Annual Ceremony

Chapter 30 Summer Solstice (Part )

"I heard from Lord De yesterday that you were leaving today..." Chen Ningtian came in front of Wang Jie. His breathing was a little uneven due to the rapid journey, but he said without delay: "I guessed that you would come to say goodbye, so I claimed to be sick and did not go to class today, and waited for you to come!"

The girl was frank and straightforward, her slightly red eyes were full of reluctance, but she still smiled and said: "Luckily I caught up with you, otherwise today's illness would have been in vain!"

Looking at those eyes, Wang Jie slightly retracted his fingers that were half-hidden in his sleeves, looking a little struggling and a little helpless.

Chen Ningtian asked him hopefully, "Will you... come to Jilin again?"

Wang Jie nodded slightly, but his tone was firm: "Yes."

"That's good!" Chen Ningtian smiled with relief: "I'll wait for you!"

Wang Jie nodded again: "Okay."

He has always been restrained and polite. This "OK" was a great response to Chen Ningtian. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes, and she finally had the courage to reach out to Wang Jie: "Then take this. I'm afraid you won't keep your word!"

Wang Jie looked at it and saw it was a white jade pendant carved into the shape of a rabbit.

Chen Ningtian seemed to be born in the Year of the Rabbit. Wang Jie looked at this rabbit and felt that it looked very much like her, lively and smart, pure and clear.

Reason and courtesy told Wang Jie that he should not accept the jade pendant when everything was still uncertain.

"If you don't like it anymore, you can throw it away!" Chen Ningtian handed it to him again. His tone sounded relaxed, but his slender fingers were trembling slightly with nervousness.

"I won't lose it." Wang Jie finally took it. This might be the most extraordinary thing he had done in the 19 years since he was born. He held the jade pendant in his hand and said, "I will do well in the exam, and you remember to take care of yourself."

If he could pass the imperial examination, he would be a good match for her, and he would try his best.

The young man in blue got on the car and left the place that made him so worried.

This year, during the Grain in Ear season, looking around the fields, there were no wheat awns to be seen and there was no land to plant.

Due to the severe drought, the grass and trees turned yellow, the earth cracked, and the fields were covered with scars.

What Wang Zhefu was most worried about happened. This drought not only caused the winter wheat harvest to fail, but also cut off the possibility of summer sowing. This meant that farmers would have no food to harvest for the entire year, and the time when they would really face hunger was yet to come.

No matter how desperate the people are, the summer solstice still arrives as scheduled.

Zhi means extreme.

The arrival of the summer solstice means that the daytime is stretched to the longest. The scorching sun hangs high in the sky for a long time without setting, burning the scarred earth as well as the pessimistic people's hearts.

On the winter solstice, people offer sacrifices to heaven, and on the summer solstice, people offer sacrifices to earth. The disaster in Jilin was reported to Beijing via Shengjing. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Qianlong led hundreds of Manchu and Han officials to the Temple of Earth to offer sacrifices and pray for rain on the summer solstice.

The relief grain has been allocated, but after being distributed through so many levels, by the time it reaches the hands of the people, it can only guarantee the most basic survival needs.

Some people suffered from hunger and illness due to the disaster, while others enriched themselves because of the disaster. Looking at this prosperous dynasty, it seemed that there was nothing new wherever the sun reached.

The children of the military households no longer went to school, and there was rarely any harmonious laughter around. Juzi squatted on the wall and often saw villagers wearing old cloth towels on their heads, carrying bamboo baskets, and leading their children to beg in the city. Some of them would not return for several days, and some people would return, but the children they were leading were gone, and there were more dry swords and grain in the baskets.

A fortune teller passed by the village, and the starving villagers still pooled together some money and asked the fortune teller when it would rain.

When Orange saw the fortune teller, who was clearly pretending to be blind, pinched his fingers, sighed and said that this was a disaster that would occur once every 500 years, and there might be a severe drought for three years.

On the spot, people burst into panic and cried. After receiving advice from the fortune teller, they began to burn incense, candles and paper, kowtow to the heaven and earth, and cry for rain from God.

On this day, Juzi saw many people gathering together to burn incense and paper and kneel down to pray to the gods for rain. There was a Taoist priest performing a ritual at the entrance of the village. He held a peach wood sword in his hand and muttered unclear words in high and low pitch, as if he was afraid that someone would hear him.

At the instruction of the Taoist priest, the people kowtowed and offered "virtue money".

Juzi, who was hanging on the wall, suddenly heard the door of the main room being pushed open. He turned around and saw Wang Zhefu, who had not gotten out of bed for a long time, staggering out with a crutch.

He was dressed in a gray and white long gown, with silver-white braids hanging behind his head. His face was stern, and there was a bit of the air of an official that Orange had never seen before, that air was upright, stubborn, and sharp.

Wang Zhefu walked out of the house, ignoring Qisheng's dissuasion behind him, came in front of the crowd, waved the crutch in his hand, and knocked over the copper basin where the talisman paper was burning.

The copper basin fell off the incense table, and the broken and fragmented talisman paper ashes flew everywhere. The people screamed and glared in shock.

There will be a great epidemic after the disaster. The immortal master said that as long as they take the ashes of the burnt talisman paper back home and drink it, they can be free from all diseases... But they spent a lot of money!
Some people knelt down and rushed over, quickly picking up the broken pieces of talisman paper on the ground with their hands. Many people rushed forward to grab them: "...I also paid money!"

Wang Zhefu was still angrily scolding the Taoist for being a charlatan who was trying to defraud people of their money, but no one listened to him.

Those people no longer looked at Wang Zhefu with respect, but with hatred and contempt, as if they were looking at an enemy or a madman. Some people began to angrily curse Wang Zhefu as a thief and a criminal, while others swore that Wang Zhefu had committed corruption and murder and was an unforgivable dog official.

Upon hearing that Wang Zhefu was guilty, the Taoist who looked like an immortal watched the public outrage coldly.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, someone swung a wooden stick to hit Wang Zhefu. They wanted to take Wang Zhefu to apologize to the gods in heaven. Qisheng resisted anxiously and fearfully. Juzi also ran over and protected Wang Zhefu in the chaotic crowd.

"--stop!"

Old Mrs. Dong’s powerful voice came.

Today, Mrs. Dong went to the Chen family to do some work. Zhenyi returned home with her grandmother. Seeing this scene, she rushed into the crowd, regardless of Tao'er's attempts to stop her, and stood in front of her grandfather with her arms outstretched, shouting, "My grandfather did nothing wrong, and no one is allowed to hurt him!"

Zhenyi's eyes were red as she stared at the man holding the stick without any fear.

She recognized this man. He had recently sold his daughter to a wealthy family in the city as a slave. She was Zhenyi's playmate.

They sold their children in exchange for food and money, which they then used to worship the Taoist and the gods he had created.

"Everyone, listen to me!" Old Mrs. Dong stood with a cane and spoke word by word, "It's because he's sick and confused. I hope you guys will give me some face and don't argue with this lunatic!"

The old lady had the aura of an old lady from an official family, and behind her was a servant from the Chen family. Many villagers calmed down, knowing that Wang Zhefu was not so easy to kill, and that Wang Zhefu had indeed been ill for a long time. Some people remembered his past kindness, and the old lady's worldly wisdom was impeccable. Almost every household had received her care and favors, big or small.

A soldier who had been treated by Wang Xichen frowned and said, "Old lady, we have always respected you two! Since Mr. Wang is sick and confused, take him home immediately! Stop talking nonsense. If you contradict the gods, you will be punished by heaven! This will hurt others and yourself!"

"We can't let him go like this!"

"What do we do with the spilled talisman paper?"

"..."

Old Lady Dong asked Mother Zhuo to go home quickly and get some change, which barely made those people give in. They reluctantly put down the sticks and hoes in their hands, but the spitting and cursing did not stop.

Zhenyi's eyes were filled with tears of resentment: "Grandmother, they..."

Mrs. Dong grabbed her granddaughter's wrist and said firmly, "Go home."

Zhuo's mother and Qisheng helped Wang Zhefu walk out of the crowd and the curses, and Juzi followed at the end.

When they returned home, Tao'er fearfully closed and bolted the gate, while Juzi squatted on the wall warily.

"...I think you are really crazy! You have lost your official status! Even if they beat you to death today, what will Deqing and I do!"

In the hall, Old Lady Dong questioned Wang Zhefu with hatred: "Don't you know why you have ended up in this situation... and you actually thought that you only need to deal with that mere Taoist priest?"

"You think they are poor, deceived people, and they think you are a damn lunatic and a sinner!"

It was the first time that Zhenyi heard her grandmother speak so loudly. On that hot summer day, Zhenyi stood by the door, feeling cold all over.

"That's why we have to make them realize their mistake!" Grandfather finally spoke, and for the first time he raised his voice like this: "My enemy will never be these people, but the ignorance that binds them!"

What he wanted to destroy in the past was not the temple, but ignorance!
What he wanted to build was not a school, but a sword to kill ignorance!
"Is this something you can do alone?" Mrs. Dong leaned her cane heavily on the ground and said, "Did you do it?"

Wang Zhefu's thin body was still straight, but his old eyes trembled.

"Or did I bring Deqing all the way from Jinling to this barren land where I have no relatives, just to watch you persist in your delusion and to be buried with you again and again?"

Mrs. Dong's voice suddenly dropped, tears flashed in her eyes, the hand holding the cane trembled slightly, and the voice of gritting teeth trembled: "Wang Jinyan, you are going to die now, you are going to die, why can't you change..."

Wang Zhefu, who was supported and sat in the chair, closed his dry eyes weakly, and finally slowly bent his back decadently, like a bunch of dead grass on the edge of a crack in a dry land.

That night, Zhenyi could not sleep all night. Her mind kept thinking about the confrontation between her grandparents, as well as the hateful looks and curses from those people who had suddenly become strangers during the day.

When the sky outside the window brightened early, Zhenyi suddenly realized that she had not heard her grandfather cough all night.

Zhenyi hurriedly got up, dressed, and went out. Juzi, who had been guarding her all night and was just beginning to doze off, was awakened by Zhenyi's movements and quickly jumped off the bed to follow her.

　Second update, good afternoon, thank you all for your monthly tickets, rewards, and messages.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)