Loyalty

Snow Mei's hubby, Han Qing, is a forest armed police officer. They just tied the knot, and three days later, he's back on duty, stationed in a one-man fire watchtower. They used to swap letters, but now, Snow Mei hasn't heard from Han Qing in over a month. No phone calls either, and she's getting antsy.

One evening, as she's praying under the plum tree in her yard for her husband's safety, there's a knock on the door. An old lady hands her a letter, saying it's from Han Qing. Snow Mei's thrilled to see his handwriting. He writes about being snowed in and unable to send mail. She's worried now.

The old lady asks if she misses her husband and wants to see him. Snow Mei nods. The old lady grins and tells her about their plum tree, saying it's no ordinary tree; it's a Lover's Plum with six petals. She spins a tale about a couple from the Han Dynasty, separated by war, and how the wife died of a broken heart, and a six-petal plum grew on her grave. The husband, back from his travels, dreams of his wife every night, and it turns out it's the same time she passed away. That's how the Lover's Plum got its name.

Snow Mei's never heard this story, even though Han Qing said the tree was planted by their ancestors. The old lady says if she wears a plum blossom at midnight, her spirit can fly to her loved one and return before dawn by wearing another. She warns that if the sun rises, the spirit won't make it back.

The old lady disappears, and Snow Mei is restless. At midnight, she picks two plum blossoms and puts one on her head. She feels her consciousness blur, and her body floats up and away towards the northwest.

She ends up in a watchtower in the mountains, where she sees Han Qing, fast asleep with her photo by his side. She sits by him, watching him sleep.

As dawn approaches, she puts on the other plum blossom and returns home. It all feels like a dream, except for the withered plum blossoms that tell her it was real.

Every night, she visits Han Qing, content just to watch him. The withered blossoms pile up, and she keeps them in a jewelry box, a testament to her longing for him.

As New Year's approaches, one midnight, she puts on a plum blossom again. She arrives at the watchtower to find a window shattered by the wind. Han Qing is asleep, and the cold is pouring in. She can't wake him or move anything to block the window. Desperate, she presses herself against the window to stop the cold. The wind howls, and she's frozen solid by dawn.

Han Qing wakes from a nightmare, Snow Mei being swept away by the wind. He finds an ice sculpture blocking the window, looking just like Snow Mei, with a withered plum blossom on its head and another in its hand.

He realizes it's Snow Mei and rushes to preserve the ice sculpture, hoping to save her. When spring comes, he returns to find Snow Mei alive. She tells him about the old lady and how she was saved at the last moment.

They go to the plum tree, now dead, and realize the tree's demise coincided with Snow Mei's return. Back at the watchtower, Han Qing finds the ice sculpture has turned into a withered plum branch with a single withered blossom and a vibrant red one beside it.

Stay tuned for the next episode, folks. It's gonna be wild.