In the back garden of the Dingguo Mansion, Lu Shaoyun's cold gaze made Pei Huanting only feel like falling into an ice cave. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info She didn't understand that her ninth sister obviously just stepped forward to comfort Lu Ruqian for a few words, and didn't mention Xia Shuanghan's name at all from beginning to end, but why, Lu Shaoyun looked at the two sisters with such disgust and indifference?

"Could it be that as Xia Shuanghan said that day, Lu Gongzi already knew my thoughts about him, so he regarded me as a frivolous woman who disregarded etiquette, righteousness and shame and insisted on sticking to men?"

Of course, although Pei Huanting's whisper in her heart did indeed find an accurate positioning for what she had done, how could she admit it? In her heart, what she believes is that Xia Shuanghan is not worthy of Lu Gongzi at all, and I am here to tell Lu Gongzi what true love is and what is true happiness. How could I be wrong in what I did?

What Pei Huanting thought in her heart, Lu Shaoyun didn't care about this at all. When he walked out of the back garden of the Dingguo Mansion, he only thought about one thing, that is-there is a rude and willful sister-in-law on the left, and Pei Huanting on the right. After all, there are some people who are more scary than ghosts.

So in this way, while Lu Shaoyun felt more and more disgusted and disliked by the Pei sisters, the time soon came to the end of May.

May 21st, this is a sunny and cloudless day, and it is also a very special day for Lin Xiran.

Because Lin Xiran had to leave the capital with the caravan early in the morning of the first day of June, Lu Shaoyun and Xia Shuanghan left the capital, so he had to spend a lot of time in the last ten days to prepare for the next month and a half.

Of course, Lin Xiran's official duties in the Jingzhao Yin Yamen have been handed over. In the eyes of many of his colleagues and Zhuo Feifei and Zeng Keying, who were completely unaware of the "Naming Village Hidden Plan", the official statement that Lin Xiran left Beijing in the early morning of the 19th to go south to investigate the case was the only reason why he disappeared from the capital in the following time.

"Hey, 'I've already gone south', and you will have to leave Beijing soon, but I don't know how drunk you will be at your send-off banquet."

On the caravan camp outside the city, Lin Xiran recalled the farewell party held in the gluttonous building on the evening of the 18th, and the scene when the three Fa Xiao came to the city gate to see him off before the city gate was opened in the early morning of the 19th, and he was a little emotional for a while.

"Tingxuan, the time you came back is not long, and the sum of the front and back is only more than half a year, and you will have to leave again in a long time, I am afraid that when the time comes, your family will have a lot of trouble again."

"If my mother wants to make trouble, let her go, anyway, she has limited energy, at most three days of trouble, and then she will rest." Lu Shaoyun, who was also helping the caravan prepare in the camp, glanced at Taluk, who was walking towards him and Lin Xiran in the distance, and decisively stopped talking, putting all his mind on the task at hand.

The last ten days of the caravan outside the city were basically no longer doing business. Most of the goods brought from outside the customs have been sold, and the few remaining goods that have been picked up and defective products that have been accidentally defective during the journey are all stacked in one place, half sold and half given away at very low prices.

Caring for the horses and camels, inspecting the wagons and goods, preparing food and water, packing up the tents and luggage, these were the main tasks of all the people in the camp for the last ten days.

"After the repair and reinforcement of this car is completed, Brother Shixuan and Brother Qi Ran, you remember to go to Brother Aguirre to change tools." Baliya, who walked past Lu Shaoyun and Lin Xiran with a large repaired iron pot in one hand, pointed to a small group of horses separated from most of the other horses not far away, and added, "The horseshoe of those horses has fallen off, and you have to patch them new ones." ”

"Got it, Sister Bariya." Lu Shaoyun and Lin Xuran responded in unison and nodded.

For more than a month, Lu Shaoyun and Lin Xiran, who showed up to help in the camp every once in a while, had completely integrated into this huge caravan. The merchants in the caravan who lived in Naming Village were now like Baliya, treating Lu Shaoyun and Lin Xiran as their own people like Xia Shuanghan.

Looking at Lu Shaoyun, who was carrying an iron pot and running to the Jiuqu River to join the girls who were cooking, and turned around to continue repairing the carriage, he couldn't help but think of the discussion with Hazlu's family last night.

According to the discussions between the Hazru family and Lu Shaoyun, Lin Xiran and Xia Shuanghan, the final date of Lu Shaoyun and Xia Shuanghan's departure from Beijing was set for June 20, a month later.

Originally, based on the idea of not revealing the itinerary, Xia Shuanghan and Lu Shaoyun left Beijing as late as possible. After all, the later they left the capital, the easier it was for them to dissociate themselves from the caravan that was ahead of them, and the less likely it was for people to discover the true destination of their "elopement".

However, if you drag it to the day before the sedan chair is about to set off, this kind of behavior of slapping the face of the Dingguo Mansion is really too undesirable. After all, if the bride eloped with her lover early enough, as long as she concealed it well, the groom's family could still use the practice of "finding a reason to withdraw from the marriage" to save their face. Therefore, from this point of view, Lu Shaoyun and Xia Shuanghan naturally leave Beijing as soon as possible.

Therefore, after balancing the above two contradictory requirements, and discussing them according to various factors such as the speed of the caravan, the speed of Lu Shaoyun and Xia Shuanghan's pursuit, and the ruggedness of the road, the day when Lu Shaoyun and Xia Shuanghan left Beijing was finally set for June 20.

According to the plan, if nothing happens, Lu Shaoyun and Xia Shuanghan traveled lightly and simply, and they will definitely be able to arrive at Tongcheng Pass before July 15. And in Tongcheng Pass, the market where the border town opens on time on the first and fifteenth days of the new year, is where the two of them and Hazru's family meet.

So in this way, in the midst of the busyness, the ten days passed in a flash, and on the first day of the sixth month, the day when the caravan left Beijing finally came.

Early in the morning, Xia Shuanghan, who had stayed in the tent in Balia last night, got up with all the girls in the camp and went to the shallow water by the river to bask in the cool morning breeze to freshen up.

After breakfast, the men who had made the final preparations for the departure dismantled the tents, put on the horses, and finally took the camels in tow, and the time came to get ready for the journey.

"Sister Shuanghan, I will miss you and Chaoyang." Baliya, who was dressed like a fiery red dress, reluctantly hugged Xia Shuanghan, and whispered in her ear: "You and Brother Shixuan must be good, me, my father and brothers, we are all waiting for you in Tongchengguan." ”

"Got it, my good sister." Raising his hand and patting the back of the person in his arms, after Baliya let go of his hand, Xia Shuanghan decisively turned to the others, and waved goodbye to all the uncles, brothers, sisters, and sisters who knew each other well.

A moment later, just as a month and a half ago, yellow dust rose again on the official road outside the south gate of the capital, and in this dust, the brigade of people and horses walked farther and farther, and finally disappeared from Xia Shuanghan's sight.

"Are you reluctant to give them a lot?" On the way back to the city, taking a look at Xia Shuanghan, who was not in high spirits beside him, Lu Shaoyun said with concern.

"It's okay, as a nomadic people, the Rong people have long been accustomed to gathering and separating, after all, it is human nature to gather and disperse." Turning his head to look at Lu Shaoyun beside him, Xia Shuanghan, who was cheering up, smiled and said, "Ting Xuan, next, shouldn't we follow your request and go to my mother's grave before leaving Beijing?" ”

On the sixth day of the sixth month of June, this is a cloudy and cool day, and it is also the day when Lu Shaoyun, under the leadership of Xia Shuanghan, went to the back mountain of Puye Mountain to pay tribute to Xia Shuanghan's deceased mother.

In the shade cast by the dense woods, on the winding mountain paths, Xia Shuanghan, who was facing forward, climbed the mountain and introduced the funeral customs of the Rong people to Lu Shaoyun.

"Tingxuan, you know, the Rong people don't believe in ghosts and gods, and don't believe in the afterlife, so we can't understand the tomb sweeping and worship of the Han people, especially the behavior of burning paper money. My mother used to say when she was alive that sweeping the grave and going to the grave were all performed by the living for other living people. is not filial in life, screams in death, what is the meaning of this kind of pretended filial piety, but it is just to save face for himself and make a show. ”

"Of course, I don't deny that the Han people have spiritual sustenance and the intention of remembering their ancestors by erecting monuments and tombs for their relatives, but we Rong people don't like to do this."

"We Rong people have always believed that when people die, dust returns to dust, and soil returns to earth, rather than spending so much manpower and material resources to do any big funerals for the deceased, it is better to give up the living land of the living people who have been seized by various huge graves, plant flowers and trees all over it, and use their broken bodies to give back to the land and nourish those new sprouts."

On the green forest path, Xia Shuanghan recalled the past before her mother's death, and said: "When my mother died, her original wish was to plant her favorite camphor tree above her body according to the customs of the Rong people. But for the sake of my father, she finally gave up. ”

"What about you?" Glancing at Xia Shuanghan, who led the way and walked ahead, and his tone was very dismissive of the funeral customs of the Han people, Lu Shaoyun's heart couldn't help but be a little flustered: Shouldn't I be able to wait for me to pass away, and I can't even do such a thing as lying in the same tomb as Shuang Han, right?

"Me?" Xia Shuanghan, who understood what he was thinking from Lu Shaoyun's unfinished words, said with a smile: "If during my lifetime, my husband could meet my requirements for married life, then why should I abandon the tree burial after my death and 'die in the same hole' with my husband?" ”

Looking back at Lu Shaoyun, who couldn't help but shift his thoughts to the matter of "entering the burden" after hearing this, Xia Shuanghan didn't think that this was a good time to talk about this topic, and opened his mouth to talk about other things. "Tingxuan, what do you think of what Uncle Hazlu said before leaving, 'The Dingguo Mansion is looking for a reason to come to the door to quit his relatives to save his face'?"

"Personally, I think it's preferable to spread the news of your escape from marriage than to cover up the 'truth' by withdrawing from your family." Lu Shaoyun, who shifted his mind to Xia Shuanghan's question, said frankly: "Before returning to Beijing at the end of last year, I had been stationed at Tongcheng Pass, the closest pass to Naming Village, for many years. There, among the local Tongcheng defenders, there is no one who has no friendship with me among the soldiers whose homes are in the capital. ”

"So I think that through the news channels exchanged between them and their relatives in Beijing, the news of your 'escape from marriage' will be transmitted to the border gates, so as to dispel the suspicion and wariness of the 'sentinels' hidden in the shadows in Naming Village about us who suddenly appeared in the village."

"After all, even if the 'sentinels' didn't believe our one-sided words at first, and there were so many soldiers at the border who knew me well talking about it, how could you still fake the matter of your escape from marriage? Well, what do you say? ”

"I said? I said, even if it is true that I ran away from the marriage, and Grandpa Guo, in order to leave some last face for each other in the Lu Xia family, chose to cover up the fact that I eloped by withdrawing from the marriage. Your mother, Mrs. Shizi, I'm afraid she can't agree either. ”

"First of all, although the publicity of my escape from marriage will inevitably lead to remarks such as 'Lu Wugongzi is actually looked down upon by a young lady of the Hanlin family', and it may hurt your self-esteem as a man. However, Dingguo Gong didn't care about the gap between the two families of Lu Xia and insisted on marrying me into the door, which could be regarded as a benevolent and righteous act to repay the favor. ”

"I don't know your good, and I'm bent on escaping from marriage, that's my clumsiness, no wonder I don't want to settle the country's mansion. Therefore, even if the news of escaping from marriage spreads, compared to my father's 'goddaughter without a party' and my 'shamelessness in adultery', the criticism of the Lu family is really limited. ”

"Secondly, compared with the method of withdrawing from the marriage, some remarks such as, 'Lu Shaoyun must be sick, so he is not contaminated with women, and his wife who has not passed through the door has also run away with others' in the bud, 'I have seen other people's bodies and quit the marriage at will', so the rumors that have damaged the reputation of the entire Dingguo Mansion are obviously more unfavorable."

"Therefore, for the sake of the whole family, it is better to spread the saying that 'we don't want to marry because we don't believe in our words, but because we don't want to marry, it's that Xia Shuanghan has eyes and no beads and doesn't want to marry', so as to better maintain the reputation of the Dingguo Mansion. ”

"Finally, Ting Xuan, don't forget, now you are suspected of breaking your sleeves in your mother's eyes. What if your mother doesn't put all the blame on me for the mess up of this marriage, and picks you all away, and then makes you find an excuse not to marry? ”

"What's more, now that 'Xiran has gone south', do you think you will follow him south soon after he left Beijing and is not married, what will your mother think?"

"This ...... It's a bit hard to deal with, but my grandfather and I have already figured it out, so you don't have to worry. Just ......"

On the breezy mountain road, Lu Shaoyun suddenly remembered Xia Chaoyang, who was once full of admiration and trust in him, and always called him "Brother Tingxuan" with a sweet smile.

While feeling gloomy about Xia Chaoyang's behavior of "since the Dingguo Mansion went to the Xia family, I will never look at him with his eyes straight", Lu Shaoyun said curiously: "Didn't Chaoyang know that you don't have a lover?" How are you going to explain the identity of the elopement partner? ”

"This is too easy to do," Xia Shuanghan, who was still leading the way, did not reply: "Chaoyang originally thought that I was on the road alone to escape the marriage, so as long as I told him before setting off that the lover mentioned on the letterhead I left was just to make the Lu family die early, so he made it up, and he would naturally accept it." ”

As they spoke, in the rustle of leaves, Xia Shuanghan and Lu Shaoyun arrived at their destination today.

In addition to a stone tablet without words, the simple tomb only has a small earthen bag overgrown with weeds behind the stone tablet. There was no brick-trimmed grave in front of them, let alone an intricately carved tombstone.

"Here it is." Staring at the wordless stone tablet in front of him, Xia Shuanghan said softly: "According to the customs of the Rong people, if someone misses his deceased relatives, then he will go to the place where his relatives were buried and talk to the tree planted above the corpse. We don't do things like weeding, repairing, or bringing food, drink, and paper money to worship. ”

"So, if I have anything to say to your mother, can I just say it now?" Except for the ownerless lonely grave, Lu Shaoyun, who had never seen a tomb as simple as the one in front of him, hesitated.

"Yes, you feel free. According to the tradition of our Rong people, the mourning of the living for the dead is not listened to by others. So, I'll go for a walk and come back later. ”

Looking at Xia Shuanghan, who turned away and slowly disappeared into the woods, Lu Shaoyun wanted to keep her so that she could listen to what he was about to say to her mother.

It's just that now, can he offer her a promise at her mother's grave that he will definitely join the Xia family? It is clear that he can't yet. Therefore, Lu Shaoyun decided to let Xia Shuanghan do it according to the tradition of their Rong people.

The white horse passed through the gap, and the time came to June 18 in a blink of an eye, which was the day when Xia Shuanghan left a book to leave Beijing and embark on a "marriage escape journey". It's just that unlike the original plan discussed with Hazlu, because Lu Shaoyun's situation is more complicated, he can't just leave a letter and leave. Therefore, after many discussions, Xia Shuanghan chose to leave Beijing two days early, so as to buy more time for Lu Shaoyun so that he could properly take care of the affairs in Beijing.

Of course, Xia Shuanghan's departure from Beijing was in Xia Chaoyang's eyes, and he went straight to Naming Village. But in fact, after leaving Beijing, Xia Shuang and Han still had to wait for a few days in the Yuelai Inn on the side of the northwest official road seventy miles away from the capital. After she and Lu Shaoyun converged, they could officially embark on the journey.

As for how Xia Jingzhi wanted to bring Xia Shuanghan's letter to the Dingguo Mansion to inform Lu Xiaoqing and Lu Shaoyun that his daughter had escaped from marriage; and how Lu Xiaoqing will arrange manpower to naturally publicize Xia Shuanghan's elopement, and at the same time control everyone in the Dingguo Mansion to prepare for Lu Shaoyun's next departure from Beijing; and how Lu Shaoyun pretended to be emotionally wounded, in order to leave the capital temporarily, and take over the new task of going south arranged for him by His Royal Highness the Prince; and how he wants to say goodbye to Zeng Keying and Zhuo Feifei, and deal with their feelings of "I can't imagine that Xia Shuanghan has other lovers besides Liu Zirun, a childhood sweetheart......

These problems are not something that Xia Shuanghan needs to worry about.

"Sister, you must take care of yourself this time!" In the backyard of Xia's house in Shuanghe Lane, Xia Chaoyang, who knew that his sister would not come back in a short period of time, took his sister's hand with reluctance and tearful eyes: "Sister don't worry about things at home, in the days when you are away, Chaoyang will grow up quickly and share his worries for his father." ”

"Sister knows, Chaoyang is the most sensible, Chaoyang will definitely replace my sister and be filial to my father, right?" Xia Shuanghan, who squatted down, looked at Xia Chaoyang's red eyes at the same time, raised his hand to wipe his cheeks with crystal tears and his small nose with a handkerchief, and he really wanted to take Xia Chaoyang on the road with him. However, this is clearly not possible.

"Sister, don't worry, when my sister comes back, I will be a reliable little man who can support the lintel of the Xia family!"

"Okay, next summer, as long as there are no accidents, my sister will definitely come back to see our little man of the Xia family, okay?" Xia Shuanghan, who was extremely reluctant to give up his brother, took Xia Chaoyang into his arms, and then kissed him on both sides of the cheek. Then she stood up and faced her father, who had a gloomy face.

"Dad, then I'm leaving, in the days to come, you have to take care of Chaoyang, and you have to take care of yourself."

"Daddy knows." Xia Jingzhi, who was also reluctant to leave Xia Shuanghan, raised his hand and patted his daughter's shoulder, and finally advised: "Along the way, take care." ”

"Yes, don't worry, Daddy." After the words fell, Xia Shuanghan, who took his beloved horse Hongyun out of the back door of Xia's house, turned over and got on the horse, and after waving his hand to his father and younger brother at the end, he rode away in the dawn of dawn.

Next, in the few days that Xia Shuanghan was waiting for Lu Shaoyun at the Yuelai Inn, in response to the news of "Xia Shuanghan eloped with his lover", what was the reaction of the people in the Dingguo Mansion, what was the reaction of Pei Huanting, and even what was the reaction of the outsiders who classified it as an after-dinner conversation after hearing about it, Xia Shuanghan guessed all these things.

However, the reaction of one person, the reaction of one person who greatly surprised Xia Shuanghan, brought her a shock on the last night before she embarked on her journey out of the customs. This person is the prince of Xiangyang - Su Yixing.

Since May 15, when Su Yixing and Xia Shuanghan separated on Linze Lake on the outskirts of Beijing, more than a month has passed unconsciously. And in these more than 30 **** nights, unlike Xia Shuanghan's complete oblivion of Su Yixing, Su Yixing's treatment of Xia Shuanghan is always unforgettable. (To be continued.) )