The honey-soaked wintersweet blossoms unfurled their delicate petals as the tea was steeped, releasing a rich, sweet aroma that wafted into the air amidst the rising steam. A few tiny blossoms floated gently on the pale tea in the cup, creating a delightful ambiance.
Nie Qingyue's mood improved immediately, and she laid out the dishes one by one and served them to the group.
"Why isn't Little Yue drinking the winter plum tea?" Shu Song mumbled, holding the rim of the white porcelain teacup in her mouth, squinting her eyes and leaning on the table, looking extremely content.
"It's too sweet." Nie Qingyue sipped the warm tea gently, the bitter fragrance of the rouge plum tea spreading in her mouth.
"Don't all girls like sweet things?"
"You can treat me like a man." The rouge plum blossom wasn't as rich and sweet as the winter plum, but its cool, subtle fragrance suited her perfectly. It wasn't overpowering; its light, lingering scent was just right. It even had a hint of the bitter medicinal fragrance emanating from Yan Shu.
"Tsk tsk, I was just about to praise you for having such a gentle and ladylike demeanor when you were making tea." Shu Song suddenly smiled ambiguously, as if she had just remembered something: "You two are truly of one mind. Ashu also likes the taste of rouge plum."
Zhao Linwei, who had been quietly drinking tea with his head down, suddenly looked up and glanced at Nie Qingyue, his bright eyes holding an ambiguous meaning.
Nie Qingyue rolled her eyes without hesitation, but her mind was preoccupied with Shu Song's words. Plum blossom tea needs to be stored for a year, and in this mountainous village, very few families likely had the habit of making flower tea. It was truly a pity Yan Shu wasn't there. If that easygoing and gentle person could drink his favorite tea… what kind of expression would he have? Nie Qingyue inexplicably recalled the scene on the day of the Autumn Festival, when he pinched her cheek and then buried his head in eating longevity noodles. She seemed to unconsciously begin to look forward to it.
"By the way, Little Yue, are you planning to spend New Year's Eve at the inn?"
"Well, how else would we get by?"
“Going back to the village and having a meal with Ashu won’t cost you a hair. It’s only a one-night journey. How can you be such a wife?”
Nie Qingyue's heart skipped a beat: "Say it again."
"You've finally figured it out? I'm telling you how you behave as someone's wife."
"The previous sentence."
"Hey, my winter plum tea, be more refined! I told you it's just a one-night journey."
Nie Qingyue sat in the carriage, watching the plains and mountains rush past the window, a half-full jar of delicate plum blossoms clutched in her arms. She was in a wonderful mood; the faint fragrance seemed amplified by her unusual state of mind, filling the small carriage. Even a gray-robed man wearing a straw hat hurrying along on the road seemed strangely pleasing to her. She even felt she could instantly ignore the presence of Zhao Linwei and Shu Song, who had insisted on coming along.
In reality, a month's separation is only separated by one night. If a bumpy half-day journey can fulfill this eagerness to share experiences, it doesn't seem like a waste, does it?
Wrapped tightly in her cotton-padded coat, her breath was quickly dispersed by the north wind as Nie Qingyue smiled and stepped onto the land of the small village.
In winter, few people are out and about in the village, but every household has put up door gods and auspicious couplets. Although she had known that New Year's Eve was approaching, the distant atmosphere of the inn didn't bring her much joy. It wasn't until she returned here that she felt the festive spirit that filled the air for the first time.
"Oh, girl, you're back?" Aunt Chen, carrying several bundles of firewood, was both surprised and delighted to see her. She shouted at the top of her lungs, "Doctors, girls, Miss Nie is back!" The tightly closed doors opened one by one, and familiar patients, now recovered and in high spirits, came out to greet her. Several familiar doctors also gathered around.
Nie Qingyue was flattered and stood there dumbfounded, but in the end, she was pulled back home by Aunt Chen. She just wanted to come back quietly to deliver a can of plum blossom tea and then sneak back home. What was going on with all this crowd surrounding her like this after a long separation? Was this the legendary simple and warm-hearted neighborly affection in the countryside? Nie Qingyue was a little touched and a little amused.
The rice bowl in front of her was piled high with vegetables until it completely submerged the rice. She listened to the villagers' warm greetings and inquiries, blinked, sniffed, and grinned as she earnestly answered each question.
During this time, Shu Song and Zhao Linwei, who were completely unfamiliar with the village, ate their meals very quietly and cooperatively.
Finally finding a moment of respite, Nie Qingyue caught a young doctor and asked him about Yan Shu's whereabouts. Having prepared herself for the possibility that Yan Shu might be sightseeing or gathering herbs on some mountaintop and she would have to wait a day and a half, Nie Qingyue still didn't expect the young doctor to answer with a look of astonishment: "He left an hour ago."
"Where did they go?"
"He asked the government for a horse and set off without explaining the details."
"Then...when will you be back?"
"Well, that's hard to say." The young doctor scratched his head. "I thought you knew." Then he was summoned over for a drink.
Unable to describe the feeling, Nie Qingyue returned to the small room where she used to stay in the clinic, carrying the porcelain jar, somewhat dazed.
The packets of COVID-19 pills were still hanging on the door, the air thick with the smell of medicine, overpowering the delicate fragrance of plum blossoms. It wasn't sadness, but it was stronger than regret. An hour ago, if only I had been a little faster, would I have met him? Even if he was still on his way, I just wanted to hand him the jar.
Nie Qingyue sat sullenly on the edge of the bed, her hand pressing against the slightly thicker surface of the bed frame.
The crudely made white cloth mask had loose stitches running down one side. She remembered that on the day of the rat extermination, she had asked the girls to make a new batch of masks; these defective products should have disappeared from the village by now.
"—Can I take back what I gave you before?"
"It seems that the herbs were left on the mountain behind the village when we were collecting them."
She tilted her head and pondered for a long time, then smiled with relief, tucked her mask into her sleeve, and got up with the jar in her arms. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw Shu Song standing there, hesitant to speak. "What are you doing standing here?"
Shu Song stared into her eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she was alright: "Little Yue, I was so afraid that you might do something rash."
Nie Qingyue grinned and patted his shoulder with all his might: "Brother, you're so kind! Go help brew some plum blossom tea and let the villagers try it. Sharing is better than enjoying it alone."
"Aww~~~~!"
The screams of pain echoing behind her were truly...satisfying. Nie Qingyue walked out of the room with immense relief. Bullying others is wrong, well, she hadn't done anything like that.
They're all more ethereal than fleeting clouds. I think dreaming about the Duke of Zhou (a figure in Chinese mythology associated with dreams) is the most real thing! (Clenches fist and goes to sleep.)
The scholar's infatuation is something that can still be explained;
My first winter in Yingmo.
Zhao Linwei leaned against an old tree with his arms crossed, quietly gazing ahead.
Without the slightest hesitation, the woman poured out all the plum blossoms from the jar, performing each step meticulously and gently, clearly with utmost patience. Some villagers marveled, while others gulped down the tea; what should have been a serene and pleasant scene instantly transformed into a lively and novel spectacle. The woman quietly brewing tea was surrounded by villagers, who simply sipped it lightly, a genuine smile of satisfaction playing on her lips.
If it weren't for the fact that she casually mentioned to Shu Song at night that she wanted to go to the back mountain to watch the sunrise, Zhao Linwei would almost have thought that Nie Qingyue's emotions were completely unaffected by Yan Shu.
Sunrise? In my memory, that person loved to wander around and always managed to discover hidden scenery in secluded and remote places.
He thought to himself as he strolled into the room he was staying in.
That night, the north wind howled, and the windows of the simple wooden house could not be closed properly.
Zhao Linwei opened his eyes, gazing at the sliver of silvery moonlight peeking through the cracks in the wooden window, his drowsiness still lingering. A soft knock sounded on the door in the silence. He glanced at Shu Song, who was sleeping like a log in the same room, grabbed a few dried melon seeds from the bedside and threw them at him, but there was no reaction. He replaced them with a string of garlic, and the man who had been hit mumbled something under his breath, then clutched his head, seemingly falling into an even deeper sleep.
Zhao Linwei reluctantly got up and opened the door.
"Eh? Young Master Zhao, I...I'm looking for Shu Song." Nie Qingyue, wearing a thick robe and carrying a small, warm lamp, blurted out without thinking, his right hand still suspended in mid-air.
He stepped aside to let Nie Qingyue see inside the room.
"He even begged me to bring him along for dinner." Nie Qingyue shook her head with a smile and sighed, but her voice unconsciously softened. "I'm sorry to have disturbed Young Master Zhao's sleep." Her relaxed tone showed no remorse whatsoever, and she turned and walked away as soon as she finished speaking.
Zhao Linwei watched as the pale orange candlelight enveloped the thin figure and gradually disappeared into the night, then turned and went back to his room to lie down again.
He couldn't sleep, and as he tossed and turned, the villagers' complaints he'd overheard after dinner about wild animals roaming the mountains behind the village flashed through his mind. Should he go with them? It might still be possible to catch up now, but that seemed too abrupt.
Zhao Linwei thought about it listlessly for a moment, then closed his eyes and opened them again. The silvery light that had been seeping through the cracks in the window was gone, and the room was plunged into a darkness deeper than night before dawn. He was startled and sat up abruptly. He ran outside, but Nie Qingyue's figure was already gone.
How long had he actually slept? Zhao Linwei frowned and walked with a lamp to the foot of the mountain behind the village before stopping.
There were two paths leading to two mountains of different heights. Which one was the right one? He turned his lantern and went up the left mountain, but the dark mountaintop offered nothing but the shadowy trees.
Zhao Linwei quickened his pace unconsciously, his palms slightly sweaty, choosing a steep and narrow path halfway up the mountain to reach another connected barren mountain. He could vaguely hear sharp, distant cries, unable to distinguish whether they were echoes of the mountain wind or the loud calls of wild beasts that unsettled him.
Zhao Linwei ran quickly up the mountain, when suddenly a sparsely wooded clearing and an unusually bright and blazing fire appeared before him. He stopped and looked around, his breathing unconsciously slowing down.
Behind the leaping, blazing flames, Nie Qingyue, dressed only in a white shirt and barefoot, hugged her legs and huddled against a large rock, staring fixedly ahead, motionless as if under a spell. Before the fire stood a gaunt wolf, warily watching her.
The wolf had clearly noticed Zhao Linwei's arrival, and it took a few steps back while letting out a low, threatening howl. Zhao Linwei quickly regained his composure, remaining calm and composed, and slowly reached for the dagger he carried at his waist.
After a long standoff, the wolf suddenly turned and left.
"Miss Nie?" He strode to her side, knelt down, took off his outer robe and covered her with it, calling her name several times.
No response.
"Miss Nie!" He grabbed her shoulder and shook her forcefully.
After a long while, Nie Qingyue turned her head to look at him blankly. Her empty eyes regained some focus, and she uttered a hollow, vacant monosyllable: "Uh?"
"The wolf is gone." He looked into Nie Qingyue's eyes and said loudly, enunciating each word clearly. After all, she was just an ordinary woman. Even though she knew how to use burning clothes to start a fire to stop the lone wolf's fear of fire, she must have been extremely frightened.
Upon hearing this, Nie Qingyue looked towards the spot where the wolf had been behind the campfire, suppressed his slightly trembling voice, and took a deep breath: "Young Master Zhao, hit me."
"That's true, they really show no mercy."
As Nie Qingyue looked at the red marks left on the back of her hand from being whipped by tree branches, she unconsciously uttered this sentence. The burning, real pain constantly reminded her that she was truly saved.
"It's worth it to cruelly bring Miss Nie back from her dazed state." Zhao Linwei carried her on his back and hurried down the mountain.
Nie Qingyue's silence was taken as tacit agreement; she never wanted to experience that feeling on the mountaintop again.
His whole body was stiff, and despite wearing only a thin shirt, his back was covered in cold sweat. His already icy fingers felt numb, as if the blood had reversed its flow, and even his breathing seemed slow and stiff.
If she hadn't made sure to wear enough clothes before leaving home, if the lantern she dropped in her panic hadn't scorched the hem of her clothes after it caught fire, if she had been at a loss and her mind had been blank for a little longer, if Zhao Linwei had only arrived just as the fire had gone out after the clothes had burned out, none of these "ifs" would have led to her current good fortune.
Nie Qingyue's hands and feet were stiff and her whole body was still trembling slightly, but she was no longer afraid, only left with a lingering sense of fear.
When they were sent back to the village, it was still dark, and the quiet village seemed to be asleep.
She gradually regained consciousness and, with her last bit of strength, grabbed Zhao Linwei, who was about to call for help: "Don't tell Shu Song." Zhao Linwei stopped for a moment, then continued walking out. When he returned after a long while, he had a bucket of hot water in one hand and ginger soup in the other. He carried the bucket to her bedside and put it down, then pulled up a chair and sat with his back to her.
Nie Qingyue controlled her sluggish fingers, rolled up her trouser legs, and soaked her frozen legs and feet in hot water before she could feel her soles slowly regaining feeling. She picked up the bowl of hot ginger soup from the low table beside the bed, her voice a little unnatural: "Um, Mr. Zhao, thank you."
Zhao Linwei did not turn around, but said calmly, "If Miss Nie really wants to thank me, then grant my request."
Nie Qingyue knew what he meant, and felt half helpless and half guilty. She could only calmly ask in return, "I am truly grateful for Young Master Zhao's life-saving grace, but in fact, Young Master Zhao does not want to marry me, does he?"
"Even if I wanted to marry her, would Miss Nie ever want to marry me?"
Nie Qingyue was stumped by the question, but then another thought came to her: "Nobody wants to spend their life with a complete stranger, right?"
"Then what about Miss Nie and Young Master Yan?" Zhao Linwei's tone was firm and incisive, showing no emotion. "I'm afraid they also got married without ever knowing each other."
She was speechless for a long time, and then gave a weak excuse: "Let's put all that aside for now, I have no intention of marrying twice."
Zhao Linwei didn't answer immediately. During the silence between them, Shu Song's energetic voice rang out from outside the door: "Little Yue, you're back?"
"What if I appeared before Miss Nie first? Would Miss Nie still obey Prime Minister Nie's arrangements for marriage without any objection?" Zhao Linwei left these words behind, walked out of the small mud house, subtly stopped Shu Song, and closed the door behind him.
"Brother Linlin, how did you end up coming out of Xiaoyue's room?" Shu Song was clearly stammering.
"You're mistaken, I didn't." Zhao Linwei raised his eyebrows and smiled, making up a story off the cuff.
"How could that be? Hey, don't go! Explain yourself!" Shu Song's persistent questioning voice faded into the distance as Zhao Linwei's voice trailed off. Nie Qingyue pulled her feet out of the cold water and absentmindedly wiped them with a cloth.
Will it? The answer seems to be no.
The inn's business has boomed again after the Lunar New Year.
Merchants, travelers,镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), scholars taking the imperial examinations—all sorts of people from different social classes were crammed into one inn. Even Nie Qingyue, with her exceptional social skills, was starting to feel dizzy and overwhelmed. The scholar in room number five was complaining to her again about how the opera troupe leader in the next room kept clearing his throat every day, preventing him from sleeping. The镖师 uncle in room number three was once again trying to search the entire inn for the suspect who stole what looked like his镖箱 (escort box)... Nie Qingyue wished she had three heads and six arms. She was so busy she wanted to hang herself. In the next room, she saw Shu Song and Zhao Linwei leisurely drinking wine and listening to the opera troupe's young performers sing.
"You, go help me." Nie Qingyue pulled Shu Song up from the chair. "Go stop Li the bodyguard and shut up that scholar or the opera troupe leader. If you do it, you won't have to pay your rent." She clapped her hands decisively and found a suitable place to sit down and drink tea.