The Double-Chapter 477 - 150 Joyful Times_7

The sound of voices mixed in, bringing everything to life. In an instant, the originally elegant and exquisite Mansion suddenly felt imbued with an endless liveliness. Every person there was vibrant and alive.

Jiang Li took a few steps forward and saw Situ Jiuyue standing in front of the fire, his brows furrowed as if he were in deep thought. It was only then that Jiang Li noticed, beside the fire, there indeed lay a pile of sharpened bamboo sticks; they had truly prepared everything as they said they would.

Jiang Li could only laugh and cry at the situation.

Wen Renyao drew close to Situ Jiuyue, seeming to ask him a question. However, it was clear that Situ Jiuyue was not particularly interested. Kong Liu and Old General Jih, who was dressed in a thin layer of clothing, were gesturing fists and feet as if they wanted to spar. Lu Jiu stood far away on the sidelines; he was a scholarly man and seemed quite averse to the idea of roasting venison. He kept his distance as if he couldn’t keep away fast enough from the fresh deer meat placed to one side. Hai Tang, on the other hand, was very quiet. She was now in the Duke Residence and had connections with Jiang Li, so perhaps for that reason, she was also there that night. Yet, she sat on the side with a veil over her face, her thoughts inscrutable.

Jiang Li felt a sense of novelty; the Duke Residence was completely different from what she had imagined. In fact, she had already felt this during her previous visit. It was hard to imagine that Jih Heng, who was deeply contemplative and unpredictable, leading such a vivid life, would live in such an atmosphere. She had thought that Jih Heng’s environment would be filled with cutthroat competition, scheming, and deeds that couldn’t stand the light of day.

But then again, it wasn’t necessarily so; not all people were as they appeared on the surface. What lay before her now might just be a facade, and she hadn’t truly entered into it. After all, she didn’t really understand Jih Heng.

As she was thinking this, Zhao Ke suddenly said, "The lord has arrived."

Jiang Li turned her head in the direction of Zhao Ke’s gaze.

In the snowy night, his red attire was particularly striking. Jiang Li had always wondered why all the men in the world did not wear red, thinking perhaps red was a color favored by women. Yet Jih Heng always loved to wear it, and not only that, he wore it exceedingly well. There wasn’t the slightest hint of vulgarity, and though he was extremely handsome, it was a heartless sort of beauty, just like his golden silk folding fan decorated with elaborate peonies, beautiful yet a lethal weapon nonetheless.

He slowly made his way to Jiang Li.

Jiang Li looked at him and said with a smile, "Duke."

"If you don’t want to smile, then don’t," he replied, "I know you didn’t want to come here."

Jiang Li: "...That’s not true."

"When it comes to saying one thing and meaning another, no one does it better than a woman," he said, his beautiful eyes shining like some kind of gemstone in the night, compelling one to keep staring, "And you are among the best at it."

"If that is meant to be a compliment from the Duke, then I’ll accept it," Jiang Li said calmly, "But tonight, it wasn’t the Duke who invited me here, was it? I assume it was Old General Jih’s idea, and the Duke, unable to resist, had Zhao Ke bring me here?"

Jih Heng said, "Since you know that, you shouldn’t hold it against me."

"I am not complaining about the Duke," Jiang Li chuckled, knowing full well the kind of temperament Old General Jih had. The thought that the usually unpredictable Jih Heng was utterly helpless in front of Old General Jih was indeed amusing.

"Don’t think it’s amusing," Jih Heng said with a smile that seemed to sparkle, "You’ll understand in a moment."

Jiang Li’s smile abruptly ceased, and just as she was about to reply, Wen Renyao glanced their way and, upon realizing they had arrived, called out, "Miss Jiang the Second, Ah Heng, you’re here and didn’t even make a sound? Hurry over, we were just waiting for you two!"

In an instant, Jih Heng’s smile became sharp, and Jiang Li couldn’t help but feel a chill from the look he directed at Wen Renyao. She wondered what had given Wen Renyao such courage to blatantly disregard any look from Jih Heng.

Well, that was probably the brilliance of their "Jixian Sect"!

Jiang Li and Jih Heng walked towards the group, the bonfire seemed to grow more vigorous than before, and the sound of sparks "crackling and popping" was especially lively in the night.

"Little Miss Jiang!" Old General Jih said with a robust voice, "Everything is ready for you! You know how to roast venison, don’t you? Come on then!"

The old man and Jih Heng were cut from the same cloth, seeming to naturally expect others to obey their words. Perhaps it was a common ailment among commanders? To issue commands and expect blind obedience. Jiang Li resigned herself and walked over, first glancing at the deer meat. The deer must have been freshly hunted; the hide was already stripped off promptly, yet it hadn’t been neatly butchered, just a large piece placed in a silver basin.

Jiang Li asked, "Is this freshly hunted?"

"Of course," Old General Jih said proudly, tilting his head up, "I hunted it myself, crouched for a Shichen Chinese Time before spotting this one!"

Jiang Li: "...the old general remains vigorous despite his age."

With the venison, bamboo sticks, and condiments all prepared, Old General Jih had even managed to find a string of birds, from who knows where, for Jiang Li to make a Beggar’s Chicken. Of course, with so many people around, it wouldn’t do to have only venison; on the snow-covered ground, there was already a bamboo mat laid out. Under the bamboo mat was a thick layer for insulation, and on top of it, there was warm fur.

On the bamboo mat, there was a long table. The table was already filled with delicate pastries and fine wines. There were two kinds: light green porcelain wine pots and large wine jars, presumably just dug out from underground, with the mud not even wiped clean.

These were their New Year’s Eve dinner preparations, and the thought popped into Jiang Li’s mind.

She had imagined that at the Duke Residence, New Year’s Eve dinner might be spent with the Duke and his grandson facing a large table full of delicacies in solitary consumption, given there were no others in the residence. Or it might be like the Jiang Residence, hosting guests where everyone had their own agenda, lively yet void of warmth.

But this view of the Duke Residence, devoid of flattering toasts or underhanded dealings, was a gathering of acquaintances, with the indifferent displaying smiles, those burdened by thoughts casting off their shackles, free of any other entanglements, just like the most ordinary households.

Her initial reluctance and unwillingness seemed to quietly dissolve away into nothingness all of a sudden.