Outside, the wind and snow raged on. The wind blew fiercely, and the snow poured down like a white waterfall from the edge of the sky.
The weight made the surrounding trees crack and snap. Snow from the sky mingled with snow from the ground, swirling through the air in a dizzying whirl.
Inside a private home in the Eastern Suburbs of Capital City.
Inside, the fire crackled.
The flames leaped high, and the kettle had been blackened with soot.
Steam kept rising from the broth in the pot. The bubbling broth and fragrant aroma continually teased the taste buds.
A bite of spicy beef was neither too firm nor too soft, wonderfully fragrant and tender.
The room was warm and cozy, heedless of the ever-worsening wind and snow outside.
Old Ox dozed beside the stove.
Biao, who had only recently been named Jiaze, sat in a corner holding an oil lamp.
Reading late into the night by lamplight.
On the second floor of the little courtyard house, Li Ping'an and Lin Xiao warmed wine and talked on the snowy night.
They warmed themselves by the stove while admiring the snowflakes drifting past the window.
"If you want lasting peace and stability, the power of the enfeoffed princes must be curtailed," Li Ping'an said mildly.
Lin Xiao said with some difficulty, "But these princes are all our own family, bound to us by blood.
"When our ancestor founded the nation, he laid down this policy.
"They were granted fiefs but no land, given noble ranks but no authority over the people, and drew stipends without administering affairs.
"They have been stripped of real power and have no opportunity to rebel.
"Under these circumstances, wouldn't wiping them out to the last man be far too heartless?"
Li Ping'an said, "I'm not