Xiao Luolan checked and sealed those things one by one, and left the alchemy room with her daughter.
She did not go to the front hall, but sat on the threshold of the alchemy room.
Xiao Qingxue leaned against her mother, Xiao Luolan stroked her daughter's hair, and after a while she whispered softly: "I'll do it with you."
Xiao Qingxue raised her head, and the relaxed smile on her face gradually disappeared. She bit her lip. In fact, if she wanted to, the proportions would have been settled long ago. She has so many parts, and it is easy to want anything now.
But why did she hesitate to move for so long? Xiao Qingxue finally realized that she was afraid, she was afraid.
Xiao Qingxue held her mother's hand tightly, as if drawing strength.
Xiao Luolan held her daughter in her arms and gently stroked her back.
Xiao Qingxue hugged her mother tightly, feeling so weak for the first time.
Chapter 111 (revision)
"Blessings and blessings are immeasurable."
Xiaoyaozi bowed his head slightly, held a fly whisk, and said to the little master and the general's wife who were about to leave: "It's lucky that the little master extended a helping hand to me and the boy to avoid the bad luck of freezing to death on the roadside in winter. It's a pity that I don't have anything else." , only the art of alchemy has caught my eye. I heard the news that the two of you were coming here, so I specially refined the peach blossom beauty elixir. I hope that the young master and the general’s wife will accept it."
After that, the little Taoist boy picked up a wooden box and opened it. What he saw were two white porcelain jars. A pink peach blossom was painted on the outside of the white porcelain jar, which was quite spring-like.
Xiao Qingxue took it, opened the jar and smelled it. It was filled with the fragrance of flowers. The pellets in the white porcelain jar were round and piled together. She closed the jar and said politely: "Then I will accept it."
Xiaoyaozi stroked his snow-white beard and said with a smile, "I am so happy for a poor Taoist."
He and the Taoist boy sent the two nobles to their home at the foot of the mountain before stopping.
Xiaoyaozi looked at the young master who was riding away and the wife of Youzhou Jiedushi who was leaving in the carriage. She puffed up her yellow sleeves. The old Taoist priest closed his eyes and calmed down.
"Master, what are you doing?" The Taoist boy raised his head and looked at the master who had his eyes closed in confusion: "The noble man has left, we should go back."
Xiaoyaozi took the Taoist boy back to the backyard of the dilapidated Taoist temple.
The little Taoist boy accepted his fate and picked up a broom to sweep. At the same time, he muttered: "Master, this is the worst house we have ever lived in. There were mice in the house I slept in, which scared me to death."
The little Taoist boy swept the thin snow between the bricks and glanced at the lonely vegetable bed next to him. He couldn't hide the depression in his heart and said again: "Master, in order to fight against Master Kongming, you have to go to this place without shit." Although Buddhism is prosperous in Heshuo County, we Taoists can still make a living. You are a good temple owner and sold out the Taoist temple. You have been giving money all the way to the north. If you hadn't met To the kind-hearted Miss Xiao, I’m afraid you and I will really freeze to death.”
Xiaoyaozi, who was meditating, opened his eyes, looked at the spider webs under the eaves, shook his head and said with a smile: "Little Taoist boy, how ridiculous."
The little Taoist boy's face turned red with anger: "Master!"
Xiaoyaozi looked around, then nodded and said: "This is the real Jinyu Temple."
He stood up, looked at his youngest disciple and said with his hands behind his back: "I said you were ignorant, do you still think it was wronged?"
The little Taoist boy curled his lips: "Master, you are bullying people." He hugged the broom in his hand tightly, and tears instantly came out: "You know, I just don't want to leave He Shuo's Shangqing Temple, we are as bad as before ?"
Xiaoyaozi waved to the little Taoist boy to come forward. The Taoist boy wiped his tears and walked to the master's side.
Xiaoyaozi patted Tao Tong's head gently. Along the way, the youngest disciple suffered the most. Thinking of this, his tone couldn't help but feel a little pity: "Silly disciple, Hexi is already in chaos."
"Since the first half of the year, the governor of Heshuo County has been replaced by Dai Chenggong. Who knows about Dai Chenggong?" Xiaoyaozi looked at his ignorant apprentice and said sadly: "It doesn't matter if you don't know. You just need to know that he is You Chenggong." Not only that, the upper echelons of Yingqiu, Yingcheng, Shouchun, and Anyi in Hexi Province all had transfers of personnel and generals, especially the Anyi generals. It is said that Gao Zhi, the governor of Hexi Province, regarded them as Stabbed on the head, killed, demoted, many people have died."
"Our new governor in Hexi is not like his father. He is suspicious and selfish, but he has no ability. When Mr. Gao was here, nothing happened in the nine counties of Hexi in such a short period of time. With so many personnel transfers, half of Hexi has now fallen into the hands of Zhou Youzhou, and Hexi is about to be eaten away."
"What does the old grudge between me and Mr. Kongming mean?" Xiaoyaozi stroked his beard: "Zhou Youzhou went to Heshuo to find Mr. Kongming and said that he wanted to study Buddhism, but Mr. Kongming and I knew each other well. In fact, Zhou Youzhou just had a cup of tea with Kong Ming, but Kong Ming, in order to subsidize his temple, shamelessly said that Zhou Youzhou and him studied Buddhist scriptures all night long."
The little Taoist boy sobbed: "I know you still remember that Master Jieduzhi went to Master Kongming instead of your Taoist temple, and you are angry."
Xiaoyaozi's smile froze, and he pinched his disciple's ear directly: "Unfilial disciple, did you listen carefully to what I said earlier?"
The little Taoist boy was so painful that tears came out again: "Listen, Master!"
Xiaoyaozi put down his hands and returned to his masterly manner. He sat down on the futon and said to himself: "This is also God's will. God's will allowed me to meet Mrs. Xiao and the wife of Youzhou Jiedushi. "
The little Taoist boy timidly said: "This is not God's will. You have made me go without eating for several days in order to collapse on the roadside where Miss Xiao passed by. You have also been on a hunger strike for two days. You don't have to worry about Miss Xiao and just leave." Are we really starving to death?"
"However, Madam Xiao is so kind-hearted. After saving us, she even gave us a Taoist temple to live in." The little Taoist boy was quite grateful to Madam Xiao.
"That's why I said it was God's will. God's will kept Miss Xiao from leaving and saved us." Xiaoyaozi straightened his robes and said to the Taoist boy.
"Believe it or not, Jiang Da and the others around Miss Xiao have already investigated our identities clearly. The philanthropic people who came all the way north have finally given me a bit of a reputation, so it is not difficult to find out our identities and whereabouts. .”
"And the Taoist disk that proved our identity is still in the hands of Young Master Zhou and has not been returned to us." Xiaoyaozi looked at the tiles in the front hall from a distance: "If Young Master Zhou finds out that there is something suspicious about our identity. "
Xiaoyaozi looked at the stunned little Taoist boy and smiled slightly: "Guess, are we still alive now?"
The little Taoist boy shuddered, and suddenly thought of another question: "Then Master, did Madam Xiao's good friend also approach her on purpose?"
"I feel that Mrs. Xiao likes Mrs. Qi very much. Last time she took her to the Taoist temple to ask you for divination."
Xiaoyaozi closed his eyes and rested, and there seemed to be a smile on the corner of his mouth: "That little lady Qi drew a big lucky stick. I remember that all the sticks were put in the tube that day."
"It seems that Miss Xiao didn't tell Miss Qi her true identity." The little Taoist boy was confused: "Does Miss Qi know about it?"
"Did she approach Miss Xiao on purpose?"
"You said that Miss Qi doesn't know the identity of the young master, do you believe it?" Xiaoyaozi looked at the confused disciple and said with a smile, "You don't believe it."
"Actually, I don't believe it either, but it doesn't matter whether we believe it or not."
"As for whether she approached her intentionally." Xiaoyaozi paused: "According to the status of the young master, it is difficult for her to have people around her who she simply meets."
The little Taoist boy didn't understand. Is that true? He hesitated and asked, "Does Madam Xiao know that Madam Qi knows her identity?"
Xiaoyaozi closed his eyes again and said only one sentence.
"You should know." In the carriage, Xiao Qingxue was sitting opposite A Niang. When she heard A Niang's words, she swallowed the cake in her mouth: "I guess Qi Jiujiu has known my identity for a long time."
"After all, my outfit is so recognizable."
Xiao Qingxue touched the soft whip on her waist and said with a smile, "But if she doesn't tell me, I'll just pretend I don't know."
"We are good friends."
Chapter 112
Zheng Yuxin took back her spider, waited for the old and the young in the backyard to leave, then gently opened the door and went out. The room she was hiding in belonged to the little Taoist boy, and then climbed over the wall. Behind the hillside, He Jin held hands with Two horses. When she saw Zheng Yuxin, she would return the horses to her.
Zheng Yuxin told He Jin what Xiaoyaozi said, and he was obviously a little unhappy: "Isn't this old Taoist pretending to be pitiful to deceive Mrs. Xiao?"
"Since the young master has no objection, and Mrs. Xiao also wants to keep Xiaoyaozi as a retainer, you don't have to worry about it." He Jin was wearing a bamboo hat, and the wide brim covered most of his face. The voice was as non-smoky as ever.
"Yes." Zheng Yuxin said and frowned again: "I think Mrs. Xiao's handkerchief was probably trying to get close to her." She rubbed her face vigorously, feeling that she just loved worrying, but the young master also He didn't stop Mrs. Xiao from making friends. She must have investigated Miss Qi's family background.
"Come on, let's go take a look." Zheng Yuxin said, "It seems that the mistress is also going to visit Madam Qi's house."
He Jin had nothing to disagree with, and the two rode horses.
"I just saw the mistress and the others, but they were at the alchemy room. The distance was too far, and I couldn't hear clearly what the mistress and the others were talking about. However, the Taoist priest from He Shuo really seemed to have two brushes. Looks like that." Zheng Yuxin glanced at the monk: "You are a monk, do you know about the Taoist Peach Blossom Beauty Pill?"
He Jin said to Amitabha: "Taoist elixirs have always been better than Buddhism, and the female crowns in Taoism are good at the art of beautifying and preserving beauty. It is not surprising that Xiaoyaozi, as the master of the temple, can refine beauty elixirs. I guess it should be various It’s made from a mixture of precious medicinal materials and various petals.”
The two of them followed Lei's retinue from a distance.
The afternoon sun was shining high, and a touch of warmth fell from the sky.
A black carriage stopped next to an old tree outside the village ten miles south of the city.
Lei Hu tied up the carriage and looked around. This place no longer belongs to the inner city of Langge. It is not even the outer city. It is just a small village outside the city. More than twenty of Lei's retinues got off their horses and put their hands on their waists. The Youzhou knife made a clattering sound.
"Qi Jiujiu's family lives behind the bamboo forest." Xiao Qingxue also got off the carriage and pointed in a direction to her mother-in-law.
Xiao Luolan followed her gesture and saw clusters of houses in Shili Village, with a thin sliver of green looming under the mountain in the distance.
"We're not going to ride horses, let's just walk, okay?" Xiao Qingxue looked at Auntie.
Xiao Luolan smiled and said: "Okay."
Xiao Qingxue looked at Lei's followers again, feeling a little embarrassed. The old Taoist priest's Taoist temple was not far from her manor, and her Six Hundred Steps lived in the manor. It was equivalent to the old Taoist priest living in her manor. Right under their noses, that's why Leihu, Leibao and the others were able to follow them from afar with confidence. Now outside, the Qi family is not a rich family. If all Leihu, Leibao and others followed them to the door, wouldn't the movement be too big?
Seeing her daughter in trouble, Xiao Luolan guessed what she was thinking. Xiao Luolan thought for a while, looked at Lei Hu and the others, and said, "Two Lei Langjuns, please come with us."
Lei Hu cupped his fists and raised his hands and responded loudly: "Wei!"
Lei Bao followed up and said: "I am willing to listen to the mistress's orders." After the mistress and the young master leave, just let the remaining dozen or so people secretly guard the outside of Qi's house.
Chun Hua and Xia He were carrying food boxes, while the other was holding cloth. Lei Hu and Lei Bao walked at the end.
Naturally, the country roads were not as smooth and clean as the stone slabs in the inner city of Langge. The weather was cold and the soil was frozen solid, making a clicking sound when walking on them. Such a group of people entering the village naturally attracted the attention of the villagers.
Following several dog barks, people in Shili Village came out of their houses one after another to watch the fun. The young lady in the leader was known to all the villagers in Shili Village. She was a distinguished guest of Mrs. Qi's family, but the woman beside her It's the first time I've seen him.
The villagers stared at the fairy-like woman with wide eyes. They waited until they were out of sight and then began to guess what the nobles were doing at Master Qi's house. However, the servants who were afraid of carrying knives did not dare to talk much.
"Are those private schools run by the Qi family?" Xiao Luolan noticed that there was a private school built in a good sunny place in the village, and then remembered that her daughter said that the Qi family was a family of scholars, so she asked.
"Yes, Qi Jiujiu has a good family. Her father was a scholar and set up a private school in the village. People in the village only need to pay a little money to study in his family's school." Xiao Qingxue is obviously not the first person. Once I came here, I took my mother-in-law with me to meet her good friend.
Walk through the bamboo forest.
With the Qi family in sight, Xiao Luolan saw a house similar to a small courtyard in Jiangnan. Red lanterns were swaying in front of the door and there were two stone lions under the steps.
Xiao Qingxue stepped forward and patted the copper ring.
The young man of the Qi family quickly opened the door, and was obviously stunned when he saw the nobles and the servants with swords at the bottom of the steps.
"I have an appointment with your young lady, and now I'm here to keep it." Xiao Qingxue said with a smile: "Go and announce that I'm here."
The boy went in hurriedly.
After a while, a cute little girl with a round face and a red dress appeared at the door.
"Qingxue! Why are you here?"
Qi Jiujiu greeted excitedly.
"Jiujiu."
Xiao Qingxue's smile became even bigger.
Xiao Luolan finally understood why her daughter had become good friends with Miss Qi so quickly. She looked at Miss Qi's round face and round eyes. She had two dimples when she smiled. She was an extremely flattering person. A little girl that people like.
She is very similar to her daughter's best friend in modern times, and is almost 70 percent similar.
When Xiao Luolan saw it at first, she thought she was mistaken. Not only did they look similar, but they also had similar personalities.
