Rebellious officials bow their heads

Ye Liuzhou froze, and said awkwardly: "Ah... what? I didn't say, I didn't say I couldn't see..."

Perhaps the murderous intent on the other party was too strong, Ye Liuzhou lowered his voice little by little, knowing that something was wrong, he took a few steps back, trying to sneak into the crowd.

But before he turned around and took two steps, his wrist was pulled, and he stopped. Looking back, Xu Yan stood there, raising his hand expressionlessly. There was a red rope on his wrist, which was connected to his hand.

Ye Liuzhou couldn't run away, so he had to walk back and said, "The light here is very bright, so I can see it."

Xu Yan and him looked at each other for a moment, with a sense of helplessness in their eyes, without saying anything, turned around and walked out of the crowd.

As soon as he left, Ye Liuzhou was pulled by the red rope, staggered to follow, grabbed Xu Yan's sleeve and said, "The lantern with the peach blossom pattern?"

Xu Yan said coldly: "If you don't want to be beaten, just shut up."

As the brightly lit long street went away, the hustle and bustle of people gradually subsided, the flowing light and shadow were reflected on the river surface, and there were occasional frog calls from the corner. Taking advantage of the night, the two boarded the bamboo raft.

Ye Liuzhou turned his gaze back to the distance, and saw Xu Yan standing in front of him, lifting his slender fingers to take off his robe.

Ye Liuzhou narrowed his long and narrow eyes, "What are you doing?"

Suddenly a shadow covered Ye Liuzhou's head tightly, and it was dark all around. He pulled it several times before pulling it off, but it was Xu Yan's robe, stained with golden syrup.

"Wash the clothes." Xu Yan said. He was bare-chested, with a graceful and long collarbone. The muscles in his chest and arms were not stretched, but with just the right sense of strength. pants.

Ye Liuzhou said, "Why do you want me to wash?"

"Including the money spent today, you owe me a total of 450 taels of silver." Xu Yan propped up the penny, and the bamboo raft moved forward with the current.

"If you have money, you will know the money." Ye Liuzhou muttered, squatting on the side, soaking his robe in the water, and rubbing it vigorously with the saponins, "If you go back to the palace, you can choose the mountains of gold and silver." enough..."

"What did you say?" Xu Yan asked with a frown.

"nothing!"

Half an hour later, Ye Liuzhou, who was doing laundry for someone for the first time, unfolded the robe in his hand, smiled and said to Xu Yan, "How is it? Clean?"

Xu Yan was silent for a while, then said: "Then tell me, why is there a hole in the middle?"

Ye Liuzhou tilted his head, "Isn't that the cuff?"

The veins on the corner of Xu Yan's forehead bulged, and the penny he was holding broke off abruptly.

Ye Liuzhou immediately knelt down with his head in his arms.

Xu Yan wanted to grab him and beat him up, but when he saw him like this, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

One night passed, the sky was slightly brighter, the two went ashore, the sky was full of catkins, smoke billowed in the distance, the town was shrouded in mist, Ye Liuzhou noticed two words engraved on the stone tablet.

out of town.

In the early morning, there are few people, and the doors and windows of every house are not closed. You can see all kinds of oil-paper umbrellas hanging upside down inside. In addition to the finished products painted with various patterns, some are just bamboo umbrella frames, and some have not been painted with tung oil.

Turning a few turns along the Qingshi Road, I came to a quaint house, I can't see anything ordinary, there is a peach tree in front of the door, it has passed the flowering season, and it has sprouted green branches.

Xu Yan didn't even knock on the door, just pushed the door open and walked in. Ye Liuzhou said, "Is it so fair for you to steal things now? I think it's better for us to climb over the wall."

Xu Yan said lightly: "This is my home."

Ye Liuzhou opened his eyes wide, "What?"

Entering the house, the winding road is secluded, passing through the shadow wall, there is a lotus pond in the front yard, the green water surface is full of circles, and behind a row of weeping willows stained with morning dew is the main hall of the pavilion, which looks very old. Discover intricate details.

There was not a single servant in sight in the courtyard. They came all the way to the back room. From the open window, a boy of seven or eight years old was sitting inside, with round cheeks and big and clear eyes. He was holding a book. Tossing and turning irritably.

Xu Yan stood outside the window and called out, "Ah Zhong."

The child flicked the book for a moment, then raised his head, looked at Xu Yan in disbelief, and the expression on his face instantly turned into surprise, "Brother?"

As if he couldn't wait any longer, he jumped out of the window with all his hands and feet, and rushed towards Xu Yan: "Brother! You're back!"

Xu Yan raised his hand to catch him, "Well, I'm back."

"Do you know how long it's been since you came back last time? Mother is talking about you all day long!"

As soon as Ah Zhong's complaining stopped, he saw a big hole in Xu Yan's skirt, "Brother, what are you doing out there, can't you even afford a piece of clothing?"

Before Xu Yan could answer, he noticed Ye Liuzhou, who was tall and tall behind him, and asked curiously, "Who are you?"

Ye Liuzhou touched his little head with his hand, and said with a smile, "I'm your brother's friend."

Ah Zhong pushed his hand away, raised his head and said, "My brother said that he never had any friends, only those who owe him money and those who don't."

Ah Zhong put his hands behind his back, made an appearance of an adult, and walked around Ye Liuzhou a few times, "You dress well and look good, my brother must owe you money, tell me how much, I will replace him return."

Ye Liuzhou couldn't help laughing, and at this moment there were a few laughs from the other end.

Several people raised their heads, and saw a dignified and pure woman standing in front of the door, followed by two maids.

The woman's temple hair is simply rolled up, her eyebrows are clear and beautiful, and there are shallow lines at the corners of her eyes when she smiles. Even if there is a trace of sickness on her face, it still does not detract from her beauty.

Ah Zhong went over to hold her hand, "Mother, it's so cold in the morning, why did you come out?"

The woman held his hand back and said: "It's okay, Ah Zhong doesn't need to worry."

She raised her head, looked at Ye Liuzhou, and showed a gentle smile, "You are Yan'er's friend, come in and sit down quickly, I must have not eaten in the morning, I'll make some food."

Ye Liuzhou shook his head: "Don't bother..."

The woman smiled and said: "You're welcome, it's rare to come here, just treat it as being at home."

Having said that, her eyes fell on Xu Yan, "You come in too."

Facing her, Xu Yan lowered his head slightly, restraining all the sharp temperament on his body, and said, "Mother."

The woman sighed slightly, "It's good to know you're back, look at you, your clothes are all torn, you've been suffering outside, what do you want to eat? Mother will make it for you."

Speaking of the torn clothes, Ye Liuzhou couldn't help feeling guilty.

Xu Yan said: "You don't need to do it, I will go."

He turned around and walked towards the kitchen, suddenly remembered something, paused, took out the box containing Xuanzhi from the bag, handed it to the maid, and said: "Take it to the pharmacy for frying."

"Yes, sir." The maid replied.

Ye Liuzhou followed Mrs. Xu into the house and sat down at the table. Mrs. Xu said: "Yan'er has a very difficult personality, but he must have brought you here because he sincerely regards you as a friend. If there is any dispute, please bear with me."

Ye Liuzhou slightly adjusted his sitting posture, remembering the way Xu Yan kicked him into the water, and said, "Well, Xu Yan is actually easy to get along with."

Ah Zhong walked over with the teapot in his arms. He was short and had to climb up on a chair to reach the table. He poured a cup of hot tea for Ye Liuzhou and asked, "Did you and your brother meet in the capital? Where is your brother?" How's business?"

Ye Liuzhou thought of the scene where Xu Yanye stole the pearl and caused storms all over the city, and replied, "Well, Xu Yan has a big business."

After a while, Xu Yan came in with a tray, and he put down bowls of steaming noodle soup. Just as Ye Liuzhou was about to bring it to him, Xu Yan tapped his finger.

He raised his head and looked at Xu Yan with warning eyes. Ye Liuzhou understood what he meant, shrugged his shoulders, and said that he didn't say what he shouldn't say.

The movements of the two were very subtle, and Mrs. Xu next to her naturally didn't notice it.

Ye Liuzhou’s bowl of noodles didn’t include green onions, which saved him the trouble of picking them out. He thought the fat cook’s skills were pretty good, but he didn’t expect Xu Yan’s noodles to be even better. The bone broth was completely immersed in the noodles, which were mellow and delicious. , the aroma is overflowing.

Ye Liuzhou was full and yawned, Madam Xu said gently when she saw her, "Is it too tiring from the journey, I'll ask Ah Zhong to take you to the backyard to rest."

Ye Liuzhou glanced at Xu Yan.

Xu Yan said: "Go and rest."

"Come with me." Ah Zhong wiped his mouth, jumped off the chair, and led him out of the house. The two walked through the veranda. The courtyard was full of flowers, and fallen leaves flew into the veranda from time to time.

Ah Zhong walked in front and led the way, he couldn't calm down, and walked on the same level with Ye Liuzhou again and again.

"Is there anything interesting in the capital?" He asked, "Is the house particularly big? Is the food particularly delicious?"

Ye Liuzhou thought for a while and replied, "I don't know."

"Why don't you know? Aren't you from the capital?" Ah Zhong was puzzled, scratched his head and said, "Oh, maybe there are too many things in the capital so I don't remember..."

Ye Liuzhou thought about it carefully, and said, "I don't know."

Ah Zhong was even more confused. He walked a few steps faster with short legs, and asked Ye Liuzhou face to face: "Then why did my brother stay in the capital all the time? Didn't come back?"

The sky is slightly cool.

The child's voice was crisp, and the ending echoed in the empty corridor.

Ye Liuzhou stopped, and he slowly squatted down, looking straight into the child's clear eyes: "I don't know the details."

A Zhong snorted.

"Your brother is in the eyes of money in the capital, and he has nothing to gain. When I came to Jiangnan with him, whenever he can do things by himself, he would rather spend more time than spend half a copper to solve it." Ye Liu Zhou Dao, "But do you know that he got a posthumous work by Feng Shan?"

Ah Zhong was taken aback, "Feng Shan? Are you talking about the picture of cranes and deer in the same spring?"

"Yes, that painting is worth thousands of gold, Xu Yan will not be unaware of its value, but he exchanged that painting for a plant of Xuanzhi which is far from equal, and he gave it to the maid to decoct medicine just now, what do you think? , Who is he earning money in the capital for?"

Ah Zhong was stunned, and it took him a while to come back to his senses, he turned his back and continued to walk forward, and for a moment couldn't help laughing out loud.

Ye Liuzhou also brought a smile.

"Is what you said true?" Ah Zhong asked again.

"Fake." Ye Liuzhou said, "Your brother took Xuanzhi from others, but he hasn't handed over the painting yet."

Ah Zhong laughed, paused when he thought of something, hesitated before saying: "My mother is not in good health, she has been ill for a long time, and she almost couldn't make it through the past few years, and the money for seeing a doctor at home disappeared like running water. I can see a doctor, but I can’t afford a lot of medicinal materials, that’s when my brother left.”

Ye Liuzhou listened quietly.

Passing the corner, there are flower petals scattered on the ground of the corridor.

Ah Zhong diverted his attention, and said: "Then brother doesn't play games with me, you have to play with me!"

"playing what?"

"Hmm... Can you know how to ride a bamboo horse? Can you know how to grab a ball?" He asked excitedly.

Ye Liuzhou was very honest: "No."

"Isn't it? Are you from the city? There's always a cricket fight!"

Ye Liuzhou spread his hands and shook his head.

Ah Zhong was very disappointed, this emotion only lasted for a second, then he raised his head again and said in a very proud tone: "I'll teach you!"

-

When the big and small arrived in the backyard, Ye Liuzhou repeatedly promised that he would play with him tomorrow, so Ah Zhong reluctantly left.

Ye Liuzhou went into the room and lay down on the bed, his muscles and bones stretched out. He stared at the air for a long time in a daze before closing his eyes and falling into sleep.

In the dream, he returned to the palace, in his teens, proud and arrogant, extremely defiant.The Queen's mother's family, the Ji family, sent more than a dozen children from the family to the palace to be his companions, in order to get close to the only prince of the Xie family, so that the Ji family can still stand among the officials after he succeeds. head.

Ye Liuzhou couldn't sit still and study at that time, and was full of troubles all day long, which often made Emperor Zhaode so angry that he sent the imperial army to arrest him.

The imperial garden was full of purples and reds. He was sitting on the top of the rockery, behind him was a young man in green robes, and Ji Han, the eldest grandson of the Ji family.

Ji Han had followed the queen in and out of the palace a long time ago, so he was familiar with Ye Liuzhou, and he was not as anxious as those disciples in the clan who couldn't find His Royal Highness, and knew where he was hiding as soon as he thought about it.

Ye Liuzhou heard the continuous crying from below, and picked his ears, "It's been almost an hour, why are you still crying? Isn't he tired?"

Ji Han frowned and said, "It's better to ask someone to send him back to the residence."

Ye Liuzhou nodded, "Well, he, the dozen or so young masters of the Ji family, and you should all be packed and sent back to Ji's residence."

Ji Han stopped talking.

At this moment, the green-robed youth behind him said, "Ah Ze, go down and ask him what's wrong."

Ye Liuzhou's peach blossom eyes glanced at him, then turned over and fell down a rockery several feet high.

Ji Han panicked, and wanted to reach out to grab him, but he was a step too late, and the crimson robe slipped past his palm.

The young man in green robe smiled faintly: "Don't worry."

Ye Liuzhou landed steadily on the ground, and saw a six or seven-year-old boy curled up in the cracks in the rockery, wiping his tears with his head down. He had been crying for too long, and his voice was already a little hoarse.

Ye Liuzhou approached, "Hello."

The child did not respond.

"Hey."

The child is still in the mood of wailing.

Ye Liuzhou yelled upwards: "Ji Han, what's the name of your little crying bag?"

Ji Han's voice came down: "Ji Six!"

Ye Liuzhou stretched out his finger and poked him, "Ji Liu, Young Master Ji, why are you crying?"