Chapter 140 Let Me Smell It

As the fireworks faded, the people of Great Xia welcomed the sixth year of Qingyuan amidst auspicious snow, and the New Year's Eve banquet in the Great Xia Imperial Palace was drawing to a close.

Unlike ordinary palace banquets, on New Year's Eve, members of the royal family who had received the title of prince and their designated heirs were required to stay in the palace until after midnight to keep vigil.

In previous years, Bai Xiuming would not have attended the palace banquet tonight, but this year, at the request of the Ming King, he entered the palace with him to attend the banquet.

The New Year's Eve banquet was held in Chengyun Palace, which is located directly east of the Imperial Palace. Normally, people were not allowed to enter, and it was heavily guarded. People could only enter and leave on the day of the New Year's Eve banquet.

There's nothing particularly special about this place; it's just that many trees are planted inside the palace. These trees never grow leaves or flowers, but their trunks grow thicker and stronger every year, and I don't know what kind they are.

As midnight approached, the many members of the royal family who had been drinking and chatting inside the palace all eagerly headed outside, and Bai Xiuming was also pulled out by the Ming King.

At this moment, many people were standing under each tree outside the palace. King Ming smiled and said to Bai Xiuming, "Go and choose a tree too, and see how your fortune will be next year?"

Bai Xiuming roughly knew what was going on, so he randomly chose a tree with the fewest people and stood there.

When the bells of the Tower of Babel rang, the trees in the Palace of Fortune began to grow leaves, blossom, and bear fruit almost instantly.

The fruit on the tree is red, each about the size of a fist, with a restrained luster.

This fruit is called the Chengyun Fruit, and the Ming King would bring one back to him every year.

It is said that the Chengyun Fruit Tree was planted by the ancestors of the Bai clan and is connected to the fortune of the Bai clan. If the fortune of the clan is strong, it will bear many Chengyun Fruits. If the fortune is not strong enough to support an imperial dynasty, the fruit tree will wither and die and never bear fruit again.

Outside of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Cheng Yun Fruit is known as the Huang Yun Fruit. Although this fruit can only be used to nourish the body, its significance is extraordinary.

In the brief moment when Bai Xiuming's thoughts were scattered, the Chengyun fruit tree in front of him was already laden with fruit.

Standing beside Bai Xiuming, the young master of some royal family stared at the fruit tree for a long time before shouting, "This year's King of Fruits is here!"

Everyone else immediately looked over.

Bai Xiuming also saw it; a Fortune-Bearing Fruit the size of a human head had grown on the tree in front of him, more conspicuous than the other fruits.

According to the rules, once you've chosen a tree, you can't change locations; you can only pick fruit from the tree in front of you.

The others, seeing such large fruit growing on someone else's tree, were immediately disappointed. The prince who had shouted first was already impatiently climbing the tree, while someone below was pulling at his pants.

"Have you no shame? Let go of me!"

"Did you think those fruits were meant for you? You're climbing up there, now come down!" Someone chuckled and pulled the other person down by their pants.

As soon as one person came down, two more people rushed up.

The tree wasn't very tall to begin with, and one of the people climbed quickly. He was about to reach the king of fruits when, unexpectedly, the fruit fell down on its own.

Those below reached out to catch it, and the fruit landed precisely in Bai Xiuming's hand.

A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd; as expected, the object had already been claimed, and everyone had to change their target.

Someone nearby exclaimed in admiration, "They're so proactive! Last year, the fruit I picked actually hit me in the face, and I almost fell off the tree."

This topic was so engaging that someone immediately complained, "What's that compared to what I got last year? The fruit I finally managed to pick turned out to be sour. When I brought it back to my mother, her teeth ached so badly that she couldn't eat for two days. She was so angry that she found a reason to deduct half a year's salary from my pay."

Some people were chatting and picking fruit under the trees, while others had already picked fruit and started eating it right there.

The emperor and a group of princes, who were not young, stood smiling in front of the palace gate, watching the young people enthusiastically picking fruit.

Bai Xiuming returned to the Ming King's side with the Chengyun Fruit. Upon seeing the fruit in his hand, the emperor exclaimed, "This fruit of yours is indeed quite large. It seems that something good is bound to happen this year."

King Ming also picked a fruit at some point, took a bite, and said from the side, "Whether it's good or bad doesn't matter. What matters is that he finally doesn't have to steal my fruit anymore."

The emperor laughed heartily and said, "I have to go grab some fruit too. Soon all the big ones will be picked, and if I pick the small ones, the empress will be angry."

After taking two steps, the emperor turned around and said to Bai Xiuming with a meaningful look, "This Chengyun fruit is more pleasing than jewelry."

"I have learned a lot," Bai Xiuming said thoughtfully.

After the palace banquet ended, the imperial relatives left the palace in twos and threes to return to their residences. King Ming asked Bai Xiuming beside him, "Will you come back to your residence with me?"

Bai Xiuming declined, saying, "My son has some things to attend to; he'll go back later."

King Ming glanced at the fruit in his hand and waved his hand dismissively: "Go."

At this time, only a few households in Changpingfang were still setting off firecrackers outside.

Accompanied by the occasional sound of firecrackers in the distance, the candlelight in every household gradually went out.

After Ah Chan finished building the snowman, Chen Hui urged her to go back to her room to sleep. After playing in the snow for a while, she felt a little cold and obediently went back to her room.

I didn't feel anything while playing, but once I entered the warm and cozy room, I was immediately overcome with drowsiness.

She lay down on the tiger-skin rug for a while, then reached out and found a soft pillow to hug, and drifted off to sleep.

In her sleep, she vaguely heard someone knocking on the door. Thinking it was a dream, she groggily opened her eyes, only to find the sound still there.

Moreover, the sound was coming from the back window.

Achan sat up, and after a while, she got up and walked to the back window.

She opened the window, and the chill outside rushed in, along with the wind and snow, and Bai Xiuming appeared.

"Why are you here?" Achan leaned out of the window, resting her elbow on the windowsill, and asked the man standing outside.

Bai Xiuming raised her hand, and a bright red fruit, as big as a plate, suddenly appeared in front of her.

The beautiful fruit immediately caught Achan's eye. Just as she was about to lean over for a closer look, she heard a knock on the door.

"Achan, are you asleep?" Chen Hui's voice came along with the knocking on the door.

For some reason, Achan suddenly felt a little guilty. She glanced at Bai Xiuming, then turned to look at the door, seemingly hesitating about what to choose.

Bai Xiuming seemed to find her conflicted look amusing, and before A Chan could react, he had already jumped into the house.

People are already inside; we can't just push them out again.

Ah Chan quickly closed the window and pushed the person to hide in a corner out of sight of the door before answering, "You're not asleep yet? What's wrong?"

She answered as she walked toward the door.

When she opened the door, Chen Hui was carrying a teapot. Seeing her come out, she handed the teapot to her and said, "This is ginger tea. Remember to drink a cup later to warm yourself up."

"Okay." Although she didn't really like drinking it, she had to obey in order to avoid getting sick.

After taking the ginger tea and closing the door, Achan turned around and saw Bai Xiuming sitting on her bed.

The fruit he had just brought was on the table, making the fruit in the fruit plate on the table look even smaller and uglier.

Achan carried the teapot to the table and poured a cup of ginger tea.

The ginger tea was at the perfect temperature to drink, and she downed it in one gulp. There was no honey in it, and the pungent, spicy taste made her gasp for breath.

After finishing her drink, she turned around and saw that Bai Xiuming was still staring at her. So Achan picked up another teacup, poured another cup, and handed it to Bai Xiuming, wanting to share the good fortune with him.

Bai Xiuming took the ginger tea she offered, clearly seeing her ill intentions, but still took a sip.

The spicy taste entered his throat, and he raised an eyebrow slightly. Just as he was about to put down the teacup, Ah Chan's small hand covered his hand holding the teacup, and she forced him to drink the whole cup of ginger tea.

After he finished drinking, he deliberately asked, "Was it good?"

"What do you think?" Bai Xiuming clearly didn't like the taste either.

Ah Chan was overjoyed. She sat down next to Bai Xiuming and could smell the biting coldness from the snow and ice on his body, along with a rich aroma of wine.

She really liked the aroma of the wine, and even leaned closer to smell it before whispering, "Have you been drinking?"

"I only drank a little." Bai Xiuming let her get closer to him.

"What a coincidence, I only had a little too. Let me let you smell it." With that, she leaned closer.

Bai Xiuming stared at her small face as it drew closer, his gaze deep and unwavering, yet he did not look away.

Just then, there was another soft knock on the door, and Chen Hui's voice rang out again: "Achan, go to sleep early, don't play too much."

Achan paused, then quickly turned around and replied, "Okay, I'll go to sleep now."

She was some distance from the candles on the table when she tugged at Bai Xiuming's clothes. Bai Xiuming moved a finger, and the candlelight in the room suddenly went out.

Seeing that the candle in her room had gone out and the footsteps were fading away, Chen Hui returned to her own room.

At this moment, Achan had already retreated, and the warm breath that had been close by gradually faded away. Bai Xiuming gently rubbed his fingers together, a slight regret rising in his heart.

"What kind of fruit did you bring?" Achan asked in a low voice, afraid of being overheard.

"The Cheng Yun Fruit should be very sweet." Bai Xiuming lowered his voice cooperatively, looking as if he wanted to avoid being seen by others.

Achan had never heard of the Chengyun Fruit, but she thought that just based on the fruit's beauty, it must taste delicious.

Even in the darkness, Bai Xiuming's gaze could still clearly trace her features. She was dressed exceptionally beautifully today, with an exquisite hairstyle and a gold hairpin that he had sent to adorn her hair.

"Do you like the New Year's gift I gave you?" he asked.

Although His Majesty thought Cheng Yun Guo was better, he believed that A Chan would like anything beautiful.

"I like it," Achan replied without hesitation.

Speaking of New Year's gifts, she suddenly remembered that she had also prepared a gift for Bai Xiuming, and hurriedly said, "Wait a minute, I also prepared a gift for you."

Ah Chan groped her way to the dressing table, searched for a while, and finally found the brocade box.

Because it was difficult to light candles, Achan could only barely see what she was holding by the light of the Chengyun fruit on the table. After confirming that she hadn't taken the wrong thing, she walked back to the bedside and opened the brocade box.

Inside was a pair of jade pendants depicting two fish. Achan took out one of the pendants, hooked it in her hand, and said to Bai Xiuming, "This is for you."

Bai Xiuming looked at the pair of jade pendants. He raised his hand and took the one in A Chan's hand, gently stroking it with his fingertips before saying, "Help me put it on."

"OK."

Achan's hand touched Bai Xiuming's belt. He already had a jade pendant hanging on his waist, so she easily untied it and replaced it with the Pisces jade pendant she had given him.

Since I gave him a gift, he can only wear the jade pendant that I gave him.

Then, she disdainfully tossed the jade pendant aside.

Seeing her actions, Bai Xiuming chuckled before asking, "Since they are a pair of jade pendants, shall I help you put them on?"

Ah Chan thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay."

So Bai Xiuming hooked another jade pendant in the shape of two fish and tied it to her. In this way, they wore the same jade pendant.

After giving the return gift, Achan felt one less thing on her mind. She yawned and started to shoo people away: "I'm going to sleep."

"Will you escort me out?"

Seeing guests off is basic etiquette. Achan took his hand and escorted him back to the back window, thoughtfully opening the window and reminding him, "Remove the footprints so they won't be discovered."

Bai Xiuming had no choice but to wipe away the traces of snow as she requested. Seeing that she was about to close the window, he braced one hand against the window frame before saying to her, "How about I take you to the lantern festival for the Lantern Festival?"

Achan had never visited the Lantern Festival in the capital. Last year, during the Lantern Festival, she was still struggling between life and death.

That was also the day she first met Bai Xiuming.

“Okay,” she said.

Hearing her agree, Bai Xiuming was finally satisfied. He lowered his hand and said softly, "Go back to sleep. I'm leaving."

After he finished speaking, his figure flickered slightly and then disappeared.

The next morning, when Achan woke up groggily, she felt something poking her. She fumbled around in the blankets for a while and finally pulled out a jade pendant that looked very expensive.

Achan recalled what happened last night. Perhaps because she had drunk some alcohol, her memory was not so clear, but she vaguely remembered that Bai Xiuming had come last night.

He brought her a large fruit and invited her to the lantern festival.

What happened during that time?

After thinking carefully for a while, Achan finally remembered that she had given him one of the Pisces jade pendants as a gift. She hurriedly went to rummage through her clothes that she had taken off and found another jade pendant on her belt.

Giving away the prepared gift is certainly not a problem. The problem is that no one should take away the original jade pendant from the person they are giving away.

Ah Chan held the jade pendant and looked at it for a while, then felt that her behavior was slightly embarrassing.

She burys her head in the sand and throws the jade pendant into the brocade box by her bedside, deciding to return it another day.