New Year's Eve

Inside the library, Jie Xiangsi leaned on the windowsill, gazing at the bare branches of the chinaberry tree outside, watching the white snowflakes falling on them. She sighed softly, "Suddenly, like a spring breeze overnight, thousands of pear trees bloom. But when spring comes, the pear blossoms are in bloom, but my daylilies are already cold."

A soft laugh suddenly came from behind me.

Jie Xiangsi paused, then turned to look.

Zhou Yanzhi had somehow entered the library and was now standing not far behind her. Seeing her look over, Zhou Yanzhi strolled over, leaned against the window, and chuckled, "Cousin, what dish are you cooking?"

Instead of answering, Jie Xiangsi asked, "Where is Qing Shu?"

If Zhou Yanzhi were to enter, Qing Shu should have spoken up.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi clicked his tongue, reached out to catch the snowflakes falling from the window, and said calmly, "I let her go."

Jie Xiangsi nodded, pushed herself up, took a few steps back, lowered her eyes, and bowed to Zhou Yanzhi. "Since you've come to the library, cousin, you must have something to discuss. I won't disturb your enjoyment any longer."

Without waiting for Zhou Yanzhi's response, Jie Xiangsi turned and left.

Before she could take two steps, two heavy knocks came from behind her. Xie Xiangsi paused, but did not turn around, pretending not to hear. When she took another step forward, Zhou Yanzhi finally couldn't help but speak.

"cousin."

His tone was somewhat helpless.

This time, we can't pretend we didn't hear it.

Jie Xiangsi turned around, raised her eyes to meet Zhou Yanzhi's gaze, and said calmly, "Cousin, is there anything else?"

Sensing the deliberate distance in her tone, Zhou Yanzhi chuckled, raising an eyebrow and saying, "Cousin, you clearly made a calming herbal packet, why didn't you give me one?"

Jie Xiangsi: "..."

Without thinking, Xie Xiang replied, "It's all delivered."

Zhou Yanzhi understood and said "Oh".

So she could give her mother so much, but couldn't bear to give him any.

While inwardly cursing him, Zhou Yanzhi kept his expression hidden and continued, "Then why have you been deliberately avoiding me lately?"

Jie Xiangsi blinked: "...I wasn't avoiding you."

“Lying,” Zhou Yanzhi said.

Her fingertips trembled slightly as she retorted, "No."

Zhou Yanzhi raised an eyebrow.

You little liar, you're lying again.

Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Zhou Yanzhi said lazily, "My cousin should know what the Dali Temple does. Lying to me is not a wise decision."

Jie Xiangsi's expression remained unchanged. She raised her eyes to meet Zhou Yanzhi's probing gaze and asked in return, "So, cousin, you want to send me to the Dali Temple for interrogation again?"

In an instant, the atmosphere inside the library plummeted.

Even Zhou Yanzhi, with his good temper, was provoked to a point of anger. Moreover, he already had a bad temper, and now he felt a sense of frustration from the bottom of his heart.

When did he say he was going to send her to the Dali Temple again?

His initial intention in coming to the library was simply to reconcile with Xiangsi and get her to stop avoiding him, but now that idea just won't work out.

then……

The two of them each occupied a corner of the library, looking at each other without saying a word.

The snow outside the window seemed to be affected by the inexplicably solemn atmosphere, falling even more heavily. In an instant, pure white snowflakes danced in the sky, and the cold wind howled fiercely.

Fine frost and snow were blown into the pavilion by the wind, landing on Zhou Yanzhi, who was standing in front of the window, turning half of his black hair snow-white. After a long while, Zhou Yanzhi's eyelashes trembled, and he spoke first to end the silent confrontation.

“Cousin, I had no intention of investigating this matter further, but as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, I must ask you one more question: why are you so obsessed with the Yangqu case?”

The night I accidentally entered her room, we talked about Yang Qu, and a few days ago, our conversation ended unhappily again, this time about Yang Qu.

Yangqu, Yangqu, what is it about that place that's troubling her?!

Thinking of this, Zhou Yanzhi paused, his dark eyes fixed on Xie Xiangsi.

"Or rather, why is my cousin so obsessed with the Xiao family case?"

My heart sinks as I try to unravel this longing.

As expected, Zhou Yanzhi became suspicious.

But... so what?

It was all just his suspicion.

"What do you mean by this, cousin?" Xie Xiangsi took a step back, feigning fear, and whispered, "Xiangsi is indeed very curious about the Xiao family case. However, as Xiangsi has said before, she has been interested in criminal investigation since childhood. Therefore, with such a big case, Xiangsi naturally wants to find out the truth."

After all, his persistence in the Xiao family case during this period was indeed suspicious, and Zhou Yanzhi was not stupid; he could naturally sense that something was wrong.

Jie Xiangsi continued, "I know I shouldn't aspire to be like my cousin, but I don't want to live such a mediocre life. The Xiao family case is extremely complicated. If it can be solved, I would give my life for it."

Zhou Yanzhi didn't respond. Instead, he took a step forward and looked at Xie Xiangsi with a probing gaze. His eyes were deep. "Cousin, I hate being lied to the most. You should think carefully before you speak."

Jie Xiangsi's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she pursed her lips, saying, "Everything Xiangsi said is true. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to investigate and see if I am involved in the Xiao family's case."

The person involved in the Xiao family case is Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan is long dead. The person standing in front of him now is Xie Xiangsi. If he wants to investigate, he can investigate Xie Xiangsi thoroughly. The only problem is that he might not find anything.

After a long pause, despite feeling that Jie Xiangsi's words were full of nonsense, Zhou Yanzhi softened his tone and said, "I'm sorry, I was just being paranoid."

Jie Xiangsi did not reply, which can be regarded as a silent expression of dissatisfaction with what he said today.

Seeing that she remained silent, Zhou Yanzhi knew that he was indeed in the wrong today, but Jie Xiangsi's abnormal behavior made him inexplicably suspicious.

Rubbing his temples, Zhou Yanzhi tried to change the subject, "You look a bit like someone."

Sensing his unusual emotions, Jie Xiangsi couldn't help but ask, "Who do you look like?"

"Xiao Yan, a woman of the Xiao family."

The pain of unrequited love startled me.

I didn't expect to hear the name "Xiao Yan" from Zhou Yanzhi's mouth, and I was a little uncomfortable for a moment.

Zhou Yanzhi gave Jie Xiangsi a deep look, then turned to look out the window at the snow-covered ground and sighed, “Your personality is similar to hers. You are gentle on the surface but resilient in reality. However, her gentleness is only for her family, while your gentleness is like a protective shell, which you apply to everyone.”

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yanzhi evaluated her in this way. Xie Xiangsi's eyes flickered, and she asked with some curiosity, "Are you and her very close?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi chuckled softly.

"not good."

Jie Xiangsi: "..."

Why bring it up if it's not good?

Brushing the snowflakes off the windowsill, Zhou Yanzhi continued, "But it's not too bad either."

Jie Xiangsi: "..."

But then again...

After thinking for a moment, Jie Xiangsi spoke up and asked a question she had always wanted to know, "I heard that this girl committed suicide, what about her body?"

“I don’t know.” Zhou Yanzhi turned around and said, “I was away on business that month. I heard that it was stolen and its whereabouts are unknown.”

Jie Xiangsi: "?!"

Stolen? Who's so heartless as to steal a corpse?

Sharing the same thought, Zhou Yanzhi rubbed his temples, his tone more helpless than ever before, "Although she is usually flamboyant, she has never been malicious and should not suffer this humiliation. If the truth can be found out, no matter what, we should find her and let her rest in peace."

For once, Jie Xiangsi fell silent. After a long while, she silently murmured something in her heart.

"Thank you, Zhou Yanzhi."

...

Since their parting at the library that day, Zhou Yanzhi had been busy again, and he hadn't been seen for several days. Xie Xiangsi spent her days either paying her respects to her aunt or staying at the library, which she found quite pleasant.

Since Zhou Yanzhi refused to take her to Yangqu, she would go by herself.

At worst, I can just stay in any dilapidated temple when I return to Beijing.

The only problem to solve right now is figuring out how to leave the capital without Zhou Yanzhi's watchful eye.

Fortunately, New Year's Eve is almost here.

New Year's Eve in Beijing is more lively than elsewhere. In the past few days, the city has been decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, with lanterns hanging all over the streets and alleys. Even children can't help but pester their parents to chase after the candy vendors and ask for candy.

On New Year's Eve, the imperial court would temporarily lift the curfew, and the city would be teeming with people. If one acted swiftly, one could sneak out of the city.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Jie Xiangsi decisively chose to leave the city on that day.

Finally, New Year's Eve arrived. Zhou Yanzhi returned from the Dali Temple. After a lively dinner at the Prince An's mansion, seeing that it was still early, Aunt Xie pulled Xie Xiangsi aside and said, "When your father was in the capital, you were still young and didn't get to experience New Year's Eve properly. Today, the curfew in the capital has been lifted, and it's very lively outside. There are Nuo dances and dragon and lion dances. Why don't you have your cousin take you out for a stroll later, and then come back to stay up all night?"

Being able to go out into the city means being able to leave the city, which is something Jie Xiangsi would naturally be eager to do. However, if Zhou Yanzhi were to follow her, the plan would probably be difficult to execute.

With a slightly shy blink, Jie Xiangsi feigned agreement but actually declined, saying, "If my cousin were to accompany me, I would be more than happy to do so, but I don't know if it would bother him."

She thought to herself: I've never seen Zhou Yanzhi on New Year's Eve before. Xiao Yan is certain that he doesn't like going out to play. If nothing unexpected happens, he will definitely refuse her firmly. That would be best, so she can go out to play on her own and leave the city!

But Zhou Yanzhi nodded seriously, "How could that be? I'm also busy with official duties, so going out for a stroll can help me relax a bit."

Jie Xiangsi: "..."

ah? !

So where did you go on New Year's Eve before?!

Aunt Jie was a little surprised to see him agree; she was prepared to force Zhou Yanzhi to go out into the street.

However, Aunt Jie was very happy to see that her son was finally willing to go out for a stroll. There were many unmarried girls on New Year's Eve, and perhaps Zhou Yanzhi's destiny was just tonight!

Her daily prayers were indeed effective.

So, under Aunt Xie's gratified gaze, Xie Xiangsi followed Zhou Yan onto the street with a heavy heart.

The streets outside were crowded, and Jie Xiangsi was distracted. Soon, she was jostled and stumbled by the crowd. When she was bumped by passersby again, Zhou Yanzhi finally couldn't stand it anymore.

He pulled her in front of him, shielding her with one hand to make way for her, and leaned down to ask, "Why are you standing there like that?"

People were setting off firecrackers on the street. The dazzling fireworks drowned out Zhou Yanzhi's voice. Jie Xiangsi only felt a breath of heat blowing past her ear.

I felt a little uncomfortable.

Gently dodging, Jie Xiangsi took two steps to the side to create distance between herself and Zhou Yanzhi, and looked up to meet Zhou Yanzhi's lowered gaze: "Cousin, what did you just say? The fireworks were too loud, I didn't hear it."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to buy something?"

Jie Xiangsi shook her head. She was thinking about how to avoid Zhou Yanzhi when leaving the city, and had no mood to buy anything.

Zhou Yanzhi looked at her for a while, and after a long pause, he nodded without saying anything, looking somewhat disappointed.

He knew that Xie Xiangsi had been planning to leave the city these past few days, but he didn't expect her obsession with going to Yangqu to be so deep. If the situation in Yangqu wasn't unclear, he would have been willing to take her with him. But now the situation there was a mess, and most of the officials sent by the court had disappeared without a trace.

Under these circumstances, he dared not let Xie Xiangsi take the risk with him.

Suddenly, Xie Xiangsi thought of something, stared into Zhou Yanzhi's eyes, and smiled, "I didn't bring any money with me. If I see something I like, will you buy it for me, cousin?"

Although Zhou Yanzhi didn't understand why she had changed her mind, he nodded very seriously, "Yes."

A burst of fireworks exploded in the night sky, and Jie Xiangsi smiled with her eyes crinkling, her eyes sparkling like stars, her two dark eyes instantly becoming like fluorites in the dark night.

Pointing to a lantern stall surrounded by a crowd not far away, Jie Xiangsi smiled and said, "Then I want that fox lantern."

Zhou Yanzhi turned his head in the direction she pointed and immediately spotted the fox lantern on the top shelf. Upon seeing this, he subtly raised an eyebrow.

The lanterns displayed at the top are usually not for sale. If you want one, you need to solve a riddle, and the person who answers correctly can take the lantern.

Naturally, the difficulty of the riddles wouldn't be low either.

It's not only troublesome, but also time-consuming.

Jie Xiangsi had this plan: to send Zhou Yanzhi to fetch the lanterns so she could slip away.

Seeing that Zhou Yanzhi didn't move, Jie Xiangsi decided to add fuel to the fire, pretending to be casual as she said, "Someone as outstanding as my cousin, would he be afraid of solving riddles?"

This trick really worked.

Zhou Yanzhi turned his head and looked at her with deep eyes, but hesitated to speak as if he was worried. Seeing this, Jie Xiangsi made a vow and said in a serious tone, "Cousin, don't worry. I hereby swear that I will stay where I am and not go anywhere. I will never break my vow."

Seeing her exceptionally sincere expression, Zhou Yanzhi chuckled, nodded slightly, and said "okay," before striding towards the stall.

Seeing the person disappear into the crowd, Jie Xiangsi smiled and vanished from the spot, running frantically towards the city gate.

The vow was to resolve unrequited love; what does it have to do with Xiao Yan?