The snow fell silently, and the ground was covered with a thin layer of snow particles. The officials who came to mourning passed Shen Jue one after another, and the thick soap boots creaked on the snow. The hall of Mr. Dai's house is too small, and the officials condoling can only put a stick of incense in front of the spirit, and then hurried out. But no one dared to stay in the courtyard in front of the hall, because Shen Jue knelt there.
Bai Xueluo covered his head and shoulders, as if his temples were all white overnight. There seemed to be an ice-cold tide surging silently around him, completely isolating him from others, no one dared to approach, and even forgot to say "the factory's condolences". They had never seen Shen Jue like this before, he seemed to have always been aloof, and with a swipe of his eyes, he saw swords, lights, swords, and flames. But at this moment, everyone suddenly discovered that he was only a young man in his twenties, the same age as his own children.
Now that his husband is dead, in this world, finally, no one will call him kindly and sternly: "Jing Lan".
Xia Houlin took Fanzi to search around, and he searched all the cellars and **** in the capital. He even copied two casinos and brothels with unknown backgrounds, and he almost turned over the floor tiles of the capital one by one. Tang Shiqi was not found, and there was no assassin. The man who was sometimes cowardly and sometimes a little wretched just disappeared from the world, and there was not even a piece of clothing left. Xia Houlin felt uneasy in his heart, but there was nothing he could do.
Shen Jue was still kneeling at Mr. Dai's house, but he couldn't accompany him. Xia Houlin felt like charcoal was burning in his chest, roasting his heart.
The snow was still falling, and the fans sent out came back one by one, telling him that they had found nothing. It was snowing heavily today, and there were not many people on the street. The dustpan rolled on the ground, and the empty stalls were full of miscellaneous things. Some beggars were rummaging, hoping to find something to eat. Xia Houlin suddenly felt at a loss, Jialan seemed to be an ethereal phantom, he seemed to be having a dream without a reason, and Jialan's killing only happened in a dream, otherwise why would the assassin evaporate with the moonlight at dawn, disappeared without a trace.
Xia Houlin ran for a long time, from morning to night. The sky was getting dark, and the setting sun rose from behind the distant mountains, a thin piece of red, like window paper cut by poor people with faded color, pasted at the end of the sky, and the rain can fall down. There are fewer people on the street, the weather is cold, the business of the vendors and pawns is bleak, and thin shadows fall on the snow, one by one, all of them look lonely.
"Get rich, get rich!" A man rushed out from the slash, with hair disheveled, wearing only a single shirt in the cold weather, with a slightly open neckline, revealing a pale chest.
Xia Houlin stopped, and the fans stopped behind him and looked at the man silently.
An old woman came out of the alley with a cane and pulled the man with difficulty, "My son, my son, go home with your mother!"
"A lot of gold, a lot of gold, I want to pick up gold! Hahaha, it's all mine, it's all mine, I've made a fortune!" The man went crazy and took the snow on the ground into his arms, filling the front of his shirt with snow particles. He didn't even feel cold.
"Son, go home with your mother! God, how could this be!" The old woman grabbed the man's hand and burst into tears.
You Fanzi said in a low voice, "It's the fruit of bliss. That guy took the fruit of bliss and was stunned."
Xia Houlin frowned slightly. Although the goods entering Beijing are vigorously checked, there will still be fish that slip through the net. In order to bring the fruit of bliss into the city, some traders from other places did not hesitate to cut a slit on their body and sew the pills into the wound. Others simply hide the medicine in the pickled place and bring it into the city. If someone hadn't injured their bodies and died at home because of this, and an autopsy found clues, they wouldn't know there was such a way.
Xia Houlin sighed and said, "Someone, take him back to his house, tie him up, and don't let him run around again."
"Yes."
Shen Jue was still kneeling.
The setting sun covered his body, the snow on his body melted one after another, and then new snow fell, and the cold slowly infiltrated his body. turned into cold stone. The condolences finally disappeared, and no new people came. In the huge hall and courtyard, only him and the gentleman lying in the black coffin were left.
His thoughts suddenly became very light, and scene after scene of childhood events flashed in his mind. One moment, Mr. Dai was burning a charcoal stove while teaching him and Xia Houlin in Wangqing Pavilion, and then Xia Houlin skipped class and he was alone. Boldly listened to Mr. Dai tell the ghost story about the human face growing on his arm.
Everything seemed to have happened in a previous life. He silently looked at the snow in front of him. In the distance, across the faint setting sun, he saw the skinny old man shaking his head, and the young man below writing a pen and pondering.
"Senior Brother Jinglan."
He raised his head, and Mr. Dai's boy stood in front of him at some point. This child is only fifteen or sixteen years old, and his face is still wet with tears. It may be the first time that he has encountered such grief. He has not had time to react and was caught off guard. Grow up without hesitation.
He was holding several volumes in his hands, all of which were tightly wrapped in oiled paper. He knelt down in front of Shen Jue and handed the scroll to Shen Jue.
"This is Mr.'s posthumous manuscript, and it is the work of Mr.'s life. Mr. has not had time to cut it and put it to the press. I think he is definitely willing to hand them over to you, and you can complete them."
Shen Jue lowered his head and looked at the stack of manuscripts in his hands.
He said bitterly, "I'm not worthy of these manuscripts, leave it to someone else."
"Senior brother," the boy put the scroll in Shen Jue's hand, sniffed, and said, "There is something you don't know, but in fact, knowing that you are still alive, sir, is very happy. You know, when you were in Luling, sir My body is already not very good. I have been sick for ten days and a half months. After arriving in the capital, I always woke up in the middle of the night and coughed because of the fatigue of the boat and car, and I could only eat a little bit. While alive, my husband can eat more than half a bowl of food, and sometimes he often strolls to the bookstore to find a few books to read. Occasionally, when I hear the neighbors talking about you, my husband can’t walk.”
Shen Jue lowered her head and slowly clenched the scroll.
"Last time at the tribunal meeting, the gentleman suddenly fainted. Later, the imperial doctor came out. I heard them say that although the gentleman is weak, he has not yet fainted. You said that you want to see the gentleman. I went in and asked for instructions. When I entered, just in time I saw him flipping through the poems you wrote when you were a child." The boy looked at Shen Jue deeply, "Senior brother, sir, he is pretending to be dizzy, he doesn't want to judge you or send you to death. Sir is a public servant, and he is worthy of any People. But he also has selfishness, and this selfishness is for you."
The boy got up from the ground and gave Shen Jue a long bow, "The last manuscript is handed over to Senior Brother, sir, the last wish has been made. Senior Brother, cherish it."
The grief in his heart surged up like a tidal wave, completely submerging him, as if it were a disaster. His tears fell down drop by drop, dripping on the scroll between his elbows, printing mottled ideas. He bent down deeply, his forehead slammed on the icy snow, the whimper overflowed his throat, and gradually he couldn't suppress it. Like a helpless child, he burst into tears.
Pulling him up with both hands, his head was pressed into a warm embrace, and he heard Xiahou's low voice, "Sorry for being late, young master."
Xia Houlin's warm breath enveloped him, the snowflakes from his temples were brushed off, and his body felt warm again. As if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, he firmly grasped Xia Houlin's shirt collar, tears seeping into Xia Houlin's collar. Xia Houlin patted his back lightly, didn't say anything, just held him like this.
Shen Jue slowly calmed down, and Xia Houlin took him home. He knelt down in the snow for too long, and was so grief-stricken that when he returned to the house, he started a fire. Shen Wenxing said that he hadn't entered the pellets for a day, and Xia Houlin forcibly fed him porridge and medicine, and took care of him until midnight. The people below were so tired that they turned their backs on their horses, and Xia Houlin let them go to rest, leaving only Shen Wenxing and two little eunuchs to guard outside.
There was only one lamp lit in the room, and the faint candlelight illuminated a small square of the world. Shen Jue's step-by-step bed was in that bright place, and he could faintly see a lonely shadow inside the tent. Xia Houlin lifted the tent, sat against the bedpost, and probed his forehead, it was no longer hot, and then reached into the quilt and touched his limbs, but it was no longer hot, but the clothes were sweaty and had to be changed. Yes, lest you catch a cold again.
Xia Houlin found clean bedclothes, got into the bed, and closed the tent to prevent the cold wind from entering. He looked at Shen Jue carefully, he still closed his eyes, frowning unconsciously between his brows, he used to be so good-looking, but his face was so pale, he looked like a man with paper. Pulling him out of the bed and letting him sit against himself, Xia Houlin helped him take off his clothes and put on clean ones.
The feng shui in the palace is good, and he is a natural beauty. The silk material and his skin, I don't know which is more delicate. However, Xiahou Lin didn't have the heart to be distracted, so he quickly helped him pack up, wrapped the man in the bed, and was tucked by the horn behind his neck.
However, Shen Jue was woken up by the toss, and stared at the carvings on the top of the bed for a long while, waiting for Xia Houlin to throw the dirty clothes out and come back. Xia Houlin took off his clothes and just wanted to sleep on the couch when he heard Shen Jue say, "Come here."
Xia Houlin went into the tent, sat cross-legged on the bed, and reached out to touch his forehead, "What's the matter? Not feeling well?"
Shen Jue didn't speak, just sat up wrapped in the quilt, opened one hand, and asked Xia Houlin to sit in as well.
Xia Houlin was wrapped in the duvet with him, and the two of them sat side by side against the bed board.
"Can't you fall asleep?" Xia Houlin turned his head to look at him, under the dim light, his eyelashes were long, drooping and covering his eyes, with an indescribable haze. "Then let's talk, what do you want to talk about?" Xia Houlin asked.
Shen Jue was silent for a while before speaking, her voice was hoarse because of her illness, and she listened in a low voice, "A-Lin, I'm actually different from you."
Xia Houlin didn't understand what he wanted to say, and said, "Of course we are different. You are Shen Jue and I am Xia Houlin, how can we be the same?"
Shen Jue glanced at him, looked down at his hand, and said, "I'm a bad person, since I was a child, both you and my husband misunderstood me. The other day when Wang Qingge was apprentice, my husband asked me why I was studying, and I answered.' I have no regrets, no regrets, no complaints. These are all lies, and they are just beautiful words to lie. What I really want is to slander all the people in the Xie family who slandered me and bullied me. Stepping on under my feet, I want to see them weep bitterly and regret the beginning. I want me to thank Jinglan for being high above me and never have to look at anyone's face again."
"I know," Xia Houlin said. "Didn't I want to help you step on them at that time? In the end, they were killed by Jialan before they could step on them."
"But sir, he doesn't know, he always thought I was a beautiful and talented person, but he didn't know that it was my own choice to get to this point." Shen Jue said hoarsely, "Knock on the drum and knock on the sky, and impeach Weide. Several serious sins, rushing to the academy to cheer up the clear discussion, and fight against the entire eunuch with his own body, he is for the people of the world, for the injustice of the Xie family, for Xie Jinglan, for such a despicable and filthy person, me."
"Idiot. Why are you talking about yourself like that? You are despicable and filthy, then I will bring disaster to the country and the people." Xiahou Rin pulled his sleeve and said, "Master, I don't care about that, you are the best in my heart anyway."
"But what if," Shen Jue lowered her eyes, "I lied to you too?"
Xia Houlin was stunned, "What did you deceive me?"
Shen Jue's heart shrank slightly, her breathing a little suffocated. He clenched his fist, and finally said, "A-Lian, I lied to you about three things."
"Which three?" Xia Houlin asked him.
"First, the first night you were injured in the palace and saved by me, I saw your mother, but I didn't tell you."
"Didn't you tell me about this?" Xia Houlin touched his shoulder, "I don't blame you."
"Second, I told you back then that I was sold into the palace by an old beggar, no, I entered the palace myself." Shen Jue said.
Xia Houlin didn't say anything, but asked, "What about the third item?"
Shen Jue looked at him fixedly, with a deep shadow in the candlelight. He paused and said word by word, "I'm not a eunuch."