Chapter 111 [VIP]
The carriage traveled through the snow and ice, and although a small stove was placed on top, the temperature was far from enough to ward off the bitter cold.
A northerly wind blew in, seeping through the gaps in the car, making people shiver with cold.
"Achoo!" Chen Qingsong rubbed his nose, his cheeks flushed an unnatural red.
Chen Qingyan quickly wrapped the blankets around him more tightly, "Are you cold?"
"It's alright, bro, when are we going to get home?"
"Soon, we'll reach Jizhou in six or seven days."
"I miss my mother so much..." Chen Qingsong's voice choked up as he leaned his head on his older brother's shoulder.
He was only thirteen years old. In later generations, a child that age would just be entering junior high school. Chen Qingsong had already started traveling and studying with his older brother and teacher at a very young age.
Chen Qingyan hugged her younger brother tightly, feeling a pang of heartache.
At least she could see Aying and Yuanbao in the experimental field, but her younger brother couldn't see any of his family members for a whole year.
Chen Qingyan left a note in the experimental field saying that they had all caught a cold, but he and Qinghuai were fine and their condition improved after taking medicine for a few days.
Master and Qingsong's condition is slightly serious, and it keeps recurring without getting better.
They originally wanted to rest for a few more days, but while the soldiers could rest, the army couldn't wait. If they didn't travel with the soldiers, the journey would be even more difficult, and they probably wouldn't be able to get home before the end of the year. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue on their way.
In another carriage, Chen Qinghuai handed the teacher a cup of hot tea from the stove, saying, "Have some to warm yourself up."
Liang Boqing held the tea but didn't drink it. After finishing, he had to get out of the car to relieve himself. The little warmth he had accumulated from going in and out dissipated, leaving him feeling even colder.
"I don't know how many more days it will take to reach Jizhou."
"Are you in a hurry?"
"It's alright." Chen Qinghuai was unaware that his mother had already arrived in Jizhou, and he wasn't as anxious as his older and younger cousins.
"Alright, stop overthinking. Recite the Shang Shu Yi Xun section of the Book of Documents for me."
"On the day of Yichou in the twelfth month of the first year of the reign, Yi Yin offered sacrifices at the ancestral temple of the former king..."
The carriage finally arrived at the pavilion around 1:00 PM. General Lu ordered them to set up camp and rest. Chen Guang and Liang An quickly drove the carriage to a sheltered spot so that the master and young masters could get off and relieve themselves. They also boiled water, cooked porridge, and prepared medicine.
As soon as the hot porridge was cooked, Chen Qingyan quickly brought a bowl to her younger brother. After drinking the hot porridge, he also drank a bowl of herbal soup, and then he started to sweat.
Chen Qingyan quickly wrapped a thick quilt around him, saying, "Sleep for a while if you're sleepy. Use this earthenware pot to pee in the meantime, and make sure you don't catch a cold."
"Um."
Chen Qingyan got off the carriage, closed the door, and then went to check on his master's carriage.
How is the teacher?
Old Liang blew his nose and said, "It's alright, I won't die."
"Stop talking about dying all the time. You have to live to be ninety-nine and watch the three of us brothers enter the imperial court."
Liang Boqing was amused. "Ninety-nine, you dare to say that? Isn't that like an old monster? How is Song'er?"
"He just took his medicine, sweated it out, and went to sleep."
"Don't catch a cold. Rest well for a few days and you should be fine."
Chen Qingyan wasn't too worried about her younger brother, but she was worried about her grandfather. He had contracted typhoid fever once when he went to Laizhou before, and he had it again when he came back this time.
Older people can't withstand this kind of repeated torment; their hair has turned quite gray.
You must take good care of yourself.
"If you have nothing to do, go and memorize Mencius a few times."
Chen Qingyan was both amused and exasperated. Seeing that his teacher seemed to be alright, he gave him a few more instructions and returned to his carriage.
The next morning, we continued on our journey.
The weather was bad today. We had only gone less than 20 miles when a heavy snowstorm started. The wind and snow were so strong that even with the army clearing the way, we still couldn't go any further.
General Lu changed course and camped in a nearby town, waiting for the snow to stop before continuing his journey.
Chen Qingyan and his group had no choice but to go to the town as well, where they stayed for seven or eight days. By the time they set off again, it was already the 20th of the twelfth lunar month.
*
In Jizhou, apart from Wang Ying who knew the reason, everyone else was almost frantic with worry.
Especially Aunt Fang Ling, who would mutter to herself from time to time, "Why hasn't he come back yet? He hasn't returned for so long, could something have happened to him!" In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient, and there were many bandits. If one encountered a robber, the chances of survival were slim.
Missing her loved ones made her lose her appetite and she lost seven or eight pounds in just half a month, looking quite haggard.
This can't go on. I'm afraid that if Qinghuai is alright, Fourth Aunt will fall ill again.
Wang Ying had no choice but to have Chen Qingyan write a letter in the experimental field and then have someone pretend to deliver it, telling everyone that the wind and snow were heavy on the way and that the teacher was sick and would be back after a few days of rest.
Aunt Si was relieved after reading the letter and no longer worried about not being able to eat.
*
Time flew by, and it was now the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. Chen Qingyan and his group finally arrived outside Jizhou City.
Looking at the tall city wall, the three were filled with emotion and couldn't help but burst into tears. After a year, they had finally returned!
Upon entering the city, they parted ways with General Lu. The government troops went straight into the city, while Chen Qingyan and his group had to queue to enter. Fortunately, they had their documents and tokens with them, so they entered the city without any trouble.
Chen Ershun urged on the carriage: "Young master, where are we going now? Should we find an inn to settle down first, or should we inquire where the young master and the others are staying?"
"Let's ask around. Ah Ying's shop should be quite famous in the city."
Chen Guang went out and inquired around, and soon found out the answer.
"The vegetable shop is on Zhengyang Street. Just walk straight ahead for a while and you'll see it."
Chen Qingsong's cheeks flushed with excitement. He didn't care about the cold anymore, opened the car window, and leaned out to look around, afraid of missing his own shop.
Chen Qingyan's heart was pounding with excitement, and his palms were sweating. He hadn't told Wang Ying that they would be back soon while they were in the experimental field, thinking he would give him a surprise. He wondered if Wang Ying would be happy when they met.
In just a quarter of an hour, the group was extremely anxious, but as the reddish-brown sign came into view, their hearts finally settled down.
All the fatigue and noise left me, and only three words remained in my mind: I'm home.
"Whoa~" Er Shun pulled the reins and stopped the carriage. Liang An also stopped behind, and several of the martial arts masters who were accompanying them also stopped their carriages.
"Young Master, we've arrived."
Chen Qingyan pushed open the car door, her legs feeling a little weak, and got out of the car to walk towards the shop.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, vegetable shops are very busy. Everyone wants to eat stewed vegetables during the New Year, and people are willing to spend money to buy some fresh ones, resulting in long queues outside the shops.
"Excuse me, excuse me!" Chen Qingyan pushed his way through the crowd, but someone behind him said unhappily, "Hey, why are you cutting in line? We've been queuing all morning, just waiting to buy some vegetables. If you go to the front, what are we supposed to buy?"
"Yes, go to the back of the line."
The commotion caught Wang Ying's attention. He looked up and glanced over, immediately noticing Chen Qingyan's haggard face.
Wang Ying rubbed her eyes in disbelief. After confirming that the person in front of her was indeed her husband, she got up, rushed over, and hugged him tightly!
Chen Qingyan hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear, "Aying, I'm back."
The people buying vegetables nearby were still watching the commotion. They only knew that the shop was run by a young man, but they had never seen his husband before and thought he was a widow... But judging from the current situation, it must be that their husbands have returned.
"Xiao Ma, Tian Ju, I'll leave the shop to you for now. I'll take my husband home to settle in!"
"Oh! You should go quickly!"
Chen Qingyan nodded to the two men. Although he didn't have much of an impression of them, Wang Ying had mentioned that these people had helped him a lot.
Wang Ying put on a cloak and led Chen Qingyan out, where they saw Chen Qingsong standing beside the carriage, looking in their direction.
"Brother Song!"
"Sister-in-law!" Chen Qingsong rushed over.
"He has indeed grown quite a bit taller and looks like a grown-up now."
Chen Qingsong scratched his head shyly. He wanted to hug his sister-in-law, but he was almost as tall as her, so he was too embarrassed to reach out.
Wang Ying didn't have many taboos. She reached out and hugged him, patting his back. Her younger brother had lost a lot of weight and looked more and more like her husband. When they went back, her mother-in-law would definitely feel sorry for him.
"Where are Elder Liang and the others?"
"In the car behind."
Wang Ying went up to greet him and saw that the old man was in good spirits and not as seriously ill as she had imagined.
"Let's go home first, Mom and the others have been waiting anxiously."
Wang Ying got into the carriage and pointed out the way back to Er Shun, holding Chen Qingyan's hand tightly the whole time.
"I thought you would be spending the New Year on the road, but I didn't expect you to be able to come back."
Chen Qingyan squeezed his fingertips and whispered, "I was thinking of giving you a surprise."
It was indeed a pleasant surprise, but if Wang Ying had been told in advance, she would have been happy for several more days.
"The house is all cleaned up. I discussed it with the landlord and installed a fire dragon in the east wing so that Old Liang can live more comfortably when he goes back."
Originally, Wang Ying wanted to install fire dragons in every room, but the landlord disagreed. After much pleading and cajoling, he finally agreed to install fire dragons in the east and west wing rooms, while the main room would still need a stove for heating.
"The Zhuangzi is still the best. The teacher kept talking about Zhuangzi all the way here, but it's a pity that it was all washed away by the water."
Chen Qingsong said, "Sister-in-law, was our villa on the estate really washed away by the flood?"
"It's gone. You have no idea how big the flood was. It was more than three zhang deep, covering the roof. The courtyard wall was washed away, and only a few walls remained of the house. There was really no need to repair it."
"What about the houses in town?"
"The town is alright. Only the main house in the front yard collapsed halfway, and a few rooms in the back yard were severely flooded. The rest are still habitable."
Chen Qingsong asked in confusion, "Then why did you come to the prefectural city?"
"There's hardly anyone left in town."
Where are they?
"They're all dead..."
The two brothers were silent for a moment, then sighed simultaneously. They had almost lost everything after going out.
The carriage turned into the alley and soon arrived at the door. Wang Ying jumped down first, "Chen Fang, open the door."
"Hey, they're here!" Chen Fang quickly opened the gate upon hearing the voice. Seeing four or five carriages parked outside, he exclaimed excitedly, "The master is back! The master is back!"
The courtyard was small, and the sounds outside quickly reached the house. Li Shi and Fang Ling were sitting on the bed embroidering when they heard the noise. They immediately put down their needlework, slipped on their shoes, and ran out.
Chen Qingyun was even faster, rushing to the door like a gust of wind, "Big brother, little brother!"
"Qingyun".
"Sister."
The three siblings hugged each other excitedly.
Chen Qinghuai also got off the carriage, but at first he didn't see Fang Ling in the courtyard.
Until someone called out, "Huai'er!"
Chen Qinghuai turned his head to look over, and he was stunned for a moment. He opened his mouth and stared for a long time before finding his voice. Large tears rolled down his cheeks. "Mother!"
His crying caused both Li and Fang Ling to shed tears, and the two embraced their traveler who had returned from afar.
"My darlings, you're finally back!"
A note from the author:
Clouds drift across the sky over my hometown.
It kept calling to me.
When the gentle breeze blows around me
A voice is calling to me
Come back, come back!
Wandering the world
Come back, come back!
Stop wandering around
—From "Clouds Over My Hometown"
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