"Sweet enough to make your teeth ache... I don't think you're called an old fox after all..."
Outside the palace gates, apart from Lu Yu and Sun Shaopu, who had been handed over to the Dali Temple, and Xu Lin, who had immediately returned to his office, everyone else was present.
Qin Weixi had no idea that his maternal grandfather Xiao Wenhong and his entourage were also among them, and that the Dali Temple official and the Right Vice Minister, whom he had never met before, would beat the Dengwen Drum for his Qin family.
In the vast expanse of snow, she slowly rose from the gentle care of the person beside her. Then, she knelt down and solemnly bowed to the person who was also standing with her in the wind and snow. In the corner, she saw Liang Lang also bowing to her with his hands clasped in a gesture of respect.
Her maternal grandfather, Xiao Wenhong, along with her uncle and cousin, quickly came to greet her and helped up the little girl who, when she left, was a charming and lively girl with her hair in two buns, whose every smile and frown could bring a touch of spring.
Qin Weixi looked back but could not see the figure of her maternal grandmother, who was already in her seventies.
Xiao Wenhong seemed to see the worry in his beloved granddaughter's eyes and quickly said, "Your maternal grandmother is still in Jiangnan. She's too old to handle this kind of travel, so we've all decided to keep her at home. But your maternal grandfather insisted on coming. Luo Luo, your maternal grandfather... misses you."
Qin Weixi looked up at her maternal grandfather, whose hair was now completely white, yet he was still as vigorous as when she and her brother had left, only his eyes held a deep sorrow when he looked at her. Her uncle, with his thick eyebrows and large eyes, had also grown old, his temples now gray as he approached fifty, bearing the marks of many vicissitudes of life.
She knew it was because of her mother.
She grasped her grandfather's old, withered hands in one hand, and choked out, "Grandfather—"
This call, which traveled through apricot blossoms and spring rain and merged into the swirling snow, has been going on for ten years.
Inside the Nanxun Hall, the Imperial Guards who had been waiting there had all withdrawn. Jiang Yuanjun, expressionless and extremely aloof, stood under the eaves pillar outside the hall, listening to the arguments inside.
“Si Nian! Jiang Si Nian! Shuo Guang was just a child back then, he was just a child, newly married, with a bright future ahead of him. Xu Zhi risked his life for you, Cheng Ji was willing to die for you, when I, Luo Song Yue, learned the truth that day, I wished I could tear you to pieces…”
Despite his uncle Yun Chuan's repeated questioning, his so-called father remained unrepentant.
“Young man of the Jiang family, when I followed your father to conquer the world, you were still a greenhorn. On the battlefield, Chengji and Xuzhi were still struggling to wield their goose-feather sabers! The world that my husband and Jiang Zhongting built together will now be destroyed in your hands!”
And this voice, as majestic and powerful as that of the Empress Dowager, came from his Luo family grandmother.
Jiang Yuanjun raised her head and looked at the relentless snowfall in front of her, then slowly closed her eyes.
A snowy night is approaching.
The group returned to the Luo family mansion in Chuiliu Hutong. As the eldest son, Luo Ling's home was always a place they could enter without hesitation, even when they were "homeless".
The group gathered inside the Luo residence. Old Madam Luo, who had returned home in the cold night, ordered people to light candles and extend them from the place where Pu Niang's soul had gone on Gulou Street the previous night all the way to the front of the Luo residence.
Because the snow was so heavy today, they were worried that Pu Niang wouldn't be able to find her way home.
Upon seeing this, all the servants, maids, and servants in the mansion put on thick coats and cotton boots, volunteering to take turns guarding the candles that had been blown out by the wind and snow until dawn.
Despite the pain lingering from her caning, Qin Weixi stood in the courtyard for a long time, carrying a lantern. Beside her, Chu Yening draped the cloak Luo Ling had given her over his back, then pulled her into his arms, waiting silently with her.
Before long, Luo Ling, Tao Qingyun, and Zhu Ruojiubao all came out of the house, silently accompanying her.
Qin Weixi looked at the servants and maids guarding the gate, watching them come and go, and slowly lowered her eyes.
"Chu Yening".
"I will still cry."
“My Pu Niang has left me forever.”
Chu Yening pulled him into her arms again. Under the bright snowy night light, Qin Weixi looked up again and saw tears welling up in those starry eyes.
She heard him say, "But Qin Luo, your fourth brother will always be by your side. When we are old and gray, I will watch you leave first before I can go with you in peace."
"At that time, your fourth brother will hold your hand, and together we will go to find all the people we have missed."
The four people behind them suddenly surrounded them and stopped on either side. Tao Qingyun said, "...A-Ling, quickly go and get the copper basin to collect the gold beans. Next year, you can give them to Seventh Sister as money to ward off evil spirits."
Upon hearing this, Qin Weixi opened her bright eyes and suddenly glared at him, but then cried even more violently.
Tao Qingyun looked up at the falling snowflakes, and a hint of sadness crept into her voice: "Cry. You'll feel better after you cry."
Suddenly, a small, warm hand, as hot as a furnace, grasped her palm beside her.
Jiu Bao tilted her head back and whispered, "Little Aunt..."
Qin Weixi looked down and saw that pretty little face and a pair of protruding ears that resembled her brother's.
Then Jiu Bao said earnestly, "Auntie, from now on, you should treat me as your father. I'll be your brother. I'll buy you roasted chestnuts from the street vendors, sweet and sour tangerines, and lots of other things you like to eat. Just think of me as your father who's always here. I'll be your brother..."
Tao Qingyun suddenly flicked her forehead and muttered, "What nonsense..."
Hearing this innocent remark from a child, everyone both laughed and cried.
*
At dawn.
From the vast and majestic inner palace came a long-awaited imperial edict declaring the Qin family innocent.
Then, the emperor, who had sat on the throne and ruled the world for thirteen years, issued an edict of self-reproach to announce it to the world.
But everyone understood that this arrogant emperor was not remorseful for his selfish actions and the cruelty he showed to two loyal ministers. Rather, he was in a bind, facing a barrage of memorials praising the Qin family and numerous court officials who risked insubordination by impeaching him, the monarch, and had no choice but to act.
The Spring Equinox is approaching in the fourteenth year of the Kang Le era.
Emperor Kang Le wrote an edict in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where his old friend, who had accompanied him for many years, died with resentment, intending to abdicate and hand over the throne to the crown prince. However, he was overcome with anger and collapsed on his desk.
Empress Tao of Kunning Palace was exiled to the royal temple by the new emperor's decree, where she spent her life with only the company of the ancient Buddha and was never allowed to set foot in the palace again.
The continuous snowfall had ceased, and the first rays of winter sunlight shone through the windowpane onto a corner of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Emperor Kangxi, now in his fifties, saw his father, the Emperor, in his final, feeble breath.
Emperor Wantai was now nearing seventy, his head full of white hair and a pair of deep-set brown eyes. At this moment, a hint of a smile finally appeared on his imposing face.
Emperor Kang Le slowly reached out his hand, trying to grasp the ray of light reflecting from the window, the figure of the strict father who had been his constant companion during his youth.
"Father Emperor—"
In the spring of the fourteenth year of the Kang Le reign, the new emperor ascended the throne, and spring returned to the earth, bringing with it the revival of all things. The first thing Jiang Yuanjun did was to restore the title of Duke of Dingguo and order the Ministry of Works to repair the Qin family's old residence. Then, a bright yellow imperial edict was issued, declaring to the world that Qin Shuoguang, who was both a friend and an elder brother, and his only son, Jiu Bao Qin Nian, would inherit the title of Duke of Dingguo.
Qin Nian. There is longing, remembrance, and yearning.
Written by the eldest brother Luo Ling with black ink on white paper, it expresses his remembrance of his second brother Shuo Guang, as well as their lost ten years of carefree and spirited life in the capital.
Jiu Bao said, "I want to protect the Qin family, protect the place where my father grew up for more than ten years, and protect every brick and tile here."
The second thing he did was to personally go to the lamp pavilion in Chengxin Temple, where the ever-burning lamps, filled with hundreds of catties of oil, were kept burning continuously. He then personally lit more than ten thousand lamps to comfort the souls of the more than ten thousand soldiers who had lingered on this homeland, unwilling to return. He also ordered the Ministry of War to regroup the tens of thousands of Qin family troops who had been scattered by Emperor Kang Le into the Marquis of Jingning's command.
Most of the court officials did not object, and a few bold individuals stepped forward to offer advice, but the new emperor silenced the discontent with the statement, "If even those around me do not trust me, how can the world be at peace?"
In the early spring when the magnolias in the courtyard were in full bloom, one day at sunset, the new emperor personally went to the Luo family residence. He secretly left the palace, accompanied only by Cui Lü, who had been promoted to Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, becoming the new monarch's companion, Cui Daban, who still cherished a pure heart despite the storms of life.
Jiang Yuanjun stepped forward and bowed respectfully to his mentor, Luo Songyue. As the evening sun painted the sky with a warm orange hue, the group went together to the cemetery where the Qin and Chu clans were buried to pay their respects to those who had passed away peacefully in the earth—friends, parents, brothers, or relatives closer than blood ties. Also resting there was Pu Niang, who commune with them.
The student who, years ago, was stuck in the snow and mud, carrying only ten taels of silver to take the imperial examination in the capital, has now risen to become the Minister of Revenue.
The upright and incorruptible Xu, who once aspired to be like his teacher, refusing to flatter the powerful and serving the country and its people, along with Zhang Zheng, the clerk, and Gao Xing, the right vice minister, remained in their original positions. For them, the beating of the Dengwen Drum that day was merely an act of vindicating a loyal minister who had been wronged, and a testament to the unwavering loyalty of the Duke of Dingguo.
As for Xu Lin, the girl he fell in love with at first sight at the literary gathering back then would never spend the rest of her life in that secluded nunnery.
But he will still stand far away and protect her for life.
As everyone expected, Luo Ling has now reached the highest position in the court.
After seeing off the newly arrived emperor, everyone dined together at the Luo residence where a feast had been laid out. As Luo Ling watched the figure gradually disappear behind the palace lanterns, someone suddenly patted his left shoulder from behind.
Tao Qingyun stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Luo, why do you seem to have no appetite this evening?"
Luo Ling smiled and said, "You used to say that I rarely saw you, but that's not entirely true. Now, it's A-Jun who really sees us less and less." He added, "And you, Qing-Jun, your brother knows you best."
Tao Qingyun suddenly chuckled, then turned to look at the two who were gradually catching up, before turning back to Luo Ling and saying, "Let's not talk about me for now. You should ask them what their plans are. It just so happens that we are all here, and the Xiao family and Uncle Yun Chuan have not yet set off back to Jiangnan."
Under the moonlight, Chu Yening reached out and took the hand of the girl who had been by his side for a long time, then raised an eyebrow slightly: "The world is so big, you can survive anywhere."
Tao Qingyun's eyes widened in surprise. "Where are we going?" she asked.
Chu Yening didn't answer, only smiling as he looked at the girl beside him. Qin Weixi pulled Luo Ling and Tao Qingyun's hands together and placed them on Chu Yening's palms, saying, "Life is long, and with my two brothers here as friends, brothers, and family, I don't want to go anywhere." She then smiled slightly, "However, there's a small village called Anning Town, several dozen miles south of the capital. I'd like to visit there."
Beside him, Chu Yening smiled and said, "Then let's buy a house there. If there's nothing going on in the capital, we can stay here permanently."
Tao Qingyun turned around and saw Luo Lingxiao looking at the sweet couple, and suddenly clicked her tongue: "What? Want to be a marquis without real power? Don't you want the title of Zhenfu Division anymore?"
Chu Yening's bright, star-like peach blossom eyes suddenly took the girl's hands and gently kissed them.
"I only want...her."
Tao Qingyun swarmed around him with a loud shout: "I think it was you who was possessed back then, not you old blockhead! You brat, how come you didn't notice how affectionate he was back then?" He then said to the girl smiling brightly in the moonlight and Luo Ling, who was laughing uncontrollably behind her, "You generals, why don't you hurry up and let him..."
Chu Yening leaped forward, grabbed a string of ice crystals hanging from the eaves, and threw it straight at Tao Qingyun's buttocks.
Tao Qingyun jumped around, clutching her bottom with one hand while yelling, "Ah Ling, today's wine is my favorite Zhuyeqing! It's too sweet, so sweet it hurts my teeth, it's so sweet it makes my heart ache! Go get me a spittoon..."
Before he could finish speaking, a figure in black suddenly rushed past him, stretched out a long arm, wrapped it around his neck, and together they walked out into the warm house where there was light and where his loved ones were.
"Don't move—"
"Ahem... I think you should be called a big bad wolf instead of an old fox."
Luo Ling and Qin Weixi followed slowly behind the two...
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