Qizhou

The rain on a summer night came suddenly, and the raindrops fell into the cracks of the roof tiles, making a series of chaotic and crisp sounds.The silver snake pierced the sky, and a thunderstorm came one after another. The wind did not only come from nowhere, but it was fierce. The wine streamers hanging outside the house were buzzing. Even if they were soaked by the heavy rain, they could still be blown out Several flips came.

The moment Xu Wenzhi fell to the ground, Qin Ge rushed over. This scholar was no better than his son of the Wu family. He had been awake for days on account of his family's affairs, so how could he possibly be able to withstand the ravages of the storm.Before He Qizhou could speak, he picked up the unconscious Minister's servant on his back, and hurried to Xu's mansion with only a greeting.I hope that this warm heart can give the disheartened Xu Wenzhi a little warmth.

He Qizhou did not follow him.

It wasn't because Qin Ge could send Xu Wenzhi home safely by himself, but because the moment the lightning flashed and the thunder did not arrive, he turned around and hugged Ci Nian forcefully in his arms.He took off the little bamboo hat, quickly covered his ears that were pressed back tightly in fright, and used his body to block the torrential rain penetrating into the eaves for the young man.He always remembered that he was afraid of thunderstorms when he was farewell.

"Close your eyes." He Qizhou clung to the furry ears, his tone was very soft, he could even feel the hair trembling along with the pinnae, brushing gently against his cheeks.

Ci Nian didn't respond, he nodded vigorously, hugged He Qizhou's broad back tightly, wishing he could hide himself in his arms.

It's much better, compared to those days when I was alone in Zhuxi Mountain, it's much better.He was afraid of lightning and thunder, the reason even he could not explain.During the hundreds of years in the mountains, if it weren't for the hut left by Grandma Zhu to shelter him from the rain, he really doesn't know how to spend every summer night when thunderstorms come.Ci Nian was very obedient, He Qizhou asked him to close his eyes, and he really did.Because of the darkness in front of his eyes, everything around him became extraordinarily clear.

The muffled thunder rolls from afar, growling faintly, and the sound of rain from far to near, rustling into one piece.And no matter how urgent the raindrops were, the water vapor couldn't hit and contaminate the year.He Qizhou was hugging him tightly, the man's arms were tense, and the heat was slowly radiating through the thin summer cotton.The smell of rain was only fleeting, but after a while, Ci Nian smelled a scent of agarwood through the cloth covering his face.This fragrance comes from the small incense burner under the eaves.Refresh every day, never stop.

They should have arrived home.

Ci Nian knew it well, but didn't ask.It wasn't until the embrace relaxed slightly and he heard the gentle "arrived", that Ci Nian opened his eyes.

He never let go of He Qizhou's hand.But after his vision returned to light, he did indeed see the house that he was so familiar with as he had imagined.The lights in the house are already on, the doors and windows are closed, and there are occasional thunder sounds. Through the windows, only some tree branches swaying in the wind can be seen, casting mottled shadows on the windows.But He Qizhou didn't even get wet on his clothes. Seeing that Ci Nian hadn't spoken, he put the bamboo hat on the table beside him and said softly, "I'm not afraid..."

Ci Nian shook his head in his arms: "I'm not afraid..."

"No matter how big the thunder is, it won't hit you." He Qizhou raised his hand, wrapped Ci Nian's ears again, and comforted him, "You have a home, and I'm right here. It won't hurt you even if you make a crack. With me here, don't be afraid."

Chang'an has dragon veins, He Qizhou, Chang'an also has a lofty emperor, and always unpredictable intrigues.Whether this prosperous place, which is thousands of miles away from the middle of Sichuan, is really suitable for saying goodbye to the new year, even he himself can't figure it out.The two hugged each other silently, and after a long time, Resignation Belt slowly raised his hand, grabbed He Qizhou's sleeve, and said, "It's fine if it's not wet."

Seeing that he could speak smoothly, He Qizhou finally let go of the stone in his heart. He breathed a long sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "I'm your Taoist leader. I don't even have this ability. How can I brag to you? Now I'm in the house here, are you feeling better?"

Ci Nian finally raised his head in his arms, revealing his eyes: "Yes."

The sound of the rain outside the house never stopped, it was so noisy all night.The two still hug each other and sleep together.Just like that rainy night in Zhuxi Mountain many years ago, He Qizhou hugged his little fox into his arms, covered him with a thin blanket, covered his ears, and kept everything he was afraid of out of the house, out of this embrace.The long night will eventually pass away, and when the dawn dawns, the sun shines through the window curtains and still sprinkles over the steamy eaves.

When Ci Nian woke up, He Qizhou was no longer at home.

Ci Nian jumped out of bed and walked barefoot to the table, where there was still warm breakfast and a small money bag.There is a note under the teapot, writing: The thunderstorm yesterday frightened the little god, so there is no need to practice kung fu today, this is today's salary, go to the street to buy whatever you want, the stinky Taoist has gone to the Qintian Prison .

Resigning with a smile, he unceremoniously put away the money bag, crossed his legs, nestled on the stool, and enjoyed the time of sunshine after the rain.

Today, there is no trace of Xu Wenzhi in the palace.

When He Qizhou went out, he saw Jiang Huanyu outside the palace gate, but he was in a hurry, he walked all the way, did not greet anyone, and did not stop much, entered the courtyard of the Ministry of Rites, went straight into the house, locked the door Once closed, never came out again.The news in the capital has always grown legs, even if it is stormy, it is extremely difficult to stop.

As soon as he entered the door of Qin Tianjian, Ye Huaiyu greeted him.Seeing that he hesitated to speak, he almost turned around, and He Qizhou said helplessly: "Master, if you have any questions, just speak up."

Ye Huaiyu's mind was punctured, so he could only say "hey", and lowered his voice: "Yesterday... what happened to the Ministry of Rites?"

He Qizhou rolled his eyes, and the people in the room were all looking this way, he quickly pretended to be stupid and said: "What's the matter with the Ministry of Rites, the Minister of Rites is finally going to change again? I haven't heard of it."

Ye Huaiyu is not stupid either, seeing him like this, he immediately straightened up and coughed: "Qizhou, follow me into the house, I have a very complicated celestial map, I need your help to figure it out."

He Qizhou replied: "Yes."

The two sang together, and as soon as they entered the room, they quickly closed the door.

Ye Huaiyu is a person who is not very sensitive, especially when it comes to government affairs, if it has nothing to do with Qin Tianjian, he will not take it to heart.But a thunderstorm last night turned all the eyes of the government and the public on the Ministry of Rites. No matter how dull Ye Huaiyu was, he couldn't be unaware of it.He doesn't touch anyone in the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, but he only trusts the apprentice brought up by him.This early in the morning, he was waiting at the door, walking around on the left and wandering on the right, waiting for this apprentice to come to work.

As soon as He Qizhou joined them, his old master came up to him like a child, and said in a low voice, "Is it possible to say this? You bastard, you don't know what you're up to all day long." , there are things for you everywhere..."

"The Ministry of Rites is going to have a major event." He Qizhou sighed, and told Ye Huaiyu the ins and outs of these days with a little reservation. This master has always been a man of law-abiding, and he will lose his words if he speaks too much. He knows the importance of keeping his mouth shut and protecting himself wisely.After briefly speaking, He Qizhou shook his head again, and said, "I just don't know... who is the one who is in the lead."

"Oh..." Ye Huaiyu sighed, "This...how about you go and persuade the emperor?"

"Master..." He Qizhou said in a soft voice with a look of embarrassment on his face, "I am a member of the Qin Tianjian, and this juncture was involved, which really angered Longyan. It doesn't matter if I break it. What can I do with many colleagues?"

Ye Huaiyu nodded, but was still not reconciled: "Master Xu didn't speak up for justice in the court, and he didn't want to please us... But now that he is in trouble, we want to help him, but we can only be afraid of the head and the tail... Sigh , at my age, I'm not as transparent as a junior..."

This is such a saying, but the current situation is like this, who can really go against this unknown wind and waves?

Xu Wenzhi didn't show up again for half a month. He Qizhou went to visit several times, but no one answered the door.I saw Qin Ge occasionally, but only learned from him that the Ministry of Rites approved Xu Wenzhi's lie, saying that he was ill and never recovered.It was raining and windy that night, even with Qin Ge's help, Xu Wenzhi might still suffer from the cold. He is still young, and his illness will always recover, but the depression in his heart will dissipate at some point.

Qin Ge said: "Everything is fine, Mr. Xu, but he is sick and in a bad mood. If you want to see him, you can't get in by knocking on the door. The old man is taking care of Mr. Xu, so he can't come to open the door again. Don't bother him these days .”

He Qizhou said: "How do you know this? Did you knock on that door?"

Qin Ge said "Hi", frowned and said, "You scholars are troublesome, even knocking on the door, I just turn in..."

He Qizhou didn't want to talk too much with him, so he just sent him away with a few casual words.Xu Wenzhi is okay, that is good.During this period, Fu Jin also visited Aman a few times.There was no shadow of Mr. Xu in Houshan for a long time, and she was also very anxious.But no matter how anxious she was, Fu Jin also understood a little bit of propriety, she just hid in the corner of the wall every day, passing in one magnolia flower after another.

Ci Nian and Aman tried to persuade him, but it was of no use.She did this more to seek peace of mind for herself.What kind of identity Mr. Xu is in her heart, even she herself can't tell clearly.

Ci Nian asked: "Fu Jin, can you write with a pen?"

Miss Yulan stood in the yard, looked at the flowers in her hand, and nodded thoughtfully: "Yes... but what's the use of knowing, I can't help Mr. Xu, and I dare not go to see him, for fear of hurting him. Added trouble..."

"Then write, write what you want to say on the flower, and pass it in for him to read." Ci Nian grabbed the flower in her hand, picked up the pen and wanted to leave a message, but after only a few words, she I found out that the nib of this nib is too thick, no matter how I write, I can't write a few words. Unwilling to say goodbye to the year, I went to the study room a few times and picked out the thinnest pen, but I still couldn't write anything.

"This..." Ci Nian was a little frustrated, "I can't help anymore..."

Fu Jin was still looking at him thoughtfully, a light flashed in her eyes suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something, took the pen in Ci Nian's hand, and began to write carefully, Ci Nian wanted to turn her head to read , but was dragged aside by Aman, and said in a low voice: "You can't see this! Don't look at it!"

Ci Nian suddenly realized that he quickly stuck out his tongue, and dragged Aman to hide by the side of the pond to feed the fish.

It was sunny that day.

Xu Wenzhi finally dragged his sick body, walked out of the room slowly, and saw the courtyard that he hadn't seen for a long time.

When he was sick, he didn't know how the outside world was changing, but whenever he fell asleep, the scene of him running around day by day, begging bitterly, and finally falling in the rainstorm would reappear before his eyes again and again.Every night of lingering on the sick bed made him more miserable.

He has to live.Xu Wenzhi took a deep breath and regained consciousness completely.

He had to be alive to gain a foothold in the court, to find out the truth, and save his family from the fire and water.Those pains and disasters in the past, everything he couldn't ask for, he had to earn back for himself bit by bit...

A gust of wind passed by, and a burst of fragrance fell from the edge of the eaves.

Xu Wenzhi raised his head, and saw that white touch again, riding the wind and falling slowly, and landed in his palm.It's still the magnolia that shouldn't bloom in midsummer.The flowers are blooming just right, the stamens are covered with dew, and the fragrance is faint, which makes people feel comfortable.Only this time, there were ink marks on the delicate petals, Xu Wenzhi flicked it a few times, and the beautiful small characters hidden between the petals were revealed.

The characters are small and thin.The petals are too small to write thousands of words, but they can accommodate Fu Jin's friendship as a confidant.

She said: I wish to be with you.

Xu Wenzhi's fingertips trembled slightly, he bit his lip tightly, and put the flowers into his clothes.He looked at the courtyard wall, above the red bricks, the sky was clear and blue, and a bird that could not be named was flapping its wings and flying away from the sky above the high wall of the courtyard.