"Under the ice."
Pei Ye smiled. "All right, let's go look, then."
"Okay!"
She took his sleeve and ran ahead, heading deeper into the gardens, which was also the direction Pei Ye was going. Though the girl's short legs were trotting, Pei Ye only had to walk.
"Have you caught red carp before?"
"Yes! When the water wasn't frozen yet, there were lots and lots of red carp. I caught... um... several, and one was especially pretty!"
"Are you still keeping it?"
"I was... but later I couldn't find it anymore."
"Oh."
"Why are you shaking my little net?"
"If I don't shake all the water off, it'll freeze into lumps of ice. Once it's frozen stiff, you won't be able to catch fish with it."
"Oh."
There were indeed several ponds deeper inside. Though they were all covered in thick ice, Pei Ye discovered that the girl hadn't been talking nonsense. These ponds connected to Vermilion Pond and had been dug deep, so even in the depths of winter, a few big fish were bound to swim in. Only...
"Such a big pond, and such thick ice!" Pei Ye said indignantly. "You want me to catch red carp for you? How am I supposed to do that, jump in after them?"
Li Wuyan giggled nonstop, merely swinging his sleeve.
"Wait until the ice melts. We can't catch them now," Pei Ye said.
"Mm... then let's go look over by eldest sister's place."
"It'll be the same wherever we look. Look how thick this ice is. We couldn't even smash through it." Pei Ye stepped onto it and stamped twice.
But the child, carried away by her excitement, refused to listen and hopped about on the ice too, making several palace attendants gather around them rather nervously. After jumping for