Чистое сердце в нефритовом сосуде - Глава 41
"Do you even have to tell me things like when and who goes out to buy groceries?" Shen Haoyu said through gritted teeth.
I nodded innocently and said, "Of course. If conditions permit, I will inquire about the activities of birds and animals."
Seeing Shen Haoyu's increasingly worse expression, I quickly added, "Who knows if they might do something underhanded? Besides, we have carrier pigeons, wouldn't they use that?"
Shen Haoyu's expression softened a bit, and he told me to get down quickly. I covered my mouth, trying hard not to laugh out loud.
As the weather grew colder, it added many difficulties to my surveillance work, but without Shen Haoyu's instructions, I had to persevere.
It's snowing again. The first snow of the year fell silently just before the Queen's birthday.
Song Zhixuan came back the day before yesterday, and I let him rest for a day. Last night, I happily took Zinuo and another deck of cards to find him and Lin Zhao, and the four of us started a card game. Song Zhixuan and I were partners, and Zinuo and Lin Zhao were a pair. I originally thought that a serious person like Song Zhixuan wouldn't be interested in this kind of game, but once again, it proved that I have a serious problem judging people. After familiarizing themselves with the rules, Song Zhixuan and I teamed up and completely defeated Zinuo and Lin Zhao. Of course, skill is only one aspect; having good cards is also very important.
After one round, Song Zhixuan and I had already passed the "K," while Zinuo and Lin Zhao were still hovering around the "9." According to the agreement, the first to pass the "K" would win. We were leading by four rounds, and Zinuo and Lin Zhao had lost four coins to us. Of course, winning or losing coins wasn't our goal in playing cards; we were just looking for some fun. Through these cards, Song Zhixuan and Lin Zhao had also learned about Arabic numerals, while Zinuo, of course, was already very familiar with them.
Everyone was in high spirits and before we knew it, we had been playing all night. Afraid of being discovered, we used blankets and anything else we could find to seal the doors and windows tightly. As a result, when we opened the door in the early morning, we were surprised to find that the air inside was so polluted. We took several deep breaths of the crisp, fresh air outside and discovered that it had snowed.
I inwardly groaned. I had planned to sneak back while it was still early, but now what? If I left any footprints, wouldn't that be giving them something to use against me?
Those two were fine; they could just stay in their own rooms. Zinuo and I had no choice but to use our light-footed skills to carefully avoid the guards and sneak back to our own rooms.
After washing up briefly, I lay down on the bed, but I couldn't fall asleep. I just closed my eyes and dozed off for a while. When I heard footsteps coming from the corridor outside, I got dressed and got up.
The courtyard was a blanket of white, and a thin layer of snowflakes had drifted in and covered the edge of the corridor. I stretched my hand out onto the corridor, watching tiny snowflakes fall onto my hand and slowly melt. The slight coolness in my palm made me feel refreshed, so I went back inside, brought a small stool, and sat on the corridor to catch the snowflakes.
Footsteps came from the corridor again. I turned around and saw Yin Yan carrying a copper basin.
"Why are you up so early today?" Yin Yan asked.
I stood up, brushed the snowflakes off my clothes, and laughed, "Looking at the snow." Then, looking at the hot water she was carrying, I asked, "Has the young prince gotten up too?"
Yin Yan replied, "The envoy from Dongjun arrived yesterday, and today the young prince will accompany the prince to receive them."
I urged her to hurry over, otherwise the water would get cold.
Prince Qing's fiefdom is in the east, by the sea, granted by the late emperor. It is rich in salt and iron, and its fishing industry is also thriving, making it quite prosperous. If the current emperor were to grant fiefdoms, Prince Qing probably wouldn't receive such a place. Around this time every year, envoys from the east would come to the capital, firstly to congratulate the princess on her birthday, and secondly to report on the year's harvest and various imports and exports.
It seems that Shen Haoyu will be busy again in the next few days.
She went to the kitchen to get some hot water, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. Then she went to see what Zinuo was doing, only to find his door closed; apparently, he was sleeping. She went back to her room alone. It was still early, and she didn't know what to do. Just as she was getting bored, Yinyan came again.
"Lin En, I just heard from Wu Momo that the plum blossoms in the plum garden are in bloom. If you have time, could you go and pick a few branches to put in a vase?" Yin Yan said.
Just when I was wondering what to do, I happily agreed, and Silver Swallow went out again.
Wu Momo was an old servant of the Prince's Mansion. She had taken care of most of the flowers and trees in the mansion. Later, as she got older, the Prince's Mansion made her the head of the flower room, leading a group of people to continue taking care of the flowers and trees, but she no longer needed to do it herself.
I found a rat fur coat, a gift from Shen Haoyu a couple of years ago. It was a dull gray and quite unattractive, but thankfully it was warm, so I stopped complaining. Thinking about how Song Zhixuan and Zinuo only had cotton-padded coats in winter, and were only given capes this year because of an outdoor mission, I couldn't possibly find fault with this rat fur coat.
Fully armed with protective gear, I braved the snow and headed towards the plum garden. Even before entering, a delicate fragrance wafted into my nostrils; I breathed it in deeply and quickened my pace. Upon entering, I was stunned. Clusters of red plum blossoms proudly bloomed on the branches, their petals covered with a thin layer of snow, adorned with icy crystals, sparkling and lovely. Walking beneath the plum trees, I found myself unsure which branch to pluck; no matter which I chose, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Hesitant and indecisive. If I had known that it would be so difficult to ruthlessly destroy a beautiful flower, I wouldn't have agreed to Yin Yan's offer so readily.
Anyway, there's no rush. Let's enjoy the flowers and cultivate our minds first.
Surrounded by flowers, their delicate fragrance filling the air, I felt a little drowsy. I hadn't slept all night; unable to sleep in bed, I was actually feeling sleepy here. Looking up, I saw the snow had lessened, just a few flakes drifting down. Oh well, others may be romantic figures under peonies, I'll be a frozen ghost under plum trees for once. I moved a relatively dry stone to a plum tree, sat down, leaned against the trunk, and drifted off to sleep.
In a daze, it seemed as if spring had arrived, with pear blossoms blooming and their fragrance filling the air.
Under the pear tree, two children were playing the zither and the flute. The boy was focused on playing the zither, producing melodious notes. The girl put the flute to her lips, but it only produced a series of whistling sounds. Nevertheless, she puffed out her cheeks and persevered.
This scene looks so familiar...
A spring breeze blows, warm, tingling, and ticklish on one's face...
It's so itchy.
I opened my eyes and saw an extremely handsome face in front of me, the owner of the face was breathing on my face.
No wonder it felt both warm and itchy!
But who is this person?
I pushed him away and sprang to my feet. The man in front of me also stood up gracefully, raising his hand to brush the snowflakes off his clothes. He was dressed in a fiery red robe, with wide sleeves and a hem embroidered with golden flame patterns. The two bright colors stood out against the snow, yet they fit him so perfectly, as if such vibrancy was made just for him.
Seeing me scrutinize him, he smiled leisurely, and everything around him seemed to dim instantly; the plum blossoms I had so tenderly refused to pick earlier suddenly became mere background. Who is this person? In the plum garden of the Prince's mansion so early in the morning?
Don't tell me it's some legendary flower spirit; flower spirits are usually female.
Then, belatedly, I realized something was wrong with the weight on me. Looking down, I saw that a snow-white mink coat had been draped over my shoulders without my noticing. Sigh…
"Excuse me, is this yours?" I asked cautiously, afraid of startling this cunning fellow in front of me.
His elegant nod conveyed a sense of languor.
I carefully took off the mink coat, checked it carefully to make sure it wasn't dirty, and then offered it to him with both hands, but he didn't take it. He just gestured with his eyes to his shoulder.
I sighed inwardly and freed one hand to pat his shoulder. He understood and squatted down slightly, his posture always so graceful.
After draping the mink coat over his shoulders, I tied a pretty bow around his neck.
He slowly straightened up, once again towering over me.
A faint fragrance of plum blossoms wafted from him. I hesitated before asking, "Have you been in this plum garden the whole time?"
He looked at me with his bright black eyes, without saying a word.
I spoke again, asking clearly, "Are you the spirit of the plum tree?" I couldn't ask flower spirits or flower fairies.