Rui Hegui

The next day, Zhao Liangyue got up earlier than usual, and Youbai was practicing on the roof when he saw the last one and jumped down.

"My lord, it's not daylight yet."

"I have to be busy today." Zhao Liangyue said, took Youbai into the back room, opened the box in the hidden place, and pitifully revealed the small amount of money inside.

Seeing this, Youbai couldn't help asking: "Young master, didn't you say that these are for relationship management, so start doing it now?"

"It's for making connections." Zhao Liangyue directly reached out to take the most precious mutton fat jade pendant, "But it's not for official relations, but to visit the neighbor."

"Huh?" Youbai was taken aback.

Zhao Liangyue turned around and held the jade pendant up to the light for a closer look, only to see that the whole body was as moist as wax, and the openwork technique was superb, the carp playing with the lotus was so lifelike, it seemed as if getting closer, the water splashed by the carp would hit his face.

"Go, go to the pawn shop."

"Wait, son, isn't that your favorite pendant? Zhizhou specially asked someone to make it for you."

Zhao Liang laughed more: "Give it to me, it's mine, how to deal with it is not up to me?"

Youbai nodded, thinking it made sense, two steps forward to catch up with Zhao Liangyue who had already stepped out of the threshold.

At the end of Yin time in the afternoon, Zhao Liangyue took Youbai to walk through several big pawns in Kyoto, passing by Dim Sum Zhai on the way back, sweet and fragrant, Zhao Liangyue turned his head to look at You Bai, sure enough, Dim Sum Zhai fixed his gaze firmly.

"Do you want to go in and pick some to take back?" Although Zhao Liangyue was asking, he had already stepped in first, and Youbai quickly followed with a happy smile on his face.

"What kind of snacks do you want, my lord?" As soon as the two of them entered the door, the boss greeted them with a smile, "The signature gorgon cake is gone today, and there are still some flower cakes, dense cakes, osmanthus cakes, etc."

"Is there any plum cake?" Youbai asked.

"There are some." The boss beckoned to the man to bring some, "I wonder how much you want?"

Zhao Liangyue saw that the plum blossom cake was very fresh, so he said to Youbai: "It's rare to come here once, so buy more for your preparation."

Youbai grinned at him happily, a little silly.

The boss asked the staff to pack the plum cake, and gave a few more pieces of cloud cake to try. He couldn't help but sigh: "The young man next to him is the younger brother of the son. The relationship between you two brothers is really good."

Youbai heard that he wanted to explain, Zhao Liangyue said: "This time I come to Beijing, only my younger brother is by my side."

The boss nodded: "Listen to your son's accent, he must be from Jiangnan."

"Exactly, Xuanshan, Maozhou."

The boss couldn't help feeling: "Xuanshan is a good place with outstanding people."

"Boss has been there?"

"I went there once when I was young, and I still have a fresh memory of its beautiful mountains, beautiful waters and beautiful scenery." The boss thought about it for a while, and asked, "Looking at your appearance and demeanor, you must come from a famous family. I don't know which big family it is?"

"It's not really a famous family, the descendants of the Xia Zhao family, named Liangyue."

"It turned out to be a talented Zhao from Maozhou. I'm sorry and disrespectful! But Mr. Zhao is really humble. How can the Xuanshan Zhao family not be considered a famous family? After all, it was also a great family when the dynasty opened. .”

Zhao Liangyue didn't care about it, he just said: "The rise and fall of a school is like the prosperity of mortal grass and trees, all things are like this, and it's good to have a normal heart."

The boss nodded, cupped his hands and said, "Young Master Zhao has a broad mind and insight, I admire you."

"That's ridiculous, I don't know the boss's name?"

"The surname is Yuan, and the list is one word."

Zhao Liangyue nodded, seeing that Yuan Cheng was also considered to be a well-rounded person, he deliberately sighed and showed a worried expression.

"Why did Mr. Zhao sigh?"

Zhao Liangyue looked up at the high sky, said silently, "Boss Yuan, who among the hard-working students in the world doesn't want to make it to the top in high school? This time Zhao went to Beijing to rush for the exam, and he also wanted to find a bright future. , It’s just that they are newcomers and have nowhere to go, and they don’t know what the situation in the capital is like now, which will only increase their troubles.”

Boss Yuan laughed loudly when he heard the words, and said: "Although a certain merchant is not a member of the court, but he has been in this capital for a long time, and he has seen and heard a lot, so he can talk to Mr. Zhao. "

Zhao Liangyue clasped his hands in salute, and said, "Boss Yuan, teach me."

Yuan Cheng waved his hand and invited Zhao Liangyue to the back hall. Instead of sitting down and watching tea, he said, "If you want to talk about the capital today, you have to mention the two great families of Wang Han. Since Wang Han died together in the conspiracy case 13 years ago, Forging the friendship between Qin and Jin, since then it has been like one body, but now it is a lonely tree, and everyone yearns for it, but..."

"Boss Yuan, please tell me, Zhao will definitely keep his mouth shut."

Yuan Cheng nodded and continued: "It's just that the royal courts of the king and Han are dominant and powerful. They are no longer the loyal ministers and good generals who could devote themselves to helping the country when the important ministers rebelled. Now there is only slander and sycophant. It is really harming the country and the people if the party unites and cuts down differences. If Mr. Zhao followed his party members, it would be no problem to get promoted and make a fortune, but after thousands of years, his reputation in Qingshu would not be good."

Seeing Boss Yuan sighing, Zhao Liangyue knew that this was from the bottom of his heart, so he cupped his hands and said: "Boss Yuan can warn you like this, Zhao is very grateful."

"Mr. Zhao is flattering XX. A XX just saw that Mr. Zhao was wearing a plain robe, but he had an extraordinary bearing and a compassionate face, so he said these words too much."

"There are so many high-ranking people in the market, and there may not be talents in the temple." Zhao Liangyue turned his head to look at Yuan Cheng, and asked, "Aside from this Wang Han family, are there other people who can be talked about?"

"Of course there are." Yuan Cheng dipped his hand in the tea and wrote two characters on the table, one was "Chu" and the other was "Meng".

Zhao Liangyue said: "Meng, of course it is the Meng family that founded the dynasty, and now the high-ranking official is Meng Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, but this Chu family, Zhao has never heard of it."

Yuan Cheng shook his head: "The word 'Chu' does not refer to a great family, but to a person, that is, the present Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, Bandit Chu."

"How is this person?"

"This man is only thirty. He is handsome and extraordinary. He ranks high in the third rank, but he is a master of the city. He is good at power and tactics, and his methods are especially ruthless. He doesn't stick to etiquette.

Zhao Liangyue watched the water stains on the table being gradually dried by the wind, thought for a while, and said, "It seems that the only ones who can compete with Wang Han are the Meng family and this Minister Chu."

"Exactly, besides this, other forces are intertwined, open and secret, but unfortunately they are all in the dark." Yuan Cheng asked Zhao Liangyue, "Then, which side will Mr. Zhao choose?"

Just when the wind was blowing in front of the hall, the dead branches of the tobacco willow in the courtyard were snapped off with a bang, and the fracture was pale white, only waiting for new shoots in the coming year.

Zhao Liangyue smiled lightly, and said, "Zhao doesn't choose anyone."

In the north of the city, there is an abandoned earth temple.

A burly man staggered in and ran in. Because he was too panicked, he accidentally tripped over a horizontal table on the ground and couldn't stand up anymore—his thigh was just cut by a knife while escaping, and his flesh and blood flew away. The bones are directly exposed outside, which shows the ruthlessness of the person using the knife.

"It's pretty fast."

A chuckle came from outside, the man seemed to be summoned by Wuchang, with a look of fear on his face, he struggled to get up and escape.

I saw a sharp knife flying into the temple first, and the cold light pierced through the man's entire shoulder, nailing him firmly to the pillar behind him.

Accompanied by the man's screams, the man chasing from outside the door slowly paced in. He was dressed in a scarlet suit, with eagles embroidered on his shoulders, with piercing eyes and sharp claws, as if he was about to rush out to bite his prey at any time.

"Why are you running? Can I eat you? I've been chasing you all night. I'm still tired if you're not tired."

The man certainly recognized the clothes in front of him, which were the red eagle uniforms of the royal court dog Jin Luanwei, and he also recognized the person in front of him, the commanding envoy of Jin Luanwei, Xing Shuo, the living King of Hades who killed people without blinking an eye!

Xing Shuo walked up to the man's side, leaned over and asked, "Tell me, where did your privately cast weapons, which are worth two carriages, come from to the capital, and who are you going to deliver them to?"

The man gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.

Xing Shuo smiled, took the handle of the knife in his hand, and twisted the sharp blade around the man's shoulder. The man finally couldn't take it anymore, sweating like rain, and began to beg bitterly.

Xing Shuo showed no expression, he didn't stop until the man was trembling all over, reaching the limit of endurance.

"Don't ask me a second time, just say what I want."

"My lord, my lord... I really don't know anything! If you leave me alone, there are wives and children at home, my lord!"

"Looks like I still don't want to talk about it." Xing Shuo looked up at the Land Lord covered in spider webs. He had a benevolent face and a compassionate face. Xing Shuo smiled contemptuously, then turned his head and said to the man, "It seems that this kind of interrogation I’m still not very good at this matter, so I’d better hand you over to the Ministry of Punishment, Chu Bandit and Chu Shangshu are much better at interrogation than I am, I just poked a few holes in you, but what he said..."

It would be better to die than to live!

When the man heard the words, his face turned pale with fright, his eyes widened, and then his heart froze, and he bit the poisonous pill in his mouth.

It was too late for Xing Shuo to stop him, the man was killed on the spot.

"If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have mentioned Mr. Chu Bandit, I think I scared you." Xing Shuo clicked his tongue, bent down to search the man, found a copper token, and frowned, " It's a member of the Ministry of War again, and it's as blatant as ever."

Xing Shuo put away the token, wiped the knife on the man's clothes, and put it back into the sheath.

As the sun was setting, Youbai and Zhao Liangyue went back with a bunch of snacks.

Along the way, Youbai rarely spoke much, Zhao Liangyue saw his thoughts at a glance, and asked, "Are you still struggling with Boss Yuan saying you are my younger brother?"

Yubai nodded.

Zhao Liangyue sighed lightly, stopped, turned to look at Youbai, and said, "I'll ask you a few questions, just answer them."

"……it is good."

"How long have we known each other?"

"Exactly eight years."

"Ever since you came to the Zhao family, have you lived and ate with me? Five years ago, when the famine and plague were rampant in Maozhou, the Zhao family moved westward for refuge. Returning to Xuanshan after the next year, does this count as sharing weal and woe?"

"Calculate."

"That's all right." Zhao Liangyue raised his hand to caress Youbai's head, and said, "The so-called brothers and sisters grow up together and share weal and woe together."

Youbai looked up at Zhao Liangyue, frowned and said, "But..."

"No but, although you call me son, it's just a title. You can never treat yourself as a slave. I never pay attention to the rules of the master's house, and you don't have to be bound by them."

The pomelo white throat seemed to be choked by something, and he felt a burst of warmth from the hand caressing his head, and his chest seemed to be filled with something, it was so full and reassuring.

Looking at Yubai's red eye sockets, Zhao Liangyue couldn't help thinking of when he picked up Yubai.

That year, the snowfall on Xuanshan Mountain in Maozhou was heavier than in previous years, and the snow drifted thousands of miles away. On the spur of the moment, the young masters and ladies of the main family sent Zhao Liangyue, who was a descendant and lowly, out of the house to buy rabbits.

But it was freezing cold, where would he go to find rabbits to buy?What's more, they didn't give him half a copper.

They were just entertaining him again.

At that time, he was only 14 years old, and he was still wearing thin old autumn clothes. He was shivering from the cold, and tears fell like broken threads. He didn't want to cry at first, but he felt that men shouldn't cry.

But he was too cold and too hungry.

He didn't know how long he stood in the snow and cried, but in the end, the instinct of survival forced him to move forward, and every step he struggled was very difficult.

Walking to the market in the snow, he took out the copper coins he had saved for a long time, took out two out of them and bought a small cake for himself, but he was reluctant to eat it right away, so he put it in his arms, and then went door to door asking the rabbits .

After searching for a long time, a butcher finally saw him as pitiful, so he gave him the rabbit that his daughter was raising and playing with. It was a gray rabbit that was fattened up, the size of the family's puppy.

The butcher didn't want money from Zhao Liangyue, but Zhao Liangyue refused to accept favors for nothing, and insisted on giving the butcher his remaining copper coins.

On the way back, the wind and snow got heavier, Zhao Liangyue had no choice but to hide in a ruined temple.

Then he met Yubai.

At that time, Youbai was beaten half to death by other beggars. He was naked in winter, his wounds festered, and his body was so thin that only skin and bones remained. A small pile was thrown in the snow outside the ruined temple. He raised his hand and grabbed the hem of Zhao Liangyue's clothes, Zhao Liangyue couldn't realize that there was a living person covered under the heavy snow, he was a child about five or six years old.

Zhao Liangyue hurriedly dragged the man out of the snow, picked him up and walked towards the temple.

Zhao Liangyue thought that holding a person and a rabbit would be very strenuous, but the child in his arms was actually lighter than a rabbit, and his body was so skinny that his chest hurt.

The beggars in the temple looked towards the two people at the door and saw that Zhao Liangyue was dressed as if he was a servant of a wealthy family, so he was afraid of trouble and didn't make any further moves, but they were not allowed to get close to the fire that was set up.

Zhao Liangyue had no choice but to walk into the corner.

"what's your name?"

No voice answered Zhao Liangyue.

Just now Zhao Liangyue realized that the child was dying, and his life was not long, so he thought to himself, could it be that he is already dead now?

Zhao Liangyue froze, feeling suddenly sad.

It is not that he has not witnessed death. His father, mother, and the nurse who took care of him since he was a child have all died in front of him. It is precisely because he has witnessed the death of his relatives and loved ones that he has long been numb and indifferent to death. , and even made preparations for being beaten to death by the master one day, and then leaving with them.

But his innate compassion has always left a scorching hot heart despite his cold blood.

The more Zhao Liang thought about it, when the snow stopped, find a place to bury it, and it would count as an encounter.

Suddenly, the child in his arms moved suddenly, stretched out his hand with difficulty, and tightly grasped the skirt of his clothes, his chapped lips moved, making a small sound.

Zhao Liangyue lowered his head and listened closer, only to realize that the child in his arms is called Youbai.

Youbai's parents are actually still alive, but life is difficult, they are too poor, and there are too many children in the family, they can no longer support them, so they can only throw one away-the one that is thrown away is Youbai.

Zhao Liangyue watched Youbai gobble up the pancakes he handed over to him, talking about his background intermittently, feeling very sympathetic in his heart.

But it can only be sympathy, Zhao Liangyue himself is also living in a very difficult situation.Avoiding a snowstorm and giving a piece of cake is already all he can do.

Xu Shi saw what Zhao Liangyue was thinking, and Youbai struggled to crawl over, clutching the hem of his clothes tightly with his small hands, looking at him with red eyes, full of cautious pleading.

Zhao Liangyue turned his head away, looked at the white snow outside, and didn't speak.

When the snow was getting lighter, it was time for Zhao Liangyue to leave. He raised his head and glanced at the beggars who were looking at them, easily removed the little hands that were clutched on the hem of his clothes, and said in a low voice, "I can take you for a while, so that they don't come here again. Do it, but I can't take you back."

Yubai nodded repeatedly.

So Zhao Liangyue picked up a person and a rabbit, walked north for a while, put down the pomelo in front of a eaves corner, pointed to a house in the east, and said: "That old man is kind, he often gives porridge, and he should do the same this afternoon. Yes, you can come here often in the future."

Then Zhao Liangyue left, Youbai yelled something behind him, but he couldn't quite hear what it was, and he didn't slow down.

Zhao Liangyue originally thought that this was their first and last meeting.

Until, half a month later, Zhao Liangyue saw a child performing juggling in the courtyard for the ladies and gentlemen of the main family, which made them laugh out loud.

That kid was Youbai, and he tried his best to find the opportunity to find Zhao Liangyue by asking around.

But Youbai didn't expect that Zhao Liangyue was only a young master in name in the house, but in fact he was no different from a servant, often he couldn't even eat enough, let alone talk.

Zhao Liangyue had a bad premonition in his heart.

Sure enough, Zhao Kang felt that Youbai was very entertaining, so he raised his mouth with Mrs. Zhao, and Youbai was detained as a servant of the Zhao family.

At the beginning, the second young master was quite interested, admiring some things, eating and drinking, but within half a month, he got tired of watching juggling, and saw that Zhao Liangyue cared a lot about Youbai, so he gave Youbai to Zhao Liangyue courtyard On the surface, it is said that a servant is added to serve, but in fact, one person eats and two people eat, but the poor supply remains the same, often eating the last meal without the next meal.

Youbai felt guilty and didn't want to cause trouble for Zhao Liangyue, so he planned to escape, but Zhao Liangyue knew that the fugitive slave would be beaten to death, so he let Youbai stay.

Afterwards, they spent eight years together in the backyard of their lord's house. During this time, they endured a lot of humiliation and parted lives several times, which is not humane. If they had to ask a question, Zhao Liangyue could only come up with one sentence:

Fortunately, they all survived and can still go so far.