Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Ice Lanterns

Su Qing could not help sighing softly. “Even paying New Year visits is no easy matter.”

“Indeed. Mother, I am starving. Hurry and bring me something to eat.”

Su Qing quickly slapped her hand lightly. “Pah, pah, pah. A child’s careless words are blown away by the wind. It is the New Year—you must not speak so recklessly.”

Mu Yunyao leaned against Su Qing’s shoulder with a bright smile. “Mother, I am so hungry I can hardly walk.”

“Go back to your room and sit down to rest. Mother will bring you something delicious at once.”

The night remained lively, but Yue Wang and Steward Qin could not properly continue staying at the Su Residence. At this moment, Jinxiu Garden was utterly quiet. Yue Wang stood at the doorway, listening to the noise drifting over from next door and watching fireworks blossom across the sky. For no reason, a faint loneliness rose within him.

Steward Qin came over with a cloak. “His Highness, the weather is cold. You must take special care.”

“Compared to Yuexi, this place is truly mild.” Though he said so, Yue Wang still accepted the cloak and draped it over himself, unwilling to make Steward Qin worry.

A smile entered Steward Qin’s eyes. “Spending New Year’s Eve at the Su Residence yesterday was truly lively. It was the first time this old servant felt so at ease.”

Yue Wang’s gaze softened for a brief moment. He had practiced martial arts for many years, and his hearing was far sharper than that of ordinary people. The study was not far from the neighboring residence, so he could clearly hear the movement from Mu Yunyao’s side. It seemed they were noisily making ice lanterns.

Steward Qin faintly caught a shout as well and could not help smiling as he suggested, “Back in Yuexi, this old servant once saw Yu Heng and Yu Yi carve ice lanterns. Why not have them make two later and send them to Miss Mu?”

Yue Wang’s eyes moved slightly. “What is there to see in ice lanterns?”

“Girls always like delicate, crystal-clear things. Miss Mu is naturally no exception. Over the past half year, Miss Mu has helped us greatly. Making some small trinkets to coax her into happiness is only proper.”

“No need.”

Steward Qin sighed with some regret. “Then we shall do as His Highness says and not trouble ourselves with it. I only wonder whether Miss Mu has anyone capable on her side, someone who can make ice lanterns to her liking.”

“Uncle Qin, it is late. You should go back and rest.”

“Very well. The weather is cold. His Highness should go inside early as well.”

Yue Wang nodded. After Steward Qin left, his gaze drifted involuntarily toward the neighboring courtyard. Fireworks were blooming there now. He wondered whether the ice lanterns had been finished.

Mu Yunyao had only thought of ice lanterns on a sudden whim. In her previous life, she had seen them at the lantern festival in the capital. Skilled craftsmen had carved ice into all sorts of shapes. The largest she had ever seen had been a lotus-shaped ice lantern, its petals layered one upon another, more than twice a person’s height. Each petal had been as thin as a butterfly’s wing, clear enough to reveal the candle flame burning at its center. It had truly been a marvel.

Yet what sounded simple in thought proved extremely difficult in practice. Ice was brittle by nature. During carving, the slightest force would shatter it into fragments. In the end, they could only make a few simple ice bowls, though once candles were lit inside them, they were still very beautiful.

After the lively commotion continued for quite some time, Mu Yunyao could not help but grow drowsy. Knowing that she had gone to many places during the day to pay New Year visits, everyone urged her to return and rest.

Back in her room, Mu Yunyao lay in bed, listening to the intermittent crackle of firecrackers outside. Somehow, she found herself unable to sleep again. She had finally begun to drift off when she heard movement by the window. Startled, she opened her eyes at once and looked toward it.

A black silhouette was reflected on the window paper, rustling softly, doing something unknown.

Mu Yunyao’s heart tightened. She reached beneath her pillow and drew out the dagger Yue Wang had given her. Soundlessly, she got out of bed, then abruptly pushed open the window and stabbed toward the shadow outside.

Her wrist was seized in an instant. The grip was cold and powerful, making Mu Yunyao’s scalp prickle. Just as panic surged in her heart, a familiar voice sounded.

“Are you trying to assassinate me?”

Yue Wang’s voice?

The window was pushed fully open, and Mu Yunyao finally saw the person outside clearly. He wore a silver-white cloak, his face cold and handsome beyond compare. Behind him lay snow across the ground, setting him off until he seemed almost unreal.

Mu Yunyao let out a heavy breath. In that instant just now, she had thought she had returned to the scene in her previous life, when the Su family sent men to assassinate her. Cold sweat had broken out all over her. “Fourth Master, coming here so suddenly in the middle of the night—did it not occur to you that there might be something improper about it?”

Seeing her appearance clearly, Yue Wang frowned in disapproval.

Her hair was loose, her face bare of powder, and she wore only a snow-white inner robe. Perhaps because of the cold, her lips were faintly pale, making her look especially pitiful.

“Go put on your clothes first.”

As the tension in her heart receded, Mu Yunyao felt the cold sweat soaking her back and shivered. She hurriedly closed the window, returned inside, and dressed properly. Only then did she open the door. “Fourth Master, if there is anything to say, come in and speak.” Yue Wang had already barged into her boudoir once before. At this point, there was no need to be too particular.

Yue Wang’s feet shifted, but he still stood by the window and did not enter. After a moment, he bent down and lifted an ice lantern from the ground.

The ice lantern was carved with exquisite care, roughly one chi square. At its center was the shape of a candle, and around the candle curled a charmingly plump cat. Its eyes curved slightly, and its small mouth tilted upward with a sly little arc, making it look especially clever and adorable.

Mu Yunyao froze for a moment, then could not help smiling. “What a delicate ice lantern. At such a late hour, are there still people selling ice lanterns on the street?”

Yue Wang’s brows moved faintly. “I made it.”

“You made it?” Mu Yunyao was surprised. Looking more closely now, she realized the cat on the ice lantern looked extremely similar to the cat Yue Wang had previously shaped from dough. One glance was enough to tell they had come from the same hand. Her heart could not help sinking. “I truly did not expect Fourth Master to know how to make ice lanterns.”

“When I was young, there was nothing much to play with. Eunuch Cheng taught me how to carve all sorts of little objects. A single piece of wood could amuse me for several days.” As Yue Wang spoke, he seemed to recall that time. Shadows and traces of remembrance flickered through his eyes, complex and difficult to distinguish.

Mu Yunyao’s fingers tightened slightly. A sting spread across her palm, but the smile on her face remained flawless. “Thank you, Fourth Master, for sending the ice lantern. If there is nothing else, I should rest.”

Yue Wang looked at her, his gaze clear and intent, as though it could grasp a person’s very soul. “You do not like ice lanterns?”

Mu Yunyao’s heart trembled. The smile on her face faded faintly. “Earlier, when I was bored, I only joked about them with Jin Lan and the others. Ice lanterns look crystal-clear and exceedingly beautiful, but in truth they are terribly fragile. The slightest change in temperature outside can make them lose their original form. Admiring them for a moment is one thing. If one truly likes them, it becomes far too easy to be saddened.”

Looking at the smile on Mu Yunyao’s face, Yue Wang suddenly felt a deep discomfort. “Since you do not like it, then throw it away.” As he spoke, he casually tossed the ice lantern resting on the windowsill down the steps.

The smile on Mu Yunyao’s face did not change. She saluted Yue Wang. “It is late. Fourth Master should return early and rest.”

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