Mountains and rivers fall into red

Chapter 14: Cuiqiao (2)
Xiuxiu walked all the way, but no matter whether it was the Prime Minister's Mansion or the roads outside, there were people with big brooms to clear the roads, so walking was not difficult.From a distance, she saw under the old pear tree, several people and horses surrounding a double carriage with gold and copper eaves.The person in the carriage was lifting the curtain and came out, all dressed in striking maroon, under the blue light and white halo, showing cold arrogance, dazzling and frightening.

Before approaching, Xiao Kui taunted with a blank face: "Miss Xiuxiu is so arrogant, she doesn't see anyone for a while, I just need my palace to send someone to invite me, and I have to wait for so long."

Xiuxiu's heart was still sweet at the beginning, but Xiao Kui's expression turned out to be like this when he met him, his heart became cold like a biting cold wind passing by.

"I thought you wouldn't come." She murmured.

"Do you think? Don't you just think what I said?" Xiao Kui was unhappy after waiting for a long time, frowned, and said coldly, "What did Shen Buyu teach you? Could it be that he thought that with your country skills Can you captivate this palace?"

There seemed to be a coldness penetrating from the soles of the feet to the heart, and Xiuxiu felt his body tremble involuntarily.She never expected that Xiao Kui would treat her with such an attitude, especially the last sentence, what does this have to do with the Prime Minister?The Prime Minister was not in the mansion, she came out in a hurry, and the people in the Xiang's mansion were also afraid of the third prince's deterrent force so they did not dare to stop her.If Lord Xiang finds out, he will inevitably be punished, and Yanxi will suffer as well.Everything is self-deception, that's all, let's go back.

Thinking of this, Xiuxiu said with a firm voice: "Then I'll go back."

Xiao Kui hugged his chest, said with a sneer, "Whatever you want, I won't stop you."

Just as he finished speaking, he saw the soft green flash, leaving behind a resolute and cool back, and walked away absolutely.

"Hey, do you really want to leave?" Xiao Kui shouted from behind with a look of embarrassment.

Xiuxiu turned a deaf ear to the shouts from behind, and walked forward stiffly.The wind and snow in the twelfth lunar month are so cold that people are shaking even their bones.

A gust of wind swirled from behind, and her elbow was suddenly grabbed.She turned her head and looked up, Xiao Kui looked at her in surprise with a bewildered expression on her face.

"Where are you going?"

"Go home. Where else can I go? It's funny." She shook off his hand.

"Don't go!" he ordered.

"Why do you call the wind and rain on me? I don't have the ability to be charming. The Prime Minister has never taught me anything. Are you satisfied with your Highness?"

"Okay, I guess I was wrong." Xiao Kui's tone changed sharply, and a trace of unbearable pain flashed away in his eyes.

He took her hand again, with a very low voice, as if muttering to himself: "Don't go..."

She looked at him in astonishment.His face was pale and snowy, his eyes were downcast, and his thin eyelashes were covered with a faint layer of frustration.Her heart suddenly swelled, swelled, like vines struggling to get out of a rock crack, spreading wantonly.

Her voice also became soft: "I'll go back and say hello to the people in the mansion, lest Xiangye come back in a hurry."

"No need." Xiao Kui's eyes stayed in a distant place, and he replied indifferently, "I have already met him in the palace."

She obediently was led back by him.

The two of them were sitting facing each other inside the curtain of the car, and the curtains were very warm, with a faint scent of Rhizoma.The two seemed silent, as if no one wanted to break this moment of silence, only the sound of the wheels rattling in the snow could be heard.

After crossing the bridge and turning a few streets from west to east, the snowflakes seem to be coming to a rest.The street market is bustling, and shops have opened as far as the eye can see.After the twelfth lunar month, it will be the Chinese New Year. At this time, there are sellers of fireworks, New Year's goods, and children's tiger shoes, and the noise of selling is one after another.Because they were traveling in modest clothes, Xiao Kui's team immediately melted into the bustling traffic flow.

There was a faint sound of drum music ahead, and the carriage stopped at the door of a street building.Xiao Kui helped Xiuxiu out of the car, and several disguised guards looked around vigilantly.At this time, a person who already looked like a shopkeeper stood at the door to greet him: "The third son is here, and he is waiting for you."

Xiao Kui said nothing, the boss bowed to welcome them in.It turned out that it was a huge theater, and the audience was full of people, shouting and applauding endlessly.The mistresses shuttled around with long pots and fruit bowls, and it was very lively.

The shopkeeper welcomed them to sit in the private room upstairs, and said with a flattering smile: "This garden has specially invited 'full house' from Yangzhou, and I will wait for the third son to have a look."

Xiao Kui glanced sideways at Xiuxiu, but seeing her looking around curiously, her eyes were full of confusion.The corner of his mouth raised a strange arc, and as soon as he sat down, he signaled the two attendants to leave.

At this time, Xiuxiu was attracted by the bustling scene in front of her. She watched the stage downstairs intently, applauding along with others.A martial arts scene ended on the stage, and before everyone could catch their breath, an actress came out from the red sandalwood screen and began to sing leisurely. Wu Nong spoke softly, singing sadly and movingly, soul-stirring.The wide sleeves are swirling in the wind, and people are spinning in it, creating a beautiful scene like spring flowers and autumn moon.At this time, there was already a burst of applause from the audience.

Xiuxiu blinked her eyes and couldn't help laughing: "I thought the sleeves were so long."

Xiao Kui was leaning sleepily on the recliner, and seemed to have a flash of inspiration, but there was still a faint smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.He secretly winked at Jiang Chen, got up and left the private room, Jiang Chen followed closely behind.After a while, Xiao Kui came in alone, in a happy mood, and smiled gently at Xiuxiu.

"Xiuxiu, let's go see Shuixiu later." He called her by his first name.

"Isn't this a water sleeve?" Seeing that Xiao Kui was in a good mood, Xiuxiu followed his will with a naive face, "Where should I go?"

Xiao Kui acted mysteriously, and said, "Will everyone be able to see the water sleeves? There is only one place in Jiangling where the water sleeves are danced, and it is very proud. Two conditions must be met: first, the place is fixed, and if you want to see it It’s too late, and you can’t get a seat. Second, you can only stay in the room first, and wait for him to sing before you can come out to enjoy it.”

Xiuxiu was taken aback by what was being said, and could only nod frequently.Xiao Kui called Jiang Chen and ordered: "You take Miss Xiuxiu there first."

Then he said softly to Xiuxiu: "I still have things to do now, I will come to you later."

Xiuxiu obediently followed Jiang Chen downstairs.After leaving the theater, the street was full of traffic and people coming and going.They turned a few turns and came outside a courtyard wall.At this time, Xiuxiu could no longer distinguish between east, west, north and south. Jiang Chen motioned for Xiuxiu to wait a moment, and Xiuxiu stood in front of a clay figurine stall, watching him walk towards a middle-aged man. stop.

Xiuxiu took a small clay figurine to play with in front of the clay figurine booth. The stall owner was a kind-hearted man, who smiled and said, "Girl, can you buy one and play at home?" He smiled apologetically at the uncle.When she put down the little clay figurine and turned her face away, she found that Jiang Chen was gone.

While wondering, someone stood in front of her, it was the middle-aged man who talked to Jiang Chen just now.The man was kind, and smiled at Xiuxiu: "Girl, it's getting late, come with me."

Xiuxiu followed the middle-aged man into the compound, where there were countless long poles on the open field, colorful clothes hung on them and fluttered in the wind, just like being in a sea of ​​flowers.The women who did the laundry combed their hair with blue calico. They were still chirping just now, but they all shut up when they saw the middle-aged man, and only looked at Xiuxiu with weird eyes.

The middle-aged man explained to Xiuxiu: "This is the backyard."

Passing through several crescent gates, a tall building suddenly appeared in front of it. The white eaves were covered with lanterns, which were bright red under the reflection of white snow.The middle-aged man led her up the dark small stairs, but saw a winding corridor, every door and window in the corridor was tightly closed, and faintly heard the sound of playing and playing the piano.

Stop thinking about it: this is the place to look at the water sleeves.

A woman's sharp voice came from downstairs: "Bao Cheng! Bao Cheng!"

The middle-aged man responded, opened one of the doors, and said to Xiuxiu: "The girl is waiting here for now, I will come right away." When Xiuxiu entered, the man closed the door and left in a hurry.

A musty smell came out.Xiuxiu collected himself and looked around.The room was empty and there was only a wooden bed, which was covered with dust, and there was not even a chair.She finally felt uncomfortable, and opened the half-covered door, wanting to breathe outside for a while.

There was a faint singing of warblers in the corridor, and Xiuxiu couldn't help following the sound slowly.The door of the room next to him opened suddenly, and a couple of men and women came out with half arms and half arms, both of them were disheveled and their temples were messy.Xiuxiu was taken aback, she just ran forward a few steps, and found another door was slightly open, she rushed in in a panic.

The room was quiet, but it was still clean. There were beds, tables and chairs, and colorful embroidered clothes hanging around the bed curtain.A woman was sitting in front of the dressing table, when she saw someone barging in, she stood up abruptly.

"Who?" she asked.

A woman with colorful makeup, whose approximate age cannot be guessed, her face is flushed with fragrance, and her darkly painted eyes are dimly opened.Xiuxiu guessed that this place was her room, and immediately apologized: "I'm sorry, my sister, I broke into your room by mistake, so please take the liberty."

Just as she was about to turn around and leave, the woman stopped her: "Stop!"

Xiuxiu had no choice but to stop, the woman walked up to her and looked at her coldly.A strange fragrance, lined with the hot air, penetrated the nostrils.

After a long while, the woman narrowed her eyes, and said in a tired voice, "New?" Then she shook the cloak on her body, "The material is really good."

Xiuxiu didn't know what to say, but just smiled and said, "My sister must have seen the water sleeves, right? I came to see the water sleeves show."

"Water sleeves?" The woman frowned, as if seeing Xiuxiu as abnormal, and asked, "Where is the water sleeve show here? There is a theater a few streets away, you can go see it, is this the place you came from?"

Xiuxiu panicked and said, "It was the guy named Baocheng who brought me in."

"Bastard!" She gritted her teeth and cursed, and said with a sneer, "You think Baocheng is a good person? You are so stupid, you don't even know you were cheated."

Xiuxiu gradually understood, became anxious, and said with a crying voice: "My good sister, take me out. That Baocheng may have come up to look for me."

"Where did you come in from?"

After listening to Xiuxiu's description, the woman opened the door and looked around for a while, then turned around again, her eyes fell on Xiuxiu - she wanted to get something in return for taking the risk to save this silly girl.What a material!She was thinking about it, but her voice was pleasant: "Take off the cloak."

Without further ado, Xiuxiu took off his cloak, and the silk ermine jacket appeared, the woman's eyes lit up, and she refused to give up, wanting even the jacket.As if she had found a treasure, she tucked the clothes under the quilt, then took Xiuxiu's hand and walked out the door, and went downstairs in a roundabout way.On a snowy day in winter, the people in the building seemed to like to stay indoors around the fire, and they came to a secluded courtyard smoothly.The woman pointed to a crescent door in front: "Out of this door, you will see the backyard to the right."

Xiuxiu thanked her, her lithe body flashed at the crescent moon gate, the woman heard a rush of snow treading, and it disappeared in an instant.

The woman stood gracefully in the corridor, and when a man passed by occasionally, she made fun of it.After a while, Baocheng followed the old bustard to look around, and the old bustard asked the woman, "Jiuxiang, did you see a woman in a green cloak?"

Jiuxiang blinked innocently, and smiled: "No. Mom is new again?" He raised his arm and put it on Baocheng's shoulder.

"Go, go." The old bustard waved his hand disgustedly, seeing Jiuxiang Shi leaving suddenly, he turned around and scolded Baocheng, "Didn't you say that you look like a fairy? What should I do if I ran to the guest room without locking the door?"

Baocheng cried and said with a mournful face: "How do you know that it will disappear in the blink of an eye? I managed to get it, and the master will pay a big price later. If the cooked duck flies away, wouldn't it be a waste of money and money?"

The old bustard was also in a hurry, and urged: "Look for it quickly! Look for it inside and out!"

In the private room of the theater, Xiao Kui still sat leisurely.His gaze drifted slowly towards the stage, with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Chen leaned forward and whispered: "Third Highness, it's getting late, Miss Xiuxiu is probably already crying."

"What's the rush? I want her to cry." Xiao Kui snorted, thinking of Shen Buyu, the smile on his face turned dark, "Didn't Shen Buyu want me to treat her kindly? I brought her out today, but he I know. Maybe he is secretly having fun at home! In this case, let him have enough fun. When I go to the brothel to find her and come to a hero to save the beauty, it’s too late for that Xiuxiu to be grateful. Who would have known that we would have her Sold! Haha, wait and see, the best show is yet to come."

Imagining Xiuxiu in the brothel yelling that every day should not be answered, that the land is not working, and his innocent face is covered with tears, Xiao Kui couldn't stop laughing comfortably.

"In case something goes wrong..." Jiang Chen couldn't help reminding.

Xiao Kui sneered: "It's just to frighten her. Let her open her mind a little bit. If she wants to tell me about Xiao Kui's secrets, there will be no good results."

Saying so, he raised his legs, stood up straight, and said, "Let's go, let's go and watch the excitement."

In the brothel, the bustard and Baocheng searched every corner, but there was still no sign of the girl.The old bustard poked Baocheng's head and cursed: "Look at what you have done! I told you to recruit a girl. I haven't seen her before, so she disappeared! Didn't you say that you would pay a lot of money? Let's see how you explain it." !"

"Explain what?"

Someone behind him spoke.The two turned around and saw several tall and mighty men, surrounded by a young man.That young man was extremely handsome, with no expression on his face but a frightening aura of dignity.

The old bustard hurriedly stepped forward to salute, and said with a smile: "This young master must be the first time to enter my courtyard, and this old slave will definitely pick the best girl to serve you."

"No." The handsome young man stopped him indifferently, and said slowly, "I learned that there is a new girl in the building, so I'm here to meet her."

When the master, who was willing to pay a big price, arrives, Baocheng secretly complains repeatedly.The old bustard noticed Baocheng's expression, so she could only apologize and said with a smile: "I'm really sorry, I'm sorry for this young master. No, I don't know where the newly recruited girl has gone right now."

Hearing this, the young man's face suddenly changed, and he called out in a deep voice, "Jiang Chen!"

Jiang Chen rushed over, pointed at Baocheng and scolded, "Didn't you just lock her in an empty room and send someone to guard her?"

Baocheng's face turned pale with fright, and he replied with a trembling voice: "This master didn't explain clearly earlier, he just said that she is not allowed to touch her, and we can't treat her like another girl, right?"

"do not talk!"

There was a trace of panic in the young man's eyes, he was already annoyed, and he ordered: "Quickly search, search one by one!" Devouring them in one bite, he gritted his teeth and said, "If you touch even a single hair on her, I will destroy your nine clans!"

The old bustard turned and called out to Baocheng who was already shaking like a sieve: "What are you still doing in a daze? Go find it!"

For a moment, the whole building was jumping like dogs and dogs, and everyone ran away with their heads in their hands.

Seeing the miserable scene in front of her, the old bustard felt helpless and at a loss. She stomped her feet and said, "What's this called? You clearly said that a girl would send you here, but now you want to go back in a hurry. This is a big loss for your business!"

Xiuxiu ran to the backyard. Because of the freezing weather, the women who washed clothes hid in the houses with stoves, and no one paid attention to her.With the cover of the colorful clothes on the pole, she opened the courtyard door and slipped out smoothly.

Where is Xiao Kui at this moment?

Are you looking for her everywhere?
She had to tell Xiao Kui that the guy named Baocheng lied to them.The place he took her to didn't have a water sleeve show at all, but the legendary dirty place.But where to find him?

The sky darkened quickly, and the twilight merged.The street stalls on the roadside have been closed, the lights in the market are sporadically turned on, and the smell of barbecue, wine and vegetables is wafting from time to time.There was no cloak on his body, only a thin cotton skirt, and a trace of coldness unscrupulously invaded his limbs and bones.She folded her arms tightly, asked pedestrians for the direction to the prime minister's mansion, and rushed forward without the slightest hesitation.

After walking through the bustling and open market, the road under my feet is getting darker and darker, the snow on the ground is getting deeper and deeper, and there are fewer and fewer pedestrians.After she walked for an unknown amount of time, snow covered the road ahead.Looking back, she saw nothing but the footprints left by herself in different shades.She became panicked in her heart, and her steps gradually became heavy. The bitter cold wind made her whole body numb, but she didn't dare to stop, she just moved forward step by step mechanically.

She imagined the warm spring-like room in Juxin Courtyard, and thought that Yanxi must have prepared Mrs. Tang, anxiously waiting for her around the fire.

The third prince couldn't find me, so he must have gone back.she thought dejectedly.

Then he cheered himself up again: Xiuxiu, Yanxi is waiting for you.Don't be afraid, be sure to walk back!
But why is the road so long?Why is it getting dark so fast?She moved forward unconsciously, tripped, and fell heavily on the snow.She couldn't feel the pain, under the bleak snow light, the blood continuously flowed down from the palm, dripping into the snow, filled with faint cherry red.

That winter was so cold, she just lay powerlessly in the snow.When people are in despair, they cannot see the pain, perhaps the simple Xixiu has never experienced pain at all.

She closed her eyes, sighed softly, and a bleak smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.Is she going to die like this?Is dad coming to pick her up?

How come there is the sound of carriages?
Someone ran over and called her name.Immediately she was lifted up by someone, she opened her eyes slightly, and when she was half awake, the face of that person had become a blurred shadow.

"Shen Xiuxiu, wake me up!"

It was Xiao Kui who was calling her, and his voice was broken.

She tried to give him a smile, but her chest heaved sharply, her head tilted and she fell into his arms.

Xiao Kui panicked completely this time, he picked up Xiuxiu and carried her into the carriage.In the warmth of spring, his mind came to his senses, and he slapped Xiuxiu's face left and right vigorously.

"Hey, wake up, don't die!"

Jiang Chen asked outside: "Your Highness, should you send it to the Prime Minister's Mansion?"

"How is this possible?" Xiao Kui grabbed Xiuxiu's hand, frowned, gritted his teeth, "Go to the palace!"

two

Has the wind stopped?

Xiuxiu vaguely remembered that as the overwhelming heat wave suddenly rushed in, the air was filled with the scent of Ruinao.She was in Xiao Kui's arms all the time, a strand of hair from his forehead hung down, tickling her face, itching.She heard his voice, and at that moment, it seemed that her whole body and mind were filled with satisfaction and happiness, so she didn't want to open her eyes, but just fell asleep like this.

It was so warm in the car, she was always hugged by him, a sense of tiredness came over her, and her eyelids were heavy, making her really blurred.

It was really warm.

When Xiuxiu woke up again, he found himself lying on a big warm bed.Through the heavy rust-gold curtain, one can see the bright red candlelight beside the bed, and the curling sandalwood smoke from the white jade incense burner.

She straightened up in shock, only feeling a dull pain in the center of her right palm, and when she raised her hand, she saw that it was wrapped with thick gauze.She wiped her neck subconsciously, luckily the gardenia stamen jade her father gave her is still there.

(End of this chapter)