old grace

After leaving Zhao Ersong's inn, Xie Qinghe didn't want to find another inn to settle down, so Lin Gu suggested finding an old house with no one to live in temporarily.

"A lot of people have left in the past six months, and a large number of houses are vacant, and they are all occupied by neighbors. If you look for remote places, there are many empty houses." Lin Gu spoke very restrainedly, Xie Qinghe and Fu Chuan both understood her words The next meaning.

Houses are only valuable during the Taiping period. When the Qin court was at its peak, every inch of land in the capital was expensive, and many merchants could not afford to buy land, so they could only rent houses from big landlords.Now the royal capital is in turmoil, and many wealthy households are afraid of the revenge of the Chen family massacring the city, so they flee one after another, and they can't take the house with them.

After the great families left, the mansion was still taken care of by trusted servants.Generally, if the wealthy family escaped, their houses would be occupied by their neighbors.

Among them, it is inevitable that some low-level ordinary people left the capital with the proprietors and family owners, leaving behind their own small households, which were used by the street refugees to shelter from the wind and rain—a few months have passed, and it is difficult for the refugees to survive the hardships Over the years, many people probably starved to death.

There are quite a few houses like this in the capital, but they are old and dilapidated, and they must have died. Under normal circumstances, Xie Qinghe would definitely not consider them.

"Look for it." Xie Qinghe made a final decision.

The current situation is no longer suitable for walking openly in the market and living in an inn openly.

Lin Gu is a native of the royal capital, she is very familiar with the situation in the city, and knows which area has more poor people living in it.She took Xie Qinghe and Fu Chuan to search for a long time in a remote place, and found that the people at the bottom lived surprisingly tenaciously - many starved to death, and many refugees survived.

They usually pick and occupy the best houses in the vicinity. The windows and door panels of the abandoned houses were taken down and used as firewood. Fu Chuan also saw a little beggar set on the fire with cleaned tiles, cooking rats earnestly eat.

"It's right here." Xie Qinghe found a fairly complete mud house, opened the door and walked in.

The low-rise houses are made of bamboo strips and the walls are covered with yellow mud. The houses in good condition can be covered with tiles on the roof, and most of the houses are covered with thatch.Fearing that the heavy rain would wash away the walls, the foundations were padded with stone strips, and ditches were dug in front of and behind the house to guide water out.

The house seemed to have been left unattended for a long time, the gutters were filled with sludge and debris, and the foundations were somewhat collapsed.

Fu Chuan looked around and came back to tell Xie Qinghe: "It will collapse after heavy rain."

"Stay here for the time being." Xie Qinghe didn't plan to stay here for a long time, "To avoid the limelight, if Qin Ting doesn't pay attention to the death of Zhao Er and Song Nu, let's change our costumes, or rent a house to live in."

"Now the people in the royal capital can run out vigorously, how can anyone who is not good-looking come to rent a house to live in?" Fu said.

Xie Qinghe has a ready-made reason: "A widow married out has lost her husband and is helpless with her two daughters. She has no knowledge and doesn't know the situation of the war. Do you have to pay to rent a house to live in temporarily?"

This is the reason Mrs. Jiang brought people to the capital for such a reason.

Speaking of this, Fu Chuan thought of something serious, but Lin Gu was packing up the sundries nearby, and he couldn't talk about what he had seen and heard in the prime minister's mansion, so he changed the subject and asked, "Brother, what happened to the inn just now?"

Lin Gu bent down and picked up a broken earthen jar, said: "I'm going to fetch water." She left in a hurry.

Fu Chuan looked at Xie Qinghe in surprise and suspicion, and asked in a low voice: "What's the matter?"

Xie Qinghe instigated Fu Chuan to kill Zhao Er. This matter must be explained clearly to Fu Chuan, and she simply told Lin Gu's experience: "In these days, women's chastity is not as important as later generations, but after all, she has suffered. Scared and humiliated, you are younger, take care of her more these two days."

Xie Qinghe has grown into half a teenager, even if he wants to comfort Lin Gu, it's not easy to talk about it, so he can only push it to his junior brother.

Fu Chuan nodded, and asked again: "Then the people living downstairs are...?"

"Probably." Xie Qinghe patted his head, "You and I are inconvenient now, so it's not easy to interfere too much. Zhao Er and his wife are dead. If the women in the inn are forced to coerce, they will naturally leave. If they voluntarily Doing this business is up to you.”

Fu Chuan blinked, but did not speak.

Xie Qinghe said again: "If you are worried, wait for us to settle down and go take a look at night."

Fu Chuan immediately agreed: "Okay." Feeling a little embarrassed, "I'm just worried, what if the villains in the inn are not limited to Zhao Ersong, daughter-in-law and two in-laws? Those who voluntarily leave her alone, and those who are forced to stay in that dirty place , I’m always going to rescue them.”

Xie Qinghe smiled and said: "Okay, okay, go and have a look."

Fu Chuan sighed again: "If King Yancheng hadn't intervened, the child who cooked and ate rats just now would have lived in our nursery, thinking about how to write characters, and how to make calculations."

Xie Qinghe could only pat him on the shoulder and said: "Maybe he died in the flames of war. Don't think so much, everyone has his own destiny."

"Oh, yes, it just so happened that Aunt Lin wasn't here. Senior brother, I went to the prime minister's mansion today to see my uncle. I said that both my mother and Mrs. Jiang lived in the back house of the prime minister's mansion, and a house full of slaves followed me. It's not easy to see each other. Uncle Said, there is no trouble of revealing his identity, Han Qu knows the identity of Mrs. Jiang, he desperately wants to join the Chen family and sell Qin Ting." Fu said.

"Qin Ting's rotten ship has been unable to sail for a long time. Han Qu has long wanted to hook up with our family, but his identity is too sensitive and precious in Qin Ting. Moreover, he has no military power in his hands, and his honor and favor depend entirely on the emperor. Preference, once he loses his wind, he will be killed immediately. Therefore, without a suitable channel, he refuses to reveal his thoughts to anyone."

"Uncle doesn't know how he got in touch with Mrs. Jiang. Anyway, now that he has Mrs. Jiang's promise, he is already building momentum to deal with King Yancheng."

"Uncle's meaning," Fu Chuan stammered, "The affairs of the king's capital have already been completed, and we are told to go back quickly."

Xie Qinghe didn't find it strange that Han Qu wanted to hook up with the Chen family to betray the emperor: "We all know that Han Qu has no military power. If this matter fails, what will Han Qu do to protect his mother? He is such a greedy person who fears death, what's wrong with him?" , he will be the first to take Aunt to see the emperor and surrender to save his life."

"It's safer for them to live in the prime minister's mansion than to live outside." Speaking of this, Fu Chuan thought for a while, "In this way, the corpses that were tied to stones and sank to the bottom of the river may not have been killed by Mrs. Jiang? "

Han Qu sent someone to pick up his wife and sister Cui Shi, but the real Cui Shi died on the way, and Mrs. Jiang successfully entered the prime minister's mansion with Cui Shi's identity.

It was obvious that Han Qu and Mrs. Jiang had a tacit understanding on this matter.The death of Cui's family must also be the conspiracy of Han Qu and Mrs. Jiang.

"You see that I am partial to Mrs. Jiang, so you want to find some reasons for her to prove that she is a good person?" Xie Qinghe couldn't help but scratched the two little picks combed by the younger brother, "She is not a good person. All the noble people in this world She has all kinds of problems, and in her eyes human life is worthless."

Fu Chuan was speechless, and after a while he said: "I don't know what's wrong with people at this time, everyone regards human life as nothing."

The topic got out of the way, and Xie Qinghe forcibly pulled him back: "Han Qu's side is not very reliable. Everything is fine if things go well, but if things don't go well, he will immediately turn from a helper to a trap. Jiuyang doesn't want to be with him. When we contacted, we thought about it because of this.”

"Eldest brother, do you have other ideas?" Fu Chuan asked.

"The Prime Minister's Mansion is not easy to get in contact with, there is a place that is easier to get close to." Xie Qinghe said.

Fu Chuan immediately thought of it: "The king of Yancheng has been in prison for ten years, and the old servants and maidservants are probably gone. Now it is more convenient to sneak into his house to inquire about news than to go to the prime minister's house!"

Xie Qinghe paused, and said: "I heard the news today that the nearby high-ranking families are buying beautiful slaves, and the Prime Minister's Mansion is no exception. It seems that the emperor is greedy for beauty, so the subordinates have offered them one after another."

Fu Chuan's expression was indescribable: "Brother, what do you mean, go to the palace to inquire about news?"

"That's what I planned." Xie Qinghe has changed his mind. "Now that I think about it, it's a good idea to go to Yancheng's palace. When the time comes, it's more convenient for the emperor to be on the throne than Yancheng's king to defend the king."

Xie Qinghe had already prepared for the worst.If King Yancheng was forced to rebel, he could only act as an assassin.

Fu Chuan took a look outside the house, and Lin Gu went to draw water and hadn't come back yet: "From what she said these days, she should have already guessed our identities, I don't think she has a good impression of Qin Ting, but she doesn't necessarily get close to the Chen family. .If we take her to Yancheng Prince's Mansion, I'm afraid it won't be good."

In the minds of many people in the royal capital, King Yancheng was the savior who saved them from dying under the butcher knife of the Chen family.Although Xie Qinghe also had the grace to save Lin Gu, if she had to choose between King Yancheng and the spies of the Chen family, no one was sure which side she would choose.

"I'm going to Yancheng Prince's Mansion alone. You still follow Aunt Lin and use her to cover up your identity and make contact outside." Xie Qinghe said.

At the beginning, he planned to disguise himself as a beautiful young man, find a family to apply for admission to the palace, and then be "presented" into the palace, it is impossible to bring the young Fu Chuan along with him.The disciples of the prime minister's mansion made it very clear that the bribes were beautiful servants over ten years old.

With Fu Chuan's cultivation base, it is very convenient for him to run anywhere, so it is the most suitable arrangement to leave him outside to communicate.

Fu Chuan didn't really want to separate from Xie Qinghe, and knew that this was the best arrangement, so he nodded in agreement.

Both of them were worried about Gu Lin who was about to return, and quickly ended the important conversation.This old house has been vacant for a long time, a window was torn down by refugees, the wind and rain invaded, and the house was full of damp dust.Xie Qinghe rolled up his sleeves and cleaned from the inside to the outside, Fu Chuan looked at his busy back, and then glanced at the big baggage he casually put aside, feeling full of apprehension.

It has been ten days since they left the wasteland and entered the capital.In other words, it has been such a long time since the elder brother got the tip.

What frightened Fu Chuan the most was that after so many days, the elder brother didn't show any signs of discussing this matter with him.

After finding the tip from the rice noodle bag, Fu Chuan has been pondering the elder brother's intentions.If it is to teach him a lesson, why keep him in the dark?Or... this trip is too urgent, the elder brother doesn't want to make any mistakes, so he decides to press the matter temporarily, and ask the crime after everything is over?

This is what makes Fu Chuan feel the scariest.For so many days, Xie Qinghe has always been extremely gentle to him, without any intention of blaming him, and always told him, just be yourself, don't listen to me in everything, don't be the second Xie Qinghe.

Behind such a gentle face, the elder brother secretly hunted down Longgu, got back the tip, and hid it in the rice noodle bag.Just remembering that point was unknowingly carried by him for so many days, Fu Chuan felt a little creepy.

What made Fu Chuan especially sad was that when he did something wrong, he was willing to admit his mistake, be punished, and promise never to do it again.The elder brother knew that he tried so hard to protect Longgu, but he didn't care about his thoughts and insisted on executing Longgu.

——This is no longer a lesson out of love, but the most severe punishment, deliberately making him suffer inwardly.

Fu Chuan was unwilling to believe this.

He and Xie Qinghe have been in love for many years and have been together for many years. He feels that the senior brother will not treat him like this.

However, he also couldn't explain the existence of the point.If this is not the case, why is the tip in the hands of the eldest brother?

"Stand aside for a while." Xie Qinghe swept away the accumulated dust with the thatched broom that was tied just now, and when he saw the dirt on his hands, he wrapped his arms around Fu Chuan and gently led him to the side, "Why? Are you tired? The house is full of dust, go outside and play."

Fu Chuan didn't see a trace of accusation and suppressed anger from his attitude. The senior brother is the one who has always been lenient and gentle, making him feel that he is always safe and welcome, no matter what he is right. Whatever the big brother says, he will get support and encouragement.

"Eldest senior brother." Fu Chuan said abruptly.

Xie Qinghe noticed that his voice was rising, he seemed to be a little angry, and turned around unexpectedly: "Huh?"

Junior brother rarely loses his temper with himself.Xie Qinghe took Fu Chuan's dissatisfaction very seriously, so he put down his broom, washed his hands without water, put his hands beside him, and walked to Fu Chuan.Because the younger brother was short, he deliberately bent down and lowered his head, asking: "What's the matter?"

Fu Chuan stared at him for a moment, then tilted his head and said, "Let me sweep it. Senior brother is resting."

Xie Qinghe didn't know exactly why he lost his temper, but he knew that the younger brother would not aim at nothing.Fu Chuan had already picked up the broom and started sweeping the floor. Xie Qinghe was about to ask, but he was amused when he saw this: "Are you mad?"

Fu Chuan raised his head blankly: "Huh?"

Xie Qinghe pointed to his dusty shoes: "Turn sideways and sweep to the side. How do you greet your own feet?"

Fu Chuan has been the head disciple of the Hanjiang Sword Sect since he was a child, and he was also raised pampered by Li Qian. It is a courtesy to serve his master and senior brothers at ordinary times, and it is really not his turn to sweep the floor. he.Now imitating Xie Qinghe to bend over and sweep the floor, he didn't have much experience, so he swiped down with the broom, collecting all the dust in his arms.

"I didn't pay attention." Fu Chuan didn't hold back, and stood a step to the side, bent down and continued to sweep the floor.

Xie Qinghe followed him and asked, "What did you want to say just now?"

Fu Chuan swept the floor.

Xie Qinghe doesn't like this very much. He has always cared about communication efficiency, and he doesn't like to say the same thing twice.Fu Chuan, who he likes, is not of a whimsical nature, and he never hides what he has to say.Now that Fu Chuan has suddenly changed from normal, he is not quite used to it.

"Many things, if you don't tell me, I can't think of them." Xie Qinghe stopped and stopped following Fu Chuan.

At this moment, Lin Gu came back with the crock pot that had been rinsed, and said, "I came back from fetching water. I'll clean it up for the first time. You just wipe it with a small rag." Looking down, she saw that Fu Chuan was dirty. Xi’s shoes, “Hurry up and change your shoes.”

Aunt Lin's return interrupted the conversation of the senior brothers, and the three of them worked together to tidy up the house, and at least settled down.

At this time, the weather is getting warmer, and sleeping at night does not require a warm quilt or a thick bed. A thick layer of thatch, furoshiki and large clothes can also be used for shelter.Xie Qinghe went out to buy some food, and brought back a small iron pot, so he set up a fire in the house and cooked some soup.

Fu Chuan still remembered what happened to Lin Gu today, he always followed her, sometimes leaning into her arms.

Sitting in front of the fire, watching the boiling soup in the iron pot, Lin Gu was a little dazed and said, "If I really have a caring and lovely child like Xiaojunzi, how lucky I would be."

Before Fu Chuan could speak, Gu Lin realized that she had said the wrong thing, and hurriedly retrieved it: "I offended you."

Fu Chuan comforted: "Gu Lin is not very old, she will always have a child if she wants to."

Lin Gu just smiled, staring at the rising water vapor, and stopped talking about this topic.

At night, Fu Chuan had to go to the inn to check the situation. After dinner, Xie Qinghe urged him to go to bed early. After a day of tossing around, Lin Gu was exhausted and soon fell into a deep sleep.This silent woman seems to be smart, but she is also not very smart. A few days ago, she was almost hacked to death by the young master, and today she suffered such a great misfortune. .

Fu Chuan didn't seem to want to be questioned by Xie Qinghe about the afternoon's affairs. Not long after Lin Gu fell asleep, he used the excuse of going to the inn to investigate and left quietly.

Xie Qinghe found the rice noodle bag, opened the tie, and pulled out the tip.

After thinking for a moment, he put the tip back again.

When he went out to buy food and cooking utensils in the afternoon, Xie Qinghe brought back some herbs.He didn't personally comfort Lin Gu, but he knew that a woman might get pregnant when Yin and Yang are in harmony.Whether Lin Gu wants to have a child or not, she should have her own choice.

Xie Qinghe put the herbs into the pot, poured two bowls of water, and boiled it slowly.

After half an hour, the medicine was ready.

It happened that the junior brother was not there, Xie Qinghe wanted to wake Gu Lin up, and when he was discussing with her about taking medicine, he got closer and found that this woman who had been silent all this time had two lines of tears falling from the corners of her eyes in her sleep.

How can people not know suffering?

You can't cry when you are awake, and you can't help crying for yourself in your dreams.

Xie Qinghe was silent for a moment, then backed away.

The weather is not yet so bad that a bowl of medicine will go bad if left alone, and the effect of drinking the medicine tomorrow will not be much worse.If it doesn't work, I'll just pick another medicine tomorrow.This strong woman who supported herself during the day finally cried once in her dream, Xie Qinghe didn't want to disturb her.

After waiting for a long time for the junior brother not to come back, Xie Qinghe wanted to go out to pick it up, but remembered the tip in the rice noodle bag, and fell silent again.

Maybe it wasn't an accident, but you don't want to come back and talk about it?

Xie Qinghe rinsed his mouth with water, blew out the lamp, and lay down on the small bed made of thatch.

After an unknown amount of time, he heard the sound of Fu Chuan entering the door. The junior brother quickly got into his arms, fell asleep next to him, and coaxed in his ear: "I'm back. Go to sleep."

Xie Qinghe hugged him lightly, lowered his head to find the younger brother's forehead familiarly, and kissed him.

The two slept together.

Xie Qinghe was still worried about the unstable mood of his junior brother, Xie Qinghe couldn't sleep well.

After sleeping in a daze for a while, he felt Fu Chuan curling up and down in his arms, and his breathing was a little short.

Xie Qinghe was a little drowsy and soon disappeared. He opened his eyes and looked at his junior brother by the moonlight outside the window. Fu Chuan pursed his lips, his expression was aggrieved and dissatisfied, and he was panting all the time—not to mention that a practitioner like Fu Chuan, who After practicing martial arts for a few more years, the breathing will not be so weak.With one short breath, the body completely collapsed.

Xie Qinghe knew that the junior brother was dreaming.

This is also very strange.Practitioners seldom dream. Once they dream, it is not because they have been tricked by illusion, but it is a warning sign.

He didn't dare to wake up Fu Chuan suddenly, so he could only hold Fu Chuan in his arms, gently controlled him, and slowly stroked his vest, using his breath and body temperature to infiltrate the infection bit by bit, trying to use his uncultivated body and Fu Chuan Both cultivation and common knowledge let Fu Chuan settle down with him.

The effect is not bad.

Fu Chuan, who was originally extremely excited, gradually stabilized his mood, and his breathing became much more stable.

Just when Xie Qinghe felt that it was almost enough to wake people up, Fu Chuan angrily yelled out a dream: "I don't!!!!"

Then, he woke up by himself.

Xie Qinghe looked at him gently and quietly, and asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"

Fu Chuan calmed down completely, and slowly sat up from the bed.

This dream cry even alarmed Lin Gu who was not far away, and she also sat up in a drowsy state. Seeing Fu Chuan sitting on the thatched bed, she put on her clothes and stood up, approaching and asked, "Are you sleepy?" ? Drink some water." As he said that, he went to find the boiled water that had been boiled and put aside.

Xie Qinghe looked at the little junior brother who lowered his head and gurgled to drink water, he seemed very thirsty and had consumed too much energy in his dream.

Lin Gu asked with concern: "Either aunt will sleep with you? Auntie will keep you outside. If the nightmare ghosts come, they will catch me first."

Fu Chuan shook his head: "It's not a nightmare, it's just a dream, I just think about it, I just figure it out myself. Auntie, go to rest, I'm sorry to wake you up so late."

Lin Gu took the empty bowl in his hand knowingly, and said: "You are doing such a big thing at such a young age, and you are thinking deeply. No wonder you woke up in a dream. Let me tell you, the destiny is no longer here, so don't even think about it." Too much."

Fu Chuan was very surprised that she would openly talk about this matter. Before that, she was ambiguous when she introduced the situation of the capital.

After Lin Gu went to bed and lay down again, Fu Chuan turned around and went back to the bed.

Xie Qinghe also sat up.

Fu Chuan stood with the backlight, Xie Qinghe couldn't see his expression clearly, he didn't know whether he wanted to come back to sleep, or... something else?

The thick thatch was about half the height of Fu Chuan, he dawdled in front of the shop for a while, before saying, "Brother, can you take a step to talk?"