For several days, it snowed heavily in Shuojing, and the streets were deserted a lot.
In the Xu residence, He Xinying stood in front of the study and knocked on the door, and the man inside said, "Come in." He Xinying walked in.
"I made some sweet red bean soup in the kitchen, but it's too cold outside." He Xinying smiled and took the small bowl out of the basket and put it in front of Xu Zhiheng's table, "Husband, drink some to warm your body, don't freeze it. already."
Xu Zhiheng's eyes fell on the small white porcelain bowl on the table. In the porcelain bowl, the sweet red bean soup had a sweet and greasy aroma, and the brown soup made him suddenly think of the bowl of tonic that the He family sent a long time ago.
It was also such a color, such a sweet smell, and the decoction was very effective. After He Yan drank it, after three days of high fever, he could no longer see it.
Xu Zhiheng raised his head subconsciously, He Xinying was looking at her tenderly, his eyebrows were somewhat similar to He Yan, which made Xu Zhiheng's heart jump, subconsciously stood up, and accidentally brushed his sleeve on the soup bowl on the table , the sweet soup spilled all over the ground, staining his clothes.
"Husband, are you alright?" He Xinying was startled, and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the soup from Xu Zhiheng's body, while calling for a maid to clean up.
"Nothing." Seeing the sweet soup spilled, Xu Zhiheng heaved a sigh of relief, took the handkerchief and wiped the water on his body.
"This bowl is spilled, I'll ask someone to bring another bowl over." He Xinying hurriedly said.
"No need." Xu Zhiheng held her hand and pulled her to sit beside him with a smile, "I'm not hungry at all."
The woman's hand was warm and soft, but it made his anxiety a little bit dissipated these days.
He Xinying sat down beside him according to the words, thought for a while, and said to Xu Zhiheng: "I heard Liu'er say that my mother is not well when I came in, and she has been sick in bed. I want to go back and see my mother, husband. How many days do you have free time? Why don't you go to He's house with me?"
The military book had been kept in her room, and He Xinying always felt uneasy. If one day Xu Zhiheng had someone search the entire mansion on a whim, it would be easy to find out. Besides, this military book was inexplicable, and she herself couldn't figure out what was going on. She might as well go back to He's house and ask Mrs. He, her mother knew more about the eldest sister than herself.
"Do you want to go back to the He family?" Xu Zhiheng paused and asked He Xinying.
He looked at He Xinying with a little scrutiny. He Xinying's heart skipped a beat, and she took hold of his arm, "I'll go back and have a look, and I'll be back the next day. Husband, can you accompany me back? Maybe my mother hasn't seen you for a long time."
He Xinying had not suffered much since she was a child. When she married her home, Xu Zhiheng knew that she was a little arrogant in the He family, but after entering the Xu residence, she was always well-behaved. This is different from He Yan's temperament. Although He Yan also never causes trouble and keeps his own feet, it is absolutely impossible for her to be like He Xinying and act like a spoiled child.
Xu Zhiheng said: "I've been very busy these days, and I'm afraid I don't have time to accompany you back to the house. In this way, I'll ask someone to take you back first, and I'll accompany you when I have some free time."
He Xinying showed an aggrieved expression at the right time, and said, "...Okay."
Xu Zhiheng held her hand with a smile, his thoughts had already drifted to other places.
It is impossible for him to go to He's house now, not to mention the two brothers He Yuansheng, who knows what He Rufei is fighting now. He arranged eyeliners in his house to try to get the handle... And He Xinying, Xu Zhiheng thought, although He Xinying is his wife, but her surname is He, who knows if He Rufei has passed her breath, so Well, since He Rufei can put eyeliner in his house, how can he know that he won't take the plan
This time, let He Xinying go home and find out.
…
In the middle of the night, it started to snow again.
It was freezing cold, and He Yan got out of bed in the dark. The room was pitch-dark, and even an oil lamp had never been lit. Fortunately, she was used to being a blind man in the past. Even if the lamp was not lit, she would not fall when walking around the house. After getting dressed, he took out a short sword from the drawer and went out the door.
It was snowing heavily. In order to facilitate the movement, she wore very thin clothes. She only put a thin layer of cotton-padded clothes under her night clothes. As soon as she went out, her nose almost froze. A charcoal fire was burning in the fragrant stables, giving off a faint glow. It was quiet inside and outside the yard, He Sui and his son and Qingmei were fast asleep, and there was no movement in Chiwu's room. He Yan quietly opened the door and walked out.
There is snow all around, the long street is covered with silver and white, and lanterns are hung under the eaves along the street. The atmosphere of the New Year is there now, although it is still a little cold.
He Yan sighed, and a cloud of white mist immediately appeared in front of him. It is strange to say that the winter in Liangzhouwei is much colder than that in Shuojing, but at that time, when I was training every day, I was sweating profusely, but I forgot about the cold. Now here, it is really a cold stomping.
She only took a few steps, and when the street was about to end, she saw a carriage parked. He Yan was stunned for a moment. In the middle of the night, such a carriage suddenly appeared in the deserted street. It was like seeing a ghost. He Yan narrowed his eyes and took a closer look. There was a coachman sitting in front of the carriage. When he saw her, he took off the hat on his head.
"Fei... Fei slave?" He Yan said in surprise, "Why are you here?"
Fei Nu didn't speak, but the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a person walked down from above. He was dressed in brocade with black gold and cloud patterns.
He came over, his boots stepped on the snow and made a rustling sound. He Yan waited for him to approach and asked, "You don't sleep at night, what are you doing here?"
Xiao Jue raised her eyebrows and said disapprovingly, "What about you? What do you do when you go out in the middle of the night?"
"I..." He Yan was speechless for a while, "I can't sleep, so I came out to relax."
Xiao Jue sneered and stared at her calmly: "Miss, did you come out to relax and wear night clothes?"
He Yan scratched her head, knowing that this person is very smart, and it's not easy to deceive, she frowned and said, "I'm going out to do something..." She looked at Xiao Jue, and glanced back suddenly, "You have been living all day long. Follow me, don't let me go in the middle of the night? Xiao Jue, even if I am your fiancee, you don't have to chase me so tightly."
Xiao Jue: "..."
"What are you thinking," he seemed speechless, "you went out in the morning and bought a dagger at the blacksmith shop in the west of the city. After all," he said lazily, "going out so late, killing or setting fire?"
"Didn't I get rid of Chiwu when I bought the short sword?" He Yan was also puzzled, "How did you know?"
When doing these things, she has always been very cautious, knowing that being discovered by Chiwu will lead to suspicion, but she managed to get rid of the big man.
"It's not Chiwu," Xiao Jue said, "In short, I know it." He glanced at the dagger that He Yan pinned to his waist, a little disgusted, "You can't buy a good sword if you don't have money? "
"What does this have to do with the sword?" He Yan said: "What matters is the person who uses the sword and the swordsmanship. My swordsmanship is good, and I don't need a good sword to brighten myself up."
Xiao Jue nodded and said, "Frugal and thrifty."
"...It's a good word," He Yan asked, "Why does it feel like you're scolding me?"
The snow outside kept on falling, and it quickly fell on her hair, covering her body with a thin layer of frost and snow. Xiao Jue pulled her down to the eaves of the street and stood on the outside, blocking most of the snow, only Q: "I haven't said it yet. What are you doing out with the sword so late?"
Seeing that he couldn't hide it, He Yan sighed and told the truth, "I was thinking that He Rufei must have a different relationship with the Utuo people. He Rufei is cautious and it is difficult to get hold of it. I want to go to the He family and look for other evidence, if I can catch the evidence that He Rufei is related to the Uto people, it would be great."
"He's family?" Xiao Jue frowned slightly, "Are you planning to go alone?"
"Anyway, I was also from the He family in my last life," He Yan approached him and whispered, "I know the inside and outside of He's family very well. I also know the secret passage that others don't know, and it's easy to sneak in. Go alone. Absolutely no problem."
"No," Xiao Jue interrupted her without thinking, "it's too dangerous."
"No, what's the danger?" He Yan retorted, "I can fight ten guards of the He family. At this time, they have already slept. The house where He Rufei lives now is the house I used to live in. I know exactly what are the hidden compartments on the bookshelf and what is in the wooden drawer. I will leave as soon as I finish finding things, and I will not miss anything. I have already attacked the Utuo camp at night with thousands of enemies. One He family is nothing. It's scary."
"He Rufei was suspicious of you now, so he must have more guards in the mansion. It's not a good time to go to He's house now."
"After a long time, I'm afraid that all the evidence will be destroyed."
Xiao Jue's eyes fell on her, and after a while, he said, "I'll go with you."
"What?" He Yan immediately refused, "You go with me, but it becomes a burden. I can get away by myself. It's very inconvenient to have you."
"Then don't go."
"Xiao Jue," He Yan said angrily, "Why are you unreasonable!"
"Um."
Does this person have no oil and salt? But if you want to quarrel with him here, when the neighbors are woken up, don't even think about getting away. He Yan stalemate with him for a long time, finally defeated, gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, but I really didn't expect that others would say that Second Young Master Xiao is indifferent and inhumane. I didn't expect to be so clingy in private."
"Each each other," Xiao Jue looked at her with her chest crossed, "Who made Miss He have the habit of going to other people's houses in the middle of the night to relax." He leaned down slightly and looked at He Yan condescendingly, his tone was gnashingly indifferent. "I'm afraid that something will happen, and the wife and husband will pay the debt."
This person quarreled with others, and probably never lost, He Yan was also said to have lost his temper, and said viciously: "Forget it, if you want to follow along, go with it, but I can say it in advance, it's really at the He family. , you don't regret it."
Xiao Jue smiled and reached out to her waist, He Yan hurriedly protected her belt, "What are you doing?"
He took a deep breath: "What do you think I'm going to do?"
"In the middle of the night, there are so many things you can do alone." He Yan whispered, "Then who knows what you are going to do?"
"He Yan." Xiao Jue said calmly.
"I was joking." He Yan smiled ingratiatingly.
"Your sword is too bad, change this one." He took off the sword from his body and handed it to He Yan.
"Isn't this Yin Qiu?" He Yan was stunned for a moment. Xiao Jue had already shoved the Yin Qiu sword into her hand. She knew that Yin Qiu was precious and wanted to return the sword to him, "What can you do for me?"
Xiao Jue glanced at her and raised the corner of his mouth: "Change this one, lest others say my Xiao family is shabby and embarrass me."
"What other people," He Yan said quickly, "Bah, bah, we're going to He's house today, and we won't disturb anyone. How can anyone see it?"
Before He Yan could finish speaking, Xiao Jue had already drawn out the dagger from her waist and walked forward on her own, "Take it."
He Yan was helpless and had to keep up.
Fei Nu parked the carriage on the side of the road, and the three of them left together, rushing in the direction of the He family.
The He Mansion is located at the west end of the city. The mansion does not look as elegant and elegant as the Xu family, but it is also elegant. Fei Nu was standing guard outside the house, and He Yan took Xiao Jue to the backyard fence. When he came to a place, he stopped and whispered, "Well, this is my secret passage."
Xiao Jue stared at the hole in front of him that could only barely allow one person to crawl through, and asked calmly, "The so-called secret passage you mean is a dog hole?"
"Shh," He Yan put his finger on his lips, "be quiet. This dog hole is not an ordinary dog hole. I dare say that no one in the entire He family knows about it."
"When I was young, I pretended to be a man, but I didn't have much strength. I was with other boys, and I was always worried about leaking. My family was afraid that I would cause trouble by showing too much of my face, so they locked me in the house. Before I entered the Xianchang Hall, I would go out of this dog hole every day before dawn, and climb to the Donghuang Mountain in the capital to help the monks in the temple fetch water and chop wood. At first, the skin on my hands was very worn, and then calluses were born. After that, you can punch with a rock hanging from your wrist."
"The teenagers in Xianchang Hall are very powerful at every turn, but if I hadn't secretly climbed the mountain to practice in private, I'm afraid it would have been even worse in Xianchang Hall."
"Ah," she thought, "could it be that I did too much work for the monks in the temple at that time, so the Buddha saw my sincerity and gave me a chance to live again. No wonder everyone keeps saying We want to form a good relationship, it really is, don't you think?" She turned to look at Xiao Jue.
Xiao Jue pinched his forehead and said with restraint, "So, what do you mean, you want me to drill a dog hole?"
"Yes." He Yan said, "I said earlier, you must follow me, so don't regret it, and it's not that I didn't remind you."
"Don't drill." Xiao Jue frowned slightly and turned his head away, as if he was disgusted at one more glance, "I'll climb over the wall."
"Don't, there are traps all over the He family's walls. He Rufei must have re-arranged them now. I don't know where exactly. If you trigger the traps, we will lose all our efforts." He Yan looked at him, "Then Otherwise, like Fei Nu, wait for me outside, and I will go in by myself."
"no."
"Young master, it's okay," He Yan said helplessly, "this is not possible, that is not possible, what are you going to do?"
Xiao Jue stared blankly at the dog hole for a moment, then suddenly lifted the corner of his robe, knelt down halfway, turned his head to He Yan and said, "You go first."
This time, He Yan was really shocked, "Do you really want to drill?"
"Come on." Xiao Jue couldn't bear it anymore.
He Yan originally hoped to use this dog hole to make Xiao Jue retreat, but he didn't expect that this person would actually go through it. For a time, he was filled with emotion. To say that Xiao Jue's sacrifice was too great. If the soldiers of the Nanfu Bing of the Nine Banners Camp knew that their commander-in-chief came to dig a dog hole in the middle of the night without sleeping, they would definitely kill her.
However, this was not He Yan's intentional embarrassment. This dog hole in the He family was originally dug by herself. The He family did not like to keep dogs, so He Yan personally fed the stray dogs outside. It's much safer here than what Xiao Jue said over the wall.
"Then follow me." He Yan whispered, "Be gentle."
She herself doesn't care about the embarrassment of drilling a dog hole. After all, she has been drilling since she was a child. It has not been drilled for a long time. Xiao Jue endured it and climbed in.
The walls of He Mansion are thick, and this hole was made by He Yan when he was young. It is not big. With his adult figure, it looks a little narrower. When he got out, he could see a faint lantern before he could stand firm. Under the light, a mass of yellow things rushed over with a "swoosh".
Xiao Jue was about to make a move when He Yan whispered in surprise, "Er Mao!"
The one named "Er Mao" ran up to He Yan, rolled around, tugged at He Yan's legs, and was extremely affectionate. It was a yellow dog.
Xiao Jue: "What is this?"
"I raised it." He Yan whispered, "I thought Er Mao was kicked out after I died, but I didn't expect it to still be there."
To be precise, it was He Yan who was still young when he picked up a stray dog and returned to the house and named it Da Mao. The He family didn't like seeing dirty stray dogs, but at that time He Yan had no friends. When he was lonely, it was good to have a yellow dog as company, so he begged Mrs. He to keep Da Mao in the house. Da Mao later gave birth to a litter of puppies, but it was so cold that none of them survived except Er Mao. And the surviving Ermao is still a mute.
He Rufei removed all the traces of He Yan one by one. He Yan thought that he would never see Er Mao again, but he didn't expect to see it again. However, Er Mao usually lives in the backyard and catches mice to eat by himself. He guesses that it's not that He Rufei doesn't want to get rid of it, but that he forgot about the dog at all.
"It seems to recognize me." He Yan looked at Ermao who was wagging his tail and cheering at him, and sighed, "I was a classmate with you, Lin Shuanghe, and Yan He for so long, and you didn't recognize me. Your eyesight is not as strong as Ermao."
Ermao stuck out his tongue at He Yan and smiled stupidly.
Xiao Jue closed her eyes and said patiently, "Now is not the time for you to meet again and reminisce."
"I know." He Yan made a "sit down" gesture to Er Mao, and the yellow dog sat down obediently, "Er Mao, you just stay here and let me play." She turned to Xiao Jue and said: " You come with me."
He's mansion is very big, and He Yan is very vigilant when walking. Every time he goes, he has to hide in the dark to check for someone. Although she hadn't entered He Mansion a few days ago, she sneaked around outside He Mansion. There were many more servants in He's family than when she was still there before.
Perhaps He Rufei thought that there were more servants in the He family, so he could support his "General Feihong" style, or maybe he was guilty of being a thief.
The yard where He Rufei lived, the yard where He Yan used to live, was the deepest and innermost room in He Mansion. Xiao Jue asked in a low voice, "Why so far?"
"Because, Young Master He is lonely and eccentric because of his ugly appearance." He Yan said, "I don't like to have too much contact with people."
In her yard, there are few people to serve, and they are very biased. It would be fine if He Yan had a quiet personality since childhood, but children always have many fantasies. She was originally lively and curious about everything. Because of this status, I can only stay in the yard and play alone. After a long time, even if I am not withdrawn, I will be raised as withdrawn.
A child can't do this or that. Even the maids and servants can't wait for him, let alone play games together. After a long time, he will make fun of himself. For example, taking a branch to draw a picture on the sand, she could draw every room in the He's yard accurately, because she had gone through it thousands of times in her mind.
He Yan once suspected that after she joined the army later, the reason why she was always very sensitive to the terrain, and she would never forget it after walking once, was actually learned from her childhood experience.
"The layout of the mansion has changed." He Yan whispered, "We have to be careful."
It was already very late at night, and the night watchmen were all in the outer courtyard. There was no movement in the house, but I could feel a little more at ease. Seeing that he was about to arrive at He Rufei's yard, He Yan became more and more nervous.
He turned around a long corridor and was about to walk forward when He Yan paused in footsteps, and suddenly, quietly dragged Xiao Jue into an empty tea room.
Xiao Jue was about to speak when He Yan covered his mouth: "Shh, someone."
The sound of human footsteps lingered outside, probably because the little servant went to the thatched hut at night and passed by the door, and the sound gradually faded away. He Yan breathed a sigh of relief when there was no sound from outside, and when he turned his head, he was stunned.
I do not know when the moon came out, through the window, shining a gap of light on the ground. Xiao Jue was pushed to the wall by her, and his back was against the wall. He Yan was nervous for a while, and almost all of his body was lying on top of him, but he did not move, his hands were slightly back, as if deliberately avoiding, He Yan covered His mouth looks like a hooligan who insults others.
Startled, she retracted her hand subconsciously.
The young man looked at her indifferently, suddenly curved his lips, and said silently, "Take advantage of me?"
He Yan almost choked, shaking his head again and again, "No, no, I was too anxious just now, not on purpose."
The man nodded with a half-smiling smile, with disbelief written clearly in his eyes.
He Yan has a hard time saying, it doesn't matter, anyway, it's not a day or two for her to insult Xiao Jue, and she doesn't care once or twice. He glanced out through the crack of the door, saw no one, and whispered, "Let's go."