The winter sky darkens quickly.
As the sun gradually sets, its afterglow falls between the carved window lattices, casting fragmented shadows.
The writing brush on the brush rack is scattered all over, and the unfinished painting of deer drinking quietly lies on the carpeted floor.
The girl in a cotton-padded jacket is pressed against the desk, while the young master in front of her has bent down.
At that moment, his nose gently brushes against hers, his breath close at hand.
Xie Tao dared not breathe, her eyes blinked again and again, a fair face gradually flushed by his warm breath drawing near.
Just like the splendid rosy clouds at the edge of the sky spreading out among the clouds, making the cinnabar mark between her eyebrows seem even more like the rich color of rouge soaked through.
As if annoyed by her sudden kisses or hugs these days, or the fact that she always poked fun at his ears turning red, this young master, who always adhered to the gentleman’s code and never overstepped, now cast aside all such propriety.
In an instant, he slightly tilts his head, biting her lips fiercely.
Xie Tao widens her almond-shaped eyes, as if something suddenly exploded, her ears ringing, her mind completely blank.
The surroundings are silent, occasionally the faint sound of sparks popping from the charcoal fire inside can be barely heard.
Unlike the brief touch of Xie Tao kissing him, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Now, as he bites her lip, it is still a gentle touch, slowly rolling over.
Until Wei Bo’s voice comes from outside:
“Sir, should we prepare for the evening banquet in the mansion?”
Wei Yun seems to suddenly come to his senses, his eyelashes tremble, his pupils constrict, and he hastily lets go of the girl’s shoulders pressed against the desk, retreating several steps. His cold, pale jade-like face is now tinged with a light red, and his ears have long been flushed.
His wide sleeves sweep past, touching a pile of scrolls at the edge of the desk, which immediately falls down, making a sound.
“Sir?”
Wei Bo hears the noise, but without waiting for Wei Yun’s response, he calls out again cautiously.
“Go prepare it.”
When Wei Yun speaks, his voice is unexpectedly hoarse.
After there is no more sound from outside, Wei Yun looks at the girl on the desk with her cheeks flushed red, his Adam’s apple moves, his fingers twitch, but he still reaches out to hold her wrist.
Xie Tao was pulled to her feet by him, but standing in front of him, she dared not even lift her head.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became very delicate.
After a long while, Xie Tao stuttered, “I, I’m going out…”
Wei Yun lowered his eyes to look at her, responding softly with a “Hmm.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the girl in front of him rush into the inner room like a gust of wind, running out with a pile of things, but stopping at the door.
She turned her head back, looking at him with eager eyes, “Wei Yun, could you open the door for me? I can’t free my hands…”
“…”
Wei Yun had no choice but to walk over and open the door for her.
Xie Tao glanced at him, her cheeks inexplicably reddened again, she quickly lowered her head and ran out with the pile of things.
Xie Tao found Wei Bo and went to the kitchen with him.
“Oh, miss, let the servants prepare the dinner. You should rest!” Wei Bo hurriedly advised when he heard she wanted to cook.
“It’s okay, Wei Bo, let me try!”
Xie Tao said to him as they walked.
In the end, Wei Bo couldn’t persuade Xie Tao and had to take her towards the kitchen.
The kitchen slaves, who were seeing this only female guest rumored to be in the Imperial Advisor’s house for the first time, almost all looked at her with curious eyes.
She looked different from the frail miss they had imagined.
She was dressed in strange clothes they had never seen before, her hair simply tied in a ponytail, her face clean and delicate without makeup, looking tender and petite.
Since other dishes were being prepared by the chefs, Xie Tao planned to make a hot pot herself.
There was a copper pot similar to the ones used for hot pot, with charcoal fire underneath, but these pots were usually used for boiling light mutton soup.
While in Wei Yun’s study, Xie Tao had already unpacked the hot pot base and carefully stored it, planning to take it back when she left.
She remembered what Old Xi had told her.
She couldn’t leave too many traces of her own time and space here.
Because the social progress of her time and space was different from this one, if she had any key innovative technology or anything that could have a significant impact from her time and space, appearing prematurely in this socially backward time and space, it might cause chaos.
But ordinary small items wouldn’t have any effect.
She did this also to avoid causing unnecessary surprise to the servants of the Imperial Advisor’s house, fearing it would bring unnecessary trouble to Wei Yun.
Because she knew his situation, there might be many eyes secretly watching this Imperial Advisor’s house.
When night fell, fireworks were already lighting up outside the courtyard walls of the Imperial Advisor’s house.
Under the deep night, clusters of sparks burst open, disappearing in an instant, and new fireworks soared into the sky and exploded, as if burning thousands of miles of clouds.
The banquet was set in the main hall of the courtyard.
A very wide table, besides the still boiling copper pot, was filled with delicious and fragrant dishes, but at this moment, only Wei Yun, Xie Tao, and Sheng Yueqi were sitting there.
Xie Tao tried to get Wei Bo to sit down, but the old man was very stubborn, constantly muttering “It’s not appropriate, it’s not appropriate,” and kept moving back.
So Xie Tao looked at Wei Jing standing aside.
Wei Jing also hurriedly took a step back.
Even Shao Liyin moved back a bit.
“Alright, madam, they are all quite stubborn, one by one. You can’t persuade them,” Sheng Yueqi had already started using his chopsticks, dipping beef into the hot pot while speaking to her.
This era had not yet advanced to the modern society stage, with a still-present hierarchy, and such distinctions were deeply ingrained in many people’s minds, naturally difficult to unravel.
Wei Yun glanced at Xie Tao, seemed to ponder for a moment, then turned his head to look at Wei Bo standing by, “Set up a few more banquet tables in the courtyard, let everyone in the mansion join.”
Wei Bo was stunned for a moment, then quickly bowed and agreed.
This might have been the liveliest New Year’s Eve banquet in the history of the Imperial Advisor’s Mansion.
Before this, even the servants and guards knew that in the Imperial Advisor’s Mansion, there was no celebration of any festival.
It was always cold and quiet here, as if lacking the warmth and joy of festive fireworks.
But tonight, it was different.
At each banquet table, in the middle of the various dishes, a copper pot was placed, with its red broth bubbling, and just a sniff was enough to whet one’s appetite with its spicy and fresh aroma.
But none of them dared to start eating, the courtyard was so quiet that not even a voice could be heard.
Until Wei Bo came over and said, “The master said, tonight is New Year’s Eve, no need to stick to the usual customs, everyone start eating!”
Hearing Wei Bo’s words, the servants and guards looked at each other, and then unanimously glanced at the Imperial Advisor sitting in the hall.
Wei Jing was the first to start eating.
Then it was Wei Bo, who had just sat down, he also followed the young master Sheng’s example, picking up a thinly sliced raw beef and dipping it into the bubbling copper pot to cook.
For a moment, all eyes were on Wei Bo.
Seeing Wei Bo start eating, they also tentatively picked up their chopsticks and began to dip vegetables into the copper pot to cook.
The spicy taste stimulated everyone’s taste buds, and even though they were sweating from the heat, no one was willing to put down their chopsticks.
The wine on the table was still warm, everyone continued eating and drank some wine, finally daring to speak out loud.
Xie Tao, hearing the lively noises from the courtyard, couldn’t help but put down his chopsticks and looked down the steps of the hall, seeing several tables of people sitting in the courtyard, with steam swirling above the copper pots, under the light of several lamps, illuminating many of their faces.
When had there ever been such a moment in the Imperial Advisor’s Mansion?
Even Shao Liyin, who was dressed as a man sitting among the guards, couldn’t help but be slightly dazzled by such a scene.
“Aren’t you eating?” Wei Jing held up the freshly blanched beef, dipped it in a bowl mixed with sesame oil, minced garlic, crushed peanuts, chili flakes, and chopped green onions, and then fed it into his mouth.
Shao Liyin gave him a cold glance.
“…”
Chewing on the meat, Wei Jing wanted to explain the day’s events, his mind still on the slap he received, his face still a bit sore.
He was quite angry.
Especially when he caught a glimpse of a certain guard sitting opposite him, smiling in a mocking manner, Wei Jing kicked him under the table with a stern face.
Eating away, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sentimental.
These people, who licked blood from their knives, how long had it been since they had such a lively New Year’s Eve dinner.
At that moment, the sky outside the courtyard was still bursting with colorful fireworks, the sounds entering one’s ears, as if those falling sparks touched everyone’s heart.
At least for now, no one was unhappy.
Xie Tao placed the blanched meat into Wei Yun’s bowl, urging him to eat quickly.
Wei Yun glanced at the bowl filled with sesame oil, hesitated for a moment, then picked up the chopsticks as told and fed the meat into his mouth.
“Is it delicious?” she asked eagerly.
It was so spicy he could hardly speak.
He silently finished eating, gently nodding his head as a response.
Then he picked up a tea cup and took a sip, slightly alleviating the spiciness.
Although it was very spicy, Wei Yun couldn’t deny that this kind of taste stimulation was hard to put down.
Even when dining, his every posture was always elegant and proper, unhurried, like a painting.
After all, the Wei family was once a glorious family of honor, and even though he was just a descendant of the third branch, his conduct was still bound by etiquette within such a large family.
And his father, Wei Changning, in order to enable him to survive better in the Wei family, was even stricter in teaching him, not allowing any missteps.
Sheng Yueqi, on the other hand, seemed much more casual, but he always habitually arranged his bowls and dishes neatly in front of him.
This was his OCD.
Xie Tao was so captivated watching Wei Yun eat.
Until Wei Yun curled his knuckles and gently tapped her forehead.
She covered her forehead, chuckled dryly, her cheeks getting a bit hot, and quickly picked up her chopsticks to eat the vegetables in front of her.
Wei Yun saw her burying her head in eating, her cheeks puffed out, looking a bit like a small animal.
His eyes softened with laughter.
Then he reached out, picking up a piece of braised meat and putting it into her bowl.
Xie Tao saw the braised meat suddenly appearing in her bowl, she looked up to see Wei Yun already lowering his eyelids, sipping from his wine cup on his own.
She couldn’t help but chuckle foolishly, lowering her head to bite into the braised meat.
“…”
Sheng Yueqi suddenly felt a bit full.
The hotpot in front of him lost its appeal, the alcohol no longer enticing, overwhelmed by the excessive display of affection, he felt stuffed.
“Could you pour me some?”
Xie Tao suddenly held up her empty wine glass, looking eagerly at Wei Yun.
Wei Yun, however, remembered how she had been when she was drunk before. He frowned and said, “You can’t drink.”
“But it’s Chinese New Year’s Eve,” Xie Tao pleaded, moving the wine glass closer to him, her round almond eyes looking at him, “Just one glass, okay?”
Sheng Yueqi couldn’t stand it any longer. “My lord, just let the young lady have a little. Today is New Year’s Eve, a day when it’s customary to drink.”
Wei Yun glanced down at Xie Tao’s hopeful eyes, a hint of helplessness showing in his own.
Then, he reached out and poured Xie Tao a glass of wine.
Xie Tao’s eyes curved into a smile as she held up her glass, saying, “Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year,” Sheng Yueqi raised his glass to Xie Tao, his eyes and eyebrows filled with smiles.
