Lintai Storm Record

Hurriedly and Aunt Qi dragged Li Xuan up.

Aunt Qi raised her red eyes, sniffed, "I'll take him to change clothes."

Li Xuan's footsteps were flimsy, his body was very weak, only at that moment just now, his whole body was full of strength.At this time, Aunt Qi could restrain him by herself. Li Xuan turned around while walking, with a strange expression on his face, and was dragged into the room by Aunt Qi stumbled.

"He's always like this, scaring you?" Wu Yingzhong looked guilty, Wu Yingzhong didn't look at Song Qianzhi carefully yesterday, and now his eyes are fixed on Song Qianzhi's face.

That strange look made Song Qianzhi feel a little nervous.

"Uncle Wu?"

Wu Yingzhong smiled sheepishly: "It's okay. I heard from Lu Guan that both of you are officials from the Secretary's Ministry. I want to ask my little brother, do you know the current Queen Mother?"

Song Qianzhi's heart moved.Fu Minghong is Li Xuan's heart knot, he is the empress dowager's nephew, and Fu Minghong's appearance is so three-pointed, it is not very similar, but to Li Xuan who has been crazy for many years, even if there is only one point similar, because he There is only one person in my heart for thousands of days and nights, and I will recognize one point as ten points.

☆, orthodoxy (nine)

Aunt Qi changed Li Xuan's clothes and brought him out. His hair hadn't been washed, and he was holding a box tightly in his hand. After leaving the house, he stayed by the door, carefully glancing at Song Qianzhi from time to time.

Li Xuansheng was very good-looking, his complexion was originally very fair, but now it was slightly reddish.

"He recognized you as the old prince." Zhou Xian whispered to Song Qianzhi.Just now when Wu Yingzhong asked Song Qianzhi if he knew the queen mother, he guessed that Li Xuan thought Song Qianzhi was Fu Minghong, and that's why he was so embarrassed.

In the eyes of that lunatic, Song Qianzhi became the person in his dreams that he thought about day and night.

Wu Yingzhong was about to step over, but was stopped by Song Qianzhi, who rolled up his sleeves and smiled at Wu Yingzhong: "I'll help."

Wu Yingzhong said gratefully, "I'm too tired, Young Master."

As Song Qianzhi approached, Li Xuan's eyes opened wider and wider. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes slightly, with a puzzled expression on his face.

Suddenly, the corners of Li Xuan's lips curled up, and a heartless smile appeared on his face, as if a trembling flower was first blooming in the cold spring breeze, he carefully and cautiously raised his hand to grab Song Qianzhi's sleeves, when his fingers touched the fabric, his eyelashes couldn't help trembling, he glanced at Song Qianzhi flickeringly, quickly lowered his eyes, tightened his fingers bit by bit, didn't want to let go, and didn't dare to make any changes. Excessive action.

After a while, Song Qianzhi gently shook Li Xuan's hand, and said gently, "Wash your hair first, okay?"

Li Xuan didn't seem to understand, but he tried his best to listen. After a while, he nodded slowly, sat obediently, and lay down on the chair.

Song Qianzhi scooped up clear water and slowly poured it along Li Xuan's hair to rinse it off. His long wet hair was like silk satin, and the white hair mixed in between was no longer dazzling.

"Brother Hong..." Li Xuan couldn't help but cry out in a broken voice. He stared at Song Qianzhi intently until his eyes were red and painful, so he blinked. Widen your eyes.

Song Qianzhi wiped Li Xuan's head, but Li Xuan never let go, Song Qianzhi didn't say anything, and let him drag him.

Zhou Xian moved a stool, Song Qianzhi sat on the stool and wiped Li Xuan's head, the sun shone down from the top of his head, Song Qianzhi's robe was full of sweat, he simply rolled up his trousers, revealing his white and thin face leg.

"Master Hou is going to feed the mosquitoes?" Zhou Xian joked.

Wu Yingzhong took out the mosquito repellent liquid, dipped a long emerald feather in it and sprinkled it in the yard, focusing on the place where Song Qianzhi and the others were sitting and basking in the sun.

When Lu Guan entered the courtyard, he saw Li Xuan's head resting on Song Qianzhi's lap, fast asleep. He frowned and walked over.

Seeing him, Song Qianzhi made a gesture of hissing, then raised Li Xuan's head lightly, and beckoned Zhou Xian to come over. Zhou Xian looked puzzled, and Song Qianzhi moved Li Xuan to his on the legs.

Zhou Xian: "..."

Li Xuan's lips moved, but he didn't wake up, and curled up his body.

After the two entered the room, Lu Guan took out a small paper bag from his arms.

Song Qianzhi asked curiously: "What is this..." Opening it, it turned out to be a paper bag of candy in different colors.Song Qianzhi picked one up and put it in his mouth, the smelly smell filled his nostrils, and what he tasted in his mouth was indeed a strange sweetness.

"Well——" Lu Guan was suddenly fed a candy by Song Qianzhi, and said casually, "I tasted it, it's a bit special, do you like it? I'll take some when I like it."

"It's okay. I'll save some and bring it back to my mother. Has the boat been hired yet? When will we be on the road?"

Lu Guan pushed the hard candy back and forth in his mouth with his tongue, packed his things, and said, "Tomorrow afternoon, there is a boat going to the capital, and we can't hire one. Just go as you go."

"If Xu Ruiyun doesn't come tomorrow, we'll have to wait another two days, or we might have to go to Xunzhou."

"What are you doing in Xunzhou?"

"My aunt asked me to check Liu Yun's old office, but I forgot..." Song Qianzhi's voice became weaker and weaker.

Lu Guan snorted, poked Song Qianzhi's forehead with his fingers, kissed him on the lips, and said, "Just wait."

Song Qianzhi was anxious at first, but now he is not in a hurry.

"Li Xuan likes you."

Hearing this at first, Song Qianzhi stretched his neck, his eyes widened, he accidentally swallowed the candy, and coughed endlessly.

Lu Guan continued to say seriously: "I've never seen him get so close to anyone before."

Song Qianzhi said awkwardly: "He recognizes me as Brother Hong, so he naturally wants to get close to me." Song Qianzhi's heart moved, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he hooked Lu Guan's chin with his finger, "Are you jealous?"

"Eating the vinegar of a lunatic, then what am I?"

"You are my man." Song Qianzhi said casually.

Lu Guan blushed and snorted: "Yes, I still remember."

"Yeah." Song Qianzhi said perfunctorily, he felt that Lu Guan's shy look was novel and amusing, and when he wanted to tease him a few more words, Zhou Xian opened the door and came in.

"Where's Li Xuan?" Song Qianzhi asked.

"I just came to call you. He woke up and looked for you everywhere, even under the kitchen stove." Zhou Xian couldn't laugh or cry, "Go and see, such a big man, if he cries..."

Song Qianzhi's head was as big as a bucket, and when he walked out of the house, Li Xuan rushed over like a gust of wind. He raised his hands in the air, slowly lowered them, held Song Qianzhi's sleeves, and timidly and carefully looked at each other one by one. he.

Song Qianzhi looked back at Lu Guan in embarrassment.

Lu Guan leaned against the door with his arms folded, said nothing, and pouted.

Song Qianzhi felt relieved and took Li Xuan to the kitchen to eat.

Li Xuan followed Song Qianzhi like a little tail all day long. He was tall and thin. If he went out, such a big man followed Song Qianzhi. Bob's yard.

In the afternoon, Lu Guan and Zhou Xian went out to buy local products to bring back to the capital, and Song Qianzhi tried to communicate with Li Xuan.

When Song Qianzhi spoke, Li Xuan stared at him seriously, as if trying to understand the meaning of Song Qianzhi's words.

Wu Yingzhong had been standing by the door, paying attention to the situation in the house, with a worried look on his face.

"What's your name?" Song Qianzhi started from the simplest, but Li Xuan couldn't quite understand him. When he asked him what his name was, what age he was, and where his family was, Li Xuan's expression seemed to understand him, and he answered every single word. Can't come out, so Song Qianzhi can only speculate that Li Xuan can't understand what he is saying, just because in Li Xuan's eyes, he is Fu Minghong, so he tried hard to understand Song Qianzhi's words.

After repeating this more than ten times, Song Qianzhi had to give up.

He went outside to talk to Wu Yingzhong, and Li Xuan was standing at the door of his bedroom, looking at Song Qianzhi from a distance.

"It seems that Li Xuan can't prove anything." Song Qianzhi sighed.

"The first emperor left a posthumous edict, explaining Li Xuan's identity. This edict may arouse the Empress Dowager Zhou's sympathy." Wu Yingzhong apologized, "I shouldn't comment on what the Empress Dowager did, but people are not grass and trees. The old man has taken care of Li Xuan for these years, so he naturally sympathizes with what happened to him. This edict is a little compensation from the late emperor to this child. Lord Lu told me about the conversation between His Highness and Lord Song. The old man has some words, although they are presumptuous , I have to tell Lord Hou to know."

Probably Wu Yingzhong let the crazy Li Xuan cling to him because he wanted to find a chance to talk to Song Qianzhi alone.Having figured this out, Song Qianzhi stood still and cupped his hands: "Mr. please advise."

Wu Yingzhong looked far away, bowed his hands to Song Qianzhi, and said: "The Zhou family's exercise of power will endanger the rivers and mountains, and it will inevitably arouse the resistance of today's people. But in my great Chu, internal and external troubles, chaos in the court, the four seasons are not going well, and all businesses are not prosperous. Now the king The empress dowager and Li Xiangsu are close, in terms of blood relationship, the young duke is close to the empress dowager, presumably this trip to Beijing is to explain to the empress dowager that the old prince's fall from the horse is not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster."

Song Qianzhi didn't know how much Lu Guan had said to Wu Yingzhong, and listened to what Wu Yingzhong said, and tried to speak as little as possible.

"I have this idea."

"In his position to seek his own government, the old man has retired to the countryside for nearly ten years, and his life as a fisherman, woodcutter, farmer, and student is nothing more than the rest of his life. It's just an entrustment from the late emperor, and I really can't let it go. The old man has a request, and I don't know if the young master can make it up." Wu Yingzhong paused Suddenly, looking at Song Qianzhi's expression, he said, "Even if the young master can't agree, the old man will bring Li Xuan to Beijing. If Lu Guan hadn't rescued me and Li Xuan back then, there would be no request today."

With Wu Yingzhong's attitude so low, Song Qianzhi couldn't refuse.Song Qianzhi looked at the begging old man in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "My lord, please tell me."

"Regardless of whether the Empress Dowager Zhou listens to the old man's words or not, I hope the young master can swear that Li Xuan's life will be safe and sound." Wu Yingzhong spoke sincerely.

Standing by the door was Li Xuan, looking at the two of them half understanding, but he didn't dare to come over.

Song Qianzhi's Li Xuan beckoned.

The man who was older than Song Qianzhi showed a smile on his face, and walked over quickly. He grabbed Song Qianzhi's arm, and only gently hooked his robe sleeve with his fingers, not daring to hold it too tightly. Li Xuan, who is in his thirties, has exceptionally clear eyes due to forgetfulness and confusion.

"Please rest assured, my lord. I, Song Qianzhi, will swear to the death to protect Li Xuan's life."

At this moment, Lu Guan and Zhou Xian came back, and they stood at the door, both stunned.Zhou Xian glanced at Lu Guan, patted him on the shoulder, and took all the big and small bags in Lu Guan's hand into the house.

Aunt Qi made dumplings at night, which she said were Wu Yingzhong's favorite, served with balsamic vinegar.There are three kinds of stuffing made of pork, tofu, leek, and celery, and there is also a small plate of dumplings stuffed with beef.

Just before eating, there was a hasty knock on the door outside the courtyard.

Wu Yingzhong waved his hand on the table and said repeatedly: "Eat, eat first, I'll go."

Wu Yingzhong is the owner of this house, it is not known who knocked on the door, he should have opened the door.Song Qianzhi put down his chopsticks and smiled at Aunt Qi: "I have a heavy mouth, please ask Aunt Qi to help me get some salt."

Aunt Qi went to get the salt.

Song Qianzhi said: "Have you found it?"

Zhou Xian was already very hungry, so he stole a dumpling with his hand, biting into his mouth, it was so hot that he couldn't close his mouth even if he couldn't close it.

"Don't talk." Lu Guan said, "Let me ask him, after dinner..."

Outside, Xu Ruiyun's loud voice was shouting: "Little brother Song! Why did you leave your brother and run away! Come and help me!"

Lu Guan's face darkened.

Song Qianzhi quickly made two dumplings for Lu Guan.

Zhou Xian consciously got up and went out to help. Seeing Liu Pingwen lying on Xu Ruiyun's back without knowing anything about personnel, he frowned, went up to support Liu Pingwen, and asked Xu Ruiyun, "Did you drug someone?"

"Fart!" Xu Ruiyun yelled angrily, "He is such a powerless scholar, can I prescribe medicine?"

Wu Yingzhong didn't like the stranger with the loud voice very much. With a cane in his hand, he said, "Xiao Lu, is this your guest?"

Lu Guan was about to say no.

Xu Ruiyun walked into the main room in three steps and two steps with a stern face, tsk-tsk sounded in his mouth, spread his legs with both hands and dragged a small bench under his buttocks to sit on. He is tall and tall, sitting like a hunchbacked bear.

I am not afraid of people being shameless, but most afraid of people being shameless.The group really had nothing to do with Xu Ruiyun, so Aunt Qi smiled and added a pair of chopsticks for him, went back to the kitchen to roll out noodles, and made forty extra dumplings.

In Songzhou, dumplings are not a common local snack, but Wu Yingzhong loves to eat them. Aunt Qi learned this skill specially, and her skills are not inferior to that of the Northland cook.

Xu Ruiyun picked up a dumpling and took the first bite, praising the deliciousness. After eating more than a dozen dumplings, his chewing speed slowed down, his eyes were frozen, his cheeks were stiff, his eye sockets were slightly red, and his breathing was hot.

"Brother Xu, you haven't tasted stuffed with tofu and pork." Seeing that the situation was wrong, Song Qianzhi quickly picked one for Xu Ruiyun that he didn't have in his bowl.

Xu Ruiyun smiled, lowered his eyes, took a deep breath, moved his mouth, bit by bit the chopsticks.

"My mother likes tofu stuffing and egg stuffing the most. I haven't eaten it for many years. I can eat it all in this pot." Xu Ruiyun glanced at Aunt Qi excitedly, and said, "Thank you, big sister, for your craftsmanship. So authentic."

A shy smile appeared on Aunt Qi's face, and she said in jerky Mandarin: "It's a blessing to be able to eat, and I'll do it if I don't have enough."

"Enough is enough." Xu Ruiyun stopped talking and ate all the dumplings in his bowl with a dull head.

Wu Yingzhong's serious face relaxed, and he ate his bowl of dumplings slowly.

Song Qianzhi finished his own bowl, and grabbed a few more from Lu Guan's bowl. He kept feeling in his heart that Aunt Qi's dumplings were really delicious, and then remembered what rare delicacies were eaten in the Hou's mansion. , Will be moved by a mediocre dumpling.Song Qianzhi thought again, Xu Ruiyun didn't know how many years he hadn't returned home. He was a soldier in Xunzhou. Let him take Liu Pingwen to the state capital of Xunzhou.Xu Ruiyun didn't have to hurry to leave tomorrow, and he could ask Aunt Qi to make him two more dumplings.

After dinner, Zhou Xian helped Aunt Qi wash the dishes, and Li Xuan pestered Song Qianzhi to put rouge on his mouth. In fact, it was not rouge, it was a kind of candy that could be eaten, but the color of the sugar paste was bright.Song Qianzhi heard what Wu Yingzhong said, and then he realized that Fu Minghong often played with Li Xuan like this.

Li Xuan's mouth was painted red, and he closed his eyes with a smile, and sat quietly, with a look of anticipation on his face, and sweet waiting in his brows.

Candles were burning in the room, and the faint lights danced between Li Xuan's exquisite facial features.

At that time, Fu Minghong was full of youthful spirit and triumphant.Back then, Rongzong doted on Empress Zhou, and also her son, who became the crown prince shortly after he was born.And Li Xuan, a helpless orphan, grew up with the prince since he was a child, and spent a lot of money on food and clothing.

Song Qianzhi didn't enter the palace too often, he only knew that Fu Minghong treated people like a gentleman, and in his bones was the grace of an aristocrat who was the best educated and grew up among the piles of gold, silver and jade.It is rare that Fu Minghong is tolerant and considerate to others, such a jade-like person, gets along day and night, and takes care of him a lot. In the current situation, there was indeed something between Fu Minghong and Li Xuan.

Speaking of Li Xuan, the Empress Dowager Zhou also said that it is good to be crazy, otherwise she will become a sycophant.

Song Qianzhi was in a trance, Li Xuan closed one eye, but carefully opened the other eye, took a peek at him, then closed it, sat up straight and leaned forward.

There was a light cough under the window.

The outline on the window paper made Song Qian recognize at a glance that Lu Guan was outside.

Song Qianzhi exhaled with difficulty, covered Li Xuan's eyes with one hand to prevent him from peeking, and lightly touched Li Xuan's lips with the index finger of his right hand.Li Xuan's lips parted slightly, but Song Qianzhi withdrew his hand.

Li Xuan opened his eyes, his face was flushed, his eyelashes kept flickering, he didn't look at Song Qianzhi at all, he turned to comb his hair with a comb in front of the mirror, his eyes were half closed, he couldn't see that there was another person in the mirror at all, his gaze Also crazy up.

Song Qianzhi walked out of the house, and after a while, the light in Li Xuan's room went out.

Not far away, Wu Yingzhong, who was leaning on crutches, came over, nodded at Song Qianzhi, walked over and gently opened the half-hidden door, only to see the huddled figure on the bed move, and Li Xuan had already wrapped the quilt tightly. .

Wu Yingzhong turned back and said comfortingly: "This child is willing to sleep well today." With a grateful expression on his face, he didn't say much, just said that he was going to sleep, and went back to his room.

The sound of the water in the yard gradually subsided, Aunt Qi left, Wu Yingzhong went to bed, Zhou took a shower in the corner room first, and Xu Ruiyun cleaned a room by himself, so we can settle down tonight.

Lu Guan held Song Qianzhi's hand on his lap, and the two sat next to each other by the stone well.

The wind blew the shadows of trees all over the courtyard swaying, and the air was still humid, but not as hot as the night before.

"When Xu Ruiyun comes out, I'll ask him." Lu Guan said softly, reached out to touch Song Qianzhi's side face, and slipped his hand to his chin, making him turn away.Lu Guan looked at him seriously, his lips moved.

Song Qianzhi's face turned red slightly, and he raised his hand to slap Lu Guan away.

"do not move."

Song Qianzhi thought there was something on his face, and was suddenly kissed by Lu Guan, and quickly looked around like a thief. Except for the light in Xu Ruiyun's room, the rest of the windows were dark.

"When the matter is over, we have to find a place for Uncle Wu and the others to live. Let him take Li Xuan with him. At worst, we can hire two more people for them." Lu Guan said.

Song Qianzhi: "Aren't you not jealous?"

"You have something else to do."

Back to Beijing, the matter is over, and there is still a fart in that situation.Song Qianzhi was about to speak when the slight sound of the door opening made Song Qianzhi almost fall into the well and stood up quickly.

Xu Ruiyun's eyes narrowed into a line, while undoing the cloth belt wrapped around his waist, he opened his robe, and strode forward.

"Wait for me? The two adults must have something to ask." Xu Ruiyun blinked slyly, then sat down on the stone bench next to him, stepped on the other stone bench beside him with one leg, and looked at Song Qianzhi meaningfully. Lu Guan behind him.

"Go take a bath." Lu Guan gently pushed Song Qianzhi's waist.

Song Qianzhi had no choice but to get the clothes, and looked back several times strangely.Xu Ruiyun is not a talkative person, he seems to be a veteran of the rivers and lakes. He has been in the officialdom in the south for many years. I don't know why he was sent to Xunzhou where the conditions are bad. I am afraid that he has committed something.Can Lu Guan do it?

☆, orthodoxy (pick up)

Song Qianzhi went to the corner room to pour water. Zhou Xian was washing his hair naked, unable to open his eyes, and felt in the bucket with his hands, but there was no ladle.

Zhou Xian: "???"

Song Qianzhi took a ladle and patted Zhou Xian on the head.

"...Little Marquis, you are really..."

Song Qianzhi scooped up a ladle of water and helped Zhou Xian wash his hair. Zhou Xian said he would do it himself and snatched the ladle from Song Qianzhi. Touching the hair, it is not slippery anymore, twisting it casually, throwing it behind her back, barely opening one eye covered with water, and glanced at Song Qianzhi with a smile on the corner of her mouth: "Are you coming to take a bath too?"

"Wash, it's too hot, you'll die if you don't wash." Song Qianzhi unbuttoned his belt and took off his clothes.

Zhou Xian wiped his body indiscriminately, went out to fetch cold water for Song Qianzhidui, checked the temperature with his hand, closed the door, and went out.

"Have you been in the Zhenbei Army?" Lu Guan did not beat around the bush, and opened the skylight to Xu Ruiyun to speak frankly.

A trace of surprise flashed in Xu Ruiyun's eyes, and then he laughed: "What do you want to inquire about? Lu Guan, Mr. Lu."

"Just ask." Lu Guan said, "Brother Xu doesn't want to go back to Beijing?"

"The mountains are high and the water is far away, the emperor can't care about it. What do you do when you go back to Beijing? Make yourself angry?" Xu Ruiyun looked at Lu Guan meaningfully. The edict was sent back to the capital."

Lu Guan's eyebrows moved: "Brother Xu knows a lot."

"I heard a little." Xu Ruiyun looked away from Lu Guan's face, looked up to the sky, and said calmly, "It's true that I haven't been home for many years. I'm an unfilial thing."

"Brother Xu mentioned Liu Yun in Liaoren Village a few days ago, so he must know something inside?"

Xu Ruiyun lazily said: "I know, I know, but I don't want to say it now. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

Xu Ruiyun changed his posture, put his right hand on his knee, and looked up at Lu Guan from below: "Master Lu, you can have a drink with me, if you beat me, I will tell you."

"Brother Xu wants to drink? I love drinking, why don't you bring me one." Zhou Xian said loudly and walked over.

"Going to drink?" Song Qianzhi, who was sweating casually, came out of the corner room and walked over while wearing his robe. Song Qianzhi looked at Xu Ruiyun with a smile on his face, "Brother, take me?"

Lu Guan frowned, and came over to tighten Song Qianzhi's belt, and lifted up the neckline, covering him tightly.

Song Qianzhi wanted to complain about the heat as soon as he curled his mouth, seeing Lu Guan's displeased face, he held back.

"Wait, I'll go and get little brother Liu up." Xu Ruiyun got up.

"Hey, brother Xu has already drunk the man, so let's go around him?" Zhou Xian tugged.

Xu Ruiyun: "Sleeping for so long, it's time to get up, don't let him drink, he didn't eat dinner, I'll take him to dinner."

Xu Ruiyun entered the room on the front foot, and Zhou Xian stared at the room where Liu Pingwen lived with folded arms on the back foot, and joked: "This person looks like an old lady. I think it's easy to talk, just hold it seven inches."

"Seven inches?" Song Qianzhi thought of Xu Ruiyun's red eyes at the dumplings during the meal, and had an idea.

Not long after dark, there are many places where you can drink and drink tea on the street. A row of five men walked on the narrow streets of Zhoucheng. Can't stop looking back.

Lu Guan held Song Qianzhi's hand, not caring about the scrutiny at all. He turned his head and saw Song Qianzhi's neck was red hot. He touched Song Qianzhi's neck with his hand, almost making Song Qianzhi jump up.

"Why?" Song Qianzhi shrank his neck timidly, Lu Guan's hand was pinched between the collar and his neck, and Lu Guan's other palm also reached into his lapel, loosening Song Qianzhi's collar.

Song Qianzhi curled his lips: "It's so hot."

"Aren't you afraid of mosquitoes biting you?" Lu Guan asked.

"That's it, that's it." Compared with the hot weather, Song Qianzhi was more afraid of the poisonous mosquitoes in the southern land, almost shivering.

The five of them found a small tavern. There were many people inside, and there were talkative drinkers everywhere. The air was mixed with the smell of sweat and wine. They sat by the half-person-high window, and there was a clump of green, unknown broad-leaved trees outside.

"Get half a catty of wine, the best wine in your store, and five special dishes." Xu Ruiyun unceremoniously called the waiter to order, and ordered without looking at the menu and waiting for someone to report the name of the dish. "I want four more cold dishes to be served first, and the specialty dishes have to be served with wine. Don't be so fancy that you don't like the kind of food." At this time, Xu Ruiyun thought of asking the others what they wanted.

Liu Pingwen: "No more, I can't finish these." He tilted his head and patted his head with his hands with drowsy laziness in his eyes.

Zhou Xian got up and went to the counter to say a few words, and came back with a bowl of soup.

"Unexpectedly, there is ebony soup, here you are."

Liu Pingwen's face was full of surprise, his face flushed slightly, he thanked him, and took a small sip from the edge of the bowl, drinking the sour ebony soup felt a lot better.

Xu Ruiyun raised his head, and protested to Lu Guan: "I'm afraid half a catty is not enough, less said a catty." Without waiting for Lu Guan's answer, Xu Ruiyun turned his head and shouted to ask Xiaoer to hit half a catty more, a Shanghai bowl.

The tavern was buzzing with people, every table was full of enthusiasm, and each spoke a dialect. Xu Ruiyun had stayed in the south for several years, and his dialect was comparable to that of the locals.

Song Qianzhi held a chopstick in each hand and pestered it on the table, and said to Xu Ruiyun, "How long has Brother Xu been away from home?"

"It's been more than ten years." When the wine was served, Xu Ruiyun gave Song Qianzhi and Zhou Xian a cup each, and he and Lu Guan wanted to fight for wine, making Haiwan, one bowl of three taels.

Xu Ruiyun shook his head again and again, then called Xiaoer over and asked him to go directly to the wine jar.

Seeing this posture, Xiao Er was afraid that this group of people would cause trouble in the store, so he was so nervous that he wiped his hands with the towel on his shoulders, and ran to the shopkeeper to ask questions. The shopkeeper looked at Song Qianzhi and his table from behind the counter. He took a look and patted Xiaoer on the head.

After a while, the table was full of wine jars, fearing that there would be no room for food, Xu Ruiyun lifted two wine jars and put them on the ground by his feet.

"drink!"

Xu Ruiyun and Lu Guan are two big men who don't talk much. When Xu Ruiyun drinks a bowl, Lu Guan will accompany him. When the jar is empty, it is placed on the ground. After drinking it for half an hour, there is a neat circle of wine jars on the ground. .

"You two... just drink and don't eat vegetables?" Song Qianzhi served Lu Guan a bowl of soup, with melted wolfberry leaves floating in the soup, forcing Lu Guan to drink half a bowl first.Song Qianzhi didn't know how much Lu Guan could drink, but seeing that his chest and neck were red from drinking, he was worried that he would vomit.

Xu Ruiyun narrowed his eyes: "You two." He slapped the table, shaking the cups, bowls and pans, the tinkling sound made Song Qianzhi nervous, Xu Ruiyun shook his head and hiccupped loudly Said: "Who is it for? Who is not a bachelor, Song Xiaodi, I really want to feel sorry for your man, and drink two bowls with my brother, Xiaoer, change him to a bigger bowl!"

"No need." Lu Guanyin glanced at the waiter with a gloomy face. The waiter was standing far away, holding another table's jug in his hand, not daring to come over, staring like a mouse, pretending not to hear, and answering loudly "Come on," and ran to a table in the back.

Xu Ruiyun's eyes were dazzled, he took a deep breath, his eyes widened, as if he wanted to say something, who knows, the next moment he threw himself on the table, a lock of hair on his forehead scattered on the fried peanuts.

"..." Liu Pingwen couldn't see it, and smoothed Xu Ruiyun's hair behind his ear, saying, "Brother Xu lost, he was drunk."

Song Qianzhi frowned, and said: "Success, you testify that Xu Ruiyun lost, so that he won't admit it when he wakes up later." Song Qianzhi looked at Lu Guan and tried his face. It wasn't hot, but his neck was a little bit Hot and red.Song Qianzhi beckoned the waiter to come, but the waiter didn't come for a long time, so he had to ask the shopkeeper where there was water, asked for a towel, and went to the yard to find water.

The shadow of the tree shakes gently like a shy girl in the breeze, and the well sparkles.

When the barrel was lowered, there was a sound of water.

There is a faint pungent smell in the air, I don't know what it is, it is more noticeable than the fragrance of grass and trees.This smell evoked a vague impression of Song Qianzhi. He tilted his head and looked at the sky suspiciously. He still held a wrung wet towel in his right hand.

At this moment, several meteors pierced the dark sky, dragged their shining tails, and showed an arc, and then hundreds of flames swept across the sky at the same time, illuminating the entire Songzhou City as bright as day.

Song Qianzhi's eyes widened suddenly, and he ran to the tavern, shouting at the same time: "The city is under attack! Get up!"

The pungent smell floating in the air is fireball, a kind of fire attack weapon commonly used in the south. Fire oil is poured into an eggshell or a porcelain bottle the size of a fist, and the arrowhead is wrapped with oil-soaked cotton cloth as a guide. Blow up.

Most of the houses in Songzhou City were built with wood and bamboo. After the fire, the whole city quickly fell into flames.

Xu Ruiyun, who was drunk, suddenly woke up, flames danced in his eyes, he pulled the stunned Liu Pingwen beside him, put him on his back, grabbed the long knife with him, and rushed out of the tavern with one stride.

In the blink of an eye, the streets were full of civilians fleeing in embarrassment, and there were jumping flames as far as the eye could see.

Lu Guan grabbed a table, covered Song Qianzhi under the table, and rushed out.

Song Qianzhi grabbed the legs of the table with one hand, looked behind, Zhou Xian also pushed a table, Song Qianzhi shouted: "Go back to Uncle Wu, run away, don't worry about us!"

Suddenly a rocket flew over and exploded on Zhou Xianding's table, a burst of flames instantly covered the entire table horizontally.

Zhou Xian was so frightened that he threw the table out, so he had to separate from Song Qianzhi and the others to find another shelter.

Lu Guan held Song Qianzhi's shoulders with one hand, watched the road ahead calmly, and dragged Song Qianzhi into the alley.

All around were men and women screaming in surprise, the flames lit up the night one after another, Song Qianzhi tripped over something, Lu Guan grabbed his arm, hugged Song Qianzhi in front of him, and pushed him into the alley inside.

Song Qianzhi's heart was beating fast, and he looked back in shock. The man who was tripped just now was a man who was shot by three arrows, his hair was covered in a ball of fire, and he was scratching the ground with his hands curled up and tense. , the head was bloody and bloody, the body was twisted on the ground for a moment, and there was no movement.

Song Qianzhi's eyes were gently covered by a hand.

"Don't look." Lu Guan turned Song Qianzhi's head, grabbed his ear, fixed his eyes on Song Qianzhi's slack pupils, and whispered: "Song Qianzhi, chasing stars? "

Song Qianzhi came back to his senses, and his whole body twitched, as if pulling out his hind legs from a nightmare, he let out a breath suddenly and loudly.

"I'm fine, where are you going?" From Song Qianzhi's point of view, it was the same in any direction, and his eyes were full of men and women who didn't know where to hide.

"come over."

Lu Guan held Song Qianzhi tightly with his hot hands, walked through the dark alley with a cat waist, and rushed out of an alley, there were flames everywhere, people crowded, and someone was shot by an arrow and fell to the ground at any time.

The firelight that illuminated the entire sky disappeared suddenly, and the night was turned into darkness.

A large number of soldiers in livery rushed into the crowd.

Lu Guan pulled out his weapon, picked up a bamboo stick from the ground and gave it to Song Qianzhi. After thinking for a while, Lu Guan snatched the bamboo stick from Song Qianzhi's hand, and stuffed his own dagger into Song Qianzhi's hand. hands.

The soldiers who rushed into Songzhou City killed everyone they saw. Men, women, old and young were like wheat in the field during the autumn harvest, falling down one by one.

Wu Yingzhong, who had just fallen asleep, was awakened from his sleep by the loud voices of people. At first he didn't intend to get up, but when the voices became louder, he heard someone yelling outside, so Wu Yingzhong put on his clothes and went out.

A rocket flew in mid-air, landed on the ground, and exploded a cluster of fire.Wu Yingzhong was about to step into the moss-covered courtyard, hesitantly retracted his foot, raised his old eyes sunken in the flesh, and then several sparks exploded on the wooden roof.

It was only then that Wu Yingzhong came to his senses. He threw his robe on the ground and rushed into the yard resolutely. He brought up a bucket of water with a wooden shaft, splashed his clothes, and rushed into Li Xuan's room.

Li Xuan looked dazed, wet clothes wrapped around him, Li Xuan pursed his mouth in grievance, and frowned tightly, obviously very uncomfortable.

"Don't make trouble!" Wu Yingzhong's voice was not loud. He touched Li Xuan's hand and put Li Xuan's box of rouge in his hand. Wu Yingzhong pulled Li Xuan's fingers away and closed them, making him hold tightly. That rouge box.

Li Xuan's gaze changed from bewildered to clear, and he raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Wu Yingzhong turned back to the room, took out a foot-long ebony box from the hidden compartment behind the bed, wrapped it in cloth, and tied it to Li Xuan's body. In order to prevent Li Xuan from losing his things, Wu Yingzhong made a knot on purpose.After such busy work, Wu Yingzhong pinched the cloth on his body and felt that it was not wet enough. He found a kettle in the living room, lifted the lid and poured a large amount of water on his body.

However, the weather is not beautiful, not only did it not rain, but a strong wind blew up, which helped the fire, and the whole city was shrouded in disgusting blood and scorched fire.

"The door is open?!" Song Qianzhi saw Uncle Wu's small courtyard from a distance, and the door was wide open.

"Be careful." Lu Guan pulled Song Qianzhi behind him, walked over and closed the door, there was a sea of ​​flames in front of him, the front door was not on fire, but several rooms were ignited to varying degrees.

Lu Guan asked Song Qianzhi to stay near the front door, Song Qianzhi refused, and was about to follow, when Lu Guan yelled "Stand here", and he didn't dare to move anymore.

Song Qianzhi watched Lu Guan rushing into the fire with one leap and another, feeling extremely anxious.It seems that Wu Yingzhong should have taken Li Xuanshe out of the house and escaped. Looking for someone now is like looking for a needle in a haystack, and the streets are not safe. If these two people die...

After a while, Lu Guan rushed over, his face was red from the smoke, and there were a few smears of black ash on his cheeks.

"It's gone." Lu Guansu said, "I can't find them now, it's too messy outside." He looked back at Uncle Wu's house, "I can't hide here either."

"I'm sure you can't go to the pier. Go to the state government office, can you find it?" Lu Guan was able to calmly find Wu Yingzhong's place in the chaotic streets. He should have been to Songzhou.

Sure enough, Lu Guan said: "Yes, go to the state capital, wait, I will leave a mark for them."

Song Qianzhi handed Lu Guan the dagger.

Lu Guan used a dagger to carve a line of words on the wall board of the entrance: See you at the state government office.

The two were about to leave when they bumped into Zhou Xian head-on.

Zhou Xian is ashamed