Chapter 224: The Path to Power

Chapter 224: The Path to Power

"Young Master Ping, you needed me?" Jixiang brushed the snow off his clothes, grinning sheepishly as he stood a bit awkwardly beside Xu Zeping.

Xu Zeping brewed a cup of hot tea and placed it next to Jixiang, speaking gently, "Brother Jixiang, in this bitter cold, I bet you got pretty cold walking over. Sit down and have a cup of tea to warm up."

Jixiang felt a little uneasy, unsure why Young Master Ping had specifically asked him to come.

"Ah, thank you for your thoughtfulness, Young Master," Jixiang half-sat on the stool, cupping the teacup in his hands. He blew on the hot steam before taking a big sip. The warmth made his body feel much better, and he sighed, "This is much better than when I was a child. Back then, during winter, my whole family would huddle inside, warming ourselves by the firewood. We didn't have any warm cotton clothes to wear."

Xu Zeping knew a bit about Jixiang's background. Jixiang had been sold by his own parents... The family was too poor to afford food, and his elder brother had fallen seriously ill. To pay for his brother's treatment, both Jixiang and his younger brother were sold.

Jixiang considered himself lucky to be bought by Xu Songshan.

His younger brother wasn't as fortunate. Being a male, he was sold to a southern brothel in a distant town by their mother.

Out of hatred, Jixiang abandoned his original name and surname, asking Xu Songshan to grant him a new one.

Jixiang had searched many times for his brother but to no avail.

"Brother Jixiang, the New Year is just around the corner," Xu Zeping said with a smile. "During this reunion festival, wouldn't it be lonely to eat by yourself?"

"Young Master, you speak as if... During the New Year, we servants also gather to eat reunion meals, so I won't be lonely," Jixiang scratched his head awkwardly, seemingly not fully understanding the implication in Xu Zeping's words.

Xu Zeping wasn't discouraged and continued, "Brother Jixiang, wouldn't you like someone who cares for you, who can keep you warm?"

"Young Master, please don't tease me," a look of embarrassment appeared on Jixiang's honest face. "As a lowly servant, how could I drag down a respectable family's son or daughter?"

"What if that person is of the same status as you?"

Jixiang's mind went blank. Someone of the same status? But even if they were, what about the future children? Would they also suffer?

He didn't want his children to be slaves like him. If his parents had only planned a little for him, he wouldn't have been sold as a slave... At least he could have been sold to the Xu family as a long-term laborer, signing a contract, and when the contract ended, he could return home.

"Young Master, I don't dare to think so much," Jixiang said with his head lowered. "Being able to do things well with Master is already good enough. I don't want to make anyone suffer or involve my descendants..."

Though Jixiang spoke tactfully, Xu Zeping could understand a bit of his underlying meaning.

"Brother Jixiang, even a low-ranking official at the prime minister's gate has some power," Xu Zeping said with a smile. "Think about what that means. Well, it's getting late, you should head back and rest."

It must be said, Xu Zeping had painted a big picture for Jixiang.

If Jixiang could come to terms with it, he would return to seek Xu Zeping's help.

If not, then winter could look elsewhere, and not be delayed because of Jixiang.

After working for the Xu family for so many years, Jixiang had his own small room and no longer had to squeeze into the large communal beds with the common laborers.

Lying on his bed, looking at the familiar ceiling, Jixiang's mind still lingered on the meaning behind Xu Zeping's words.

Because he didn't want his future children to be slaves like him, he had restrained himself from marrying. But as a strong man, how could he not want someone who could care for him?

Little Tiger was waiting outside and had overheard the conversation between his young master and Jixiang. He felt a twinge of curiosity.

As soon as Jixiang left, Little Tiger bounded in with a grin, "Young Master, Young Master, can you also find a wife for me?"

Little Tiger was as sturdy as his father.

At fifteen, Little Tiger was already bigger than Xu Zeping.

Xu Zeping looked at Little Tiger, who had grown significantly over the years thanks to good food and regular physical labor.

But in Xu Zeping's eyes, no matter how strong he was, he was still only fifteen.

"What are you doing here, kid? Go on, get lost."

"Master, I'm not a child anymore!" Little Tiger was quite dissatisfied and patted his chest. "I'm fifteen! My neighbor, Big Dragon, has already married a wife. He married a wife at fourteen!"

Xu Zeping rolled his eyes and dismissed him, saying, "We’ll talk about it in a couple of years. It wouldn’t look right if your young master isn’t married yet, and you, his attendant, are already thinking about it, right?"

When Little Tiger heard this, it made sense to him.

The sound of firecrackers crackled outside.

Around 5:30 AM on New Year's Eve, Xu Zeping was still lying in bed when he was awakened by the noise. The sound made it impossible for him to sleep any longer.

Reluctantly, he got up, realizing he couldn’t even sneak in a bit of extra rest.

In the winter, he dressed in layers: undergarments, a quilted jacket, a cross-collared cotton robe, a sleeveless cashmere vest, and finally a large cloak, along with thick-soled cotton boots, before heading out to Xiheyuan.

The accumulated snow in the courtyard had already been cleaned by the rough-handed women employed for manual labor. From the afternoon, all but the permanent staff were allowed to return home for the New Year celebrations, which would last until the third day of the lunar month.

Thus, the young maids and old women were all in high spirits, seemingly full of energy.

As soon as Xu Zeping arrived at Xiheyuan, Xu Linshi ordered him to go and fetch Cheng Ge Er to spend the New Year festival with them.

Xu Zeping jokingly said, "Ma, now you want me to fetch Cheng Ge Er? Weren’t you always on guard against me like I was some sort of wolf?"

"You brat, are you asking for a beating?" Xu Linshi glared at him. "If we didn’t live in town, where people worry about propriety, do you really think I’m that old-fashioned?"

Back in their village, they didn’t care about such things. Young men and women often rolled up their pants and fished together in the river.

Xu Linshi said, "Are you going or not? If you're not going, I'll go myself."

"I'm going, I'm going!" Xu Zeping said with a sly grin, agreeing immediately.

Just then, Xu Songshan came out and said, "Hurry back, we're waiting for you to write the couplets."

In previous years, it was Xu Zeli who wrote the couplets. This year, since Xu Zeli wasn't home for the New Year, the task naturally fell to Xu Zeping.

"Okay, I got it," Xu Zeping replied.

Looking at the drifting snowflakes, Xu Zeping originally wanted to take an oil-paper umbrella to fetch Cheng Ge Er. He imagined that sharing an oil-paper umbrella with him in the snow would be poetic and picturesque.

Under the quiet oil-paper umbrella, he could almost smell the faint scent of peach blossoms from the other person.

However, the cold wind quickly dispelled Xu Zeping's selfish daydream.

"Little Tiger, bring the carriage over."

"Yes, sir!"

While Little Tiger drove the carriage around from the back door to the front, Xu Zeping returned to his room to fetch a hand warmer. By the time he reached the front door, Little Tiger had already parked the carriage.

With that, Little Tiger drove the carriage around from the back door to the front.

On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Commander Chen took Cheng Ge Er’s teacher to the prefecture city for the New Year celebrations.

The Xu Family carriage passed by the silent gates of the Liu Mansion. As Xu Zeping saw them, he felt a twinge of regret, realizing it had been eight or nine years since he had spent the New Year with his teacher.

When he was five or six years old, he would be sent by Xu Songshan and his wife to the Liu Mansion to accompany his teacher for the New Year.

By the time he was around seven or eight, Liu Huai zhi decided Xu Zeping was old enough to remember things, so he stopped letting him join in the New Year celebrations.

There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Little Tiger," replied Little Tiger, delighted to hear Xia Tian's clear voice.

As soon as Xia Tian heard it, he opened the gate and poked his head out. Seeing the carriage parked outside, he asked, "Little Tiger, are you here to pick up the young master?"

"Yes!"

"Then come in quickly."

"Young master."

Xu Zeping and Cheng Ge'er stepped out, one after the other, but they didn’t ride in the same carriage. After helping Cheng Ge'er into the carriage behind him, Xu Zeping returned to the carriage that Little Tiger had driven up front.

Cheng Ge'er waved to Hua Lanniang through the window. Hua Lanniang had chosen to stay behind and celebrate the New Year with Madam Jiang.

This delay didn’t take long. By the time Xu Zeping made this round trip, it was already the third quarter of the morning hour, and the four of them shared an early breakfast together.

After breakfast, when they were about to pull Xu Zeping to write the couplets, Xu Linshi stopped them. Xu Zeping said, puzzled, "Xu Linshi, what are you doing?"

Xu Linshi ignored him and brought a fruit tray to Cheng Ge'er, asking solicitously, "Cheng Ge'er, did Little Tiger wake you up when he came to pick you up?"

"No, my aunt sent a message two days ago inviting me to join the family for the reunion New Year," replied Cheng Ge'er, obediently curving his eyes. "So I got up particularly early today."

"Rest for a while first, then later help Little Tiger grind the ink in the inner hall," Xu Linshi said with a smile. "Your uncle and I will take care of the food."

As the kitchen maids would return to their families in the afternoon, there wouldn’t be enough time to prepare dinner for both groups of people. So, Xu Linshi had the kitchen maids prepare the reunion dinner for Jixiang and the others in the morning.

As for their own family’s meal, Xu Linshi would handle it herself.

Throughout the year, Xu Linshi observed that it wasn’t easy for the servants like Jixiang who waited on people, so she gave them the better part of the day off to relax.

According to the customs of Qingshui Town, the New Year’s meal generally consisted of six to ten dishes.

When Xu Tangshi was still alive, the house was lively, and they would prepare eight dishes for the New Year.

In recent years, with fewer people, the family prepared even fewer dishes than before.

It was easy to get used to good things, but hard to go back to simpler times.

As life got better, people became pickier and didn’t like eating leftovers. Therefore, in the past two years, the Xu Family only prepared six dishes for the New Year.

Just a symbolic gesture, finishing by the first day of the New Year. By the second day, when Xu Zerou returned to visit her natal family, they would prepare fresh dishes.

The six dishes they planned to eat that evening were: Reunion pork knuckle, Five Elements divine chicken, Chopped pepper fish head, Radish stewed with pork brains, Crispy braised pork, and Steamed snakehead fish.

Having decided on the six dishes for the evening, Xu Linshi directed Xu Songshan to start the fire.

The attendants winter and summer attending Cheng Ge'er had also gone out to play wildly with Little Tiger and the others, leaving Cheng Ge'er feeling a bit of peace and quiet.

After eating a few peanuts in the reception hall, he found it a bit boring and got up to go to the main hall. At that moment, Xu Zeping was bent over writing couplets.

Cheng Ge'er sneaked up behind Xu Zeping and covered his eyes with his hands, using a rough voice to say, "Hey, young man, guess who I am!"

Xu Zeping played along, saying, "The young man guesses it’s his sweetheart."

As he spoke, Xu Zeping pulled down the hand covering his eyes and kissed the back of the fair hand, then turned around to look intently at Cheng Ge'er. "Young master, do you think the young man guessed right?"