Chapter 66 New Year's Eve Wish: On a snowy winter night, she was the one he longed to return to...
The winter night wind carried the pungent smell of fireworks and firecrackers, like a wet, playful dog nudging Le Jin, making her itchy and eager to lean against the railing, craning her neck to look at the dazzling and lively scene outside Zhenyuan.
She used to look forward to the New Year the most. The end of the year was the time to settle accounts and receive wages, when she had the most money. She could buy new clothes and shoes for San Niu, give her the tuition and living expenses for the new year, and visit her sister's grave.
The cold wind made her nose feel cool and a little sore. Le Jin tightened her mink coat and hugged herself.
Meng Shutai went to the palace today to check on the final arrangements for welcoming the Buddha's relics. He was gone all day and hasn't returned yet. What's infuriating is that he keeps his word; he's not home, and even Le Jin was prevented from leaving Zhenyuan Garden.
Seeing her looking out with a mixture of anticipation and worry, Baoyin kindly comforted her, "My lady, tonight is New Year's Eve. Your husband will definitely have to go home to celebrate the New Year. You don't need to worry."
Upon hearing this, Le Jin gave a wry smile, hiding half of her face inside her cloak.
He was still at home celebrating the New Year, and she wished he would leave the palace tonight and head straight for the Buddha's relics, and never come back. Thinking of this, Le Jin quickly put her hands together and made a New Year's Eve wish to the fireworks blooming in the night sky.
"God, please let me have a peaceful new year, a successful mission, and go home soon."
A blue firework rises, blooms, falls like willow branches, and then disappears.
Le Jin turned to Bao Yin and whispered, "Does His Highness have any news?"
Hearing that her wife was concerned about another person, Baoyin smiled knowingly and leaned close to Lejin's ear, "The prince is also busy today as he is in the palace to offer congratulations, but he sent someone to say that he will come to see you after the third day of the month."
Although he hadn't seen Xie Xianheng in person these past few days, his gifts kept arriving. Sometimes it was a pair of pearl earrings, sometimes a agate necklace, and after learning that Meng Shutai had secretly detained Le Jin, he even collected many storybooks and sent them to her to keep her entertained. He was like a boy experiencing his first love, bringing Le Jin all sorts of fun, novel, and precious things.
Flipping through the notebooks filled with strange and interesting anecdotes, Le Jin realized that Xie Xianheng probably harbored some kind of savior complex. If she hadn't brought Meng Shutai into the picture that day, the plot would probably have unfolded as described in the original book—"physical intimacy." But now it was different; it had a real romantic feel to it, which eased Le Jin's psychological pressure considerably.
Everything was moving in a positive direction, as if tonight's fireworks and firecrackers were her triumphant song.
Le Jin was in a great mood, leaning on the railing with her hands folded, watching the colorful fireworks with a smile.
"What wish did you make that made you so happy?"
Le Jin's smile froze for a moment. After hearing Bao Yin timidly call out "Young Master," she stepped back, leaving only her and Meng Shutai at the railing of the high-rise building.
The night wind was howling, and midnight was just around the corner. Le Jin didn't really want to answer Meng Shutai, so she just stared blankly at the fireworks.
Suddenly, a slender, warm hand touched Le Jin's cheek. Le Jin couldn't help but twitch her eyebrows and looked up at him with displeasure.
"what?"
"See if you're cold."
Meng Shutai's eyes were smiling, and he was dressed in a dark red and gold brocade outfit, with a white jade belt around his waist and a black fox fur coat. Under the glow of the fireworks, he looked so elegant and noble that he seemed otherworldly.
He sat down next to Le Jin and asked softly, "You still haven't told me what you wished for. Is it related to me?" His eyes were full of bright expectation, gazing at her with the heat of the sun.
My wish, well, it is indeed related to you...
Le Jin blinked, her face quite composed, "It won't work if I say it out loud."
Meng Shutai chuckled and nodded slowly, "That makes sense."
He looked down at his fox fur coat lying on top of Le Jin's cloak, the two overlapping, and a faint joy welled up in his heart.
"So you were waiting for me?"
This is the tallest building in Zhenyuan Garden, facing the main gate of the garden. It offers a panoramic view of all the roads within the garden. Standing here does indeed give one the feeling of waiting for someone to return home at night.
But she was watching the fireworks the whole time, she didn't even notice when he came upstairs...
Le Jin curled her lips. Why was Meng Shutai being a little pretentious tonight?
She shook her head coldly and said only, "It's so quiet in here, and I can't go anywhere. What else can I do besides come to see the fireworks?"
Meng Shutai's gentle and affectionate expression suddenly turned ashen, like a withered lotus in autumn, leaving only a sense of helpless desolation.
"wait for me."
It took him a long time to utter those two words. Le Jin was completely baffled and turned to look at him with a puzzled expression.
Seeing her like this, Meng Shutai couldn't help but chuckle softly, his laughter drifting like mist on the high-rise building in the winter night. He rubbed the back of Le Jin's head and explained, "Welcoming the Buddha's relics is part of the imperial procession, which will take at least three or four months. Please be patient and wait for me, A Jin."
Oh, now Le Jin understands why he's being so sentimental. Everyone feels sad when they leave home, especially during the Spring Festival; they must feel even more lonely… But, can a madman like Meng Shutai really have such normal feelings? That's strange.
Le Jin gently brushed away his hand that was touching her, saying both comfortingly and truthfully, "Don't worry about me, just go. It's not like I'm crippled and can't take care of myself without you..."
His eyes darkened instantly upon hearing this, but then he laughed again, "Ah Jin is so carefree, it seems I'm not on your New Year's wish list."
Another magnificent firework rose, its dazzling crimson light exploding in the night sky, staining Meng Shutai's eyes with a touch of scarlet.
He clasped his hands together, just like Yue Jin, and made a wish.
Le Jin opened her eyes wide, never expecting Meng Shutai to have such naive behavior.
"I was just messing around when I was bored, do you really believe that?"
Meng Shutai opened her eyes leisurely, her tone slightly playful: "If you're sincere, what if it comes true?"
He reached out to Le Jin, "Let's go back inside. If we stay in the cold wind any longer, we'll get a headache and fever again."
Le Jin gripped the seam of her cloak to keep out any cold wind, and therefore did not hold Meng Shutai's hand.
"Okay, let's go back." She stepped down the small building by herself, leaving Meng Shutai with only her running back.
That lone hand hung in the air for a long time, the cold wind swept away all the warmth, but Meng Shutai didn't bring it back.
Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. He should have been waiting with his father in the palace for the emperor to bestow festival gifts. He had waited to cross the palace gates in previous years, but this year he was restless and didn't want to waste time on this meaningless ceremony. He told his father and then went home alone against the flow of officials.
As soon as he arrived at the entrance of Zhenyuan, he spotted Lejin huddled up in the small building. The restless cat in his heart instantly calmed down and became docile, meowing at her in a low voice.
On such a big day as New Year's Eve, where else should he be if not by his wife's side? Although Le Jin was still unwilling to truly become his wife, she was the reason he longed to return home on that snowy winter night.
But as soon as he went upstairs, all the imagined tenderness and sweetness vanished. Meng Shutai thought, at least she shouldn't be reluctant to part with him, right? He served her so diligently, concealing all his sharp teeth and claws, being a loyal dog at her beck and call—wasn't that enough?
Even the slightest bit of reluctance to part with him would make him overjoyed.
But nothing happened. The fireworks faded away, one cluster after another, like the coldness and disgust in her eyes as she looked at him.
Meng Shutai swallowed hard, swallowing the wind and snow that had rushed in all night, his lungs and heart drinking ice.
A cold wind brushed past his fingertips; he rubbed them together, but they were completely numb. Remembering the wish he had just made, Meng Shutai's lips curled into a slight smile.
He staked his life on fate to exchange for Le Jin's wish... but it all came to nothing.
——
Since the passing of the old Prince Zhennan and his wife, New Year's Eve at the Prince Zhennan's mansion had been quiet and desolate. After giving New Year's money to everyone in the mansion, Xie Xianheng and his sister stayed up late in the courtyard to celebrate the New Year.
Several young maids around Xie Lianhui were laughing and setting off fireworks in the snow, temporarily dispelling the loneliness in the courtyard.
"If you agree to the marriage proposal from the Prince of Pingning's mansion, it won't just be the two of us on New Year's Eve this year."
Xie Xianheng stood under the eaves with his arms crossed, feeling quite disappointed in his younger sister.
"Tch," Xie Lianhui scoffed, "They're about to welcome their sweetheart into the palace to be a princess. Luckily, I didn't do that!"
After she finished speaking, she suddenly turned to Xie Xianheng with a curious look and asked, "And what about you? When will you have a princess?"
Xie Xianheng's cold, stern eyes flickered for a moment, and he opened his mouth but did not answer.
Xie Lianhui's smile deepened, and she pressed her advantage: "Even if there's no concrete plan, there must be some idea, right? Is your future sister-in-law tall or short? Fat or thin? Is she an unmarried woman or someone's wife?"
"Tsk." Xie Xianheng interrupted her sharply as she talked more and more nonsense, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll really marry you off."
Xie Lianhui wisely turned to look at the courtyard, but his demeanor remained arrogant. Having caught his brother red-handed was the most satisfying thing in the world.
"Brother, if you really have feelings for that lady, could you send me back to the battlefield in Ganzhou?"
"You're going back?"
Xie Lianhui licked her cold lips. "I didn't want to come back at all!"
“Since you want to be with that lady, you definitely won’t be going back to the battlefield for a while. But the blood of our Xie family is inseparable from the battlefield. You may be willing to give it up, but I can’t.”
Xie Lianhui's dark pupils sparkled. Xie Xianheng understood that she had never wavered in her determination to follow in her mother's footsteps.
The fact that the dynasty allowed female generals to exist was Xie Lianhui's lifelong desire.
A long sigh dissipated into the cold night.
"good."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Lianhui raised her arms and shouted, her voice loud and clear, like a mother wolf poised to pounce.
Xie Xianheng glanced at his excited sister and shook his head helplessly.
The twists and turns of fate in this world are truly mysterious. While Xie Lianhui's marriage remains unresolved upon his return to the capital, his own is beginning to take shape.
Xie Xianheng lowered his head and gave a self-deprecating smile, the image of Le Jin appearing in his mind.
I wonder what she's feeling tonight, and whether she'll think of him.
He also had a small red brocade pouch by his pillow, containing a tiny golden rabbit, which he wanted to give her as a New Year's gift when they met again.
Xie Xianheng felt a sudden urge to see the little golden rabbit. Just as he turned around, a servant rushed over with a message.
"Master!"
"The news from the palace is that you are part of the procession to welcome the Buddha's relics! You should prepare in advance and board the ship on the third day of the lunar new year."
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Author's Note: Haha, just thinking about what happens next makes me excitedly grin at my keyboard [laughing out loud] The pace will pick up later on~
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