After realizing what was happening, Ren Yaoqi was first startled, thinking there might be some conspiracy targeting Xiao Jinglin. However, after reading the entire letter, she dismissed this suspicion because the letter contained nothing of importance from start to finish. It merely greeted her, recounted a few amusing anecdotes about Silly Girl, and advised her to avoid going out recently due to the prevalence of colds.
Ren Yaoqi stared blankly for a long while, then suddenly had an epiphany. She turned the envelope upside down and shook it over the desk, causing a single plump, vibrantly colored red bean to tumble out.
Ren Yaoqi: "…"
She glared at the letter written in Xiao Jinglin’s handwriting for a long time, then noticed the four glaringly conspicuous characters at the beginning: "My Dearest, As If We Were Face to Face." Her face flushed involuntarily.
After hesitating for a long while, Ren Yaoqi finally picked up her brush to reply. She did not explicitly reveal the identity of the letter’s sender, merely mentioning a few trivial matters and also urging the other party to take care of their health. At the very end of the letter, Ren Yaoqi ultimately couldn’t resist mischievously adding: "Seeing your handwriting today, the strokes appear soft and feeble, lacking the free-spirited vigor of days past. Is it due to your state of mind?" Then, suppressing a smile, she sealed the letter and had it delivered to the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion.
The next day, Ren Yaoqi received another letter from the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion, purportedly sent by Princess Xiao. When she opened it, she was taken aback. This time, the letter contained not a single word but, imitating the style of the letters she had previously sent to Xiao Jinglin, was filled with small illustrations. Though sketched with just a few strokes, both people and objects were vividly and expressively depicted.
The most frequent subjects in the drawings were Xiao Jinglin and Silly Girl playing together. Only one illustration featured the silhouette of a man standing behind a woman flying a kite. Both were drawn from behind, their faces unseen, yet one could sense the man’s gaze lingering tenderly and affectionately on the woman in front.
Ren Yaoqi stared at that drawing for a long time, then couldn’t help but lightly tap her finger on the man’s head. After a moment, she felt as though her finger had been scalded, as if she hadn’t just tapped the paper but had actually poked someone’s forehead.
She placed the letter, along with the previous red bean, into a drawer beneath her desk and locked it away.
When it came time to reply, Ren Yaoqi pondered for a long while, unsure of what to write. After sitting in the study for half an hour, she finally inserted a blank sheet of paper into the envelope. Initially intending to send it back just like that, she was somehow influenced—perhaps by the direct and intense emotions conveyed in the drawings—and ended up opening a small five-grain sachet she used for warding off evil spirits. She selected a red bean, placed it inside the envelope, and sealed it.
However, not long after the letter was sent, Ren Yaoqi regretted it, feeling that her actions today had been influenced by someone else and were somewhat bold. Coming to her senses, she hastily sent Pingguo to retrieve the letter. Unfortunately, the messenger delivering letters to the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion was impatient and swift-footed, and Pingguo ultimately failed to catch up. The letter containing the blank paper and red bean still reached someone’s desk.
Seeing Pingguo’s dejected, remorseful, and cautious expression, Ren Yaoqi suddenly felt that she had become rather inexplicable lately. So, she simply let the matter drop.That night, snow suddenly began to fall. After just one night, by the next morning, the entire Yunyang City had transformed into a world of ice and jade. That day, no letters arrived from the Yanbei Prince's Mansion. Since Ren Yaoqi and Xiao Jinglin didn't correspond daily anyway, Ren Yaoqi didn't pay it much mind.
On the third day, Lady Xu sent an invitation to Madam Li and the Ren sisters to attend a warm stove gathering. These gatherings were essentially just groups of ladies and young misses drinking tea, chatting, and admiring the snowy scenery. Such events were especially common during winter, particularly after snowfall. People tended to become more subdued in winter, only livening up when snow fell, as if the winter snow froze not just the pests in the fields but also the laziness in people.
Lady Xu's warm stove gathering wasn't held at her own home. She had borrowed a plum grove within the Yunyang Academy. Walking through snow to admire plum blossoms was considered an extremely elegant activity.
Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua joined talented young ladies like Liu Menghan in composing poetry and playing drinking games. Although Ren Yaoqi didn't particularly enjoy composing couplets, under the influence of Third Master Ren and Mr. Pei, she could still produce a few presentable poems on common themes like plum blossoms and snow when with her companions.
After drinking several cups of sweet fruit wine, Ren Yaoqi's cheeks flushed slightly. She had thought this fruit wine would be similar to what she had drunk with Xiao Jinglin before—essentially sweet fruit juice. She hadn't expected that although the fruit wine prepared by the Xu family had an extremely mild alcohol taste, it actually contained real alcohol, though generally not enough to intoxicate anyone.
However, Ren Yaoqi wasn't just anyone. Her alcohol tolerance was extremely poor—half a cup could knock her out. So while others drank the fruit wine without issue, only she showed signs of flushing. Fortunately, it wasn't too severe.
Seeing Liu Menghan and another young lady enthusiastically competing in poetry, Ren Yaoqi stood up, wanting to go out for a walk to dissipate the alcohol's effects. She told Ren Yaohua she was going to freshen up, then left the warm room with Pingguo and Sangshen.
Outside, fine snowflakes the size of rice grains were still falling, and it was exceptionally cold that day. Pingguo stepped forward to carefully adjust Ren Yaoqi's wind hood, handed her a small hand warmer to hold, and then supported Ren Yaoqi as they walked cautiously.
Ren Yaoqi had originally intended to stand outside for just a little while, letting the breeze clear her head before going back inside. But then she saw Hongying walking toward her through the snow. While other maidservants had donned thick cotton jackets to ward off the cold—Xiangqin in particular looked like she wanted to wrap herself up like a rice dumpling—Hongying was still dressed lightly.
She carried no umbrella and wore no hat. As she walked, her hair and shoulders became covered with snowflakes, which she paid no mind to. When she saw Ren Yaoqi, she seemed momentarily blinded by the wind and snow. She paused, blinked, then came forward to bow and say, "Greetings, Third Miss Ren. My mistress requests your presence."
Ren Yaoqi was also delighted to see Hongying. It had been two months since she last saw Xiao Jinglin, and she hadn't expected to meet here today. She asked Hongying to lead the way, then followed slowly with Pingguo's support.
However, Hongying seemed even more taciturn than usual today. Ren Yaoqi didn't pay it much attention, as Hongying had never been one for many words.
Hongying led Ren Yaoqi to that plum grove.At this time, the plum grove was at its most beautiful moment of the year, with tender pink buds just emerging and auspicious snow draping everything in silver. The plum grove was exceptionally tranquil, the falling snow making no sound. Ren Yaoqi glanced around, about to ask Hongying where Xiao Jinglin was, when she saw someone emerge from the plum grove. She froze for a moment, standing there in stunned silence.
Xiao Jingxi walked over, wearing a black fur-trimmed cloak.
This chapter was a bit stuck, so the posting time was later than expected.
Also, I wasn’t satisfied with the following section and plan to rewrite it, so this chapter is relatively short. The next one will be longer.
OpenNovel