When Xia Xun woke up the next day, Qi Yan was no longer in the mansion.
The maid brought breakfast and said that he would go to court early in the morning.
Xia Xun thought about the note and asked her, "Can I leave the house?"
The little girl smiled gracefully:
"My lord, you feel bored? Before this servant entered the mansion, I learned some skills of plucking strings and playing music. If you don't mind, how about this servant playing the piano to relieve your boredom?"
Seeing Xia Xun's lack of interest, she said:
"My lord said that you used to like to make some small wooden pieces, and all the tools and materials have already been ordered to be prepared, and everything is complete, and the servants will bring it for you—"
"No need." Xia Xun interrupted her: "I don't need anything, I like quietness, please keep the servants away from me, I think they are noisy."
She was ordered to leave.
Not long after, the sound of people outside the house disappeared, and the maid asked all the servants to retreat outside the courtyard, and stood in the courtyard by herself, keeping a close distance from Xia Xun.
In this way, if Xia Xun had any orders, she could hear them right away.
Qi Yan was deep in thought, and his maid was not a fool.
Xia Xun took a cold look and closed the door.
This is enough.
Xia Xun was very familiar with the structure of the main house. There was a small door at the back of the house. He walked over with ease and quietly pushed the door open.
Outside the door is a corridor. There were several servants cutting flowers and weeds near the corridor, but they were all called away by the maid just now.
Bypassing the corridor, there is a flourishing flower field, and at the end of the flower field is the wall to the east of Qi Mansion.
This place is adjacent to the courtyard wall to the west of Xia's house, and a part of the wall is shorter than other places.
In the past, Xia Xun often climbed over the wall to find Qi Yan.
At that time, the Qi Mansion was dilapidated, and there were ruins everywhere.
At that time, Xia Xun's father, Xia Hongxi, was highly valued in the court, and the Xia mansion was extravagant and luxurious, which could be called a pearl palace with carved beams and painted buildings.
Years have passed, the Qi Mansion has regained its former glory, and the Xia family...
Xia Hongxi passed away many years ago. If he had not been beheaded to show the public, but had a grave, the tree on his grave would have grown to a height of ten feet.
The Xia family was sealed off, no one lived in it, and it was in disrepair for a long time. Xia Xun knew what a miserable scene it would be without even looking.
He looked back at the Qi Mansion, not understanding why Qi Yan was still living here.
Except for the renovation of the damaged parts, the layout and decoration of this courtyard has not changed in any way.
That section of the low wall remained as it was, with no trace of repairs, and even the crabapple trees beside the wall were in their original places.
Xia Xun stepped on the tree, grabbed the top of the fence, jumped up, and easily fell out.
Between the walls of the two houses is a section of dry canal, which is usually dry, and only when it rains, there will be water flowing through it. Both ends of the dry canal are blocked by stone monuments, and ordinary people can't easily find it. There is also a channel that can be used for passage.
If Xia Xun hadn't been playful and didn't like reading when he was young, he wouldn't have found this place by chance.
He walked through the dry ditch, turned over the stone tablet, and came to the main road.
He is going to find He Cong.
He Cong's father was his father's subordinate, and the two had studied together in college when they were young.
After Xia Xun and his elder brother escaped from feigning death in Lingnan, only He Cong knew they were still alive.
When the news of Xia Xun's death reached the capital, He Cong did not hesitate to sever ties with his parents, and traveled all the way to Douzhou to save Xia Xun's body.
According to the law, exiled prisoners are only allowed to expose their corpses in the wilderness after death, not even a small grave.
He traveled across mountains and rivers, full of despair and grief, thinking that he would see Xia Xun's scattered bones, but he never thought that Xia Xun would survive by changing his name and surname.
He kept the secret and returned to the capital, and thereafter often helped the two brothers.
Life in exile was difficult, especially in the first few years, without his help, the two of them would not have survived.
He Cong got married three years ago, and now he has two children.
He didn't know that Xia Xun was brought back to the capital by Qi Yan, but Xia Xun was worried that his elder brother might ask He Cong for help in order to help him escape.
He Cong has a fiery personality and impulsive temper, and often makes surprising moves.
And he once mentioned in a letter that his son loves pagoda leaves parfait very much, and he often buys it.
Xia Xun suspected that he might have stuffed the note in the pastry.
The person who wrote the note asked him to stay in Guangning Building, but he didn't dare to go directly. There were so many people there, maybe there were people who remembered his appearance and would recognize him.
After thinking about it for a while, he decided to go to the pastry shop and wait for the rabbit.
There is only one shop selling parfait in the capital, hidden in an alley.
It was the end of summer and the weather was still hot. Many idlers sat under the trees at the entrance of the alley to enjoy the shade. Xia Xun found a place with his back to the pedestrians and hid in the shadow of the big tree.
He Cong was not good at being an official, so he was given a idle job under the shadow of his parents. On weekdays, he only needs to go to order a Mao, and he can return to the mansion before noon. This alley is the only way for him to go home.
Xia Xun looked at the sun, and when he was about to pass by, he opened his eyes wide and carefully identified every passing carriage.
In less than a stick of incense, the carriage with the He family brand passed slowly and stopped at the door of the pastry shop.
He Cong got out of the car and walked in.
Xia Xun followed closely behind and followed.
As soon as the shopkeeper saw He Cong, he quickly put the freshly baked parfait into the food box without him saying a word, and handed it to him respectfully.
Xia Xun called him softly behind him: "Master He."
He Cong turned his head, his face was expressionless at first, but after a few blinks, he recognized Xia Xun.
He gasped, his face paled in shock, his eyes widened, and he took a step back unconsciously.
"why you?!"
Xia Xun didn't speak.
The shopkeeper followed his reputation, and He Cong's servant was also full of doubts.
He Cong quickly calmed down.
"—It turned out to be Master Dong, what a coincidence!" He pretended to be kind, and grabbed Xia Xun's arm: "Since you and I met here by chance, why not Master Dong come to my house and have a drink with me?"
"Dong" is the surname Xia Xun changed when he adopted a pseudonym.
His eldest brother Xia Wen said that the climate in south of the Five Ridges is bitter and hot, and if you have to be named Xia, wouldn't it be hotter
Simply surnamed Dong.
Xia Xun followed the example of kindness, instead she took He Cong's arm and squeezed it hard.
"You can't ask for more than you want."
He Cong hurriedly dragged him into the car, and even forgot to take the snacks, so the servant paid for him and accepted them.
The wheels rolled forward, Xia Xun wanted to speak in the carriage, but was stopped by He Cong several times.
He waved his hand to signal Xia Xun to keep quiet.
Xia Xun said nothing.
He Cong didn't talk to him, but kept staring at him, with the word "worried" written in his eyes.
Xia Xun smiled and shook her head, telling him not to worry.
When the carriage arrived at He's mansion, He Cong immediately took him into the study room, screened all the servants away, and ordered no one to approach easily.
When there were only the two of them left in the room, He Cong's suppressed emotions erupted instantly.
Standing in front of Xia Xun, he raised his eyebrows and asked:
"Why did you come to the capital?? Do you know how dangerous it is here?! In case someone recognizes you, do you think you have a chance to fake death again!?"
Xia Xun was stunned.
It seems that He Cong didn't know that other people were in the capital, so the note was not written by him.
If not him, who would it be
Xia Xun was speechless for a moment.
He Cong's nose was about to spurt fire.
"I don't care what you are here for, you have to leave today! You hide in my house first, wait until the night falls, and when the gatekeepers can't see clearly, I will rush you out of the city before the closed city gate!"
As soon as Xia Xun opened his mouth, he immediately blocked it back.
"No objection allowed! That's it!"
Xia Xun sighed and said helplessly:
"I didn't come here by myself, and I can't leave even if I want to."
"I don't understand! What do you mean?"
Xia Xun lowered her eyes and said hesitantly:
"It was... Qi Yan brought me back."
He Cong's anger turned into panic in an instant, his mouth was opened wide, his eyeballs could fall out, and he spoke incoherently.
"Did he find you? He knew you were alive?? How did he know?!"
Xia Xun said slowly:
"A month ago, I was sweeping my own grave. When I met him at the grave, he recognized me immediately. He asked me to go back to the capital with him. I refused, so he threatened to expose my elder brother's true identity. Can I What should I do? I have to come back."
He Cong slumped on the chair:
"It's over now... what can I do...!"
Before Xia Xun could catch his breath, he stood up abruptly.
"Then let's not waste time! I'll see you off right now! Ride on my fastest horse, and you can gallop hundreds of miles at a stretch! By the time he finds out, you'll be gone!"
Xia Xun refused:
"It's easy for me to leave. What about my brother? He still has his wife and children, and they can't escape."
He Cong looked at him worriedly, his whole face wrinkled together:
"What on earth did he want to do by arresting you?! Your parents and second brother are dead, and you almost died in Douzhou yourself! What else does he want?? Could it be that he still harbors resentment towards the Xia family? He still refuses to let it go!" you?!"
Xia Xun told him to calm down.
"I don't know, I took the risk to find you today because I want to ask..."
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. It was Mrs. He Cong's maid, saying that Mrs. He Cong came to ask when He Cong was free? If you have nothing to do, you might as well come to the inner courtyard to play with the young master and miss for a while, they are clamoring to see daddy.
Xia Xun swallowed the words back.
He originally told the whole story about the note and asked He Cong if he knew who would have written it.
But he really didn't want to involve him in his grievances with Qi Yan. He Cong has a family, so it's safest to stay out of it.
He Cong asked the maid to send a message, please be safe and calm, and he will be there soon.
After the people outside left, he picked up the conversation again: "What did you want to say just now?"
Xia Xun turned to ask: "What is Qi Yan's position in the court now?"
He Cong said:
"As I wrote in my letter, three months ago, he was promoted to be the Minister of Zhongshu."
Xia Xun asked again: "Then do you know why he suddenly went to Lingnan?"
After Xia Xun and his elder brother faked their deaths one after another, He Cong erected their tombs in Douzhou.
The matter was soon known by the emperor.
Perhaps because they thought that the two of them were not unforgivable, the emperor did not order them to be eradicated, but acquiesced.
Except for the two of them, the Xia family was all dead, so naturally no one visited their graves.
In the first few years, weeds regenerated in the cemetery, and when the limelight gradually passed, Xia Xun often went to take care of it.
In seven years, Qi Yan did not come once.
Perhaps he was so resentful towards Xia Xun that even after he died, he refused to visit his grave.
He Cong told Xia Xun that there was no special reason for Qi Yan to go to Lingnan, but to perform official duties.
It turns out... He didn't go looking for him on purpose.
Xia Xun had mixed feelings, and couldn't tell what kind of emotion it was. She was a little relieved, and more, it was a disappointment that he himself didn't want to admit.
He had imagined countless times how Qi Yan would feel when he heard the news of his death.
Will he be sad, will he regret it
Even if Qi Yan regretted his death for a moment, Xia Xun could still be proud for the rest of his life.
Look, you killed me out of revenge, and it's still you who is heartbroken.
Now that I think about it, he was naive.
Qi Yan has a hard-hearted heart, and he will never be so indecisive as him.
There was another urgent knock on the door.
He Cong shouted outside the house:
"I'll go back to the inner courtyard later, please don't worry Madam!"
It wasn't the maid who came outside, but the guard guarding the gate of the mansion. He hurriedly replied:
"Master Qi Yan is here! His carriage has already parked outside the door!"