Yao Biao said: "Before you returned to Beiping, the prince had already received a handwritten reply from King Zhou's confidant Kuaima. The prince wants me to interrogate you wild boy who doesn't know the height of the sky, what are you messing around with in Kaifeng, can you make King Zhou angry like that? ”

Shen Ruoyu replied dejectedly: "King Zhou's royal complaint has been sued, and he came to interrogate me, and directly arrested me and sent me to prison." ”

Yao Biao frowned: "Hun boy, what nonsense are you talking about?" Dare to use any head-killing words indiscriminately, I don't think there is any need for King Zhou, just your own mouth, sooner or later you can be sent to prison. ”

Shen Ruoyu was frustrated, and the housekeeping ability of the hooligan was unaware and went on again:

"Send it! It's a big deal, Ling Chi crushed 3,600 knives; Lao Tzu was born a pariah in this life, and untouchables can't spit out ivory from their mouths anyway, and no matter how nice they say, they can't compare to a dumb fart in the ears of your powerful people. I'm so careful, am I tired? ”

Yao Biao was slightly stunned: "Why are you so excited?" Didn't you sleep well? Where did you spend your first night? ”

Shen Ruoyu did not answer; As soon as Master Yao asked, he realized his emotions, and he couldn't help but feel a little confused. It had been a long time since he had felt so frustrated, as if King Yan's reproach to him had suddenly become a great blow; Perhaps since the day he became a beggar on the streets of Peiping, he has never felt frustrated. He has even given up the bottom line of dignity as a human being, what else in this world can hit him? What's wrong with him?

He shook his head and said, "Master, it's okay. I didn't expect King Zhou to say anything good about me. Speaking of which, he was kind to me in Kaifeng. ”

He briefly told Yao Biao how he went from provoking the prince's army to finally provoking the king of Zhou.

"The lord is really, let me memorize so many names and places, one on the left and one on the right, and in the end it is my second brother. You just want to see my jokes, but it will cause me to meet the second brother with a sword, and you have to eat his sword. ”

Yao Biao's eyes were bright, and he smiled with satisfaction:

"Lu Jiaotou is really an iron cold? He has been hiding it from me, and even your uncle doesn't know what he is doing in the Zhou Palace. I inquired for a long time, and there was no one surnamed Liang in the Zhou Palace; I only know that the head of the Lu sect of the pro-army of the palace is of a similar age, upright, and extraordinary. I want you to go to him, and I'm just guessing that he is Tie Han. I guessed right. ”

He lowered his head, took out two books from his arms, and put them in front of Shen Ruoyu.

"This is what His Royal Highness King Yan asked me to bring to you. King Yan's real message is here: Shen Ruoliao performed well in Kaifeng and did not disappoint Lone; These two books were taken to him to read, and told him not to be lazy, and the content of the books should be carefully tested by him in the future. ”

Shen Ruoyu was puzzled.

"What? Sir: ? ”

Yao Biao shook his head and smiled: "You kid; King Zhou did not sue at all. In his previous letter to King Zhou, King Yan asked King Zhou to observe your words and deeds in Kaifeng and tell him. In King Zhou's reply to King Yan, there is only one simple sentence for you: 'If you have foresight in this life, you can become a great weapon, and you will not come to Kaifeng again in the future.'" 'King Yan and King Zhou were born to the same mother, grew up together, knew the temperament of King Zhou well, read the letter, and knew that your boy must have done something right, with your usual style, the way is not appropriate, annoyed King Zhou. These two books are used to train your way of thinking in the world. ”

Shen Ruoyu looked at the title of the book in confusion.

"I have read "The Art of War", and I can recite it to King Yan now."

Yao Biao shook his head and smiled: "No, Xiao'er; You've memorized The Art of War, but you've never actually read it. King Yan wants to test you, but it's not an endorsement. ”

Shen Ruoyu picked up another book, and the dazed face was even heavier.

"Emperor Ming Zuxun"??" He looked at Yao Biao in bewilderment. "Isn't this the imperial family motto given to the kings by Emperor Gao? What does this have to do with me? ”

The smile on Yao Biao's face retreated slightly. He replied lightly:

"If you read it carefully, sooner or later you will understand King Yan's intentions."

Shen Ruoyu thought about it, put the two books away neatly, and put them at the head of his bed.

Yao Biao watched him take the book lovingly, and said with a smile: "There is one more thing, Xiao'er." Your aunt told me that she wanted me to help and hired Xiang'er over. It's a good idea, but I don't know what you think? ”

"Master," Shen Ruoyu tilted his head again, squeezed his eyebrows and smiled: "If you want to scold, I can say it directly, there is no need to beat around the bush like this, you have to pull Xiang'er in." It's a girl's family, but it's not as thick-skinned as me. ”

Yao Biao smiled in surprise: "Why am I scolding you? ”

Shen Ruoxiao said coldly: "You obviously know about me and Qing'er, and you still use this to test me?" ”

Yao Biao was slightly stunned. "Are you still thinking about Qing'er?"

Shen Ruoyu said: "In your eyes, I am a hooligan, a pervert, and a flower thief, just like my father?" ”

Yao Biao looked at him in surprise: "Your father? Xiao'er, who told you? ”

"I don't need to be told; I'll just look at your face. Whatever you want. However, I wonder how my lord, a gentleman with a good reputation in the world, could bear to see Xiang'er fall into the hands of a scoundrel, a pervert and a flower thief like me? ”

"Xiao'er," Yao Biao said coldly, "I don't care what you think; Anyway, everyone in the whole of Peiping now thinks that she is your person, do you want to destroy her? ”

"It's not me who ruined her, it's the tongue of a boring person." Shen Ruoyu said: "I have a clear conscience. ”

"Do you have a clear conscience? She wants to marry you, can't you tell? ”

"Master, this is really funny," Shen Ruoyu spread his hands: "You suddenly ran over and asked me to marry Xiang'er for some reason, have you ever asked her what she thinks?" If you don't even ask her about such an important matter, it shows that you don't care what she thinks. ”

Yao Biao said coldly: "You kid is hard-hearted, but you really follow your father." I've said all that's to be said, what are you supposed to do, think about it yourself. ”

He got up and walked out the door. When he walked to the door, he stopped again and looked back at him.

"Xiao'er, I forgot to say it. You just asked, what happens to the poison in your body. In the long run, I can't tell. However, one thing is certain, since it has one attack, it means that it has not broken down, so there should be a second or third time. After that, I'll just have to see how it develops. ”

Shen Ruoyu said coldly: "Master Yao walks slowly; I do not send it. ”

Yao Biao left the Hongjia Hotel. Shen Ruoliao stayed in the house for a long time, opened the door, and slowly walked to the store. Nightshade was busy in the room, and the washed vegetables were neatly stacked on the cutting board, and when she saw him walk in, she smiled and said:

"If you don't open the store today, it's better to let my aunt have a good rest, and I'll cook."

Shen Ruo looked at her blankly, his face gloomy. Yao Biao's words echoed in his ears over and over again:

"She wants to marry you, can't you tell?"

Nightshade noticed his strangeness, threw away the rag, ran up and asked:

"Ruoxiao, what did the master say to you? Did you talk about your condition? ”

Shen Ruoyu lowered her head and looked at her face; His heart hung in the air, and he hung heavily on his chest.

Two years ago, in the darkroom of the True Water Sect, the words He Yu once said sounded in his ears again:

"You like her far better than Qing'er, but I'm afraid you haven't even found out yet, right?"

A year and a half ago, he first encountered nightshade on the street. At that time, he had just become a beggar; And before that, he had already learned to steal. One day, he touched a bun from a roadside stall and was caught by the stall owner and was about to beat it. An unknown girl passed by, stopped the stall owner, and helped him pay for the buns.

On the day of their first acquaintance, Shen Ruoyu had a vague feeling that she was very much like a person, and she couldn't remember who it was for a while. At that time, he just felt inexplicably depressed and sad in his heart; And, every time he met her after that, deep down, he could always sense the inexplicable sadness.

At this moment, Yao Biao's reminder suddenly gave him an answer to his sadness. Her generosity and liveliness, her honesty in the face of him, the feeling of equality and intimacy - just like the wooden swing of the past.

However, Swing is not completely honest with him. She hides a secret, the most precious secret in a girl's heart. It was not until she was dying—when she fell off a cliff with him, toward the bottom of an irretrievable death—that she no longer concealed it, and unreservedly bloomed in her large, beautiful eyes, which made him still remember it and ache his heart.

In fact, the person he is responsible for is not only Yang Yiqing, but also a wooden swing. At least, Qing'er got his love; What do you get from the swing? It's all sacrifice.

But since when has everything lost the absoluteness and distinctness that I could feel as a child; After He Yu broke it, he suddenly couldn't be as sure as before, whether it was Qing'er or Swing that he loved in his heart, or, how many points were one and how many points were another. After a year with the swing, all the bits and pieces - once he naively thought that it was the purest friendship between confidants, suddenly he was no longer sure. He used to be ashamed of the occasional non-dividing thought, but in that snowy valley, he held the dead wooden swing in his arms, and his heart was far more than the grief of losing his best friend, and he wanted to melt with her and die in the snow together, so that he could last forever.

He never had the guts to think about it again. Now, Nightshade stood upright in front of him, looking at him in bewilderment, like the wooden swing by the spring stream in the Yeyao Valley, her beautiful eyes as clear and transparent as the first melting stream. What was she thinking? In the end, is she, like the swing, resolutely burying a heaviest secret in her heart?

He stared blankly into her eyes, as if he saw something in them, and as if there was nothing; Now, he can't be sure of anything, he only feels hopeless and helpless.

"Ruo Few? What happened to you? What did the master tell you? Nightshade became a little anxious: "Did he tell you what the illness was?" Isn't it serious, you tell me? ”

Shen Ruo looked at her blankly and shook his head. He turned and went back to his room. Nightshade followed in and closed the door.

"Tell me, tell me, what is the disease; It's okay, I promise not to tell my aunt. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "I...... I can't tell. Maybe, sooner or later, I'll die. But that's okay; Even if there is no ** incense, there will still be this day. Let the chips fall where they may. ”

Nightshade looked at him in bewilderment. His words frightened her.

"If there are few ......"

Shen Ruoyu raised his head, stared at her for a long time, and finally spoke:

"Xiang'er, do you really want to marry me?"

"Ruo Liao?" Nightshade's heart jumped suddenly, and her face turned pink. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Shen Ruoyu said: "I don't want you to think that I am self-inflicted; But--I can't stop asking now, I'm really scared. Xiang'er, I have a wife. ”

"I know," Nightshade said.

"You know?"

"After you ran out yesterday, my aunt and I both said that you don't want to lose your wife, and you don't want to delay me. You don't have to worry about it so much, we're just iron buddies, and I really don't have anything to think about. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Then do you know that my wife, she was pregnant with my child, but later, there was an accident, and she had a miscarriage?" ”

Nightshade looked at him in shock, unable to say a word.

Shen Ruoyu glanced at her gloomily. "Xiang'er, sit down. You've said before that you want to know about my past. I'll tell you all about my past now. ”

When he finally finished speaking, the sun had already set outside. Nightshade sat there motionless, staring blankly at him. After a long time, she asked softly:

"Will you go back and get your wife out?"

Shen Ruoyu was silent for a moment. "I don't know. Whether she's still alive or not, I don't know. ”

"Do you still love her?"

Shen Ruoyu hesitated for a long time and said, "Yes, I still love her." In my life, I will not marry a second woman. ”

"But if you never see her again in your life, do you plan to be alone for the rest of your life?"

"If that's the case, she's also lonely for me."

When he said this, his heart suddenly sank slightly; The moment when he knelt in the heavy snow and was tortured by the third uncle appeared in front of him, Qing'er, who he most hoped to give him support and warmth, the ruthless anger and hatred in his eyes, the knife-like feeling; He had forgotten the burning passion for her, but he still deeply remembered the desperate heartache of that moment, two years later, and it had not diminished in the slightest.

Is he still in love with her? Or, he could have convinced himself that Qing'er had stopped loving him since that day two years ago; She hated him, and indifferently watched him be tortured, and left him and ran out of the eastern courtyard. Didn't she want him dead? It's not that he had better be cut by He Yu with a thousand knives to avenge his father's murder, and everything he did to her-

After a long time, he opened his mouth and whispered:

"Xiang'er, I don't deserve to say I love her. Perhaps, I never loved her. I was too naïve and conceited to understand what true love was. I have already harmed her; I can't hurt you anymore. ”

Nightshade smiled.

"You think you're not conceited right now? - You don't have the ability to hurt me, don't worry. ”