May I Find Peace

On the day I broke off my engagement with Pei Feimo, I set out for Qingzhou.

No one had expected that the person who had chased after him for five years was me, and that the person who wanted to end the engagement would also be me.

Yesterday, after drinking too much, he let something slip.

Only then did I learn he had someone in his heart, a woman whose talent he had admired for years.

Amid the heavy snow swirling over the little ferry crossing, I handed the marriage contract to Pei Feimo with perfect composure.

“I’m sorry, Lord Pei, for pestering you all these years.”

“But really, if you already had someone in your heart, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

The next time I saw Pei Feimo was two years later.

I had been summoned to the palace to paint portraits for the noble ladies within.

“I have admired your talent for many years.”

“This time, in escorting you to the capital…”

He looked up and saw me standing there with a scroll in my arms.

Pei Feimo froze.

“…Why is it you?”

Travel by water was slow in winter.

Warm lamplight filled the boat.

There was only his silence and the sound of tea simmering over the little stove, so quiet we could hear the snow falling.

Afraid things would get awkward, I breathed on my hands to warm them and forced myself to make conversation.

“Don’t be fooled by how carefree I sounded when I broke off the engagement.”

“The truth is, I cried the whole way home.”

“…And what about you these past two years, Lord Pei?”

“Did you marry the woman in your heart?”