As Christmas approaches, the City Hall gets even busier. To maintain order or prevent crimes, complaints will increase even in the civil service sector.
The conclusion was that Karenin was busy again.
The weather did not pity the men too much because of their busyness, but it was even worse.
On the street, the cold north wind blew the branches of the trees.
During the day, there were quite a lot of people, but at night, the night covered the entire Petersburg, and the whole city seemed to be torn apart, half quiet and half noisy.
Anna left the fireplace and stood by the window for a long time.
"You have been standing for a long time, ma'am," said Annushka, holding the blanket in her hand.
"With such a strong wind, it seems that the carriage will be blown away." Anna said with some concern.
"Maybe sir won't be back tonight, he said when he left this morning."
Anna looked away and smiled slightly.
"Maybe."
Knowing that she was still worried, Annushka sighed inwardly and let Anna go to eat first.
The doctor said that the wife should eat less and more meals now, and the husband also told him to strictly implement it, so Anushka dared not miss it once.
Sitting at the dining table, Anna chewed the food carefully.
She's getting a little pregnant now.
The morning sickness didn't bother her for too long, and if it wasn't for the slightly distended belly, she wouldn't even feel that she was pregnant.
As she ate, her mind moved.
After a while, she raised her head and frowned: "It seems to be raining."
Anushka took a closer look: "It's raining, and it's raining heavily."
"It could snow," she added.
After Anna heard this, she ate even more absent-mindedly.
*****************************
government hall.
Karenin pressed the space between his eyebrows.
Seeing this, Sludin got up and brought him a cup of hot tea, then sat down again.
"It seems a little cold." He said suddenly, and couldn't help rubbing his arms.
Sludin actually likes sweaters, which are thick and soft, but his status prevents him from wearing them during working hours. His face was already youthful, and after giving up these armed costumes, he became more like a fresh graduate.
He looked at his boss with deep eyes, clear lines, a stern attitude, and a little envy.
"Master Karenin may not have been young, that's great." He thought quietly.
Karenin on the opposite side didn't know.
Although he was always clever and wise, he sometimes did not give serious thought to Mr. Srudding's occasional wild ideas.
He didn't drink the cup of tea right away, but watched and thought for a while, and after a while, he took out his gold pocket watch and glanced at it.
"It seems to be snowing."
He heard Srudin say this.
Karenin frowned. He stood up, stretched his long legs, and walked to the window in just two or three steps.
On some dark nights, there are heavy snowflakes flying like cotton wool, mixed with the whistling north wind. With such a large amount of snow, it is not difficult to imagine where the road snow will go tomorrow.
"I don't know if I can go back." Sludin muttered to himself, shrinking his neck unconsciously, as if the snowflakes had already penetrated into his body.
Karenin glanced at the documents on the desk next to him, there were not many.
He hesitated.
According to his habit, these must be dealt with today. However, he took another look at the heavy snow outside the window, and then he made a decision.
"Come here today," he said. He was a little surprised to see Srudin's round eyes, but after a while, he nodded in understanding.
"The snow will get bigger and bigger later, so you can stay nearby for one night."
Sludin agreed without hesitation. He lives far away, and as a bachelor, he doesn't need to worry about who is waiting for him at home, or in other words, such a place where he just sleeps, what is it worth for him to risk a certain amount of risk to go back in such a heavy snow day? go home.
"I'll do the final tidying up, you go back first." Sludin said proactively.
Karenin nodded, he explained a few more words, and then left the office quickly.
Peter drove the carriage over, and then left the city hall with his husband.
*************************
The snow seems to be bigger.
Anna was wrapped in a thick champagne dressing gown.
She sat on the recliner, and the book in her hand did not turn over that page for a long time.
She was a little worried.
The clock in the living room dutifully struck the time. It was already eight o'clock, and sleepiness swept over Anna.
She stroked her slightly pregnant abdomen, wanted to hold on for a while, but felt bad, so she was a little hesitant.
Finally, with a sigh, she told herself that she was now not just a wife but a mother to an unborn child.
Put down the books and keep worries to a minimum. She walked to the side of the big bed, lifted the quilt and lay down in it, as if she fell asleep soon.
In a daze, I heard a little noise, and was awakened suddenly.
She opened her eyes, her pupils widened in fear, and not long after, she lifted the quilt, wrapped her nightgown, and went downstairs as steadily as possible.
The servant on duty yawned, and when he opened his eyes, he saw his wife coming down the stairs and woke up instantly.
"What's the matter with you?" He hurried forward and asked.
Anna was taken aback when she heard the servant's question.
She looked at the door, her hands still on the escalator, she didn't know whether she was relieved or still worried.
She calmed down and asked, "Did you come back, sir?"
"Not yet, ma'am, it's already ten o'clock," he said halfway through, looking out of the window, and then continued, "It's snowing so heavily, sir, I'm afraid you won't be back today."
Anna nodded. She felt that the servant's words were correct, but for some reason, she always felt a little uneasy.
The servant seemed to see Anna's worry, and he grinned.
"Mr. will be fine. There have been several times before, and the snow is even bigger than today. Mister just came back after resting next to the city hall for one night."
"Yes." Anna smiled.
She paused for a moment, then lifted her foot and turned, intending to go upstairs.
At this time, the door was opened, and the hall ran in and ran out after a while.
Anna turned around again when she heard the voice, as if her heart was torn by something, she walked down the remaining few steps of the stairs.
At the dark doorway, some snowflakes took the opportunity to get in. As soon as they hit the ground, they dropped their bodies, and soon turned into snow water, making the small area at the doorway slippery.
Anna's pace slowed.
She was very anxious, as if she knew something, but the sense of responsibility as a mother made her have to ensure her own safety.
The servant on duty also saw the slippery ground, looked at Anna with some fear, and was relieved to see that Anna was fine.
Just as he was about to say something, several figures had already come from the yard.
No need to guess to know who that is.
However, the gentleman who always liked to come in with a fixed number of steps walked slowly, and the hall beside him followed closely, as if he was worried about something.
"Alexis!" cried Anna.
As soon as the sound landed, the figure had already stepped into the doorway, wrapped in wind and snow.
Anna's eyes fell on Karenin's face, his face was a little pale, and Karenin's eyes were a little damaged, and his forehead was swollen even higher.
Just when Anna wanted to walk over quickly, Karenin had already taken a step ahead, almost running over.
He held Anna by the arm, as if she was the one who was hurt.
"You're hurt!" Anna said, her hands had instinctively grasped Karenin's arm, but subconsciously let go. She saw that he was hurt, and was afraid of hurting him, but Karenin held her left hand.
"It's not serious, it just looks kind of scary."
As he spoke, he glanced down at the door, and then quickly ordered the servants.
"The ground is too wet and slippery, close the door and clean it up."
"Yes, sir." The servant replied quickly.
"Do you want to find a doctor for you?" the servant asked.
Karenin shook his head: "It's snowing too much, we'll talk about it tomorrow." After he finished speaking, he turned his attention to Anna, who was raising her hand, looking to make sure his face was serious.
"The snow was a bit heavy, the road was slippery, and I accidentally hit the door handle of the carriage." He said simply and quickly.
"I have to deal with it a little bit, I'll get the medicine box." Anna said distressedly, wanting to get the medicine box, but Karenin stopped her.
"Anna, the medicine box is in the bedroom." He reminded.
Anna belatedly realized that she had done a stupid thing. Before she could think about it, she just nodded and wanted to take Karenin's hand and lead him up.
"No hurry," Karenin said in a low voice.
"But..." Anna was a little at a loss, her heart was beating a little fast, she didn't know if she was pregnant or something, she felt a little dizzy, and she wanted to say something, but her mind seemed to be stuck. At this moment, she was gently pulled into an embrace.
"It's nothing serious, Anna."
Karenin comforted him softly.
Anna took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
"I'm fine," she said.
Karenin let go, he wanted to hold Anna, but she took his hand faster, as if she was the stronger one.
"We'll go to the bedroom to give you some medicine, and we'll have the doctor come over to show you tomorrow."
After she finished speaking to Karenin, she told the servant that he would go to the kitchen to boil an egg and bring it with gauze.
After she finished speaking, she took Karenin's hand and tried her best to make every step steady before moving forward.
*************************************
Inside the bedroom.
The candlelight was so quiet that it seemed unaware that snowflakes were flying wantonly outside.
The wound at the corner of the eye was healed. Anna sat on the chair and rubbed the bruise for Karenin with a peeled egg.
"It's kind of funny," she said suddenly, and then she laughed.
Karenin did not subconsciously go to the mirror to look at himself like ordinary people when he heard this, but raised his hand and held Anna's hand.
"It's nothing serious, Anna."
"I know." Anna's smile suddenly subsided, and her voice was low.
"Sorry, I'm just a little worried," she added in the middle of her sentence, "I've been a little worried recently."
"Is it because I'm pregnant that I rushed back?"
Karenin neither nodded nor shook his head.
He took the egg from Anna and put it on the table.
"Although the snow is heavy, I expect it will take some time." He said, "You haven't slept well during this period, and sometimes you kick the quilt at night. The doctor said that the body temperature of a pregnant person will be higher."
Anna froze for a moment, she had no idea that she kicked the quilt when she slept recently, anyway, when she woke up in the morning, she was snuggled up under the quilt.
"You've done well, Anna," Karenin continued.
Seeing that the person in front of her was a little puzzled, he raised his hand and gently smoothed out some messy hair for her.
Rubbing her cheek with a slightly cool finger, she felt numb and itchy.
"That slippery floor," he reminded.
Anna smiled and put her fingers on the back of Karenin's hand.
"I'm going to be a mother." She said with a hint of pride.
"Yes." Karenin also smiled lowly.
After a while, Mrs. Karenin's unique smile resounded in the bedroom.
"It looks silly."
"I'm injured."
"It was really funny, and I'll never forget it in my life."
After a while, a helpless voice sounded.
"Will the swelling go down tomorrow?"
"No, but it won't be so funny."
The wind and snow are still wanton, although it is not Christmas, but in this kind of day, some hearts just seem to be warmer.