A cold wind swept through, loosening a little of the snow from the trees and rooftops.
Ding Songyan raised an eyebrow and said to Xie Fengchao with a smile, "Leaving so soon?"
He had honestly seen this ing. Fifth Young Master Xie was not from Dingjiang Prefecture, after all.
Xie Fengchao stepped into the courtyard through the thick snow and chuckled.
"I’ve stayed in Dingjiang long enough. I only meant to stay a month, yet somehow it stretched to three. No banquet lasts forever; it’s time to go."
"Where are you off to?" Ding Songyan asked.
Xie Fengchao gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Back to Flame Capital. Your Brightnight Sect has humbled me quite thoroughly and made me aware of my own shortings. This time I’m going home to go into seclusion properly, work on my aperture forging and viscera installation. If we meet again someday, I hope it’ll be on the Orchid Fresh List."
He turned and gestured toward Pan Yunzhou and the others with a grin.
"Since it’s a farewell, let’s all gather one more time to enjoy the snow and the plum blossoms, and part when the mood has run its course!"
"And how could you leave me out?" came a light, pleasant voice from beyond the courtyard gate, warm with laughter.
Everyone looked over to see Zheng Zhuxi standing gracefully on the stone path, dressed in a padded jacket and thick skirt of white with green floral patterns.
She had heard that a whole crowd had e looking for her junior brother and made her way over.
"Then I’d ask Senior Sister to arrange for the dining hall to send some food over," Ding Songyan said with a smile.
Zheng Zhuxi laughed at her ease.
"It is exactly what I wished for; I wouldn’t have dared ask."
Shortly past mid-afternoon, with the sunlight already slanting, Ding Songyan and the others stayed outside rather than retreating indoors, seated around the stone table in the courtyard. Before them sat wine bowls, salted crispy peanuts, braised pig’s head, steamed duck tongues, and the like.
Zheng Zhuxi took up the snow-frothed plum blossom wine she had specially procured from the dining hall, poured a bowl for each person, and said with a smile, "A snowy scene calls for this wine."
As host of the courtyard, Ding Songyan lifted his bowl, looked around at everyone, and laughed heartily.
"In human life, acplishment must bring total joy—bring in the wine, the cups must not
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