sinking into sand

When Wei Jian arrived home, it was very bright.

There were some servants on duty at night in the Wei Mansion, and when they saw him back, they started to do their usual work.

Wei Jian waved his hand, telling them to go elsewhere for the time being, so as not to disturb others.He went back to the bedroom by himself, prepared to change into the court clothes, and went out for a while.

It's just that he didn't expect that as soon as he gently pushed open the bedroom door, his wife woke up with just such a slight movement.

She didn't change into her pajamas, just the clothes she wore during the day, and fell asleep on the table in the hall.Hearing movement at the door, he woke up immediately.

She blinked, and seeing Wei Jian came back, she rubbed her eyes and walked over, took Wei Jian's coat hanging on her arm, and asked in a low voice, "How is it? Is the city still safe?"

Wei Jian had lied to her to go on an inspection tour, but seeing her concerned face and staying up all night, tenderness emerged in his heart, and he asked slowly: "Everything is fine, just those few neighborhoods will continue to make trouble, as usual. Why didn't you sleep? It's not the first time you've gone out to inspect."

Mrs. Wei frowned slightly, her expression was a bit sad: "I can't sleep... A few days ago, the Iron Armored Army entered the city and caused such chaos... Why didn't there be any news from Prince Li's Mansion beforehand?"

She was puzzled, and smelled blood again, terrified in her heart, stretched out her hand to grab Wei Jian's arm, and asked quite nervously, "What? Are you injured? Didn't you say you're still safe?"

Wei Jian had already found a place to wash up before he came back, but his body was wounded after all, and there was nothing he could do if he smelled it, so he explained: "It's nothing serious, just... I met someone fighting with a weapon. I didn't pay attention to it for a while, and I was cut. The skin is traumatized. It's nothing serious." .”

Madam Wei looked at the injury, and her heart became more and more anxious: "It was originally said that the Lijiang River is so peaceful, and you, the governor, is just a worthless job and not dangerous. How can you say that it will change today?"

Wei Jian held her in his arms carefully: "It's okay, I'm a soldier, so I've rarely been injured? It doesn't matter."

Mrs. Wei was not appeased, she frowned tightly, and whispered: "Either let's go too. I heard from the elder sisters of the Shen family and the You family that I don't know how many people died on Lanping this time. Although most of them are from Lijiang local families, there are also some people from Dingzhou. Now that Zhai Su has entered the city, I don’t know what the rules are. Our family originally moved from Dingzhou to the south. If the imperial court wants to use the Lijiang River as a knife, we might as well go back Dingzhou."

Hearing this, Wei Jian remained silent for a long time, and just reached out to stroke his wife's hair.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Mrs. Wei thought that he couldn't let go of his official position here in Lijiang, so she persuaded in a low voice: "It's just a governor, let's save our lives first."

"No hurry, you rest first." Wei Jian was silent for a long time, pushed Mrs. Wei a little away, and said in a deep voice, "I still have business today, I will talk about it when I come back."

Mrs. Wei wanted to say something more, but Wei Jian had already let her go.Went out again.

The sky was turning white, Wei Jian stood at the gate of his house, looked at the sky, let out a slow breath, and prepared to go to the barracks to do his job.

He went out, but just got on his horse, but met another unexpected guest.

A group of disciples wearing white crane and golden plum clothes blocked his way.

In a hut where prostitutes lived in Pingchunfang, Xun Er didn't bring the bamboo hat she usually wore, changed her attire, and stepped in with a basket of steamed buns.

The owner here is an ordinary prostitute.When Xun Er first stepped into the door, she had just seen off the guests, her footsteps were flimsy, her hair was messed up, her eyes were still black and blue, and her expression was very sluggish.

When she saw Xun Er coming, she brushed her hair and gave her a look as a greeting.Then I ignored it and went straight back to my room to sleep.

Xun Er was a little nervous when he saw her first, but he felt relieved to see her look like she was empty.She calmed herself down, and went to the backyard with the steamed buns in hand.

Nothing was planted in the backyard, it was barren, narrow, and had an inexplicable smell.

Xun Er couldn't help but pursed his lips tightly.Although she grew up in Pingchunfang, she was probably very well protected, and the dirtiest place in this Fangcheng had never had anything to do with her.

If it weren't for the past few days, she wouldn't have set foot in such a place.

Xun Er took a deep breath, walked quickly a few steps, and knocked on the door of the side room in the backyard.

The room was silent, as if no one was there.Xun Er waited patiently for a long moment before there was a slight sound from inside, and then there was a creak, and the door opened.

Ye Wanwan stood by the door. Her attire was completely different from the previous few days. She changed into the local Lijiang attire, still in coarse clothes, and her face was a little dirty.

She looked at Xun Er, then quickly glanced around alertly.Only then did the door open for Xun Er to enter the house.

Once inside, Ye Wanwan closed the door.It was dark again in the room.Xun Er patiently waited for his eyes to adapt to the darkness in the room, only then did he realize that three or four guards from the North were watching her not far away.It seems that if she moves a little bit, she will be culled instantly.

Xun Er: "..."

Although this is not the first time I have seen this scene, it is still scary.

Ye Wanwan closed the door, waved her hand, signaled these people to put down their posture, and said, "Okay, don't be scary."

While she was talking, Gang Xun Er took the basket in his hand, and then led him to the Eight Immortals Table in the middle of the room.

After sitting down, she didn't bother to test the poison or anything, she just took a steamed bun from the basket, broke it and ate it.

Seeing that she was eating in a hurry on Xun Er, although she was still a little afraid of the guards next to her, she couldn't help but took one out of the tea bowl on the table and refilled Ye Wanwan's tea.He muttered in a low voice: "You are too eager to eat..."

The relationship between the two of them has improved by leaps and bounds these days after Guan Lan and Yu Sha both disappeared.

On the one hand, it is indeed because both of them were left behind and felt sorry for each other.

On the other hand, there is a strange reason.

Lu Hua.

After eating, Ye Wanwan drank tea and talked to Xun Er about the news of the past few days.Although Ye Wanwan didn't tell the whole story about her investigation arrangements, she did tell Xun Er the general situation one by one.

Xun Er listened, frowning: "...I have also turned around the places my brother and I have talked about in Pingchunfang these days, but I didn't see anyone... If you say that, it can only be outside the workshop. .”

Ye Wanwan thought for a while, then asked, "Apart from the fact that you are familiar with the dark alleyways of Pingchunfang, how many other places are there?"

Xun Er shook his head blankly: "My brother originally forced me to write down the road to Pingchunfang, saying that it would be convenient for escaping. The road outside...except for the one going to the gate of the city, I'm not very familiar with it."

There is nothing to do about it, Ye Wanwan thought to herself, it seems that even if it is a risk, people have to go to a few places outside to check it out.

She made up her mind, raised her eyes to look at Xun Er again, and saw that she was a little helpless, she couldn't bear it, and persuaded her: "Don't think too much, help us in Pingchunfang these few days. Dodging has helped a lot."

Xun Er didn't relax his brows when he heard this, and said: "...I can't do it, I don't have much experience, if my sister is here, I can do something... I just don't know why she hasn't returned to Yunliu Lane these days, I don't know if something happened."

Ye Wanwan has been hiding in Pingchunfang for the past few days, listening to Xun Er's talk about ancient times when she has nothing to do, and she knows about Peony Academy, Yusha, and Bliss Fang.

She had received a suggestion from Lu Hua in the Peony Academy, so she had long guessed whether Mu Yao was the one who sneaked into Zhulin Temple to save her.Hearing Xun Er mention it now, I still miss it in my heart.

She paused and said, "It doesn't matter. A person like Mr. Mu has his own way to protect himself. We don't need to worry about it."

After she said this, she remembered something again, and her eyebrows frowned, as if she had some helpless regret: "It's a pity that Mr. Mu didn't send Miss Lu for the last time."

Mentioning this, Xun Er's expression moved slightly.

Lu Hua died, so he should have found a way to bury him as soon as possible.But in the past few days, everywhere in the Lijiang River, especially the gate of the city, has been strictly checked, and Lu Hua is not an unknown person.In Xun Er, he was afraid that Lu Hua would be recognized by others and implicate himself in something small, and he was afraid that the body would be ruined again, so he kept Lu Hua in the backyard of the inn, in his room.

But the dead cannot help being released.

The families of high-ranking officials and nobles may be able to afford ice to preserve the remains.An orphan girl in Xun Er, even if she has money, she can't get ice.

She cried over Lu Hua's body for two days, and finally accepted her fate.I just want to bury Lu Hua under the peach tree in this inn.Others might think it was unlucky, but she still hoped that Lu Hua would really come back to life, so that she could meet her and say a few words.

But just as she shoveled the soil a few times with her sluggish little arms, she was stopped by Ye Wanwan.

Ye Wanwan said, maybe Miss Lu doesn't want to be trapped in one place after death.

People always have to go to the ground to rest in peace, but Xun Er understood and understood this sentence.

The rest that Lu Hua wants is not to be buried in a place like this, so that future generations can pay their respects.

Ye Wanwan gave Xun Er a bottle of medicine, which Guan Lan said earlier, was used by the Guan family to dispose of hunting corpses.

How would you describe Lu Hua's ending?Anyway, that night, Ye Wanwan took the risk and went to the largest river channel of the Li River with Xun Er to send Lu Hua off for the last time.

The Lijiang River system is a really wide river.

It runs day and night as if it is tireless, never stopping for anything.How much mud and sand and old things sunk into the bottom of the water are swallowed, and it just moves forward in such a turbulent and eternal way.Qun Er San Ling_ Lu Jiu Er San + Liu) Lu

And it took Lu Hua with it, and went to a distant place in a blink of an eye.

Under the peach tree in Pingchunfang Inn, after all, a small tomb was buried.

A strand of hair painted by Lu Lu and a small splash-ink landscape are placed in a wooden box.

The painting was carried by Ye Wanwan, and she got it by accident when she was looking for the past of Peony Academy.Because I came to Lijiang this time, I brought it with me.

It was because Xun Er saw this painting that he completely opened his heart to Ye Wanwan.

"What are your future plans?" Xun Er's voice was low, as if he was just asking.

Ye Wanwan glanced at the guards standing beside her, and said, "Maybe I'll go to another market to check. What's the matter?"

Hearing the answer, Xun Er shook his head, as if he was really just asking casually.But she was really just a well-protected little girl who couldn't hide it from anyone, and her eyelashes blinked like a dying butterfly.

Ye Wanwan wanted to ask another question, but considering the time, and the guards around here, she decided to give it up and said, "Okay, so that's it for today?"

Ye Wanwan sent Xun Er to the entrance of the courtyard, and when Xun Er left, she ordered the guard who had accompanied Xun Er to protect her.The guard didn't question anything, and took the order.

Ye Wanwan stood under the eaves of the courtyard, watching the back of Xun Er's leaving for a while.Only then did he turn around and prepare to go back to the house to discuss the next matters with the guards.

Unexpectedly, when he turned around, there was suddenly another person in the yard.