Ah Zhao seemed to be in disbelief. He didn't know whether it was because he was embarrassed or for some other reason, but he didn't call her mother again. He just sat up obediently, took two mouthfuls of fish fillet porridge, and then drank the whole bowl of medicine. After ordering two Xiaomingfu steamed buns and a bowl of porridge, he showed Lin Rong the clean bottom of the bowl and said, "I'm full."
Lin Rong hummed and touched her hair. It was sweaty and oily, and some of it was knotted. He told Kingfisher: "Go to the kitchen and bring some hot water, and I'll wash it for her."
Ah Zhao raised his head and asked, "But dad said that our Lu family's way of keeping healthy is not to touch water when we are sick."
Lin Rong snorted: "He can't do it himself?" Then he remembered Lu Shenlai, looked at Jade Bird, and listened to her reply: "County Master, I heard from the servant that Mr. Zhang came back from Jiangzhou in the evening. , invited the prince to talk, and also invited wine and food to come in, and the conversation seemed to be very pleasant."
Lin Rong became even more angry after hearing this. His daughter was ill and had a fever, but he had a good time chatting with others. It’s also hard to understand how he could have such a good conversation with a doctor. How could they have such a good conversation about anything?
Not long after, Lin Rong washed her daughter, dried her hair, and coaxed her to sleep. Kingfisher came in and replied: "County Master, Mr. Zhang ordered three more jars of wine. Isn't it good to drink like this? Shen Yan Just now, I asked my slave to come in and send a message, saying that the Lord is abstaining from drinking these days, should the County Master go and persuade him?"
Lin Rong just seemed not to hear anything and said, "Go to bed and don't mind these other things."
She tilted her head and slowly fanned her daughter. After all, she was tired, but she fell asleep within a quarter of an hour. At some point, I suddenly heard heavy footsteps outside, the door was pushed open with a creak, and then there was a thud and the sound of the embroidery stool falling to the ground. No one came in. It seemed that he fell drunk. There was no movement for a long time.
Lin Rong sat up and slightly opened the curtain. From such a distance, the smell of alcohol still floated over him, and he didn't know how much he drank. She sat and listened quietly for a while, but there seemed to be no sound of breathing, and there was still a faint smell of blood. In ancient times, spirits were limited, and alcohol poisoning was not common. After being drunk, there were many people who blocked their trachea with vomit and held their breath.
Lin Rong put on his clothes and stood up, holding a copper candlestick, opened the curtain and went outside. As soon as they walked around the screen, the smell of alcohol and blood became stronger and stronger. Three or five steps further, they saw Lu Shen lying on a spring couch, with his head down, and his whole body seemed to be pouting. He took a closer look. Even the chest seemed to have no rising and falling breathing.
Lin Rong hurriedly put down the candlestick, sat on the edge of the couch, stretched out his hand to straighten his head, and bent his fingers to feel for his breath. Suddenly, he saw Lu Shen slowly opening his eyes. The two looked at each other, and neither of them spoke.
Lin Rong's face darkened, and when he was about to get up, he asked Lu Shen to hold his fingertips, his eyes were like a deep cold pool, his voice was slightly drunken, and he sighed slightly: "I thought you wouldn't come out. "
He glanced at the copper candlestick on the side table and continued: "When I dreamed about you in the past, you were mostly like this now, holding a sapphire lotus candlestick in your hand, looking at me coolly, unwilling to agree. I speak. When I take one step forward, you take three steps back. By the time I catch up to the palace gate, you have already disappeared. I often think that you hate me and hate me so much that you refuse to say a word to me even in your dreams. talk."
Lu Shen paused, seemed a little embarrassed to speak, and whispered: "You told Azhao today that you were wrong. You shouldn't have left without telling her. I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Rong interrupted, stood up and was about to leave, saying calmly: "You are drunk." Then he said outside: "Come, call Shen Yan and help your master out."
There is no rule in this hospital for maids to stay on duty outside the door at night. Even Kingfisher has gone to rest, and all the people waiting outside the hospital are Lu Shen's people. Lin Rong was afraid of waking up her daughter, so she didn't dare to shout loudly. No one came forward to reply for a while, and they all just pretended not to hear.
Lin Rong screamed and held it tightly, unable to pull it out. He threw it away slightly, and Lu Shen was heard to take a breath of cold air. Blood oozed from his shoulders. After a while, the moon-white robe on his shoulders screamed. All dyed bright red.
Lin Rong stopped and stretched out his hand to open Lu Shen's clothes. He saw a three-inch long wound on his left shoulder, which had been sutured and bandaged. Only when Lin Rong shook off his hand did the wound open and was completely wet. Clothes.
Seeing her standing there, Lu Shen frowned slightly. Although he looked impatient, he stared at the wound on his shoulder with no intention of leaving. After all, there was half a step to go down, and said: "The wound on my shoulder It was originally an old injury, but in recent years, some sarcomas have gradually grown on the scar. Just now, Mr. Zhang invited me to talk, and I could tell this disease by taking a pulse. Mr. Zhang is a famous doctor in Jiangdong, and he is also good at trauma. He immediately took off the lancet he had with him, cut it for me, and cleaned up the wound."
As Lin Rong listened, his expression became more and more impatient, and finally scolded: "Nonsense!"
When Lin Rong said this nonsense, he was naturally referring to Mr. Zhang, who had a lot of self-control experience and often performed surgery on others outside. One thing is that you should not perform surgery at will. Even if you want to perform surgery, you must make a comprehensive assessment. The doctor drank wine and the patient drank wine, and they started operating the knife on the wine table. What does it look like? How can anyone do things like this?
But when Lu Shen heard it, it was obvious that the nonsense was talking about him. It was more of annoyance than a rebuke. He sensed a hint of intimacy and let out an ooh.
Seeing his incomprehensible ouch, Lin Rong glanced at him strangely, and while leaning down to peel off the blood-stained gauze, he said angrily: "You drank too much and your brain is black?"
The two of them had been talking to each other last night, one didn't want to talk to them, the other was angry, and they parted on bad terms. Lu Shenku sat there all night, and finally had to admit that in terms of love, he had no weight in her relationship. Without Ah Zhao, it would be difficult to even speak calmly. He couldn't help but feel self-deprecating. It was the emperor's skill to manipulate people's hearts. Why did he say such ridiculous things when he saw her?
Four years ago, in a fit of rage, he could divorce his wife and drive her away. Four years later, he finally understood what he wanted. If he insists on being tough, it will only make her depressed and resentful of herself for the rest of her life; if she insists on being soft, it will only follow her wishes and ask her to stay in this small village and never return to Luoyang. Only by applying both kindness and power, soft and hard, can there be a glimmer of hope.
After thinking about it all night last night, although he made up his mind to temporarily submit to Xiao Zuo, he was used to being the only one in the world. Since he ascended the throne in Luoyang, his prestige has grown day by day, so he was not used to it. Lu Shen just remained silent for a while.
Mr. Zhang was quite fond of wine, and drinking would make things worse. The wound was not well sutured, and the proliferated granulation tissue was not cut clean. Lin Rong became angry when he saw it, but did not intend to take care of it. He picked up the towel in the copper basin next to him. Zi wiped his hands: "Didn't you bring the imperial doctor? Go out and ask him to sew you up again." After saying that, he went to the inner room with his hands on the tent.
Lu Shenhu said: "I will leave tomorrow and set off for Jiangzhou. Jiangzhou embezzled taxes and autumn grain from Taiping, Zhenjiang, Jiangzhou and other places, and should have paid 5.27 million shi. Because Jiangzhou is …The period of mourning was reduced to four million. Last year, the governor of Jiangzhou only handed over two million stones. I sent Guo Huaizhong from the Ministry of Household Affairs to check, but he fell seriously ill in just three days."
Lin Rong heard what he meant and stood there, waiting for his next words.
Lu Shen, however, stopped talking and sat there, taking out a white piece from the chess box next to him and tapping it leisurely, leisurely.
The chess pieces seemed to press on Lin Rong's heart. If he was quick, her heart would be quick. If he was slow, her heart would be slow. After a moment, Lin Rong couldn't bear it anymore. She looked back and asked, "You want to take Ah Zhao away?" "
Lu Shen laughed, threw the chess piece in the chess box, and said slowly: "Zhao's illness is not cured yet. If you follow me around, I don't know when she will recover. I can leave her here with you and wait for me to take care of her." After finishing the matter in Jiangzhou, come and pick her up."
As he spoke, he nodded slightly and motioned for Lin Rong to come closer: "It's just that if I help you, you have to help me too."
Chapter 94
Hearing this sentence, Lin Rong couldn't understand the meaning behind the words. He stood there quietly, looking up at Lu Shen without saying a word, but his eyes became colder and colder.
Lu Shen changed the topic again and said: "When A-Zhao was six months old, my grandmother fell down, and she didn't get well after that. It took two months and she couldn't get through it. She was a little confused before she died. , just pretend that you are still here, ask me why you never go to see her?"
There are only a few people here who treat Lin Rong well, and the old lady is one of them. Four years ago, when Lin Rong boarded a ship and left, the old lady said that she was old and didn't know if we would meet again in the future. Unexpectedly, her words came true. Although Lin Rong was far away in Jiangdong, he still learned about the old lady's death in the Yamen's notice. At that time, it was written in black and white, so he didn't think anything of it. But when Lu Shen said this word by word, it was as if the old lady was standing in front of her and scolding her with a smile: "You don't come to see me no matter how old you are, but you think I'm old?"
Lin Rong's eyes immediately turned red and she asked, "What else did she say?"
Lu Shen remained silent and sipped the tea. When Lin Rong's anger was rising and he was about to walk away, he said slowly: "Two days before my grandmother left, she couldn't take any medicine. On the third day, she couldn't take any medicine." After drinking ginseng soup, I regained my consciousness, and called all my children and grandchildren to the bedside to explain the funeral arrangements one by one. Finally, she told me that she regretted not having persuaded her earlier, so that A-Zhao lost his own mother."
"And he said..."
Lin Rong asked: "What else can you say?"
Lu Shen pursed his lips and refused to say any more. Lin Rong hated him deeply for taking advantage of her like this. This was the case with Azhao and the same with the old lady. It was only because of his happiness that he was willing to reveal a little reward between his fingers. He was extremely domineering. .
Lin Rong turned cold and laughed self-deprecatingly. What does the Lu family have to do with him? He shouldn't know about their affairs, and he shouldn't care about them: "You don't have to tell me these things. I don’t want to know either. If you want to take Ah Zhao away, that’s up to you.”
After saying that, she turned to leave, but Lu Shen held her wrist and said coldly: "What I said before is still true!"
Lin Rong said sarcastically: "Really? I wonder which sentence counts?"
Lu Shen let go of his hand and took out a memorial from his sleeve: "Why should a man worry about not having a wife? This sentence counts!"
Lin Rong took it and opened it, and saw that it was a document written by the Minister of Rites to select concubines and establish a queen. It had been approved by the emperor with a red pen, and a circle was drawn on the names of Yinzhou Chen's daughter and Jiangzhou Yuan's daughter.
Lu Shen both said: "These two women come from a wealthy family, are quite talented, and have very good conduct. One is a queen and the other is a concubine. The decree has been sent to the prefecture and county. If you are worried, I will take you back to Luoyang. That's fine. No need. Cui Shiyi is dead, the decree of the new queen has been made, the world has been decided, and there will be no change. Azhao’s mother can only be the dead Cui Shiyi, not Lin Rong today. "
Lin Rong held the memorial tightly. He could not be said to be happy or unhappy. He stood there in a daze. It took him a long time to realize that there was no truth in Lu Shen's mouth. The memorial was true, but after Li Xin, Whether there is an imperial edict or not, he has not seen it, it all depends on him.
Lu Shen saw what she meant and said calmly: "I don't have the imperial edict to establish the queen. If you want to see it, you can only go to Jiangzhou Yuan's daughter."
Lin Rong was convinced by his appearance, and his tense expression softened a little, and said: "That's not necessary. Such a big event as the Queen's establishment is in the countryside. When the time comes, the Yamen will have the emperor's list posted. , you will naturally know." At the end, he added: "Congratulations!"
If a new queen is really established, then according to Lu Shen's temperament, he will not ask Lin Rong to return to Luoyang Palace. Even if he regrets it in the future, regardless of humiliating himself, he will still care about A Zhao and will not let her have a nameless biological mother.
Lu Shenfu took out another letter of complaint from his sleeve. Lin Rong opened it and saw that it was an order appointing doctors. I wonder what his intention was?
Lu Shen couldn't help but sigh, and then stopped: "The Imperial Palace, the Book Hall, and the Imperial Hospital will send doctors to various states and counties every year for nine years. I wrote an edict to you, and you don't have to go to Luoyang. I just follow your wishes. If you want, just stay in Jiangdong. At Tianshui Pavilion in Jiangzhou, if you want to check the medical books written by Pei Linggong, you can also use this order and no one will stop you."
Tianshui Pavilion is a famous library in the south of the Yangtze River. It has an all-encompassing collection of classics and history, as well as many secret medical books and ancient prescriptions. It's just that the owner of the library is quite aloof, and he prides himself on being a great scholar when talking and laughing. How can he allow a man in white clothes to enter the pavilion to read? In the past three years, Lin Rong had wanted to visit many times, but he was unable to do so even for Mr. Tao's sake.
Lin Rong held the paper edict, it was so light and unreal. He looked up at Lu Shen and saw Lu Shen sitting there with his eyes down. He picked up the tea cup and no longer said a word to Lin Rong.
Although Lin Rong was mentally tough and determined not to go back, when it came to manipulating people's hearts, how could she be Lu Shen's opponent? Just a few words made her mood rise and fall gracefully with his words, floating like a kite.
Where Lin Rongli was, he was a little stunned. He wanted to ask again, but saw Shen Yan outside replying: "Madam, the medicine box has been delivered."
Lin Rong tilted his head and saw that the blood on Lu Shen's shoulder was gradually dripping down, and half of his sleeves were stained with blood. He looked very scary for a moment, and walked out the door.
It started to rain heavily outside at some point, and the turbulent wind blew the flowers and trees in the courtyard toppling over. Lin Rong just opened a door and took the medicine box, and her shoes and socks were wet.
Shen Yan hurriedly tilted the tung oil umbrella to protect Lin Rong from the rain: "Madam, it's raining too hard outside."
Lin Rong asked him: "Where did you get the medicine box from? Is there a bent needle for sewing?"
Shen Yan didn't know. He just heard something inside saying that the wound was open, so he ordered someone to fetch Madam's medicine box. He didn't know that there was a difference between this medicine box and the medicine box.
It was quite windy and rainy outside, but having said that, the rain floated down along the eaves and immediately wet half of Lin Rong's shoulders. She didn't bother to ask, so she closed the door and opened it. Yes, there is gold sore medicine to stop bleeding, and gauze is also available, but Ma Fei San is not available.
Lin Rong nodded, took out a piece of silk cloth from his sleeve to press the wound, and reciprocated: "It needs to be treated again. The numbness will not dissipate, and it may hurt a little. Please bear with it."
Lu Shen still held the tea and said nothing. Lin Rong was afraid that he would regret it and was too lazy to provoke him anymore. He just wanted to sew up the wound quickly and sent him out. He got scissors and prepared to cut off the clothes on his shoulders.
Lu Shen looked at a wall lamp by the wall and said coldly: "I came out in a hurry this time, so I brought two sets of clothes. If you cut this one off, what should I wear?"
This is of course looking for trouble. Even if I came out in a hurry and didn't bring any clothes, I asked Shen Yan and couldn't find them anywhere. Even if I didn't wear ready-made clothes from outside, and immediately asked the embroiderer to cut and sew them, it would only take a day or two. . However, Lin Rong was in a good mood at this time and did not argue with him. Hearing this, he put down the scissors, leaned over to untie his belt, and slowly took off his shirt. After disinfecting, he used a curved needle threaded with mulberry thread to remove his clothes. He stitched and bandaged.
As the two sat and stood up, Lin Rong leaned over slightly, and a stray strand of black hair fell on Lu Shen's exposed chest, causing a numbness. The two people's shadows overlapped on the brocade tent, which looked a bit lingering in the old days. I don't know what happened. The wind came out from somewhere and blew the curtains, and the overlapping figures on the curtains immediately separated.
Lu Shen sat there with no feeling on his shoulders. He looked at the figure floating on the brocade tent and felt a little sad. He suddenly stretched out his hand and put the strand of hair behind her ear for her, and gradually followed the earring down. He lightly crossed it to his waist and tied a private seal: "In the future, if you encounter difficulties, take this seal and go to the secret rooms of the imperial guards in various places. In this way, I will know."
Then he leaned his head against Lin Rong's ear and murmured: "In the past, when I was young and full of energy, I didn't know what the relationship between husband and wife was. I spoke indiscriminately and acted in an unorganized manner, which humiliated you a lot. Now I give you your freedom. I hope you can Live comfortably from now on and don’t resent me anymore.”
Lin Rong's hand holding the cotton gauze paused, frozen there. She realized that she didn't care, what Lu Shen said or did, whether he was happy or angry, and she didn't want to hear him mention those things in the past.
But that was just what he thought. When Lin Rong heard this, his throat hurt and he couldn't say a word. Immediately, as if nothing had happened, she took out cotton gauze for Lu Shen and wrapped it carefully. The pain in her throat eased slightly, and she exhaled slightly: "Okay, it's getting late. Now, go back and rest. Don’t let your wounds get wet these days, don’t drink alcohol, don’t stay up late..."
Suddenly he stopped again, and Lu Shen asked, "Why don't you say anything anymore?"
Lin Rong replied: "If I tell you, you won't listen."
Lu Shen was speechless and started another topic: "I will leave Ah Zhao with you. When she gets better, you can send her to Jiangzhou. If you are not willing, I will send someone to pick her up."
Lin Rong responded with a good word and suddenly asked Lu Shen to hold his wrist: "I will help you, should you help me too?"
Lin Rong stood there, not knowing what he was talking about, when he saw him take two steps forward, press his forehead, take his lips and kiss her deeply, and finally sighed: "From now on, we will only meet in dreams."
After that, before Lin Rong could say anything, he turned around and pushed the door open.
Lin Rong felt extremely tired, took off his clothes, lay quietly on the bed, looked at the ceiling, and burst into tears. When she opened the door to get the medicine box, Lin Rongming wet half of her body. Even though she took off her outer clothes, her inner clothes were still a little wet. Ah Zhao leaned on her shoulder, soaking the wet clothes, and woke up after a while.
She murmured and climbed up, hugged Lin Rong's neck, and went to kiss her cheek. Suddenly she touched the tears in the corner of her eyes and asked blankly: "Mother, are you crying?"
Lin Rong came back to her senses and touched the tears on her face. Then she realized that even she was a little surprised. She hugged Ah Zhao in her arms and said blankly: "I don't know either."
Azhao raised his head and asked, "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Lin Rong shook his head: "No."
Azhao asked again: "Are you so happy that you shed tears?"
Lin Rong shook his head: "It seems not."
Azhao tilted his head and thought for a while, then smiled and said, "Oh, I know, you must be hungry, so hungry that you shed tears, right?"
Lin Rong laughed and stretched out his hand to scratch Azhao's nose: "I think you are hungry?"
Ah Zhao twisted around and refused to admit: "I'm not so hungry that I shed tears, no." Seeing Lin Rong looking at her with a smile, he nodded again: "Okay, I'm just a little bit hungry."
She twisted into Lin Rong's arms and said, "The fish fillet porridge is delicious, I want to eat it again."
Lin Rongxiao: "Is it just fish fillet porridge and nothing else?" The mother and daughter got up, put on their clothes, went to the kitchen, drank a bowl of porridge and ate two yam cakes opposite each other, and then turned to sleep. Next, he didn't wake up until three o'clock in the morning.
Chapter 95
When Lin Rong woke up, it was already the second day, and it was almost noon. She reached out to the bedside, but it was already cold and there was no sign of Ah Zhao.
She thought for a moment that Lu Shen must have repented and took her daughter away. She immediately sat up and called out: "A Zhao?"
Kingfisher was sitting on the spring stool in front of the bed doing embroidery work. Seeing Lin Rong wake up, he hurriedly opened the tent and replied: "County Master, my mistress has woken up a long time ago and asked people to put on clothes and go outside to play." He said, serving tea, and smiled: "Have you not tried to get up at this hour in many years?"
