Day off.
Finally, a day of rest.
Work had just started from the latter part of the month.
After experiencing one session of the Emperor holding court, it was now a day off.
Still, it felt quite tiring.
Mainly because there was less time to spend with family.
Jiang Changtian felt a bit unhappy.
He worked hard to advance, hoping his family could live better and he could spend more time with them.
If he couldn't be with his family and just spent every day wasting time at the government office, it seemed to be putting the cart before the horse.
Moreover, there was only one day off.
So today's schedule was quite busy.
In the morning, the whole family was to go to the temple to hold a memorial service for Zi Lu.
Because it had been mentioned earlier.
Jiang Yu would also go there, bringing her two little ones along.
This meant more people.
Two big families.
Then after coming down from the mountain, in the afternoon, Meng Qingshe would accompany them to the Dong Mansion to propose marriage.
The dead take precedence.
The visiting time had been agreed upon in advance, and Minister Dong would understand.
Not only did he understand, but he also felt that the Jiang family was showing their loyalty this way.
Although Zi Lu's identity was sensitive, Jiang Changtian had after all risen to prominence following Zi Lu. Now that he was gone, holding a memorial service for him and adopting his child was the right thing to do, even though many people would try to distance themselves from their past after entering officialdom, to show their loyalty.
That kind of loyalty lacked sincerity.
On this day off, early in the morning, it surprisingly started to snow.
Opening the door revealed a thick layer of snow.
The weather was not cooperating - clear skies during work days, but wind or snow on rest days.
The wind and snow were quite heavy.
Large snowflakes fell in flurries.
The ground looked like it was covered with a thick layer of frosting.
Mianmian was very excited.
She was a southerner at heart and loved snow.
Seeing snow made her want to dress up warmly and fall face-first into the snow.
She had thought it wouldn't snow in the Capital City, as it had been quite warm these past few days, but unexpectedly, it started snowing suddenly.
This snow came as a sudden and pleasant surprise.
Sudden heavy snowfall.
Probably many people who had planned to go on outings would cancel their plans.
Qin Luoxia sent a message to the Meng Mansion, telling Sister Yu not to bring the children out as the roads would be difficult to travel.
However, the Meng family had already left.
In Old Madam Meng's words, as children from a military family, what was there to fear from a bit of snow? Children should experience wind and snow; it helps them grow faster.
Although the entire Meng Mansion usually doted on the two children with endless love and care, and the old master guarding the border sent letters almost every few days, having people deliver all sorts of gifts,
the Meng family had a rule not to spoil children.
Meng Shaoxia was an only child, but he was thrown into military training from a young age, without any special treatment.
So even in this heavy wind and snow, early in the morning, the Meng family brought their two precious grandsons, Jiang Yu, and the whole family out.
The cause and effect of this situation was a bit funny when you think about it.
Those who suppressed bandits were now holding a memorial service for a bandit.
Anyway, that's how things were.
The Meng family's image was one of loyalty and righteousness, and this didn't contradict that image.
The Jiang family had already made plans.
Because there were two events today, they got up very early.
Before dawn.
Mianmian was pulled out of bed.
No wonder her little tree had been lazy and unwilling to move these past two days; it had foreseen the weather and knew snow was coming.
Mianmian had made a special beast pouch for the little tree, which sometimes also held the little tree's "wives" or subordinates.
Usually, she would let the little tree out to play, but with the snow, Mianmian put the little tree in the pouch and carried it with her.
According to ant years, who knows if it was middle-aged or elderly now.
Probably middle-aged, anyway it had grown quite sturdy now.
It had quite some weight to it.
They set out in the dark, braving the snow.
But they had carriages.
The coachmen would be cold.
Sitting inside the carriage was fine.
They could even put braziers in the carriages, and with thick curtains covering them, it was like a big private room, not cold at all.
If you weren't afraid of bumps, you could even have hot pot.
Early in the morning, Zi Congheng was also dressed like a ball, very thick.
He wore a fur cloak over his cotton robe that reached his ankles.
Inside the carriage, the pile of cloaks they took off was huge.
Jiang Feng rode in a carriage with his younger brother and sister.
Mianmian was very excited that her elder brother was about to have a partner too, and she chattered on and on, even attempting to give her elder brother advice on dating.
"Gifts. You must give gifts, separately for Miss Dong, to show that you're thoughtful. And for Madam Dong too, you need to win over your mother-in-law. If you win over the mother-in-law, you've succeeded halfway. Just be obedient in front of your father-in-law. Learn from brother-in-law, he does very well in our family."
It was rare to have no training, with the whole family together, listening to their sister's mature nagging.
Jiang Feng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He had been slightly nervous before, but now he wasn't so nervous anymore.
"I know, I know, stop nagging," Jiang Feng's ears were growing calluses from his sister's words.
It had been a long time since he had seen his sister, and when he saw her face again, Jiang Feng was a bit stunned.
Her beauty was truly captivating, she was getting more and more beautiful as she grew up.
But as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, chattering away, chirping like a bird, Jiang Feng found that familiar feeling again.
She was still the little sister whose head he wanted to pat.
He patted Xiao Cong's shoulder, "It must have been tough for you. With me and Sister Yu not around, you were the only one to keep her company. She's someone who never stops all day long."
Zi Congheng received Feng's meaning and revealed a helpless smile.
He actually knew, had known since he was very young.
He was an extremely quiet person, could spend a whole day in a daze.
But she was an extremely lively person, could talk for a whole day.
Being with her, he easily forgot all kinds of unpleasant things.
The times when his head hurt became shorter and shorter, it seemed like he was becoming more and more normal.
He felt that the world still showed some favor towards him.
He liked Mianmian being this lively.
Getting up in the cold wind, with snow blowing on his face, he didn't feel cold at all.
Because there would be a person, bouncing over, waving her arms and shouting loudly: "Brother, brother, good morning."
Shouting until he responded.
The carriage wheels pressed into the snow, moving step by step towards Tai'a Temple.
With snow, they had to go slower.
Slowly, day broke.
Despite the snow, there was actually sunlight, and the whole world changed in an instant.
Yesterday, the trees were full of red leaves, today the trees were bare, the red leaves had fallen to the ground and were covered by snow, with only their tips peeking out.
The wheel tracks left long marks.
...
In Tai'a Temple.
Knowing that today was the last day of the memorial service for the Crown Prince's nephew,
Princess Huiyun felt like she was about to be liberated.
Escape from danger.
These past few days, that child had come to report every day.
The boy was fine, sitting quietly reading books and writing, just like her impression of the Crown Prince's nephew when he was young.
The girl was not okay, she was all over the place.
Even building walls was useless.
She could climb to the top of the wall and greet her.
She even dug out her clothes, curious to try them on.
She naturally stuck to her like glue.
Although Princess Huiyun seemed not to reject her as much,
thinking about not being disturbed anymore and returning to peace, she felt quite good.
If it continued like this, she might live ten years less.
Every day spent with that little girl, her heart would race too fast, and she would want to hit someone.
It was the last day.
Just thinking about it made her happy.
Despite the snow.
After that little one left, tomorrow she could go skiing.
Princess Huiyun was eager to try.
Today she had people prepare her snow play equipment.
But after thinking for a while, she also had them prepare two small sets.
Just in case the little ones wanted to play too.
...
