Chapter 638
The Night of the Couple
The hour of You (5-7 PM).
In the capital city after a heavy snowfall, night falls earlier, and by the time the sun sets around 5 PM, the sky is completely dark.
Before it got dark, Xu Shu took Zhang Zheng out the door, and no one knew where they were going to fool around.
Zhang Zhuo returned to the yamen. I heard that he had been very busy lately, sometimes staying in the yamen all night to review documents.
Madam Zhang went to bed early, saying that starting tomorrow, officials and nobles from the capital would begin to visit her to offer New Year's greetings, and she still had many things to prepare.
Only the traces of the past and Zhang Xia remain...
The two sat silently at the stone table in the West Garden. Chen Ji looked up at the dark sky, while Zhang Xia closed his eyes and silently recited the Cloud-Covering Sutra. The two were like two stone sculptures, and neither of them mentioned going inside to rest.
Xiaoman and the little monk squatted side by side under the eaves in front of the west wing, arms crossed, watching the two people by the stone table, whispering to each other.
With a dark cloud hanging over her head, Xiaoman said in a low voice, "Aren't they cold sitting here?"
The little monk muttered to himself, "They're both officials at the Innate Realm, they shouldn't be afraid of the cold, right?"
Xiaoman shook her head: "Most officials are afraid of the cold, their lives are as fragile as paper. Young Master seems to be unafraid of the cold, but it's hard to say about Sister Xia. Tsk, I've worried about Young Master and Sister Xia for so long, and finally the clouds have parted and the moon is shining. I've finally made it through."
The young monk asked in surprise, "What are you worried about?"
Xiaoman counted on her fingers: "Wasn't it me who went to ask Master Hu to take Sister Xia to Chongli Pass? Wasn't it me who instigated the two of them to have a fake marriage at Chongli Pass? Wasn't it me who gave Sister Xia the ancestral jade bracelet from my aunt as a token of love? Wasn't it me who pestered Sister Xia to speak well of the young master when she was angry? ...Hey, did you say they consummated their marriage last night? You have the ability to read minds, look into their eyes."
The young monk, eyes downcast and mindless, said, "I don't know. Don't ask me, a monk."
Xiaoman sighed, "Sigh, in this relationship, I gave the most and knew the least..."
Chen Ji and Zhang Xia turned their heads at the same time, looking at Xiao Man speechlessly.
Chen Ji said calmly, "We can hear you from this close."
Xiaoman gave a forced smile: "Since you can hear us, young master, you should hurry up and go inside with Sister Xia to rest, so we don't have to stay up with you. Are you planning to stay up until dawn?"
Chen Ji was speechless after being rebuked.
Zhang Xia suddenly stood up: "Go inside and sleep. You can come in later."
Chen Ji hummed in agreement.
He sat in the courtyard for another incense stick's time before getting up and going inside. He saw that the bed curtains were already drawn. He silently went to the mother-of-pearl inlaid wardrobe, took out the bedding, spread it next to the bed, took off all but a white undergarment, crawled into the quilt, and stared blankly at the roof beams.
The double happiness character inside the house had been removed by Nuanchun and her men, the red candles had been replaced with white candles, and the bed curtains on the bed had been replaced with blue silk.
Chen Ji began examining the roof beams at the hour of You (5-7 PM) and continued until midnight.
Zhang Xia's voice suddenly rang out from inside the bed curtains: "Chen Ji, my mother doesn't really look down on you. She's all bark and no bite, so don't take it to heart."
Chen Ji snapped out of his reverie and hummed in agreement: "I know. She was actually doing it for my own good, afraid that I would waste my time. And what she said is true. If I am too unambitious, others will not only laugh at me behind my back, but they will also laugh at you behind your back."
Zhang Xia lay in the bed curtains, looking at the top of the curtains: "Don't worry about these things. You've been too tired this year. Now that you've finally come out of the Censorate, you should take a good rest. Once you've rested enough, you can go to the Imperial Hospital to continue studying medicine if you want. There's nothing wrong with being an imperial physician and living a peaceful life. Your master is also an imperial physician, and he's quite respected."
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Thank you."
Silence fell between the two again. After a long while, Chen Ji asked, "What is the 'Longevity-Binding Platform' that Uncle Xu Shu mentioned?"
Zhang Xia thought for a moment, then replied through the bed curtains, "It's his official channel, but I've never seen him use it. I only heard that when he went north, he sent a high-ranking official of the Jing Dynasty to the Life-Loss-Loss-Loss Platform and stole ten years of his lifespan. I don't know what he can do with the stolen lifespan; it's all very mysterious. But when I was a child, I heard him boast that as long as he didn't want to die, he could live forever in the mortal world, which is why he didn't want to return to the Forty-Nine Heavens."
Chen Ji asked in confusion, "Why did he reincarnate? And why is he unwilling to go back?"
Zhang Xia replied, "He was originally one of the twelve Yaksha generals under the Medicine Buddha. The Medicine Buddha sent him down... It seems he came specifically to secure the official entrance to the Longevity Platform."
Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought.
If even celestial beings want to cultivate themselves into officials, they still have to come to the mortal world to find the way.
Strange. He knew that both the Daoist and Buddhist sects had means to communicate with the Forty-Nine Heavens. Even if it was just to find a way out, he only needed to inform the Buddhist sect. Why did he have to make Xu Shu, his disciple, go there in person?
He asked curiously, "Why doesn't he want to go back?" Zhang Xia sighed and said, "I asked him about it when he was drunk a while ago. He just said that there's nothing interesting in heaven. There's constant fighting and no peace in the forty-nine heavens. It's not as peaceful as the human world. Besides, he often contradicts the Medicine Buddha in the forty-nine heavens. The Buddhist sect probably didn't have good intentions in making him build this Longevity Platform. Anyway, since he's in the human world, the Medicine Buddha can't do anything about him, so he won't go back."
Chen Ji shifted his position on the floor mat and looked up at the closed bed curtains: "Has he ever heard of a place called Earth?"
Zhang Xia denied it, saying, "I've never heard him mention it. To find out if he's heard of it, I'd have to get him drunk again. His alcohol tolerance is only so-so."
Just then, a dark cloud meowed outside the window.
Chen Ji got up to look, and Zhang Xia also pulled back the bed curtains.
But then they saw Xiaoman and the little monk's shadows reflected on the window paper as they fled in panic. As Xiaoman ran, she complained, "What is the Heavenly Venerable shouting for at this hour? I didn't hear anything! What kind of couple talks about the Medicine Buddha and the Forty-Nine Heavens at night? Honestly, why don't they whisper some sweet nothings?"
Once the outside quieted down again, Chen Ji and Zhang Xia exchanged an awkward glance. Zhang Xia then lay back down on the bed and covered the bed curtains again.
In the darkness, Chen Ji broke the silence: "Um, what should Ning Chao prepare before the New Year? What should we do on the Little New Year, and what should we do before New Year's Eve? Can you tell me?"
Zhang Xia smiled inside the bed curtains: "Chen Ji, you're sometimes very clever, and sometimes very clumsy."
Chen Ji, lying on the floor, raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Xia thought for a moment and said, "I say you're smart because you really are. You were able to set up a scheme to bring down the Qi family, expose Jing Chao's spies, and rescue Bai Li."
Her voice paused for a moment, and when she said the words "save the white carp," her tone was completely calm, as if she were talking about something from a long time ago.
Why do you say I'm clumsy?
Zhang Xia pulled back the bed curtains, lay on her side, propped her head up with one hand, and looked at Chen Ji: "I call you clumsy because you always use the clumsiest methods. If you want to go back to Anxi Street, you have to bring everyone on Anxi Street back together, thinking that as long as you continue to carry water every day, you can be like you were on Anxi Street. Now you're thinking about the New Year, not because you really want to celebrate the New Year, but because you want to use things that ordinary people do to try to put yourself back into the life of an ordinary person, to live the life of an ordinary person, right?"
Chen Ji remained silent for a long time, then turned to the side, resting his head on his arm as he looked at Zhang Xia: "Yes, but not entirely. It just feels like my parents used to prepare all these things, and I didn't have to worry about them at all. Now that I'm married, it's my turn to do these things, and I have to do them as well as they did."
The room fell silent for a moment, then the charcoal fire in the brazier crackled, casting a dark red glow on the blue brick floor, like a small patch of sunset.
Zhang Xia avoided Chen Ji's gaze, lay back on the bed, and carefully recalled: "I was supposed to make some Laba garlic by myself for Laba Festival, but something came up yesterday and I couldn't. You can make some tomorrow and eat it with dumplings on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year."
"By the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the officials and nobles in the capital will begin to pay New Year's visits. First, they will pay their superiors, then their mentors, and finally their benefactors. As the saying goes, arriving early is respectful, and arriving late is considered slow. Some people are already lining up in front of their residences before dawn. But one cannot skip ranks when paying New Year's visits. A minor official must first pay his respects to the chief clerk, the chief clerk must first pay his respects to the physician, the physician must first pay his respects to the vice minister, and the vice minister must first pay his respects to the minister. There are also group New Year's visits by government offices... But we two can save ourselves the trouble. We can just stay home and help Mother receive and send off the guests. If you don't want to do any of this, you can go out early in the morning, take Xiaoman and the little monk to the teahouse, and come back for lunch."
Chen Ji smiled and said, "It's alright, I'm helping out at home."
Zhang Xia continued, "On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, people go to Qianmen Street to buy New Year's goods, such as dried fruits, candied fruits, pastries, door gods, couplets, hanging decorations, window decorations, lanterns, fireworks and firecrackers... Some families also buy new bowls and chopsticks, hoping for the addition of a new baby. The shops on Qianmen Street are open all night long, and the night market is open until the fourth watch of the night. The streets are crowded with people, and vehicles can hardly move."
"The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the Little New Year. By then, all the New Year's greetings and gifts have been given. Our family should then worship the Kitchen God. Wealthy families will go to the Tianqiao Bridge to distribute porridge so that even beggars can survive the winter."
"After the Little New Year, there are things to do every day. On the 24th, sweep the house; on the 25th, grind tofu; on the 26th, stew pork; on the 27th, slaughter the rooster; on the 28th, prepare the dough; on the 29th, steam the buns; and on the 30th, stay up all night."
In the tranquil night, Zhang Xia spoke slowly and deliberately.
Chen Ji listened quietly, feeling the festive atmosphere of the New Year just by listening.
Just then, Zhang Xia suddenly changed the subject: "Why don't you move out?"
She held her breath, as if waiting for an answer.
After a moment's thought, Chen Ji said frankly, "I think it's quite good to be at the Zhang residence. I have no worries about food and drink... I'm not a person with great ambitions, so I don't care what others say."
Zhang Xia responded with an "Oh," and asked, "Is it cold sleeping on the floor?"
Chen Ji shook his head: "It's alright, my official skills aren't afraid of the cold, and besides, there's a charcoal brazier in the room, so it's quite warm."
Zhang Xia lowered the bed curtains and turned around: "Then sleep on the floor."
When Chen Ji turned his head in surprise, he could only see the bed curtains still swaying slightly.
Their first late-night conversation as husband and wife ended just like that. (End of Chapter)