Early the next morning, Xia Yunhe took up his pen and wrote one letter after another to his mother. When the sun went down, he couldn't write any satisfactory letters.
When I was upset, I simply dug out some old copybooks I had written and burned them together with the discarded letters I had written in the morning.
The flames licked the pine smoke and ink stains, and the room was gradually filled with the refreshing fragrance of rosin. Zhenniang lifted the curtain, and she was surprised again, "Sir, why did you burn what you wrote? What a pity, it is so good. Character."
Okay? She stared at the elegant and handsome calligraphy disappearing in the fire little by little. In her previous life, she showed her sharpness and made bold reforms along the way. She confronted the ministers tit for tat and refused to give in. The handwriting was also sharp and stretched, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, pointing straight into the sky. However, someone with ulterior motives used her handwriting to forge letters indicating her collaboration with the enemy and treason.
Suddenly, she remembered Mr. Enlightenment from Jiangnan, who taught her to keep her edge in writing and be as calm as water. "Practicing calligraphy is like practicing one's nature, combining hardness and softness, making it smooth and accessible. Ayun's sharpness is too exposed."
Later, in Zhao Prison, his fingers rotted and he could no longer lift the pen or write. As soon as he started writing, he felt melancholy for a moment.
Holding the poker and quietly playing with the paper, watching it turn into ashes bit by bit, Zhenniang considered it beside her and said, "Master, I always feel that you are different from usual."
Xia Yunhe was wearing a pearl gray piping robe, with a circle of fine white fluff around the collar and cuffs. Even though the fire was on, her lips were pale and her hands and feet were cold. When she heard this, she paused slightly in stirring the charcoal with the tongs.
Zhenniang thought for a while and then said to herself: "If His Majesty the Seventh Highness cannot teach you well, let's discuss it with His Majesty and find someone else to teach you. Seeing the young master like this makes me feel uncomfortable. Madam asked me to take care of the young master. I hope that the young master will teach you every day." Smile more and don't be too busy doing things all the time. The adults in the court are very scheming and we can't figure them out, so let's just rest and let them play with themselves."
Xia Yunhe coughed twice, and Zhenniang shouted, "Sir, you haven't taken the medicine. Madam has told you to eat three meals a day, which is indispensable."
After that, he raised the curtain and went out. Not long after, he brought a bowl of dark soup and continued, "I went out this morning and bought old hens, as well as mountain mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots, pecans, dried dates, hawthorns, and persimmons." , various kinds of preserved fruits, fried crispy bean skins, salty ham from Chuncheng in the south, purple rice noodles, soft and glutinous roasted bait cubes, I’ll make something delicious for you today.”
Xia Yunhe rubbed his dry eyes, fearing that Zhenniang would forget the important matter, so he quickly asked, "Zhenniang, have you gone to see the Third Master?"
"I've gone, but Third Master isn't here. I asked someone and they said he was out delivering goods."
"When will you be back?"
"Say after noon."
She rubbed the ebony fingers on her left hand, feeling worried in her heart. Ten years ago, Ye BuZhou disappeared after her father left. Ten years later, could she, the sudden "head of the family", still be able to order Ye BuZhou?
Speaking of Ye Bushou, it was first established by her great-grandfather Xia Wushang in the border town, responsible for collecting, transmitting and analyzing information about the Beirong enemy. After years of development, it became a mysterious intelligence organization in Chu State.
Later, under the leadership of her grandfather Xia Can, she joined the imperial court, and then the family moved to Jiangnan when her father was young, until her generation.
Historically, only the Emperor of Chu knew about it. He told Emperor Hui that watching Xia Yunhe grow up was also based on his reliance on the Xia family's intelligence organization.
However, in recent years, Emperor Hehui has intentionally absorbed the Xia family's intelligence organization and established his own secret agent. It has not been activated for ten years, and now I don't know how many people are left.
While she was frowning and thinking, Zhen Niang stood in front of her with the medicine in her hands. She watched her drink the medicine with a smile on her face. She took out a few candied fruits like a magic trick and stuffed them into her hands. She said, "The owner of the preserved fruit shop." Seeing that I bought a lot, I gave some new products as gifts for you to try."
Xia Yunhe laughed dumbly, gathered his thoughts, and asked Zhenniang to cook early. After deciding to eat, he went to Fu San's shop in person to see whether he succeeded or not. In his previous life, he died at the age of twenty-nine. In this life, he was only eight years away from twenty-nine, not to mention that Beirong invaded Xanadu ten years after his death in his previous life.
Mountains and rivers are shattered, and people suffer. Looking up, glitz becomes a prelude to desolation.
My mind was restless, and my breath was stuck in my chest, neither rising nor falling.
She lifted the curtain and left the house, rubbing her hands to breathe. The white breath she exhaled quickly dissipated in the air. The clear light reflected the snow. The walls were piled with shiny white snow. The black chimney on the roof of the house rolled out clouds of smoke. Four light brown Speckled sparrows crowded in a row on the dry part of the roof, chirping. Zhenniang threw two handfuls of millet casually, and several birds gathered around the door of the hut to grab food. Some of the more courageous ones jumped into the house to peck at the leftovers. Zhen Niang waved her hand away.
A rare day of warm sunshine.
With her mind at ease, she picked up a candied fruit from her hand, put it in her mouth and chewed it repeatedly until the taste was completely gone. She exhaled heavily through her nose and took out a letter from her sleeve. She read the letter from her mother and kept it in her chest. He hugged her for a while, thinking about the news from Zhao Prison in his previous life, his eyes turned red, and he murmured to himself, "Mother."
The world is precious, and this life is always enough.
She clenched her fists. She had never used Ye Bu Shu in her previous life, and she had to hold it in her hands in this life. Even if it existed in name only, she had to revitalize it.
Zhenniang saw her standing in the courtyard crying, shouting in the hut, "Master, please don't stand outside and cry. I miss my wife. Why don't you bring her back next spring? Master is already weak, crying like this will hurt your body." ah."
Seeing Zhen Niang holding a spatula and eager to chase her away, Xia Yunhe quickly wiped his tears and walked into the house holding the corner of his clothes.
There was still ink left on the stone inkstone on the desk, and the slender pen holder was resting on it. The pen was slightly tilted, ready to go. She picked up another candied fruit and ate it. She thought about it carefully, exhaled slowly, and put the pen on the letterhead. Leave a few lines behind.
"Everything is as usual with my son. It's just that it's cold in the north. I can't take good care of my father's relics. I hope that there will be more wood wax oil at home so that I can take care of him at all times. I hope my mother will not worry, take care of her body, and work hard to eat more. I feel sorry for my writing, and I am writing this letter. Confused."
Ayun bows down.
The handwriting is elegant and elegant, and the mood is peaceful.
After lunch, there was snow in the air, and a cold wind blew on the street. After a while, there were only a few people left on the road. In front of Mr. Fu's grocery store, a horse-drawn cart slowly stopped and drove The man was a strong and burly man. He jumped out of the car in two steps, held the horse by the bit, and guided the white-eared black horse to the backyard.
Xia Yunhe was sitting on the second floor of the Bafang Tea House facing the street. She could just see Mr. Fu's shop opposite. She had already waited for two sticks of incense. When she saw Mr. Fu driving back, she quickly paid for the tea and lifted up her robe. Go straight to the grocery store.
Fu San's real name is unknown. The reason why he is called Fu San is not because he is ranked third, but because he has a black mole on his right cheek with three thick beards on the mole. He looks like a matchmaker, so he is ridiculed and nicknamed "Fu San". Unexpectedly, he turned out to be a bloody man, generous with his wealth, and dared to fight four or five water bandits alone to save his employer's goods. From then on, everyone respectfully called him "Master Fu".
Later, Xia Yunhe left his hometown, said goodbye to everyone, went to Shangdu to take the exam, and won the top prize. He accidentally bumped into Fu San on the street and learned that he had saved money and came to Shangdu to make a living.
Two years later, he has really made a name for himself in the West City.
Xia Yunhe was still wearing the white fox fur cloak from yesterday. When Fu San opened the door, he respectfully shouted, "Master Fu, business is booming."
The man looked back at her, was stunned for a long time, suddenly realized, and said "ouch" several times, while removing the door panel, he said, "Rare visitor, rare visitor, it's been a long time since I last saw you. How come you have time to come to my place today?"
While talking, he introduced her into the house and saw a small house of less than twenty square meters. There were piles of large and small bags, and the shelves were filled with all kinds of groceries. Fu San pried open the window, and a ray of light came into the house. Following the light, Xia Yunhe saw Dust was flying everywhere, my nose was twitching, and I could smell a faint bitter smell in the air.
Fu San lit up the fire, wiped the tables and chairs, and asked her to sit down. He smiled shyly and said, "Just make do with it. The shop is small and there is a lot of dust. Your white clothes will get stained in a while. Don't worry." I mind, but it’s best to turn your clothes inside out to protect your face.”
Xia Yunhe followed the instructions and protected the fox fur by his side. He took off the ring finger of his left hand and put it on the table. He smiled and said, "Third Master, this is why I came today."
Fu San's expression changed slightly, he blinked, and the three thick beards on his cheeks trembled. He looked up at Xia Yunhe and clicked his tongue, "What do you mean?"
Hearing the hesitation in his words, Xia Yunhe had an ominous premonition in his heart, but he looked calm and asked straight to the point, "How many people are left without closing the night?"
Fu San sighed slightly, his face stiff, "Well, it's been ten years, so we've been somewhat disconnected, I can't tell."
"Can't you tell?" Xia Yunhe smiled and said nothing, put on his thumb ring, and said in a low but loud voice, "Third Master, please find time to check up on the current situation of the night. My mother sponsored you to go to Beijing, so she didn't ask you to come. Selling contraband items like 'Returning Incense'."
She pointed at the three tightly wrapped pieces of tobacco on the top of the shelf, rolled up her sleeves, "People say that the Xia family does not harvest at night, and the Beirong are afraid and hateful. Now that the world is at peace, there is no war in the country, and they do not harvest at night. Most of them are ordinary people with special skills, and there are many who are living in poverty like the third master. As the head of the family, the Xia family naturally has to consider everyone. Ten years ago, my father died suddenly, and I was forced to stop running at night. Now I am twenty One of them should be tidied up and tidied up, and the rest should be kept at night. The old, weak, sick and disabled should be cared for and managed as they should be. I have to give everyone an explanation."
A trace of surprise flashed across Fu San's eyes, and he opened his mouth slightly for a while. He scratched the three beards on his cheeks with rough fingers and forced a smile, "Since you said that, I'll think of a way to see how many people I can contact. . In fact, Ye Buwei... Twenty years ago, he was still active in the border fortress, and was often sent to detect the movements of Bei Rong cavalry. After being discovered, few people could escape, and their noses and hearts were picked out by Bei Rong. "
"After the border army was lucky enough to receive the news about Ye Buzuan, they went out to hunt for more than a hundred miles. In the end, they could only recover half of the mutilated corpse of Ye Buzuan. Now there is peace. The old family leader passed away ten years ago, and there is no one to take care of it. The night harvest will gradually stagnate. The old lady has often subsidized the night harvest over the years, but in the end the effect is very little. You are willing to take on this responsibility and consider the brothers. Fu San is willing to be driven by the new head of the family. But..."
He looked embarrassed, glanced at the tobacco on the shelf, and pointed, "Can we not let the old lady know about this?"
Xia Yunhe nodded in agreement. When she took the exam, Fu San had already come to Xanadu. She saw it. On the day when the top three were parading on horseback, Fu San pretended to meet by chance, but she did not reveal it. Her mother didn't want her to get involved and had been working hard for ten years. She understood, but this time was different from the past. This time, it was her turn to protect the Xia family.
One is a letter to her mother, the other is to come to Fu, and the third is to report to Emperor Hui when she enters the palace tomorrow. With these three moves, she must make the "Ye Bu Shu" who was frightened by Beirong hear the news come back to life. .
