Chu Yue did want it, but when she saw how much Hupo was against it, she said, "We don't need it, thank you."
"Please wait for a while, dear customer." Once the employee took her order, he went out.
After the employee left, Hupo said, "Milady, we're outside, so we can't drink. It'll be bad if we get drunk."
"Alright, I'll listen to you."
Chu Yue knew that she would never get drunk, but she could not constantly terrify Hupo, so she let it slide.
Very soon, the dishes arrived. Since it was winter, eating steamboat was the best thing to do.
The only problem with it was that it tasted a little dull. Chu Yue ordered some seasoning and condiments and mixed them inside. When Hupo took another bite, she looked delighted.
"Look, this is how people should live."
After Chu Yue ate some food, she sighed with a well of emotions in her heart.
She had stayed for a long time in the mountain for the monk, and it was really boring. He did not know just how much she sacrificed for him.
Chu Yue could not be bothered about it anymore. Since she was able to come out, she definitely had to have fun.
Once she finished eating with Hupo, she went to pay for the food. Then, she went back to rest.
Even though it was expensive, she had to say that the conditions in the hotel were really good. The master-servant duo did not find themselves ill at ease while staying there.
Xiang City's ice sculpture festival started the next day.
Chu Yue did not expect that there would be such a festival during imperial China. But she had to admit that it was really lively.
It was especially so at the center of the city, because those who knew how to sculpt ice were all there to show off their skills.
Hupo was very interested in this, and she followed her mistress to the place.
"Milady, there are so many people here," Hupo cried out in shock.
Even though she had grown up with her mistress in a rich and influential family like the imperial chancellor's, she had always stayed in her house and had never seen something as grand as this.
"Come with me," Chu Yue said. Then, she squeezed her way through the crowd with Hupo.
When Hupo saw how her mistress had no qualms about squeezing her way through a group of men, her face turned so red that she looked like boiled prawns.
"Hurry up and move your feet. Why are you still daydreaming?" Chu Yue said and dragged her along, making her squeeze her way through as well.
Then, they saw the people who were sculpting the ice.
Huge blocks of ice stood at the center while ropes encircled the area. Aside from the sculptors, all other people were only allowed to admire the view from beyond the ropes.
There were talented people in every era.
The ice sculptures might not have been fully sculpted just yet, but they already had their basic form.
Some of them were carps that symbolized riches. Even though only their heads had been formed and the tails were yet to be done, the fish already looked to be alive.
There were some who carved pixius, which were Chinese mythological creatures that gathered wealth. Their mighty appearances and every strand of their whiskers were clear, and they looked incredibly alike the pixius depicted in paintings.
Aside from these, there were also sculptures of ice flowers. Some of them were peonies in full bloom, which symbolized riches and glory. Each petal was carved out by the ice sculptors, and they blossomed freely in the harsh winter.
The others were also things that symbolized fortune and riches as well as things that had great messages. All of them were shown before the people's eyes, and the area was filled with so many people that not a single drop of water could flow through. The event was that popular.
There was never a lot of entertainment during winter, and Xiang City's ice sculpture festival was an ancient celebration. It was only held once a year, so there was not even a need to mention just how grand the event was.
After all, even if it was held in the modern world, the place would still be packed full of people.
"Hupo, I saw a boy who looks pretty good," Chu Yue suddenly said, and her eyes lit up.
"Milady, you have to stop looking," Hupo quickly whispered.
Chu Yue was just thinking about asking Hupo to find someone of the opposite sex who was rather good-looking because she treated her as her friend and they were out here on a stroll. "We're already outside, so why are you still worried about this?"
Then, she dragged Hupo along with her.
The young man was around seventeen or eighteen years old. He was much younger than the monk, who was already twenty-three years old. Chu Yue had asked him that and now knew that he was four years older than her.
The young man was carving a fish with wings. The people beside him did not recognize it, and they said that his carving was ugly.
There was no fish with wings in the world.
But Chu Yue was able to recognize it immediately, and she asked, "Young man, are you carving the legendary divine beast Kun-peng?"
The young man was a little surprised that there was someone who managed to recognize it. He turned around to look at Chu Yue, and when he saw that she was incredibly beautiful, he was stunned for a moment before he asked, "Have you heard of it before?"
"I have. The Peng will soar with the wind some day, and with the might of the wind, it will reach the highest point in the sky. If the wind stops, the Peng will come down, but it will still be able to create waves in the ocean," Chu Yue said.
Hupo looked full of pride. Her mistress was just that talented. She could recite poems as if it was as easy as breathing.
Chu Yue had actually racked her brains before she finally came up with this. When she saw how proud her maid looked, as if she had a part in this, she found herself speechless.
The handsome young man who was carving the Kun-peng did not expect that this beautiful woman would actually be so talented. He was indeed carving a Kun-peng, but the poem the woman had casually recited was an apt description.
The people beside her were also stunned and shocked. Not only had the woman been able to recognize the fish with wings, she even casually recited a poem for it.
"Everyone, please don't misunderstand. I didn't write the poem. I'm just an untalented woman." Chu Yue had always been a shameless person, but even she could not bear their shocked gazes, so she quickly made things clear.
"Miss, you're truly talented, but you're even humble," a young man said with great admiration.
"Miss, you're both beautiful and talented," another man said. He was holding a fan even though it was freezing cold.
"Miss, you look unfamiliar. Which family do you come from?" another one asked. He was perhaps thinking about proposing to her.
Hupo was originally very pleased, but as she continued listening, she decided to speak up and quickly correct the misunderstandings. "Milady has already married into another family."
She could not have others thinking that her mistress was someone with loose morals.
Chu Yue, who was someone with loose morals, found herself speechless.
The shock from Hupo's words was great. With just one sentence, she managed to make everyone lose the thought of courting Chu Yue. Once they heard that she was married, they stopped thinking about her and went off ontheir own way.
"You're already married, so why didn't you tie your hair in the manner of a married woman?" asked the young man carving the Kun-peng.
"My husband is dead. Lately, I've been thinking about marrying again, so there's no point in me having that hairstyle," Chu Yue casually said.
Hupo refused to go along with this. "Milady!"
How could she curse herself to be a widow? Even though the prince had many faults, he was still her husband. She had to be with him for the rest of her life.
"Be good. I have to search for someone to take care of us. We'll be regarded with scorn if we're alone and have no one to rely on," Chu Yue said.
Her words made the young man carving the Kun-peng look at her strangely.
"Young man, what are you looking at?"