Days of heavy snow made the streets and alleys at the capital melancholic.

Ye Xiaoxiang has made it to the majestic gate of the capital and stopped for a moment. She glanced back, thinking about the times she had thought about escaping this prison - leaving Beauty’s Smile and the capital. But now, when she was truly about to leave, the sense of joy was not there, only a touch of unwillingness.

‘I guess I’m not as free as I thought.’

“Buy Heavenly Lotus Sadness-away Congee, only five bronze coins for one bowl.” The voice of an old man came from the next corner.

The old man was swinging a large iron ladle beneath a tent. The congee pot was finished with its hot steam permeating the air. The snowflakes were fluttering closer but couldn’t make it into the pot before being melted.

“This congee can take away sadness?” Xiaoxiang was already next to the tent, absentmindedly. She had no idea why she was stopping here.

The enthusiastic...