A Borrowed Flower Soul | For Those Without Love, Read With Caution “The willow lives, spinning the top. The willow greens, the bell is set aside. The willow dies, we kick the shuttlecock. Willow bud sprouts, we play with the pull toy…” Beneath the medical canopy, a young man quietly wrote out a prescription, handing… Continue reading NWAFAM 179: Extra 4 — Su Ting Special

Sugar with knives, read with caution The Emperor suddenly fell ill, his decline swift and fierce. The Emperor’s health had never been robust; he was beset with minor ailments, never truly recovering, and the imperial physicians had frequently advised him to rest more. Yet state affairs were unending. The Emperor belonged to all under heaven,… Continue reading NWAFAM 178: Extra 3 — Lianzhi Special, Part 2

Sugar with knives; proceed with caution. As the lanterns were first lit, evening fell over the capital with an unusual chill. The snow came early that year: by morning on the twenty-ninth, heavy clouds had already begun letting down sparse salt-grain flakes, and by dusk, they had thickened into a fine downy layer that softly… Continue reading NWAFAM 177: Extra 2 — Lianzhi Special, Part 1

Come in. Let’s talk. “Master Yu! Come take a look at this patient!” A clear, refined face poked out from the small room, a palm fan with a scorched corner gripped in his hand. He tilted his head as though double-checking whether someone had truly been calling him. Several damselflies flitted under the eaves and… Continue reading NWAFAM 176: Extra 1 —— Jinnian Special

"A union to last for all time, a bond to grow old together." Yu Jinnian only learned of the matter the following day. For some time, he had been staying at Jinyouting, mostly because Ji Hong had suddenly become the center of attention, with countless visitors delivering calling cards every other day. Fed up with… Continue reading NWAFAM 175: Wedding Feast, The End

Heaven is always just Wild geese returning north swept across the distant sky, their wings fluttering as they passed. Yu Jinnian lifted his gaze and thought that back in Xin'an County, when he first met Ji Hong, it had also been the season of migrating geese. Yet now, the southbound geese were making their way… Continue reading NWAFAM 174: Wedding Banquet (Part One)

However far, however deep, he would always find his way home by that light. Such distant matters now—Yu Jinnian stammered, eyes fixed on the canopy above. He had never imagined he would go through so much, or come to know so many people. When he first arrived in Xin’an County, his greatest ambition was just… Continue reading NWAFAM 173: Brown Sugar Navel Cake

Which one should I have believed in, exactly？ With war having just passed, this year’s Spring Festival was bound to be a disappointing one. Managing only a pot of radish-stuffed dumplings hand-wrapped by Yu Jinnian, a few sips of hot wine, and a bowl of meaty bone soup, they made do as best they could… Continue reading NWAFAM 172: Gentian Liver-Clearing Decoction

So that’s why little physician Yu was so endearing. The depths of winter were bleak, and Liuhe was desolate. The biting cold wind in Zhongling carried a scent of blood, slicing at people’s backs like knives. In the streets and alleys, all that could be seen were stiff corpses of fallen soldiers, blood seeping into… Continue reading NWAFAM 171: Turtle Soup in Milk Broth

Today’s dish is called a boxed meal. With the fall of the bridgehead, the Northern Conquest Army’s vanguard surged forward, driving straight to the foot of Zhongling’s walls. He Lianzhi’s eyes were red with slaughter, his tall horse dragging a string of severed heads on either side as he charged forth, scattered limbs left in… Continue reading NWAFAM 170: Snow Spring Pancake