The snowball landed precisely on her shoulder.
Yu Zhi was so angry that she almost laughed when Yu Zhi was ambushed again—why didn't she learn her lesson? Every time she was called, she would obediently turn around and take the hit.
Thinking this, she huffed angrily, "If you're so capable, then don't run away!"
"If you're incompetent, then run!" Ji Pingxi took off running as fast as she could. No one knew how she managed it, but even three inches of snow didn't affect her fierce speed.
Yu Zhi chased after him for a few steps, cried out in pain, and fell down, her eyes blurry with tears as she watched the person running away at top speed.
Even though he knew it was a ruse, Ji Pingxi ran to help her without hesitation.
Just as the person was about to reach her, Yu Zhi lay on the snow and threw a large, round snowball: "I'll hit you!"
A snowball hit Ji Pingxi, who cried out in surprise, pretending to slip and fall right on top of the beauty. She braced herself with her arms, her eyes sparkling, and her smile radiant: "I'll kiss you!"
Yu Zhi smiled shyly: "I'll smash you!"
"I'll kiss you!"
The two of them acted childishly, and after a few rounds of this, Yu Zhi couldn't stand her silly appearance anymore, so she took the initiative to hug her neck and kiss her.
Despite the freezing cold, hibiscus blossoms in people's hearts.
Volume 3, IF (If) Side Story: What if Xi Xi and Zhi Zhi were childhood sweethearts?
Chapter 102 Green Plum 1
The eighth year of Yanzhao marked the beginning of a new year in which the Great Yan Emperor, in his centralized rule, overthrew Empress Dowager Yan.
In the warm spring of March, in the capital city, at the Ministry of Rites.
A three-year-old child with two little pigtails on his head was dressed in bright clothes. His soft little hands were barely able to hold a newly made rabbit lantern. The rabbit's eyes were as beautiful as rubies, and his long ears made him look even more lively and cute.
"Wet nurse, will my mother like the rabbit lantern I made?"
The little girl speaks in a soft, sweet voice, which feels like eating honey.
Zhao was the wet nurse of the young lady of the Minister's mansion. At a young age, she was already a mother of two. Her maternal glow was hard to hide. Hearing this, her eyes softened and she said gently, "She will like it."
"Then..." Little Yuzhi, with her rosy cheeks, looked up and asked, "When Mother sees the rabbit lantern, will she forgive me for accidentally breaking her little clay figure yesterday?"
"Well...it depends on whether Miss knows how to coax people."
The little clay figure was no ordinary clay figure; it was a coming-of-age gift from Princess Yunzhang to her wife. It is said that the clay figure was sculpted by the princess herself, a small gift but a heartfelt gesture.
Before becoming a wet nurse, Zhao was a poor woman whom Liu Boyan had rescued on a whim. To repay the kindness, she abandoned her own flesh and blood and came to the Minister's mansion to work as a servant.
Having spent a long time in the Minister's residence, one inevitably learns a few things. Don't be fooled by the Madam's gentle and mild demeanor towards everyone; very few people haven't witnessed her anger.
The lady cares about the eldest princess more than outsiders realize.
But fate is cruel.
The lady married the Minister in accordance with her father's wishes. Over the past few years, at least in Zhao's eyes, the Minister has treated the lady extremely well, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he is completely obedient to her.
Even so, the lady still lacked the warmth and affection that is typical between husband and wife when she treated the master.
No other family in Kyoto could compare to the mutual respect between the lady and the master.
Too much respect creates an invisible chasm between them, making them seem more like siblings than lovers.
That's really strange.
Thinking this, Zhao looked down at the little girl carrying the rabbit lantern and felt a surge of pity for no reason. The young lady was so young and innocent that she was lovable to look at.
"Hurry up, wet nurse!"
She couldn't wait to make her mother happy.
Yesterday, she broke her mother's beloved little clay figurine. She was so frightened that her face turned pale. She didn't dare to admit her mistake to her mother, and she also knew that her mother would be sad without the little clay figurine. So, she secretly stayed up for half the night without sleeping, and with the help of her wet nurse, she made this rabbit lantern.
She clutched the lantern tightly, hoping her mother wouldn't be too angry or sad for the sake of the lantern.
Children are innocent; their thoughts and feelings are written all over their faces.
How can a mother truly be angry with her daughter?
On the contrary, Zhao stayed up half the night making lanterns with her mistress; I wonder how the madam will scold her if she finds out.
Knowing full well that children shouldn't be allowed to stay up late, but... who can resist their young lady's pleading eyes?
She shook her head, holding the person in her arms, and quickened her pace.
"Mother!"
Little Yuzhi landed on her feet and carefully ran towards her mother, carrying the rabbit lantern.
Liu Boyan, being the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Liu and the beloved wife of Minister of Rites Jingzhi, possessed the bloodline of the "Jinghe Liu" and was naturally exceptionally beautiful.
With her family background and looks, she could easily have become a concubine in the palace. In the past, after she came of age, suitors practically broke down the threshold of the Prime Minister's mansion.
If it weren't for the young and talented Yu Wen taking a knife for the Prime Minister, he wouldn't have been able to obtain the Liu family's daughter.
Liu Boyan was heartbroken over the broken clay figurine, but upon seeing her beautiful daughter, a smile suddenly appeared on her face.
"Mother!" Uncharacteristically, Xiao Yuzhi didn't beg her mother for a hug. Instead, she shyly held up the rabbit lantern in her hand, her clear, glassy eyes reflecting an unusual gleam: "This is for you, Mother."
"For me?" Liu Boyan was slightly surprised.
The three-year-old child, suppressing his nervousness, glanced at the rabbit lantern and couldn't help but feel proud, his chubby little face beaming as he said, "Mmm!"
"..."
Not seeing her mother's surprised reaction, her heart pounded, and she emphasized in her childish voice, "It was made by my wet nurse and me, Mother, please don't dislike it."
"Made by hand?" Liu Boyan looked at the ugly rabbit lantern with its beautiful eyes, then at the faint blue under her daughter's eyes. A thought flashed through her mind, and she realized that she had finally caught the culprit who smashed her little clay figure.
"Mother...do you not like it?"
Her guilty look after doing something wrong was quite adorable. Liu Boyan didn't love Yu Wen, but she genuinely adored her daughter whom she was carrying for ten months.
After being silently looked at by her beloved mother a few times, Xiao Yuzhi's eyes reddened slightly, and her voice choked with sobs: "It was Zhizhi who broke Mother's little clay figure. Zhizhi didn't do it on purpose."
She raised her hand and offered the lantern to her mother, sniffing, "Zhizhi doesn't know how to make little clay figures, so I'll make up for it with a rabbit lantern for you, Mother. Please don't be angry with Zhizhi, and please don't be sad..."
She was about to burst into tears after just a couple of sentences; it seemed like she was really being teased.
Liu Boyan had seen her daughter crybaby before, and she couldn't bear to see her shed tears at such a young age. She immediately bent down and took the strange-looking rabbit lantern: "Don't cry, Mother forgives you and won't be angry with you anymore."
The lantern was taken from her hand, and tears welled up in her eyes, which she couldn't stop crying for a while. She cried so hard that she couldn't catch her breath. She felt guilty for not daring to admit her mistakes and instead ran away from them, but she was also moved by her mother's magnanimity in not holding it against her.
When she cries, it's like the sky has been torn open; nothing you do can comfort her.
When Yu Wen got home and saw his crying baby, he frowned with heartache: "What happened? Who bullied Daddy's sweet Zhizhi?"
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the little girl, who was about to stop crying, burst into even louder sobs: "Zhizhi is naughty, Zhizhi is not a good child! Zhizhi should admit her mistakes to her mother sooner!"
"..."
This crying caused the Minister of Rites a great deal of trouble.
Liu Boyan held a handkerchief to wipe her daughter's tears, while Zhao Shi, who was standing nearby, promptly explained to the Minister: "Miss broke Madam's little clay figurine."
Little clay figure.
A dark glint flashed in Yu Wen's eyes. He put aside everything else and busied himself with coaxing his daughter.
After coaxing the child to sleep in the room, he asked Madam Zhao, "Is this the little clay figurine that the Princess once gave to you, Madam?"
When the master asked the question, Zhao dared not refuse to answer: "Yes, sir."
Yu Wen stood rooted to the spot, his straight back suddenly seeming to lose all its strength. He waved his hand, and Zhao Shi wisely withdrew.
He risked his life to win over his wife.
The lady respected him and valued him, but she did not love him.
As time went on, Yu Wen became increasingly aware of this reality.
No matter how young he was, the youngest top scholar in the Great Yan Dynasty, or the youngest Minister of Rites, he was probably no match for a clay figure that the Princess could casually sculpt.
He let out a sigh of frustration and smiled, but the smile was somewhat bitter.
After bathing and changing, he returned to his room and saw his beautiful wife. After pondering for a while, he slowly explained the matters discussed between the emperor and his ministers in the imperial study during the day.
Liu Boyan lowered her eyes as she sewed her daughter's undergarments. Upon hearing this, she looked up and asked, "Should we send Zhizhi to the palace?"
"Officials of the third rank and above who have children aged three to five must be sent to the Gan Ning Palace tomorrow to be raised by the Empress. This was proposed by the Grand Tutor and His Majesty has approved it."
The Empress had no son, and His Majesty refused to select concubines, which led to more than one unpleasant argument between the emperor and his ministers in the Golden Palace.
The Great Yan Dynasty was thriving, and with all its advantages, it lacked an heir. Grand Tutor Yan was anxious about His Majesty's situation and worried about His Majesty's worries. He adopted a folk method to accumulate offspring for the Emperor and Empress.
"How long will it take to deliver?"
"At the very least, we should wait for good news from the Empress."
Liu Boyan felt a chill run down her spine.
Yu Wen comforted her, saying, "The Empress is a virtuous empress praised by everyone. Our Zhizhi is so beautiful and clever that even the Empress can only like her. His Majesty also said that if the women miss their daughter, they can come to the palace to visit her at any time."
Having said all that, her daughter absolutely had to be sent there. Liu Boyan frowned slightly, swallowing back the words she was about to say.
At dawn, Xiao Yuzhi obediently dressed and washed up before being carried to the main courtyard by her wet nurse.
"You want me to enter the palace to keep the Empress company?"
"Yes, once she enters the palace, many children will play with Zhizhi."
Liu Boyan affectionately stroked her little pigtails: "When you see the Empress, remember to greet her, be obedient, don't fight with anyone, and don't endure being bullied. Your maternal grandfather is the Prime Minister, and your father is the Minister. Apart from the royal family, our family can afford to offend anyone."
"Will I still be able to see my mother and father after entering the palace?"
Yu Wen couldn't bear to part with his daughter, so he patted her other little bun: "The inner palace belongs to His Majesty and the Empress. It's inconvenient for Father to go, but your mother can."
Xiao Yuzhi gave a disappointed "Oh," then suddenly asked, "Can't we not go?"
She didn't want to leave home.
Yu Wenchong's daughter shook her head.