Chapter 4 Is Luoxue Weichen scary?
The first snow in the capital fell silently one morning.
When the weather got cold, Zhou Xian would stay in bed. It wasn't until the 4th hour of the 4th hour that he finally poked his head out from under the covers, whimpering, "Auntie, I'm awake... What did the kitchen cook for lunch?"
Yu Xi walked to the bedside and tied up the curtains. Looking down, she saw the princess wrapped herself up like a cocoon. She couldn't help but burst out laughing. She reached out and gently touched the hair on Zhou Xian's head. "Xian Xian, you're already married, why are you still acting like a little girl?"
"aunt!"
Zhou Xian had just woken up, and with a heavy nasal voice, he said in a dissatisfied and coquettish tone, "I'm not..." He suddenly paused, and his expression became lonely in an instant. He climbed up from the couch, his black hair flowing down, covering half of his white face, and his black eyes stared motionlessly at the carpet.
Who is he?
How come even my aunt has forgotten whether he is a boy or a girl?
Yu Xi realized she had spoken out of turn and quickly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, it snowed this morning. Luckily, the Prince Consort left home at five in the morning. The snow fell two hours ago, so the Prince Consort shouldn't get wet."
Zhou Xian followed up the conversation by asking, "Is there a grand court meeting this morning?"
Yu Xi said, "Exactly. I heard from the servant who came back with the umbrella that His Majesty had a terrible temper at the court meeting!"
"Oh?" Zhou Xian raised an eyebrow. He stood up and walked to the stove, fiddling with the crackling, red-hot charcoal, trying to warm it up. "Which of my good brothers has angered the old man again?"
Yu Xi shook her head: "I don't know about that."
"That's all right. Auntie, ask Wang Xiang to come in and see me later." Zhou Xian instructed, "By the way, today... let's wear a horsetail bun."
The maids filed in and helped Zhou Shan change her clothes and wash up. Before they came in, Zhou Shan had already put on her silver-red gold-sprinkled jacket and emerald horse-faced skirt with cloud and phoenix patterns. The maids then helped her put on her bodice, cloud shoulder, and other items, and finally she combed her hair and made-up.
Before the bronze mirror stood several exquisite palace flowers, six of which had been sent as tribute by the Yingtian Prefecture Weaving Bureau only the previous month as a dowry to Zhou Shan. Zhou Shan carefully selected among them, choosing a pink peony, which she tremblingly adorned her fallen horse bun, making it look particularly delicate and charming.
He was drawing his eyebrows when the eunuch Wang Xiang walked lightly into the room. He waved his hand and the maids bowed and left. Only he and Wang Xiang were left in the room.
Wang Xiang was a remarkable man. This eunuch, handsome and about forty years old, already had fine lines forming at the corners of his eyes. In his youth, he had been highly favored by the Emperor, working in the Imperial Household Department and nearly becoming a writing eunuch. Unfortunately, serving the emperor was like living with a tiger. A slip of the tongue earned him thirty lashes of the cane, nearly killing him in the palace. Later, Wang Xiang retreated into obscurity, accompanying the disfavored Fu Ningxiang and teaching Zhou Shan how to read and write.
This man's remarkable ability lay in his exceptionally keen understanding of imperial affairs. He kept a keen eye on all directions and, for over a decade, had helped Fu Ningxiang and her son avoid numerous troubles. He was also very kind to Zhou Xian, practically acting as a teacher to her. His insights into the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as the pros and cons of current politics, were all well-founded and concise.
"Greetings to the princess," Wang Xiang said with a smile. "It's snowing quite heavily this morning. I wonder if the rustling sound of the falling snow disturbed the princess's sleep."
Zhou Xian paused as he painted his eyebrows. "I'm fine," he said. "I slept through the night, but I heard that my father had a terrible temper today. I'm afraid my brothers will be tossing and turning tonight."
Wang Xiang's expression showed understanding. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, but he sighed repeatedly: "Alas, that's not it! It's all about that Shanxi fraud and corruption case from last year. Too many officials were implicated, and the Dali Temple has been investigating non-stop for a year. Hey, guess what?"
"Judging from the tone of your father-in-law, could it be that one of my royal brothers is too bold and has secretly interfered in this matter?" Zhou Shan drew his eyebrows several times, but was still a little dissatisfied. He threw away the eyebrow pencil and turned to look at Wang Xiang.
Wang Xiang smiled and said, "It's the Second Prince. Several officials involved in the case had exchanged numerous confidential letters with him, and they were exposed. At this morning's court, the Third Prince seized on this matter and made a big fuss about it. The two princes had a huge argument. Do you think His Majesty wouldn't be furious?"
Zhou Xian's second and third brothers had been at odds since childhood. The second prince, Zhou Huang, was the empress's second son. After the eldest prince's death, the empress devoted all her energy to Zhou Huang, eager for him to ascend to the throne of the Eastern Palace. The third prince, Zhou Cong, was the son of Consort Shen, a prominent family at court. With his mother's support, Zhou Cong was naturally arrogant, constantly keeping a close eye on the Eastern Palace and clashing with the other princes.
It is ironic that Emperor Yongchang has not yet appointed a crown prince, under the pretext of missing the eldest prince who passed away early. In fact, he dislikes all the princes and watches them fight for the position of crown prince.
Blood is thicker than water, but how can it be compared to overwhelming power? Not to mention being born into an imperial family, where fratricide is only more brutal.
But what did it have to do with Zhou Xian? When the weather warmed up next spring, he would arrange everything and flee far away.
"My two royal brothers are really something. They know that our father is in poor health, yet they still make such a fuss." Zhou Xian sneered in her heart, but her face still looked virtuous, and her tone was filled with anger and resentment.
"It's the end of the year, and everyone's minds are in turmoil. The princess has lived in the harem for a long time and rarely visits the front court. She doesn't know that this court is a pool of muddy water!" Wang Xiang shook his head and sighed.
"Let's just be muddleheaded." Zhou Xian picked up the hand warmer, stood up and walked out the door, "To save those royal brothers from being suspicious of me day after day. It's really annoying."
He walked to the door, looked up, and saw the sky and earth were white, with snow falling. The blue tiles, dead branches, and floor tiles were all covered with a layer of fluffy snow. A maid scooped up a handful of snow and threw it at the acquaintances. They laughed together, and suddenly saw Zhou Shan standing at the door. She immediately lowered her head and walked away.
Zhou Shan has seen snow like this for eighteen years.
"Princess, there's one more thing...about the Prince Consort."
Wang Xiang followed behind him, with a large red cloak with fox fur lining hanging in his arm, ready to put it on Zhou Shan at any time.
"What's the matter?" Zhou Xian stretched out his hand and let the snow fall into his palm. As the crystal snow touched his warm skin, it immediately turned into water, feeling cool.
Wang Xiang's expression suddenly became hesitant. He pondered for a moment, then said, "It's been half a month since the princess married into the No. 1 Scholar's Mansion. There have been some rumors outside recently."
Zhou Xian asked, "What rumors?"
"They say... the princess and her husband sleep in separate rooms, and the husband has never been involved in romantic affairs..." Wang Xiang observed her, "so some people are gossiping that the husband is either gay... or impotent."
Zhou Xian: ...
He almost couldn't hold the hand warmer, and his calm expression suddenly became extremely awkward, even a little annoyed.
Regardless of whether Zhang Jinwei was a homosexual or impotent, Zhou Shan's marriage to him was a nexus of reputations. Rumors like these were detrimental to Zhou Shan's reputation. A princess marrying a poor boy was fine, but if there were further marital discord, how embarrassing would that be?
"I understand." Zhou Xian gritted his teeth secretly. He knew he couldn't escape this! However... he calmed down a little and said in a cold tone: "Which eunuch or maidservant who loves to gossip is this again? Find her and punish her!"
Wang Xiang agreed and covered Zhou Xian with his cloak. After a moment's thought, he advised, "I know the princess has a difficult situation to hide, but things have come to this point, and your husband is a true gentleman. In my opinion, you two should discuss it carefully and try to live together in the same room from now on to avoid outsiders' gossip."
"How do you know if Zhang Jinwei will do anything to me?" Zhou Xian's expression was complicated. "I don't want to reveal my identity so easily. I can tell from his look that he has no interest in men. I..."
Wang Xiang interrupted sternly, "Princess, the only way to know the outcome is to try."
Zhou Xian stopped talking, lowered his eyes and fell into deep thought.
By evening, the light snow had turned into a heavy flake. Zhou Xian, tired from reading all afternoon, leaned against the doorway to admire the first snowfall.
Soon, Zhang Jinwei suddenly appeared in his sight, stepping on a sky full of flying jade fragments. The snow fell on the brim of the man's hat and shoulders, like fine silver foil. The boy holding the man's umbrella was too short, so he could only follow behind him with the umbrella in his hand.
As soon as Zhang Jinwei stepped into the room, Yu Xi and the maids came forward to take the cloak, revealing the green court robe embroidered with egrets underneath.
The snow on his body melted into water and dripped down as he entered the house, but he did not rush to change his clothes. Instead, he took out a food box from his arms, placed it on the table, and said with a smile: "After leaving the office, I happened to pass by Jingchun Pavilion. Their Su-style dim sum is authentic, so I brought some back for the princess to try."
Zhou Xian was no longer sleepy when he encountered delicious food. A hint of joy flashed in his clear eyes, and he whispered, "Thank you, my Lord." Then he opened the food box with reserve, and a special smell spread out. Soon the whole house was filled with this fragrance.
The sweet taste must be from sweets like mung bean cakes and rice cakes, but that extremely rich and delicious flavor... is it crab?
Autumn crabs have been withdrawn from the market, where does the crab flavor come from?
Zhou Xian opened the second layer with doubts. Two lovely oranges were swaying in the food box, still steaming and emitting a strange aroma mixed with crab and orange.
"Crab stuffed with orange?" Zhou Xian was a little surprised.
Zhang Jinwei smiled and said, "I thought autumn crabs had been out of the market for a long time, but I never thought that Jingchun Pavilion still sells crab stuffed with oranges. What a coincidence. I asked the shopkeeper if he had any live crabs for sale, but he said that this batch had been sold out. Maybe a new batch of winter crabs with full roe will be available before the New Year. I will ask Saoyan and others to bring some back then." Saoyan was a servant following Zhang Jinwei.
The crab was so delicious that even Zhou Xian, a foodie, ate less for dinner. Before bed, he sat in front of a bronze mirror, removing his makeup, when his stomach suddenly growled. He was hungry.
He tiptoed quietly to the door, intending to sneak some pastries into the main hall. Although Aunt Yuxi doted on him, she wouldn't allow him to eat late-night snacks, claiming it was to "keep in shape." He felt he was too thin, but these days, noble women sought a "slender waist that fits lightly in the palm of their hands." Even with his slender figure, he couldn't avoid criticism.
Lifting the warm curtains, Zhou Xian gently pushed open the door. Dim light seeped in from outside, but before it could reach the bedroom, it was blocked by a dark shadow. Zhou Xian was startled, thinking she had been discovered. She quickly stepped back and was about to slip back into bed when the door was flung open.
Zhang Jin, carrying a lunch box and wearing a cloak over his inner garment, looked at him helplessly. If Zhou Xian had observed more closely, she would have noticed that the man's hands and feet were cold, and he had been pacing outside for a quarter of an hour, not daring to enter.
The man smiled bitterly and said, "Sorry to bother you, Princess. I want to talk to you..." The next moment, Zhang Jinwei's words were stuck in his throat, and then turned into a long sigh.
He asked, "Am I very scary?"
Zhou Xian stumbled back to the bed and wrapped himself up in the quilt, leaving only a pair of vigilant eyes exposed. He curled up in the quilt like a frightened cat, as if he would jump onto the roof if Zhang Jinwei came one step closer.
Of course it's scary.
Zhou Xian thought silently.
He has taken off his bellyband, and now his chest is flat. If someone sees it, he will be exposed!
The two people looked at each other from a distance. There was silence for a while, with only the falling snow outside the house.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
