The sky was dark and oppressive, with occasional lightning flashes, and the raindrops condensed by the dark clouds fell down the eaves, winding into a thin stream of water on the bluestone steps, and the water flowed silently, with a trace of ripples, and finally submerged into the cracks of the bluestone slab and merged with the dark earth.

A pair of black cloth boots embroidered with blue patterns suddenly appeared on the bluestone slab, and the boots stood on the bluestone slab for a while, and when the upper was slightly wet, the owner of the boots walked quickly to the bottom of the stone steps.

"Young master, the weather is really bad today, do you still want to go out?"

Meng Huoran followed a small servant, and carefully put a flannel cloak on him, and the neckline of the cloak was embroidered with a blue-edged unicorn pattern, and he "held" Meng Huoran's thin pointed chin quite straight.

"It's all about appointments, you can't miss the appointment, and besides, they have to go out of the house, and no one is afraid of what I'm afraid of?" Meng Huoran looked up at the sky, it was still raining heavily just now, and the dark clouds were already thin, and the rain was slowly getting smaller.

"What are our young masters afraid of, even if it goes into the water, it will be a small white dragon in the river, but it will be a little rain!" The curtain behind Meng Huoran opened, and a young man wearing the leg of a retinue ran over, still holding a box in his hand.

The man with blue patterns embroidered on his boots helped the long knife on his waist, glanced at the entourage, and secretly said, "Sycophant! ”

"Jin Lai, God bless go with me, Xinggui stay at home." After Meng Huoran finished speaking, he went down the stairs.

Jin Lai immediately took the umbrella from Xinggui's hand and held it up for Meng Huoran.

"Hey! Master, watch your step. The sycophant spirit Tianyou followed behind Meng Huoran, completely ignoring the fact that half of his body was already covered in rain.

Jin Lai glanced at him disdainfully, and asked the little servant Xinggui to add an umbrella to the goods, and the three of them went out from the bluestone road, and only then got into the carriage and went to the south of the city when they heard the backyard door.

Fukuido is a 300-year-old private restaurant in the south of Kyoto City, which looks like an old house on the surface, with few neighbors in the middle of nowhere, and only a handful of guests come and go on weekdays. It is said that these golden bells represent the small courtyards in the house where guests can eat, and the large golden bells are naturally larger courtyards, while the smaller ones are some smaller courtyards in the middle of nowhere.

Every day, there are servants who will squat at the door of Fukuido early, as long as the golden bell at the door is not full of five, it means that there are still vacant seats, if it is full, they have to squat for a day and wait for the people inside to put the golden bell down, and they will make an appointment for the first time.

Legend has it that Fukuido was just a sweet well 500 years ago, and it was made by a cook in his backyard for his elderly mother, but who knew that the well water was not only bright and sweet, but also very delicious, and slowly the cook no longer went out to work, but stayed at home and opened a dining room, day by day, from generation to generation, by 300 years ago, the cook's family was rich enough to build such a large house.

Regardless of whether this legend is reliable, the name Fukuido does make people reverie, and even if Kyoto has been in turmoil for 300 years, it still stands and waits quietly for the most honored guests of this dynasty.

This is a private restaurant that even the emperor has to make a reservation.

"It's coming!" The carriage stopped at the gate of the small courtyard, and the people inside ran out despite the heavy rain.

Meng Huoran calmly stepped on the wet stone slab, and Jin Lai immediately held up an umbrella beside him.

Jin Yuan looked a little haggard than before. Meng Huoran smiled and saluted a few people behind Zhuang Jinyuan and said, "Big brother, General Fu Xiao, Tan Gongzi ......"

"You don't know, I'm almost annoyed, if I didn't say that I would come out and chat with you, my father and mother would not let me out." Zhuang Jinyuan put his hands together, and his wide sleeves replied in a vertical and chic manner.

"It's raining too hard outside, so let's talk inside." Meng Boliang, the eldest young master of Chengpingbo's mansion, stepped forward and pulled Meng Huoran and walked inside.

As soon as he entered the door, according to the usual practice in the past, Meng Huoran directly asked the entourage around him to go to the small room next to him, and he walked straight to the position where he used to sit.

"Oh, sure enough, this room is still deep in my heart!" As soon as Zhuang Jinyuan came in, he sat on the chair and leaned over and shouted: "You don't know, last time I went to the Sunset Courtyard with my father, that place is big, but it is very restrained, not fun, not fun at all." ”

"Of course you, the prince of the world, want to go to that kind of noble courtyard and gather with us in the smallest courtyard of Fukui Hall, but you have wronged the prince." Meng Boliang poured Meng Huoran a cup of tea and joked.

"Big brother! Don't you bully me like this, I've been miserable enough lately! Zhuang Jinyuan covered his head with a wail.

Meng Huoran just laughed on the side and didn't say much.

Fu Ninghuai asked more: "I heard that the prince went to General Xiaoyong's mansion with Brother Meng last time, and the eldest young master woke up?" ”

Fu Ninghuai's father is a loyal general, who has been under the command of General Xiaoyong, and later General Xiaoyong died of injuries and left such a widow, most of them in the army are more concerned about the old feelings in private, but although the plaque on General Xiaoyong's mansion is still there, it is now just a strange house.

The sadness and pain in this, even outsiders feel very worried.

"I went, but I didn't see the young master." Meng Boliang sneered with sarcasm at the corner of his mouth: "What kind of eldest brother is it, he follows very closely before and after, as if he is afraid that he will not let people know that the current Xiaoyong General's Mansion is already his father and mother's house." ”

"No! Let's go in and mention that little master, look at that family's face, oops, disgusting. If it weren't for the love of the past, I wouldn't have got! Zhuang Jinyuan was obviously also angry.

Meng Huoran frowned slightly at this time and said: "My father went to my mother and died, obviously my own family let my uncle occupy the mansion." When General Xiaoyong died, the first emperor deliberately ordered to leave a plaque because of the sacrifice made by General Xiaoyong for our Chen State, and left the original imperial mansion and property to the little master, even after the current saint ascended the throne, he did not take it back, in order to ensure the future life of the little young master and the general's widow, but it has only been a few years...... As soon as the general's widow is gone, this ......"

"How old is that little young master this year?" Tan Yuexiao and Meng Huoran are classmates, and the two are under the same teacher.

Meng Huoran turned around and said, "About eleven or twelve." ”

"It's not much different from our age." Zhuang Jinyuan poked his head and said.

"This can't be the end of this, I'll tell my father when I go back." Fu Ninghuai has followed his father in the army since he was a child, and he has an upright temperament, plus the glorious past of that brave general is something he has admired since he was a child, and now he heard that the heir of the great general is so sour, how can they in the army stand by and watch.

"Hey, hey, let's come out to let Huo Ran breathe, why are we talking about this again?" Zhuang Jinyuan walked to the side and pulled the bell, this is Fukuitang's special food bell, as long as it is pulled, it will not take a moment for someone to deliver the food.

"Also, Huo Ran is still in the filial piety period, and it is too eye-catching to go outside, so we will accompany you to eat vegetarian today. I heard that the vegetarian food of Fukuido even the old monk of Mingjue Temple said that it was delicious, and we are also a rare good taste. Meng Boliang hurriedly smiled to set off the atmosphere.

Meng Huoran stood up in accordance with the wind of words, and arched his hand to a few people: "Then Huo Ran will thank a few people." ”

"Okay, okay, as long as you pay the bill, it's easy to say anything!" Meng Boliang pressed his shoulder and laughed.

Tan Yuexiao also laughed, but he quickly said to Zhuang Jinyuan: "I heard that you have been detained ruthlessly recently?" ”

Zhuang Jinyuan's face wrinkled, and he said bitterly: "No, it's obviously not my fault, I can't escape if I am managed." ”

"But what's wrong?" Meng Huoran didn't go out for a long time, so he naturally didn't know about the new rumors in the recent Suning Marquis Mansion.

"It's not my big brother yet!" Zhuang Jinyuan didn't have a good habit of not spreading the ugliness of his family at all, he grabbed Meng Huoran's sleeve and faked crying: "You said that he took a good fancy to a girl, but he just wanted to engage in that set of domineering and arrogant tricks, but the daughter of a small official's family, you just came to marry and came back as a concubine, why bother to besiege and intimidate, it's just a cat to play." My mother found out, and because she was the eldest son, she didn't care much, but let me stay at home all day for fear that I would study badly. ”

Meng Huoran knew that Zhuang Jinyuan also had a cousin, but the Hou Mansion in Suning had always been relatively peaceful, and the Hou Ye was also a rule-respecting person, so the relationship between Zhuang Jinyuan and his eldest brother was quite harmonious. It's just that I didn't expect such a taciturn person on weekdays to be able to play this trick on the girl he likes.

"It's time to detain you, how old are you, who hooked the girls in the boudoir in Kyoto a while ago to fight for you and be jealous. What is the most beautiful man in Kyoto, you are all dead to us! Meng Boliang slapped Zhuang Jinyuan hard, and said with a tiger face: "I sue you, you toss and toss, but you must not harm the girl of our family, otherwise it doesn't matter if you are the prince of the world, it will be demolished!" ”

Zhuang Jinyuan told him to forgive, and Meng Huoran also sat on the side and joked.

After feeling that his sleeve was being pulled by someone, Meng Huoran turned his face sideways in surprise.

It turned out to be Fu Ninghuai.

"General Fu Xiao, this is ......"

Fu Ninghuai dragged a chair and sat close and said, "There is something recently, I don't know if I can ask Brother Huo Ran for help." ”

Meng Huoran was not in a hurry to respond, but said: "Little general, but it doesn't hurt to say it." ”

"You call me Ning Huai, I am friends with Brother Meng......" Speaking of this, Fu Ninghuai blushed suspiciously, but he immediately said: "I have a friend who sold goods from Nanyao, but unfortunately there was an accident at home, and he didn't have time to sell it in a hurry, and now the payment is pressed on things...... I borrowed some money from him, but unfortunately the amount was not small, so I ...... This matter is just out of my mouth and into Brother Huo Ran's ears, whether it succeeds or not, it has no impact on the relationship between the two of us, Brother Huo Ran don't think about it. ”

"If you borrow money, it's nothing." Meng Huoran has always believed in Fu Ninghuai's character, and he said generously: "I do have some idle silver in my hand, but I haven't married yet after all, and I'm young, so I'm afraid the amount is ......."

"It's only a thousand taels now, hey...... I've borrowed it all. Fu Ninghuai then said: "My friend is really anxious to use the money, and I'm afraid it won't be able to pay it for a while, so it is estimated that he will use Nanyao's goods to compensate." I can't hide that. ”

Meng Huoran calculated, he only had more than five hundred taels in his hand, but if he borrowed it from his younger brothers and sisters in the family, he could still make up for it, so he smiled and said, "Although I can't guarantee it, I can go back and make up for it." ”

Fu Ninghuai raised his eyebrows, stood up and shook his head to the end, "Thank you, Brother Huo Ran." ”