Chapter 32 White Dragon's Turn (Part 3) Update
On the sixth day, the heavy snow finally showed signs of gradually decreasing.
In the evening of that day, when the last flake of snow fell to the ground, the continuous heavy snow in the winter of the ninth year of Tianxi in Xiguan County finally reached its end.
Deeply covered by it is the starting point of thousands of miles of frozen land.
However, after the snow fell, Wang Yanpeng, the governor of Xiguan Prefecture, boarded the governor's carriage outside the gate of the prefecture and rode away on the slightly damp Yucheng Street, which was covered with a thin layer of snow but did not hinder the movement of carriages and horses.
"Let's go to the Xiguan Marquis' Mansion first! I want to visit the young Marquis of Xiguan! Then I'll go find Fu Mingyi of the Fu family. This governor must reward the great hero who fought against the snow!"
The streets of Yucheng where his carriage passed were wide and flat.
Every main road in the city was cleared to a width of ten feet, just enough to accommodate two horse-drawn carriages or animal carts passing by.
On both sides of the cleared road, there were tall, flat snow walls piled up, nearly ten feet high.
Wang Yanpeng thought with a certain amount of pride that his position as the Xiguan Governor was far superior to Iberi's. Not only was the young Marquis of Xiguan much more reliable, but even a heavy snowfall that had shocked him to the point of dropping his jaw had been safely and soundly weathered.
On the way to the Marquis' Mansion, Wang Yanpeng glanced at the gate towers of Yucheng's Dubei Gate and Dongwang Gate.
have to!
The white earth is so clean!
Let it fall, it’s not like we can’t get a new one.
Although Xiguan County was in decline and neglected, the city gate tower was at least the face of the government office and the imperial court. If he reported the snow disaster to his superiors, wouldn't the funds for the gate tower's reconstruction be there?!
After this incident, he clearly understood that this young Marquis of Xiguan was simply the god of his career, Wang Yanpeng!
The young Marquis of Xiguan was fooling around in the snow, but he ended up getting lucky.
Alas, it just happened to catch it!
The bad act of taking advantage of one's power to bully others for personal gain has turned into a great and meritorious deed.
You said that in the past, when Iberly was around, the young Marquis of Xiguan had done quite a lot of trouble.
Why isn’t it so coincidental and effective?
These days, while sitting in front of the warm fireplace indoors and watching the snowflakes flying outside, he fell into deep thought many times.
Finally, he came to a conclusion.
He, Wang Yanpeng, shares the same destiny with the young Marquis of Xiguan and Xiguan County!
As soon as he took office, the fortune of Xiguan County changed dramatically, especially the crucial young Marquis of Xiguan. All the unfavorable and unlucky things that had originally happened to him changed their nature.
It really is destined that such a good thing should fall upon Wang Yanpeng!
Wang Yanpeng shook his head and hummed a little tune. He had to go and worship his god of official luck first!
Arriving at Qinyang Street outside the Xiguan Marquis Mansion, Wang Yanpeng got off the carriage, lifted his robe with one hand, and stepped onto the clean ten steps in front of the Xiguan Marquis Mansion with his chest held high and his head held high.
When the doorman of the marquis's mansion saw the visitor, he recognized him as the dignified Governor of Xiguan.
The doorman came out and asked, "Greetings, Sir Governor."
Wang Yanpeng said to the doorman as if it was a matter of course, "This governor would like to pay a visit to the young Marquis of Xiguan. Please inform him."
Unexpectedly, the seemingly polite doorman said directly the next moment: "Oh, then, Sir Governor, you came at an unfortunate time!"
Wang Yanpeng's smug and complacent expression froze slightly, and he asked, "How is it?"
"Our young marquis left the house early this morning with the young clan leader Fu!"
"Young Marquis has already left the house?" Wang Yanpeng asked in disbelief. It was only less than an hour after dawn.
"The young marquis arranged everything himself, and we servants don't understand what's going on. Isn't that right?"
"Uh...that's it."
Wang Yanpeng had to admit that even he, the governor, was not allowed to ask any questions!
"Do you know where the young marquis went?" he asked again unwillingly.
"I only know that the young marquis took the young chieftain Fu out skiing, but I don't know where they went."
"What? Skiing?"
Wang Yanpeng couldn't help but ask back, what new saying and new thing is this?
In the few days before the heavy snow fell, he had been on the main roads of Yucheng since the first day, sprinkling coarse salt particles and moving back and forth with manual snow buckets to clear the fallen snow. Under the spontaneous and strict organization of the people in shifts, he cleared the fallen snow one by one.
On both sides of the newly renovated double-sided sloping roofs, two bamboo tubes flow all day long, bringing most of the snow on the roofs of each household to the ground.
Wang Yanpeng was surprised and amazed by the new methods and things that had never appeared in the past years!
At this moment, seeing that the doorman of Xiguan Marquis Mansion was also confused, Wang Yanpeng could only open his mouth in vain.
Finally, he said, "Okay then!"
After saying that, he had to turn around with the same momentum as when he came, and walked down the steps in front of the marquis' mansion step by step again.
He got into the carriage with a normal expression and turned to drive to the residential area of the Fu family.
However, inside the carriage, only Wang Yanpeng knew how frustrated he was that he hadn't been able to see his official luck god immediately after the Snow God left!
In the Xiguan Marquis Mansion, in the courtyard where Liu Ziye lived.
Liu Ziye wrapped himself tightly in a fox fur coat with a hood, opened the gate of the courtyard wide, and asked Ah Huan and Ah Bi to light a fire in the stove under the corridor, boil a cup of tea, and then sit together in an armchair, leisurely warming themselves by the fire and drinking tea.
After the heavy snow, the courtyard was quiet and peaceful, all eyes were a dazzling white. Such a continuous snowfall made all living things dormant. Apart from the silent throbbing of the cold wind, there was not a single sound.
To put it more bluntly, it was a dead silence.
However, the silence in Liu Ziye's mind at this moment was very different from the silence in her environment.
"Ding! After system evaluation, the damage caused by the heavy snow crisis in Xiguan has dropped from 95% of the original world line to 21%. The main source of the damage reduction is the number of collapsed houses and displaced Xiguan border residents! Congratulations to the host, you have obtained 2000 points of Imperial Merit Points!"
"Ding! After system evaluation, the gratitude of some of the border residents of Xiguan, whose homes were saved, towards the host has begun to turn positive from the original absolute negative. Congratulations to the host, you have earned 600 points of the Emperor's Morality Value!"
"bite!……"
A series of automatic system settlement prompts echoed in his mind, but Liu Ziye didn't find it noisy at all.
She turned over and took a sip of the steaming ginger barley tea.
I sighed in my heart: This is truly the sound of nature!
She can continue to live peacefully this winter, and she can finally welcome the spring of her life again!
The sound of footsteps on the snow could be heard outside the courtyard, and the crunching sound of the snow was like music, rhythmically moving in Liu Ziye's heart.
No matter who comes, today will be a very easy-going and cheerful day for her.
At the corner of the archway in front of the courtyard corridor, a pair of hands supported the blue-gray brick wall. Fu Zhen'er appeared in front of the corridor with a flushed face and white sweat steaming from her hair.
When he saw Liu Ziye sitting leisurely in the yard, warming himself by the fire, a smile quickly spread from the corner of his lips to his entire heart.
"Zi Ye!"
Fu Zhener shouted.
Although they cleared the snow on the road in time every day, there was still a thin layer of residual snow and broken ice. Fu Zhener did not ride in a car or on a horse, but almost jumped and ran all the way here.
At this moment, he spoke with obvious panting sounds after a lot of exercise.
Liu Ziye was also very happy to see Fu Zhener rushing in, with joy and surprise in his eyes.
At this moment, she was no different from Fu Zhen'er, expressing such joy and happiness and showing it to others.
"Brother Fu, why are you here?"
She stood up from the armchair. The pedestrian path in this courtyard, from the bedroom door to the archway of the corridor, had been cleaned for several days and was relatively smooth for pedestrians.
Liu Ziye walked over, took Fu Zhener's arm, and led him to sit in front of the fire.
Seeing that Fu Zhen'er's head and body were covered with sweat, Liu Ziye had taken care of him personally in every detail during the days when Fu Zhen'er first woke up.
Seeing him at this moment, he couldn't help but laugh and frown slightly: "Brother Fu, how did you get yourself into this state! No, even in front of the fire, you are sweating all over and you will catch a cold! Ah Huan——"
Liu Ziye shouted loudly, and Ah Huan was outside the main hall, which also had the door wide open. He responded and came out.
"Find a set of clothes, both inside and out, and take my brother Fu to change."
"Understood, young marquis."
Ah Huan agreed readily and walked forward to lead Fu Zhen'er to the side room where the charcoal fire was burning.
Fu Zhen'er naturally would not refuse, and was even happy to listen to Liu Ziye's arrangement. He followed Ah Huan to the side room and just said, "Wait until I come back, Ziye."
Liu Ziye smiled and nodded at him, watching Fu Zhen'er walk away briskly.
A moment later, Fu Zhen'er came out from the inner room wearing a set of Liu Ziye's clothes.
Most of Liu Ziye's clothes are ostentatiously luxurious in style and fabric, which is very different from the dressing style of ordinary people in the border counties of Xiguan.
Fu Zhen'er's outfit was relatively low-key and she seldom wore it often, but when worn by Fu Zhen'er, it was completely different from the one he wore when he just came.
He was born with excellent looks, with light brown skin, just the right amount of thick eyebrows, deep eyes and curled eyelashes. After his body gradually recovered, the advantages of his physique also began to show, and he was a sight to behold whenever he appeared.
Liu Ziye was already in a relaxed mood today, enjoying the winter scenery. When he saw Fu Zhener's appearance, he couldn't help but clap his hands and praise her!
Fu Zhener smiled slightly, walked back to Liu Ziye and sat down a little awkwardly.
He exerted himself to control himself, and only when the heat in his ears subsided did he raise his bright eyes and look at Liu Ziye: "Ziye, my father and I both misunderstood you before. I come here today to formally apologize to you and to thank you on behalf of all the members of our Fu clan."
Liu Ziye knew what Fu Zhener meant.
What he was referring to was the doubts and alienation that Fu Zhener and even Fu Mingyi had shown towards him after his "forced buying and selling" had caused chaos throughout the county before Chi Mu arrived in Xiguan County.
Of course, apart from Fu Mingyi's clear expression, Fu Zhener had never let anyone see any emotions he had.
Fu Zhener's apology at this time was because of the disappointment and doubts he had towards Liu Ziye in his heart, even if it only lasted for a moment.
However, Liu Ziye had already known their change of mind from the changes in points.
She had received the reward she valued most.
Liu Ziye said, "When has Brother Fu ever misunderstood me? Brother Fu has always trusted and cared for me, and I have always seen it. I often remind myself to treat Brother Fu the same way he treats me, so as to live up to our sworn brotherhood."
Fu Zhen'er blushed: "No... Ziye, you don't know, back then..."
"Brother Fu, why should I say so much? What happened back then? I, Liu Ziye, have only seen Brother Fu never harshly criticize or treat me coldly. As usual, when I returned to Yucheng, he waited outside the north gate to greet me. I have also seen that when I faced more than a thousand elite troops like Major General Chi Mu of Yanjing, Brother Fu was always by my side, offering advice and letting me command him."
Liu Ziye interrupted Fu Zhener's confession and instead expressed his own feelings.
Fu Zhen'er's words were stuck in her throat, and Liu Ziye's words rolled hotly into her heart.
The heavy snow and severe cold weather in the border counties of Xiguan, which had not been seen in decades, made him feel like he was in the warm spring of March.
"Okay, Ziye, I understand."
Fu Zhen'er finally suppressed the smile on her lips and nodded to Liu Ziye in response.
Liu Ziye once again deeply understood the original owner's desire to take Fu Zhener home as soon as he saw her.
At this moment, she was receiving this beauty attack at close range, and she felt her chest getting hot. She just wanted to imitate the classmates she saw in her previous life who were chasing stars, and exclaimed: Ahhhh, so handsome!
"Hey! Is it a coincidence that you came down here?"
The person who spoke was Du Hui.
He lived in the Marquis' Mansion in Xiguan. The snow finally stopped last night, so he got up early in the morning, had breakfast, dressed himself up simply, and went straight to the young marquis's courtyard.
Unexpectedly, even so, he was overtaken by someone outside the mansion!
Du Hui really admired him, but when he knew that this person was Fu Zhener, he felt that it should indeed be him.
How could he possibly snatch the young marquis's sworn brother away?
Fu Zhener was very happy to see Du Hui coming: "Mr. Du, good morning!"
Du Hui smiled and replied, "Good morning."
When he got closer, he first saluted Liu Ziye formally as usual: "Du greets the Marquis."
Liu Ziye waved his hand and asked him to stand up and sit down. Du Hui thanked him and then sat down on the chair that Ah Huan had just moved out.
"Young Marquis, I, Du, am here to report that the team for clearing the snow on the main road outside the city has been arranged to start from the two collapsed city gate towers in Yucheng and clear the road. By the way, since the young clan leader Fu is here, once the area outside the Marquis' Mansion is roughly cleared, we will send the snow-cleared obstacles and some heating supplies to the Fu family. If there is anything missing later, the young clan leader Fu can send someone to talk to me, Du, at any time." Du Hui said.
Fu Zhener thanked him.
Liu Ziye was very happy and asked immediately, "Has the sled been shipped out of the house?"
Du Hui nodded. "That's right. Steward Liu has almost cleared the paths leading to various places in the mansion. The sleds that can carry goods have been transported to the main street in front of the mansion. After the two collapsed city gate towers are cleared, we will go to the woods outside the city to collect winter firewood."
After hearing this, Fu Zhen'er also said, "Before I came out, my father had received the news from the master. He had already started organizing people to go to the city gate to meet up with the people from the Marquis' Mansion."
At this time, Liu Ziye said, "We have a sled. We can temporarily bypass the ruins of the city gate when we leave the city. How can the Governor's Office not be given any credit for clearing the collapsed city gate? The hundreds of soldiers in the Governor's Office have been cooped up in the city for so many days. It's time to stretch their legs."
Du Hui thought for a moment, smiled and said, "Young Marquis, what you said makes sense. Let me handle it."
"Okay, thank you for your help, sir."
Liu Ziye stood up after saying this and, looking very excited, invited Fu Zhener: "Brother Fu, let's go skiing outside the city!"
ski? ?
Fu Zhen'er looked confused.
But this did not prevent him from accepting the invitation immediately and standing up; "Okay, let's go together!"
·
Wang Yanpeng drove a carriage to Fu Mingyi's house, but of course he didn't see Fu Mingyi.
I heard from the people I met that Fu Mingyi went to the two city towers in the northeast, as if he was preparing to leave the city.
Wang Yanpeng was shocked again.
In the city of Yucheng, the troops, horses and vehicles that were clearing the area could indeed pass through without any obstruction. However, the vast land outside the city was beyond the ability of the Fu family or the people of Yucheng to clear it even with a snow barrel!
In this case, leave the city?
Going into that deep snow cave and burying yourself there for no reason?!
Wang Yanpeng couldn't understand.
However, he came out on this trip with great pride, but he didn't see the God of Official Luck, nor did he see Fu Mingyi. So he just went back home like this. Isn't it too unlucky?
Finally, Wang Yanpeng decided again: "Chase to the city gate tower!"
·
The carriage stopped in front of the ruins of the original Dubei Gate.
After the collapse of the Yucheng city gate, it was covered by a thick layer of fallen snow. If people did not know that this was the original location of the city gate, all they would see was a rolling snow hill rising from the flat ground.
Liu Ziye and Fu Zhener jumped off the carriage of the marquis' mansion one after another.
Some people from the Xiguan Marquisate, the Fu clan, and even the people of Yucheng have come here under the organization.
When they saw the young Marquis of Xiguan appear, everyone immediately turned their eyes over.
People were nudging each other's arms at those who hadn't noticed, whispering to each other.
"The young Marquis of Xiguan is here!"
"Quick, look, it's the young marquis!"
During the heavy snow a few days ago, because of her status as a marquis, she naturally did not need to personally participate in any snow removal work.
As for the organization and mobilization of personnel during the snow.
Firstly, there were Fu Mingyi and Fu Zhener, and secondly, there were Du Hui and Hao Wenchang. Even Wang Yanpeng was staying at the governor's residence all day long, so there was naturally no need for Liu Ziye to be there in person.
Therefore, for the people of Yucheng, this was the first time they had seen this nobleman they were once so familiar with since the snow fell and since they realized what kind of survival opportunities the unintentional action of the young Marquis of Xiguan had brought them.
Last time, everyone was still criticizing me and trying to avoid me!
Now, everyone's eyes were fixed on the young marquis, placing him at the center of their vision.
It seemed like for the first time I discovered in him the true aristocratic temperament of a royal family.
Fu Mingyi arrived early.
He saw Liu Ziye and Fu Zhener the moment they arrived. He stopped talking and greeted Fu Baosi, Fu Qi and other members of the clan who were following him.
When they were about ten feet in front of Liu Ziye, Fu Mingyi waved to Fu Zhener who was walking side by side with Liu Ziye.
"Zhen'er, come here."
Upon hearing this, Fu Zhen'er walked over, and Fu Mingyi asked him to stand beside him.
The next moment, the Fu family, led by the two of them, all knelt on the ground. Fu Mingyi placed his palms on the thin layer of ice and touched his forehead to the ground, performing a full and profound salute.
"Young Marquis, today Fu Mingyi, Fu Zhener, and the Fu clan would like to thank you for saving our lives!"
This scene was exactly what Liu Ziye had expected.
She walked forward and wanted to help up Fu Mingyi, Fu Zhener and his son, as well as several other members of the Fu family one by one.
He said, "Hurry up, hurry up, Uncle Fu, you are being too formal! My Xiguan Marquis Mansion was not given to our Fu clan for free when it was rebuilt. Everyone should pay the wages without missing a penny!"
Fu Mingyi insisted, "Even if we were asked to pay the young marquis several times over, the Fu clan would be willing to do so. Wages are fixed, but how can the lives of so many people, from the Fu clan, Yucheng, and even the entire Xiguan region, be measured in money?"
"The lives of the people are priceless. Uncle Fu is right!"
Liu Ziye echoed Fu Mingyi's words, saying, "Now, fortunately, so many people have escaped death. This marquis is extremely happy! Uncle Fu should be happy too. Hurry up and speak!"
Fu Mingyi had already said what he needed to say, and no longer insisted. He stood up with the help of Liu Ziye.
"Young Marquis is right. I am truly happy and relieved. This winter has only just begun, but this is the first time I can face such a severe snowstorm and still say with such confidence: With the path pointed out by the Marquis of Xiguan Mansion, and everyone working together, we will surely get through this winter safely. May everyone in Yucheng be able to see the grass grow and the flowers bloom again next year!"
Du Hui had been watching from the sidelines, but when he saw Fu Mingyi and the others had already stood up, he walked over to Liu Ziye and said, "Chief Fu, this is very good!"
He said, "We at Xiguan Marquisate are fortunate to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with someone like Chief Fu. We feel honored and relieved!"
Du Hui and Fu Mingyi were already very familiar with each other. Du Hui stepped forward with a smile and said, "Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I've been able to sit down and have a drink and chat with Chief Fu. I wonder if Chief Fu could spare some time tonight?"
"Hahaha, that's exactly what I meant!"
Fu Mingyi and other members of the Fu family were attracted by Du Hui. After chatting for a while, they continued to discuss what they were going to do today.
Liu Ziye called Fu Zhener softly.
The two of them followed the path that had just been cleared around the ruins of the city gate and arrived outside the Dubei Gate.
Fu Zhen'er then saw several human-powered sleds lined up in a row on a vast white wilderness, as well as more than ten machines that Liu Ziye called "saddleback sleds", which were said to be able to carry many times more cargo.
Liu Ziye brought him to the human-powered sled.
Many of these items were originally crafted by the Yucheng Fu clan, based on designs provided by Liu Ziye. Although most of the Fu clan's craftsmen had never seen the complete mechanical assembly, Fu Zhen'er had personally seen the finished product Liu Ziye had shown him at the Marquis's residence.
At this moment, Immersed in such an environment with heavy snow covering the sky, Fu Zhener still couldn't help but marvel at these things.
"Ziye, the design of these things is truly ingenious!"
Liu Ziye tilted his head and smiled: "Is this truly ingenious? From now on, Brother Fu will be at a loss for words!"
She was the first to board one of the snowshoes.
The bottom of the sled is made of an extended oak board, six feet long and two feet wide. The bottom of the board is inlaid with copper slides to reduce friction.
A detachable wicker basket is designed at the back of the sled. According to Liu Ziye's design and estimation, it can bear 50 kilograms of cargo when one person is on board.
There is an armrest erected to the waist at the front, which is used to control the direction. Secondly, through the pulling of the crank connecting rod, people can push the snowboard to slide on the snow with less effort.
Place a wooden pole at the back and press it down to insert the iron spike at the end into the snow to brake.
Fu Zhener followed closely behind and boarded another sled.
The two of them just wanted to have some fun, and there was no cargo inside the wicker, so the sled was very light.
"Let's go, Brother Fu!"
After saying that, Liu Ziye slid the handrail a few times, and the sled slowly moved on the ground, then faster and smoother.
In a moment, it had already moved seven or eight feet away from everyone.
The people who noticed the two men's movements only had time to see that wherever the young Marquis of Xiguan went, a mist of snow foam was raised.
Fu Zhen'er followed Liu Ziye's example and slowly began to slide the snowboard. When she looked up again, Liu Ziye was already more than ten feet away, flying smoothly and steadily towards the distance.
The first rays of sunlight after the snow made the ground sparkle.
The mountains in the distance also revealed their peaks and ridges for the first time after days of thick fog and heavy snow. The clouds on the top of the mountain had not yet dispersed, and the steam was lingering, just like a fairyland.
The same goes for the people in your field of vision.
Seeing that the person was about to disappear in the blink of an eye, the steward Liu Biao who came with Du Hui was the first to get anxious.
He shouted to the front: "Young Marquis, Young Marquis! Don't run too far! Take Xiying and Liu Bing with you!"
Seeing that it was completely useless to speak any more at this point.
Liu Biao hurriedly urged Xiying and Liu Bing to put some water and food in the wicker frame, and hurriedly slid out two snow sleds to chase Liu Ziye and Fu Zhener who had disappeared.
When Wang Yanpeng thought he had gone through all the hardships, he finally saw the Xiguan Marquis Mansion and the Fu clan members gathered at the north gate.
He thought he had found the right place and moved forward.
What you see is Xiying, the personal guard of the Marquis of Xiguan Mansion, and Liu Biao, the steward, each of them driving some new gadget briskly and "flying" away on the snow.
Wang Yanpeng:!!!
Is this what "skiing" is?
This winter, the surprises Xiguan County presented to him were not over yet!
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