Tan Wanqing, who woke up from a light sleep, held the soft cotton mattress that had been sunburned by Ruizhu with her hands, and half got up, with some regret on her face.

She subconsciously called Ruizhu lightly first, and only remembered when she saw that no one answered, Ruizhu had already gone out.

The sound of the knocker was not light or heavy, three times and three knocks, not intense, but it was impossible to ignore, she hesitated slightly, and then opened the window of Xiaoxuan lightly to look out.

It was cold at the beginning of winter outside, and as soon as the window was opened, the warmth around him was diluted by the cold outside.

The warm winter sun fell on the back of her snow-white hand, which made this cool and unbearable, and as she opened the window of Xiaoxuan, there was a "squeak" sound, and the knocker of the outside door rang three more times.

The person outside the door should not be Ruizhu.

The two women live alone, because of the security, the door is naturally the most important, even if it is close to the north gate, the security is good, and they will never dare to open the door, if the two are at home on weekdays, they will latch the door from the inside.

When Ruizhu goes out today, she must lock the door with an oxtail lock, and it is impossible not to lock the door, leaving Tan Wanqing alone to rest in the courtyard without warning.

Could it be that Ruizhu forgot to bring a copper spoon when he left?

It is not impossible to be careless with Ruizhu.

I had to hurriedly put on a jacket and get up.

As soon as she opened the door, a chill hit her face, she shrunk her fingers exposed outside her sleeves, and got up from the warm kang, so the cold feeling was stronger, she was already afraid of the cold, and her snow-white face was also because of the cold, and there was no bit of rubenness.

Walking briskly to the door, the knocking stopped.

"Ruizhu." She called, but no one outside responded.

Tan Wanqing frowned lightly, isn't it Ruizhu, who could it be?

A woman who lives alone, rarely interacts with people on weekdays, and has rarely shown her head recently, how can she be found by someone to come to the door, her mind turned slightly, and she thought of Ruizhu's previous words.

Could it be that Shopkeeper Xu couldn't wait, so he asked the guy to follow all the way and find the house? But the shopkeeper Xu looks like he loves money, but he is not a tricky person, so he shouldn't do such a rude thing?

Since the other party didn't respond, she stood there, and didn't make any more sounds, her mind was in doubt, and suddenly a cold voice came from outside the door, neither high nor low, it was Cheng Dù who she could hear, he said: "Miss Tan, I want to discuss something with you, can you come in and talk?" ”

Miss Tan?

Tan Wanqing didn't pay attention to the words behind the person outside the door, but put it on the title at the beginning, and the bloodless cheeks that were already swept away by the cold turned two points whiter, and the soles of her feet also burst out with a chill.

She and Ruizhu bit off the wax pill that had been hidden in the inside of their teeth during that bandit robbery, why would they choose such an unsafe, even dangerous time, which saw that someone was buried in a pit in situ after swallowing his breath halfway, and some of the officials who were eyeing the officials to solve the difference, the increasingly revealing nature, I am afraid that it will not last long.

This is the only chance for them to escape the fate of being buried alive, and if they lose it, I am afraid that they will not be able to escape the doom, which is more terrible than death.

No one can predict the final outcome, so they have to take a risk.

If the bandits had kidnapped the prisoners, they would have ignored the two prisoners in prison uniforms who had fallen to the ground and were dying, and even if they hadn't been robbed, the officials would not have brought people back to the place where the bandits were infested to look for the two exiles who might have died.

It's a gamble.

In the end, they succeeded!

The moment she escaped, she and Rui Zhu, although they didn't say it explicitly, but they would never expose the surname Tan anywhere, and when they came to Wei'an City, the two of them have always been called by the common names on the monk's books they bought, Shen and Yang.

Miss Shen, Miss Yang, but she has never mentioned half of the word Tan to anyone.

But how did this man outside the door know?

The warm winter sun fell on her shoulders and back, reflecting the rough holes on the cotton cloth clothes clearly, but because of the inexplicable chill rising from the bottom of her heart, the warmth that should have driven away some of the cold, Tan Wanqing didn't feel it at all.

"Childe, you recognized the wrong person, there is no family surnamed Tan here." Although she was suspicious in her heart, Tan Wanqing refused without hesitation.

"Oh? Don't have the surname Tan? A low and faint voice outside the door sounded again: "Then find two more women with monk status, Shen Pearl and Yang Guizhi, have you ever recognized the girl?" ”

As soon as these words came out, Tan Wanqing clenched her fingers slightly, subconsciously frowned, and did not reply for a long time.

He not only knows the surname Tan, but also knows the names of her and Ruizhu's fake household registrations, who is the other party, and what are you going to do when you come to the door? Thinking that it was very likely that someone had known their identities, for a moment, I felt a little suffocated in my heart.

should have ignored the other party's temptation and denied everything, but after the silence, what came out of his mouth was four solemn words: "Who are you?" ”

Hurriedly getting up from the room, wearing only the soft-soled plain cotton shoes that he wore in the bedroom, his feet were cold, and he took a small step back, stepped on a dry peach leaf on the ground, and found a slight sound.

The other party's voice did not fluctuate at all: "The current garrison of Wei'an City, Xie Chengzu." ”

Tan Wanqing's heart, which was still carrying, slowly fell down when she heard these three words, and the cold air inhaled into her lungs, she couldn't help but sober up a little, and she said softly in her mouth: "It turned out to be Lord Xie......"

Since he is praised by everyone, a brave hero who is upright and honest, and sympathetic to the people, he must not deliberately embarrass the two down-and-out women.

"I wonder why you came?"

"Let's talk about it when we get in!" The other party seemed to be a little impatient.

Although Tan Wanqing is not a conservative ancient, she doesn't mind taking it out and using it at this time: "Since ancient times, men and women have not been intimate, and it is inconvenient for folk girls to see adults alone. ”

The other party was separated by a gate, silent for a moment, and a cold and faint voice came, "Okay, then I will tell you about the former Shoufu University scholar Tan Chengji, after the exile, when passing through the mountain road in Anyang County, he was robbed and imprisoned by a group of bandits, Tan Chengji's daughter and his maid Ruizhu were born without seeing anyone, dead without seeing the body, and disappeared halfway......"

"Wait!" Tan Wanqing immediately raised her voice to stop the other party, who was not high, but said something clear.

"Miss Tan still wants to listen?"

Tan Wanqing gritted her teeth, "I'll go get the key." She turned around and walked quickly into the house and went back to the bedroom, reached for the rounded cabinet in the corner and groped, and when she found the spare copper key, her fingers trembled slightly, and she hurriedly covered it with her other hand, and only walked out of the door with the key for a while.

This small merchant house, everywhere imitates the house of a big family, but because the pattern is very small, the money is not abundant, there are really some no class, but the three or two peach blossom trees at the door are very Tan Wanqing's favorite, to stay in May of the next year, sitting in front of the window, the pink peach blossoms can bloom into the corner of the window, since it is a beautiful flower fragrance, it is the number of the original peach blossom house owner, but also because she is sitting in the house, looking at the peach tree outside the window.

The winding stone path leading to the gate is paved well, and it looks a little more natural from a distance, after the summer rain, you don't have to step on the muddy feet, and the winter is also very clean.

The door lock was opened, and the slender man who was as tall as a benchmark walked in, with a dignified body and a dignified appearance, although sharp, there was a cool breath hidden in the city.

With such momentum, there is no doubt that Lord Xie was the thief who beheaded the people that day and dyed the north gate into a river of blood.

Tan Wanqing hurriedly glanced at it, looked at the ground, and was about to curtsia to her, when the other party glanced at her and said, "Miss Tan, it's been a long time." ”

He's talking about a long absence?

Haven't seen you in a long time? Tan Wanqing moved: "That day in Fang City, the people were clumsy, and they really didn't recognize the adult......"

The other party interrupted her in a stiff tone: "Miss Tan, who was more beautiful than Princess Ronghan back then, naturally doesn't care about those irrelevant people. ”

He added: "Even if you whip someone, you will forget it completely." ”

Tan Chengji, the head of the three famous ministers of the year, married the first lady to be one of the few beauties in the capital, her daughter, who looks like a cool mother, and even has a better appearance than three points, is the princess Ronghan with outstanding voice, and she is inferior to it, and she is faintly known as the first beauty in the capital.

It's just that after Tan Wanqing was fifteen years old and got engaged, she rarely went out of the boudoir, and the appearance of the Danfu sisters all emerged, but the original fame gradually faded.

But those who were fortunate enough to see him later, all praised his delicate paintings, natural appearance, and full of grace.

Or it is a beautiful city, like a painting, etc.

Some people even mentioned privately that if the little emperor is a few years older, and Tan Chengji sells his old face to send his daughter to the palace, perhaps with his stunning beauty, he can escape this catastrophe, but unfortunately, the age is wrong, and he was born at the wrong time, and Tan Chengji is a very protective person, especially the only blood left by this former lady, it is already painful to the bone, that is, even the marriage can be dragged to the double ten, which shows that he is reluctant to marry Cheng Dù.

When Tan Wanqing heard this, she raised her head in surprise with her head still down, and looked at each other, and the other party also did not dodge and looked at her.

Handsome and extraordinary, the face of the air is expressionless, only the lips are thinly pursed, the eyebrows are shaved, the bridge of the nose is high, a pair of eyes, the light shines on the cold star, and it is as black as ink.

All these years of whipping, only five years ago.

It's been too long, and I can't remember what it looked like to be beaten, but I remember the clear eyes and the blood splashed on the other party's face by the whip tail.

Tan Wanqing was slightly startled in her heart, her eyes looked away, and she landed on the mottled wall next to him, her face was a little condensed, and she was silent for a while.

"Come into the house and talk about it."

"Don't bother, if you have something to say, just say it here!"

When Xie Chengzu saw the woman in front of him, he originally wanted to act, but he probably thought about it, but he stopped acting, his face was a little solemn, and he was a little defensive.

"What we talked about has a lot to do with Tan Chengji, if you are not afraid of being leaked out of the wall, you can say it here."

Tan Wanqing knew that the other party was not good, and he was not good today, and he was also a knife, so he simply put the whole person down, turned around and said lightly: "Come in." "There is no more low-mindedness on the face.

Turning around, only one person walked into the house first.

Xie Chengzu then followed her, his gaze taking her from head to toe.

There is nothing of value, the hair does not even have a wooden hairpin, only loose in a bunch, tied behind the head, a pair of thin-soled cotton shoes under the feet, it is difficult to keep out the cold, a plain coarse cotton shirt, at a glance, you can know that it has been worn for a long time, and the sleeves are still worn in a few places.

The room is quite small, but there is plenty of sunlight.

The inside is very neatly cleaned up, when you go in, there is even a faint warm fragrance, there is a blue brick warm kang by the window, the delicate small Xuan window, a qiē clean up, the green brick kang surface is only covered with a thick cotton pad, and a small round pillow is placed on it.

There is a kang table on one side, on which is an inkstone, and a cheap bamboo pen holder, a few homemade bamboo pens are randomly inserted, and next to an old brass candlestick, a pair of copper scissors to cut the wick of the candle.

There was also a small plate of pastries.

She walked in, didn't look at him, put away the round pillow casually, and asked, "What are you going to say?" And what does it have to do with my father? ”

"Do you know why the Tan family sentenced them to exile, while the Zheng Liang family gave them death?" He stood in the doorway, did not set foot in the room, only spoke, but his eyes fell on the snack, and then moved away, frowning slightly.

The pastry was extremely coarse, a kind of yellow rice with skin steamed out, cut into strips piece by piece, and with an unbroken skin shell, swallowed in the mouth, to the throat can choke to death, is the cheapest pastry sold in the market, but also the worst appearance.

People who have eaten it know that the taste is average, not very delicious, but this thing is hungry, when Tan Wan is busy, even the rice is not taken care of, as long as this thing bites a few bites, swallowed, the abdomen is half full, and if you put it in the mouth and chew it carefully, it is actually quite fragrant, and I like it after eating it a few times, not to mention that the rice with the skin shell is a nutritious thing, which is not without benefits to the body.

But in Ruizhu's eyes, it was pig food, and I don't know how many times Tan Wanqing complained in front of her, how could Miss like to eat something like that.

Tan Wanqing's hand that put the round pillow paused, and she had secretly thought about this matter in her heart, it is said that the little emperor had no power when he was young, and when he grew up, he would never tolerate those who had pointed fingers at his head, the head of the three ministers who cared for his life, should be the first to bear the brunt, but he was the only one of the three who survived.

Tan Chengji is a person who inherits the last words of the emperor, is conscientious and does not dare to slack off, he should be the courtier who supervises the little prince the most and admonishes the most among the three ministers, in other words, he is the most hated old man in the heart of the little prince, and the first one to overturn must be him.

Although he has repeatedly hinted at his father, he is like a tiger, and he should not be too concerned about some things for the young prince, open one eye, close one eye, be cautious, and be lenient.

Because in front of the little prince, any point of inauguration, or self-esteem, will lay the root of hidden worries in the future.

But by the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military ministers, flattered up and down, even the saint is difficult to control, Tan Wanqing is also a small person, beyond his strength, and finally has to find ways to let his father bring more novel gadgets into the palace, as the little prince's leisure entertainment.

Of course, she didn't expect that those little things that were scavenged everywhere and made by people could sell how many imperial hearts she could sell, but she just hoped that one day she would really reach that situation, and she could remember a little bit of her father's benefits, and she only hoped that he could read Lixia's various delicate children's toys that he had spent a lot of effort to please the little prince, and he could show mercy to his father's subordinates.

Tan Wanqing didn't know if it was successful, but the three Gu Ming did only Tan Chengji's family survived.

After putting the round pillow down, her hand fell on the cupboard, but her mouth asked, "Why?" ”

But Xie Chengzu didn't answer, only stretched out his hand, took a piece of finger-length cake from the saucer on the table, and put it in his mouth, there was no sweetness, only the rough rice cake grinding his tongue, after swallowing, his throat could clearly feel the traces of the pastry slipping, he looked at the coarse cake on the plate and said: "I didn't expect that the famous lady who is used to eating cherished food can also swallow such simple and coarse food." ”

"Adults must be very happy to fall into such a situation." Tan Wanqing put her things away and turned around. The brocade clothes and jade food of the past, and the coarse food and cloth clothes of today, are so embarrassing to be known, and the enemy is indeed fast.

Xie Chengzu stepped in and asked, "I heard that there has been a peach blossom house owner with amazing painting skills in Wei'an City recently. ”

"If you already have the means to make a living, why do you continue to use such humble food for farmers and small people?"

The farmer is a small people, who is industrious all year round and has never been sick,

In addition to the activities, it is the blessing of coarse tea and light rice, she used to eat more coarse grains, but Tanfu is coarse grains are also very fine, now there is no need to trouble the cook so much, the original taste is better.

"This has nothing to do with Master Xie!" Tan Wanqing didn't want to continue the topic.

"It's not unrelated, the Tan family has a lot of gold and silver property, but you are so coarse and indifferent, don't you feel unwilling?"

"What gold and silver goods, what are you going to say?"

Xie Chengzu slowly crossed behind her, lowered his voice and said, "What I'm going to say, don't you know?" Zheng Yuan's mansion was copied out of 116 million taels of property, Liang Yiqing's private treasury of 23,000 gold, 1,200 land, but Tan Mansion, up and down, only 100 land deeds, the total property is only more than 600,000 taels, all say that Lord Tan is a good and honest official......"

He snorted lightly, looked down at the woman standing there, frowning slightly as if thinking about something, and said: "I remember that in the early years, one of your horses was priceless, I am afraid that at that time, the horses with noble blood in Tanfu were not hundreds but dozens, but when it came to raiding the house, why were there only about ten left?" ”

"It is said that in the treasury where the Danfu placed the property, there are only some imperial bronze tripods, coral trees, carved gold eight treasures and other large items, in addition to the 600,000 taels, in addition to the pawnshop, antique shop, jade shop, etc., only dozens of boxes of gold and silver ingots found in each room, in addition to the fields, and the things given by the emperor, the entire treasury combined, there is not a large number of gold and silver jewelry found in each room.

Others think that Danfu has emptied its belongings for disaster relief, but I think that there must be some cellar and a private place with a private vault in the wall? It's just because of the secrecy of the hiding that it has not been discovered by the people who raided the house. ”

Tan Wanqing's eyes flashed: "I'm just the daughter of Tan Chengji, how can I know such a thing?" She walked to the round table and went to get the teapot on it, but Xie Chengzu stepped forward and reached out to hold her wrist.

"Yesterday was my mother's death day, do you know how my mother died?" His hands were clenched tightly.

She struggled hard, "Let it go!" ”

"Arrogant, arrogant, contemptuous, and disregarding human life like a mustard, the same is true of the upbringing of famous nobles, and now you have tasted such a taste, right? Five years ago, you rode a horse in the street, blaming my mother for not avoiding it, but do you know that she was three months pregnant at the time, I held your whip to stop it, but you whipped three times in a row, the flesh turned out, and the blood was dripping, she was frightened by this, and she had a fetal gas that could not be cured for a long time, and she did not even live at the age of forty. ”

Tan Wan was very angry, and she asked, "Impartial Lord Garrison, if I only beat you three times, will your mother's death also be brought to me?" Do you know that without me, your mother would not have lived to be forty years old? ”

"In short, what happened back then, whether it was right or wrong, it was just an unintentional mistake, if you have to charge me, then I have nothing to say, whether to be imprisoned, or to be an official prostitute, a military prostitute, listen to it." The daughter of the prisoner is nothing more than these roads, Tan Wanqing put aside her face, the handle is in the hands of people, instead of being scared, it is better to tear it apart, and there is no good end.

Lord Xie's subordinates suddenly increased their strength, which made Tan Wanqing feel a little painful, she endured it, her cheeks hurt slightly, and she looked out the window and said with a slight sting: "Lord Xie, I can't wait to use the punishment?" Will you break my wrist or crush my bones? ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the strength of his wrist suddenly lightened, and he suddenly pulled her out with a force.

The horse outside the gate, the coat is dark and shiny, it should be the best breed of military horses, and although this horse is not handsome blood, but the four hooves are powerful, the head is sprayed with nose, the tail is flicked arrogantly, and the spirit is very angry, it must have been tempered by a hundred battles and battlefields, and it is such a horse.

Such horses, as a rule, do not allow people to get on casually, except for their owners.

But when Xie Chengzu saw her wearing a skirt and put her on horseback, the horse was very tame, but Tan Wanqing was already secretly gritting her teeth, her face turned red with anger, and she secretly said in her heart, she was just a teenager back then, and now she will be as rude as Xiao Xiao, is this person really here to take revenge.

Tan Wanqing has countless hearts, if this person is really trying to take revenge, she will not spend more than a month here safely, Wei'an City is his territory, if you want, an unarmed woman, it is really easy to deal with, but he has not done anything.

Tan Wanqing also has it in her heart, this person is quite fair and honest, at least he is a good official who really thinks about the people, even if he is not a gentleman, he is by no means a villain, and he can't do it if he bullies women and women.

But what does that mean?

Tan Wanqing saw him turn over and get on the horse, and just as he was about to speak, his hand passed through her and grabbed the stiff rope, and his legs slightly clamped the horse's belly, and the horse rushed out like an arrow.