The plum blossoms were truly beautiful.
Sheltered from the hardship and misery of life among the lower classes, the red plum blossoms bloomed on the branches, set against the white snow that had yet to be swept away. Their delicate fragrance drifted through the air, and a faint, ethereal scent lingered all around, making the place seem like a fairyland.
Cheng Danruo wore a stone-blue cloak lined with silver weasel fur. It was not actually made from rat fur. The animal was likely a member of the weasel family, though its exact species was unclear. The inside was lined with fur, while the outside was covered in satin. It was beautiful and warm, but not particularly practical. The moment snow landed on it, it was bound to get wet.
But impracticality was precisely what wealthy families wanted. It was the poor who needed to protect themselves from the wind and snow. When young ladies from rich families went out to admire the snow, their maids held umbrellas over them while they warmed their hands around hand warmers. They did not have to suffer the slightest chill.
Cheng Danruo did not want to make Xi Que stand in the cold wind holding an umbrella for her, so she suggested, “Xu-niang, why don’t we just stand somewhere sheltered beneath the covered walkway?”
Wang Yongxu did not mind. “That sounds good.”
The two of them sat in a sheltered spot behind a small pavilion. The maids had laid out padded cushions beforehand to ensure the young ladies’ delicate bottoms would not get cold, then retreated a few yards to wait at a discreet distance.
Wang Yongxu asked, “Sister Cheng, what do you think of our garden?”
“It’s beautiful.” Cheng Danruo answered honestly, then asked out of curiosity, “With so many plum trees, what do you do with the garden when they’re not in bloom?”
“We rent it out! Plenty of people want to hold poetry gatherings and drinking parties in the Wang family’s garden. The money we earn helps cover the running costs.”
“With so many plum blossoms, do you make wine from them?”
“Our family’s plum blossom wine is called Dark Fragrance.” Wang Yongxu looked rather pleased with herself. “I brewed two jars this year, too. If they turn out well, how about I give you one, Sister Cheng?”
“Thank you for the kind offer, but I’ve forbidden my adoptive father from drinking. If he finds out I’ve received wine, he’ll certainly blame me for it.”
Wang Yongxu smiled behind her lips, gaining a deeper understanding of the relationship between Cheng Danruo and Yan Hongzhi.
She then asked what Cheng Danruo had been busy with lately.
“I’ve been making medicine,” Cheng Danruo replied. “I’ve tried out two remedies for chilblains, and they seem to work reasonably well. Oh, that reminds me.”
As though she had only just remembered, she took a sheet of paper from inside her robe. “I’ve been looking through some medical texts. These are a few acupuncture treatments for epilepsy. The next time you see a physician, perhaps you could ask whether any of them might be effective.”
When it came to medical knowledge, she certainly could not surpass the traditional Chinese physicians of this era. However, she had access to the most comprehensive medical resources, much of which had yet to be systematically summarized or scientifically verified in this time.
Wang Yongxu thanked her for her kindness and took the paper to look it over.
Cheng Danruo felt inexplicably embarrassed. “My handwriting isn’t very good. Please excuse it.”
“That much is obvious.” Wang Yongxu was still young, after all, and had yet to master the art of telling polite lies. She quickly moved on. “Thank you for thinking of me, Sister Cheng.”
Cheng Danruo shook her head. “It was nothing. I hope it can be of some help to you.”
If she had to treat Wang Yongxu herself, she would not have much confidence in her abilities. But providing a few promising remedies for the imperial physicians to examine and verify was hardly any trouble at all.
“How leisurely you two young ladies seem.”
As the two were talking, Xu Yi-niang appeared from somewhere, strolling towards them. “I hope you don’t mind if I take refuge here for a while, too.”
Wang Yongxu gave a derisive snort. “The commandery princess must have arrived. Now that you’re no longer the center of attention, surrounded by admirers, are you feeling lonely?”
Xu Yi-niang sighed before suddenly striking back. “Xu-niang, whether the engagement went ahead or was called off, neither was something I could decide for myself. Even if you do admire Third Young Master Xie, why must you keep making things difficult for me?”
Wang Yongxu nearly jumped to her feet. “Don’t you dare talk nonsense! I simply can’t stand your holier-than-thou attitude. What does any of this have to do with Young Master Xie?”
“Very well said.” Xu Yi-niang nodded. “In this vast capital of ours, anyone might marry San-lang, but neither you nor I can. We of all people should not let this come between us.”
Wang Yongxu sneered. “You think I’m jealous of you? Hah! I’m Wang Yongxu. I’m not the sort who begrudges others their happiness. If you’d openly embraced your good fortune, I’d naturally have wished you well. But instead, you put on this act as though everything were simply a matter of obeying your parents’ wishes. When you lost your engagement, I genuinely wanted to comfort you. But look at you! Neither sad nor happy, leaving me looking like a complete fool. Fine, then! I’ll take pleasure in your misfortune. You deserve it! If only you’d made even the slightest effort to fight for him, you wouldn’t have lost a good match.”
Xu Yi-niang replied bitterly, “And how exactly was I supposed to fight for him? How could I, a junior, presume to interfere in something as important as marriage?”
“Until the engagement was settled, how could I dare show my happiness? If I’d acted recklessly back then, I’d have had no place to stand today.” She spoke earnestly. “I know you have a kind heart, but so many people claim to be comforting me when they’re really just here to watch me make a fool of myself. I cannot bring shame upon the Xu family.”
Wang Yongxu pressed her lips together, her expression softening slightly.
Xu Yi-niang continued, “If only I had a grandfather who doted on me as yours does on you, I…” She suddenly fell silent, the words dying on her lips. After a moment, she sighed. “Forget it.”
She rose to her feet as though she had said nothing at all, regaining her usual composure and dignified bearing. “Since the commandery princess has arrived, we ought to show our faces.”
Wang Yongxu was just about to fire back a couple of remarks when she spotted a maid hurrying towards them, holding up her skirt as she ran.
“Miss…”
“What is it?” This was the maid Wang Yongxu had left in the hall to keep an eye on the situation. Should anything happen, she could report back at once so they could respond accordingly.
The maid curtsied. “The commandery princess heard there’s an icy lake in the garden and said she’d like to see it. Fourth Young Miss has already taken her there.”
Wang Yongxu had nothing more to say. As the hostess, she naturally had to accommodate the wishes of her honored guests.
“Since everyone’s gone, we might as well go too.”
She had the maids bring them snow hats, and the three of them set off into the garden together.
Only when they reached the depths of the plum garden did they truly understand what it meant to speak of a world of white snow and red plum blossoms, like a realm of crystal. The pavilions and towers had disappeared from view, leaving nothing between heaven and earth but white snow and red plum blossoms. The sight was breathtakingly beautiful.
Following the winding paths, they ventured deeper into the garden.
Wang Yongxu explained to Cheng Danruo, “There’s a small lake at the back of the garden. Now that it’s frozen over, it’s perfect for riding ice sleds. It’s not safe to try this outside the estate, but since you’re here, you might as well give it a go.”
Cheng Danruo was indeed curious. But when they arrived and she saw what Wang Yongxu meant, she realized they were talking about ice sleds.
The sleds were made of dark red wood, with low railings on all four sides. Some were small enough for one person to sit alone, while others could accommodate several people. Sturdy female servants pulled them from the front, sending them gliding swiftly across the ice. It looked wonderfully thrilling.
Putting all their earlier disagreements aside, Wang Yongxu said eagerly, “The sky has cleared up now, so it’s the perfect time for a few rides. Sister Cheng, are you brave enough to try one?”
Cheng Danruo agreed at once. “Of course!”
It was a rare chance to have some fun. Only a fool would pass it up.
However, just as she was about to have someone fetch an ice sled, a group of maids approached carrying wooden barriers, apparently preparing to cordon off the lake.
Wang Yongxu called out to stop them. “Can’t you see we’re playing here? What are you doing?”
One of the maids hurriedly explained, “Third Young Miss, the master said he wishes to admire the snow from the pavilion in the middle of the lake. He’s bringing some people with him, so he asked us to cordon off part of the lake to avoid disturbing the ladies.”
The needs of Minister Wang came first in the household. Much as Wang Yongxu regretted it, she had no choice but to retreat to the waterside pavilion by the lake to rest.
Fortunately, Commandery Princess Jianing was understanding. Besides, there were ice sleds to play with in the palace as well, so she said, “I’m tired anyway. Let’s take a break. It’s about time we wrote some poetry, too.”
And so the whole party moved to the waterside pavilion, where tea and refreshments were served, and paper, brushes, ink and inkstones were prepared.
Wang Yongxu had no intention of participating, but Commandery Princess Jianing held her back. “I’ve long heard that Third Miss Wang is a gifted poet, the most talented young lady in the capital. If you don’t dare to write, what fun would it be for me to compose a poem?”
Xu Yi-niang did not escape either.
Wang Yongxu’s expression changed slightly, but she quickly replied, “I’m afraid I really can’t write another poem about plum blossoms. However, the commandery princess’s little dog is truly adorable. Would you permit me to compose a poem about it instead?”
Commandery Princess Jianing answered amiably, “That would be even better. Cai Huan, bring Huang’er over.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
A palace attendant brought over the Pekingese for the young ladies to admire. “He’s a little shy around strangers today, so please don’t get too close.”
Despite the warning, not every household allowed cats and dogs to be kept as pets. The younger girls, in particular, found the fluffy Pekingese utterly adorable when they saw it up close, and could hardly contain their affection.
After glancing at the dog a few times, Wang Yongxu found her inspiration. She pondered for a moment, then, in less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, picked up her brush and composed a poem titled Impressions on Seeing Huang’er, the Delightful Pekingese.
The verses were lively in style, fresh and elegant, with a charm that lingered long after reading.
Rather pleased with herself, she was just about to invite her friends to admire her work when she suddenly heard the rustle of clothing as everyone rose to their feet, murmuring among themselves.
A sense of foreboding crept over her.
She looked up, and sure enough, several people had arrived at the pavilion in the middle of the lake. The lean, elderly man was her grandfather. Seated slightly below him was a young gentleman wearing a black cloak of cloud-patterned kesi silk, lined with sleek white fur. The fur was immaculate, without a single patch of discoloration. It was the finest grade of fox fur.
A sudden flare of anger shot through Wang Yongxu.
You again!
She clenched her fists, trembling with rage.
“Xu-niang?” Cheng Danruo happened to notice her unusual behavior and asked with concern, “Are you all right?”
Wang Yongxu was practically dying of frustration. “Why does this keep happening?!”
At least she wasn’t having an attack. Cheng Danruo felt slightly relieved, though she was still puzzled. “What keeps happening?”
Wang Yongxu pressed her lips tightly together.
As long as one’s aesthetic sensibilities weren’t completely warped, no one could help but admire Young Master Xie. But there was a condition to that admiration: it mustn’t come at one’s own expense. And Wang Yongxu had suffered because of Xie Xuanying more than once.
When she was ten, she had prepared an excellent poem for a poetry gathering, intending to astonish everyone with her talent. Then the great beauty arrived, and everyone’s attention turned to him. Even when she won first place, no one discussed her poem. All they talked about was his beauty.
All those drafts she had burned, all those sleepless nights spent refining each line, all that painstaking effort poured into her work, and it still couldn’t compete with Young Master Xie’s face.
Wang Yongxu had never learned any truly vulgar swear words. Otherwise, she would have had plenty to say.
Over the following years, similar incidents kept happening. After all, they belonged to the same circle of aristocratic society in Great Xia, so they were bound to cross paths from time to time.
Whenever Xie Xuanying appeared, he became the topic of conversation among the ladies.
Always him!
All because of that face!
“I really don’t understand why Grandfather invited him again today,” Wang Yongxu complained in a low voice, unable to hold back any longer. “This is clearly our Wang family’s plum-blossom viewing party, not some gathering at the Marquis of Jinghai’s residence.”
Cheng Danruo couldn’t help smiling.
“I actually think the Minister Wang is a rather interesting man,” she said.
Wang Yongxu looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Beautiful moments and scenery are, in truth, hard to come by.” Cheng Danruo gazed towards the pavilion in the middle of the lake. “Young Master Xie’s beauty is like red plum blossoms in the snow, the evening glow reflected on a boat, or hibiscus flowers beneath the moon. These are things one can only encounter by chance.”
Wang Yongxu was momentarily taken aback.
“Flowers wither, beauties grow old, colorful clouds disperse, and even crystal eventually shatters,” Cheng Danruo continued. “Xie Xuanying is at his finest right now. He hasn’t married or had children yet, nor has he become an ordinary man, dulled by the mundanity of everyday life. He’s like snowflakes drifting down from the sky, not yet sullied by the mud. Such a moment is fleeting. Every time you see it, that’s one fewer chance you’ll have to see it again.”
For some reason, her words made Wang Yongxu blush slightly.
She cleared her throat and composed herself. “That’s certainly a novel way of looking at things, Sister Cheng.”
Cheng Danruo replied simply, “He really is beautiful, after all.”
Wang Yongxu couldn’t argue with that, so she gazed into the distance alongside her.
The snow on the pavilion in the middle of the lake had not been swept away. It lay in thick heaps along the octagonal roof, like a heavy winter hat. Around it stretched groves of plum trees, scattered at varying intervals, their rosy-red blossoms blooming proudly in defiance of frost and snow. Crystal-clear beads of ice clung to the branches, refracting the sunlight into a rainbow of iridescent colors.
The world of snow and sparkling ice was already breathtakingly beautiful.
And yet Xie Xuanying was even more beautiful.
He sat inside the pavilion, holding a delicate teacup between his fingers as he leisurely sipped the wine within. A faint flush of intoxication spread across his jade-like cheeks. His dark, ink-ground brows were naturally thick and well-defined, accentuating the light gleaming in his eyes.
Cheng Danruo summed it up in her mind: bright eyes, a high nose bridge, beautiful lips, and a straight, well-proportioned figure.
And somehow, even beneath that cloak, you could still make out his waist. What a waist.
