[Lu Xiaofeng] Hidden Forest of Flowers and Leaves

Hua Manlou folded her hands on Han Yexin's, smiled and shook her head.If you have to get angry every time you hear people say that you are blind, wouldn't you have endless anger?

Han Yexin raised the wine bowl, took a sip, and gradually calmed down.He knew what Hua Manlou said was right, but hearing these words in front of Hua Manlou still made him a little angry.It's as if you clearly have a jewel, and you know exactly how radiant and unparalleled the jewel is, but others say that although it is a good bead, it is a pity that it has no luster.

It wasn't until Han Yexin's pulse calmed down that Hua Manlou let go of his hand.He raised the bowl to his lips, but he didn't know that there was a piece of apricot blossom floating in the bowl. When the wind passed, the flowers rained down on his head, not only covered his body, but even the inside of the bowl was full of residual red.

One petal is elegant, but one petal is too much.Hua Manlou was about to put down the bowl, but Han Yexin had already taken the wine in his hand, poured out the bowl, and refilled it for him.

At this moment, the flowers and rain were flying, and even the goatee stopped talking.After the gust of wind passed, the people under the apricot tree began to exchange glasses and talk again.

There was a sound of light horseshoes on the road.Immediately a young man was sitting, saw the restaurant, got off his horse, tied the horse to the side of the road and came over.

Because today is the Shangsi Festival, there are many people traveling, and the small Xinghua Restaurant is already full of people.The young man looked around, walked straight to Huamanlou's table, clasped his fists at the two of them and said, "You two young masters, can you join us for a table together?"

The young man was wearing a samurai blue shirt with narrow waist and narrow sleeves, his hair was tied up with a gold ring, and he held a long sword in his hand, looking valiant and graceful.But as soon as he spoke, he heard the voice like a yellow warbler coming out of the valley, and when he looked up again, he saw his complexion was as white as snow, his lips were painted red, his cheeks were round, his eyes were full of autumn water, and there were small piercings under his two earlobes.

This is clearly a girl in men's clothing.

When Han Yexin saw such a girl with bright eyes and white teeth for the first time, she couldn't help being a little startled. She thought to herself, does she know that others can recognize it at a glance?

Hua Manlou couldn't see these things, but when he heard the voice, he knew the gender of the person coming. Seeing that Han Yexin didn't answer, he said, "You're welcome, girl, please sit down."

The girl was called to reveal her identity at once, she was a bit embarrassed, she froze for a while, then sat down embarrassingly.

"Your Excellency has good eyesight. In my journey, there are very few people who can tell me with a single word."

Hua Manlou was a little puzzled, and after hearing that there was no sound of hairpins on the girl's body, she finally understood, and couldn't help apologizing, "I'm being rude."

The young girl was a little surprised when he said that, but when she looked carefully, she found that the warm and jade-like young man in white had dark eyes, without any brilliance.

But the young man was smiling slightly, without any hesitation in his gestures, without any sign of depression, she couldn't help but stretched out her hand and waved in front of him: "You..."

"As the girl sees, I'm blind." Hua Manlou said this, as if she was saying a very ordinary thing, without any hint of discouragement, as if there was no big difference between being blind and seeing.

The girl withdrew her hand in surprise, feeling a little embarrassed, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I really don't know."

"It's ok."

At this moment, the proprietress of the hotel came over, the girl ordered wine and noodles, and when the wine came, she poured a bowl first, and said to Hua Manlou, "My lord, you were so abrupt just now, please don't be offended." .

Hua Manlou smiled and nodded, but did not speak.

After the girl finished drinking, she looked around and said, "The scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is indeed very beautiful. I came all the way from the south, and I was completely stunned."

Han Yexin saw that the girl was dressed up, with a gold ring on her hair, gold and jade on her sword, and the clothes were expensive, and asked, "Where did this girl come from?"

The girl said: "Quanzhou."

At this time, the noodles were served, and the girl was obviously a little hungry, so she said a word and started to eat.

Han Ye was stunned, and looked at the girl. He saw that the girl was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and more than half of his guesses were confirmed.

Hua Manlou was dragged out by Han Yexin, so she had to smile apologetically at the girl.The young girl was puzzled, and felt that the two hurriedly said goodbye before they could say anything.

She looked at the back of Huamanlou. In the rain of apricot blossoms, the figure of the young man in white was absolutely stagnant. He got on the horse and turned back to drive the horse. The building is full?"

Han Yexin took Hua Manlou on horseback and rode up the main road, urging the horse to run for a while before stopping.Hua Manlou urged the horse to be beside him, knowing it in his heart, with a smile in his mouth, but he didn't say anything.

Han Yexin sighed suddenly, and said, "I should have asked her what her last name was."

Hua Manlou: "I think you probably have a guess."

Han Yexin nodded: "She wears gold and jade, is from Quanzhou, and happens to be fifteen or sixteen years old..."

"What does this mean?" Hua Manlou asked intentionally.

Han Yexin said sadly, "Maybe it's the Seventeenth Miss from the Nangong family that the goatee was talking about. Maybe that Seventeenth Miss came here to see you."

"Oh?" Hua Manlou said: "If so, I was a little rude just now."

Han Yexin also knew in his heart that if the guess was true, everyone would meet again one day, and it would be embarrassing to think about what happened today.But when he thought that Hua Manlou was very likely to negotiate a marriage with this girl, and he might get married in the near future, he became depressed.

A good brother should be happy when this is a happy event in his life.But when he came to this world, he decided to protect Huamanlou. Although he didn't see much effect, it was also his belief.Today I suddenly thought, what should Ruo Huamanlou do after he gets married?Still like today, like shadow and shadow?Didn't Miss Nangong find him annoying at that time, maybe Hua Manlou would find him annoying too.

If they are not bothered, what about three to five years later?Huamanlou's child came out—thinking that the ribbon was thrown so high today, Han Ye couldn't help but vomit blood again—he has a wife and son, shouldn't he be impatient with himself?

Thinking back to the beginning, he wanted to be a steward in the Hua family's property, and he would grow old with nothing to do, but looking at it now, he still wants to go back to the old way.

That's it.

Han Ye felt sad and said, if this marriage is really done, he should ask his second brother to find him a job and give him a bowl of rice.It's better than looking at Huamanlou helplessly and feeling lonely.

Although Hua Manlou had a clear and exquisite mind, he didn't know what Han Yexin was thinking for a while. He just thought that he didn't want him to get close to that Nangong girl, so he patted Han Yexin on the shoulder and ran up immediately.

The spring breeze is blowing, really refreshing.

The two spent another afternoon playing, Han Yexin was always a little absent-minded, but Huamanlou's interest remained undiminished, and he even bought a lot of gadgets.When the sun was setting and the tourists gradually dispersed, they let their horses back to the city.

At night, Han Yexin pondered her thoughts by herself, and the more she thought about it, the more sad she felt, and she stopped spending time with Huamanlou, went back to her own yard, closed the yard door, lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

This courtyard is not much different from when Han Tiecheng lived. Compared with other courtyards in Huafu, this courtyard is much colder.The yard is empty, with few trees and flowers.There is very little furniture, mostly dark.For the past nine years, Han Yexin has been hearing chickens dancing and returning home every day. This place is just a place to sleep, and he didn't bother to clean it up.It was so dark at this moment that he suddenly realized that this room was really deserted, just like himself.

If you leave like this, I'm afraid there will be nothing left behind, right?

The more Han Ye thought about it, the more sad he became. He hugged the quilt tightly and rolled over on the bed.

In the evening, Hua Manlou finished her homework and put a bamboo slip back on the bookshelf.Because he couldn't see with his eyes, Hua Ruhai invited a group of craftsmen to carve books into bamboo slips so that Huamanlou could refer to eyes.Now it is not a problem for Huamanlou to "read" ordinary books, and these bamboo slips are still kept.There is a booklet in one of the cabinets. It is written by Han Yexin that he went from blunt to mature.

Hua Manlou turned over the bamboo slips from the beginning, put them back into the green pouch, tied them up with silk ropes, and went back to the bedroom to rest.

Han Yexin fell asleep, and woke up the next day, seeing the coldness of the room, he was still not in high spirits.When he came back from practicing sword, he saw a little maid waiting at the gate of the courtyard, saying that Hua Manlou had invited him over for breakfast.Han Yexin felt a little depressed, and came to Huamanlou's yard with the maidservant. Seeing Huamanlou standing in front of Cong Shaoyao, he turned around and smiled when he heard him coming.

At that moment, Han Yexin's grievances and grievances disappeared. Yun Poyue came, his heart was full of joy, and he ran over immediately, standing side by side with Hua Manlou, looking at Cong Shaoyao.

Hua Manlou bent over, brushed the small buds with his fingers, and said, "In a while, it will bloom."

Han Yexin nodded.

"Zen Master Tianxin wrote to say that the Qionghua in the mountain temple has bloomed, please let me go and see it." Hua Manlou said, "I wonder if Mr. Han is interested?"

Han Yexin laughed, and purposely clasped his fists together and said, "Young man, but you are driven, how dare you not follow?"

Hua Manlou smiled and shook his head, the two went into the room to have dinner, and after three days of agreement, someone sent a letter back to Zen Master Tianxin.

At this point in Han Ye's heart, he put aside all the little depression, looked at Huamanlou, and thought, it would be good to have one more day like this.

When he was free, he still thought that the girl from Nangong might come to visit him, but after waiting for three days, there was no news at all.Secretly thought that the girl under the banner of Xinghuajiu that day, could it be that she guessed wrong?

On this day, the two changed into spring shirts and went out side by side to the mountain temple.

After entering the mountain temple, the little novice announced that Zen Master Tianxin came out to greet her, and led Huamanlou to look at Qionghua affectionately.Because they came early, there was no one under the Qionghua tree, so they took the lead.

On a tree, viburnum blooms one after another, as white as snow, in clusters, and with green leaves as the base, it makes people think that they are in a fairyland and have endless reverie.With a smile on his face, Huamanlou replaced his eyes with his hands, and sniffed the stamens. It was much more enjoyable to "watch" than someone with bright eyes like Han Yexin.

It was originally planned to return after eating vegetarian food in the temple, but I didn't want anyone to inform me that the prefect's family members would come to offer incense and enjoy the flowers.Thinking of beating the magistrate until his teeth fell out a few days ago, and having to negotiate a head-on collision, the two decided to bid farewell to Tianxin and come back another day.

Tianxin was very reluctant, and decided to let Huamanlou come another day, not only to enjoy the flowers, but also to learn chess skills.

The two went down from the mountain temple and came to the street.The street is very lively, with shops lined up on both sides, and people on the street are bustling, not to mention rubbing shoulders, but also filling the road.Suddenly there was a crashing sound, "Get out of the way, get out of the way!" A man ran forward while pushing away from the crowd, and a woman behind him fell down on the road and shouted loudly: "Come on! Catch the thief!" ! Robbery!"

The thief jumped up and down, shoving the crowd, and the street immediately became chaotic, and he ran very fast. In order to stop the street patrolling police who were chasing him, he overturned many vendors' stalls, shouting and cursing constantly.The little thief taught quickly, and the two catchers were left behind in a blink of an eye.

Han Yexin and Huamanlou stood still in the street, no need to dodge, the little thief waved at them while running: "Quickly dodge!"

Naturally, the two of them didn't pay much attention to the little thief, and were waiting for him to come, but saw a long sword with a sheath coming across, passing through the little thief's armpit, blocking him.The man holding the sword stood with his back facing the two of them, with one head behind his back, dressed in blue clothes and hair tied with gold rings, he was the girl under the flag of Xinghuajiu that day.

The little thief was blocked, but he didn't give up. He raised his arms and stepped back, but suddenly got short, trying to slip under the girl's sword.The girl stretched out her sword and pushed, and the little thief was thrown to the ground in the street, unable to get up again.

The girl knelt down, pressed the sword hand on the thief's chest, and beckoned with the other hand: "Bring something."

The little thief felt that there was a huge boulder on his chest, and he was about to lose his breath, so he had no choice but to think he was unlucky and took out the money bag.

The girl took the purse and stood up.The little thief lost the oppression, jumped up in an instant, and ran away quickly.

The little thief brushed past Hua and Han, but they didn't stop him.By the time the street patrolling police arrived, the thief had already disappeared.The two gasped for a while, then continued to chase forward.The girl did not speak to the policeman, but walked forward and gave the purse to the woman who was running towards her out of breath.The woman was very grateful and said many words of thanks.

The girl said goodbye to the woman, and when she turned around, she saw Hua Manlou and Han Yexin.She came over, cupped her hands at the two of them and said, "You two young masters, we meet again."

Hua Manlou nodded with a smile, but Han Yexin's face turned cold again.

The three found a restaurant and sat down.Han Yexin sat by the window, thinking about the things he thought a few days ago again, feeling a little sad.

Hua Manlou said: "Thanks to the girl who helped out on the street, it also made that aunt less worried."

Girl: "Easy to do."

Hua Manlou: "Does the girl have any relatives or friends in this city?"

Girl: "There is an old acquaintance of my father in the city, but I haven't met yet."

Although the sons and daughters of the world are informal, it is not good for strangers to get too involved in the affairs of the daughter's family.Hua Manlou also suspected that she was the daughter of the Nangong family, but she didn't know if she should ask for details.

Han Yexin kept looking out the window, not interested in the conversation between the two of them, and the table became quiet after a while.

Fortunately, Dr. Tea served tea and snacks at this time, the girl said: "I'm Shang Lvluo, I don't know what to call you two young masters?"

Han Yexin turned her head and looked over, wondering if this Shang Luluo was an alias, and for a moment half-truthfully expected that she was Shang Luluo, not Nangong's Seventeen.

Huamanlou said with a smile, "I'm down here, Huamanlou." He pointed his fan towards the opposite side, "This is Han Yexin."

Han Yexin raised his teacup as a signal, and became interested in their conversation.

Even though the girl had guessed Hua Manlou's identity, she was still very surprised and bowed her hands to the two of them: "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Han Ye thought: "Miss Shang came here from Quanzhou, what's the important thing?"

Shang Lvluo pondered for a while, then said: "I heard that the viburnum here is blooming well, so I'll make a special trip to see it."

Han Yexin smiled suddenly: "Of course the flowers here are blooming well, Miss Shang can enjoy them carefully." After speaking, he turned his head away.

Shang Luluo was taken aback by what he said, and blushed a little.

In fact, she is indeed the seventeenth of the Nangong family, named Nangong Lvluo.At the beginning of the year, her eldest brother, Nangong Bo, the current head of the Nangong family, mentioned the matter of marrying her, saying that the seventh child of the Hua family is a smart and gentle person, about the same age as her, and a good match.Nangong Luluo herself had nothing to do, but her mother, Jiu Yiniang, was very angry, saying that Nangong Bo looked down on her and wanted to find a blind man for Luluo to be her husband.

It was only then that Luluo realized that the person the elder brother was talking about was actually blind.However, she wasn't too shocked. Living in Nangong's family, profit comes first, and she has seen it clearly from her sisters over the years.

It's just that Jiu Yiniang couldn't stand the noise every day, and she was also very depressed, so she sneaked out alone, to relax, and also wanted to know what kind of person Qi Tong of the Hua family was.

When she saw her under Xinghuajiu that day, she still believed it or not, but she was 100% sure after hearing the other party's report today.While drinking tea, she secretly looked at Hua Qitong. Although he was blind, he behaved gracefully and was much more noble and gentle than all the princes she had seen.

Nangong Luluo's heart was fluctuating for a while, wondering if Huamanlou would care about what happened today when they met in real identity in the future?

She didn't pay attention to Han Yexin's indifferent attitude.

Han Yexin wanted to find out if she was Nangong Shiqi, so he turned around and chatted with her: "Ms. Caishang stopped that little thief, why did she let him go?"

Nangong Luluo said: "The affairs of the Jianghu people are naturally resolved by the Jianghu people themselves."

Han Ye thought, "If he is handed over to the government, fewer people will suffer."

Nangong Luluo shook the cup: "To be honest, I am really impatient to deal with the government."

Han Yexin smiled: "Miss Shang finished admiring the Qionghua, are you planning to go back to Quanzhou, or go somewhere else?"

Nangong Luluo groaned slightly, unable to make a decision for a while.She originally planned to take a look at Huamanlou quietly, but now she not only saw it, but also got to know him.It's just that she doesn't want to just go back to Nangong's house. The family is famous for their knives and swords, and they only see you as valuable or worthless.

Han Yexin said: "I heard that there is a seventeenth lady in the Nangong family in Quanzhou. She has a beautiful appearance and strong martial arts skills. She is the jewel in the palm of the Nangong family. Miss Shang is in Quanzhou. Can you hear some anecdotes about this seventeenth lady?"

Nangong Luluo's face turned red instantly, she quickly lowered her head and drank tea to cover it up, then looked at Han Yexin, looking at herself with a happy gaze, wondering if he guessed it?If he guessed it, what about Huamanlou?

Hua Manlou held the cup with his slender fingers, smelling the fragrance of tea leaves at the tip of his nose, but didn't show anything.

"Miss Nangong lives reclusively, and I don't know too well." Nangong Luluo vaguely said.

"Oh." Han Yexin replied, he was [-]% sure that she was Nangong Luluo.

Hua Manlou said: "Ye Xin, I don't know that you care so much about this Nangong girl. If that's the case, I can accompany you to Quanzhou for a while."

Han Yexin snorted, "Aren't I worried for someone?"

Nangong Lvluo immediately blushed.Although she is a member of the Nangong family, she has never walked around the rivers and lakes before. After all, she is young and involves some matters between men and women. Besides, that person is still in front of her, so she is a little ashamed.

In fact, her skin was snow-white, and it was obvious when she blushed.Huamanlou couldn't see it, but Han Yexin could see it clearly, and he was [-]% sure in his heart immediately.

Hua Manlou said to Nangong Luluo: "If Miss Shang encounters anything in the city, you can send a letter to Huafu, and I will definitely do my best."

"So, thank you."

A few people wentssiping for a while, mostly Huamanlou and Nangong Luluo were talking, while Han Yexin leaned against the window and listened, occasionally interjecting a few words.After a while, Huahan and Han got up to say goodbye. Nangong Luluo said goodbye to them on the street and went back to the inn.

Han Yexin felt that Nangong Luluo was not very enthusiastic about Huamanlou, so he became a little worried for a while.He looked at Huamanlou, who was still smiling, with a breezy and bright appearance, and couldn't help saying, "Huamanlou, don't you think that Shang girl is actually Nangong Shiqi?"

Hua Manlou said: "So what if it is, so what if it's not?"

"If yes, why didn't she give her real name? If not... then that's all."

"What's so difficult about it?" Hua Manlou said, "You can find out when you go back."

Sure enough, he caught a manager in Huafu and casually inquired about it, and all the news about Nangong Shiqi was delivered in a short while.

"That Shang girl is indeed Nangong Shiqi." Han Yexin frowned.

"Yes." Huamanlou watered the flowers.

"Why are you so careless? Anyway, she is your future daughter-in-law."

Hua Manlou walked over and took out the information in Han Yexin's hand: "Don't talk nonsense, it won't ruin the girl's reputation."

Hua Manlou put the information on the table, ignored it, and started watering the flowers again.

Han Yexin looked at Huamanlou, then at the few pieces of paper, not knowing what to say, and walked out of the courtyard with a frown.

As soon as he left the hospital, Hua Ruhai suddenly came in, holding a letter in his hand, and said, "Qitong, I have something to tell you."

Han Yexin followed curiously again, Hua Manlou slid his fingers across the letter paper, "read" the letter, and frowned.

Hua Ruhai said: "Nangong Bote sent a letter saying that his sister Nangong Lvluo came out to roam the rivers and lakes, and may pass by Yangzhou in the near future, please take care of us from the Hua family. Qitong, what do you think?"

Hua Manlou put down the letter and said, "Father, I have already met that Nangong girl."

"Oh?" Hua Ruhai's eyes lit up, but seeing that Qitong had no expression on his face, and it was difficult to ask, he said, "Then...do you want to invite Miss Nangong to come and sit at home?"

Hua Manlou was watering an orchid with a watering pot, and said after a long while, "In that case, I'll pick her up tomorrow."

Hua Ruhai smiled and nodded.

When Han Yexin heard it, he felt like a thunderbolt. He took two steps back, turned around and walked out of the yard.

Seeing Han Yexin's messy footsteps, Hua Ruhai thought to herself, could it be that Yexin also fell in love with that girl?

Han Yexin walked out of the courtyard and ran quickly, until he reached a big ginkgo tree where he usually practiced.He leaned on the tree to breathe, and he didn't understand why he was so panicked inside.What I was worried about a few days ago has become a reality recently, and there is no word left of those repeated thoughts, only one question: I am about to be separated from Huamanlou, why does it feel like the other half of my body is being split, so painful ?

Han Yexin punched the tree, the thick branches and leaves of the ginkgo tree trembled, and the green leaves shook, making a rustling sound.