Jiang Xinzhi frowned, obviously Dong Ying'er's question was not very pleasant to him, but he still said with a polite mind: "Exactly." ”

From Jiang Xinzhi's mouth, Dong Ying'er suddenly felt a pain in her heart, the impatience in Jiang Xinzhi's eyes was fully visible to her, and unconsciously, an irrepressible resentment quietly rose in her heart. For what? She has been the pearl of her parents since she was a child, cheerful and enthusiastic, thoughtful, and there is no one who does not praise her. But what did he get in the end, his father sent himself to the palace in order to keep his official career, his sweetheart treated him as cold as ice, and the former sisters would only see death and not save him. The people in this world have all betrayed her, why should she make these people happy?

Dong Ying'er looked at Jiang Xinzhi for a long time, and suddenly smiled: "I heard that Sister Ruan was kidnapped by thieves, and now her whereabouts are unknown, she and I are also former friends, I think I'm really worried about her." Let's hope nothing happens. ”

Jiang Xinzhi sensitively noticed that Dong Ying'er's strange tone in these words seemed to contain a bit of gnashing of teeth. Although he is short-sighted, he is now more mature than before, he endured the displeasure in his heart, didn't bother with her, and just said lightly: "Thanks to Xiuyi's heart, the last general still has something to do, and I will leave." After that, he didn't look at Dong Ying'er again, as if he would stain his eyes if he looked at it more, and left in stride.

Dong Ying'er stood in place, looking at Jiang Xinzhi's distant back, and slowly showed a smile, but this smile seemed a little distorted at the moment.

……

Different from the situation of chickens flying and dogs jumping in the capital, Jiang Ruan's environment seems to be very quiet and elegant. The servant who came to serve every day was mute, and never said a word, and she saw no one but this servant. The room was well stocked, and there were even a few travelogues, presumably to pass the time. Sure enough, it was the password under Xuan Li, and Qi Man's hand moved, and he knew that she still had use value, but he didn't embarrass her too much.

And Jiang Ruan has also tried his best to adapt to the environment here in the past few days, and as time goes by, he has more and more confirmed the fact that he may have a body. After having this understanding, Jiang Ruan is more careful in doing things on weekdays, but it seems that he really regards this place as a place for the benefits of self-cultivation, and he recuperates with peace of mind every day. The only regret is that there are no fetal pills here, but it also makes Jiang Ruan more determined to solve everything and leave here as soon as possible.

On this day, the weather was a little gloomy, and it began to rain early in the morning, because it was the spring rain in early spring, and it was not over at once. From early morning to early afternoon, the air was humid and slightly cold. Some small green shoots have already grown on the branches outside, and the delicate seedlings seem to have a spring feeling. Jiang Ruan was standing in front of the window, looking at the branches of the tree in a daze, when the cold door was pushed open and someone walked in.

The sound of the footsteps was different from the mute maid in normal days, and the mute maid's voice was silent when she walked, like a cat, so Jiang Ruan could hardly hear any sound here. And although the footsteps were very light, they were not light and cautious, but seemed to be a little casual and arrogant, like a beast approaching its prey, and the cat slowly lurked before attacking.

Jiang Ruan smiled slightly, after waiting for so long, he finally came. The smile on her lips faded quickly, and when she turned her head, she showed just the right amount of surprise.

It is not a dumb maid standing at the door, on the contrary, compared to a dumb maid who can hardly feel its existence, this person is born to attract people's attention when he stands here. This is a woman in a long red dress. It's just that this garment is different from the clothes of the Jin Dynasty, it is sprinkled with gold dust, and the gold thread is embroidered with intricate patterns, even in the weather when there is no daylight, it seems to be shining. Tulle red clothes, revealing a slender waist, with tinkling bells on the head, there are no shoes on the feet, only a string of blue-green bells hung at the ankles, and it seems that the bare feet on the ground are as white as jade, as if they are carved into antiques.

Even more thrilling than those feet is the face above. Jiang Ruan was already born as charming as a demon, but this woman deserves to turn all beings upside down. The eyes seem to have vitality, the holiness is evil, the face is clearly not powdered, and the reddest rouge is smeared on the lips, like a cluster of flames that suddenly appear in the spring and snow, with the unrestrained spirit of the prairie is about to swallow people down. This woman is beautiful, she is said to be beautiful, but it is more like a complex relationship of abstinence and debauchery. As long as you get close, you will feel that the whole person is going to be sucked in, Jiang Ruan is a woman is still like this, if an ordinary man sees it, he can't think that it is a fox fairy charm from somewhere, and he is willing to be sucked dry alive.

This is about the saint in southern Xinjiang, Jiang Ruan's heart settled for a while, and slowly looked at the woman.

The woman naturally caught the surprise that flashed in Jiang Ruan's eyes, and the corners of her eyes revealed a hint of smugness. She didn't feel disgusted by this pride, but had a different kind of coquettish style.

"Jiang Ruan." She said slowly, her tone strange and beautiful, as if it came from heaven, as if it had been a long time before she started a conversation.

Jiang Ruan bowed: "You are ......." ”

"I'm the Holy Maiden of Southern Xinjiang, Danzhen." She said.

"Long admiration." Jiang Nguyen will.

Dan Zhen was a little surprised, and said in a deep voice: "Do you know my name?" ”

"It's just a polite remark." Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: "Follow the customs of the villagers, I think that the saint has not yet been accustomed to the folk customs of the Great Jin Dynasty, so she will take it seriously." ”

Dan was really a little annoyed, she naturally heard the mockery in Jiang Ruan's words. said that she was an outsider, and the people of the Jin Dynasty had never looked down on the small border countries, that is, when the southern Xinjiang country had not been destroyed, they paid tribute every year, but they were still affectionately called "southern Xinjiang barbarians" by those Jin Dynasty people. Now that Jiang Ruan mentioned this again, he felt a little harsh in Dan Zhen's ears. She twisted her mind, her two delicate eyebrows raised slightly, and then she said slowly: "The mouth is quite sharp." ”

"Each other, each other." Jiang Ruan returned. She is not afraid of what Dan Zhen will do to her at this moment, although the alliance between Xuanli and Southern Xinjiang is not very strong, but now is the moment of life and death, Xuanli will not allow a little fork to happen, so he will definitely grasp the weakness of Southern Xinjiang and ask them to agree with their decision. And Qi Man, judging from so many years of getting along, this person is determined and strategic, he is a person who takes the overall situation into account, and he has no life-and-death enmity with her, so naturally he will not kill her immediately. Before this, Jiang Ruan had speculated that there were now two masters in southern Xinjiang, one was Qi Man, and the other was Dan Zhen in front of him. However, it is obvious that from this moment, Dan Zhen is far from being as good as Qi Man, whether it is wrist or heart, so Dan Zhen can only be a leader. Qi Man is good at control, and under Qi Man's control, Dan is really impossible to make a move on her.

If it was before, Jiang Ruan was naturally fearless, but now that she is pregnant, she doesn't think about herself, but also thinks about the child in her belly. So all along, she has carefully guided Dan Zhen's emotions, Dan Zhen is a person who does not admit defeat in his bones, and subconsciously wants to compete with her. This is the realization of being a woman. For example, Dan Zhen himself is already extremely beautiful, but today's actions can still be seen to be deliberately dressed up. Jiang Ruan is not a man, where can he be called Dan Zhen dressing up so carefully for himself, naturally because Dan Zhen still has the intention of competing with Jiang Ruan in his heart.

"You weren't born very well." Dan Zhen opened her mouth slowly, and when she said this, she also looked at Jiang Ruan from beginning to end, the corners of her lips hooked, and there was a hint of disdain in her eyes: "The background is even more lowly, I heard that I was enslaved by the people in the countryside, it's really ridiculous." She played with her slightly curly hair with interest: "I have heard of your deeds, your brother was called the god of war at the beginning, and you also have some credit." I used to think that you must be a person with some ability, but now it seems that I overestimated you. It's really boring to be taken away so easily and stay here as a confinement. ”

Jiang Ruan looked at her for a long time, and did not show a strange look because of her words. Mo said that Dan was really deliberately provoking her, but she didn't know what Lu Dao Dan really planned to do, and she really didn't take this to heart. There have been too many gossips in the past, and where will these little tongues be seen in their eyes.

Dan Zhen smiled slightly, slowly approached Jiang Ruan, and suddenly reached out to grab Jiang Ruan's neck, Dan Zhen's hand was very soft, as if there were no bones. Such a small hand, if held in a man's hand, is enough to make that man's heart ape early. But at this moment, it was wrapped around Jiang Ruan's neck like a snake, with only an eerie chill, like a ghost.

"You are really weak," Dan Zhen admired Jiang Ruan's expression, "If I draw a line here, you will die." What to do Princess Jinying? ”

"Oh?" Jiang Ruan turned his head, avoided her hand, stared into her eyes and said, "Why do you want to kill me?" Because of Xiao Shao? ”

At the mention of the word "Xiao Shao", Dan Zhen's expression changed slightly. At that moment, the eyes that were originally infinite in aura seemed to suddenly become very distorted, and even Jiang Ruan felt that something was wrong even if Jiang Ruan saw it. Is her obsession so deep? Jiang Ruan was both surprised and annoyed in his heart, Xiao Shao and this woman were only a few sides of the relationship, but this woman was stunned to chase from the southern Xinjiang to the Dajin Dynasty, with the intention of recovering the country, but she wanted to put her to death, and the reason was not for the disaster?

"Do you know a lot?" Dan Zhen suddenly sneered: "Do you think you are great to be a princess of Jinying?" He is an eagle on the grassland, a lone wolf in the desert, he will not have any ties in this life, you are just an ugly stumbling block, and it is ridiculous that you dare to be so complacent! Amusing! When it came to the worst, she couldn't help but be angry.

Jiang Ruan raised her eyebrows, Dan Zhen really has a deep obsession with Xiao Shao, as long as she talks about Xiao Shao, it is very easy to provoke her emotions. What is this? The pure saint who has been abstinent for a long time moved her mortal heart for the first time, because she couldn't get it, so everyone couldn't get it, what did she want to do in the end, make Xiao Shao a puppet and collect it forever? It's like the secret art of Southern Xinjiang in those books? As for the lone wolf and the eagle, Jiang Ruan actually felt a little funny, maybe that man was indeed such a majestic and inviolable appearance in front of others, but when he had seen him pestering people, maybe Dan Zhen would not be so obsessed.

It's just that Xiao Shao's pestering appearance is not something that anyone can see. Jiang Ruan also smiled slightly: "I am indeed a stumbling block, but this stumbling block is what he has to pick up." The saint may not be a stumbling block but a help, but he hasn't kicked it away? Oh, I'm wrong, now you don't have the same way, you were destined to be old enemies many years ago, what does the Holy Maiden want to say? ”

Jiang Ruan's response has never changed for so many years, she doesn't like to spend too much tongue, she always sees blood for a while, and when she finds people's wounds, she desperately steps on it, and when she finishes it, she sprinkles a handful of salt, which is called a chic and neat. Those who fought with her were half angry with her. Dan is really a saint, she has a very high status in southern Xinjiang, she is high up on weekdays, where she has said so many things to people, and no one has ever been sad about her, and her words are undoubtedly implemented. On the contrary, Jiang Ruan has suffered countless doubts since he was a child, in his past and present lives, and he can be said to have such a counterattack at his fingertips.

Dan Zhen's face really changed by her words. How can any woman lose face in front of her rival, especially if this face is taken away by her sweetheart? Dan Zhen almost devoured Jiang Ruan alive, and her beautiful face was almost torn apart, but in a moment, she showed a smile and said mockingly: "What's the use of you saying these words?" I never needed his willingness, what I wanted was his submission. ”

"Surrender?" Jiang Ruan seemed to have heard some funny joke, she looked at Dan Zhen with a smile: "Holy Maiden, didn't you say that he is an eagle on the grassland and a lone wolf in the desert. You also know that the eagle soars for nine days, and the lone wolf walks alone for thousands of miles, which can be hunted but not tamed. Have you ever seen a tamed eagle or a hungry wolf? In that case, what is the talk of surrender? ”

Dan Zhen had gradually adapted to Jiang Ruan's way of speaking, she smiled slowly, and that smile looked a little weird: "Miss Jiang, it's really naïve. Maybe this is the reason why you Jin Dynasty women are so naïve because they are raised in the deep boudoir. In fact, the surrender I am talking about is not what you say. What you speak of is the surrender of the heart, but what I am talking about is the surrender of man. When your country, the entire Dajin Dynasty surrenders to the feet of southern Xinjiang, don't say it's the eagle and the lone wolf, even this sky, this desert, all have to surrender to me! ”

She said so arrogantly, Jiang Ruan didn't answer, and such silence was a sign of Jiang Ruan's retreat in Danzhen's eyes. She smiled contentedly and said, "Don't worry, I never wanted to be his help." Whether he is an eagle or a lone wolf, he can only stay by my side in this life. If you want to leave, break his wings and pull out his fangs. Just wait for the iron hooves of my southern frontier country to step on this land, and all of you here will be captured by us, and he, I will poison his eyes, break his legs, and let him live well and live by my side. ”

Such a creepy way to express love is probably unheard of in Jiang Ruan's previous life and present life, if Xiao Shao heard this, I don't know what kind of situation it would be, Jiang Ruan sighed in his heart. But he didn't show it at all, just looked at Dan Zhen and said: "In this way, I will be useless, why don't you just kill me?" ”

"Hehe," Dan Zhen laughed, but this time there was a bit of excitement in her smile, she said, "I naturally want to kill you, how can I spare you." It's too cheap to kill you like that. He was my prey, but he was defiled by you who are filthy. I've already figured out what to do with you, let your body be full of holes, and then pour in the tiniest and longest-lasting insect eggs in the southern Xinjiang country, let them sprout and break through the soil in your body, and you will become a living vessel, so that you can live in pain for a long time, and you are like a worm, and let you see with your own eyes how he surrenders at my feet, isn't it good? ”

Jiang Ruan was slightly stunned, somehow, she was in a trance and remembered that before she died in her previous life, Jiang Susu made herself a human being, and she couldn't survive and die, wasn't it just to watch Pei'er suffer? It was indeed a difficult taste, and Dan Zhen's hatred for her was really not shallow. It's just that Jiang Ruan knew that Dan Zhen didn't kill her at the moment, but it wasn't for this reason, but because of Xuanli and Qi Man's orders, it was not easy to do it now.

And she also wants to use Dan Zhen to do one thing.

Jiang Ruan smiled slightly and said, "Where can you in the southern Xinjiang country step on the land of my Great Jin Dynasty so easily, is it possible that the soldiers of the Great Jin Dynasty are all dead?" The holy woman probably thought that the situation in the palace was tense now that there was an opportunity to take advantage of, I think the holy woman should also form an alliance with His Royal Highness, but the holy woman didn't think that this alliance was too hasty, you must know that in the arrangement of His Majesty, there is no Eighth Highness to become the future prince of the Great Jin Dynasty. ”

Dan Zhen also smiled: "What is your emperor?" Now he's just a waste. ”

"But there are also Thirteen Highnesses," Jiang Ruan interrupted her, "The Thirteenth Highnesses are very intelligent and knowledgeable. What's more, he has ...... right. ”

"Justified?" Dan Zhen seemed to have thought of something, his eyes lit up suddenly, and he looked at Jiang Ruan and said: "You probably think that the so-called righteousness is a holy decree, and with this holy decree, you bet on the right treasure, and there is hope." ”

Jiang Ruan bowed his head, but there was a hint of understanding in his eyes. Dan Zhen sneered, turned around and walked out of the door, and a moment later, when he entered the door again, there was already a long wooden tube in his hand. Her smile was a little ill-intentioned: "Miss Jiang, but do you think this thing is very familiar?" ”

Jiang Ruan didn't speak, just stared at the wooden tube tightly. What was in the wooden tube, Jiang Ruan knew it. Dan Zhen seemed to be even more excited when she saw her motionless eyes, and she jerked open the wooden tube and pulled something out of it. The thing was very familiar, and when the long scroll unfolded, it was a holy decree.

"You think that if you hide the decree in the carriage, no one will find it? I have to say that you have always been so bold, but you are bold but easy to make mistakes, and now your so-called hope is in my hands. You have to know that if there is no holy decree, the thirteen princes will have nothing. If the emperor dies again at this time, and it is related to the thirteen princes, what do you say? ”

How will it be? Jiang Ruan also sneered in her heart, she knew better than anyone how it would be, because in her previous life, she was stigmatized as a demon girl of the country, smashed the emperor's death on her head, and finally became a sinner in the whole world. And Xuanli was able to take off cleanly, sit in that position cleanly, there is no sentence that is not, all of them are singing praises of virtue, this is the truth.

And at this moment, Jiang Ruan just said lightly: "What if you get this holy decree?" One day, it will be found, and one day it will see the light of day again, and as long as I wait until that day, my hopes will not be disappointed. ”

The hope in Jiang Ruan's eyes fell on Dan Zhen's eyes, and he suddenly became a little irritable. She didn't know what she was doing, and at this time, Jiang Ruan would have such great expectations for something that could not happen at all. Is this stupid or naïve? Dan Zhen didn't know the Dao, she only knew the Dao, and now she really wanted to see the expression on Jiang Ruan's face, not this, she should regret and be depressed, painful, blame herself and guilty, instead, full of hope.

The thought of making her regret resounded wildly in Dan Zhen's mind at this moment, and she couldn't care about anything else, and suddenly took out the fire from her arms, and the fire broke ignited at a moment, and she suddenly ignited the holy decree on the fire fold, and in an instant, the fire swept away the bright yellow silk silk.

Jiang Ruan's complexion changed suddenly, and he only shouted "no" and was about to rush up and take away the holy decree in Dan Zhen's hand, but where would Dan Zhen let her get her wish, her body only flashed lightly and skillfully, and the bright yellow silk silk silk did not know what powder was sprinkled on the road, and the burning became more and more abrupt, but in just a moment, the firelight completely engulfed the thing, leaving only a little red light residue, lying pitifully on the ground.

Jiang Ruan looked at the pair of ashes on the ground blankly, although she was a little unhappy that she didn't show the pain she imagined, it can be seen that Fang Cai was aggressive, and a woman who had everything under her control showed such a blank look, Dan Zhen was finally satisfied. She slowly walked to Jiang Ruan's side and asked deliberately, "Look, your hope is gone." ”

Jiang Ruan lowered his head and didn't speak, Dan Zhen sneered, and said: "In my eyes, you are just an ant-like existence, and your so-called hope is not worth mentioning to me." So Jiang Ruan, even your Great Jin Dynasty, the thirteen princes you support will be like the holy decree in this fire, a pile of ashes, nothing. And he, in this life, must only stay by my side. After saying this, Dan Zhen didn't pay attention to Jiang Ruan anymore and walked out of the city in great strides. Today she has taken a bad breath, her heart is very happy, and she has been out for too long, just afraid of arousing suspicion, today she came out with Qi Man on her back.

Qi Man gave a death order not to touch a single hair of Jiang Ruan, which was infuriating for Dan Zhen. It was like torment to see someone she hated and not be able to put her to death. Fortunately, today, it seems that it is not bad to make that woman lose her soul. The Holy Decree Dan is really not worried at all, just because it is also a scourge to keep this Divine Decree, even if he declares his own departure, he will eventually destroy the Divine Decree. Rather than letting Xuanli destroy it with her own hands, it would be better for her to destroy it in front of Jiang Ruan, which was tantamount to ruining Jiang Ruan's hope, enough to make her collapse, and that was what she wanted to see the most.

After Danzhen left, the dumb maid also returned. She glanced at Jiang Ruan with some fear, Fang Cai was also waiting outside, and she was very afraid of Dan Zhen's appearance. Jiang Ruan looked at her and said expressionlessly, "Clean up this thing." With that, he got up and walked to the couch.

The dumb maid was a little surprised, judging from the expressions of the two, Jiang Ruan was obviously very concerned about this thing, but at this moment, this thing had been destroyed by Dan Zhen, shouldn't Jiang Ruan be heartbroken? How could you talk to her so casually, without even a sad look on your face?

Jiang Ruan didn't care about the dumb maid's thoughts, but leaned on the cushion of the soft couch a little tiredly, and breathed a sigh of relief. Fang Cai's play was really hard to act. Now that her body is heavier, every time she tries too hard to do something, she feels tired much faster than before. It is really not easy to show no flaws in front of Dan Zhen today.

And the hard work was not in vain, everything went according to her imagination.

When a woman compares herself to another woman, she always wants to see the extremely failed side of the other woman. Dan Zhen is the same, she wants to see Jiang Ruan's most regretful and lost side, she can't kill her, and she can't wait to tear Jiang Ruan's calmness, so, under Jiang Ruan's deliberate guidance, Dan Zhen will think that Jiang Ruan can be so calm now because of the hope brought to her by that holy decree, as long as she destroys the "hope", it is equivalent to ruining Jiang Ruan's faith, and Jiang Ruan's whole person will live in despair every day.

Dan is really from southern Xinjiang, and the people of southern Xinjiang do not know the Jin Dynasty script. And Qi Man is a forbearant person, and she will not open this holy purpose before this, and will hand it over to Xuan Li intact. Jiang Ruan's plan was extremely risky, if this holy decree was seen by Xuanli, not only would everything fall short, but even Xiao Shao's identity would be exposed. So the crux of the matter is that the decree has been destroyed before Xuanli sees it.

The destruction of the holy decree can only be done by Dan Zhen.

She has the ability and the impulse, and it's best to come to her. Dan Zhen thought that it was written on this holy decree that Xuan Pei was the crown prince, but in fact, the name of the prince on this holy decree was Xiao Shao. Since then, as long as the emperor does not wake up, with the complete disappearance of this holy decree, Xiao Shao's life experience will be completely buried in the dust of history, and he will always be just the little prince of Jinying Palace, the young master of Jinyiwei, not a royal bloodline.

Dan Zhen will stop for a while because of this, and Xuanli, with his extremely conservative and stable temperament, will naturally not come out at this time. will definitely wait for the rumor to pass before coming to see him, and Dan Zhen will not take the initiative to say anything about the holy decree before that, so when Xuanli comes, there is no holy decree. Even if he suspected, he couldn't find any evidence. And he will not doubt that he will relax his vigilance against Xuan Pei in the palace and concentrate on making a fuss about the emperor.

Stealing beams and changing columns, moving flowers and trees, although it looks simple, but making every step is like walking on a tightrope, and one will fall into the abyss if you are not careful. Jiang Ruan is such a bold idea, and he did it boldly. Every step she took here was extremely difficult because of the child in her womb. Usually something very simple is a little sweaty to do. She looked at it for a while, and suddenly stretched out her hand to call the dumb maid, the dumb maid waited for her command, Jiang Ruan said: "I'm really a little bored, you can find a dog for me." It's always just me in this place, and it's nice to have a dog to keep me company. ”

The dumb maid was a little surprised why she said this, but Jiang Ruan's words naturally couldn't help but listen, Xu is people had already explained that what Jiang Ruan wanted to do had to be done for her. It was the mute maid who was amazed and went straight out of the house. didn't see it, Jiang Ruan gently stroked his forehead behind his back.

Her appetite is getting bigger and bigger, because there is a little guy in her belly, and the meals on weekdays are obviously not enough. Besides, I don't know what's going on in this place, although the meals are exquisite, but most of them are porridge and side dishes, and I don't have much appetite when I look at it. There is no fetal medicine, if you don't take good care of your body, I'm afraid it will affect the child in the belly. However, the sudden increase in food consumption is only afraid that it will arouse suspicion, these people are deep-minded, but if there is anything wrong with themselves, they can immediately detect it. It's better to find a dog, so that although people can be vegetarian, dogs can't be vegetarian, so that the amount of food is larger, and others think that it is for dogs.

Jiang Ruan felt a little funny for no reason, in her life, from destitute and ruined to full of flowers, it can be regarded as the ups and downs of the world, but everyone would not have thought that after marrying Xiao Shao, she became the princess of Jinying, who was clothed in brocade clothes and jade food, as if she had a backer from now on, and in such a situation, she was also reduced to the end of competing for food from the dog's mouth.

It is precisely because others can't think of it, and Xuanli and Qiman's people naturally can't think of it. Because they couldn't understand that a noble princess would compete with a dog for food. No one will believe it if they say it, and Jiang Ruan wants to take advantage of this. Use this to cover your true intentions.

I'm so sorry. Jiang Ruan's hands unconsciously stroked her lower abdomen, she has been in such a dangerous situation since she came to this world, and she is not a mother. But every mother in the world will do her best to protect the safety of her child, even if there is a sea of swords and fires ahead, she will also protect herself for the sake of the child in her belly.

As for the capital, Xiao Shao's faint smile floated in her mind, and she also laughed, muttering in a low voice, "I'll leave it to you." ”

------Off topic------

Emma, I'm mistaken, it's not going to end yet... My comic comparison, the full text is about 1.3 million words, the battle line can't be finished for the time being, and I'll wait a few days to take leave to write the finale....