Gu Jingyuan was only in his forties this year, so it wasn’t exactly the time for a grand birthday banquet. However, due to the events of the past year, many people wanted to take this opportunity to win favor or make amends for their indifference during his difficult times. Moreover, Ji Lan had instructed the Ministry of Rites to personally organize the event and announced that he would attend, sending a clear message to all the officials: despite Gu Jingyuan having relinquished most of his military power, he remained a trusted minister of the emperor.
As the New Year approached, princes from various regions and envoys from foreign lands were also making their way to the capital. Upon hearing the news, even those who had not planned to attend Gu Jingyuan’s birthday celebration changed their minds and headed to the Wuxian Prince’s Residence.
Today’s banquet was destined to be filled with distinguished guests.
As the carriage made its way to the residence, Gu Jianli sat inside, meticulously inspecting the birthday gifts prepared for her father: an ivory carving of an immortal deer, a jade carving of a pair of cranes, and a complete set of clothes she had sewn herself, stitch by stitch. Although she had checked them several times, with nothing else to do in the carriage, she took out the clothes again to examine the stitches.
Ji Wujing watched her for a while, frowning, and asked unhappily, “Gu Jianli, where’s the dress you promised to make for me?”
Gu Jianli recalled that at the beginning of the year, she had indeed promised Ji Wujing to make him a dress. She even had the red silk fabric ready but…
She said somewhat guiltily, “I’ve never made a dress before, so I’m not very good at it. Besides, you don’t have a dress that fits for me to use as a reference for the size, so I… I just set it aside.”
Before Ji Wujing could get angry, she quickly added, “When we get home, I’ll measure you and make sure to finish it.”
Ji Wujing gave a cold laugh, leaning against the carriage wall and closing his eyes, clearly indicating he didn’t want to talk to Gu Jianli anymore.
Gu Jianli frowned.
She knew her father had always disliked Ji Wujing and constantly wanted to take her home to keep her away from him. His attitude stemmed entirely from his belief that Ji Wujing was not a good person and would not treat her well, out of a heartfelt concern for her. Yesterday, she persuaded Ji Wujing to come along, hoping her father would see that they were doing well and worry less.
Ji Wujing being in a bad mood wouldn’t help.
Gu Jianli also understood that Ji Wujing was not someone who cared about the occasion. If he was unhappy, he wouldn’t care about the people or the setting, and smiling for others was not his thing.
Thinking for a moment, Gu Jianli put the clothes she made for her father back into the box. She moved closer to Ji Wujing, affectionately holding his arm and softly calling, “Uncle, Uncle?”
Ji Wujing sneered and pulled his arm away.
Gu Jianli faintly heard the laughter of children. She pushed open the small window and saw two or three children playing on the frozen river in the distance, sitting on a long wooden board and sliding down from a height.
“Changsheng, stop the carriage!”
“Halt!” Changsheng stopped the carriage by the roadside and turned back with Jixia, waiting for instructions.
Gu Jianli pushed open the carriage door, and Jixia quickly helped her down, asking, “Madam, what’s the matter?”
Gu Jianli whispered a few instructions.
Inside the carriage, Ji Wujing opened his eyes in surprise. With his excellent hearing, he heard Gu Jianli’s words to Jixia and Changsheng, and his expression became peculiar.
Gu Jianli turned around, her smile sweet and charming.
Ji Wujing glanced at her with evident disdain before following her out of the carriage.
The children had already been sent away by Changsheng, but they left their wooden boards behind.
Gu Jianli sat on one of the wooden boards, carefully gathering her skirt, feeling a bit distressed about her newly prepared dress. Fortunately, due to the cold weather and the fear of snow, she had an extra set of clothes ready in the carriage.
She turned to look at Ji Wujing, who was standing by the stream, and cautiously waved at him, then pointed to another wooden board beside her, earnestly saying, “I saw those children laughing and having so much fun. It must be interesting. Let’s give it a try too.”
“Aren’t you worried about being late?” Ji Wujing said as he stepped onto the ice and onto a wooden board.
More than being late, she was worried about him showing up with a dark face and worrying her father. But Gu Jianli didn’t speak the truth and instead gripped a dead tree branch to push herself forward on the ice.
She didn’t forget to remind Ji Wujing, “Didn’t you see how those children were playing? They were sitting, holding a branch to push against the ice like rowing a boat, not standing like you.”
Gu Jianli slowly slid forward. The board bumped into a stone, causing her to wobble, and the board veered off course, sliding to the edge of the ice and getting stuck in the frozen mud. She scrunched up her face, gripping the branch tightly, trying to get back on track. But she couldn’t muster the right force, and after struggling for a while, the board remained stuck.
Feeling frustrated, Gu Jianli furrowed her brows and was about to stand up when she heard a voice behind her, “So stupid.”
Before she could turn around, Ji Wujing grabbed her arm. With a light tug, he lifted Gu Jianli off the board, setting her down in front of him.
Gu Jianli looked down at the wooden board they both stood on and hurriedly said, “It’s not supposed to be standing. Standing is easy to fall. It’s sitting… Ah—”
The wind rushed against them, their clothes fluttering in the breeze. The speed made the bare trees along the stream flash by quickly, and Gu Jianli tensed up, her heart pounding. Ji Wujing was behind her, out of sight. She grabbed his wrist randomly, holding on tightly, afraid to let go.
The stream twisted and turned, with a bend ahead leading to a massive rock on the other side.
“We’re going to crash! We’re going to crash!” Gu Jianli shouted as they approached the bend. If not for her fear paralyzing her reaction, she would have jumped off the board.
Seeing the rock approach rapidly, Gu Jianli instinctively closed her eyes. The wind against her face signaled they were turning. The board kept sliding faster. Gu Jianli’s face turned pale, her lips tightly pressed, resisting the urge to scream.
She held on.
Ji Wujing, behind her, glanced at her trembling eyelashes and slowly smirked, saying lazily, “Oh no, we can’t stop. We’re about to crash.”
Gu Jianli’s eyes snapped open.
An old tree, growing increasingly slanted, lay horizontally about half a person’s height above the stream. They were about to crash into the thick trunk.
“No!” Gu Jianli cried out. Suddenly, with unexpected strength and speed, she turned on the narrow board and buried herself in Ji Wujing’s chest, hugging his waist tightly.
Ji Wujing was momentarily stunned but quickly reacted.
The board continued to slide swiftly along the ice, but Ji Wujing, with Gu Jianli, effortlessly leaped onto the slanted tree trunk.
Gu Jianli watched the board slide away and suddenly felt a wave of fear. She pushed Ji Wujing in frustration, complaining, “You’re so annoying! You scared me on purpose again!”
Ji Wujing said innocently, “Gu Jianli, can you be reasonable? I was comfortably sitting in the carriage, and you dragged me down to play this childish game. In the end, you scared yourself half to death and wouldn’t even cry out. Tsk, you never miss a chance to keep up appearances, do you?”
Already frightened, Gu Jianli didn’t want to listen to Ji Wujing’s sarcasm. She covered her ears with her hands, refusing to hear his words.
Feeling a mix of fear and grievance, Gu Jianli looked at the ice beneath her feet, on the verge of tears. But she couldn’t cry; it would ruin the meticulous makeup she had applied for the day.
She turned her head to watch Ji Wujing’s moving lips. She couldn’t hear what he was saying with her ears covered, but she saw the smile in his eyes.
Gu Jianli’s lips curved into a smile.
Ji Wujing stopped talking, pulled her hands away from her ears, and pinched the tips of her frostbitten ears, saying, “Gu Jianli—”
Gu Jianli nodded and softly replied, “Mm.”
Seeing her dazed and soft appearance, Ji Wujing suddenly laughed, raising the corners of his eyes.
Gu Jianli kept looking at him. Seeing him laugh, she also smiled, her beautiful eyes forming lovely crescent moons.
“Gu Jianli, why are you smiling?” Ji Wujing asked.
Gu Jianli lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, then quickly looked up at Ji Wujing again without saying a word, replying with an even brighter smile.
“You’re such a fool,” Ji Wujing scoffed, covering her frostbitten ears with his hands to warm them.
Gu Jianli initially thought he was going to pinch her but quickly realized what he was doing. She then reached out and covered Ji Wujing’s ears with her hands to warm him as well.
Changsheng and Jixia had been waiting for a long time, becoming worried, and decided to walk downstream along the creek.
Changsheng said, “I didn’t expect Madam to enjoy playing such childish games.”
“Don’t speak ill of Madam,” Jixia replied expressionlessly.
Changsheng was taken aback and, after a moment, retorted confidently, “You girl, when did I say anything bad about Madam? I was just stating facts! Facts! How did I say anything bad?”
Jixia responded with an “Oh.”
Changsheng was fuming. After all his explaining, a single “oh” was all he got? Jixia walked a bit faster, leaving him a step behind. He pointed at her back and mouthed silently, “You little wretch, don’t let me find a chance to teach you a lesson!”
Suddenly, Jixia stopped, and Changsheng, unprepared, poked her in the back of the head. She turned and glared at him. Meeting her gaze, he immediately smiled, squinting his eyes, and said, “Just now, a dead leaf fell on your head!”
Jixia ignored him, pointing instead at the two people sitting on the slanted tree trunk in the distance, asking, “What are Fifth Master and Madam doing?”
Changsheng looked carefully and then uncertainly replied, “It seems like they’re playing and got their ears frozen, so they’re warming each other’s ears!”
Jixia skeptically looked at the two sitting on the tree trunk. Ji Wujing was in his usual loose, thin red robe. Gu Jianli wore a light apricot-colored ruqun, topped with a bright red cloak. They were sitting very close, Gu Jianli’s cloak pressed against Ji Wujing, the red of the cloak blending with his robe, making it hard to tell them apart.
Jixia stood stunned for a moment, her gaze becoming subtly complex.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Look closely; I wasn’t wrong, was I?” Changsheng said again. “But it doesn’t make sense. If they’re cold, why are they warming their ears? Wouldn’t it be warmer to go back to the carriage?”
Jixia turned to look at Changsheng and asked, “Changsheng, how old are you this year?”
“Twenty-five,” he replied.
Jixia smiled, “No wonder you haven’t gotten a wife yet.”
“What do you mean by that?” Changsheng said angrily. “You little girl, be careful, or I’ll ask Madam to betroth you to me!”