Still waiting for Zhaoyang

Chapter 28
一
Yu Zhaoyang.

Only my mother shouted when she was dying: "Where is my Zhaoyang?"

However, who still remembers this name now.

On the second day after she arrived in the Imperial Capital, she went to see the old Yu Mansion on Guanying Street.

This past was so secretive that she thought that only her uncle and grandmother knew about it in this world, but when such an outsider revealed it without warning in front of her, she was really shocked.

After Shang Rui asked that sentence, he looked at her quietly for a while.

Xia Yue straightened her back, stared back at him breathlessly, and didn't say a word. It wasn't until he left that she realized that her clothes were already wet with sweat.

She has always been a very assertive person, but now she has no direction at all, and she is terribly afraid that her grandmother and uncle will be implicated, Zijin will be dragged down, and she will cause Hexiang to have trouble.

In the dead of night, she called He Xiang to her and whispered: "After you entered Li's residence with me, have you ever gone out?"

"No." He Xiang shook her head.These days, Xia Yue is unconscious and on the verge of life and death, how dare she leave her body.

"You go to your uncle's place early tomorrow morning. If someone asks, just say that you are going to buy something for me."

He Xiang nodded.

"When you see grandma, take a letter with you. She will give you a package with some silver in it. Take it with you and go out of the city immediately. It is best to find the young master and bring him what I said before. If you can't find him, You don't want to go back to Jinluo either, the farther you go, the better."

After He Xiang heard about it, she started to cry again: "Miss, your illness is clearly cured, why are you driving me away again?"

Xia Yue suddenly felt that she was really protective of her in the past, and she was not cruel, so she scolded in a low voice with sullen face: "This is a matter of life and death, I want you to go, the first is to report a letter to them, and second It's telling you to go, it's useless for you to talk too much. If you don't help me, who else can I entrust here?"

Seeing her expression, He Xiang immediately dared not speak again.

After a while, Xia Yue regretted and said: "Maybe I let you go so recklessly, but it's in the right place."

"What should I do?"

Xia Yue thought for a while: "Wait and talk."

He Xiang still couldn't help asking: "Miss, what's the matter, it was fine before, why did you feel something wrong when you met Mr. Hong?"

"It's better if you don't know some things." Xia Yue sighed.

"Are you still going to my uncle's house?"

"Hold on."

After waiting for seven or eight days.

In the past few days, Xia Yue used various reasons to send He Xiang to go shopping in the street, but instead of going to Ming Shan Tang, she deliberately went to other places to buy some small household items.

"Is anyone following you?" Xia Yue asked.

"I didn't find it." He Xiang replied.

Xia Yue drank the medicine silently, leaned on the bed, meditated and did not speak any more.

She wasn't sure if it was true, or if the other party was too cautious, Ming He Xiang didn't notice at all.

But in Li's residence, the past few days are indeed the same as in the past, no one came to deliberately test, and no one came to show courtesy for nothing.Everything around was as usual, as if what happened that day was an illusion, and even "Hong Wu" never appeared again.

But the blood magpie was still delivered the next day.

After a few days of rest, she was able to get out of bed and walk around.

At noon, He Xiang came back from the street, put the things she bought on the table, and took a sip of water.

"No one stopped you?" Xia Yue asked.

"No, but I met Xiao Shun when I came back just now, and he asked me why I was out." Xiao Shun was the little drug boy next to Li Ji.

"what do you say?"

"Just as the young lady ordered, you said you felt that the room was too stuffy, so you asked me to buy some silk thread to make tassels."

Xia Yue nodded and stopped asking.

"That's right." He Xiang said again, "We often go to the store where we buy silk thread, and the price of silk thread has also increased."

Xia Yue didn't take it to heart, and said "Oh", unexpectedly, He Xiang continued to report: "The boss said that there has been a war recently, and the goods from the south can't get through, so the price has been raised."

Xia Yue hurriedly asked, "Where is the war going on?"

Seeing her expression, He Xiang knew that something was unusual, so she replied: "It's the south, but I didn't ask for details. If Miss wants to know, I'll go out again."

An hour later, the fragrance of lotus left and returned.

She wasn't stupid, so she went out to inquire about it and concluded, "It's Prince Huai in the south who rebelled and fought with the imperial army."

"When did this happen?"

"Oh, I remembered," He Xiangwu said, "Miss, when your situation was not good that day, Mrs. Li mentioned Duke Huai and talked about mutiny. I didn't understand it at the time, it was more than a month ago."

After Xia Yue finished listening, she silently calculated the time in her heart.

"How is the situation now?"

"Looking at the way the imperial capital is singing and dancing, it doesn't seem to be a big deal. Everyone says that King Huai is just hitting a rock with an egg. However, the guy in the tailor shop secretly told me that these are actually just the court trying to appease people."

After He Xiang finished speaking, she helped Xia Yue get up from the table, and slowly walked back to the bed.

"That's all?" Xia Yue asked.

She remembered that Zijin should have taken Chu Qin and Chu Zhong to find Duke Huai at that time, but she didn't know whether he was going to defect to him or what. Now that she suddenly learned that Duke Huai had mutinied, she felt very complicated.

"They said that the emperor appointed Xu Jingye as commander in chief."

Xia Yue didn't care about what happened to the court at all, so she asked again: "Did you hear any other news from Prince Huai?"

He Xiang thought for a while, then suddenly said: "Oh, yes, there is also King Yanping!"

Hearing these three words, Xia Yue was about to sit down on the bed when she froze in mid-air: "What's wrong with King Yanping?"

Seeing Xia Yue's strange expression, He Xiang didn't dare to continue, and couldn't help asking: "Miss?"

"What happened to King Yanping?" she asked again.

"Miss, who do you think this King Yanping is? Why have I never heard of it before? I heard that he rebelled with King Huai."

"anything else?"

"He also said that Duke Huai wanted to betroth his princess to him."

Xia Yue listened silently, and then said to herself: "Princess Yanqing seems to be two years younger than him, and the two are about the same age, so it's perfect."

"Miss knows them?"

Xia Yue didn't answer, and fell into her own thoughts.

If what He Xiang inquired about is true, then Zi Jin and Duke Huai are tied together, I don't know whether it is joy or worry.Back then, King Huai was the first to bow down to the current emperor, and now he is the first to turn against him. His character is evident, so if Zijin really married his only daughter, it would be a guarantee.

Now that Zijin's identity has been made public and he is still fighting against the court, will someone follow the clues to find out the Yu family, and get rid of it soon?
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, and suddenly felt that "Hong Wu"'s eyes were even more unusual that day.

So she said: "Tomorrow, you will go to find Uncle according to what I ordered."

"Going tomorrow?" He Xiang took two steps back in surprise, she thought Xia Yue had given up this idea after these few days.

"Before going out tomorrow, be sure to do the same as usual, and then remember the method I taught you." Xia Yue reminded.

"Miss..." At the thought of parting, He Xiang burst into tears.

Xia Yue knew that if she didn't explain to He Xiang again, she would not be able to convince her anyway, so she sighed softly: "Come here, I'll tell you."

He Xiang wiped away her tears, then walked to the bed with her head down.

"My father used to be a criminal wanted by the court." Xia Yue said lightly.

He Xiang raised her head in surprise when she heard the sound: "Master?"

"He is a good man," Xia Yue continued, "I guarantee that he is a good man. Although he was not wronged by others, he had a hard time and he never did anything harmful. But he offended the people in the court, and later he took Our family of four escaped to Jinluo, and then took you in. Now someone recognizes me."

"Who is it?" He Xiang asked urgently.

"Don't ask, just keep listening to me." Xia Yue said, "If you don't do what I say, grandma and uncle may all be implicated by me, even you are no exception."

"But we're leaving, what are you going to do, miss?"

"I have my own plan, you don't have to worry about it."

"When was Miss discovered? Did I say something that shouldn't be said, which made people see the flaws, did Master Li know something?" He Xiang began to blame herself.

"It's not what you think."

"That's Young Master Hong?" He Xiang suddenly remembered those details, "It was Young Master Hong who came to visit Miss that day, and then it became like this. That's it, it was a waste of time to persuade Miss to be nice to him, but I didn't expect that he would actually kill you in the end .”

"Now that you understand the reason, listen to me tomorrow."

"Miss, what do you do?"

"Don't worry, when you leave, I will have no scruples, so I can deal with people. Besides, if Hong Wu intends to harm me, then he doesn't have to bother to save me before."

After she finished speaking, He Xiang seemed to believe it.

"Where is the hairpin that Mr. Hong gave me?" she asked.

He Xiang responded, took it out of the box on the dressing table, and handed it to Xia Yue.When I was in Tianjiazhuang last time, Shang Rui ordered someone to deliver it to Xia Yue, and she couldn't throw it away anymore, so she just asked He Xiang to keep it.

Xia Yue put the hairpin under the pillow casually.

At night, she reached out and touched the things under the pillow.The hairpin of the gold hairpin is made of pure gold, and the pattern is a bit soft, but the head of the hairpin is hard and sharp, much sharper than other jewelry.What she told He Xiang just now was half true and half false.

"Hong Wu" saved her, if he just wanted her life, he would take it.

Early in the morning of the second day, He Xiang went out to the street as usual. She first went to buy some snacks that Xia Yue liked, and then went to a tailor shop.

The proprietress of this tailor shop has a young son who is weak and sick.The proprietress is a widow, supporting the shop with an old mother alone.Mu Yuanzhi would ask his assistant to deliver the medicine the next day.

He Xiang stood guard on the side of the street for a while, and sure enough, he saw the clerk from the uncle's family carrying things into the tailor shop.She took the opportunity to walk in through the main entrance.Seeing that He Xiang was about to make a sound, the young man was stopped by He Xiang, and quietly slipped the note in his sleeve to him: "Give it to the old lady for me when you get back."

After finishing her work, she turned into an alley, waited quietly for an hour, did not see any suspicious person, and then went to the east corner of the city.

The old lady has arrived.

"Is Yue'er okay?" the old lady asked.

"Miss, everything is fine." He Xiang replied.

The old lady also found the piece of jade according to what Xia Yue said, carefully took it out from her bosom and handed it to He Xiang.

Because the letter was very clear, the old lady didn't ask any more questions, but said with tears in her eyes: "We will leave after dark, and tell her not to worry."

Xia Yue said in the letter that it was too noticeable for them to disappear together, so she told the old lady to go first, and then she and He Xiang got away.The old lady was not suspicious, and left after giving the burden.

He Xiang opened the package, which contained some soft goods that Xia Yue brought to the Imperial Capital, as well as new shoes and socks made for Xia Yue by the old man herself.He Xiang felt hurt when he touched the scene, and immediately burst into tears.

After crying for a while, she stood up, made a decision, then wiped away the tears on her face, put the jade next to her body, took her bag and went straight back to Li Ji's mansion.

When He Xiang came back, Li Ji was administering needles to Xia Yue.

Seeing her swaggering into the room with a bundle, Xia Yue couldn't help feeling angry and angry, but because of the presence of others, she couldn't say anything.

Xiao Shun asked her instead: "Sister He Xiang, did you go out and buy so many things again?"

"En." He Xiang replied

"You often buy silk thread to buy clothes, or rouge to buy snacks..."

"Can you take care of the girl's affairs?" He Xiang glared at him.

After pulling out the needle, Li Ji raised his foot and was about to leave, but was stopped by Xia Yue.

"Master Li," Xia Yue said, "I asked you to see a doctor for my brother..."

Li Ji lowered his eyes and replied: "My younger brother's illness is not terminal, so why should the girl be obsessed with it?"

Xia Yue wanted to say more, but seeing that Li Ji had already opened the door and left, she had to turn her gaze back to He Xiang.He Xiang knew she was in the wrong, and while walking gently to close the door, she reported: "The old lady and uncle will probably leave at night."

Xia Yue was annoyed: "You don't want to listen to what I said, do you?"

"Miss, I won't go."

"Then what should I do with the things I want you to bring to Zijin after you leave the city?" Xia Yue asked her.

He Xiang took out the jade cicada given to her by the old lady from the lapel, and stuffed it to Xia Yue, saying: "Miss will give it to the young master when she has a chance, so I won't go."

"Now he needs this very much."

"What does that have to do with me? The young master has Big Brother Chu and Second Brother Chu, but Miss only has me." He Xiang pricked her neck to defend herself.

Xia Yue didn't continue arguing with He Xiang, she said everything she had to say, she had no other choice if she didn't listen, she sighed: "I don't know who you learned from when you are so stubborn."

"Then who else could it be?" He Xiang grinned foolishly.

Xia Yue didn't smile, she just put the piece of Gao Xinyu in her palm and rubbed it back and forth for a while, then turned around and took out a pink pouch from under the pillow and put the jade in it.

"Miss," He Xiang persuaded, "Perhaps Mr. Hong didn't mean anything malicious, but just happened to know your previous name. Otherwise, why hasn't he come to trouble you for so many days?"

Xia Yue finally looked up at her, glared at her and said, "You are the only one who is smart!"

two

A careless mistake in the battle of Yunzhong caused Xu's army to lose momentum, and then the imperial court sent Sima Lin to supervise the battle.The two had always been rivals, and Xu Jingye felt even more ashamed.Now, Sima Lin came to play, saying that Xu Jingye was rushing forward in a hurry, he was headstrong, he was thrown into the clouds, and drove straight into the wilderness.

Shang Rui read the scriptures, and neither supported Sima Lin nor warned Xu Jingye, but only wrote a line to Xu Jingye: General Xu is old and frail, do what you can.

For several days in a row, Shang Rui's mood was not too high. Others thought it was because of the tense battle, but Ming Lian saw some clues.Ming Lian knew him well, he would never put anything about the court on his face, it must be for other reasons, so he was very careful in every move, lest he touch his negative scales.

At dusk, Yao Chuang brought Xia Yue's latest trends.

Shang Rui took a sip of tea, but didn't make a sound.

Yao Chuang said: "It looks like the people in the hospital are going to leave tonight."

Shang Rui put the teacup on the table.

Yao Chuang said again: "If Miss Min wants to leave, will I stop her?"

Shang Rui got up, took two steps with his hands behind his back, and then said lightly, "Let her go."

In the evening, Shang Rui felt bored, so he took Ming Lian out of the palace to drink and listen to music.Minglian went to inform Hong Wu's colleagues without authorization.

They went to the restaurant with their front feet, and Hong Wu arrived with their back feet.

Hong Wu came to meet him, pretending to be a coincidence, and said with a smile: "Hey, the young master is here, what a coincidence."

Shang Rui glanced at Minglian, then squinted at Hong Wu and said, "Stop singing, who doesn't know how much you two are thinking."

Hong Wu continued to play dumb: "What play?"

"Then you go in by yourself, and I'll change to another." Shang Rui raised his legs and was about to leave.

Minglian and Hongwu hurriedly stopped him and confessed truthfully.

The three of them entered the restaurant and went to the private room on the second floor. After the food and drinks were served, the girl who sang came with her piano in her arms.After playing two pieces, the girl tuned the strings and took a rest.

Hong Wu then rewarded her with some silver taels and chatted with her a few words.

"Isn't the girl from a local with her accent?" Hong Wu asked.

"Yu Yin'er from the slave family is from the Jinluo clan."

Shang Rui was peeling the plate of pine nuts in front of him by himself, and he didn't speak from the beginning to the end. When he heard the word "Jin Luo", he raised his head and glanced at the other party, and then snorted coldly.

The woman thought she had said something wrong, and hung her head in embarrassment.

Ming Lian knew his heart troubles, so he eased the atmosphere and said: "Miss, do you have any other good tunes, if you listen to it, it's festive, please play a tune for our young master."

Unexpectedly, Hong Wu was very ignorant of current affairs, so he interjected and said: "I heard people say that Jinluo is the hometown of music in our David Dynasty, and everyone's voice is like a lark. Sing a few of your local songs and listen to them." .”

Minglian really wanted to cover his mouth when he heard it.

The other party was young and didn't know how to wink when speaking, so he smiled shyly: "I heard from the old people that Jinluo's water is good, and drinking it from a young age keeps the voice healthy."

Shang Rui sneered coldly: "Then give me a drink or two, and I can also go to the street to sell my art."

Seeing that Hong Wu still wanted to answer the conversation, Ming quickly said: "Girl, you should continue to sing for us."

At the end of the first song, it was interrupted by a loud voice outside the door.

(End of this chapter)