MYUFPC CHAPTER 42
you’ll be able to see Sister get married
Kong Lihui had entered the palace in early November, and now nearly two months had passed. Zhao Youze had been treated by him for two months in his previous life before he discovered that he could see light.
Now Yuan Kang's expression suddenly turned serious, and Jiashan's heart couldn't help but rise. She sat up straight beside Zhao Youze.
The heat rising from the floor furnace in the inner room seemed to suddenly become more intense, making Jiashan's heart flutter.
She forced herself to calm down and grabbed the hand warmer on the nearby table, holding it in her arms.
Jiashan asked slowly, "What does Yuan Kang want to say?"
Zhao Youze slowly picked up a deep purple grape and popped it into his mouth. After spitting out a seed, he said calmly, "At midnight, Sister, did you see the fireworks? Weren't they beautiful?"
Jiashan patiently replied, "They were colorful and beautiful."
She stroked the hand warmer and smiled slightly.
At this time, Su Yu went to get new charcoal, and Dancui was still leading the palace maids in tidying up the mess they had made in the pavilion.
Besides the two siblings, there were no other outsiders in the inner room.
Jiashan lowered her voice and helped Zhao Youze push the stray hair on his forehead behind his ear. She asked softly, "Yuan Kang saw it too, right?"
Zhao Youze smiled with pursed lips.
He looked up, his small face, with a pair of dark and clear eyes, seemed to be full of life, just like in Zhan Yue's painting just now.
The smile on Zhao Youze's face deepened little by little. Because he had drunk some wine, he couldn't help but blush and said, "I don't know if it counts. It's just that it feels like there's suddenly light in front of my eyes."
"The kind of light that clears your mind," Zhao Youze said, "I asked Sister Su Yu later what the fireworks were like. Sister Su Yu told me it was like dawn."
He curled one finger and scratched his chin, looking a little puzzled. "I've never seen dawn. But I think the scene in front of my eyes should be similar."
Jiashan felt a mix of emotions and touched Zhao Youze's hair. His hair was soft and fine, still like a child who hadn't grown up.
But after ten years, her younger brother had unknowingly grown up so much.
The corners of Jiashan's lips gradually curved into a smile. She looked at him frankly and gently hugged him.
“Su Yu was right, and Yuan Kang wasn’t wrong either. It really was like dawn,” Jiashan said.
Zhao Youze hummed in response, then continued, “But it was just for a moment. Now it’s dark in front of my eyes again.”
Jiashan looked at the color of the sky and smiled, saying, “Then tomorrow when the sun rises, I’ll wake Yuan Kang up. You can see if you can see the real dawn.”
“Can I?” Zhao Youze asked.
His lips were pursed, and for the first time in front of Jiashan, he showed a bit of helpless and disheartened emotion.
Perhaps because he had drunk some wine, Zhao Youze spoke more than usual. Grasping Jiashan's hand, his palm was slightly sweaty, but he still held her finger tightly, wet and damp.
“Sister,” he said, “to be honest, I’m sometimes afraid that this is just a fleeting moment.”
“If I can’t see forever, then so be it. But if after seeing the light, I become blind again,” Zhao Youze held his chin with one hand and said flatly, “I think even a sage would have psychological setbacks.”
His tone was low and mournful, not particularly sad, but Jiashan felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
“Don’t say that,” Jiashan said.
“Remember what Yuan Kang said just now?” Jiashan’s pupils held a faint smile. Her face was like a spring breeze as she said loudly, “A good harvest follows a heavy snowfall. Everything this year will go smoothly.”
“Don’t think too much, just get a good night’s sleep.” Jiashan raised her long eyebrows and carefully wiped the sticky sweat from Zhao Youze’s palm with a handkerchief. She smiled and said, “On the fifth day of the lunar month, I’ll ask Aunt to bring Kong Lihui into the palace to have him take a closer look at Yuan Kang. Maybe...”
Jiashan changed her tone and said affectionately, “Yuan Kang, you’ll be able to see Sister get married.”
Zhao Youze's gloomy mood was indeed swept away, and he asked excitedly, “Really?”
“Really,” Jiashan smiled and patted his back, saying, “It’s getting late, go and rest. Don’t be lazy when I wake you up tomorrow.”
Zhao Youze showed a slight joy on his face. He obediently took a hot water bottle and was led by Su Yu to his room.
After Zhao Youze left, a more solemn expression appeared on Jiashan’s face. She quietly peeled a few purple grapes and ate them. Only when Su Yu came back to report that “the Fourth Prince has fallen asleep” did Jiashan come back to her senses.
She turned half her face, her face delicate, thinking about things while wiping her hands with a damp towel.
The snow outside had slowly stopped at some point.
The red tiles and white walls had lost their original color. The world was vast and desolate, and the ground was covered with a dense layer of snowflakes. The charcoal fire in the charcoal basin in the inner room had never been extinguished, filling the entire hall with wisps of smoke.
Jiashan took a deep breath. Her expression was like the most tender green willow branch in the March spring breeze.
Jiashan said, "Since that's the case, everyone should go to rest early. At this hour, there's no need to have someone specially stay up on guard. It's a rare occasion, so let's indulge in some laziness."
Su Yu replied, "Yes," and stepped forward to help Jiashan walk into the inner room to rest.
The next day was the first day of the Lunar New Year.
After Zhao Youze got up and had breakfast with Jiashan, he went to Changle Palace to pay his respects to the Jing fei.
After all, the Jing fei had raised Zhao Youze for nearly ten years, and he had grown up under her knee. On the first day of the new year, it was only right for him to go and greet the Jing fei.
Coincidentally, just as Zhao Youze left, the Emperor Zhanghe, accompanied by Eunuch Chen, came to Fengyang Pavilion. Last night, the heavy snow had indeed stopped for a while in the middle of the night, but it started to fall again near dawn, as if it were goose feathers, and the entire eaves were covered with jade leaves and silver flowers.
At this time, the palace servants had only managed to clear the snow in front of the various palace gates, but the Fengyang Pavilion was still covered in a blanket of snow.
The snowman that Jiashan and Zhao Youze had built last night had not completely melted.
When Emperor Zhanghe came in, he saw five white ball-like things gathered in the courtyard. Each one had a pot-sized head and a barrel-like body.
Emperor Zhanghe asked with a smile, "What are those?"
Eunuch Chen replied happily, "Last night when we were staying up late, it started to snow, and the Eldest Princess and the Fourth Prince made them out of fun."
He explained to Emperor Zhanghe one by one, "The one in the middle is you and the Empress, the Empress is holding the hand of the Fourth Prince, and you are holding the hand of the Princess. As for the one on the side, it was built by the Princess to represent Zhan daren."
Emperor Zhanghe's gaze turned, and he personally stepped forward to add another layer to the snowman.
After playing, he clapped his hands lightly, paused for a moment, and then walked to the main room to see Jiashan.
Jiashan was having Su Yu roll out the dough and prepare some meat and vegetable fillings so that everyone could have fun making dumplings together.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Zhanghe arrived, and she quickly got up from the couch and bowed gracefully, saying, "With such heavy snow, how did Father come here? Your daughter was just about to go see you, and I've even prepared some lucky red envelopes."
Emperor Zhanghe saw the table full of dough and flour, and he understood immediately. He ordered someone to clear it away before saying, "These are just trivial matters. You're about to get married. It's time to settle down."
Jiashan smiled. Her bright eyes gazed intently at Emperor Zhanghe.
She said, "This is probably the last time I'll spend the New Year with Father in the palace. I couldn't stay up with you last night, and I would feel uneasy if I didn't do something today."
"Mm." Emperor Zhanghe took a small sip of the hot tea that had just been served. He asked casually, "Where's Yuan Kang? Didn't he stay in your palace after staying up last night? Why don't I see him?"
Jiashan replied in a clear voice, "Yuan Kang got up early and went to pay his respects to the Jing fei. He said he would come over after having lunch."
Emperor Zhanghe said indifferently, "He's quite filial to the Jing fei."
There was not a hint of joy or anger in Emperor Zhanghe's words, but his cold eyes suddenly swept over Jiashan.
Jiashan pursed her lips slightly, her brow furrowed slightly.
Emperor Zhanghe raised his long eyebrows, his voice low and long, as he stared at Jiashan and asked, "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Jiashan's breathing became slightly heavier. She was silent for a moment before slowly kneeling down and saying, "Your daughter must apologize to her father."
"On such a good day, why apologize?" Emperor Zhanghe's expression softened slightly, but he didn't mean to let Jiashan get up.
He pondered for a moment before saying solemnly, "In your heart, you must see me as a heartless father."
Emperor Zhanghe's voice was soft, but to Jiashan's ears, it was as heavy as a thousand pounds. Her heart sank, and she immediately understood that Kong Lihui's matter had probably not been hidden from her father from the beginning.
Jiashan's face turned pale, and she said softly, "Father is wise, your daughter has never had such thoughts."
Emperor Zhanghe stroked the teacup without speaking.
"I know that Father is both my father and Yuan Kang's father, but at the same time, you are also the Supreme Emperor. Your heart is concerned with the world, and naturally you cannot only consider me and Yuan Kang." Jiashan's tone was sincere, and she gently knocked her head, "But I am a selfish older sister, far less broad-minded than you. Yuan Kang has been blind since he was young, and my mother passed away early. He was still so young, and if I didn't take care of Yuan Kang a little more, I'm afraid there would be no one in this deep palace who would truly care for him."
"I deliberately hid the matter of Kong Lihui from you."
Since it's come to this, there's no need to hide it anymore. Since Father has taken this stance, it's clear that he's prepared for this. If I continue to hide it, I'm afraid a small disaster will turn into a big one.
Jiashan said, "I was also afraid that his medical skills were not good enough to cure Yuan Kang's eyes, and that it would instead worry Father."
Emperor Zhanghe's expression showed no sign of anger. His eyes were indifferent as he asked, "You hid it from me, really just because you were afraid he couldn't cure him?"
Jiashan looked up and saw that Emperor Zhanghe's gaze was like that of a hawk. Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she whispered, "Father is wise."
"Now that Yuan Kang's eyes have a glimmer of hope, I dare to have a heart-to-heart talk with Father." Jiashan's tone, in this warm room filled with the scent of charcoal, was like a burn, scorching hot and drilling into Emperor Zhanghe's heart.
Emperor Zhanghe's eyes were like fire. He rubbed his temples and asked, "What do you want to say?"