On the third watch, the night was quiet, the doors were closed everywhere, and the courtyard was pitch black. Li Ruoxue sat alone in the room, still wearing the half-worn Luo shirt that she wore when she went to see Zhao Xingde in the morning, and two lines of tears quietly slid down her cheeks.

When I was a child, I read the biography of Wu Zixu, and I didn't understand Shi Zhennu's decision to die by bouldering and sinking into the river. Shi Zhen can see Ying, why not go with Wu Yuan? Later, I learned that when the hero was displaced, life and death were at stake, and self-protection was not enough, how could he bear the burden of a weak woman.

"Although I lied to you, I also promised you that I would never trouble you again."

The oil lamp burst into a light flower, and Li Ruoxue only felt that her heart was shattered into ashes. When Zhao Xingde proposed to take her to the summer, she was not without concern about the woman's name and family's reputation, but in the end, it was this simple idea that overwhelmed the deep meaning. She has followed Li Gefei for many years and has been belittled, she knows the difficulties of the world, Zhao Xingde was framed by traitors to rebel, and being able to escape with his life is already blessed by God and Buddha, how can she add trouble to him.

"Don't hate me, at most I won't marry anyone else for the rest of my life." She sighed softly, the Shicai drum had been beaten three times, Zhao Xingde said that on the fourth watch, he waited outside the moon gate of the inner house, and if he couldn't wait for her, he naturally left. However, a thought always lingered in my mind.

"After tonight, maybe I won't see Yuan Zhi again, even if it's through the moon gate, I'm going to send him off." After a whole day of cranky thinking, Li Ruoxue's forehead was already a little hot, and when she thought of this, she stood up and put on a goose yellow silk robe.

There seemed to be a voice in Li Ruoxue's mind that kept saying, "I can't go." But her body seemed to be involuntary, but let her tiptoe to the door, the sound of even breathing from the outer room came from the curtain, her cheeks were crimson, and she gently pushed the door open, and a cool breeze of a summer night came to her face, which made people feel relieved. Li Ruoxue took a deep breath of cool night air, with the unique vibrant taste of summer flowers and plants, which calmed her mind a little.

She turned around lightly and pickled the door, and then tiptoed to the moon gate of the back house. I don't know how long it will take to get to the fourth watch, she will wear this thin silk coat and stand behind the moon gate, tonight is August 16, the moonlight is sprinkled like a silver waterfall, and the sparse shadows of the surrounding flowers and trees float, lining people like fairies, without a trace of fireworks.

A voice in her heart said, "I can't see his face", and another voice said, "Maybe I won't see him again after today", Li Ruoxue still took a step forward, opened the lock of the moon gate, and was about to push the door out, when she heard footsteps outside, which made her wake up from her trance, let go of her hand as if she was electrocuted, and stood quietly behind the door, holding her breath, almost stopping her heartbeat. The footsteps seemed to be Zhao Xingde's, and he stopped before coming to the moon gate, and he waited for her outside the door.

Zhao Xingde was carrying a simple green cloth burden, which contained clothes, customs clearance documents, scattered Jiaozi silver coins and other things, and even a box of newly bought preserved fruits. The rest of the large amount of Jiaozi, Chao Bu's letter and the waist card of the Jinguan Mansion are hidden in a more secure place to prevent others from coveting them.

The cicadas couldn't stop squeaking, listening to the music that seemed to be pleasant in Zhao Xingde's ears, his heart was full of joy, and even nervously excited. Although he fled to the Xia Kingdom, he brought him with the people who were closest to him in this world. Wherever you go, you are never alone. He looked up at the moonlight in the sky and felt that it was very bright, saying that the moon of the fifteenth was sixteen round, Zhao Xingde smiled slightly, and pulled the lock outside the moon gate.

Time passed moment by moment, the clouds in the sky made the moon dim, and the louder and louder cries of the cicadas also changed from pleasant to noisy, gradually, Zhao Xingde couldn't laugh, his heart became more and more uneasy, and his face was shrouded in a layer of clouds. He is not a fool, recalling Li Ruoxue's expression when he agreed, with an indescribable sadness, Zhao Xingde couldn't help but have an ominous premonition in his heart.

It's almost the fifth watch, Zhao Xingde stands quietly outside the moon gate, and his green shirt is dyed with a little night dew. The torment of waiting made him feel exhausted, and he suddenly understood the meaning of Li Ruoxue's complicated eyes in the morning, which was a kind of determination.

Zhao Xingde turned around slowly, a vague hope pulled him unrealistically, and every step seemed to have a weight.

"He ended up leaving." Inside the Moon Gate, Li Ruoxue couldn't hold back any longer, and two lines of tears flowed down her cheeks quietly.

Zhao Xingde left a few steps, his mood was depressed to the extreme, and suddenly he heard a subtle and suppressed cry, the sound was almost inaudible, but it was like a filament, tightly tied to his steps. A hope like rebirth after the catastrophe was rekindled, Zhao Xingde immediately turned around and came to the moon gate, first listened intently, there was no sound, and then held his breath, with almost trembling hands, and pushed hard. The door that seemed to be close to the end of the world was gently pushed open.

Li Ruoxue's cheeks were not dry, and she looked even more pitiful under the moonlight, looking up at Zhao Xingde, as if she had infinite grievances to say,

She didn't wear any clothes to go out at all, and she didn't take her luggage. Seeing this, Zhao Xingde didn't understand what was going on, so he immediately walked over and took her hand, and walked towards the small door of the outer house without saying anything.

Li Ruoxue was pulled by him, walked a few steps involuntarily, came to her senses, and shook it hard, but because Zhao Xingde had more strength, she didn't shake it off, Zhao Xingde not only didn't let go, but grabbed it tighter. Li Ruoxue struggled a few more times, then he stopped and turned to look at her. Li Ruoxue lowered her head and said in a low voice, "I don't want to trouble you." ”

Zhao Xingde asked her to look directly into her eyes, and said word by word again: "I'm not afraid of trouble." After a pause, he frowned again and said in a deep voice: "Don't say anything troublesome in the future." His face was quite scary, Li Ruoxue didn't argue anymore, and followed aggrievedly. A carriage that had been hired had already been hired stopped a few neighborhoods away, and the two got into the carriage, and the coachman whipped the whip, and the carriage shook a few times, and then headed towards the meeting place of the Xia caravan.

When Zhao Xing dragged Li Ruoxue out of the inner house, the main room in the house was lit up, and Li Gefei and his wife stood in front of the window and looked at the empty place.

Mrs. Wang's face was pale, although Li Ruoxue was not her own child, she was brought up with one hand, she couldn't help but whimper: "Master, did you let your daughter be taken away like this without a marriage ceremony?" ”

Li Gefei also had mixed feelings, and sighed in a low voice: "If you don't want Ruoxue to watch the door, you can only do this." From the beginning to the end, he believed that these actions were done in a loyal manner, and he never had any intention of remarrying his daughter.

At the time of the fifth watch, in the embroidery pavilion of Gonglou, the fragrant and cold golden lion was turned over by the red waves, and the sadness of parting was filled after being extremely lingering. Chen Dong felt a chill in his chest, and when he looked down, it was Master Li's pretty face that was already full of tears, but he kept biting his lip and didn't cry. He gently stroked her slightly twitching shoulder, a trace of apology welled up in his heart, and he whispered: "When this turmoil subsides, I will redeem myself for you." "Well, the concubine knows."

Master Li's well-behaved affairs made Chen Dong feel even more guilty, he was silent for a moment, and with an unusual tone, he said in a deep voice: "I, Chen Dong, swear to the heavens that I will definitely marry Master Li as my wife if I break this oath......."

Before he could say anything, his mouth was covered by a soft hand.

"Don't swear by gambling curses," Master Li blushed slightly, didn't care about being ashamed, buried his head in Chen Dong's chest, and said in a low voice, "The concubine can trust Chen Lang." As long as you stay with Chen Lang. ”

Chen Dong's heart was hot, although he had plans to redeem his life for Master Li earlier, but because of the reputation of his family, he never talked about whether he would marry the main family, and Master Li never mentioned it to him. He was not a person who made promises lightly, so he gently took her hand away from his mouth and continued to say in a deep voice: "If I, Chen Dong, break this oath, I would rather never marry for the rest of my life and cut off my children and grandchildren." ”

Outside the window, a ray of dawn sunlight has shone into the house, and the time of parting, despite reluctance, has arrived.