The day after the trial release on the riverbank ended, everyone in Yi Prefecture City was talking about fireworks.
The pancake seller said that rice was growing in the sky.
The water carrier said the waterwheel had gone into the clouds.
The shopkeeper said that when the Shu brocade pattern was finally completed, his family's ancestral looms should have been so ashamed that they stopped working.
The area in front of Mixue Ice City in the west of the city was even more lively, with children chasing after them eagerly asking when the food would be served again.
Yun Shuyue was still holding two cups of fruit tea when Tiedan grabbed her clothes.
"Sister Yun, could we release a big tiger on New Year's Eve?"
"Why release a tiger?"
Yun Shuyue handed the fruit tea to the waiter and looked down at him.
Tiedan gestured and said, "I want the really, really big kind, big enough to swallow the Gan Family whole!"
Several children nearby immediately joined in the shouting.
"Swallow the Gan Family!"
"We also want to swallow Zhao Wuxu!"
I want to see it too!
Yun Shuyue quickly covered Tiedan and Doubao's mouths.
"Stop talking nonsense. The prince's fireworks are for the people to see, not for swallowing people whole."
Tiedan retorted, "But the Gan Family is wicked."
There are ways to deal with bad people.
Yun Shuyue looked up in the direction of the old Prince's Mansion, and thinking of Gu Moran holding a teacup on the riverbank yesterday, her voice lowered.
"The prince said that setting off fireworks in the sky is to let everyone know that Yi Prefecture will get better and better in the future."
Tiedan scratched his head, not quite understanding.
"What else could be better? It's better than having meat to eat, isn't it?"
Yun Shuyue remained silent for a moment.
"Definitely."
The children were immediately satisfied.
In the backyard of the old Prince's mansion, Gu Moran was facing a table full of account books.
A light snow had fallen outside the window, and the pomegranate tree branches in the yard were covered with a layer of white.
Charcoal was burning in the study, and the air was filled with the scent of ink and medicine.
Su Yao sat at the table doing accounts, her fingertips moving across the abacus.
"We collected 3,400 taels for the riverbank naming rights and 2,500 taels for the stall fees. After deducting the costs of trial deployment materials, riverbank setup, patrol personnel, and light fixtures, we still have 5,400 taels left in the account."
Gu Moran leaned back on the soft couch, holding a hot water bottle in her hands.
"So much?"
"Enough for a fireworks display."
Su Yao looked up at him.
"But if we want to include the costs of the lantern market, cleaning, night patrols, compensation for vendors, and fire damage, we need to be very careful with the money."
The Gan Family even secretly spread the word that if we used fireworks to cheat merchants out of their money, on New Year's Eve, the imperial family would definitely come to cause trouble.
Gu Moran smiled.
"Is he really afraid people won't know who's behind him? No problem, the more the merrier."
Shen Ling'er entered carrying a bowl of medicine. Upon hearing this, she placed the bowl in front of him.
"Mind your own business and worry about yourself. You spent half the night on the riverbank and coughed three times this morning. Don't leave a drop of your medicine."
Gu Moran looked at the bowl of dark, murky medicine, and the smile on his face faded.
"My dear concubine, could you please reduce the amount of Coptis chinensis by half a spoonful today?"
"Cannot."
Shen Ling'er held the spoon to his lips, her eyes smiling.
"If Your Highness refuses to drink, I will have Sister Yun hold you down."
Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.
Yun Shuyue was wearing a snow-white short jacket, a snowman hat on her head, and holding a roll of river embankment defense map in her arms.
She heard her own name called and stopped at the doorway.
Shen Ling'er looked up at her.
"You've come in just in time."
Yun Shuyue immediately took half a step back.
"I have other things to do."
What could be more urgent than the prince taking his medicine?
Shen Ling'er asked with a smile.
Yun Shuyue felt a heat rise to her ears and hugged the blueprints tightly.
"I... I'm going to check the courier schedule."
Murong Xue walked over from the corridor and happened to hear this. She hooked her arm around Yun Shuyue's shoulder and dragged her into the study.
" Uncle Fu is overseeing the shift schedule. You were running so hard on the riverbank yesterday, and now you're sitting here."
Yun Shuyue struggled twice, but couldn't break free.
I'm not tired at all.
Your knees were shaking when you said that.
Lin Qingdai stood by the window, holding a sword, and glanced at her.
Yun Shuyue immediately stood up straight.
Gu Moran looked at them surrounding her and Yun Shuyue and suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Shen Ling'er pushed the medicine spoon forward again.
"Drink."
Gu Moran lowered her head resignedly.
The moment the bitterness entered my mouth, my brow furrowed.
Yun Shuyue felt a little sorry for her and took out a piece of candy from her sleeve.
"Your Highness, have some."
The study was quiet for a moment.
Murong Xue leaned against the table, her lips twitching slightly.
Xie Wanqing lowered her head to organize the papers, but the tips of her ears were a little red.
Liu Ruyan sat to the side peeling an orange. After peeling it, she put a segment of orange flesh into a small dish and pushed it to Gu Moran's side.
At that very moment.
Uncle Fu entered from outside, bowed, and reported.
"Your Highness, the Prefect Si has sent over the regulations for the lantern market. Commandant Zhen has also finalized the patrol routes."
Two other businesses wanted to use the snowman design and asked if Mixue Ice City would be willing to give up its space.
Su Yao raised her head.
"The snowman won't let me."
Gu Moran looked at her.
Su Yao moved the abacus beads, her expression indifferent.
" Mixue Ice City will pay for the naming rights themselves, and the snowman must be hung at the highest point. Once the rules are set, they must be followed."
Gu Moran smiled.
" Shopkeeper Su is right."
Yun Shuyue, holding the blueprints, suddenly interjected.
"Won't it be windy if the snowman is hung at the highest point? How much compensation would we have to pay if it falls and hits someone?"
Su Yao glanced at her.
You have such a lovely voice.
Yun Shuyue pursed her lips.
"I'm afraid of losing money."
Murong Xue laughed out loud.
All you can think about now is meat and money.
The snow is still falling outside the window.
With the Lunar New Year fireworks season drawing ever closer, Yi Prefecture City is busier than ever before.
In the afternoon, the courtyard was filled with bamboo frames, lanterns, and wooden signs.
The craftsmen took measurements with rulers, and the deliverymen ran back and forth carrying ropes.
Xue Huan led several former soldiers to inspect the river embankment railings, while the soldiers sent by Zhen Daijin measured the patrol points on the outer street.
When Gu Moran, wearing a snow-white fox fur coat, came out from under the corridor, Yun Shuyue was squatting by the threshold, sewing a strap onto a snowman hat.
The hat had been damaged while she was running around; there was a tear on the edge.
She held the needle and thread and sewed very carefully.
Gu Moran stopped in front of her.
Are you trying to sew a hat into armor?
Yun Shuyue looked up, her cheeks red from the cold.
"Didn't the prince say that if I climbed over the wall again, he would hang my hat on the highest tree? I need to sew the strap securely so it won't blow away in the wind."
Gu Moran laughed.
"I was just trying to scare you."
"I know."
Yun Shuyue put the sewn hat back on and stood up to pat her skirt.
I went to the riverbank.
Gu Moran reached out to stop her.
"Wait a minute."
Yun Shuyue looked at him with suspicion.
Gu Moran took a newly made cloak from Uncle Fu.
The cloak was made of snow-white rabbit fur, with a circle of light red Shu brocade pressed around the corners, and a small snowman embroidered on the back, with a crown on the snowman's head.
Yun Shuyue stared at the cloak, her eyes wide open.
"For me?"
"An express courier can't be on duty at night guarding the riverbank; he can't possibly run around in just a thin coat."
Gu Moran unfolded the cloak and draped it over her shoulders.
Yun Shuyue raised her hand to press against her collar, her breathing slightly erratic.
The cloak was light, but warm inside.
She used to spend winters in Black Wind Pass, wearing an old cotton coat that was patched and mended again. When she ran down the mountain in the snow, the wind could seep into her bones through the cuffs.
Now the Prince's mansion is giving her clothes, medicine, a place to live, and even a cloak embroidered with a snowman.
"That must have cost a lot of money, right?"