Chapter 2: The First Snow (Part 5)

  After sending off the guests, Wang Xun and Qin Shi brothers returned to the second floor of the wine house where they had dinner earlier. The leftover dishes had already been taken away by the waiters, and the room was spotless, without a speck of dust. The windows on both sides were open for ventilation, and the incense burner in the corner was lit again with dragon-shaped incense, filling the air with a gentle fragrance that wafted and fluttered. The sudden quietness contrasted sharply with the earlier bustle, making one rub their eyes in doubt as to whether the gathering had really taken place.

  The answer is obviously affirmative. The ink marks on the wall have not yet dried, one column is dignified and atmospheric, while another is flying and dancing. Even Wang Xun, who has never been interested in calligraphy, would feel a surge of excitement in his heart as he glanced over it.

  "Tan Hua Lang has great penmanship! Old Lei has impressive skills!" "With these two lines, I'm afraid the second floor of Lin Feng Lou will be fully booked every day from now on, and there's no chance of it being idle again!" The apprentices were still continuously sending tea, snacks, and fruit into the house, so for now, it wasn't the right time to discuss serious matters. Therefore, Qin Guo Mo and Qin Guo You each held a cup of clear tea, standing in front of the wall, slowly savoring it.

  "Stop teasing me with those two kids!"

  "After listening to Gao Dafu's sword and zither, I suddenly had an epiphany. If it were in normal times, I wouldn't have been able to write such a piece!" Lei Wanchun and Zhang Zhou walked back one after the other, smiling humbly.

  Zhang Xun was able to take up the post of Qinghe County Magistrate back then, thanks to the efforts of the Hu Guogong Mansion behind the scenes. Therefore, the Qin brothers and Zhang Xun, as well as Lei Wanchun, also had a rather deep relationship. This time when they met again, their conversation was very pleasant. However, Wang Xun suddenly seemed a bit out of it, standing on the side with a cup of tea in his hand, not even blinking once for half a day.

  To be honest, he didn't like to socialize with literary people in the past. In his mind, nine out of ten scholars and writers were arrogant but incompetent. Relying on memorizing a few books, they thought they were extremely knowledgeable. They found fault in everything and could pick out flaws in any matter. And if you really asked them for help with something practical, it would be like using a rake to do the work of an axe - more harm than good.

  However, today, all the people at the banquet thoroughly overturned his previous impressions. Gao Shi's magnanimity, Cen Shen's talent, Zhang Zhong's solemnity, and Wang Huan's flexibility had left a deep impression on him. Among them, Li Bai was the most impressive, although he didn't say much throughout the banquet, and his poems were not significantly different from those of Cen Shen and Cui Xing later on. But this man's every word and action, every gesture and movement, gave people an otherworldly feeling, as if he was a celestial being who shouldn't be walking in this mundane world, but accidentally got drunk and fell into the mortal realm, and even though his body was submerged in the rolling crowds around him, from head to toe, he remained untouched by worldly dust.

  Wang Xun couldn't understand why he had such a strange impression of Li Bai. But he knew that in this lifetime, he would never be able to get along with someone like Li Bai. Although Li Bai was unconventional and arrogant, Wang Xun admired his uniqueness and liked his pride. Perhaps they could not be friends, but he could still happily watch him come and go freely around him.

  "Hey, stop it, or you'll drool all over the place!" Qin Guojian happened to see Wang Jun's silly expression and teasingly waved his finger in front of his eyes.

  "Ah!" Wang Xuan's soul suddenly flew back into his body, and his hand shook, spilling half a bowl of tea water onto the hem of his clothes.

  "Look, the tea has spilled before you've even drooled! Qin Guozhen wouldn't let someone off easily, as he handed Wang Xun a handkerchief while continuing to tease, "Didn't you already buy that golden house? Since you're so eager, why not move in earlier? You two can gaze at each other all day without getting tired of it. Why must you be like this today, where her talent leaves and your soul follows?"

  "What's wrong?" Wang Xuan, who rarely blushed, wiped the water stains on his body while laughing and explaining, "I'm just a bit tired. Yesterday, for Zida's sake, I stayed up till the third watch before sleeping. The surrounding area was filled with the sound of silk, bamboo, and pipes, making my head ache, and I only managed to doze off for a short while until dawn!"

  "My brother and I were confined at home yesterday afternoon. Thanks to Ming Yun's efforts in Zhang Luo, we managed to get out of trouble! Qin Guo Mo and his younger brother had been to the Wang family before arriving at the Lin Feng Building, and from the young servant Wang Ji's mouth, they roughly heard about Yu Wen Zhi's troubles, smiled, and quietly led the conversation back to the main topic."

  "I was also beaten until I saw stars yesterday, luckily I had Brother Lei and Brother Zhang by my side!" Wang Xun didn't dare to take credit for himself, so he dragged Zhang Zhou and Lei Wan Chun into it as well. "That little brat Wang Ji probably didn't have time to report back to the two brothers, but I found an account book that Zi Da deliberately left behind with Brother Zhang and Brother Lei!"

  They were all brothers in the family, and he didn't have anything to hide. Seeing that there were no outsiders present at this moment, he roughly described the situation he had seen when he visited Yuwen in the morning, as well as his initial plan with Zhang Xun and Lei Wanchun after finding the account book, briefly telling Qin Shi's two brothers about it.

  "Perhaps the few of you have thought of it, is currently the only way to save Zida from this predicament!" After listening to Wang Jun's description, Qin Guomiao slightly furrowed his brow and analyzed in a low voice, "Yesterday, I and Guozhen just returned home, but were ordered by Father not to go out again. Until this morning, when Father went to court, we found an opportunity to sneak out and find you. Previously, we didn't know at all that Yuwen Xiaozi had gotten into trouble, and after hearing a word from your family's servant, I was shocked and broke out in cold sweat, and hurriedly sought help from people everywhere. But at this critical juncture..."

  He sighed, not knowing how to continue talking to Wang Xuan. Even his own father had decided to fold his arms and watch from the sidelines, so who would be willing to truly put in effort for the sake of their brotherly relationship? It was all just a pretense to save face for the Hu Guo Gong Fu, forcing out a couple of words as a formality! As for those who were truly willing to lend a helping hand, he feared there wouldn't be a single one.

  Fortunately, Wang Xuan had been through a morning of turmoil and had already seen many things clearly in his heart. He was no longer as disappointed with the Qin family as before, but instead smiled and comforted him in a low voice: "Don't worry, Zida won't be in danger for the time being. It's just a matter of spending more money. At this point, will our two families care about that little bit of money?"

  Zhang Zhou heard it and smiled, saying in a low voice: "As far as I know, Shibo has always been cold on the surface but warm at heart. Once he knows that Yuwen Zidao is indeed being framed, he will not really ignore him. I've heard that this matter involves many things behind the scenes, maybe Shibo and other elders need some time to figure out the truth before taking action to thoroughly resolve the issue. It won't be like us, just blindly rushing around like headless flies!"

  Seeing the two friends being so considerate of him, Qin Guo Mo felt even more embarrassed and sighed, saying, "The seniors are unwilling to show up at this moment. There is indeed some unavoidable bitterness. I had already inquired about it this morning, Li Xiang has been dissatisfied with Yang Guozhong for a long time, but he has been enduring it for the sake of the imperial concubine's face these past two years. If he doesn't take action now, then that's it, but if he does take action, I'm afraid he won't leave any room for courtesy!"

  Qin Guoping, despite his usual carefree demeanor, was actually quite meticulous in his thinking at critical moments, and he noticed that Wang Cong's smile seemed forced. After some thought, he added in a low voice: "We younger generations don't have any actual official positions, so we're used to being reckless and it won't make people think ill of us if we continue to be reckless now. But if our elders take a stand now, it would be equivalent to revealing their identities and taking sides. Either they'll stand with the Yang family or with Li Xiang and Wang Daifu's side. And once they've chosen a side, they won't be able to change it later! Just this morning, several officials from the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Personnel, and Ministry of Justice have taken sick leave and left the city to avoid trouble. The carriages of Princess Yongmu and Princess Changshan also left for their suburban estates early today, supposedly to go hunting with their families, but I reckon they won't be back for several months!"

  Unlike the time of Wu Hou, when the party struggled and people's heads rolled. The consequences of the power struggle in the court have already been greatly alleviated, but those who made mistakes in taking sides will still have to go to Lingnan after autumn to settle accounts. With the living example of the neighboring Cheng family next door, it is not difficult for Wang Sul to understand Qin Guozhen's words. Moreover, Yuwen Zida's relationship with the Qin brothers is a junior's relationship and has little to do with the Hu Guogong Mansion. When something happens, Qin Lao Yezi is willing to help, which belongs to taking care of his juniors, and standing by and watching is also a common human emotion. Thinking of this, he smiled again and said in a low voice: "We should try to solve our own problems ourselves. The elders are already tired enough, there's no need to give them more trouble. When we really can't do it ourselves, will they still not care?! The two brothers have been staying at home for the past few days, trying not to make Lao Yezi angry. As for Zida, I'll deal with him first!"

  "Be more careful!" Qin Guo Zhen smiled, and from his pocket he pulled out a page of neatly folded paper. "This is something I secretly copied from somewhere. It might be useful to you. Keep it carefully, don't let anyone else see it except for Zhang Da Ge and Cao Da Ge!"

  Qin Guozhen said solemnly, and Wang Xun hastily took over the paper with both hands. His eyes quickly scanned it, and he immediately felt much more at ease in his heart. The Qin brothers were still very righteous, and this unassuming piece of paper could be said to be a timely help in trouble. On the paper, many names were written in fine detail, each name connected by an ink line. It was a map of the relationships between various gods and demons on the official scene in the capital.

  If a new official in Beijing gets this map, he can understand who he can offend and who he must follow closely, which is equivalent to getting a "protective charm". And for Wang Xun and others at the moment, the connection between the Wan Nian County government office and the upper-level figures, which has always been unclear, was also written clearly on paper!

  Carefully picking up the paper scraps, Wang Xuan bowed solemnly to the Qin brothers, "Thank you, both of you. With him around, Zida will be a bit safer!"

  "Isn't Zida still our friend?" Qin Guomo smiled and asked in return. Then, after thinking for a moment, he whispered: "Yang Guozhong is not someone who can be predicted by common sense. As a high-ranking official of the current dynasty, he always likes to engage in shady dealings that cannot be made public. This time, if you force Yang to rescue Zida out of desperation, it's likely that Zida will become a thorn in the eye of the Yang family in the future. So, you must not reveal your own tracks. Also, once Zida is released from prison, arrange for him to leave the capital immediately!"

  "I've thought of that. Actually, if we weren't forced to a dead end, we wouldn't dare provoke Yang Guozhong!" Wang Xun smiled and nodded in gratitude.

  "Besides, Guo Zhen and I may not be able to go out conveniently recently. But the connection between us must never be broken. Some messages, I will find opportunities to send to your mansion constantly. If you have an urgent matter, just go to my house, as long as you tell the servant at the door that you come to ask for the sable cloak left in my house, they will naturally understand what you mean!"

  "Got it. At this critical moment, both brothers will also be careful." Wang Xun thought for a moment and nodded in response.

  "After rescuing Zida, if possible, I suggest you also go to the Zhuangzi by the Wei River to hide for a while. According to Father's analysis, Li Xiang's strength is now far inferior to what it was in the past. Even if this time they have joined forces with Wang Daifu, this battle will likely take three to five months to determine the outcome!"

  Qin Guomou was much older than him, so he had to be more careful. Knowing that the other party was in good faith, Wang Xuan smiled and agreed. After thinking carefully again, Qin Guomou found that he had already reminded Wang Xuan of almost everything he needed to know. He smiled and suggested that everyone hurry back home to report their safety to their elders.

  "We'll also return to the station. Turning back, I'll pay respects to your honorable father!" Looking at the darkening sky, Zhang Zhou made a gesture with his eyes towards Lei Wanchun and smiled as he cupped his hands in respect.

  "Ah, I still have a few friends to meet tonight, so I'll take my leave first!" Lei Wanchun understood and nodded in agreement, then stepped forward and bowed his hands to the group.

  Five people bid each other farewell and went their separate ways. Halfway home, Qin Guo Zhen suddenly sighed and turned to his brother, saying in a low voice: "This time, we're probably going to disappoint Ming Yun!"

  "Yes. After going through this, I'm afraid Ming Yun is no longer the little kid he used to be!" Qin Guo Mo also felt extremely helpless, sighed and responded in a depressed tone.

  "Alas!" Qin Guozhen let out another long sigh, unsure of what to say. As Wang Xun and Wang Mingyun grew older, would they still be as carefree and innocent in their interactions with others? Although they had been reckless and impulsive in the past, there was never any pretence or artificiality between them. At the time, it didn't seem like much, but now that it was about to slip away, he suddenly felt it was extremely precious.

  But men are destined to grow up. He raised his head and gently exhaled towards the sky. Suddenly, he found that tonight's moonlight is very bright, with a half-white jade-like bright moon surrounded by a large, equally white circle.

  That's a sign of changing weather, it's already deep autumn, and the wind will get colder.

  Note 1: Wang Dafu, also known as the Grand Governor of Jingzhao, Wang Kuo, because he concurrently held multiple important positions including Minister of Revenue and Imperial Censor. Lang Zhong: In the Tang Dynasty, each of the six ministries had a Secretary (Shangshu) who was directly responsible to the Emperor, under whom were two Vice Ministers (left and right Shilang), and a Langzhong (equivalent to a department head).