Chapter 197: Green Grass, It's Cold, Don't Go Out [Many Thanks to Everyone for Your Support]

Clutching the warm water gourd with a brazier before her, Seeing Qingcao's eyelids began to droop in the cozy little hut.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, the two large dogs in the room suddenly turned their heads toward the door, stood up, and began wagging their tails.

The wind stirred up by their wagging tails sent the charcoal ash beside the stove dancing.

This commotion dispelled Seeing Qingcao's sleepiness; a few breaths later, the door opened, and a gust of cold wind blew in.

"Sit!"

The lame groom who entered said casually, his voice hoarse, then he patted the heads of the two large dogs, who obediently sat down.

Seeing Qingcao looked at him awkwardly as he stood up again; after glancing at her, he waved his hand and said, "You sit too."

Having said this, he went inside, picked up a wine gourd, and took a swig.

The two large dogs also returned to Seeing Qingcao's side and lay down.

Sitting on the bench, Seeing Qingcao muttered to herself while poking the two dog heads repeatedly with her index finger.

'Teaching you to be so clever!'

'Teaching you to move around recklessly.'

The clever dogs tilted their heads to look at her, their eyes full of confusion, then they whimpered a few times in grievance.

"Girl Seeing Qingcao, this thing you made is very effective."

The groom said, patting the fur leg guards that wrapped almost entirely around his lame leg.

Hearing this, Seeing Qingcao's eyes lit up; smiling, she turned her poking of the dog heads into stroking and even scratched their chins.

Looking at Seeing Qingcao, the groom exhaled with a comfortable mood, then took another drink of wine.

Previously, Seeing Qingcao had often come to the small hut beside the stables.

During winter, she had seen this elder uncle several times forcefully pounding his lame leg.

Seeing Qingcao had seen this with her own eyes; although she had made leg guards stuffed with cotton, the effect seemed not very good, as this elder uncle would still rub his lame leg.

Coincidentally, a few days ago, the palace had sent many furs to their Young Master; after reporting this, Seeing Qingcao selected a piece of top-grade wolf fur from among them and, after much effort, crafted these leg guards.

Previously, the groom naturally had furs, but none like what Seeing Qingcao had made, featuring a wide waist guard that then wrapped down to cover the buttocks and legs.

After putting them on, everything from his waist to his buttocks and down to his legs felt warm, sparing him much pain.

Seeing the groom finish his wine and lie down on the heated brick bed to continue sleeping, Seeing Qingcao quietly added a piece of stone coal to the iron stove, making the fire burn more vigorously.

Hearing the sound of weapons clashing outside the hut, Seeing Qingcao looked at the dogs and said, "Isn't our Young Master amazing, training even in such cold weather?"

Half an hour later, hearing footsteps outside the door, Seeing Qingcao hurried to the entrance; seeing the Young Master with white vapor rising from his neck and head, she quickly handed over the water gourd, which was at just the right temperature.

Xu Xu Zaijing took a few sips, then handed it to Zhu Zhu Qinghu; after Zhu Zhu Qinghu finished drinking, he passed it to Brother Qingyun, Di Jing, and the others.

The few of them took a few sips without touching the mouth of the gourd.

While the others were drinking, Seeing Qingcao put on her ear muffs and gloves and walked outside.

Feng Feng Dabao, full of fighting spirit and somewhat proudly, nodded slightly at Seeing Qingcao and handed the gourd to her.

Afterwards, Seeing Qingcao followed her Young Master toward the bathhouse.

As Feng Feng Dabao and Zhu Zhu Qinghu walked toward the soldiers' quarters, they looked back at Xu Xu Zaijing, who was walking away, and said, "Can't see him anymore."

Feng Feng Dabao and the others quickly changed from their earlier appearance of having fought satisfyingly; slumping their shoulders and backs, they sighed in low voices.

"Hiss, Wei Xiao, next time we need to add another person to tackle the Young Master together; the three of us can't hold out."

"Keep your hand away from my shoulder, it hurts!" Zhu Zhu Qinghu said, baring his teeth.

Scar-faced Hu Ma smiled slightly and said, "Nowadays, our Tianwu Army drills have become a contest between betting for a draw and betting for a draw; the subordinates have also become smarter, gathering an entire camp of elite soldiers just to overthrow us."

"Let's use the methods we used against the Young Master to let them experience the 'perilous nature of human hearts'."

"Hehehe."

Everyone laughed.

"Hiss."

"Ouch, you touched my shoulder again!"

After washing up, Xu Xu Zaijing came to the front hall.

Lady Xie and Lady Sheng Hualan, the two sisters-in-law, wearing casual clothes, sat to the side watching the children, while the female servants in the Hou Fu were arranging breakfast.

After eating breakfast in a harmonious and joyful atmosphere,

Before the Hour of Chen (before 7 AM),

Xu Minghua took Xu Zaiduan to the camp.

Sun Shi stood up to tease the grandson in Lady Xie's arms, preparing to go to the warmer bedroom to begin handling matters submitted by the Hou Fu and those below.

Xu Zaizhang also stood up.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, he quietly pulled Sheng Hualan's hand: "Da Da Niangzi, I'm going to the study."

Sheng Hualan, slightly shy, looked around, hummed in agreement, then whispered, "Let go!"

Then she quickly caught up with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, walking into the bedroom.

At the dining table,

Xu Xu Anmei and Xu Xu Zaijing had not yet finished eating; seeing the behavior of their brother and sister-in-law, the chopsticks holding food in their hands paused for a moment, then the brother and sister simultaneously rolled their eyes in disdain.

After finishing their meal, the brother and sister stood up and walked outside.

Xu Xu Zaijing followed out; upon reaching the door, just as he took the heavy cloak from Seeing Qingcao, he noticed a grain of rice at the corner of her mouth.

Just as he reached out to flick it off for Seeing Qingcao, Xu Xu Zaijing's hand paused for a moment, then he continued to take the clothes; after putting them on, Xu Xu Zaijing tapped the corner of his own mouth.

Having served Xu Xu Zaijing for so long, Seeing Qingcao understood the meaning and quickly wiped the corner of her mouth.

Afterwards, the master and servant returned to the courtyard.

In the study,

Taking out the 'winter break' assignments from the book box and looking at the topics above, Xu Xu Zaijing sighed deeply; he really wanted to punch his self from yesterday, as there was truly too much homework.

At his desk, Xu Xu Zaijing pondered the problem, feeling the room's gentle warmth and sensing something was amiss.

After finishing a piece of schoolwork, Xu Xu Zaijing suddenly remembered that the county examination after the New Year would not be held in such a comfortably warm place!

"Seeing Seeing Qingcao, extinguish the floor heating and fire walls in the study, and open the windows!"

"Young Master, but..."

"Just extinguish them!"

"But... but the fish..."

"Do as I say."

"Oh!"

Seeing Seeing Qingcao draped Xu Xu Zaijing's outdoor clothes over him, then ordered the servants to put out the stove fire and open the windows.

Since the morning temperature was already low, the room's temperature dropped quickly.

One double-hour later,

Xu Xu Zaijing felt the chill and looked at the schoolwork on his desk:

'Hiss, it's not just my fingers; even my thoughts feel frozen!'

"Seeing Seeing Qingcao! Make another wolf-skin knee guard; I need it."

Seeing Seeing Qingcao, hiding in the warm outer hall, opened the door and poked out her head:

"Young Master?"

"I need wolf-skin knee guards, elbow guards, and a vest!"

"Yes, Young Master."

After speaking, Seeing Seeing Qingcao pulled her head back inside.

Xu Xu Zaijing breathed warm air onto his hands, then picked up his brush and continued writing.

Near lunchtime, Xu Xu Zaijing frowned upon hearing the commotion outside the study.

"Young Master Gu, do not take off your clothes; inside Young Master's study..."

Before the words were finished, Gu Gu Tingye, having removed his large fur-lined cloak and dressed in casual attire, walked in.

"Hiss! Hu!"

Gu Gu Tingye exhaled a cloud of white breath!

Seeing Gu Gu Tingye shivering, the young servant Zhi Que hurriedly draped the large cloak back over him.

"Jing-ge'er, what are you doing?"

Speaking thus, Gu Gu Tingye approached the fish tank in the study, peered inside, then shook his head, his face showing considerable regret.

Seeing Seeing Qingcao also followed inside; upon seeing the situation in the fish tank, she cast an annoyed glance at Xu Xu Zaijing.

Xu Xu Zaijing walked out from behind the desk, explaining his Ji De Xiang Fa to Gu Gu Tingye as he went; after casting a puzzled glance at Seeing Seeing Qingcao, he too looked into the fish tank:

Inside the frozen fish tank, several goldfish lay belly-up, some twitching slightly as if to say: 'Well thought, rightly thought, you are truly clever!'

"Cough, cough, Ye-ge'er, you try..."

Gu Gu Tingye: "Ah? Oh, alright!"

He then took the brush and wrote a few characters; Gu Gu Tingye shook his head:

"Jing-ge'er is right; the impact of these changes between cold and heat is indeed significant."

"Let's go; warm up inside the room."

In the study, Seeing Seeing Qingcao clasped her hands in prayer beside the water tank for a while before following them.

Previously, she had cleaned the fish tank well and had even become friends with the goldfish inside.

Who could have known...

Once the two entered the warm room and conversed for a while, Xu Xu Zaijing learned that the children of the Gu family's fourth and fifth branches were gradually reaching marriageable age, and discussions for betrothals and weddings had begun.

Bai Shi had come today first to discuss arrangements for the wedding banquet and exchange experiences with Sun Shi, after all, the fourth and fifth branches were not the Gu family's main branch;

second, to consult with Sun Shi on matters concerning the nobles and officials in the capital, filling in any gaps, since Sun Shi had grown up in Bianjing and understood many things better than Bai Shi did.

"By the way, Jing-ge'er, do you still remember the two renowned musicians from the music registers we summoned to Pan Tower on the day the tutor fell ill?"

"I remember! Their several pieces were all excellent."

"I had Zhi Que ask Liang Liu Lang about their backgrounds; why don't we go listen to them again today?"

"Have you finished your schoolwork for today?"

"No rush; there are still several tens of days until the Lantern Festival."

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at Seeing Seeing Qingcao, whose eyes held tears; he swallowed, nodded, and said, "Alright!"

"Seeing Seeing Qingcao, it's cold; you need not go."

"Hmph. Yes, Young Master!"

In the Main Lady's courtyard,

the two Da Da Niangzi sat on arhat chairs,

"Sister, earlier I heard Sister Wu say that the child of the Fu family, Baron of Changxing, and the Miss of the minor branch of the Feng family, Duke of Chengguo—her maiden name is... what was it again? Ah, yes! Feng Ziyi! The two families might form a marriage alliance..."

"Oh? Then we should arrange for the two Da Da Niangzi to sit at the same table; they would certainly have things to talk about."

"Naturally."

At this moment, Zhi Que, led by Xiao Zhu, entered the room.

After bowing respectfully, Zhi Que said, "Main Lady, Da Da Niangzi, Young Master and Young Master Gu intend to experience the biting chill of the northern wind; this humble servant was sent to inform you."

The two Da Da Niangzi exchanged a glance...

"Understood; tell them to be careful and not catch a cold."

"Yes."

Bai Shi beside them smiled and said, "You and Ye-ge'er needn't return here; if you're tired from playing, just go straight home."

"Yes."

Xu Xu Zaijing and Gu Gu Tingye sat inside the warm carriage.

The weather was freezing, and the roads of Bianjing had far fewer people.

Only upon reaching Pan Lou did the crowd grow slightly denser.

The two dismounted from the carriage and entered Pan Lou while conversing.

The waiter at the door, seeing the purple lamb-skin cloak in Brother Qingyun's hand, narrowed his gaze and shouted, "Third floor, two VIPs!"

The Tianwu Army garrison outside Bianjing.

In the north wind,

the red tassels on the helmets of Zhu Zhu Qinghu and Di Jing fluttered.

Di Jing reached out and pulled Feng Feng Dabao up from the ground.

Feng Feng Dabao kicked the comrade beside him, who was still gasping for breath, and said, "Ye Fang, you little rascal, get up yourself."

"If you keep fighting, I won't get up."

Di Jing, standing nearby, glanced at Ye Fang and said, "If your son doesn't get up, I'll beat you to death!"

As he spoke, the others in the same squad stood up.

Scar-faced Hu Ma, exhausted and on all fours, said, "Boss, your shoulder doesn't hurt anymore; we've won so many rounds, let other brothers take a turn!"

"Two battalions, six armies each sending one squad; if we win, the other brothers can rest easier!"

On the commander's platform, Xu Minghua looked at Zhu Zhu Qinghu with satisfaction, raised his chin slightly, and signaled Zai Duan to speak.

Xu Xu Zaiduan stood before the platform and asked, "Zhu Zhu Qinghu, your entire squad has been revived; do you still fight?"

Zhu Zhu Qinghu looked at the few people behind him and asked, "You all, do you still fight?"

Di Jing glanced at Feng Feng Dabao, propped his shield beside Zhu Zhu Qinghu, and rapped it with his sword.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

The other Hou Fu personal guards watching the scene understood Zhu Zhu Qinghu's intention and began beating the armor on their chests.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The personal guards, who had nearly exhausted their strength, crawled over on all fours and barely formed a combat formation for the squad.

The Tianwu Army soldiers watching, including Old Xu Xu Mo who had been knocked down by the challenge earlier, felt their hair stand on end and shouted loudly, "Fight!"

Hearing Old Xu's shout, Feng Feng Dabao glanced at him.

"Fight!"

Thousands of soldiers around began to shout, starting from a few and growing louder.

While shouting "Fight," they also pounded their spears on the ground!

Instantly, it roared like a mountain and surged like a sea.

"Capture the enemy king to capture the thieves."

Di Jing said from the middle of the formation.

Amidst the roar of the crowd, everyone passed combat orders by whispering into each other's ears.

As he spoke, the two squads advanced in combat formation.

When the melee began, the shouting around them first grew chaotic, then slowly faded away.

Feeling his comrades beside him, Zhu Zhu Qinghu kicked down the opponent's shield with one foot and said,

"This is truly a battlefield!"

Ignoring the 'enemy' on his left, he continued moving forward.

"But just!"

Di Jing covered Zhu Zhu Qinghu.

"One down."

Ye Fang and Feng Feng Dabao, shielding with their shields, charged and scattered the people in front of Zhu Zhu Qinghu.

"One less!"

On the sidelines, someone whispered a few words into Xu Minghua's ear, and soon a high-ranking official arrived at the edge of the field.

"Xu Hou!"

Xu Minghua quickly clasped his hands and said, "Your subordinate greets Commander Pei Si."

Di Jing panted heavily.

"Tch!"

He spat out the saliva in his mouth.

There were no 'enemies' left standing around.

Smiling at Zhu Zhu Qinghu lying on the ground, he said, "Wei Xiao... this... is the strength of a virgin boy!"

Hearing Di Jing's words, everyone around, whether 'enemy' or friend, the Tianwu Army soldiers, burst into laughter.

Scar-faced Hu Ma, lying on the ground, took off his helmet and threw it weakly onto Di Jing.

"Damn it, you're no virgin boy!"

Xu Xu Zaiduan glanced at his father, who was talking with the high-ranking official, then turned back and asked a question.

"Do we need to continue?"

Hearing Xu Xu Zaiduan's question from the platform, Zhu Zhu Qinghu, lying on the ground, waved his hand to indicate they should not fight anymore.

The martial demonstration continued,

Zhuang Zhu Qinghu and Di Jing were summoned by Xu Xu Zaiduan to Xu Minghua's side.

Xu Minghua patted Di Jing while introducing something to that high official addressed as Commander Pei.

Commander Pei smiled, his face brimming with satisfaction.

"Colonel Zhuang, I still vividly remember your demeanor in the Western Army back then! This armored warrior of your unit is truly valiant! Would you be willing to let him join my ranks?"

Zhuang Zhu Qinghu hastily cupped his fists: "General! This humble subordinate is willing!"

"Excellent! Di Jing, Squad Leader of Ten, I am Pei Pei Yuanchen, Deputy Commander of the Palace Front Command. Are you willing to join my Left Division of the Palace Front Command?"

Di Jing looked up in surprise; seeing Xu Hou nodding and Zhuang Zhu Qinghu's eyes full of encouragement, he pondered for a moment before saying:

"This humble subordinate is willing!"

"Excellent!"

The group chatted for a while longer.

Then this high official surnamed Pei departed for another military camp.

When they returned to Bianjing,

outside the New Song Gate,

Xu Xu Zaiduan placed a silver note into Zhuang Zhu Qinghu's hand.

"My father and I will not go; if we did, you would feel restrained. Have a good time."

Zhuang Zhu Qinghu smiled and nodded.

"Colonel, where shall we go to celebrate for Brother Di?"

Zhuang Zhu Qinghu flashed the denomination on the silver note and said: "Pan Tower!"

After a burst of cheers, Scar-faced Hu Ma rode his horse close to Zhuang Zhu Qinghu and said: "Colonel, I, I want..."

"Rest assured, there will be no shortage of Misses from the Qiyun Tower."

"Hehehehe..."

The group exchanged knowing, suppressed laughs, with Ye Fang wearing an expression that clearly said, 'You read my mind.'

Not sure if there are any more.

Stewards and fellow readers whose names haven't appeared yet, don't be discouraged; you might show up later.

(`) Heart

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(End of Chapter)