Chapter 126 This year's Changan...
Chang'an is really not peaceful this year.
First, heavy rain fell endlessly after mid-autumn, and when winter came, it snowed heavily. The sky and the earth were covered with white, and it was impossible to tell where was where. Every household had to sweep the snow every half hour, otherwise there would be no place to stay.
The snow was falling so heavily that the pond in the yard was covered with a thick layer of ice. Little Carp had no way of staying there any longer, so he had to transform into a human form and run out.
As New Year's Day was approaching, red lanterns were hung throughout the Shen Mansion, and today they were even given prison pills.
The little carp blew bubbles, leaned its round little face on the table, looked at the exquisite meatballs on the plate, and wanted to reach out and take one.
“Snap—”
"Ouch...it hurts. You bad guy, you hit me." Xiaoli wrinkled his chubby face, hid behind Chen Qing, and glared at Cui Ya angrily.
Cui Ya put her hands on her hips and said, "This isn't called a fight, this is called a rule. Who told you to grab something from my wife's bowl without even washing your hands?"
Chen Qing ate his prison pills with a grunt, remaining silent.
Two little girls were arguing fiercely behind her.
Chen Qing had no time to look outside the house. The snow was still falling and was almost two feet deep. The servants in the mansion took a sip of hot wine to warm themselves, exhaled hot air, picked up their tools and went out to shovel the snow.
“Chichichichi——”
A tiny bird fluttered its wings and landed in the yard. It tilted its head, looked at Shen Qing, then looked away and hopped on the ground looking for food.
The servant who was sweeping the snow also noticed it, and his originally vigorous movements became cautious. He had just shoveled away a pit of snow, but soon the pit was immediately filled up by the falling snow.
The servant was not angry, but just stared at the bird. Seeing that it couldn't find anything for a long time, he couldn't bear to see it hungry, so he took out a small piece of naan from his bosom, broke it into pieces and put it in his palm.
The bird smelled the food and flapped its wings to land on his palm.
He grinned back.
The bird was very full and contentedly jumped onto his shoulder and nestled there, not wanting to leave.
He stood there blankly for a long time, and after making sure that the bird refused to fly away, he started to work with a silly smile on his face.
The room suddenly became much quieter.
As soon as Chen Qing turned around, he saw two people, one big and one small, staring at him.
Xiaoli said: "Human, are you unhappy?"
Cui Ya covered her mouth and said, "Don't talk nonsense! I didn't..." Her voice faded away.
Chen Qing actually fell asleep again leaning on the armchair.
"What's going on? My wife has been sleeping a lot lately, and even her appetite has decreased a lot." Cui Ya was worried. "Could it be that my wife hasn't taken her medicine in the past few months?"
Cui Ya said, "That's not right. The young lady still smells of medicine. She can't be out of medicine. No, I have to call a doctor to take a look."
Xiaoli came up, stared at Shen Qing with her round eyes, and then pinched her palm.
So soft and warm.
Back in Huachunchi, Ah Chou had loved to touch her head. In her memory, Ah Chou's hands were always cold, damp, and smelled of blood. They felt different from the hand of the person before her.
Xiaoli held his breath, afraid of crushing the fragile human in front of him.
She carefully let go of her hand and secretly glanced at Cui Ya. Seeing Cui Ya running around anxiously in the distance, she quietly climbed onto the armchair, hid her head in Shen Qing's arms, and secretly took another pill to eat.
The room was warm, and the balls were still hot. When they were bitten, fresh juice overflowed. Xiaoli's eyes lit up instantly.
tasty!
Better than the ones in the pond, she thought naively.
Cui Ya finally discovered the guy who was stealing the food. She was about to stop him, but when she saw Xiao Li eating so voraciously, she suddenly became speechless.
That's all.
Cui Ya said, "You, who told you to hold my wife in your arms and eat with your bare hands?"
Xiaoli looked puzzled: "Then how can we eat it?"
Cui Ya: "Of course, with chopsticks."
“Why can’t I eat with my hands?”
The two of them were arguing over whether to use chopsticks or hands, and they didn't notice a figure standing in front of the window.
"Excuse me, are you two done arguing?"
Cui Ya turned around with her head stiff, "Liu, Deputy Envoy Liu?"
.
When Liu Jiuyue came back, he was exhausted, his blue shirt was extremely worn, and he had a beard on his face. Only his eyes were surprisingly bright.
When Chen Qing woke up, he saw his senior brother sitting at the table, so he ate the pills he had taken for catching a cold.
Seeing Chen Qing open his eyes, Liu Jiyue said, "Awake."
Shen Qing thought she was dreaming and rubbed her eyes.
Liu Jiyue smiled gently, "You don't recognize me after waking up from a sleep?"
Chen Qing looked up at the sky. It was already dusk when she woke up from her sleep. She said drowsily, "Senior Brother."
The man in front of him smiled, tapped his knuckles on the table, and pushed the almost empty bowl of prison pills aside. "Look at you, you're so dazed. You fell asleep in the middle of your meal. Your stomach must be empty."
He stood up as he spoke, the hem of his blue shirt brushing against the foot of the stool, bringing with it a stream of cold air. "The porridge is warming on the stove. I'll go get it for you."
She gazed at his back with deep emotion. The back of his blue shirt was frayed with fine frayed edges, and even the belt around his waist had been replaced with a coarse cloth. But he walked steadily, and from behind he looked as calm as before.
She blinked to make sure it wasn't a dream. Her throat tightened and she asked softly, "Brother, why are you back?"
Liu Jiyue came back with a bowl of porridge, steam rising from the edge of the bowl. He placed the bowl next to Shen Qing's hand, then sat down and answered, "I was delayed on the way."
He didn't elaborate, but said, "Drink the porridge first. It's warm, not hot."
Chen Qing held the warm bowl, his fingertips warmed, and his heart settled down.
She scooped a spoonful of porridge into her mouth. The soft and sticky rice porridge mixed with some chopped vegetables tasted like what she used to drink. When she looked up, she saw Liu Jiuyue looking at her, his eyes shining like falling stars. She suddenly remembered the way he ate the cold pills just now and asked, "Brother, why don't you eat something hot?"
"I came back in a hurry, and all the shops in Chang'an were closed because of the snow. I couldn't buy anything to eat, so I had to come to your place to get some. It's just as delicious cold."
Liu Jiuyue seemed to be in a good mood.
Chen Qing's heart was filled with a dense pang of heartache. Perhaps from the endless journey, his sleeves were worn, his chin was covered with stubble, and his eyes were filled with weariness.
"I'll ask someone to make another bowl of Lao Wan."
Liu Jiuyue stopped him and said, "It's night time now, the people in the mansion should be resting, there's no need to bother them."
"It's a coincidence. The celestial phenomena in Chang'an are strange. Not long ago, I went to Guisuipo and saw that the barrier was intact. On the way back, I happened to meet Senior You Daozi who had also come to observe the barrier. We returned to Chang'an together."
"Maybe he wants to find some peace and stability. The senior said that after the snow stops, he will stay in Dongshan Temple and won't leave."
Chen Qing listened to Liu Jiuyue talking about these gossips and felt sleepy again.
You Daozi, she often heard of his name from outsiders. He was her master's best friend and also Li Daoxuan's master.
It's just that Chen Qing has never seen this legendary figure in his life.
Seeing that Chen Qing was sleepy again, Liu Jiuyue said, "I talked too much and forgot something important."
"I also went to see Uncle Shen."
Chen Qing's half-closed eyes suddenly opened.
"Uncle Shen received an imperial decree that there were rebels in the capital, and he was ordered to raise troops to support Chang'an."
"And then? Did Aye still come?"
Liu Jiuyue slowly shook her head. "The letter you wrote has arrived. Uncle Shen read it and then stopped taking any action."
Shen Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
The Saint's illness was strange, and with the Crown Prince in power, Shen Qing felt that he had not given up on dealing with the Shen family. So he wrote a letter to remind Aye to be wary of the royal family.
Fortunately, Aye chose to believe her. Otherwise, Aye would probably be accused of being a rebel.
Her heart and eyes were filled with fear.
Liu Jiyue said, "I haven't seen you for a few months, and Chang'an has changed so much that even the celestial phenomena are disrupted. I have to find out what went wrong in the next few days."
"You'an, after the New Year's Day, you should go back to Xuanji Pavilion and hide. The affairs of the court are too complicated, and you should not be involved."
Li Daoxuan had also told her these words and asked her to stay in Xuanji Pavilion and wait until the snow stopped before coming out.
No one knew what Li Daoxuan was doing. Since he left last time, there hadn't been a single splash. Chen Qing always felt that he was planning something sinister.
Since he was so confident and his senior brother also said so, she just had to obey.
She was skilled in Taoist magic, but not in the affairs of the court. Since it was an internal struggle, let Li Daoxuan fight it out on his own.
So Shen Qing nodded obediently.
"Oh, by the way, Youan might have another 'brother' in the future."
There was an obvious flash of excitement in Liu Jiuyue's eyes.
"Brother?"
"Uncle Shen wants to adopt me as his adopted son, but he still needs your approval, Youan."
Liu Jiyue's eyes were filled with anticipation: "If You'an is willing to acknowledge me as his brother, then when the snow stops, I will rush to the border and tell Uncle Shen the good news."
After performing the ceremony of paying respect to his father, Liu Jiuyue's name will be included in the book of adopted relatives, and he will be considered half a member of the Shen family from then on.
When outsiders mention him, they will no longer say who he is, but will say that he is the Jade Explorer of the Shen family.
Tanyu was the nickname given to Liu Jiyue by Shen's mother when she was young. The two brothers and sisters grew up under the watchful eyes of Shen's father and mother, so it's no exaggeration to say that Liu Jiyue is half a member of the Shen family.
Whenever he returned to the Shen family, the servants would always acknowledge Liu Jiuyue's existence and prepare his things on weekdays.
Hearing Liu Jiuyue say this, Chen Qing felt that this was what he should do.
Liu Jiyue was her brother. They were not related, but they were more like siblings.
So Chen Qing pulled Liu Jiyue's sleeve and called softly, "Brother——"
This cry made Liu Jiyue lose his mind and he said dazedly, "Hey."
When he was happy, he couldn't help drinking a little wine, and was finally helped back to his room by his servants.
Chen Qing felt warm in his heart.
Liu Jiuyue stayed there until New Year's Day.
The streets of Chang'an were already drenched in joy. The bluestone pavement had been swept clean, and a layer of golden sunlight fell on it. The wind blew, and the colorful silk hangings from the street shops fluttered happily. The sounds of children playing happily filled the air with a warm and lively atmosphere.
The snow rarely stops.
People took the opportunity to clean up the snow, some prepared new clothes, and some stocked up on goods.
The haze brought by previous floods and snowstorms has been temporarily swept away, and everyone's face is filled with joy.
The Shen Mansion was also quite lively. Due to the relaxed rules, the servants were also very noisy, and the mansion was decorated very festively.
Chen Qing prepared a stool and roasted a fire in the yard. Liu Jiuyue caught a fish from the ice pond and figured out how to roast it.
Cui Ya and Xiao Li were chasing and playing, having snowball fights.
Only one person is missing.
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