The weather suddenly turned cooler in the second half of the night, with a howling north wind blowing around dawn and scattered snowflakes blowing down.
After dawn, the wind gradually became lighter, but the snow became heavier and heavier, from scattered light snow to heavy snow.
The heavy snow swept down in an overwhelming force, and soon there was a thick layer on the ground. The bare branches and the roofs and walls were also stained with snowy white.
In a small courtyard somewhere in Luoyang City, a girl of thirteen or fourteen was sitting in front of the window, frowning as she looked at the heavy snow filling the sky and the earth.
The girl's appearance is extremely beautiful, she is like a shining pearl, her eyes are like a pool of clear water, and her skin color is darker than snow.
Not only did the sadness not affect her appearance, but it neutralized the sharpness between her brows and eyes, making her a little more tender and beautiful.
"Hey." The young lady suddenly let out a long sigh, and the hot air came out of her red lips and turned into white mist when it met the cold air. For a moment, people mistakenly thought she was a fairy in the clouds.
Although the snow scene was beautiful, she was not in the mood to appreciate it at all, only worried.
It's so cold that I can't sleep even though I've covered myself with two quilts. What should I do if it snows heavily?
She couldn't help but think of the time when her father was still alive, even though he was under suspicion due to the late emperor's affairs and was sent to work in other places.
But that only kept them away from the center of power, without damaging the family's well-fed life.
Everything changed last year, when the Emperor passed away and his father died of illness due to excessive grief. The family completely lost their support.
What was even more tragic was that the two half-brothers humiliated the three of them, and did not allow the married eldest sister to visit her relatives.
Mrs. Yang was born into a top noble family, and even the warrior Yun was able to gain recognition from the nobles as a businessman because of her nepotism.
Naturally, she couldn't bear this anger, so she moved out of Wu Mansion with her second daughter Wu Shu and third daughter Wu Chang and came to live in her old house in Luoyang.
(There is no historical record of Wu Zetian’s maiden name, so here we have chosen one for her for plot purposes.)
Having lost her source of income, Mrs. Yang couldn't help but beg for help. The mother and daughter lived in poverty.
The meager savings were barely enough for food and clothing, and I couldn't afford to buy charcoal for heating, so I had to live on it.
Wu Shu originally liked snow scenery, but she was forced to change her preference. More than a year of hard life made her already extremely smart mature quickly.
She wanted to get married as early as possible. This was the fastest way to change the current situation, and she could also secretly subsidize her mother and sister.
However, things are far from that easy. Firstly, she cannot get married before the filial piety period has passed; secondly, her family cannot afford a dowry.
Marrying a daughter from a noble family is not that simple. The process of marriage is a process of showing off family background. The amount of dowry directly determines a woman's status in her husband's family.
Without a dowry, she might not be able to get married, or she might have to fill a house for someone else. She was worried every time she thought about this.
She was very scheming and began to think of ways to change this future, but the resources she could use were too few, and she only had looks and talent.
When everyone began to praise her beauty and talent, things like dowry became less important. In other words, sometimes name is the best dowry.
So she began to deliberately show off these two strengths. She was only thirteen years old that year.
First of all, the makeup. Before the filial piety period, she should not be too glamorous to impress her, but she also wanted others to discover her beauty, which really cost her a lot of thought.
Then she often showed up and participated in some cultural gatherings, temple fairs, etc. She would not deliberately express herself in front of others, and always said that three points are hidden and seven points are hidden, which actually gave her more reputation.
Her plan was successful, and soon everyone in Luoyang's elite circle knew that the appearance and behavior of a girl from the Wu family would suit their needs.
Many people came to propose marriage, but before the filial piety period passed, everything had to be postponed.
But no matter what, after some management, the situation she faced finally improved, and she was no longer so pessimistic about the future.
My mother is also much more cheerful. She took her sister to Baiyun Temple to offer incense early this morning.
Baiyun Temple is a newly opened Taoist temple. It is said that it was built after the Zixiao Temple of the old god Sun Zhenren. It has many gods in it and is very popular among the people.
They had been there for a while and thought they should come back.
Just when I thought of this, I suddenly heard a rapid knock on the door, and my sister Wu Chang's crying voice also sounded: "Sister, sister, open the door quickly, mother fell and was injured."
Wu Shu's expression changed, he got up and ran to open the door, where he saw his sister with tears streaming down her face and her unconscious mother who had been carried back using the door panel.
One of them took the initiative and said: "Ms. Wu, the old lady slipped and fell at the entrance of Baiyun Temple. She was unconscious but not injured at all. We didn't dare to move, so we could only help carry her back."
When things came to an end, Wu Shu was unusually calm and said politely: "Thank you everyone for your help. Can you please help me carry my mother into the house?"
The man said: "Mrs. Wu, you're too polite, but it's just a small effort."
So everyone carried Mrs. Yang to the room together, and Wu Shu took some of the remaining money and gave it to everyone as a reward.
"Thank you for your help. A little money for tea is not disrespectful, so please accept it."
Everyone accepted it after a few polite words, and also praised her performance.
Wu Shu had no time to be happy, so he sent everyone away and hurried back to find Wu Chang for details.
Things were different from what those people said, but they were not too different. When I came back from offering incense, I slipped while trying to avoid a carriage, hit my head on a tree, and passed out.
There were no external injuries, but the person was unconscious.
Wu Shu's heart sank when she heard this. She knew very well that invisible injuries were the most dangerous, especially to the head.
Not daring to delay, he quickly went to invite a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.
The doctor knew the identity of their family, and the down-and-out powerful people were also powerful people, but no one dared to administer the medicine.
A doctor couldn't resist her begging and paying a lot of money, so he prescribed a prescription to stabilize her condition, but the doctor also said bluntly:
"Mrs. Wu, it's not that we don't give the old lady medicine, it's just that we can't do anything. The old lady suffered internal injuries and a head injury. There are not many people in the world who can cure her."
Wu Shu said: "Sir, please tell me which famous doctors can cure my mother's disease. I will find him even if he is in the distance."
The doctor saw her determination, shook his head and said: "Hey, these famous doctors are either in the imperial hospital, or they are hiding from the world and are nowhere to be found. But there is one person who the lady must know, Zixiao Guansun Zhenren."
…
After sending the doctor away, Wu Shu immediately started taking action and took out all the things that could be sold at home.
Wu Chang said anxiously: "Sister, are we...really going to Chang'an?"
Wu Shu said with a determined expression: "What if I don't go to my mother?"
Wu Shudao: "But we don't know anyone in Beijing and we have no money, how can we live?"
Wu Shu looked up at the house and said: "This house can be sold for a lot of money, which is enough for us to spend some time. As for the residence, my father and mother have many old memories, and there should be someone willing to help."
"It's really not possible..." She paused here and said in a somewhat obscure tone: "We can stay overnight in a temple."
As Wu Zetian's sister, Wu Chang's IQ is not low. Even though she is still young, she knows that things will not be so easy. But as her sister said, what else can she do?
Wu Shu quickly sold the valuable items in her home, including the house. Some people tried to lower the price, but she did not admit the loss. Instead, she looked for contacts she had made in the past to sell them at the original price.
She knew that doing so would throw away the reputation she had accumulated before, but these things were already theirs. Every extra penny sold now would make it easier for them to work in Chang'an in the future.
She knew very clearly what to choose.
It took about four days to convert these things into money, and she hired a ship to carry her mother and sister on the road to Chang'an.
