That night, the light snow stopped, and Mo Zi returned to the bamboo grove cottage.
A’Hao was reading a medical text. Upon seeing her, she stood up.
“Medical books say that using your eyes in dim light will cause your vision to deteriorate, and no medicine can cure it. You’re proficient in medicine, yet you don’t take care of yourself.” Mo Zi lit several candles, immediately filling the room with bright light. Remembering Yuan Cheng’s words, she tried to maintain a respectful distance from A’Hao and A’Yue like honored guests, but sometimes when there was no one to talk to, she would nag at them a bit.
“Afraid of attracting attention.” A’Hao was startled for a moment, then quickly answered respectfully.
“Anyone who wanted to come to this place would have come already. Those who don’t think of coming won’t specifically choose a winter night.” Cold enough to make her bones knock together, Mo Zi squatted by the brazier near the door to start a fire.
These past few months had been very quiet.
After Xiao Er’s six-hundred-li urgent dispatch, he had entered the palace to see the emperor, then rushed back to his naval camp that same night. He had returned once in between, staying hurriedly for two nights. One night he formally took Hong Luo as a concubine, setting up a table in Weifeng Residence as a ceremony. The other night he went out drinking with people, only returning at dawn the next day, then leaving as soon as he woke. With the Great Qiu envoy delegation about to enter the capital, all these loyal and patriotic ministers of Great Zhou were both frantically busy and tense.
Jin Yin had gone to Nande, and Yuan Cheng knew nothing when asked. Xu Jiu had accompanied Fu Tian to visit the Weiyang headquarters—actually, they had proper business to handle. Wu Yanle and his people hadn’t come looking for her again; they might have returned to Great Qiu, or might be hiding somewhere in Great Zhou waiting to rendezvous.
Customers had begun actively seeking out Hongyu Shipyard. Though they were all ordinary vessels like medium-sized river boats and pleasure boats, this perfectly suited Mo Zi’s intentions—orders could be scheduled through next spring. It wasn’t as Qiu Sanniang thought, that winter business was slow. Because they could build ships indoors, they had constructed two more large sheds, hired double the number of shipwrights, and recruited many skilled boat craftsmen. Hongyu now operated vigorously, presenting an atmosphere of considerable renown.
The days were as smooth as tofu, yet probably couldn’t withstand even gentle pressure or grinding—they would crumble at the slightest touch.
So she enjoyed it, cherished and enjoyed it. Meanwhile, she kept herself mentally prepared for the coming storm. If it didn’t come at her, she would watch and wait. If it came at her, she would strike back.
Lost in thought and idle speculation, a quiet breeze came from behind. A’Yue walked lightly to stand before her, struck a fire starter, and skillfully warmed the stove.
To this day, Mo Zi didn’t know how they concealed themselves around her like shadows. She had even wondered if they might be fooling her, actually sleeping lazily somewhere else—after all, the prince’s mansion was unlikely to encounter danger. But since she hadn’t expended effort raising them, she couldn’t be picky, nor had reason to complain. Every time she returned, one of them would enter right before or after her.
The room warmed up in no time. Mo Zi took a sheet of paper and wrote a few lines, having A’Yue deliver it next door.
By the time she finished washing up and changing clothes, A’Yue had returned.
“Didn’t that person have words for you to relay?” She had trained a perfectly good and clever page boy into a parrot, repeatedly having him recite long passages to her.
“No, the young master only asked me to pass this to Miss.” A’Yue had something glittering in her hair that softened her unremarkable features. She also held a sheet of paper in her hand.
“Is it snowing again?” The cotton-paper window didn’t allow a view outside.
A’Yue answered concisely.
Death warriors’ words were always few, because they had no need to say much—they only needed action faster than ordinary people and the decisiveness to instantly subdue enemies. They had to be solitary. Only solitude could keep their minds perpetually clear and objective.
It was precisely that conciseness that prevented Mo Zi from voicing the second half of her casual remark. She silently accepted the paper and found it quite heavy.
“A’Hao, go outside and let Miss rest.” A’Yue turned to open the door and walked out.
Wind rushed in, swallowing the warm air, as goose-feather snowflakes suddenly penalized the death rule and sent it off the field.
A’Hao’s footsteps paused at the doorway.
Hugging her quilt, Mo Zi asked, “What is it?”
“The vision deterioration Miss mentioned earlier—which medical text is that in?” Turning back to look at Mo Zi, A’Hao’s somewhat round face was written with studious inquiry.
“…The Yellow Emperor’s… Inner Canon?” Mo Zi fabricated wildly.
A’Hao’s face remained expressionless as she continued staring at her for a while. “Miss… remembered incorrectly. A’Hao can recite the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon backward and forward.”
Oh? This one had her own opinions? Mo Zi pulled out a big smile. “The Divine Farmer’s Materia…”
“The Materia Medica—A’Hao has read it no less than a hundred times. Miss is tired, sleep early.” It was this person spouting nonsense, not that she herself had read too few medical texts. A’Hao floated out, casually closing the door.
Mo Zi wrinkled her nose. There was no helping it—she only knew those few ancient medical texts, and couldn’t understand them no matter how many times she read them.
Opening the paper, many pieces of gold leaf fell out?
She stared in bewilderment at the golden gleaming things on the quilt—not gold leaves, but gold petals. She admitted her brain wasn’t as good as her next-door neighbor’s and couldn’t guess his intention at all. However, after reading the words on the paper, she knew she had wrongly blamed Yuan Cheng—she should scold Jin Yin for playing tricks instead.
Jin Yin had already returned to the capital. Today he had just sent Yuan Cheng a blank invitation card along with some gold petals. Yuan Cheng’s note asked her whether she had also received such a fool’s invitation from Jin Yin.
She had left Hongyu early today, attended a client’s dinner banquet, obtained another order, then went directly to Qiu Sanniang’s place, so she didn’t know if Jin Yin had sent her an invitation. However, even if it was a fool’s invitation, she was willing to receive it. Only a fool would refuse free gold.
The last line on the note read: “When the time comes, I invite Brother Mo to accompany me, to enjoy the view arm in arm.”
Clearly, Yuan Cheng had already decoded the hidden content of the fool’s invitation, yet he spoke to her ambiguously, seeming confident she could also understand its meaning.
She counted and examined the petals, then shook her head with a laugh. No wonder Yuan Cheng called it a fool’s invitation. If Jin Yin was just fooling around, that was one thing, but if he really wanted to use this to make things difficult for Yuan Cheng and avenge his humiliation at Xishan Listening Spring, that would be showing off minor tricks before a master—even more embarrassing. With some difficulty, she figured out the two types of petals, with the number of each representing the month and date respectively.
Flowers—to appreciate flowers.
Invitation—a flower-viewing invitation.
Flower-viewing invitations were the most popular invitation cards within noble circles, appreciating the soul and essence of flowers, savoring the myriad charms of blooms. Whether affecting elegance or genuinely refined in nature, at a flower banquet, one had to behave properly. The wine must be such that one wouldn’t get drunk. The tea must be the finest. Composing poetry, painting, wandering among flowers—a purification of the spirit.
However, sending a flower-viewing invitation in winter? Given Jin Yin’s deeply rooted interests, was he going to create a forest of gold flowers and silver trees? Moreover, Jin Yin was different from Yuan Cheng. Xishan Listening Spring was only nominal. Winter flower viewing would definitely be substantial. Jin Yin had gone for the Water-Purifying Pearl, and now upon returning immediately invited people to view flowers—the possibility of showing off his treasure was even greater.
Mo Zi lay on her back, closed her eyes, and drifted into dreamland wandering among pure gold petals.
The next day, she woke in golden brilliance. Looking at the gold petals scattered on the quilt, for a moment she couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality. By the time she fully understood, she had gathered the gold in her palm, planning to deny it to the death if anyone petty asked for it back.
The day’s plan begins in the morning. This morning in Mozhi Courtyard, many people were at a loss.
Bai He cried uncontrollably, kowtowing three times and again three times to Qiu Sanniang, unwilling to give up trying to persuade her to rescind the order. After making a fuss for half a double-hour, she still refused to move, even pleading with Xiao San.
Xiao San was soft-hearted and didn’t know the details, so he helped ask Qiu Sanniang to keep her, saying that without a bond of servitude, she could still be hired. He had already learned the abacus and understood some business principles. Letting people know would be beneath his scholarly dignity. However, he simply wasn’t the type to care about such things.
Finally, Qiu Sanniang had no choice but to have Mo Zi and Xiao Yi drag her away.
Bai He looked back every three steps, clutching her bundle tightly in both hands, tears flowing continuously.
Hong Mei and Lu Ju followed to see her off, crying along. Lu Ju’s crying voice was so clear and bright it carried far. It attracted some busybodies along the road to look and whisper among themselves.
Mo Zi pulled Bai He along, marching toward the prince’s mansion gate regardless, yet feeling Lu Ju’s resentful gaze shooting over continuously. She nearly broke out in cold sweat, as if she were holding a butcher’s knife about to slaughter an innocent little lamb.
Tragic! Too tragic!
So Mo Zi automatically fast-forwarded through all the scenes before her eyes. Then, boarding the carriage, going to Hongyu, settling Bai He, and placing her in the main kitchen. Clang, clang, clang—accomplished in one fell swoop. Wiping sweat, breathing a sigh of relief.
In the blink of an eye, it was the tenth day—the flower-viewing banquet.
Mo Zi brought Bai He, who still hadn’t adjusted and remained dejected, along with A’Hao and A’Yue, with Zan Jin driving the carriage, to attend the banquet.
The place where Jin Yin lived was behind Jin Yin’s main estate, with a separate entrance. However, in Mo Zi’s view, this main gate had the same style as that other main gate—very gold, vulgarly so, making her steps toward it slower and slower.
“Where is this?” Today Mo Zi had forced Bai He to wear a brocade skirt patterned with winter snow reflecting plum blossoms, covered by a knee-length deerskin and fox fur snow-white silk jacket. She was already good-looking, and once dressed beautifully, her entire temperament was brought out—three parts less willful and delicate than wealthy young ladies, three parts more serene and gentle. Upon alighting from the carriage, she had been somewhat awkward at first, but was immediately startled by the Jin residence’s unusual color scheme.
“The Jin residence.” Mo Zi pointed at the plaque with silver background and gold characters. “You can tell at a glance.”
Bai He laughed. “Really, why is it so golden?”
“Not only is this gate golden, even the master is golden.” The voice was gentle as jade.
Mo Zi turned her face and saw Yuan Cheng, startled again and again.
He wore a fur coat of black night with white stars, the collar and cuffs trimmed with mink, fastened at the front with a bronze-blue stone clasp. Visible underneath was a smoke-blue long robe with landscape ink wash. His hair was bound high in a cluster, held by a bronze-blue stone ring of the same quality. Though warmly dressed, with a high neckline and no collar, his jade-colored face above was like pristine snow at first dawn.
Truly, Yuan Cheng’s features weren’t more beautiful than Jin Yin’s, nor more handsome than Xiao Er’s, but his entire being possessed an indescribable radiance—whether temperament or bearing, it made one gaze long without willing to look away.
“Brother Mo’s gaze is dull and rather lustful—could it be—” Yuan Cheng bent slightly at the waist, lowering his head until he almost touched Mo Zi’s forehead. “Have I enchanted you?”
Having spoken, he exhaled lightly.
Mo Zi looked up at him, forcing out a trace of a smile. “With Lord Yuan dressed so carefully, if I weren’t somewhat dull and lustful, how could I show proper appreciation?”
“Show appreciation?” Yuan Cheng’s eyes narrowed as he slowly withdrew. “Mm, indeed, Brother Mo has always been cautious in conducting himself. However, I’m very curious—what would your true thoughts be?”
Mo Zi watched him walk past, hearing her own heartbeat pounding against her eardrums.
Crazy!