Amid the snowy night, she looked enchanting, like a fairy fallen to the mortal world. Turning to Zhanxiang, she called happily, “Zhanxiang, go fetch a chair from the room. I want to sit under the plum tree and enjoy the snow.”
“Yes!” Zhanxiang ran into the room.
Fubyi walked helplessly to Ning Wanwan’s side, brushing off the snowflakes from her green cloud fur coat. “Miss, what are you appreciating at this late hour? Be careful not to freeze yourself.”
Ning Wanwan approached the wintersweet tree, casually breaking off a branch. “This is something you don’t understand. As the saying goes: ‘Plum and snow compete for spring, yet neither will yield. Plum must concede three parts of whiteness to snow, while snow loses a segment of fragrance to plum.’ It speaks of the elegant contest between plum’s fragrance and snow’s purity in welcoming spring.”
“Tonight, with wintersweet in full bloom and the first snow arriving, such a beautiful moment calls for me to compose a commentary, to appreciate the plum and play with the snow. Why wouldn’t I?”
“…Miss, I don’t understand a word you just said,” Fubyi looked bewildered.
Ning Wanwan helplessly tapped her forehead with the plum branch and quickly turned to Fubyi with a bright smile, saying, “I suddenly want to eat roasted sweet potatoes, the ones from Old Li’s shop at the bridge.”
Fubyi immediately understood, laughing, “My little ancestor, I’ll go buy them for you right away. Just don’t linger in the snow too long and come inside soon.”
“I know, go quickly,” Ning Wanwan urged.
“Miss, the chair,” Zhanxiang and two other maids brought out a yellow rosewood armchair, placing it under the plum tree. They instructed the other maids, “Dian Cui, bring the miss’s warming bottle. Dian Qing, fetch an oil-paper umbrella.”
The narrative continues with Ning Wanwan enjoying the snow, playing with her maids, and secretly planning her next move. She turned and angrily shouted at the mischievous maids, “Zhan Xiang, you little troublemaker, only caring about your own fun, didn’t you see the young lady’s face turning blue from the cold? Hurry up and bring hot water to help the young lady rest.”
With a wave of her sleeve, the maids scattered immediately.
Ning Wanwan rubbed her temples and stood up, but almost fell over.
