In the morning, Shen Shaoguang sat in bed clutching her blanket, lifting the bed curtain to look at the window. It was bright white, emanating a chill—had the snow fallen heavily?

From the corridor outside came faint voices: “Is the Young Mistress awake? The kitchen has prepared chicken soup dumplings, they’re already wrapped. If the Young Mistress is up, we’ll cook them and bring them over.”

A Yuan: “Wait a bit longer, the Young Mistress is still sleeping.”

Shen Shaoguang called from inside: “I’m up.”

A Yuan lifted the felt curtain, bringing in a breath of cold air, with Ming Nu following behind her.

Just as A Yuan helped Shen Shaoguang secure the half-drawn bed curtains and put away the headboard screen, Ming Nu pounced onto Shen Shaoguang’s blanket. Shen Shaoguang complained, “Hey, hey, are you dirty or not, rolling around on my blanket?”

Ming Nu rubbed its head against Shen Shaoguang, licked her hand, and then rolled over to expose its belly.

Shen Shaoguang was helpless. Weren’t you supposed to be a proud, aloof cat? Why did you completely abandon your cat persona and give up all pretense? While stroking its head and face and scratching under its chin, she thought, if a certain person associated with your name could be this good at being affectionate, I would have surrendered long ago.

Shen Shaoguang simply buried her face in its belly and took a breath. Hmm, no smell of mud or water, clean and fresh—seems it hadn’t had time to roll in the snow yet.

“It’s been behaving well, just sat on the corridor watching the scenery for a while, then returned to the hall, jumped on the couch, and lay on Young Mistress’s regular cassia-scented cushion.”

Shen Shaoguang laughed, imagining a cat sitting at the hall entrance, calmly and seriously watching the vast whiteness of snow, contemplating its cat life.

Finding it increasingly amusing, Shen Shaoguang lifted Ming Nu face to face: “Professor McGonagall, is that you? How do you find our Chang’an snow scene?”

A Yuan didn’t know who Professor McGonagall was, but urged: “Young Mistress, stop playing with the cat, your bed is getting cold.”

Shen Shaoguang quickly dressed, put on her shoes and got out of bed. Another maid brought hot and cold water for her to mix in the cup and basin. After washing up, the maid handed her a bowl of ginger water.

Sipping the warm ginger water slowly, Shen Shaoguang began to feel warm.

When a maid offered to do her hair, Shen Shaoguang waved her away, “Go about your business.” She casually tied her hair in the simplest Hu-style topknot, securing it with a silk cord.

The maids brought chicken soup dumplings, and everyone ate together. Shen Shaoguang wasn’t really from a noble family and didn’t follow aristocratic rules, so she could maintain this equality with servants. It was like this when they were just four people in the small tavern, and remained so now in the large mansion with many servants and maids—though with so many people now, they couldn’t all eat together anymore.

One look at the filling revealed Third Princess’s handiwork—pork mixed with minced dried shrimp and meat aspic, especially savory! Third Princess’s soup dumpling skills had now surpassed the teacher’s. Shen Shaoguang felt like a master who had been outdone by their student.

With the holiday and poor weather, what was there to do? Shen Shaoguang led the maids in painting a winter scene.

Since it was just to pass the time, they made the painting extremely detailed, with all the maids helping, and even Ming Nu adding a pawprint.

Before they finished the painting, the doorkeeper reported that Princess Fuhui had arrived.

Shen Shaoguang hurried out to welcome her.

“I thought, on such a snowy day, I must find a refined person to appreciate it with and think of you,” Princess Fuhui said with a smile.

Shen Shaoguang nodded: “I was just thinking of you too, Princess. On a snowy day like this, it’s perfect for doing something elegant together, like having a hotpot.”

The Princess laughed heartily: “Don’t expose my true intentions! How did you know I wanted to eat your hotpot?”

Shen Shaoguang smiled, “Perhaps it’s because—great minds think alike?”

The Princess had never heard such a colloquial phrase and was thoroughly amused.

Holding an umbrella, Shen Shaoguang walked with Princess Fuhui, who held her other arm, as they passed through the front courtyard and central hall directly to the inner quarters.

Shen Shaoguang shared a joke with the Princess: “Speaking of minds, I recall another saying. There’s a Hu proverb that says ‘two heads are better than one.’ A Hu maiden added half a sentence to it—’ in bed.'”①

Princess Fuhui laughed, patting Shen Shaoguang’s arm, “A kindred spirit! A true kindred spirit! How I wish I could meet her.”

But Shen Shaoguang didn’t laugh, “The key point is, she wrote this in her homework book, and her teacher was a Hu monk…”

The Princess laughed even harder.

Reaching the corridor, Shen Shaoguang closed the umbrella and handed it to A Yuan. Another maid lifted the curtain, and they entered the hall, taking their respective host and guest seats. Maids brought red dates, wolfberry, and ginger sugar drinks, along with dried fruits and pastries.

The Princess took a sip of the drink and looked around the hall, “It’s strange that someone as clever as you would prefer such simple decor.”

Shen Shaoguang wrinkled her brow and smiled, “Perhaps it’s to hide that cleverness? To appear simple.”

The Princess laughed, “There you go with your strange sayings again!”

Shen Shaoguang reasoned with her: “Being simple makes one more endearing.”

Relationship advisor Princess Fuhui said: “No, no, it all depends on whether that person cares about you. If they care, no matter how clever you are, in their eyes you’re still weak, small, and pitiful. If they don’t care, even if you’re truly simple, they might still suspect you of ulterior motives.”②

Shen Shaoguang was speechless—how precise were the Princess’s words!

Princess Fuhui seemed somewhat melancholic, “I’m actually not very clever, yet I’m always suspected of having ulterior motives. How unfortunate…”

Just as Shen Shaoguang was wondering how to comfort her, Princess Fuhui smiled and said, “But I don’t care anymore.”

Princess Fuhui changed the subject, asking Shen Shaoguang with a smile, “What were you doing at home when I arrived?”

Shen Shaoguang smiled, “Getting into the season’s spirit, painting a winter scene with the maids.”

Shen Shaoguang had someone bring it over, and the Princess joined her in painting while they chatted. What did they talk about? Just food, capital city trends, whatever came to mind—not much different from modern-day girlfriends chatting.

By the time they finished the painting, it was noon. Servants set up dining tables and brought two milk soup hotpots, various meat slices, fish balls, vegetables, tofu, and a jar of yellow wine.

Shen Shaoguang smiled, “This jar of wine is said to have been aged for over ten years. I’m not good at drinking, Princess, please try it.”

Princess Fuhui was indeed good at drinking and smiled, “I’ll help you evaluate it.”

Shen Shaoguang warmed the wine and added a few of the earlier sugar-preserved plums. After warming it properly, she poured it for Princess Fuhui.

“Very fragrant and mellow, indeed a fine wine of over ten years,” Princess Fuhui nodded, then smiled, “Your addition of plums is excellent too, the slight sweet and sour plum taste makes it especially refreshing. I’ve only had green plum wine before, never knew this way of drinking.”

Shen Shaoguang smiled, “If it were summer, it would probably taste even better chilled with ice.”

Princess Fuhui smiled, “I’ll come back at the summer solstice to drink this iced version.”

The two continued their casual chat while eating hotpot and drinking wine.

“I’ve heard that in the South when a daughter is born, they bury wine in the ground and dig it up for guests when she marries. They call it ‘daughter’s wine’ or ‘daughter’s red.’ The South sends some every year, but I find it less fragrant than this wine of yours,” the Princess said.

Shen Shaoguang smiled, “I’ve also heard that for sons, they call it ‘Top Scholar Red.'”③

The Princess laughed, “Calling it ‘Advanced Scholar Wine’ might be more practical—how many Top Scholars are there?”

Having seen many Advanced Scholars, the Princess thought it was easy, but Shen Shaoguang educated her: “Even becoming an Advanced Scholar isn’t easy. There’s a saying that ‘Advanced Scholars are rare before fifty’—many study their whole lives without passing.”

“So Lin Yan and Pei Fei passing at such young ages make them extraordinary talents?”

Shen Shaoguang replied objectively: “Whether extraordinary or not, I don’t know, but they certainly have real ability.”

Their conversation inevitably turned to the young lords again.

Princess Fuhui felt helpless about Shen Shaoguang’s hesitation, “Let me tell you, men are most impatient. Don’t expect him to wait forever. If you don’t marry him, he’ll eventually take a wife and have children. With your personality, you’ll likely become strangers. Not having even slept together, what a waste…”

Shen Shaoguang nodded, imagining years later, meeting Lin Yan again, herself with her retinue of servants, Lin Yan perhaps with his wife, exchanging distant bows before going their separate ways. His wife might ask, “Who was that lady?” Lin Yan might reply, “That’s the mistress of Shen’s establishment—they make excellent hotpot.” Thinking of this made her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys ache.

Princess Fuhui shook her head, “How pathetic!” But thinking of herself, she didn’t seem much better either. Well, let’s not judge, “Enough about them, drink, drink!”

They raised their cups, emptied them, and refilled them.

The mellow wine with preserved plums was quite palatable, and they gradually had too much. Shen Shaoguang, mindful of being with the Princess, maintained some clarity, but Princess Fuhui was truly drunk, even swaying when she left.

Shen Shaoguang urged her, “It’s not late yet. Princess, if you don’t mind, rest here for a while before leaving.”

Princess Fuhui waved her hand, “I’ll come visit you another day. Today was truly enjoyable!”

The maids supported her, with Shen Shaoguang seeing her off. After watching her get into the carriage, they exchanged a few more words through the window, and only after watching the carriage leave did Shen Shaoguang return.

A Yuan supported her, “Young Mistress can’t even walk straight.”

Shen Shaoguang looked back at her footprints—they weren’t too bad.

As the maids cleared away the remains of the feast, Shen Shaoguang looked at the half jar of warmed wine that was left, “Leave this for me.”

A Yuan asked in surprise: “Young Mistress wants to drink more?”

Shen Shaoguang sat cross-legged on the couch, frowning in thought, “Haven’t drunk enough.”

Haven’t drunk enough… when she was already drunk! But just as Shen Shaoguang could never bear to make A Yuan give up sweets and meat, A Yuan, seeing her like this, finally left the wine, “Just drink this much, then go to sleep?”

Shen Shaoguang laughed at her motherly tone, “Alright, nagging one.”

A Yuan asked if she wanted any food with the wine, but Shen Shaoguang shook her head, pointing to the preserved fruits on the table.

When Lin Yan arrived, he found Shen Shaoguang with one leg stretched out, one bent, half-leaning against two cushions, eating a sour plum, and taking sips from the wine jar.

Shen Shaoguang looked at him sideways, smiling in greeting: “Lord Lin, why are you here? Isn’t there a banquet today?”

“I met the Princess outside the ward.”

Shen Shaoguang nodded, tilting her head to look at him, “You don’t seem too drunk today.”

“No, but you are.”

Shen Shaoguang squinted and smiled, “I had such a good chat with the Princess, I drank a bit too much.”

Lin Yan pressed his lips together: “If you know you’re drunk, why keep drinking?”

Shen Shaoguang couldn’t remember her earlier excuse to A Yuan, so she had to think up a new one, furrowing her brow, “Well, I’m already drunk, what difference does a bit more make?” Looking at the wine jar in her hand, she had a flash of inspiration, “It would be a waste not to drink it.”

Lin Yan laughed at her frustration—so it was about not wasting things! What an excuse.

Seeing she still wanted to drink, Lin Yan went over and took the wine jar, “You can’t drink anymore. Let the maids help you wash up and get some good sleep. You’re bound to have a headache tomorrow.”

Shen Shaoguang shook her head, patting the couch, indicating for him to sit, “Stay and talk with me for a while.”

Lin Yan sat down to keep her company. She wore a somewhat worn date-red Hu-style padded jacket, her topknot tied with just a silk ribbon that had come loose, with some hair falling around her temples, her cheeks as red as if painted with rouge, looking rather silly. Lin Yan’s heart softened, “Don’t drink like this with the Princess anymore. You don’t drink often, getting drunk must be uncomfortable.”

Shen Shaoguang didn’t respond to his comment, just looked at him with a silly smile, then took his hand to play with.

Shen Shaoguang compared her hand with Lin Yan’s and then interlaced their fingers. Lin Yan cooperated by holding her hand, and then Shen Shaoguang squinted at his fingers to count how many “winnowing baskets” and “bushels” he had.

“You have three bushels, you should be in business like me, running a pawnshop,” Shen Shaoguang concluded her assessment.

Lin Yan had never heard such nonsense, he just smiled.

Shen Shaoguang let go of his hand and said disappointedly: “Too bad you’re not a pawnbroker after all.”

Shen Shaoguang sat up straight, looking at Lin Yan, and after a while said: “I won’t hold you back anymore. Things that have no future—you should go marry and have children.”

Lin Yan looked at her, “What’s brought this on?”

“We’re not carriages running on the same road. Going our separate ways, we can each be fine, but forcing ourselves together might end in a collision. Lately, I’ve been thinking we could just go as far as we can…” Shen Shaoguang pressed her lips together, lowering her head, “It’s my fault. Better to become strangers than to share hardships.”

Lin Yan lifted her face and found her crying. He had felt somewhat helpless hearing her bring this up again, but now his heart ached terribly. She was foolish, not thinking when she should, and overthinking when she shouldn’t. Seeing her so enthusiastically experimenting with food and dedicating herself to running the tavern, looking so content, he hadn’t wanted to interrupt. Besides, their relationship as it was, though they couldn’t… was quite nice, and Lin Yan was willing to take it slow. Now it seemed he really couldn’t indulge her like this anymore. She appeared happy every day, but was carrying such a burden inside—otherwise she wouldn’t cry like this.

Lin Yan gently drew her into his embrace, “We’re meant to share life’s hardships forever, isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

Shen Shaoguang couldn’t remember her own misinterpretation, only feeling sad, and simply burst into tears, leaving tears and nose marks all over Lin Yan’s collar.

Lin Yan gently patted her back, and after a while, when there was no sound, he carefully turned her face—she had fallen asleep.

[Author’s Note:]

Well, as per everyone’s request, they finally embraced.

[Footnotes:

① Based on Yan Ying’s quotation from Zhang Ailing’s friend

② Adapted from Yi Shu’s famous saying

③ Jin Dynasty’s Ji Han in “Southern Flora Records” mentions “daughter’s wine” as essential for wealthy families when daughters were born or married, though the term “Top Scholar Red” appeared in later generations.]