The carriage creaked slowly on the yellow sandy dirt road. After driving for a long time, Jiang Liu was already very tired and sleepy. It was too bumpy and it was too difficult to fall asleep, so he was particularly tired.
"Gege, who are you going to see?" she asked with a bit of complaint. Meili, who was leaning aside and turned pale but said nothing, had just come back from the paddock. Gege didn't have a good rest either, so early in the morning
She was about to rush to Xiaoling Mausoleum. She thought it was a bad job to serve Gege on her trip, but she didn't expect to suffer like this!
"A brother" Meili's eyes wandered
"Oh -" Jiang Liu nodded. Relatives? Gege has been locked up in the cold palace for such a long time and cannot see any relatives. It is only natural for people to rush to visit as soon as they come out.
Even if she tried to speed up as much as possible, it still took her two days to reach her destination after a long and bumpy drive. Meili felt sore and weak all over. She held on to the car and looked at the desolate and quiet scene. There was construction going on not far away, including cutting stones and driving piles.
The sound echoed in my ears, making me feel even more desolate
A few soldiers standing outside the stone wall looked at her and came to question her. Meili quickly winked at Jiang Liu and handed them some money. Only then did they agree with satisfaction to tell Meili to take a closer look at the courtyard.
Different from the gorgeous buildings in the imperial tombs, the courtyards are all made of bluestone, solid and simple, and are obviously used for the garrison of the soldiers guarding the tombs.
"Go in, go in, Lord Belle is letting you in." A soldier came out of the second door and stared at her ambiguously, smiling.
Meili had no time to take care of this and quickly walked into the inner courtyard.
The soldiers on duty along the way gave her directions. She was led into a house in the corner of the compound. As soon as she approached the door of the small courtyard, she saw Chengyi sitting under the tree. He heard the footsteps and still sat against the tree trunk.
He didn't move, he just turned his eyes and glanced at her carelessly.
"Brother Chengyi!" She yelled before she was stunned. She didn't know how she recognized him as the handsome and high-spirited Lord Baylor from two years ago.
Cheng Yi looked at her with no expression or words, neither sad nor surprised.
Meili's eyes stung. His arrow killed Sister Ziqing, why not also himself?
She took a deep breath to prevent herself from showing sadness and compassion, and after making sure that the tears that had flooded her eyes had receded, she gently walked to him and sat down, chatting like a normal person: "Brother Chengyi, I was released.
Come and see you”
Jiang Liu was afraid of this thin and cold man. Although he was so beautiful, the deathly aura emanating from his body made her hair stand on end. She shivered to the door, not daring to come close.
Cheng Yi nodded, finally expressing something.
"Is there any water? I'm so thirsty after coming all the way." Mei Li forced a smile.
"Inside the room" Cheng Yi glanced at
Meili stood up and walked into his room. The furnishings in the room were simple and crude, and they were tidied up, as if no one had ever lived here.
The tea set was placed on the table near the bedside. When she went to pour water, she accidentally glanced at the bed. She suddenly found that the bedding was extremely thin. She couldn't help but walked over and touched it. As she expected, although the sheets were neat, they were full of accumulation.
It's damp, and it's obvious that they haven't been exposed to the sun for a long time. The people stationed here are all grown men. Brother Cheng Yi has lost his power again. Even if there are people to help clean, they won't be too dedicated.
She understands this situation very well
I quickly asked Jiang Liu to come and drink some water, and sent her to ask the soldiers outside for a long rope. Taking advantage of the warm sun at noon, I quickly helped Brother Cheng Yi to enjoy the feeling of the moisture-stained quilt covering his body...
...She still gets chills when she thinks about it now
Cheng Yi stared at the two girls going in and out of his room, drying the bedding one by one. Although he frowned in disapproval, he didn't say anything.
Jiang Liu worked hard for a while and was very tired. Meili asked Cheng Yi and arranged for her to rest in a small room. She found a wooden stick in the yard and gently patted the quilts and mattresses on the rope one by one to remove the dust.
, can also make cotton more fluffy and soft
Cheng Yi looked at her silently, with a faint pity flashing in his eyes. How did she become like this... He knew that she was so charming and willful, how did she survive such a long time?
"Master, walk well and be careful of the steps!" A diligent voice sounded at the door of the courtyard, which was particularly clear in the silent afternoon.
Meili looked up and saw a middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader grovelingly leading Jingxuan in. She stopped her hand blankly, and he was looking at her coldly. Meili lowered her eyes, blessed herself, and continued to pat the quilt.
God always likes to play tricks on her, so what can she do except let it go?
"The emperor asked me to take you to Fengtai camp" she heard Jingxuan say to Chengyi
"Okay." Cheng Yi was silent for a while before agreeing, and he slowly stood up. "Are we going to start a war?" His tone did not fluctuate, he was not excited, and he was not curious. A battle with Junggar was inevitable, it was just a matter of sooner or later.
"Probably not in the near future, but formal preparations must begin." Jingxuan seemed a little irritable.
"Water!" He ordered in a cold voice. Even though Meili's back was turned to him, she knew that the words were directed at her.
She nodded to show that she heard, walked back to the room, poured two glasses of water and brought them out. Brother Cheng Yi had been sitting there in a daze all morning. The sun was shining on him, so he should be thirsty.
There was no tray in the room, so she walked out cautiously with a teacup in one hand. She handed a cup to Chengyi first, then she freed up her hands to hold them to Jingxuan. She seemed to be extremely respectful, but in fact, she showed her closeness.
Cheng Yi saw this and frowned very quickly, Meili... finally gave up.
Jingxuan took the teacup with a cold face and drank it all in one gulp
Meili smiled and asked, "Do you still want to drink?" She was polite but indifferent.
Jingxuan didn't answer and threw the teacup back to her.
Meili didn't blame him for being rude. She waited quietly for Chengyi to finish drinking the water. They took away the cup together and took it to the well. They skillfully fetched a bucket of water and washed it carefully. They were whispering about political matters. She didn't mean to
Listen, wash the cups, and throw Cheng Yi behind the door without a job, and take out the change of clothes that the soldiers didn't have time to take away, and wash them.
She carefully smoothed the clothes and dried them on the long rope so that they would be smooth after drying. She wiped the fine beads of sweat on her forehead. She turned around inadvertently and found that the two men had stopped talking to each other, and both looked at her thoughtfully.
look at her
She was a little embarrassed at first, and then smiled calmly. Did they not expect that she could do such a job? Life taught her more than they imagined! In the cold palace, she would even be reluctant to finish the job at once.
She will cherish anything that helps her kill time. In the summer, she will be bored and wash the sheets and quilts every other day. Her bedding is almost torn by her washing.
In fact, she hadn't seen Cheng Yi for two years, so it was quite strange to wash his clothes without even seeing him. But when she saw the pile of clothes, she picked them up and washed them out of habit. She felt very at ease. She had something to do.
Two of Jingxuan's followers walked into the courtyard and said, "Master, what do you want for dinner? The servants must prepare early. There is nothing in the deserted village and wild shop here."
Jingxuan was a little impatient, "Whatever, you can eat whatever you want. We'll leave early tomorrow morning. There's no need to mobilize troops."
The entourage bowed his head to accept the order and stood outside the courtyard waiting for the mission. It was almost evening. The horn for dinner was blown in the camp. Jiang Liu also came out from sleep and helped the soldiers who brought the food to prepare food and dishes.
Jingxuan's bodyguards frowned at the crude food on the stone table. They were very embarrassed. After exchanging glances, one of them walked out quickly.
Meili sat down next to Cheng Yi and had three dishes and one soup. Although it was rough, it was enough to satisfy her hunger, and at least it was better than the food she had in Anning Hall... Naturally, she couldn't swallow it, but she had long been used to such a simple meal. She picked up the bowl and chopsticks
After setting aside a bowl of rice for Cheng Yi, Jingxuan... would have food for him. Didn't his servants already prepare it?
"What do you do?" Jingxuan suddenly shouted coldly.
Meili shuddered, only to find that he was glaring at the distracted Jiang Liu with a sullen face, "Are you the master, or is she the master?!" The majestic and cold tone made Jiang Liu cry.
"Gege... I'll do it..." Jiang Liu hurriedly snatched the chopsticks from her hand, choking and shouting for help.
Meili smiled apologetically. She was used to doing things by herself, but in his opinion, she was just a servant bullying her master. What he and she saw... were never the same thing.
"Give me a bowl too!" He ordered Jiang Liu with each movement, and the little girl's courage was already frightened by him.
Cheng Yi took a piece of scrambled eggs and put it in Mei Li's bowl. Mei Li smiled at him and each of them ate in silence. After being alone for a long time, they were naturally silent while eating.
Jingxuan picked up a piece of green vegetable, which was not cut at all. It was fried, more like cooked. He put it in his mouth. It had no taste at all. He frowned. Chengyi and she had been eating like this for the past two years.
Food? He looked at the two people across from him calmly, who didn't find the food unpalatable at all, and couldn't tell what he felt in his heart.
Jingxuan's entourage asked two soldiers to come back with trays. On one tray was a meal specially prepared for him. Although the style was monotonous, it was obviously made with care and was quite fragrant. There was even a bowl of braised pork elbow on the other tray.
Jar of wine, Chengyi threw down the bowl and chopsticks, picked up a jar and drank it
Meili also put down the bowl and said politely: "I'm done eating." Then she got up and collected the bedding that was hanging out.
Jiang Liu secretly glanced at the food that was newly placed on the stone table but no one was paying attention to it. He wanted to eat it, but was frightened by Jingxuan's expression that was so cold that he suddenly dropped the bowl. Jiang Liu was so frightened that he ran away from the stool.
He got up and ran to Meili, wishing he could hide under her skirt. Meili put the quilt away and smiled at her comfortingly, shaking her head. She was obviously not affected by Jingxuan's inexplicable anger.
"Take it! Get out!" He suddenly yelled at his followers angrily, "You guys get out too!" The two followers trembled with their hot faces against their cold buttocks, urging the soldiers on one side who were already shivering into a ball to quickly withdraw from the rear.