In the blink of an eye, three months passed, and winter came to the Heaven Dou Empire once again.
As snowflakes fluttered down upon the earth, the whole world seemed to be covered in soft white.
Snowflakes danced through the air, settling lightly on every branch, every building, and every patch of ground in Heaven Dou City, gradually accumulating into a blanket of pure white snow.
Amid this scene, a fresh, biting chill filled the air, as though the entire world had frozen. The trees turned pale beneath the snow, and white snow covered the rooftops, making the whole scene as beautiful as a fairy tale.
All of Heaven Dou City lay shrouded in the stillness of snow, as though time itself had frozen. The snowy scenery brought a sense of peace and tranquility, as though the whole world had become pure and beautiful.
Yet in this season of swirling snowflakes and picturesque drifts, the swans that stopped every year at the pool before the imperial hall in the Heaven Dou Empire's palace were nowhere to be seen, leaving only a scattering of beautiful swan feathers.
The swans had flown away, and the golden swan that symbolized the Heaven Dou Empire slowly lowered its head, never to raise it again.
On this day, this day of thickly falling snow, His Majesty Xue Ye, emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, passed away!
Cause of death: overwork, depleted blood and vitality, and an incurable poison administered by someone harboring sinister intentions. A host of imperial physicians struggled to save him for days and nights, but in the end, they were powerless to turn back fate.
That day, heads rolled within the Heaven Dou Empire's palace. Every eunuch, palace maid, imperial cook, and imperial physician who had ever come into contact with the