Chapter 187 Approaching (1)
As November drew to a close, the weather suddenly turned cold, and heavy snow fell, covering the entire capital in a white blanket. On such days, even the number of pedestrians on the streets decreased, and the greatest pastime for the people was to huddle around the stove and heated brick bed, tighten their cotton-padded clothes, and pray that the snow would stop soon.
During this time of year, the noble ladies in the palace would either gather around a stove to brew tea and roast some peanuts, chestnuts, and other nuts to satisfy their cravings, or they would arrange to play cards with their sisters from other palaces in the warm inner rooms for amusement. If they felt too stuffy, they would take out a hand warmer, have the maids and eunuchs hold an umbrella for them, and go to the Imperial Garden to enjoy the snow and take a walk, and the day would pass by in a flash.
But this year is different. The concubines in the palace have found a new source of amusement, and they rush to get a good spot every day to watch the excitement.
Because they wanted to watch Li Xiaoxiao teach the little princes physical education.
Riding, driving, and archery are all courses that the princes and grandsons will learn in the future. However, because these courses are somewhat dangerous and require a certain level of strength, there is an age limit. Princes and grandsons are required to be twelve years old before they can start learning. Princes under the age of twelve are usually sent home to play after they finish their academic classes.
However, after Li Xiaoxiao took office as the commander of the Eastern Palace guards, she saw that after school, the children either stayed at home with the maids and servants by the fire or played with toys on the kang (a heated brick bed). They were dressed in thick clothes and would sneeze when the wind blew. She felt that raising boys like this was not good for them.
She reported to Emperor Hongxing that a physical education class had been added for the imperial grandsons.
Her teaching methods differed from other instructors; instead of teaching techniques in a rigid, step-by-step manner, she focused directly on sparring.
First, when the imperial grandsons appeared before her, cloaked and hunched over, carrying hand warmers, she pointed to the training ground and told them to go run a couple of laps first.
The training ground was huge. Two laps were enough for the princes to throw away their hand warmers, take off their cloaks, and stretch their necks to catch their breath while running. By the time they finished, although they were breathing out white breaths, their foreheads were already sweating. Then they had no time to rest and immediately had to start the competition. Sometimes it was tug-of-war, sometimes wrestling, sometimes Cuju (ancient Chinese football). Li Xiaoxiao even invented a game called "Protecting Evidence" based on the rules of rugby.
Using the field of Cuju (ancient Chinese football), a round sandbag is embroidered with the words "Evidence" in large characters. The evidence weighs about two pounds and can be tossed around in the air. Both teams have to try to transport the evidence into their own goal.
The little princes had a blast. After such intense exercise, they not only became less afraid of the cold, but they also got hungry much faster. Even their picky eating habits improved considerably. Li Jin, who was once the second youngest, can now eat two bowls of rice, and his weight has increased dramatically. His mother was so pleased that she sent Li Xiaoxiao two gifts.
Not only did the concubines in the palace enjoy coming to watch their competitions when they had nothing to do, but even Emperor Hongxing, when he was tired from handling state affairs, liked to bring a few of his senior ministers over for a walk. Seeing the children's energetic and spirited appearance would greatly improve his mood.
As December arrived, the weather grew increasingly cold. Emperor Hongxing, seeing that Yang Shimin, who was over sixty years old, still had to travel to and from court every day, was afraid that he would freeze to death. So he finally issued an edict to go to the Tangquan Palace in Yunfu Mountain to escape the cold.
Yunfu Mountain is more than 100 miles away from the capital. It is an extinct volcano, but its geothermal resources have always been excellent. It was a famous royal hot spring in the previous dynasty. Even with the change of dynasties, the emperors of each dynasty were reluctant to give up such a superior environment and geographical location, so the hot spring palace was well preserved.
During the reign of Emperor Jian'an, he would come here to escape the cold and spend the winter almost every one or two years. Apart from leaving some palace staff to guard the palace, he would bring almost all the core officials of the Six Ministries with him, so as not to delay political affairs.
Aze got the news first and excitedly told Li Xiaoxiao, "Sister Xiaoxiao, have you ever soaked in a hot spring? It's warm and fun, and you can even boil eggs in it."
So there were hot springs available at this time of year, and they were even royal hot springs, so they must have been quite large.
Aze said, "Father said we have a day to pack, and we'll be setting off tomorrow. It's a journey of over a hundred li, and we have to leave at dawn to reach Tangquan Palace before dark. Remember to bring Rui Rui along too; I want to stay with him."
Once at Tangquan Palace, the rules were definitely fewer than in the Imperial Palace. Since he slept with Rui Rui, there weren't as many rigid rules.
When Li Xiaoxiao got home, she learned that Meng Guanqi was also in the entourage. She happily kissed him and said, "I asked His Majesty to allocate me a house with a hot spring pool. You can stay with me! And Rui Rui, Aze said he'll bring Rui Rui along too."
Meng Guanqi had the same idea. Although he could serve in the imperial court, his official rank was too low to apply for a courtyard with a hot spring. According to the rules, he could only share a room with his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy and soak in the large pool. If he could benefit from the lady's favor and live in a separate courtyard, how could he refuse such a good thing?
The couple excitedly packed their belongings and entered the palace an hour earlier than usual the next day to prepare to depart with the main group.
As dawn broke, the palace gates opened wide, and more than a hundred carriages drove out in an orderly fashion, heading towards Yunfu Mountain, more than a hundred miles away.
Because they were going to spend the winter in the warm Tangquan Palace, almost everyone was excitedly looking forward to the journey. The fatigue from getting up early and traveling more than 100 miles disappeared completely when the caravan finally entered Tangquan Palace.
The temperature is much higher in places with hot springs than elsewhere. After entering Yunfu Mountain, what comes into view is the lush trees on the mountain, and there are even flowers blooming in this season, which form a sharp contrast with the withered branches and fallen leaves along the way.
Moreover, as soon as we entered the mountains, the temperature immediately warmed up, and we couldn't wear our cotton-padded coats, cloaks, and capes anymore. We took off our coats and wore only our thermal underwear.
Because of her status and position, Li Xiaoxiao was assigned to the courtyard next to Aze's. There was a small door between the two courtyards that allowed Aze and Rui Rui to visit each other. Next to Aze's courtyard was the residence of Emperor Hongxing and the Empress, which was also the main hall of the entire Tangquan Palace.
Just as Li Xiaoxiao and Meng Guanqi finished tidying up, Wan Quan came over to invite them to dine with the Emperor and Empress. The climate of Tangquan Palace was warm and spring-like, and leafy greens could be grown all year round. So Li Xiaoxiao benefited from this and ate leafy greens for the first time in winter.
Almost everyone was immersed in the comfortable atmosphere of the Hot Spring Palace, unaware that a crisis was quietly approaching.
In Linxia Village, Tianjin, a final, piercing scream rang out, followed by silence.
Blood filled the air, severed limbs littered the ground, and the flowing blood was quickly frozen into ice, then covered by a heavy snowfall, even the smell of it soon vanished into the air.
The wolf pack gathered, each carrying a fresh human liver in its mouth, and respectfully placed it in front of a giant silver-gray wolf, about the size of a calf, with strong limbs and piercing eyes.
The giant wolf had a long, winding white scar running from its nose to its forehead, resembling the mark of lightning. Wherever it passed, no hair grew, making it a terrifying sight.
The wolves offered their fresh entrails to the wolf king, then lay down to rest leisurely, awaiting the wolf king's next command.
The fresh livers piled up like a small mountain. The wolf king lowered his head, took only a few bites, and then stopped eating, letting out a long howl in one direction: "Awoo~"
The remaining wolves howled in that direction as snowflakes fluttered down. The wolf king strode gracefully toward that direction, its front paws outstretched.
Two days later, a woman who had been stranded by heavy snow for two days while visiting her newborn nephew finally saw the snow stop. She hurriedly rented an oxcart and headed to Linxia Village. She had been stuck at her parents' house for two days and wondered if her mother-in-law would be angry. Her two children, aged five and seven, were being cared for by her mother-in-law, who was at an age that was bothering her. Her mother-in-law already disliked her, and her sister-in-law often stirred up trouble in front of her. Now that she had been stranded by the heavy snow for two days, her sister-in-law was probably going to make up stories about her being lazy and shirking her responsibilities.
The driver seemed to understand her feelings, occasionally whipping the oxen to urge them on. However, the snow had just stopped, and the road was particularly muddy and difficult to travel. They couldn't go any further than the entrance to Linxia Village: "The people in your village are really lazy. The snow has piled up like this, and the village chief hasn't called anyone to shovel it away?"
The young wife was also surprised: "No way, our village chief is very diligent; he always has people shovel snow whenever it snows..."
But the driver clearly didn't believe it. The road was blocked, and the oxcart couldn't get in. They had already reached the village entrance, so he told her to walk the rest of the way back by herself.
The young woman's house wasn't far from the village entrance, but the snow on the road was so deep it was ankle-deep, leaving a trail with every step. By the time she got inside, her shoes and socks would be soaked, and she didn't know how much firewood it would take to dry them. The young woman complained to herself that the village chief was lazy and hadn't asked anyone to shovel the snow as she entered her house.
The gate to the courtyard was half open, and inside was a thick layer of snow.
The young woman was stunned. The snow on the road was supposed to be public property, and it was normal that she was too lazy to sweep it because of the cold. But how could there be so much snow in her small yard? It was impossible. Her mother-in-law was such a diligent person, how could she tolerate such a thick layer of snow in the yard?
"Father! Mother! Husband! I'm back—" she called as she walked in, but after a few steps she stepped on a round, hard piece of wood, which looked like firewood. The young wife tripped and fell to the ground. The basket she was carrying rolled a few times, and all the steamed buns she had brought back from her parents' home rolled out.
She quickly reached out to pick it up, but when she picked up a steamed bun, she picked up something along with it. She looked closely and saw that it was a frozen arm with five distinct bent knuckles.
The young wife was stunned. She looked back at the "firewood" that had tripped her, and upon closer inspection, she realized that it was not firewood at all, but a section of a human thigh.
"Ah!" A shrill scream echoed from the farmhouse courtyard, reaching the ears of the driver who hadn't gone far.
The driver immediately recognized the scream as that of the young woman from earlier. Startled, he quickly turned the cart around to go back and see what had happened.
The oxcart couldn't go any further at the village entrance, so he jumped off and followed the young woman's footprints to her house. There he found her sitting on the snow in the yard, screaming in agony.
Just as the driver was about to ask her what happened, he also noticed a severed leg and an arm that had been pulled out.
Even the rickshaw driver, a grown man in his forties, was so frightened his legs went weak. What had happened? Had someone been murdered? Yes, someone had been murdered!
He took a step back and kicked something round. The thing rolled twice in the snow and revealed its face, which was the head of an old woman that was completely frozen.
"Ah! What happened?" The driver also screamed, but he was a man after all. After looking around the courtyard, he took a piece of firewood from the woodpile and rummaged through the uneven parts of the yard. The more he rummaged, the more horrified he became. The yard was full of human remains.
The young woman seemed to be frozen in shock, unable to react. The driver grabbed her and ran outside. Something had happened, something terrible had happened!
An hour later, the Tianjin garrison received a report, which terrified all the officials on the spot.
County Magistrate Yang Kaichi immediately mustered his men and had the coachman and young wife lead the way, speeding towards Linxia Village.
Linxia Village is located near the mountains, and the nearest village is Wuling Village. The two villages are about four or five miles apart. When people saw the county magistrate leading so many soldiers rushing towards Linxia Village, they could tell that something big had happened. At this time, the heavy snow had just stopped, and there was nothing to worry about in the long winter. So many people joined in the fun and followed.
Seeing the young woman so frightened she was almost in a daze, the driver stammered to Yang Kaichi, "This woman told me that their village chief was very diligent, and he always swept the snow off the main road in the village very clean. I thought she was just saying that to save face. Who would have thought that when we entered her house, there were severed limbs all over the ground, frozen stiff. I don't know what happened, what evil people she offended that would want to chop someone up like this..."
Yang Kaichi's face was ashen, and he couldn't say a word. If what the coachman said was true, this would be a massacre of an entire family. Not only were they killed, but they were also chopped into pieces. How much hatred would it take to do something like this?
More and more people followed behind, but Yang Kaichi had no time to pay attention to them and just kept going. He finally arrived at the entrance of Linxia Village. The messy footprints of the driver and the young woman were still clearly imprinted in the middle of the snowy road. Yang Kaichi's heart sank. According to the driver, they made such a commotion at the young woman's house and then ran out to report the case. Didn't anyone in the village come out to see what was going on?
He considered an even worse possibility: could it be that everyone in the village was already gone?
The atmosphere was so heavy it was suffocating. The officials rushed ahead, and without the help of the coachman and the young wife, they easily found the young wife's house by following the footprints. The door was half open and half closed, and in the snow in the yard, one could clearly see the arms, legs and heads that had been turned upside down, which almost covered the entire yard.
The officers searched with trepidation. Besides the severed limbs buried in the snow in the courtyard, the kitchen and hall were also covered in bloodstains. In the end, they found a total of nine heads, four of which belonged to children, the youngest of whom looked to be only about two years old...
The young bride couldn't bear the shock and fainted. The villagers of Wuling Village who followed Magistrate Yang were terrified and turned pale. Many of them vomited repeatedly. Wuling Village is adjacent to Linxia Village, and there are many intermarriages between the two villages. Almost everyone has relatives in Wuling Village. These villagers ran towards their relatives' houses. Soon, screams and cries rose and fell.
Yang Kaichi's legs went weak. Judging from the current situation, there was no one left alive in the entire Linxia Village; they had all been torn to pieces.
He barely managed to stay upright by supporting himself on the clerk's shoulder, and said in a trembling voice, "Someone, go to the Jingzhao Prefecture to report this to the court. The neighboring Xia Village was attacked, the entire village was wiped out, and everyone was silenced!"
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