41: Chapter 41 Stolen Happiness

"Sir, how does this 'Fu' character I wrote look to you?"

She held up a crooked, wobbly 'Fu' character, bringing it close to the mirror as if presenting a treasure.

Su Chen looked at the ugly calligraphy, which was certainly not something a Female Prime Minister should be writing, and chuckled softly.

But in an instant, his gaze shifted to her arms, to the dense network of wounds on her jade-like fingers.

"Hmm, there's improvement. It's much better than what you wrote last year."

Zhuge Jinyu smiled with satisfaction and carefully pasted the 'Fu' character onto the mottled door of the stone chamber.

She then ran off to knead the dough, prepare the filling, and get ready to make dumplings.

Those hands that had wielded the vermilion brush and commanded the realm were now covered in flour.

They looked somewhat clumsy.

Huang Ying wanted to help, but was pushed away by her.

"I'll do it."

"Sir taught me that one must work with their own hands to provide for themselves."

She lowered her head, focusing intently on pinching the dumpling wrappers.

Every pleat was made with meticulous care, as if she were completing an incredibly important piece of art.

Su Chen watched silently.

Watching her busily work with a feigned cheerfulness.

Watching her occasionally pause, lost in thought as she gazed at the heavy snow swirling outside the window.

Then quickly shaking her head to put on a smile again.

He knew, and she knew too.

Since the ending was already unavoidable, at least they could choose a decent process.

In a few days, they would have to face Sima Yi of the Mahayana Realm and the rolling iron cavalry of the Great Wei.

Behind them lay a broken land and a few remnants of an army; the chance of survival was slim.

Yet neither of them brought it up.

It seemed that as long as it wasn't spoken aloud, this stolen time could be extended a little longer.

This false reunion could feel just a fraction more real.

Three days; not short, but not long either.

New Year's Eve had finally arrived.

On the mountaintop, a dozen or so female soldiers with lighter injuries had gathered, willing to spend the New Year with Su Chen and the others.

Everyone gathered in the small courtyard in front of the stone chamber, where Zhuge Jinyu lit a few bonfires to dispel the chill.

People gathered around the fire.

Eating hot, variously shaped dumplings.

The dumplings Huang Ying made were fairly uniform, but the ones Zhuge Jinyu made were all quite unique.

"Xiao Yu, feed me a bite."

Su Chen's somewhat roguish voice came from the mirror.

Although Zhuge Jinyu smiled slightly, she didn't hold back with her words.

"Sir, you are but a male ghost; do you also wish to eat the dumplings I made?"

Despite saying that, she still picked up a strangely shaped dumpling.

Then, pretending her hand had "slipped by accident," she dropped the dumpling squarely onto the surface of Su Chen's mirror.

"Mmm, delicious, delicious. As expected of Xiao Yu, you can do anything well."

Su Chen smacked his lips in the mirror, as if he could truly taste the dumplings.

"Sir, you are so glib."

The Young Prime Minister's fox-like eyes curved, and her brows were filled with irrepressible laughter.

Late at night.

Zhuge Jinyu brought out some low-alcohol rice wine originally intended for military supplies and poured a small cup for everyone.

"Everyone."

She raised a rough clay bowl.

"The old year has passed, and the new year begins. May my Great Qian... be safe and peaceful year after year!"

"May Great Qian be safe and peaceful year after year!"

The soldiers raised their bowls in response.

Zhuge Jinyu downed the wine in her bowl in one gulp.

She did not use spiritual energy to resist the effect of the alcohol; the rice wine made her cough, and an unnatural flush appeared on her pale, pretty face.

Except for Su Chen, few people knew that Prime Minister Zhuge was actually not very good at drinking.

She quietly turned to the side and covered her mouth with her sleeve.

Also hiding the tear that finally slipped from the corner of her eye, unable to be held back.

Then, she instructed Huang Ying and the few female soldiers who had come up the mountain to carefully pack up the majority of the dumplings they had made.

To distribute them to the wounded soldiers who were still down the mountain in the wind and snow, unable to come up due to their injuries.

"Tell them this is the New Year's Eve dinner provided by the Prime Minister and the State Preceptor," she whispered.

After everyone dispersed, the mountaintop returned to silence.

Only the two red lanterns hanging under the eaves of the stone house remained, swaying lonely in the wind and snow, casting a warm glow.

Zhuge Jinyu hugged the mirror and sat on the steps in front of the stone house.

Neither of them spoke.

They just sat quietly.

Watching the snowflakes dancing across the sky, listening to the wind wailing as it passed through the mountain forest.

The world was a vast expanse of white.

Only the lanterns hanging above them dyed the falling snow an orange hue.

This stolen moment of peace and warmth was too extravagant for the Female Prime Minister.

"Sir."

After a long while, Zhuge Jinyu lowered her head, habitually pressing her pretty face against the surface of Su Chen's mirror.

"Look at this snow; doesn't it look like the one in the backyard of the manor the year we first met?"

Back then, she was still a concubine's daughter trapped in the deep manor, with an uncertain future.

He was the only straw she grasped in her despair.

"It does."

"It's just that the snow back then wasn't as heavy as it is now."

"Yes, this year's snow is truly heavy."

Zhuge Jinyu murmured.

She reached out, caught a few snowflakes, and watched them melt rapidly in her palm.

"It's as if it wants to bury everything."

Another silence followed.

"Sir."

She reached out her jade-like hand and continued to wipe the mirror's surface.

"The day after tomorrow morning, I will be able to see what you look like."

"I'm so looking forward to it."

"If... I mean if, we were just an ordinary pair of hus... master and disciple."

"You raised me, and I assisted you, Sir."

"Every year when it snows, you could watch it with me, and personally shield me from the wind and snow; how wonderful that would be."

The young girl's pretty face was tinged with the orange-red glow of the lanterns.

But those two words were simply too hot and heavy; she still dared not say them easily.

Su Chen was silent for a moment.

"Mm."

"It will happen."

"As long as it continues to snow, I will accompany you to watch it."

"If I break my promise, Xiao Yu, even if you hunt me down to the ends of the earth, I will fulfill this vow."

"Then I hope you will not break your word, Sir."

The corners of Zhuge Jinyu's mouth curled up slightly, forming a dangerous arc.

She did not continue to press the matter.

She only hugged the mirror tighter.

That night, in front of the stone house on the top of Mount Qingcheng, the red lanterns shone all night long.

The person and the mirror, nestled together, also sat quietly for the whole night.

...

The next day, early morning.

The snow stopped, and the world was a blinding expanse of silver-white.

Zhuge Jinyu rose early, took off the clothes she wore for the New Year, and changed into that dark-based, gold-patterned military attire.

Her white hair was tied up meticulously.

She carefully wiped her pretty face clean, and the wound on her forehead was erased by her formidable cultivation.

Although she still looked somewhat haggard and pale, she could not hide her unparalleled, stunning aura.

This was the appearance that Prime Minister Zhuge, who wielded power over the court, ought to have.

Tomorrow would be the moment that decided the fate of Great Qian.

Perhaps it would also be the end of her life.

And it was also the important moment when she would see the face of "Sir" for the first time.

She did not want to be perfunctory.