That night Sun Ce, Sun Quan, and the Lady of Wu, as well as Zhou Yu, were drinking wine in their hall. They chatted about the past. The Lady of Wu was fond of Zhou Yu and mentioned again that in the coming year, she would definitely go visit Shu County and spend some time with Madame Zhou.
Snow swept through the sky, and every household was filled with the cloying, warm fragrance of wintersweet. Zhou Yu thought of his mother, spending the new year home alone, and he couldn’t resist the wave of sorrow that filled his heart.
“I’ve heard the name of that friend of yours, Lu Zijing, often,” the Lady of Wu said, smiling, noticing Zhou Yu was likely thinking of home. “I imagine your mother’s spending the new year with the Lu family.”
“That’s right, yes, that’s right,” Zhou Yu said to the gathered group, immediately coming back to himself. “More likely than not, Zijing is taking my place to offer up sacrifices to my ancestors, and he probably also brought my mother back home with him.”
“When we go back this time, let’s not go home,” Sun Ce smiled, his face red from drinking. “Why don’t we first head to Gongjin’s house to be guests and take advantage of his goodwill?”
“You monkey,” the Lady of Wu chided.
Zhou Yu’s heart jolted, and he glanced at Sun Ce.
Sun Ce continued, “Shu County’s not far either. Have Dad send some men over, and the two families can live together. It’ll be livelier.”
Sun Ce had made the suggestion because he was afraid Zhou Yu would offend Yuan Shu and his family members would become the target of revenge.
Zhou Yu hurried to say, “If Auntie is willing to come and be our guest, Yu would be glad to welcome you.”
The Lady of Wu had inferred the general gist of her son’s words as well, and she smiled. “Let’s speak of it later. If you have time and can escort your mother over to us, it would be good for us to have a chance to chat.”
Zhou Yu nodded. That night, after the Lady of Wu retired into her inner rooms, Sun Quan went to find Cao Pi to play with after dinner. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu filled their cups again and again, toasting each other, drinking until they were drunk—and then some—before they stumbled, leaning against each other, to their rooms.
✦ ✦ ✦
That night, the entirety of the Yuan estate was rowdy. Zhou Yu and Sun Ce sat shoulder to shoulder on the bed, soaking their feet in the same tub.
Sun Ce leaned on Zhou Yu, speaking lazily. “Today, I sent Fei Yu out to tell my dad to send some troops to us on the northern side of Wanling.”
“The journey will be cold with these snowy days,” Zhou Yu said. “I am grateful for those soldiers’ efforts.”
“My uncle is in Wanling,” Sun Ce said. “As soon as we arrive in Danyang, we will be safe.”
Sun Ce’s maternal uncle, Wu Jing, was the governor of Liyang. As long as they could flee Shouchun, it didn’t matter what happened next. Sun Ce leaned on him for a while longer before rising and bringing over a cloth towel, wiping Zhou Yu’s feet dry for him.
Zhou Yu pondered for a moment. “You do not need to worry about my mother being intimidated into following orders.”
“It’s always good to be more prepared than not,” Sun Ce replied.
“The matter of Yuan Shu obtaining the jade seal and detaining your mother and Sun Quan cannot be made public, so as long as we escape, he will silently accept his defeat. No one will dare to tell.”
“He doesn’t dare touch me, but I’m afraid he’ll go after you. You don’t need to go anywhere else this time. Just follow me. I’ll bring your mother along too, and we’ll stay in Danyang. Our two families will live together. After I find some firm footing, then I’ll give you the post that you deserve.”
Zhou Yu didn’t say anything. He merely listened.
Sun Ce had drunk a little too much, and his head hurt, so he smiled and continued, “Let’s sleep, let’s sleep. Tomorrow is the first day of the new year. I’ll give you a posting on the new year.”
Zhou Yu chuckled. That reminded him of the New Year’s celebrations during their childhood, when he had brought Sun Ce along to his relatives’ families to ask for money to buy candy with.
“How old am I now, for you to give me an envelope for the new year?” he asked, amused. “Are you waiting for me to go buy some candy so you can have some?”