ask willow

When Wen Yan arrived at Zhaixing Tower, it was just in the evening, and it was about to fall into the night. The place of fireworks had already become lively, with the singing of warblers and swallows, and the fluttering of red sleeves.

Wen Yan was not used to such a scene, and when people greeted him, he only said that he was here to find Yeli.

The flamboyant old bustard-like woman suddenly showed embarrassment, saying that Yeli didn't pick up guests for a while.

Wen Yan saw that she was actually a little afraid of Ye Li, so he said, "You just take me up, if he says something, I will take care of it."

The woman hesitated for a moment, finally nodded and led him upstairs.

Yeli's room is on the top floor, which is also the most beautifully furnished part of the building. The woman stopped in front of the door, and knocked on the door respectfully to tell the story. Yeli responded inside and let her leave.

After the woman left, Wen Yanli waited at the door, Ye Li opened the door, looked him up and down, frowned at the food box in his hand, and asked in doubt: "Where's the thing?"

Wen Yan didn't answer, but just asked: "Where is Zhong Yi? I have something to ask him face to face."

Ye Li sneered: "I didn't know that Mr. Wen was a man who broke his promise."

Wen Yan didn't take it seriously, and just said: "What happened to him? Otherwise, even if he doesn't want to see me, he will take those things away by himself."

Leaning against the door, Yeli raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? You know him well?"

Wen Yan didn't speak, but just stood quietly with a peaceful expression.

The two faced each other in silence for a while, Yeli finally sighed in compromise, and said, "All right, come with me."

Wen Yan followed him into the room, and Ye Li walked to a wall, pushed the cabinet on the side, and opened a narrow door from the wall, walked through the door, and saw another room inside.Different from the gorgeous room before, the layout of this room is very simple, there are almost no sundries, and it looks very clean.

"He doesn't like those messy things very much." Ye Li said lightly, leading him to the side of the bed, and rolled up the gauze curtain beside the bed.

Wen Yan took a closer look, and saw a young man lying there, seemingly just falling into a dreamless sleep, extremely quiet.That face was a little strange, but also a little familiar, and he suddenly had some unknown emotions—it turned out that when the boy grew up, he looked like this.The very elegant appearance is very comfortable at first glance. It is not as beautiful as Liu Zhongqing, but everything seems to be just right.But the young man has indeed lost a lot of weight these days, the lines on his face look more angular, and his lips are also abnormally pale.

Ye Li said: "He is poisoned by Gu, he is only awake for two or three hours a day, and the rest of the time he has been sleeping... I can't solve it."

Wen Yan nodded, and put the food box that Uncle Song had ordered in his hand on the table beside him, then sat down on the side of the couch, pulled back a little quilt, and tested Liu Zhongyi's pulse.After a while, I checked my eyes, neck and other parts, and then said: "This Gu poison is called 'Mian'. Although I know the solution, there is no medicine to induce it."

The Gu poison used by the Mingsha Sect was developed by the sect itself. He also learned about it from that person when he was discussing medical skills with Jian Moyan. It is also written inside.

Yeli raised his eyebrows slightly: "What kind of medicine?"

Wen Yan said: "A bowl of blood from relatives, and the sobbing flowers in Snow Valley."

Ye Li frowned upon hearing this, and said, "Where is Liu Zhongqing?"

Wen Yan shook his head, but did not answer.

Seeing this, Ye Li sneered: "Unexpectedly, you are still more partial to Liu Zhongqing, get out of here, and from now on, Zhong Yi's matter has nothing to do with you!"

"You misunderstood, you can't tell the whereabouts of Zhongqing, and it's meaningless to say it." Wen Yan didn't care about his attitude, but just explained lightly: "The moaning flower will wither in an hour after it's picked. The blood is also fresh, so Zhongqing must go to the vicinity of Snow Valley." After a slight pause, he gently held the cold and thin palm of the young man on the couch, and whispered: "Don't worry, I will definitely cure him. "

Ye Li watched his movements, frowned slightly, and didn't point it out, just said: "Master Wen, it's best to keep your word."

Wen Yan nodded, and said in a low voice: "Can I stay alone with him for a while, I want to check if there are other injuries on his body."

Ye Li thought for a while, and finally agreed: "Okay." Then he turned and left the room, and closed the door with the switch.

Wen Yan sat quietly beside the couch for a while, raised his hand to lightly touch the brows and eyes of the sleeping young man, and the thin eyelashes brushed against his fingertips, soft, as if they had swept across the apex of his heart.

Wen Yan trembled, withdrew his hand, and gently lifted the bedding on his body, took off the thin layer of underwear, and checked his body.When I saw the criss-crossed scars, even though I was prepared, I still felt a sharp pain in my heart.Although those injuries have healed, judging from the traces left behind, he can still tell what caused them. He can clearly see how Liu Zhongyi was treated when he was trapped in the Mingsha Sect...

When Liu Zhongyi cut off the chain bridge and fell off the cliff that day, he couldn't help feeling a little resentful. This person never seemed to take himself seriously, and was too rational. Every time he weighed the pros and cons, he hurt himself.But when Liu Zhongyi was lying quietly in front of him like this, he found that he could no longer be angry with this person, but hated himself even more, never being able to protect him well, even though he knew that he didn't need it.

Wen Yan sighed slightly, suppressed the turbulent emotions in his heart, took out the prepared medicine from his bosom, and gently applied it on those scars. This was actually the ointment he used to erase the marks on Liu Zhongyi's back shoulder at that time, but the effect of this medicine In fact, it is not only to eliminate scars, but also to eliminate hidden dangers or sequelae that may be left by the wound.

After spreading the ointment evenly, Wen Yan tied his clothes carefully, found a pen and paper on the table, and while taking his pulse, wrote down the name of the medicine on the paper.

After revising, revising and rewriting, he pressed the prescription on the table with a medicine bottle, then put the young man's hand back to his side, helped him pull the quilt up, tucked it in, and sat beside him, waiting quietly. he wakes up.

After an unknown amount of time, Wen Yan heard Ji Kuo's voice, turned around and saw Ye Li opened the door and walked in, and said, "Master Wen, you should leave too."

Since the room was always lit with candles, he didn't know that the sky outside was already dark, so he asked, "What time is it?"

"It's the end of the day."

Wen Yan didn't expect it to be so long, so he nodded slightly and stood up.The red thread will flare up once every night, if he stays here, he can get through it safely, but he has no reason to stay, and he even feels in his heart that he should have suffered the pain instead of trying to escape in every possible way.

What's more, if Liu Zhongyi had already lost that thought, he didn't intend to say anything about the red line.

He can endure pain, but without the deliberate affection of others.

Wen Yan pointed to the prescription on the table, and said: "This medicine is boiled and given to Zhong Yi to drink. It should be able to temporarily suppress the Gu poison, so that he will no longer be drowsy every day."

"Ah."

"When he wakes up, ask him to apply some of the ointment to the previously injured area, so as not to leave some roots of the disease in the future."

"it is good."

"The one in the box is pear cake, you can let him eat some after drinking the medicine."

Ye Li curled his lips, "I didn't know that Master Wen was so wordy."

Wen Yan sighed softly: "I'm leaving now."

Ye Li took the prescription from the table and walked out together with him. When he reached the downstairs, he ordered someone to go to the pharmacy outside to grab the medicine according to the prescription and fry it. Can."

"Don't bother Master Wen, this place is not far from the pharmacy." Ye Li waved his hand to let the man go, and then said: "I will send it not far away."

"Farewell."

Wen Yan turned around to leave, but Ye Li inadvertently caught a glimpse of a gash on his finger, and a thin line of blood snaked down his finger, and couldn't help frowning slightly: "Master Wen, your hand?"

It was about midnight when the red thread flared up and it hurt so badly, but Wen Yan didn't want to show a little bit of embarrassment in front of others, so he just said: "I accidentally scratched it just now, it's nothing serious." After saying that, she nodded slightly , turned and left.

He didn't walk fast, and his footsteps were not very steady. Ye Li looked at the back, recalled his pale face just now, and frowned thoughtfully.

However, it was not appropriate for him to stand at the door for a long time, so Yeli only stayed for a while before going back to his room.

After about an hour, someone brought up the decocted medicine.After Yeli waved people to retreat, he entered the inner room with the medicine bowl in his hand.

Liu Zhongyi woke up at some point, leaning on the bed and thinking about something.

"When did you wake up?"

"just."

Ye Li put the medicine bowl on the table and said, "It's still a little hot, I'll drink it later."

Liu Zhongyi glanced at the medicine bottle and food box on the table, and said, "Did someone come here just now?"

Ye Li smiled and threw the medicine bottle to him, "Guess who it is."

He was very familiar with the smell of this ointment. When he woke up, he realized that his body was full of this smell, as well as the faint medicinal fragrance that had never disappeared from that person's body. Liu Zhongyi lowered his eyes slightly: "It's the owner of the village."

"I haven't seen how good he is, and he can keep you thinking about it for so long."

"I haven't," Liu Zhongyi pursed his lips, shook his head, and said, "Is brother back?"

"I haven't seen it before," Ye Li handed him the medicine, "Drink this, it is said that it can temporarily suppress the poison in your body, you can find him yourself during the day."

"……it is good."

"Master, someone wants to see you outside."

"Who is it?" Wen Yan was writing a prescription, and asked indifferently.

"He claimed to be surnamed Yun, but didn't say anything else."

"Surname Yun?" Wen Yan was startled, and said, "Let him come here directly."

"Yes."

Liu Zhongrui took the order and was about to leave, but Wen Yan said: "Wait a minute, let the back chef make some pastries."

"Uh...yes." Although Liu Zhongrui was surprised, he still responded and turned away.

Not long after, a young man in light beige clothes followed Liu Zhongrui into the small courtyard. Liu Zhongrui brought him and left. The young man walked to the stone bench where Wen Yan was sitting, and looked at him across the stone table. talk.

"Zhong Yi." Wen Yan called him, and suddenly felt like a dream, the young man who had never changed his face had a pair of clear peach blossom eyes, and his expression was quiet and indifferent.When Liu Zhongyi was young, he only felt that those eyes were big and clear. Now that the person opened them, he realized that they were such beautiful peach blossom eyes. The corners of the eyes are upturned. It must look better when he smiles. It's a pity that this person is not often seen nowadays. Laughed.

Liu Zhongyi sat down opposite him, knowing that he had seen his undisguised face last night, so he was not surprised that he recognized him, but asked: "How did the owner guess that it was mine?"

If it was an ordinary guest, Wen Yan would probably choose to go to the front hall to receive them, and would never invite them to this small courtyard.

Wen Yan smiled and said: "Ordinary people always give their names and reasons when they come to the village, but you don't say anything. Besides, isn't the surname 'Yun' also a hint?"

"En." Liu Zhongyi listened to his tacit understanding, and there was a little smile in his eyes.

Wen Yan said: "Actually, you don't need to report, just come in."

Liu Zhongyi shook his head: "If I were dressed like I used to be, wouldn't I scare the people in the village?"

"I mean over the wall." Wen Yan pointed to the courtyard wall behind the pear tree, "Didn't you always do this before? But..." He paused, his expression slightly sad, "Who are you?" Are you planning to release news of your suspended animation?"

"Before you leave."

"..." Sure enough.

"Why, what does the owner think is wrong?" Liu Zhongyi explained: "Now that I know the truth five years ago, there is no need to continue to maintain such an illusion. From now on, the owner... I, I don't want to drag you down."

Although the words "find another lover" are not bad, he can't say them for some reason.

"I……"

Just as Wen Yan was about to say something, he saw a servant from the village entering the yard with a few plates of dim sum, so he stopped talking, motioned for the person to put all these things on the table one by one, and then backed away.

I don't know if it's intentional or not, but the pastries prepared by the back kitchen are very rich and sweet.

Wen Yan said: "I'm afraid you haven't eaten well these days, so let's have some snacks first."

"Thank you." Although Liu Zhongyi looked at the pastry with bright eyes, he didn't eat it right away, but said, "Master, I have something to ask you."

Sure enough, he can only talk about business matters. I'm afraid it's not easy to hold back until now. Wen Yan nodded: "Just ask."

Liu Zhongyi said: "Is the news that you will exchange me with your brother true or false?"

Wen Yan asked back: "Do you think it is true or not?"

"Of course it's false. If the owner does this, wouldn't our previous efforts be in vain?" Liu Zhongyi frowned slightly, but if it was false, why did Xiao Qi say that?

Wen Yan stood up and said, "It's true."

"You..." Liu Zhongyi suddenly raised his eyes to look at him, "Why? You know that I—"

Wen Yan walked to his side, pressed his finger on his lips, and said, "Don't say that."

Liu Zhongyi stopped speaking, but his eyes were fixed on him for a moment, Wen Yan smiled slightly, leaned over to his ear, and said a few words in a low voice.

As the warm breath brushed against the skin, Liu Zhongyi unconsciously froze half of his body, and inexplicably felt a little numbness in his ears, a very strange feeling.

After a while, when the man straightened up, Liu Zhongyi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Brother really said that?"

Wen Yan nodded: "Well, after visiting you last night, I sent him a letter."

"Ye Li told me about the Gu poison." Liu Zhongyi's face that had just slowed down became serious again: "Xie Miao obviously thought that I had no blood relationship with my brother, but why did he inject this poison..."

Could it be that Xie Miao never believed him?

It's not like...

Or, later, doubts arose?

Wen Yan patted him on the shoulder lightly, and said: "Don't worry, Xie Miao's purpose is nothing more than to bring back Zhong Qing, and Zhong Qing has already planned."

Liu Zhongyi couldn't help showing some worry: "Brother, is there really no danger in doing this?"

Wen Yan smiled reassuringly, and said, "Neither you nor I can stop him, the only thing we can do is to be with him."

Liu Zhong wondered for a moment, and finally nodded.

Wen Yan sat down on the stone bench on his left, pointed to the snacks on the table, and said, "Eat."

"Thank you, Master."

Wen Yan watched him pick up the chopsticks on the side, pick up the pastry and put it into his mouth. His eyes became brighter, and he couldn't help but feel gentle in his heart. He smiled lightly and said, "Did you eat that pear cake last night? Uncle Song deliberately made for you."

Liu Zhongyi was slightly surprised, then nodded, "Yes."

Wen Yan glanced at the dim sum on the table, and said, "Osmanthus dumplings, do you like them?"

"Ah."

"Where's the sesame candy?"

"Ah."

"Tea cake?"

"Ah."

"And me?"

"Hmm..." Liu Zhongyi didn't react for a moment, but it was only for a moment. Suddenly, he realized that he was surrounded by that person, and he opened his eyes wide and looked over in surprise: "Master, I..."

In fact, Wen Yan didn't know why he suddenly asked such a question, but he didn't have any regrets when he said it, at least when he heard his answer that he was surrounded by, he knew it was just a quick answer, but he still felt soft in his heart. Very gentle.

He smiled and said, "Zhong Yi, I like you too."

Liu Zhongyi was stunned when he heard the words, stared at him blankly for a long time before saying: "Master, stop joking."

Wen Yan looked into his eyes and said clearly: "I didn't mean to be joking."

Unable to bear his gaze, Liu Zhongyi stood up, lowered her eyes, and said in a low voice, "Master, you don't owe me anything, so don't say such things again."

"What I said is true or false, don't you feel it at all?" Wen Yan also stood up, raised his hand and gently held his, "Look at me."

Liu Zhongyi felt that something was slightly cold on his fingers, and glanced away, and found that it was a jade ring on Wen Yan's finger. Before he could think about it, he raised his eyes to look at his eyes, which were full of seriousness, without any seriousness. Just a little bit of a joke.

"If you don't like it, reject me."

Wen Yan said in a low voice, and leaned slightly closer.Liu Zhongyi didn't answer, her lips were pursed lightly, a little pale, but it looked neither too thin nor too thick, the gentle curve seemed to be very suitable for kissing.

The two breathed and heard each other, and for a while, it seemed that the breeze beside them also stopped.

Liu Zhongyi smelled the faint medicinal fragrance lingering around, he still liked the smell, but at this moment, the uneasiness in his heart was greater than the joy.

"Do not……"

After all, he called a stop at the last moment, like breaking a sweet dream, Liu Zhongyi turned his face away and broke free from his hand.

Perhaps because he had already expected this result, Wen Yan suppressed his emotions and did not lose his composure. He just smiled wryly and said, "I understand."

"..."

Liu Zhongyi didn't know how to respond to him for a while, and her heart was in a mess, she only knew that no matter what, before she thought it through clearly, she couldn't promise him like this.Thinking of this, he bit his lip, turned and left.

When he got to the gate of the courtyard, he saw Liu Zhongrui guarding the outside. He thought that the man had come to report something, but he overheard the conversation between the two, so he couldn't advance or retreat.

Liu Zhongrui waited for him to leave before entering the yard, Wen Yan had already restrained his expression, and said lightly: "What's the matter?"

"I wrote a few important matters accumulated in Yuezhuang in the past two days and handed them over in a letter. The subordinate originally wanted to send them over, but just now at the gate of the courtyard...he didn't come in."

"Just put it here."

Liu Zhongrui put the things on the table, and then said: "The medicinal materials that the owner ordered his subordinates to go to check have already been counted, and there are basically some in the pharmacy, but the root of the scorpion is missing."

"Qinghegen..." Wen Yan frowned after thinking for a while.

Liu Zhongrui said: "Exactly. Do you need to send someone to pick some?"

"No, I'll go by myself tomorrow."

Liu Zhongrui was startled when he heard the words, and persuaded him, "Master, that place is far away and very dangerous..."

"It's okay."

"At least... bring some people with you."

"No need, this matter cannot be delayed. It will be faster for me to go alone, and I will return within half a month."

"...Yes." Liu Zhongrui had no choice but to agree, but did not leave. He paused and asked, "Master, that person just now...is Mr. Liu?"

Wen Yan was startled, Liu Zhongrui was the only person in the village who knew about their entanglement and Liu Zhongyi's true identity, so he didn't intend to hide it, so he nodded slightly.

Liu Zhongrui showed some hesitation: "I have something to say, I don't know if I should say it..."

Wen Yan said lightly: "Speak."

Liu Zhongrui took a breath, and said in a low voice: "Actually, the owner and Mr. Liu...should have had a physical relationship."

"...What did you say?" Wen Yan never expected him to say such a sentence, and said in disbelief: "This kind of thing... How could I have no impression..."

"At that time, you were married not long ago, and Mr. Liu had not yet moved to the later yard. One night, the owner was drunk, and his subordinates heard strange noises in the house, so they went into the yard to check..."

He was worried that thieves would break into the manor, and when he entered the yard, he heard the voices of people and realized that there were no outsiders. The house was filled with the sound of knocking, tables and chairs being overturned, as if someone was doing something inside.As a subordinate, he shouldn't care about this kind of thing, but because he knew that the two people were not really married, he thought of knocking on the door to stop it if necessary... But he didn't expect that the fighting sound would stop and be replaced by the sound of cloth rubbing, he thought about it , finally backed out.

Liu Zhongrui gave a brief account of what he heard that night, Wen Yan held his palms tightly after hearing him finish, and said restrainedly, "Why didn't you say it earlier?"

"Master Liu told his subordinates not to say anything."

Liu Zhongrui still remembered that when he came to this courtyard the next day, that young man came out of the room, his face was very pale, his eyes were light blue from not having a good rest, the young man was not surprised when he saw him, but just He said without expression: "You don't need to tell the Young Master about this."

Wen Yan was silent for a long time, but smiled, and said, "Then why... are you telling me now?"

"This subordinate just... thinks that Mr. Liu probably rejects physical contact, so..." Liu Zhongrui was also very dry when he said these things, and he fell silent after roughly expressing his meaning.

Wen Yan recalled that at the beginning Liu Zhongyi was indeed very repulsed to contact with him, even if he just got closer, that person would keep his distance calmly, and if the body touched him, the reaction would be very stiff... Those were all because of himself ? ...It's just that, after getting along these days, that person obviously won't reject him anymore...As for just now, he was very sure that it wasn't because of this.

Wen Yan shook his head and said: "Uncle Liu, you don't have to worry about the matter between me and him. Let him pass the past. I owe him a lot, and I will repay it in the future."

Thinking about it, it was actually a good thing that Liu Zhongyi no longer liked him.All he brought to that person was pain, and it was great to be able to forget it....

"There is a box in his room. After I leave tomorrow, you will have someone send it to the Star Picking Tower and hand it over to Yeli."

"Yes."

"Go and get busy."

"Subordinates retire."

After Liu Zhongrui left, Wen Yan stood alone in the courtyard for a while, but felt that these years were like a dream. When he was young, he had hoped to win the hearts of the one and be happy with each other. Looking back now, he found that it was still a dream that had never been realized. Just a wish.

Probably the more a person expects to get, the less he can get it, or...he doesn't deserve such deep affection.

That's fine... Liu Zhongyi is just a young man with a weak crown, he still has a long life, and he will meet better people in the future, if he keeps wasting himself, it's really not worth it.

Wen Yan gently turned the jade ring on his hand, and what was hidden under it was the trace of the red thread.He smiled slightly, afraid that his wish back then would never come true in his lifetime.