Chapter 249 Red silk reflects the snow, laughter and laughter
In the warm room of Shufangzhai, red silk, stretched to its limit by the young eunuchs, resembled a flowing sunset glow under the glazed lanterns. Little Swallow was tiptoeing, attempting to affix the last "囍" character to the beam. Her pink, flowered satin jacket flapped upwards with her movements, revealing her moon-white undergarment.
"I can't reach it! I can't reach it!" She stood on tiptoe until her toes were numb, but the red paper was still a little short. She stamped her feet in anger, "Why is this broken beam so high?"
Yongqi put down the account book and walked over quickly. He was wearing the azure-colored official uniform of a prince, and the lapis lazuli jade belt around his waist shone warmly in the light. "Let me do it," he said, gently grasping Xiaoyanzi's waist and lifting her up.
Xiaoyanzi instantly flew into the air, so startled she grabbed Yongqi's shoulders, her nose nearly hitting his chin. "Yongqi, what are you doing?" She was surprised and delighted, then proudly slapped the "囍" character right in the center of the beam. "Got it! Look how perfectly I put it!"
Yongqi slowly lowered her down, the warmth of her waist still lingering on his fingertips. "Yes, our Princess Huanzhu is the best," he said with a smile, reaching out to smooth her wind-twisted hair. "But don't climb so high next time. What if you fall?"
"I won't fall!" Xiaoyanzi slapped his hand away, turned around and picked up a string of red agate beads on the table, "Look at the new curtains I prepared for Shufangzhai, don't they look good?" She hung the beads on the door frame, and the agate made a crisp sound when they collided.
"They look good." Yongqi looked into her sparkling eyes and said seriously, "Everything you chose looks good."
At this moment, Xiaodiaozi ran in holding a sugar painting, followed by a buzzing mosquito. "Princess! Prince! Look at my sugar painting!" The sugar painting in Xiaodiaozi's hand was a majestic Monkey King, with his golden cudgel pointing to the sky.
"Wow, boom! Little Stool, your monkey looks like a thunder god!" Little Mosquito came over to take a look, holding a string of candied haws in his hand. "My candied haws are still solid, sour and sweet!"
The little bug chirped and imitated the sound of a bird, while the small table did a neat somersault, which drew cheers from everyone.
Xiaoyanzi was so excited watching that she picked up the red silk on the table and started waving it around like she was practicing swordplay. "Yongqi! Let's have a duel! Whoever loses gets to buy everyone some sugar paintings!"
Yongqi shook his head helplessly, but still acted cooperatively: "Okay, but you can't cheat."
The warm room suddenly became lively, with red silk flying, laughter and even the air seemed to be filled with a sweet scent.
In the guesthouse's courtyard, Liu Qing was climbing a ladder to hang a red lantern from the doorframe. He was wearing a newly made royal blue cotton robe, but his movements were clumsy, and the lantern hung crookedly.
"A little left! A little more left!" Jinsuo was standing below giving orders. She was wearing a new lake blue jacket with a few plum blossoms embroidered with gold thread on the cuffs, which made her look particularly fresh.
Liu Qing looked down at her, the white breath he exhaled condensing into a cloud of white mist in the cold air: "Is this okay?"
Jinsuo stood on tiptoe, took a closer look, and couldn't help laughing. "Brother Liu, the lantern you've hung looks like a crooked tree." She picked up a bamboo pole nearby and carefully straightened the lantern. "It has to be like this, straight and beautiful."
Liu Qing jumped down and scratched his head. "You're really careful." He looked at Jinsuo's red nose, took off his scarf, and wrapped it around her. "It's so cold, don't catch a cold."
Jinsuo's cheeks flushed red like a ripe apple. She lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you, Brother Liu."
"What are you thanking me for?" Liu Qing said with a smile, picking up a string of firecrackers beside him. "Look at this string of firecrackers I bought. Are they loud enough? I guarantee they'll scare away all the bad luck!"
Jinsuo looked at the string of firecrackers in his hand that was as tall as a person and shook her head helplessly: "Brother Liu, why did you buy such a big string? You'll scare the neighbors."
"It has to be this big to be lively!" Liu Qing disagreed, "Our wedding has to be grand!"
As they were talking, Ertai and Liu Hong came in carrying several gift boxes. "Brother Liu! Jinsuo! We are here to give you gifts!" Ertai said with a smile, handing the gift box to Liu Qing.
Liu Hong walked over to Jinsuo, took her hand and said, "Jinsuo, I brought you some new patterns. See if you like them."
Jinsuo opened the gift box, revealing several rolls of fine silk and some delicate pearl flowers. Her brows immediately lit up with joy: "Thank you!"
In the courtyard, red lanterns swayed gently in the wind, casting a beaming light on everyone's face. Liu Qing watched this lively scene, his heart warmed as if by a stove. He knew that good times were finally coming.
The setting sun cast a golden halo over the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City. In Shufangzhai, Xiaoyanzi was pestering Yongqi to teach her how to write the character "Yongqi." Her pen tip scribbled crookedly across the rice paper, making everyone laugh.
"Look at you, you wrote the right side of 'Qi' as 'Qi' again." Yongqi held her hand and taught her stroke by stroke, "It should be like this: horizontal, vertical, left-falling stroke, dot..."
Xiaoyanzi's cheek rested on his arm, and she could smell the faint scent of pine and ink on him, feeling sweet inside. She secretly raised her eyes and saw Yongqi looking down at her, the tenderness in his eyes like unmelting spring water.
"What are you looking at?" she asked with a blushing face.
"Look at you." Yongqi said with a smile, "Look at my bride. I can never get enough of her."
Xiaoyanzi's heartbeat suddenly quickened, as if she had a little rabbit in her arms. She broke free from Yongqi's hand, turned around and ran out of the warm room: "I'm ignoring you! I'm going to see if dinner is ready!"
Looking at her flustered back, Yongqi's smile deepened. He knew that he had waited for this day for too long.
As night deepened, lights flickered across every household in the capital. In the warm room of Shufangzhai, red silk reflected the lights, like a warm ocean. In the courtyard of the guesthouse, red lanterns swayed in the night, illuminating everyone's happy faces. The air was filled with the sweetness of sugar paintings, the aroma of braised pork, and a deep, unbreakable warmth.
Everyone knows that the big day will be in a few days.
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