Yuzhu is old.
It is eight years old this year, and it is considered an old man among dogs.
It breathed loudly, panting and wheezing like a bellows for a fire.
It still remembered Xia Xun, and recognized him as soon as he saw him.
Xia Xun held it in her arms and stroked its long hair.
Yuzhu was shaking with excitement, and kept licking Xia Xun's face.
Xia Xun lost it and found it again. Before she could react, she murmured:
"...how did you find it...?"
Qi Hui said:
"After you... were gone, one day, Yuzhu suddenly appeared in the mansion. I took people around the wall and found a dog hole between our two mansions. It must have come from there."
Qi Yan took two steps forward without approaching, as if hiding the jade beads.
Xia Xun remembered that he was not afraid of dogs, at that time he would often come to Qi Yan with his jade beads in his arms, Qi Yan liked to tease it very much, would play with it, and often feed it meat.
Qi Hui explained:
"After your accident, Yuzhu didn't get too close to your lord. If your lord came within ten steps of it, it would bark and sometimes pounce on you and bite your clothes."
Xia Xun looked at the old dog in her arms.
Its black eyes were round and bright, and they were filled with a gentle light.
It is not a irascible puppy, even if it was bullied by others, it would only run into Xia Xun's arms and whine aggrievedly.
He'd never seen it show its teeth, not once, let alone bite.
Xia Xun put her hand on its belly, and the sound of chaotic heartbeats came from Xia Xun's hands.
And its rough breathing sound is also different from ordinary dogs.
Xia Xun asked Qi Hui what was going on.
Qi Hui told him:
"I've had someone come to see it. It's old, and its heart and lungs are very weak. It can't be cured. I can only let it live as comfortably as possible. Fortunately, it's in good spirits. It can eat and sleep every day. You Don't worry too much."
Xia Xun caressed its forehead, feeling mixed feelings for a moment, a thousand thoughts, don't know where to start.
He stood in the corridor without a word, and Qi Yan looked at him from a distance.
Qi Hui had retreated at some point, leaving only the two of them standing silently in the evening wind.
After a long time, Xia Xun put down the jade beads, stood up and said to Qi Yan:
"...Thank you very much."
Qi Yan couldn't see the expression:
"Take it to your room. It is your dog. It should be returned to its original owner and back to you."
Xia Xun looked down at Yuzhu, and Yuzhu looked up at him. It was still very excited and barked softly, as if urging him to take it home quickly.
After a long time, Xia Xun said softly:
"But this is not my home."
After that, Xia Xun spent a few days of quiet life, and what he did most every day was to sit by the lake in a daze while hugging Yuzhu.
Yuzhu was very naughty when she was young, and she always liked to run around.
At this age, most of the time is spent sleeping.
Xia Xun sat on a chair, looking at the lake, and Yuzhu nestled in his arms, dozing off from morning till night.
Except for eating, he hardly ever wakes up.
Xia Xun gradually realized that it might not have a long lifespan.
He doesn't feel sad.
When he learned that Yuzhu had lived well all these years, he was freed from regret.
He didn't have to fantasize about its death, chew on the pain of losing it, and confess in the middle of the night that he didn't treat it well.
Yuzhu lived in Qi Yan's house and spent seven years without worrying about food and clothing, much more comfortable than his master.
With it by her side, Xia Xun's tense emotions can be relaxed.
He no longer bothered to think about why Qi Yan brought him back.
He also didn't want to spend energy thinking about who wrote the note hidden in the pastry.
Qi Yan insisted on bringing him back, so he stayed.
If Qi Yan wanted to kill him, he would just close his eyes, and it was only a single blow.
On the second day of the reunion with Yuzhu, Zhigui also came back.
She knelt for a day and a night, her knees were damaged, and she walked with a limp.
When you see Xia Xun, you have to kneel down and kowtow to him.
Xia Xun told her not to do unnecessary things:
"You don't need to thank me, I didn't intend to help you."
Zhi Gui then closed his mouth, walked aside, took out the tea set, put a pot of water on the stove, and made tea for him.
While waiting for the water to boil, she turned her back several times and gently rubbed her knees.
Xia Xun didn't make a sound.
After a while, the water boiled, and he said to Zhi Gui:
"I have something to tell you to do."
She immediately stood up and lowered her hands respectfully.
Xia Xun said lightly:
"Go sit by the lake and count for me how many red carp are there in the lake."
I don't know the fat's return, so I obeyed.
In the lake, the fish swim to the east for a while, and the west for a while, all of them are red, and there is almost no difference.
At first Zhigui could tell the difference, but it didn't take long for his eyes to blur.
The movement of the school of fish disrupted her counting.
She blinked her sore eyelids, and was about to count from the beginning when she suddenly froze.
—She suddenly understood what Xia Xun meant.
He didn't really want her to count fish, he just saw that her knee was hurting, and he found a reason for her to rest instead of working.
Zhigui's nose was sour, and he couldn't help but look back.
Xia Xun hugged Yuzhu and sat on the rocking chair, already falling asleep.
A few days later, it was Qi Yan's holiday.
After lunch, he suddenly proposed to take Xia Xun to Wuyuan.
Wuyuan is a garden in the west of the city. It is built by the mountains. In addition to the usual flowers and plants, there are also many exquisite wooden crafts in the garden.
The owner of Wuyuan is related to the royal family, and he thinks highly of himself. He sealed off this piece of land that did not belong to him, and made it his own property. He did not allow others to enter at will, and only opened Wuyuan to dignitaries in Beijing nobleman.
Xia Xun didn't like reading since he was a child, but he loved carpentry and made small wooden gadgets. He was often scolded by his parents, saying that he was too young to play with things, and that it would be difficult for him to become a gentleman in the future.
In order not to make them angry, Xia Xun stopped doing it blatantly, and only dared to secretly take out his set of tools every time he came home from the academy and closed the doors and windows.
The other people in the academy knew that Xia Xun was not valued by Xia Hongxi, so they hardly talked to him, and Xia Xun didn't bother to pay attention to them.
Only He Cong does not dislike him, and often talks to him a few words.
It was from him that Xia Xun heard about Wuyuan.
He didn't dare to ask his parents or brothers to recommend him to go there. Once, Xia Xun took Shaobo and ran away by himself while taking advantage of the academy's rest.
The owner of Wuyuan would not let him in.
He said that he had heard the name of his father, Xia Hongxi, and his two older brothers, but he had never heard of him.
He also said that Xia Xun must be a liar. Knowing Xia Hongxi's reputation, he pretended to be his son and went to Wuyuan to bluff.
He reprimanded Xia Xun:
"I won't be fooled by you! Get out of here!"
Xia Xun was speechless, and she and Shao Bo came back in despair, seeing nothing.
Feeling wronged, he climbed over the wall that night to find Qi Yan.
Qi Yan patted his head, and found a basket of words to comfort him, he felt much better, and went back over the wall.
A few days later, Xia Xun went to look for him again, and Qi Yan took out a wooden duck from the cabinet like a magic trick.
Qi Hui found a basin and filled it with water.
Qi Yan put the duck on the water, and it swam by itself.
Shocked and delighted, Xia Xun asked him where he found such an exquisite toy.
He said, "I did it with Qi Hui."
He showed Xia Xun his hands.
There were fine scars between his fingertips, and Xia Xun could tell that these were marks from the grinding of wood chips and knives.
Qi Yan also said:
"At present, my status is low, and I can't take you to Wuyuan. When I have a chance in the future, I will definitely ask the owner of Wuyuan to invite you in person."
Xia Xun was so moved:
"What broken garden? I don't care about it! If you want me to say, this wooden duck is better than his garden full of treasures!"
Qi Yan looked at him and smiled.
Today, in the entire capital, there is no place that Master Zhongshu cannot go to, and Wuyuan is no exception.
There were very few attendants brought out by Qi Yan, apart from Qi Hui and Zhi Gui, there was only one groom.
Before leaving the mansion, he put a bamboo hat on Xia Xun's head. There was a layer of tulle hanging around the bamboo hat, which was a few inches shorter than the veiled hat worn by women.
Qi Yan instructed:
"You didn't go out of the house very much in the past. Not many people in Beijing have seen you, but you have a special status, so as not to be exposed, you should be careful."
Xia Xun looked outside the door, the carriage was only a few steps away from the door of the mansion, how could anyone see his face clearly at such a distance
He didn't want to argue with Qi Yan, he stepped into the carriage with a few steps, and as soon as he got in, he took off the bamboo hat and threw it aside.
Qi Yan sighed and closed the car window tightly.
The carriage moved forward slowly, Xia Xun kept looking out the window, and turned the back of her head to Qi Yan.
After leaving the gate, Qi Yan suddenly said:
"Do you remember? I said before that if you want the owner of Wuyuan to pick you up in person, I'm afraid it will be impossible now."
Xia Xun responded coldly:
"Really? I've forgotten it, so you should too."
Qi Yan's expression gradually dimmed, he withdrew his gaze from Xia Xun, stared at his knee, and remained silent for a long time.
The carriage was neither fast nor slow, and moved forward in a hurry.
The scenery outside the car window gradually changed from the bustling streets and alleys to farm houses.
A few miles away from Wuyuan, Qi Yan suddenly approached the car window and glanced outside.
After a while, he called the groom to stop.
When the car came to a complete stop, he went down a few steps, stood beside the car, turned his head and said to Xia Xun:
"The flowers in the mountains are blooming well, let's walk the rest of the way."
Xia Xun remained motionless.
"I don't want to look at the flowers, please help yourself."
Qi Yan waited for a while, seeing that he was still not moving, she hugged him down by the waist.
Xia Xun was about to get angry, but Qi Yan had already put him on the ground, a bamboo hat was put on his head, and the tulle covered his sight.
Qi Yan said, "Let's go."
The groom swung down the reins, and led Qi Hui and Zhi Gui in the carriage to continue forward.
Qi Yan didn't wait any longer, turned around and walked into the woods beside the path.
Xia Xun looked around, surrounded by dense mountains and forests, it was impossible to tell the direction, even if he wanted to walk back to Qi Mansion alone, he didn't know which direction to go.
He was very dissatisfied and had no choice but to follow Qi Yan into the dense forest.
Qi Yan walked and said:
"I haven't finished what I just said. A few years ago, Wuyuan changed its owner. The original owner committed a crime and is no longer there. The wooden ornaments in the garden were also burned. Now it is open to the public. It has become an ordinary outing place.”
Xia Xun felt sorry for those handicrafts, and couldn't help asking:
"It's fine for the master to commit a crime. Those decorations are made by carpenters with hard work. How can you just burn them?"
Qi Yan kept walking:
"I tried the case of the owner of Wuyuan, and I burned the things."
Xia Xun asked in surprise, "Why?"
Qi Yan said casually:
"I thought you were dead then, I remember, you loved those things. I thought, since you didn't see them in your life, let them go down with you in the ground. After the case was over, I set a fire and burned it clean Clean, nothing left."
Xia Xun was stunned for a moment.
Qi Yan continued:
"If I knew you were still alive, I would definitely save them all and wait for you to come back to see them."
Xia Xun didn't speak.
Qi Yan didn't seem to need to respond, he whispered to himself:
"It's too late to make up for you now."
Xia Xun lowered her head, avoiding the exposed tree roots on the ground, and walked forward in silence.
The tulle hangs in front of his eyes, and everything he sees becomes indistinct and unrecognizable.
After walking another distance like this, Qi Yan stopped suddenly.
Xia Xun was in a trance and almost bumped into his back.
He stood firm and asked strangely:
"Why did you stop suddenly?"
Qi Yan looked at the sky and said, "... I'm lost."