Chapter 48: Heavy Snow

Chapter 48: Heavy Snow

"Prince Ping's legs are completely crippled, and his health is getting worse by the day," Yuan Wu sat before the desk, staring furiously at the imperial decree sent from the capital. "Father calling me back for the New Year's celebration at this critical moment means he thinks I'm useless and wants to take my position away!"

"It's all that Fourth Brother's fault!" Yuan Wu slammed both hands on the desk, grabbing the inkstone and hurling it to the ground. "He's truly heartless!"

In an instant, a handful of attendants dropped to their knees in the hall.

"Too bad the Sixth Imperial Brother got that position instead—Yuan Shu must be crying his eyes out, huh?" Yuan Wu's eyes were vicious, like he wanted to rush to the capital and drink his blood and eat his flesh.

A sinister smile tugged at the corner of his mouth: "If he can't cry himself blind, I'll give him a hand."

————

"It's snowing."

Chen Shuoan stuck his head out the window, exclaiming in surprise.

The snowflakes were as big as goose feathers, twirling down onto the vermilion window frame and vanishing in an instant.

In either of his two lives, he'd never seen snowflakes so beautiful—crystal clear, gorgeous, and breathtaking.

Chen Shuoan couldn't help reaching his hand out the window to catch them.

Yuan Rang was hunched over the desk writing a letter, his narrow phoenix eyes holding a faint smile as he glanced over.

The boy in the goose-yellow velvet coat had half his body hanging out the window, a few strands of fur from his collar blown loose by the cold wind, drifting on the chill breeze to land in front of Yuan Rang.

He raised his hand to catch the floating fur midair, his palm feeling like it had touched the boy's warmth, seeping slowly from his palm into his heart.

Yuan Rang set down his brush, grabbed the hand warmer off the desk with his right hand, then snatched a woolen blanket from the couch and headed toward Chen Shuoan.

"A timely snow means a good harvest."

A warm little object was suddenly pressed into Chen Shuoan's hand, and the person behind him gently grabbed his waist and pulled him back inside.

Yuan Rang carefully wrapped Chen Shuoan's hand—the one holding the hand warmer—in the blanket, leaving no gaps, and said with a smile, "Not scared of the cold anymore?"

Chen Shuoan looked up at his increasingly chiseled features, pouting in annoyance: "Sir, watch your wording. Brother Chen here isn't afraid of the cold at all."

Yuan Rang raised an eyebrow, pulling him away from the vermilion window. "Oh really? Who needed seven or eight calls to get out of bed this morning?"

Chen Shuoan's lips curved into a perfect smile as he tried to defend himself. "That was just a one-off."

"Right. Usually, it only takes three calls." Yuan Rang said with a smile, tearing him down without mercy.

Chen Shuoan: "..."

His Highness the Sixth Prince really did love being a pain in the ass sometimes.

He also liked being a pain, but he didn't like it when someone else was a bigger pain than him.

Chen Shuoan knew he couldn't outdo him there, so he dropped the subject, darted over to the soft couch, curled up, and buried himself under a thick blanket until only his round, shiny deer-like eyes were visible.

Yuan Rang chuckled softly, striding over to the window on his long legs to lower the propped-up frame, so the winter wind wouldn't scatter the warmth filling the room.

"I kind of miss Zheng Yuanzhi and the others."

Chen Shuoan stared blankly at the tassels hanging from the canopy, then spoke suddenly.

Yuan Rang's steps faltered slightly, his long lashes blinking rapidly twice, like butterfly wings trembling with shimmering, iridescent light.

His face was indifferent, like he couldn't care less, and he gave a faint "Mm."

Yuan Rang walked over to Chen Shuoan's side and finally stopped, carrying a subtle air of displeasure and coldness.

His dark, deep eyes followed Chen Shuoan's gaze to the swaying tassels, and he asked, as if offhandedly, "Why?"

Chen Shuoan, curled up in the blanket, smiled with his deer-like eyes curving into crescents, radiating a soft, fuzzy warmth: "Zheng Yuanzhi said that once the snow gets thick, we can catch little sparrows, build snowmen, and even roll around on the ground and bury ourselves in the snow."

His face was flushed, his eyes full of longing, his smile so bright it made your heart tremble: "I want to play with them."

Yuan Rang looked straight into his eyes, his tone carrying a rare hint of youthful brashness and boldness that belonged only to the young.

"I can catch little sparrows too. I can build snowmen too."

"Shuo'an, I'm better than all of them."

Chen Shuoan stared at his face, head tilted against the back of the couch, and suddenly burst out laughing.

He reached a fair, slender hand out from the blanket, poked his fingertip against Yuan Rang's cold, sharp cheek, and laughed heartily. "Of course, Your Highness is the best."

The snow grew heavier, the grayish-white sky deepening as if splashed with a thick, dark layer of ink.

Chen Shuoan crouched on the snowy ground, watching Yuan Rang toss food onto the ground—small pastries covered by a brand-new bamboo basket propped up by a thin wooden stick.

Chen Shuoan covered his mouth to stifle a laugh, grabbed a handful of snow, packed it into a ball, and hurled it at Yuan Rang's back.

The snowball burst apart the moment it hit him, scattering and rolling to the ground.

Yuan Rang smiled helplessly, picked up the hemp rope tied to the thin stick, and walked over to Chen Shuoan.

He extended his ice-cold hand to offer Chen Shuoan the rope, asking with a smile, "It'll be really cold—Shuo'an, do you want to wait here?"

The choice was Chen Shuoan's—whether he wanted to wait himself or not, Yuan Rang would catch the sparrow and put it in his palm either way.

Chen Shuoan took the rope curiously, pushed aside the fur from the collar pressing against his cheek, and nodded with a "hehe" laugh.

His smile was dazzling, and Yuan Rang curled his fingers, struggling to stop himself from brushing his icy fingertips against his face.

Chen Shuoan watched him turn and head inside, staying put with eager anticipation, waiting for the sparrows to take the bait.

Maybe because there was no food to be found in the dead of winter, the sparrows came quickly.

A flock of grayish-black birds flew down from the sky, chattering as they circled low, their tiny sharp claws occasionally skimming the ground, kicking up small puffs of fresh snow.

Chen Shuoan held his breath, tightened his grip on the rope, and watched them without blinking.

The flock finally landed, hopping around on the ground as they eyed the pastries scattered below.

As if unable to resist, they hopped and skipped their way into the trap Yuan Rang had set.

Beneath the shadow of the bamboo basket, many black sparrows were trapped—more and more of them.

They began fighting over the food, squawking and chattering as if cursing each other out.

Chen Shuoan took a deep breath, pulled the rope back, the thin stick toppled quickly, and the bamboo basket came down over the chattering sparrows, kicking up fine bits of ice and snow.

He burst out laughing, watching the basket tremble slowly from the sparrows' frantic escape, then leaned over and pressed his hand firmly on top to hold it down.

Chen Shuoan, spotting Yuan Rang just as he stepped out of the house, shouted loudly at him, "They're so stupid! I caught a ton of them at once!"

Yuan Rang ambled over on his long legs, draping the fur cloak he was holding over the guy whose nose had gone red from the cold, then carefully tucked it snugly around the collar, a hint of an indulgent smile at the corner of his mouth as he praised, "Impressive."

Chen Shuoan peeked through the round lid of the bamboo basket at the chirping sparrows inside, with a bright, soft smile.

He opened that round lid, and the black sparrows burst out like fireworks in the night sky, kicking up a quick gust that brushed past their cheeks.

In the blur of the birds scattering, Yuan Rang caught Chen Shuoan's gentle smile.

"Yuan Rang, look—this is the most special firework I've ever seen."

Chen Shuoan grinned mischievously, "It's a black firework I watched together with Your Highness."

Yuan Rang's Adam's apple bobbed.

Indeed, it was special—the firework was special, and so was the person.

Dusk had long since fallen, and the cold white snowflakes shimmered faintly in the darkness.

Yuan Rang raised his hand to gently brush off the snowflakes gathered on Chen Shuoan's head, a tender smile in his eyes as he gazed at him, saying nothing more.

If we share the snow in this life, it counts as growing old together.

But Yuan Rang didn't want mere snow-dusted hair to mimic old age—he wanted to hold Chen Shuoan's hand and walk together until their hair truly turned white.