Chapter 9

After the Beginning of Winter, the Minor Snow came, but there was no snow during the Minor Snow, which was a great disappointment to the Crown Prince, who loved to read poetry by the light of a warm fire on snowy nights.

White Fox had been staying on the first floor of the Tide Listening Pavilion for half a month, meditating as if in a trance. This determination made Xu Fengnian, who could not endure hardship, feel ashamed, but it did not stop him from finding amusement in the mansion.

Flower Queen Yu Youwei had settled into a quiet courtyard, where two types of plants, Tang and Jiao, had been planted overnight. The white cat Wu Meiniang seemed very satisfied with her new home and had gained some weight.

Xu Fengnian sent Yu Youwei the finest sable fur and the most exquisite food, but he never visited her again, deliberately keeping his distance. As the round and plump Luqiu said, raising a person is like raising an eagle; it requires gradual training. If it's too fast, they lose their spirit; if it's too slow, they become disobedient.

Everyone in the mansion knew that the Crown Prince enjoyed rowing alone on the lake. Each time he reached the center, he would drop a few things into the water. On warm days, he would even dive into the lake and stay submerged for a long time, perhaps because he had a natural affinity for water.

Today, Xu Fengnian, in a refined mood, acted as the boatman, rowing to the center of the lake. He muttered to himself, tied a piece of hot roasted venison to a stone, and threw it into the water.

Then he lay down on the boat, enjoying the warm winter sun, almost falling asleep. In a half-sleep, he heard a voice calling him. He sat up and saw a tall, elegant woman in a luxurious red fur coat standing in the pavilion by the shore.

Near the familiar slim figure stood several strangers. She waved vigorously, and Xu Fengnian, with a look of surprise, rowed back to the shore, jumped into the pavilion, and was immediately embraced by the woman, who kissed him all over with her fragrant lips, leaving him covered in lipstick. Xu Fengnian affectionately called her "Sister."

In this world, the only one who dared to tease the Crown Prince like this was Xu Zihu, the eldest daughter of the Grand Marshal.

The siblings had always been very close. Before she got married, Xu Fengnian, even at the age of twelve or thirteen, still shared a bed with her. If there was anyone who protected Xu Fengnian the most, it was his father, Xu Xiao; if there was anyone who listened the most, it was Xu Longxiang; but Xu Zihu was the one who doted on Xu Fengnian the most.

As soon as she received a letter from her father saying that her brother had returned to the city, Xu Zihu immediately set out with a group of servants and returned to her family home.

With tears in her eyes, she pinched her brother's cheeks, patted his head, and rubbed his shoulders. She even gave his buttocks a heavy slap and, as usual, reached into his crotch. Xu Fengnian, with a pained expression, said, "Sister, I'm fine here, no need to check. There are strangers around. Who are these two?"

In the pavilion, besides the female servants and wet nurses who were always on edge due to Xu Zihu's fierce and eccentric nature, there were two visitors, both handsome and elegant. One wore a green robe and carried a sword, looking like a graceful tree. The other was tall and robust, with a face full of righteousness.

Xu Zihu smiled and pointed, saying coyly, "This is Mr. Cui from the Qinghe Cui family, a master of swordsmanship. On the road, we encountered some bandits, and Mr. Cui led the family troops to drive them away. This is Mr. Zheng, a righteous wanderer, famous for his chivalry in Guanzhong. They are both my benefactors."

The two bowed and said, "We greet the Crown Prince."

Xu Fengnian smiled and said, "Since they are your benefactors, they are also my benefactors. If there is any martial art or cultivation technique you wish to practice, we have a vast collection of books here. I can have some brought out for you."

The elegant Mr. Cui had a passionate look in his eyes but concealed it well and declined.

The wanderer Mr. Zheng, however, showed little interest.

Xu Fengnian inwardly cursed them as "affected" and "stupid," but his face remained warm as he exchanged pleasantries. Xu Zihu, however, found it all charming, seeing her brother as the most perfect person in the world, even his embarrassing falls off a horse in the past.

Xu Fengnian waved to summon Jiang Ni, asking her to lead the two gentlemen around the mansion, then dismissed all the servants, leaving only the siblings.

Xu Fengnian said bluntly, "Sister, this Mr. Cui may look good, but he seems to have ulterior motives, just like me. Don't let him deceive you. As for that big guy, he's either really stupid or very calculating, neither of which is good. You can play with them, but don't get too serious."

Xu Zihu pointed a finger at Xu Fengnian's forehead and said with a flirtatious smile, "Does Sister need a lesson from you? Men, I can tell just by a glance how big and good they are."

Xu Fengnian held his sister's hand, picked up a tribute yellow tangerine, peeled it, and gave half to each of them. He put a piece in his mouth and said with a grin, "Sister, you seem to have gained some weight, which is good. If you had lost weight, I would have gone on a killing spree in Jiangnan."

Xu Zihu suddenly burst into tears without warning. Xu Fengnian thought someone had bullied her and clenched his teeth, saying, "Sister, tell me who upset you, and I'll go and deal with them!"

Xu Zihu wiped her tears and took a long time to stop crying. She pulled Xu Fengnian's hand, looked at the calluses on his palm and fingertips, and choked up again, "Sister knows your three years of travel were not easy. The old you would never have swallowed a whole tangerine segment. Even if Sister peeled the tangerine for you, you might not have eaten it.

Sister has no worries about food and clothing, so what hardship could I have endured? Even if I were a widow with a bad reputation, it would be just idle gossip to me.

But your three years of travel, walking thousands of miles, I can't even imagine. My heartless father! I'll go and settle accounts with him! If he doesn't care for you, you can come with Sister to Jiangnan. It's rich and the girls are beautiful."

Xu Fengnian made a pig face, making his sister laugh, then said, "Sister, I'm not a child anymore."

Xu Zihu pulled Xu Fengnian into a hug, pressing his head against her ample chest, and said, "Even if you're not a child, you can still sleep with Sister. You won't escape tonight."

Xu Fengnian, with a somewhat insincere blush, said, "Sister, it's improper."

Xu Zihu pinched his ear and threatened, "Do you want me to announce that you still wet the bed at eight? And every time we shared a bed, your hand was always on Sister here, wasn't it?"

Xu Fengnian glanced at his sister's chest, wishing he could dig a hole and hide, and said flatteringly, "Sister, let's not fight. Come, let me massage your shoulders."

Enjoying the Crown Prince's skilled massage, Xu Zihu closed her eyes and gazed at the lake, sighing, "You're back, but Huang Man'er is leaving. I wonder if when I leave, that girl will come. The four of us are never together."

Xu Fengnian asked, "Sister, when it snows, shall we go to Wudang Mountain to see the beautiful snowy scenery?"

Xu Zihu laughed and said, "Since that heartless coward wants to pursue the Dao, let him be alone for life. I won't beg him. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about him."

Xu Fengnian said, "Oh," and didn't bring it up again.

Xu Zihu kissed Xu Fengnian's face and said, "Sister has a small heart and a narrow view, so as long as I have you, all other men are nothing."

Xu Fengnian pretended to be melancholy and said, "Unfortunately, we are siblings."

Xu Zihu pinched his ear and scolded, "You rascal."

When a woman marries, she is like water that has been poured out.

During the Minor Snow, it snowed heavily.

No matter how much they lingered, the half-month reunion was over, and Xu Zihu finally had to return to Jiangnan. She said that if it snowed, she would really be reluctant to leave.

That day, Xu Fengnian rode thirty miles to see her off and returned to the city alone.

Back at the mansion, with a bad mood, Xu Fengnian impulsively called the maid Jiang Ni and the nominal concubine Yu Youwei to the lakeside pavilion to enjoy the snow.

The lake was already frozen, but the heavy snow continued to fall, covering the ground in white. Xu Fengnian shook his head, stood up, took a sip of warm wine to warm his stomach, and muttered, "Old Lake King, don't freeze to death down there."

Xu Fengnian then looked at the Tide Listening Pavilion across the lake, where White Fox had not been seen for a long time, immersed in the vast collection of martial arts scrolls. Was he doing well?

Finally, he looked toward Wudang Mountain. Xu Fengnian did not understand those martial artists who pursued the ultimate realm of martial arts all their lives, let alone the madmen who pursued the intangible and elusive supreme Dao. He only knew that if the young Taoist who rode the ox backward had agreed, his sister would have been happy.

So Xu Fengnian had no good feelings toward Wudang Mountain, which had a thousand-year-old tradition. His sister had a small heart, and his was even smaller.

Xu Fengnian poured a cup of hot wine for Jiang Ni and handed it to her, but she responded with a cold laugh.

She was a princess of a fallen kingdom, even said to be a person of great destiny by her teacher, but in the Beiliang mansion, she was just a maid, required to follow strict rules for her clothing, food, and living. So, despite her thin, shivering clothes, her eyes kept glancing at the steam from the wine.

Xu Fengnian mocked, "You want to drink, but you don't take what I give you, and you can't take it yourself. We both get tired. I'm just a good-for-nothing rogue. If you have the ability to assassinate the emperor or my father, that would be something. Why pick on me?"

Jiang Ni coldly replied, "I'm a weak woman with only a divine talisman. I can only kill you. Who else can I kill?"

Xu Fengnian was speechless, took a sip of wine, and said, "You're a scoundrel, but you match me well."

Jiang Ni simply closed her eyes to rest.

Yu Youwei, holding Wu Meiniang, was curious about the identity of this beautiful maid.

A white rainbow shot out of the pavilion.

It landed in the lake not far from the Tide Listening Pavilion.

White Fox, in a white robe, drew the two swords, Xiudong and Chunlei, for the first time.

The Xiudong sword was three feet and two inches long, weighing ten pounds and nine ounces. The swordsmith did not seek sharpness but instead made it blunt.

The Chunlei sword was two feet and four inches long, weighing only one pound and three ounces, with a purple-blue body that could easily cut through heavy armor.

One Xiudong sword stirred up a thousand layers of snow.

It seemed as if all the snow in the world followed, tilting toward the white-robed figure on the lake.

The scene was magnificent.

The Chunlei sword, cold and sharp, split the ice on the lake, creating nearly a hundred large, visible cracks.

The wind and snow blinded the eyes.

Xu Fengnian, who had just picked up a cucumber to eat, froze, staring at the figure on the lake with two swords and the snow as if he were watching a god.

The habit of eating raw cucumbers and corn, developed during his six-thousand-mile journey, was catered to by the mansion, which prepared many clean but unpeeled cucumbers and some sweet corn, a significant expense for this season.

Jiang Ni murmured, "What a beautiful woman."

Compared to the maid with only a divine talisman for offensive power, Yu Youwei, who had studied swordsmanship and spent some time at the Shangyin Academy, had a better eye. The elegant figure on the lake, wielding the two swords, was undoubtedly one of the best swordsmen. This scene was as impressive as the sword dance she had seen her mother perform when she was young.

The white figure moved forward, stirring the snow. The two sword auras were overwhelming.

Xu Fengnian took a bite of the cucumber and said with delight, "This is the style of a grandmaster."

The wind and snow on the lake suddenly stopped. The short sword, now back in its sheath, was thrown out, drawing a mysterious arc and landing in the snow in front of Xu Fengnian.

That year, during the Minor Snow, White Fox gave up the Chunlei sword and ascended to the second floor.

{Piaotian Literature}