cloud temple phoenix hairpin

Chapter 43

Chapter 39

In late July, the hot summer sun has been scorching for many consecutive days, and the yellow mud road of the official road going south will be covered with dust as soon as cars and horses pass by.The rice leaves in the farmland on both sides began to turn yellow from the green, and the ears of rice budded and pressed down.After a while, as long as the weather is good, it will be another harvest year.

It was evening, and the sweltering heat subsided a bit, and there were more vehicles and horses going back and forth between north and south on the official road than at noon.Outside the gate of the northern city of Jiangzhou, the Housekeeper Peng, his son Xie Yilin, and a group of servants were waiting there.After waiting for a while, Xie Yilin seemed a little anxious, and kept setting up a pergola to look north.

"Uncle Peng, did my cousin say he will arrive today? Could it be that he misread the letter? We've been waiting for this for a long time."

A group of people came from a distance on the road, Xie Yilin looked around again, when he got closer, seeing that he was not waiting, he looked at Steward Peng with some disappointment.

He is two years older than Xie Mingrou, and will be sixteen by the end of the year.The young man looks quite aggressive, and his temperament is somewhat similar to his sister Xie Mingrou, carefree.

"Don't be impatient, young master. If you are tired, go and sit on the side first."

Butler Peng's temperament was even and steady, and he spoke slowly with his hands behind his back.

"Who wants to sit! I can't wait any longer, I'll go up and have a look myself."

Xie Yilin couldn't hold back, he took a horse and was about to turn over when he suddenly saw a row of black spots at the end of the road in the north direction. It was the person I was waiting for.

"My son, the son of the general's mansion is here!"

Steward Peng showed joy, turned his head quickly and said, but saw that Xie Yilin had already got on the horse's back, slapped the horse's buttocks, and rushed out as soon as he rode. He was not in a hurry to stop him, so he shook his head and smiled wryly.

Xie Yilin rode his horse all the way there, raised his hands and shouted from a distance: "Cousin!"

The seven or eight riders on the opposite side slowed down slightly.At first, an eighteen-nine-year-old young man with a heroic face looked up and saw him, lifted the rein of the horse, and in a blink of an eye, he came to Xie Yilin. The two horses staggered, stretched out his hand and patted him on the shoulder affectionately, and said with a smile: "One year." See you soon, you are much bigger! How did you get here?"

The person Xie Yilin was waiting for was Xie Zuiqiao, the cousin of General Xie Jiajing's residence.Since he returned to Beijing last year, more than a year has passed in the blink of an eye, and now he comes back again, but next month will be the end of his 27-month filial piety, so he deliberately went south again this time. Xie Jingzhu, the younger sister who was in her uncle's house, also brought her back to Jinjing.

"My father knew that your cousin was coming today, so he specially asked me to go out of the city with the housekeeper to meet you. I waited for a long time but didn't see you. I was about to pass by again, and I met you without thinking. What a coincidence!"

Xie Yilin smiled happily.

Xie Zuiqiao said: "Okay, good boy! I know you miss the Xuanyuan blunderbuss I promised you. I brought it to you. I only received a letter from Jingzhu last month, mentioning that you were lazy in school, and you were just caught by your uncle. I was punished..."

"Brother, don't worry! I will definitely hide the gun safely, and I will never let my father see it!"

Xie Yilin was punctured, he giggled, and hastily assured that his voice was sonorous and forceful, which made Xie Zuiqiao laugh out loud: "It seems that the beating by uncle didn't improve your memory. I told you to study hard. You are good, you only know how to hide things!"

Xie Yilin was a little embarrassed, but his eyes still kept looking behind his cousin.Xie Zuiqiao waved his hand at Gao Jun who was behind him, and Gao Jun took out a two-foot-long weapon that looked a bit weird from a pouch on his horse's back, and threw it towards Xie Yilin with a smile, "Young master caught it!"

Xie Yilin took it, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't stop fondling it.

"As soon as this thing is thrown away, any bird that comes within twenty steps will be injured. If you take it, you can only use it for hunting. If I know that you are using it to hurt people, take it back immediately. Don’t even think about touching it again.”

Xie Zuiqiao exhorted seriously.

"Brother, don't worry! I know the severity! I will definitely not cause trouble for you!"

Xie Yilin hastily hugged him tightly.

Xie Zuiqiao chuckled and said: "I know you are kind-hearted, so I got you a hand. Brother will teach you the essentials when I go back."

Xie Yilin nodded, returned to his horse and rode with Xie Zuiqiao, and the group headed for the city gate together.

Xie Ruchun waited for half a day, and did not see his nephew until You Shichu.After being away for more than a year, seeing this nephew's heroic appearance, and now he is a full-grown man, I am very happy, and there will be a reception talk in the evening.Since they are all from my own family, Xie Mingrou and Xie Jingzhu also sat down together.Xie Jingzhu hadn't seen her elder brother for more than a year, and she had long been looking forward to his coming. At this moment, the two brothers and sisters were sitting together, and the dinner was very happy.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Mrs. Xie suddenly remembered something, and smiled at Xie Zuiqiao: "Uncle Mengcheng's birthday will be in a few days. I made an appointment with Mrs. Ruan's family to celebrate his birthday, and even brought the children along Let's get excited. Mrs. Ruan just mentioned to me a few days ago that the old man asked about you several times. Since you came here by chance, if you have time, you can go there together."

Xie Zuiqiao was startled, only then did he realize that she was talking about Jiang Kui.Although I haven't seen this old Mr. Jiang for several years, I still have a very good impression of him. It seems that he has an urchin-like face in front of me, and I hurriedly responded.After dinner, Mrs. Bi Xie wanted to arrange a place to stay, Xie Zuiqiao said: "Thank you for your trouble. It's just that the garden I used to have is still there, and there are quite a few people who came with me this time. It's cheaper to live there together with me."

Mrs. Xie persuaded him to stay a few more words, and seeing that he still said the same thing, she smiled and said: "Two years ago I told you to live with us and you didn't listen, and now of course I can't keep it anymore. Anyway, my aunt knows you too I have a bad temper, so a few days ago I asked Yuzan who was left behind to bring a few people over there in advance, and everything was cleaned up, so you can go there. If there is a big or small matter, you have to let your aunt know, and you have to come over for dinner often .”

Xie Zuiqiao hurriedly thanked him, and said goodbye to his uncle Xie Ruchun, seeing the girl smiling at him all the time, his heart warmed up, and he smiled at her too.

Xie Zuiqiao distributed the gifts he brought from Beijing to Xie Mingrou and Xie Jingzhu.

Xie Mingrou is already thirteen, and will be fourteen in the new year.Xie Jingzhu was eleven, the two of them were much older than when he saw them last time, Xie Mingrou was already a complete girl, but her temper was still the same as before, gathered around Xie Zuiqiao to inquire about Beijing, in the room The laughter continued.

I haven't seen her for more than a year, but my cousin is so old. According to the custom of Jokhang, she will be engaged next year. Even the younger sister who seems to be very young in my impression has grown up, and there is a girl's warmth in her eyes. Wan.Xie Zuiqiao was suddenly in a daze, another girl flashed in front of his eyes.

That girl, his last impression of her now is actually still the appearance when she came to the yoga garden to thank him for more than two years.A half-grown girl, wearing a spring shirt as clear as lake water, with golden petals falling from the tip of her black hair.Afterwards, although he lived here for nearly a year, and occasionally heard a few words about her from his two younger sisters, he never had the chance to see her face again.

More than two years have passed, I don't know how she is now, what has become of her?I remember hearing Xie Mingrou mention that she was a few months older than me, so now, she should also be a slim girl who is almost 14 years old...

Xie Mingrou went back to the room, and Xie Jingzhu sent her brother to the door.Xie Zuiqiao hesitated for a while, and finally asked: "Sister, that big girl from the Ruan family who used to protect Wenying..."

"Sister Ruan! Did my cousin have a letter for you to deliver?"

Xie Jingzhu's eyes lit up, and he continued.

"Yes," Xie Zuiqiao suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and said, "Wenying has been thinking about her injury, so let me ask, how is she doing now?"

"Brother, you also know that my cousin has been delivering ointments prepared by the imperial physician in the palace for the past two years. I just wrote to her last month to tell her about Sister Ruan, why did she ask you to ask again?" Xie Jingzhu looked a little strange.

Xie Zuiqiao coughed: "She may have forgotten it for a while."

"Sister Ruan's scar is almost healed, if you don't look carefully, there is no trace."

Xie Jingzhu didn't doubt that there was him, so she responded.

Something in Xie Zuiqiao's heart seemed to have finally fallen to the ground. He stretched out his hand and stroked Xie Jingzhu's head, and said with a smile, "That's good. Brother, let's go first. You should rest earlier."

After more than a year of absence, Yuyuan is still in memory.Xie Zuiqiao raised his head and looked at the words "Yu Garden" on the door that was glowing with water under the melting moonlight, and the last picture of the girl that stayed in his mind once again appeared in front of his eyes.

That afternoon at this place, she came all the way in the bright sunshine, under the eyes of herself and the other two.At that time, she was not as big as Jingzhu now, but her footsteps were so steady that he still can't forget it until now.A few days later, he heard from Pei Taizhi that she was injured by fireworks.He didn't want to recall what he felt when he first heard that it disappeared.

Mingrou and Jingzhu are all his younger sisters, this somewhat unusual girl from the Ruan family, he thinks he has always regarded her as his younger sister.So in the past few years, although he never saw her face again, it was strange that he never forgot her.Until now, when he stepped into Yuyuan again, her appearance in those days appeared in front of him more and more clearly.

He suddenly looked forward to the next trip to Mengcheng.She should go too, right?
(End of this chapter)