Looking to the Thirteen Rivers

On the [-]th day of the winter month, Jiangdu City and Sangyu Mountain are covered with heavy snow, covered with silver for hundreds of miles.

The sky is dark, the surrounding fields are cold and silent, and the chaotic and dense snowflakes are falling from the gray dome. The mountains and forests are lonely and clear, and no people or animals move around. Only a dilapidated thatched hut sits beside the rugged path halfway up the mountain, with a faint light inside. candlelight.

The windows are cold and the walls can barely keep out the wind and snow. The house is very simple, with only one table, one chair, one stove and one couch. The rest of the place is piled up with pots, pans and some household items. The space is particularly narrow and crowded. Such a The room at the end can be reached in five steps, but at this moment, six people are crowded together for the first time.

Among these six people, two men and four women, one was lying on the couch, three were kneeling on the ground, one was standing by the table, and one was sitting on the only bamboo chair.

"Who sent it?"

In the dead silence, the young woman on the bamboo chair broke the silence first.

In the dim and flickering candlelight, she was wearing a snow-white gown and a thick but not dull brocade robe outside. She was sitting upright with a calm expression, and she was holding a small silver handle half tightly in her hand. The dagger, the tip of the knife swayed slightly, reflecting the light on one side, a little dazzling.

"It's... the Su family in the city." The peasant woman kneeling on the ground replied.

"When?" the young woman asked again.

"Last night." The peasant woman lowered her head, her body was shaking violently, she didn't know whether it was cold or frightened.

"Last night?" The young woman glanced at the peasant woman, then shifted her gaze to the couch, "How did the person who sent her here explain to you?"

The peasant woman looked distressed, as if she didn't want to speak, and was secretly considering how to respond in her heart, but after such a moment of hesitation, she heard "Zheng!", and a crisp sound of a sharp sword being unsheathed rang out out of thin air. Beside her ear, the other woman in Tsing Yi, who had been standing by the table without saying a word, moved to her side in an instant.

This woman was like a ghost, she was silent, her expressionless face showed a bit of murderous intent.

The icy thin blade was firmly attached to the side of the neck. The peasant woman was shocked, and hurriedly replied truthfully: "He, they gave 50 taels of silver, and told the three of us to leave her alone, and not give me any food or tea. Let her... …leave her to fend for herself.”

"and then?"

"If it is dragged until it dies, it should be burned cleanly, and even the scraps of clothes cannot be left..."

Outside the house, the wind was howling and the snow was heavy. The battle was like countless wild ghosts clamoring and circling outside. The thatched house trembled violently and was crumbling.

As if she wasn't surprised by the words, the young woman just raised her eyebrows slightly after hearing this, and said nothing, her gaze fell a little deeper on the couch.

It was just an ordinary bamboo couch, covered with an extremely thin layer of cotton wool, on which lay a half-conscious little girl, dressed in thin rags, her childish little face was bloodless, as pale as a A piece of paper that was not stained with ink, the breath was so weak that it was hard not to doubt whether she was still alive.

Xu Shi was frightened by the wind and snow in a drowsy state, the girl's curled up body trembled violently, she lifted her eyelids with great effort, her fan-like long eyelashes lifted slightly for a moment, and then quickly closed back.

The woman in Tsing Yi withdrew her long sword, turned around and looked at the person on the bamboo chair: "Master?"

The young woman took out a bank note and put it on the table, and stood up: "This is 500 taels, I'll take it."

Seeing the bank note, the peasant woman's eyes lit up, but she hesitated, unable to make up her mind, and quickly looked at the man beside her.

The couple looked at each other for a while, and the man had no choice but to say: "The two heroines are generous, but this is not a question of money. You two want to take her away. When someone from the Su family asks in the future, how should our couple answer?" ?”

The young woman twirled the dagger, and chuckled when she heard the words: "500 taels can't stop your mouths?"

"This……"

"Take the silver ticket and take your son and move to another place," the young woman said softly. "It is not a good thing that the child dies in your hands. Don't risk your family's life for 50 taels of silver. Money is so easy to earn." ?”

The couple hesitated to speak.

"I saved her, and I also saved you," the woman said again, "The Su family wanted to kill someone, but they had to borrow your hands. If someone pursues them in the future, you two will be the scapegoats. Take the 500 taels and move your family to another place." , Enough for you to live a good life for a few years."

After she finished speaking, regardless of the couple's reaction, she went straight to the bed, picked up the sleeping girl, and kicked the door away.

The cold wind was stronger outside the house, and the temperature was extremely low. The young woman got on the horse, took off her coat, wrapped the girl up, and placed it in front of her.

The woman in Tsing Yi followed closely, she didn't speak, but only asked questions.

"Find a place to settle down first, and check on the child's illness," the woman said, holding the girl in one hand, and the rein in the other, "You stay, escort the family of three to leave immediately, and join me after they are settled."

The woman in Tsing Yi took her orders and watched the large and small figures disappear into the thick wind and snow.

·

Wrapped in brocade robes, the body temperature of other people still remained, and the warmth was continuously coming from the back. When the howling cold wind blew, Yin Qiu was shocked and regained his senses in a daze, but he also had a splitting headache. I couldn't keep my eyes open in the cold snowflakes that hit my face.

The horse under the seat ran quickly, bumping up and down, making Yin Qiu even more dizzy, and a few times his throat was tight and he almost vomited, but she forcibly endured it back.

The snow was dark and her vision was dim and unclear. She was shivering, her lips and teeth were bumping endlessly, her whole body was frozen stiff, and her limbs were numb.

She huddled in her robe and tried her best to half-open her eyes and look forward. She saw scattered trees and winding mountain roads. A stranger's arm was wrapped around her chest. She looked thin and weak, but held her tightly.

Yin Qiu thought in a daze, who bought her again.

Although he couldn't wake up before, he didn't fall asleep completely. He seemed to hear the woman behind him saying that he wanted to take her away and left the bank note.

500 taels, to buy her, who is dying of illness, what is the use of it?

Feeling a little familiar despair in her heart, she closed her sour eyes, and gradually fell asleep amidst the sound of hoofbeats one after another.

After riding the horse all the way, after an hour, they finally entered the city and came to an inn. The woman handed over the horse to the young man, quickly asked for a room, and walked quickly to the second floor with the man in her arms.

When he arrived at the door, Yin Qiuxian spat out a mouthful of yellow water, the woman stopped, and the servant behind her exclaimed, and hurriedly took off the handkerchief on his shoulders and leaned over to wipe it.

"May I call for a doctor for you?"

"Thank you," the woman strode in, tossed a few coins to the boy, "boil a bucket of hot water, and buy a new set of clothes by the way."

The little servant responded, wiped the ground and left in a hurry. The guys got the order and quickly brought the hot water.

After spitting out the mouthful of yellow water, Yin Qiu suddenly felt relieved, and felt much more comfortable. The woman put her gently on the bed, and said to her after the men finished their work, "Take off your clothes."

The room was filled with hot air and white mist, and the long-lost warmth gradually rose. Yin Qiu shivered and huddled on the bed, showing anxiety in his eyes.

The woman was testing the temperature of the water, but she hadn't heard anything for a long time, and saw Yin Qiu's confused expression from the side, so she asked her, "What are you doing?"

Yin Qiu glanced at her, and his voice was as soft as a mosquito: "Who are you?"

The woman replied: "My name is Man Jiangxue," and she went forward to undress her, "Take a bath first, and then I'll talk to you when I'm warm."

She didn't wear much at all, and she was taken off in just two strokes. Yin Qiu was at a loss, and hurriedly raised her hands to cover her thin body, subconsciously trying to hide, but Man Jiangxue couldn't help but hug her by the waist, moving gently and slowly. into the water.

Her body was extremely cold, and the moment she touched the hot water, her skin prickled with pain. It took a long time to dissipate some of the coldness, and the blood in her body began to warm up.

Yin Qiu only felt that half of her life had come back to life, and she let out a long breath. She was suffocated by the heat, and her head became dizzy again, and there were two abnormal blushes on her pale face. When she was drowsy, Feeling Man Jiangxue patted her on the head and said, "Don't sleep yet, come out and eat something."

Yin Qiu was in a state of confusion, her eyes could not stop closing and opening, opening and closing again, before the water temperature became cold, Man Jiangxue fished her out of the bathtub, pulled off the handkerchief to wipe off the water stains, and then wiped the water with a cotton pad. She was wrapped up tightly and placed beside the bed.

After washing away the cold and the little strength, Yin Qiu was limp and fell to the ground uncontrollably. Fortunately, Man Jiangxue caught her just in time, and when she was seated, Man Jiangxue called the servant to come up He ordered a hot meal and fed her mouthful.

He hadn't eaten well for several days, and he had no appetite during the illness. Even though his stomach was empty and he was extremely hungry, Yin Qiu could no longer gobble it up.

The vomited food was lying on the ground beside the bed, and Man Jiangxue's dress was inevitably affected, but she ignored it and didn't speak, just feeding it spoon by spoon, hoping that Yin Qiu could slowly eat it. Adapt, how much you can eat.

The dishes were light side dishes, and the rice was ordinary hot porridge, but it was better than any meal he had eaten in the past. Yin Qiu finally swallowed a few mouthfuls of soup, his eyes were red from vomiting, and his chest felt like it was on fire.

She listened to the endless wind outside the window, and felt the patience and thoughtfulness of this man she had never met before, and a pang of sadness welled up in her heart, and the big tears fell down, hitting Man Jiangxue's spoon in his hand. on the back of the hand.

"Why are you crying?" Man Jiangxue asked, but the feeding action didn't stop.

Only now did Yin Qiu have time to look at her.

The beautiful woman in white clothes has an elegant temperament, reflecting the candlelight in the room, Man Jiangxue's face is like a piece of warm jade, clean and flawless, revealing a light luster, her facial features are beautiful, her eyebrows are especially outstanding, her long eyebrows are like willows, and her eyes are beautiful. The eyes are like stars, deep and quiet.

Yin Qiu looked at her carefully for a while, then said weakly, "I...have never eaten such a good thing before."

Man Jiangxue looked at the food on the table and said, "What did you eat before?"

Yin Qiu recalled: "Leftovers, cold steamed buns are all sizzling, and there is no clean water to drink, only the dirty water in the pool."

After swallowing a few more mouthfuls of hot porridge, Yin Qiu shook his head, expressing that he couldn't eat any more, so Man Jiangxue withdrew his hand, touched her head, and said softly, "It won't happen in the future, you can eat whatever you want .”

There were two light knocks on the door, and the boy and the doctor stood at the door. Man Jiangxue motioned for the two of them to wait for a while, then took the newly bought clothes from the boy, and put them on Yin Qiu quickly. He opened the door again to welcome them in.

Seeing that the filth was vomited again in front of the bed, the boy was busy cleaning up again. The doctor went in and put down the medicine box to feel Yin Qiu's pulse.

"The disease of wind-cold is not difficult to cure." Not long after, the doctor withdrew his hand, looked at Man Jiangxue and said, "But he will suffer for a while, this child is weak and his pulse is unstable, he needs to be well For recuperation, I will prescribe a few medicines and take them first. Do not overdo it. Eat a light diet. Don’t catch the cold again. After taking the medicines on schedule, you can add some tonic soup. It’s still in time. If it’s delayed for two more days , I'm afraid my brain will burn out, but I can't save it."

Yin Qiu fell on the bed, short of breath, his face was pale before, but now he was flushed and sweating coldly.

Man Jiangxue paid the consultation fee and sent the doctor to the door: "Please trouble sir."

The doctor gave her a salute and explained some precautions. The servant cleaned up the side of the bed and sent a pot of freshly boiled ginger soup very thoughtfully, and then immediately followed the doctor to the pharmacy to get the medicine.

The sky became dark amidst the busyness, and after nightfall, everything was silent, and the noise in the inn all subsided, making the wind and snow outside even more violent.

The doors and windows slammed, and the house was burning with charcoal fire. It was no longer as deserted as it was when he first came here, but Yin Qiu still felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and he could not sleep warmly.

Her eyelids were hot, her brain was throbbing, and she fell asleep at some point. In the middle of the night, someone gently lifted her up and hugged her, and fed her some terribly bitter concoction. And stuffed a small sugar pill into her mouth.

A vague white shadow flickered in front of her eyes. Yin Qiu was so burned that she couldn't remember where she was. The white shadow suddenly moved away, as if she was about to leave. Grabbing Shiro's hand like a straw, he gasped heavily and refused to let go.

White Shadow stopped in place.

After a while, the quilt was lifted, and a person with a pleasant fragrance was lying beside her, with a body temperature that was almost hot for Yin Qiu at this moment, like a blazing sun in the dark, covering her without omission. shrouded.

The coveted warmth is reassuring, but it also makes people fear that it will soon dissipate. Yin Qiu crawled into her arms and hugged the people around him with all his strength, trying to absorb more and more warmth.

Hearing a low sigh in a trance, the candles in the room were extinguished in an instant, Yin Qiu moved his body, and soon fell into a deep sleep.