Chapter 112 Fengxue is so important
The wind and snow suddenly grew stronger, and the way up the mountain became increasingly difficult to walk on. It was nothing but white, with snowflakes falling on the black cloak and the black hair dyed with snow. However, in the white covering the mountain, a hint of other color could be seen through the snowy scene, almost half of it was covered by the thick snow.
Cheng Xianzhi seemed to have grasped a wisp of divine consciousness, and took heavy steps into the thick snow, running towards the dark color. The thick snow tripped the staggering and anxious man, and he threw himself into the snow. The figure in front of him caught his eye. It was her!
"Lu Tingwan?" The voice was trembling with cold, as if there was an ice cube stuck in the throat.
Half of her face was covered with snow, and she was red from the cold. Her cheeks were covered with a layer of ice, and she was holding a few ambergris in her hands.
When Cheng Xianzhi saw this scene, his heart broke into pieces.
"Lu Tingwan!"
No matter how much he shouted, the unconscious person did not respond. The wind and snow showed no sign of stopping, but instead became stronger.
It wasn't wise to go down the mountain now. Furthermore, his body temperature was cooling with the weather, and forcing himself to walk against the wind and snow would only lead to freezing to death. Not far away was the cave where Lu Tingwan had taken refuge the previous night. He carried him horizontally and led him to the cave entrance to avoid the cold.
Icy fingers slapped against his frozen face. He sniffed, breathing faintly. As Cheng Xianzhi called out, Lu Tingwan, in her coma, seemed to see a familiar figure in the endless snow, but she couldn't recognize it. She stood up, but couldn't catch up, unable to call out in the empty space.
Cheng Xianzhi took off his cloak, wrapped it around Lu Tingwan, and hugged her tightly to keep each other warm. Her hands were stiff, and she looked at the person in her arms with anxiety.
"Lu Tingwan, don't sleep, wake up!"
Cheng Xianzhi placed a pair of hands on her chest, feeling the warmth. After a long time, her body temperature began to rise. She murmured, "Cheng, Cheng Xianzhi... I, I don't owe you anything anymore..."
"What?" Cheng Xianzhi was overwhelmed with joy and worry when he saw her regain her consciousness. "Lu Tingwan, I won't let you die!"
"If I find the ambergris, I won't owe you anything..."
"You have never owed me anything." He responded to every word she said, but Lu Tingwan could not hear a word. She just vaguely found a trace of warmth in the snow and ice. She didn't know where it came from, so she just kept snuggling into his arms, greedily absorbing this warmth.
Cheng Xianzhi hugged his arms tightly, firmly grasping the fear that was on the verge of being lost, for fear that if he let go, it would flow away with the wind and snow outside the cave and eventually turn into silent water.
"I don't need you to do anything for me. Just stay here and stay where I can see you. That's all!"
"Did you hear that? Lu Tingwan!"
"Thirsty..." Lu Tingwan murmured.
Cheng Xianzhi took the kettle from his waist, but the water in the kettle had already frozen. He shook it hard a few times but to no avail, and threw the kettle away.
The snow inside the cave was getting thicker. An idea struck him, and he gently put the person down. Lu Tingwan felt the warmth fading and suddenly grabbed hold of him. Cheng Xianzhi turned sideways under the force, and he could only hear her muttering, "Don't go, it's cold, don't go..."
With tenderness overflowing from his face, he hugged her tighter and coaxed her, "I won't leave."
After calming her down, Cheng Xianzhi moved to the cave entrance, grabbed a handful of snow and put it in his mouth.
The snow in his mouth was so cold that he couldn't help shivering. He gritted his teeth and felt the coldness slowly melting into water on the tip of his tongue. His fingertips caressed his soft lips that were cracked by the frozen ground. Cheng Xianzhi's heart sank. He leaned over and let the melted snow water in his mouth slide into Lu Tingwan's throat drop by drop.
Seeing that she was slowly responding, Cheng Xianzhi took another mouthful of snow. Lu Tingwan's body temperature gradually warmed up. He held her in his arms through the long night in the wind and snow. He could hear her occasional nonsense at night. In the emptiness with no one responding, in the deep darkness where he could not see clearly, he looked at her eyebrows and eyes over and over again. Only at this time could he see her clearly without restraint.
After falling asleep, Lu Tingwan lost her usual erratic behavior. Now nestled in his arms, she was as obedient as a rabbit seeking protection in the snow in winter.
If the followers who followed him up the mountain saw the fireworks signal he had set off earlier, they would have arrived at dawn. The wind and snow subsided in the second half of the night, but the temperature was still dropping. He tried his best to hide the person on his body and rubbed her palms over and over again.
The sky was getting dim, and a fire in the distance was approaching. Cang Shu led his men to the entrance of the shelter and saw two people huddled together. He put on thick cloaks, and Cheng Xianzhi carried them on his back and hurried down the mountain. The carriage back to the city sped, and the snow was kicked up again, falling along the road where the horse's hooves disappeared.
Doctor He entered the Cheng residence and examined Lu Tingwan's pulse. Her hands and feet were frozen, and the cold within her body was still lingering. She needed several days of recuperation. Cheng Xianzhi's tense nerves finally relaxed, but the cold still lingered within him, and he didn't have time to change his clothes. While Lu Tingwan was still unconscious, he headed for Yingyue Pavilion with murderous intent.
He hadn't shaken the snow off his robe yet when he strode into the inner room. The door was suddenly pushed open, and a strong wind rushed in, blowing a strand of Gongsun Xue's hair. She was holding a bowl of hot porridge, looking vaguely at the man full of hostility.
"Master, my Lord?" Gongsun Xue asked guiltily, "What are you doing?"
The fatigue on his body and the mess he made after returning from Tiger Back Mountain were endless. His voice was heavy and he tried his best to restrain himself from losing his composure.
"You read the Imperial Observatory's report early in the morning. Knowing that snow was coming the night before, why did you use kindness to coerce Lu Ting into going up the mountain to get some ambergris?"
Gongsun Xue then realized he was there to accuse her. She stood up and calmly explained, "Imperial Physician He said our Lord's injuries need to be healed, and only ambergris can cure them. I know I've failed you, but Xue'er's feelings have never changed. If Xue'er could go to Tiger Back Mountain to get ambergris for our Lord, why would Lu Tingwan have to go looking for it?"
"There are so many people in the mansion who can be dispatched, why is she the only one?"
"Gongsun Xue, I, Cheng Xianzhi, know your intentions. I just want to preserve some of our past friendship. If you repeatedly cross my line, I can't guarantee that I will still treat you well."
Cheng Xianzhi finally dropped his disguise, completely disregarding their feelings. Gongsun Xue, who had been harboring resentment for a long time, could no longer maintain her understanding and gentle demeanor. "Cheng Xianzhi! How could you be so heartless to me? Lu Tingwan owes you a favor, so why shouldn't she retrieve the ambergris for you?"
Seeing his fierce expression, as if he wanted to kill her, she found it even more ridiculous, "Why, are you heartbroken?"
"You claim to be upright and honest. If you have a clear conscience, why don't you dare to admit it? If you like Lu Tingwan, you should have admitted it long ago. What can Xue'er do? Why do you have to deceive me in this way? On the one hand, you tell me that you love me and that you don't dislike Lu Tingwan's identity as a daughter of the Lu family, but on the other hand, you can't stop being entangled with her. Lu Tingwan is about to leave, why do you have to bring her back? Why!"
Cheng Xianzhi took a deep breath, "You have no right to interfere in my affairs!"
"If this happens again, there's no need to wait until you give birth to a child. My Cheng Mansion can no longer keep you. This is my last warning, but if you're not smart, you can't blame me."
There was only the cold wind in Yingyue Pavilion, which cut through Gongsun Xue's anger. She hated it so much that she slammed the bowl of porridge in her hand to the ground. The shattering sound was harsh, and the sticky porridge splashed everywhere.
"Madam, please don't disturb the fetus."
Laughter and banter filled the Yingyue Pavilion. She seemed to have seen through something, and there was a fierceness in her eyes. Dewdrop stood aside, not daring to speak lightly, as if in those innocent eyes, there was a monstrous hatred that was ready to crush people.
Seeing Cheng Xianzhi's grim expression, Cang Shu couldn't help but say, "My Lord, the Second Madam is not in danger of death. You've caught a cold, and your injuries haven't healed yet. Go back and take a hot bath to cool off, lest you collapse from exhaustion."
"Is she awake?" The bloodshot eyes of Cheng Xianzhi were still there as he stood in the solemn wind, feeling lonely and unable to talk to anyone. His broad shoulders were burdened with a heavy burden that he could neither unload nor rest. He could only look at the person lying inside, feeling a little comforted.
I just don’t know when she became so important!
"With Feng Xin here, my lord, don't worry."
Feng Xin looked at the frostbitten cracks on her hands and felt distressed. "Didn't you say you'd be back in two days? How did you end up like this?"
"Every time you don't let Feng Xin go with you, you go and do something dangerous yourself."
The person on the low couch was wrapped in a thick blanket. The charcoal fire inside was burning brightly, creating a warm atmosphere. The medicine was still simmering, bubbling and bubbling. Her fingertips, hidden under the quilt, moved, and her brow furrowed, as if she had heard crying. She tried to open her eyes, but her vision was blurry. She smelled the scent of medicine on her nose and slowly opened her eyes.
She opened her lips and a hoarse voice came over, "Feng Xin, why are you crying?"
"Hmm?" Feng Xin raised his eyes suddenly, crying with joy, "The Second Madam is awake!"
"Has the snow stopped?" She vaguely remembered that before she fell asleep, the mountain in front of her was covered with thick snow. She turned around in the snowfield and couldn't find a way out. Finally, she plunged into the snow, her body swallowed by the cold, and she didn't remember anything after that.
“Stop.”
"Why is it still so cold?" She tried to stand up. "Feng Xin, how did I get back?"
"My Lord brought you back. Winter has arrived in Kyoto, and it will get even colder after the first snow. You've never experienced winter in Kyoto, so you don't know the climate. But it's okay. Feng Xin has prepared some warm clothes for you, so you won't be cold anymore."
Feng Xin spoke in a coaxing tone, and Lu Tingwan felt warm in her heart, yet she was puzzled. "Cheng Xianzhi brought me back? Where did he come from?"
"Madam, are you confused by the cold? Where have you been? Tiger Back Mountain? The climate there is changeable, not to mention the harsh winter. Even if it's sunny when you go up the mountain, the weather can change drastically in the blink of an eye. If Feng Xin knew you were leaving the city to go to Tiger Back Mountain, he would have stopped you no matter what."
"What was the Madam's intention in sending you to such a dangerous place? When the Lord learned of this, he mobilized the palace soldiers to search the mountain and it took a whole day and night to bring you back."
Listening to Feng Xin's words, Lu Tingwan was lost in thought about You Yuan, and he had no impression of him at all.
"But don't worry too much. The imperial physician said that you need to rest now. It's mainly because your body has caught a cold. You need to take care of yourself slowly. Let's take the medicine first." Feng Xin held the medicine bowl and fed it to you mouthful by mouthful.
Her body felt much warmer, but she was still tired and weak, and she found it difficult to fall asleep.
Feng Xin took the medicine bowl out, then remembered Cang Zhu's instructions and hurried to the study to pass on the message. Cheng Xianzhi had not slept for a whole day and night, and now he was lying on the couch, feeling sleepy. However, the documents in the camp were piled up, so he forced himself to stay conscious and handle official business.
After hearing Cang Zhu's message, Lu Tingwan woke up. He put aside his official duties and went to Yansheng Hall.
"Awake." His voice was tired and his eyes were lifeless. He just stared at her without any restraint.
"Well," Lu Tingwan felt a little uneasy, not knowing how to react. He just said softly, "I heard that you saved me. Thank you very much."
"It's good that you woke up." It was a light sentence, but it carried thousands of his words.
Cheng Xianzhi picked up the frostbite ointment placed in front of the table and said softly, "Here."
Lu Tingwan reached out her hand for some unknown reason. The man in front of her looked like he was broken after being drenched by the rain. She had an inexplicable feeling and his usual sharpness had been retracted.
The frostbite ointment felt a bit cold after being applied. "You can't serve in the palace in this state. Just take care of it. The doctor said it will be healed soon."
"Cheng Xianzhi, I will pay you back what I owe you."
He lowered his eyes and stared at the wound on her fingertips, his eyes hiding his emotions. When he found her in the snow, it was with these hands, tightly grasping the ambergris.
"What do you owe me?"
"Gongsun Xue's few words make you think these are more important than your own life?"
His movements were very gentle and his voice was very restrained.
"Cheng Xianzhi, you don't have to be like this," Lu Tingwan interrupted. "She's right. I went to get the ambergris to repay you for saving my life, and you took the trouble to find a craftsman to make the Sunset Bow for me. I remember all of this, and it's only natural to repay your kindness."
"So, what were you thinking about when you fell in the snow?"
"Take back the ambergris and then we'll be even, huh?"
"I didn't go there blindly. I looked for pharmacies inside and outside the city, but the Imperial Medical Bureau couldn't find any. That's why I had no choice but to go up the mountain." Lu Tingwan was still explaining the reason, but Cheng Xianzhi didn't want a reason.
"I see." She wasn't sure what she meant, and she didn't want to say more. "Don't think too much."
"Remember to use that ambergris." Lu Tingwan knew that she owed him again. Seeing how haggard he looked, she couldn't help but want to show concern for him, but she didn't dare to be too intimate.
Cheng Xianzhi looked up at her with a gentle gaze, a smile on his face, and nodded at her, "Yeah."
"I have Feng Xin here. I heard that the fighting competition will be held at the Imperial Guards' training ground. You are so busy, so don't come to Yansheng Hall so often. After all, it's just about taking medicine. I can drink it myself, so there's no need to bother."
"When you're better, let Han Zhou make the arrangements."
"Huh? What arrangements?" Lu Tingwan opened his eyes.
"Wrestling match, don't you want to watch it?"
"I do!" She smiled, driving away the cold winter. The heat in the house made her feel warm, and her heart seemed to feel even warmer.
"Um."
Cheng Xianzhi covered her with the quilt and waited until she closed her eyes before leaving.
He seemed to sense a hint of her submission in his conversation with her, as he forced himself to hold on. He returned to his study and went to bed before dinner.
In the past half month, Kyoto had seen several snowfalls, and the transportation of supplies at Shanhaiguan was hindered. The memorial was submitted to Hanzhang Palace. Cheng Xianzhi was busy with the fighting competition and running around the six ministries, and he was too busy to handle everything.
Xie Zhao learned that Lu Tingwan hadn't returned to the palace. He inquired and learned that she had fallen ill on the night of the first snow, and due to her status, she couldn't visit him at the palace. Xie Zhao saw Cheng Xianzhi in the camp and expressed his concern, but Cheng Xianzhi just said it was nothing serious.
"Can I see her?" Xie Zhao's eyes were deep and sincere. Cheng Xianzhi seemed to see the same feelings as his own in those eyes.
After a long pause, he said, "There is something in the army that I need to discuss with you. Tomorrow I will have Han Zhou invite you to the palace to discuss the matter."
"Thank you, Minister Cheng." Xie Zhao bowed and said goodbye.
The frostbite on her hands had mostly healed, but some marks remained. Snow had fallen for several days, pressing the branches outside the window tightly. She looked out the window, which was half open, and the wind rushed in, hitting her cheek. "Isn't winter in Kyoto very long?"
Feng Xin held the medicine bowl and saw that she was in the cold wind again. "Madam, your illness has not yet healed. It is not advisable for you to stand in the wind for a long time. Take the medicine now."
"I've been stuck in the house all day, and my hair smells like medicine. I've taken more medicine in Kyoto than I did in the sixteen years I've been in Jiangling."
"My Lord has instructed me to do so." Feng Xin muttered softly.
"What's fun to do in Kyoto in winter?" Lu Tingwan arched his eyebrows.
Feng Xin: "Ice skating, ice fishing, garden tours, hunting, there are many things to do, but you have to be well before you can enjoy them."
"Hunting? That's fine, but I'm not good at archery." Xiu Ran thought of someone and made up her mind, "Xie Zhao is good at archery, so I'll call him when the time comes."
As soon as he finished speaking, military boots could be heard in the courtyard. Cheng Xianzhi took the lead and jumped into Bai Jing, followed by Xie Zhao. Lu Tingwan, who had just turned around, turned back again and looked out the window, thinking he had seen it wrong.
With a bang, the window was flung open. Lu Tingwan leaned against the windowsill in the wind, waved at him, and called out crisply, "Xie Zhao!"
The two looked up, and her smile hit the cold wind, "Why are you here?"
Cheng Xianzhi noticed that she didn't look in his direction, and he was a little unhappy, but he hid it. "Xie Zhao came to the mansion to discuss something. I heard that you were sick, so I came to see you."
"Yes, it's windy outside, don't come out." Xie Zhao was afraid that she would be cold.
"Feng Xin, please invite someone in and serve the tea." Lu Tingwan's figure disappeared in front of the window and he welcomed the two into the outer room where hot tea was boiling on the stove.
Cheng Xianzhi said nothing, found a seat and sat down, then raised his hand to signal Xie Zhao to sit down.
"Did you come all the way to see me?" She had been bored for a long time, with Feng Xin and Cheng Xianzhi the only thing she saw all day. Now that she saw someone else, she felt much happier.
Cheng Xianzhi hadn't come for two or three days, but her enthusiasm for Xie Zhao was completely different from his own, and he felt uneasy.
"What are you doing standing on the windowsill, enjoying the breeze?"
"To get some fresh air." Lu Tingwan replied perfunctorily, and then spoke to Xie Zhao, "I was just talking to Feng Xin, and we were talking about you."
"What did you say about me?" Xie Zhao scratched his head in confusion.
"It's winter hunting in Kyoto. You are good at archery. I thought that after I recover, I would find you to go out of the city to hunt together. I have been stuck in Yansheng Hall these days and am almost getting moldy." She confided her unhappiness like a child.
"Xie Zhao has to prepare for the competition and has no time to play with you." Before Xie Zhao could say anything, Cheng Xianzhi interrupted.
"Xie Zhao didn't say anything." She muttered softly, feeling quite resentful.
Xie Zhao didn't want to spoil her fun. "Preparing for the competition is important, but if Madam wants to go, I can take a day off to accompany you."
Cheng Xianzhi put the responsibility of the fighting competition on Xie Zhao, which was equivalent to him holding the important military power of the northwest in his hands. This matter was of no trivial matter. Lu Tingwan understood the key point. Hunting could be done at any time. If something unexpected happened, it would cause trouble for him again.
She stared at the sparks from the stove, thought for a moment, and then said with a smile, "It's okay. The fight is more important. Let's talk about it after you win first."
The tea was brewing, and the three of them savored its fragrance. Cheng Xianzhi's brows were furrowed the whole time, but he saw that she was talking more than usual. Although she was just exchanging pleasantries with Xie Zhao and talking about the past at Qingyao Mountain, he couldn't get a word in, so he just listened attentively, trying to find out the past that he didn't know from her words.
"Speaking of hunting, galloping on horseback across the vast expanse of the northwest is truly exhilarating. In the past, it was just a small-scale pursuit." Xie Zhao finished his tea.
Cheng Xianzhi did not mention his plan to send him to the northwest, but the first place winner of the fighting competition, the children of the aristocratic families and even the good generals were all ready to make a move, and Xie Zhao was not unaware of it.
He knew clearly the purpose behind the involvement of various forces in the court and how many people wanted to stand out from it.
"It's getting late, Xie Zhao should go back to the barracks." Xie Zhao stood up and said goodbye.
"Let me take you there." Lu Tingwan stood up.
Xie Zhao glanced at Cheng Xianzhi. He said nothing and walked ahead with his hands behind his back.
Feng Xin put a fox fur coat on her. Cheng Xianzhi realized that she wanted to talk to Xie Zhao alone, so he tactfully left after leaving Yansheng Hall.
"Xie Zhao, thank you for coming to see me today." Lu Tingwan put her hands behind her back. Xie Zhao was considerate of her and took small steps.
He was a sturdy man, blocking the wind in front of him. "I haven't seen you for several months since I was injured in the palace last time. I wanted to come and see you. If you hadn't pleaded for us, my brothers wouldn't have the glory we have today."
"I am confident in this fight."
"You have your own path to follow." Lu Tingwan looked up at the sky in the wind, where wild geese flew across the sky. "Just don't make the wrong choice this time."
Light snow fell from the sky. He glanced at her with a gentle expression, "If I have the chance, I want to go hunting in the northwest."
"Xie Zhao, I believe you too!" Lu Tingwan looked at him and nodded heavily.
"It's snowing, don't see me off." Xie Zhao stopped and bowed to say goodbye.
When he walked a few steps away, Lu Tingwan called out to him, "Xie Zhao, I'll go see you at the fighting match."
"Okay." Xie Zhao raised his hand and waved behind him without looking back.
If he could seize the opportunity to go to the northwest to make achievements this time, her original choice would not be wrong. Cheng Xianzhi told her that she could not save everyone, but she could bring Xie Zhao back. He was not entirely right.
Gongsun Xue came back around the corner and saw the two of them. She asked Luzhu beside her, "Who is that?"
"The captain of the third battalion of the Imperial Guards that the Lord promoted earlier was Xie Zhao, the bandit leader who was recruited in Qingyao Mountain."
"Xie Zhao? But he's the one who robbed the execution ground?"
"Madam, that's right."
Gongsun Xue's lips curled up with ill intent, "This person has a close relationship with Lu Tingwan."
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