Fu'an Temple is on the top of a towering mountain.
It is already difficult to walk on weekdays, but now the mountain road is wet. The higher you go up, the deeper the unmelted snow is, forcing people to walk slower and slower.
But there are still many people coming.
Even though Pei Yanzhou was still walking in the night, he could still see the people dressed in villagers going up step by step with great difficulty.
The coughs came one after another, and they continued without any suppression.
The man raised his hand and searched around his waist, but did not find the handkerchief, so he could only cough and let in the cold wind.
"Master, there is a small pavilion for resting ahead."
Kurin's eyes were filled with worry.
In the past, such a mountain road was not worth mentioning to the master in front of him, but now, just walking halfway up the mountain, it already made people look a little bad.
"Master came early. Even if we go after resting, we won't encounter many people when we get to the top of the mountain."
"You take the people to rest here, you don't have to come with me."
Pei Yanzhou didn't look back, his silver robe loomed in the dark night, exuding a cold air.
The earlier you hear about praying to gods and worshiping Buddha, the more sincere you will be.
He had never believed in gods or Buddhas before, but now, he was full of repentance and wished he could not be more pious.
"But Master, you only slept for two hours last night. Your body..."
"If I can't even endure this little hardship, how will I be able to carry on in the future? If there is another war someday, how will I lead the troops?"
Pei Yanzhou waved his hands and walked faster, but he kept coughing and sounded worried.
It was impossible for Cang Lin to stop halfway up the mountain. Even all the Xuanwei who followed wanted to climb to the top of the mountain together.
It wasn't until we stepped into the temple that the sky became slightly brighter.
The mountain was completely white, and the wind was biting, but no one felt cold.
Pei Yanzhou stopped in front of the temple. Like everyone with hope in his heart, he put aside all his coldness and pride, devoutly bent his waist that he had never bent easily before, and then step by step, he walked into the room full of incense. temple.
When he came out again, the man's robe was stained with dust and mud from kneeling on the ground.
But he seemed to have forgotten Xi Jie's self, with red eyes, he put away the things he had earnestly asked for.
When he returned to the small courtyard, there was no one next door, so Pei Yanzhou squinted for another two hours.
It wasn't until sunset that he finally met the calm Song Jinyin at the gate of the embroidery workshop for the first time.
At that time, she was walking out with Lianxiang. When she saw him, her eyes hesitated for a moment, but very quickly, she said goodbye to Lianxiang and walked to the carriage.
The two of them made a tacit agreement not to mention the past again, but only talked about how they would dress up in the courtyard tomorrow.
But when he reached the small courtyard, Song Jinyin suddenly stopped him.
"Tomorrow is a lively day for gathering together. It is probably not suitable to take medicine for two days in a row. How about taking a rest early today, Your Majesty, so as to save some energy and watch the New Year together."
Pei Yanzhou felt happy in his heart, but in an instant he remembered the veil he had lost.
Recalling Song Jinyin's calm and sober kindness, his raised heart suddenly fell back down.
"good."
The man agreed quickly and did not dare to think that Song Jinyin really cared about him.
...
In a flash, it’s the night of the New Year’s Eve.
It was too cold in the courtyard, so Cang Lin moved the dry firewood to the hut, and several people built a big fire around the kitchen.
Next to it is a newly installed table and a wooden chair that was purchased behind Pei Yanzhou. It is more expensive and more exquisite than the ones sent by others.
Put together, people actually ignore the simplicity of the kitchen, and they don't care about revealing his thoughts.
There were a lot of pastries on the table, and even more dried fruits and preserved fruits.
Several people had just finished dinner, but Song Jinyin's appetite was getting bigger and bigger, and she was still nibbling on pastries.
"Drink some water."
The sound of firecrackers outside continued one after another. Pei Yanzhou pushed the hot water in front of her, trying to persuade her to eat less and not accumulate food, but he stopped talking when he saw her belly.
Having been so uncomfortable the past few days, I might be more hungry than others.
Just as he was thinking about it, Li Wanqing next to him poured a glass of water for Lin Jingxiu. Different from his previous attitude, he blinked and looked friendly.
Lin Jingxiu felt defensive.
It's just that after a busy day, he became a lot more lazy as a result of the heat.
Without thinking deeply, he asked his followers to distribute the prepared money to everyone.
But when it was Li Wanqing's turn, he saw her holding the silver coins with a smile on her face, as if she couldn't believe that she also had a share. She counted them again and again like a money lover. Lin Jingxiu frowned and thought for a moment, then leaned over and said, "Is it possible that you still need some money?" money?"
"No shortage."
Li Wanqing quickly put the things into her purse, then shook her head, "But no one cares about having too much money."
"Then how do you make money on weekdays?"
"Let's do business!"
Li Wanqing glanced at the person in front of her as if she were a fool, then thought of the entourage and the cup of tea beside her, and instantly softened her tone.
Lin Jingxiu became more and more interested when he saw this, raised his eyebrows, and took out another ingot of gold.
"Today is a good day. How about I make a deal with you and buy a bottle of powerful poison to end this year for you?"
"you?"
Li Wanqing calmed down, frowned and thought for a moment, then shook her head and said: "You are from the palace, I will not do your business."
Lin Jingxiu was stunned.
It was rare for Song Jinyin to see Li Wanqing be so serious. She stopped eating and looked at the two of them.
"He is also from the palace, why are you willing to associate with him?"
Lin Jingxiu pointed at Pei Yanzhou, but saw that he didn't care about the two of them at all, and was only concentrating on peeling dried fruits for the girl next to him.
"Prince Pei is not entirely from the palace."
Li Wanqing shook her head again. Seeing Lin Jingxiu's eyes with dissatisfaction, she said more directly, "You are too close to the emperor and it can easily bring disaster to Chiyu, so I won't do your business."
"...You are more cautious."
Lin Jingxiu sneered lightly, picked up the tea cup and took a sip. Seeing that she didn't seem to be easily persuaded, he stood up and smoothed his robe, losing his patience.
He had heard early in the morning that there was something about Shen Yuhe's junior sister. He had rarely interacted with people in the world before, but now that he had met her, he naturally became curious.
But he didn't expect that this person not only ignored him, but was extremely wary of his identity, and was even unwilling to do profitable business with him.
It's getting more and more frustrating.
"If you don't want to sell it, you won't sell it. Today I'm giving you some wedding money, so I'll take the first step and come back to eat tomorrow."
After saying that, Lin Jingxiu looked at Song Jinyin beside him.
Maybe he drank some wine and felt sleepy for some reason, so his tone became lazier: "Miss Jinyin, can we still entertain you tomorrow?"
Song Jinyin didn't know what she was thinking of. She was looking at the two of them in a trance. When she was asked this question, she didn't think much and just nodded subconsciously.
"Tomorrow is the first day of the first lunar month, so I can do it."
No one noticed that Pei Yanzhou next to him secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The next moment, Li Wanqing also stood up and said goodbye with a smile.
Cang Lin sent the people out and took advantage of the situation to deliver the wedding money prepared by the master to several people.
"What are you thinking about?"
It was not yet late at night, and Pei Yanzhou saw that the girl next to him was full of energy, and he only hoped in his heart that the time would pass slower.
"Lin Jingxiu and Sister Wanqing."
Song Jinyin looked away and ate the food in her hand again, "The expressions on the two of them just now were a bit strange."
"Lin Jingxiu has never been very serious about people he knows well. As for your sister Wanqing..."
Pei Yanzhou glanced at Lin Jingxiu's cup, his eyes flashed, "She must have put something into that cup and took Lin Jingxiu to test the medicine."
"Test medicine?"
Song Jinyin exclaimed and her eyes widened.
"Then why didn't you stop it?"
"It's just a little trick, how dare she use something powerful."
When he saw the girl in front of him with her eyes open and curious, but suppressing her emotions, Pei Yanzhou felt soft in his heart, feeling both sour and helpless.
From the first moment Li Wanqing looked at Lin Jingxiu tonight, he knew that this man had made up his mind.
It's just that Li Wanqing is very good at guessing her thoughts. When she wants something from him, she never dares to touch the person next to him, and her look of watching a good show is probably just to tease someone.
He didn't stop her, he just wanted to go with the flow and achieve a certain level of peace between the two of them.
But saying this might make her unhappy. Pei Yanzhou thought about it and didn't say anything in that direction.
"Kurarin."
Seeing that Song Jinyin resisted asking questions, Pei Yanzhou called out to the people outside, but saw another Xuanwei coming in.
"master."
"Where is Cang Lin? How is Lin Jingxiu?"
"Master, Mr. Lin fell into the snow as soon as he went out. He fell into a deep sleep and couldn't be woken up. After Master Cang Lin made sure that he was okay, he had to send him back to Qian Lai Inn."
Pei Yanzhou then waved his hand and asked him to step back.
"Do you understand? Shen Yuhe's junior sister has already set her sights on Lin Jingxiu early in the morning."
