The snowflakes softly patter against the window, the cold wind rustles, blowing off the snow accumulated on the plum branches and startling the copper bell inside the hall with a clear chime.
Shangjing, Imperial Palace.
The Empress Dowager looked at Shen Jin opposite her and advised earnestly, "I called you here, not for anything else. I heard from the Empress that you have declined to attend tomorrow's New Year's Eve palace banquet again, unwilling to make an appearance."
Shen Jin simply added a cup of tea for her, her voice cool and clear, "Please don't make things difficult for me, Your Majesty."
What does it mean to make things difficult?
The Empress Dowager laughed in irritation.
"Your palace is so cold and empty. Aside from a few red lanterns hung by the Household Affairs Office, there's not a trace of the New Year's atmosphere."
"Is it because you don't wish to see your father and brother?"
