But he was wrong. Nothing seemed to happen at home, everything was quiet and normal.
After entering the door, Li Dan wrung the water from his clothes and looked around suspiciously, but he didn't see anything on the servants' faces.
Weird, he wondered, walking towards his small courtyard, he met a thin young man holding an umbrella.
"It's raining, fifth brother, where are you going?"
Hearing Li Dan call him, Li Shuo raised his head and looked blankly: "Third brother, you are back!"
Suddenly he stopped suddenly, pulled Li Dan to the side of the wall, and asked hurriedly regardless of his surprise: "Have you passed Chunqiu Street?"
Li Shuo is Li Dan's half-brother. Unlike Li Dan, he was forced to study literature by his father. Although he is not good at poetry and poetry, he has a solid writing skills.
During last summer's harvest season, she passed the academy examination and was awarded the title of scholar. She was originally scheduled to marry Chen Hui, the daughter of the Chen family, this spring.
He usually carries a calm demeanor that he learned from his teachers, but today he walked in a hurry and was obviously absent-minded.
"Yeah, what?"
"Uh...what can you see?"
"Nothing, very quiet."
"Eh, shouldn't it be?" Li Shuo shook his head.
"Fifth brother, what happened?" Li Dan asked.
"you do not know?"
"I just walked in."
"Oh..., that's right." Li Shuo patted his forehead, hesitated, and suddenly took a half-step back and bowed to the ground.
Li Dan was shocked, and hurriedly moved aside to help him, and asked: "Why is this? My fifth brother is in trouble, but I say it's okay. I will help you to stand up for him!"
It turned out that Li Shuo was the biological son of the Gao family. He was two years younger than Li Dan and ranked fifth among his peers, so he was called "Fifth Brother and Wulang" at home.
It is true that Li Dan is the eldest son of this family, but his late mother is a concubine. In terms of etiquette, of course, he is respected by his direct descendants, so he refuses to accept the courtesy from his younger brother.
However, the two were almost the same age, and there was never any resentment between Li Shuo and the brother left behind by his concubine. He is usually not very polite, but now he became solemn for no reason and startled Li Dan.
"I really need your help, brother." Li Shuo was a little confused. He wanted to help Li Dan, but he was afraid that he would cause trouble and bring trouble to himself.
"Fifth brother, my brother said it's okay, why are you hesitant?" Li Dan was dissatisfied.
"Brother has just come back from outside, why don't you know? The case of Zi Guoxiao, a student of the Imperial Academy of Yingtian Prefecture, who engaged in prostitution during his period, has been widely circulated a few days ago, and the emperor was furious.
My father-in-law is now implicated and he has been deposed and imprisoned. There are rumors outside that Tiqi is approaching the city and wants to take the whole family to Yingtian Mansion.
Your siblings are so anxious that they can't sit still at our house and insist on going back to visit. My mother didn't allow it, so she begged me to go quietly. I had just won the title of scholar, how dare I...
But she was crying in tears in the room, so I had no choice but to agree to go... "
"So that's it." Li Dan nodded and thought for a moment: "However, mother must have ordered you not to go to Chen's house, so you can't actually leave the house at all.
You want me to take this trip for you so that she can feel at ease, right? This is easy! "After speaking, he waved his hand nonchalantly.
Li Shuo was overjoyed, but he still quickly handed over his hands and said: "Wu Lang thanked the third brother! But..., be careful not to rush in recklessly. If the situation goes wrong, come back quickly..."
Li Dan had planned to go there again, so he said, "Don't worry, fifth brother, please go back to the house and sit quietly, waiting for news from me!" After that, he stretched out his long legs and left.
Passing by the middle hall, I thought: "No, if you go out through the door, you might be stopped by the door." So you turned back and walked through the silent courtyard, walking through the hall and kitchen as before, climbing up the wall and falling under the trees.
Everyone in the house was busy with their own affairs, but they were at a loss.
"Little Yuanba" is very courageous, and no one can stop him from what he wants to do.
But Li Dan is not a fool. He lingered in the strong wind on the street until it was completely dark, and then he slowly returned to Chunqiu Street.
Instead of rushing through the main entrance rashly, he walked along the alley to the narrow passage at the back. He propped up his hands on the walls on both sides and stepped on his feet. He climbed up with a few "squeezes" and skillfully jumped to the top of the wall.
He stretched out his hand to scratch the courtyard wall and leaned forward to take a look. The courtyard below was dark, and a dim yellow lantern hung in the corner door not far away.
Li Dan turned over quietly. He had been here a long time ago and knew that there was a low shed for piles of debris. The top of the shed was only six feet away from the wall.
The corner door creaked open, and there was a little girl holding a lantern in front, followed by a grandma carrying a plate.
I heard the nanny mutter: "Hey, madam, you should sleep more peacefully now. I hope this medicine works."
"Thank you for your hard work, Mom. You should take a rest early. I'll come to the kitchen to find you if I need anything." The little girl held up a lantern to light the way and walked the nanny to the door, then turned around and walked towards the corner door.
Suddenly, she heard a man's voice calling her name in a low voice: "Yueying, Yueying!" The little girl trembled. The voice was familiar and she quickly asked in a low voice: "Who is over there?"
"It's me, Brother Li San." Li Dan appeared from the darkness and walked over. Yueying looked around nervously and waved to him.
Li Dan stepped into the corner door in a few steps. Yueying closed the door behind him and hurriedly took him to the corner and whispered: "Sanlang is so bold!"
Li Dan smiled and asked her, "How are you, Miss Second? How is your family?"
"Have you heard about it?" Yueying sighed: "Two officials from the county government came to live in the concierge, and the government didn't even ask them to leave.
The madam fainted when she heard this. The eldest lady was trapped in Jun's house and did not dare to go back. Now the second lady has the final say. Everyone is afraid and doesn’t know what to do. "
Li Dan frowned. It seemed that the county had not taken any further action and had not made it difficult for the Chen family. It was just that their actions were restricted.
"Take me to see how my aunt is doing. Wu Lang and your eldest daughter are very worried."
"That's fine," Yueying hesitated for a moment and nodded: "There is no backbone in the family. The second girl's face is calm, but I think she is also very confused in her heart. Sanlang, please wait a moment, I will go and talk to the girl."
With Li Dan's consent, Yueying hurried forward and when she entered the door, she saw the second girl standing in front of the bed, watching the two maids lowering the screen for Mrs. Wei.
Young Aunt Song sat at the table with a blank look on her face and watched the people in the room walking around.
"Qiu Ling, help my aunt back to the house to rest. Min Yue, go back to sleep first and come back to take over for Yue Ying in the morning."
The second girl glanced at Yueying and glanced at her. Knowing that something was going on, she immediately dismissed several people in the room.
Seeing the maids helping the sighing Aunt Song to leave, she walked over quickly and asked doubtfully: "What happened again?" These words made Yueying look at herself deeply.
The second girl, Chen Meng, is only thirteen years old this year. Growing up in an official's family, he had no worries about food and drink. He was tall and plump, almost a head taller than his peers.
The dark eyes twinkled intelligently under the long eyelashes, the nose was small, the cheeks were slightly plump.
Although there was a sudden change in her family, she did not panic. Instead, she boldly stepped out to receive the county registrar, arranged for official duties, and instructed her subordinates to perform their duties without panic.
But she was still young after all, so this question revealed her inner uneasiness.
"Don't worry, girl, nothing happened." Yueying told her in a low voice about her encounter with Sanlang Li.
Chen Meng's face was slightly red.
The parents of Li and Chen were Jinshi in the same year, so they made a marriage contract for their children.
After Li Dan's imperial examination, his father died, and his aunt kept him at home on the pretext of taking care of the housework. Instead, he asked his younger brother, Wulang Li Shuo, to pass the examination as a scholar, and then returned to his hometown and hired his sister Chen Hui.
Chen Meng is clear about this. She doesn't care about her sister's marriage to her brother from the Li family, but if this happens... what will she say about her affair with Saburo?
Sanlang was attracted to himself, and Chen Meng already knew this. Do you want to meet me at this critical moment?
She turned around to look, hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Just invite him to the east wing to talk."
Chen Meng came to the east wing. After a moment, Li Dan walked in, and Yueying closed the door behind him.
"Sister, how are you, aunt?" The two met, and Li Dan first asked about Chen Wei's situation with concern.
"Fortunately, the doctor came to see me and said it was just a sudden attack of the heart and syncope, but it was nothing serious." Chen Meng smiled bitterly.
Li Dan nodded and said softly: "My eldest sister is very good in my family. Please don't miss me. She misses you and Wu Lang very much."
Chen Meng sneered: "Don't mention Wu Lang. He didn't come when such a big thing happened to the Yue family. Instead, he moved you out as a rescue force!"
"Logically, he should come over, but my family ordered the door to be closed, and I kept a close eye on him. You still don't know about his small body and bones? How can he be as good-natured as me when it comes to studying?" Li Dan grinned.
"You're so boastful?" Chen Meng rolled his eyes at him, and stretched out a jade-like finger to poke his forehead in a daze: "You are so honest! Even if you are two years older than him, you are not willing to sacrifice your life for others. reason!"
"No way, who made me the eldest brother?"
"Huh, I'm afraid I don't think of you as my eldest brother in my heart..."
"Meng'er...!"
"Okay, time is running out and we won't talk about him." Chen Meng quickly waved his hand, raised his eyes and said seriously: "Zhou Dutou gave him a good comfort before leaving, telling the family not to panic.
But he also said that Captain Tiqi said that if my sister fails to pass the exam, she will inevitably accompany her mother to Yingtian Mansion. If you go through the door... "
"How is it?" Li Dan asked quickly.
"Well, my sister is from your family. Although I don't have to suffer the consequences, but now that the emperor is angry, your family's reputation may be affected." After Chen Meng finished speaking, he raised his eyes and looked at Li Dan uneasily.
"Hiss!" Li Dan gasped. He obviously didn't expect that this matter would involve his fifth brother, and he was really surprised.
Thinking about Li Shuo getting up at midnight and sleeping in the middle of the night, it was so easy for him to get this scholar. If it was because of this... how could he bear it?
Moreover, he is the youngest scholar in Raozhou Prefecture since the founding of this dynasty. This reputation is already known to the outside world, and he cannot hide away even if he wants to! What should I do?
"I'm sorry, because of my father, my family has caused trouble to you." Chen Meng said, gathering his clothes and bowing to apologize.
Li Dan hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop him: "Sister, why is this happening? It is really unjust for my uncle to suffer such an unreasonable disaster when he takes office as a new official!
It's a pity that the emperor's anger is at its peak during the national mourning period, and no one in the whole court dares to speak out. Don't be anxious. If you really can't do it, I will go to the capital to appeal to Your Majesty for you.
I heard that he is slightly older than me now, and he is indeed wise and promising. Brother, I believe that His Majesty will be able to pardon your family's crimes and even reinstate your uncle's official duties after his anger has subsided. "
"Alas, how is this possible?" Chen Meng smiled bitterly: "If you say whether you can see your Majesty or not, just say that the capital is thousands of miles away, how can it be so easy to get there?
Sanlang, I accept your intention, but you must not be willful, and you must not do something that you know cannot be done but is forced to do it. Otherwise, why would my little sister feel at ease? "
"We can't just let it go? What did Zhou Dutou say? How will Yingtian Mansion deal with you?" Li Dan asked.
"Can I forget what I said?"
The two of them were surprised when they heard the sound. They heard the sound of the door curtain and a big man walked into the house with his head lowered.
Before he could stand firm, Li Dan's fist had already arrived. Chen Meng shouted from behind: "Sanlang, it's Zhou Dutou!" Li Dan then relieved his strength.
The man put his right palm in front of his chest to receive the punch. Although Li Dan didn't use all his strength, he still made him take half a step back and reached out to hold the door frame to keep him from falling.
Li Dan saw the little girl Yue Ying standing next to him, covering her mouth in surprise, and hurriedly bowed and clasped her fists: "I'm so rude, please forgive me!"
"I'm so sorry!" Zhou Dutou cursed and dodged into the room first, then waved Yueying to come in. After seeing her close the door, he sat down on the chair angrily.
Pointing at Li Dan, he said: "When I saw Yue Ying standing outside, I knew there was something strange inside, but I didn't expect it was you! You made trouble in Tianxiang Tower in the afternoon and beat up Zhao San. Now you still have the energy to beat me? "
Li Dan knew that Wei Xiong must have reported the report to him, and he scratched his head in embarrassment: "I, I thought it was someone who came to listen to the corner, but I didn't know it was you Zhou Dutou! You adults have a lot of Dutou, don't show it to me as a child. .”
"Hmph! I'm stupid too. I heard it was you, little Yuanba, but I still barged in and almost bumped into your fist..."
Zhou Du accepted the tea brought by Chen Meng with an angry tone, and it was hard for him to curse in front of her.
He took a sip and put down the teacup and said, "I came back again because I got the news and came here specifically to tell the Chen family."
"What's the news?" Li Dan and Chen Meng gathered around.
"The Tiqi entered the city at dark. I asked about it, and one of the captains said that Mr. Chen's life was not in danger. In the past, the most he could do was reprimand or remove him from his post. However, this time the circumstances are different during the national mourning. Maybe he will also exile……."
