Having gotten his shoes and socks wet, Mei Fengyu would certainly catch a chill if he stayed any longer. Although he hadn’t played to his heart’s content, he still said to Chen Yundu, “I’m heading back first.”
Chen Yundu nodded and watched him leave.
After he left, it suddenly became quiet, leaving Chen Yundu and Xu Zhihe somewhat unaccustomed to the silence.
The three of them returned to sit in the pavilion. The wine warming in the stove boiled endlessly.
After a moment of silence, Xu Zhihe thought of Xu Yingzhang and took the initiative to speak, “Right…”
Chen Yundu: “Miss…”
Both spoke at the same time.
As soon as the words left their mouths, neither could help but freeze for a moment.
Immediately after, Chen Yundu said, “Please speak, Miss.”
Xu Zhihe said, “My fifth younger brother at home wishes to borrow and read the books. The books belong to Young Master, so I wanted to ask for your thoughts.”
Chen Yundu said, “It is up to the Miss to decide.”
“Many thanks,” Xu Zhihe took a small sip of the red date and honey sweet water she was holding. After so much time had passed, the originally warm sweet water had already turned somewhat cold. “…What was Young Master going to say just now?”
Moistened by the sweet water, her already rosy lips became even more crystal-clear, plump, and beautiful.
Chen Yundu looked away, his heart beating like a drum.
After a long while, Xu Zhihe finally heard Chen Yundu say, “I wonder what kind of flower Miss likes?”
A flash of surprise passed through Xu Zhihe’s eyes, and then she lowered her head to think for a moment. “Most likely the osmanthus flower.”
Osmanthus flowers were tiny and inconspicuous, yet their clear fragrance spread far and wide. She hoped she could be like the osmanthus—living a life that was not dazzlingly conspicuous, yet still brilliant and blooming.
A faint scent of osmanthus lingered almost imperceptibly in the air. Having verified his guess, Chen Yundu couldn’t help but curve the corners of his mouth. “Okay.”
A tiny speck of snow was blown onto the tip of Xu Zhihe’s nose by the wind. She thought it was just her imagination, but when she looked up, snow had already begun to fall from the sky, fluttering thickly in the air.
Xu Zhihe reached out her hand. A snowflake landed on her palm, slowly melting into a tiny, fragmented drop of water.
Icy cold and crystal clear.
“It’s snowing!” Her mood inexplicably soared with joy. “The first snow of this year has come so early.”
Chen Yundu looked at the genuine joy radiating from the inside out on her face, and his mood couldn’t help but lighten as well.
“A timely snow promises a good harvest; next year will certainly bring favorable weather.”
Xu Zhihe gave him a radiant smile.
Fang Li, however, had no idea what the two were so happy about. Seeing the pedestrians on the road hurriedly quickening their pace, she anxiously urged her Miss: “Miss! Let’s head back quickly. Otherwise, when the snow gets heavier, the roads will be hard to walk on.”
Watching the wind and snow overhead grow heavier and heavier, Fang Li was truly worried about how they would get back.
Chen Yundu: “I will escort the Miss back.”
Xu Zhihe originally wanted to refuse and say she could go back herself, but when she turned her head, she saw the resolute look in Chen Yundu’s eyes.
She swallowed her words of refusal back down… In any case, there would come a day when he needed to know her background.
The concubine-born daughter of a County Magistrate—though not from a high and mighty aristocratic family—was enough to make a farmer’s son treat the matter with the utmost solemnity.
She only hoped she hadn’t misjudged him.
…
“Please wait a moment, Miss.”
Chen Yundu seemed to have remembered something. He hurriedly plunged into the wind and snow. In the vast whiteness, he gradually blended into the ink-wash painting landscape, becoming an inconspicuous drop of ink.
Fang Li asked, “Miss, what did Young Master Chen go to do?”
Xu Zhihe gently shook her head.
“Then, Miss, are we going to wait?” Fang Li said, “I’m afraid this snow will be falling for a while. If we don’t leave now, I’m afraid it will only get heavier later.”
“Let’s wait a while. He will definitely come back.”
A layer of unreasoning trust washed over Xu Zhihe’s heart. Even though, in all fairness, this was only the third time the two of them had formally met.
She glanced outside at the intensifying wind and snow and the hurried pedestrians, then stretched out her hands, hovering them over the stove to warm them.
Seeing Xu Zhihe so calm, Fang Li’s heart also relaxed. She leaned against her side, sitting around the stove to keep warm.
The two waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before Chen Yundu returned, braving the snow.
His body was dusted with scattered snowflakes, but in his arms, he tightly clutched two oiled-paper umbrellas and a water pouch filled to the brim with hot water.
“I’ve kept the Miss waiting.” Taking the steps two at a time, he bounded up the stairs and reached out to hand over the items in his arms. “I did not consider things thoroughly; I beg the Miss not to take offense.”
Fang Li took a step forward and received the offered items. When she felt the piping hot water skin, her eyes curved with a smile, and she blinked at Xu Zhihe.
Xu Zhihe took the water pouch and hugged it in her arms, dispersing much of the original chill on her body.
Her gaze landed on the two umbrellas, and she asked, “Are there only two umbrellas?”
“I went a bit late, and there were only two left,” Chen Yundu answered truthfully.
Xu Zhihe then took one from Fang Li’s arms and handed it back to Chen Yundu with both hands. “Please take it, Young Master. Fang Li and I can share one.”
Fang Li nodded in agreement. “The snow is so heavy now. If you don’t have any cover, I’m afraid you’ll get soaked on your way back.”
Chen Yundu took the umbrella. “…Many thanks, Miss.”
Xu Zhihe laughed. “You bought this umbrella; how can I let you thank me in return?”
…
Xu Zhihe and Fang Li shared an umbrella and walked in front. Chen Yundu trailed a step behind, following silently as a guardian.
Aside from the sound of footsteps, there were no other noises.
Several times, Fang Li couldn’t resist the urge to turn her head and check if Chen Yundu was still there, but out of consideration for her Miss’s dignity, she forcibly held herself back.
By the time a layer of white had blanketed the rooftops, the three of them finally arrived at Tonghua Alley.
Xu Zhihe stopped walking and looked back at him. “I have arrived.”
Today, when Chen Yundu said he would escort her back, Xu Zhihe had thought of using this opportunity to tell him… her identity.
As long as one took the care to inquire, they would know that the Tonghua Alley area was entirely inhabited by the families of Eqiao County’s officials. By asking a few more questions, they would learn that the Xu family was the Magistrate’s household.
She couldn’t help but observe Chen Yundu’s reaction. However, his gaze was crystal clear. His eyes rested only on her, holding amazement, gentleness, and steadiness, but completely lacking any trace of fear or retreat.
“Take care on your way in, Miss. Do not let the snow gather on your clothes.”
Xu Zhihe’s heart couldn’t help but stir.
She turned around and walked about ten steps toward the Xu residence, then looked back.
Chen Yundu was still standing at the entrance of the alley holding his umbrella. Seeing Xu Zhihe look back, he was somewhat surprised.
Perhaps the Miss forgot to instruct me on something, he thought in his heart.
A bold idea suddenly sprang up in Xu Zhihe’s mind. It was somewhat out of bounds, somewhat beyond her own expectations… Normally, she would never take a single step out of line, but this time, she wanted to try.
Cheering herself on in her heart, she reached down to pinch her skirts. The water pouch in her hand fell to the ground with a clatter, but she didn’t turn back to pick it up. Instead, she ran resolutely in Chen Yundu’s direction.
Her actions were too sudden. Before Fang Li could even react, she saw Xu Zhihe already braving the wind and snow, arriving at Chen Yundu’s side.
For a moment, Fang Li was flustered and didn’t know what to do, unsure whether she should go hold the umbrella for the Miss first, or pick up the water pouch dropped on the ground.
She hesitated for a split second. Looking over again, she saw Chen Yundu’s umbrella tilt, completely enveloping Xu Zhihe beneath it.
…Now I can pick up the water pouch with peace of mind.
Fang Li picked up the water pouch and walked a bit closer under her umbrella, stopping at a distance of about four or five steps.
Close enough to hear a little, but not so close as to hear too clearly.
Chen Yundu looked at the snowflakes clinging to Xu Zhihe’s long eyelashes. He wanted to reach out and brush them away, but feared startling the butterfly.
His Adam’s apple bobbed uncomfortably, and he said somewhat dryly:
“Miss…” Is there something else?
Xu Zhihe raised her eyes to look at him. Her eyes were steeped in the first spring rain after a clap of thunder—docile, lively, and carrying an endless, vibrant vitality.
“I have already reached the age of marriage… Do you want to marry me?”
Fang Li: “???”
Xu Zhihe’s eyelashes trembled wildly. After blurting it out in one breath, she quickly spun around, grabbed a dumbstruck Fang Li, and fled.
Fang Li had been standing there foolishly. For a moment, she felt the snow before her eyes was fake, and the next moment, she felt the Miss in front of her was fake. She knew the Miss had a mind of her own, but she never imagined the Miss would actually ask something so bluntly!
No, the snow was real, the Miss was real—she herself was the one who was fake!!!
Fang Li wasn’t the only one completely stunned.
…
Do you want to marry me?
Even though Chen Yundu had calligraphy copybooks and poetry readily at his fingertips, his brain couldn’t help but short-circuit for a moment.
In a split second, his mind raced, thinking through countless things.
For instance—Miss Xu was so bright and beautiful; did he truly have the ability to take good care of her? If she married him, would she suffer grievances?
Or, for instance—if the Miss found a more suitable candidate in the future, what should he do then?
Reason told him that Miss Xu hadn’t thought this through completely and still needed careful consideration, but emotion was screaming frantically: Agree to her.
Aside from himself, no one else would treat Miss Xu better.
…When you truly love someone from the bottom of your heart, how could you possibly bear to let go? Whatever others could give her, one day, he would be able to provide it too!
After Xu Zhihe asked the question, her face instantly grew scalding hot. She didn’t need a bronze mirror to know just how red her face was right now.
She… must have been thoroughly flustered by the snow and the now-cold water pouch.
And… and by Chen Yundu’s face.
Xu Zhihe didn’t dare to look back at Chen Yundu’s expression. In the Northern Song Dynasty, such a statement could be considered “shocking to the world and offensive to customs.” She didn’t know if she had terrified Chen Yundu.
Since she didn’t dare to look, it was better to just run—flee the scene and make a clean getaway.
“Miss, he seems to be catching up,” Fang Li glanced back and whispered a reminder.
Xu Zhihe slowed her pace, still not daring to look back at Chen Yundu’s face.
How did I suddenly just blurt it out??
For a moment, she didn’t even understand herself… They were clearly going to meet again after spring arrived next year.
How could I not hold it in??
Xu Zhihe felt a pang of remorse in her heart. Clearly, in the future, she could have found a much more suitable occasion.
“Okay.”
Chen Yundu’s voice sounded from behind.
Xu Zhihe’s spine stiffened abruptly. Beside her, Fang Li was bursting with excitement and reached out to nudge Xu Zhihe’s waist.
Miss! He agreed!
It seemed it wasn’t her hallucination. Xu Zhihe took a deep breath and looked back at him.
Chen Yundu looked at Xu Zhihe’s flushing red face. He only felt that in this bleak and desolate winter, having such a bright splash of color truly made the winter days feel endlessly fascinating and brimming with vitality.
Furthermore, Miss Xu’s bashful demeanor was unmatched by anything in creation.
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and then he heard his own voice: “When the first month of spring arrives, when the weather turns warm and the flowers bloom, I will inevitably come to your door to propose and take you as my wife.”
T/n: The New chapter is up! Enjoy the ride and do join us on this adventure 😍🎉🎊. If you want to support me, do check my other novels on my Translator’s Page🫶. You can support the original author here. Please vote on NU here. If you’re interested, you can also buy me a Ko-Fi. Happy Reading 🤓 💅.