On the day of the heavy snow, midwinter began.
Caiyu led the young maids such as Xiangye to start storing ice.
They piled up bricks and stones and stored the ice blocks in the cellar to prepare for the scorching summer of the coming year.
A group of maids were frolicking and laughing in the Lianyin Pavilion. Their silver - bell - like laughter flew over the wall, attracting a gyrfalcon in the distant sky. It stopped on a withered branch outside the courtyard, tilting its head to listen.
When Zhu Xiao accompanied Song Yinghuai into the Lianyin Pavilion, he exclaimed in admiration:
"A house really needs women. Only with women can there be vitality. Think about your Lianyin Pavilion in the past six years. After autumn, it got colder day by day. By the day of the heavy snow, one's heart would almost freeze to death here. But this year, as soon as you come in, you feel warm."
Song Yinghuai gave him a sidelong glance and said coldly, "You talk too much."
However, upon closer inspection, one could see that the ice in his eyes seemed to be melting.
Seeing Song Yinghuai and the others enter, Caiyu stepped forward quickly. A smile gently rippled on her lips:
"My Lord, General Zhu, Guard Han."
Song Yinghuai responded and asked, "What are you all gathering here for?"
Caiyu replied, "Your servant is leading the young maids to store ice. In the hot summer of next year, My Lord will no longer feel the heat in the Lianyin Pavilion."
Zhu Xiao laughed out loud. "Look, Miss Caiyu is so considerate. In the past, the Lianyin Pavilion was cold in winter and hot in summer. Except when the old princess sent someone to take care of it, there was hardly any sign of life!"
Caiyu pursed her lips and smiled, stealing glances at Song Yinghuai's expression.
These days, she had been doing things properly.
Inside the pavilion, she had gradually rearranged and replaced various landscapes and furnishings, changing those cold - looking objects to warm - colored ones.
Outside the pavilion, she had managed the two properties in an orderly manner. Even when asking Song Yinghuai for advice on unclear matters, she maintained proper etiquette, only occasionally using some ambiguous means, but not being too radical.
She unexpectedly found that Song Yinghuai was becoming more and more tolerant towards her.
He even stayed in the pavilion for longer periods of time.
She finally believed what her mother had said:
"If you want to keep a man's heart, you have to let him find the feeling of home with you."
For a man like Song Yinghuai, who was in a high position and practiced Buddhist doctrines, all the splendor in the world was already like passing clouds.
In front of the Buddha, there is a flower called Epiphyllum. In Song Yinghuai's eyes, no matter how gorgeous the Epiphyllum is, it will wither in an instant.
What can stay in his heart is not the momentary splendor, but perhaps the mud left after the flower withers, slowly nourishing and unconsciously taking root in his flesh and blood.
She had heard about the past desolation of the Lianyin Pavilion, so she came up with the idea of breaking through from the outside.
As the military book says, surround the enemy without attacking, and the enemy will fall on its own.
Spring rain is gentle but moistens everything silently.
It really worked. Not only did Song Yinghuai change, but even the young maids in the Lianyin Pavilion, who used to be hostile to her, now got along with her harmoniously.
Song Yinghuai noticed Caiyu's furtive glances and his expression turned a bit cold. "Peace of mind leads to natural coolness. External things are just distractions to cultivation."
Caiyu pouted. Suddenly, she took out a piece of maltose from her sleeve, peeled it, and held it to Song Yinghuai's lips:
"My Lord, this is the maltose your servant made this year. I only made one piece. Would you do me the honor of having a taste?"
There was a smile on every corner of her eyes and brows, blooming on her stunningly beautiful face. Her flawless and peerless beauty was like the flowers on the branches in spring, exuding fragrance and looking particularly charming.
Song Yinghuai was taken aback. He turned his face away and said, "I don't eat sweet things."
"Please have just one piece, My Lord!" Caiyu pleaded in a coquettish voice. "Eating maltose on the day of the heavy snow is a custom in Daye. It symbolizes a sweet life in the coming year. A good omen should not be ignored."
Zhu Xiao said, "Just have a taste. It's made by the little girl herself, and there's only one piece."
Song Yinghuai frowned and didn't move.
Zhu Xiao got impatient. "If you don't want to taste it, I will."
He stepped forward and opened his big mouth wide. "Ah, come on! Throw it here!"
Caiyu burst out laughing and threw the maltose into Zhu Xiao's mouth.
Zhu Xiao held the candy in his mouth and exclaimed in praise, "Sweet! It's so sweet that it goes straight to my heart!"
Suddenly, Song Yinghuai's face turned icy cold, and the air around him seemed to drop in temperature abruptly.
He was just about to leave with a flick of his sleeve when an ivory - white hand reached in front of him again. Caiyu held the maltose and said with a smile:
"My Lord, this is the only piece of maltose in the world. How dare your servant give it to General Zhu?"
Song Yinghuai:...
He looked sideways and only then noticed that Zhu Xiao was chewing a piece of sesame candy. The two of them were teaming up to make fun of him.
Song Yinghuai's eyebrows twitched, and he was slightly angry. "You..."
The maltose was put into his mouth.
The sweet taste exploded in his mouth. Caiyu smiled brightly, as bright as the light shining through the snow. Her cheerful laughter drifted in the wind, like a golden shadow, gentle and charming:
"My Lord, is it sweet?"
Song Yinghuai crushed the candy in his mouth and finally slowly uttered one word:
"...Sweet."
But Caiyu asked teasingly, "Is it the candy or your heart that's sweeter?"
Song Yinghuai's heart skipped a beat, and he remained silent.
At this time, Nanny Li walked into the Lianyin Pavilion. "My Lord, there are guests at the mansion. The old princess asks My Lord to go to the Wanxiang Hall."
There were guests at the Yanwang Mansion?
Caiyu and the others looked at each other, watching Song Yinghuai's figure leaving the pavilion just after he had returned.
Xiangye whispered in her ear, "I heard from the little sisters in the Wanxiang Hall this morning that the guest is a cousin girl from the Jiang family in Jiaodong."
Caiyu frowned. "The Jiang family in Jiaodong?"
Xiangye said, "It's the family of the old princess's cousin - in - law. They are also a noble family in Jiaodong, a family of scholars. There is a Hanlin Academician in the family. They are a noble and respected family."
Zhuyue chimed in, "I heard that the three cousin girls of the Jiang family are in their prime years. They are all as beautiful as flowers. With their noble birth, many young masters from noble families in Jiaodong and even in the Yellow River Basin have come to propose marriage!"
"I wonder which cousin girl has come today."
Hearing this, Caiyu's heart gradually sank.
The arrival of the cousin girl from the Jiang family made a sharp knife hang over her heart.
Concubine Yao had ignored her these days. It turned out that she was not afraid because Song Yinghuai had killed two of her maids, but was plotting something else.
If Song Yinghuai took a fancy to the Jiang girl, all her hard work these days would be in vain!
But now she could only take one step and see what happened.
When Song Yinghuai walked into the Wanxiang Hall, he heard a string of silver - bell - like laughter.
"Auntie, Yue'er misses you so much. It's just a pity that our two families live far apart, and it's inconvenient to visit, so we've been delayed."
Concubine Yao's voice was also very cheerful. "As long as you have the heart to miss me, that's enough. I haven't seen you for seven years. The little girl has grown up so gracefully, like a lotus flower."
"Auntie, you're making me blush! Yue'er remembers that Auntie looked the same seven years ago. I didn't expect that after seven years, Auntie still looks the same. You're really a beauty untouched by time!"
"Oh, you little girl, your mouth is so sweet!"
Song Yinghuai stepped into the main hall. Concubine Yao looked up, her eyes lighting up, and she greeted him:
"Huai'er, come quickly and meet your cousin."
Song Yinghuai frowned slightly. Before he could speak, he saw Jiang Jinyue stand up and salute him gracefully:
"Your younger sister, Jinyue, pays respects to elder cousin."
She curtsied and secretly raised her eyes to look at the man who had just walked in.
His features were sharp and handsome. When he came in from outside, the light shone in his eyes, twinkling with tiny glints. His face was cold, and his tall and slender figure stood there upright.
He stood in front of the door, with the fine snow fluttering behind him, covering him in a light mist. In the distance was a long corridor with carved beams and painted rafters. As the snowflakes fluttered, they blew his expensive brocade and Buddhist robe.
Jiang Jinyue's heart was pounding wildly. She thought the man was as handsome as a painting, a painting so beautiful that she forgot to breathe and wanted to imprint it on her heart.
Before coming to Yanjing, she had only the family's purpose in mind. However, after seeing Song Yinghuai, her young heart was captured.
"Yue'er hasn't seen elder cousin for seven years and misses you very much." Jiang Jinyue maintained the curtsy, waiting for Song Yinghuai to help her up.
Song Yinghuai replied indifferently. His thin lips curled slightly, showing a faint hint of mockery.