At Tang Wanzhuang's home.
Baoqin was standing outside the guest house, her face blushing with embarrassment.
What happened? She brought her man back to take a shower, and then she ran away, leaving poor Baoqin to serve him.
Fortunately, he looked disgusted and drove Baoqin out like a pig, otherwise would he have to serve her bathing in there
No, you stinky bear, why do you despise Baoqin? At that time, you didn't even have to pay for the strings!
Tang Wanzhuang appeared in front of him: "Why are you standing here?"
Baoqin stammered, "Didn't the young lady ask me to serve you?"
Tang Wanzhuang pinched her head and said unhappily, "I asked you to arrange for someone to fetch water, and then they should do whatever they need to do after fetching water. What are you thinking about? It's been almost an hour, do you think he's a pickled vegetable and you've been soaking it for so long?"
Baoqin: "... I can soak for that long."
"You're just a pickled vegetable!" Tang Wanzhuang glanced at the door and lowered her voice expectantly: "You've been standing outside, did you hear the sound of the piano inside?"
"No." Baoqin taught: "Miss, that's just a stinky bear."
Tang Wanzhuang helped him explain: "It's already ugly time, no one plays the piano at this time."
Baoqin glanced at her sideways without saying anything.
Tang Wanzhuang coughed twice and knocked on the door gently.
Zhao Changhe's voice came from inside the door: "Come in."
Tang Wanzhuang pushed the door open and saw Zhao Changhe sitting by the window with his coat on, writing something.
There is rain sound outside the window and a green lamp on the table.
The man put on his clothes and picked up his pen, working at his desk at night.
Tang Wanzhuang's heart skipped a beat unconsciously. She felt that this scene was like something she had dreamed of. It was even more touching than her previous assumption that he was playing the piano.
It’s a pity that instead of offering him a bowl of hot soup, they came to ask him when he was leaving.
"What are you writing?" She walked slowly up and peeked in.
But it is a secret book.
"According to the agreement with Sisi, I have to provide her with the Sword King Secret Manual for a long time. The last set didn't have much content, and it was only at the secret collection level, so it's no longer available. I feel that it may not be enough for them, so it's time to give them a new one." Zhao Changhe said as he wrote, "After all, it's an agreement... I'm usually in a hurry and don't have the chance to write it down, but when I came to your place and saw that there was paper and pen, I remembered it."
Tang Wanzhuang blurted out subconsciously: "Because it's Sisi, what if she changed to a man?"
Zhao Changhe turned his head and looked at her strangely: "When I made the appointment with Han Wubing, I braved all obstacles and rushed thousands of miles to meet him. He is not a woman. What does a man's promise have to do with this?"
Tang Wanzhuang realized that she had lost her composure, and hid her emotions by looking down at the words: "That's just what I said. Um... Could it be that your set has broken through the secret treasure level?"
"No, I just bought another set. Besides high-end, we also need quantity. After all, they are a group."
“Hmm…” Seeing that he was diverted from the topic and didn’t continue talking about matters between men and women, Tang Wanzhuang breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Changhe didn't have the energy to say more. He was busy finishing his manuscript and was ready to leave. It would be bad if he delayed it until dawn.
Tang Wanzhuang stood quietly by and watched, just like in Gusu at that time, habitually reaching out to grind ink for him.
The lights flickered, but the house became quieter in the rain.
His handwriting became more and more beautiful. Although he did not practice it deliberately, the wild and unruly sharpness became more restrained, and the heaviness and grandeur became more prominent. However, if you look closely between the lines, you can see that the sharpness is hidden and seems to break through the paper at any time.
His handwriting reflects his character, and that's what he is like now.
After an unknown amount of time, Baoqin's voice came from outside the door: "Miss, Yang Yaowu and the others just reported that they are all ready. There are at least eighteen Zhao Changhe ready to go. Mr. Zhao's horse is also in the backyard, ready to go at any time."
The quiet night was suddenly broken, Zhao Changhe stopped writing, and Tang Wanzhuang came back to her senses.
The two looked at each other and smiled slightly.
"Okay." Zhao Changhe handed over the manuscript: "I should leave now." Tang Wanzhuang felt a little regretful and whispered: "Don't be so rash next time. In the final analysis, it's not the right time."
"Yeah. If I had your strength, I would have turned the capital upside down. All these concerns are really annoying." Zhao Changhe stood up, stretched, and suddenly smiled: "I came to the capital this time, running around in several places in one night, it was so messed up that I didn't know what I was doing... In the end, I found that it's the most relaxing to be with you, I don't have to think about anything."
Tang Wanzhuang curled her lips: "Aren't you still thinking about secrets?"
"Compared to other things, it's no different from leisure." Zhao Changhe picked up the knife leaning against the table: "But I don't really want to do this."
Tang Wanzhuang was stunned: "Huh?"
Zhao Changhe turned and walked out: "Next time, I hope that I will be here so that you don't have to worry about anything."
Tang Wanzhuang stared at his back without saying goodbye or speaking.
He has been doing this himself so that some people will cough less.
… …
As if it was God's will, when Zhao Changhe rode away from Tang Wanzhuang's house, the heavy rain suddenly stopped, leaving only a drizzle as if to see him off.
At the same time, the sound of horse hooves arose, and eighteen "Zhao Changhe" scattered out. Eighteen horses that looked similar at first glance, and eighteen swords that looked similar at first glance, almost in no particular order, left the four gates of the capital and dispersed in all directions.
Tang Wanzhuang resisted the urge to stand up and watch him go, for she was afraid that her gaze would expose the real Zhao Changhe.
Huangfu Qing stood on a high place with great interest, his eyes sweeping over the scattered "Zhao Changhe", as if testing whether he could recognize which one.
Finally, the focus was on the figure heading south. It was easy to recognize. In fact, it was difficult to find so many snow-walking black horses in a short time. Most of the horse hooves were painted white, and it was impossible for all the faces to be disguised exactly like Zhao Changhe. It was just that it was hard to tell at first glance, but it didn't matter to her because she had been prepared.
This guy deliberately went south. In fact, you can go to Yanmen through the west gate or the north gate. Going south requires a long detour. Huangfu Qing is used to this guy's random detours.
Watching the figure go away, Huangfu Qing sighed slightly.
This time he was asked to go to Beijing, and the whole situation was completely different from what was expected. Originally, he was supposed to go quietly, and no one except me would know. After I arranged the affairs in the palace and went to my brother for a while, I would take him out of Beijing again and go to the grassland together.
As a result, he was discovered by someone at the city gate, causing a great stir. He couldn't hide, nor did he want to hide, so he was in a hurry to do anything. If he left the capital at night, it would be inconvenient for him to follow him. He had just returned and had a lot of things to do. He couldn't waste time hiding in the palace.
Although he knew that his choice was right and that not letting him follow him was also right, Huangfu Qing still felt a little regretful.
I took him to Beijing, but it was the wrong way. I shouldn't have come so early. Perhaps after putting on the pig face, he would laugh and play like a girl in the misty rain of Jianhu Lake, and the relaxed and unrestrained journey north would never happen again.
The figure left the city and was never seen again. Huangfu Qing took out the pig-face mask and exerted a little force with his slender hands, as if he wanted to crush it.
But his hand froze there, and after a while he withdrew it into his arms.
The trusted aides whispered, "My Lady, there is a letter from the grassland."
"Um?"
"The Xuanwu Master said, I understand. If he goes to the grassland, the Master will contact him."
"That's fine." Huangfu Qing stretched out her slender hand to catch the drizzle, and suddenly whispered: "He is not strong enough... Zhang Yang has such a strong spirit, but he is actually weak inside and can't withstand the heavy rain. I wonder what the wind and rain will be like when he breaks through the mysterious gate, peeks into the secret treasure, and goes to the capital again?"
Zhao Changhe arrived ten miles south of the capital in the drizzle.
It was already dawning. There was a pavilion every ten miles, and next to the pavilion was a post station. Outside the post station was a breakfast shop, and groups of people were drinking porridge and eating steamed buns.
Zhao Changhe got off the horse and prepared to have some breakfast before leaving.
As soon as he walked into the breakfast shop, a thin old man caught his attention.
He was drinking... This early in the morning, while others were drinking porridge, he was drinking wine, eating a peanut with a sip of wine, looking very happy.
He was dressed in splendid robes and had an elegant demeanor, looking like a scholar or a high-ranking official... But a high-ranking official had no entourage and drank alone.
Zhao Changhe's gaze seemed to have touched the other party. The old man turned his head and looked at him, smiling slightly: "Little brother, this wine gourd is not bad... It seems that we are a fellow enthusiast. In this clear autumn season, the rainstorm has just stopped, and the long pavilion is just fading. Can you drink a cup?"
(End of this chapter)