From autumn to winter, as the first lunar month approached, the marquis’s mansion finally gained some festive atmosphere in anticipation of the coming New Year.
In the Third Miss’s chambers, the little maid Zan’er was standing on tiptoe to paste paper cutouts on the windows. The accumulated snow on the window frames shook loose and fell in soft puffs. She quickly pulled her hands back, breathing warm air into her palms as she said, “This heavy snow has been falling for days. It finally stopped for a while, but why is it still so cold?”
Xiao Zhixuan lifted her gaze from her book, looking at Zan’er’s fair little face flushed rosy red from the cold, bright and vivid against the red paper cutouts. Xiao Zhixuan smiled faintly, then raised her head to look outside. She saw the crow-blue sky where sunlight dimly emerged through layers of clouds, casting a warm glow on the snow-covered ridge ornaments. She gently closed the book and murmured to herself, “I wonder where elder brother and sister-in-law have reached by now.”
Zan’er stirred the charcoal in the brazier to make it burn more vigorously, then turned to look at her young mistress. Suddenly she felt that in just a few short months, the Third Miss seemed to have changed greatly. No longer could one hear her boisterous calls throughout the rooms, nor was she as playful and mischievous as before. Her temperament seemed to have suddenly become tranquil. Even today when the marquis and madam went out to enjoy themselves, she hadn’t clamored to follow along, but remained in her room reading. Zan’er withdrew her gaze and stared at the glowing brazier, thinking silently in her heart: “The Third Miss seems to have grown up.”
At this moment, on the main streets of the capital, trees were covered with crystalline flowers of ice, buildings wrapped in silver. The original bluestone roads looked as if thick salt had been scattered on them, their original color no longer visible. There were few pedestrians on the streets, only several vendors in thick cotton clothes tending their steaming stalls. Just then, several jet-black steeds stepped through the white snow, suddenly raising a cloud of white mist in the air. Inside the carriage pulled behind the horses, Yuanxi was gently lowering the cloth curtain at the window, hugging the enamel hand warmer in her arms tightly.
Seeing her hunching her shoulders with her chin buried in the thick fur collar, looking quite pitiful and adorable, Xiao Du knew she had always been sensitive to cold. That she could come out with him in such weather was already remarkable. He smiled and set down his teacup, pulling her hands over and placing them inside his robe, saying, “This way you’ll warm up faster.”
Xiao Du had practiced martial arts since childhood and always had vigorous yang energy. Even in such weather, he wore only an inner garment and a light fur coat. Yuanxi felt the warmth of his chest and her palms immediately warmed up. She simply leaned sideways and clung to him like a koala for warmth. Xiao Du curved his lips and held her body even tighter. Neither spoke further, only quietly nestling together to the sounds of horse hooves and falling snow. Occasionally a few snowflakes drifted in from the window, melting into this quiet warmth.
The carriage continued forward, finally slowing down when it reached the edge of a plum grove, skillfully turning onto a small path. Yuanxi quickly sat up straight, lifting the curtain to look outside. She saw sparse plum blossoms and dancing snowflakes before her eyes. Jade-like accumulated snow pressed upon the red plums, scattering into the air with the cold wind’s caress. She couldn’t help but stare in fascination. Xiao Du, fearing she would catch cold, quickly helped her put on the fox fur coat, saying, “This plum grove only has its most exquisite flavor when viewed in snow, so I always wanted to bring you to see it.”
Yuanxi gripped the window sill, gazing dreamily, “I’ve only read about Meng Haoran’s story of seeking plums in snow from books before. Now seeing it firsthand, I understand that without expressing it in poetry and verse, one would truly waste such splendid scenery.”
Xiao Du gently brushed away the snowflakes that had settled on her eyebrows, smiling, “Though we cannot compose poetry, brewing a pot of wine to appreciate snow and commune with plums also has its own special charm.”
Finally, the carriage reached the other end of the path, stopping before a corner pavilion. This small pavilion stood in the center of the plum grove, surrounded by thousands of plum trees, its roof covered with pear blossoms, seeming to blend into this white expanse of heaven and earth.
Several maids and servants alighted from another carriage, hurriedly lighting the charcoal brazier and warming a pot of tusu wine over the fire. They swept the accumulated snow from the tables and stools in the pavilion, laying out brocade cushions, then arranged all the wine utensils they had brought. Only after everything was properly set up did they return to their carriage and drive back along the original path.
Xiao Du helped Yuanxi down from the carriage, instructing the coachman to follow the others and wait outside the plum grove. Only then did he lead Yuanxi slowly into the pavilion.
By this time, the tusu wine on the brazier was already bubbling and steaming. Xiao Du seated Yuanxi on a stool, then strode over to lift the wine pot onto the table. Fearing Yuanxi might feel cold, he added more charcoal to the fire to make it burn brighter, saying to Yuanxi, “I deliberately had them all leave, keeping only the two of us here. So today, how about letting your husband serve you?”
Yuanxi took the wine pot and filled his cup, smiling, “I’m not disabled, why would you need to serve me? Today, let neither of us serve the other. Let’s drink and appreciate the snow like old friends, how about that?”
Xiao Du gazed at her smiling face, feeling that all the plum shadows behind her could not compare to the beauty in her eyes. He raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp. Yuanxi could not hold her liquor well, so she only sipped lightly. After Xiao Du drank several cups in succession, his eyes already showed some haziness. Looking at the expanse of pure white before him, he exhaled and said, “The snow in the capital never matches the majestic splendor of the frontier that leaves such unforgettable impressions.”
Yuanxi remembered his previous words and refilled his cup, saying, “Tell me about your stories at the border passes. How was winter there different from the capital?” Xiao Du immediately became spirited, telling her many anecdotes from military campaigns. Whenever the weather was bitterly cold, the soldiers would hunt together in the forests, then gather around fires to roast venison until it sizzled. They would drink and eat meat while singing military songs, their robust voices shaking snow from the trees, with banners flying in the distance against the setting sun over the long river.
After drinking several more mouthfuls, Xiao Du still felt it wasn’t quite right. He sighed, “If only we could hunt some venison to roast, paired with strong liquor – that would be most fitting.”
Yuanxi was moved by the scenes he described, her eyes showing longing as she said, “I truly wish I could see what the frontier and desert you speak of look like. It’s just that as a woman who has become a marquis’s wife, I must always observe propriety and decorum, unable to show myself publicly. Never mind the frontier wilderness – I fear I can barely step outside this capital.”
Xiao Du grasped her hand and smiled, “What difficulty is that? Another day I’ll give you my clothes to change into. You can disguise yourself as a man and travel with me throughout the great rivers and mountains. Wherever you want to go, I’ll take you there.”
Yuanxi collapsed laughing in his arms, pinching his face, “I think you’re drunk and confused. How could I fit into your clothes?”
Xiao Du seemed to just realize this point and frowned, “Then don’t disguise yourself as a man. Xiao Du’s wife can go wherever she pleases – who would dare say a word against you?”
Yuanxi heard the boundless heroic spirit hidden in these words and knew he was already somewhat intoxicated. She too drained the wine in her cup, gazing at him tenderly, “Then wherever you go in the future, I’ll accompany you, so you’ll have a companion.”
Xiao Du brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, feeling peaceful and content in his heart. As the wine’s effects rose to his head, he suddenly became interested, “Just drinking like this is rather boring. Since you said you wanted to see firsthand the scenes I described, how about I sing a military song for you?”
Yuanxi straightened up, looking at him in amazement yet finding it somewhat amusing, “You can sing?”
Xiao Du felt a bit embarrassed under her gaze, coughing a few times with his fist to his lips, “They’re all tunes I became familiar with singing together with them before. Let me hum a few lines for you to hear.”
He looked at the wine utensils on the table and smiled, “The ancients struck earthenware vessels while singing. I have no musical instruments, so I’ll use this table as my vessel, just to make my lady smile.” With that, he began lightly tapping the table edge with jade chopsticks while singing: “Grasping Wu spears and wearing rhinoceros armor, our chariots clash wheel to wheel in close combat. Banners block the sun while enemies mass like clouds, arrows cross and fall as soldiers compete to advance…”
He began humming softly, but as the tapping grew more urgent, he seemed to recall the sound of war drums and the harshness of battlefields, his voice gradually becoming more stirring: “Trampling through my formations and overrunning my ranks, my left horse falls while my right flank is wounded. Burying both wheels and hobbling four horses, I grasp my sword and strike the resonating drum.” His voice was somewhat rough, yet seemed to contain the spirit of iron horses and rivers and mountains. As Yuanxi listened, she seemed to see before her eyes a battlefield that blocked out sun and sky, with flying banners, crossing arrows, and warriors clad in iron armor fighting desperately to the last moment to defend the cities behind them.
But Xiao Du’s voice suddenly stopped. After a long while, he spoke softly again, though his tune had become desolate and tragic: “Heaven’s timing turns hostile as divine spirits rage, stern killing ends with abandonment on the wilderness. Going out without return, departing without coming back, the plain stretches endlessly while the path grows ever distant. Though truly brave and martial, ultimately strong and unyielding. Though the body dies, the spirit lives on; the soul’s courage makes it a heroic ghost.” As he sang, his voice could no longer hold the tune and he was nearly moved to tears. Knowing he was recalling past events again, Yuanxi’s eyes couldn’t help but glisten with moisture. She gently supported his arm, gazing into his sorrowful eyes, then began softly harmonizing with his tune. Though she wasn’t skilled at singing, she gently echoed his words and phrases, as if wanting to use this imperfect song to commemorate those departed souls.
When the song ended, Xiao Du closed his eyes and poured the wine from his cup into the snow. Fearing he would sink into past memories again, Yuanxi gripped his hand tightly without saying more, silently accompanying him in drinking to ease the melancholy in his heart.
But she truly could not hold her liquor well. After drinking several more cups, she became somewhat intoxicated. Xiao Du looked down and saw her face and neck flushed rosy red, her eyes seeming veiled with mist, making one unable to resist being drawn in. He gently took the wine cup from her hands and pulled her to her feet, “Are you cold? Shall we move to a different place to drink?”
Yuanxi’s mind was already somewhat fuzzy. She let him guide her through clusters of plum trees. Occasionally, clumps of snow would fall from the branches onto Yuanxi’s neck, making her shiver with cold and quickly hunch her shoulders.
Seeing how afraid of cold she was, Xiao Du simply scooped her up and strode forward. After walking a short distance, he set her down, leaning close to her cheek and pointing ahead, “Look.”
Yuanxi widened her eyes in amazement to discover a steaming hot spring pool before her. Mist rose from the pool while snow lay white outside it. A few plum blossoms had fallen into the pool, making one feel as if transported to a fairyland.
Yuanxi rubbed her eyes, hardly believing what she was seeing. Xiao Du chuckled softly, “This hot spring pool belongs to the marquis’s estate. Certainly no outsiders will intrude. Shall we go down into that pool to continue drinking?”
Yuanxi still couldn’t quite process what was happening, turning her head and staring blankly, “We? Together?”