It is said that in the first year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, the country was in good condition and the sea was clear and the river was clear.
The young emperor had just ascended the throne, and the love and murder he had with his ministers happened in the temple and had no impact on the world. Therefore, the people at that time lived in the same peaceful and prosperous age as we do now.
In the Ming Dynasty, in Anhua County, Changsha Prefecture, Huguang, there was a family named Luo who sold tea and did business.
In the Ming Dynasty, those who were engaged in business were considered to be of low status. Their children could not take the imperial examinations, and their family members could not wear silk and satin. They were inherently inferior to others.
Therefore, although the Luo family is quite wealthy, it is not considered a prestigious family in the entire Changsha Prefecture.
On the other hand, Luo Fanxi, the head of the Luo family, has traveled extensively since he was a child and has a broad knowledge. He is such a number one figure.
Although he is a businessman, he often gives away money and helps the poor. No matter whether he is a gangster or a white man, everyone treats him as a favor, and everyone has to respectfully call him "Lord" when they see him.
Both black and white have friends, so there will be no worries in doing business.
The Luo family is located in the remote Anhua County, but everyone in Huguang is drinking their tea. Toas who live far away in Guizhou, if they want to drink some good Anhua black tea, they have to ask someone to send some silver to buy it from Luo Fanxi.
There are even rumors that nobles with roots in the imperial city of the capital, and even Emperor Zhengde, who had just gained great power, had summoned him and tasted his tea!
With such a big business, the Luo family is unparalleled in Anhua County.
For a few years, Luo Fanxi didn't have to kneel down when meeting the county magistrate. In the Ming Dynasty, this was a treatment that only talented scholars could enjoy.
. . .
As the saying goes, a big tree attracts the wind. As the Luo family became prosperous, people naturally envied his family.
Let’s not talk about the distant ones, but let’s talk about the nearby ones. Luo Fanxi has a clan brother named Luo Fanjiang. Since starting business in Luofan Xi, he often sends his nephews to fight against the autumn wind.
Qiu Feng's beating satisfied him, but it was no better than talking about it.
If he is dissatisfied, he can do something like a curse behind his back.
I don’t know if this curse worked, but in short, one day, it actually came true.
On August 15th of this year, the Mid-Autumn Festival, it was supposed to be a day for family reunions, but the sad news that Luo Fanxi died of illness in a foreign country suddenly came, which was like a bolt from the blue.
After hearing the news, Luo Fanxi's wife fainted on the spot. Within three days, she set herself on fire without even making a will, leaving only an only daughter, Luo Xiangzhu, to face the Luo family. endgame.
Luo Xiangzhu was only fifteen or sixteen years old. He was born into a family like the Luo family. He grew up in a honeypot since he was a child. He was extremely well protected and ignorant of the world. How could he clean up the mess?
His father died mysteriously and his mother also set herself on fire and passed away. Such a blow was really cruel to Luo Xiangzhu.
Li Taibai's poem "Song of Love" said that what used to be a wave of eyes is now a fountain of tears.
During those days, Luo Xiangzhu shed tears every day, immersed in sadness and unable to think about anything else.
House seemingly endless rain.
At this critical moment, none of my father's best friends from back then stood up to take charge of the overall situation. Instead, those who coveted the Luo family's property rushed forward like hungry wolves to kill the corpse of the huge beast that collapsed in the Luo family. Come on, carve out a piece of meat and eat it.
Among them, Luo Fanjiang is the most ugly when he eats.
He alone swallowed 30% of the wealth that Luo Fanxi had accumulated. They also secretly arranged to sell Luo Xiangzhu to the newly appointed county magistrate as a second concubine!
When Luo Xiangzhu heard the news, he was so angry that he was shaking like chaff.
She wiped her nose and tears, and regardless of her age, she pointed directly at Luo Fanjiang and cursed. The Xiang girl's fierce temper was fully revealed at this moment.
"Luo Fanjiang, you are so unconscionable! My father is your clan brother after all. Now that he has suffered a tragedy and his body is still cold, how can you betray his wife and daughter?"
Luo Fanjiang was left speechless by the questioning.
It couldn't be justified in terms of justice, so I had to make up a clever excuse, saying it was all for the good of my niece and the happiness of my niece's life.
"The clan niece is now lonely and helpless. Only by marrying the county magistrate can she have a worry-free life and not be bullied by others."
"The county magistrate is indeed a little older, has more pockmarks on his face, is a little shorter, a little fatter, has a bad breath, has a bad temper, has embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars, and looks a little uglier...but he is still a A good man, he is still worthy of being entrusted to his niece for the rest of his life!"
Luo Fanjiang said hypocritically.
Luo Xiangzhu has been grieving these days, and has already been in chaos. Now that I heard these shameless words, I felt even more angry, and my blood surged straight to Tianling Gai, and I almost fainted on the spot.
Fortunately, a pair of soft and strong little hands held her elbows and said to her gently: "Miss, why are you angry? If you are so angry that you are so angry, why don't you let him manipulate you anymore? Look at me."
The person supporting Luo Xiangzhu was a person dressed as a maid. Her face had soft lines, her facial features were three-dimensional but not obtrusive, soft yet strong, and her skin was as smooth as jade.
There were two acne blemishes, which could not hide her beautiful appearance.
After the maid comforted Luo Xiangzhu, her throat rolled, and a mouthful of thick phlegm that had been brewing for a long time came out of her mouth and directly onto Luo Fanjiang's face. He was so angry that his tongue was stiff and he couldn't speak for a long time!
The maid's mouthful of phlegm relieved most of the bad breath in Luo Xiangzhu's chest.
She looked at the maid gratefully, and there was something different in her eyes, which was the girl's brief spring of love.
The maid also looked at Luo Xiangzhu, her eyes firm. It was the sunlight that penetrated the dust, pushed through the layers of fog, and shone on the apex of people's hearts with golden light.
The two of them looked at each other like this, which made other people look weird.
Fortunately, it was such a mess that no one thought too much. Otherwise, if you think carefully, you might have guessed that this maid might not be a girl, but a man.
This "maid" is indeed a man named Ye Wumian, who is from Luoyang, Henan.
Five years ago, he came to Anhua County with people fleeing famine in the north. He mingled with a group of beggars and came across Luofan River.
Luo Fanxi saw that despite his young age, he had extraordinary spirit and some martial arts skills. After detailed questioning, I found out that when he was young, he practiced basic skills with a lay disciple from the Shaolin Temple for several years.
Seeing that he looked a bit like a girl, she took him in decisively and asked him to dress up as a maid and stay by her daughter's side to protect her.
He also found some messy martial arts classics from his black and white friends and asked him to practice.
Over the past five years, Ye Wumian's cultivation, both external and internal, has begun to take shape. Although he couldn't compete with the real masters in the arena, he had the capital to regard Luo Fanjiang in front of him as a chicken and a dog.
Luo Fanjiang was spat on, anger showed on his face, and he stared at Ye Wumian.
Not only did he not see the manly figure in Ye Wumian, but he also had the idea of getting this arrogant maid into bed and playing with her.
Ye Wumian's appearance is so soft that she is similar to a girl; she has been pretending to be a girl for five years, and she behaves like a girl. Luo Fanjiang is naturally invisible to the naked eye. He only thinks that she is a girl, and that's why she is so filthy. idea.
Seeing that Luo Xiangzhu had a strong girl protecting him, Luo Fanjiang was not in a hurry. Looking at Ye Wumian, a lustful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he took the servant away.
That day, Luo Xiangzhu and Ye Wumian witnessed the most chaotic Luo family in history.
The once quiet and peaceful compound has been trampled by the footsteps of greedy people from all sides, making it noisy and chaotic. There are invisible footprints everywhere and visible human hearts everywhere.
Loneliness, despicability and greed are claws that grew crazily overnight, hooking tightly on the Luo family's land and refusing to let go.
Except for the sleepless night, the servants, guards and maids did not care about the weak young lady and ran for their lives. The sweaty armpits held the soft things that had been packed away in a hurry, and took what could be taken away.
It's a vase, an inkstone, or even just a teacup. It used to belong to the Luo family and Mr. Luo, but now it belongs to whoever takes it.
Luo Xiangzhu squatted in the corner of the boudoir, sobbing silently, his eyes dazed.
Ye Wumian packed some things into a small suitcase, including a change of clothes, a few taels of silver, and a few dry biscuits that northerners often eat.
"Miss, it's time for us to run away." After cleaning up everything, Ye Wumian looked very calm, his eyes sparkling with stars.
Luo Xiangzhu finally regained some vitality and looked at the items in his luggage without saying anything else.
The two were of similar age and stature, could share clothes, and had enough money. Dry biscuits are a favorite food of people in Henan. As a Huguang native, she was not used to eating them, but now she has to learn to get used to them.
"Let's go!" Luo Xiangzhu got up from the ground, pulled the corner of Ye Wumian's clothes, and followed him closely.
After running for a while, she hesitated when she thought of Changsha City, where she was going next.
After walking a long way, it was getting dark, and finally I couldn't help but ask: "Amian, do we really have to go to Changsha City to find grandma? My grandma, will she take me in? She hates my father so much. .Even, hate my mother so much."
Ye Wumian didn't look back, nodded, and said softly: "Yes. I met her when she came to Anhua two years ago, and after just one glance, I knew that she would definitely take you in."
"Why?"
"There's no reason. Besides, there's no place for us to go except grandma's place. The sound of the county magistrate's team marrying you, playing and beating, can be heard very close to our ears."
Ye Wumian said, turning around and smiling helplessly. But his attention was quickly attracted by something else.
At this time, the two of them had run out of the Luo family compound and came to a hill.
The view here is excellent. From a distance, you can see all the layout, furnishings and movements of the Luo family compound: rockery pools, red walls and green tiles, carved beams and painted buildings; the sedan chair used by the county prince to welcome the bride, and the thick smoke rising into the sky.
I don’t know who lit the fire.
"Amian, my father's death will definitely not be that simple!"
Looking at the fire in the distance, there were no tears on Luo Xiangzhu's face, perhaps because the flames had dried them.
Ye Wumian was silent, but her inner thoughts were the same.
He died suddenly without any warning, and the people who came to divide the family property acted as if they knew it in advance, and they acted unscrupulously without leaving any room.
All the flowers and plants that I could see had been taken away. On the contrary, no one occupied the expensive Luo family compound. Now it is being burned impatiently...
Behind this, if it was said that it was just a simple death of illness without any hidden secrets, he would not believe it even if he were beaten to death.
Luo Xiangzhu took a deep breath and said with determination on his face: "Amian, from now on, I will live to investigate the cause of my father's death."
Ye Wumian's mouth was a little dry, but he still opened it and said, "Miss, please live for yourself."
Luo Xiangzhu trembled all over and looked at him questioningly: "What about my father's death? Is it just like this? Do you care?"
There seemed to be a hint of thick smoke drifting over, and she coughed violently. Instead of coughing up phlegm, she coughed up tears.
"Of course I have to take care of it. Let me live to investigate the death of the master. You live a good life for yourself."
A swan goose flew overhead, alone without a partner, and only filled the sky with its low cry. But friends forming a human-shaped formation of wild geese in the distance should be able to hear its cry.
Luo Xiangzhu looked at the side face blurred by the sunset, and couldn't help but call his name softly in his heart.
