A Figure on Jade Steps in the Wind and Snow 58

Chapter 58: Fate

Shen Zhishu suspected that if she agreed, this bath could take an hour.

So in the end, she still refused and sent two attendants over to serve.

As one might expect, the two attendants were not able to successfully enter the bathroom.

After receiving Jiang Yu’s order of “I don’t need anyone to serve me,” the two of them sat on the threshold, chatting idly.

Hongli sighed, “It’s boring now. Let me tell you a joke: the General called me Huangli a few days ago.”

Another attendant shook her head, “That’s still better. The General doesn’t even recognize me. Yesterday, when she saw me, she asked, ‘Aren’t you with Xie Jin? When did you come to my manor?'”

“So—” Hongli became curious. “Do you think the General doesn’t recognize any of the attendants?”

“I’m not sure,” that attendant said. “But I’ve been out with the General twice, and even Her Highness the Eldest Princess recognizes me now. A while ago, she just asked for my name once, and today she called me by my name. On the other hand, our General has asked ‘What’s your name’ three times, but every time it was a casual question, and she didn’t take it to heart at all. She doesn’t even have an impression of what I look like.”

Hongli smiled, “It’s fine if she doesn’t have an impression. The days here are much happier than in the palace.”

“That’s right. In the past, we were beaten and scolded in the palace from morning to night, but here, no one restricts us. Even the General is always nice to us when she sees us, and she gives us a lot of rewards. Apart from the fact that she doesn’t recognize people, which is a little depressing, there’s nothing else to complain about. In my opinion, the days in the General’s Manor are carefree. It’s fine to work in this manor for a lifetime—oh my, is Her Highness finished with her bath?”

The wooden door was opened from the inside, and Jiang Yu was already fully dressed and standing by the door, looking down at the two of them, her expression faint, showing no emotion.

It was unknown how much of their conversation she had heard.

Hongli hurriedly stood up and smiled, “The General is in the inner room. Your Highness’s bedroom has already been tidied up. It’s right next to the General’s room. Please follow me, Your Highness.”

Jiang Yu nodded slightly and asked, “I remember, your name is Hongli?”

Hongli’s eyes widened, and she nodded so much it was like bowing, almost in tears, “Your Highness did indeed ask for this servant’s name before. This servant originally thought it was just a casual question, but I didn’t expect Your Highness to have kept it in your heart! Your Highness is like the bright moon and the clear wind, and this servant is full of admiration. I often wish I could serve Your Highness, and today my dream has come true! To be remembered by Your Highness is a blessing that this servant has cultivated for several lifetimes!”

Jiang Yu only said, “You flatter me,” and raised her hand to signal the attendant to lead the way.

Hongli knew that this Highness Huai’an liked peace and quiet, so she didn’t dare to say much and quietly led the way with a lantern.

Unexpectedly, after about a cup of tea’s time, Jiang Yu suddenly started a conversation:

“From what you were talking about at the door just now… your master doesn’t even remember you?”

…Her Highness the Eldest Princess really heard it!

Hongli bit her tongue and said with a smile, “The General is busy with state affairs, so she naturally doesn’t care about these small details. The General is very good to us. I suppose she just doesn’t want to waste her effort on small matters.”

“That’s not a good habit,” Jiang Yu shook her head. “I’ll talk to her about it later.”

“No, no, if you do that, the General will probably be angry with us for being talkative,” Hongli smiled. “But in the end, Your Highness is still closer to us. You’ve only met us a few times, but you’ve already remembered the names of us servants. Your Highness is truly a magnanimous and considerate person.”

Jiang Yu did not answer this question. After a while, she continued to ask, “What are her usual preferences?”

Hongli immediately reacted to who this “her” was, “The General likes black, red, and pure white; she likes to sleep in; she likes Fuluo spring tea; she likes to joke with acquaintances, but she doesn’t like to deal with strangers; she likes to build snowmen.”

“Build snowmen?”

“Indeed,” Hongli said. “It’s been cold recently, and the snow hasn’t melted. The snowman that the General built five days ago is still standing in the backyard.”

Jiang Yu said, “Oh,” as if on a whim, “Take me to see it.”

“The wind is strong at night, Your Highness, be careful of catching a cold,” Hongli said hurriedly. “It’s not too late to see it tomorrow. You can see it more clearly during the day.”

Jiang Yu did not insist.

Jiang Yu fell silent, and Hongli also tactfully stopped talking.

Before they knew it, the two of them had already reached the entrance of the guest room.

A row of loquat trees was planted in the courtyard, and they did not lose their leaves in winter. On the north side were three guest rooms in a row, and the middle and east ones were lit.

The candlelight shone through the window paper, and the dark figures in the window lattice were scattered and blurry.

Jiang Yu stopped and looked for a while, and in Hongli’s reminder of “the room on the east is prepared for Your Highness,” she gracefully walked over.

She had originally thought that the moving figure on the window paper was an attendant who was tidying up the room, but after pushing open the door, what she saw was Shen Zhishu pacing back and forth in the middle of the room.

She was a little astonished, but she did not make a sound.

Jiang Yu did not ask why, but Shen Zhishu explained on her own, “I’m just checking how this room is tidied up. I vaguely remember that the last time I stayed at Your Highness’s manor, the attendant in your manor put ten-tenths of her heart into tidying up my room.”

“Now that the General has seen it, how do you feel?”

“It’s not as good as the attendant in your manor, but it’s fine,” Shen Zhishu smiled. “This bedding is brand new. They probably just moved it to the sun to dry today. It’s fluffy and soft, and it still has the smell of the sun.”

Jiang Yu’s gaze swept over the bed curtains and then withdrew.

She then met Shen Zhishu’s eyes, “Which attendant dried it?”

“Why do you ask? Does Your Highness want to reward them for their merits?” Shen Zhishu shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe… Huangli?”

“Huangli?” Jiang Yu said. “The General probably means ‘Hongli’.”

“Probably,” Shen Zhishu sighed. “There are too many people in the manor, and it’s so noisy everywhere. I can’t remember them no matter what. But they were all bestowed by your Imperial Sister, so I had to accept them. By the way, Your Highness has a good memory, you remember their names.”

Jiang Yu said in a faint voice, “I don’t think the General’s memory is bad either.”

“Hmm?”

“You remember Lantiao and Rongju—” Jiang Yu turned and sat down on a chair, changing the subject. “But you don’t remember the attendants in your manor. If the girls who serve you knew, they would probably be sad.”

Shen Zhishu smiled, “Lantiao and Rongju are both Your Highness’s personal attendants, so I naturally have to remember them clearly. After all, they are with Your Highness every day and are closer to Your Highness. If they were to complain about me in front of Your Highness, I’m afraid I would have no place to be buried.”

Jiang Yu looked up at her, “Do you really think so?”

“Just kidding,” Shen Zhishu said. “I know Your Highness’s heart is like a bright mirror and will not believe in slander.”

“Then why do you remember the two of them?”

“No more jokes, let’s be serious—I’ve talked to the two of them more than the attendants who serve me,” Shen Zhishu said. “I’ve been back in the capital for half a month, and I’ve also known Your Highness for half a month. When I didn’t even know everyone in my manor, I was already meeting Your Highness every day, and I could also talk to Your Highness’s personal attendants every day. So it doesn’t seem strange to be more familiar with the two of them.”

Jiang Yu nodded slowly, as if she were lost in thought.

Shen Zhishu bent down and snapped her fingers in front of Jiang Yu, “What is Your Highness thinking about?”

“I was thinking,” Jiang Yu’s gaze fell loosely with Shen Zhishu’s hand. “I and the General have known each other for less than half a month…”

She stopped there, and the second half of her sentence did not come out for a long time.

Shen Zhishu tilted her head and asked, “And then?”

“There is no ‘and then’,” Jiang Yu said in a faint voice. “I’m done.”

“I thought there would be some sentiments to follow,” Shen Zhishu smiled. “So Your Highness has only been thinking about these ten words for half a day.”

Jiang Yu blinked, “There should be some sentiments, but I haven’t summarized it. My mind is empty, as if I haven’t thought about anything.”

“Then let me say—” Shen Zhishu said with her hands behind her back. “I and Your Highness have only known each other for half a month, but we have already become good friends. This feeling is extremely mysterious. My friends in the past were all met on the battlefield. We carried people’s lives on our backs and crossed life and death, so we became familiar quickly. But Your Highness is different.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s not a life-and-death friendship, but in half a month, we have already become so familiar that we can confide in each other. Your Highness, I think this is probably fate.”

Jiang Yu shook her head, “Fate is ethereal.”

Shen Zhishu raised an eyebrow, “So Your Highness doesn’t believe in fate?”

“Mm,” Jiang Yu raised her eyes and met her gaze. “I don’t.”

“Actually, I don’t believe in it either,” Shen Zhishu stood up and stretched lazily. “In my opinion, this is just a way for people to be lazy and take shortcuts, or to achieve a certain purpose. For example, if you want to befriend someone, you ambush them on the road they must take, and after you run into them, you say it’s fate. The speaker is deliberate, and if the listener believes it, the speaker’s purpose is achieved. Or, lovers are unwilling to spend their time thinking about ‘where love comes from,’ so they use the word ‘fate’ to prevaricate.”

“Then when the General said ‘fate’ just now, which situation does it correspond to?”

“Of course, I don’t want to spend my time thinking about why the two of us are so compatible,” Shen Zhishu smiled. “But now that I have exposed myself, I have to rack my brains and come up with something. Firstly, the two of us are somewhat similar, we are both people who like peace and quiet at heart; secondly…”

“Hmm?”

Shen Zhishu sighed, “I can’t think of anything else. Your Highness can help me think.”

Jiang Yu blinked, “Secondly, the General’s skills are very good, and I like them very much, so I often take the initiative to find the General, and we have become familiar with each other.”

Shen Zhishu: …

Shen Zhishu let out a laugh, “Your Highness’s words are a little too direct. Actually, I have always had a question about this matter, I don’t know if I should say it.”

“Please speak, General.”

“That day, I was wearing a mask, and the sky was dark. Your Highness shouldn’t have been able to recognize me just from a portrait. And how can Your Highness guarantee that I won’t reveal this matter? If I am of bad character, I might even use this matter as a topic of conversation and spread it everywhere. At that time, I’m afraid Your Highness will regret it to the point of turning blue.”

As her voice fell, Jiang Yu was quiet for a long time in the candlelight, her gaze fixed on the shoes of the person in front of her, as if she were organizing her words.

Shen Zhishu looked down at the top of her head and did not urge her.

It wasn’t until a joss stick’s time later, and Shen Zhishu was almost tired of standing, and was about to start another topic, that Jiang Yu finally spoke in a low voice:

“Actually, I have seen the General before. It’s just that you don’t remember me.”