By the time the Winter Solstice arrived, it had grown dark early.
For a minor festival like this, the consorts in the palace who had nothing better to do would always find ways to gather together and hold a banquet. Mingluan Palace was especially lively around this time every year, but this year, Consort Shu had declined all the invitations.
As soon as dusk fell, she summoned the three children in the palace to the main hall to eat dumplings together.
The palace maids and eunuchs who were not on duty that day also came in to attend them. The spacious and magnificent main hall was especially lively today.
As soon as the three of them entered, Consort Shu generously rewarded each of them with a sachet, all of them filled with pearls.
Jun Huailang handed his sachet to Fuyi to keep and said with a smile to Consort Shu, “Aunt, what a coincidence. Linghuan and I also have a sachet to give you.”
Hearing this, Consort Shu lazily and coquettishly raised her brows.
“Bring it over and let me have a look. I’ve seen plenty of good things, you know. You’re not allowed to fob me off with some ordinary trinket.”
“It’s certainly not an ordinary trinket.”
Jun Huailang smiled and reached a hand toward Fuyi. Fuyi also smiled brightly as she handed the sachets she was carrying to Jun Huailang.
Among the pile of sachets, the one on top had clearly taken the most effort, and several little beads had even been sewn onto it.
But the embroidery itself was truly difficult to look at. The stitches were crude, and the patterns on it were crooked and uneven.
“This is the sachet Linghuan embroidered for you, Aunt. Have a look.”
Jun Huailang smiled as he handed it over to Consort Shu.
“She spent quite a few days embroidering it. This is the prettiest one, and she made it especially for you.”
The moment Consort Shu saw the crooked little object, she immediately burst into laughter.
“With these embroidery stitches, one glance is enough to tell she’s a daughter of the Jun family.”
She tugged off the hollow-carved golden incense-ball hanging at her waist and casually tossed it to the nearest palace maid.
“It’s yours.”
Then she tied the sachet Jun Linghuan had made onto her waist and said with a smile, “Tomorrow I’ll wear this when I go before His Majesty. I’ll make sure the Emperor praises Linghuan’s embroidery skills too.”
“There are still more.”
Amused by her action, Jun Huailang laughed and took all the remaining sachets from Fuyi, personally distributing them among the palace maids and eunuchs around them.
The one pressed at the very bottom had been concealed beneath his sleeve. He quietly held onto it until the very end, when he finally handed it to Diancui.
“This was personally made by Linghuan, and she also chose the fragrance herself. No one is allowed to dislike it.”
Jun Huailang said it half-jokingly with a smile.
Beside him, Consort Shu also joined in with a laugh.
“Did everyone hear that? You must wear it every day. Anyone who dares take it off will be punished by me.”
For a moment, laughter filled the palace hall.
The eunuchs and palace maids around them had already received generous rewards from Consort Shu, and now they had also received little gifts personally made by the young mistress. One after another, they smiled and thanked her for the favor.
“I see you have one too,” Consort Shu suddenly said. “Did you give one to Xue Yan?”
She deliberately spoke in a careless tone, but Jun Huailang immediately understood that Consort Shu was expressing concern for him, afraid that he might have left Xue Yan out.
“Of course I did,” Jun Huailang said.
Consort Shu continued teasing him.
“You really did? Don’t try to fool me. Take it out and let me see.”
Jun Huailang smiled.
That sachet was the very one he wore every day. Even Xue Yunhuan had never seen him wearing it, so where was he supposed to get it for Consort Shu to see?
He was just about to answer when he saw Xue Yan, who had been sitting silently beside them all this time, raise his hand.
He lifted the hem of his dark robe, revealing the dark-colored sachet tucked against it and holding it up for Consort Shu to see.
It was another ugly-looking sachet, with especially crude stitches. When he lifted it, the fragrance pellets inside even came trickling out.
Jun Huailang froze.
Then he looked at Xue Yan again.
Xue Yan calmly lowered his robe, his expression completely natural, as though he had no idea he was wearing something so ugly.
Jun Huailang suddenly felt warmth spread through his heart.
This person looked cold and icy, and was extremely solitary, yet he was still gentle by nature. He would silently treat people well without ever saying so.
Perhaps he truly regarded Jun Linghuan as his own younger sister, just as Jun Huailang did.
Over there, Consort Shu, who had merely been joking, was also stunned. After a moment, she looked at Xue Yan a few more times.
“I didn’t expect you to take this to heart.”
Her tone had already softened considerably.
Not long afterward, palace servants brought out steaming hot dumplings.
The dumplings had been made in Consort Shu’s private kitchen. They were delicately shaped and came with many different fillings. Small and exquisite, they sent wisps of steam rising into the air as they were arranged on gilded plates.
The palace maids set the dumplings and seasonings neatly on the table before standing respectfully to the side.
Consort Shu picked up her ivory chopsticks and beckoned everyone to begin.
“Come, eat while they’re still hot.”
As she spoke, she picked one up herself and said with a smile, “This year’s custom is the same as in previous years. We’ll see who has the better luck.”
Hearing this, Jun Linghuan became excited as well. She gripped her chopsticks and awkwardly picked up a dumpling, stuffing it into her mouth.
Just as she was about to pick up a second one, the dumpling in her mouth was so hot that she began blowing air through her mouth.
Jun Huailang was amused into laughter. He told her to slow down while skillfully mixing her dipping sauce for her.
The Jun family had always had a custom: whenever they ate dumplings during festivals like this, they would hide copper coins inside the dumplings. Whoever ate the copper coin would have good luck for the entire coming year.
Although it was merely meant as an auspicious gesture, it always made the family’s dumpling meals lively and entertaining.
In previous years, whenever Jun Huailang ate dumplings, he would first poke them with his chopsticks. If he found a copper coin, he would pretend not to notice and place it into Jun Linghuan’s bowl.
This year was no different.
After preparing Jun Linghuan’s dipping sauce, he picked up a dumpling and poked it in his bowl.
It was soft and yielding, and his chopsticks immediately pierced through to the bottom.
With his extensive experience, Jun Huailang knew there was nothing inside this dumpling.
After eating several more, Jun Huailang picked up another dumpling and lightly poked it.
He immediately felt the hard touch of metal inside.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly.
He picked up the dumpling and was about to place it into Jun Linghuan’s bowl.
Just then, the corner of his eye caught sight of Xue Yan quietly eating on the side.
Silent and still, he seemed almost unable to blend into the warm and lively atmosphere around him.
Jun Huailang’s movement paused.
He thought of everything he had personally witnessed regarding Xue Yan since entering the palace.
Then he thought of the sachet with the leaking fragrance pellets that Xue Yan had silently revealed just moments ago.
Even now, although Mingluan Palace had accepted him, he still seemed like an outsider, standing beyond the merriment and watching them.
His luck seemed to be a little better than it had been in his previous life, but he was still lonely and quiet, as though he had been separated from everyone else.
Almost without thinking, he picked up the dumpling and placed it into Xue Yan’s bowl.
He thought to himself that the good luck represented by this copper coin was supposed to last for an entire year.
One for the Winter Solstice and one for New Year’s Eve—there would be just enough to divide between him and Linghuan.
If he could truly give some of that good fortune to Xue Yan, that would be the best thing of all.
A dumpling suddenly appeared in Xue Yan’s bowl.
He looked up and saw Jun Huailang smiling at him, his eyes curved warmly as he gave him a faint smile beneath the brilliant lantern light.
“Don’t just eat what’s in front of you. This filling is good too. Try it,” Jun Huailang said.
Xue Yan lowered his eyes and saw the steaming dumpling in his bowl, white as jade and delicately adorable.
He looked at Jun Huailang again.
There was a hint of expectation in his eyes, bright and sparkling, as though he were waiting to see him eat it.
Jun Huailang usually possessed a maturity far beyond his years and rarely showed such a lively, radiant expression.
Xue Yan’s mind was still blank when his chopsticks moved first, putting the dumpling into his mouth.
The next moment, Jun Huailang saw him frown.
“What’s wrong?” Jun Huailang hurriedly asked.
Xue Yan frowned without speaking.
After a moment, he spat out a gleaming copper coin.
“It’s nothing. The cook must have made a mistake.”
He frowned at the copper coin, then casually placed it on the tabletop.
Jun Linghuan gave a soft cry of surprise.
“Ah! Fifth Imperial Brother, you ate the good fortune!”
Xue Yan paused.
“What good fortune?”
Jun Linghuan pointed at the copper coin with her finger.
“It’s right there!”
Beside them, Consort Shu smiled as she explained, “It’s a custom in our family. We put a copper coin inside one of the dumplings. Whoever eats the copper coin will have good luck throughout the coming year.”
Xue Yan paused.
His gaze fell upon the copper coin on the table.
Then he heard Jun Huailang say, sounding rather regretful, “If I’d known that dumpling had the copper coin inside, I wouldn’t have given it to you.”
Xue Yan looked up at Jun Huailang.
Jun Huailang’s face wore an expression of reluctance, but his eyes were brimming with laughter.
The little peacock had done it deliberately, specifically placing this so-called “good fortune” into his bowl.
Xue Yan had never believed in gods or Buddhas, so naturally, he would not believe in this little trick either.
But as he looked at the brilliant smile in Jun Huailang’s eyes, he knew that the other person hoped this copper coin would bring him good luck. He hoped to give this auspicious blessing to him.
…Perhaps the little peacock didn’t know that meeting him was already the greatest stroke of good luck he had ever received. Why would he need this copper coin too?
Beside them, Consort Shu was still laughing as she poked Jun Huailang on the forehead.
“How can you be so stingy? Once you’ve given it away, how can you regret it? It seems this good fortune was meant to belong to Xue Yan. Otherwise, how could it have happened so coincidentally?”
Jun Linghuan also pretended to be solemn as she nodded.
“Brother can’t be stingy!”
Hearing this, Jun Huailang smiled and gently stroked the top of Jun Linghuan’s head.
“Aunt is right. Your nephew has learned his lesson.”
The heated dragon-shaped stove kept the room wonderfully warm, while steam from the dumplings filled the entire hall.
Xue Yan looked at the lively and warm scene before him. Everyone’s faces were filled with smiles, and for a moment, he was somewhat dazed.
He had long grown accustomed to contempt and cold looks.
He had never imagined that he, too, could be accepted by a world filled with light.
And he knew that everything he had now had been given to him by Jun Huailang.
Consort Shu’s main hall was magnificent and resplendent. Brilliant lantern light reflected off pearls, jade, and golden vessels, illuminating Jun Huailang’s smile until it seemed especially bright.
That warmth left a burning imprint upon Xue Yan’s heart.
His heart began to pound, so violently that even his eardrums seemed to resonate with it.
A passionate emotion, one that left him somewhat flustered, accumulated in his chest, making his blood burn hotter than ever before.
His hand unconsciously fell upon the copper coin and closed tightly around it.
As though trying to soothe the sudden impulse that had arisen within him—
the urgent desire to possess something, and then hide it away so securely that no one else could ever find it.