==Chapter 42==

"Do you really not remember what you said that day?"

This sentence caused a storm in Xiao Jiuniang's heart, and the memory involuntarily returned to that night.

The black river, the rolling undercurrent, the biting cold, and the exhaustion that rose from the bottom of my heart......

At that moment, she really felt that she was dying, as if her body and brain were all gone, and only instinct remained......

She is very unwilling, she has only been alive for a long time, she still has a lot of things she wants to do but not do, she has not gotten rid of the Xiao family, she has not reported the thickest thighs in the world, it is really not worth it to die like this!

“…… I'm just looking for a backer......"

“…… Mu Jinting, in order to save you, I put myself on the ...... You must remember it......"

“…… If you dare to forget, I won't let you go......"

“…… One Mrs. Rongguo is not enough, let's come to ten......"

“…… Master...... I'm so cold...... Xiao Jiu'er felt like she was dying, just like that time......"

……

It was a vague memory, but it became clear because of King Chu's words, Jiu Niang tried not to make her face look stiff, so she laughed, but that smile sounded a little weird.

To die, to die, how could she say these words. But at this time, it is too late to investigate, and now it is time to think about how to dispel the doubts of King Chu.

This person is so shrewd, can she be blinded?

Either way, she'll have to give it a try.

"What words? Cousin, what are you talking about? ”

Look at how innocent my expression is, so 'cousin' you must believe it!

Now Jiu Niang's brain is in chaos, and what she thinks can't match at all, only instinctive reactions are left.

"I really don't remember?" There was a faint sigh in the voice of the King of Chu.

Jiu Niang laughed hard, "What do you remember?" Cousin, you said that it was dark everywhere at that time, Jiu Niang was cold, scared and tired, and her only thought was to swim to the shore. My head is full of mush, and if I say something unpleasant, cousin, you will treat me as hysteria, and it is all nonsense. But Jiu Niang really can't remember what she said at that time, did I say something? ”

The two pairs of eyes looked at each other, and for a long time, a blank flash flashed in the eyes of the King of Chu.

Hearing Xiao Jiuniang say this, suddenly King Chu was not too sure, because at that time, not only Jiuniang was confused, but in fact, he was too, if he didn't have that dream, he might not have taken those words to heart. But because it was that dream, he had a feeling that he couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion.

Could it be that those words were not what she said, but the after-effects of that dream?

In the past few days, the king of Chu seems to be no different from usual, but in fact, there is always an inexplicable urgency in his heart, he inexplicably hopes that the dream will come again, but the dream has never come again, and even for this reason, he has been asleep most of the time in the past two days, but unfortunately the dream still did not come.

Maybe he's really stunned......

At this time, the lotus branch brought a bowl of medicine, breaking the silence in the room.

As soon as Jiu Niang saw the medicine bowl on the tray, she reflexively shifted her attention, and moved her little body to the bed, her eyes were very vigilant.

"Is it time for medicine again?" Her little face was stiff.

Lianzhi nodded resolutely.

"I'll eat later." Jiuniang discussed.

Lianzhi shook his head, "No, it's not good if the medicine is cold, Imperial Doctor Liu said to take it while it's hot." ”

"But I don't have an appetite right now."

Lady, when did you drink medicine and have an appetite? However, Lianzhi naturally couldn't say this, but just looked at Jiu Niang with firm eyes, and told her that she was determined to let her drink medicine.

Jiuniang was very helpless, her eyes turned to see the King of Chu on the side, and said, "Okay, you put it here, I didn't see me talking to my cousin, you put it and I'll drink it immediately." ”

When King Chu and Jiuniang were talking, everyone in the room was sent down, and Lianzhi naturally didn't dare to commit taboos, so he had no choice but to put the medicine bowl on a small table next to the couch.

"Don't forget, lady." She told again uneasily.

Jiu Niang glanced at her and waved her hand impatiently.

The lotus branch retreated, and Jiu Niang returned to her original position and sat down, moved the pillow, tucked the quilt, and didn't look at the bowl of medicine anyway.

The King of Chu looked at her silently, Jiuniang seemed to feel that the King of Chu was looking at herself, and asked with a smile, "Cousin, have you had lunch?" ”

King Chu nodded.

"Jiu Niang has also used it, and I ate ...... at noon," she listed a lot of dish names.

Since she saved the King of Chu, the treatment has skyrocketed, and the rice used to be four dishes and one soup, but now it has risen to seven or eight dishes, as well as bird's nest supplements and the like, and they are all carefully cooked by the chef.

Jiuniang naturally can't finish eating, but the rest is good for the maidservants. Now the maids around Jiu Niang are all round with pink cheeks and excellent complexion, but Jiu Niang, the master, has never eaten fat, although her complexion is much better than when she first woke up, but it is still not as good as before.

Doctor Liu said that it was a root injury, and he had to recuperate well, and he couldn't come in a hurry.

King Chu's eyes flashed, and he looked at the medicine bowls on the table, "Since you have used lunch, it seems that you should drink the medicine." ”

Jiu Niang's little face stiffened, and she looked at him left and right, "I'll drink it later, it's a little hot." ”

King Chu frowned, stretched out his fingertips to touch the medicine bowl, "It's not hot anymore." ”

"It's definitely hot, I drink it every day, I have experience." That means if you're inexperienced, don't interject.

King Chu's narrow eyes narrowed dangerously, if he couldn't see what Jiu Niang meant at this time, he should have lived for more than ten years in vain. His face suddenly sank, and he reached out to pick up the bowl of soup and medicine, and handed it over.

Jiu Niang peeked at the face of the King of Chu and wondered in her heart.

In fact, seriously speaking, she is quite afraid of the King of Chu, especially when the King of Chu sinks his face, it is nothing else, but the deep memory of the previous life.

It stands to reason that Jiuniang naturally went down the steps to show that she was obedient and well-behaved.

But thinking about the qiē that happened before, Jiu Niang didn't think that the matter would pass after a mistake, even if the king of Chu stopped asking at this time, it didn't mean that he dispelled his doubts. She had to do something to really reassure him.

Thinking so, Jiu Niang quietly stepped back, covered her eyes with a pair of small hands, and looked at the king of Chu through her fingers, pitiful appearance.

"Cousin, can you not drink it?"

"Nope."

"The medicine is too bitter."

"Good medicine is bitter."

The voice of sobbing sounded, "That's because you didn't drink it, cousin doesn't know that Jiuniang has been soaked in the medicine jar during this time, and the medicine does not leave her mouth all day long, and she has to drink many bowls a day." I drank the medicine and drank so much that I didn't have any taste to eat, and my mouth was full of bitterness. ”

A small person, his thin body is wrapped in a pale green bedclothes, and the straps of the bedgown are knotted at the waist, making it seem that there is only one waist. How did such a small man swim with him to the shore that night? King Chu still can't imagine it, and every time he thinks about it afterwards, he has palpitations, so every time he sees Xiao Jiuniang, King Chu's heart involuntarily softens, but he doesn't notice it himself.

"You're not well yet, you can't do it without medicine."

Patience is also surprisingly good, if it is someone else, the king of Chu will never take the initiative to ask if he has doubts. If you are suspicious, you are suspicious, if you don't offend yourself, you will be expelled from afar, and if you offend yourself, the methods of the king of Chu will not be better than other princes. But she has repeatedly violated the ban, obviously there are many questions, but she let them go, if it weren't for the fact that several things were connected together this time, the king of Chu had to express his position, and he probably ignored it.

He didn't think she would hurt him, it was his instinct.

It turned out that his instincts were not wrong, just like that day, and she did not abandon herself in that difficult situation.

So from Jiuniang's point of view, King Chu's inquiry made her heart palpitate, she was afraid that she would accidentally leak the bottom in front of this cautious man, and she would pretend to be young and ignorant to use the pretense. As everyone knows, in the mind of King Chu, these questions are not a big problem, and they will not affect his thoughts and cognition, the reason why he asks these questions is just because of the influence of that dream.

At this moment, the king of Chu also thought about it, maybe he was really affected by that dream, even if it wasn't, he couldn't forget the little head that was immersed in the river water that day and kept floating and sinking under his eyes......

"Come here." King Chu said.

Jiuniang sobbed and hooked, but she didn't dare not listen, and slowly moved in front of the king of Chu.

"Hand down."

Jiuniang thought to herself, fortunately, she is good at doing a full set of dramas, and she is not good at howling. The hand was lowered, and a few crystal tears hung from the corners of his eyes.

King Chu stretched out his fingers, touched her face, and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes for her.

Don't you just want a backer?

Maybe he is not strong enough now, but he will definitely be strong in the future, so it is more than enough for her to be a backer.

Isn't it just a temper and likes to get into trouble?

He carried it, and he couldn't break the sky anyway.

Isn't it just that the claws are sharp, and if you can't get used to it, you like to sharpen your claws?

Grind, grind, as long as he doesn't beat the limited number of people in the world, he can probably still win it.

Just as- just like you raised a sister......

Cousin? Cousin? Maybe that's fate.

……

"Open your mouth."

Jiu Niang was already stunned, so when she heard this, she reflexively opened her mouth. A spoonful of medicine was fed, she subconsciously swallowed it, and then spoonful or two, until a whole bowl of medicine was drunk.

The face of the king of Chu was handsome and unwavering, and his eyebrows and eyes were not moving, and he didn't seem to think that he was feeding medicine to be inappropriate. Jiu Niang's expression was very stiff, but she honestly swallowed all the medicines one by one, and it seemed that it was not difficult to drink the medicines.

After a long time afterwards, Jiu Niang asked herself what the bowl of medicine tasted like, and replied that there was no taste.

*

After feeding the bowl of decoction that day, the king of Chu left.

Before leaving, after explaining the lotus branch, you must stare at Jiuniang and drink medicine. Lianzhi was a little stunned, Jiu Niang had already been stunned, so that the king of Chu had left for a long time before the master and servant reacted.

What Lian Zhi thought was that His Royal Highness the King of Chu really cared about the lady.

What Jiu Niang thought was that the master was ghosted???

In the next few days, the king of Chu would come to visit Jiuniang every day, although he no longer fed Jiuniang medicine with a "ghost", but his behavior was different from the past. The questions of that day have not been spoken, and after a long time, Jiu Niang has left the worries in her heart behind.

Maybe this is really a different treatment of life-saving grace, the development of this life is completely out of the trajectory of the previous life, but Jiuniang is not excluded, the process is different, but the path is the same.

Maybe she shouldn't take the path of a confidant, but the path of a dog-legged little cousin?

I have to say that this feeling is actually quite good.

After a few more days, seeing that the bodies of King Chu and Jiuniang were almost raised, Xiao Heng arranged to prepare for departure.

This departure was bigger than the last time, the boat that the Xiao family and the others were on before was not counted, there was another boat behind it, and there were a large number of Xiao family guards who came with the boat, it seemed that the events of that day really made the Xiao family feel uneasy.

But what is the truth?

Only those who know it in their hearts.

*

Lanling is located in Yizhou, if you are serious, it should be called Lanling Town.

Lanling has a long history, dating back hundreds of years. Lanling is most famous for its wine, in addition to the Lanling Xiao family, a big clan that has been inherited for hundreds of years.

A great poet in the previous dynasty Youyun: "Lanling wine tulips, jade bowls hold amber light, but the host can be drunk, I don't know where it is." "It's about Lanling's wine, Lanling's wine is famous all over the world, and this Lanling's wine refers to the Xiao family's family wine. The Xiao family does not know how much money they earn for the clan every year just by relying on this Lanling wine, so the Lanling Xiao family is not as good as other families, and the ancestral industry is mainly based on land. Of course, there are also land products, and the most important livelihood is Lanling wine.

As the ancestral land of the Xiao family, Lanling is naturally different, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a town, but it is actually better than some counties. It is divided into two cities, the outer city is mainly based on commerce, as well as some mansions, restaurants, inns, restaurants, shops, etc., and the inner city is the ancestral home of the Xiao family, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the area of the inner city, and the other third actually belongs to the Xiao family, but they live in some side branches and vassals of the Xiao family.

In the local area of Lanling, the Xiao family is like a king's cunzài, of course, it must not be said on the surface, but in private, Lanling is the Xiao family, and the Xiao family is Lanling, everyone thinks so.

Sitting in the carriage, half-pulling the window screen and looking out, Xiao Jiuniang and the others were all dumbfounded.

Lanling can not compare with the prosperity and richness of Chang'an, but Chang'an has nothing to do with the Xiao family, this time all the way from the city gate in, greeted by the fragrance of fine wine, inns and wine shops are lined up, pedestrians on the road are dressed in gorgeous clothes, bustling, smooth and wide streets can be used for dozens of carriages in parallel, and it is not as poor and remote as everyone imagined before.

Especially on the way from the outer city to the inner city, you have to pass through a moat of tens of meters, and then look at the tall and magnificent inner city gate tower in the distance. The inner city wall is about tens of meters high, there is the city gate tower built on the city gate, the four corners are warped along, elegant and magnificent, the gate tower wall is inlaid with a plaque, the book "East China Sea Jingqing" is written, this is the east gate of the inner city.

After entering the east gate, it became quiet everywhere, and after walking inside for about two quarters of an hour, he finally arrived at the ancestral house of the Xiao family.

I saw a huge mansion located on this land, and the end of the courtyard wall could not be seen on the left and right, and the heavy eaves in the wall were warped, overlapping and overlapping, anyway, Xiao Jiuniang couldn't estimate how big this Xiao family's ancestral mansion was, and it was several times larger than the Xiao family's mansion in Chang'an.

The Xiao family has strict rules, and women can't enter through the main entrance, so the convoy was separated before. When they arrived at the side door, there were already servants and maids standing solemnly in front of the door, and when they saw Xiao Jiuniang and others getting off the carriage, they all stepped forward to salute, and helped a few people to get on the soft sedan chair and go to the house. As for other salutes and the like, someone will arrange them by themselves.

All the way to sit in the soft sedan car to enter, only to see the rockery stacked green, waterfall splash beads, there are heavy buildings stacked in the sky, carved railings and jade masonry, the houses and pavilions are hidden between the strange flowers and plants, the pink wall and black tiles of one color, there seems to be a water-light curved bridge in the distance, the end is rich and noble, and there is a noble and solemn heritage.

There were walking slaves on the road, and when they saw this group of people coming, they all stood beside the two roads with their heads down, which showed that the Xiao family had strict rules. This momentum and atmosphere made Jiuniang and several little ladies sit upright, and they didn't dare to look around, not to mention a few personal maids walking next to the sedan chair, which was called an honest.

After walking for almost a quarter of an hour, the row of soft sedan chairs separated, and Jiuniang was carried to an extremely quiet courtyard. The upper room is a small building with three pink walls and black tiles, vermilion carved railings, divided into two floors, a clear water surrounds the house, there are all kinds of lotus flowers on the water surface and stands slim, the environment is very quiet. A small stone bridge is erected on the lotus pond, and after walking across the stone bridge, you will arrive in front of the small building.

Under the steps in front of the building, there were several maidservants, all of whom held their breath, and when they saw Jiu Niang getting off the sedan chair, they all bent their knees to greet Jiu Niang.

"Nine Ladies, this is where you will live in the future, and the residences of several other ladies are nearby. If you are new to the hospital, you can take a little rest, and someone will invite you to the main courtyard to greet the two old ladies later. A well-dressed servant woman said respectfully to Jiu Niang.

Jiuniang nodded, and the servant woman retreated with the four servant women carrying the soft sedan chair.

didn't have time to observe the future residence, Jiu Niang only took a cursory glance and entered the house. Her bedroom was on the second floor, and several handmaidens of Lianzhi divided labor and instructed the maidservants in the courtyard to prepare water and clothes. Not long after, Jiu Niang's luggage was also delivered, and Lian Zhi instructed the two maids who had been waiting for Jiu Niang for some days with her to sort out their luggage.

After some washing, dressing and combing her hair, when Jiuniang was ready, the maidservant who came to invite her to the main courtyard also came. Jiu Niang took the lotus branch and another maidservant girl, and followed the maid to the main courtyard.

On the way, they met Xiao Shi Niang, Xiao Qi Niang and others, and several people walked to one place and went to the main courtyard.

The scenery along the way is different, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant, and there are beautiful scenery everywhere. It's just that they are new to the city, and they don't know the environment very well, and a few people don't have the heart to enjoy the scenery, but they don't squint, move slowly, and follow the maid who leads the way.

After walking for almost a cup of tea, I arrived at a huge courtyard.

Entering the gate, walking through the middle hall, there are five upper rooms with five frames, the house is tall and magnificent, and the momentum is different at a glance. There were already two rows of maidservants waiting in front of the door, and when they saw Jiuniang and a few people walking down the steps, a maid stepped forward to open the curtain and said with a smile: "A few ladies have arrived." ”

Jiuniang and a few people stepped in, only to see that the hall building is very large, the brocade curtain is high, the bead tent is low, and the hall is equipped with a sandalwood couch and a table, and the furnishings are all luxurious and elegant, and they have a noble temperament. There were two old women sitting on the first gum, both about fifty years old, with gray hair, luxurious clothes, surrounded by servants and maidservants, and at a glance they knew that they were the two old ladies of the Xiao family.

This is naturally Xiao Heng and Xiao Meng's wife, according to the generation, Jiuniang wants to call the two uncles and grandmothers and uncles and grandmothers. Among them, the one with a round face and kind eyebrows is Xiao Heng's wife Li, who is also the wife of the patriarch of the Xiao family, and the other one with a long face and a somewhat strict appearance is Xiao Meng's wife He.

There are a few gorgeously dressed women sitting at the head of the two of them, all of them are emerald eyebrows, full of pearls, a standard dress of rich and noble women, with different appearances, and at a glance they know that they are the daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law of the two old ladies and granddaughters-in-law. Behind several people, there were girls sitting in danger, but they looked curiously at Xiao Jiuniang and the others who were saluting the two old ladies.

Li, who was sitting on the gum, made a gesture of weakness and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, it's all your own family, so you don't need to be restrained." Although you have come from afar, you are all a family, and in the future, you will live at home, and if you lack anything, you will tell your uncles and grandmothers that it will be your own home. ”

He smiled and nodded, "That's exactly how it should be." ”

After that, Jiuniang and the others saluted the women one by one, and then greeted each other with the girls, and a string of people recognized it, if the memory was almost crazy. It is said that this is still the female dependents of the two rooms, if you add the male and the concubine, it is estimated that Jiuniang will not be able to recognize the end.

The big family has always paid attention to the spread of branches, and the Xiao family has three rooms in this generation, that is, the three Xiao Heng brothers. Among them, An Guogong, who inherited the title, is in Chang'an, and Lanling is two rooms here. Among the people in these two rooms, Xiao Heng's sister-in-law has four people and several concubines, and Xiao Meng's sister-in-law has three sons and several concubines, so there are several small rooms under the two rooms. And some of Xiao Heng's grandchildren have already married, so they have to divide the room again.

After all, there are more than 100 people in a family, and Jiuniang can't remember it all anyway. However, although she lives here in the future, there are very few times to deal with each other, so Jiu Niang did not force herself to remember.

After seeing the ceremony, the Li family left Jiuniang and a few people to eat, in fact, Jiuniang and a few people ate by themselves in the side hall. When they had finished eating, they went back to their respective lodgings.

After such a toss, Jiuniang was also extremely tired, and she rested after going back.