Chapter 041

New Year's Eve is a big day that every family has to experience at the end of each year, and the palace is no exception.

Starting from New Year's Eve, officials usually have three days off. And the emperor may only have a few days of rare leisure at this time throughout the year.

On this night, there would be singing, dancing and feasting in the palace as usual. The young concubines and the princes and princesses would gather together, and even if they didn't agree with each other, they would go through the motions together and happily celebrate that they had passed the year safely.

Jiashan had asked for mercy from Emperor Zhanghe early on. When the banquet was more than halfway through, before midnight, she quietly took Zhao Youze with her, apologized to her father and left.

Emperor Zhang He looked at the two siblings who had left first, his eyes slightly dark, and no one knew what he was thinking. He took a sip of wine by himself, and almost forgot about Zhao Youcheng who was excitedly giving a toast.

It was not until Concubine Zhuang called "Your Majesty" several times in his ear that Emperor Zhang He came to his senses.

He regained his indifferent and majestic smile and said softly, "Youcheng is very promising at this age."

To receive his praise, Concubine Zhuang, Zhao Youcheng and others all put on different brilliant smiles. Concubine Zhuang said, "It's just some ordinary poems, Your Majesty, thank you for your praise."

Zhang Hedi smiled and said nothing more.

Concubine Zhuang's lips were slightly curved, her chin slightly raised, and the faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes made her look even more proud and complacent.

After the Chinese New Year, Zhao Youcheng was fifteen years old. Usually, when a prince reaches this age, marriage can be put on the agenda. Although Jiashan's marriage made the emperor very distressed, she was a girl after all, and no matter how favored she was, she would have to marry someone else.

The child she gives birth to cannot have the surname Zhao!

Zhao Youcheng is different. He is the eldest prince, and has a promising future among the current princes. If His Majesty really wants to make him the crown prince, then his wife must not be just any noblewoman from the capital.

Zhao Youcheng's wife is capable, which is tantamount to adding a great help to him. When the couple joins together, what is impossible for them to surpass Zhan Yue and Jia Shan?

Concubine Zhuang tried hard to hide the joy on her face. She half lowered her head and smiled solemnly.

Jiashan took Zhao Youze back to Fengyang Pavilion, and Zhan Yue had been waiting at the palace gate for a long time. But this time, there was also Chen Gong following Jiashan.

The New Year's Eve celebration is a happy occasion. Jiashan didn't want to hide the fact that she was going to spend the New Year with Zhan Yue, so she told her father directly. After thinking for a while, Emperor Zhanghe reluctantly agreed and appointed Chen Gong to accompany them. He was also afraid that some indecent gossip would spread before the wedding.

Zhan Yue and Chen Gong greeted each other.

At this moment, a light snowflake suddenly began to fall.

Zhao Youze was the first to notice it, because a small snowflake floated on the tip of his nose. Zhao Youze rubbed it with his hand, feeling the touch was extremely cold, and then he caught several snowflakes in his palm to play with.

He grinned and asked, "Sister, is it snowing? Snow is a sign of a good harvest, and this snow is so appropriate. Everything in the coming year will surely go smoothly."

Jiashan was wearing a brocade awning with a hood. When she walked back to Fengyang Pavilion from the banquet, she was afraid of the cold, so she put on her hood first, and the snowflakes did not fall on her.

At this time, she heard Zhao Youze say that she just discovered that the black cloak Zhan Yue was wearing was indeed stained with white spots.

Jiashan said with a smile: "It is snowing. We are so careless, but we are not as smart as Yuankang."

She lowered her head slightly and saw that Zhao Youze's ears were slightly red from being frozen under his small tiger-skin hat. She asked hurriedly, "Are you cold? There's a stove in the inner room. Yuankang, please go in and sit down."

Zhao Youze shook his head: "It's not cold."

"I'll follow my sister," he said.

Jiashan's expression softened visibly. She gently helped Zhao Youze put the tiger-skin hat back on, and told Dancui to get out a few hand warmers.

Instead of returning to the inner room where the stove was burning, they found a covered pavilion near the main hall and sat down. Su Yu ordered the servants to serve dishes, snacks and warm wine.

Of course, the ones Zhao Youze and Jiashan had were fruit wine, which was not very intoxicating.

The small pavilion was completely silent. No one spoke at first, but the sounds of singing and dancing from the banquet in the distance were still lingering in the ears.

Zhao Youze was holding his chin and looking up at the sky. Occasionally, colorful fireworks would rise into the sky, illuminating the entire capital city as bright as day.

Jiashan was wrapped in a scarlet satin cloak, radiant like red plum blossoms reflecting the snow. She held the cup and swung it left and right, then looked at Zhan Yue and asked, "How do you spend New Year's Eve every year?"

"I don't remember." Zhan Yue stared at her and said, "It's about the same."

He added in a low voice: "It's hot and noisy, but cold and deserted."

These are two antonyms, but when Jiashan heard them, he seemed to understand what was going on all of a sudden - others were bustling with activity, but he was the only one who was cold and quiet.

New Year's Eve is a day for family reunion, but he probably has no home.

Jiashan smiled and said, "Then we must remember this this year."

"Here's a toast to you." Jiashan said in a soft voice with a smile.

Zhan Yue looked at her calmly, stroking the corner of the cup with his fingers and slowly drinking the cup.

Zhao Youze followed Jiashan's movements and raised his cup. He turned to Zhan Yue and said, "I'll toast to you, too."

Zhan Yue raised his eyebrows in surprise and tilted his head slightly.

Zhao Youze's face was calm and gentle. He smiled and said, "After the Chinese New Year, you and my sister will be one family. I only have one sister, I hope you will live up to my expectations."

Zhan Yue's dark eyes were deep, and he said softly, "I also only have one wife."

Zhao Youze smiled and drank the fruit wine in the glass as promised.

Jiashan couldn't help but say, "Drink less. Just now at the banquet, I saw you had already drunk four cups, and this is the last one."

Zhao Youze nodded obediently: "Okay."

He further explained: “I am happy.”

Chen Gong watched from the side and shook his head unconsciously.

I had heard that the eldest princess and the fourth prince were very close, but I didn't expect it to be this close. If things continue like this, how will the fourth prince cope with himself in the palace after the eldest princess gets married?

Chen Gong coughed a few times due to the cold wind. He tightened his clothes and Dan Cui quickly handed him a soup pot.

After three rounds of drinking, the snow began to fall more heavily, as if the saying "auspicious snow means a good harvest" really came true. The cold wind blew down the withered branches, and the heavy snow that had accumulated on the branches suddenly fell to the brick ground with a rustling sound.

The blossoming trees sway, leaning against the railings in the snow.

Jiashan was so excited to watch the snow that he rubbed Zhao Youze's tiger-skin hat and asked, "It's snowing heavily. Can I take Yuankang out to make a snowman?"

Zhao Youze still had some childishness after all. After a few sips of wine, his face turned red with excitement. He nodded happily: "Okay, I'll go with Sister."

Jiashan turned back to Zhanyue and asked gently, "Are you coming too, sir?"

Although Zhan Yue's eyebrows were smiling, his face was calm. He said calmly: "No. That's a toy for children."

Jiashan pursed her lips, as if to complain about Zhan Yue's "hypocrisy". But because Chen Gong was present, she did not confront him directly, but just said, "Oh."

So Jiashan, who was wrapped up tightly, took the small Zhao Youze and the two of them quickly started working in the snow.

Zhan Yuerao watched with interest for a while, as if he had never seen such a lively scene before. He turned around and told Dan Cui: "Help me get a set of pens, ink, paper and inkstone. Please."

Dan Cui bowed and left.

Zhan Yue quickly asked someone to clear the table. He untied the belt of his cloak and lowered his head to paint carefully.

Four snowmen were slowly piled up in the falling snow.

Jiashan said: "This is my father, this is my mother, this is Yuankang, and this is me."

Zhao Youze's fingers were frozen stiff, but his eyes were still shining. He asked happily, "Sister, is Yuankang the youngest?"

"Yes." Jiashan squeezed his hand and said jokingly, "Not only is she the smallest, she's also the fattest."

Zhao Youze snorted gloomily.

Jiashan turned around and saw Zhan Yue didn't raise his head. She bit her lip and built a tall, fat white doll in front of the snowman called "Jiashan".

Zhao Youze was very smart. He ran to the kitchen, wiped his hands with coal dust, and rubbed it on the snowman's face.

He showed a few small porcelain teeth in his mouth: "This is command!"

Jiashan couldn't help laughing and nodded, saying, "Yes."

"You are so bad." Zhan Yue finally put down his pen. He looked up and saw Jiashan piled himself into the fattest "snowman". He motioned Jiashan to come over and said, "Look, does my painting look like you?"

Jiashan leaned over to look.

Zhan Yue's painting skills are not as good as his calligraphy, at least not as exquisite as those of a serious court painter.

In his paintings, the world is all white, and everything in the world is covered in silver. There is only one girl, dressed in a flaming red dress, who seems to have been left behind in the world by accident.

The girl was holding a child who looked much younger than her. The child had a clear face and bright features, especially his eyes, which seemed to be able to speak.

Jiashan said: "This..."

Zhan Yue smiled and winked at her knowingly. His long, stiff eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly flapping its wings.

He leaned close to Jiashan's ear and whispered, "This is my New Year's wish. I hope it will come true."

Jiashan clenched her hands tightly and said softly, "Yes."

At this time, Zhao Youze was also taken away by Su Yu to wash his hands and came back.

Because he had just played in the snow, his fingers were red and a little bit unresponsive due to the cold. Su Yu touched his hands and felt they were cold. She quickly handed him a hand warmer and asked with concern: "Your Highness, are you really not cold? It's almost midnight. I'll take you to the inner room to sit for a while."

Zhao Youze was very happy tonight. He shook his head and said, "No. I'll give you one. I don't need two. I still need to take care of my sister."

Su Yu nodded and smiled softly: "Okay. Then I'll take one too."

While they were chatting, an unusually brilliant firework suddenly rose up in the night sky, and the starry sky suddenly became as bright as a hundred flowers blooming in spring.

Midnight has truly arrived!

This was the most festive day of the year. Su Yu was also infected by the lively mood. She couldn't help but look up at the sky.

Zhao Youze shook his head carefully, rubbed his eyes with his stiff fingers, raised his head and asked Su Yu: "What do fireworks look like?"

Su Yu smiled and replied: "It's like the day is about to dawn."

Zhao Youze's face was filled with a warm smile, and he seemed to no longer feel cold. He nodded vigorously: "I understand."

The two of them stayed for a while before Su Yu slowly led Zhao Youze back to the pavilion.

Zhan Yue had already tied his cloak again. It was already past midnight, so it was inconvenient for him to stay in Fengyang Pavilion any longer.

Jiashan looked at his gentle pupils and whispered softly, "I will treasure the painting. It's a pity that the snow melted quickly and it won't stay for long."

Zhan Yue smiled faintly and said, "It's good enough if the princess can always remember me, everything else is just empty talk."

Chen Gong couldn't help but blush when he heard this, and turned away and coughed. Jiashan took advantage of Chen Gong's absence and glared at Zhan Yue.

At this moment, Zhan Yue pinched Jiashan's face very quickly, like a thief.

"I am lucky to be able to celebrate the New Year with the two princes tonight." Zhan Yue said softly, "I hope this day will come to us every year."

Jiashan said, "You should leave quickly."

Zhan Yue smiled and finally tied his cloak slowly and methodically. He bowed and saluted Zhao Youze and Jiashan before leaving.

After Zhan Yue left, Chen Gong's mission was successfully completed.

He had not realized it before, but now he knows how much the marriage His Majesty had proposed was in line with the eldest princess's wishes.

He was not a stupid man and had already understood how to report to His Majesty when he returned.

Chen Gong bowed and said, "I'm afraid the palace banquet is over by now. I'll hurry back to serve Your Majesty. It's freezing cold, so the two princes should go to bed early."

Jiashan said a few polite words to him and sent Dancui to see him out.

Jiashan rolled up the painting in one hand and held Zhao Youze's hand with the other, and the two of them walked into the inner room together.

Unlike the heavy snow outside, the floor heating and heater were already lit up indoors, exuding an all-encompassing warmth.

Zhao Youze's palms were very cold, but his little face was not as white as before, and was even faintly red.

Jiashan thought that he had accidentally frozen while playing in the snow, so he half squatted down and touched his forehead.

"Yuankang, do you feel uncomfortable somewhere?" Jiashan asked, rubbing his small palm to warm it up.

At this moment, Zhao Youze extended one hand and firmly grasped Jiashan's sleeve. He rested his chin on his knees and whispered, "Sister, I'll tell you a secret."

Jiashan's heart moved, she narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and looked at him silently.