Snow falls and the wind blows

Chapter 56

Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "Xiao Duan, don't take it too seriously with the child." As he spoke, he stroked the little girl's cheek, his expression full of encouragement: "Little Peach can say 'candy' now, that's amazing!"

After settling the children in, Qingzi went to Chu Hui's side and picked up Xiao Taozi, a hint of pity flashing in her eyes. Zhan Yun frowned, examining the little girl for a moment before turning to Duan Chen. Duan Chen nodded slightly, his expression still indifferent: "She's five years old."

Most of the children living here are orphans with no one to care for them. Some have begged on the streets, and others have been thieves. Xiao Yiyi and Qingzi would bring one or two children back with them every time they went down the mountain. Some were adopted by families in the town after living on the mountain for a few months, while others stayed on the mountain until they were thirteen or fourteen years old and able to make a living in the town on their own.

Whether through adoption or apprenticeship, most families prefer boys, so girls are the majority of those who stay. Little Peach was found by Qingzi outside a clinic. She was already five years old, but spoke like a two- or three-year-old, only able to utter single words or repeated words, and her reactions were slower than other children her age. Perhaps that's why her parents simply abandoned her outside the clinic, without even leaving her a name or birth date.

The group sat around a table, eating pastries and drinking hot dumpling soup. Zhan Yun was neither arrogant nor humble, and Jiang Cheng was also easy to get along with; they soon began chatting. First, they greeted Li Qinglan and Tao Hanzhi, and then the two began discussing the two previous cases.

Zhan Yun then learned that Lan Lan and Wang Sulei had been executed last autumn. Duan Chen, who was in another city at the time, had written a letter entrusting Jiang Cheng with the matter of their joint burial. Fortunately, the two had entrusted this matter to someone else before their deaths, ensuring they had a final resting place. After Lord Li's verdict, both the Lan and Li families severed all ties with the two. After their imprisonment, not a single relative visited them. Only Li Wei'er sent them clothes and food a few times.

Then there's Song Qiao. Three months later, in the sweltering heat of summer, a fire broke out in the humble abode where he taught, killing four men, including himself. Their bodies were charred black, their identities unrecognizable. Jiang Cheng had recounted this story before, yet he still couldn't hide his sorrow. Those who knew the details lamented the shallow fate between Song Qiao and Han Jinglian. They couldn't share a bed in life, and even in death, one was separated by fire and water, unable to be together.

Only the Zhu family's affairs could be considered to have a relatively good ending. "Drunken Beauty" reopened, and Zhu Qiaolian became engaged to a scholar from the same city, taking over the rouge shop's business. Zhu Fangqing, on the other hand, spent her days at home grinding incense. Before long, "Drunken Beauty" launched a new rouge product, and the shop's business gradually flourished.

Having sorted out all the old matters, Zhan Yun was pondering these things while holding his teacup when he heard Duan Chen across from him speak softly: "I originally agreed with Senior Xiao and Brother Jiang to set off together today. Would you like to come with us?"

Zhan Yun blinked in disbelief, then nodded repeatedly. He had been rushing all this way, packing his bags and heading to Qingxi Town as soon as the first month of the lunar calendar, all so he could be with Duan Chen! Zhan Yun never considered himself to be against good fortune, and now that the beauty had taken the initiative to invite him, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

The door creaked open, and Mr. Xiao yawned as he stepped across the threshold: "Young man, are you heading south or north? Once we leave Qingxi Town, we'll all be going in different directions."

Duan Chen lowered his eyes and took a sip of strong tea, his lips slightly pursed. Zhan Yun was slightly taken aback, then smiled gently and respectfully: "Whichever way you and Chen'er go, I will follow."

Author's Note: This chapter serves as a transition and conclusion. There's more to the Hangzhou case than meets the eye; we'll return later.

This serves as an explanation of the previous two cases and also lays the groundwork for what follows.

This volume primarily focuses on the story of Duan Chen and Zhan Yun. The main events involving Zhao Ting and Zhou Yufei will take place in the next volume.

The novel "Snow Falls on Cloud Pavilion" will be quite long, and the initial estimate is that there will be around seven or eight cases.

If you're interested, take your time reading. Don't rush, I'll explain everything I've set up before, bit by bit.

Thank you all for coming this far with me.

55

Chapter Two: The Fifteenth Night • Bitterwater Town...

In fact, Duan Chen was heading north to Bianjing. Xiao Changqing had already agreed to follow Duan Chen to solve cases, so he didn't care where they went. Although Zhan Yun had already decided to go with the two of them, he was still a little surprised when he heard where they were going. Then he remembered that he had met Duan Chen in the capital at this time last year, so he guessed that there must be some reason for this, and he felt relieved and went along with them.

After bidding farewell to Jiang Cheng and Chu Hui at the town entrance, Duan Chen and his companions boarded a carriage and headed towards Huainan Road. Zhan Yun's chestnut horse was used to pull the carriage, and since the three of them didn't have much luggage, the carriage traveled quite swiftly.

More than ten days passed in this way. It was mid-February, a time when spring was in full bloom and all things were reviving. The setting sun slowly sank below the horizon, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of new leaves sprouting and green grass budding. Xiao Changqing dangled his legs outside the carriage, biting into a sesame shortbread, and squinted at the distance ahead.

Duan Chen bent down, lifted the curtain, and glanced at the sky: "It looks like we won't be able to get there before dark."

Xiao Changqing smiled and took another big bite of the pastry, saying somewhat indistinctly, "It doesn't matter that it's dark. Mmm... this pastry is really delicious. Little Duan, would you like to try one? I have some more here..."

Duan Chen shook his head and went back into the car. Zhan Yun was sitting opposite him with a slight smile: "Tired of sitting? Judging from the current, we should arrive in about half an hour."

Duan Chen nodded: "Kushui Town is just ahead. Once we get off the main road in town, we can travel much faster."

Zhan Yun smiled and said in a clear, warm voice, "I travel between Bianjing and Suzhou every year, but I've never actually taken this route before."

"This road was only completed a little over a year ago. When I walked this road this time last year, it was much more difficult to walk than it is now." Duan Chen lowered his phoenix eyes and smiled slightly, as if he had stirred up some memories.

"What?" Zhan Yun asked, somewhat curious.

Duan Chen smiled slightly: "It's nothing. You'll find out when the time comes."

Hearing this, Zhan Yun didn't press further. His expression remained calm and composed, but inwardly he was overjoyed. Over the past few days, the atmosphere between the two had gradually eased, and they were slowly becoming able to chat like friends. Although the conversations mostly revolved around the scenery of their journeys, and sometimes, with Xiao Changqing's participation, the three of them would share their own strange and unusual stories, Zhan Yun sensed that Duan Chen was no longer as wary of her as before. Duan Chen's words just now seemed more like a playful joke with a close friend; this gradual improvement was something he hadn't dared to anticipate.

In reality, although Duan Chen is usually aloof and doesn't talk much, she's not an unapproachable person. However, because of her past, she has to keep her distance from ordinary people. In addition, Zhao Ting and the other two are intricately connected to her past, so when facing them, Duan Chen is not only colder than usual, but sometimes even seems a bit unapproachable.

After what happened at Wanliu Manor, and with Xiao Yiyi's repeated, intentional and unintentional persuasion after returning to the mountain, Duan Chen gradually came to terms with things. Since he would inevitably meet these three again in the future, he might as well be more open-minded and treat them as ordinary friends. As long as he maintained a proper distance and didn't get too involved with them, he wouldn't be going against his original intentions and could avoid bringing trouble upon himself.

With this in mind, Duan Chen was naturally much gentler than before when facing Zhan Yun. In addition, with Xiao Changqing making jokes and banter beside him, the three of them chatted and laughed along the way, enjoying themselves quite a bit.

As the carriage entered the town, a bright, clear moon hung high in the treetops. The dappled shadows on the moon were clearly visible, and not a single star could be seen in the pitch-black night sky. The once tranquil town was now eerily quiet; not a single light could be seen. Passing two inns, both doors were tightly shut, and there was no one to answer them. There were also no pedestrians on the road.

The three traveled a little further, the clatter of hooves and the sound of cart wheels rolling over stone slabs echoing eerily clearly in the darkness. The curtains were already rolled up, and the three sat inside the carriage looking out, their expressions grave. Duan Chen frowned and said softly, "Something's not right. Even a curfew wouldn't be like this."

Xiao Changqing stroked his chin and nodded, then lowered his voice and said, "It's like a dead town."

As the two were talking, Zhan Yun leaped out of the car and lunged toward a street corner. Immediately afterward, an extremely piercing scream was heard, followed by a series of trembling, incoherent pleas for mercy: "Please, please... Heaven, heaven, ghost... great sir... help me!"

Duan Chen and Xiao Changqing quickly got out of the car and rushed over. The man, who had been kneeling on the ground, almost out of his mind, was begging for mercy and kowtowing repeatedly without raising his head. Zhan Yun could barely hold him and couldn't stop him. Seeing this, Xiao Changqing smiled and, taking advantage of the man's repeated kowtowing, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him up, teasingly saying, "Little brother, snap out of it!"

When the man was pulled up with great force, he was already half-frozen with fear. Upon hearing this, he shakily looked up, glanced at Xiao Changqing, then at Duan Chen, and finally mustered his courage to look at Zhan Yun, who had been standing in front of him from the beginning. He suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh my goodness! Are you just passing through? My God, come with me, come with me! You can't stay on this road! Hurry, hurry, my goodness, I thought I was going to die today..." The young man patted his chest and muttered to himself as he pulled Duan Chen toward the alley.

The three exchanged a glance. Duan Chen and Xiao Changqing stood still, while Zhan Yun quickly ran back to the car, grabbed their bags, and then followed the man deeper into the dark alley.

After walking through a maze of turns for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the young man arrived at a house. He knocked lightly on the door a few times, three times quickly and one time slowly, pausing briefly before repeating the same pattern. Soon, a middle-aged man's voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

The young man said, "It's me, Awen."

The sound of the latch being removed came from inside, and then the wooden door was opened. The person inside was taken aback when he saw Duan Chen and the others, then stepped aside and said in a low voice, "Come in quickly."

Once inside, the three discovered that an oil lamp was actually lit, but the windows were covered with a thick layer of black cloth, so from the outside, there was no light at all, as if no one was there.

After carefully latching the door, the middle-aged man turned around and glared at Awen: "What's wrong with you! What are you doing wandering around outside so late at night? Don't you want to live?"

The young man called Awen replied with a pained expression, "I didn't want this either, Dr. Xia! It's just that the Lin family girl is sick. She's had a high fever since this evening. We were planning to get through tonight and come to see you first thing tomorrow morning. But she's been vomiting nonstop since just now, almost bringing up bile. She's a widow and her child, and we're all neighbors. I can't just stand by and watch her die!"

The middle-aged man's face darkened, and after a moment's hesitation, he spoke, "Then you can't go back tonight either." Seeing Ah Wen open his mouth to argue, the doctor surnamed Xia waved his hand, then turned to Duan Chen and the other two: "May I ask who these gentlemen are..."