“…… Since then, Young Master Yan Jin has not been able to sleep well every night, and his wounds are bleeding nonstop...... The injury was in a private place, and the slave maid wanted to help him change the medicine, but Young Master Yan Jin had to do it himself, and he resolutely did not let the slave and maid call the doctor......

Qing Yan said as she spoke, her eyes were full of tears, obviously she was sad and scared to the extreme, if it weren't for Shu Wangjin's belief that has been supporting her, I'm afraid that she would have been crushed a long time ago.

Lin Mei couldn't help but stroke her goosebump-covered arms when she heard this, only to feel that it sounded extremely chilling, let alone really hurt like this.

Shu Wangjin pondered for a moment, and when he wanted to say something, he caught a glimpse of Lin Mei standing aside, frowning slightly.

As soon as Lin Mei saw Shu Wangjin's expression, she also knew that he should have something to say to Qingyan, and it was really embarrassing to stay here any longer, anyway, they were discussing serious matters, and it was a very tragic business, so it was better for him to go out outside to breathe and blow the wind, and by the way, to see the cultural scenery and street food outside, it was not in vain to come to Los Angeles.

After thinking about it, Lin Mei said to Shu Wangjin with a straight face, "You guys are here to talk about business, and I'll go out to blow the wind......"

Shu Wangjin's face softened slightly, but he was also afraid that something would happen to Lin Mei here, so he said, "You go to Shu Zhou and ask him to accompany you to go outside for a walk, and come back before dinner tonight." ”

Lin Mei got Shu Wangjin's ****, and originally wanted to say thank you to him with a smile, but because his brother was seriously injured, it was better not to disturb his mind, so he strained his face, nodded solemnly, and said with a well-behaved voice, "Don't worry, we promise to come back on time." ”

"That's right...... Lin, Miss Lin, remember to be careful of Young Master Shu Taijin. ”

Seeing that Lin Mei was leaving, Qing Yan suddenly remembered something, opened her mouth and hesitated for a long time, not knowing why she should call Lin Mei. In the end, he decided to follow his master and call her "Miss Lin".

"Be careful? Why ......" Lin Mei's face was full of puzzlement, but Qing Yan didn't want to tell her about the ugliness of these aftermaths, biting her lip and saying toughly, "You just have to be careful." Ask more about what to do! "Even if Shu Wangjin brought Lin Mei to Los Angeles, so what? As long as Shu Wangjin didn't really marry Lin Mei into the Shu family, then there was no need for him to be subservient to her!

The reason why Qing Yan thinks like this is because she takes a fancy to Lin Mei's temper, and she will definitely not go through old accounts; If it's like other women, I'm afraid that there will be a lot of grudges......

Lin Mei was so provoked by Qing Yan. I almost didn't quarrel with her on the spot, but in the end, I snorted at Shu Wangjin's face, and said with a pout, "I don't care about you...... There are plenty of adults in this girl! ”

After that, he went straight out of the door, and finally did not forget to close the door.

Shu Wangjin saw that Lin Mei was gone, so he looked at Qing Yan again, and said with a calm face, "What you told me before, Yan Jin's injury...... Isn't it ......"

Speaking of which. Shu Wangjin also paused.

Qing Yan knew what Shu Wangjin's unfinished words were, and her thin lips were bitten tightly in an instant, and they suddenly turned red; With tears in her eyes and sadness on her face, she nodded painfully, "That's right...... It's exactly what you think, young master. I didn't pay attention to Young Master Yan Jin's real injuries, but I also wondered that his skin injuries shouldn't have dragged down his body for so long, and later, one day, during the day, Young Master Yan Jin was really in pain and had no strength to faint, so I had the opportunity to help him take medicine...... only to find out. It turns out that the real wound is the back there ......"

Shu Wangjin was also very sad when he heard this, and his expression became even more gloomy, which is why he let Lin Mei go out to play. It's better to let Lin Mei know less about such a thing. After all...... That's not a good thing.

"Then what you said earlier, why do you want Miss Lin to be careful of Taijin?" Shu Wangjin only felt that he should not have let these two come to Los Angeles first, without the restraint of the elders, not even a serious master, and the only one who could speak was Qingyan. But it's just a servant girl, how can those two who have been over-eyed since they were young listen to the words of a servant girl?

If you want to talk about this thing...... He thinks he has the greatest responsibility.

As soon as Qing Yan heard Shu Wangjin mention this, the expression on his face immediately became hateful and disgusted, "Young Master, you, you don't know...... That day, it was Shu Taijin who took Young Master Yan Jin out! I thought that with Shu Taijin here, Young Master Yan Jin should be fine, what do you think...... Shu Taijin's pig and dog's inferior thing actually hurt his own brother! ”

"You mean...... Did Taejin do this? Shu Wangjin's expression was very calm, but he was trying his best to suppress it in his heart, only thinking about what he would do to Shu Taijin when he saw him, and how he would appease him when he saw Shu Yanjin......

Qing Yan bit his lip so hard that he almost didn't bite his lip to bleed, "Young Master...... The **** asked Young Master Yan Jin, but Young Master Yan Jin didn't tell me what happened that day. Moreover, the two of them obviously went out at the same time, but only Young Master Yan Jin came back that night, I thought that Shu Taijin also had an accident, but who knows...... Early the next morning, the guy returned to Ding's house safe and sound, and asked me if Young Master Yan Jin was back? ”

The slave didn't notice anything unusual at the time, but just asked him where he went last night and why only Young Master Yan Jin came back alone. When he heard that Young Master Yan Jin was back, the expression on his face was a little worried and scared, but he quickly returned to normal, and said that he and Young Master Yan Jin were separated last night, and it was late at that time, and there was no primer on him, so he stayed at his old friend's house for one night...... The slave maid believed it at the time, thinking that since Young Master Yan Jin had an accident, it was a blessing in misfortune that Young Master Tai Jin did not have an accident......"

Speaking of this, there were more and more tears in Qing Yan's eyes, and he almost fell down.

However, after Young Master Yan Jin saw Young Master Taijin, his face was extremely cold, and he directly blasted Shu Taijin out of the back room, Shu Taijin seemed to be ashamed, but it didn't take long for him to leave...... After two or three days like this, the slave maid really couldn't understand why Young Master Yan Jin treated Shu Taijin like this, and later at night, the slave and maid heard Young Master Yan Jin's dream words crying and shouting, and only then did they know...... The reason why Young Master Yan Jin was invaded and harmed was because Shu Taijin introduced Young Master Yan Jin to that person! is so wolf-hearted, he doesn't even care about the safety of his own brothers, it's just worse than a beast! ”

When Qing Yan said this, he still shed tears after all. In the past few days, she has been at a loss, and she is afraid that she will make a joke by doing something wrong, and there is no one around her to discuss. I felt sorry for Shu Yanjin in my heart, but my own ability was weak. It didn't help at all, but now that Shu Wangjin has arrived, she can finally cry happily......

Shu Wangjin also listened attentively, and after a long time, he let go of his right hand that had been clenching his fist. Said softly, "Then where is Shu Taijin now?" ”

Qing Yan heard that Shu Wangjin changed his name to Shu Taijin, and knew that Shu Wangjin was really angry this time, and planned to clean up the door, so he hurriedly wiped his tears and choked, "Shu Taijin hasn't been back to Ding's house for several days, and the slave maid doesn't have enough manpower, so she really can't find anyone else to ......."

Shu Wangjin pursed her lips slightly, and suddenly sighed, "This matter." Don't sue Sù Yan Jin, let alone tell me the reason for this...... Yan Jin's face is thin, if he knew that you told me about this, he might cause some kind of trouble. When the time comes, if he asks why I disposed of Shu Taijin, you will say that Shu Taijin was greedy for a lot of Shu family's property when he was in the capital, and I came this time specifically to clean up the door for the Shu family. ”

"Yes, young master......" Qing Yan replied while wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, "It's just that Young Master Yan Jin has always refused to let the doctor help him check his injuries, and he has refused to let others help him with medicine." It's been a few days, and the injuries haven't healed yet......"

"When the time comes, add some sleepy medicine to his decoction at night, and if you wish, help him to take the medicine." If you don't want to, I'll ask Shu Zhou to help Yan Jin with medicine; In the daytime, everyone hid from him. Shu Wangjin said, and then frowned again.

Now it's strange why Shu Taijin wants to deal with his brother like this for no reason, if it is to deal with himself, it makes sense, but what is the relationship between Shu Yanjin and Shu Taijin? We really grew up together. Even if Shu Yanjin gets a piece of pastry, she has to give half of it to Shu Taijin, there is no reason why Shu Taijin would be so cruel to Shu Yanjin......

Shu Wangjin was puzzled, but the top priority now was to find Shu Taijin, and Shu Yanjin couldn't ask, but there were still five or six days before the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce held it, and he didn't seem to have many days to investigate......

On Lin Mei's side, since she went out, she saw Shu Zhou walking towards her in a hot sweat, and it seemed that she had come to find Shu Wangjin.

"Suzhou ......" Lin Mei shouted, and then jumped to Shu Zhou's side, frowning and said, "Shu Wangjin and Qing Yan are talking about things inside, it seems that the son of Shu Yanjin of your family was persecuted, and the injuries on his body sound really miserable......"

Shu Zhou was stunned for a while, and he didn't know whether to laugh or be sad, but there was always some schadenfreude in his heart, but if he knew how much Shu Yanjin suffered, he was afraid that he wouldn't even be able to cry!

"Young Master Yan Jin is okay, right?" Out of morality, Shu Zhou still coughed a few times and asked about Shu Yanjin's physical condition.

"I don't know about this......" Lin Mei touched her chin, she and Shu Yanjin didn't have any affection, if she said anything, she just felt that this was a child of a family who had been spoiled by her family since she was a child.

Shu Zhou nodded a few times, and just wanted to say goodbye to Lin Mei, but was pulled by Lin Mei, and said with a smile, "But Shu Wangjin can say it, let you accompany me to take a walk outside...... He also said that if I like something on the road, what about you, you have to help me pay for it first, and he will naturally pay you back when the time comes. ”

"......" Shu Zhou wiped the sweat from his head, as soon as he heard this, it didn't look like Shu Wangjin said it at all, okay......

If Shu Wangjin really asked him to accompany Lin Mei to go shopping, it would not be that he would give money, but that he would go to the account office to ask for silver...... However, in such a place, how can it be compared to the capital, and he does have some silver, which was also taken by Shu Wangjin when he was in Jinzhou City; I didn't expect it to come in handy so quickly, he just wanted to cover it for a few more days!

Shu Zhou looked at the room where Shu Wangjin and Qing Yan were talking about things, and missed Qing Yan for some reason.

"Miss Lin, is Qingyan okay?" Shu Zhou and Qingyan Qingyu sisters are also childhood sweethearts, although they have quarreled with Qingyan since they were children, but as a boy, Shu Zhou has always let Qingyan go, which also led to the consequences of Qingyan becoming worse later.

Lin Mei glanced at Shu Zhou suspiciously, and asked strangely, "Didn't you and her quarrel before?" Why did you reconcile so quickly? ”

Shu Zhou's old face turned red, and he sighed leisurely and said, "A manly man, how can you care about a little woman?" Besides. Her sister Qingyu is kind to me, and now that Qingyu is married with the eldest lady, I should be optimistic about Qingyan, otherwise I will be ashamed of Qingyu's kindness......"

"Really?" Lin Meihu glanced at Shu Zhou suspiciously. Then he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I won't tell you this, and I don't want you to accompany me, you are a man." It's not Yufei and Lin Shi, if you follow me, then I will fall into my appetite...... Well, give me the silver, I'll go to the street to play by myself, if you are worried about Qingyan, go to see her yourself, just beware of her sharp mouth! ”

Shu Zhou naturally didn't want to accompany Lin Mei to the street, and after hearing this, he also agreed very much, so he took out a delicate little purse from his body and handed it to Lin Mei. With a reluctant look, "When the time comes, you have to remember to return this purse to me......"

Lin Mei looked at the purse in her hand suspiciously, the apricot-colored satin, embroidered with the beautiful scenery of the peach blossoms in spring, the peach was scorching, and the embroidery was exquisite, I don't know who gave it to Shu Zhou.

"Who embroidered such a beautiful purse?" Lin Mei touched the purse in her hand, with some envy on her face, how much would she have if she had such a female worker......

"It's embroidered by Qingyan...... She said that day that she would embroider a purse for the young master. By the way, I also embroidered one for me. Shu Zhou's face was slightly proud, "Don't you know, Qingyan's embroidery is a must in Shufu, and even Qingyu can't compare to her......"

Lin Mei seemed to sense something. Squinted slightly, covered his mouth with a smile and said, "Yes, yes, no one can compare to Qingyan's embroiderer......"

She said in her heart, looking at it like this, it can be matched again......

And. What's even better is that if this thing happens, then Qingyan will no longer be able to think about her family's Shu Wangjin in the future!

After Lin Mei and Shu Zhou finished laughing, they took their purses and shook their hands away, so anxious that Shu Zhou chased after them, "Miss Lin, you take it easy, but don't get this purse dirty and break it!" ”

"Got it......" Lin Mei had already walked away, and when she heard Shu Zhou say this, she couldn't help but shake the purse in her hand and replied with three words.

Shu Zhou looked intently at the purse in Lin Mei's hand, not believing what she said at all.

There were a lot of subordinates along the way of the Ding family, and after seeing Lin Mei, they didn't ask, but just leaned over and saluted. This is also ordered by the head of the Ding family, although the Ding family is mixed here during this period of time, most of them are better not to mess with; As long as you enter the gate, the people inside must not ask about the identity of these people, if those people have any requirements, they must try their best to meet them, and remember not to lose the identity and face of the host of the Ding family.

Therefore, even if those subordinates think that Lin Meiyan is very raw, they will not ask who she is, after all, the people in the concierge have already let her in, so this identity must be either rich or expensive, or it is better not to go.

Lin Mei saw that those maidservants and maids all saluted to her one by one, but she didn't ask who she was, and she was still a little panicked in her heart, but over time, she got used to it.

After leaving the gate of Ding's house, Lin Mei was like a loose horse, and went straight to the lively place, and on the way she ate a lot of famous snacks in Los Angeles, such as Huamei, Jiayingzi, tangerine peel plum, three twisted dried and the like, as well as sour head, sour papaya, aged ginger, citrus, kernel twist, snake gall Sichuan shell tangerine peel, salty and sour radish......

Lin Mei ate all the way, although the things here are delicious, but they are much more expensive than in Linshan County, a steamed bun is only two cents in Linshan County, but when it comes here, it costs four cents a ...... There is also a famous snack rock sugar gourd in Beijing, which was only a string of eight yuan in Linshan County, but here in Los Angeles, it costs fifteen copper coins! Seeing Lin Mei's dumbfounded, she sighed that this is not a life that ordinary people can afford at all......

Fortunately, there was enough silver in the purse, which gave Lin Mei the capital to eat from this street to another street; And she is delicate in appearance, dressed luxuriously, and speaks awkward official dialect, she is not a native of Los Angeles when she hears it, and many shops slaughter her as a fat sheep, and she has a lot of silver.

Poor Lin Mei didn't know anything about this, and thought that things in Los Angeles were so expensive, although she was a little distressed, but fortunately it was Shu Wangjin's silver that was spent, otherwise she would have been heartbroken!

Holding a bag of plums in her left hand and some packaged sour papayas in her right hand, Lin Mei was about to bring these back to Ding's house for Shu Wangjin and Shu Zhou to taste, but saw a familiar figure on the street. She only felt that the back was a little impressed, but she couldn't remember who it was...... But if you meet an acquaintance in such a place. That's fate!

Thinking like this, Lin Mei jumped up and squeezed behind the man, but when she saw the person's slightly sideways face, she couldn't help but pause. Hurriedly used the words in his left hand to block his face, and let that person pass by himself, so he put down the words he was holding in his hand.

"How...... It's Shu Taijin. Lin Mei looked at the small snack she was holding in both hands, then looked at Shu Taijin's distant back, and said to herself, "Qingyan said let me be careful of him." But...... Anyway, let's follow him and see what he has to do! ”

Lin Mei has always done whatever she thinks, so she couldn't help but lick her lips that were still slightly sour, and secretly followed behind Shu Taijin.

Shu Taijin didn't know that someone was following him, and he didn't expect Shu Wangjin to bring Lin Mei to Los Angeles with him, so he carelessly didn't realize that he had been followed by a petite woman's back.

But Shu Taijin is a man after all, Lin Mei has to be careful to be discovered by him, and she has to be careful to remember the way back, plus she is not familiar with this place at all, so she slowly fell behind. Later. There were people coming and going on the street, and Shu Taijin couldn't be seen anymore, and Lin Mei couldn't remember the way back......

"What a hate! Walk so fast, don't wait for me ......" Lin Mei stomped her feet, gritted her teeth and chewed on Huamei, the snacks in her hands were eaten by her all the way, and when she arrived here, it was almost gone.

"Forget it...... Regardless of Shu Taijin, I'll ask for the way back first......" Lin Mei pouted, full of depression.

It was at this time. Lin Mei was about to give up and continue to look for Shu Taijin and was about to ask for directions back, but suddenly saw Shu Taijin following behind a young man not far in front of her, as if she was asking the man for help with something, with a nervous and flattering expression.

Lin Mei blinked. hurriedly bought a cone hat on the side of the stall and put it on her head, now she was no longer afraid that Shu Taijin would recognize her; And there are also many rich ladies on this street who wear conical hats for fear of being recognized, so Lin Mei's dress did not arouse other people's strange eyes at all.

Shu Taijin followed behind the handsome man in a pale cyan silk robe, with a look of embarrassment on his face, and whispered something in the man's ear from time to time, and then probably saw the man's face angry. Only then did he collect his voice, and followed behind him with his head drooping and his face full of anger.

Lin Mei had the cover of the cone hat, and now the tracking became even bolder, sometimes even walked directly to the front of the two people, to those stalls selling trinkets to take a few looks, and saw that there was a nine-link is really exquisitely made, so she moved the mind to buy it, the corner of her eyes glanced at Shu Taijin's two people, and saw that they walked in front of her again, for fear of losing it again, she hurriedly returned the nine-link in her hand to the store, and followed with her skirt.

Shu Taijin and the others walked not far and came to a very quiet study building, there were not many people in it, but it didn't seem to be an ordinary place.

Lin Mei was afraid that Shu Taijin would notice, so she didn't follow, but just watched the two of them enter the study building, and then walked over, but the two guards guarding the door outside stopped Lin Mei from letting her in, with a look of suspicion, "Who are you?" This is not the place you should go into! ”

"This is not the place for me to go in? Why, your library looks down on women so much? Lin Mei pretended to be angry, and said viciously with her hands on her hips, "Then why did my brother get in just now?" ”

The two guards glanced at each other, but they were quite embarrassed, and it seemed that many women had come here to find someone.

"Girl, our library only accepts men, I don't know who Brother Ling is? The little one can go and help you go in and report it...... "It seems that the people who can enter this study building are not ordinary people, and the two guards saw that Lin Mei was the sister of the guests inside, and their attitude was much better."

Lin Mei snorted coldly, pursed her lips and said disdainfully, "I'm too lazy to tell you!" If you don't let me in, you won't let me in, and if you go back and see if I don't let my father punish my brother well! I really don't know what kind of ninth-rate places I enter on weekdays, and women are not allowed to enter! ”

As she spoke, she turned around and left, leaving only the two guards with an apologetic smile, watching Lin Mei disappear into the crowd along the way.

How could Lin Mei be so desperate? Going far away was just a delaying tactic, lest the two guards at the door suspect themselves, but this book building was really strange...... You know, back in the days of the previous dynasty. Women can go to the academy to study and learn to write, but this library does not allow women to enter, which is really strange......

However, it didn't take long. Someone came out of the study building, and it was the man next to Shu Taijin before, but Shu Taijin was nowhere to be seen.

And it seems that the man seems to be quite identious, and when he came out, the two guards at the door kept smiling at each other, with a cautious face; Finally, wait for the man to leave. But he couldn't help wiping the sweat on his face, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Mei was overjoyed when she saw this, she couldn't see Shu Taijin, but if she could get in touch with this man, it would not be difficult to get Shu Taijin's news......

The man in green clothes looked like a powerful man in his eyebrows, and even his every move was full of arrogance; Lin Mei hadn't noticed these things at all when she followed him before, but now that she saw the front of the man, she was a little withdrawn for some reason, and quietly retreated in her heart.

On her side, she wanted to give up, but on the other hand, she didn't plan to let her go......

Lin Mei originally planned to meet the Ding family by herself. After all, it was starting to get dark now, but when I was about to turn back, I was stopped by someone.

"You ......" Lin Mei was startled, and just wanted to speak, but found that it was the man in Tsing Yi who stopped her......

"The girl knows me?" The man in green clothes had a malicious smile on his face, which was even more annoying than the King of Sui that Lin Mei had seen, at least King Sui did not have such a disgusting smell of blood on his body.

Lin Mei swallowed her saliva and raised an ugly smile, "I, how do I know you...... But. This son, why are you stopping me? ”

The man in green clothes hooked the corners of his mouth, his crimson lips showed a scarlet color in the afterglow of the setting sun, and his eyes also flashed with a sly light. said in a lazy tone, "Since the girl doesn't know me, why is she so far away from me?" From the previous bazaar all the way here...... Scold. ”

Under the pressure of this man's momentum, Lin Mei couldn't help but take a few steps back, and her smile became even stiffer, "This son." I just happened to get here, why am I following you......"

After listening to Lin Mei's defense, the man in Tsing Yi seemed to be a little impatient, and frowned directly and said, "I don't have time to listen to your defense...... If you don't tell the truth, I'll reward you to my subordinates!" As he spoke, several sturdy black-clothed guards walked out from behind the man in green clothes.

Lin Mei was even more panicked now, it was clear that this man was the only one before......

"Son, Childe......" Lin Mei's eyes rolled a few times, and she suddenly had a plan, pretending to be frightened, twisting her sleeves on both sides and crying, "Childe...... I, I'm just ......"

Lin Mei looked at the man in green clothes covetously as she spoke, and choked up, "Childe is so handsome and square, I, I'm really ...... Rejoicing......"

Lin Mei said, lowered her head, and even her voice was full of shyness, full of little daughter posture.

When the man in green clothes heard this, he showed a disgusted expression, as if Lin Mei was something very dirty, so he immediately stepped back and said coldly, "It really makes me sick!" Never mind...... Let's go. ”

After speaking, the man in green clothes left with the black-clothed guards behind him, his steps in a hurry, as if he was in a hurry.

After the man in Tsing Yi left, Lin Mei moved her muscles and bones, but found that she had already been soaked in cold sweat...... The man's gaze was too terrifying, and when she stared at Lin Mei, she almost thought she was going to be out of breath, as if she was the prey of a poisonous snake.

"Who the hell is this man...... How could Shu Taijin deal with such a terrifying person......"

Lin Mei touched her cold wrist, and then realized that the sunset was about to set at the foot of the mountain, and the night market began to be lit on the side of the street, which was more lively than the capital. After all, the capital is at the foot of the Son of Heaven, and there will be a curfew from time to time at night, and the mountain here is far away from the emperor, unless it is a major event that the emperor has collapsed, otherwise it is very lively every day.

"No matter...... Let's go back to Ding's house first! Lin Mei looked at the remnant sun in the distance, gritted her teeth, although she was a little scared in her heart, she was not panicked, after all, she had silver on her body, and she had a little confidence no matter what.

In the end, Lin Mei finally returned to Ding's house under the guidance of an enthusiastic old lady, but it was already evening hours......

At this time, the Ding family was very lively, and Lin Mei was still struggling with how to get in, but she saw that the person waiting at the door was an acquaintance, and it turned out to be Shu Zhou. I saw him standing at the gate of the Ding family with his head down, looking around from time to time, as if he was looking for someone.

"Shu Zhou......" Lin Mei had long forgotten her previous fear of the man in Tsing Yi at this time, and when she saw her acquaintance, she naturally jumped past.

Shu Zhou suddenly heard Lin Mei's voice at this time, he only felt a headache in the past, but now he felt like a natural sound, and immediately led people to hug him, and said with a handful of tears and snot, "Miss Lin!" You're back! ”

It was rare for Lin Mei to see Shu Zhou's sincere love for herself, she couldn't cry or laugh, and comforted softly, "It's not that I won't come back, it's just that I went out for a while......"

Shu Zhou shook his head desperately, and cried out, "Are you going shopping?" You're clearly a little bit of a life......"

Lin Mei couldn't understand this when she heard this, and when she was about to ask Shu Zhou, she saw Qingyan rushing out of the Ding family with an anxious face, and she didn't notice Lin Mei standing on the side, and said to Shu Zhou in a hurry, "Shu Zhou, the young master insists on going out to find it by himself, I really can't stop it!" (To be continued.) )