In the early morning of October in Mengdong, the north wind roared and wandered in the courtyard like a fierce beast trapped in prison, rolling up the snow and beating the embroidered curtains of the boudoir, as if the spring breeze was once there, and the pear blossoms were flying. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Before the accumulated rainwater fell, it froze into strips of ice hanging under the eaves, like a curtain of crystal glass beads. The green pines and green bamboos in the yard were decorated with frost and snow overnight, like Qiongzhi jade trees.

The carriage outside the backyard door was ready, and Chu Yunxi hurriedly had breakfast, accompanied by Yan Qingshuang, entered the carriage and embarked on the road to Shifu. This month, rumors in the Chu Mansion have become more and more intense. She was tired, her heart tightened every day, and every time she came across people in the courtyard whispering, she sensitively thought that they were talking about her in unpleasant words. Then came the sleepless night. She wanted to push off Shi Lanyin's request several times, but she didn't want to confirm the malicious speculation of others, and she loved painting to the bone, Bai Biao has passed away, and she is the only heir of the unique painting art she created. With such a firm belief, she was able to persevere in the strange eyes of others.

In order to avoid an embarrassing meeting with Shi Jiaheng, Chu Yunxi took the initiative to determine the study time on the grounds of physical problems, and since then, the people of Chu Mansion heard the crisp bell in the backyard, but when the wheels were rolling, they could no longer see Shi Jiaheng's beautiful figure among the entourage.

She skillfully avoided Shi Jiaheng's bathing days, and when she entered and exited Shi Mansion, she would take one of Yan Qingshuang's three people with her, and she would never leave a meal, only teach and participate in any family activities in their mansion.

Mrs. Shi also felt her increasingly cold attitude and was slightly anxious, Shi Jiaheng neither interrogated nor complained, but silently endured the happiness and sorrow she gave.

Today, however, an exception has been made.

This morning, she came to Shi's mansion early, and met Shi Jiaheng as usual, and then locked up in the study with Shi Lanyin for a whole day.

From daytime to dusk, Yan Qingshuang held a knife in her arms, leaned on the pillars, closed her eyes slightly, and stood still like a door god. Everyone passing by her thought she was asleep, but she had clear ears and eyes, and the slightest movement around her could not escape her keen perception.

Today, Chu Yunxi reorganized various techniques and theories for her, and her mouth was dry from morning to night. This kind of high-intensity cramming teaching makes Shi Lanyin a little difficult to digest, in the past, she was learning and practicing, learning and changing, a course, she only taught about one-third of the time, and this time she almost never stopped, all the knowledge she had taught in the past two months was re-taught, and after the end, she also gave away a booklet that condensed her years of hard work. Shi Lanyin realized that this was her last class.

She sobbed slightly, very reluctant, Chu Yunxi touched her head soothingly, and suddenly said, "Lan Yin, can you go and invite your brother over, I have a few words to say to him." ”

Shi Lanyin wiped the corners of her eyes, burst into laughter, and happily jumped off the chair, a gust of wind seemed to run without a trace, Chu Yunxi sat quietly, staring at a Momei under his hand and was slightly stunned.

Shi Jiaheng lingered at the door for a long time with his brows furrowed, until Yan Qingshuang couldn't stand it and shouted into the house, forcing him to enter the house hesitantly.

Chu Yunxi's smile was still light and light, and his misty eyes were shining, as if he could shed tears at any time. Although she was covered in a thick cotton coat, he could clearly distinguish the shape of her thin shoulder bones. Her thin back did not curl up in the slightest because of the pain, but still stood stubbornly, like the ink-stained plum branch in her hand, lonely and arrogant.

In her eyes, Shi Jiaheng was also thin, the contours of her cheeks were as sharp and angular as a knife cut, her eyes were soft and bright, and her eyes were slightly red with a hint of haggard exhaustion. Although his capable and neat riding outfit can better show his strong posture as a military general, he is still used to wearing a scholar's robe at home, elegant but not weak, clean and not pedantic.

She didn't salute him, but sat down and smiled at him and nodded. The abbreviation of etiquette does not mean rudeness at this time, but rather a sense of intimacy. The wrinkle on his brow flattened suddenly, and he pulled a joyful smile at her.

He stared into her eyes and asked hoarsely and sourly, "How are you lately?" ”

Chu Yunxi did not avoid his gaze, and faced him directly, and when the two met their eyes, the anxiety and panic in her heart subsided a lot, and she was even slightly excited. She suddenly realized that when she faced him without distraction, there was no fear in her heart. It dawned on her that the fear was her, not the person standing in front of her.

But when answering her questions, her eyes would still uncontrollably tilt to one side, messily avoiding the inexplicable emotion.

"I'm not good."

Her answer was unexpected, Shi Jiaheng took two steps closer to her and stopped stiffly, asking, "What's wrong with you?" ”

She lowered her head and sighed, "I'm afraid of many words." Zhong Kehuai also, people have many words, and they can also be afraid. ”

Shi Jiaheng smiled indifferently, and said proudly: "The water of Yang does not flow Chu." The final fresh brothers, Wei Yu and the daughter. There is no believer in the words of people, and people are really women. Yang Zhishui, not flowing salary.

The final fresh brothers, Wei Yu two. Without the words of those who do not believe, people do not believe. ”

Chu Yunxi smiled knowingly, rolled up the clothes belt on his body, and said, "I understand the truth, but others don't understand." ”

Shi Jiaheng stood with his hands behind his back, looked around, and said in a deep voice: "On the battlefield, sometimes the armor in your heart is stronger than the armor on your body. Chu Xiaolian can't beat you, are you still afraid of a few rumors? ”

Chu Yunxi seemed to be encouraged, raised his head and smiled: "I'm confused." But ant encroachment is more difficult to guard against than an oncoming storm. ”

Shi Jiaheng turned his head to stare at her, did not answer, and the two returned to silence, this time the conversation ended abruptly, one did not have the courage to confide, and the other had too many obstacles in his heart, so he couldn't talk about it. The two of them talked about things like dragonflies, and neither of them touched the essence. is also because of fear, one is afraid and refuses to show it, and the other is afraid and unwilling to admit it, so the two people get along even more cloudy and confusing.

Silence was like a pair of invisible hands holding the throats of the two of them, and after a long time, Chu Yunxi finally took out a red sandalwood box from his arms, put it on the table, and pushed it in front of him.

"This was originally yours, I should have returned it to you a long time ago." She turned her head away, too weak to look at his expression.

Shi Jiaheng picked up the box, opened it, his heart was shocked, and he asked tremblingly, "What do you mean by this?" ”

Chu Yunxi said softly: "It's you, it's yours." It is natural for things to return to their original owners. ”

Shi Jiaheng snapped the lid of the box, took a breath, and said calmly: "Thank you for that." With that, he walked away without looking back, and although there was no anger in his words, the loud closing of the door already hinted at his mood.

Chu Yunxi originally thought that she would be relieved and relaxed, but at this moment, her heart was cold.

Yan Qingshuang opened the door, and the courtyard was full of bright white light. Today coincides with the fifteenth day, a round of jade plate in the sky seems to be hung high by the bright moon, the sky has cleared, and a thick layer of snow has accumulated on the ground, echoing with the moonlight in the sky, making the heaven and the earth one color, silent, like glass.

There is no wind outside, so there is no stinging chill, and the cold feeling is solidified.

The snow on the ground was slippery, and the carriage could not be started, so the coachman rested in Chu Mansion. Although Shi Jiaheng preferred that she could stay overnight, he could only swallow this simple concern for her safety.

Yan Qingshuang grew up in the icy northwest since she was a child, and she was not afraid of the cold, so she only approved a cotton cloak at random before going out, and wrapped a white fox fur tightly around Chu Yunxi. Although she is not good at words and often has a cold face, she has an excellent heart and a chivalrous heart, and she takes care of Chu Yunxi more like a sister, for fear that she will catch a cold and be cold, which will save Lu Yan a lot.

The two of them helped each other into the snow and ice, the snow on the ground accumulated five inches, as soon as the footsteps entered, the snow overflowed the ankles, as soon as they moved away, there was a snow pit on the ground, and the fine ice particles penetrated, drilling through the gaps in the woolen boots, attacking together with the cool air outside the boots, and soon the feet were frozen and unconscious.

Chu Yunxi's cold body trembled slightly, her teeth fought uncontrollably, Yan Qingshuang wrapped one hand around her shoulders and held her left hand with the other, the warmth in her hand continued to melt in the coldness of her palm, as if she was holding a piece of ice that was cold in her heart.

Yan Qingshuang rubbed her shoulders and asked, "Are you still cold?" ”

Chu Yunxi's smile was stiff, and with the frequency of her body trembling, the lantern in her hand kept swaying from side to side, and the swaying light flickered brightly and dimly on the snow-white road in front of her. She trembled and said softly, "It's okay, don't worry." ”

On a snowy night, the weather was particularly cold, and the soldiers patrolling the city were all hiding in the house to warm themselves by fire, and no one wanted to walk along the mouth of the city wall and alley in such a night when they could freeze their fingers. However, they were not worried that people would be haunting the streets at the moment, it was too cold for even thieves and robbers to starve to death in a warm bed than to go out and pick up the gold and jewels that had fallen on the ground.

The entire capital was so crushed by the snow that it couldn't make a sound. So even though the footsteps were as light as catkins, they could still be heard clearly in the empty and lonely snow. Yan Qingshuang's ears and martial arts were all above Chu Yunxi, and when she turned the first street corner, she noticed it, and as soon as her footsteps stopped, Chu Yunxi turned her head in surprise and heard the sound of ice and snow being crushed.

Her hand resting on Chu Yunxi's shoulder quickly withdrew and pressed it on the handle of the knife on her waist, and Chu Yunxi turned back with bated breath. There was a man parked behind a wall on the corner, only half of his body exposed, his entire face almost completely hidden in the shadow of the wall, but she still recognized who he was.

Yan Qingshuang, who looked alert, almost drew his knife, and the man shrank back, leaving only a shadow in the snow. Chu Yunxi stopped Yan Qingshuang, who wanted to rush over, stared at the tall figure on the ground with heavy thoughts, pulled her sleeve, and said in a low voice without raising her head: "Let's go." ”

Yan Qingshuang glanced at her puzzled, she just stared at the flat pieces of snow under her feet with her head buried in a heavy and low manner, silent.

Scattered pieces of snow fell from the sky under the escort of the moonlight, like petals sent in the early spring breeze, and when they fell on the sideburns, they bloomed into clusters of white cherry blossoms.

She could clearly hear the footsteps behind her ring ring again, the melody of their footsteps, like the harmony of a song. But his footsteps were always in tune, unhurried, unhurried and unhurried to follow the rhythm of their advance, maintaining a distance of more than ten paces, neither near nor far away.

His rock-solid steps covered all the marks of their steps, like a firm and wide tree holding up a clear sky behind them.

Yan Qingshuang couldn't hold back her curiosity, and wanted to turn her head back several times to see this strangely acting stalker, but Chu Yunxi always urged her to hurry and didn't give her a chance to turn back. She secretly wondered, and the interrogation was only silent.

Finally arrived at the back door of the Chu Mansion, the two went up the steps, Chu Yunxi stretched out his hand and knocked on the door, and waited at the door and jumped at the door with his hand to warm the Biyin as if he heard the Sanskrit sound of the Buddhist temple, and instantly felt a sense of relief.

In the short time when Chu Yunxi was untied, Yan Qingshuang did not hesitate to spy on the person behind her, her sensitive hearing allowed her to confidently judge his location, and with a flicker, his figure stopped behind a cypress tree in the southwest of them.

She quietly turned sideways in the direction where he stayed, afraid that he would find out, and pretended to face the moonlight to tidy up her clothes, but her eyes were focused on the direction in which he was hiding, and somehow the man also leaned outward, and she was happy in her heart and saw it.

Then there was surprise and compassion, she controlled her emotions well, and when Chu Yunxi called her to enter the door, she walked in quickly before her with an indifferent face, and pulled away the complaining Biyin by the door without a trace, leaving the work of closing the door to her.

Raise her foot to enter the door, reflexively close the door, this action that should have been done quickly, but in her hands was slowed down, and then slowed down, she lowered her head, always kept her head down, only the moment the door closed, she raised her eyes, her eyes were dripping, the man turned out from behind the tree, and although there was no barrier between the two, they could only look at each other far away in the narrow crack of the door. The moonlight plated his body like a veil, hazy and illusory, as if he were a phantom reflected in the water, shattered by tears that burst out of his eyes, and as the door closed, it was crushed into ash like foam.

The extreme cold made people lazy and sleepy, so people spent almost half of the winter in drowsy sleep, until the arrival of the new year brought a great joy to wake up people's sleeping souls.

People work hard for a whole year in order to be in the first day of the first month of the extreme carnival, the more difficult life is the more delicious the New Year, this is every day feasting and drinking, the joy of the nobles who do not stop laughing.

On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, the firecrackers in the city are deafening, even if they sit opposite each other, they have to shout loudly to hear each other's words, but people no longer care about etiquette, and the higher the voice at this moment, the more excitement and joy can be reflected.

Compared with the boiling sound around him, the Lin Mansion was extremely quiet.