After Xia Changming left, Hu Xiaotian straightened his robes before knocking on Jian Rongxin's door. Jian Rongxin's indifferent voice came from inside: "The door is not closed, just come in by yourself."
Hu Xiaotian opened the door and walked in. The brazier in the room was heating up. Walking into the room from the cold outdoors, it felt like a sudden transition from winter to spring.
Jian Rongxin had already placed the food on the table, and to Hu Xiaotian's surprise, there was a pot of wine scalding on the small red clay stove.
Hu Xiaotian glanced at the wine bottle, with a meaningful smile on his lips.
Jian Rong thought: "You haven't eaten yet? Let's eat together!"
Hu Xiaotian said deliberately: "Drink a couple of cups to warm yourself up?"
Jian Rongxin said softly: "I don't know how I got drunk yesterday, so I want to recall it carefully when I'm sober!" Speaking of this matter, her two beautiful eyebrows couldn't help but stand up. Jian Rongxin, who had always been gentle and virtuous, also had some thoughts.
He had a bad temper, showing his dissatisfaction with Hu Xiaotian's previous actions with this expression.
Hu Xiaotian laughed.
Jian Rongxin picked up a big bowl and filled it for him.
Hu Xiaotian was not polite, he picked up the big bowl and drank it all in one breath. After drinking a bowl of hot wine, his whole body was warm and comfortable.
Jian Rong thought to himself, "If I had known how uncomfortable it would be to be drunk, I wouldn't have been fooled by you."
Hu Xiaotian said: "Being drunk can relieve a thousand worries. When you are drunk and fall asleep, you can temporarily forget a lot of things."
"But after you wake up, your headache becomes worse. Those things that bother you are still deep in your memory." Jian Rong sighed quietly and said: "The so-called getting drunk can solve a thousand worries is nothing more than self-deception. I finally
I understand why some people keep getting drunk because they want to keep anesthetizing themselves." Jian Shui looked at Hu Xiaotian and said, "If that's the case, what's the difference between living and dying?"
There was only enough wine in the jug to fill a bowl, and Hu Xiaotian had no more wine to drink.
Jian Rong thought: "Did I talk nonsense yesterday?"
Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "How can you talk nonsense if your surname is not Hu?"
Jian Rongxin's pretty face turned hot and she fell silent.
Hu Xiaotian realized that what he said unintentionally might be interpreted as a joke by her, so he quickly explained: "You didn't say anything, you just vomited all over me when you were drunk."
Jian Rongxin blushed. She had never been so out of temper in her life, especially in front of a man. She bit her lips and said, "I'm sorry!"
Hu Xiaotian said: "I should be the one who should say I'm sorry. I thought I could help you relieve your worries. But I didn't expect to make you so sad."
Jian Rongxin shook her head and said: "There is nothing to be sad about. I have lost everything, so why should I care about the remaining dignity?" Although she no longer remembers it, she believes that she must have been drunk in front of Hu Xiaotian.
There are hundreds of things to think about, and every time I think about this, I feel a little embarrassed.
Hu Xiaotian heard that she was still brooding over the drunken incident. He smiled and said, "Actually, you didn't say anything secret. You just talked about how your father, Grand Bachelor Jian, was a very elegant man, with excellent calligraphy and painting." In fact, Hu Xiaotian was basing this on him.
I told some of the things I learned just to relieve Jian Rongxin's embarrassment.
Jian Rongxin nodded. Although she was doubtful, it was better to hear Hu Xiaotian say this. She whispered: "What else did I say?" Thinking of her dead father, she felt a little sad.
Hu Xiaotian said: "It's nothing. It means that your marriage was not your own idea. It was all under the orders of your father. You don't have a deep relationship with him." These words were completely made up by Hu Xiaotian.
.
Jian Rongxin's pretty face turned red. She was secretly glad that she didn't reveal the secret between the couple. If Hu Xiaotian knew that she and Li Chenzhou were a fake couple in name only, he would be so embarrassed that he would die of embarrassment.
Hu Xiaotian saw that Jian Rongxin's mood was always calm, and he was happy for her. There is nothing more sad than heartbreak. Perhaps Jian Rongxin had completely cut off her feelings for him after seeing the loving scene between Li Chenzhou and Xue Lingjun. If Jian Rongxin was drunk
If what she said is true, then the love between her and Li Chenzhou is just an illusion in front of others.
Hu Xiaotian added: "I heard that Miss Jian is also good at calligraphy and painting. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely ask you for advice."
Jian Rongxin suddenly remembered something: "Oh, I forgot about it!"
Hu Xiaotian said: "What happened?"
Jian Rong thought to herself: "I went to Donglin Academy yesterday and felt confused. I always felt that there was something I had not done, but I couldn't remember it for a while. But after you told me, I remembered it." She stood up and said, "I still want to go back.
One trip.”
Hu Xiaotian asked: "What is so important?"
Jian Rong thought: "My father once said that he once buried a jar of daughter's red under the arborvitae. I should have taken it out when I got married, but unfortunately he forgot. He said that if one day he passed away,
Let me take out the jar of wine and sprinkle it on his tomb."
Hu Xiaotian secretly thought that it wouldn't be that important if it was just a jar of wine, but for him, it was different for Jian Rongxin. After all, it was her father's request during his lifetime, and as children, he must fulfill his father's wish no matter what.
Jian Rongxin said: "My father specifically told me this matter, but I actually forgot about such an important matter."
Hu Xiaotian said: "You don't need to come forward personally for this matter, I will just go!"
Jian Rong was stunned and said: "You?"
Hu Xiaotian said: "Of course it's me. Do you still want to go to Donglin Academy and dig out the jar of red wine? Of course you have to sneak in unnoticed and dig out the jar of wine secretly." He said.
Just do it, stand up and say: "I'll come back as soon as I go. Just wait here patiently for me. In an hour at most, I will bring you the jar of red wine."
Jian Rongxin saw that he was going to do it right away, and she couldn't help but feel grateful that there was someone in this world who paid so much attention to her words. She said softly: "Actually, there is no need to be in such a hurry. It's not too late to wait a few days before doing it."
Hu Xiaotian said: "After all, it is your father's wish. If I don't help you fulfill it, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to feel at ease."
Jian Rongxin whispered: "Then...be careful!"
Hu Xiaotian took advantage of the darkness and went out. When he came outside, he saw a lot of people walking on the street. As the situation in Yongdu calmed down, the martial law in the city had been lifted. People began to go out for normal activities in the past two days. After all, it was approaching the New Year and the people were busy.
While visiting relatives and friends and buying new year's goods, Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, it seems that he will celebrate the New Year in Yongdu this year.
When I came to the outside of Donglin Academy, I walked around along the wall of the academy. When I found a deserted place, I jumped up with a pop of my toes, crossed the wall and landed lightly in the academy like a fallen leaf.
Hu Xiaotian's memory was amazing. He went straight to the yard where Jian Rongxin had brought him yesterday and found the arborvitae tree.
There was no one in the courtyard. Hu Xiaotian took out the shovel and started digging. In the twelfth month of winter, the ground had already been frozen solid. Hu Xiaotian spent a lot of effort. At this time, he couldn't help but think of Liang Yinghao. If Liang Yinghao was an expert in digging holes,
I can definitely save a lot of effort here. After a while, I thought of the ghost doctor Fu Cui. The secret road leading to the imperial mausoleum was dug into the mountain and snaked through the rocks for ten miles, but I didn’t know that the ghost doctor
What kind of tools did Fu Zi use to open such a passage in a short period of time? Or did he have experts around him to help?
When Hu Xiaotian was thinking wildly, suddenly the shovel dug into something hard and made a harsh squeaking sound. Hu Xiaotian was so scared that he stuck out his tongue. After all, he had a guilty conscience. The sound was particularly harsh in the quiet night. He came to the courtyard gate and asked
After observing outside for a while, and making sure that the old man guarding the door was not disturbed, he turned back. At this time, Hu Xiaotian had dug a large hole three feet deep under the arborvitae. Hu Xiaotian's previous dig was right under the clay pot.
Above. He was worried that he would ruin the pottery pot, so he dug a circle around the pottery pot, shook the pottery pot with his hands, and after loosening the surrounding soil, he picked up the pottery pot.
Hu Xiaotian held the clay pot in his hands and felt that the clay pot was very light. He shook it and felt that although there was liquid in it, it was not too much. Through the moonlight, he saw that the clay pot was well sealed, but he did not expect that the wine inside had almost evaporated. He
Without thinking about it, I used the soil to fill up the hole I just dug, stepped on it, restored it to its original state as much as possible, and then returned along the original path with the pot in my arms.
Jian Rongxin had been waiting anxiously. Seeing that Hu Xiaotian returned within the agreed time, she was surprised and greeted him: "Are you back?"
Hu Xiaotian nodded and placed the freshly unearthed clay pot on the table in front of Jian Rongxin. He smiled and said, "I brought this jar of wine back intact, but there doesn't seem to be much in it."
Jian Rongxin picked up the wine jar and shook it, and said in surprise: "There doesn't seem to be much left in it."
Hu Xiaotian suggested: "How about opening it and taking a look?"
Jian Rong hummed in her heart. After Hu Xiaotian got her permission, he used a dagger to scrape off the wax seal on the surface and pulled the cork open. There was a pungent smell coming from inside. Hu Xiaotian frowned. This smell was definitely not wine.
fragrant.
Jian Rongxin couldn't help but frown: "What does it smell like? So weird?"
Hu Xiaotian leaned over the altar and looked inside: "There seems to be something!"
Jian Rongxin found a copper basin and asked Hu Xiaotian to pour the contents out. Hu Xiaotian carefully poured out the liquid, and a roll of leather-like stuff fell out, along with a wax pill.
Hu Xiaotian picked up the piece of leather and held it in his hand. He became uneasy in his heart. This thing was clearly a piece of human skin. He couldn't help but think of the mysteriously missing back skin of Emperor Jingde and Empress Dowager Jiang in the imperial mausoleum. From this
Judging from the time that Tan Erhong was buried, the possibility of Empress Dowager Chiang can be initially ruled out.
Hu Xiaotian looked carefully through the light, and there was no doubt that this thing about a foot square must be human skin. The liquid in the wine jar was not some kind of red wine, but a kind of preservative. That's why after so many years, this skin has always been preserved.
