Chapter 867: Let's Wait for the Snow to Stop

"Alright, enough joking. If you want to do this, go ahead. If you manage it well, just let me know. If you don't want to, then forget it. I really didn't expect you to take that story I told off the cuff so seriously."

Baifeng's indifferent tone forced Lu to wipe the sweat from his forehead; he was completely unsure whether it was true or false, or how he should handle it.

Baifeng leaned back in his chair and shifted to a comfortable position: "Alright, Lu, you've had a hard journey. Take a break and go get some rest. I'll chat with Xiong for a bit."

"Ah, yes." Lu hurriedly stood up, bowed to Baifeng, and turned to leave. As for this matter of the Horse-Keeping Official... forget it, it had nothing to do with him anyway. He would tell Changzhi and let him decide for himself. After all, it was his idea to find monkeys; whether he wanted to pursue it was his own trouble. He wasn't the one raising horses, so why worry about it?

Once Lu left, only Baifeng and Xiong remained in the hall—not counting the servants, of course.

"How was it? This trip must have been exhausting. In the future, leave such tasks to the young people. We are both getting on in years; it's better to enjoy some comfort."

Xiong's tone was also calm: "It does feel a bit more strenuous than before, but I can still manage. The young people haven't experienced war and haven't suffered much hardship; whether they can handle it remains to be seen."

"Even for me, compared to the leaders of those large tribes, aside from having better Weaponry and having cattle and horses to ride, it's still hard to compare in other aspects. My experience is far inferior to theirs. I haven't fought many battles myself, while they have been campaigning constantly."

"I actually want to retire and rest well, just like Wu, lying at home and not worrying about anything—how nice that would be. But now I feel I still can't leave; if I don't do these things personally, I don't feel at ease."

Xiong mentioned Wu, and Baifeng's mood suddenly sank. Xiong had been away for so long that he didn't know about many things.

But this matter naturally could not be hidden, nor was there any need to. Xiong and Wu had such a good relationship; once Xiong returned home and rested for a few days, he would certainly go to see Wu. Even if he didn't, he would likely hear the news from family or friends.

"Wu is dead. He died of old age, not long ago. He was buried in the cemetery at Xishan. The Ministry of Rites handled the funeral; it was very grand." Baifeng sighed and said it anyway.

"What? Wu is dead?" Xiong was shocked. He sat up straight, calmed his emotions slightly, but couldn't sit still. He slowly stood up from his chair and began to pace the hall. Clearly, this news was too stimulating for him, and he found it hard to accept for the moment.

Baifeng watched Xiong's back as it gradually slumped from its upright posture, as if he were extremely tired. Returning to Huaxia should have been a great joy, yet he had received such news.

He had already experienced such grief and had mostly recovered, but Baifeng couldn't bear to see Xiong like this, so he had to say: "Xiong, go back and rest first. I will have the Ministry of War make arrangements. Get some good rest. In these two days, there are some major matters regarding the reforms and other areas that require your participation. They are no less significant than building the New City, and you need to be in the best state of mind to face them."

Xiong looked sorrowful, turned around, and bowed to Baifeng: "Ah, alright. I will go back and rest first. I feel my body isn't what it used to be now that I'm old. I'll leave the Ministry of War matters to you. I'm going home, and then I'll go see Wu."

Baifeng waved his hand: "Alright, go. But don't keep saying you're old. You're still sturdy and strong enough. Wu was the one who always kept saying he was old."

Without another word, Xiong left directly, but his steps looked very unsteady. Baifeng was worried, so he beckoned to a servant who was trotting over and said: "Go, follow Xiong and make sure he gets home safely."

The servant respectfully agreed, then took small, quick steps and vanished in a flash.

Baifeng lay on his chair, picked up the map, and muttered to himself: "Lian Po is old, but can he still eat?"

Baifeng had originally wanted to ask Xiong about his current opinion of Shaoyin, as well as his tiger sons, and incidentally show off his soon-to-be-born grandson, but none of that could be mentioned now.

Upon returning home, Xiong didn't speak much to his family. After taking his first bath in such a long time, he went to his room to sleep, not even eating a meal. Everyone thought he was just too tired, so they didn't disturb him.

Shaoyin naturally couldn't take leave immediately; he still had to report to the Battalion, wait for the mission to be declared over, and then have his leave scheduled before he could leave. It would take at least until the next day.

However, the next day, they missed each other perfectly again. When Shaoyin brought his wife and children home, it was already nearly noon, because Qinyang still had to go through the leave application process. Fortunately, it was easier for female soldiers to get leave, especially one like her who had children.

But Xiong, after eating breakfast early in the morning, took a jar of Wine and went to the cemetery alone. The tallest grave was naturally Wu's; Xiong didn't need to spend any effort looking for it.

He walked to the front of the grave, took a look, and then gave a bitter laugh: "Heh, Changping Marquis."

He sat down directly in front of Wu's tombstone without a care, put down the wine jar, opened it, and began to mutter: "Changping Marquis, with such a high Nobility, why did you die so early? Weren't you in good health before? If you ask me, they should have made you a Count back then. That way, seeing that your Nobility wasn't as high as mine, maybe you would have lived a few more years just to prove a point."

As Xiong rambled, he poured the wine in front of the grave. This method of sacrifice was taught by Baifeng. Facing a friend he had known his whole life, Xiong didn't feel it was a waste at all. As he spoke, he had to take a drink himself.

The alcohol content of the wine wasn't high, and the jar wasn't large, but as he drank and chatted, he felt a bit dizzy. The sky had been overcast, and the cemetery was cold, desolate, and very quiet.

He didn't know how much time had passed—Xiong wasn't sure—but there was only a little bit of wine left in the jar when it started to Snow, and it grew heavier and heavier. In no time at all, the ground had turned white.

Xiong felt a chill on his back, and the snow on his head melted into water and dripped down. He simply picked up the jar and poured all the remaining wine in front of the grave.

"Wu, the snow is getting heavy. I should go back. We'll chat next time. You're covered in such a thick quilt of earth, you certainly aren't cold, but I am, so I won't keep you company."

In the conference room, Baifeng was discussing the details of the meeting with the members of the Secretariat. Yu asked: "King, everything is almost ready now. The reform plans and procedures for the departments and official ranks have all been completed, and the matters related to the Planned Economy have also been prepared."

"You've seen the samples of the bills and had no issues, and the printing is also being prepared. So, when is it appropriate for us to convene the meeting? Marshal Xiong has also returned now."

Baifeng stood up and saw that it was actually snowing outside. As soon as he opened the window, a lot of snow blew in, but as the snowflakes entered the warm room, they immediately melted into water.

"It's snowing. Looking at it, it's quite heavy and won't stop for a while. Let's just give everyone two days off first and hold the meeting when the snow stops. Otherwise, with so many people, there will be snow and water tracked everywhere."

Although this reason was strange, Yu could not raise an objection and could only agree: "Yes, then we shall wait for the snow to stop."