Urban Night Returner

Luo Jing originally planned to see Ding Lancha the next day, but Ding Lancha was faster than him and arrived at Luo Jing's residence early in the morning.

Luo Jing didn't have to go to the palace to be on duty today, and practiced in the courtyard early in the morning.Ding Lancha came in and saw him dancing vigorously with a sword, he couldn't help nodding and smiling.Luo Jing saw it at a glance, and quickly withdrew his momentum to let him into the room.

Ding Lancha naturally came for Luo Jing's marriage.He has already decided to leave Beijing in two days, and when he arrives, he will take a short detour and formally make an appointment for Luo Jing.Ding Lanqing is also the person who will take office, and he is his cousin, so he doesn't pay too much attention to red tape. Once he has made a decision, he will almost set a date for the wedding. It is not easy to hold a wedding in the middle of winter. The worst thing is that the confidant sends her daughter to the capital to get married.

Ding Lancha brought a long list of gifts, listing them one by one according to the local customs of the Ding family.Fortunately, although things are trivial, they are not rare items. As long as you have money, you can buy them all in the local area. The only thing missing is a "betroth" from the man's family.According to the local customs of the Ding family, this "betrothed object" should be a relatively expensive jewelry, and it would be even better if it was passed down from family.Ding Lancha knew that Luo Jing had such a bracelet, but it was too cheap, and it would not suit Luo Jing's current status to take it out, so he bought another high-quality jade bracelet as this "betroth" .In order to prevent Luo Jing from being overwhelmed, he didn't mention the doorway.

Luo Jing has no objection to this.Ding Lancha folded the gift list, hesitated for a moment, and said, "What should we do with that Mr. Shen in your house?"

Luo Jing was slightly taken aback: "What does the commander mean?"

Ding Lancha coughed lightly: "You are going to get married soon, isn't it appropriate to have such a person in the family?"

Luo Jing was silent.Ding Lancha said slowly: "Bi Yan is easy to talk about. After serving you all these years, it's nothing to accept a house. It's not a big deal for a man to have a concubine, and Hui girl is also sensible, so she doesn't care about it. But this Shen Mobai--it's so good now There are plenty of people around, so Biquan will still follow you? But this Shen Mobai has an unknown origin and is a godsend... Is he reliable? Besides, Biquan is your bodyguard, what is he? It's not that I prefer my niece, I always hope that your husband and wife will be harmonious, but there is one more person who doesn't know why, if a girl from any family marries in, I'm afraid she won't be comfortable, right?"

Luo Jing felt disturbed, and said: "Commander, he is homeless now, if I send him away, he will have nowhere to go. Besides, I said to let him be my accountant, now..."

Ding Lancha frowned: "You don't even have many servants now, what kind of tent do you want? It doesn't look like it to outsiders." He knew that Luo Jing's temper could be soft or hard, so he slowed down and said, "In the end, I was the matchmaker. Even though she is my niece, if she doesn't marry well, she will blame me. Since he is homeless, you let him go with me and go to Qingzhou to work as a bookkeeper. Don't treat him badly, how?"

Luo Jing bowed his head and remained silent.In fact, he already understood the few words Biquan said last night—everyone felt in danger when Ding Hui married in, and Biquan was asking for a name for his sister.He has already promised Bi Yan that after getting married, he will choose a day to take her as his concubine.As for Biquan, he was still his bodyguard, even Ding Hui couldn't fault him.But what is Shen Mobai?It's really too funny to call it a tent, what kind of account is it?Where does he have an account for him to manage?

Looking at his expression, Ding Lan knew that he was relieved, and said while the iron was hot: "He went to my place, and you can go and see it in the future. If you are far away, Huier won't know and can't say anything. "

Luo Jing was silent.In fact, he never thought about marrying a wife before.When a person is on the battlefield, who knows when blood will be spattered three feet?What's more, when traveling from south to north, there is no stable time. Once you marry a wife, where will you settle down?Secondly, there is green smoke and green spring by your side, so it doesn't make any difference whether you marry a wife or not.Thirdly, with his father's "model" in front, the so-called "marrying" is really not very attractive.Looking at the scars on his mother's face when he was young, he also imagined that if he married a wife in the future, he would treat her well and would never touch her... It's just that the boy's thoughts are getting older. It gradually faded away.Now that they really want to start a family, what lies before them is a lot of troubles and obstacles.If it wasn't Ding Lancha who said this now, he would have turned a deaf ear to it.But now it is Ding Lancha who is admonishing him - not only his boss, but also his teacher, and he can even be said to be his father, his relatives - what he said naturally has extra weight.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Ding Lan said with a more serious tone: "There are three things that are unfilial, and having no offspring is the greatest. No matter how good Mr. Shen is, he is still a man, and he will never be able to bear children for you. If your mother is alive, she must be willing." You get married and start a business, and your children are around your knees..."

This sentence hits the nail on the head.Luo Jing suddenly appeared in front of Luo Jing's eyes, the words written stroke by stroke on the sand surface, it was the wish of his mother, a wish that he had persisted in for more than ten years in the darkness...

Ding Lan saw that he was slightly moved, and knew what was on his mind, and said slowly: "In the final analysis, it is the right way for men to marry wives and have children. That is Mr. Shen, who seems to have never seen anything in the world. If you are greedy for a moment of pleasure and understand things in the future, are you willing to live your whole life in such ignorance? Even if others are pointing and pointing behind your back, it is not a glorious thing. If you are doing his best, don't delay him."

This was another heavy blow, Luo Jing recalled Shen Mobai's often blank expression, couldn't help but clenched his fist slightly, heaved a sigh of relief for a while and said: "If he is willing to follow, I will naturally not stop him."

Ding Lancha smiled slightly, got up and said: "You are doing it for his own good, why would he not want to? Wait for me to talk to him. Come to me as an assistant, and I will count him as a credit in a few years, and I will never treat him poorly." He is."

Luo Jing's lips moved slightly, but thinking about it, such an arrangement was undoubtedly the best for Shen Mobai, and he swallowed the words again.

However, Ding Lancha didn't say these words to Shen Mobai after all, because Biquan had already hurried in before he left the house: "Master, Master, Mr. Shen is gone."

Luo Jing was startled: "Where did it go?"

Biquan shook his head: "Just now, I went to deliver breakfast to Mr. Shen, only to find that there is no one in the room, and I don't know when I left."

Ding Lancha didn't take it seriously: "I'm afraid I'm bored, so go out and walk around."

Luo Jing didn't care about talking, got up and rushed into Shen Mobai's room.He knew that Shen Mobai would never go out because of boredom, let alone leave without saying hello.

The room was tidy, even the cloak he wore yesterday was folded and placed on the bedside.The bed was cold early, it seemed that people had been gone for a while.

Luo Jing stood beside the bed, put his hand on the neatly folded cloak, and after a while, said slowly: "Is there anything missing?"

Biquan was slightly taken aback: "No."

Luo Jing sighed inaudibly: "I didn't even take the money..."

Biquan tentatively said, "Master, why don't I go look for it?"

Luo Jing stared back at him: "What did you tell him?"

Biquan's heart skipped a beat, and he still met Luo Jing's gaze: "Mr. Shen said he wants to see you, and I said that you are discussing with the commander in chief about getting married, so I asked him to wait for the commander in chief to leave before going to his room. Sir, What did I say wrong?"

Luo Jing stared at him sharply for a moment, his eyes gradually dimmed, he turned his head slowly, and said, "You didn't say anything wrong. There is no need to go, let's go, let's go..."

Shen Mobai did not leave the capital.The weather was already very cold, and he came out on an empty stomach, so he felt cold from the inside out after a while.He already knew the importance of money, but Luo Jing never gave him a penny, and he didn't want to take any of Luo Jing's things away, so at this moment, except for these few clothes, he really had nothing in his pocket.He also walked into several early-opened stores and asked if they needed a tent, but he hit a snag everywhere.There are many small stalls in the streets and alleys, and the steaming steamed buns and wontons are beckoning to him, but he can only watch.

The cold wind pierced into the clothes like needle points, Shen Mobai gathered his collar, pulled his feet up reluctantly, and left the tempting snack burden.After walking a few steps, he was hit on the head by someone, almost knocked on his back.The man reeked of alcohol, and he staggered, and said vaguely: "Yes, I'm sorry—"

Shen Mobai rubbed his painful forehead and took a closer look, he couldn't help but be amazed: "General Zuo?" This drunken person is actually the always gentle and cheerful Zuo Mu.

Zuo Mu narrowed his eyes, and it took him a long time to recognize Shen Mobai. He immediately grabbed his sleeve and laughed: "Mr. Shen! Okay, have a drink with me, have a drink. Let's go!"

Shen Mobai was no match for his strength, and was dragged into a small tavern by him.Zuo Mu slapped a piece of silver on the table: "Serve wine! Good wine!"

Although he was already drunk, as long as he had money, the hotel would just serve the wine, and in a short time, the table was set up with wine and food.Zuo Mu patted open the mud seal on the mouth of the altar, nodded and said: "Good wine, good wine." He raised the jar, poured wine for Shen Mobai crookedly, poured a glass, and spilled half of it, "Drink! There is a lot in drunkenness, drink! "

Shen Mobai could only feel the aroma of wine rushing towards his face. He was hungry, so he couldn't help but picked up the cup and took a sip.This is the store's self-brewed rice wine, which is mild and sweet in the mouth, and after one sip, there is a slight warmth on the body.Shen Mobai had never drank before, so he couldn't help taking another sip, and nodded slightly: "It's really good."

Zuo Mu laughed loudly, lifted the jar and poured it into his mouth, took a sip before dropping the jar: "What broken wine! Change the wine! Huangteng wine! Luo Fuchun! Bamboo leaf green! Bring them all!"

He even called out a few items, all of which were famous liquors, but they couldn't be produced in this small hotel.But Xiao Er was quite clever, upon hearing this, he immediately brought a jar of white wine.Zuo Mu was seven or eight points drunk, and he couldn't tell what it was. He took a sip of Kaifeng Ni, gave a thumbs up and said, "Good wine! 30-year-old Zhuyeqing!"

Xiao Er was almost laughing out loud, Zuo Mu saw him, and suddenly grabbed his collar with his long body: "What are you laughing at?"

Xiao Er quickly waved his hands: "No, I'm not laughing at anything."

Zuo Mu stared at him, and suddenly grinned: "Are you laughing at me? Believe it or not, I made your life worse than death?" He smiled very kindly, and Xiao Er only thought he was joking, and said with a smile: "Master and Xiao It's a joke."

Zuo Mu giggled and said, "Who's joking with you?" He pulled Xiao Er's hand close to his eyes, and stroked his fingers across the other's palm, "You lost your father when you were young, and your mother is sick. Wife, has no son yet..."

Xiao Er was stunned, and murmured: "How does the guest officer know?"

Zuo Mu threw his hand away, and said with a chuckle, "Of course I know." He narrowed his eyes, his smile was still there, but his eyes were fierce, "Do you want to lose your wife and mother right now? Or do you want to end your children and grandchildren in the future?"

Xiao Er caught his gaze, and shivered involuntarily, his voice trembling slightly: "Little one, I have never offended the guest officer..."

Zuo Mu raised a finger and pointed at him: "You're laughing at me, aren't you? You're laughing at my inability to keep the woman you love, aren't you?"

Xiao Er suspects that he has run into a lunatic, but the lunatic's eyes are really scary, staring at him straight back, muttering: "I really didn't laugh... I don't know what happened to the guest officer's wife... "

Zuo Mu pointed at him with one hand, and stretched his other hand into his arms, as if he was looking for something.Shen Mobai hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his hand to grab him: "General Zuo, have a drink, ignore him." While quietly winking at Xiao Er.Little Er couldn't wait and slipped away in a hurry.

Zuo Mu was interrupted by him, and forgot what he was doing just now. He picked up the wine glass and took a big gulp. He shook his body and said, "Good wine! Come on, drink this too!" Without any explanation, he threw Shen Mobai's wine glass Go to the side and pour him white wine again.Shen Mobai couldn't resist him, so he forced him to take a sip, and immediately coughed.

Zuo Mu laughed out loud, and simply poured water into the mouth of the altar.Shen Mobai wiped away the wine stains on his lips with his sleeve, and took the milk jar away from his hand: "General Zuo, what are you doing?"

In fact, half of Zuo Mu's wine was spilled on his body and face. The cold wine splashed on his face also made him sober up a bit. He stared blankly at Shen Mobai for a while, then suddenly smiled wryly: "Why is Mr. Shen alone? Came out? Where is General Luo?"

Shen Mobai felt bitter in his heart, bowed his head and said: "He, he is discussing marriage with Marshal Ding." Biquan casually mentioned the mad Taoist, mentioned that he claimed to eliminate the calamity, and tried his own thunder; When it comes to Luo Jing's future wife and the matter of him taking Biyan as his concubine, every word is like a needle stuck in his body.Before he even figured out what was going on, his legs had already walked out of the gate of Luofu by himself.

Zuo Mu's eyes were in a trance, and he said with a smile: "Marriage, well, General Luo's wedding is coming soon! Good luck! Where is it like me, how is it like me..."

Shen Mobai also guessed something from what he said earlier, and said softly: "What's wrong with the general? But you didn't find that girl?"

Zuo Mu laughed out loud, with indescribable bitterness in his laughter: "I didn't find it? If I didn't find it, it would be good... but I found it, but she...she's already married..."

Shen Mobai was stunned for a moment, and murmured: "I'm married..." Looking at Zuo Mu, he didn't know how to comfort him.

Zuo Mu's eyes straightened, and he said slowly: "She's married. Her uncle wants to curry favor with the minister of the court and marry her to the minister's family as a concubine. I waited for six days before I took a look at her from the crack of the sedan chair curtain." .She still recognizes me... She cried..."

Shen Mobai looked at him with a dull face, but his eyes were full of pain. If it was the past, although he felt sympathetic, it was nothing more than that.He studied Buddhism with his master since he was a child. He pays attention to abstaining from emotions, desires, anger, and attachments. His heart is like still water, and the wind passes without waves.Therefore, since he came down from the mountain, although he saw a lot of troubles and sorrows in his eyes, he was willing to help him, but he always stayed out of the matter, just like a person picking up a ants or two from a pool of water, just doing it with his hands, but not being able to experience it personally The frightening and disturbing appearance of this insect struggling in the water.It's just that now he heard Zuo Mu slowly expressing the pain in his heart, for some reason, he felt his chest convulsed, and he was a little out of breath. It seemed that the pain in Zuo Mu's words aroused something in his chest. It's uncomfortable to grab.He unconsciously picked up the wine glass in front of him and took another sip.The hot flame rushed down from the throat, breaking away the tangled lump in the chest, making the body feel light and comfortable, and the spiciness was a little weaker.He couldn't help but take another sip, and then took one sip after another, and drank the whole glass of wine.

Zuo Mu rested his head on his arm, watched him drink, and smiled: "Okay! Good drinker! Come on, I'll drink with you! No, you drink with me! Why can you relieve your worries? Only Du Kang...you can meet your confidant when you drink A thousand cups are too small... This, this, wine is the matchmaker of sex... Bah! No, no, that cuts off the water with a knife, raises a glass to relieve sorrow..."

Listening to his incoherent speech, Shen Mobai gradually became dizzy, but it was a very comfortable dizziness, and his body also became hot.He tried to open his eyes wide, and at some point Zuo Mu turned into Luo Jing, and in the blink of an eye, Luo Jing turned back into Zuo Mu again.He shook his head suspiciously, but was even more dizzy.Zuo Mu murmured in his ears: "Back then, her parents hated me... I, the dignified descendant of the Zuo family, abandoned my family's strange arts and went to the border. Marry her... Who knows, who knows..." He lowered his voice, and finally he fell on the table and fell asleep.

Shen Mo supported his head with white hands, barely stood up, swayed and pulled him, but couldn't pull him.While they were struggling, two young men dressed as sergeants ran in outside the door, saw Zuo Mu, and immediately shouted: "Okay, okay, I didn't find it anywhere, so here it is." Come over and set Zuo Mu up, take a look at Shen Mo Bai said: "Who are you?"

Shen Mobai shook his head blankly. The two of them saw that he also looked drunk and gentle. One of them asked, "Where do you live? Shall we send you back?"

Shen Mobai asked blankly: "Where do I live?" After thinking for a long time, he seemed to have some vague impressions, but he didn't seem to have any, so he shook his head again.Seeing that they couldn't come up with any questions, the two left him alone and carried Zuo Mu Gu away.

Shen Mobai watched the three walk away, and also staggered out of the hotel gate.It was still very cold outside, and there were already fine flakes of snow, but he was still drunk, so he didn't feel it, and just walked along the street crookedly.I don't know how long I walked, and suddenly I saw a door. The steps in front of the door were cleaned very cleanly, and there was a thin layer of snow, which looked very familiar.He walked over in a daze, leaned over on it, and curled up into a ball.The snowflakes gradually became bigger and fell from the gray sky, slowly covering him...

When Luo Jing got up early in the morning, the sky was like rubbing cotton wool, and the ground had already accumulated a thick layer.In the past, in the army, the sergeants had to clean up the snow, so he found a broom and swept the snow in the courtyard to the corners of the four walls.Thinking that the door must also be covered with snow, he opened the door to clean the steps.I don't want to see a mass of things protruding from the steps at a glance, covered in thick snow, like a dead thing.He frowned, and scratched casually with the broom, revealing a corner of the skirt under the snow.Luo Jing looked at it, and his expression changed immediately, he threw the broom and rushed down to pick it up with both hands.The snow was peeled away, revealing Shen Mobai's face as white as snow, with long eyelashes hanging down, already covered with a layer of frost, if not for the slight warmth in his chest, he would be no different from a dead person...