Jiang Yue's eyes were sharp and she seemed to want to say something else.
"Shut up." Nie Zhao interrupted quickly. There was a sudden pain between his eyebrows. He hadn't felt this way in many years. He squeezed it to stop Jiang Yue from spreading his feudal and corrupt thoughts.
Every word she uttered made him feel the aura of decay.
"I...I, I..."
Jiang Yue usually stuttered when talking to people, but she stuttered even more when she was nervous. She was wronged by Nie Zhao and felt aggrieved. She kept saying "I, me, me" for a long time, but she didn't say a word.
"You must get out of Zhucheng tomorrow." Nie Zhao was too lazy to pay attention to her, stood up and left. Jiang Yue reached out to grab the hem of his clothes again. Nie Zhao quickly took two steps back and made a prohibitive gesture to warn her. : "Just talk, don't touch my clothes."
Jiang Yue stopped talking, feeling ashamed of her outrageous behavior. She couldn't help but feel ashamed when she caught a glimpse of the dark spot on the hem of his white piping clothes that she had scratched, and said diligently: "I, I'll wash it for you."
"No need, you can repay me by getting out of here tomorrow morning." After Nie Zhao finished speaking, he walked out, not forgetting to lock the door before leaving.
Jiang Yue quickly ran over and called him repeatedly: "Wait...wait!"
Nie Zhao thought of something, took two steps, and then turned back.
Jiang Yue thought he heard her call, and quickly leaned on the crack of the door and begged him: "Please, please, can I, help, help Grandma Ding collect the body, I, I, I, I don't, don't bother you. , I, myself..."
When Nie Zhao heard this, he was so angry that he said out of tune: "Help her collect the body? The injuries on your body were not caused by her? You like to be beaten? So you like her?" The Jiang family really taught this child a bad brain.
Jiang Yue pursed her dry lips and said, "No, I don't like being beaten. Yes, it's my fault. She is an elder. I, I made her angry. She doesn't like me..."
Everything was her own fault, and the beating was because she was not good enough, so she was annoying. In her heart, she was actually afraid and hated Aunt Ding, but she knew that this idea was wrong and she did not dare to say it.
"What a living Bodhisattva you really are." Nie Zhao looked at the sky and sighed. She actually implemented the Confucian spirit of "If you can't do something, look to yourself instead". Someone like her would probably die within two days of being thrown out. He was eaten to the point where not even the bones and dregs were left.
But this has nothing to do with him. He has no intention of keeping the person here. She can tell she is trouble at the first sight. Compared with her jumping into the river after going out or dying inexplicably, it is the most unwise to cause trouble for herself. Since you don't plan to keep her, there's no need to waste time trying to break her apart and crush her to make sense.
Based on the little connection between his family and the Jiang family, being able to rescue her from the tiger's mouth and take her in for one night was already an extremely good thing.
Nie Zhao nodded perfunctorily: "Don't worry about it, I will handle it. You are not allowed to go out after dark. If you lose your life, don't blame me for not warning you. Don't talk to strangers."
Jiang Yue nodded slowly and watched his long shadow gradually go away. She watched his hair follow him as he walked, swaying and swaying softly in the sun. She did not expect that Nie Zhao would take the initiative to help her give it to Aunt Ding. As Grandma collected the body, she couldn't figure out for a moment whether Nie Zhao was a good person or not.
After a while, Nie Zhao was probably gone, and Jiang Yue knelt on the ground, clasping her hands uneasily.
She opened her mouth and squeezed out tears for a while, preparing to cry in mourning for Nie Mei, but not a single tear came out.
Not only had she never seen her dead fiancé, but she was worried that she would be kicked out of her husband's family tomorrow. She was also frightened by the state of Nanny Ding's death, and she really couldn't cry.
Jiang Yue felt guilty again and worried that her womanly ethics had not been improved.
But instead of feeling guilty, she was actually a little scared. She didn't want to die, she wanted to live.
But how will she survive if she is kicked out tomorrow?
She didn't know anymore.
Nie Zhao seemed to be a hard-hearted person. Even if she knelt down to beg him, she might not be able to make him sway.
She clenched her hands so tightly that her bones were about to be crushed by herself. She lowered her eyes to the grass in front of her. After thinking for a long time, she couldn't think of any good solution. She could only recite the female virtue in a low voice while shedding tears.
"Being leisurely, chaste and quiet, observing the rules and orderly, acting with shame, moving and still in a lawful manner, this is called womanly virtue..."
She stopped crying after reciting the female virtue training ring one by one. Her dirty little face was washed out with two white marks from the tears. She didn't wipe it until a bright golden sun hung in the west and smoke was everywhere. Wiping his face, he squatted on the ground and gathered weeds, holding his hungry belly.
If she is better behaved, obedient, and useful, just in case...if she can stay a few more days.
The weeds in front of her were torn to pieces, and the fresh scent of grass penetrated Jiang Yue's stomach like a hook along her breath. She took a deep breath. She wasn't sure whether the grass was poisonous or not, so she couldn't hold it back and put it in her mouth. A big mouthful was stuffed in it.
…
The city was desolate, and Nie Zhao lived far away. Weeds half as tall as a man grew along the road. He picked one up, circled it on his finger, and turned back slowly.
Just after Shen hour, there were no women, children, old or weak people on the streets, only some burly men walking in a hurry. Nie Zhao knew that it wouldn’t be long before the last ray of sunshine faded, and there would not be even a single person on the streets of this city. .
He passed by the door of Liang Wansan's shop, and the body on the ground was still there. Grandma Ding stared at the sky unwillingly with her eyes wide open.
Several soldiers wearing black cloth armor came over and were startled when they saw him. Ah Si from behind called him in surprise: "Nie San, your little wife just arrived in Zhucheng. You were not at home to accompany her, and you ran away again." return……"
Before he could finish his words, the comrades behind him quickly covered his mouth and lowered their eyebrows at Nie Zhao.
Nie Zhao twisted the withered grass around his finger twice more and looked at him tepidly: "You can call Nie San too? Zhao Si."
Ah Si quickly covered her mouth and smiled apologetically: "Young Master Nie, Mr. Nie Langjun, sir." Damn it, they usually screamed in private, but they were careless and now they blurted it out.
Nie Zhao was just looking for an excuse to throw his hair out. He used this to point at Ah Si and then at Mrs. Ding on the ground: "I'll punish you by getting rid of this pile of rotten meat."
Ah Si still smiled apologetically: "How to deal with it?"
Nie Zhao looked like a fool: "Of course she threw her down at Feijiu Cliff to feed the wild dogs. Do you still want to give her some glory?"
Ah Si said "Oh" and bent down to drag the corpse, mentally scolding Nie Zhao for eight generations of his ancestors.
But there is no other way. When heaven gives a great responsibility to Ah Si, he must first...must first...must let him be the grandson of a bad guy like Nie Zhao.
His colleagues pushed him and told him to clean up quickly and patrol at night.
"He is in charge of East Thirteenth Square. Dogs have to tuck their tails under his roof."
"Then he won't give you a salary, but he can summon people every day very easily." Ah Si muttered.
There are thirty-six lanes in Zhucheng, divided into thirteen lanes in the east, nine lanes in the west, eight lanes in the south, and fourth lane in the north.
This boundary is different from other places. The imperial court just throws prisoners here and doesn't care about anything else. Even the prefect Li Hu moved left and left and moved left and moved left and was demoted to this place, a living place of exile.
The chaos in the city is unimaginable. Just relying on a few crooked government officials to guard the city gates and patrols cannot maintain order in the city. Those who can survive here are either tolerant or extremely vicious.
There is no peace during the day, and burning, killing, and looting are even more rampant after nightfall. Therefore, after dusk, there are no pedestrians on the streets, and every house closes its doors and waits for tomorrow.
But no matter how chaotic the place is, there is always someone in charge. The prefect Li Hu won over the big and small leaders in the city and let them take charge of their own territory. This was to ensure peace for the whole party and the lives of his family. Although these leaders are not official, they are still respectfully called "sir" on weekdays.
As for taxes, there is no need to think about it. Places that are extremely poor cannot collect taxes in the first place. How much money these "adults" can make from it depends on their own abilities.
Nie was in charge of East Thirteenth Square. People like him were called "Ranger" or "Sir" when they were in a good mood. But when they were in a bad mood, they were just the gangster Nie San in private. The relationship between him and the government officials like Ah Si is not that of superiors and subordinates, but better than superiors and subordinates.
Although Nie Zhao usually doesn't take care of things, he never creates trouble for everyone, and he doesn't take money. At most, he has a yin and yang personality, and likes to smile and wipe people's necks. Overall, he can get along well with the people of East Thirteenth Street. Considered harmonious.
Last year, East Thirteenth Street beat the other three places and was rated as "the happiest area in Zhucheng by City of the Year" by Li Hu, who was specially awarded a plaque.
Nie Zhao patted one of them on the cheek and whispered softly: "Do a good job." Then he ignored the gossips below and went straight to the Guanhuo Tower.
The Guanhuo Building is two feet high and can almost overlook the entire East Thirteenth Square. There is a deck chair on top. Nie Zhao is holding the grass and lying on his back, resting his arms on his head and frowning.
The autumn night wind was not too cold yet, so it was better for him to stay there all night than to face Jiang Yue's dirty face.
Zhucheng was exceptionally quiet tonight, even so quiet that it was almost breathtaking. When Nie Zhao sat down, he keenly smelled the smell of tung oil filling the air - next door to Guanhuo Tower was Zhucheng's East Granary!
Thinking of this, he stood up quickly, stepped on the ladder and jumped down to the ground. He climbed into the grain storage yard and saw someone pouring tung oil on the outer wall of the granary.
The man in black in the courtyard was very alert and started to run when he heard the sound. Nie Zhao raised his hand and threw the dagger away. As the cold light flew, the dagger passed through the man's back with a "puff" sound. Insert into the heart.
The man in black still kept running away, but when he lowered his head, he found that his heart had been stabbed. Before he could react, he fell to the ground and expired.
Nie Zhao stepped forward and pulled out the dagger. When Ah Si and the others heard the noise, they hurried over with torches. They were shocked when they saw the scene and came forward to investigate.
"Ah? If he dies, how can he be interrogated?"
"Quickly report to the prefect, inspections must be stepped up recently."
Nie Zhao easily pulled the hem of Ah Si's clothes to wipe the blood on the sword. The fire went out, illuminating his expression and making it difficult to understand: "You can guess that it was the Leran people who set the fire, but they will not just If you set a fire in one place, you may have succeeded elsewhere.”
Before Ah Si and the others could say anything, they saw flames rising into the sky from the west and south one after another, burning a large area of Zhucheng's sky red. When they looked at Nie Zhao again, they couldn't help but become speechless.
Nie Zhao had finished wiping his sword, turned around and walked a few steps, yawned, and saw them still standing there in a daze. He impatiently reminded: "What are you doing standing there? Why don't you go put out the fire?... Pay attention to your torches, don't do anything." Set the tung oil on fire.”
Several people woke up from a dream and hurriedly divided half of them to continue looking at the granary, while the other half went to carry water to put out the fire.
Originally suffering from insomnia, Nie Zhao fell asleep after all this trouble, but his sleep was restless.
In the dream, Jiang Yue wore a dirty clown face and shed tears at him like a cat. The tears fell silently and penetrated tightly. She looked at him with a resentful look in her eyes, and then she walked out of the river. She came out wet, her body covered with algae, dragging water marks all over the ground and whimpering to him: "Nunu died so miserably, my husband's family doesn't want Nunu~ Nunu can only jump into the river~"
Then there was a handsome young man holding a baby in his hands, smiling sadly at him: "Uncle Third, save us, we don't want to die."
As soon as Nie Zhao raised his hand, the boy and the baby cried tears of blood in their eyes, and then scattered like catkins unwillingly.
He opened his eyes suddenly, breathing heavily. His hanging hair was messy and stuck to his pale cheeks, unexpectedly adding a lot of vulnerability. Nie Zhao subconsciously touched his heart, only to feel the violent beating there, and the long-lost heart palpitations were gone. Come up.
Just as Yinshi's clapper struck, he gradually came back to his senses and realized that this was a dream. He dreamed again of his two nephews who had been dead for many years, and this time there was an extra Jiang Yue in it.
The scene of Nie Zhifeng hugging Nie Fuguang and weeping was replayed in front of Nie Zhao over and over again. He lowered his eyes and sat quietly for a long time. Until the temperature of his cold body gradually recovered, he straightened his hair and clothes, and walked down the Guanhuo Building in silence. His face was very grim, it would be an exaggeration to say that he looked like he was mourning for his heir.
The sky was dim, and people were already walking around on the street one after another. They were talking in low voices about the fire in the city last night. Several shops selling breakfast items were also opened.
Zhucheng is a poor place, and you can use some wood soaked in salt water as snacks. The breakfast is naturally not very refined. The better ones are yellow and white noodles mixed with woofou, and the worse ones are bran-flour woofou, which is dry and irritates the throat. , it is not easy to digest after eating, but it can satisfy your hunger.
Nie Zhao stretched out his hand towards a stall, and the other party quickly and respectfully wrapped seven or eight bran noodles and handed them over, and said anxiously: "The two-doped noodles haven't been cooked yet, why don't you wait a moment."
"No need." Nie Zhao took it and left, with a white face, which was very different from his usual slutty look. His sharp facial features were not smiling at the moment, which made people even more panicked.
The stall owner asked in a low voice: "Sir, was the fire very serious last night?"
"The granary in the east of the city is not seriously injured."
The stall owner was relieved. As long as the granary in the east of the city was unimpeded, the people in the east city like them would not be hungry.
Nie Zhao hugged Wowo and left.
Because I dreamed about the two nephews last night, when I think of Jiang Yue now, I feel a little more forgiving and tolerant in my heart.
He walked back quickly, and before he entered the house, he heard a conversation inside. The other party was so absorbed that he didn't even notice the sound of Nie Zhao pushing the door open.
"I see you are so young, why are you following Nie Zhao, that incomprehensible flirt? Why don't you follow me? Sister Yu will ensure that you enjoy the hot food and treat you as my own sister. Oh no, I am my daughter-in-law. I am my daughter-in-law." …”
The man looked to be in his twenties, with a graceful figure, and spoke in a soft and melodious voice. He was very charming and a bit seductive, "Your name is Yueniang, right? Look at your pair." If you take good care of your big, watery eyes, you will definitely be a beauty. Nie San doesn’t know how to raise children, so if you follow him, you will suffer a lot.”
Jiang Yue didn't have any other advantages. The biggest advantage was that she was obedient. She firmly remembered Nie Zhao's instructions before leaving. She hugged her knees, sat in a ball under the pear tree, buried her head in her knees, and looked like you said. Your, I don't listen to my appearance.
Hu Yuniang was a little worried, this child was really indifferent.
Nie Zhao casually touched a chaffy bun and smashed it on the opponent's forehead. Hu Yuniang said "Ouch", covered her forehead and screamed: "Who is it? Who dares to hit me without eyesight!"
"Master Nie Zhao, go back to the north of your city." As soon as Nie Zhao's voice came out, Jiang Yue changed her quail appearance, raised her head sharply, and followed him with eager eyes.
The steamed glutinous rice buns were as hard as a brick. Hu Yuniang quickly took out the small mirror she carried with her and touched her forehead carefully. She felt heartbroken for her well-maintained face, and her sadness almost overflowed. .
She turned her eyes and glanced at Nie Zhao, her tone returned to the sweet tone before, but with a hint of mockery: "Who do I think it is? It turns out to be Nie San~"
She stood up and patted the dust on her skirt, looked around with disdain, and raised the corners of her mouth, "Is it possible that you want to support our little Yueniang in such a shabby place?"
Hu Yuniang obviously knew how to hit people. She then glanced up and down at Nie Zhao and sighed: "You don't even care about taking care of yourself. Look, the clothes were made last year. The sleeves are shorter. They are made of The ordinary silk produced locally, Fuxi is not good at weaving, and the silk in Fuxi is the cheapest among all the silks in Dayong. You can exchange it for half a piece of silk."
She said, stroking her pretty silk silk, "This is the Tianxiang silk silk that came from across the ocean. It is the best quality. A small piece costs ten strings. Yueniang will follow me. That's how good it is." day."
"You should keep such a good life for yourself." Nie Zhao was not as angry as Hu Yuniang expected.
Hu Yuniang stamped her feet, took Jiang Yue's hand, and asked her softly: "Yue Niang, tell me, who do you want to follow? Are you going to live a good life with me, or live a hard life with him?"
Most people know which one to choose between Nie Zhao's three thatched cottages and a pile of broken tiles, or Hu Yuniang's fine clothes and food. Besides, Nie Zhao said yesterday that he would drive Jiang Yue away.
Nie Zhao knew that if Jiang Yueruo followed Hu Yuniang, he might go from one extreme to the other. The other party was in charge of Beisifang and ran Goulan Gambling House. He was not doing a serious business, and his character was as bad as him.
On the way back, I thought about that dream and tried to persuade Jiang Yue to get out, but failed to find someone to adopt her.
Apart from the three melons and two dates in her pocket, Hu Yuniang did not have the conditions to raise a normal, healthy, intelligent and kind child.
But... she took the initiative to take the person away now, which undoubtedly solved a big problem for herself and was beneficial to Nie Zhao.
Jiang Yue didn't listen to Hu Yuniang's words, she just kept staring at Nie Zhao. Her eyes were originally big, but now her face was sallow and thin, and they looked even more protruding. When she looked straight at people, she looked a bit dull and scary, and her cheeks were dirty. The two white marks from crying are funny and terrifying.
"Are you going to follow her?" Nie Zhao finally spoke quietly and looked at Jiang Yue.
