There is a small courtyard in De'an Mansion that has been empty for many years. It is said that a wealthy businessman from the south bought the courtyard, but it has never been lived in.
A few months ago, a fat woman moved in here with her two children and several servants. It seems that the men in their family are still doing business in other places and do not live together.
Women are very low-key and rarely go out.
It was already late, and Mu Zi appeared at the door. Her hands and body were covered in blood, and the half of her face without a mask was a little haggard.
He reached out and knocked on the door. After a while, the door opened a crack, and a sleepy-looking man appeared at the door. He must be a servant of the family.
"Girl, who are you looking for?" The servant was somewhat wary of the woman in red in front of him.
Mu Zi smiled: "I came from Jiujiang to see your mistress."
The servant became even more alert: "Meet our mistress? Who are you?"
"If it's inconvenient, I'll be gone. Brother, please help me bring a message to your mother-in-law."
"What words?"
"Dongsha is dead, live in peace." After saying that, he placed a heavy cloth bag at the door.
Inside the cloth bag were the money she had saved over the years. There was no use keeping it, so just give it to the poor woman in the house.
Watching the woman in red walk away, the servant picked up the cloth bag, muttered and closed the door.
Walking on the empty street, Mu Zi felt more relaxed than ever before, as if life should be like this.
…
In the early morning, a ship sailed slowly on the Han River.
There were not many guests in the cabin. A girl in white was lying on the side of the boat, holding her head with one hand and looking at the flowing water with her eyes blankly. The ferry is just ahead, and the boat is slowly docking.
The boatman knocked the gong twice and shouted loudly: "We have arrived in Xiangyang! Dear guests! Pack your things and get off the ship!"
The girl in white carried her luggage, led the old horse and got off the ship with the flow of passengers.
It's still dark, and the guests are looking for inns and teahouses by the ferry. The girl in white was different from them. She rode towards Xiangyang City on horseback.
During this time she had a very fulfilling sense of loneliness. I have seen a lot of scenery, but there is no one around me to share it with.
The horse was already very old, and if she hadn't paid for it, it would have become dinner. The old horse was weak in strength and had to rest for a quarter of an hour after riding it for a quarter of an hour. It was more like a companion she found for herself than a mount.
There has been some unrest around Xiangyang recently. I heard that a group of bandits from the north had robbed a village and often harassed passers-by.
"Otherwise," the girl said to the old horse, "let's fall into the trap and become a bandit. With my intelligence, it will not be a problem to become a feared female devil within two years. Let me tell you, I was like this in Jiujiang some time ago. If I want, I can build my own village."
The old horse was tired again, so the girl jumped off the horse and led it to find a piece of grass. After a night's boat ride, this beast had already been shaken to pieces by the wind and waves of the river.
The east is starting to turn white and the sun is coming out. She was not in a hurry, so she simply let go of the reins and let the old horse wander on the grass. She found a big tree, sat down against the trunk, and rested.
I was thinking about what places of interest I could visit around Xiangyang when I suddenly heard noisy footsteps coming from the road behind me.
She looked for the reputation and saw seven or eight dirty men walking on the road with long strides, each with a large rough blade hanging from his waist. This appearance did not look like a serious man at first glance.
The girl sighed, thinking that she was destined to be in trouble wherever she went. She took out a silk scarf from her arms and covered her face, hoping that these tough guys didn't notice her.
But things didn't go as planned. A slender girl with fluttering white clothes was sitting on the side of the road at this time. It was difficult not to be noticed.
The big men glanced at each other and gathered around with lewd smiles.
The leading man cleared his throat, spit, and asked with a smile: "Little lady, are you on your way?"
The girl clenched the dagger in her cuffs and said without raising her head: "Why are you all having trouble with yourself? Why don't you live a good life? Why are you provoking me for nothing? Do you know who my aunt is?"
These words successfully amused several big men.
"Hey, you're pretty cool. I like it. Tell me, what's your name?"
"My name is Li Fenglan."
Several people were stunned for a while, and then started laughing: "Are you Li Fenglan? Then I found a treasure, and I just happened to catch you."
Li Fenglan raised her head and smiled: "Don't say that my aunt didn't give you a chance."
Li Fenglan has made up her mind to run away when they are about to take action. As for Lao Ma... I'm sorry, I hope these gangsters won't put you in trouble.
"The little girl has a tough mouth."
It seemed like she couldn't scare this group of people, so she might as well run away.
But before she could run away, there was a sudden sound of clothes flying behind her, and a green figure stood in front of those villains, and he drew his sword and stabbed them without any explanation. The man in green was very good at swordsmanship, and seven or eight big men were caught off guard by him. Seeing that he was no match for him, he took the road and fled.
The man in Tsing Yi turned his back to Li Fenglan and sheathed his sword gracefully.
Then he turned around and looked at Li Fenglan.
It turned out to be a woman, very gentle-looking.
Li Fenglan stood up, clasped her fists and said, "Thank you sister for your help."
"Sister?" The man spoke with a somewhat disdainful tone, "Do I look like your sister?"
Li Fenglan was shocked because the voice of the person speaking was that of a man!
"You are a male?"
The man frowned and seemed a little angry: "Isn't it like that?"
"Like Like……"
Only then did Li Fenglan notice that it was indeed a man. When he was fighting just now, his body and movements were that of a man, but when he turned around, Li Fenglan saw him as a woman. Zhu Mingyu only looks like a boy and a girl. This man's head and body are mismatched. They don't match. Coupled with his slender figure, at first glance, he was really a woman.
He shouldn't be very old, at least fifteen or sixteen, but he is very tall. His face was white and he had no beard, and his Adam's apple was not obvious. He was still in the stage of voice change, and his speaking voice was very unpleasant.
The man lectured: "Be careful when watching people. Don't run around alone in the girl's family. It's so dangerous now."
After saying that, he turned around and left, leaving behind a message: "Sister, you can wait until there are more people on the official road before following."
Li Fenglan was stimulated by the word "eldest sister", but she had nothing to say. After all, she had helped her.
Li Fenglan asked loudly: "Thank you very much, Master, for your help. But who is your surname? I will repay you later."
The young man stopped, turned around and replied: "My name is Chen Ziyang, and I am from Xiangyang. And, eldest sister, don't call yourself a little girl at such an old age."
Li Fenglan tried her best to hold back her anger and said silently to herself: Hold it, they have helped us, so we can't be angry.
After Chen Ziyang finished speaking, he turned around and continued on his way. With his hands behind his back, the sword rotated randomly in his hands... Li Fenglan had seen this sword-turning posture before and was very familiar with it. Jade makes some subconscious little moves, such as turning flowers with the sword intentionally or unintentionally when walking on the road. This action was learned from Chen Yan. And the actions of the two of them were exactly the same as that of the young man.
Chen Yi is from Xiangyang. This boy’s surname is Chen. Could it be possible...
Li Fenglan hurriedly mounted the old horse and caught up with Chen Ziyang.
Chen Ziyang looked back when he heard the footsteps, frowned and asked, "Sister, why are you following me?"
Li Fenglan had a bright smile on her face: "Little brother, how old are you this year?"
The young man looked disgusted: "Fifteen, what's wrong?"
"You said you are from Xiangyang. My sister asked you, is your swordsmanship inherited from your family?"
The young man was alert, stopped, drew out his long sword, and pointed the tip of the sword directly at Li Fenglan: "Who are you?!"
Li Fenglan smiled slightly, supported the horse's back, jumped up slightly, put her toes on the saddle, and slowly squatted down: "Have you guessed it?"
Chen Ziyang's eyes widened: "This Qing Gong... you are Jade!"
"Are you stupid? What color do you think I'm wearing?"
Chen Ziyang looked sternly: "Don't follow me, I have nothing to do with you."
As he spoke, he walked forward quickly, trying to get rid of Li Fenglan. Li Fenglan jumped off the horse and stepped in front of Chen Ziyang: "Don't run away. If you are a child of the Chen family, you still have to call me sister."
Chen Ziyang wondered: "Don't my aunt only have one daughter?"
"I am the goddaughter."
"That has nothing to do with me. My aunt...your mother has disgraced the family and is no longer our Chen family. Don't get involved with relatives."
As he was about to leave, Li Fenglan stopped him again: "What is so disgraceful to the family?"
Chen Ziyang sneered: "She didn't mention it to you?"
Li Fenglan shook his head.
"Ask her yourself, I'm too lazy to tell you."
Flashing past Li Fenglan again, the boy's pace became faster, but this time Li Fenglan did not catch up.
She sighed and said to herself: "That's right... I have nothing to do with them anymore, so what's the use of caring about this?"
After saying that, he turned his horse's head and walked towards Xiangyang City.
The young man heard her talking to herself and stopped again.
"You said... you have nothing to do with them? Are they referring to Changfeng Tower?"
Li Fenglan replied: "Yes."
"But I heard that Li Fenglan and his party are in Yangzhou, but I didn't hear that you came to Xiangyang alone."
"I'm not Li Fenglan, my name is Zhu Sha."
"But I heard you just told them that your name was Li Fenglan."
"I heard you ask!"
Li Fenglan rolled her eyes and said, "I don't know what happened to your Chen family in the past few years. Since you are far away from this dispute, don't get involved. You haven't seen me today. What I said just now don't matter to you." Forget it."
"Hey!" Chen Ziyang shouted, "What are you doing in Xiangyang?"
"Nothing, just passing by."
"Can you...can...come home with me?"
Li Fenglan was puzzled: He didn't want to have anything to do with her just now, so why did he suddenly invite her to his house again?
Seeing Li Fenglan's confusion, Chen Ziyang explained: "My father's name is Chen Tianhe, and he is Chen Wanru's younger brother."
"Chen Wanru? Who is it?"
"It's Chen Yi. She changed her name to show her determination to sever ties with the Chen family."
"Was she... called this name before?" It's a pretty gentle name.
"Yes. Sister, are you going to my house or not?"
"Didn't you just want to have nothing to do with me?"
"But you said you have nothing to do with Changfeng Tower... Come with me to see my father. Although people in the clan don't like to see Chen Wanru, my father has missed her very much over the years. You can quietly come in with me later and put the Just tell my father what happened to her these past few years... The old man has not been in good health these past few years, and I'm afraid he won't be able to survive for a few more years."
Chen Ziyang meant what he said, and Li Fenglan couldn't refuse, so she had to say: "Lead the way."
In fact, Chen Ziyang is a child who talks a lot, but he has a bit of a stinker that is unique to boys of his age.
"Sister, let me tell you, you are half a member of the family, so I should have no problem telling you this... In fact, it was not like the rumors said, she avenged her father, so what? My grandfather competed with others , she was accidentally injured, that’s all. Our Chen family has never caused trouble, but she caused such a big mess by herself. Grandpa was so angry that he kicked her out of the house. She also made so many enemies in those years. Many people have called our door over the years. Our family motto is...stay away from you, and we will never have contact with you. But I think it's too much, and it shouldn't be like this. I think my grandfather has a grudge. They all are like this, my dad. , my grandfather, and her, I heard that each of them has a more stubborn temper. It’s been so many years, is that the case? Do you think it’s true, eldest sister?”
Li Fenglan finally couldn't help it any longer: "Will you die if you call me Sister Lan? I'm a big sister at the same time. Am I forty this year?"
"No, I call you eldest sister when you are under 20 years old, and aunt when you are over 20 years old."
"Can you find a wife like this?"
"My mother said that I am good-looking and have no shortage of wives."
"When you have time, go to Zhongnan Mountain and find Qingfeng Temple. There is a Taoist named Zhan Tianhong there. Go and have a chat with him."
"Why?"
"...Nothing."
