of her sister, but a moment later a flicker of disappointment crossed her vertical pupils.
And even if she does find me, what good would it do?
She can't heal me anyway...
Then, just as the white snake had given up all hope, she heard a small rustle from the bushes nearby.
She lifted her head to look: a small human boy pushed through the bushes and stepped out.
Startled, the white snake hurriedly curled herself up and buried her head in the grass. "Don't see me, don't see me..."
"Found you!" The moment Xiao Mo laid eyes on the little white snake, his eyes lit up.
This is bad!
Feeling the footsteps drawing closer, the white snake knew the boy was coming for her.
"Hiss, hisssss!" The white snake jerked her head up and opened her little mouth at him.
Xiao Mo backed up two steps in fright, his heart fluttering with panic.
By rights, a white snake like this shouldn't be venomous.
But in a xuanhuan world like this, who could say for sure?
"You look hurt. Let me treat you — don't worry... I won't hurt you." Holding the shovel, Xiao Mo edged closer, one step at a time.
Seeing that the human held a weapon in his hand, how could she possibly believe him?
You rotten human! Even if I die, I won't let you stew me into soup!
The white snake made up her mind and lunged forward to bite like a released spring.
But in that instant her wound was pulled, and a stabbing pain went tingling through her whole body.
Xiao Mo had already braced himself to dodge, but the white snake went limp as a slackened rope and simply lay there stiff and straight on the grass.
Her body still twitching.
Seeing that she seemed to have fainted, with blood still trickling out, Xiao Mo hurriedly put her in his bamboo basket and carried her down the mountain.
The little white snake did not know how long she had been unconscious. When her senses returned and she slowly woke, she found herself lying in a nest of grass.
This seemed to be a human dwelling.
She looked down at herself: a clean white cloth was wrapped around her body.
A faint scent of herbs rose from the cloth.
She recalled everything that had happened before she fainted.
Could that little boy have saved me?
"Clang."
Just as the little white snake was puzzling over it, the door opened.
A little boy came in, a rat in his hand.
"You're awake." The little white snake watched the boy come up to her happily, then carefully drop the rat in front of her.
"Here, for you to eat." The boy gave her a bright smile, looking utterly innocent.
The little white snake looked at the boy, then at the dead rat in front of her.
It seems... he really isn't a bad person after all...
She was far too hungry to bear it. The little white snake opened her mouth and slowly swallowed the rat down.
Once the rat was gone, she lay quietly in the grass nest, all her earlier aggression gone.
This was a snake with spiritual awareness.
Xiao Mo reckoned she must have understood that he meant her no harm.
"Little White Snake, do you have a name?" Xiao Mo asked.
The little white snake tilted her head, uncomprehending.
"I'm Xiao Mo — that's my name." Xiao Mo pointed at himself. "How about I give you a name too?"
The white snake was briefly taken aback, then nodded her head — and there was even a flicker of expectation in her eyes.
"You're so white — white as snow."
Seeing her agree, Xiao Mo thought it over.
"How about from now on, I call you Bai Ruxue..."
The residence of the Minister of Rites of Zhou.
In the inner courtyard, a young woman who looked no more than sixteen was bending over the flower beds.
Her slender white hands held a small pair of silver shears, and she was focused on trimming away the surplus twigs and leaves.
She wore a plain white gown, like fresh snow just set, wrapped around her graceful figure.
A morning breeze passed over, and her skirts stirred faintly like drifting clouds, spreading into soft ripples.
The gown bore no elaborate embroidery; only at the collar and the edges of the sleeves had the finest silver thread traced a few lotus leaves and twining stems, half-hidden in the white. A moon-white silk cord was tied at her waist, loosely knotted, sketching out a waist no hand could close around, and lending her all the more the grace of a frail willow swaying in the wind.
She tilted her head slightly, baring a length of neck white as jade; a few strands of hair, black as sandalwood, had slipped unnoticed from her loosely coiled cloud chignon and hung beside her cheek, making her skin seem finer still, like porcelain.
Her brows were beautifully shaped: long, slender willow-leaf brows tinted like distant hills, with a gentle peak and lightly lifted tips, carrying an inborn soft curve.
Beneath them were a pair of eyes clear as autumn water; just now they were lowered, and her long, thick lashes cast faint shadows beneath her lids, trembling slightly with each snip of the shears.
Her lips were a pale pink, like the petals of a cherry blossom just opening; the corners turned up by nature, so that even without a smile she carried a quiet, kindly charm.
"Daughter! Daughter, oh! Such good news!"
As the young woman bent intently over her flowers, the voice of Yan Zhen, Minister of Rites, came carrying in from far away.
Hearing her father's voice, she raised her head and saw him come hurrying into the courtyard.
She set down the shears, poured him a cup of tea, and smiled. "Father is so happy — has some good news come?"
"Haha, daughter, you have no idea!" Yan Zhen took the tea she handed him and said gleefully, "You're going to be empress!"
"Empress?" She did not understand.
"That's right."
Yan Zhen nodded.
"His Majesty has been on the throne a year now, and the rear palace stands empty. At last it is time to select consorts, and you, Ruxue, have been chosen to enter the palace. And you are a daughter of our Yan clan — outside we Yan have a chancellor at court, within we have an empress dowager. In days to come you will surely be empress of our Great Zhou and mother to the realm! Your children will be emperors of Zhou!"
The more he spoke, the more excited Yan Zhen became.
"Mind you, your mother is not willing to let you enter the palace — the palace is as deep as the sea, after all." Yan Zhen reined in his joy. "You know your mother's temper. Father argued with her for a long while, and in the end we decided to leave it to you. Ruxue, do you want to go into the palace?"
Yan Ruxue smiled faintly and curtsied. "Your daughter will do as Father arranges."
"Haha, good! Since that is so, your mother has nothing more to say. I'll go tell the clan head right now — daughter, you just wait for the good news."
"Yes, Father."
Yan Zhen walked out of the courtyard, laughing loudly.
Yan Ruxue watched her father's retreating back.
Those gentle, dark eyes of hers gradually became golden, imperious vertical pupils.