Schemes of the Noble Households Chapter 43

Towards the end of December, a northerly wind swept in from the north, bringing several heavy snowfalls.

The further north you go, the colder the weather becomes. All the rivers, lakes and streams are frozen over, and the ground is frozen solid. When carriages and horses pass by on the road, the snow is compacted layer by layer, like permafrost.

The sky and the earth were all white, and the trees and houses were covered with ice and snow, as if they had merged into one with the sky and the earth.

In Xihe County, all the rivers that flowed around the fortress were frozen, and large sections of the river were covered with ice.

Ordinary ox carts and horse carriages passed across the river. The strong servants driving the carts waved their long whips, swinging out loud whip flowers one after another. The hot air exhaled from their mouths and noses condensed into white mist, hanging on their eyebrows and beards, and condensed into connected strings of snow crystals.