Thirty miles east of Feng County is a large area of dense jungle. The nearest village near the jungle is fourteen or fifteen miles. In winter, the grass and trees withered, and the leaves of the trees were not left, and the scene of the jungle looked very bleak. As far as the eye can see, there is no road in or out of the jungle, only a small path.

Zhou Boyan and his party first walked along the dirt road at the edge of the jungle. After a while, they saw Fu Ying waiting on the side of the road and a burly man in his twenties. Led by Fu Ying and the man, the carriage drove through the gaps in the trees in the jungle without a road. After walking for about half an hour, there was a sudden light in front of me, and an open field appeared.

The open land was about a dozen acres in size, with an open space in front and a wall of stones as high as one and a half in the back. In the open space ahead, the ground was flat and clean, and there was not a shadow of a dead grass. Obviously, someone tidied up and cleaned it a lot.

At this moment, the heavy wooden door was wide open. On the east and west sides of the door stood plainly dressed men and women, greeting Zhou Boyan and the others. There were not many of them, and on the west side stood two men in their early forties, three stout young men, and a teenager, and two boys of five or six years old. On the east side stood two women in their thirties, two young daughters-in-law, and a teenage girl.

This little girl is more interesting, holding one in her arms and two at her feet, staring curiously at Qingshu who was helped out of the carriage.

Qing Shu met the little girl's gaze, and couldn't help but look at the little girl a few more times, and couldn't help but smile.

I saw the little girl holding a tightly wrapped little milk baby with only a small face in her arms, and two little girls at her feet. One of them looked like he was only three or four years old, as if he was afraid of life, so he hid his little body behind the little girl, and only poked his little head out to peek at Qing Shu and the others. The other is estimated to have just learned to walk, and he is not stable on his feet, so he has to help the little girl from time to time. There is no need to guess, this little girl is probably a little nanny, and she takes care of these three little ones on weekdays.

Adults don't care, but what if you let such a small child (including a baby who has not been weaned) wait outside, and it freezes to death? But Qingshu is a guest, so naturally he can't go past the host to speak.

Zhou Boyan naturally saw that even the little milk baby was brought out. So when everyone saw the salute, he said helplessly, "Bring the children in." "Here he was handed over to the management of Steward Geng's family. Steward Geng is absolutely loyal, but he is also very stubborn. Since the small village here was built, counting this time, he has been here a total of three times. Every time he came, Steward Geng had to come like this, and he didn't listen.

Steward Geng has his own set of sayings, saying that it is rare for the master to come back, and no matter how old or young, he should come out to see the master. And this Geng steward is the burly man standing at the front of the two middle-aged men standing on the west side.

Qingshu and the others were welcomed into the small village. The layout inside is simple and straightforward, and it is not complicated. The houses on the west half are all made of blue bricks and red tiles, and there is a straight corridor under the eaves. The eastern half is divided into three. One is also a house of blue bricks and red tiles, the difference between it and the house on the east side is that the eaves are ordinary and not exquisite, there is no corridor, and it is built compactly; the second is filled by houses that look like warehouses; The third is the stables, the barn, and the stakes in the open air.

There is such a small village hidden in the jungle, the construction is not luxurious, there are many basic living facilities, and there is no shortage of daily necessities. Qing Shu felt that Zhou Boyan placed such a place, which was probably used to hide. Didn't you bring her here this time to hide her! Of course, I didn't want her to hide for a lifetime or three or two months, but just for three or two days.

Because Fu Ying came to say hello in advance, the western half of the house had been cleaned, and it was clean and clean. The daily necessities in the house were also replenished, the house was warmed, and the kang was hot.

It was 10 o'clock in the evening when the sun was setting, and the kitchen chimney was curling with smoke, and the air was filled with a faint aroma of food. Everyone settled down and immediately had a steaming dinner.

Everyone left Beijing late at night, and after a day's journey, they were all a little tired, so they all rested early. Qingyang and Qinghao, who have always been energetic, were also tired, and they almost fell asleep with their heads on pillows.

Qing Shu also felt tired, but he was not in a hurry to rest, but sat with Zhou Boyan and whispered. "Isn't two days too rushed? We are in no hurry, we can wait for you here for a few more days. You take your time. ”

Zhou Boyan smiled, "Don't worry about this, we will ride a horse." From here to the capital, it is not a problem to go back and forth in two days, and there is still plenty of time to do things during the period. "He had to go back to Beijing quietly, because someone had asked him to meet and talk about something.

"Alright! You know what you know. Just don't get too tired. I loved it and it didn't hurt to stay longer. Qing Shu said, walking over and tossing his things. Soon, she took two oil-paper wrappers and put them in front of him, "These are dried meat, you take them, if you can't eat in time, take them out to pad your stomach." ”

Zhou Boyan happily accepted, and said, "Leave ten brocade guards for you." ”

"No, I have my own guards, plus Fu Ying and Xiao Huan, I have enough manpower here." If her guess is correct, Steward Geng's father and son are also skilled, and the way they walk is obviously different from ordinary people.

"Ashu, I am secretly returning to Beijing, the more people there are, the bigger the target, it is not easy to hide my identity. You don't have to persuade me, this matter is settled, the stone and ten brocade guards stay, and Hong Wei will follow me. He said and shook Qingshu's hand, "Don't worry!" When I entered Beijing, I had a lot of people available. ”

Qing Shu knew that he had made up his mind, so he dissipated his thoughts of continuing to persuade him, and just emphasized, "Be careful! ”

"Good. It's not too early, you can rest! I replied. He grabbed two oil-paper packets of jerky and prepared to leave.

Qing Shu got up to see him off and sent him out of the house, and then ordered the maid to come to the door.

This night, everyone slept soundly. At dawn, Qingshu got up early, moved around the house for a while, and walked outside to breathe in the cold and fresh air.

Gu Shishi greeted Qing Shu listlessly, "I've seen Miss." ”

Qing Shu didn't know what was inside, and looked at him a few times, "What's wrong?" Uncomfortable? ”

Gu Shishi said with a depressed face, "Childe didn't take the small one, and left the small one behind." ”

Qing Shu smiled, "Your son-in-law doesn't take you because you often do things by his side, and there are too many people who know you, and it is easy to expose his identity." ”

Gu Shishi heard this and muttered, "Little Zhilu said." It's just that I can't travel with my son for a while, and I'm a little unaccustomed to it. ”

Fu Ying happened to come out of the house, "Miss, it's cold outside, let's go into the house quickly!" ”

Qing Shu agreed, turned around to go back to the house, but heard the cry of the little milk baby from the east side of the house. She looked at the house to the east, and saw Geng Qiaoniang, the little nanny of the Geng family, standing under the window with a little milk baby in her arms and shouting, "Second sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, come back quickly." Sili is hungry and wants milk. ”

A young daughter-in-law came out of the kitchen. She took off her apron and said with a smile, "This little girl, I can eat more and more in the past two days." ”

Probably hearing the voice of the mother, the little milk baby cried even harder.

The little daughter-in-law quickly took the baby and went into the house, and the child's crying soon disappeared.

At this time, Geng Qiaoniang, who followed up, came out again. She was holding the one who could just walk in her arms, and the three or four-year-old one at her feet, and she was saying, "Da Li, Erli, you two had better wash your faces obediently." If she spills over the basin again and wets her clothes, my aunt will be angry. Dahlia, you say, what will happen if my aunt is angry? ”

The three- or four-year-old said in a soft voice, "Spanking the ass, the ass hurts." ”

Geng Qiaoniang chattered about this no, that can't, and went into one of the rooms. After a while, she came out to pour water, and she still shouted in her mouth, "Da Li, look at my sister, don't let my sister fall off the kang." Two five or six-year-old boys rushed over like a locomotive, and she shouted again, "Da Zhuang, Er Zhuang, don't be nasty, hurry up and wash your face." I dare not wash my face and not give you steamed buns today. ”

Qing Shu looked at all this, and sighed in her heart, Geng Qiaoniang, this little girl is too capable.

Speaking of Zhou Boyan, Tian Weiming took Hong Wei and rode away. At that time, Qingshu and the others had not woken up yet, and they were sleeping soundly. Zhou Boyan and Hong Wei hurried to Feng County, and then continued to move forward, arriving at the capital before noon. After entering the city, he didn't go back to Shuyuan, let alone the eldest princess's mansion, but went to Ruyi Restaurant.

They didn't go through the front door, but came in from the backyard of the restaurant and went straight to the third floor. The shopkeeper followed Zhou Boyan and reported that the eldest prince was drinking in the private room. Zhou Boyan listened, and asked the shopkeeper to settle down Hong Wei and find it himself.

Eating delicacies and drinking wine, An Rongzhou felt that this day was moist and comfortable. It's good to have a brother who runs a restaurant, you don't have to dig out your own pocket for anything, you can leave with a wipe of your mouth when you are full of food and drink.

Zhou Boyan untied the black cloak on his body and sat directly in front of An Rongzhou, "Is there any change in Beijing?" ”

An Rongzhou poured a glass of wine for Zhou Boyan, pushed it forward, and said: "On the surface, it looks calm, but secretly everyone is making small moves. "By the way, your uncle is sick, has taken leave, and is recuperating in the house. The doctor said that it was okay, and it would get better after a few days. ”

Zhou Boyan said indifferently, "That's good." "It's a good thing that Zhou Shilang doesn't mix it indiscriminately.

An Rongzhou gloated and asked, "Why is your uncle sick?" Do you know why? ”

"I don't know." Zhou Boyan thought that Zhou Shilang had listened to his advice and pretended to be sick in the house, and he didn't think about anything else at all.

An Rongzhou smiled evilly and hooked his finger at Zhou Boyan, who was sitting opposite. Seeing that Zhou Boyan didn't cooperate at all, he felt bored and solved the riddle, "Lao Tzu let his son calculate." Ha Lu Ha ......"

Zhou Boyan finally heard that something was wrong, "What's the matter?" ”

An Rongzhou inquired, if he was interested in someone's privacy, he would have to dig it out. Occasionally, he has a bad taste, and he even has to dig out the clothes of what color people are wearing. "Yesterday, Lord Shilang first ate the head of the old lady's crutches, and then just left the house less than 100 meters, and suddenly had abdominal pain. He didn't care about anything else, so he stopped the sedan chair and ran towards the house, aiming at the thatched house. Vomit up and down, hahaha...... I heard that he ran to the thatched hut in the middle of the night, and he walked with a float, halu ha......"

Zhou Boyan stared at An Rongzhou like that, with a message in his eyes: What's so funny about this.

An Rongzhou laughed enough, wiped the water droplets overflowing from the corners of his eyes, and said in a low voice, "Others only think that he has a bad stomach." Actually, it's not, only I know that your lobby brother quietly gave him something in order to prevent him from going out of the house. "It's all said and done, what Zhou Bohua gave his father, needless to say, everyone understands. He sighed, "Looking at a person who is quite woody, I didn't expect to come with such a hand with my own son." ”

Zhou Boyan was surprised. Zhou Bohua doesn't talk much, he has always followed the rules, and his speech and work are a little old-fashioned. How could such a person drug his father? On the other hand, he had a plan in his heart. What benefits did the right minister promise, and his good uncle even went out of the house despite his warnings?

At this time, An Rongzhou's expression suddenly became a little dignified, "To be honest with my eldest brother, have you found out anything about your father's mother?" "He doesn't care about the hatred of the eldest princess, what he cares about has always been the hatred of his father-in-law Zhou Qiao.

Zhou Boyan retracted his thoughts and replied unhurriedly, "No." Still clueless. After a pause, he added, "The deceased is gone, what is there to find." I've given up. ”

An Rongzhou frowned.

"Big brother, put it down! You don't want to think about it, the Queen Mother and the Holy Lord don't track down the events of the year, but you and I hold on to it, and it's easy to provoke right and wrong. He didn't want An Rongzhou to continue the investigation, not for anything else, on the one hand, for An Rongzhou's safety, and on the other hand, he didn't want An Rongzhou to be sad. Sometimes, people who don't know the truth live happily. Like him, knowing that he has told part of the truth, what can he get besides anger and pain? His father and mother died in the conspiracy of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is also his mother's mother-in-law and his maternal grandmother, what can he do? Could he be trying to kill his grandmother?

This not only violated the code of ethics, but also sandwiched his emperor's uncle in the middle. He doesn't think about others, only for the emperor's uncle, and he can't have the intention of killing the queen mother.

It is said that the emperor is ruthless, and this is true. But in the ruthlessness of the emperor, his emperor's uncle worked very hard to preserve such a warmth in front of him, and let him live freely and walk the world as much as he wanted. This kind of pampering of my uncle is not to spoil him, but to compensate and protect him in his own way. He cherishes this affection, and naturally does not do anything that makes it difficult for his uncle to be a man.

In return, it is also a kind of revenge, and he wants to have one heart with his uncle. He wants to help his uncle cut off the wings of the Queen Mother, so that the Queen Mother will never be able to set off any storms. In his opinion, for the Queen Mother, not having power in her hands is a painful thing. He can't kill the Queen Mother, so he deprives the Queen Mother of everything that can bring happiness to the Queen Mother, and it can be regarded as avenging his father and mother in disguise. These things don't need to be known to An Rongzhou, they are all borne by him.

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

Qingqing made a mistake again, Qingqing, who knows his mistakes, has to be obedient next, and strive to make up for yesterday's mistakes.