Lu Huiqing was ill. Because his body had been soaked in excrement water all night, even in winter, the wound still suppurated. He had a high fever all over his body. He had hired a boat, but the boatman refused to go south because he had bumped into something dirty that he shouldn't have.
, Ayou had no choice but to take Lu Huiqing, who was seriously ill, to live in the suburbs of Suzhou, hoping to wait until Lu Huiqing recovered from his illness before continuing his journey south.
On a windy evening, Lu Huiqing woke up and stuttered dumbly at the gruel that Ayou had put into his mouth. He couldn't move now. If he moved a little, yellow pus would flow out, so he had to keep quiet.
I was lying on the bed, drinking porridge and trying to remember what happened that day.
A lively woman cannot turn into a mouse, this is what Lu Huiqing concluded.
As a Confucian disciple, Lu Huiqing can still respect ghosts and gods and stay away from them. Since they are not gods and ghosts, there is only one possibility. This thing was done by a human! But who could this person be?
He didn't know how long he thought about it, but when he saw Ayou coming in from the door, Lu Huiqing cheered up and turned over. He felt that his body was like a broken bag. As long as he moved a little, water would come out everywhere.
Only at this time every day could he feel better, with the cold white snow covering his body, and the chill that penetrated the bone marrow could slightly relieve the itching that could drive a living person crazy.
"Ayou, let's leave Suzhou City and move to Suzhou Pier!"
Ayou patted the snow foam on his hands, put his hands that were red from the cold on his mouth, breathed on the heater, stamped his feet and asked carefully: "Master, it's not convenient for you to live in Suzhou Wharf. The people living there are too mixed and chaotic.
, will affect your treatment."
Lu Huiqing turned over again and pressed her chest against the ice and snow. The skin there was the most ulcerated and there was no good piece of flesh left. The bright red muscles were exposed like a skinned mouse.
These muscles cannot be kept close to the ice and snow for a long time, otherwise they will get frostbite. Lu Huiqing just wants to relieve the itching, and is not planning to die.
"Ayou, although the dock is chaotic, it is also the place with the best information. We are like a blind man now. We don't know how to do anything. We always need a source of information."
Ayou saw that Lu Huiqing's body had begun to tremble, so he wrapped him in oilcloths. These oilcloths were coated with a layer of wax according to the master's instructions, so that they would not stick to the skin and flesh. When the master was unconscious, he himself
I used linen cloth, but I didn't expect that the linen cloth was stuck to the wound. It took a lot of effort to tear it off, and the master was also tortured to death.
Seeing that the master had fallen asleep, Ayou wrapped the master in a quilt and tied it with a thin rope. Only in this way, the master would not take off the quilt in his sleep because of itchiness all over his body.
After making arrangements for the master, Ayou went to the store to hire an oxcart with a shed, put the master and his luggage on the car, and then braved the heavy snow to go to Suzhou Ferry.
After all, heavy snow has covered the Bianhe River, and the canal has finally reached its winter break. The busy water transportation will only restart after the river is opened next year. This year's snow came so quickly that Suzhou Ferry was so crowded that it had to be closed because of the river closure.
Merchants who stayed here to wait for their goods to be transported by land, as well as various people who relied on the canal to beg for food.
The most people who come here are not merchants, but boat owners on the canal. Two hundred miles south of Suzhou, the canal will no longer freeze and can still be navigated. Therefore, countless boat owners come to Suzhou for no other reason than to cross over.
Just to attract business, merchants' goods can be reloaded on ships after being transported by land for two hundred miles, and they can continue southward.
There is nothing special about the captain's attire when he is on the boat, but when he goes ashore, he wears a long robe, a green shirt, a square hat or a small satin hat, a calfskin cradle, tied with a thick silver chain, and stuffed inside.
Copper coins. He wears rawhide boots and walks very heavily. He is tall and thin. He has big hands, which are covered with yellow hair and veins, and his face is covered with rust. He lives on the water.
The most obvious sign of a person.
This kind of person likes to drink, is well-traveled, and is not stingy with women. He is the most popular high-roller among the singing girls in Suzhou Ferry. Sailors are usually strong and brave, have sharp features, and are good at singing, swimming, fighting, and swearing.
When he entered the water, he looked like a fish, and when he came ashore and approached the woman, he looked like a little boar.
Lu Huiqing's spirits improved a lot. Ayou wrapped her in a quilt and carried her to the lobby of the guest house. She chose a secluded place to put the master in. He ordered a plate of salted beans, drank a dime of turbid wine, and ate the beans.
While drinking, I listened to the news from all directions with my master.
Almost ten days have passed. The shopkeeper has long been familiar with the habits of their master and servant. As usual, the seats against the wall are reserved for them. Sitting here, they can clearly see every corner of the lobby.
Two days ago, Lu Huiqing even saw a person he knew. This person was called Shen Kuo. He liked the strange things in the world the most. However, when this person saw him, he seemed not to see him and walked past. When he saw Lu Huiqing,
His scarred arms even curled his lips in disgust.
Lu Huiqing, who had a strong sense of self-esteem, did not come forward to acknowledge her. He also knew very well that this person was really not a good friend.
When he looked in the mirror, Lu Huiqing realized why Shen Kuo didn't recognize him. The person in the bronze mirror looked very strange to him. In just one month, most of his hair had turned white, and his face had become skinny.
It was strange that Shen Kuo could recognize him since he had a human form and swollen arms.
From that day on, Ayou found that his master had changed and became more depressed. He often didn't say a word for the whole day, but he became more concerned about the chaotic news outside.
"Damn, all idiots know that money is easy to make in Shuzhong, but those damn Shuzhong people don't even give me a bite to eat. They have their own boats in the water and elephants on the shore. They use elephants.
There's no way I can compare to carrying cargo. Not only can this thing resist a lot at a time, but the most important thing is safety. Not to mention that the snakes, insects, tigers and leopards along the way will disappear when they hear the movement of this thing. Even in the mountains,
When the bandits see an elephant, they just run away like a mouse.
But the boats in the river are bullying. I heard that they built a kind of flat-bottomed boat in Yizhou. I heard that this kind of boat can carry a huge amount of cargo at a time and is very strong. Although it cannot travel on big rivers, it can be used in canals.
It is most appropriate to leave. If this continues, we will all have to drink from the northwest wind. This is not a way for people to survive."
A stout captain slapped his square hat on the table angrily and complained loudly.
Another captain rudely pushed the singing girl in his arms away and said irritably: "What's the use of talking about this? General Yun is standing behind me. Do you still want to compare yourself with this man?"
The stout captain suddenly lost his voice, drank all the wine in the wine bowl in one breath, threw a handful of copper coins on the table and said: "Just stay alive. If you can't eat this bowl of rice, I will go up the mountain to become thieves and go into the water."
Become a thief, and then wait for this invincible celebrity to destroy the bandits and chop off your head!"
When Lu Huiqing heard what the captain said, he smiled slightly, closed his eyes and continued to listen to the gossip.
A ship owner suddenly whispered: "Do you know? In addition to the witchcraft disaster in the capital, a good eminent monk was poisoned by someone and almost died. If Heitan Tou of Kaifeng Mansion hadn't solved the case, that eminent monk would have died."
He will definitely die in an unknown way."
The stout captain who was about to leave also regained his energy. He came over and asked in a low voice: "Who did this? How brave!"
"I heard he was a professor in the Imperial College. I don't know his name. I just know he is a professor."
"Isn't this damn life boring? All you need to do is kill with a knife. What kind of hatred is worth such a deadly attack? This time, the lives of the whole family, young and old, may not be saved."
Lu Huiqing opened her eyes, her cold eyes were like knives, but they quickly disappeared. She lowered her head again and planned to continue listening. Unexpectedly, the boat owners stopped talking about such things and started talking about some weird things they saw on the water.
, among them was the story of Lu Huiqing's encounter with the rat spirit, which made the shipowners so excited that they didn't even bother to greet the singing girls around them...
After Lu Huiqing was carried away by Ayou, she was unwilling to enter the room. She leaned against the wall and cried alone. Until she couldn't help crying, she covered her mouth with her hands.
Lu Huiqing knew very well what kind of crime would be caused after the witchcraft was discovered. He wanted to rush back to Quanzhou as quickly as possible and escape with his whole family. But his body simply did not allow him to do so.
, I was delayed in Suzhou for a whole month, and it was impossible to return home before the imperial court announced the announcement...
Three days later, Lu Huiqing was barely able to walk. Ayou caught up with the bullock cart and took Lu Huiqing to Suzhou...
There is a small Song Dynasty bank here in Suzhou. Ayou took the money order and exchanged the money here, and then drove the ox cart to Shanzhou upstream of Suzhou without stopping for a moment. Along the way, Lu Huiqing’s spirit
He felt much better. He always talked to Ayou about some interesting things about his hometown, and also asked Ayou to buy a lot of good wine and food. When passing by a dry well, Lu Huiqing asked Ayou to stop and put out wine and meat.
The master and the servant sat in the sun eating and drinking.
Lu Huiqing put her hands on Ayou's shoulders and said with tears: "I trusted others so much that I got into this disaster. You are the only one who has served me unswervingly. Your great kindness and virtue, Lu Huiqing, will never be forgotten. From today on, you will
He is no longer my servant, but my brother, closer than flesh and blood!"
Ayou hugged Lu Huiqing and cried with gratitude...
The two cried in the sun for a while and then drank a large bowl of wine. After a while, they both became extremely drunk.
After a while, Lu Huiqing slowly opened his eyes, listened to Ayou's snoring and stood up with great effort, lifted Ayou's legs and put them on the edge of the well, and then used all his strength to lift Ayou who was still sleeping soundly.
Ayou pushed into the dry well...
He sat on the edge of the dry well and listened, and there was a faint moaning sound. Lu Huiqing used a knife to pry loose the stones on the wall of the well, and saw large pieces of gravel falling into the dry well, and there was no more in the dry well.
There was no sound, so I got on the bullock cart again and turned west... (To be continued)