Chapter 54 Snow Falls at Midnight
Liu chattered on and on in front of Li Zuo for a long time before Li Zuo lazily raised his eyes and glanced at Old Lady Wan's house.
During the past month, Li Zuo and his friends have benefited a lot from Grandma Wan's family. Their luck is so good that they always catch rabbits or roe deer.
And each time, this group of officials were never left out, so Li Zuo's attitude towards Old Lady Wan's family had already undergone a 180-degree change.
In addition, they could reach the place of exile in ten days or half a month. Li Zuo didn't want to create any trouble and just wanted to send the person to complete the handover as soon as possible so that he could rush back to the capital.
Besides, the size of the cotton coat did not fit them. They always carried their own cotton coats when they went out, so they did not need to wear this piece of clothing. Therefore, they did not take Liu's provocation seriously.
On the contrary, Xiangyang, who was standing by, heard Liu's provocation and without saying a word, picked up the whip in his hand and whipped Liu hard.
"You're the one who loves to gossip the most. Can't you live without stirring up trouble? Go back and be quiet. If you keep gossiping, be careful or I'll whip you!"
After being whipped twice, Liu was so scared that she immediately shut her mouth. Like a frightened mouse, she shrank her neck and sat down next to Wan Jinshu.
Wan Jinshu leaned against a rock, closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. When he heard Liu's footsteps coming back, he was too lazy to even open his eyelids.
Liu glanced at Wan Jinshu and felt a little annoyed. This stepson had ignored her all along the way and it was of no avail no matter how hard she tried.
However, Wan Jinshu himself could not protect himself and could not help her at all. Liu felt that she had really picked up a burden.
Along the way, Liu not only had to support Wan Jinshu, but also had to take care of his sister. She was already exhausted and really didn't want to take care of this burden anymore.
She pushed Wan Jinshu and said, "Go find your wife and don't follow us anymore. I'm old now. I have to take care of both your sister and you. I really don't have the energy. I hope you can get better soon, but I'm willing but unable. You should let your wife and children take care of you. I hope you don't blame me."
Wan Jinshu finally opened his eyes, glanced at Liu indifferently, said nothing, and did not move.
Seeing that he remained indifferent, Liu became even angrier.
She had just tried to sow discord among the officers and soldiers, but she had shot herself in the foot. She was so angry that she had no place to vent it, so she pushed Wan Jinshu hard and said impatiently, "Did you hear your mother talking to you? Why are you so unfilial? You keep saying that you are the descendant of a military family and that loyalty and filial piety are the top priorities. Is this how you treat your mother?"
Wan Jinshu then spoke coldly, but his eyes never looked at Liu, but at the yellow sand not far away.
"You've gone to great lengths to sow discord between me, my wife and my children, and now you want to just leave me alone? What do you think of me? A toy that can be thrown away at will?"
This month was enough for Wan Jinshu to see Liu's true face and figure out many things.
Liu frowned and glanced at Wan Jinshu, only to find that he didn't even look at her.
She argued, "I didn't try to sow discord between you. I didn't say anything. It was your wife who left on her own. I didn't force her to leave. They just thought you were a burden and didn't want to take you with them. If it weren't for me, would you have made it here? I'm afraid you would have died on the road."
Liu is still trying to brainwash Wan Jinshu and continue to sow discord between them.
Wan Jinshu snorted coldly and said, "You are still criticizing Zhao, but why don't you blame Sun and Qiu? Do you dare?"
Liu was suddenly speechless and couldn't refute.
Wan Jinshu's voice came again: "It's because I am not your biological child, and Zhao is not your biological daughter-in-law. To you, we are only valuable to be used. Now you think I am useless and a burden, so you want to throw me to my wife and children. Why?
All these years you have been eating, drinking and enjoying yourself in my name, but you look down on my wife and children. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
After Wan Jinshu finished speaking, he continued to talk to himself: "That's right, you are all heartless people, so naturally you won't feel any pain.
But I will never leave you until you die.
Didn't you say you have no son? I will still take care of you until the end of your life! When you die, I will still wear mourning clothes for you and bury you in peace!"
The more Liu listened, the more she felt something was wrong. Wasn't this a curse on herself that she wouldn't live long?
She was so angry that she wanted to lose her temper, but when she met Wan Jinshu's dark eyes, she felt a little timid.
She moved her lips but dared not speak.
It was getting dark, and there were many wolves outside the pass. Camping in the wild at night was simply seeking death.
But there were so many of them, and even if they went to ask for a place to stay, there wasn't a house big enough for them to live in.
Fortunately, Wan Xingmo agreed to help keep watch, which is why the officers and soldiers rely on Wan Xingmo.
When sleeping at night, everyone can only stay close to the rocks to avoid some wind and sand.
The northwest of Da Qi is vast and sparsely populated, especially the wilderness, where you may hardly see anyone even after walking for a day or half a day.
At night, after the sun sets, the heat from the sand and rocks on the ground quickly dissipates and the temperature drops sharply.
Wan Laoer originally wanted to build a shed to protect against the wind and sand, but it was difficult to find wood. He only had some withered wormwood, which he could only use as firewood.
These days, dinner has returned to being a steamed bun for each person.
The towns outside the Great Wall were far apart, and one might not encounter one even after walking for a day or two. Therefore, Li Zuo tried his best to save on food in order to preserve some surplus food.
Even if you are in a desperate situation, you must never let yourself starve to death.
After dinner, the prisoners who had no bedding or thick clothes spontaneously huddled together to keep each other warm.
There is no moon tonight and the sky is gloomy, like a huge curtain covering the entire wilderness.
There were only a few bonfires gathered by officers and soldiers, like a few flickering stars in the silent wilderness.
The crowd gradually quieted down. Except for Old Lady Wan's family who slept soundly, everyone else slept uncomfortably.
The sand and stones on the ground made my whole body ache, but fortunately there was a fire in front of me, which dispelled some of the cold.
As the night deepened and the temperature continued to drop, those who were tired after a long day fell into a deep sleep.
Wan Xingmo frowned and looked up, and suddenly found that snowflakes began to float in the sky.
The soldier on duty at night was Xiangyang. He looked up at the sky along with Wan Xingmo, and saw heavy snow falling down.
"It's snowing?" Xiangyang said to himself in surprise.
Along the way, they heard from the caravan that there had not been heavy snow in the northwest in the past two years. They did not expect that they would encounter such heavy snow after only walking for a few days.
Only Wan Xingmo subconsciously looked in the direction of little Fubao, and saw that little Fubao was held tightly in the arms of Old Lady Wan, wrapped tightly in bedding, with only his two nostrils exposed, and the little guy was sleeping soundly.
Wan Xingmo stood up, picked up some dry firewood from the surrounding area, and added it to the fire in front of Wan Jinshu.
Although Wan Xingmo felt disheartened by Wan Jinshu's actions over the past month, he was his father after all. The two had fought on the battlefield together and he had also protected his life.
Wan Xingmo just didn't want Wan Jinshu to hurt Zhao, but he also didn't want anything to happen to Wan Jinshu.
However, this gave Liu and others the advantage.
After Wan Xingmo added some dry firewood, the fire that was about to go out seemed to be given new life and gradually burned more vigorously. Those who were shivering also gradually relaxed their bodies.
Wan Xingmo glanced at Wan Jinshu who was curled up in the corner, then turned and left.
When I turned around, I saw Zhao holding a cotton coat, standing quietly not far away.
Zhao was a light sleeper, and when she noticed the sudden drop in temperature, she sat up immediately.
She found that the snowflakes floating in the sky were larger than those in the capital, fluttering like goose feathers.
Zhao then took up the cotton coat that was covering her body and prepared to give it to Wan Jinshu.
After all, she still had this man in her heart.
Wan Xingmo walked over, took the clothes from Zhao's hand, and said softly, "Mother, give it to me, you go and rest. But the snow is coming so hard, I don't think it will stop for a while. I will light a fire for you, Grandma Wan, and everyone else later."
Zhao nodded, without saying anything more, and went back to lie down, holding her little daughter tightly in her arms.
Wan Xingmo gently covered Wan Jinshu with the new cotton coat. Wan Jinshu's brows trembled slightly, and he did not open his eyes. However, he felt his body suddenly became heavier, and then the biting cold was relieved a little, and a warm scent of new cotton permeated his nostrils.
Wan Jinshu slowly opened his eyes when he heard the footsteps gradually fading away. Looking at Wan Xingmo's tall back, this strong man couldn't help but shed two lines of tears.
These tears contained regret, apology, and his only remaining trace of pitiful dignity.
In the second half of the night, the snow still showed no signs of stopping, and the fire on the ground made a "sizzling" sound, which was the sound of the snow melting and evaporating by the fire. At this time, the snow had already reached above the ankles.
Wan Xingmo hurriedly woke everyone up.
Xiangyang also went to call out to the officers and soldiers.
Zhao had just laid down and was half asleep when she was awakened by Wan Xingmo. She knew that the snow must be getting heavier.
Old Mrs. Wan and her family woke up from their sleep and found that it was all white outside. The light from the snow illuminated the originally dark night.
"Mom, why is it snowing so heavily?"
The Wan family was accustomed to building a small shed above their heads when they slept and covering it with rags to trap the dew, so they didn't even notice the snow.
At this time, some accidents happened on Xiangyang's side.
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