Chapter Twenty-Two Snowy Ground

  Xue Liangyu looked at the snowy scene in front of him, nodded, turned his horse around and ran towards the carriage team, shouting loudly from outside the carriage: "Master, the wind and snow are too strong, the road is all covered up, can't see the way. If we fall into a ditch, it's over! Let's find a place to rest and wait for the storm to pass!"

  A few minutes later, just as Xue Liangyu thought that the people inside had not heard his shouts at all, a thick woolen curtain woven with coarse sheep's hair was lifted to reveal a narrow slit. Xue Liangyu immediately felt a warm and humid air coming out, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

  "This is a desolate and remote place, where can you set foot? Go ahead and take a look to see if there's an inn or something to rest at!"

  "Yes, sir!" Xue Liangyu responded and turned to run towards his horse. Among the group, he and Zhou Ping were the most skilled in horsemanship, so they took turns leading the way. Although he was already cold and hungry, he still mounted his horse, risking falling into a ditch, and rushed to Zhou Ping's side to convey Han Xiaoqian's orders. The two of them rode another four or five miles before seeing a simple post station. Half an hour later, the group stopped to rest at this station.

  "Come on, you two have been traveling for days, it's tough!" The old soldier at the station handed over two steaming wooden bowls. Zhou Ping took one and drank it all in one gulp. A spicy flavor immediately filled his mouth, causing him to cough violently.

  "Slow down, slow down!" The old soldier stood by with a wooden spoon and asked: "How is it? Do you want some more? You two are rushing on the road in the wind and snow. If you don't drink more ginger soup to sweat, I'm afraid you'll be seriously ill soon!"

  A mouthful of ginger soup went down his throat, and Zhou Ping only felt that his frozen hands and feet were still his own. He hastily held up the bowl with both hands and smiled: "Thank you, old man! Give me some more!"

  "Alright!" Old army poured soup into the bowls of Zhou Ping and Xue Liangyu, asking: "You two look like you're dressed for work, I remember when I was in the Western Army..."

  The old soldier was just about to boast of his past glorious history, but heard someone inside shouting loudly: "How come no one is serving, where did the post officer go?" He had to scold and say: "Officials are the most troublesome!" and went inside.

  Zhou Ping drank two bowls of ginger soup, and his body felt much more comfortable. He stood up, patted the remaining snow off his body, and said to Xue Liangyu: "Fourth brother, you rest here for a while, I'll go out to feed those two horses!"

  "I've also had enough rest, let's go together!" Xue Liangyu put down the wooden bowl and walked alongside Zhou Ping into the horse stable. The two horses were standing in front of their feeding troughs. Xue Liangyu scooped some dry hay and sprinkled some soybeans on top, while Zhou Ping wiped off the sweat from the horses' backs to prevent them from getting sick. Just as Zhou Ping was putting in effort, he suddenly heard Xue Liangyu's voice behind him: "Ah Ping, earlier when I reported to Lord Han, he was sitting in his carriage with a charcoal fire burning, while we two were riding on horseback..." At this point, Xue Liangyu's words trailed off, as if unsure of how to continue.

  Zhou Ping raised his head, looking at Xue Liangyu. A seventeen-year-old boy's face showed an unprecedented expression, seemingly anger and doubt. Zhou Ping didn't fully understand the other person's meaning until a while later. He hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice: "He is a scholar-official, a civil official, we are just guards!"

  Xue Liangyu looked at Zhou Ping, a hint of disappointment in his eyes: "You think so too? I thought you were different from others."

  "It doesn't matter what I think!" Zhou Ping stroked the wet mane of his horse's neck, and the horse raised its head, letting out a low whinny to its master. Zhou Ping walked over to the feeding trough and scattered some soybeans, saying: "Fourth Brother, you're still young, many things are like this for a reason, it's pointless for us to say more in our current situation."

  "This is all nonsense!" Xue Liangyu muttered, turning around to clean the mud off his horse's hooves.

  Zhou Ping smiled and turned to walk into the house, saying as he went: "However, the principles under heaven are not eternally unchanging. When the principles change, the world will also change!"

  "Will the world change too?" Xue Liangyu stood up, looking at Zhou Ping's departing back with a puzzled expression, muttering to himself as he repeated what the other had just said, his face full of doubt.

  At this time, a sound of horse hooves came from outside the station, and the two exchanged a surprised glance, not expecting that in such bad weather there were other travelers besides them.

  "Come on!" A man covered in snow jumped down from the carriage. When he saw Xue Liangyu and Zhou Ping in the stable, he thought they were posthouse attendants and scolded: "What are you doing standing there like a wooden stake? Why haven't you come to serve my master?"

  Xue and Zhou exchanged a glance, both stopping in their tracks. They coldly laughed as they stared at the loudmouthed guy. The guy saw their expressions and grew even angrier. As he brushed off the snow on his body, he cursed at them: "You two are blind to the truth! My master is a great man, and with just one warrant, you two will be begging for scraps!"

  Just as he was about to scold, the old station runner had already run out from inside, running while making a bow to that guy: "Please forgive me, sir. The snow is heavy outside and I didn't hear clearly. These two are not people from the station, but rather traveling guests."

  "Are you traveling officials?" The man brushed the snow off his body, still visibly angry as he looked at Xue and Zhou. They seemed to be small merchants who traveled regularly, otherwise they wouldn't have been out in this weather. He snorted coldly, pointing at Xue and Zhou: "Have them move out, how can my master live with people like that?"

  "You——" Xue Liangyu was furious upon hearing this, and just as he was about to step forward to teach the guy a lesson, Zhou Ping pulled him back. He turned his head and saw Zhou Ping's face covered in a cold smile: "Don't be impatient, let's just watch the show, someone from the Han family will deal with him!"

  "What's with the weather?" The old station master looked out at the snowy sky and said in a low voice, "Those two are just passing through, let's not trouble them!"

  "Is there anyone else?" The man raised his voice: "Get out together, my master is an official in Tokyo, how can we be slow!"

  "Is Mr. Han Xiao from Xiangzhou here? I don't know which colleague is outside, may I come in and chat?" Just as the old station attendant was at a loss for what to do, a voice came from inside the station. It turned out that this station had only one courtyard with three or four rooms, and the sound outside could be heard clearly inside. With Han Xiao's identity, he naturally couldn't come out to argue with that subordinate, so he reported his name and title. With the reputation of the Han family in Xiangzhou, if it was indeed an official from the capital, they would naturally know.

  Soon, a middle-aged man wearing an ermine hat and a thick cloak got off the carriage, whispered a few words to his subordinates, then loudly responded: "It's Brother Wende, I didn't expect to meet you here!" As he spoke, he walked towards the house.

  "Who would have thought that these two are old acquaintances, now the fun can't be seen!" Zhou Ping smiled and patted Xue Liangyu's shoulder, saying: "The horses are ready, let's go inside to avoid the wind!"

  Two people entered the house. Suddenly, a warm current hit their faces, and their whole body felt as if it had been steamed, feeling very comfortable. Only a few attendants and coachmen were crowded around a charcoal basin, roasting fire to keep warm on one side and eating on the other. The person in charge saw Xue and Zhou, moved aside, smiled and said: "Come over to roast some fire and eat something, it's very cold outside?"

  "Thank you!" Zhou Ping bowed his hands and squeezed in beside Xue Liangyu by the charcoal basin, asking casually: "What kind of official was that family who were shouting outside just now? They seemed so powerful?"

  "Who knows!" The steward sneered: "The officials in Bianjing are more numerous than mice, who can know them all? Even a general manager, governor, or prefect has to be humble, I suppose it's a minor official from the capital who is suffocated and came out here to show off his power!

  No sooner had he finished speaking than a suppressed snicker was heard from beside the brazier. What could be more delightful for these underlings than to mock behind their backs those officials who loved to show off in public?

  "As soon as he entered the house, he rushed into the inner room. I don't know if he's licking our family's ancestor's ass!" The manager sneered: "Showing off in front of his ancestors!"

  At this time, Han Xiao's book boy came out from the inner room and said: "The charcoal in the master's brazier is almost burned out, someone come and add some charcoal quickly."

  Zhou Pingling stood up with a smile and said, "Everyone, let's warm up by the fire. I'll go add some fuel, and at the same time, take a look at that official's face!"

  The bystanders laughed and said: "Ah Ping is indeed clever, wait for him to come out and tell us about it!"

  Zhou Ping went out to fetch a clay basin and iron tongs, brought in some charcoal, and saw a dark-faced middle-aged man sitting opposite Han Xiaoqian, who was the same person who had just gotten off the carriage. Zhou Ping announced his arrival, then pulled out the brazier and carefully added charcoal, while listening intently to the conversation between the two men.

  "Wen De brother (Han Xiaoqiu's courtesy name), I never thought that you and I would meet here, alas!" The middle-aged man said this, sighed, and his face turned gloomy.

  "What's wrong, Brother Hu? Why are you sighing? Is something not going smoothly?"

  That middle-aged man with the surname Hu smiled wryly: "It's not just that things aren't going smoothly, do you know I've already been demoted to be the Administrator of Qin State? This is on my way to take up the post!"

  "What? Why is that?" Han Xiaoji looked surprised, originally the Northern Song Dynasty had always treated scholars and officials with kindness, rarely using the death penalty for civil officials. The heaviest punishment was to revoke their titles and honors since birth (i.e., stripping them of their official status), while the usual practice was to demote them to a remote place as an idle official, letting local officials monitor them, which wasn't much better than being a prisoner.

  "What's wrong with me? I haven't offended the Empress Dowager and the Queen!"

  "Have I offended both of them?" Han Xiao's expression changed slightly as he asked, "What is the reason for this?"