Zheng Guangde brought several young eunuchs to run around the front courtyard setting off firecrackers. Consort Shu sat beneath the veranda in front of the main hall, watching them, with a thick fur blanket draped over her legs. Seeing that Consort Shu was in an excellent mood from being entertained, the eunuchs became even more enthusiastic, lighting one string after another. From the moment the sky grew light, the sound of firecrackers had not stopped.
Crackling and popping, one burst followed another. Shreds of red paper from the explosions scattered everywhere, densely covering the snow-covered ground.
Early in the morning, the entire palace was most lively at Mingluan Palace.
Baiji stood beside Consort Shu and poured her a cup of hot tea to warm her body. The little palace maid beside them teased with a smile, “Everyone waits until New Year’s Eve to set off firecrackers. Only our palace starts early.”
Consort Shu sat in a chair covered with tiger fur and gave a leisurely, coquettish hum.
“Of course I can set them off whenever I want. Even if it isn’t a festival, if I want to watch firecrackers, who would dare stop me?”
Everyone around her naturally laughed and echoed her words, praising Consort Shu until her face was filled with festive cheer.
Before long, Jun Huailang led Jun Linghuan out of the East Side Hall and came over to Consort Shu. Consort Shu ordered someone to bring a table, chairs, and snacks for them, asking them to sit beside her and watch the festivities together.
“How did Aunt know that Linghuan loves watching firecrackers the most?” Jun Linghuan happily nestled against Consort Shu’s side.
Consort Shu smiled and ruffled her hair.
“How could I not know? Tonight, there will be fireworks in the palace too. When the time comes, have your brother take you up to a high tower to watch.”
The moment Jun Linghuan heard about the fireworks, her eyes lit up. She nodded repeatedly at Consort Shu.
“Okay!”
Upon hearing this, however, Jun Huailang glanced toward the West Side Hall.
Today, Mingluan Palace was decorated with lanterns and colorful silk. Red silk and lanterns hung everywhere, while the front courtyard was covered with bright red fragments from firecrackers, full of warmth and merriment.
The West Side Hall, however, remained just as it usually was, its doors and windows tightly shut.
He did not know that inside the West Side Hall, there was absolute silence at that moment.
Through the tightly closed doors and windows, the sound of firecrackers outside could faintly be heard, lively and festive. Jinbao knelt before Xue Yan, not daring even to breathe too loudly.
Xue Yan held a secret letter in his hand.
Jinbao had hurried to Xiding Gate early that morning to retrieve it. During his night watch yesterday, he had seen a signal sent from the entrance of Xiding Gate. The signal had come from Xue Yan’s death warriors. Normally, aside from their regular exchanges, whenever there was an urgent report from outside the palace, they would send this kind of signal in the direction of Xiding Gate.
Thus, early that morning, Jinbao had complained and cursed all the way as he braved the freezing wind of New Year’s Eve to make a trip to Xiding Gate.
Serving this master with his life was truly too miserable.
However, the moment he received the secret letter, Jinbao could no longer curse.
“This letter concerns the cause of His Highness’s birth mother’s death,” the death warrior had said when handing it to Jinbao. “Do not say anything. Just bring the letter back.”
Jinbao had obediently agreed.
After bringing the letter back, he saw his master silently reading it, without moving for a long time.
Jinbao muttered inwardly, feeling that his master truly had it rough. Who would have thought that someone would receive the cause of his mother’s death right in the middle of the New Year celebrations?
Jinbao felt somewhat sympathetic, but more than that, he was nervous.
His master did not look to be in a very good mood. Who knew whether he might take his anger out on this servant?
Jinbao waited anxiously for a long time, occasionally finding an opportunity to sneak a glance at him. After a while, he heard Xue Yan let out a light, airy laugh.
“Wu Shunhai. You really are something.”
Xue Yan’s voice was low and hoarse, slow and unhurried, disappearing into the crackling sound of the firecrackers outside.
He slowly folded the letter, brought it to the candle flame that had not yet burned out, and burned it away little by little.
This Consort Yi had truly given him quite a surprise.
They had originally discovered that she had an illicit relationship with the Lingta Lang of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, so his death warriors had followed the trail, hoping to uncover more useful information.
They had never expected that after finding only one useful piece of information, they would make another discovery.
Back then, during the several years surrounding the death of his mother, Consort Yi had been in contact with the Eastern Depot.
It turned out that Wu Shunhai had been bribed by Consort Yi and had administered poison to his mother. Because the dosage had not been properly controlled, his life had been spared.
However, Consort Yi had still kept her promise. After the deed was done, she had protected Wu Shunhai, the man who had killed her master, and secured him a position in the Eastern Depot.
Now, Wu Shunhai had climbed to a high position within the Eastern Depot. In an attempt to revive the Eastern Depot, he had come to Xue Yan with tears and snot streaming down his face, claiming that for the sake of his master from the old days, he wanted to protect and support him.
This rootless eunuch really was quite capable.
He must have thought that Xue Yan would never know, even until the day he died, that this old servant who was trying to curry favor with him was actually the murderer of his birth mother.
Xue Yan smiled lightly.
He had never seen his mother. He had grown up in military camps from childhood and had no real concept of such things as “family” or “relatives.”
He merely felt that being toyed with by an old eunuch was rather interesting. He wanted to cross wits with him, slowly tormenting the old servant to death and teaching him what kind of person he should never have provoked.
Jinbao cautiously glanced at him.
With the doors and windows shut, the room was still somewhat dim. The flickering candlelight illuminated his master’s face, making him look especially sinister. In particular, that gaze fixed upon the flames was cold and vicious enough to make Jinbao’s hair stand on end.
Was it… because of his mother’s death?
He cautiously offered a word of consolation.
“Master, the dead are gone. You needn’t grieve too much. It’s the New Year, after all. You should be a little happier…”
Xue Yan raised his eyes and looked at him.
There was not the slightest trace of sorrow in those eyes.
Instead, they held a bloodthirsty excitement, sinister and terrifying, resembling a jackal that had caught the scent of blood.
Jinbao shuddered inwardly.
Sure enough, he should never have used the thinking of an ordinary person to judge this master of his, who was practically a living Yama.
Having said the wrong thing, Jinbao hurriedly tried to find a way to make up for it.
His eyes darted around. After searching the room, they immediately locked onto Xue Yan’s pillow.
“Master! Today is New Year’s Eve. You should wear the jade pendant His Highness the Heir gave you! It’s a koi fish—so festive!”
Jinbao hurriedly spoke.
Sure enough, those amber eyes froze.
Then, like clouds dispersing and mist clearing, the bloodlust and viciousness contained within them gradually faded.
“Mm. Bring it here.”
He heard Xue Yan order.
Jinbao had finally figured out the trick.
This master was covered in reverse scales; no one was allowed to touch any of them.
The only place where one could safely stroke him the right way was anything related to His Highness the Heir.
It made sense, too.
That living Bodhisattva who saved and helped others could even redeem a vicious ghost like this one.
Seeing this, Jinbao hurriedly ran over to Xue Yan’s bed like an obsequious dog, retrieved the red envelope pressed beneath his pillow, and handed it over with both hands.
Sure enough, his master did not refuse.
He even left the half-burned secret letter on the table and lowered his head to put on the jade pendant.
A translucent celadon jade koi, lustrous and gentle, looked rather incongruous hanging from Xue Yan’s body. It was almost like the King of Hell wearing Buddhist robes—no matter how one looked at it, it seemed strangely mismatched.
Yet perhaps it was only an illusion, but the warm glow of the celadon jade seemed to reflect back into Xue Yan’s cold, fierce eyes.
Even those emotionless amber eyes seemed to take on a few traces of warmth and clear, lustrous gentleness.
Jinbao spaced out for a moment, then hurriedly and obsequiously stepped forward to burn the remaining half of the secret letter for Xue Yan.
Only then did Xue Yan spare some attention for him.
He remembered the other two pieces of information in the secret letter.
One said that no one in Consort Yi’s palace knew about her relationship with the Lingta Lang. The two of them had always exchanged information by having Consort Yi use the pretext of worshiping Buddha, then meeting the Lingta Lang on the small path behind the Buddhist hall, beside the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.
The second said that Jinbao’s birth mother had contracted a lung illness. She had no money for treatment, and they were asking Xue Yan how it should be handled.
Xue Yan lowered his head and fiddled with the celadon jade koi at his side.
“In a while, go to the storehouse yourself and draw out some silver.”
As he toyed with the koi at his waist, rubbing it absently in his hand, he said indifferently, “Take as much as you need. Send it home to your mother for her medical treatment.”
Jinbao froze.
His family had only sent a letter into the palace a few days ago, saying that his mother had been coughing rather badly these past two days and asking him to send some silver home.
But Jinbao was not well-off and could not spare the money. He had intended to wait until after the New Year, when he received his rewards, and then send it all home together.
He had never expected that his master even knew about this.
His family did not know about the existence of those death warriors. He had originally thought that his family was merely using the matter as a means of coercion, but he had never imagined that even something like this would be reported to the palace.
…And that his master would even take the time to help him.
For the first time, Jinbao felt that he was not merely a tool to be discarded after use, but someone whom they regarded as one of their own.
His eyes immediately grew hot. He knelt on the ground and said,
“This servant thanks Master on behalf of my mother!”
Xue Yan merely glanced at him, paying it no attention whatsoever.
He had simply thought of Little Peacock just now.
He had suddenly realized that if Little Peacock knew about this matter, he would certainly find every possible way to have Jinbao’s mother treated.
Although Xue Yan himself had no interest in such things, for some reason, he did not particularly want to do anything that went against Little Peacock’s wishes.
It was only a little money, after all. It was a matter of saying one sentence.
He stood up, walked around Jinbao, who was kneeling on the floor with tears of gratitude, and went to the mirror to look at himself from the side.
Most of his clothes were dark in color, and his temperament was cold and heavy. The jade pendant did not look particularly suitable on him.
But Xue Yan stared at the pendant for a while, and a smile appeared on his face.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Xue Yan glanced at Jinbao.
Jinbao hurriedly scrambled to his feet and ran to open the door.
The moment the door opened, the lively sound of firecrackers poured inside.
Jun Huailang stood at the doorway wearing a soft-red cloak. He smiled faintly, and even his normally cool and distant face was tinged with a touch of New Year’s cheer.
“Is His Highness the Fifth Prince here?” Jun Huailang asked with a smile. “Aunt called him to go watch the firecrackers together.”
The moment Xue Yan heard this, he knew that Jun Huailang had certainly come on his own.
He always projected his own thoughts onto Consort Shu. Every time, his excuses were painfully clumsy, yet he always believed Xue Yan could not see through them.
But Xue Yan said nothing. He simply pulled his cloak over with one hand and walked forward.
“I’m coming.”
He stopped in front of Jun Huailang.
“You’re wearing the jade pendant?”
The moment he came closer, Jun Huailang immediately noticed the jade pendant at his side. He looked it over several times and smiled.
“It really suits you. My taste is indeed excellent.”
“I also have something to give you.”
As Xue Yan spoke, he took a red envelope from his sleeve and said somewhat awkwardly,
“Happy New Year.”
Jinbao, standing nearby, immediately noticed it.
Unlike the red envelopes containing silver or gold ingots, whose shapes were clearly defined, this red envelope was perfectly flat and astonishingly thick.
Jinbao could tell at a glance that the red envelope was filled with banknotes.
He had helped Xue Yan organize his storehouse before and therefore knew roughly how much money his master had on hand.
…Judging from the thickness, it seemed that aside from the money he had kept aside to support his death warriors, this master had already emptied nearly his entire private treasury, leaving almost nothing behind.