"Qingshan, go buy some cloud paper and come back and buy some soft silk."
Zhao Qingshan was stunned for a moment, then thought of something, and the tea almost burned his tongue: "Master, that is paper, how could you, how could you give it to a woman?"
Although Zhao Qingshan thinks Mrs. Xiao is very good, she is just paper!
"Why can't it be used?" Zhou Xuyi said sternly: "This paper can be used by you literati to write on, so it can also be used by Mrs. Xiao."
"I think if the paper could talk, I'd love to give it to Mrs. Xiao. Come on, stop talking and go!"
Zhao Qingshan listened to the rogue lord's words, threw away his sleeves and left: "My lord, your heart is too biased towards Mrs. Xiao." Those words were simply illogical.
The study door was closed.
Zhou Xu took out a golden nanmu box from under the desk and opened it. It contained Mrs. Xiao's pearl earrings, a jade bracelet, and several washed dark brown cloth strips.
Zhou Xu looked at the cloth, his mouth dry: "How can you hide such a thing as partiality?"
He just wanted the best for Mrs. Xiao.
Besides, he didn't want to hide it.
Chapter 29
The fifth day of May, Dragon Boat Festival.
Every household in Taiyang County has mugwort woven into human shapes and a bunch of garlic hanging under the eaves. There are grass arrows made of calamus hanging under the door. Those who can afford it also have a clear heart mirror on the lintel, which has the same purpose as above. , are used to ward off evil spirits during the Dragon Boat Festival. In recent years, due to the popularity of hairpins in Chang'an, many gentlemen and ladies in Taiyang County will wear all kinds of flowers on their heads, including peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, lilacs, azaleas and pomegranates, regardless of the flower type. Wearing it, it seems that this way can also be tainted with some of the romantic atmosphere of the Chang'an gentry.
Dou Mansion is no exception.
The camellias and peonies in the garden of the mansion were in full bloom. Xiao Luolan sat in the pavilion and took out the silk thread from the lacquer plate and carefully weaved it. The silk thread had five colors in total, blue, white, green, red, and yellow. It is bright and colorful. She has already made a longevity thread on her hand. Wearing the five-color longevity thread on the Dragon Boat Festival has the meaning of blessing a long life.
In another lacquer tray, there were various needlework scissors and some fresh-smelling angelica, lilac, and herbal medicine. There was a small piece of pink soft fine cloth embroidered with the Five Poisons stacked on the edge.
"Auntie." Xiao Qingxue ran over with a flower in her hand and the hem of her skirt. The orange-red Liuyan sunset skirt shone brightly in the sunlight. The girl's smile was like the bright sunshine that made Xiao Luolan stop. A smile appeared in my heart.
"Run slower." Xiao Luolan poured out a cup of tea and let her daughter take a sip first.
Xiao Qingxue sat on the stone bench in the small pavilion and drank the tea. She felt it was not cool enough, so she picked up a round fan to fan herself. When she saw the colorful threads on the table, her eyes lit up: "Mom, this is For me?"
"Yes." Xiao Luolan looked at her daughter with a smile and put down the silk thread in her hand: "Here, I will tie it for you."
Xiao Qingxue stretched out her hand happily, and Xiao Luolan tied the thread of longevity on her daughter's right arm.
"Mom, let me wear flowers for you. I saw many people wearing flowers." Xiao Qingxue inserted a peony flower she picked into her mother's bun: "It's so beautiful."
"Where have you been playing since I haven't seen you all morning?" Xiao Luolan poured her daughter another cup of tea. Seeing that she also had a peony on her head, and her whole body looked bright and bright, she smiled and said: " Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, I will sew a sachet for you later."
"Thank you, Mom." Xiao Qingxue saw that there was no one around the pavilion, so she hugged her mother's arm intimately. Seeing that there were many things on the lacquer plate, she asked, "Is this what Mrs. Dou gave us?"
"No, I asked Fang Yun to buy it yesterday with money. She said that there are matching Dragon Boat Festival sachets and these threads sold outside. I thought it would be good to make them myself." Xiao Luolan braided the threads. Said: "You haven't answered what I did all morning?"
"Fang Yun and I were making impatiens juice in Xinghuaju to dye our nails. We have already done it." Xiao Qingxue blinked and looked at her mother.
"Do you want mom to apply it for you?" Xiao Luolan guessed what her daughter was thinking right away. Her daughter loves beauty. She used to buy nail polish for fun during the summer vacation, and she helped apply it.
"Mom, you are so smart." Xiao Qingxue praised.
"Wait a minute, wait until mom has finished weaving this long-lasting thread." Xiao Luolan said when she saw that there was still a little bit left in her hand.
Xiao Qingxue did not urge her, she held her cheeks in her hands and looked at her mother. She suddenly came forward and asked quietly: "Mom, are we having a conflict with Sect Master Zhou?"
Xiao Luolan's hand in knitting thread stopped for a moment: "No, don't think about it."
Xiao Qingxue was lying on the table, playing with the lilac flowers in the lacquer tray with her hands, resting her head on her arms and tilting her head to look at her mother: "But you haven't taught Chang'an dialect for several days." She knew her mother's character, Although he is very gentle on the surface, he is responsible and stubborn in his heart. It is impossible to teach him well, so he gave up halfway. Ever since he came back from Shanshui Villa, Xiao Qingxue felt that her mother seemed to be avoiding that Zhou Zhou. Same as the patriarch.
"That's because Sect Leader Zhou learned very quickly and there is nothing left to teach." Xiao Luolan gently pinched her daughter's face: "I can't let others learn it already, so I'll go ahead."
Xiao Qingxue shook her head vigorously: "I won't go." She didn't want her mother to go.
"Besides, Sect Leader Zhou is also a busy man, so we'd better not disturb him too often." Xiao Luolan braided the silk thread and tied it into a knot.
Xiao Qingxue felt that what her mother said made sense. Someone like Sect Master Zhou who sat in the position of Jiedushi should indeed be very busy.
Back at Xinghua Residence, Xiao Luolan found that Fang Yun also had a few pink and white apricot flowers pinned to her hair, probably because she had eaten well. The little girl stood pretty under the apricot flowers, and she was very cute.
"Master, little lady, the flower juice has been prepared." Fang Yun bowed with her hands folded.
Xiao Luolan brought the little girl into the house. There was no need for her to do anything outside, so she could just stay inside and cool off.
She picked up the small white porcelain bowl and saw the bright red flower mud inside. There was also a very small spoon in the bowl, and there were several slender pieces of cloth on the table. As soon as Xiao Luolan saw the cloth, she remembered the scene in her room seven days ago. A small box suddenly appeared inside, filled with white paper and soft silk. Now the small box has been placed in the closet.
Xiao Luolan lowered his head and stopped thinking. He used a small spoon to scoop out a little flower mud and applied it evenly on her daughter's nails. After applying it, Fang Yun carefully wrapped the flower mud with cloth.
"Wait it overnight and then take it off tomorrow. It'll probably be fine." Xiao Qingxue moved her ten fingers wrapped into radishes. Seeing that her mother's hands were clean, she said, "Mommy, you should dye it too." have a look."
Xiao Luolan smiled and said, "Just dye it."
"Mrs. Xiao." Mrs. Dou came over with her maid Qiao Xin. As soon as she saw Madam Xiao's fingers, she said, "My daughter is really a pretty girl. After one night, her jade fingers will be stained with red pills and will kill pomegranate flowers."
Xiao Qingxue was embarrassed by the praise and her face turned red.
"Mrs. Dou, please come in quickly." Xiao Luolan invited Mrs. Dou into the house: "She just painted it for fun."
"I still have rose flower juice there, would you like it, Miss Xiao?" Mrs. Dou said.
Xiao Qingxue was blessed: "Thank you for your kindness, but I have already dyed it, so I don't need it."
Mrs. Dou said regretfully, "Okay." She looked at Mrs. Xiao and said, "Mrs. Xiao, there is a dragon boat competition in the county these days. Do you want to go and visit it?"
Xiao Luolan actually didn't really want to go. She didn't like to run out. She preferred to stay in one place.
Seeing Mrs. Xiao's hesitation, Mrs. Dou said understandingly: "It's okay if you don't go. There is a dragon boat race almost every Dragon Boat Festival. You can wait until next year to see it."
"Furthermore, something has happened in Taiyang County these days. I heard that Lord Jiedushi has caught his assassin."
Xiao Luolan and Xiao Qingxue looked at Madam Dou in unison. Have they caught the mastermind behind the scenes?
As soon as Mrs. Dou finished saying this while holding a round fan, she saw a maidservant running over and standing outside the door. She lowered her head and said, "Madam, the eldest husband is back."
Mrs. Dou was stunned for a moment. Her eldest son was back? Why didn't she receive any news at all?
Is he the elder brother whom County Magistrate Dou admires very much? According to him, he was very good at investigating cases, and Xiao Luolan found the image of this person from his memory.
In the central hall of the outer courtyard.
Dou Haitao looked at his eldest son as if he had seen a ghost, wondering why he came home and brought his boss, Judge Xu, with him. Dou Dalang looked at his father, knowing that the adults had something to talk about, he pulled his father out and left. .
Zhou Xu sat on the main seat and saw Xu Yunkun nodded slightly to him.
Xu Yunkun had gray temples and a thin face. His stern face was carved with deep wrinkles. His eyes were sunk deep into his eye sockets. His temperament was rather gloomy. When he saw his lord, he raised the corner of his mouth in a rare move: "I've already finished those seventeen years this time." I brought all the portraits of people.”
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Xu." Zhou Xu said, "We will have replicas of the portraits plastered all over the city tomorrow. This time we will try to scare away the trouble."
"The eldest son of the Li family has not returned for several days, and Grand Administrator Li has recently mobilized his own soldiers to secretly search for him for several days," Lei Shan said.
"Tell Yang Dong to keep an eye on the gate of Taiyang County and don't let anyone suspicious get out." Zhou Xu said to Lei Shan.
Lei Shan cupped his fists and responded: "Wei!"
Zhao Qingshan said: "As long as those seventeen assassins have lived in Taiyang County, it is impossible not to leave traces. We can increase the reward and mobilize people in the city to search. If there is accurate information, we can reward one tael of gold."
Zhou Xu nodded and said: "Let's do it like this, Lei Shan, when you go to notify Yang Dong, let Lei Bao and the others lead a team of elite cavalry to secretly monitor the Li Mansion, especially in the direction of the back house, and pay attention to epidemic prevention. The Dragon Boat Festival is now over. When mosquitoes breed, let the medical doctors in the county build a tablet with prescriptions for some common diseases directly engraved on it and place it at the city gate. Anyone who disobeys will be cut down."
After Zhou Xu finished speaking, he picked up the Zhang family's weapon collected two days ago. He held the white gun barrel with his thick palm. The copper diamond-shaped gun head was engraved with a small Zhang character.
"I heard that Fengche Captain Zhang Anping has a silver gun, which is known as the first weapon. I really want to see it if I have the chance."
Zhou Xu took the gun and prepared to play on the temporary martial arts training ground set up by the Dou family. When he walked to the second door, he saw Mrs. Xiao in the corridor in the distance. Separated by the many flowers, trees and stacks of light stones, Zhou Xu Xu could only see her and Mrs. Dou standing together, with peonies in their temples.
Zhou Xu walked to the martial arts training ground and took off his shirt, picked up the bow and arrow and shot a few times. The arrow hit the bullseye, and the white feather at the tail of the arrow trembled slightly. His face showed no emotion or anger, and then he used the president/gun and the heavy spear/rod. It moves like a poisonous snake in the hand, but every swing is like a huge force, as heavy as thunder, and powerful.
Under the hot summer sun.
Zhou Xu practiced for nearly an hour. He took the robe on the shelf, wiped the sweat from his face, and then walked out of the martial arts training ground with the black whip.
Bamboo building near the water.
Xiao Luolan was kneeling on the green mat writing.
She wrote very seriously, stopping to think about it from time to time before starting to write, so she didn't write quickly.
The breeze outside the lake blew through the blue gauze curtain, the window was opened, and the ripples of the lake were reflected on the wall of the study. There were lotus flowers picked by her daughter on the desk. Xiao Luolan recalled the meager rescue knowledge she had learned before, and the hand holding the pen After pausing, a black spot immediately appeared on the paper. She blew it with some pity. She didn't know what to do, but she couldn't do nothing. Xiao Luolan was very confused.
The bead curtain suddenly sounded, and Xiao Luolan raised her head and found that Sect Leader Zhou had arrived on the second floor at some point and was standing not far from her, leaning against the bookshelf.
Xiao Luolan put down the pen in his hand and said in surprise: "Sect Master Zhou, why are you here?"
Zhou Xu smiled, his hair still wet, and he sat directly opposite the desk: "Mrs. Xiao hasn't looked for me for several days, so I can only look for you."
When Xiao Luolan heard this, he curled up his hands, his mind was a little confused, and he stiffly changed the subject: "I, I heard that you caught the assassin."
"Not yet. If Mrs. Xiao wants to know, why don't you ask me in person." Zhou Xu stared at Mrs. Xiao: "If Mrs. Xiao asks me, I will definitely tell you."
Mrs. Xiao was stiff and did not dare to look at Sect Leader Zhou.
Zhou Xu looked at Mrs. Xiao. She was so beautiful today. There was no extra hairpin on her head, only a white jade hairpin and a peony flower. The peony flower was in full bloom, inserted diagonally on the temples, with layers of gorgeous petals. Falling down, the snowy skin glowed, and the starry eyes never looked at him.
"Is Mrs. Xiao hiding from me?" Zhou Xu's narrow eyes narrowed slightly.
How could Xiao Luolan admit it? She shook her head and her face turned red: "I didn't see Sect Leader Zhou a few days ago because I felt unwell."
"Is it because of menstruation?" Zhou Xu said frankly and openly: "But I have read in the book that women's menstruation ends in three or four days as quickly as it ends, and as slow as six or seven days."
Xiao Luolan suddenly raised his head and looked at Sect Master Zhou, completely unexpected that this man actually knew this.
"But now it's been nine days since that day."
"Why haven't Mrs. Xiao come to see me yet?"
Xiao Luolan's eyelashes trembled, feeling panic and fear.
Zhou Xu saw Mrs. Xiao trembling and timidly, so pitifully and cutely tight. He licked the tips of his teeth and reached out to hold Mrs. Xiao's wrist.
Xiao Luolan was startled and tried to pull out his hand, but failed.
Zhou Xu put a long life thread made of gold thread on Mrs. Xiao, and her snow-white wrist seemed to be glowing against the backdrop of the gold thread.
Zhou Xu looked at Mrs. Xiao with bottomless eyes, and suddenly plucked the peony flowers from Mrs. Xiao's temples.
Xiao Luolan's vision was mostly covered by peony, and then came the faint voice of Sect Master Zhou.
"Have a happy Dragon Boat Festival, and I wish my wife a long life."
