A very warm dark-colored cloak
The gray sky was like a veil, and the snow fell steadily without stopping, covering the cobblestone path with a soft, white sheen.
Two holes were carved out of the pond, which was covered with a thick layer of ice, and fishing rods were hung from the railings of Mingyue Pavilion.
Inside the pavilion, two elegant women sat facing each other, enjoying the snow, sipping tea, and playing chess, displaying their refined taste.
Wearing a dark cloak, Jiang Yanhui listlessly squinted, her thin, crimson lips as if painted with rouge. She bit down on the piece Lang Rong had just placed, her domineering and forceful manner befitting her personality.
The teapot on the stove was boiling hot, and the hot and cold air mixed together to form white mist that dissipated, while a few snowflakes drifted in with the wind and landed on my shoulder.
Lang Rong had been observing Jiang Yan Hui. Lately, she seemed uninterested in everything she did, which was completely different from her usual playful personality. It was hard not to suspect that something had happened.
Thinking back, it all started after he came out of the building. He overheard the servants of the Prince's mansion gossiping, and that night Jiang Yanhui threw a tantrum and threw things, which made Lang Rong feel even more that he was involved.
Lang Rong discreetly picked up the teacup, took a sip, his face contorted for a moment, and he hissed to relieve the burning sensation on his lips.
Jiang Yanhui raised her eyelids disdainfully, "What kind of lousy chess are you playing? Are you kidding me?"
Lost in thought, Lang Rong didn't play seriously. He glanced down at the chessboard and saw that his white pieces were not making any strategic moves, but instead just surrounding the black pieces, as if in a provocation.
If it were someone with a bad temper, they would have already flipped the table and given him a piece of their mind. There's no way Lang Rong would have time to sit there and overthink things.
Lang Rong stopped Jiang Yan from taking back the coins and coughed lightly. "I was distracted this time. I've been thinking a lot these past two days, and keeping it to myself will only make things worse."
Lang Rong pressed down on Jiang Yan Hui's hand, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her attempts to pull away indicated a lack of willingness to listen, and continued speaking with an extremely serious expression.
“I’ve thought about this a lot these past two days. I think I shouldn’t have talked to you like that that day. I didn’t think things through and just imposed my own ideas on you.”
Jiang Yan looked back at Lang Rong with the same gaze she had given the monster, wondering if this person's sudden change of personality was due to being possessed by a ghost. Otherwise, how could she have heard a human-like sentence from Lang Rong's mouth after more than twenty years of getting to know her?
Then, as expected, Lang Rong said with sympathy and regret, "You have witnessed a lot of love and hate in the imperial family. The honor and disgrace of the men in the harem are closely related to the previous dynasty. Therefore, you naturally developed a prejudice against true love in the world because you grew up in a bad atmosphere."
However, the influence of one's childhood environment on their personality is not immutable. As long as you yearn for true love, you will surely meet your destined one, and at that time you will feel that nothing in the world is more important than that one person.
Jiang Yan yawned at the impassioned speech, met Lang Rong's expectant gaze, and twitched her fingers: "Can you let go now?"
Lang Rong let go of his hand, embarrassed, but unable to hide his excitement, he asked excitedly, "Can you imagine what I'm talking about?"
"No," Jiang Yan replied.
And she thought that when she returned to the capital, she must find the best doctor to examine Lang Rong's brain, otherwise how could he say such speechless things?
Jiang Yanhui flicked her wrist, pulled her cloak tighter, leaned back, a snowflake clinging to her lowered eyelashes. She exhaled a small puff of white mist and said, "Lang Rong, true feelings are the least important thing to me."
“But…” Lang Rong’s eyes flickered slightly, realizing that saying anything more would be presumptuous, and he swallowed his words of persuasion.
Picking up the chess pieces and putting them back in the jar, he forced a relieved smile mixed with a touch of sadness, and said, "Let's play another game. This time I promise I won't lose focus."
Jiang Yan Hui didn't respond, her black hair swaying gently as she held the hand warmer in her hands and chuckled, "General Lang and Fa Fu are so loving that they could raise a daughter with such a temperament as you."
—
"When they serve food later, don't go to the front, or some idiot might elbow you in the face. Just find a spot near the charcoal stove, and I'll take both our bowls to get the food. Let's see who can bump into me!"
Xiao Le couldn't help but worry whenever he saw Ah Chou's innocent, smiling eyes crinkling, and he tapped Ah Chou's head with his finger.
"You should learn from this. Don't always be so passive and never fight back when you're being bullied."
Ah Chou nodded obediently, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Xiao Le.
If I grow taller and stronger, no one will dare to bully me.
Xiao Le, whose vanity was satisfied, raised his lips, held the rice bowl in one hand and patted his chest, speaking in the tone of an older brother, "I will protect you in the Prince's mansion. If I have a bite to eat, you will have a bite to eat too. It's okay if you don't learn to fight for it."
Xiao Le turned his head and found that Ah Chou was gone. When he turned back, Ah Chou was standing there motionless, staring into the distance.
Curious, I leaned closer and followed their gaze, and there stood Jiang Wangzun and Lang Xiaowei, playing chess in Mingyue Pavilion.
Startled, he quickly pulled the dazed Ah Chou down to a squatting position and scolded in a low voice, "Are you out of your mind! How dare you spy on the King!"
Ah Chou suddenly came to his senses and quickly shook his head.
He didn't know what was wrong with him, but once he glanced at it, he couldn't look away.
The railings and bushes completely blocked their view. After the initial panic subsided, Xiao Le secretly raised her head to look over the pond and exclaimed, "This is the first time I've seen what Wang Zun looks like clearly. Usually, I can only catch a glimpse from afar and not see him clearly, or I don't even dare to look at his head and just stare at his boots."
Ah Chou also looked over, his clear black and white eyes fixed on Jiang Yan Hui's profile.
As the snow fell, a woman wrapped in a dark cloak smiled nonchalantly, playing with a hand warmer as she spoke to the person opposite her in a comfortable and relaxed manner—a kind of ease and relaxation he had never seen before.
“Wang Zun’s black cloak looks very warm, unlike us who get cold as soon as the wind blows, no matter how many layers we wear.” Xiao Le suddenly slapped her thigh and almost jumped up, then pulled Ah Chou and hunched over to walk outside. “Stop looking, eating is the priority. If we go late, we’ll have to work on an empty stomach this afternoon.”
While the servants cleaning the side rooms could take a nap during their lunch break, those cleaning the library had to seize the good light to wipe away the dust from every nook and cranny, and could not afford to slack off.
The two of them ate their fill and hurriedly returned to the library to begin cleaning in the afternoon, hoping to finish within the allotted time and ideally have a day or two to relax in the library.
Ah Chou, being short, wiped the bottom four compartments, while Xiao Le stood on a stool and wiped the top and the very top. With a clear division of labor, they chatted and laughed, and didn't feel too tired.
I was busy with my work when I looked up again and saw that the snow had stopped and the sun was shining brightly in the western sky, half-hidden, not quite setting.
Lingzhou is bad in every way, except for its magnificent sunsets, which are unlike anything else.
Two youthful faces, tinged with a bright orange hue, met each other and exchanged pure smiles.
Xiao Le jumped down the high ladder with great effort and tidied up the scattered tools. "We'll be distributing steamed buns tonight. Everyone has a set amount, so don't worry about fighting over them. You went to help me get mine too. I've cleaned up the dust rolls that fell on the ground."
Before leaving, Xiao Le pointed to the empty bucket and said in great detail, as if he were instructing a child, "Take the bucket to the well and fill it halfway with water on your way back. Don't fill it too much, or you won't be able to carry it. We'll just mop this patch of ground and that'll be it."
Ah Chou listened attentively, then happily skipped away with his wooden bucket, as cheerful as a little rabbit.
As long as he can eat and rest, Ah Chou is happy.
The cleaning tools were neatly arranged behind the door, and the dust rolls that had fallen to the ground were carefully picked up. Xiao Le, who had been waiting for a long time, squatted against the wall, clutching his rumbling stomach, and lamented why Ah Chou hadn't returned yet.
Xiao Le's ears twitched as he heard heavy footsteps and heavy breathing. Before he could even utter a word of complaint, he was startled by Ah Chou's disheveled appearance and cried out.
With slightly disheveled hair, Ah Chou gritted his teeth and struggled to carry a half-bucket of swaying water. Water dripped from his thick cotton trousers, soaking his shoes.
Xiao Le instantly bristled, ignoring the meat bun Ah Chou pulled from his pocket, snatched the wooden bucket, slammed it on the ground, put his hands on his hips, and angrily said, "Did someone bully you! Tell me! I'll go beat their ancestors for eighteen generations!"
Ah Chou's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head, explaining the cause and effect to Xiao Le with gestures and drawings. In case Xiao Le didn't notice, he even replicated the wrestling movements one by one.
Xiao Le frowned and asked uncertainly, "You mean you slipped and fell while going up the steps, which is why your pants got wet?"
Ah Chou nodded repeatedly.
Touching his pants, he found a layer of ice crystals on them. Without even asking, Xiao Leban scolded him with a stern face, "You fell down and came back! Why did you go back to fetch water? Don't you know that in Lingzhou winters, water freezes instantly? I think you don't want these legs anymore!"
Even when scolded, Ah Chou just smiled憨憨地, stomped his shoes that made a clattering sound, and his carefree and exceptionally sincere appearance made Xiao Le unable to get angry.
Her heart softened, but she still said fiercely, "You stay inside and don't go out. You can wipe the water stains clean later. I'll go back and get you dry pants and shoes."
Before leaving, Xiao Le took a vicious bite of her steamed bun, as if venting her anger at A Chou. After repeatedly telling him to behave and not move, she ran away.
Watching Xiao Le's disappearing figure, A Chou took a bite of the steaming hot bun, thankful that she had rolled over when she slipped and the meat bun in her arms hadn't been crushed.
After finishing the two steamed buns, Ah Chou looked around for a while, stared at his toes for a moment, and then moved slightly.
Like a child who has done something wrong and hasn't been caught, he secretly smiled, becoming bolder and bolder.
Looking around to make sure no one was passing by, he half-moved and half-walked and plopped down on the threshold. He bent down and wringed out the water from his trousers. In no time, his well-proportioned fingers were red and swollen from the cold.
Ah Chou didn't care whether his hands hurt or whether he would get frostbite.
He alternated between two sets of cotton-padded clothes, and Xiao Le told him that the winters in Lingzhou were long and unbearable, so he had to take good care of his winter clothes.
The setting sun was obscured, and a pair of tall cotton boots with gold trim appeared in front of me.
Ah Chou looked up and met those deep eyes that he had seen countless times in his dreams. They were even more captivating up close, and he subconsciously held his breath.
Jiang Yanhui's lowered eyes were cold and devoid of any emotion, as if she were looking at a rock blocking her way.
She was holding a book in her hand, and Ah Chou remembered that the book cover was the one Jiang Yan had flipped through that night.
A jumble of thoughts rushed into his mind in an instant. Before Ah Chou could react, he caught a whiff of a delicate fragrance—the scent of Jiang Yan Hui's clothes brushing against his shoulder.
Ah Chou quickly stood up and stood properly, but his eyes involuntarily fell on her.
Jiang Yanhui seemed very familiar with the library, easily finding the location of the books and quickly picking out the ones she wanted to read.
Ah Chou hurriedly looked away, silently lowering his head and staring at his toes. Whether it was from the cold or the fluctuation of his emotions, he couldn't stop trembling.
Jiang Yanhui stopped where she was and didn't rush to leave. Her gaze swept over Ah Chou's flushed cheeks and landed on his frostbitten, purple fingers. His disheveled appearance was not beautiful at all.
He asked, "Were you bullied?"
Ah Chou slowly shook his head.
"You don't kneel and pay your respects to me, and instead stare at me so rudely?" Jiang Yanhui put his hands behind his back, a playful smile curling up on his cold face. "Ah Chou, do you want me to gouge your eyes out?"
Ah Chou's face turned deathly pale, his legs went weak and he knelt down with a thud, his frozen knees throbbing with pain.
Jiang Yan frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with his reaction, and immediately lost interest.
Faced with the trembling man, Jiang Yanhui tried to leave several times, but she could not ignore his thin, trembling body and pale, weak lips.
With a light click of her tongue, she took off her cloak and threw it at Ah Chou's face. By the time Ah Chou dazedly pulled off the cloak, Jiang Yan Hui was already nowhere to be seen.
The thick, plush cloak still held Jiang Yanhui's body warmth, and A Chou shrank inside, sniffing her frostbitten nose.
He thought Xiao Le was right, it was very warm.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Jiang Yanhui in the morning: I don't need true feelings.
Jiang Yanhui in the afternoon: Were you bullied? (Throws her cloak in a domineering manner)
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