Xia Zhaoyi came back at three o'clock in the morning.
The cellar door was opened, and a figure was pushed down by Lao Tong.
The candles had burned out, and the person who pushed him down was unknown. Everyone was speechless, and there was only a soft sniffle in the darkness.
Lao Tong came out of the house and saw the child still in the yard. He walked over and said, "Ah Li, take a rest."
When I got closer, I saw a jar of wine and a large package of cold ribs in front of her. She was untying the rope on another small package, which contained Baihua cake.
"these are……"
Xia Zhaoyi flattened the oil paper, looked at the moist and shiny pastries, and said, "These were my favorite before."
"When did you buy it?"
"This afternoon," Xia Zhaoyi raised his head, looked at the bright moon in the sky, and said, "I wanted to go to a place to worship my relatives, but I feel... he seems to be still alive."
"Do you still have relatives?" Lao Tong said in surprise.
"Yes," Xia Zhaoyi smiled and looked back at him, "That's my second brother. If he were still alive, he would only be twenty-one or twelve years old now."
"That's much older than you."
"Look at these," Xia Zhaoyi said, "The ribs I bought first, there are seventeen ribs in total, and the Baihua cakes I bought next, there are twenty-three in total. The upper stem and the lower gen, Tianshan Dun, Dun Gua fifth
The lines move, transforming the Tianshan Mountain into a volcano. The host is like a mountain, motionless, and the metaphor is like an inn. The guests are travelers. The fire burns without stopping, and the guests are uncertain."
Lao Tong scratched his head: "I don't quite understand."
"It's a good hexagram for me," Xia Zhaoyi said with a smile, "I am a guest of heaven and earth."
"That's good," Old Tong Le said, "As long as it's a good hexagram for you, I'm afraid it's a bad hexagram."
"Do you want to eat it?" Xia Zhaoyi opened the wine jar, "But the ribs are a bit cold, but their ribs are still delicious even when they are cold, and the texture is not bad."
"Okay," Lao Tong sat down, "Of course I'll eat it!"
……………………
Zaichun was so scared that he could hardly stand.
It was dark and lightless all around, with only a cluster of bright moon in the sky, and occasionally dark clouds drifted in, blocking the moonlight.
She followed Zhao Ning, holding Zhao Ning's thin arm, and pressed close to her, almost crying with fear.
"Miss, we should have come during the day," Zai Chun said softly, "It's so scary at night."
Especially in the place we passed just now, we seemed to see a lot of old and dried blood stains.
You have to know that all the people in the Dingguo Palace were either beheaded or exiled. They died of illness and beatings during the exile. How do you know how many there were?
"Not afraid." Zhao Ning replied, but her voice was too calm, making it even more scary to hear in the night.
In particular, Zaichun glanced at the small purse she was holding in her hand. Ever since she heard that it contained ashes, even if she knew it was Miss Xia's ashes, she wanted to stay as far away from Zhao Ning as possible.
After passing through the Moon Cave Gate, Zhao Ning stopped and said, "Where's the map."
"Oh, map, yes..." Zai Chun hurriedly pulled out a small drawing from his sleeve and blew the paper to shine on it.
Zhao Ning looked at the map, raised his head and looked forward, and said, "It should be over there."
"Do you still want to go inside?" Zai Chun said timidly.
"Zaichun." Zhao Ning looked back at her.
"Ah?" Zaichun was covered in cold sweat.
"Look at me." Zhao Ning said.
She raised her hand and took off her veil.
A mouth with a missing lip suddenly appeared, causing Zai Chun to turn around and cry.
"Miss, you, you..." Zai Chun cried softly.
Zhao Ning put the veil back on and said: "You are not afraid of being a slave or a maid, so why are you afraid of mere ghosts?"
"But, but..."
"If there are really ghosts in this world, why are those who kill innocent people killed by humans instead of ghosts?" Zhao Ning walked forward and said, "If there are really ghosts in this world, it is me, Zhao Ning."
Zai Chun sobbed, recovered, and trotted to keep up: "Miss, please wait for me."
The further to the front, the more wrong the pattern seems.
They passed through most of Dingguo's palace and walked for a long time before finally seeing the big lake.
"The one outside Hutong Mansion," Zai Chun said, "it seems that past the inside is Miss Xia's Xianyi Residence."
"Yeah." Zhao Ning responded.
Along the lake shore, I finally found a large stone bridge, but what I saw in the past was the word "Hegui Lake".
The osmanthus trees have faded away, and the moonlight falls on the lake, making the lake full of coolness.
Zai Chun suddenly pulled Zhao Ning's arm to stop.
Zhao Ning was also about to stop.
It's so unusual. The surroundings are neatly trimmed and tidied. It doesn't look like an abandoned and ransacked old home at all, but more like an elegant villa.
"Miss..." Zai Chun's voice trembled again.
"Go and take a look." Zhao Ning said.
It is surrounded by a specially measured fence, and the fence is wrapped with plum blossoms. The flowers are fresh, and they should be cut and wound here for no more than a day.
The fragrance fills the heaven and earth, and the pure air fills the universe.
Zhao Ning lowered his eyes and looked at the small purse in his hand, gently brushed the fabric with his fingers, and said: "Things have changed, I don't know if I should put it here."
"Let it go." Zai Chun whispered.
How can she survive if she is taken back?
"But Youqing told me when she entrusted it to me that she would hand it over to the Second Young Master Xia with her own hands," Zhao Ning said, "Or maybe I would find her second brother's bones and bury them next to the grave?"
"Miss, it's good enough for you to come all the way to the capital, why do you need so much attention..."
Zhao Ning didn't speak. He was silent for a while, then turned around and said, "Go back."
"Then these ashes..."
"I'll keep carrying it."
"But……"
"There is no but." Zhao Ning said, without stopping.
Two hours later, the sound of clear gongs and drums rang out on the street, spreading throughout the streets and alleys.
Many people opened their windows and looked in, only to see a group of Beifu soldiers' militia.
What happened this early in the morning?
Many people don't understand.
However, the front of Jingzhao Mansion was now crowded with people.
Many people were watching and worried, and most of the people who came were those with their families.
When they saw the government guards appear, the people came forward to ask questions.
"Master Guan, when will my father be released?"
"Our husband has been in there for a long time. It's already winter. Can't you even send me some clothes?"
"Master Guan, please do a good job. These are to honor you. Can you let us go in and take a look?"
"Master Guan, please do me a favor. How is our old Zhaotou doing? Can you tell me how he is doing?"
…
The government guards said nothing, and everyone looked very ugly.
When several groups of militiamen from the Beifu Soldiers circled the streets and came back, everyone's faces became increasingly ugly.
I don't know what happened today.
Looking at them, many people felt uneasy, probably because the Beifu soldiers rarely came out.
However, tomorrow is the beginning of winter, and there is no atmosphere of beginning of winter at all this year.
Now, the sun is not shining, the north wind is biting, and it is very cold.
