Linzhi

The Bingshen rebellion case happened in the second year of He Rong's lameness, when he was only seven years old, but that earth-shattering disaster left an indelible impression on him.

At that time, his biological mother, Mrs. Zhao, was just a maidservant of Prince Lu's mansion. She was favored by King He Tai of Lu because of her good looks. However, Zhao's status did not skyrocket because of this, and she was still in front of her humble concubine in the palace.

It stands to reason that such an unknown situation should be the safest, but once the situation suddenly changed, the Bingshen rebellion case broke out, and He Tai was accused of having correspondence with the rebellious prince He Lin, so he was involved.

Misfortunes never come singly, and Shi Wenghao, the governor of Prince Lu, reported that some people in the palace believe in the art of witchcraft, and his intentions are to be punished. The imperial army was ordered to search the whole palace, and they found a wooden idol engraved with the birth date of the former prince in Mrs. Zhao's room. .

When the emperor was angry, blood flowed like a river.Many people died in the capital that year, and the first to bear the brunt was the Zhao family who was found out for possessing witch-cursed puppets. Naturally, Lu King He Tai was not spared either.

Considering that Zhao had given birth to an emperor's heir, the emperor finally gave her a more "decent" death: three feet of white silk, hanging herself.

He Rong will always remember that his mother shed tears silently, and under the supervision of the imperial guards and internal servants, she threw the white silk on the beam in that small room and said the last sentence to him.

……

The autumn is getting cooler, and the evening breeze is blowing, sending an unknown fragrance. He Rong took a deep breath, and returned to reality from the past. Suddenly, he felt warm on his shoulders. Did Jun go back?"

Wen Jiang: "Yes."

He Rong: "I didn't expect the guest to come so suddenly, but I neglected him. You can send him two cans of wild tea some other day."

Wen Jiang helped He Rong into the room, and responded in a low voice, she never talked much.

Yang Jun sent He Song and Wen Jiang, and they have been members of the He family since then. Although He Song is the housekeeper in name, he actually has no one under him.The He family has no right to be coquettish, and He Jia and the Song family are in charge of cooking and cooking.

Wen Jiang was Yang Jun's maid specially given to He Rong, but no one envied He Rong's specialness, because he had inconvenient legs and feet, and he really needed personal care when he went in and out.

However, He Rong didn't keep Wen Jiang by his side because of this. Sometimes the Song family was too busy to take care of the children, and Wen Jiang would go over to help.

Although the current He family is poor, the relationship between brothers and sisters is very harmonious.

But such peaceful days are few and far between.

Although Ma Hong and Qi imperial physician acted in a low-key manner and disguised themselves, the identity of the He family was always sensitive, and I don't know how many pairs of eyes were peeping in the dark.

After autumn, He Rong's knees would feel numb like needles, and his feet would be cold at night, so before going to bed, Wen Jiang would boil a bucket of water to soak his feet. After Jiang came to He's house, he couldn't be shaken.

He Rong: "Go down and rest, I'll do it myself."

Wen Jiang left quietly.

He Rong bent down and rolled up his trousers, when he heard someone push the door in, he thought it was Wen Jiang who left and came back: "Is there anything else?"

"I brought some sliced ​​ginger over here. I heard from Orion who went up the mountain together today that soaking feet in ginger can dredge the meridians, activate blood and warm the body, which is more effective." But it was not Wen Jiang's voice at all.

He Rong raised his head in surprise: "Come here so late? Sit down."

He Zhan smiled, as his name suggests, he is bright and clear.

"I can't sleep alone, I want to squeeze third brother's bed."

A few years ago, before the He family changed the big yard, the brothers all slept together, and He Rong didn't take it seriously: "Do you have something to say to me?"

He Zhan put some ginger slices into the hot water: "Next time boil the ginger in a small pot and then pour it into a bucket, the effect will be better."

He Rong sighed as his cold feet were immersed in hot water.

He Zhan took out a pair of rabbit fur knee pads: "Winter is coming, third brother, please wear these."

He Rong touched the stitches on it, it was fine and delicate. I am afraid that his sister-in-law Song Shi did not have such skills, so he couldn't help being surprised: "I don't know when you learned how to be a female celebrity?"

He Zhan coughed lightly, a little uncomfortable: "It's a gift from others, I just borrow flowers to present to Buddha."

He Rong: "Which lady who loves you gave it to me? How can I keep it as my own? You should keep it yourself."

He Zhan: "Don't! It's the Orion who went hunting together in the mountains today. Last time, my second brother and I gave them two hares. Today, the Orion's daughter gave me a pair of knee pads. It's just a gift."

He Rong raised his eyebrows: "Not necessarily? The second brother must have not received the knee pads, why did he just give you one? Isn't this for you?"

He Zhan smiled bitterly: "Third brother, you should help me and accept this knee pad!"

He Rong: "Okay, I know you are thinking of me, so I won't make fun of you."

He Zhan sat down on the bed side by side with him: "Third brother, in your opinion, will father refuse Ma Hong's proposal as you said?"

He Rong: "Yes, even if father doesn't want to say it, elder brother will persuade him."

He Zhan: "Actually, it's not that my father doesn't love my sister. After living here for so long, anyone who has hope to get out of the sea of ​​suffering will be shaken in his heart."

He Rong: "I know that if my father resolutely rejects Ma Hong's proposal, he may not be able to return to the capital for a while, but in the long run, it is actually a good thing for my father, at least he will not leave people with the embarrassment of selling a daughter for glory Impression. As for His Majesty's decision, we have no control over it. If the court decides to let Ajia go to marry, she will have to obey in the end."

He Zhan nodded: "Father just can't turn the corner for a while, he will understand your painstaking efforts."

He felt a little cold, so he simply took off his boots and socks, and put his feet in the bucket.

The barrel is not big, and if you add a pair of feet, it can only be stacked on He Rong's feet.

He Zhan has a gentle appearance, but he often goes hunting with his second brother He Xiu, and is often exposed to the sun and rain. In comparison, He Rong doesn't go out often, and his complexion is fairer.

The water rippled slightly, reflecting the two people's increasingly distinct skin tones.

He Zhan suddenly remembered that when he was a child, he would often soak his feet in the same bucket with He Rong as he is now. Before he knew it, they had spent 11 years here.

"I still remember that the former governor of Fangzhou was very strict with us. As soon as we arrived in Fangzhou, he sent people over, under the pretext of searching for evidence against the case, and confiscated all the books we secretly hid on our bodies. My fourth brother and I wanted to read and write. , I couldn’t find a book, or you and the eldest brother held hands and taught us to learn word by word.”

He Rong: "I was still young at that time, how much can I teach you? Thanks to the elder brother who silently wrote down the books he had read before, and the second elder brother who went to other people's schools to eavesdrop during the day and then came back to teach us .”

He Zhan couldn't help laughing: "It's a pity that the second brother has a bad memory, and he doesn't have a pen and paper, so he often forgets most of it when he comes back."

He Rong also laughed: "In the end, he was forced to go to steal the books at night and come back to copy and recite them for us, and return them at dawn."

He Zhan sighed: "Later when we got older, we went outside the school to eavesdrop on Mr.'s class. Fortunately, third brother, you suggested that your father write a letter to His Majesty. After His Majesty replied, the governor of Fangzhou and the magistrate of this county also changed to talk to each other. Turning a blind eye to our actions, now that I think about it, how lucky we were not to be blind!"

He didn't hear a response for a while, and He Zhan saw that He Rong's head was nodding slightly, his face was sleepy, and he was dozing off.

He Zhan laughed, bent down to lift He Rong's feet out of the water, wiped them dry, and helped him sleep on the inside, covering his elder brother with a quilt.

Just as he was about to bend down to take off his shoes, there was a sudden shout from outside: "Who is it!"

It was the voice of the second brother He Xiu.

He Rong was also awakened, and opened his eyes in a daze.

He Zhan quickly pressed him down: "You lie down, I'll go out and have a look."

Even so, He Rong stood up in his clothes and followed behind He Zhan.

When the two brothers came to the yard, they saw that He Tai, Ma Hong and others were also startled, and they were all standing in the yard.

Seeing He Xiu coming in from the outside, He Tai hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"

He Xiu said bitterly: "Just now when I got up at night, I saw someone peeping outside. That person was also very clever. When I chased him out, he had disappeared!"

"Could it be that I recognized your identity...?" He Tai showed panic, and then looked at Ma Hong.

Ma Hong realized that it was likely that the arrival of himself and Imperial Physician Qi touched some people's nerves.

He let everyone into the house, and said: "It's okay, Imperial Doctor Qi and I will leave tomorrow, no matter who comes to ask, you just say that the former servants of the palace did not forget the old feelings after being dismissed, came to visit, and now they have returned home. "

He Tai held Ma Hong's hand, his hand was still trembling slightly: "Servant Ma, you have also seen that I am here, restless every day, afraid that someone will try to harm me... Now that I am old, I only hope that when I come, Before you die, you can return to your roots with fallen leaves, see His Majesty, and be filial...so, so you can die without regrets!"

Ma Hong hurriedly said: "You don't have to be like this, you will be safe and sound!"

He pulled He Tai to comfort him, and then he calmed him down.

After everyone went back to the house, He Zhan became more and more strange as he thought about it, and he couldn't help asking: "Who are the eyes and ears just now?" Someone is being targeted? Is the other party moving so fast?"

Before he could speak, He Zhan suddenly understood He Rong's unsurprised expression, and hurriedly lowered his voice: "Is this a play you and your second brother co-acted?"

He Rong: "I just mentioned one thing to my elder brother. It must be that the elder brother asked the second brother to do it. After this incident, Ma Hong must have been terrified. He will definitely return to Beijing to report. Maybe my father can return to Beijing early."

He Zhan suddenly said: "Father is so kind, I thought he was scared just now!"

He Rong jokingly said: "If you want to deceive Ma Hong and others, it is more realistic to not know than to know. Father, this is true feeling, from the heart."

It's too narrow, and it's making fun of Dad!He Zhan held back his laughter and made a gesture of praise to him.

……

Early the next morning, Ma Hong and Imperial Physician Qi hurried on the road. Not only did they leave rice noodles, but also some money. To avoid attracting attention, He Tai did not come out to see them off in person, but asked He Mu to send them out of the city. outside.

On the way back, He Mu stopped by the county government office and sent some of the prey that his younger brothers had brought in recently, as a thank you to the county magistrate for taking care of them in the past few years. As a result, when he returned to He's house, he still had an extra layer of meat on his body. An invitation.

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival on August [-]th, the governor of Fangzhou hosted a banquet for officials, big and small, and celebrities from aristocratic families.

In the past, this kind of thing has never been part of the He family. Although the current Fangzhou officials have much looser control over the He family than before, they still dare not get too close to He Tai. Forget that there is such a family under his rule.

But this year, He Tai was also invited.