(2-in-1) Lin Jue rubbed his eyes and yawned: "What's wrong? I'm having a dream."
The little princess smiled and said: "Just go back to sleep later. I ordered people to go back to the palace to fetch a water bed and put it in the pavilion at noon for you to have a good sleep. But now you are afraid that you are about to get up and someone is visiting from outside the house."
"
Lin Jue frowned and said, "Who is it? It's a visit early in the morning. Can't we push it forward?"
"It's Lord Ma. He said he has something important to talk to you about. Aren't you there? Then I will order someone to go and get him." Guo Caiwei stretched out her hand to tuck Lin Jue's messy hair and said softly.
"Ma Bin?" Lin Jue suddenly sat up and said repeatedly: "Then I want to see you, then I must see you. I'll get up right now. Where is Lu Wu? The clothes she ironed for me last night are still with her."
"The green dance girl has already sent them here. She went to Zaoyuan early in the morning. I asked her to send a few sets of clothes and some snacks to Miss Xie. I was afraid that Miss Xie would go to the theater, so she went early in the morning."
Guo Caiwei smiled.
Lin Jue was hurriedly getting dressed. Guo Caiwei hurriedly helped him, buttoning the cloth buttons under his armpits that he could never do well by herself, and went out to ask someone to fetch water for Lin Jue to wash up. Lin Jue quickly finished washing up.
, combed her hair into a bun, and quickly went to the front hall to meet the guests.
Ma Bin was sitting in the front hall drinking tea. Lin Jue stepped in, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Master Ma, hahaha, there are few visitors. I was asleep just now, so I came late and kept Master Ma waiting for a long time."
Ma Bin put down the tea cup and stood up with a smile and said: "It seems that I came at the wrong time and disturbed Brother Lin's sweet dream. But I had to come. There is news about that matter, and I have to be the first to do so."
Come and report it to Brother Lin."
Lin Jue was overjoyed and whispered: "Have you found it?"
"Well, I just found out last night. That teacher of yours is so awesome. It's been so many days and he hasn't even returned home. My brothers have been keeping an eye on him for so many days with no results. But last night someone went to help him.
Fang Zhongcheng sent something, my brothers followed that person, followed the clues, and finally found the person you were looking for. Hey, you actually asked an outsider to help deliver something to Fang Zhongcheng, how much you want to avoid Brother Lin." Ma Bin narrated in a few words.
I didn’t forget to complain about what happened.
Lin Jue said happily: "Great, great. Thank you for your hard work, Master Ma. Where will they stay?"
"Oh, it's on Xinwazi Street outside Fengqiu Gate in the north wing of the city. I don't know the exact location, but my brother knows. Just ask him to take you there." Ma Bin said with a smile.
"Okay, okay. Then I can leave now. By the way, thank you, Master Ma and your brothers. This... you wait a moment, I will be here soon." Lin Jue hurried away, leaving Ma Bin standing in the hall.
Not sure why.
Lin Jue came back after a while. He was already wearing a hat, riding boots, and short clothes, which were riding attire. When he saw Ma Bin, Lin Jue reached out and took out a few banknotes from his arms and handed them over.
He said: "Master Ma, it's just my wish, please accept it. Brothers, thank you for your hard work. Let's go drink for them."
Ma Bin waved his hands repeatedly and said, "What are you doing? Do I need to be paid for doing something for you Brother Lin? Brother Lin really looks down on me, Ma Bin."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Who gave it to you? It was given to your brother who was helping you. Your Majesty is not short of hungry soldiers, so my help is for nothing. As for you, Mr. Ma, I will treat you to a drink some other day. I will give it to you."
I want to ask for money, but I won’t give you even a tael. Hahaha.”
Ma Bin chuckled and said, "That's it. Then I will accept it on behalf of my brothers and distribute it to them later. I would like to express my gratitude to them, Master Lin."
Lin Jue laughed and said: "Don't you humiliate me from time to time? Master Lin, my official position has become the laughing stock of the whole city. You, Master Ma, are also laughing at me."
Ma Bin said hurriedly: "Don't dare, I don't mean that. Hey, but it's true, why did you only give that official? You are the top scholar. Your father-in-law doesn't help you with the operation.
, it really makes people angry. I had a drink with Commander Shen yesterday, and the two of us scolded each other for a long time, fighting for your injustice. In other words, someone must be behind this. I was wondering if it was the last time you hit Lu Yanei.
The thing is, Prime Minister Lu deliberately messed with you."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Thank you, Mr. Ma, for your concern. It's nothing. I'm not interested in official positions. That official position... is pretty good too."
Ma Bin smacked his lips and said: "Brother Lin, you are a talent. The court cannot treat you like this. Brother Lin, if no one is willing to help, I, Ma Bin, can help you. Our Imperial City Division lacks people like you, Brother Lin. I
That day, I told my chief envoy about you, and he said that if you want to come to the Imperial City Division, he can make arrangements for you. At worst, when you come, I will give you this deputy envoy, and I will treat you as your brother."
Lin Jue hurriedly waved his hands and said with a smile: "I don't dare, don't be joking. How could I do this? Let's not talk about this anymore. I have to find someone first. Just ask one of your brothers to show you the way."
Ma Bin nodded and said: "Forget it, it's not too late to talk about these things later. I have to go to the Yamen, and I can't accompany you. I ordered the brother who was following me last night to accompany you. Let's talk about it later."
Lin Jue nodded in agreement. At that moment, Lin Jue asked Xiaohu to prepare the horses and went out with Ma Bin. Several brothers from the Imperial City Division were chatting under the big tree at the door. Ma Bin called a brother who was in charge of yesterday and gave instructions.
He led Lin Jue the way. After saying a few words, he said goodbye to Lin Jue and left with the rest of the troops.
…
Lin Jue, Xiaohu and the brother of the Imperial City Secretary named Amu got on their horses and left the house of Daxiangguo Temple all the way to the east, then turned to the north, exited the north gate of the inner city through Fengqiu Gate through Ma Xing Street, and arrived at Fengqiu Gate.
On Qiumenwai Street. Half an hour later, we arrived at the edge of a messy residential area.
Although the streets in the inner city of Bianliang City are wide and the houses are exquisite, after all, the number of rich people is only a very small number, and not everyone in the inner city has the conditions to live there. The vast majority of ordinary people still live in the outer city.
In the district, the houses here are much worse than those in the inner city. Although it is not a slum in the complete sense, the old houses, alleys, narrow roads, and sewage flowing across it are definitely not a livable place.
Amu led Lin Jue and Xiaohu into this residential area, and saw spiderweb-like alleys connected together like a maze, with half-naked children running around dirty in the narrow alleys.
Go. The ditches at the base of the walls of the houses on both sides of the alley are winding, with dirt and fallen leaves floating on them, emitting an unpleasant stench under the evaporation of the sun. Occasionally, dirty mice will escape from the ditches, and then quickly
Disappeared on the other side. The wooden buildings on both sides also filled the air with the smell of mildew. The various smells mixed together made people feel sick.
It is rare to see neatly dressed people like Lin Jue and others riding tall horses in this kind of place, so Lin Jue and the other three received many curious looks as they walked in the streets. A group of children curiously chased after the horses.
Afterwards, they were running and playing. In the houses on both sides, there were also some people with shabby clothes and vicissitudes of life on their faces who cast confused glances at Lin Jue and others.
Looking at this scene, Lin Jue's mood suddenly changed from expectation to extremely heavy. How could Huanqiu live peacefully in a place like this? Huanqiu loved cleanliness and was a girl who loved beauty. How could she endure such a dirty environment?
Wouldn't Huanqiu's illness get worse in a place like this? All of this was caused by himself, which made Lin Jue feel very guilty. He secretly decided that no matter what, he would see Huanqiu today and take him with him.
She leaves here. She must not be allowed to live in a place like this.
In addition, Lin Jue was also impressed by the large area of the common people gathering in front of him. The Zhou Dynasty was indeed not as glamorous as it appeared on the surface. If you look at the living environment of the common people under the emperor's feet, you will know how poor their lives are.
and poverty. The great Zhou Dynasty spent hundreds of years of peace and recuperation, and was known as an unprecedented peaceful and prosperous age. However, the current situation made this slogan ring hollow. It is not that there were no poor people in the prosperous times, but that such a large number of people were in extreme poverty.
, and it was in Bianliang City at the foot of the prosperous Emperor, so it has to be said that the Zhou Dynasty was indeed sick, and the illness was not serious.
This place where civilians gather is so large that it takes less than half an hour to walk through the alleys, and it is very easy to get lost if you twist and turn left and right. If Amu hadn't led the way, Lin Jue and Xiaohu would have gotten lost here. But.
Finally, after passing through more than a dozen alleys, the three of them arrived at a slightly open space. A low wall surrounded the open space, and a large locust tree could be seen in the distance.
There, the green leaves were whirling and the leaves rustled.
"Master Lin, there is a small courtyard to the east of the locust tree, which is where the villain followed last night." Amu leaned over and pointed to the crown of the locust tree and said.
Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "Thank you for showing me the way. Thank you for your hard work, brother. You can help yourself. You don't have to bother me when you get here."
"Okay, then I'll take my leave, little man." Amu immediately handed over his hand to say goodbye, turned his horse's head and left.
Because there was a low wall between them, Lin Jue and Lin Hu had no choice but to dismount and lead the horses to the earth wall. The earth wall was only about four feet high and could reach Lin Jue's forehead. Lin Jue and Xiao Hu stopped after more than a hundred steps.
No entrance found.
"Xiaohu, you lead the horse to find a way over, and I'll climb over the wall and have a look. Anyway, we have this big locust tree as our target, so we won't be separated." Lin Jue saw that people were eager, so he said to Lin Hu.
Lin Hu knew the young master's thoughts and was eager to see Miss Huanqiu. The terrain here was unfamiliar and he didn't know where to take a detour, so it would be easier to just climb over the wall. Although this may be against the rules,
I don't have much else to worry about at the moment.
Xiaohu led the two horses away. Lin Jue tucked his clothes into his waist, found a slightly shorter wall and climbed up with both hands. The earthen wall should have been built a long time ago. It has been exposed to the wind and weather.
The bricks had already become loose due to the sun. Lin Jue could barely climb up the wall, but a mud brick on it began to collapse. Before Lin Jue had time to react, it rolled down the wall with a "clunking" sound. The dirt and grass clippings fell, even though Lin Jue had no time to react.
I felt that there was a bamboo hat on my head, and a lot of it was still poured into my head and neck, and my face was covered with disgrace.
Lin Jue spat out the loess and grass clippings in his mouth, and climbed up. He shook the soil off his body and looked around. In front of him was a field of wormwood and thorns as tall as a person, and he couldn't see it at all.
Anything. When I stood on tiptoe and looked, I could only see the roofs of a few huts in the distance near the north, but they were obviously uninhabited because half of them collapsed, leaving only messy roof rafters and large damaged holes.
Fortunately, there was a big locust tree standing tall in the east, which was the landmark. Lin Jue separated from the weeds and started walking in the direction of the big locust tree. Artemisia as tall as a person blocked his sight, and the air was unbearably hot, so he only walked two steps.
After thirty steps, Lin Jue was covered in sweat, his clothes were torn in several places by thorns, and he was in a very embarrassed state. But at the same time, Lin Jue heard the sound of human voices and branches coming from the front. Lin Jue was busy ignoring the weeds.
He rushed forward desperately, and finally stumbled out of the tangle of long grass, and fell into a vegetable patch.
It turns out that this area has been reclaimed, the weeds have been cleared, and a small vegetable patch has been created. There are many green vegetables growing in the green field. There are also thin bamboo bean trellises set up, like green fences.
Lin Jue stood up and breathed a sigh of relief, bypassing several rows of green bean barriers and walking towards the place where people and creaking sounds were heard. Suddenly, the scene in front of him was in full view. Under the tall locust tree was
There is a well railing. There is a windlass riding above the wellhead. A woman is squatting next to the well railing. Next to her is a large wooden basin. The woman is washing something in the wooden basin. Next to the windlass, a girl in Tsing Yi is holding her hand.
With his sleeves exposed and his white wrists exposed, he struggled to shake the pot to lift water from the well. The pot turned and made a squeaking sound. The woman and the girl were talking to each other. This was what Lin Jue heard in the grass before.
Lin Jue only took one look at the movement, and his whole body froze there like a clay sculpture. He was very familiar with the figure of the girl in green fetching water. This figure had appeared in his memory and dreams countless times. He
How could I not recognize him? That was Fang Huanqiu.
Lin Jue felt that his whole body was numb and stiff. He opened his mouth and wanted to shout, but only a strange sound came out from his dry throat, like a cry of pain.
The two people on the wellrail heard this strange scream. They both stopped what they were doing and turned around to look around. Then they both saw a man wearing a bamboo hat and a dirty body limping.
Walking towards the well railing.
"Auntie, what happened to that person?" Fang Huanqiu asked with a frown.
The woman who was washing vegetables next to the well fence frowned and said, "I'm afraid it's a passerby or a homeless person. Maybe he's thirsty and wants to ask for some water? Huanqiu, just bring a bucket of water for him to drink."
"Okay, it's so pitiful. Why did you end up inside this wall? Can't we get too hot in this weather?" Fang Huanqiu responded and shook the windlass again.
"Hey, isn't it? A homeless man who had no place to sleep, so he went to sleep in a hut all night. This year, the situation is getting worse and worse. Many country people came to the capital to make a living, but they didn't even have a place to live.
No. They were not allowed to stay in the inner city, so they came to places like us. Therefore, it is not surprising that things were lost in the vegetable garden. I am afraid these people stole some and ate them. Just treat it as a good deed, and there is no need.
Care about it." The woman spoke in a long-winded manner, while her hands kept working.
Fang Huanqiu frowned slightly, while shaking the windlass with difficulty, while looking at the man in a bamboo hat who was walking towards him. A small wooden bucket filled with clear well water was exposed at the mouth of the well. Fang Huanqiu reached out to lift the bucket, but her eyes
She kept looking at the man in the bamboo hat who was getting closer and closer. Suddenly, her body froze and she froze there. She found that the figure of the man walking towards him was very familiar, although she could not see clearly what was under the bamboo hat.
That face, but this person's walking posture was very familiar, which shocked her.
"Huanqiu! Huanqiu! Is that you?" Lin Jue was finally able to call out. Although the sound in his dry throat was still a bit weird, the call was extremely clear.
Fang Huanqiu suddenly froze, her eyes widened and she stared blankly at the person approaching. Suddenly she let go of her hands, covered her face and ran away. The full wooden barrel suddenly fell into the well with a bang.
The sound of the rope driving the windlass reversed crazily, clanging and clanging as if it was about to fall apart.
"Huanqiu! It's me. Huanqiu, don't leave." Lin Jue shouted and ran over.
The woman beside the well railing stood there in a daze. When Lin Jue ran past her, the woman asked blankly: "Who are you? How do you know Huanqiu?"
Lin Jue didn't have time to talk to her. He stared at the graceful green figure in front of him, watching her like a frightened deer, bypassing several vegetable patches and green fences and disappearing on the side of the earth wall. Lin Jue
Lin Jue ran away wildly, but after seeing a hedge of beans and vines, he saw an ordinary and simple small courtyard beside a low wall. Apart from that, there were no other houses. Lin Jue ran away, holding on to the door frame of the small courtyard and panting.
After calming down for a moment, he reached out and pushed the door open and went in.
The small courtyard is not big, but it is neat and clean. Next to a stone roller in the courtyard, a woman is looking at Lin Jue in shock.
Lin Jue recognized her at a glance, and immediately called out in a trembling voice: "Master's wife."
The shocked expression on Mrs. Fang's face slowly faded and turned gloomy. She saw the face of Lin Jue who rushed in after taking off his bamboo hat.
"Lin Jue?"
"It's me, Master. It's me. How good is Master?" Lin Jue greeted her and wanted to salute.
"Don't dare to take it seriously. The slave family can't bear the gift of Lin Zhuangyuan. By the way, it's still the county horse. May I ask what the county horse meant when he broke into my small farmyard? Even if you have someone to support you now and you have great power, you still can't stand it.
You can't break into people's homes at will." Mrs. Fang said coldly.
"Master's wife...I...Huanqiu..." Lin Jue stammered and was speechless.
"Let's go. If we can't afford to offend you, why can't we hide? Why do you come to harm my Huanqiu again? For the sake of our family's treatment of you, please don't bother us again and give my Huanqiu a way to survive.
, give us some peace and quiet." Mrs. Fang sighed loudly.
Lin Jue's heart was as sharp as a knife, and Mrs. Fang's attitude made him really uncomfortable. But he did not blame Mrs. Fang for these harsh words. From a mother's perspective, his daughter was hurt, how could she not stand up to protect her?
.Lin Jue believed that Mrs. Fang must be having a hard time in her heart. After all, in the past, Mrs. Fang treated her really well, as if she were her own son. It was not a false sentiment at all. Maybe it was because of love.
It must be so deep that there is such a big reaction.
"Master's wife, you let me see Huanqiu. I must see her. Even if I get scolded by you, I still want to see her. This matter is so strange that I have nothing to say.
I can understand the decision Huanqiu made in order not to drag me down. However, no matter what, I have to see Huanqiu. I have to explain to her and understand some things. Otherwise, I will never
Will leave." Lin Jue said softly.
"What? Are you still relying on us? Don't forget that we also have a censor Zhongcheng in our family. He may not be afraid of your father-in-law. You ungrateful person, what do you think I am doing? Hurry up!
Leave immediately, or I will report you to the official." Mrs. Fang sneered.
Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Why do you have to say such things, Master? You should know what kind of person Lin Jue is. If Lin Jue is ungrateful, he will ask me to strike with five thunders from the sky and die without a burial place. Master, I
Please, let me see Huanqiu, I...I just want to see her and say a few words to her. Once I see that she is fine, I feel relieved and can leave."
