Chapter 24: Lonely White Rabbit
"Who else is home?"
He looked at his grandmother, whose face had turned pale with fear, and then at Qiandeng, who was held in his arms and looking at him curiously, and mustered up the courage to answer: "There is my mother, my eldest sister, my second brother, and the brother or sister in my mother's belly."
"Good boy, then you have to support your family. Tell me what you want to do in the future. If we can help, our camp will help your family."
"I don't need your help. I...my mother said she wants to take me and my younger siblings to Chang'an to live with my uncle." He stammered, but spoke very clearly. "My maternal grandfather works in the Guanglu Temple. The cakes he made were even praised by the emperor. My maternal grandfather said I could learn to make cakes from him. I will definitely study hard. When I learn well, I will open a bakery so that my grandmother, my mother, my younger siblings can have enough to eat and never have to suffer from hunger and cold again..."
Qian Deng opened his eyes wide and couldn't help clapping: "Wow, little brother is so awesome!"
"That's right, you are so sensible at such a young age." Her father was also very satisfied. He patted Shi Jingning's thin shoulders and asked someone to withdraw some money from his salary to give to the two of them.
The mother-in-law, who had been crying silently, finally came to her senses and wiped her tears and said, "This child and his mother have a good plan, but there are so many people in my family. If we all go there, there will be no place for his uncle's family to stay."
Qiandeng's father frowned, naturally understanding what she meant. That was his daughter-in-law's family home. It was acceptable for a married daughter to return home with her children after becoming a widow, but it was absolutely impossible to bring her mother-in-law with her.
So Shi Jingning's expectations would probably be dashed, as his grandmother would never let her eldest grandson leave.
"Then you can live in my farm!" Qian Deng leaned on his father's shoulder, counting on his fingers and said, "Uncle Fu, Uncle Kang, and Uncle An all have no homes, so they live in the farm. It's lively and nice for everyone!"
Hearing his daughter's words, the father waved his hand and said cheerfully, "Okay, Captain Shi sacrificed his life for his country. Now his family is in trouble. If we, his comrades, don't help, wouldn't it make the soldiers in the army feel disheartened? My family's farm is outside the capital, and it's mostly used to accommodate disabled veterans. You three generations of grandparents can move in and stay there. After all, your family won't make much difference. The military pension should be enough for you to grow up. By then, you should find a living and support your family!"
Shi Jingning therefore arrived in Chang'an smoothly, and his family settled in Bai's manor.
In late spring of the following year, Qiandeng went to the village for a short visit. She was wearing a thin spring shirt and riding a pony, leisurely jumping over small wooden stakes when she looked up and saw Shi Jingning coming back from mowing the grass.
Her memory of him had faded, and after some thought she recognized who he was. She jumped off her horse with joy and asked him, "Little brother, are you with your brothers and sisters now?"
Shi Jingning took him to the house in the corner of the side yard, where she saw his four younger siblings and the rabbits he raised.
The posthumous twin siblings had just been born and were sucking milk in their mother's arms; the rabbits were also still small, so she held them in her hands and fed them grass, watching them chew quickly with their little mouths, eating a blade of grass from beginning to end. She could also squat in front of them and watch them eat one blade of grass after another.
During those days, she and Shi Jingning had a great time playing together. They fed rabbits together, learned to write together, caught small fish in the pond of the manor together, and ran on the corridor of the water pavilion every day, making the aunts who were taking care of her very tired.
Shi Jingning had just learned how to use a knife from his uncle, and he often went to the village kitchen to help. He would also practice his knife skills with leftover turnips, tofu and other scraps, such as cutting into strips and carving longevity peaches.
Summer is almost over, the heat is over, and Qiandeng will follow his mother back to the palace.
But she couldn't bear to part with her chubby rabbits, which had grown so big that she couldn't even hold them. So she asked someone who came to the city to buy her a set of carving knives at Qingyanju, and asked Shi Jingning to carve a rabbit for her to take away.
But Shi Jingning was also a beginner and his skills were not very good. The rabbit he carved looked like a yam bean. Qiandeng played with it for a few times and then forgot about the rabbit and the carving knife and never thought about them again.
When Shi Jingning's maternal grandfather, now old, retired from the Guanglu Temple, he helped his grandson and asked him to go over and help his uncle. When the Shi family was about to leave, out of gratitude for the kindness shown by the palace and the people on the farm, Shi Jingning's maternal grandfather personally came over and cooked a meal for everyone to express his gratitude.
At that time, there was a bowl of meat on the table. It was marinated with salt and wine until it was tender, cut into thin slices, coated with glutinous rice flour, and steamed until it was fragrant, crispy and soft. It had a taste that was completely different from beef and mutton, and was very delicious.
Seeing that Qiandeng enjoyed the food, Shi Mu picked up several more pieces for Qiandeng and said with a smile: "This rabbit is so fat, it is also the county lady's hard work. The county lady should eat more."
Qiandeng stared blankly at the meat in the bowl, only then did she realize that this was the rabbit she had been holding in her hands and couldn't let go.
Tears fell from her eyes. She pushed the bowl away, stood up and ran away. Everyone at the table was stunned.
Shi Jingning caught up with her and cried with her. He said to her sadly, "I'm sorry, but County Princess, my mother always said that you are so good to us, so we want to be good to you too. Everything on this farm belongs to you, except the rabbits, which we raise. That's why we took out the only thing we have and cooked it for you..."
Seeing how sad he was, Qian Deng wiped away her own tears and helped him to dry his tears, saying, "I don't blame you, but I won't eat rabbit anymore, never again."
She was a stubborn child, and from that point on, she really would never eat rabbit again. Even though she had gradually forgotten the fluffy rabbit she held in her palm, once a habit was formed, it was impossible to change it.
The old memories disappeared in her dream. When she woke up, golden sunlight was already streaming in through the window, reflecting the snow from last night, illuminating the room so brightly that even the bed curtains could not block the bright light.
Qiandeng turned his head in a daze and touched Nuannuan who was curled up beside him.
It was the white rabbit Meng Lanxi had left beside her last night. She stared at it quietly for a moment, then raised her hand to rub its soft, warm fur. Suddenly, she remembered that Shi Jingning no longer existed in this world.
The boy who held the urn in the snow, who carved a clumsy little rabbit for her, and who brought carefully prepared snacks to her, left forever.
However, in this world, people come and go, and it is not up to her to decide what can be kept and what cannot be kept.
All she can do is seek justice for those who left her and provide a roof over her head for those who need her protection.
The maids helped Qiandeng dress and wash. Daimao picked up the rabbit and walked out. "Mr. Meng came early this morning and is waiting outside to pick up the rabbit. He said that the rabbit needs to develop the habit of eating, drinking, defecating and urinating in a fixed place, otherwise he is afraid of polluting the county lady."
Qiandeng stroked her hair as she saw Meng Lanxi standing in the courtyard, waiting, through the window. As he took the rabbit that Tortoise Shell had returned, he seemed to sense her gaze and turned to look at her through the window. From across the courtyard, he lowered his eyes and bowed.
The branches are white after the snow, and the man is in white clothes. His skin is fair, and his thick black hair and eyebrows are like a painting in ink. His posture is like a orchid in the painting.
He knew she was looking at him, but he only asked Daimao: "I wonder if the county lady slept well last night?"
Daimao said, "It's good. It's rare for the county lady to sleep through the night."
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