Finally, New Year’s Eve had arrived. On this day, the snow had finally stopped, and the sun even came out, warm and cheerful, bringing great joy to everyone. The servants in the Qi Mansion were all beaming with happiness, bustling about since early morning to sweep away dust—symbolizing the removal of the old to welcome the new—hanging spring couplets, sealing wells, not missing a single task.

Since returning to Jiankang, Zhao Yao had been staying at the Qi Mansion with her mother. Though it was regrettable that she couldn’t spend this New Year’s Eve with her father, she was still very happy. The two brothers Qi Ning and Qi Le took great care of her, frequently coming to play with her these past few days, keeping her so comfortable that she immediately regained the familiarity they’d shared in childhood. The only disappointment was that Second Brother had been very busy. Even during these days of rest at home, he was always entangled in official duties, staying in his study all day without coming out. She wanted to speak just a few words with him but couldn’t have her wish fulfilled.

Seeing her melancholy, her mother Zhao Qishi understood what was troubling her. On New Year’s Eve, she came to her daughter’s room and, seeing that she was still unhappy, smiled teasingly: “What’s this? Has our Yao’er grown up already?”

Zhao Yao’s small face turned bright red. Biting her lip, she threw herself into her mother’s embrace, acting coquettish: “Mother!”

Zhao Qishi smiled and stroked her precious daughter’s black hair, saying: “Since you’re thinking of your Second Brother, you might as well spend more time with him instead of sulking here alone. What’s the point of that?”

Zhao Yao pouted and said: “I do want to go find him, but Second Brother is always busy with official business. I can barely see him even at the dinner table—several times he’s had servants bring his meals to the study. How can I go find him?”

After a pause, she looked dejected: “I think Second Brother simply doesn’t like me anymore!”

“Nonsense,” Zhao Qishi scraped her nose gently, “your Second Brother has favored you since childhood. That Dushan jade pixiu was such a precious object, yet when you broke it, he didn’t pursue the matter. Have you ever seen him treat anyone else like that? He certainly likes you very much.”

Zhao Yao’s eyes brightened, then dimmed again: “But now we can’t even speak to each other…”

Zhao Qishi smiled and said: “Today is New Year’s Eve—you’ll surely see him. If you’re obedient, go wash and dress yourself properly now, so you won’t look disheveled when you see your Second Brother later.”

Hearing this, Zhao Yao perked up. Imagining the scene of keeping vigil with Second Brother tonight, her heart filled with increasingly hazy romantic feelings. She smiled joyfully at her mother and obediently went to wash and dress.

Halfway through her preparations, Qi Le’s voice came from the courtyard. The maidservants came in to report that the Fourth Young Master had come to play with Zhao Yao. Before Zhao Yao could speak, Zhao Qishi said first: “Go tell the Fourth Young Master that Yao’er has a headache this morning and won’t be playing with him. If he says he wants to come in to check on her illness, tell him she’s gone back to sleep.”

The maidservant left after hearing this. Zhao Yao looked at her mother uncomprehendingly. Zhao Qishi dismissed the other maidservants from the room and personally combed her daughter’s hair, saying: “Since your heart is set on your Second Brother, you must remember to keep clear boundaries with other men to avoid causing misunderstandings. You can’t be considered children anymore, so you must always pay attention to propriety in your actions.”

Zhao Yao muttered: “But Fourth Brother is very good to me…”

“What use is being good?” Zhao Qishi snorted. “No matter how good he is, he’s still a concubine’s son with a playful nature. If you get involved with him, what hope could you have for the future? Yao’er, you’re a grown girl now. You must understand these things and plan for yourself early.”

Zhao Qishi sighed again and said: “Look at our family—your father was born into a prestigious family, yet he’s been posted outside the capital for so many years. This time, his transfer back to Jiankang still depends on your uncle’s approval. In this vast Qi household, who will inherit it in the future? Now they say it will go to Qi Yun, but anyone with eyes can see he’s not as capable as your Second Brother. In the end, it will still be him who manages the family. If you can marry him, our whole family will truly have hope—do you understand?”

Zhao Yao was confused for a while, then thought it over, frowned, and finally nodded firmly: “Mother, rest assured. I’ll never get close to Third Brother and Fourth Brother again.”

Zhao Qishi contentedly pinned a flower ornament in her hair, praising: “Good girl.”

Qi Ying was truly very busy. Though it was now a rest period, the affairs of the Privy Council still lay before him. While the entire nation was celebrating New Year’s Eve, there was no guarantee that Northern Wei wouldn’t launch a surprise attack across the river. Therefore, the officials of the Privy Council continued working intensively. Having just taken on the great responsibility of Deputy Commissioner, Qi Ying couldn’t afford to be negligent. He spent almost entire days in his study reviewing official documents, staying up until deep into the night every day. Apart from a young servant named Qing Zhu, he hardly saw anyone else.

Additionally, there was another troublesome matter—the orphaned girl he had rescued at Shen Qian’s request.

The night Bai Song brought her back to Fenghe Courtyard, she went to bury her parents. With this, Qi Ying had fulfilled Shen Qian’s entrustment without failing him. But the orphaned girl knelt outside the gates of Fenghe Courtyard and was later found collapsed in a snowbank by the night watchman, who hurriedly rescued her. The next morning, they reported to Qi Ying, asking what should be done with the orphaned girl.

She was very ill.

This was understandable. An eleven or twelve-year-old girl who had suffered great changes in less than a month, lost both parents, experienced the disaster of imprisonment and the suffering of being on the run, then knelt in the snow for several hours that night—how could she not be gravely ill? When Qi Ying went to the side room to see her, he found her shockingly thin, pale as snow, lying unconscious on the bed.

Qi Ying found it hard to say what he was thinking at that moment.

This little girl was heartbreakingly fragile, yet sometimes his heart was actually quite hard. He had already seen that she had no will to live. When she came to find him at Wangshi that day, he had coldly rebuked her without showing any kindness. Now he even had the thought of throwing her out of Fenghe Courtyard’s gates to let her fend for herself. However, as he stood by her bedside watching her for a long time, that last meeting with her father unexpectedly surfaced in his mind, making him inexplicably feel that he had responsibility toward this little girl.

This was actually an absurd notion.

He and Shen Qian were merely casual acquaintances, just ordinary interactions between aristocratic families. Shen Qian’s approach to him that day had been quite abrupt to begin with. Qi Ying’s acceptance of Shen Qian’s entrustment was already going above and beyond duty and righteousness—he shouldn’t do anything more for Shen Xiling. After all, she was now a fugitive. If the matter came to light, Qi Ying would also suffer consequences, and if things escalated, the Qi family might also be implicated.

He clearly knew he shouldn’t get involved in this matter anymore, yet after long deliberation, he still didn’t have the servants throw her out. He even had someone fetch a doctor to treat her. Later, when the rest period ended, he left Fenghe Courtyard to return to the main residence, and hadn’t seen Shen Xiling since. Only today, on New Year’s Eve, early in the morning a young servant from Fenghe Courtyard came to report that Shen Xiling had contracted a severe cold and could no longer take medicine. She was probably near death, and they asked what he should do.

At that time, Qi Ying was sitting behind the desk in his study with Qing Zhu standing behind him serving. His desk was piled high with case files like a small mountain. He fell silent for a while, then somehow a surge of inexplicable anger arose from nowhere, and he berated the servant: “If that’s the case, then find a doctor to see her. Why come to me?”

Though the Second Young Master Qi had a cold temperament, he usually wouldn’t easily lose his temper with the servants around him. Even Qing Zhu, who had followed him for several years, was startled by this. The young servant was even more terrified, kneeling on the ground and repeatedly kowtowing for forgiveness. Qi Ying frowned and rubbed his forehead, then said somewhat wearily: “Get up. Find another good doctor to care for her and make sure to save her.”

The servant, both clever and relieved, scrambled up from the ground and practically fled from the study.

Qing Zhu glanced at Qi Ying’s expression but didn’t dare speak, only silently refilling his tea.

As night approached, the Qi Mansion became very lively.

The Qi family was an extremely large clan with many brothers and uncles. Although many sons and nephews were posted elsewhere and couldn’t return to Jiankang, the flower hall still had over ten banquet tables set up. They had even erected a stage and invited a troupe to perform opera—it was quite festive.

Yao Shi was bustling about at the feast, having to chat with relatives on one side while keeping an eye on the maidservants and old women to ensure no mistakes were made. It was quite exhausting.

Before long, Zhao Yao entered the flower hall with Zhao Qishi. Maidservants helped Zhao Yao remove her cloak, revealing the bright red floral jacket underneath, making her look even more adorably carved from pink jade. As soon as she entered the flower hall, she threw herself into Yao Shi’s embrace, calling “Aunt,” delighting Yao Shi, who popped a peanut candy into her little mouth.

Just then, Qi Ning and Qi Le entered. Both had changed into new clothes and looked spirited. As soon as Qi Ning entered, he teased Zhao Yao: “Eating again? You’re going to get fat like a dumpling.”

Zhao Yao glared at Qi Ning and said angrily: “You’re the dumpling! At most I’m a sweet rice ball!”

Everyone was amused, except Qi Le, who asked her: “This morning your room’s maidservant said you had a headache. Are you feeling better now?”

Hearing this, Yao Shi was surprised and very worried, asking Zhao Yao: “A headache? What happened?”

Zhao Yao didn’t know what to say, so her mother Zhao Qishi smiled and deflected: “It’s nothing serious—probably caught a bit of wind last night, but she’s fine now.”

Yao Shi nodded and said with a smile: “That’s good then.”

As they talked, they sat down at their seats. Zhao Yao looked around but didn’t see Second Brother Qi. Her eyes immediately showed some disappointment. She pressed her bright red lips together and tugged at Yao Shi’s sleeve, asking: “Aunt, Second Brother… why isn’t he here?”

Yao Shi looked around and indeed didn’t see Qi Ying, so she sent a maidservant to call him, saying: “He’s just like his father—once he buries himself in official documents, he can’t be pulled out. He probably doesn’t even know today is New Year’s Eve. Don’t worry about him for now, Yao’er. Play with your Third Brother and Fourth Brother first.”

Zhao Yao obediently nodded and watched as her aunt went to attend to others.

Before long, Old Madam Qi arrived with Qi Zhang supporting her arm, and Qi Yun following behind his father. Old Madam Qi was Qi Zhang’s birth mother. She had just passed her seventieth birthday last year, with graying hair and a plump, kindly appearance. This old lady was a daughter of the Fu family. In her youth, she had a very strong character, and even now in her advanced age, this hadn’t changed much. At home, her word was law. Only in recent years, as her health declined, had she given Yao Shi more authority in managing the household. Qi Zhang was very filial to his mother—generally, whatever the old lady said, he would comply with. These past few years, as his mother fell ill, he often attended to her personally, showing great filial devotion.

As soon as these three arrived, the atmosphere at the banquet immediately became lively. Qi Zhang was the current head of the Qi clan, Qi Yun was tacitly acknowledged as the successor of the next generation, and as for Old Madam Qi, naturally there was no need to elaborate. Most people who wanted Qi Zhang to handle matters would first seek out the old lady—as long as they could make the old lady happy, everything would go smoothly. Therefore, family members quickly gathered around the three of them, making the flower hall even more bustling.

Old Madam Qi sat in the place of honor. After looking around in a circle and not seeing the person she was looking for, she asked those around her: “Where is Jingchen? Why don’t I see Jingchen?”

Yao Shi, sitting beside the old lady, replied upon hearing this: “Someone has already been sent to call him. This child is also too inconsiderate, making the elders wait.”

“How can you say such a thing?” Old Madam Qi patted Yao Shi’s hand. “That child is just too tired. What’s wrong with us waiting for him a bit?”

As soon as she finished speaking, a maidservant from outside came in to announce that the Second Young Master had arrived. Old Madam Qi smiled: “He’s also someone who can’t bear to be talked about—we were just mentioning him and here he comes.”