Wei Ci glanced at Lu Zheng and started laughing. “You are cold despite the fact that you hugged the charcoal brazier to fall asleep?”

Lu Zheng came from a line of hunters and had traveled up and down mountains since he was young… Why was his body so afraid of the cold?

“I have been afraid of the cold since I was young… Of course I am freezing…” Lu Zheng mumbled softly. He wished he could live in the charcoal brazier.

Why else would he have been so fearful of the cold if it was not for the fact that he had experienced it firsthand? His feet and hands had nearly been frozen.

After Wei Ci heard his explanation, he was momentarily silent; he looked like he was reminiscing on the past.

Others knew him to be the legitimate son of the Wei family. Unbeknownst to them, he had experienced a dark phase in his life where he lived in isolation. When the cold descended, his room became as cold as an ice house. During the winter, he did not even know where the charcoal was and could only snuggle under his blanket fearfully. Now that he was grown, his intense fear of the cold was at the core of his being.

How did it improve thereafter?

“Zixiao, why are your extremities so cold? Come, Zhen will reluctantly hug you.”

He was cold like a block of ice while someone else was a fiery, walking stove all year round.

Wei Ci thought of that and color came back to his cheeks. It was not obvious, as the horse carriage was sufficiently warm within.

“Wear another layer of clothing. Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold…?” Wei Ci whispered to no one in particular. He had lost his interest in his reading.

Lu Zheng lifted his head and suddenly became happy. “Zixiao is the best. He cares for his brothers.”

Saying that, he opened Wei Ci’s suitcase. A thick furry white coat was placed neatly at the top, a painting laid on top of it.

Wei Ci was speechless.

Lu Zheng said, “This coat, made of rabbit fur, seems warm. Let me wear it for a while. This painting, eh, is a sight to behold and Zixiao is indeed talented.”

“Lu Shaoyin, get down!”

Lu Zheng was confused. Even then, he knew he touched something he was not supposed to. He clung to the door of the carriage.

“No, I will not get down! Wei Zixiao, you heartless person, if you refuse to take me in, I will freeze to death. If I die, I will visit and talk to you in your dreams…” Lu Zheng shouted at the top of his voice, as if he was killing a pig.

He had a stance of, “I will go all out if you chased me away.” That caused Wei Ci to almost collapse in anger.

He once vowed to stand by through thick and thin, despite a siege for half a year or lack of rations. Lu Shaoyin, who would never bow under pressure, was only capable of that?

Wei Ci was very doubtful. Lu Shaoyin, who handed ten consecutive proposals, spoke against Emperor Chen. Lu Shaoyin, who committed martyrdom at the last moment, was not the person before his eyes.

The sound proof system in the carriage was not ideal, and Lu Zheng had a booming voice––so much so that the carriages around them could hear the commotion.

Han Yu heard the commotion and laughed. “Zixiao, what did you do that angered god and men so much that they called you heartless?”

Wei Ci was exasperated, but he was a person of integrity and did not explain himself. Lu Zheng, on the other hand, was a shameless person and disregarded etiquette. He stretched his head out of the window and said, “Zixiao is at the age of marriage. He saw what was not meant for his eyes and wants to silence someone. Can Wen Bin please take me in for a few days?”

Han Yu laughed and said, “Don’t take him in. If Zixiao is bent on silence, no one can protect him.”

Jiang Pengji came back after a run and frowned upon hearing their idle talk. “Isn’t it just one or two Bihuo paintings? Why are you so shy about it?”

When they heard that, Lu Zheng leaned on the window of the carriage and laughed while Wei Ci’s face turned pale. It had never crossed his mind that Lu Zheng, whom he seldom interacted with, had such a vile personality.

Lu Zheng knew his limits and specialized in the ability to read situations. He saw that Wei Ci was genuinely angry and instinctively raised his hand and coughed softly.

“Pardon me, Zixiao. This is truly due to my impulsiveness and lack of manners… The joke has gone too far. Please be magnanimous and forgive me.”

Wei Ci said with a stoic face, “Don’t let this happen again.”

After Lu Zheng heard that, he immediately felt alive and his blood returned. He eyed the painting with anticipation.

Before paper came to pass, scholars and literate people often used quality cloth as their base, thereby pouring ink to paint. The improved version of bamboo paper slowly led to the use of paper, giving rise to the use of the paper painting scroll.

Lu Zheng knew of Wei Ci’s multiple talents early on. There was a rumor in Langye that he was a genius from the previous dynasty––the reincarnation of Langye Huangfu. His literary talent was comparable to Master Yuanjing. Given a few years, he could even excel and outshine him… But rumors were just rumors.

In Lu Zheng’s eyes, Master Yuanjing was like an unattainable mountain. What did Wei Ci do to deserve to have such reputation?

After he saw the content of Wei Ci’s own painting, he was somewhat convinced.

In the painting, a lady was asleep and laying on a flower. It looked so real it was as if she would open her tipsy eyes any moment. Wei Ci was in a bad mood, otherwise Lu Zheng would have used his hand to test if Wei Ci was breathing and if the people within the painting were alive.

The lady was dressed boldly. Her sleeves covered half her arms, revealing her snow white wrists. Her skirt was only long enough to cover her calf. She wore two silver rings around her ankle, and her soles rested on the flower petals where the beauty slept. The red paint appeared even more red than normal, which made the white appear whiter in contrast. The painting caused one’s heart to flutter.

“This person looks familiar,” Lu Zheng muttered while looking at the person’s face.

Wei Ci took the painting scroll from his hands and rolled it up meticulously. “Your vision is dimmed.” Wei Ci pulled the luggage of clothes towards himself and packed the cloak, which went from the top to the bottom of the luggage. The painting scroll was well hidden.

Lu Zheng was speechless.

The Wei Ci before him, compared to the infamous, well-regarded Wei Langjun, was starkly different. However, with such talents, if he went to draw the Bihuo painting, that scene would truly have been unbearable.

Even if it was not about the Bihuo painting, it was bold to draw such a theme. Maybe Wei Ci was not an honorable person. Coincidentally, Wei Ci also felt that Lu Zheng and the Lu Shaoyin in her memories wee worlds apart.

They had strong tacit between each other.

“I may have met a fake Lu Shaoyin––Wei Zixiao.”

******

After more than half day of sojourn, the servant started the fire and cooked. The horse carriages formed a circle around an empty plot of land and blocked the wind.

Jiang Pengji asked the System privately, “Where is Meng Heng? If you do not tell me the location, how am I to save him?”

System said, “Don’t be anxious, he is coming soon.”

Not long after, three campfires were set up, and some people who resisted the snow and wind were walking towards them from afar.

Jiang Pengji was still on the horse and said, “I will go check. We’ve no idea if they are friends or foes.”

They left the vicinity of Shangjing. It was not peaceful outside. They could have easily met robbers or people who were robbed.

Based on careful considerations, they allowed Jiang Pengji to scout.

“Who is there up in front?” Jiang Pengji intercepted the horse.

There were three people in front. Based on their clothes, there was one servant and two guards.

The person dressed as a servant bowed respectfully before Jiang Pengji and said, “Your servant is the page boy serving the Meng county chief Da Langjun. The road ahead is uneven and the snow is slippery. The cartwheel on our horse carriage is damaged. What is the best option now? Seeing the campfire, he presumptuously wanted me to seek help.”

Jiang Pengji frowned and asked in return, saying, “The Meng county chief Da Langjun? Is that Meng Heng?”

The servant said, “That is the county chief I work for.”

Jiang Pengji’s stoic face became somewhat warmer. She said, “Such a coincidence! My father is Liu She from Hejian. Speaking of family ties, Meng Heng is my older cousin. Where is he now? I will go look.”

The servant was troubled when he heard of the prestigious name Liu She, but he heaved a sigh of relief when Jiang Pengji unexpectedly admitted to their family relationship. Meng Heng was Liu Xi’s older cousin based on blood relation, even if the Liu’s of Hejian County and the Meng’s of Cang Prefecture were at odds.