41丞相夫人丞相大人老丞相老夫人

穿越四十一天，《朱墙雪》

第一章入宫

沈清辞踏入紫宸宫时，正是暮春。檐角铜铃被风拂得轻响，她攥着袖中那支父亲亲手刻的木簪，指尖沁出薄汗。

她是江南织造沈家长女，因一手出神入化的苏绣被选入宫。初遇萧彻是在御花园的曲廊，他着玄色常服，正弯腰拾起一只坠地的玉簪。那玉簪上嵌着的珍珠，像极了她故乡湖面的晨露。

“新来的？”他声音低沉，目光落在她发间——那里别着支素银簪，与周遭华服格格不入。

清辞屈膝行礼，指尖将木簪藏得更深。后来她才知，那是皇帝萧彻。他说喜欢她绣的寒梅，命她住进了离养心殿最近的碎玉轩。

那时她以为，朱墙之内，总有一隅能容下寻常欢喜。

第二章恩宠

萧彻常来碎玉轩。他会看她刺绣到深夜，用温热的手掌裹住她冻僵的指尖；会带她去冷宫墙外看那株百年梅树，说“清辞，朕许你年年看它开花”。

她绣的《寒江独钓图》被他挂在御书房，宫人都说沈家小姐要平步青云。父亲托人带来家书，字里行间是家族的期盼，她摸着信上“平安”二字，对着铜镜笑出了浅浅梨涡。

变故藏在盛宠的阴影里。贵妃赵氏是镇国公之女，她嫉恨清辞，借故在赏花宴上打翻了她亲手炖的汤，烫得她手腕起了燎泡。萧彻赶来时，只淡淡说了句“贵妃失仪，禁足三月”，却没看清辞一眼。

那晚她在灯下绣帕，针脚扎进皮肉，血珠落在素白的缎面上，像极了梅瓣。

第三章构陷

清辞有孕时，萧彻正忙于平定南疆叛乱。赵氏趁机买通她身边的侍女，在安胎药里掺了寒性草药。她腹痛不止，血染红了半幅床褥，孩子终究没保住。

醒来时，萧彻坐在床边，眼底有红血丝。他说：“清辞，委屈你了。”可他身后的太监捧着的，是那名侍女的供词——上面写着，是清辞自己不想要这个孩子，怕耽误皇帝亲征。

她张了张嘴，喉咙像被堵住。他不信她。

为了稳住镇国公的兵权，萧彻晋封赵氏为皇贵妃，掌管六宫。碎玉轩的炭火渐渐少了，宫人也敢明里暗里地怠慢。她数着墙上的划痕，从春到冬，萧彻再没来过。

第四章真相

三年后，南疆平定。萧彻在御书房翻到一本旧账，是当年为清辞诊脉的太医留下的，上面清清楚楚记着安胎药被调换的痕迹。

他疯了似的冲向碎玉轩，却见门扉紧闭，阶上积着厚厚的雪。推门而入，清辞正坐在窗边，背对着他绣一幅《归雁图》。她比从前瘦了太多，鬓角竟有了银丝。

“清辞……”他声音发颤。

她缓缓回头，眼神平静得像一潭死水。“陛下，臣妾的手，已经绣不了精细的活了。”她摊开手掌，上面布满冻疮和旧疤，“那年失去的孩子，臣妾到现在都记得他在腹中动过的三次。”

他想解释，想说他是为了大局，想说他早已查清真相。可她只是笑了笑，拿起桌上的剪刀，猛地刺向自己的心口。

“陛下，这朱墙太冷了，臣妾……熬不住了。”

第五章余生

清辞死的那天，雪下得很大。萧彻抱着她渐渐冰冷的身体，在碎玉轩坐了三天三夜。他才发现，她枕下藏着那支他当年拾起的玉簪，簪头的珍珠早已失去光泽；她的梳妆盒里，放着他送的第一支梅花，早已干枯成灰。

他废了赵氏，赐死了所有构陷过她的人。镇国公府倒了，朝堂再无人敢违抗他，可他夜夜梦见清辞在江南的桃花树下对他笑，醒来时只有满室孤寂。

他再没立过皇后，碎玉轩的陈设始终如旧。每年梅花开时，他都会独自坐在那里，手里攥着那支染血的木簪——那是她父亲的遗物，她曾说“见簪如见亲”。

后来有人说，皇帝晚年常常对着一幅未完成的《归雁图》流泪，图上的雁子，始终没飞回江南。

而那株冷宫墙外的梅树，自沈清辞死后，再也没开过花。

“Red Walls and Snow“

Chapter 1: Entering the Palace

When Shen Qingci stepped into the Purple Chen Palace， it was late spring. The bronze bells at the corner of the eaves tinkled softly in the wind. She clutched the wooden hairpin her father had carved with his own hands in her sleeve， her fingertips oozing a thin layer of sweat.

She was the eldest daughter of the Shen family， who managed textiles in Jiangnan. She was selected into the palace for her exquisite Su embroidery skills. Her first encounter with Xiao Che was in the winding corridor of the imperial garden. He was wearing a dark casual robe， bending down to pick up a jade hairpin that had fallen to the ground. The pearl inlaid on the jade hairpin was much like the morning dew on the lake surface of her hometown.

“New here?“ His voice was deep， his gaze falling on her hair—where a plain silver hairpin was pinned， incompatible with the luxurious clothes around her.

Qingci knelt down to pay her respects， her fingertips hiding the wooden hairpin deeper. Later， she learned that he was Emperor Xiao Che. He said he liked the plum blossoms she embroidered and ordered her to live in Suiyu Pavilion， the closest to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

At that time， she thought that within these red walls， there would always be a corner that could hold ordinary joys.

Chapter 2: Imperial Favor

Xiao Che often came to Suiyu Pavilion. He would watch her embroider until late at night， wrapping her frozen fingertips with his warm palms; he would take her to see the century-old plum tree outside the cold palace wall， saying，“Qingci， I promise you can watch it bloom every year.“

The “Painting of Fishing Alone on a Cold River“ she embroidered was hung in his study. The palace servants all said that Miss Shen was going to rise to prominence. Her father sent a letter through someone， the lines filled with the family's expectations. She stroked the words “peace“ on the letter， smiling into the bronze mirror， a shallow dimple appearing on her cheek.

Changes lurked in the shadow of great favor. Concubine Zhao， the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo， resented Qingci. She found an excuse to knock over the soup Qingci had personally simmered at the flower-viewing banquet， scalding her wrist with blisters. When Xiao Che arrived， he only said lightly，“Concubine Zhao has been inappropriate， confined for three months，“ without even glancing at Qingci.

That night， she embroidered a handkerchief under the lamp. The needle pricked her skin， and a drop of blood fell on the plain white satin， much like a plum petal.

Chapter 3: Framing

When Qingci was pregnant， Xiao Che was busy quelling the rebellion in the southern border. Taking advantage of this， Zhao took the opportunity to bribe a maid around Qingci to mix cold-natured herbs into her miscarriage-preventing medicine. She suffered severe abdominal pain， and blood stained half of the mattress. The child was ultimately lost.

When she woke up， Xiao Che was sitting by her bed， red bloodshot eyes in his eyes. He said，“Qingci， you've been wronged.“ But behind him， the eunuch held the confession of that maid—which stated that it was Qingci herself who didn't want the child， fearing it would delay the emperor's expedition.

She opened her mouth， but her throat felt blocked. He didn't believe her.

To stabilize the military power of the Duke of Zhenguo， Xiao Che promoted Zhao to Imperial Noble Consort， putting her in charge of the six palaces. The charcoal in Suiyu Pavilion gradually dwindled， and even the palace servants dared to怠慢 her openly and secretly. She counted the scratches on the wall， from spring to winter， and Xiao Che never came again.

Chapter 4: The Truth

Three years later， the southern border was pacified. While going through old records in his study， Xiao Che found an account book left by the imperial physician who had treated Qingci back then， which clearly recorded traces of the miscarriage-preventing medicine being tampered with.

He rushed to Suiyu Pavilion like a maniac， only to find the door tightly closed， with thick snow accumulating on the steps. Pushing the door open， he saw Qingci sitting by the window， embroidering a “Painting of Returning Geese“ with her back to him. She was much thinner than before， and there were even silver threads at her temples.

“Qingci...“ His voice trembled.

She slowly turned her head， her eyes as calm as a stagnant pool.“Your Majesty， this concubine's hands can no longer do delicate embroidery work.“ She spread out her palms， which were covered with chilblains and old scars.“I still remember the three times that child moved in my womb， even now.“

He wanted to explain， to say he had acted for the greater good， to say he had long since uncovered the truth. But she only smiled， picked up the scissors on the table， and suddenly stabbed them into her chest.

“Your Majesty， these red walls are too cold... This concubine... can't endure it anymore.“

Chapter 5: The Remaining Years

The day Qingci died， it snowed heavily. Xiao Che held her gradually cold body， sitting in Suiyu Pavilion for three days and three nights. He then discovered that under her pillow was hidden the jade hairpin he had picked up back then， the pearl on its head long since失去 its luster; in her dressing box was the first plum blossom he had given her， dried up to ashes.

He deposed Zhao and ordered the execution of all those who had framed her. The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion fell， and no one in the court dared to defy him anymore. But every night， he dreamed of Qingci smiling at him under the peach blossoms in Jiangnan， waking up only to find the room filled with loneliness.

He never appointed another empress， and the furnishings of Suiyu Pavilion remained as they were. Every year when plum blossoms bloomed， he would sit there alone， clutching the blood-stained wooden hairpin—inheritor of her father， which she had once said，“Seeing the hairpin is like seeing my relatives.“

Later， it was said that in his old age， the emperor often wept while looking at an unfinished “Painting of Returning Geese“. The geese in the painting never flew back to Jiangnan.

And the plum tree outside the cold palace wall never bloomed again after Shen Qingci's death.