The sky is half-lit and half-dark, the morning glow and dark clouds coexist, gathering the bustling city under the beautiful and bizarre dark color.
The streets are crowded, but there are still some pedestrians, and hawkers forced to make a living are brave enough to go out, but the coldness is visible to the naked eye.
A sedan was carried out from the palace and headed for An Mansion. The chamberlain announced that Taifu An had entered the palace.
The brothers in the An family had serious faces, and finally they could no longer hide it, so they asked the eldest brother An Yuzhi and the second brother An Yudao to talk to An Qiuwan.
Waiter Liao waited patiently at the door, waiting for An Qiuwan to be helped out. Waiter Liao was stunned and came forward and said, "Teacher An, why are you injured so seriously?"
An Qiuwan's face looked haggard, and she smiled weakly and said, "I'm old, so there's no need to panic, Mr. Liao."
"Minister Liao," An Yuping said, "my father is like this. Can you go back to the palace to ask the emperor for orders, and let us enter the palace on your behalf?"
Waiter Liao glanced at him, smiled, and didn't respond.
"Nonsense," An Qiuwan scolded weakly, "How can you violate the emperor's order?"
An Yuping gritted his teeth: "But father..."
"Taifu An, please." Waiter Liao said.
An Yuzhi and An Yudao supported An Qiuwan, glanced at the other brothers, gave them a comforting look, and then supported An Qiuwan and walked out.
The carriage was ready, and even though maximum shockproof measures had been taken, it was not optimistic for An Qiuwan, who was seriously injured.
An Yuping sent his father and brother to the door, watched his elderly father being helped into the carriage, and then turned to Waiter Liao over there.
The young eunuch on the side opened the car curtain, and the waiter Liao was about to sit in when he noticed a look behind him. When he looked back, he saw the hostile eyes of the young man.
Waiter Liao suddenly became cold and looked away expressionlessly, then sat in the sedan chair.
The long line left, and a girl came from behind the crowd and whispered: "Uncle Fourteen."
An Yuping turned around and saw An Qingxi, the third daughter of his eldest brother An Yuzhi.
An Yuping is senior to her, but two years older than her.
"Yeah." An Yuping nodded.
"I'm a little scared," An Qingxi looked at the carriage in the distance on the street and said uneasily, "Uncle Fourteen, what's going on in An's house."
"Don't be afraid," An Yu said calmly, "your marriage will go on as usual, and you can do whatever you need to do."
An Qingxi twisted the handkerchief in her hand, still feeling uneasy.
"I'm going back first." An Yuping said, turned around and entered the door.
An Qingxi raised her head and looked at the word "Anfu" hanging above her head.
I hope her grandfather will be well, she whispered in her heart very softly, and she hopes Anfu will be well too.
A side room in the corridor of the back hall of Chuifangzhuang was silent. Lu Qianhai's mouth was gagged with a ball of cloth, and wooden blocks were fastened around his ankles and wrists.
The air around him was rotten and moldy. He slowly opened his eyes, but he felt like he hadn't woken up yet. It was like a nightmare.
The girl is still not there.
He woke up intermittently several times, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. She seemed to have never come back after leaving him here.
What time is it now? How long has it been? Has anyone noticed that he is missing? What is the purpose of arresting him?
Lu Qianhai was puzzled by repeated confusions.
He finally closed his eyes again, unable to move, not knowing what to do.
It rained heavily yesterday and is sunny today. Soldiers are still looking for girls on the street, and the noticeboards are covered with portraits of girls.
The portrait was described by "passers-by" outside Dongping Academy. Some people said that they saw the girl entering and exiting Dongping Academy with their own eyes. However, when the government asked people in Dongping Academy, they all denied seeing the girl.
The vision was blurry on a rainy night, and the description of the girl holding an umbrella was not clear, so the artist who painted the picture simply changed the previously painted Ah Li, and added a few touches of wealth to her clothes.
"It doesn't look like me at all." Xia Zhaoyi said, looking at the portrait on the bulletin board, and took a bite of the sesame seed cake.
Zhi Changle and Lao Tong followed, each holding a sesame seed cake in their hands. As they ate, they said, "The less unlikeable it is, the better."
"You all get out of here!"
There were angry curses at the street in the distance, and a large group of beggars ran out laughing, holding sesame seed cakes and rice cubes in their hands. A woman followed behind, holding a broom in her hand to chase them away.
"Get out! Get out! I'll kill you!" the woman cursed with red eyes.
When the beggars ran away laughing, the woman stamped her feet in anger, squatted on the ground, covered her face with her hands, and cried.
"Widow Qu! I was robbed again! Haha!" a resident on the street joked from the second floor.
"There are many disputes in front of the widow's house, and it's not just the widows who are being robbed!" a man shouted in front of the shop.
Everyone else laughed.
Lao Tong and Zhi Changle also laughed.
"This is not funny at all." Xia Zhaoyi said.
Lao Tong and Zhi Changle paused, then looked at her, the smiles on their faces gradually fading.
"Well, I don't know why I'm laughing," Zhi Changle muttered, "I just laughed without thinking..."
"Me too," Lao Tong scratched his head, "It seems that he is quite bullying?"
Xia Zhaoyi glanced at the woman, turned around and walked to the other side, saying, "Because people are stupid when gathering in crowds, evil when they get benefits, and domineering when they are innocent. I don't blame you, maybe it's just their nature."
Zhi Changle frowned and said, "I don't understand."
"Then, Ah Li, should I go and help that widow?" Lao Tong said.
"Let's help later. There are many people now. Helping her will only cause trouble for her," Xia Zhaoyi said in a low voice without stopping, "On the contrary, many of those beggars have southern accents."
"I also heard it," Zhi Changle said, "Could it be a refugee who sneaked in?"
The aroma of sauce-flavored pancakes comes from the front.
Xia Zhaoyi looked at it, thought for a moment, raised his head and said, "I have something to do later, so you go ahead and get busy. After you find a shop or yard, if I haven't come back yet, go to Qingque Pavilion to find Mr. Yan Hui."
I’ll leave a message and I’ll find you when the time comes.”
"Okay." Lao Tong responded.
"I'm going to buy two cakes." Xia Zhaoyi said.
The sauce-flavored pancakes had a strong aroma. Standing in front of the shop was a man of medium height, about twenty-three or four years old.
Lao Tong and Zhi Changle followed Xia Zhaoyi. The man looked back and stood aside to make some space.
"Boss, here are four cakes!" Lao Tong shouted, his voice was quite rough.
The strong southern accent made the man look back.
Xia Zhaoyi didn't pay attention at first, but because he looked at him like this again, she also raised her head.
Looking at each other inadvertently, Xia Zhaoyi was suddenly stunned and looked at this man.
The man frowned displeased, and just as the vendor handed him the sauce pancake he wanted, the man paid, glared at Xia Zhaoyi, turned around and left.
Xia Zhaoyi looked at the man's leaving figure, and the corners of her eyes jumped up.
"What's wrong?" Lao Tong asked softly.
Xia Zhaoyi didn't say anything, still looking at the man.
The man seemed to feel something. He looked back and saw that the girl was still looking at him. He frowned in disgust and walked away quickly.
