Xie Wangzhi knew that Changsheng wanted to take her to watch the fireworks, but she didn't expect that they were going to watch it on the palace wall, and Changsheng actually dared to take her to climb the palace wall. Fortunately, the people guarding the palace wall came down to eat at this time, and the part of the palace wall that Changsheng chose was also off-center, and there was a ladder on the wall. Xie Wangzhi lifted her skirt and was able to climb up.
She didn't know how many times she would see the palace wall in a normal day, but when she really climbed up and felt the night breeze on her face, she realized that it felt different. This was her first time standing in such a high place. The Daming Palace was high, and Xie Wangzhi was on the palace wall, looking far into the distance, she could overlook the entire Chang'an City.
She planned in her vision, dividing the streets one by one, from Danfeng Street to Zhuque Street, the East Market and the West Market were closed tonight, Xie Wangzhi passed through the alleys and saw the twinkling lights. Those lights were lit at the door or in the window of every household, merging into a long river, winding through Chang'an City, like a river from the sky falling into the human world.
"It's so beautiful." Xie Wangzhi murmured, "Standing here is like turning into a bird and flying in the sky of Chang'an City."
"Yes, like a bird." Changsheng said, "I climbed up here before and felt that I could turn into a bird by standing here. The wind blowing over me was very comfortable."
The night wind in December was of course cold, but after climbing so many steps, my nose was sweating, and it felt very comfortable. Xie Wangzhi couldn't help but turned his head to look at the boy next to him.
Changsheng stood facing the wind, his posture was straight, the night wind blew up the ends of his hair, and the thin braid brushed over his shoulders. He overlooked the entire Chang'an City, his pupils were light amber, the lights of thousands of houses fell into his eyes, but they were not as good as the handful of broken gold kneaded deep in his eyes.
"… It's so beautiful." Xie Wangzhi said.
Changsheng thought she was still sighing about Chang'an City, so he turned his head naturally and said, "By the way, when the midnight comes and the fireworks start, you can shout towards the bottom of the palace wall."
Xie Wang was stunned: "Shout?"
"Yes, just go down and say whatever you want to say."
"Isn't this bad?" Xie Wangzhi thought about it and felt it was quite strange. "It's too loud and will disturb others."
"No. This place is high up, and we need to use fire to pass messages. I can't hear anything you shout." Changsheng said, "Besides, the fireworks will be very loud later. Even if I stand next to you, I won't be able to hear it."
Xie Wangzhi still felt it was weird and shook his head: "Forget it."
Changsheng did not force it. He took a deep breath and shouted to the Chang'an City in the night wind. He said the same thing every year, and it was very natural for him: "I don't want to be in the palace - I want to go outside! Outside -"
From this perspective, he is indeed a good man who keeps his word. Xie Wangzhi was shocked and looked at him blankly: "You..."
"No one heard it except you." Changsheng didn't care.
Xie Wangzhi looked at the lights below, then at the empty sky. The palace servants were farther away, and the people guarding the palace walls were gone. It seemed that except for her, no one could hear, and no one knew what Changsheng had buried in his heart.
She suddenly felt a little itchy: "Then...then let me try?"
"Okay." Changsheng had no objection, "What do you want to say?"
Xie Wangzhi looked down, hesitant, his tongue a little stiff: "I... I want to taste the fragrance of the door!"
This sound was only slightly louder than her usual voice, far from being a "shout", but being able to take a step forward was good. Changsheng smiled and said, "Do you want to pass the door?"
Xie Wangzhi's face flushed, and he stammered, "There are too many types of meat to use... We don't usually get to eat them in the palace... I like them very much."
She just wanted to eat something, Changsheng didn't laugh at her: "You can speak louder later."
As soon as he finished speaking, as if in response to his words, the first firework of the night shot up into the sky, exploding into a gorgeous flower on the canopy, instantly blooming to its fullest and then withering away, with each petal turning into a falling star. Then came the second, the third... fireworks of various colors shot straight up into the sky, dyeing the canopy in different colors.
The palace walls were towering and the sky was vast. This was the first time that Xie Wangzhi watched fireworks so closely. She heard the sound of fireworks exploding beside her ears, saw the stars falling in the sky, and the children guarding the avenue cheered.
She stared at the fireworks blankly, wanting to cry for no reason.
"Changsheng, Changsheng!" Xie Wangzhi held back her tears, turned her head and called the young man beside her. When she opened her mouth, she felt the night wind blowing across her lips and teeth, but she could not hear her own voice.
Of course Changsheng couldn't hear it either, he was also watching the fireworks, with countless stars in his eyes.
Xie Wangzhi suddenly felt an impulse and imitated Changsheng's previous behavior, shouting to the people below: "I want to eat the incense! I want it freshly fried--"
This shout took a lot of effort, but she could only hear the sound of fireworks exploding in her ears. She felt her throat was numb, but she couldn't hear her own voice at all. She secretly glanced at Changsheng, and he obviously couldn't hear her either, and didn't even know she was shouting.
Xie Wangzhi felt relieved and continued shouting into the night wind.
"I hate the Crown Princess—"
"I don't want to serve food anymore! I just want to make snacks--"
"I - don't - want to - go home -"
After shouting a lot of random things, Xie Wangzhi felt relieved, even though she couldn't hear a word. Shouting was too exhausting for her throat, and she was a little tired. She panted slightly, turned slightly to the side, and looked at Changsheng from a distance.
Changsheng stood a little further away at some point, as if to make room for Xie Wangzhi, so that she could do whatever she wanted. He stood on the palace wall, which divided heaven and earth, fireworks in the sky, and lights on earth. He seemed to belong to both heaven and earth, and yet he also seemed to belong to nowhere.
Xie Wangzhi looked at him steadily, and suddenly spoke softly. This thought made her tremble all over, and she couldn't speak clearly: "I, I want... I want to make this person happy."
A bunch of fireworks suddenly exploded behind her. The girl was covered in starlight, and the boy in front of her was reflected in her eyes. She repeated this sentence softly, and in an instant she was as devout as a believer.
**
He was very happy watching the fireworks and talking happily, but when he returned to the Shangshi Bureau, Xie Wangzhi felt something was wrong. After all, it was such a long way back and forth, his legs were sore that they didn't feel like his own, and his throat was sore. After saying goodbye to Changsheng, Xie Wangzhi dragged his legs back to the house, wanting to pour himself a glass of warm water to soothe himself.
There was no light in the room, so she used the light coming in from the window to light the candle. As soon as the light came on, she saw a figure beside the couch on the other side. She was startled, and after a while she saw clearly that it was Yao Yupan.
"Yu Pan?" The water in the pot was still warm, Xie Wangzhi took out the honey and mixed it, "Why are you back?"
Yao Yupan watched Xie Wangzhi drink warm water, paused for a moment before answering: "…Nothing."
After the warm water went down his throat, Xie Wangzhi felt better. He turned his head to look at Yao Yupan and found that she looked pale and a little nervous: "Yupan, you don't look well... What's wrong? Did you encounter anything in Hanxiang Palace?"
She dragged her legs over, but Yao Yupan became panicked, her eyes wandering: "Nothing, nothing at all. I just... It's the New Year, and I came back to see you and Hanyue."
"Han Yue is not here. She can make sour soup, which is perfect to drink after drinking. There must be many nobles urging her to come back now. I'm afraid she won't be back for another half an hour." Xie Wangzhi hesitated for a moment and did not force Yao Yupan. "What about you? How about staying in Han Xiang Palace?"
"… All good." Yao Yupan swallowed and looked at the girl in front of him, "Wangzhi, I just saw someone coming back with you. Who is he...?"