Chapter 68 Chapter 68 The next day, until noon...
The next day, Shen Xuan didn't wake up until noon. It was all white outside the window, and the room was also bright.
The charcoal basin had probably been replaced once, and it was still very warm. Shen Xuan turned his head and looked around, and there was no one on the bed except himself.
He lifted the quilt and stood up, only to find that his underwear was half torn off, and a part of his upper body was red and swollen, and there was a burning pain.
Hiss, Shen Xuan took a breath of cold air and immediately fastened his underwear.
Xue Fenglin did keep his promise and did not go through the final step before the marriage, but he kept collecting interest from everywhere, which was really unbearable.
At this time, there was a noise coming from the ear room next door. After a while, Xue Fenglin walked over from the ear room wearing a coat.
It turned out that he did not leave last night, but went to the ear room to sleep. At this time, he woke up in the morning, so he came to Shen Xuan and asked, "Are you awake? Did you sleep well last night?"
Shen Xuan glared at him and said, “I had a dream. I dreamed that I was bitten by a dog.”
Xue Fenglin laughed loudly upon hearing this and said, "You look so energetic, you must have had a good rest. I'll go out and call someone to serve you."
Xue Fenglin said this and walked out of the room. After a while, Jin Gui and Wu Xin came in carrying a bucket of bath water.
After Wuxin left, Jin Gui came to Shen Xuan and said, "Brother Shen, the bath water is ready. The prince said you wanted to take a bath."
Shen Xuan fell asleep immediately last night and indeed did not have time to take a shower. This morning, Xue Fenglin had thought carefully for him.
So he took off his clothes and prepared to climb into the bathtub to take a bath.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the bathtub, he found that Jingui's eyes were always looking at him and her ears had turned red.
Shen Xuan looked down and saw obvious marks on his body. His eyes were still swollen. No wonder Jingui looked so strange.
He suddenly felt very embarrassed. After coughing, he said to Jingui with a straight face, "I can wash it myself. You go wait outside first."
"Yes." Jin Gui responded and immediately turned around and closed the door.
Shen Xuan took a shower by himself, and after coming out and changing his clothes, he called Jin Gui in again.
After Jingui took the bathtub out, Xue Fenglin came in with breakfast.
"I only brought Wuxin and Wuwang here. Their cooking is average, so you just have to make do with what you have." Xue Fenglin said as he placed two bowls of white porridge, a plate of side dishes and two fried eggs in front of Shen Xuan. The two of them each picked up a bowl and started eating.
Although this breakfast is simple, it is nutritious. Shen Xuan was hungry, and the food tasted pretty good.
At this time, both of them had put on their coats, and Xue Fenglin asked someone to open the windows and doors of the room to allow for fresh air.
It snowed heavily outside all night and the ground was already white. There is a wintersweet in the yard, blooming in the snow, with a refreshing fragrance.
"What a beautiful snow scene." Shen Xuan couldn't help but sighed: "I wonder what the scenery in the suburbs is like? It must be even whiter and more beautiful. After dinner, I want to go to the suburbs to enjoy the snow."
Xue Fenglin said, "It's so cold, why go to the suburbs? Be careful not to get sick. Isn't it white everywhere? Just stay at home and enjoy the snow."
There was a flash of unnatural look on his face. Shen Xuan saw it and felt a little confused, but he didn't refute anything.
After dinner, he was bored, so he simply asked Jingui and Wuxin to make a snowman in the yard.
After a while, a snowman more than three feet tall was built. Shen Xuan sharpened a radish and inserted it as a nose, used two black chess pieces as eyes, and inserted branches into the hands.
The snowman didn't look very good with its bald body, so Shen Xuan asked Jingui to take out some old clothes that she didn't want and put them on it.
After putting on the clothes, the snowman finally took on some shape.
Shen Xuan took Xue Fenglin's fur hat and put it on its head and said, "Look at this snowman, is it the same as you?"
Xue Fenglin smiled when he saw this, and asked Wuxin and Wuwang to bring pens and ink. The brush in his hand fell on the paper, and an ink painting of Shen Xuan making a snowman appeared on the paper.
He is very good at calligraphy, so his painting skills are certainly not bad either.
Shen Xuan came to see him and saw the flow of lines in his paintings. His back, the plum tree in the yard, and the snowman were all vividly portrayed. There is also a poem in the upper right corner of the picture, quoted from a poet of the previous dynasty, which reads:
[The plum blossoms and snow are competing for spring and are unwilling to give in. The poets put down their pens and stop commenting.]
The plum is three parts less white than the snow, but the snow is less fragrant than the plum. 】
Shen Xuan liked the painting and the poem, so he asked Jingui to put away the dried paper and said, "I'll find someone to frame it in a few days and hang it in the bedroom."
"I'll find a familiar picture mounting master to do it, and then send it to you when it's done." Xue Fenglin said, letting Wuxin take the painting.
"Okay." Shen Xuan nodded, and when he saw that heavy snow had begun to fall from the sky again, he finally felt a little cold.
So he closed the doors and windows and went into the house to warm himself by the fire.
After lunch, Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin took a short nap on the couch. When he woke up, he was so bored that he decided to go to the door and set off the firecrackers that he hadn't finished setting off yesterday.
It was still early and the sky was still bright. Shen Xuan walked out of the house and saw that the alley was empty, the doors of the neighbors were all closed, and there was not even a footprint on the street in front of the door.
As you can see, it was the first day of the Lunar New Year and there was heavy snow, so everyone stayed indoors and did not go out.
He asked Wuxin to light the firecrackers, but after a while, he suddenly saw a group of soldiers walking hurriedly on East Third Street at the end of the alley.
It's New Year's Day and even the military camps have been given a holiday. Why would these soldiers gather here?
Chen Xuan felt something was strange, so he sent Wuxin to ask. After some inquiries, he found out that the soldiers were preparing to gather in the west of the city.
The outskirts of the city to the west were where the Ye family’s army was camping. Shen Xuan glanced at Xue Fenglin and asked worriedly, “You’re rushing to recruit soldiers back, but what happened to the west of the city? Don’t you want to go to the Ye family to take a look?”
Xue Fenglin then shook his head and said, "No need to go and see, I know the reason."
Then he took Shen Xuan's shoulder and led him into the house and said, "There was a locust plague in the northwest before, and various places were severely affected. There were already many refugees gathered in the northwest of the suburbs of Beijing."
"It's cold now, and it snowed last night. I think it was the refugees in the suburbs of Beijing who were causing trouble, so the court sent troops to suppress them on New Year's Day."
"My uncle left early yesterday afternoon before he had time to eat dinner at home."
Shen Xuan's heart sank when he heard this, and he finally understood why Xue Fenglin refused without a second thought when he mentioned going to enjoy the snow outside Beijing. It turned out that he had known about this for a long time.
The locust plague was so severe that many people in the northwest of Jin sold their children and even exchanged their own children for food. Even in the capital city, which is richest in resources, prices are soaring and many people cannot get enough to eat, let alone the countryside where supplies are scarce.
The weather was so cold that even the river was frozen. The people had no way to break the ice and catch fish, so they could only eat wild vegetables and leaves.
After this winter snow, I’m afraid we won’t even be able to find any wild vegetables to eat.
I am lucky that I can still enjoy the snow here, but I don’t know whether the victims outside can survive this New Year.
If they really can't hold on, there will probably be chaos in the capital!
Seeing Shen Xuan's worried expression, Xue Fenglin comforted him, "The court has already opened the granaries to release grain, and sent people to the suburbs to distribute porridge."
"The refugees will be more obedient if they have food. Besides, my uncle is guarding the city gates and will not let them break into the city."
After listening to this, Shen Xuan looked up at Xue Fenglin and said, "I hope so. But there are so many refugees and so many porridge stalls. I don't know how long they can last."
"You are quite perceptive." Xue Fenglin smiled and said, "Don't worry. Your Majesty has many wise men under his command, so there will be a solution."
Xue Fenglin stayed at the Shen residence for the entire first day of the new year. On the second day of the new year, he got up and said to Shen Xuan: "I have to go back to the Ye family today. You come with me."
Shen Xuan was stunned. He didn't expect Xue Fenglin to take him back to the Ye family so directly.
Several months had passed since the last banquet at the Ye family, so this visit to meet the Ye family was considered a big deal.
Shen Xuan specially found a newly made black jacket with gold thread and put it on, which made him look very noble.
When Xue Fenglin saw this, he put a white jade hairpin on his head and said, "That's enough. We are all family members. There is no need to be too solemn."
However, when Shen Xuan thought of Madam Ye's attitude towards him, he still felt a little scared. He could only say to Xue Fenglin: "If Madam Ye sees me going with you, she will probably eat me."
"She doesn't dare." Xue Fenglin smiled and said, "My aunt treats me like half her own son. I told her last time that I will marry you in this life. She won't do anything to you again."
"Besides, my cousin Ye Mi is also returning to his mother's home today. He has a good impression of you. When you get to the Ye family later, talk to him more." Xue Fenglin said, "If there is anything you don't understand at the imperial family banquets in the capital, ask him to tell you."
Shen Xuan was stunned, and only then did he suddenly know what Xue Fenglin had said to Madam Ye in the enclosure last time.
His face flushed and he felt warm in his heart. He didn't expect Xue Fenglin to do so much for him. No wonder even though Madam Ye disliked him, she was always polite to him.
Xue Fenglin has a close relationship with the Ye family. Since Shen Xuan is on the same boat with him, there will always be a day when he will have to face the Ye family.
Thinking of this, the worries in his heart disappeared.
But it might not be possible to go to the Ye family empty-handed. Shen Xuan thought about it and asked Jingui to bring a few sets of soaps to give to the Ye family.
These soaps have long been a very popular New Year gift in Beijing, and Shen Xuan didn't know whether the Ye family had received them.
But this is better than going there empty-handed. After he got into the car with the soap gift box, Xue Fenglin said to him, "I asked Wuwang to prepare the festival gift a long time ago, so you don't have to worry."
"This is different from what you prepared, and it's also a token of my appreciation." Shen Xuan insisted.
Seeing this, Xue Fenglin did not stop him, but smiled and said, "Then I would like to thank my husband for putting aside the past grudges and taking the trouble for me."
It snowed heavily again on the first night of the New Year. The weather cleared up on the morning of the second day of the New Year, and thick white snow fell on the streets.
Today is different from yesterday. There are already many people on the road paying New Year's greetings and visiting relatives. The tire tracks left clear traces on the snow.
Shen Xuan sat in the carriage, looking out through the gap in the curtains. There were many people on the road, most of them were carriages from various families. However, no one noticed that Xue Fenglin was hiding in the carriage of the Shen Mansion.
When they arrived at the door of Ye's house, Shen Xuan asked Jin Gui to find the guard and inform him, and then said that Shen Xuan's brother Shen was here to wish Mrs. Ye a happy new year.
It was a rare event that Shen Xuan visited the Ye family on the second day of the first lunar month. Shen Xuan was also a little hesitant, wondering if he would be treated coldly by Madam Ye.
After a while, the gate of the Ye family opened, and the guard led the Shen family's carriage into the house through the main gate.
Shen Xuan thought to himself: Xue Fenglin was right. The courtesy shown to him by the Ye family clearly showed that they had already treated him as Xue Fenglin's husband.
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