Chapter 270: Winter Solstice

"Ouch, Mother! Mother! Let go!"

No sooner had he spoken than the boy who had made the sound was grabbed by the ear by Xu Zaijing's maternal aunt.

"You're the one with the most to say!"

The other aunts in the room looked at the two nephews who had taken their seats,

and one after another, they revealed expressions of concern. The grandmother asked even more anxiously:

"Neither of you was hurt, were you?"

"Grandmother, no! It was just that a guard in the manor accidentally took a blow from a club!"

Hearing Zaihang's words, the two elders nodded.

The eldest aunt on the side asked:

"Where did you two encounter the thieves?"

Xu Zaijing described the location where the incident occurred.

The other elders asked a few more questions, and the sequence of events became more or less clear.

Xu Zaijing's grandfather said with a worried look:

"That area hasn't been peaceful for a while; there are quite a few temples and Daoist shrines there. I've heard people say that to recruit disciples, some temples have taken in quite a few vagrants and ruffians of unknown origin."

"But no one knows if there are any desperate criminals among these people."

The eldest aunt on the side looked at the two nephews and said:

"Father is right! I heard that just a few days ago, a woman was returning home from offering incense in broad daylight when the jewelry on her head was snatched by someone. She reported it to the authorities, but there's been no news. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt, just frightened."

Xu Zaijing's grandfather stroked his beard and continued:

"In normal times, with temples providing food and drink, one naturally wouldn't notice their origins!"

"But in this weather, few temples can afford to store rice and grain for these days! Once they go hungry, these wolves naturally reveal their true colors."

After the old man finished speaking, Xu Zaijing's maternal aunt said:

"These two children even brought quite a few things with them!"

The two elders looked at each other and smiled, and it was Xu Zaijing's grandmother who said: "Children, tell Grandmother, what did you bring?"

"Meat, vegetables."

After Xu Zaijing finished speaking, the second aunt on the side smiled and said:

"Father, Mother, looking at this, the Tenth Daughter truly wasn't cherished in vain; even in weather like this, she still remembers us."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a burst of laughter in the room.

Seeing the confused expressions of the two Xu brothers, it was their eldest aunt who looked at them and said:

"Children, you are young and don't know, but actually, our Sun family has always had a family motto."

Hearing the eldest aunt's words, the Sun family's old master also showed an expression of approval.

"Eldest Aunt, what family motto?"

"It is that once winter begins, the family storeroom must be stocked with three months' worth of charcoal and food!"

Xu Zaijing nodded, though he didn't ask why his mother still let them come if the Sun family had this motto; even if the Sun family didn't need it, it didn't mean the Ni family wouldn't.

Zaihang, however, sat on his chair and asked somewhat puzzled:

"Grandfather, how could our family have such a family motto?"

Hearing Zaihang's words, the others in the room who were younger also showed expressions of curiosity.

The old man, wearing a brocade-padded jacket, looked at everyone, sighed, and said:

"That is naturally because we have gone hungry and suffered from the cold!"

"I heard from our ancestors that one year, it snowed after the start of winter, and it kept snowing for nearly a month and a half. If it hadn't been for the harvest from the farm being transported home just in time—"

"We would have had to dismantle three rooms' worth of timber just to chop up for firewood!"

As he spoke, the old man shook his head quite melancholically.

The listeners in the room looked at each other; if the city was like this after only seven or eight days of snow, what would it be like after more than forty days...

Calculating the time, it was probably something that happened seventy or eighty years ago.

After finishing their conversation, Xu Zaijing and his elder brother looked at each other and then stood up. Zaihang said:

"Grandfather, Grandmother, since everything is fine at home, Zaijing and I will head back while the sky is still bright."

"This! Why not eat a meal before leaving!"

After the eldest aunt finished speaking, Xu Zaijing's grandfather waved his hand and said:

"In weather like this, the roads are hard to travel! The children have good intentions, so let them go back! By the time they reach the Xu manor, it might already be dark."

The Zaihang brothers bowed to their elders and prepared to leave.

"You two wait a moment longer!"

Xu Zaijing and his elder brother were about to leave immediately; the reason was naturally that if they didn't leave, they would have to stay the night.

For eight people, three meals—lunch, dinner, and tomorrow morning—would consume quite a bit of food, even if it wasn't more than what they had brought.

It was better to hurry back to the Xu manor while the sky was still bright.

Their grandfather made the two wait a moment to fill four large gourds with hot sugar water, and prepared ten meat buns, six torches, and two fire starters.

The gourds and meat buns were all wrapped in a mattress and placed in the bamboo basket they had brought for the vegetables.

When they left, the Sun family's servants, guards, and boys held knives, spears, and bows to see the eight people from the Xu manor to the gate.

Ni Tengyue followed behind with his younger brother; after the few words in the main hall, he also understood the Xu family's concern for them.

After everyone bowed to each other, the group of eight led by Xu Zaijing set off on the road back.

The guard who had been injured on the way over had already had ointment applied, and he even had a few patches tucked in his bosom.

Whether it was the Sun family themselves or their in-laws, the vast majority were military officers, and the one thing they were never short of in the house were these kinds of healing patches.

After exiting the alley where the Sun manor was located,

Xu Zaijing and the eight others did not head east to return to the Xu manor, but instead gazed at the inner city wall and continued walking south.

This journey was actually somewhat easy, because with the north wind blowing, the eight of them were traveling with the wind, which provided some assistance.

On the road, there were far fewer temples and Daoist shrines than near the West Water Gate,

and they didn't see any gathered thieves like before.

After walking for half an hour,

the surrounding area no longer had any signs of human life.

After walking briskly for a few steps while being blown by the wind, Qingyun, who was on Xu Zaijing's left, suddenly stopped.

The others also stopped their steps.

One of the Marquis manor's personal guards even placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The flag on the litter was still being blown until it rattled.

Xu Zaijing followed Qingyun's gaze and only saw two half-grown children wrapped in tattered clothes huddled in a wind-sheltered corner under a wall.

Xu Zaijing's voice came through his neck warmer: "Let's go, let's go take a look."

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing was about to drag the litter toward the side of the road.

But his shoulder was held back by Qingyun.

Looking at Xu Zaijing's puzzled gaze, Qingyun shouted with a somewhat dry and hoarse throat:

"Young Master, no need to go over; they are already..."

When Qingyun spoke, he still had the rope for pulling the litter tied to his body.

Alan, who was following beside them, had already sensed Xu Zaijing's intention and walked toward the two children.

Arriving at the wall, Alan took off the hand-warmers (the kind of gloves with one sleeve for four fingers and one for the thumb) from his hands.

Looking at the frost-covered faces, Alan touched their bodies, feeling the cold and hardness,

and he shook his head at the others behind him.

When Alan walked back,

Xu Zaijing patted Qingyun on the shoulder.

"Let's go!"

Qingyun looked at the figures by the wall, sighed, and continued walking forward.

After walking forward for two quarter-hours,

sorrowful cries suddenly came from a courtyard by the road.

"Yanniang! Yanniang!"

"Ah!!!"

When Xu Zaijing's group walked closer,

a Marquis manor personal guard climbed up a tree by the road to look into the courtyard that made the sound, and then reported back:

In the courtyard, the house had already been crushed by the heavy snow.

A man was in the courtyard, desperately trying to lift a crossbeam as thick as a thigh from the collapsed house.

But this crossbeam was connected to a section of the roof, and with the accumulated snow on top, his strength couldn't shake it in the slightest.

His few shouts didn't draw anyone out from the surrounding courtyards.

Xu Zaihang looked at his younger brother and said: "Little Five, let's..."

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing took off the rope tied around his body and walked toward the courtyard.

The gate was opened from the inside by the Marquis manor personal guard who had climbed the wall and entered the courtyard.

In the courtyard, the man was still futilely lifting the crossbeam. When he heard the sound behind him, he turned his head to look and was so frightened by the few men carrying swords that he trembled.

Then, resigning himself to his fate, he knelt on the ground and said:

"Just chop me to death; it will be just right to let me be reunited with Yanniang. Wuwuwu."

As he spoke and cried, he closed his eyes.

Then he heard someone say: "Get up, help!"

The man was stunned, and only then did he see someone carefully observing his collapsed house.

"There's no one under this house beam!"

Subsequently, to the man's ecstatic expression, this thick crossbeam was lifted up by one person.

Along with it, the entire section of the roof was also raised by the height of a small person.

The man couldn't care about anything else; shouting 'Yanniang' while crawling on all fours, he climbed inside.

"Yanniang!"

Very quickly, Qingyun and Alan dragged the man and a pregnant woman with blood on her forehead out from under this section of the roof.

"Bedding, clothes, and the rice jar!"

Hearing Xu Zaijing's voice, the others pulled out these few items he had mentioned.

"Hoo!"

"Clang! Crash!"

Xu Zaijing let go of the crossbeam in his hands, and the house collapsed even more thoroughly.

Qingyun helped the couple into a room in the courtyard; upon entering, they discovered it was the kitchen.

Xu Zaijing casually took the heavy rice jar into the kitchen, looked at the woman who was slowly waking up, and after nodding to the others, said:

"With that, we shall take our leave."

As he spoke, he walked out, and Alan, who had put down the bedding, also nodded.

Zaihang looked at the pregnant woman, not knowing what he was thinking of.

He took a fire starter from his bosom, blew it until it lit, lit the candle in the kitchen, and then untied a jade pendant from his body and placed it on the stove.

The woman who was slowly waking up looked at her husband, then looked at the surrounding environment, recalling the scene she saw before fainting,

and already understood that they had been saved by someone.

"Husband, Husband, did you ask for their names?"

The man, who was tightly hugging his wife, was stunned, and hurriedly leaned his wife gently against the woodpile and said:

"Yanniang, I will go ask!"

When Xu Zaijing and Qingyun put on the ropes again, preparing to continue walking, the man chased them out,

shouting in the snow:

"Benefactors! Benefactors! Please tell this humble scholar your names!"

As he spoke, not knowing if it was from exhaustion or the slippery ground, the man fell flat on the ground.

Zaihang hurriedly helped him up.

That person also saw the flag that read 'Marquis Yongyi Xu'.

"So it was the noble people from the Marquis manor!"

Zaihang smiled and nodded, saying: "This gentleman, please take good care of your family; we still have matters to attend to, so we will take our leave first."

"Good! Good! Then this humble scholar won't delay the noble people's business!"

"The grace of your helping hand, this humble person will engrave in my heart!"

As he spoke, the man bowed deeply.

Zaihang let go of the hand supporting the man and followed the others.

When he looked back again, he saw the man kneeling in the snow, kowtowing to the group.

The rescued man returned to the dilapidated courtyard, entered the kitchen, and laid out the bedding under his wife.

After the two whispered to each other for a while, he took a pot lid and walked out.

He shoveled some snow back, threw it into the iron pot, and said painfully: "Da Niangzi, the fire source is gone, this..."

"Fool, look at the candlestick!"

The man turned around and only then saw the lit candle and the jade pendant under the candlestick.

After handing the jade pendant to that Yanniang, the man began to start a fire.

Xu Zaijing was walking on the road, and Alan, who was beside him, walked to his side along with Xunshu.

Alan's muffled voice came through his scarf:

"Young Master, that man shouted for so long, why didn't anyone come out to help?"

Qingyun, on Xu Zaijing's other side, said: "Look at the accumulated snow at the gates nearby; those families perhaps... couldn't get out."

The uninjured Marquis manor personal guard in the team walked over, took the ropes off Alan and Xunshu, placed them on his own shoulders, and explained:

"It's not for the sake of going out, the snow at the door should also be cleared! But the snow is so thick, sigh!"

Alan and Xunshu looked at each other and probably understood; it was likely not that they were starving and had no strength, but that they were already...

The area they passed through was not a wealthy neighborhood or alley.

Houses crushed by the snow could be seen from time to time by the road, but there were no cries for help like before inside.

Some chimneys were still emitting smoke.

And those that weren't, one didn't know if there was no one left, or if the people were gone.

When Xu Zaijing and the others arrived near Jiying Alley,

the situation of houses being crushed by the heavy snow was almost gone,

because although this place wasn't as filled with powerful nobles as Xingguo Lane or South Lecture Hall Alley, it was still home to wealthy households in Bianjing, so the houses were naturally large and sturdy, and there were people to clear the snow.

Most of the chimneys that could be seen were also emitting smoke.

What was the same as before was that there were very few people on the silver-clad streets.

Except for the entrances of each house, one could hardly see the footprints of people or animals on the smooth snow along the way.

When they arrived at the Sheng manor, which they had been away from for seven or eight days,

the snow at the entrance had been shoveled to the side, revealing the steps.

Shou'an Hall.

The floor heating was burning hot.

The kettle on the small stove for making tea by the window was puffing out hot steam.

The reflection from the snow,

shone through the white window paper, making the room very bright,

revealing a layer of condensed water droplets on the window lattice.

In the very warm room,

on the Luo Han bed, the small table in the middle had been moved away.

Old Madam Sheng was leaning on a large pillow stuffed with cotton, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Under the old lady was a high-quality wolf-skin mattress.

Fang Mama walked over gently and covered the old lady's legs with a thin cotton quilt.

On the inner side of the bed, on the same wolf-skin mattress, a toddler of over two years old was sleeping soundly.

Fang Mama looked at the child with a smile and then walked gently to the side room,

where Cui Mama was concentrating on making pastries.

Fang Mama whispered: "This Zhen Ge'er, I think he looks more and more like..."

Cui Mama on the side didn't stop the movements in her hands and also whispered:

"That's right, especially those eyes, and he's so close to the old lady; even Wei Xiaoniang can't draw him away."

Fang Mama smiled and shook her head slightly, happy from the bottom of her heart.

At this time, the little maid Danju walked over and whispered: "Fang Mama, word from the front yard says the two Xu brothers have arrived."

Upon hearing this, Fang Mama and Cui Mama looked at each other in surprise.

"In this weather, how did the two brothers come?"

"They said they walked here!"

The two mamas looked at each other, and Fang Mama walked gently toward the old lady.

On the Luo Han bed,

the old lady was frowning, not knowing what she had dreamed of.

Upon hearing the sound by her ear,

and feeling the slight movement of someone pushing her, the old lady opened her eyes and sighed.

Turning her head, she saw Sheng Changzhen sleeping soundly. Thinking of how he wouldn't even look for Wei Xiaoniang just now, only burrowing into her arms, the old lady smiled:

"Little monkey~"

Then she asked: "Suqin, what is it?"

"Old Madam, the front yard says the two Xu brothers have arrived."

"In such heavy snow, they..."

Before the old lady finished speaking, she smiled with relief and lifted the thin quilt:

"Carry him inside, and have Bo Ge'er and the others come over."

"Ruan, bring my cloak over."

Led by Sheng Hong,

when Xu Zaijing followed his brother into the Sheng family's backyard,

he saw the old lady standing at the entrance of Shou'an Hall with a smile.

The plum blossom tree on the side hadn't bloomed yet, only having fallen with many snowflakes.

Fang Mama, who was beside the old lady, felt a slight discomfort she hadn't felt in many years for some reason when she saw the Xu brothers.

"Great-Aunt, why did you come out!"

"You traveled so arduously to see this old woman, I naturally had to come to receive you."

Like at the Sun manor, the old lady also held the brothers' hands and entered Shou'an Hall.

After taking off their cloaks before entering the room, Xu Zaijing and his elder brother felt the warmth and comfort of the room together.

Jin'an Studio.

The bedroom was very warm.

Minglan, who had been sent by the old lady to accompany the Xiaoniang,

was learning calligraphy with Wei Shuyi.

She raised her head,

and saw Xiaodie walking in from outside.

"Xiaoniang, the old lady's courtyard says all the brothers and sisters should go over."

Wei Shuyi looked at Minglan's calligraphy on the table and asked without raising her head: "What happened?"

"They said the two Xu brothers have arrived."

Wei Shuyi raised her head abruptly, her eyes full of surprise: "The Xu family?"

"Yes!"

Minglan on the side was just about to call for Mother, but the burning sensation in her left palm made her stop in time.

"Xiaoniang, why did the cousins come?"

Wei Shuyi looked into Minglan's eyes and said: "It's the Xu family and your eldest sister who are worried about us, fearing that their relatives might be freezing and starving."

Minglan pouted and said: "Mother, the Qi family sent so much anthracite to the courtyard, we can't even burn it all."

Wei Shuyi looked at Minglan and said: "Reach out your hand."

Xu Zaijing and his elder brother were talking about what they had seen along the way in Shou'an Hall,

and Wang Ruofu, who entered and took her seat later, had an expression of disbelief on her face.

The old lady said: "Hong'er, the anthracite in the courtyard can't be burned up in a year,"

"It's cold when it snows, and even colder when the snow melts; keep half, and find an opportunity to distribute the rest."

Sheng Hong bowed and agreed.

At this time, Changbai walked in from outside, with a few ink spots on his clothes, as if he had been reading or practicing calligraphy.

Changbai looked at the Xu Zaijing brothers sitting on the chairs, handed his cloak to the maid,

straightened his clothes, and bowed solemnly to the two of them.

Very quickly, Changfeng, Seeing Mo Lan, and Rulan also arrived at Shou'an Hall.

They had been talking for a while before Minglan walked in with snow on her skirt.

Rulan smiled and said: "Sixth Sister, did you go play in the snow?"

Minglan shook her head; she had come through the snow,

understanding the hardships her two cousins had faced on the road,

so she also bowed just like Changbai.

(End of chapter)