Very quickly, there was only Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu left in the hall, the charcoal stove making faint crackling noises as it burned on. The wind lowly howled outside the hall, and the heavy snow fell in a flurry, the accumulated snow reflecting the bright-white moonlight in the darkness of the night. The entire Marshall’s mansion had actually become so silent not even a peep was heard.
”I had thought my estate was already desolate enough, I didn’t expect that your place would be sparse to this extent.” Su Shiyu suddenly spoke.
”I don’t usually celebrate any festivals.” Chu Mingyun laughed lowly, and casually said: “I don’t need people to serve me, so I let all the servants leave. I have no family of my own, so what need is there to break up the reunions of those with families.”
Su Shiyu nodded, but did not speak, off-handedly tossing him the orange he’d finished peeling.
Chu Mingyun raised his brows and this sight, but didn’t stretch out his hand to receive it, saying as he looked at Su Shiyu: “Is Master Su taking me for a three-year old child, that one orange would be enough to coax me?”
”……” Su Shiyu lowered his eyes toward the half-peeled orange in his other hand, and tossed it over as well.
Chu Mingyun’s smile deepened, wrinkling his brow as he said: “Don’t tell me it’s okay if it’s two?”
”It’s fine if you don’t want to eat.” Su Shiyu retracted his hands.
”Who says I’ll not eat?” Chu Mingyun grabbed his hand in one move. Su Shiyu laughed softly, and unexpectedly didn’t pull away.
The sounds of the wind outside the hall gradually faded, the snow fell soundlessly, and one could hear the bells on the eaves tinkling softly, intermingling with the crisp sounds of ice suddenly falling from beneath the eaves.
Chu Mingyun tore away a segment of orange, and suddenly thought of, “Right, that day you and His Majesty mentioned being confined to the Eastern Palace on New Year’s Eve, what’s that about?”
”It’s not really something worth mentioning.” Su Shiyu sighed softly.
”Master Su talking like this, makes me believe it’s all the more worth listening to.”
”……” Su Shiyu gave him a look, saying, “His Majesty has always been easily trusting of others, while he was yet the heir to the throne he accidentally said the wrong thing in front of a personal servant, giving someone material [to blackmail him with]. The previous emperor punished him with confinement to the Eastern Palace on the night of New Year’s Eve such that he was unable to join the banquet, and as his study partner I copied books throughout the night on his behalf, that’s all.”
Chu Mingyun couldn’t help tossing back a kumquat to him, in expression of sympathy.
Su Shiyu laughed looking him in the eye, paused for a moment, and then suddenly said: “Speaking of which, there’s something I’ve never found a good timing to tell you.”
”En?”
”The verdict on that case with Uncle, you should have seen it?”
”You’re talking about the concealment of the King of Huainan’s involvement?” Chu Mingyun said, “I can more or less guess what you’re trying to do.”
Su Shiyu turned his head to look at him in surprise, “You could guess?”
”Master Su,” Chu Mingyun sighed in lament, “Counting it altogether I’m at least someone who has been pursuing you for the better part of half a year, don’t you think I’d understand you a little?”
”Understand me a little?”
”That’s right, I can more or less guess your methods for doing this, but- -” Chu Mingyun supported his weight on a single hand, tilting to lead closer, the pure-white fingernails landing on that white lapel, he lightly tapped over Su Shiyu’s heart, saying lowly, “I can ‘t guess what you’re thinking right here.”
Su Shiyu’s figure slightly slid backward but didn’t dodge, lowering his eyes and looking at him he said, “What does Master Chu want to guess？”
Chu Mingyun laughed an extremely light sound, slowly saying, “There’s plenty I want to guess, for example what you think of me, and also for example,” He gradually lifted his eyelids, meeting Su Shiyu’s gaze head-on, “why you would come over tonight.”
In tandem with his words his fingers made several circles on the lapel; a force that was neither soft nor heavy passed over (Su Shiyu’s) heart*, his motions had slowed to the point of being ambiguous. Su Shiyu held down his hand, and said with a bland laugh: “Is the reason really so important?” (*心口：area of the chest where the heart is.)
”Naturally, it’s important.” Chu Mingyun’s brows curved with a smile, “Qin Zhao believes it was because of Du Yue, but I rather think that’s not the reason, but if so, don’t tell me you came for me?”
”I thought given Master Chu’s nature you would directly choose the latter reason.”
Chu Mingyun flipped his hand to hold it, staring him down into the depths of his eyes, “Answer me.”
But he didn’t know how to answer, after all even he himself was unsure why he’d suddenly made the decision to come by himself. Actually in this world not everything had a rhyme and reason, most of it is spurred by the heart’s whim borne in a moment, but if he said so Chu Mingyun would probably not believe it.
Su Shiyu sought his thoughts for a bit, retrieved his hands, and blandly smiled, “It’s exactly because of you.”
At the unexpected answer, Chu Mingyun was a bit stunned.
The warm glow of the charcoal fire illuminated the humour in his eyes. Su Shiyu posed a question back: “Don’t tell me Master Chu has forgotten, it was you who invited me in front of His Majesty?”
Chu Mingyun’s senses returned to him, and he lightly lifted the tips of his brows, “Of course I remember, that’s why I said–Master Su was lonely at night and hence came to see me?”
There was a bit of ambiguous feeling behind these words, Su Shiyu retrieved his glance and timely saved the direction of the conversation, “In any case, I’ve discussed it with His Majesty already, and decided that while hunting the titled nobility after court returns to session we’ll capture the King of Huainan. When that happens we’ll bring up the previous cases again.”
”It’s more or less what I’ve guessed, but what’s that got to do with me?”
”Closing Uncle’s case was for the sole sake of dispelling the King of Huainan’s guardedness. It couldn’t be helped that there were some loose ends; outsiders can tell there are many dubious points. Back then those evidence slandering you misguided many people, and rumours have spread from Fufeng County these few days, I’m afraid everyone has confirmed you as the true mastermind in their hearts.”
Chu Mingyun replied disinterestedly: “Even then, so what?”
”That’s why these days Master Chu will have to be wrongly bear others’ malignment of you, but you can rest easy, when the King of Huainan is brought to bear for his crimes I will definitely proclaim these things as slander to the world, restoring your innocence.”
”You also don’t need to do so, I don’t actually care how other people think of me.” Chu Mingyun laughed callously, “After all the most ignorant under the heavens are these normal civilians, why waste your breath explaining to them.”
Su Shiyu smiled faintly: “Even if Master Chu does not care, removing the suspicions on your behalf is also falls under my duties, I will definitely do it.”
Chu Mingyun tilted his head to stare at him for a moment, and then suddenly laughed lightly, not saying anything in reply.
Outside the hall the snowstorm had stopped without anyone realising, suddenly the robust gongs of a bell swept towards them like a wave, each sound followed by another, it had reached midnight. Firecracker sounds immediately resounded in a din, filling the sky with flying red fragments. An innumerable cluster of fireworks pushed their way into the deep ink of the night sky, blooming into all kinds of brilliant supernovas, the sounds of bustle waking up the late night.
”Hey,” Chu Mingyun’s eyes looked straight toward the exterior, suddenly speaking up: “Want to go out and light some fireworks to play with me?”
”Master Chu has even prepared fireworks?” Su Shiyu asked.
”I haven’t, but Du Yue bought some, and I know where he hid them.”
”You’re not afraid he’ll come after you once he wakes tomorrow?”
”It’ll be fine,” Chu Mingyun said, winking at him. “Just say I don’t know, didn’t see it, Du Yue doesn’t trust me, but he’ll definitely believe you.”
”And why would I help Master Chu deceive?” Su Shiyu laughed.
Chu Mingyun directly pulled Su Shiyu to walk out of the hall, “Because you are now an accomplice.”
That pile of fireworks was hidden in that corner, they brought over (the pile) to arrange it one-by-one properly, and only then realised that Du Yue had truly bought many kinds, such that there was one of everything.
Chu Mingyun lit up two torches, turning his head to look at Su Shiyu who was currently studying a firework that resembled a lotus lantern, “That one burns fast, you leave it for the very last.”
”En, is there anything else I need to keep in mind?”
Chu Mingyun thought for a while, “After lighting them remember to run over and hug me tight.”“
“……” Su Shiyu thought about it for a bit, “Why?”
”I’m worried that later the noise will be too loud and scare you ah.”
”……Master Chu is indeed thoughtful.”
Crimson trailed along with the fuse before flashing into the air, accompanied by a thunderous boom, beams of light being expelled into the heavens, and in the course of that big blooming fireworks fluoresced, the spots of splendor falling like a rain of stars; more beauty than one could take in. This spot of theirs was dark and silent, yet in other areas the night sky was glorious; the adjacent sounds of fireworks merging into a continuous crackling.
There was a child’s joyful laughter dashing along the alley, a thin and weak singing voice passing along the the carmine residence walls, penetrating the thin smoke that smelled of burning saltpeter, singing The Lil’ Crescent Moon lighting over Jiuzhou1,
a few families rejoiced while a few others were melancholy.
A few families rejoiced while a few others were melancholy, Su Shiyu recited in his heart, and could not help but laugh lightly. Amidst this festival, naturally there would also be a few lonely souls that would feel even more aggrieved. He turned his head to look, and discovered the other lonely soul had at some unknown point half-stooped beneath the plum blossom tree in the courtyard, and was currently absorbed in gathering up the snow.
Su Shiyu walked over and also squatted down, silently looking at his fine-boned hands balling up two globes of snow, suddenly laughing: “I’ll mold another for you to see.”
As soon as he’d said so he really did gather up a bunch of snow, molding out a rounded figure, pressing on a round head, then using his fingertips to carefully sculpt out two pointed ears. Su Shiyu was in the midst of looking for fallen petals suitable to serve as eyes, when Chu Mingyun who had all this while tilted his head to watch him suddenly stretched out his hand. Su Shiyu looked on puzzledly as his hand paused on the side of that head (of the snow figure), and with a twist of his fingers, immediately sent one ear flying.
”……” Su Shiyu watched Chu Mingyun intensely, only seeing him smile so deep his eyes curved into crescents, and with the upturn of the corner of his lips, excitedly also destroyed the other ear heartlessly, in such a symmetrical manner that even Su Shiyu didn’t know what to say.
So Su Shiyu didn’t say anything and emptily grasped a fist of loose transparent snow, and after considering it for a bit, stuffed it into Chu Mingyun’s completely unguarded collar.
Chu Mingyun’s reaction was already very fast, contact had just been made before he pulled away several feet, but he’d still got a neckful of ice. He squinted his eyes slightly, not caring to pat away the snow before deftly grabbing hold of Su Shiyu who was trying to get up and run. On the other hand Su Shiyu had yet to stand stably, and could not guard in time before he’d been pulled by (Chu Mingyun) and immediately his foot slipped. In that breath of a moment his thoughts took a precipitous spin; Su Shiyu suddenly no longer stabilised his position, but rather gripped back on Chu Mingyun’s arm, and with one pull also pulled him into the same boat2.
Just like that the two of them fell into the thick pile of accumulated snow without caring for appearances, and amidst the chaos of that collapse Chu Mingyun only had time to prop himself up with an arm to avoid crushing Su Shiyu’s torso under his. He then let out a breath in relief, and with somewhat complicated feelings was about to say something; when he looked down and met Su Shiyu’s eyes that deeply glinted with humour, and had a bad premonition.
In that next instant Su Shiyu reached out a hand to smack the the plum tree next to him. With a shake of that plum tree, the snow that had piled up on the branches fell as if blotting out the sky and covering the earth3, the red plum blossoms and snow falling profusely to pound over Chu Mingyun’s entire head and back, immediately chilling his whole body.
Chu Mingyun propped up a single hand next to Su Shiyu’s head, and with the other flicked away the snow at the back of his head, after which he looked at the handful of icy snow-water that’d melted, “Su Shiyu,” he said, “If it was someone else who did this, they’d already be buried alive in the snow by me.”
While flicking away the fallen snow a red plum petal brushed over Chu Mingyun’s temples as it drifted downward, as it leisurely landed over Su Shiyu’s eye. He smelled a hint of sandalwood amid the cold fragrance of the plum blossom, a corner of crimson dyeing his field of sight, whereas Chu Mingyun’s eyes were extremely close, that crow-coloured long hair dyed white with snow blown by the wind, hazing out the fireworks in the decadent night sky.
Su Shiyu took away a fallen plum flower, looking calm and unruffled as he lay in the snow and smiled: “If any random person could also make you so pathetic, I’m afraid Master Chu would have no face to meet others.” He again raised his hand, attentively wiping away the scattered snow on Chu Mingyun’s hair.
His fingertips had been slightly cold when they just made contact, but as they tread through the hair they were warmed up gradually, the extremely light and gentle movements causing his (CMY’s) scalp to tingle slightly.
Not waiting for Chu Mingyun to process that deeply, Su Shiyu then retrieved his hand, “Alright, let’s get up.”
”You can get up just because you want to get up?” Chu Mingyun laughed, eyes slightly curving into a squint, “C’mon, say something nice to hear.”
Su Shiyu pondered a moment, then said: “Many thanks to Master Chu for shielding me from all the snow.”
Chu Mingyun pinched his chin with one hand, both pairs of eyes meeting in a gaze, “Very good, you can cease thinking of ever getting up tonight.”
Su Shiyu smiled resignedly, thinking of how to resolve the situation at hand, and didn’t answer for a while.
Lanterns flickered in the red corridor, each sway illuminating the figures in the courtyard and casting shadows. Chu Mingyun held Su Shiyu’s chin, and his gaze unconsciously landed on those lips. The color of his lips was always a little bit paler, but at this moment who knew if it was because it was cold, or because of the backdrop of white snow beneath his body; it actually showed a bit of color, a dash of carmine showing in the line of his lips.
Chu Mingyun inexplicably bent down suddenly, as if it were work of supernatural beings4.
”……Master Chu?” A mild and gentle voice suddenly sounded with a bit of astonishment.
Chu Mingyun abruptly halted, meeting Su Shiyu’s eyes at a very close distance, and only then realising he’d been just about to kiss Su Shiyu, just falling short of a hairsbreadth distance at which he could feel the other’s breath.
He stood up as if startled awake, stepping a pace way and raising his hand to press at his glabella, and only then pulling Su Shiyu up.
Su Shiyu gave him a puzzled glance, which morphed into a laugh as if he took no notice of what happened.
After this (misfortunate) occurrence of tossing around the two’s clothing had been mostly soaked by the snow, and they returned to the hall where they sat opposite one another to slowly toast themselves dry. Chu Mingyun looked at Su Shiyu who was casually5 taking off his outer robe, and sighed at himself for losing his head over lust6, and determined not to think about what had just happened. He lazily straightened his torso, and suddenly uttered: “Right.”
”What?” Su Shiyu responded as he studied the drenched back of his robe.
”Actually, the mouse you molded just now was quite cute.” Chu Mingyun said.
”Thanks for over-complimenting blindly,” Su Shiyu gave him a look, “What I molded just now was a rabbit.”
“……Alright.”
T/N: This is actually where I wanted to stop last time, oops. Now I have a clearer idea of what’s going to happen to me, just that it won’t go how I originally planned. Did I take the coward’s way out? Maybe, but perhaps having an escape route is also a blessing.
1.月儿弯弯照九州 – a Jiangsu folk song. See above for a link to a karaoke version.
2. 拖下水 – although this literally translates to pull something into the water, it means to involve someone in your own troubles, therefore I translated it to the nearest english idiomatic equivalent.
3. 铺天盖地 – translated literally, but this idiom describes an earth-shattering event. RSWW is quite dramatic, hahah.
4.鬼使神差 – literally: the errands of gods and doing of ghostly assistants. (Basically CMY felt the force of the fandom compelling him to kiss SSY.)
5.云淡风轻 – a reference to a poem describing clear and fair weather. Not sure why it’s being used here but maybe the author thinks it means a casual manner?
6. 色令智昏 – idiom meaning that lust often cloud’s one’s intelligence. Also a way of calling someone sex-crazed.