Princess Ningyang was very pleased to receive the New Year’s gift sent by Prince Zhao.

She asked about Prince Zhao’s current condition.

"I heard Jie’er has been ill recently. Is it serious? Has an Imperial Physician seen him?"

Gao Shan, strictly following Prince Zhao’s instructions, kept his mouth shut.

Seeing this, Princess Ningyang frowned. "I’m asking you a question. Why aren’t you answering? Can it be that Jie’er is gravely ill?"

Gao Shan remained silent.

Only when Princess Ningyang’s expression turned stern and she pressed him harshly did Gao Shan finally have no choice but to speak.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. It’s not that I am unwilling to speak, but Prince Zhao has forbidden me from doing so. I dare not defy his command. I beg Your Highness not to make things difficult for me."

With that, he knelt, looking as though he would rather die than disobey Prince Zhao’s orders.

Princess Ningyang grew even more worried.

’Could Prince Zhao really be gravely ill?’

She stood up at once. "Let’s go. I will go to the Prince Zhao Mansion to see for myself."

...

Li Ji was not at all surprised by Princess Ningyang’s arrival.

This was, after all, the outcome he had intended.

He opened his mouth to call out, "Grandmother," then lowered his head and began to cough.

Princess Ningyang quickly had someone pour a cup of hot tea for Prince Zhao.

Li Ji accepted the cup and took two sips of the hot tea. Only then did his throat feel a little better.

Princess Ningyang was deeply pained. "You’ve been sick for days. Why aren’t you showing any signs of improvement?"

Li Ji’s voice was hoarse. "I’m feeling a little better already. Grandmother, don’t worry too much."

Princess Ningyang sighed.

"You are my only grandson. How could I not worry?"

Li Ji said, "It’s just my luck to fall ill at a time like this. I can’t even complete the task the Saint assigned me."

Princess Ningyang replied, "Are you talking about the repairs to the Imperial Ancestral Temple? Just let the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince handle it. They aren’t young anymore; it’s time they gained some proper experience."

Li Ji said, "The Second Prince and Fifth Prince are still too inexperienced. The Imperial Ancestral Temple is no ordinary place. Someone needs to be there to supervise, lest they overlook something and cause a mess."

"You don’t need to worry about that," said Princess Ningyang. "The Imperial Ancestral Temple is renovated almost every year. The Ministry of Industry is very experienced with this and there shouldn’t be any issues."

Li Ji countered, "I’m worried that with so many people, things could get chaotic. What if someone careless breaks something inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple? It would be better to store away the valuables from the temple beforehand."

Princess Ningyang couldn’t help but laugh. "What valuables could possibly be in the Imperial Ancestral Temple? You’re thinking too much."

Li Ji said, as if half-joking.

"But I heard some rumors when I was a child that there was treasure hidden inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple. I was young and didn’t know any better, so I took it as truth, always thinking I had to find a chance to go look for it myself."

A helpless look crossed Princess Ningyang’s face. "Inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, there’s nothing but memorial tablets, incense, candles, and paper money. You were definitely tricked."

Li Ji looked into her eyes but heard nothing from her thoughts.

’It seems she’s telling the complete truth.’

Li Ji stopped his probing and changed the subject.

After much hesitation, Princess Ningyang couldn’t help but ask, "Will you be returning to the Duke Zhen Country Mansion for the New Year?"

Li Ji fell silent.

Returning to the Duke Zhen Country Mansion meant he would have to face Princess Rouwan.

The mere thought of that woman brought the image of her hate-filled eyes to his mind.

He closed his eyes and said in a low voice.

"I’m not going back."

Princess Ningyang tried to reason with him. "Your mother only has one son. If you don’t go back, she’ll have to spend the New Year all by herself. How pitiful is that?"

Li Ji stated flatly.

"She doesn’t need me."

Princess Ningyang heaved a long sigh. "Alas, a mother and her own son... How did things ever get to this point?"

Li Ji turned to look out the window.

Snowflakes drifted outside the window. The pine trees in the courtyard were blanketed in white, and icicles of various lengths hung from their branches.

His gaze was colder than the icicles.

The snow had stopped by the time Princess Ningyang left the Prince Zhao Mansion.

With the help of her maid, she settled into her carriage.

The carriage set off, heading back the way it came.

Princess Ningyang leaned against a soft pillow, closing her eyes to rest. Her mind couldn’t help but drift back to what Prince Zhao had just said.

Prince Zhao had said that as a child, he’d heard rumors of treasure hidden in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

’I don’t recall any treasure in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.’

She did, however, recall something else.

There was a rumor that the late emperor had hidden something in the Imperial Ancestral Temple before he died.

’But the Imperial Ancestral Temple is renovated every year. If anything were really hidden inside, it would surely have been discovered by now.’

’So, a rumor is just a rumor. It can’t be taken seriously.’

...

「Three days later, work on the Imperial Ancestral Temple officially began.」

The Second Prince, Li Hao, and the Fifth Prince, Li Yan, were personally in attendance, and the groundbreaking ceremony was a grand affair.

With careful nursing, Li Ji’s condition gradually improved.

With the New Year fast approaching, the mansion had been stocked with festive goods, and the lanterns under the eaves were all replaced with red ones.

On a whim, Hua Manman cut out many paper decorations and pasted them onto the windows.

After her decorating spree, the entire Prince Mansion looked festive and cheerful, brimming with the New Year’s spirit.

Ever since his father’s death, Li Ji had spent every New Year at the border. Conditions there were harsh; their idea of a celebration was just the soldiers gathering to drink and eat. Every time, many of them would end up crying as they drank, saying they missed home.

Li Ji was likely the only one there who never felt homesick.

Because his home had been completely shattered by the great war five years ago.

For Li Ji, the New Year’s only meaning was to mark the passing of the old year and the arrival of the new.

Hua Manman arranged a large bouquet of vibrant red plum blossoms in a vase, then turned to Prince Zhao and asked.

"What do you think of these flowers here? Do they look nice?"

Li Ji gave his objective assessment: "Gaudy."

Hua Manman huffed. "What are you talking about? These flowers are so lively and festive! They really bring out the New Year’s spirit!"

Then, from some forgotten corner, she produced a basket of persimmons.

She threaded the bright red persimmons onto a thin hemp string, intending to hang them on the wall by the door, but she was too short to reach.

She could only look to Prince Zhao with a pleading gaze.

Li Ji reached out, took the string of persimmons, and with a simple stretch of his long arm, easily hung it up.

Hua Manman admired her handiwork and said gleefully, 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"This stands for ’Everything As You Wish’!"

Li Ji raised an eyebrow. "You actually believe in that?"

Hua Manman replied, "It’s not about believing in it. What’s important is the good omen."

In addition to the persimmons, she also brought a potted money tree into the room, proclaiming that it would attract wealth. With it in the house, she said, riches would roll in over the next year.

Li Ji sat nearby, watching her fuss about with her decorations.

She was like a little honeybee, flitting here and there, diligently decorating their little nest.

Watching her cheerful expression, Li Ji suddenly felt a glimmer of anticipation for the coming New Year.