Snow Sculptures
Su Musong and Xiao Luochen did not get to enjoy Qiu Zhao's feast after all. Not long after the autumn hunt, Qingning attacked the northeast, and Qiu Zhao was sent to support. It was unknown when he would be able to return.
This year, winter in Nanning seems to have come earlier than in previous years.
The snow had been falling for three days without a break. The snow piled a foot thick on the buildings and courtyards. The city was deserted, and even the schools had been suspended. Su Musong, a restless man, was suddenly trapped at home by the snow, feeling utterly bored.
There was no way to go anywhere in such weather, so he could only sit by the brazier. Su Musong stared blankly at the snow outside the window, not knowing when it would stop, when suddenly a little head appeared in his arms.
"Brother, what are you looking at?"
Su Musong played with the pigtails on his head and answered nonchalantly
"Look at the snow."
"Don't just sit there and watch. Come play with me, okay?"
"Go play with Mu Liu."
"Brother! I'm getting angry! Humph!"
The little guy in his arms immediately stood up straight, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and pouted his little mouth. He was really angry.
"What's wrong? Look at this little mouth, you can even hang a teapot on it."
Su Musong didn't know how he had offended this little ancestor, and he was a little panicked for a moment.
"Brother, you're wrong again! I'm Mu Liu, not Mu Feng! Humph!"
Su Musong couldn't help but hold his forehead. He did often mistake Su Mufeng and Su Muliu, but it was not his fault. The figure and voice of a child of this age were difficult to distinguish between the genders, not to mention that they were a pair of twins carved from the same mold.
"Okay, okay, don't be angry. It's my fault. Can I play with you?"
"That's more like it."
Looking at Su Muliu's face that suddenly broke into a smile, Su Musong couldn't help but suspect that she had pretended to be angry just now in order to trick him into playing with her.
Su Muliu pulled Su Musong all the way to the garden at a trot. As soon as they reached the bamboo grove, she shook off Su Musong like a fly and jumped into the pavilion nearby, shouting, "Release!"
Before Su Musong could react, the snow on the bamboo fell down and hit him hard.
Su Mufeng and Su Muliu, the two main culprits, clapped their hands in joy when they saw their eldest brother turned into a snowman by the accumulated snow.
"Well, you are getting bolder and bolder. You dare to tease me. None of you can escape today."
Su Musong shook off the snow on his body, rolled up a soft snowball and threw it at Su Muliu. Su Muliu and Su Mufeng were not to be outdone. Relying on their small size, quick movements, and superior numbers, they attacked Su Musong from the front and back, and surprisingly fought back and forth with their eldest brother without losing the upper hand.
The three brothers and sisters had a snowball fight in the snow. After all, Su Mufeng and Su Muliu were the younger ones and they ran out of energy first and could not run anymore, but they were still reluctant to leave because they wanted to play.
"Brother, shall we build a snowman?"
"The snowman isn't pretty, big brother, can you make me a snow rabbit? My neighbor Mo Lin made me a rabbit out of clay before, but a white rabbit looks better."
"Then I want the little fox."
Su Musong felt mixed emotions as he looked at Su Mufeng and Su Muliu who were looking at him eagerly. Making a snowman was easy, just roll it into a ball and pile it up, and it would take shape. But making a rabbit and a fox was not so easy. However, these two little guys were really cute, and their little eyes that were shining with anticipation were so twinkling that no one would have the heart to refuse them.
"How about this? You guys make them yourselves, and I'll teach you. Whoever makes them like it best will get a reward. How do you say that?"
Although Su Mufeng and Su Muliu are still young, they already have a competitive spirit, and Su Musong's trick against them often works.
The two little guys immediately started working, shaping the snow with great concentration. Su Musong would look at one, teach another, and his own hands were busy carving a small snowman.
Su Musong was a good painter, so carving a snowman was no problem for him. He just did it casually and didn't try to imitate anyone else's work. But in Su Mufeng's opinion, his elder brother was imitating others' work.
"Brother, is that Brother Luo Chen you carved?"
Upon hearing this, Su Muliu put down the almost finished rabbit in his hand and came over to take a look.
"It's so beautiful! Big brother, big brother, I like this, I also want a little snowman like me!"
Su Musong then carefully looked at the little snowman in his hand, and was shocked. Who else could this be but Xiao Luochen? He didn't expect that he had carved out Xiao Luochen unconsciously. He wanted to go and see him.
"Big brother has to go out for something urgent. Show the little rabbit and the little fox to your second brother later. I'll give my reward to whoever he says is the best."
After Su Musong finished his instructions, he hurried away holding the small snow sculpture. Before Su Mufeng and Su Muliu could come to their senses, they had lost sight of their elder brother.
Braving the heavy snow, Su Musong took a carriage out and went straight to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
When the carriage arrived at the gate of the prime minister's residence, Su Musong was about to get off the carriage and met Xiao Luochen who was about to go out.
Xiao Luochen was very surprised to see Su Musong
"Musong!? I was just about to go look for you, but you turned yourself over."
"I was...bored at home, so I came...to look for you."
Su Musong's hands were red from the cold, his lips were purple, his teeth were chattering, and he couldn't speak clearly.
"What's the matter with you? Why are you so cold? Isn't there a heater in the carriage? Come to my carriage quickly."
Su Musong took out the little snowman that he had protected all the way. Because he was afraid that it would melt, Su Musong kept the curtains open and removed the heater in the car. That's why it was frozen like this.
"Here, for you."
Xiao Luochen hurriedly took it. After seeing that it was his own little portrait, his ears inexplicably felt a little hot in this snowy weather.
"You, are you freezing yourself like this just for this?"
"How do you like it?"
"like."
"That's good."
Xiao Luochen gave the little snowman to the servant and told him to put it on the windowsill outside the study, then he pulled the shivering Su Musong into his carriage.
Because Xiao Luochen is afraid of the cold, the heater in the car must be burning brightly enough when traveling in winter, and he must wear all the warm clothes.
Xiao Luochen stuffed his hand warmer into Su Musong's hand, poured him a cup of hot tea, and covered his ears with his hands before sitting down with peace of mind.
"Don't do such stupid things in the future. The snowman will eventually melt. It's not worth it for you to brave the wind and snow to deliver it. It's freezing cold, what will happen if it freezes?"
Su Musong drank the hot tea and immediately felt warm. He did not hide anything and said whatever he thought.
"It's okay. I'm strong and don't get sick easily. I was making snow sculptures with Mu Feng and Mu Liu, and somehow, I carved that little statue in a moment. I came here because I wanted to see you, but it's not just to give it to you."
After hearing what he said, Xiao Luochen felt inexplicably awkward and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Su Musong seemed to have noticed something and quickly changed the subject.
"You said you were going to look for me, what's the important matter?"
"Nothing serious, but I thought the snowy scenery at the Lakeside Pavilion must be beautiful, so I wanted to invite you to see it."
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