The wooden house was built very crudely, and the windows were pasted up with a few pieces of bright paper, which had already been blown by the wind and were riddled with holes. There was a plank bed in the house, on which a white-haired old man was wrapped in a quilt, and he was sleeping drowsily at this time. Another old man in coarse gray clothes was sitting in front of the stove, carefully adding rough and tasteless porridge soup into the dirty pot.
The mountain wind and rain are blowing more violently.
The gray-clothed old man put down his spoon, and was just about to wake up the old man on the bed to eat, but when he heard someone knock on the door, he was startled: "Who?"
"We are a caravan from the north, and accidentally got lost in the mountains." The guard said, "There are too many insects and ants outside, so we want to stay here for one night."
"It's not that I don't want to take you in." The gray-clothed old man was embarrassed, "Someone in this house was infected with the plague and was brought here by the villagers to die. You guys, you better leave quickly."
As he was talking, the old man on the bed also moaned, his voice was painful and desolate. The guards and Mei Zhusong heard it, and they felt uncomfortable. Remembering that there were still some pills left, they said: "My husband is a doctor. There is a plague in the southwest. He also saw many patients along the way and figured out a few prescriptions." There are just two bottles of medicine here, if you don’t mind the old man, you can keep it and try it.”
As soon as he heard that the person was a doctor, the gray-clothed old man opened the door as expected. The guard handed him the pills, and said gently: "Take one pill every morning and evening, and you will feel much more comfortable."
"This..." In today's Southwest, medicine is far more valuable than gold, and the old people live in poverty. Once they get sick, they have to come to this wilderness to wait for death. Suddenly there were two bottles of medicine, not to mention whether it was useful, the old man's heart was warm and sore, and he said gratefully: "Thank you doctor, thank you doctor."
The mountain was still thundering "rumbling", and a new round of heavy rain was about to usher in the middle of the night. The old man in gray saw that the plum, bamboo and pine were being held by someone, his right foot could not touch the ground, and it was really difficult to continue on his way, so he said, "If you don't dislike it, why don't you take shelter under the eaves, I'll boil some hot water and light a brazier Bring it."
The conditions were tough and there was no other choice. Mei Zhusong covered his mouth and nose with a cloth towel, and after seeing the old man on the bed, he saw that although his face was pale, his pulse was still stable, so he said, "If you can take good care of it, you may not be able to make it through."
"Old Wang's body has always been strong." The gray-clothed old man brought hot water, "Our village is so remote that we can't get in touch with outsiders. Old Wang was infected with the plague because he went to the city to buy rice and noodles a while ago. "
The guards took off their coats and sealed the cracks in the doors and windows for the two old men to make the room more comfortable. Seeing that the window lattice was carved finely, and there was a picture of larks and hibiscus entwined in spring on it, which was an auspicious pattern that was popular in Wangcheng a few years ago, so he asked curiously: "Is the old man from Wangcheng?"
"Ah? No." The gray-clothed old man was taken aback, and shook his head again and again, "We are from the northwestern part of Daliang. Because of the drought in our hometown, the fields did not have any harvest, so we went south to flee famine. We have been here for many years."
Plum Bamboo Song rubbed the armrest of the chair with his hand, and it was also very finely carved, full of flowers, which is a rich and noble handicraft, and the farmers in the Northwest probably do not have this exquisite skill. However, the other party obviously didn't want to mention the past, so he didn't ask in detail, he just asked for a few pots of hot water, and roughly treated the wound.
The night was dark, the sound of the rain gradually died down, everyone also dozed off and fell asleep, they were really tired, and it was dawn in a blink of an eye. The sound of "Ding Ding Dang Dang" came from the ear. The old man in gray clothes—his surname was Song, and everyone called him Lao Song. After being woken up, this old Song looked dazedly, oh, there was a sick man standing by the fire. The old man was surprised and happy at once, and quickly supported him: "Are you alright?"
"I'm hungry." Lao Wang dug the bottom of the pot with a spoon and asked with a bitter face, "Is there any steamed buns?"
"There are cakes, you wait." Old Song helped him to sit down, and said excitedly, "I really have to thank the doctor outside the door, the genius doctor, just one pill, look at you, you can walk around in the ground!"
Mei Zhusong and his party were also woken up, they opened the door and saw that the patient who was bedridden last night was already wolfing down cakes and porridge. Lao Song hurriedly brought baked cakes for everyone, saying that there was not much food in the house, so he asked the genius doctor to sit here for a while, and then he went back to the village to get food and clean clothes.
The guard didn't think much about it, and said casually: "It has just rained, and the mountain road is afraid that it will be difficult to walk. I will go back with the old man."
Lao Song didn't even say no, picked up the basket on the ground, and walked quickly, as if he was afraid of being stopped.
The guard frowned secretly. He was from Dali Temple, and his first reaction was that the village was weird, and the old man was also weird, as if he was hiding some secret that could not be revealed. But Mei Zhusong was thinking about another thing - although the bottle of pills last night did have the effect of clearing away heat, analgesia and detoxification, after taking the previous few patients, none of them recovered so quickly. His heart skipped a beat, and he vaguely realized something, and asked Lao Wang about his diet for the past few days in detail, and finally dug out a bag of dried mushrooms from the basket.
"I'm sick and confused, and I don't know what I've eaten." Lao Wang introduced, "But this mushroom soup is often cooked in the village. When the poor have a cold and a fever, they drink a bowl and treat it as medicine."
There are a lot of fungi in the southwest woodland. This light blue mushroom doesn't even have a name. When it rains, it's all over the yard, and it's not worth much. Just like Lao Song, when Mei Zhusong said that he wanted to visit the village, Lao Wang also looked embarrassed, hesitated and refused to agree.
"Brother." Mei Zhusong stood up, cupping her hands in salute, "Now there is a plague in the southwest, this fungus is probably the life-saving medicine!"
"Doctor, please don't do this." Lao Wang hurriedly stopped him, sighed, "I am not a hard-hearted person, and neither is Lao Song. Everyone just doesn't want to cause trouble, but who can save the lives of tens of thousands of people in the southwest? Willing to die? Come with me!"
He propped up a cane, limped, and led the crowd into the dense forest path.
…
In the underground palace, Xie Hanyan said: "I thought you would stay in Yuli City and never come back."
Jiang Lingfei asked, "Why did mother do that?"
"Because the Southwest back then was like this kind of chaos." Xie Hanyan walked down the steps of the hall step by step, "No, it's even more painful than now, in addition to the plague, there are also poverty, war and plunder, it's my husband, your father , He personally ended that turbulent era!"
Xie Hanyan's voice was filled with overwhelming anger: "Your father, I wish I could shed the last drop of blood for Liang and Jiangshan. But what did he get? The rejection of the courtiers, the suspicion of the emperor, and those ungrateful people, he is the only one who can do that." Less than 20 years after his death, he has been completely forgotten by the world, and now when we talk about the words 'invincible', how many people can still think of Lu Guangyuan?"
"So mother is going to destroy the world, isn't it?" Jiang Lingfei looked into her eyes with a hoarse voice, "You have been lying to me all this time, you hate not only the first emperor, not only the emperor, but also don't intend to be like the original As you said, after you hand over the world to the prince, you will stop, you just want to destroy everyone and everything."
"Yes!" Xie Hanyan was a little hysterical, "I just want to let the world be buried as a general! Why, why can the Li family be rich and powerful, but my husband's bones have to be exposed to the wind and rain?"
Jiang Lingfei said: "Give me the medicine to cure the plague."
"There is no cure." Xie Hanyan snorted coldly, "Why, Ji Yanran sent you back to get the medicine? He can't hold on any longer."
Jiang Lingfei unbuttoned his cuff buttons, revealing half of his bloody arm: "I went to the North Hall just now, and found a sick animal there. It should be used by ghost thorns to make medicine?"
Xie Hanyan's eyes changed, looking at the yellow pus on his wound, he said in astonishment: "How dare you!"
"Give me the antidote." Jiang Lingfei said, "Unless mother wants to watch me die."
Xie Hanyan raised his hand and slapped him heavily: "You bastard!"
Jiang Lingfei wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth, lowered his eyes and said, "I've been a jerk for more than 20 years, and I don't care if it's one more time or one less time, but the prince treats me as much as a mountain, if mother insists on letting him die, then I'll let you die first." Just kill me."
"Why do I have such a useless son like you!" Xie Hanyan was furious, "Go to the dark room, kneel down and reflect on yourself!"
Jiang Lingfei turned and left the hall.
There were still angry scolding behind him, and the harsh sound of the vase being smashed heavily.
…
"Xie Hanyan, the famous prime minister's daughter, is knowledgeable, intelligent, quick-witted, dignified, and gentle like water."
The dark room was dark, and Jiang Lingfei knelt straight on the cold ground, recalling what Yun Yifeng said when he was in Wangcheng. At that time, he was thinking that the gentle and watery beauty in the past had already changed her appearance. Maybe time can really change too many things, good and evil, black and white, right and wrong, he knows all the sufferings his mother suffered when she was young, and she has already told her thousands of times about those painful experiences. And most of the hatred in my heart towards the late emperor, the empress dowager, and the emperor arose because of this. To avenge his father sounds like a matter of course, but he thought that the "revenge" in his mother's mouth would end in nothing more than changing the throne and killing the person who deserved to be killed, but now it seems that everything is false .
The scene in front of him gradually blurred, and the two dancing white candles turned into two strange eyes, flickering erratically. Jiang Lingfei didn't know how long he had been kneeling, but he felt that his mind was getting more and more dizzy, and his unconscious legs could no longer support his body, and he limply leaned to one side.
The world is also covered with black mist.
Such a bloody dream that never sees the sun, Jiang Lingfei thought vaguely, it's better not to dream about the godmother, let her stay in the royal city, enjoy the flowers and scenery, leisurely and kindly.
…
Yun Yifeng brought a bowl of medicine: "I asked the military doctor to add two more Coptis chinensis to clear the fire for the prince."
Ji Yanran drank it all in one gulp, frowning: "It's really bitter."
Yun Yifeng observed him carefully for a while, and said: "I'm lying to you, the amount of Coptis chinensis has been reduced today, and I added two more hawthorns. The taste should be sweet and sour."
Ji Yanran: "..."
Ji Yanran had no choice but to admit: "I still can't taste the taste in my mouth. I'm afraid you'll be worried, so I want to hide it." He emphasized, "But I told the military doctor the truth, really."
"Don't lie again next time." Yun Yifeng sat opposite him, "There is good news."
Ji Yanran asked: "What?"
"The ground centipede has calculated the entrance to the underground palace. There are two places in total." Yun Yifeng opened the map, "These two places are different from the other forty-seven places. Sealing it is the 'gate of life' that is often mentioned in the book."
Ji Yanran said: "In other words, we can break into the underground palace at any time now?"
"Because these two doors cannot be sealed, the surrounding area is probably full of hidden weapons and poisonous miasma. If you don't pay attention, you will be pierced into a sieve." Yun Yifeng thought for a while, "Tell me, will Brother Jiang help you?" us?"
"It's hard to say." Ji Yanran shook her head, "But I still say what I said before, although Ling Fei's nature is not bad, we can't rely on him."
"Yeah." Yun Yifeng touched his face, "If I can't count on Big Brother Jiang, then I will count on the prince, you need to get better soon."
Ji Yanran has been in the army for more than ten years, and has never been in bed so solidly. Although there is a saying, there are many lovers before the bed for a long time, but it must be leisurely and carefree. Only by coaxing slowly can you appreciate the fun. Where can it be now—the plague is raging, the people are displaced, and the wild is in turmoil. Don't say it's your "passionate lover" who has to squeeze out time for meals.
Yun Yifeng sighed: "Since I met the prince, it seems that I haven't lived a peaceful life."
His Royal Highness Xiao Wang thought about it carefully, and it was true.
So he coaxed him: "I will make it up for you in the future, and get a big pearl, emerald, red and sapphire bed in Xiao Wang's mansion, the kind covered with brocade."
Standing outside the door, Li Jun thought to herself, ah, it really still has the same aesthetics as before.
It seemed that the seventh brother was fine, at least he was not dizzy from the burn.
But in the underground palace, Jiang Lingfei's head was really burnt out. He woke up from the continuous nightmare, only felt that the corners of his mouth were dry and cracked, his throat seemed to be pierced with a sharp knife when he swallowed, and his internal organs were curled up and convulsed. Breathing heavily, she raised her head, but she didn't see her mother, only Yuying was sitting by the bed.
"Why do you have to torture yourself like this?" Yuying sighed, and stretched out her hand to help him up, "If you want to save Ji Yanran, if you ask your sister a few more words, you may not be able to get the antidote. No matter how bad it is, you can steal it or threaten her. It doesn't matter if it's ghost stabbing, why did you choose this stupid method in the end?"
Jiang Lingfei only asked, "Where's mother?"
"My sister is dizzy from your anger, and she is lying on the bed." Yuying took out the white porcelain bottle from her sleeve, "The medicine in it can save two people."
Jiang Lingfei uncorked the bottle and poured half of it into his mouth: "Thank you, Aunt Ying."
"If you want to thank you, please thank my sister. Without her tacit consent, I would not have been able to get this antidote." Yuying wiped a thin sweat on her forehead for him, and she held her temper again, "You should know that my sister is very kind to the Li family, including Ji Yanran hated it to the bone, but she still granted your wish in the end, she loves you very much in her heart, but because of General Lu, she is a little... crazy."
"I know." Jiang Lingfei looked at the porcelain bottle in his hand: "How long will it take for this medicine to work?"
"Half an hour." Yuying said, "This antidote is precious and difficult to make. Even if other doctors get it, they can't make the same prescription. You can send it to save Ji Yanran, even if you pay off the Xiao Wangfu. Kindness, don't be so impulsive again in the future, and let my sister down."
Jiang Lingfei gripped the porcelain bottle tightly, and answered absently.
…
Li Jun was drinking tea at the table, when someone knocked on the head suddenly, she jumped up in shock.
Jiang Lingfei covered his mouth: "It's me."
After seeing who it was, Li Jun was immediately elated, and asked him with difficulty through his fingers, do you want to understand
Jiang Lingfei let go of his hand: "I'm here to deliver something to the prince. This is the antidote and a letter. You can pass it on to Master Yunmen for me. As for whether there are more hostages in the underground palace, I haven't checked yet."
Li Jun happily said: "Okay!"
She was also concerned: "Why doesn't your complexion look good? Next door is Master Yunmen's stewed tonic soup. Just wait, I'll get you a bowl right away!"
Jiang Lingfei: "..."