Gu Mang couldn't help frowning, and carefully observed the spirit card several times.
The handwriting is neat, the wood is meticulous, and the placement is reasonable.
Everything is normal. But he just felt uncomfortable, and the more he looked, the more uncomfortable he became.
When he scrutinized it for the fifth time, Gu Mang's mind suddenly flashed with light and flint, and there was a thump in his heart! He knew what was wrong with this spirit card!
is dust.
This finely carved spirit tablet was covered with a thin layer of ash, and it looked as if it had not been taken care of by anyone for a long time.
But normal people worship tablets, shouldn't they be wiped from time to time...
Gu Mang stared blankly, and at this moment, there was a sudden movement of the bamboo curtain swaying gently at the door. A light and gentle voice with a smile sounded behind him: "What are you looking at?"
A layer of cold sweat broke out from Gu Mang's back, and he turned his head abruptly. For some reason, there was a strong embarrassment in his heart, and he panicked violently. He raised the thing in his hand and said, "I... I take the nine-color thread."
Jiang Yexue sat at the door, did not come in, looked at him with a smile against the light: "Is the nine-color line so hard to find? Is it because I placed it in a bad position?"
Gu Mang calmed down a little at this time. In fact, what he found wasn't anything remarkable, it was just a little strange. He didn't know why he suddenly felt so terrifying. It was probably Jiang Yexue who suddenly spoke behind him, frightening him.
Gu Mang said, "It's not... I just saw my sister-in-law's spirit card... I was thinking of saying goodbye..."
Jiang Yexue stared at him peacefully for a while with eyes that were like falling flocks of spring rivers, and then said gently: "Thank you. If you have this heart, if Jin'er in the spirit of heaven can know, she will be very happy."
Gu Mang licked his lips and said nothing.
From Jiang Yexue's title, you can hear his closeness to his deceased wife. Logically speaking, this is not surprising. Jiang Yexue is known for being soft on the outside and tough on the inside, and he always likes to make excuses. He insisted on marrying Qin Mujin back then. Later, after Miss Qin passed away for many years, Jiang Yexue had no intention of continuing the string. He thought that he had identified a person as a lifetime event.
It's just this kind of deep affection, coupled with the accumulation of dust on the spirit card that I just discovered... It's really weird...
Probably because Jiang Yexue has been too busy recently, so she neglected it.
"Little Lan'er has already wrapped a zongzi outside, just waiting for your silk thread. If you want to chat with Jin'er for a while, she will be anxious." Jiang Yexue raised her hand to hold the bamboo curtain and smiled. Said, "Come out."
"… it is good."
As soon as reed leaves and glutinous rice get started, it shows what is called "a horned millet beats a hero man". Xiao Laner likes to help her father with things on weekdays. Jiang Yexue and Gu Mang were two people, one was an artifact refiner, and the other was a slave in Wangshu Mansion when they were young. Although the zongzi they made were not comparable to Xiao Lan'er, they could make do with it.
Yue Chenqing is rather funny. He is greedy, and he is a small, long, square-shaped pillow dumpling. He stuffed ginkgo, fresh meat, ham, chestnut, egg yolk, kidney beans, chicken, and peanuts into it one after another. Gotta bulge. Jiang Yexue laughed when she saw it, and said, "This one of you will definitely dissipate."
"No! It's called Babao Zongzi, and Yuefu makes it every year."
"Eight-treasure dumplings can only be made by the cook." Jiang Yexue patiently advised, "If you are a beginner, it is best to make sweet dumplings with white glutinous rice."
"I'll try it, who knows if I don't."
In the end, after tying it four or five times, either the leaves were broken or the meat fell off. In the end, it was finally tied up, but it was a fat rice dumpling with leaking rice at all four corners.
"It will dissipate as soon as it is boiled. Brother Yue is too greedy." Xiao Lan'er said crisply. All the people laughed, Yue Chenqing slipped his pillow dumpling in distress and touched his nose embarrassedly.
The water boiled, and the first batch of zongzi was put into the pot to cook. Cooking zongzi pays attention to one heat, not simmering with force, only simmering.
During the waiting period, they wrapped the remaining rice and leaves into various kinds of rice dumplings. In addition to pillow dumplings, they also wrapped horn millet, beauty dumplings... and even made a few of the most traditional ones. bamboo tube dumplings. However, this is a tedious job, and Yue Chenqing is a little tired of wrapping it up.
He couldn't help stretching his head to look: "When are those in the pot cooked?"
Jiang Yexue smiled and said, "It's still early. You can't sit still?"
"...Not at all."
"You make a nine-zig zongzi and bring it back to my uncle to have a taste."
Yue Chenqing was very excited at first hearing, and her eyes lit up, but after a while, he became discouraged: "The fourth uncle and my father are quarreling, and recently he sees that no one is willing to take care of him. It's okay."
"Are you quarreling again?" Jiang Yexue murmured, "His temper..."
He shook his head and said no more.
The rest of the dumplings were soon wrapped up, but there were more than what I ate. Jiang Yexue said: "Why don't you share it with your neighbors, there are many orphans and elders here, most of their children have been sacrificed in the successive battles with the Liao Kingdom, the elderly are inconvenient, and they will not be able to take care of themselves during the New Year and festivals. Since they have made more, let them taste some."
Yue Chenqing said, "Brother, you are so nice."
Xiao Lan'er said timidly and softly, "Sir, I want to go too, can I go with Brother Yue?"
Jiang Yexue took two bamboo baskets and put a clean cloth on them. He was careful and chose small dumplings with plain fillings, which were easier for the elderly to eat.
"These are made by Xiao Laner, with honey bean and white glutinous rice stuffing, and these are made by me." Jiang Yexue said while arranging the dumplings carefully. His fair and long fingers stopped for a moment in front of a pile of horrific long rice dumplings, and finally moved away, and he coughed a few times in embarrassment.
"Chenqing, yours... and Xi Hejun's. It's well packaged, but it's a little... not suitable for giving away. I won't let it go."
Yue Chenqing: "..."
Mo Xi: "..."
After speaking, he lowered his head and picked out a few Gu Mang bags. Who would have thought that Gu Mang took it out just after putting it in the basket.
"Don't put mine in either." Gu Mang smiled, "Leave it for us to eat, so we won't be ugly."
Jiang Yexue was startled. Gu Mang wrapped the zongzi tightly and beautifully, how could he say ugliness
He couldn't understand, but Mo Xi immediately reacted - Gu Mang was ashamed, worried that some of those who lost their close relatives had been killed by himself.
For whatever reason, Gu Mang was always disturbed by the blood he had smeared.
Mo Xi was silent for a moment, then stepped forward with his long legs, walked to Jiang Yexue's side, and took the bamboo basket from his hand: "Gu Mang and I should also go for a run, there are a lot of zongzi to send."
After saying that, he pulled Gu Mang's wrist without hesitation: "Let's go."
Gu Mang: "Huh? Wait-wait-"
How could Mo Xi listen to him? This man was strong, stubborn, and he was stuffy like a gourd with a sawed mouth. Gu Mang was dragged by him so he had no choice but to pull out a piece of it from the Qiankun bag before going out. A silver-rimmed veil was worn on the face.
"What are you doing with me?"
Mo Xi: "..."
The area where Jiang Yexue Courtyard is located is mostly old houses and narrow alleys, with twists and turns, and deep alleys. He took the dumplings into Qiankun's bag, and then dragged Gu Mang out several streets, no matter what Gu Mang said along the way, he didn't let go, and didn't say a word.
He only released Gu Mang when he was far away from Jiang's house and there was no one in the back of the alley. Before Gu Mang could leave, he propped up his arm on the blue brick wall of the narrow alley as expected, and looked down at him.
"I'll tell you again."
Gu Manglan's eyes rolled uneasily: "What do you say?"
"There are people like this in Chonghua, not because of you, but because of Liaoguo. You have already done all the letters that you can report over the years and the killings you can avoid." Mo Xi said, grabbing Gu Mang's hand, because He felt Gu Mang's fingertips move lightly in his palm, so he held it tighter and intertwined with his fingers.
"Don't feel like you have blood on your hands anymore, okay?"
As he spoke, he held Gu Mang's hand and kissed lightly on the back of his hand. Gu Mang's tense back eased down one section at a time under his long eyelashes.
Gu Mang licked his lips and seemed to want to say something, but he didn't seem to know how to say it, so he could only say, "But I—"
"No you can."
"but-"
"No buts."
"I-"
Mo Xi finally sighed and covered his mouth. Mo Xi looked down at him with both distressed and helpless eyes, as well as the sadness that he thought he had hidden well.
Mo Xi said softly, "You are the best, always have been."
Gu Mang's blue eyes blinked, then shook his head.
"..." Mo Xi raised his other hand and pressed it on the top of his hair, forcing him to nod.
Gu Mang was both angry and funny, but some green and sour juice gurgled out of that shabby old heart, and spread to the bones along the blood. Then he licked Mo Xi's palm.
Mo Xi was caught off guard, and instinctively released his hand, Gu Mang turned his back on the guest and instead jumped up and pressed Mo Xi against the wall—it was just that Mo Xi was too high for him, and when Mo Xi put his arm on the wall and pressed him , the momentum and posture are correct. But once he turned it upside down, Gu Mang looked up at him slightly, and he was a little weaker in terms of height.
In this way, it doesn't look like suppression, but like...
behave in a spoiled manner.
Gu Mang's mouth twitched because of this terrifying association, but when he saw Mo Xi being held down, his expression didn't change and his heart didn't beat. He was also very angry, and felt that he would not be able to deal with him. So he just jumped up and hit him with the veiled iron head.
"Boom" sounded.
Gu Mang was triumphant: "How is it? Does it hurt?"
Mo Xi: "..."
"That's right. Your brother Gu Mang will teach you what it means to be an elder and a younger brother and brother."
What responded to him was that Mo Xi restrained him and took him heavily into his arms. Then the other big hand squeezed his silver veil, took off the mask and pushed it to the side of his forehead.
What was revealed behind the mask was the face that was once soft and bright, but now delicate and pale. With long, gentle eyes, a smooth jaw, a delicately curved nose and berry-like sweet and rosy lips. Under the long thin soft eyelashes, there are blue eyes that are deeper than rivers, lakes and seas.
Mo Xi's calloused thumb gently rubbed Gu Mang's lips, he turned his face sideways, his eyes slowly moved up from his lips, and then he bathed in the two deep blue pools.
"Hmm. Taught."
"… "
"Please, brother, teach me more."
He said, leaned over and kissed—
But at this moment, he suddenly heard a strange noise around the corner, what a sharp person Mo Xi is, he immediately raised his hand and lowered Gu Mang's veil, shielded him in his arms, and said sharply, "Who? !"
A young monk dressed as the Northern Army moved out of the corner tremblingly. He had just returned home from grocery shopping. He was holding a basket of watery vegetables and radishes, and a bundle of palm leaves in his arms. At this time, his face turned pale with fright, and he turned out tremblingly, and said in a trembling voice, "Afterwards, afterwards... Stepfather is good!"