Chapter 271

Just now, when Minglan came out of Jin'an Studio,

under Wei Shuyi's gaze, she walked to the uncleared snow, and after taking the first step, half of her body suddenly sank into the snow.

The second step was difficult even to pull her leg out,

and later, after struggling to walk a few steps in the snow, Minglan was already exhausted.

After finally getting out of the snow, Wei Shuyi patted the snow off Minglan's legs and said:

"Ming'er, you walked such a short distance, are you tired?"

Minglan nodded, panting heavily.

"But your cousins walked all the way from Quyuanjie; do you know how far that is?"

Minglan: "Yes!"

Wei Shuyi squatted down, looked Minglan in the eye, and said:

"Ming'er, you are a clever child; you must know that the most important thing in being a person is to be sensible and know what is right and wrong."

"Your cousins traveled arduously to care for the family, but you said the anthracite in the courtyard couldn't be burned up, treating this kindness as superfluous; is that right?"

Minglan pursed her lips, shook her head, and said:

"Mother, I was wrong."

Wei Shuyi looked at Minglan helplessly: "Hmm?"

"Xiaoniang..."

Looking at her pouting daughter, Wei Shuyi said:

"Go."

At the end of the corridor, Minglan looked back at her mother returning to the courtyard, then continued walking forward.

Seeing another patch of snow in the courtyard, she stepped into it again, somewhat unwilling to admit defeat.

When she came out, Minglan was exhausted, using all four limbs, and Xiaotao, who was following, was covered in snow because she had to pull her out of the snow.

Minglan looked back at the tracks in the snow and sighed.

After the master and servant patted the snow off their bodies, they continued walking toward Shou'an Hall.

Entering the hall,

after responding to Rulan's words,

Minglan placed her small hands in front of her and bowed solemnly to her two cousins.

Xu Zaijing and his elder brother sat on the chairs, smiling and nodding to Minglan.

The old lady looked at Minglan, who was covered in snowflakes, and said:

"How did you get covered in snow! Suqin, go, help her change her clothes."

Fang Mama on the side held Minglan's hand and walked toward the inner room.

Just as they were walking, Xu Zaijing's voice came:

"Great-Aunt, it's been eight or nine days, why does it feel like Sixth Sister has gotten fatter again?"

Hearing this, Minglan's footsteps faltered, while Rulan covered her mouth and laughed.

Xu Zaijing turned his head to look at Rulan, who was laughing: "Fifth Sister's face has also gotten fatter!"

Rulan stopped laughing.

Wang Ruofu on the side looked at the laughing Rulan:

"There's no need to go to school these few days; the three of them just eat and sleep, sleep and eat, they're bound to get fat!"

When Minglan came out after changing her clothes, she heard her father's voice:

"Sanlang, tell your sister-in-law and Hua'er not to worry; everything is ready in the Sheng manor, and Mother even brought back quite a few things from outside the city a few days ago."

Minglan walked behind Wang Shi and stood with Rulan. The sisters looked at each other in 'shared hatred' and then looked at Xu Zaijing.

Xu Zaijing didn't look at them, but looked at the old lady.

The old lady smiled in agreement and nodded to the brothers.

Knowing that the Sheng manor was safe, Zaihang looked at his younger brother, stood up, and said:

"Great-Aunt, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Little Five and I still have to visit another family! With that, my brother and I will take our leave."

Sheng Hong said: "Why not stay for a night before leaving!"

The old lady waved her hand and said: "Are you still going to the Xie manor?"

Xu Zaijing bowed and said: "Great-Aunt is truly wise."

The old lady looked at Xu Zaijing and shook her head helplessly:

"Since you still have matters, this old woman won't keep you!"

"Go!"

The Xu brothers stood up, bowed, and then, surrounded by everyone, put on their cloaks and other clothes and walked outside.

Leaving the old lady and the other women in Shou'an Hall, the Xu family walked out together with the Sheng family's men.

At the Sheng manor gate,

Qingyun and the others were already prepared outside the gate.

When they bowed and spoke, the scent of wine on them drifted with the wind.

At this time, the little maid Danju walked out holding a jar of wine, and Qingyun on the side hurriedly took it and placed it in the basket with the cotton mattress.

The north wind howled, bringing flying snow.

Snowflakes rushed toward Xu Zaijing, Sheng Hong, Changbai, and the others, making them narrow their eyes, and their robes fluttered non-stop.

After bowing to each other, under the gaze of the Sheng family, Xu Zaijing and his group walked into the distance.

Sheng Changbai watched Xu Zaijing and the others walking away.

"Bo'er!"

Hearing Sheng Hong's voice, Changbai then entered the gate.

After walking for more than an hour,

Xu Zaijing and his group entered the inner city from the Vermilion Bird Gate, walked along the alley under the city wall for another three quarter-hours, and finally arrived at the gate of the Xie family residence located at Little Paper Workshop.

At the entrance, one could only see two stone lions, and the stone platform had already been buried by snow.

"Deng deng deng!"

The sound of the Xu family guard knocking on the door reached the courtyard, but no one answered.

After knocking for another half-quarter hour, still no one opened the door.

Xu Zaijing, standing at the gate, shook his head. He walked to the gate and used a little force:

"Bang bang bang!"

The sound was suddenly several times louder.

Quite a bit of dust also fell from the frame of the Xie manor gate.

"Who is it!"

An old voice asking the question came from far away in the courtyard.

"In weather like this, why is there still someone!"

The voice came from far to near.

Very quickly,

after a conversation with the person inside the gate, Xu Zaijing and his elder brother took off their hats and had someone identify them to confirm their identities before the Xie manor gate was opened.

"Sanlang, Wulang! Please come in, please come in!"

"Quickly go to the inner courtyard to pass the word!"

Xu Zaijing looked at the elderly Xie manor gatekeeper manager wrapped into a ball inside the gate, and after he and his elder brother looked at each other,

they stepped over the threshold and entered the Xie manor.

Xu Zaihang and the others walked in front, while Qingyun, at Xu Zaijing's signal, went to the small room where the gatekeeper manager stayed.

When they were about to enter the Xie manor's inner courtyard, Qingyun caught up and whispered: "Young Master, the stove isn't lit."

Xu Zaijing looked at the accumulated snow of some depth on the road in the courtyard and whispered: "Wait a moment, find an excuse to go to the back kitchen and take a look."

"Yes, Young Master."

When Xu Zaijing and his elder brother entered the inner courtyard, Qingyun told the accompanying Xie manor manager that he was hungry and wanted to go heat up some meat buns.

Because the Xie family's Third Daughter was at the age to discuss marriage, the Xie family mistress hadn't followed her husband to the south at this time, but was in the manor.

The brothers came to the outer room of the house, and after seeing the Xie family mistress and the Xie family Third Daughter come out wearing winter clothes, they hurriedly bowed and saluted:

"Greetings, Aunt."

"Greetings, Rui'er Sister."

Xie Rui, who followed, bowed and said: "Greetings, Zhang Brother/Jing Brother."

The Xie family mistress looked at the Xu Zaijing brothers and said:

"Thank you for the concern of our relatives, sit, please sit! Is everything well at home?"

"Returning to Aunt, everything is well! Sister-in-law is worried about her maiden home; do we have any shortages at home?"

Hearing this, the Xie family mistress smiled slightly and said: "There are no shortages, everything is well!"

After finishing, the Xie family mistress continued: "Is Dai'er still obedient?"

After Xu Zaihang gave a reply, he said:

"Aunt, since everything is well at home, Little Five and I still have to go back, so we will take our leave."

There were no men in the Xie manor, so it was naturally not appropriate to ask the Xu brothers to stay overnight.

"Good, good, I will see you off."

Xu Zaihang and his brother hurriedly declined, but the Xie mistress still saw them off to the second gate with her daughter.

Watching the Xu brothers walk away, Xie Rui on the side said:

"Mother, why didn't you tell our relatives that our family's anthracite is not enough?"

The Xie mistress said:

"What's the use of saying it? Should I ask our relatives to carry anthracite for us?"

"Use that anthracite sparingly, it can still last for ten days, so don't add trouble to our relatives."

After exiting the Xie manor gate, walking on the road back to Quyuanjie,

Xu Zaijing and his elder brother heard Qingyun's report: there was still a pile of anthracite in the Xie family kitchen, which looked like it could last for three or four days.

Perhaps the Xie family mistress had stayed in the south for too long and had forgotten how much anthracite was needed for the winter in Bianjing, so she hadn't prepared enough beforehand.

"When we go back today, we must find a way to send some anthracite to the Xie family tomorrow."

Listening to his elder brother's words, Xu Zaijing nodded.

After finishing, the group continued walking against the north wind.

After walking north for about three quarter-hours, Xu Zaijing patted Zaihang on the shoulder, and Zaihang followed the direction his younger brother pointed to look at the side of the road.

At the entrance of a courtyard by the road hung the two characters 'Coal Firm'.

After calling the door open, they discovered that in this coal firm,

there were only three people watching the courtyard.

Half an hour later,

Little Paper Workshop.

At the Xie manor gate,

"Bang bang bang!"

The gate frame was again knocked until dust fell.

The Xie family old manager opened the gate after identifying them again, and the Xie family boy hurriedly went to the second gate to pass the word.

By the time the Xie family mistress brought her daughter to the gate, they only saw the closed gate and four or five hundred jin of anthracite piled inside.

"Where are the people?"

Hearing Xie Rui's question, the old manager slapped his thigh and said:

"Sigh! The Xu family brother said it was getting late! After pouring out the coal, he tricked the old man outside to turn around, and by the time I turned back, the gate was already closed!."

The Xie mistress looked at the somewhat dim sky and sighed:

"Old manager, bolt the gate well; when the weather is better, we will go to thank them."

After Xu Zaijing and his elder brother left Little Paper Workshop,

after sharing some wine given by the Sheng family with the others in a wind-sheltered spot to warm their bodies, they truly returned to Quyuanjie.

On the road, the uninjured Marquis manor personal guard looked at his comrade who had taken a blow and rubbed his shoulder, saying:

"Letting you show off, not comfortable now, are you?"

"Well, I couldn't let both young masters carry a large basket of anthracite while I stayed empty-handed!"

"That's true... anyway, it's not me who's uncomfortable."

"Go to hell! Young Master! I'm going to have another drink!"

Xu Zaijing said in front: "Take it yourself."

This back-and-forth tossing of carrying anthracite for the Xie family took quite a bit of time.

Halfway on the road, the sky darkened,

and the surroundings suddenly became cold.

Two torches given by the maternal grandfather's family were lit.

Fortunately, the wind was much lighter on the road at this time.

Under the orange light of the torches, the group didn't speak; there was only the sound of walking.

The flag stuck on the litter was blown until it made a slight sound from time to time.

Perhaps hearing the sound of the Xu family walking, dogs by the road barked from time to time.

They only quieted down after the group had walked far away.

Xu Zaijing walked onto the bridge and habitually looked into the river channel.

A dim candlelight still shone through the window of a boat in the river.

That was also true; passenger boats didn't have the danger of houses collapsing.

After crossing the bridge, candlelight often shone through the windows by the street onto the snow.

They also encountered two waves of patrol soldiers from the military patrol station holding torches.

They were asked from afar what they were doing.

As Xu Zaijing and the others walked,

they saw a lantern by the road ahead,

and then there was suddenly a small downhill slope under their feet, and the ground under their feet also became hard.

Xu Zaijing, by the light of the torches, discovered that the snow here had been cleared for a distance.

They had already returned to the vicinity of Quyuanjie.

When he wanted to take off the snowshoes that were in the way under his feet and throw them onto the litter,

he discovered they were already frozen to the soles of his feet.

After quite a bit of effort to get them off,

the group walked briskly toward the front.

"Woof woof woof!"

"Woof!"

Two black shadows ran toward Xu Zaijing, arriving in front of him and wagging their tails.

"Young Master and the others are back!"

Chu Zhan's shouting voice grew further and further away; he must have run to report the news.

Xu Zaijing walked to the lantern and said:

"Master!"

"Uncle Yin!"

Uncle Yin limped as he walked and said: "Let's go, let's go home!"

Xu Zaijing could see the large lantern hanging at his own gate from the street corner, swaying non-stop under the north wind.

When Xu Zaijing and the others arrived at the gate, the lantern was taken down by the gatekeeper boy with a bamboo pole, and they entered the Marquis manor together.

Upon asking, they learned that the group had been out for about six hours.

Subsequently, the side gate closed behind the group,

and the outside of the gate fell into darkness and cold.

Qingyun and the other six went to the warm room themselves.

Xu Zaijing and his elder brother were invited to their mother's room.

On the way, nothing could be seen under Uncle Zhu's lantern.

By the time the two passed through the double-layered cotton curtain,

entered their mother's room, and the candlelight became much brighter, when they prepared to take off their cloaks, Xu Zaijing discovered that the clothes on his upper body were already frozen hard,

and ice had formed on the trouser legs of his lower body.

The room was very warm. Xu Zaijing changed out of his outer clothes and soaked his feet on a stool, which made him shiver comfortably.

Zaihang was about the same, but he had Hualan massaging his shoulders beside him.

Qingcao, while adding hot water for Xu Zaijing, listened to her young master and the mistress talking:

'Everything is well at the Sun manor'

'The Sun manor picked up the Ni siblings'

'The Sheng manor is also fine'

'The Xie manor is short of charcoal'

Seeing his eldest sister-in-law's worried look, Zaihang hurriedly said that he and his younger brother had carried a few hundred jin of anthracite there.

"Was your journey smooth?"

Hearing Sun Shi's words,

Xu Zaijing shook his head and said:

"Mother, thieves who rob houses have already appeared outside the inner city."

"I heard from Grandfather that those temples are harboring filth..."

Sun Shi looked at her two sons worriedly and said:

"Did you encounter them on the road?"

Xu Zaijing nodded and said:

"Yes! Mother, rest assured, my brother and I have already cleared them out with Qingyun and the others."

Hearing Xu Zaijing's words, Hualan looked at Zaihang worriedly, with a questioning look in her eyes. Zaihang whispered:

"Rest assured, my daily sword practice isn't for nothing."

After the Xu brothers finished soaking their feet and their bodies were warm, Sun Shi took her two daughters-in-law, daughter, and grandson into the bedroom to prepare for sleep,

while Xu Zaijing and his elder brother, with Uncle Zhu's help, slept on the Arhat bed in the outer room.

It was unknown how much longer the snow would fall. Sun Shi had already requested the Marquis manor group to gather together to reduce unnecessary charcoal consumption in each courtyard.

Very quickly, only the mistress's courtyard and the area near the horse stables of the racecourse had a few candlelight flames in the entire Marquis manor.

In the small room beside the racecourse,

when the Li family came to repair it before, they added a heated brick bed to the small room.

The small stove was burning vigorously, and the hot steam in the water tank was puffing out,

making the small room warm and humid.

Alan and Xunshu were sleeping soundly on the heated brick bed; they were exhausted today, and the barking of the two large dogs at the door of the small room couldn't wake them up at all.

Uncle Yin, who had finished feeding the night grass, walked into the small room, and the two large dogs followed him in and lay obediently on the ground.

Uncle Yin didn't go to the heated brick bed, but sat on the chair in front of the fire stove, took a sip of the strong liquor in his gourd, and looked at Alan and the other one.

He wouldn't call them tonight; the old man would carry it himself.

Mistress's courtyard.

Back room.

Xia Mama in Xu Zaijing's courtyard filled the stove mouth of the fire wall with a few pieces of anthracite and covered it with a copper lid.

She sat on a small stool and leaned against the wall.

The candles in the room had long been blown out,

because the firelight leaking from the cracks in the copper lid was enough to see the things in the room.

Listening to the howling cold wind outside the window and the roaring sound made by the vigorous flames in the stove mouth,

feeling the warmth of the wall behind her, Xia Mama sighed comfortably after drinking a sip of warm water.

"Xia Sister, I'm here to fill a hot water bottle."

Xia Mama hurriedly stood up: "Little Zhu Sister, give it to me, I'll fill it for you."

As she spoke, Xia Mama opened the copper lid, and the room became much brighter. She lifted the pot lid again, and a puff of white steam rose up.

Zhu Mama on the side said:

"Xia Sister, you've worked hard tonight!"

"Hey, what hard work, let the sisters in the mistress's courtyard rest more! And such a warm place is rare! Besides, I'm used to it in the Fifth Young Master's courtyard."

"Xia Sister is right."

Very quickly, the hot water bottle was filled. Xia Mama put the wooden stopper in, covered it with leather, tied a slipknot tightly, and handed it to the former Little Zhu.

In the time that followed, maids and mamas came from time to time to fill hot water for drinking or hot water bottles, and Xia Mama's attitude was always the same.

By the time it was the Hour of the Rat (after 11 PM), there was no one left, and there was only the sound of fire and the wind outside in this back room.

At this time, a maid walked over carrying a lantern:

"Xia Mama, I brought you something to pad your stomach at night."

Hearing the sound, Xia Mama smiled and said: "You still remember me, Qingcao!"

Watching Qingcao lift the pot lid,

Xia Mama said: "Why did that girl Yunxiang kick the hot water bottle out of the quilt again?"

Qingcao smiled and nodded: "The hot water bottle is cold."

Xia Mama filled the hot water bottle, looked at Qingcao who was reaching out, and smiled: "Silly girl!"

Qingcao was stunned, then hurriedly retracted her hand into her sleeve, holding the hot water bottle through her sleeve and leaving this place; on the road, the hot water bottle would be very hot to the touch.

"Xia Mama, tomorrow is still the Hour of the Rabbit."

"Good."

By the Hour of the Ox (after 1 AM),

Xia Mama lit two incense sticks, held them between her fingers, covered her legs with a small cotton quilt, and leaned on the bamboo chair to take a nap.

Sometimes she woke up on her own, sometimes she was woken up by the heat; regardless, the fire in the stove was always vigorous.

In the silent early morning,

when the drum sound of the fifth watch rang, Xia Mama had to wake up the maids,

and the kitchen began to prepare breakfast.

Before the Hour of the Rabbit (5 AM), Xia Mama woke up Qingcao.

In less than a quarter-hour, Xu Zaijing walked out of his mother's courtyard, wearing ear muffs and gloves, moving his body as he walked.

Arriving at the racecourse in the light snow,

Alan and the other one, who had gone to bed early last night and had their shoes dried on the water tank, were busy taking care of the horses in the stables.

After the morning exercise, the sky brightened, but it was still snowing lightly.

Sun Shi and her daughters-in-law and daughter were watching the children by the window in the bedroom, doing needlework,

while Xu Zaijing and his elder brother were practicing calligraphy and doing problems in the outer room.

This went on for another two days.

When Xu Zaijing went for morning exercise again, the snow had stopped,

and in the morning, even the sun had risen.

Under the midday sun, long icicles hung from the roofs and eaves in Bianjing City;

on some cleared streets, snow water flowed at noon, and by the afternoon, it had frozen into ice, making it slippery and difficult to travel.

Without the sun,

the night was even more bitter and difficult to endure than when it was snowing.

The second day after the snow stopped,

an imperial decree was issued from the palace,

opening the granaries in the capital to provide disaster relief,

and also ordering the Three Departments of the Great Zhou to release 200,000 scales of anthracite, to be sold at half price, while also providing it free of charge for disaster relief porridge and snow removal.

It was in this scene

that Gu Tingyu and Zhao Meifeng, who had been out of the capital for many days, returned to the capital.

(End of chapter)