Chapter 66 On New Year's Eve, friends are by my side, and loved ones are right before my eyes…
Shen Minghuai paused as he put the bowl away, then looked up and gazed from the person in front of him through their bright, watery eyes to their cherry lips, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
Are you jealous?
"I didn't," Wang Yan said, turning her face away and quickly denying it.
Shen Minghuai's five fingers slowly slipped between hers, tightening their grip. "Uncle Wei returned to the capital with his family today, and I went with my father to visit him. There's nothing between me and Madam Wei."
Wang Yan, still carrying him, muttered under her breath, "Hmph. I wonder who's getting so close to Fourth Sister Wei. They'll have plenty of time to cultivate their relationship in the future."
Shen Minghuai suddenly pulled her in front of him and made her sit on his lap. Wang Yan gasped in surprise, then was pulled into his arms, his strong chest pressed against hers, his hot breath tickling her ears.
"Who said I was jealous last time? Now..."
Shen Minghuai's well-defined hands gently turned Wang Yan's face back, and a hurried kiss landed on her lips. Their lips met, and his tongue pried open her teeth, entwining in a passionate embrace. His other hand tightened its hold on her slender waist, and Wang Yan slumped into his arms, her porcelain-white face flushed red, making her rouge-like lips appear even more vibrant and glistening with moisture.
"Feelings need to be nurtured with the one you love." Shen Minghuai held her hand and stroked his equally moist lips. "Are you satisfied with this way of nurturing feelings?"
Wang Yan's face flushed, and she quickly pulled her hand away from his, taking the bowl into the kitchen. Back in the room, Shen Minghuai had already changed and gotten into bed. Wang Yan was about to call him off when she noticed that the bed was already covered with bedding, just as usual. He was there to warm her bed.
Why have you stayed tonight?
"Naturally, it's about cultivating feelings."
Wang Yan chased after him and hit him. In the midst of their playful banter, he grabbed her hand, and she fell onto him, still within arm's reach, yet she was utterly mortified.
"Get down."
Shen Minghuai smiled as he got off the bed, casually helped her take off her outer clothes, and then slipped back into his bed. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a short note lying on the pillow with the three characters "Luoyifang" on it, which made him frown instantly.
Who wrote it?
Wang Yan was already lying on the bed, only his head showing. "Princess Consort Wei. She said it's related to A-Ying and asked me to go and see. Oh, by the way, last time I went out I met Shang Shifan, and he called me 'A-Ying.' Do you know what his relationship with A-Ying is?"
Seeing Shen Minghuai shake his head, just as she had expected, Wang Yan asked again, "Are you going?"
Shen Minghuai asked in confusion, "You...you want me to go to a place like this?"
"Granted." Wang Yan closed his eyes with a smile. "We'll go together another day."
Shen Minghuai also lay down and refused her, saying, "If this gets out, it will be a disgrace to the family."
Wang Yan opened her eyes and glared at him, "Then I'll go alone—"
"You're not allowed to go either." Shen Minghuai had already chosen someone in his mind and sent Yin Shicheng instead.
Upon waking, Wang Yan summoned Li Changling to disguise the two of them, and then they headed one after the other to Luoyi Fang. When the tall, bearded official and the half-short, handsome young man stood before Luoyi Fang, they realized they had come at a terrible time. From this day forward, everyone in Luoyi Fang was sent home for the New Year; they wouldn't reopen until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The two had no choice but to return empty-handed.
Time slips through our fingers, and the New Year is just around the corner. Xu Ning'an, before her appointment today, became the first person to knock on the door.
Wang Yan opened the door sleepily; it was just dawn, and she thought she was hallucinating. Yesterday, she and Li Changling had swept and cleaned the Zhu residence, leaving her quite exhausted. It wasn't until she saw Xu Ning'an carrying large bags and small packages towards her that Wang Yan gradually shook off her sleepiness.
"This is a four-cornered zongzi. We can steam it and eat it later."
"This medicine packet contains cypress leaves, peach bark, and angelica, which can ward off evil spirits and calm the mind. Add it to your bath water."
"Hang this Zhong Kui image on the door, and nail the peach wood charms on the left and right sides; they are all for warding off evil spirits."
Seeing how thoughtfully Xu Ning'an had prepared this and that for him, Wang Yan suddenly hugged her, "Thank you, Ning'an."
Xu Ning'an was taken aback for a moment, then raised her arm to hug him back, saying, "Between friends, there's no need for thanks."
After helping Wang Yan complete all the exorcism rituals, Xu Ning'an shared some steamed pork and red bean paste dumplings with her. Having grown up in the capital, Wang Yan unwaveringly chose the sweet dumplings. Xu Ning'an offered her a bite of the fragrant pork dumpling, but seeing her dislike, she ate it herself. Before she could finish either dumpling, Xu Ning'an hurriedly returned to Jishengtang with the remaining half.
No sooner had the man left than Wang Zhen arrived, carrying a string of coins, and plopped down on the same stone bench.
There were a full thousand coins in the string. Although Wang Yan hadn't counted them, seeing the strings of coins nestled together, she decided to believe it. In previous years, the New Year's money was just for good luck, given according to her age with a zero added to the end. That year, when she was fifteen (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning), her father, mother, and brother each gave her a string of one hundred and fifty coins. This year, she had collected a full thousand.
After looking at her material possessions, Wang Yan turned her gaze to the sandalwood box she had noticed before, which contained the spiced cakes that Li had made for her.
“My mother wanted me to bring some Golden Jade Soup, but it's really inconvenient.” Wang Zhen carefully examined the stern-faced, bearded, and righteous-looking deity statue on the door. “Why is this posted?”
Wang Yan picked up a piece of rice cake and ate it while saying to him, "Ning'an brought this just now. People put this up on New Year's Eve, just like peach wood charms, both are used to ward off evil spirits."
Wang Zhen glanced around the courtyard. Although it was decorated with some lanterns and gold decorations, it was still deserted. Even though there were only four people in his family, it was still much more lively to be together than to be alone. Besides, it was the last day of the month and the last day of the year, a time to spend with family.
Thinking of this, Wang Zhen couldn't help but blame himself, saying, "We all want to take you back to the manor for the New Year, but the people watching the manor are still here. Don't you really want me to stay and keep you company?"
“I’m not a child anymore. Someone has to take care of our parents, right?” Wang Yan said solemnly, her eyes crinkling like crescent moons. “This important task will be entrusted to you, brother. You’re about to get married, you can’t keep clinging to your sister.”
"Even after we get married, I will still be your brother, no matter what happens, that will never change." Wang Zhen gently tapped her forehead with his index finger. "In the future, if anything happens, you must tell your brother, understand?"
Wang Yan gently embraced him, "I know. You are the best brother in the world."
For over a decade, the brother and sister had never had a major falling out. If any minor conflict arose, Wang Zhen always managed to quickly find a way to resolve it. This was his first marriage.
Do you resent me?
Wang Yan sat back down and closed the food box. "If this is your true intention, brother, A-Ying will not blame you. After the New Year, the imperial examination will be approaching. This top scholar must prepare well. I will definitely go with you when the results are announced."
"Hey! Scholar! You can't turn your back on me when you rise to a high position in the future." Li Changling, dressed in red, tumbled down from the roof without going through the door.
“Family will always be family.” Wang Zhen glanced at him. “As for you…”
“Aying, look at this, look at this! Your brother can only share hardship, not wealth—” The glittering coins caught his eye, and Li Changling stared wide-eyed. “Your Wang family is really wealthy. Do you really have to become an official?”
“If yours isn’t presentable, that’s understandable.” Wang Zhen put the New Year’s money into the house, took the tea cake and walked to the stone table to grind it into a fine powder.
Li Changling always manages to get the short end of the stick with Wang Zhen. Forever young, forever easily provoked.
"Who says mine isn't presentable!"
Li Changling poured some copper coins from his money bag, took out seventeen, and swiped the rest back into the bag. He then took out a sword tassel made of brocade and strung it with a pearl from the South China Sea. Wang Yanxuan drew his cloud robe, tied the sword tassel to the end, and with a flick of his wrist, the swift sword shadows resembled a lone moon hanging in the sky beneath a deep sea fog, its cold light appearing and disappearing intermittently.
Wang Zhen brought over tea and asked, "Are you fully recovered?"
"His breathing is unstable; he needs to recuperate... for at least six months." Before he could even see what the tea was, Li Changling had already swallowed half a cup of tea.
Wang Yan fastened his cloud-patterned robe back to his waist, spread his arms, and leaned on the stone table, his sable fur coat supporting his head, his black hair slipping to one side. "It'll take so long."
Wang Zhen patted her head and said, "Your health is of utmost importance and cannot be taken lightly."
"Are you leaving already?" Li Changling waved at him. "What a pity, you won't get to enjoy the food."
The Prince's residence was still under the surveillance of the secret guards, so Wang Zhen could not leave for too long. Wang Yan then waved goodbye to his brother and followed Li Changling to the kitchen.
“Baojiao’er? Take me with you!” The girl in the cotton-padded jacket took off her veil and walked into the courtyard with Yin Shicheng.
Li Changling remained wary of the Yi woman from the southwest and asked Yin Shicheng, "Why are you here? Where is your son?"
“My young master will come again this afternoon.” Yin Shicheng put down the things he was carrying on the ground. “We have asked Madam Wang beforehand; we are not here uninvited.”
Although Wang Yan didn't know the young woman in front of him very well, he could sense her sincerity in making friends. When you don't know someone, the first thing you see is their sincerity, and you'll usually lower your guard a bit.
The four men took off their coats, strode confidently into the kitchen, tied their armbands together, and each took on their assigned tasks. Li Changling was in charge of kneading the dough, Yin Shicheng chopped the vegetables, and A-Guo and Wang Yan gathered all the ingredients. They prepared four kinds of fillings: corn and mutton, cabbage and pork, leek and egg, and water chestnut and pork.
Last year, Wang Yan spent the Lunar New Year at Yunxi Mountain, where he learned the art of making dumplings from his master's wife. First, the meat filling is placed on a round dough wrapper, then folded over, and finally pinched along the edges to form a crescent shape. Li Changling's dumplings are ingot-shaped, Yin Shicheng's dumplings resemble ears of wheat when viewed from above, while A Guo's dumplings don't have these fancy designs; as long as the edges are pinched tightly, they won't break when cooked. A joyous scene unfolds here, as newlyweds arrive outside.
Wang Yan first spotted Shen Minghuai standing at the door, his hands covered in flour. She walked briskly over and invited him to join her in making actors' costumes. Shen Minghuai smiled and gently wiped the flour from her face with his fingertips, eliciting gasps of surprise from the crowd. Amidst the commotion, Wang Yan untied her armband and then tied it back on for Shen Minghuai. A moment later, nearly a hundred actors of various shapes and sizes stood in a row on the table.
Ah Guo wanted to make sour soup using a secret recipe from his hometown, so he and Li Changling stayed in the kitchen to cook the actors, while the rest of them returned to the courtyard to chat and drink. Hua Xin also showed up.
Shen Minghuai led Wang Yan into the house, lit the stove, and then took out a lifelike painted wooden carving. The young lady was dressed in a milky white dress, the hem of which fluttered slightly, and a crabapple blossom was pinned to her temple. Her smile was as beautiful as that blooming crabapple.
"This is..." Wang Yan's clothes were either new or newer; she couldn't remember when she had worn them.
“On the day of the Shangsi Gathering.”
It was that day. Wang Yan tilted his head and smiled, "So it was that day..." that stirred his heart.
Shen Minghuai knew what she was about to say, so he smiled and said, "I suppose so."
“I also have something for you.” Wang Yan took out a carved osmanthus-patterned incense box from the cabinet. “It contains a fragrance that I blended myself. I don’t know if you will like it.”
Shen Minghuai happily accepted the incense box. "I like anything you give me. Don't I really need to stay up with you tonight?"
Wang Yan shook his head. "You have your senior brother and A-Guo here. Since you can stay with your family, you should go back."
Shen Minghuai stroked her hand. "Then I'll come earlier tomorrow."
"The star is here, fresh off the press!" Ah Guo's voice rang out from outside the door.
Wang Yan quickly planted a kiss on Shen Minghuai's lips, then strode into the courtyard. Everyone had a bowl of sour soup, and everyone, except for Shen Minghuai who disliked sour flavors, raved about the novel taste. Looking at the smiling faces around her, Wang Yan suddenly felt that this was quite nice. Her friends were by her side, and her loved ones were right in front of her.
As dusk settled, those who had returned to their homes to pay respects to their ancestors and watch the grand Nuo ritual dispersed. The entire capital was illuminated by fireworks, radiating a warm and joyful glow. Li Changling laid out glutinous rice balls, sweet fruit, soap cakes, crispy pastries, market cakes, and roasted chestnuts on the table. Since they were short one player for the four-card game, the three of them went to set off fireworks. Amidst the resounding firecrackers, the New Year began.
Wang Yan had just slept soundly until noon, and as she stretched and was about to get out of bed, Li Changling appeared in a flurry of activity.
"Something's happened!"
Wang Yan stumbled, nearly losing her balance. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the very first day of the year, the first words she heard were those three characters again. Every time Li Changling uttered them, it was never a good sign! After much thought, she realized that of all the things in the room, only the money from the New Year was worth running away with.
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A note from the author: A must-do activity during Chinese New Year: making dumplings!
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