Chapter 46: Carrot Cake. She and he both just want peace.
The two did not delay on the roadside and hurried back home before it got completely dark.
Zong's mother and the others heard about Zong Xiao going into the mountains from Qiu Xuan. At that time, Zong's mother guessed that he would be gone for three to five days, but she didn't expect that he would be gone for seven days.
Seeing that the situation was about to change, but he still hadn't returned, it was impossible for the clan mother not to worry.
She was absent-mindedly rolling noodles, and the dough was almost broken, but her grandmother didn't even notice.
"Mom." Zong Xiao came directly to Zong Mu's courtyard. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted towards the kitchen.
The grandmother put down the rolling pin in a panic and left the house without even wiping her hands.
"You kid, why didn't you tell your mother before you went into the mountains?" The clan mother pulled his ear, anxious and angry. "You've been gone for so many days. If you don't think about your mother, you should think about your wife. She's been so worried about you these past few nights that she couldn't sleep."
The grandmother lowered her voice so that Qiu Yun, who had just entered the house, would not hear what she said, otherwise she would be embarrassed.
Zong Xiao also felt that he had acted impulsively that day, but looking back now, he still had no regrets. If he hadn't gone into the mountains that day, how could he have picked up the white fox fur?
"We're in the mountains this time. We didn't go back before the New Year." Zong Xiao raised his hand and pointed at the backpack, smiling, "We hunted a few fox pelts. I'm thinking of going to town to ask for the price someday. Any profit is good."
Fox fur is actually not as expensive as you might think, but it is different for pure black or pure white fox fur. If you find one you like, you may spend dozens of taels of silver on it.
However, this time Zong Xiao didn't intend to make money from this, so he simply didn't tell his mother about the white fox fur.
The clan mother walked around him and was relieved to see that he had no injuries. "You've just gotten married, and we're not that short of money. From now on, if you can, go into the mountains less often."
The clan mother choked up as she spoke, "If anything happens to you again, what will I do, what will Qiu Yun do?"
"Mother." Zong Xiao put his arm around his mother's shoulders and patted her, comforting her, "I'm back safely. Don't worry, mother. I won't go to any dangerous places in the future."
Thinking of being chased by wolves that night, Zong Xiao felt scared for the first time in his life. If something really happened to him that day...what would happen to his family?
Zong Xiao was not kept long by the clan mother. His clothes were soaked by the rain, and taking a hot bath was the most important thing right now.
"Go home and warm up. I'll have your third brother bring the food over later. You two don't need to come over." The clan mother glanced outside and saw Qiu Xuan playing with Huai Xue. She muttered a few words, "Xiao Xuan has been waiting for you at the village entrance every day these days. What would she do if something really happened to you? You two don't even have a child."
The clan mother didn't want to say this, but when she thought of her own Dalang, all the past events came to her mind.
"Your elder brother...never mind, let's not talk about it anymore." The clan mother raised her hand and wiped the corner of her eyes to prevent the tears from falling.
"I know, Mom." Zong Xiao understood it all in his heart. It was precisely because he understood this that he wanted to go into the mountains. He wanted to protect his family and stay with Qiu Xuan forever.
At night, Zong Xiao soaked in a wooden barrel to warm himself.
In the past, he would just pour water on himself, and he had never used this big wooden barrel since he bought it.
He didn't expect to use it now. He leaned down and let the hot water in the bucket flow over his shoulders.
He had been running around in the mountains these days and had never felt so warm. Now he felt relaxed all over and wanted to have a good sleep.
"Are you ready?" Qiu Yu knocked on the door and said, "I'll come in and get you some water."
Zong Xiao had never been honest with her before. When he heard that she was going to come in, he grabbed a cloth towel and covered himself with it. However, it didn't matter whether he had it or not. He was in the water, and Qiu Xuan had no way of seeing it.
Qiu Xuan's expression remained unchanged. She added some hot water to the tub and said, "Soak for a while longer. When you come out, go straight into the house and avoid the wind."
Qiu Xuan was about to leave when she turned her head and caught a glimpse of the red mark on his shoulder.
It's a very large piece, probably just worn out in the past two days.
"How did you do this?" She reached out and touched it.
Zong Xiao was caught off guard, and when she poked him like that, he hissed in pain. After reacting, he hurriedly explained, "It's okay, maybe it was rubbed against me. It will be fine in a couple of days."
Qiu Yu was skeptical, but now was not the right time to ask questions, so she nodded and said, "Then you should go back to the house earlier."
Zong Xiao appeared calm on the outside, but he had actually been panicking for a long time. Seeing Qiu Yun leave, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He sat in the wooden barrel and washed his hair and body thoroughly. Only when he could no longer find any dirt did he come out of the barrel.
In the room, Qiu Xuan was sitting at the table sewing purses. Originally, she didn't like doing these kinds of work, but during the few days she lived with her grandmother, only when she made purses could her mind calm down and her thoughts stop wandering.
She has been here for almost half a year. During these days, she has regarded this place as her own home and Zong Xiao as her family.
He went into the mountains and didn't come back for a long time during those days, and she was always worried.
Now that he is back, when I think about the reason why he went into the mountains, those worries gradually turned into guilt.
Qiu Xuan didn't dare to think about what she would do if Zong Xiao didn't come back safely, and how she would face the Zong family.
She was lost in thought until the needle pierced her flesh and she came to her senses.
The door was pushed open from the outside, and Zong Xiao walked in wearing clean underwear.
He spent a long time in the next room, thinking Qiu Xuan had fallen asleep, but she was still awake.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Zong Xiao walked to the end of the kang and spread out his quilt.
"Waiting for you." Qiu Xuan pointed at the things on the table and said in a tone that did not allow for negotiation, "Drink the ginger soup."
Qiu Xuan specially prepared ginger soup for him to dispel coldness. Seeing that he didn't leave the house, she heated it up again.
Zong Xiao sat on the stool opposite her. He frowned slightly, but still drank the whole bowl of ginger soup.
The ginger soup was slightly spicy, and after drinking it, he quickly picked up the bowl of water next to him.
"Take off your clothes." Qiu Xuan said suddenly.
Zong Xiao shuddered with fear and almost dropped the porcelain bowl in his hand.
Take off your clothes!!! She asked him to take off his clothes, and Zong Xiao's ears and neck instantly turned red.
Because of a misunderstanding that day, they did not consummate their marriage. Qiu Xuan had not mentioned it these days, and he was even more embarrassed to bring it up.
I didn't expect him to just go into the mountains. Could it be that he was going to consummate the marriage tonight?!
Zong Xiao coughed lightly twice and wanted to tell Qiu Yun that there was no rush to consummate the marriage and it could be done tomorrow.
Before he could even open his mouth, the person opposite him said, "I see your wound is quite severe. You'd better apply some medicinal wine. Take it off quickly. It's difficult to apply medicine on your shoulder by yourself."
Oh...it turns out it was just applying medicine.
Zong Xiao turned around and took off half of his shirt, revealing his shoulders.
Qiu Xuan looked at the large patch of red and felt a little sore in her eyes. She took out the medicinal wine and gently applied it on his body.
"Does it hurt?" she asked.
Zong Xiao's fingertips were digging into his flesh in pain, but he still stubbornly said, "It doesn't hurt."
Qiu Xuan thought he really didn't feel any pain, so she applied another layer on it.
Zong Xiao was very patient and didn't say a word until the very end. Only after he got on the kang and covered himself with the quilt did he let out a long sigh.
It hurts, it really hurts.
That night, neither of them mentioned what happened in the mountains, and they slept well for the first time ever.
The next day, Qiu Xuan woke up first.
She put on her clothes, walked to the end of the kang, and reached out to touch Zong Xiao's forehead.
After all, he had been freezing in the mountains for several days, and Qiu Xuan was worried that he would get sick.
"Awake?" Zong Xiao raised his eyes and looked at Qiu Xuan who was right above him. He was stunned for a moment and asked in a hoarse voice, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay, I just wanted to see if you have a fever." Qiu Xuan pulled her hand back, but her expression was a little unnatural.
Zong Xiao half-sat up and fastened his loosened undershirt. "I'm in good health. Besides, I haven't been cold these days. I have the fox fur."
When the fox fur was mentioned, both of them fell silent.
"We have to give it a try, just in case." Zong Xiao didn't want her to worry, so he said cheerfully, "Even if those people don't want them, we can still sell them and make money, right?"
Qiu Xuan had already seen those fox furs yesterday, and they were indeed top-notch items.
Just thinking about how Zong Xiao had hunted her, she felt as if needles were pricking her heart.
She treats Zong Xiao as a family member, and Zong Xiao seems to value her more.
"I'll go to the town tomorrow and ask. If they still need fox furs, I'll go to the capital." Zong Xiao was worried about Qiu Yun following him, so he spoke first, "My little brother's wedding is coming soon, so I'll have to trouble you to help mother with some things at home for the next few days."
Qiu Xuan understood that he didn't want her to go.
She understood everything. First, the road to the capital was far, and second, people were too evil.
"Okay, I'll wait for you at home."
The next day was a sunny day.
Qiu Xuan had already packed several fried pancakes she had made into the bag that Zong Xiao was carrying.
She originally wanted to make some more hot meals, but the journey was long and it was not easy for Zong Xiao to carry her. It would be more convenient to spend a few cents to buy some food on the way.
"I will definitely be back soon this time, but it's better for you to stay at your mother's place at night." Zong Xiao wrapped the fox furs with inconspicuous coarse cloth and stuffed some inconspicuous items into the backpack.
When you go out this time, you must be on guard against others.
"Okay, if this method doesn't work, you should come back earlier. Anyway, we will always have a way." Qiu Xuan thought that as long as she could keep her life and be with the Zong family, she would be willing to hand over the recipe even if she could never set up a stall again.
"Don't worry." Zong Xiao put on his backpack and went out again. Before leaving, he raised his hand and rubbed Qiu Xuan's head, saying like coaxing a child, "I'll bring you some cakes when I come back."
It was not until noon that the clan mother found out that Zong Xiao had gone out again, but this time he was going to sell things instead of going into the mountains, so the clan mother felt a little relieved.
Zong Xiao was gone for several days, and his family began to prepare for Zong Anji's wedding.
Qiu Xuan is busy every day and only has time to think about Zong Xiao at night when no one is around.
I don’t know whether he has reached the provincial capital, let alone whether the fox fur pie has been used.
The more she thought about it, the more upset she felt. To clear her mind, she hid in the kitchen and started thinking about what to eat.
This time she didn't cook, but instead studied pastries.
She thought that the cakes commonly sold in the town were sweet, so she made salty radish cake.
She got to work right away. She first washed the rice clean, dried it until there was no moisture left, and then ground it into powder using a stone mill. This is glutinous rice flour, which is also a crucial ingredient in making radish cake.
All other ingredients were readily available at home. Qiu Xuan washed and shredded the radish, and then diced the bacon and pork.
She heated up the oil in a pan, first put the fat in and fried it until it was fragrant, then added the bacon and diced pork and stir-fried them together. Only after the meat aroma came out did she pour in the dried shredded radish.
If you like spicy food, you can add some chili peppers, but Qiu Xuan has children at home, so she only added some salt.
After frying, she took them out and set them aside to cool. When she had some free time, she added glutinous rice flour and water to make a paste, and then mixed it with the cooled ingredients.
Finally, it was steamed into cake shape. Qiu Xuan searched for boxed kitchen utensils at home for a long time but couldn't find any. Finally, she could only take out a steamer and put a plate in each drawer to replace the mold.
The plates contained mixed ingredients. Qiu Xuan only put one plate in each steamer. She placed the steamer on the pot and steamed it over high heat, and only took it out after about an hour.
The paste-like substance in the plate has now become solid. Qiu Xuan cut it into small pieces with a knife and placed them neatly on another plate.
"Try it." Qiu Xuan carried the radish cake out of the house. Seeing Huai Xue in the yard, she let her have the first bite.
Although Huaixue had never eaten this thing, it smelled delicious and should not be bad. She wiped her hands, picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece for herself.
"It's soft and has meat on it!" Huaixue's round eyes narrowed into crescent shapes, and she said with a smile: "It's delicious. Is this a meat pie, Auntie?"
"It's carrot cake. Do you taste any carrot?"
Huaixue nodded and stretched out her little hand to gesture, "It tastes just like carrots, but it has a lot of meat."
"Try it again." Seeing that she liked it, Qiu Yu let her eat a few more pieces.
The two were eating happily when there was a knock on the door.
I saw a tall man standing in front of the door, holding two large wooden boxes in his hands. He asked, "Is this the Zong family?"
Qiu Xuan turned around and looked. She felt that the person looked familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere.
She stepped forward and protected Huaixue behind her, and asked cautiously, "Who are you looking for?"
"Hey, I really didn't find the wrong place." Liu Zhong recognized her. He raised the wooden box in his hand and said with a smile: "I am from the Liu family. My father asked me to come here to deliver some things."
"Liu the Butcher's?" Qiu Yun looked at him carefully and finally remembered that this person had come to her stall to buy soup dumplings and bought a whole basket of them.
Liu Zhong: "Exactly. Our two families are getting married in just two days, and my father asked me to send some things over first."
Liu Zhong touched his nose and felt a little embarrassed. The wooden box was full of cakes and pastries that would be placed on the wedding day. His father was afraid that the clan had not prepared enough, so he specially asked him to go to the town to buy some more.
"Brother Liu, come in and sit down." Qiu Xuan let down her guard.
Liu Zhong glanced at the courtyard and saw that no one else had come out. He guessed that the male members of the Zong family were probably not at home. He stood in front of the door and waved his hand, "No, no, I'm in a hurry to go back too. I'll just leave this thing for you."
Seeing this, Qiu Xuan did not try to persuade him to stay. However, when she sent Liu Zhong away, she went back to the kitchen to get two plates of radish cake and put them in a box. "Homemade radish cake, you can eat it steamed or fried."
Liu Zhong originally wanted to be polite, but when he heard that they made it themselves, his hands were faster than his mouth and he took it directly.
"Then I won't be polite to you."
After seeing the people off, Qiu Xuan carried the two food boxes into the house. The boxes were heavy and she didn't know what was inside, so she didn't open them.
But Huaixue was very curious. She stood by the table, pointed at the wooden box, and asked, "Auntie, what's in it?"
"Auntie doesn't know either. When your grandma and the others come back, we can open it and take a look together, okay?"
"Okay, I'll listen to you, Auntie."
-
After Liu Zhong left the Zong family, he took a detour to Shangtun Village and bought a jar of good wine. This was all his father's instructions.
He carried things in both hands and strode home in the cold wind, not daring to delay any longer.
It's very cold this year, and people in the mountains say that snow is about to fall.
The Liu family wanted to marry the girl off before the snow fell, in case the snowy roads became difficult to travel on and even the mule carts couldn't move.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back." Liu Zhong was panting. His hands were full of things and he could only wait for someone inside to open the door for him.
"Why are you back so late? Come in quickly. There's some rice in the pot for you. I'll heat it up for you later." Mother Liu took the food from his hand and pushed him back into the house.
Liu Zhongyi sat down and drank a bowl of water directly, which scared his mother.
Mother Liu asked with concern, "Why, why didn't you even drink a sip of water along the way? Didn't the Zong family let you drink water?"
Liu Zhong poured himself another bowl, and after recovering, he said, "I went at the wrong time today. There were only one adult and one child at the Zong family's house, so I didn't go in."
"Have you given the things?" the grandmother asked again.
"Yes, yes, I bought two big boxes, which is more than enough."
After saying that, Liu Zhong pushed the snack box he had been carrying all the way to the center of the table.
"This is the food given to me by Pangtuan's future sister-in-law." Liu Zhong hadn't opened it yet, and he himself didn't know what was inside.
"Don't call me that!" Liu Yueyang glared at her elder brother, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
The food box was not big, with only two layers. Mother Liu took it out directly, and saw two plates of food that looked like dry steamed buns inside.
But when cut into pieces, it doesn't look ugly.
"What is this?" Liu Yueyang looked at Liu Zhong and asked.
"I don't know either." Liu Zhong scratched his head. He remembered the girl had said something, but he didn't remember it. "Everyone, try it and see if it tastes good."
As they spoke, everyone in the Liu family picked up a piece and put it in their mouth. Unlike the tasteless dry steamed bun, this radish cake was soft, sticky, and fragrant, and it was delicious.
"Send the other plate to your grandparents." Butcher Liu ate a piece and stopped eating. He pointed to the other plate and said, "They should like this food."
The old man of the Liu family was not in good health, and that was why the Liu family moved the wedding forward.
"Then I'll take it now." Liu Zhong stood up, picked up the plate and walked out.
Liu Yueyang sat on a stool and saw her father looked worried, so she reached out and touched him.
"What's wrong, Dad? This food is delicious, why are you unhappy after eating it?"
Butcher Liu looked at his little daughter, whom he had loved for many years, and felt a little reluctant to see her get married.
But in this world nowadays, no girl would stay at home and never get married.
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Dad is just thinking that if you marry him, you shouldn't be wronged or jealous of others."
"Old man, can you speak? How could you not know what kind of character our daughter has? How could she do that kind of thing!" Liu's mother was displeased and slapped Liu the butcher in the face.
Butcher Liu spoke bluntly. He pointed to the remaining plate of radish cake and said earnestly, "This clan used to have a hard time, relying on hunting for a living. Now they've set up a stall in town. Do you know why?"
Liu Yueyang shook his head.
"I heard that this was all the idea of the second son's wife from the Zong family." These things are not difficult to find out. Liu the butcher had already asked others. He continued, "I think this food was also made by that girl. If a family has two daughters-in-law and one of them has such a good skill, what would outsiders say if they saw it?"
Liu Yueyang understood. Outsiders would definitely try to sow discord between her and her. If that were the case, it would be easy for her to...
"Although the main family has split up, this business is still done together. If you marry into the family, you will inevitably be criticized." Liu the Butcher felt sorry for his daughter, but she had to get married after all.
"Dad, I understand." Liu Yueyang leaned against Liu the Butcher's shoulder. "Dad, don't worry. If I have something on my mind, I will come home and tell you. I won't hide it, and I won't do anything stupid."
-
Snow was falling all over the city, and every stall was filled with people.
The snow fell last night. It was just scattered snowflakes at first, but it got bigger and bigger, and a blanket of snow formed on the ground.
Zong Xiao drank the noodle soup with a frown on his face.
"I'm afraid the weather is going to change. We'd better go early and come back early." Fushun glanced around and whispered, "I see a few people over there with bags on their backs. They might have fox furs too."
Prince Pingyang had spread the word a month earlier, saying he only wanted pure white fox fur without a single strand of hair, and the price was negotiable.
Most of the hunters who came to the capital were here for this purpose. If fox fur could be sold at a high price, they would have harvested several years' worth of it.
Zong Xiao went to get the tag before dawn. Only those holding the tag were qualified to present the fox fur.
"I'm sorry to trouble you, Brother Fushun. I think I'll go in by myself later." After all, Zong Xiao was not trying to sell fox fur. He wanted to use the fox fur as a stepping stone to ask someone for a favor.
If this matter angered Prince Pingyang, at most he would be the only one punished. But if Fu Shun followed him in, neither of them would escape.
"You and I are brothers, why would you say such things?" Fushun was a little annoyed. "Why, because of my little brother's affairs, are you still not accepting me as your brother?"
Zong Xiao raised his eyes to look at him and said sincerely, "I do mind that matter, but you are you. I won't stop treating you as a brother because of that matter."
Zong Xiao continued, "I brought not only white fox fur this time, but also a few gray ones. I need to sell those too, so I'll have to trouble you to do me a favor."
Fushun could tell that this was an excuse.
"If I fail, at least you can sell the remaining fox furs, and we can have enough money to go home and have a good New Year. Don't you think so?" Zong Xiao's words completely put an end to Fu Shun's desire to help.
Fushun sighed: "Okay, I'll listen to you this time. But you must be careful."
After the meal, the two of them each carried their backpacks and went in different directions.
Zong Xiao was waiting at the side door of Prince Pingyang's Mansion with a wooden sign. When it was his turn to go in, it was almost noon.
The servant leading the way said nothing until he stopped in front of a door, then he called out, "Butler, the person is here."
Zong Xiao brushed the snow off his shoulders, lifted the curtain and walked into the house.
There was a charcoal stove burning in the room, making it quite warm. As he entered, he was facing a wooden table, and standing beside it was a man who must be the housekeeper the servant had mentioned.
"But how many white fox furs did you bring?" asked the butler.
"That's right." Zong Xiao put down the backpack and took out three fox skins wrapped tightly in coarse cloth.
"These two are white fox fur, without a single stray hair. This one is pure black fox fur." Zong Xiao placed them on the table one by one. He had not originally planned to take out the black fox fur. After all, this one could be sold for at least a few taels of silver.
But the fur color was really good, and he felt that it was no worse than white fox fur, so he just brought it all over.
The housekeeper had been looking at fox furs for several days, and when he took out this one today, he knew it was of top quality. However, he did not show any joy on his face, otherwise these hunters would ask for an exorbitant price.
"It's okay. The palace wants all of these. Just name your price," said the housekeeper.
Zong Xiao knelt on the ground, clasped his fists and said, "I don't want any money, I just ask Your Majesty to help me."
"You, you." The butler was shocked by his behavior. He said sternly, "What are you doing? Come, take him out."
"I have a favor to ask, Your Highness, please show mercy." Zong Xiao kowtowed three times, and blood came out of his forehead.
Just when he thought he was about to be thrown out of the palace, there was finally movement behind the screen.
A lazy voice came, "It's okay, let him go first, and let him tell me why he had to come to me instead of the government office for help."
Seeing that there was hope, Zong Xiao told everything about the brothel in Yuanxiang Town.
He didn't ask for much, just wanted to protect his family from being abducted.
"Are you serious?" The man behind the screen pursed his lips, as if he had thought of something.
"Every word I say is true." Zong Xiao lowered his head and continued, "No one in the government office can take charge. I really have no other recourse but to ask Your Highness for help regarding the fox fur incident. I beg Your Highness to punish me."
Prince Pingyang: "Get up! Steward Zhang, bring in the fox fur for me to see."
The three fox furs were smooth and soft to the touch, and the color was superb. Prince Pingyang really liked them.
He looked up at the man still kneeling in front of the screen and asked, "When was this fox fur hunted?"
"I hunted it in the mountains a few days ago."
Prince Pingyang: "Just to see me?"
Prince Pingyang chuckled, "You are quite courageous, but I cannot interfere in your affairs."
Zong Xiao's heart trembled. The only way was not feasible.
"However," Prince Pingyang walked out from behind the screen, casually untied the jade pendant from his waist and placed it on the table. "Give this jade pendant to your county magistrate. He will know what to do when he sees it. Then tell him that I will pick it up another day."
Zong Xiao didn't expect that there would be a turn of events. He kowtowed again to express his gratitude. When he raised his head, there was no one in the room, only the jade pendant on the table.
Zong Xiao carefully put the jade pendant into his arms and followed the servant out of the house.
In the next room, Butler Zhang was puzzled. "Your Majesty, why did you give him the jade pendant? What if he uses it for something else?"
"It's nothing, it's just a jade pendant." Prince Pingyang wrote the word "lotus" on the paper and said with a smile, "A person who has done so many evil things cannot hide it. Look, he has revealed his true colors again."
As soon as Zong Xiao left the house, he was greeted by Fu Shun who was waiting outside.
"What's wrong with you? Did they beat you?" Fushun looked at his forehead and asked with a frown.
"It's done." Zong Xiao patted his chest and replied in a hoarse voice.
"Really?" Fushun's eyes lit up.
"Yeah." Zong Xiao nodded. He dragged Fushun to a deserted spot nearby and whispered, "Let's go back to town right now. I still have to go to the government office."
Fushun was happy in his heart. He also hated the people in the brothel in the town. They did all kinds of evil and none of them were good. He thought back to when he first fell in love, he fell in love with a girl from the next village who was three years older than him. But before he could propose to her, the girl was gone.
Everyone knew what was going on, but they could only pretend not to know. After all, once you enter a brothel, you can't come back.
"I just hired a mule cart. Let's go back early." Fushun pressed the purse into his hand. "This is what's left from selling fox fur."
Zong Xiao didn't open it to take a look. He asked someone to sell the fox fur to him, and he would accept any amount of silver.
The two of them got on a mule cart and traveled all night before arriving in town before noon the next day.
They did not dare to delay for a moment and went directly to the magistrate's house.
The servant refused to let them in until Zong Xiao took out the jade pendant.
"This jade pendant?" The magistrate's hands were shaking. He looked at the two unremarkable men in front of him suspiciously, "Don't tell me you stole it."
Zong Xiao wasn't afraid. He repeated what the prince had said, "The prince told you to keep this jade pendant. He will come to get it in person another day."
A layer of cold sweat broke out on the magistrate's forehead. He never expected that what happened in the town would alarm the prince.
However, now that things had come to this, he could only do as he was told. He had Zong Xiao and the others escorted out of the house, and then took a carriage out of the side door to the brothel.
"Are you saying that Prince Pingyang is coming?" Madam Lian said sarcastically, playing with the jade pendant in her hand.
"Whether you come or not, just be quiet these days and don't go out and kidnap people again."
Madam Lian frowned, but in order to avoid trouble, she had no choice but to agree.
As soon as the county magistrate left, she raised her hand and overturned the table in front of her, saying angrily, "I underestimated them. How dare they go against me again and again." Cuihong: "Madam, are you going to take action?"
Madam Lian: "Why bother with violence? Tell everyone not to take any action before the New Year. Send those people back and don't kidnap anyone else."
The mountain was blocked by heavy snow.
Zong Xiao stood at the foot of the mountain and looked at the vast expanse in front of him, feeling a headache.
Not only did the snow fall too early this year, but it was also so heavy, which was definitely not a good sign.
"Brother, do you want to rest in town and wait until the snow stops before going into the mountains?" Fushun also had a bad feeling. The snow was too heavy.
"No, we'd better go back early." Zong Xiao looked into the distance and said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to go down the mountain before the New Year. Why don't we go buy some rice and flour first?"
After the two of them had discussed it, they each went to buy a large backpack, one for the front and one for the back, filled with rice, flour, seasonings, and a bag of jujube paste cake that Zong Xiao had specially brought for Qiu Xuan.
There were a lot of things and the mountain road was difficult to walk on, so the two of them climbed up little by little with the help of wooden sticks. After walking for an unknown amount of time, they finally saw the stone tablet of Datun Village.
"Go back quickly. This time it's all thanks to you." Zong Xiao raised his hand and patted Fushun's shoulder. Something in his hand fell into Fushun's backpack.
"Then go slowly by yourself." Fushun knew that he couldn't keep him, so he didn't even say a word.
He stood at the entrance of the village until he could no longer see Zong Xiao among the mountains, and then he returned home.
The road going up was even more muddy, and Zong Xiao almost fell down. Fortunately, he had a stick in his hand, so he managed to stand.
The mountain road that should have taken less than half an hour took him more than an hour to walk, and he finally returned home before dark.
He didn't have time to rest and knocked on the door.
"Who?" Qiu Yu asked as she opened the door, holding an iron spoon in her hand.
Zong Xiao wanted to speak but found his voice was so hoarse that he couldn't even utter a word.
As soon as the door opened, the two looked into each other's eyes.
Seeing the person she had been thinking about for a long time standing in front of her, Qiu Xuan's eyes lit up and a look of joy appeared on her face, "You are finally back."
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