MYUFPC CHAPTER 41
Sister, I have a secret to tell you
New Year's Eve was a grand occasion that every household celebrated at the end of each year, and the palace was no exception.
Starting from New Year's Eve, officials would usually have three days off. And for the emperor, this might be the only time of the year when he could enjoy a few rare days of leisure.
On this night, there would be singing, dancing, and banquets in the palace as usual. Young concubines and princes and princesses gathered together. Even if they were not on good terms, everyone had to go through the motions and celebrate the peaceful passing of the year with a happy face.
Jiashan had early on asked Emperor Zhanghe for a favor. When the banquet was halfway through, and before the midnight had arrived, she quietly took Zhao Youze and excused herself to her father.
Emperor Zhanghe looked at the brother and sister who had left first, his eyes deep, and he didn't know what he was thinking. He took a sip of wine alone, almost forgetting Zhao Youcheng, who was speaking enthusiastically about a toast beside him.
It was only when Zhuang Fei called his name several times that Emperor Zhanghe came back to his senses.
He put on a faint and majestic smile again and said softly, "Youcheng is very promising at this age."
Being praised by him, Zhuang Fei and Zhao Youcheng, and the others, each had a different kind of brilliant smile on their faces. Zhuang Fei said, "It's just some ordinary poems, Your Majesty is praising too much."
Emperor Zhanghe smiled and said no more.
But Zhuang Fei's lips curved slightly. She raised her chin slightly, and the faint wrinkles at the corners of her eyes added a bit more arrogance and self-satisfaction to her.
After the New Year, Zhao Youcheng would be fifteen. For ordinary princes, when they reached this age, their marriage could be put on the agenda. Although Jiashan's marriage had caused the emperor much trouble, she was a girl after all, and no matter how favored she was, she would have to marry into another family.
Her child couldn't have the surname Zhao!
But Zhao Youcheng was different. He was the eldest prince and was the most promising among the current princes. If the emperor really had the intention of making him the crown prince, then his wife could not be just any ordinary noble girl from the capital.
And if Zhao Youcheng's wife was capable, it would be equivalent to adding another great help for herself. If the couple could work together, what was impossible for them to surpass Zhan Yue and Jiashan?
Zhuang Fei tried hard to hide the joy on her face. She lowered her head slightly and smiled faintly.
Jiashan led Zhao Youze back to Fengyang Pavilion, and Zhan Yue was indeed waiting at the palace gate. But this time, Eunuch Chen was following behind Jiashan.
Jiashan didn't want to hide their relationship and spend New Year's Eve with Zhan Yue, so she spoke directly to her father. After much deliberation, Emperor Zhanghe reluctantly agreed, but he also assigned Eunuch Chen to accompany them, fearing that some indecent rumors would spread before their marriage.
Zhan Yue and Eunuch Chen greeted each other.
At that moment, small snowflakes suddenly began to fall.
Zhao Youze was the first to notice because a small snowflake had landed on the tip of his nose. Zhao Youze rubbed it with his hand, feeling extremely cold, and then caught several snowflakes in his palm to play with.
He grinned and asked, "Sister, is it snowing? A timely snowfall is a sign of a good harvest. Everything next year will surely go smoothly."
Jiashan was wearing a brocade cloak with a hood. When she walked from the banquet to Fengyang Pavilion, she was afraid of the cold, so she put on the hood first, and no snowflakes fell on her.
When she heard Zhao Youze say this, she realized that the black greatcoat Zhan Yue was wearing was indeed stained with a few white dots.
Jiashan laughed and said, "It is snowing. The three of us were staring right at it, but we weren't as quick as Yuankang."
She lowered her head slightly and saw that Zhao Youze's ears were a little red from the cold under his small tiger-skin hat. She hurriedly asked, "Are you cold? There's a stove burning in the inner room, Yuankang, go inside and sit."
Zhao Youze shook his head, "I'm not cold."
"I'll follow Sister." he said.
Jiashan's expression softened. She gently put the tiger-skin hat back on Zhao Youze's head and ordered Dancui to bring a few hand warmers.
Instead of returning to the inner room where the floor was heated, they found another covered pavilion near the main hall and sat down. Su Yu ordered the servants to bring in food, snacks, and warmed wine.
Of course, Zhao Youze and Jiashan's drinks were fruit wines, which would not be intoxicating.
The small pavilion was silent, and for a while, no one spoke. Only the sound of singing and dancing from the distant banquet was still in their ears.
Zhao Youze was propping his chin up, looking up at the sky. Occasionally, colorful fireworks would rise into the sky, illuminating the entire capital as bright as day.
Jiashan, wrapped in a scarlet satin cloak that resembled a red plum blossom against the snow, held a cup and swirled it, looking at Zhan Yue and asking, "How have you spent every New Year's Eve?"
"I don't remember," Zhan Yue replied, gazing at her. "It's probably about the same."
He added softly, "Lively and lonely."
These were two contradictory words, but when Jiashan heard them, she seemed to understand immediately — it was lively for others, but lonely for him.
New Year's Eve was a day for family reunions, but perhaps he didn't have a family.
Jiashan smiled, "Then you should remember this year."
"A toast to you," Jiashan said softly, smiling.
Zhan Yue looked at her calmly. He rubbed the edge of the cup with his fingers and slowly drank the entire cup.
Zhao Youze, following Jiashan's actions, raised his cup. Facing Zhan Yue, he said, "Let me offer you a toast as well."
Zhan Yue raised an eyebrow in slight surprise and tilted his head slightly.
Zhao Youze's face was calm and gentle. He smiled and said, "After the New Year, you will be family with my elder sister. I only have one sister, and I hope you won't let me down."
Zhan Yue's dark eyes were deep, and he said softly, "I also only have one wife."
Zhao Youze smiled and drank the fruit wine in his cup as promised.
Jiashan couldn't help but say, "Drink a little less. I saw you've already had four cups at the banquet. This is the last one."
Zhao Youze nodded obediently and said, "Okay."
He explained, "I'm just happy."
Eunuch Chen watched from the side and couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
He had heard that the Eldest Princess and the Fourth Prince had a very deep relationship, but he didn't expect it to be this deep. Going by this rate, how would the Fourth Prince manage in the palace after the Eldest Princess got married?
Eunuch Chen coughed a few times from the cold wind, and he pulled his clothes tighter. Dancui quickly handed him a hot water bottle.
After a few rounds of drinking, the snow began to fall heavier, as if it were truly a "timely snowfall." The cold wind blew down the withered branches, and the snow, which had accumulated on the branches, suddenly fell onto the brick floor with a "rustling" sound.
The flowers swayed, leaning against the railing in the snow.
Jiashan, feeling inspired by the snow, rubbed Zhao Youze's tiger-fur hat and asked, "The snow is falling heavily. Shall I take Yuankang out to build a snowman?"
Zhao Youze, still a bit childish, had a flushed face after a few drinks. He nodded excitedly, "Okay, I'll go with my sister."
Jiashan turned to ask Zhan Yue with a gentle tone, "Will you come too, Daren?"
Although Zhan Yue's eyebrows were slightly smiling, his expression was calm. He replied indifferently, "No. That's for children."
Jiashan pouted, as if she was complaining that Zhan Yue was being "pretentious." But because Eunuch Chen was present, she didn't confront him directly. She simply said, "Oh."
So, the roundly dressed Jiashan, with little Zhao Youze, quickly got busy in the snow.
Zhan Yue watched with interest for a while, as if he had never seen such a lively scene. He turned to Dancui and said, "Get me a set of pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, please."
Dancui bowed and replied.
Zhan Yue quickly cleared the table and, undoing the straps of his greatcoat, buried his head in careful painting.
In the fluttering snow, four snowmen were slowly built.
Jiashan said, "This is Father, this is Mother, this is Yuankang, and this is me."
Zhao Youze's fingers were already stiff from the cold, but his eyes still shone. He asked happily, "Sister, is Yuankang the smallest?"
"Yes," Jiashan squeezed his hand and teased, "Not only the smallest, but also the fattest."
Zhao Youze hummed in annoyance.
Jiashan turned her head and saw that Zhan Yue was still looking down. She bit her lip and built a tall, fat white doll in front of the snowman that was supposed to be "Jiashan."
Zhao Youze was very clever. He specially ran to the small kitchen and smeared some soot on his hand, wiping it on the face of the snowman.
He showed a few small porcelain teeth and said, "This is the Daren!"
Jiashan couldn't help but laugh. She nodded and said, "Yes."
"You're so naughty," Zhan Yue finally put down his pen. He raised his head and, seeing that Jiashan had built him into the fattest "snowman," he gestured for her to come over. "See if my drawing looks like you?"
Jiashan leaned over to look.
Zhan Yue's painting skills weren't as good as his calligraphy, at least not as exquisite as those of a professional court painter.
In his painting, the world was a vast expanse of white, everything covered in a silver coat. Only a girl stood out, dressed in a fiery red robe, as if she had accidentally been left behind in the human world.
In the girl's hand, she held a child who looked much younger than her. The child's features were clear and bright, especially his eyes, which were so lively that they seemed to speak.
Jiashan said, "This..."
Zhan Yue smiled and winked at her knowingly. His eyelashes were long, hard, and curled, like butterflies flapping their wings.
He leaned close to Jiashan's ear and whispered, "This is my New Year's wish, and I hope it comes true."
Jiashan's hands clenched tightly. Her voice was soft, "It will."
Zhao Youze, who had been taken by Su Yu to wash his hands, returned at this time.
Because he had just played in the snow, his fingers were red and stiff from the cold. Su Yu touched his icy hands and hurriedly handed him a hand warmer, asking with concern, "Your Highness, aren't you cold? It's almost midnight, I'll take you to the inner room to sit for a while."
Zhao Youze was very happy tonight. He shook his head and said, "No. I have one, I don't need two, I still need a hand to hold my sister."
Su Yu nodded and smiled gently, "Okay. Then I'll take one too."
While they were chatting casually, an unusually brilliant firework suddenly rose into the night sky, illuminating the starry sky as brightly as a hundred flowers blooming in spring.
The midnight had truly arrived!
This was the most joyous day of the year. Su Yu was also infected by this festive mood. She couldn't help but look up at the sky.
Zhao Youze carefully shook his head. He rubbed his eyes with his stiff fingers and looked up at Su Yu and asked, "What do fireworks look like?"
Su Yu smiled and replied, "It's like the sky is about to dawn."
Zhao Youze's face was filled with a warm smile. He seemed to no longer feel cold. He nodded vigorously, "I understand."
The two paused for a moment before Su Yu slowly led Zhao Youze back to the small pavilion.
Zhan Yue had already re-fastened his cloak. The midnight had passed, and it was not appropriate for him to stay in Fengyang Pavilion any longer.
Jiashan looked into his gentle eyes and said softly, "I will cherish this painting. It's a pity that the snow melts so quickly and won't last long."
Zhan Yue smiled faintly and said, "As long as Your Highness can remember me, the rest is nothing."
Eunuch Chen blushed involuntarily and turned his head to cough. Taking advantage of Eunuch Chen not looking, Jiashan glared at Zhan Yue fiercely.
Zhan Yue, taking this opportunity, pinched Jiashan's cheek very quickly, as if he were a thief.
"Tonight is my good fortune to be able to celebrate the New Year with both Your Highnesses," Zhan Yue said softly. "I only hope that every year will be like this day."
Jiashan said, "You should go now."
Zhan Yue smiled and finally slowly fastened his cloak. He bowed and saluted Zhao Youze and Jiashan before taking his leave.
With Zhan Yue gone, Eunuch Chen's mission was considered complete.
He hadn't realized it before, but now he understood how much His Majesty's marriage proposal was to the Eldest Princess's liking.
He wasn't stupid, and he already understood how to report back to His Majesty.
Eunuch Chen bowed and said, "By now, the palace banquet is probably over. I'll hurry back to serve His Majesty. It's cold outside, so both Your Highnesses should rest early."
Jiashan politely thanked him and sent Dancui to see him off.
Jiashan rolled up the painting with one hand and held Zhao Youze's hand with the other. Together, they walked towards the inner room.
Unlike the heavy snowfall outside, the inner room had been heated with a floor furnace and a warm stove, exuding a warm and enveloping warmth.
Zhao Youze's palms were very cold, and his small face was no longer as pale as before, but was actually faintly red.
Jiashan thought that he must have caught a chill while playing in the snow, so she quickly squatted down and checked his forehead.
"Yuankang, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Jiashan rubbed his small palm until it was warm and asked.
But at that moment, Zhao Youze used one hand to firmly grasp Jiashan's sleeve. He rested his chin on his knees and said softly, "Sister, I have a secret to tell you."
Jiashan's heart skipped a beat. She opened her almond-shaped eyes slightly and looked at him silently.