Annual Ceremony

Chapter 71 The Great Cold (1)

Zhan Mei arrived in a hurry and before she could even open her umbrella, a layer of white had fallen onto her hair and shoulders.

The snow was getting heavier and heavier; it seemed that Nanjing had never experienced such a fierce snowstorm in my memory.

Zhenyi held the oranges in her arms and covered them with her sleeves. Zhan Mei raised her sleeves to protect Zhenyi's head and led her to Defeng Pavilion.

Seemingly without warning, Zhan Mei spoke up in the pavilion at this moment: "Second sister, I am just an ordinary person, unable to be a pillar that can support the sky and shake the earth, nor a hero who dares to fight against this world... But please allow me to do my best to shield you from the wind and snow."

Zhenyi stared at him blankly with her red eyes, while Ju Zi also stared at the wooden-like young man. His eyes were filled with earnestness, shame, love, and pity, yet also with boundless determination.

Heaven and earth bear witness, wind and snow reveal our hearts.

With tears in her eyes, Zhenyi could not help but speak the truth: "Brother Zhan, I am not a good match for you."

“My second sister is a celestial being who has descended to earth to undergo tribulations. She is not a good match for me, but a match made in heaven.” Zhan Mei’s admiration was no longer concealed. All her love and pain were exposed, and she gathered them into a layer of clear tears. She said in a hoarse voice, “Deqing, I am not here to save you from your predicament. I am someone who has only dared to speak up today, taking advantage of your vulnerability. I hope you will have mercy and agree to allow me to create a safe haven for you.”

Their eyes met, and tears streamed down their faces.

The world is bitterly cold, yet only these tears and this heart still retain a lonely warmth.

Although the manuscripts were all burned, the discussions surrounding the Wang family of Jinling continued unabated. Only by Zhenyi marrying and leaving could those malicious intentions be blocked, a consensus among the Wang family members.

Zhan Mei threw off his robe and knelt before Wang Xichen, kowtowing and begging for his permission.

Tears welled up in Wang Xichen's dry eyes.

The marriage was settled, but Wang Xichen ultimately refused the adoption, and the books in his collection were not sold. Wang Xichen wanted to use them as part of his dowry, but Zhenyi shook her head.

All she wanted to take with her was that book of lunar calendar commentaries.

During the Great Cold season, Zhan Mei returned to Xuancheng to prepare for his marriage. Before leaving, he visited Zhenyi, who was recuperating from an illness, and spoke to her through the curtain: "The extreme cold is called the Great Cold. However, the extreme cold will eventually recede. Second sister, you must take good care of yourself and wait for the arrival of spring."

Reclining on the couch, with an old white quilt in front of her and the old yellowed book of lunar calendars in her arms, Zhenyi nodded gently.

After nodding, he realized that the person was out of sight, so he said again, "Okay, I've got it."

Intending to get up and see her off, but Zhenyi was too weak to withstand any more cold. Ju Zi stretched out a claw and domineeringly pressed down on Zhenyi's fingers as she tried to lift the blanket.

Orange jumped off the bed, and Dai Zhenyi delivered it to Zhan Mei.

However, after leaving the main room, Zhan Mei turned back, bent down to pick it up, stroked it, then bent down again to carry the cat back inside the threshold, and said gently, "Ju Zi, there's no need to see me off, we'll meet again soon."

As they spoke, Zhan Mei looked at the oranges and then at the inner room.

When we meet again, we will never have to part again.

During the Great Cold solar term this year, Ju Zi never stepped out of the house again, devoting herself to accompanying Zhen Yi as she recovered from her illness.

In the second month of spring, Zhenyi's health improved considerably, and Zhan Mei arrived as scheduled.

In their correspondence over the past few days, Zhenyi has already made arrangements with him to keep the wedding simple.

Wearing her wedding dress, she bid farewell to her father and elders, took the other end of the red ribbon, and followed Zhan Mei step by step out of the Wang family courtyard.

With tears in her eyes, the eldest sister-in-law saw her off, and the eldest sister also held Shan Jie'er's hand. In addition, there was Jiu Ying, who had specially rushed back to Jinling. Amid the sound of firecrackers, Zhenyi was in a daze and returned to the day she saw her eldest sister off to her wedding. At that time, she should have been about the same age as Shan Jie'er, and she was also holding her mother's hand.

Thinking of her mother, and then her stepmother, and the kind face of her stepfather flashed before her eyes, Zhenyi's eyes welled up with tears. Just before getting into the sedan chair, as if sensing something, she slowly turned around and gently lifted a corner of her veil. She saw a thin monk standing at the entrance of the alley.

The tears she had been holding back finally streamed down her face. The monk clasped his hands together and nodded slightly to her; they were too far apart to see his expression clearly. While Zhenyi was briefly stunned, a yellow figure climbed into the bridal sedan chair. The wedding attendant quickly shooed it away, saying, "Where did this troublesome little weasel come from? Get out of the way..."

Dressed in a bright red wedding robe, Zhan Mei raised his hand to stop the matchmaker and answered earnestly, "This is the most important dowry for my wife."

The monks had already left. Zhenyi turned around and saw Ju Zi sitting majestically in the sedan chair. She couldn't help but burst into laughter through her tears.

The bright red procession departed amidst the sound of gongs and drums. Wang Xichen remained seated in his high chair in the hall, listening as the surroundings gradually quieted down. His shoulders slumped silently, making him appear even older.

The journey to Xuancheng was long, and Wang Yuan personally escorted his sister to her wedding.

The scenery along the way was beautiful in spring. Zhan Mei was very casual about etiquette, but she valued chastity above all else. She walked and stopped along the way, which was quite pleasant and comfortable, just like a spring outing.

Following Zhenyi to Xuancheng, after paying respects to the Zhan family's mother-in-law and attending the bride's banquet, Ju Zi noticed that when Zhenyi combed her hair again, none of her long black hair hung down; instead, it was all tied up in a bun. But Zhenyi was Zhenyi; her smooth hair looked beautiful no matter how it was styled.

The Zhan family's courtyard wasn't large, which was fortunate, as it made it convenient for Ju Zi to oversee the situation. Ju Zi no longer had the energy to patrol such a large courtyard.

The bed in the Zhan family's house isn't big, nor does it need to be too big; it's just enough for two people and a cat to sleep comfortably.

As spring turned to summer and autumn arrived, the weather was pleasant. Zhan Mei took Zhenyi's hand, packed some oranges, and set off for an outing.

Zhenyi was in poor health and could not travel long distances, so she only traveled slowly in the Jiangnan area. When she was boating on the lake, Zhenyi was sitting at the bow of the boat with oranges in her arms. Suddenly, Zhan Mei brought paper and pen, ground ink for Zhenyi, and urged her to write a poem.

Last year's experiences left Zhenyi with countless worries, and she rarely writes poetry anymore.

As Zhenyi hesitated with her pen in hand, Orange had already expertly taken on the role of paperweight, flattening a corner of the manuscript for her and then extending her furry paw to tap on the blank page.

Amidst the shimmering lake and verdant mountains, with a gentle breeze and light clouds, her beloved grinds ink, the cat serves as a paperweight, and Zhenyi gazes around at the world, a hint of tears welling in her eyes.

Since she was on a journey, she wrote a poem as she reflected on her experiences over the years. A stubborn and heroic spirit revived in Zhenyi's heart, and she picked up her pen and wrote a long poem:
【…

Looking back, I recall my travels through mountains and seas, swiftly traversing the Three Rivers and Five Sacred Mountains.

Having traveled ten thousand miles and read ten thousand books, I aspire to surpass even the most ambitious men.

West of Lintong, east of Heishui, riding horses and driving carriages brought joy in my childhood.

She had also practiced archery and riding, and was ashamed to flaunt her beauty while riding away.

……

My ears are filled with the sounds of broadcasting, but my boudoir may not be a place for me to sit idly by.

……

Now I truly believe that men are no less capable than women; who can say that women and boys are not heroes?

When Zhenyi finally finished writing, Ju Zi stretched out her front paw, dipped it in ink, and pressed a plum blossom imprint onto the poem.

Zhan Mei picked up the manuscript paper as if it were a priceless treasure, praising it repeatedly and saying that he would definitely paint a picture to match this masterpiece in the future.

Having thus vented her frustrations, and then amused by his half-serious, half-joking praise, Zhenyi smiled and urged him, "Why wait until tomorrow? Just bring the painting now."

Zhan Mei shook his head, saying that he was too ashamed to write at the moment and that he still needed to practice his painting skills. He smiled and put his arm around Zhenyi's shoulder, looking into the distance from the bow of the boat, and said with great joy, "Zhen'er, we still have many days to write poems and paint."

Orange squatted at Zhenyi's feet, enjoying the breeze, and found those words particularly pleasant to hear, making the cat feel at ease.

(Zhenyi's original poem is very long and also the most widely circulated. Because it has too many characters, I haven't posted the whole thing here.)