Annual Ceremony

Chapter 69 Lesser Cold (Part Two)

However, no matter how much Shuyi tried to push her younger sister away, this time she couldn't change Zhenyi's mind: "Elder sister, I am determined to take you away."

This was the determination Zhenyi had made when she came: "Don't be afraid, elder sister. Father, uncle, and aunt have all agreed."

Shuyi suddenly stopped, looking at her younger sister in disbelief.

Her mother had passed away, her younger brother had become a monk, and her father had left Jinling many years ago and rarely wrote to her... How could she dare to dream of returning to that home? And in such an undignified state, wouldn't she only become fodder for ridicule and gossip?

Besides, Jiang Mao wouldn't agree to it. Even if she left today, Jiang Mao would definitely come to bother her. She couldn't bring such trouble and potential problems back to her mother's home!
As Shuyi shook her head with tears still in her eyes, Zhenyi said, "Elder sister, I still have gold and silver to use."

Zhenyi took out a money pouch hidden under her cloak, opened it, and held it in her hands: "Big sister, look..."

Shuyi's eyes trembled, and even more tears flowed down her cheeks.

These are all familiar gold and silver jewelry pieces; they were clearly the private money she used to give to her second younger sister… and her second younger sister had never touched them.

"Even if he agrees now, there's no guarantee he won't go back on his word later..."

"Big sister, it's not for him." Zhenyi interrupted Shuyi and turned to hand the item to her older brother and Zhan Mei who were walking over.

Wang Yuan took the money pouch: "Shu'er, just listen to me! The Zhan brothers and I will handle this matter!"

They were going to the local county government office to plead with the officials for a complete severance of ties.

The more remote the place, the harder it is to reason with people. This requires a lot of tact and maneuvering. Zhan Mei knew two scholars in the county and planned to ask them to go to the yamen to help him get an introduction.

This was something that was agreed upon on the way.

As Zhan Mei and Wang Yuan left, they nodded slightly to Zhenyi, signaling her to wait patiently for news.

Zhenyi nodded in response.

In October, Zhan Mei heard about the Wang family and Zhenyi's ordeal from an acquaintance, and hurriedly dropped everything and rushed to Jinling. When he arrived at the Wang family, he learned that Zhenyi had already gone on a long journey.

Shuyi's matter was originally a family affair, but Zhan Mei had always been on good terms with Wang Jie, and the two families were old friends. Wang Xirui finally explained this family matter with a sigh.

Zhan Mei immediately went after her, firstly to look after Wang Jie's elder sister, and secondly because he was worried about Zhenyi, who was ill in the dead of winter.

Zhan Mei accompanied Wang Yuan to the yamen to make arrangements. Since someone introduced them, a banquet was inevitable. As it was getting dark, Zhan Mei was worried that Jiang Mao would cause trouble when he returned home, so he left Wang Yuan there to deal with the situation, apologized, and hurried back.

Seeing that Jiang Mao had not yet returned, Zhan Mei breathed a sigh of relief, handed the few hot pancakes she had brought back to Zhenyi and the others, and explained the situation: "Don't worry, everything is going smoothly..."

The room was almost completely dark. Zhan Mei managed to find a dirty oil lamp, wiped it slightly with her sleeve, lit it, and presented it to Zhenyi so that she could take it to the inner room.

Zhenyi took the bean lamp; the faint flame flickered, casting a warm glow.

Zhenyi raised her eyes, looked at Zhan Mei, and said softly to him, "Brother Zhan, thank you."

Looking into those eyes that held so many secrets, Zhan Mei said gently, "Second sister, this is nothing to mention."

Compared to what she went through, what he did was insignificant.

Zhenyi went to the inner room to coax Shanjie to sleep, and then boiled a pot of hot water to wipe her eldest sister's face and body.

Out of courtesy, Zhan Mei voluntarily left the courtyard, but did not go far, remaining guard at the gate.

As night deepened and the wind and snow intensified, Zhan Mei boarded the mule cart and sat inside to keep warm, still guarding Zhenyi and the others.

After rushing from Xuancheng to Jinling and then hurrying here, Zhan Mei was exhausted. She fell asleep in the carriage wrapped in a thin blanket.

As Zhenyi wiped the stains and bloodstains from her elder sister's body, she saw that the sister's frail body was covered with both new and old wounds. With each spot she wiped, the resentment in Zhenyi's heart deepened silently. This resentment was not only directed at Jiang Mao, but also at the countless Jiang Maos in this world, and at this filthy world that had created so many Jiang Maos.

Zhenyi was frail, yet she was like a taut string. The cold winds of this world howled, blowing across her string, each strike producing a mournful sound.

Zhenyi vaguely saw the dust filling the courtyard that night again.

She needed to tilt her chin slightly to resist the suffocation in her chest, but through her teary eyes, she followed those hazy shadows of ashes back to the mountain village guarding the border of Jilin, where she saw the ashes of the talismans that her grandfather had knocked over with his wooden cane.

Her father was surrounded by a crowd, enduring the most vicious questioning and curses; it was the day before her father left this world.

Zhenyi needed to think about practical matters in order to prevent her mind from collapsing in this hallucination. But what she was thinking about was her older sister, who was covered in wounds, and the corpses wrapped in mats that Zhenyi had seen on the way here. Some had starved to death, some had frozen to death, some had died from hunger and cold, and many more had died from opium addiction. Their families couldn't even afford a coffin, and at most they could only burn a couple of handfuls of paper money for them, which turned to ashes in the cold winter.

This world is full of such ashes.

Heaven and earth are like a furnace, and ordinary people are just a grain of ashes burned in the furnace. This world is pitiful.

Everywhere you look, there are wicked people like Jiang Mao. The officials only blame the perpetrators for their despicable behavior, but ignore the root of the problem. This world is shameful.

Looking around, the common people suffer greatly, and justice is hard to win. Yet some people use the doctrines of gods and Buddhas, karma, and even distorted Confucianism to deceive them, making them forever ignorant beasts who suffer all kinds of injustice and pain. This world is hateful.

In this pitiful, shameful, and hateful world, Zhenyi had to admit that she and her family were already considered fortunate... Thus, this world made Zhenyi feel extremely terrified.

Zhenyi's gaze first passed through the silent terror, then through the small window of the mud house, and looked at the returning Jiang Mao.

He got drunk, lost all his money, stumbled along, and cursed and shouted.

He was so drunk that he tripped over the long stick he had carelessly tossed aside during the day and fell face-first into the snow. He drunkenly urged Shuyi to come out and help him up.

Shuyi, huddled under the covers in pain, trembled as she tried to get up, but Zhenyi, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, gently pressed her shoulder down.

After a moment, Zhenyi leaned slightly forward and blew out the bean lamp.

“Zhen’er…” Shuyi was startled and grabbed her sister’s cold wrist in the darkness.

Shuyi heard her younger sister, who never believed in ghosts or spirits, say softly:
“My older sister was injured by him and can’t get up. I should have listened to him and gotten out of here.”

"Big sister, we shouldn't get involved in this cause and effect."

"Let him leave it to fate; everyone has their own destiny."

Shuyi trembled, muttering incoherently.

Zhenyi bent down and hugged her trembling older sister tightly.

The coldest days of winter are so severe that even rocks can crack from the frost.

As dawn approached, Wang Yuancai rushed back and saw Jiang Mao half-covered in snow, frozen into a broken stone.

No one touched him; Zhan Mei only asked the yamen runners to come and check.

Before leaving, the Wang family left behind several dozen large coins, asking two villagers to help with their funeral arrangements.

During the coldest days of winter, the frozen ground is difficult to dig, requiring only a tattered mat.

Lesser Cold, the first phase, in the northern part of the country.

A bewildered and anxious Shuyi led Shanjie home.

Orange, who rarely leaves the house, braved the freezing cold and waited early at the gate to greet us.