Xia Houlin lived the life of a young master who had eaten and slept, and slept and ate.
The gates of the gates are closed, and it is a small world, not to mention that Xia Houlin is a wounded person, but only to say that Xie Jinglan is in charge, and no one dares to care how Xia Houlin acts. Therefore, during the days of recuperation, he was even more a master than the master.
Xie Jinglan didn't really care that someone wanted to harm the Xie family. He asked Lianxiang to tell the housekeeper about it and reminded him to be careful about the door, so he closed the door to study. He expected that the housekeeper should handle this matter without their children worrying about it.
After half a month, the wound was almost scabbed, Xia Houlin was lying on the bed all day, and occasionally ran into Xie Jinglan's house to harass him to study. Xie Jinglan practiced quietness in the midst of turbulence in Chaiyuelou, and I stayed still in the east, west, south and north winds, and turned a deaf ear to Xia Houlin's noise.
Occasionally, Xie Jinglan quietly inquired about Xia Houlin's past life, and replaced the thieves and thieves in his mouth with assassins, and they were inseparable.
Xia Houlin's life sounded novel, but it was boring after a long time.
The world thinks that Galan should be a wine pond and a meat forest. Assassins hug beautiful women, drink wine and sing all night, and long knives stained with human blood lie in the flowers. But in fact they lived in a big mountain with a very earthy name, and the boss of Garan was a monk who was dying of old age, guarding a dilapidated temple. The terrifying Garuda Luoman Dashan chased after her uneasy son, and even went to the next door to beg for rice.
All assassins are planted with a poison called "July and a half" and take the antidote once a year, or they will suffer torment and die on July and a half. Every year, when the mountain is covered by heavy snow, the assassins gather in the temple that is about to collapse, hold a cup of hot tea in their hands, listen to the abbot recite the scriptures that are longer than the old woman's foot-binding cloth, and then report their annual head count. , and then take the antidote for the next year from the rice bowl.
Every year, the faces you see change somewhat. Some people never return to the mountains, and their bodies rot in the mud like salted fish. No one mentions their names again, and other assassins will soon take their places. Xia Houlin always felt that every time the abbot wanted to recite the scriptures, he was saving them, although he fell asleep every time he heard half of it.
His mother was often absent, and he jumped up and down in the mountains and forests like a wild monkey. Although he fiddled with a lot of wild things, such as bird shit bombs, tribulus terrestris, etc., but one was not careful and lived in the mountains. The other assassins were caught and beaten. Xia Houlin's skin as thick as the bottom of a pot was probably trained in this way.
Not many assassins stayed on the mountain, only the old bald donkey stayed there all year round. But that immortal never speaks properly, only chanting sutras. Sometimes I get so mischievous that I was caught by Uncle Duan under the Buddha statue in the temple and listened to him chanting sutras.
More often, Xia Houlin was lying in the woods alone in a daze. He has dug out every bird's nest on the trees in the mountains, and he has waded through every creek. The creatures in the mountains have some spirituality. Knowing how terrifying this furry child is, the places where he walks are basically extinct.
So the mountains were stacked on top of each other, the pines rolled endlessly, the assassin's hut was empty, and Xiahou sat under the steps of Jialan listening to the endless murmur of the old bald donkey, making him sleepy. He had to reminisce the stories Garuda told him over and over again, revisiting the mountains and forests that he could walk with his eyes closed again and again, day after day.
Speaking of which, Xie Jinglan was his first friend.
"In the future, besides inheriting their craftsmanship, will you have no other way to go on the rivers and lakes?" Xie Jinglan asked.
"We people are born with only two paths to walk. Either follow the seniors to the rivers and lakes, or stay in the mountains for the rest of our lives and die in the mountains and forests." Xia Houlin picked up the charcoal fire in the charcoal basin and said, "I don't want to be trapped in the charcoal pot all my life. In the mountains, so I had to follow the adults to learn the craftsmanship."
"That old monk is so powerful? Can he trap so many of you?"
Xia Houlin didn't want to spend his words explaining the matter of "July and a half", he just sighed: "Even my mother can't beat him."
The sun shines through the carved window, hitting half of Xia Houlin's body, as if many patterns were carved on his body, bright and dark, overlapping. Half of his face was hidden in the shadows, his eyes were downcast, and his right hand was stirring the charcoal fire.
Xie Jinglan thought that a heartless person like him also had moments of depression.
"Actually, I envy you, Young Master Jinglan." Xia Houlin said softly, "Didn't you ask me why I wanted to help you?"
Xie Jinglan was startled.
"I'm destined to have no hope," Xia Houlin raised his head, with a little smile in his eyes, "But you have it, study and become an official, cultivate one's body and equate the family with the world.
He and Xie Jinglan took two completely different paths, one leading to the flowers and the other leading to the place without light.
Xie Jinglan felt as though a few small needles had been stabbed in his heart, and it was painful.
He opened his mouth: "I..."
Does he really want this
When I first read, I hoped that one day the Xie family would bow their heads and kneel and regret it. After studying with Dai Shengyan, I changed my original despicable thought.
It's just that from the beginning to the end, what he cared about most was not all the living beings in the streets and alleys.
They are too far, too many.
And his heart is very small, and the bottom of his heart is full of pits, only enough to hold a little thing.
"I will save you. When I take charge of the government in the future, it will be the moment when you will escape the sea of misery. No matter how powerful your boss is, he will not be able to compete with thousands of troops."
Xia Houlin stopped fiddling with the charcoal fire, scratched the top of his head embarrassedly, and said, "You said that as if I am a beautiful woman who has conquered the country, and you want to use the power of the whole country to rob relatives."
Xie Jinglan was still a little apprehensive. He was afraid that Xia Houlin would laugh at him for being over-the-top. After all, how could he be sure about the future? How could he be sure that he would be a great minister in that year and month
That is, he is sure, can Xia Houlin wait until that time
Unexpectedly, Xia Houlin was inexperienced after all, and he had too many talents and beauties in his mind. The boring stories and excerpts of generals and princesses left Xie Jinglan speechless.
Xie Jinglan glanced at Xia Houlin and said, "You're not bad looking, you deserve this name in vain."
The days go by so fast, and spring is here in a blink of an eye. Xia Houlin stepped on Xie Jinglan's obscene trousers in the basin. He tied his trouser legs and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his slender arms and legs. After washing for a while, his hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his cheeks. The twelve-year-old boy is strong and strong, with a kind of sunshine-like vigor.
He didn't dare to step on it for too long. After all, if Xie Jinglan knew that he was doing laundry like this, he would be so angry that he would die and come back to life. Since Xie Jinglan "urinated" his pants at night, he was unwilling to hand over his clothes to Aunt Lan and Lian Xiang for washing. Anyway, Xia Houlin knew about this, and he didn't want to do laundry by himself, so he simply threw the clothes to Xia Houlin.
After finally washing the clothes, Xia Houlin hung the clothes on the clothesline, decorated himself, and went to the library to pick up Xie Jinglan. Dai Shengyan went to Mochou Lake in the past few days, and Xie Jinglan went to the library to read books by himself. There was a temple fair this evening, and Xia Hou slapped Xie Jinglan for a long time before he promised to sneak out with him to watch the lanterns at night.
Xie Jinglan buried his head on the square table of pear flowers, and there was a small mountain of books in front of him. He was wearing a lotus-white jacket, which made him look more like a white jade, but his body was thinner, showing a sickness, like a piece of paper. The people who are stuck can float away without a trace when the wind blows.
Xia Houlin called out "Young Master", Xie Jinglan raised his head and gave him a fluttering glance. He was too good-looking, and a casual glance was a bit captivating. Xia Houlin stuck out his tongue in his heart and changed his name: Miss Jinglan.
Xia Houlin helped him organize the bookcase, put it on the bookshelf, and dressed him up as the servant he brought. This is not the first time they have done this. Xiahou Rin is born with a devilish nature. Anyone who touches him will be spoiled by him. He will never return on the crooked road, and even Lianxiang will be led out of the house by him. Visited once. It's just that Lianxiang went out of the house and wandered around in the powder shop. After that, Xia Houlin vowed not to take her out again.
"Only play for half an hour." Xie Jinglan urged.
Xia Houlin nodded vigorously: "It's done!"
The two walked along the trail, climbed two walls in a row, and finally left the house. When he was about to leave the alley, he suddenly heard a yin and yang voice behind him: "Third Young Master, where are you going?"
The two of them were stunned for a moment, their bodies were already half cold, and they turned their heads slowly. It was Madam Liu, with a full face and a pair of squinted eyes, emitting a cold light.
"But I caught you, and you are too blatant. If it wasn't for the old slave staring at you, Madam wouldn't know that you were so bold."
Xia Houlin secretly regretted not being on guard against that spy, Madam Liu. Usually Xie Jinglan stayed in the library very late. The library was very remote and no one went there. They wanted to pretend that they were still studying in the library. People have been going to see the lanterns for a long time, but they were still discovered by Mama Liu.
Xia Houlin took a step forward and said, "It was I who pushed the young master to slip out of the house. If you want to punish me, punish me!"
"Xia Houlin, you don't have the right to speak here!" Xie Jinglan grabbed Xia Houlin's wrist and said, "Mother, don't say anything more, Madam will punish you if you want."
Madam Liu did not let go of a single one, and escorted the two to the main room together. On the moon, the lanterns were all lit. The dim light could not suppress the gloomy shadows of the beams and wooden pillars. Xiao Shi and Xie Bingfeng sat on the top, and the shadows covered Xie Bingfeng's face, making him look unpredictable.
Xie Jinglan knelt on the ground with her robe up, and kowtowed straightly, "Jinglan came to apologize to my father."
Xie Bingfeng hated the iron and said: "My father thought you were a good-natured person who could read with peace of mind, but I didn't expect to be so nonsense. Say, where are you going crazy?"
"I planned to go to the temple fair." Xie Jinglan lowered her eyebrows and pleasing her eyes, and her face was full of gentleness and respect, "Jinglan knew that he was wrong, please punish him heavily, and Jinglan will not dare to do it again."
Seeing that he took the initiative to admit his mistake, Xie Bingfeng had a good attitude, half of his anger disappeared, and said, "Forget it, you are still young, and it is inevitable to have fun. Go back and study the book well, and you will not care about being a father."
Xie Jinglan kowtowed and was about to step back, but Mrs Xiao said: "Wait, sir, we Jinglan have always been diligent and eager to learn, you don't know that you are not at home all the year round, but I understand it the most clearly, this child With hard work, I was only about to hang the beam and pierce the stock, I have never heard of sneaking out of the house to visit a temple fair, I think someone scolded us and spoiled us."
Xie Bingfeng shifted his gaze to Xia Houlin, and said with a hint of anger, "Xiahoulin, what do you say?"
Xia Houlin was about to speak, but Xie Jinglan answered first: "Father, Xia Houlin did mention about the temple fair a few days ago, but it was the son who decided to go to see it. The son lives in a secluded place, and even during the festival, the wife takes pity on the son. I was weak and let me rest at home. I never took me out, so I was looking forward to it in my heart, but I was too embarrassed to say it. Today, I thought about it for a while, so I sneaked out with Xia Houlin. I knew it was wrong, father If you want to be punished, my son doesn't dare to disobey."
Xie Bingfeng glanced at Mrs. Xiao, coughed, and said, "Your mother is also kind, if you want to follow, just say it, you can't be restrained."
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Xiao was beaten back, her teeth were itching with anger, and she winked at Mama Liu.
Madam Liu emerged from behind and said mysteriously, "Master, there is something else you don't know."
Xie Bingfeng looked unhappy at her demeanor and said, "If you have something to say, tell me quickly, the family doesn't want to play tricks."
Madam Liu hurriedly said: "This Xiahou Rin not only urged the young master to go to the temple fair, but also encouraged the young master to go to Wanxiang Lou to listen to the music. I don't know how much money was given. The young master was originally a man of control, but this Xiahou Rin gave every Every month's money has been spent. It's just that the day before yesterday, I helped the young master to clean up the bed, and I found out..."
Xie Bingfeng suppressed his anger and said, "What did you find?"
Madam Liu made a timid appearance, and said, "I found a sweat towel with 'Jun Xin' and 'Rock' embroidered on it. Hey, this old slave has never read a book, and I don't know how it was written. WTF."
"Isn't it 'the heart of the king is like a rock, and the heart of a concubine is like a cattail'?" Mrs. Xiao covered her scarlet lips, and her eyes revealed a taste of schadenfreude, "Master, look at this Xia Houlin, it's really a scourge. It's just that you don't learn it well. It also took the shock to go the wrong way."
"You bullshit! I've never been to any Wanxiang Lou, it's all your bullshit!" Xiahou said angrily.
Madam Liu said: "Master doesn't believe it, go to Xia Houlin's house to search if there is any money left, and then search the young master's body. The young master with the sweat scarf is always on his body."
"Father Mingjian, we have never been to Wanxiang Tower. My house has always been cleaned up by Xia Houlin. When will Liu mama do it? This servant girl is so rude and hateful, my father can pass the people of Qiuwuyuan to ask questions. , and you know what I said is true."
Xie Jinglan was anxious, secretly saying that something was wrong. Mrs. Xiao was obviously here for Xia Houlin. Xia Houlin's monthly money has been used up to buy snacks, how can there be any left? Nine times out of ten, the sweat scarf was hidden by Mama Liu in some way, and they must not be searched.
Wanxiang House? There are countless Goulan tiles along the Qinhuai River in Jinling, why did they pinpoint the Wanxiang Tower
Xiao shi raised his voice: "Of course you have to ask, but you also have to search yourself. Come and search for me!"
The women on the side immediately stepped forward, grabbed Xie Jinglan, searched up and down for a while, and finally did not know which of the women reached into the mezzanine of the jacket and pulled out a big red sweat towel. Others looked outside, only to see that it was taken from Xie Jinglan's arms, not knowing that the sweat towel was hidden in the mezzanine.
When Xie Jinglan and Xia Houlin saw the sweat towel, their faces turned pale.
Xiao Shi pretended to be sad and said: "How old are you, you have been infected with such a rude habit, and you will get it in the future? Xiahou Lian, Mr. Dai appreciates you and helped you redeem yourself. Not to mention, the master also praised you and kept you in the third master. It's good for you to be a companion by your side, but you don't study well with the young master, what kind of heart do you feel at ease!"
Xiahou Lian was speechless and could only worry about his actions underneath.
Xie Bingfeng took the red sweater towel from Fang Fang, and the fragrance was so fragrant that he almost sneezed out of him. There were short poems embroidered on the corners, signed "Liu Xiangnu". .
Liu Xiangnu is the boudoir name of Liu Ji, the top brand of Wanxiang Building. She has a very high vision and can't go downstairs easily. Even he Xie Bingfeng has spent a lot of effort and studied countless beautiful words and beautiful sentences to win the hearts of the beauties. There was also such a sweaty towel lying there, embroidered with the same name, except that the verse was "May I be the star and the king like the moon, and the night and night will be bright."
Dare to love this Liu Ji has prepared a lot of such sweat towels, does each guest have one? Poetry is not the same
Xie Bingfeng didn't know whether he was angry that Xie Jinglan was lingering in Huajie Liuxiang at a young age, that Liu Ji didn't bring a sweat towel with a heavy hand, or that his father and son were unintentionally having sex with each other and picked up the table. He threw the teacup at Xie Jinglan, the tea poured all over his body, and the broken pieces of the teacup clacked all over the floor.
There was silence in the room, Xie Bingfeng threw the sweat towel on the ground and roared, "Little bastard, look at what you have done!? How can you have Liu Ji's sweat towel?"
Xie Jinglan was smashed by the teacup, but it seemed as if nothing happened, her face was still cold, and she couldn't see any emotion. He picked up the sweat towel, looked left and right, then threw it on the ground and said, "This sweat towel is not mine."
Xia Houlin also leaned up to take a look, and when he saw Liu Xiangnu on the corner, his expression became a little complicated.
Mrs. Xiao pulled the bun on her head and sighed: "Master, when Xie's children gathered in Yanbo Lake, what a battle, but only this kid got Mr.'s blue eyes. You also said that our Xie family finally came up with a plan. Good seedling, point at him to honor his ancestors. He is too young to resist the temptation of others." As he spoke, he glanced at Xia Houlin and said, "I can't tell your friends and acquaintances about this, or I will be surprised. How can you laugh off someone's big teeth?"
Xie Bingfeng has always regarded his face as more important than his life, and even if he is full of mildew, he has to cover it with gold and jade leather. Xie Jinglan's recognition from Dai Shengyan has given him a lot of face, those literati and elegant Kedu complimented "Tiger father has no dog son", "Scholarly family, Xie family family", the more he pretended to put on his face, the more he valued it.
Immediately, he was furious, pointed at Xie Jinglan's nose and scolded: "The thing that spoils the family style, this dirty thing has been found in your clothes, you dare to quibble! It's not yours or you are a good companion. Yes! I gave birth to you and raised you, just to make you do such deeds?"
Seeing Xie Jinglan's expressionless and unshakable appearance, Mrs. Xiao couldn't help but feel disgusted and said, "What kind of chicken lays what kind of egg. The egg laying is not serious, can this egg still be good?"
Xie Jinglan suddenly raised his head and stared at Xiao Shi.
Xie Bingfeng coughed and said with an embarrassed expression, "Okay, what are you doing with his mother?"
"Why, can't tell? You were drunk and obsessed at the beginning. Not only did you give birth to this scumbag with a wrong style, but you also dropped three grades. The bright future is gone." Xiao Shi sneered, "You did it yourself. Pay for your sins."
Xie Bingfeng said impatiently: "How many times have I said that, don't mention that bitch." The speaker remembered that Xie Jinglan was still here, and couldn't help but glance at him, seeing that he was hanging his head and didn't respond, with a faintly pale chin After his mother, the guilt that had arisen was suppressed, and the feeling of boredom grew like vines in his heart, and he closed his eyes and said, "That's it, Xie Jinglan, you go to the ancestral hall and kneel down to reflect, and then you will be grounded in the yard. , you are not allowed to go anywhere except to listen to Mr. Dai's school. As for Xiahou Rin, I can't afford to pay for your big Buddha, so when Mr. Dai comes back, let him take you away!"
Xia Houlin couldn't hold back after all, and said angrily: "The deceased is gone, you are so bitter and mean, you are in vain for the family!"
Xie Bingfeng said angrily: "Stinky boy, how can you speak!"
Xia Houlin spat in his heart, looked at Xie Jinglan, Xia Houlin knelt behind him, and could only see his back.
Xie Jinglan was bowing his head, his pale face hidden in the shadows, his expression unpredictable.
He heard the surrounding servants whispering, hissing like some worm crawling across the table with its thin wings. The candles on the table burst, and the light and shadow on the ground shook. Outside the wall, there was a watchman knocking on the clapper, and it sounded like a slap in the bottom of my heart, dull and painful.
He suddenly made a sound, although it was not loud, but everyone could hear it clearly.
"This sweat towel is not mine."
"Oh? What do you mean, it's Xia Houlin's?" Xiao Shi raised her red lips and smiled.
Xie Jinglan slowly raised his head and stared straight at Xiao Shi, those eyes were dark, and Xiao Shi seemed to see a demon hiding inside.
"If I guessed correctly, its owner should be your son, Xie Jingtao."