Annual Ceremony

Chapter 29 Summer Solstice (Part )

The air at the summer solstice begins to feel a bit scorching, but the wind brought by riding a horse on the grassland is still cool.

Zhenyi, Baoyin and a group of girls were racing horses. When they got tired, they slowed down and sat on their horses, walking slowly across the endless grassland.

When they arrived at a river, the girls dismounted, led the horses to drink water, and splashed water on each other and played happily.

The river water was clear. Zhenyi washed her face, sat on the grass, supported her hands on her sides, looked at the rolling mountains in the distance, and relaxed for a while.

Not long ago, Zhenyi named her beloved horse Defeng.

It is the Defeng of the Defeng Pavilion outside the Jifang Study in the Wang family residence in Jinling City.

Defeng Pavilion is where Zhenyi first began to learn to read with her grandfather, and the magnificent scenery in the poems in the books began to unfold before her eyes.

Defeng took her to see the beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers in the vast land of Jilin, opening up her once closed and narrow vision.

When Zhenyi followed Baoyin back to the horse field, Ertu had just finished a horse race. He rode his horse over and walked slowly with Zhenyi: "I heard from Baoyin that you named your horse Defeng? I have only heard of "Ruyu de Shui", but Defeng is not bad either. It sounds very impressive when you call it that!"

Zhenyi knew that he had taken it as the word "de", but after thinking about it, it was actually quite good, so she did not explain it, but just smiled and nodded: "Yeah, I think it's very impressive too."

Seeing her answer with a smile, Ertu also smiled slightly. He asked Zhenyi in a nonchalant tone: "When will your second brother return to Jinling? Isn't he going to take the imperial examination?"

Wang Jie has been in Jilin for more than a year. During this period, Zhenyi has not come to the horse farm for seven or eight days out of ten, and Wang Zhefu always returns home after noon.

"The next Autumn Examination will be held in the autumn of next year." Zhenyi said, "Second brother plans to leave in August this autumn."

Ertu said "Oh" and raised his eyebrows and said, "So there are only two or three months left, right?"

Zhenyi nodded, feeling reluctant.

Wang Jie asked his sister if she wanted to go back with him. Zhenyi missed her family in Jinling very much, but she was really worried about her grandfather.

Ertu seemed to be in a good mood. He rode his horse around, then stood up on the horse's back with his feet on the stirrups. When he drew the bow, his body suddenly tilted to the side. The horse was still galloping. Ertu was almost half hanging on the side of the horse's back. The arrow in his hand had just left the bow, but it still hit the center of the bull's eye.

The young man straightened his back and sat back on the horse's back with smooth movements.

Some young men exclaimed and cheered.

This is a remarkable skill in riding and shooting, and Zhenyi couldn't help but show admiration on her face.

When Ertu passed by her again, he rode his horse without stopping and shouted to her, "If you want to learn, wait until your second brother returns to Jinling, and I will teach you!"

August is a cool and crisp month, perfect for learning horse riding and archery.

But Zhenyi failed to show up as scheduled.

In August, due to the dryness of autumn, Wang Zhefu's cough became more severe.

Many nights, even though they were separated by a hall, Zhenyi was often awakened by her grandfather's uncontrollable coughing. Sometimes the coughing was almost exhausting, and when he could no longer cough, the old man would gasp for breath in short and labored breaths.

Every time Zhenyi heard this, her heart would be torn. She would get up, put on her clothes, and go see her grandfather, helping him pat his back and pour him water, but most of the time Zhenyi just felt at a loss.

Old Madam Dong helped Wang Zhefu lie down, and then urged Zhenyi to go back: "Your grandfather is fine, go back quickly, don't catch a cold."

Wang Zhefu leaned on the couch and waved to his granddaughter. There was still a kind smile on his weak and sallow face: "Listen to your grandmother, be obedient..."

Zhenyi went back obediently, but she always found it difficult to fall asleep again. She either sat on the bed with her knees hugged or covered herself with a quilt, and Juzi was always by her side.

Wang Jie's plan to return to Nanjing was therefore postponed. He said that he would wait until his grandfather got better before leaving. However, in October, Wang Zhefu's illness became more serious. He could not even go to the general's mansion and could only recuperate at home for the time being.

Mrs. Duolan prepared a lot of medicinal supplements, which were delivered by Ertu himself. He was afraid that Zhenyi and the Wang family would refuse again, so he said to Zhenyi in a serious tone: "Mr. Wang is my teacher. Don't you Han people often say that a teacher is a father for life? This is a matter between me and my teacher, and you are not allowed to interfere."

Chen Tu and Chen Wen came several times, and also brought the doctor who had previously treated Wang Zhefu. The prescriptions were changed again and again, but Wang Zhefu's condition recurred intermittently, and there was no sign of real improvement.

Wang Zhefu always said that he had nothing to do, but it was just an old illness, and urged Wang Jie to return to Jinling before the snow fell. However, Wang Jie rarely insisted on his own opinion, and just said that it would not be too late to leave in the spring of next year. He could also review his studies here, and it would be easier to make progress with his two sisters doing homework together than by himself at home.

It was true that Wang Jie was worried about his grandfather, and it was also true that he wanted to stay in Jilin for a longer period of time.

Although Jinling is a good person and her mother is also a good person, she always makes Wang Jie feel great pressure. Those expectant eyes often make it difficult for him to deal with them.

Jilin is poor, but his grandfather's eyes are relaxed and casual, his second sister is tough and bright, and every breeze and every person here are open and free, where he can breathe and walk in peace. But Wang Jie still hopes that his father can recover as soon as possible.

Wang Jie had always been modest, but he privately told his second sister that he would definitely pass the imperial examination next year. He wanted to become an official, he wanted the Wang family to stand firm again, he wanted his grandfather to leave this desolate place, and he wanted to take his grandfather back to Jinling as soon as possible.

The young man was not obsessed with fame and fortune, he just wanted his family to be reunited safely. He knew very well that his grandfather had done nothing wrong and should not be trapped here as a criminal.

Wang Zhefu's illness, apart from the unexpressed depression in his heart, was also closely related to the unfamiliar climate and climate.

However, the winter climate in Jilin this year was abnormal. The snow was not as heavy as in previous years, the wind made people's skin dry and cracked, dust was floating, and the air was particularly dry.

In the twelfth lunar month, as dry snow particles drifted in the wind, Zhenyi's fifteenth birthday arrived.

Spring has arrived, but the dry and cold air has not yet stopped.

The rain that should have come after the beginning of spring has yet to fall.

He pays attention to observing the seasonal celestial phenomena and rain, and is more sensitive and aware of weather anomalies than ordinary young people.

The subsequent weather conditions confirmed Zhenyi's worst worries.

Until the Grain Rain season, there was no rain in Jilin throughout the spring, and a spring drought occurred.

Farmers carried buckets of water to irrigate the fields, but after five or six days the crops would wilt again. Even when the water in the river gradually dried up, there was still no rain from the sky.

When Zhenyi went to the private school early in the morning, she looked at the fields full of withered and yellow colors and saw an old man crying.

Zhenyi had heard of droughts before, but this was the first time she had seen one in person. Her grandfather told her that such large-scale droughts occur on average every eight or nine years.

In the afternoon, when Zhenyi returned home from class, she saw the Chen family's servants waiting outside the gate.

Chen Tu came to see Wang Zhefu, who asked Chen Tu on his sickbed: "...Has the Jilin government reported the disaster to Shengjing?"

"Don't worry, I've already reported it..." Chen Tu said, "Shengjing will definitely not take it lightly..."

Although Jilin is located in a remote frontier area, it is the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty. The capital of Jilin is only 820 miles away from the secondary capital Shengjing, so relief matters can often be reported and responded to in a timely manner.

"That's good..." Wang Zhefu's voice was weak but still full of worry, "It's just that we were only prepared for a poor harvest before, but now it seems that there will be no harvest this summer... Last year's harvest was also very poor, and many people don't have much food left at home. We should deal with it as soon as possible... Now we can only hope that it won't affect the summer planting."

"Yes, we will do our best to coordinate and urge you... It is best for you to rest and recuperate." Chen Tu said with a sigh.

Wang Zhefu was once the governor of a prefecture, and was a parent official who truly cared about the people's livelihood. Chen Tu was a local official of the seventh rank, who often came to Wang Zhefu for advice on various matters. Now, seeing this "old parent" who had a difficult career in officialdom lying on his bed sick, he could not help but feel sad and regretful.

It was the end of spring and the beginning of summer, but Wang Zhefu's condition had not improved, and Wang Jie had to leave.

Wang Jie bid farewell to his grandfather in tears, begging him to take care of himself. He also said that after the autumn exam, he would rush back to Jilin to serve him as soon as possible.

"It's just an exam, just do your best..." Wang Zhefu replied to his grandson with a smile: "Whether you pass or not, your grandfather is looking forward to your coming."

"Yes!" Wang Jie kowtowed, tears welling up in his eyes.

Before leaving, Mrs. Dong asked Wang Jie to go to the Chen family to say goodbye.

The Chen family took great care of them, and during the nearly two years that Wang Jie had been in Jilin, he often went to the Chen family to borrow books, so saying goodbye in person was basic etiquette.

Chen Tu was busy with official business and was not at home. After Wang Jie and Chen Wen and others bowed and said goodbye, Chen Wen asked his eldest son to see them off. After they were out of the second door, Wang Jie bowed again and asked them to stop.

After leaving the Chen family's gate, Wang Jie subconsciously looked towards Madam Bu's private school. The young man hesitated for a moment, but finally turned around.

Wang Jie walked more than ten steps and was about to board the car when he heard an urgent shout from behind him: "...Brother Wang Er!"

Wang Jie, who was holding the bicycle frame, paused and immediately turned around.

It’s Chen Ningtian.

There was no maid by her side; she must have run out alone.

　Good morning.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)