Xiping Prefecture has a large temperature difference between day and night. The weather is fine during the day, but it becomes extremely cold after the sun goes down. There are very few pedestrians on the streets.
Zhu Shang walked all the way back in the biting cold wind.
As soon as he entered the yard, he saw Hu Ling standing on the steps outside his house.
She stood upright, looking up at the sky, motionless.
She didn't look at him until he came closer.
Zhu Shang stepped forward quickly, held her hand tightly, raised it to breathe on her hand, and said, "What are you doing standing here in such a cold weather? Go inside."
Hu Ling stood here for a long time, and his hands and feet were numb from the cold.
She said nothing but nodded and followed Zhu Shang back to the house, which was a rare act of obedience.
After sitting down, Hu Ling hunched her shoulders and looked at Zhu Shang with bright eyes. She curled her lips and asked, "Beijiang, why is Li Deming looking for you today? He..."
The voice was full of dissatisfaction and disgust.
She always thought that Li Deming was not a good person, and she didn't like it every time Zhu Shang went to see him.
"It's nothing, just treat me to some meat, and then ask me some questions about the customs and customs of the Song Dynasty."
Zhu Shang said calmly and put his hand on Hu Ling's. However, his hand was as cold as ice and could not warm her, so he directly took her hand and stuffed it into his sleeve, letting her hold it. Hold your arms.
Hu Ling was about to pull out, but was stopped by Zhu Shang's eyes.
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Hu Ling laughed. She rolled her eyes and held his arm without being polite. The hand quickly warmed up.
"You were in such a hurry when you left. Not long after you left, a large number of guards appeared at the school grounds, insisting on sending us back. Just now, there were at least thirty martial arts masters hiding outside the courtyard. This has never happened before. How could it be okay? What happened?"
For more than an hour when Zhu Shang didn't come back, Hu Ling felt very panic in her heart, an unprecedented worry.
But she couldn't go out to look for him rashly. She didn't want to make things more chaotic because of her recklessness, so she stood in front of his door until he came back.
Fortunately, he came back before she wanted to go to find Li Deming with a whip at all costs.
Recalling what she had felt not long ago, her whole body was as cold as if she was in an ice cellar, and her whole body was trembling.
It seems like I'm about to get sick again.
She clearly felt that she wanted to use the whip to vent, just like in the past...
Zhu Shang noticed Hu Ling's change, hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.
He said gently and slowly: "I can't tell you this matter, but I don't want you to feel that you have been deceived and concealed, so I can only tell you that this matter is a favor that the officials asked me to do. Before leaving Beijing I wrote a letter to the official. There was a suggestion in the letter. Although it looked like a suggestion, he must have understood that it was a request. He accepted my suggestion and wrote back asking me to serve as an official in the court. I He refused the official offer, but he didn’t force it, but he also asked me to do him a favor, so I agreed, and now, I’m trying to complete what I promised the official offer.”
Although Zhu Shang's words were convoluted, Hu Ling understood them.
A few tears fell from her eyes.
She knew why he wrote to the officials.
He was trying to help her out.
But how could an official help someone for no reason? It would not be easy for him to ask Zhu Shang for help.
Otherwise, how could Zhu Shang not tell her what this matter was.
He had broken his oath and returned to the capital for her, gave up his wealth for her, came to this freezing place for her, and even promised to work for the officials for her.
But she didn't do anything for him, but instead hurt him so deeply.
Perhaps the only thing you can do is to protect yourself and stop hurting yourself.
Hu Ling knew that Xu Nuo had arranged for dead men to follow her. That night, she called out all the dead men and selected the two with the best martial arts among them to follow Zhu Shang. Whenever Zhu Shang went to see Li Deming, he must tell Li Deming immediately. she.
If he doesn't tell her, then she will find a way to find out.
Thirty or forty days later, Li Deming once again invited Zhu Shang to have dinner with him.
Zhu Shang did not refuse and went as requested.
This time, Li Deming dressed very formally and went out to greet Zhu Shang, who was more polite than when they first met.
After sitting down, Li Deming apologized to Zhu Shang and said sincerely: "Mr. Beijiang, I was drunk a few days ago and said some insincere words, which offended you. Please forgive me for the drunken nonsense." .”
"King Xiping said so." Zhu Shang stood up and saluted Li Deming.
"If you forgive me, why don't we drink this bowl of wine." Li Deming raised the bowl in his hand, stretched it forward, and drank it boldly. He held the empty bowl in his hand and looked directly at Zhu Shang.
Zhu Shang smiled lightly and drank a bowl of wine.
He noticed that Li Deming's reception for him this time was different from the past. In the past, the tableware was commonly used by the Song Dynasty, but this time it was replaced by the tableware used by the Dangxiang clan.
Although he did not have the manpower to gather information, he could already guess Li Deming's purpose today from Li Deming's behavior today.
The two talked about other things, and they had a very pleasant conversation, and it was obvious that they had settled their differences.
After a while, someone came in with a roasted whole lamb.
The red-hot stove and the half-cooked lamb were placed in front of their food tables. A man in Dangxiang costumes was grilling the meat while cutting off the roasted layer of meat and serving it to them on a large plate.
After dinner, Li Deming asked Zhu Shang to take several antiques for appreciation.
"Mr. Beijiang, some of these were left to me by my father, and some of them were found by me myself. It's just that I'm a vulgar person. I only think they look good, but I don't know whether they are high-quality objects and how much they are worth. Please excuse me. Let’s take a look.”
Li Deming was extremely polite, so polite that Zhu Shang decided that what was going to happen today was bigger than he expected.
The result of the appreciation satisfied Li Deming very much. He said: "I have admired Mr. for a long time. He is young, knows people well, and has great resourcefulness. However, I heard from friends in the Song Dynasty that Mr. does not want to be an official. It's true." Is it a waste of your talent to condescend to be my adviser?"
When Zhu Shang heard this, he laughed and said: "King Xiping, you overestimate Zhu. I only read a few books when I was young and did business for several years. How can I do what you do?" Where is his adviser?"
"Mr. Beijiang, don't be humble. I have become quite familiar with your talent and mind these days. If you agree, I will definitely give you the best life. Money and beauty will definitely satisfy you, and there are other things like this Antiquities, whatever you want, I will find it for you."
As Li Deming spoke, he pointed to the ancient objects he had just appreciated.
Zhu Shang did not expect that Li Deming would understand his preferences so well. The items presented to him for appreciation today were all antiquities that he had searched for at high prices in the past few years but had not found.
How did Li Deming find these ancient relics, and how did he know that these were things he had been thinking about for a long time?
