Hongfen signifies brightness and beauty.
But Hongfen truly feels unworthy of this name.
His young life wastes away bit by bit in that small cell of the Imperial Clan Court.
In the end, he did not die in the Imperial Clan Court.
When he was critically ill, he was released.
In a secluded manor in the suburbs of the capital, he was sent there to recuperate.
In truth, it was just to await death.
Medicines were no longer effective. What good could come of it?
He wasn't that old, only in his forties, but prolonged imprisonment had taken a severe toll on his health.
He couldn't eat much, if he ate more, it wouldn't digest.
He couldn't walk much, and if he did, his whole body would hurt.
With pale skin and gray hair, he looked as old as someone in their sixties.
Only his eyes, amidst their murkiness, revealed a certain calmness.
He would just sit in the spring garden, covered with a blanket, half-reclining, watching a pair of birds on the pear tree.
