catch the rabbit

Since that day, Lin Wanke's heart has drifted to nowhere. He is like a wooden man every day. He can't eat well or sleep well. After a few days, he has lost a lot of weight.

As a child, Lin Baizhi didn't know that his elder brother was being hurt by love, so he still had to learn and play, and he should mention Le Xin a lot.

"Brother, today Mr. Le taught a piece of "Caiwei", and I was the first to recite it again!"

"Brother, you left your umbrella in the academy last time, Mr. Le asked me to bring it to you."

"Brother, why haven't you learned calligraphy from Mr. Le recently? Is it because your poor writing made Mr. Le unhappy?"

"Brother, Mr. Le's complexion is very bad today. He started to cough in the middle of the class, and he couldn't stop it. Wen Jin went to see a doctor. I don't know if he's better now."

"Brother...Mr. Le is ill. He seems to be very ill. Let's go and see him, shall we?"

Lin Baizhi didn't notice at all that every time he mentioned Le Xin, Lin Wanke would turn his eyes away and then abruptly switch to other topics.

Because when he heard that name, his heart felt like a needle prick.

Lin Wanke never cried again.He was not a weak person in the first place, it was enough to cry once, but the tears could be controlled, but the pain in his heart was uncontrollable.

Now that Le Xin is ill, he is obviously worried and anxious, but he dare not ask, let alone visit.

Le Xin definitely doesn't want to see him anymore, and going there will only make him angry.

Thinking of this, Lin Wanke was even more depressed.

His heart was in a mess, the work under his hand was naturally full of problems, the cakes sent out that day were either out of shape or too sweet, the shopkeepers shook their heads, and he had to go back and redo them.

After finishing everything with great difficulty, Lin Wanke carried a bunch of food boxes and sent them from door to door. When passing by Changlu Street, he met Wen Jin who had just come out of the pharmacy.

Lin Wanke wanted to hide subconsciously, but was stopped by Wen Jin.

"Brother Lin, it's been a long time since I saw you!"

Wen Jin ran over with several packs of medicine, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

"Why don't you come to the academy anymore? I mentioned you to the tea man a few days ago." Wen Jin asked, apparently knowing nothing about the relationship between him and Le Xin.

Lin Wanke can only say that he is too busy and really has no time.

"That's it." Wen Jin looked at the food box in his hand and said, "I really miss the dim sum you made."

Lin Wanke smiled helplessly, and when he was about to leave, his eyes fell on the medicine bag in his hand, and he couldn't help but ask, "How is Mr. Le's illness?"

Wen Jin sighed, and said, "You know it too? My husband has been in poor health since he fell into the water last time. He caught a cold for some reason a while ago, and his high fever persisted. He became more and more ill day by day. You see, this I don’t know how much medicine I took, but it’s still as good as the food I’ve eaten.”

He rambled on a bit more, and added at the end: "Brother Lin, come to the academy to have a look when you have time. My husband has no other friends. It's always good to have someone visit him and talk to him."

Lin Wanke reluctantly complied, feeling sad again.

He bid farewell to Wen Jin, delivered the last bakery, and walked back in a daze.

When passing by Zheng Dong's mother's house, Lin Wanke glanced at it casually, and was surprised to find that the house had been evacuated.

The shopkeeper of a silk and satin shop next to him saw his surprised expression and said, "Don't worry about it. I moved away two days ago and said I went back to the countryside."

Lin Wanke asked, "Why did she move away?"

The shopkeeper of the silk and satin village sneered, and said, "Have you never heard the saying 'There are many disputes in front of the widow'? She almost broke up a couple. How can she stay in this capital?"

"But," Lin Wanke said anxiously, "Isn't that because of a goblin? Dongniang didn't mean it!"

The shopkeeper of the silk and satin village said: "The goblin is making trouble? Who knows if it is true or not. Even if it is true, how can this rumor be suppressed by saying 'goblin is making trouble'. Besides, she doesn't have that kind of thought, how can the goblin Find her?"

Lin Wanke couldn't help feeling sorry for Dongniang when he heard this, but what can he say as an outsider?

Even Mrs. Zhang doesn't care about Dongniang's affairs anymore. Why do those irrelevant people say such ugly words, forcing Dongniang to leave the house left by her husband and have to leave alone?

Lin Wanke couldn't figure it out, but he understood a little bit.

He also gradually understood why he confessed his sincerity at the beginning, but got Le Xin's silence in return.

Because he has no courage, and there is no reason for Le Xin to accompany him to bear the accusations of outsiders.

Lin Wanke looked up to the sky and sighed, suddenly feeling relieved.

It seems that they really have no fate in this life.

It's like his hands are only suitable for making pastries, and making fuss with a pen is just a delusion.

Lin Wanke looked at his hands, and couldn't help but smiled wryly, remembering that Cai Wenjin had just said that Le Xin was so ill that he couldn't eat, his already calm heart was a little confused.

From the beginning to the end, he still cared about Le Xin and wanted to do something for him.

So Lin Wanke bought some Rehmannia glutinosa and Lianxin Maidong, and cooked Daochi Qingxin porridge.Because Le Xin doesn't like sweets, he tried several times until the porridge was moderately sweet.

He handed the prepared medicinal porridge to Wen Jin, falsely claiming that the ingredients were given by others, and wasting it if he couldn’t eat it himself, so he simply boiled the porridge and delivered it, and repeatedly asked Wen Jin not to say that he gave it to him. I feel sorry for Mr. Le.

His porridge was very good, Wen Jin felt his appetite whetted when he heard it, he hurriedly thanked him, took it, and then sent it to Le Xin.

Lin Wanke waited until Wen Jin delivered the empty bowl, and heard from him that Le Xin ate more than half of the bowl, which was a rare amount of food in recent days.

Lin Wanke cooked medicinal porridge in different ways every day, and also asked Mu shopkeeper and Ji Yun for advice, and learned a lot of methods.

The number of deliveries was too high, and Wen Jin also felt embarrassed, saying that he couldn't always make him spend money like this, and insisted on giving him money.

How could Lin Wanke be willing to accept it, but he couldn't resist him, and all the money he accepted was used to buy ingredients.

He was busy cooking porridge every day, but he ignored a very unusual thing, that is, Jiang Tiaotiao hadn't been to his shop for a long time.

***

There is indeed a major event in Yueranju recently, which keeps those little gods and little monsters busy enough.

Not to mention Huangcai, even Jiang Tiaotiao, who is used to idleness, puts all his effort into it. He doesn't even have time to buy his favorite red bean paste buns, which shows how much he takes it seriously.

In fact, this matter was mainly for Chengju.

A few days ago, Chengju received an imperial decree, asking him to compete with Xi Baiqing for the title of "No. [-] Sorcerer in Beijing".

A mere false name is naturally nothing, and the reward promised is quite generous, but this is not what Cheng Ju cares about.

According to his own statement, Xi Boqing is insidious and cunning, with a bad stomach, and the master and prime minister behind him, Li Liangzhen, is not a good person either. Because of his discord with his master Xu Yao, he targets him everywhere, and I don’t know how many things have been said about him. Bad words, I can't wait to tear down the concept of freedom.

So in this competition, the prime minister must be fanning the flames behind his back.

Jiang Tiaotiao heard about Xi Baiqing from Lin Wanke before, but now it's his friend Chengju who is in trouble. Even if Xi Baiqing is really a good person, he can't stand by his side.

Because Xiao Lan and A Ling were really curious about who Cheng Ju's opponent would be, they used various excuses and various appearances to hang out at the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion. After observing for a long time, they came up with the following key words:

Black clothes, masks, not easy to mess with.

Like Jiang Tiaotiao, Xi Boqing only wears black clothes, and wears a mask on his face all day long, only showing his eyes and mouth, which may be because his face is too ugly and terrifying.

The reason why he is not easy to mess with is because after Xiaolan and A Ling followed him for two days, he got into a forest that had been enchanted with spells. Even if A Ling was a fairy, she was almost trapped in it and couldn't get out.

From this point of view, Xi Baiqing is indeed not an ordinary person.

Fortunately, the chancellor's youngest son, Li Juan, was on their side.

Speaking of this prodigal son, he ran to Yueranju every three days, and gave Roupu something in a different way every time.The first time he brought a melon seed, the second time a lotus heart, and the third time he brought a walnut, and each time the thing was a little bigger than the last time.

Of course, what the prime minister's son sent out would never be an ordinary thing.The melon seed is pure gold, the lotus heart is high-quality suet white jade, and the walnut is carved from a whole piece of brass. When you break it apart, a jewel bird controlled by a mechanism will jump out.

Yueranju is only a little old, so there is no room for him to stuff things like moving, but at the beginning Rouge hurt his forehead, so the condition of his agreement was "no matter what Li agrees to give, he has to accept it".

So Jiang Tiaotiao and the others could only watch helplessly as Li Ming turned Yueranju into a grocery store.

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that he sent this to that every day, just looking for an excuse to see Rouge.As long as Yanpu opens his mouth, even if it is the jewel on the prince's crown, Li Ding will definitely get it for him.

What's more, they just want a test question now.

Although the content of the competition will not be announced until the same day, it is estimated that the person who is the prime minister has already found out clearly, so that Xi Baiqing can make preparations early.

Cheng Ju didn't attach much importance to the title of "the number one magician in the capital", but he had always regarded Xi Baiqing as his old enemy, and now he was put together by the prime minister, which instead aroused his fighting spirit and wished he could fight him upside down.

This Li Zheng was quite refreshing, he really went to find his father and set up the first test question - guessing things.

"This is a question posed by Concubine Rong. It is said that she will show you a box and let you guess what is in it."

Baoxiu heard the words: "Guess from the box? Is it that simple?"

Li Zheng said: "Don't underestimate Concubine Rong, the questions she asked will never be as easy as it seems."

Ah Ling said: "Then tell me why it's not easy?"

Li Zheng said with a smile: "If I knew, wouldn't I be able to be a noble concubine? Anyway, that's all my father knows, and there is no deceit."

That being the case, Xi Baiqing would never know more than Cheng Ju.

Although he is backed by a prime minister, Cheng Ju's friends are not ordinary people.Besides Jiang Tiaotiao and the others, he also has a senior sister Wankong.

Wan Kong studied as a teacher two years earlier than Cheng Ju, so she should be the one to watch freely in terms of seniority, but although she is very talented, she has a fatal weakness, that is, she can't go hungry.

I heard from Cheng Ju that once Wankong was hungry, let alone cast spells in seals, it would be very difficult for him to stand up.He didn't know the reason for this, but Wan Kong, the chief disciple, put all the heavy responsibility on him because he couldn't go hungry. It made him very angry.

Now that the younger brother has something to do, Wan Kong has to come to the capital to help him out of both emotion and reason.

Jiang Tiaotiao and the others had never seen her before, but Xu Yao's disciples were generally good-looking, for example, Cheng Ju and Fang had a good relationship, so they took it for granted that Wan Kong was also a beauty.

When the legendary elder sister stood at the door of Yueranju, everyone couldn't help being a little stunned.

Wan Kong is indeed pretty, provided that she can lose another twenty or thirty catties.

Let’s say she’s fat, but she looks pretty good, with a round face and round eyes, she’s pretty flattering. If she wears decent clothes, she’s probably a pretty girl, but she’s wearing a weird suit. The magician's robe has a pocket here and a pocket there, filled with all kinds of snacks, and it falls out when walking.

Such a fat girl who loves to eat snacks is actually Cheng Ju's senior sister, no one will believe it if she tells it.

But there is a saying that is good, people should not be judged by their appearance.Even Huang Cai admired Wan Kong's ability.

While listening to Chengju talking about the competition, she took out an ordinary small round mirror and cast a curse with one hand, dividing the round mirror into two identical sides, hanging the new one on Chengju's chest, and keeping the old one away.

"One Thought Twins Mirror." Wankong said, "As long as you wear it, I can see you from the old mirror wherever you go. If the situation is urgent, I can also move objects or change people through it, but if you talk Be careful, it won't be good for that Xi Boqing to see it."

Baoxiu and the others were amazed, and their impression of Wankong changed a lot, but Li Ren raised an objection: "Although this is a good way, it is not fair to Xi Baiqing."

Cheng Ju said coldly: "Okay, you promise that the Prime Minister won't play tricks behind his back, and I won't play tricks with him."

Wankong also said: "I use this idea of ​​the twin mirror just in case, if the other party doesn't use tricks, I will never make a move. No matter how bad the junior is, it is more than enough to fight that unknown junior."

Li Ding wanted to say something more, but what he said was not flattering to both sides, so he had to give up.

On the day of the competition, Cheng Ju went to the palace early in the morning.

Baoxiu and the others couldn't watch the battle because they had to attend to the wine shop.Huang Cai, Jiang Tiaotiao, and Wan Kong guarded the twin mirror of one thought in the upstairs room, observing Cheng Ju's every move from it.

None of them had ever been in the imperial palace, and now it can be regarded as a visit in the orange light. The palace of the emperor in the world is majestic and magnificent. Compared with the palace in the sky, it is a different scenery.

There were two eunuchs beside Chengju to guide him. The eunuchs spoke softly like a woman. Huangcai couldn't help laughing when he heard it. Others couldn't hear this laughter, but Chengju could hear it. He got tired of hearing it, so he tapped on the mirror until one of the eunuchs dragged his voice and said:

"Immortal, it's almost here. You must not be so rude in front of the Holy One."

At that time, people were still in awe of magicians and believed that they had supernatural powers, so they were called "human immortals".It was the first time that Jiang Tiaotiao and Huang Cai heard someone call Chengju that way, and they couldn't help laughing out loud, making Chengju very angry.

After walking for a while, I saw a jade platform in front of me, with a long golden gauze curtain hanging down, and a few people sitting vaguely behind the curtain. The maids on both sides of the jade platform were like weaving, each holding flowers and fruit wine, all of them looked like angels.

The accompanying eunuch dragged Cheng Ju to his knees, and shouted long live three times.

It turned out that the person sitting behind the curtain was the current emperor.

Seeing this, Huang Cai asked: "There are three people behind the curtain, besides the emperor, there must be the noble concubine Rong who made the question, but I don't know who the other one is?"

Wan Kong said: "It must be the prince."

She said this because there were seats for the prime minister and his son next to it. It was expected that Li Liangzhen would be present, as his sons were all there, so the crown prince must have brought him along.

Xi Baiqing has also taken his seat, he and Cheng Ju are dressed in black and white, they are really distinct.

There is a small table directly in front of the jade platform, and there is something on the table covered with red silk, which is probably the box.

The emperor behind the curtain seemed to be speaking, and the mirror on Cheng Ju's chest happened to hit the edge of the table, so Jiang Tiaotiao and the others couldn't hear clearly.

After a while, an eunuch stepped forward and opened the red silk, revealing a sandalwood box covered with silver corners, inlaid with gold and jade, it was very luxurious, and it looked unlocked from the outside.

At this time, Cheng Ju and Xi Baiqing had left their seats and stood three feet away from the small table.

Concubine Rong behind the curtain said: "This box was a dowry item of my palace back then. I lost the key a few years ago and kept it there. I ordered someone to remove the lock a few days ago, but I still can't open it. Please, please Take a look, what is in the box."

As soon as she finished speaking, a maid in pink lit a stick of incense beside her.

The moment the incense was lit, Cheng Ju and Xi Baiqing drew the Celestial Eye Curse at the same time.

The magic circle penetrates the four walls of sandalwood, and the contents inside are clearly visible.

Jiang Tiaotiao, Huang Cai and Wan Kong in front of the mirror all showed incredible expressions.

The thing in the box was actually a monster.

The monster had a faint purple light all over its body, its long hair was loose, and its slender fingers clasped the box tightly, with a dazed expression on its face, staring at Cheng Ju and Xi Baiqing with staring eyes.

Why is there a demon in the concubine's dowry?

Should this monster be accepted or not?

Not only Chengju and Xi Baiqing, Jiang Tiaotiao and the other three in front of the mirror were also lost in thought.