A piece of Japanese incense

Feng Jinqi just watched Zhi Yihe being taken away by that group of people. It had occurred to him that perhaps the purpose of the riot in the army and the sudden appearance of that group of men in black was to take her away. But when he saw the sharp sword blade pressed against her neck, he had to put aside all his speculations for the time being. He didn't want to bear the slightest harm to her.

He specially ordered a group of old horses to be arranged for them, but when the horses were found, the people had already disappeared. He took off the hairpins on the horses, wiped off the blood, and quietly put them into his sleeves.

After a few days, there was no news about her, and he realized clearly that he was abandoned by her again.

He couldn't remember how many times he had been abandoned. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he was never her first choice.

In the second year after his brother left, he gradually took over the intelligence network his brother had left in the capital and planted in various mansions.

He felt extremely disgusted by those officials, both big and small, who appeared glamorous on the surface but were dirty in private. For example, a chief official offered his golden-haired daughter to his dying boss in order to get promoted; or a minister let his old mother run a teahouse in order to accept bribes, and demanded eight hundred taels of silver for a pot of tea. He was extremely annoyed by the high officials eating the low officials, and the low officials eating the people.

This further strengthened his determination to seek revenge. The reason why the country was so corrupt was because of the governance of the incompetent monarch. If he were in charge of the government, he would definitely govern the country with integrity, know people and appoint them to the right posts, work hard and love the people...

However, among these intelligence, there were occasionally some news that interested him, including the dynamics of the Yun Mansion.

"The master went to the palace to check on the patient's pulse; the lady and the young lady inspected the shops; the young lady and Master Nian climbed over the wall to leave the mansion. Because they gave fifty taels of alms to a beggar on the roadside, a fight broke out among the beggars in the city. Several people were injured. Sanshengtang was responsible for the medical treatment. The young lady was confined to her house, and the wall of the mansion was raised by a foot."

"The master went to the palace to check on the pulse and returned home a little late; the young lady corresponded with her husband privately; the madam went to the funeral banquet held at the home of Tian Shengtai, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, and the young lady accompanied her. Li Miao, the third daughter of Li Wenzhi, the official in charge of the Ministry of Literature, spoke rudely, and the young lady stood up to defend the eldest daughter of the Tian family. The two sides scuffled, and the madam paid for the compensation. Sanshengtang was responsible for Li Miao's medical treatment, and the young lady was confined to her house."

"The girl accidentally caused a fire while developing spices, burning down the incense shop at home. The master asked for three days off to look for the girl. The lady was busy with repairs while looking for the girl. The young lady met with the prince consort in private, presumably to discuss finding the girl's whereabouts. The girl hid in the cellar for two days and fainted from hunger. After being treated, she was confined to her room. "

……

At first, he just thought this girl was interesting. Later, he began to envy her. Compared with her bright life, his own life was so dark and damp. Then, he didn't know when it started, she became a guiding light in his life. He found that no matter what he was thinking about or planning to do, as long as he changed her perspective, the pain would be much less, and even the days when he couldn't see his mother were not so difficult to bear.

When he found it difficult to memorize a poem, he would wonder, what would she do if it were her? Maybe she would put down the book without hesitation and turn around to do something else? So he put down the book, walked to the courtyard, and practiced a set of boxing. After sweating, he felt refreshed. When he re-examined the book, he suddenly understood and felt refreshed.

When he was scolded and beaten by his father again, he thought, with her personality, she must be extremely bored during the days of confinement. What did she do in the room? She was not good at needlework or reciting poems. Maybe she would try to sneak out, or please her mother and get her freedom as soon as possible. With this thought, he was no longer gloomy, but changed his mentality, understood his father's thoughts, and got along well with his father's subordinates...

She seemed to have become a part of his life. He ordered people to report her every word and action in detail. He was eager to know her daily whereabouts, preferences, habits...

When he finally found out the cause of his brother's death, he ran down the mountain and headed straight to his mother's residence despite everyone's attempts to stop him. He didn't believe that his mother had poisoned his brother. His brother had been with his mother longer than he had, so why would his mother do this?

When he saw with his own eyes that his mother was beaten by his father in public when he was away and she didn't even dare to cry out loud, he could no longer bear it. He wanted to take his mother away from the control of this man. He didn't want his mother to suffer the coercion of such a man because of him.

The first time he launched a resistance, despite being seriously injured, he broke one of Pei Bo's legs with his firm will. Pei Bo was his father's trusted guard, and there were dozens of people he thought he would never be able to defeat. He was in so much pain that he couldn't breathe, but he still picked up his mother and rode away from the towering mountain he had never set foot on before.

He didn't know how to get to the capital, so he asked many people along the way and went in the wrong direction many times. Just as the city wall came into view, his mother told him about the marks she had left along the way and advised him to turn back and apologize to his father.

He suddenly felt deflated, his faith collapsed, and for the first time he lost his temper with his mother, anger and disgust intertwined. She was no longer his weak spot, but the most brutal knife that stabbed him.

He abandoned his mother and went to the prosperous capital city alone.

Feeling disheartened, he didn't know what he had been busy with all his life. He felt that life was really hard and he was so tired. He wanted to see her one last time and see what she looked like...

The wall of the Yun Mansion was really high! He didn't know whether it was because of hunger or because of his wounds, but he could never climb over the wall. He curled up in a corner. He knew that every day at twilight hour, Zhi Yihe would wait in front of the mansion gate for Yu Nian to finish school.

"Girl! Slow down!"

"Yuyi! Yuyi! Have Yuzhu and Yutuan come back? Why hasn't Fuguier come out yet! Brother Nian is almost home!"

"Fuguier just finished eating pork elbow and is feeling sleepy. The pineapple cakes, lamb tongue skewers, and glutinous rice balls that the girl wants to eat all require queuing up to buy them. How can she come back so quickly?"

Feng Jinqi couldn't help laughing when he saw Yu Yi counting on her fingers the meaning of the branches and the food she wanted to eat.

He leaned forward, his eyes passing through Yuyi and falling on Zhiyihe beside her - she had black hair as black as ink, hanging softly behind her, with only a small part tied up with a plain ribbon, and the rest of her hair was loose, fluttering in the breeze like flowing black satin.

Her face was round and fair, with a faint blush, and her eyes were clear and bright, like a spring in the mountains. Her expression revealed innocence and harmlessness, and there was always a smile on the corner of her mouth, warm and bright. Sometimes she stretched her neck to look at the alley entrance.

The sound of bells suddenly rang out, and Zhi Yihe waved his arms excitedly, calling out in a clear voice: "Brother Nian! Brother Nian!"

Feng Jinqi looked around the corner and saw Yu Nian impatiently lifting the curtain and waving to Zhi Yihe before the carriage turned. Zhi Yihe lifted the hem of her skirt and ran over happily. The hem of her skirt brushed against his face, and a faint fragrance spread around his nose, like an invisible thread, entangled his thoughts.

"Didn't I tell you not to come out to pick it up? The weather is hot now. You'll get a heat stroke and a headache. There are also a lot of mosquitoes. What if you get a rash again?" Yu Nian jumped off the carriage and held Zhi Yihe in his arms.

Zhi Yihe stretched out his hands and asked expectantly: "Do you understand the sense of ceremony? Sense of ceremony! What did you bring for me?"

"Do you still remember my classmate? His father was in prison and he was isolated by everyone. He only had steamed cakes made of sweet potato leaves for lunch, so I gave him all the food I brought with me."

"Ah! Then what did you tell him? He must have a strong sense of self-esteem. Would he think you were giving him charity?"

"I had the same concerns, so I said I had never tasted his food and offered to trade mine with him."

"Brother Nian is so smart!" Zhi Yihe climbed onto Yu Nian's back. Yu Nian carried her steadily and took out half a steamed bun from the box and handed it to her.

Feng Jinqi lowered his head and thought with disdain, what's the point of bringing something like this back, just throw it away.