Chapter 15: Stay up all night and see each other every year.

On the night between the old and the new year, light snow began to fall.

Zhou Xian held out his palm and caught a few snowflakes. They were damp and cold, giving him a shiver. He then leaned against Zhou Heng, took his half-brother's hand, and whispered, "What are you doing here? What do you want to say? Did you bring me a gift?"

"Since my sister is getting married, I naturally have to send her a gift. It's just that it's a bit too much, so it's inconvenient to carry it tonight. I'll have someone send it to her house tomorrow." Zhou Heng let him hold her arm with a smile on his face.

"You sent someone to bring gifts, why didn't you come yourself?" Zhou Xian whined in her brother's ear, "Are you going to court tomorrow morning too? Come to my house and talk to me, just as a New Year's greeting."

Zhou Heng exchanged glances with Zhang Jinwei from a distance, nodded in greeting, then turned to look at the spoiled imperial sister and said helplessly, "Why don't I have to attend court? Besides, I've been away from the capital for many years and have left behind many annoying chores. I'm afraid I'll be busy for quite a while. When I'm free, I can come visit your mansion, okay?"

Of course it’s good, as long as Zhou Heng comes.

Zhou Xian asked again, "You said in front of the Emperor that you would not leave. Did you really mean it?"

"Well, I won't leave." Zhou Heng sighed softly. "I became a monk in my early years and practiced Taoism, which indeed gave me a few years of peace and tranquility. However, I traveled around the world and went to Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the middle of the year. Seeing the fields abandoned and the people suffering, my heart became even more restless. I realized that my so-called inaction and indifference were just a coward's escape, and it really wasn't the behavior of a real man. Whether in the world or in the world, as long as I can find a clear conscience, for me, it is all cultivation."

He sounded quite lonely.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xian stood on tiptoe, imitating the manners of an elder. He patted his brother's head with an air of sobriety, saying, "Don't be too sad. Zhou Cong is courting death. This incident must have severely damaged his vitality, and he probably won't be able to jump again. Sixth brother has great ambitions, and will definitely be valued by our father. Why should you be afraid of Zhou Cong?"

"You!" Zhou Heng was so embarrassed by his sister that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He tilted his head back to avoid Zhou Shan's disrespectful hand and nodded in the direction of a certain imperial consort. "Hurry up and get in the sedan chair. The imperial consort has been waiting there for quite a while."

Zhou Xian suddenly felt a little guilty.

The snow was falling lightly. Through the curtain of snow, his eyelashes trembling, he saw Zhang Jinwei standing in front of him, his hands in his sleeves, smiling faintly at him.

…

As soon as the sedan stopped and Zhou Xian hadn't even stepped out of the door, she heard Cui Yi's clear and hearty laughter. Maids were running around, servants were laughing, and the mansion was full of people.

"Hey, Jin'er, you and the princess are finally back!" Aunt Cui's laughter came from far away. "Come on, come on, we're playing cards and we're short one. We're waiting for you!"

Zhou Shan got out of the sedan chair, and it wasn't Yu Xi who helped him up, but Zhang Jinwei. The man's hands were incredibly hot, and Zhou Shan felt like he was angry, but a closer look at his features revealed a smile.

Smiling tiger!

He just said a few more words to Sixth Brother!

"Are you cold on the way home? Come, have a sip of ginger soup before you warm up inside." Aunt Cui couldn't help but smile when she saw the couple holding hands. She took out two bowls of fragrant ginger soup from the lunch box, told the couple to eat, and then called the maids to serve them.

"Don't hold my hand, there are so many people watching us!" Zhou Shan saw the maids coming out from the hanging flower gate, and the man's hand was reluctant to let go. She felt a little shy and moved her hand back and forth in the man's palm.

Zhang Jinwei's grip tightened upon hearing this. The courtyard was festooned with red lanterns, like balls of fire, burning his face red. He replied with a rather unrelated question: "Princess, do you want to rest for a while, or do something else?"

"I...I want to take off the thing on my head." Zhou Xian couldn't shake off the man's hand no matter how hard she tried. She closed her eyes, turned her head, and called out, "Auntie, I want to change clothes."

When everyone crowded in front of the two of them, Zhang Jinwei finally let go and said with an unchanging smile, "I want to change clothes too."

Yu Xi led the maids and rushed over, taking Zhou Shan back to the backyard. They removed the hairpins from her hair and put a sleeping rabbit on her head, a fluffy circle of white mink fur that looked particularly playful. He then took off his heavy gold-woven shirt and changed into a thick red satin jacket. He then went to the front hall, carrying a hand warmer, to watch people playing cards.

"The princess is here!"

As Zhou Xian entered the room, he heard Aunt Cui's hearty laughter. He looked over and saw a group of people gathered on the kang, around a square table, shuffling cards.

"Lao Jiang, make some mutton soup and a few bowls of dumplings. Then, take out the Zhejiang Huadiao wine buried under the plum tree, heat up the wine, and bring it all over," Aunt Cui instructed the servant beside her. The servant agreed, turned around and ran away. Aunt Cui hurriedly told him to slow down.

Aunt Cui said something nice, then she got off the kang to make room for Zhou Xian and waved her hand with a smile, "Come sit here, Auntie."

When Zhou Xian sat down on the kang, she suddenly saw a familiar figure sitting at the square table. It was Qianshan, who had stayed home. The girl was eating dates and walnuts while playing cards on the table. When she saw Zhou Xian, she said, "Princess, you're finally back! If you hadn't come back, I would have lost everything!"

"When did you learn to play cards?" Zhou Xianqi asked.

Qianshan smiled proudly: "In the few hours since the princess returned to the palace! I'm smart, right? Aunt Cui and the others taught me everything!"

"You can learn it in one lesson? Just now someone was yelling that they were about to lose everything." Zhou Xian glanced at her and jokingly said. He put down the stove in his hand and pinched a date with a walnut, eating it slowly.

"Well, let's put it this way," Qianshan said stubbornly. She had been at the Zhuangyuan Mansion for a month, and her palace caution had completely vanished. She became even more eloquent. Seeing the princess's beautiful eyes half-closed, she suddenly turned around and shouted, "The Prince Consort is here!"

Zhou Xian raised his eyes helplessly. The lawless Qianshan had already jumped off the kang and sat on a round stool beside him, leaving the seat next to him empty.

The whole house was filled with noise. Outside, there were sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers. Fine snow was falling. There were red lanterns, red paper, red tassels, warm yellow light, and hot air... The man was holding a jar of wine in his hand, his shoulders were covered with snow, and he was only wearing a flowing blue robe. No one knew whether he was cold or not, but he was very elegant and walked straight towards where Zhou Xian was.

After Zhang Jinwei sat down, Zhou Xian approached him and asked, "What kind of wine is that in your hand, Prince Consort?"

"I brewed it myself." Zhang Jinwei lifted the jar and waved it in front of Zhou Xian. The round-bellied, narrow-mouthed, black-lacquered pottery jar, sealed with red silk cloth, looked quite intimidating at first glance. It was hard to tell whether the contents were pure nectar or a potent wine.

Qianshan, who was sitting nearby, took two wine glasses and placed them in front of the couple. She said, "How come the Prince Consort can make wine? Princess, please try it. If it tastes good, we will have to rely on the Prince Consort's craftsmanship to support our family in the future!"

Aunt Cui was stacking up the mahjong cards one by one. After hearing Qianshan's words, she laughed and scolded, "What kind of wine are you brewing? This brat has just blossomed from a tree, and he's imitating a peacock spreading its feathers, knowing how to cheer people up. Princess, just take a sip to give him some face. The wine he brewed... ha!"

From the sound of it, the special brew for the prince consort might not taste good.

Zhou Xian hesitantly picked up the wine glass on the table. It was filled with clear, fragrant wine, but Aunt Cui told him to just take a sip...

"Why are you listening to her? She has never liked drinking and will frown when she smells alcohol. If the princess doesn't drink, there will be no wine left when Lao Jiang comes." Zhang Jin smiled and poured himself a glass. He tilted his head back and drank the wine in one gulp.

Zhou Xian thought to himself, "I'll give you a favor." He slowly brought his mouth closer to the wine glass, glancing at Zhang Jinwei. Wasn't he angry when he came back just now? Now he's fine again, smiling like a big-tailed wolf. He's truly a remarkable person.

He didn't know that Zhang Jin wasn't angry, but just jealous. This remarkable man's jealousy quickly dissipated when he saw someone he disliked, and within an hour, he was a generous and good husband.

While daydreaming, he took a sip of wine.

Zhou Xian frowned, not being able to taste anything. He took another bite and found it surprisingly refreshing and delicious, but it was too young. It was a little spicy on the tongue at first, but it started to become sweet in the throat and became mellow and long-lasting in the stomach.

"How is it?" Zhang Jinwei said with a smile.

"Hiss—" Zhou Xian stuck out his tongue a little, "It's a little spicy, but not bad."

"Aunt Cui, look, even the princess approves of my craftsmanship." Zhang Jinwei proudly raised his eyebrows at Aunt Cui.

Aunt Cui spat at him and said, "Go away, you are so beautiful!"

Soon, the table was filled with mutton soup with dumplings, warm Huadiao wine, a variety of candies and cakes, and melon seeds and peanuts. Qianshan clamored to play cards, and he and Aunt Cui cleared a space on the square table and looked for someone to play cards with.

"I'll do it." Eunuch Wang Xiang appeared from nowhere, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking cold.

"How come you know this too?" Zhou Xian asked again in surprise.

Wang Xiang laughed, "I've caught the young eunuchs in the palace playing cards in secret several times. I got tempted to try, so I secretly learned a few tricks. But let me be frank: I'm not a very good player, so please don't laugh at me, Your Majesty."

So the four of them gathered together, each drew eight cards, and rolled the dice. As luck would have it, Zhang Jin was the banker.

"Come, I'll teach you." Zhang Jinwei pulled the princess to his side, almost holding her in his arms, and taught Zhou Shan how to recognize the cards one by one.

Majiang is divided into four categories: "Ten Pieces," "Guan Pieces," "Suo Pieces," and "Wen Qian," with a total of forty decks, each decorated with embroidered images of characters from the Water Margin. Zhang Jinwei and the others took turns teaching as they played, demonstrating each one individually. He also explained to Zhou Xian the meanings of "Shang," "Jian," and "Ji" (meaning "extreme"). The sheer number of possible moves dazzled Zhou.

In the first round, Zhang Jinwei was the banker, the Chun family, while the other three were independent players. He fought back and forth with Aunt Cui and Wang Xiang, leaving Qianshan feeling dizzy and forced to follow the two independent players. She kept shouting, "Eunuch Wang is a liar," and everyone burst into laughter.

When Zhou Xian gradually figured out the situation, he and Zhang Jin played a hand together. In this round, they played the Chun family and unexpectedly got a straight flush, which wiped out the three San family players.

Suddenly, firecrackers blasted, fireworks went off outside the window, and people said to each other, "Happy New Year!"

It’s a brand new year again, bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.

"Happy New Year," Zhang Jinwei said to Zhou Shan with a smile, "I wish the princess all the best and peace every year."

Everything goes well.

Zhou Xian thought, if you wish me all the best, then I will be able to escape successfully. Well, I'll borrow your good wishes!

Even though she thought so, Zhou Xian still said, "Happy New Year, my Prince Consort. May you ride on the wind and soar to the sky."

There seemed to be many words in Zhang Jinwei's eyes, thousands of words, but in the end he just held his wife's hand and smiled.

Whether you are promoted rapidly or everything goes well, I just hope that we can see each other year after year.

…

On this day of joy and reunion among the people, someone committed suicide on the way back to Beijing under escort by the Imperial Guards.

Within two days, this secret would shock the court and the public. Later scholars believed this was the turning point in the decline of the Daning Dynasty, which subsequently opened up a massive historical transformation and left behind countless strange stories.

But at this moment, only one person died, a scapegoat.