February 209 BC

When the first one of the year fell, Mrs. Zhang began to buy New Year's goods. Today I make bacon and tomorrow I make bacon, and I am busy in the kitchen with Aunt Li every day. I offered her help, but she thought I was too delicate and wouldn't let me interfere.

I once told Mrs. Zhang that Xinzheng's winter is not as cold as Xianyang, and she smiled and said that it is not the warm weather here, but your heart. I did not deny Mrs. Zhang's words, nor did I deny that this warmth was probably because of the little nostalgia in my heart.

I spend the winter days in Xianyang in the palace, although I have plenty of clothes, charcoal and Xiao Xu's company, but whenever the footsteps echo in the empty palace, I am always easy to make a little lonely. After sixteen years, except for Changxi the year before last and Wuyi last year, the New Year's Festival is just a festival for me and Xiaoxu. No matter how red the lanterns are and how loud the firecrackers are, the coldness of Xianyang City makes us unable to smell a trace of cordiality.

I still remember the look on my face when I heard my feelings about the New Year, a little surprise, and a deep pity. At that time, we were strolling in the garden of Zhao Palace, but the sky suddenly fell with snow. The snow was not big, but it was as fine as catkins, and it fell on the face, and it didn't take long for it to melt.

Changxi reached out and gently patted the snowflakes on my head for me, squeezed my cold hand, and said softly, "It's snowing, let's go back." ”

I know that Changxi doesn't like snow because he always has an umbrella on a snowy day. I laughed at him for it, and even shoved a snowball into his palm. But he was never annoyed, but moved the umbrella more than half above my head, and said with a smile: "Look at your quiet and gentle appearance, you can do such a child-like thing." ”

He was undoubtedly gentle, his gentleness crept up my heart like a vine, and when I realized his importance, I realized that the vine had already wrapped my heart in layers. Changxi is also cunning in the end, he spent a year to seal me in the palm of his hand, no matter where he goes, I will always remember, worry, throw away, forget, forget, have to wait, wait for him to come back and take me away, or wait for him to cut off this vine with his own hands. Maybe it was the vines that were too tightly wrapped, so Wu Yi didn't know where to start.

Thinking like this, I really thought of Wu Yi.

Mature but childish, domineering but gentle, Wu Yi is undoubtedly changing, from a self-enclosed suspicious prince, to more flesh and blood, feelings, and temperature.

Wu Yi hadn't seen Changxi, but his hostility towards Changxi was something I could smell out. He will often test me, for example, whether he has bought me the new jewelry rouge changxi that he bought me, and for example, whether he has accompanied me to see the peach blossom changxi that he took me to enjoy, if I say no, he will definitely say proudly: "Arou, you see, these are all I gave you, although he took the lead, but the benefits cannot be all for him." You have to remember, I brought you here first, and the next time you see it, you must think of me!"

Now, I have lost the news of those two people at the same time, leaving me feeling lonely. But even if I am lonely, my life still has to go on.

Zhang Liang has been in retreat every day since he returned, and I once went to his room to deliver tea, only to see a book spread out on the desk, and many black and white chess pieces next to it.

"Sir, are you studying chess?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Do you think this looks like a chess game?" he asked me, pointing to the pieces on the table, with a faint smile in his eyes.

"If I'm to be honest, I think the arrangement of the pieces is more like a formation than a game. ”

"Oh, how can you see it?" Zhang Liang's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and he asked, "How can you, a woman who grew up in the deep palace, be able to see such a mystery?"

"Originally, when I was still in Afang Palace, I would use chess pieces to arrange patterns before every rehearsal, and then I would direct the dancers to practice. I'm ashamed to say that this method was not something I came up with, but a ...... A friend. I poured tea for him, sat down, and asked, "Mr. Zhang, is it just to study these formations in retreat day and night?"

"It's no ordinary formation. Zhang Liang turned the book to the title page, pointed to the two big characters on the title page, and said: "This is a gift from heaven, and it is a treasure to save my Korean people, water and fire." ”

"Sushu?" I thought about it and asked again, "Isn't it from Mr. Zhang?"

"Definitely. Although I have studied under Confucianism, Confucianism emphasizes 'self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and leveling the world', and advocates concentrating on study and not involving politics. Zhang Liang seemed to sneer, "While saying 'the people are precious, the society is secondary, and the monarch is light', but on the other hand, he is saying 'not in his position, not seeking his own government', which is really a contradictory knowledge." ”

I didn't know much about Confucianism, so I didn't speak.

"But I can teach you the method of second-class formation, I think your friend must also know how to use soldiers, but he is not an ordinary person. In my reasoning, he was either behind the door or ...... It is the prince and the grandson. I...... Did you guess right?"

"Nothing escapes the eyes of the gentleman. I smiled wryly, "He's really not an ordinary person." He is the son of Dan, the prince of Yan State, and was adopted and raised by the Qin family of Yan State. ”

"I see. Zhang Liang understood, he looked at me, as if he saw something in my eyes, so he did not continue the topic, but kicked me out on the pretext of reading a book.

The days continued to pass, and when the white plum in the yard bloomed, the son of the Zhang family finally returned.

On the day he came back, I was sitting in the room with Dan'er in my arms, telling her stories and roasting sweet potatoes over a charcoal fire. She curled up in my arms in a large floral jacket and fell asleep after a while.

The courtyard suddenly became lively, as if a guest had arrived.

I carried the sleeping Dan'er to the bed and settled down, and then carefully pushed open the door of the bamboo house.

The "creaking" sound of the door was particularly clear in the courtyard, and the son, who had turned his back to me, turned his head when he heard the sound, and his eyes trembled for a moment when he met me.

This Zhang Gongzi is only two decades old, and his appearance is similar to Zhang Liang, handsome and elegant, with a bookish atmosphere, just like his father.

I stepped on the snow and walked in front of him, gently blessed my body, and said lightly: "Welcome Zhang Gongzi home, it is the snow that I stayed here to stay, if it causes any inconvenience, I hope Gongzi will bear with me in the future." ”

Zhang Gongzi came back to his senses at this time, and hurriedly said to me: "What is the princess talking about, you can stay in Zhang's house, it is really an honor for the Zhang family, and it is full of brilliance!"

"Okay, it's cold enough, and I'm going to have to come and greet here. Mrs. Zhang patted the snow off his shoulder and said with a smile, "Let's go into the house first." ”

Zhang Gongzi's return home made the entire Zhang family lively, Aunt Li was busy killing chickens and sheep, and housekeeper Zhang Fu was busy cleaning his room. Zhang Liang, who has been closed, has a hard time getting out of the pass, and Mrs. Zhang, who is usually moody, is also smiling, and even the naughty Dan'er is pestering her brother every day and letting her brother take her out to play.

And when I looked at the happy appearance of this family, I couldn't help but curl the corners of my mouth slightly.

I think it's going to be a warm year.