Half a month later, Xiu Yi and Lime finally arrived in Xiao Guogong's hometown of Tongcheng. Dressed in plain clothes, Lime covered her face with tulle, abandoned the carriage, and walked side by side with Xiu Yi in the downtown area.

The sun was rising, and it was noon. They found a teahouse to stop and rest, and went out to do business, and Lime drank tea in the teahouse, listening to the chatter of a few people at the next table, and fell into deep thought.

"Do you know that our Su Yan Kingdom is about to change the sky!" A man in cloth said matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean, what's going on?" Someone asked.

"You don't know yet, the current emperor is not in good health, and he has not been in the court for many days, so he doesn't pay much attention to the government, and this time the power is completely in the hands of Zhang Jian's scourge!" Although the man deliberately lowered his voice, it still reached the ears of Lime not far away.

"Girl, the seats elsewhere are full, can you sit with the girl below?" A male voice rang out from above the lime.

Different from the noisy sounds of the surrounding philistines, the voice was gentle, and there was a faint sense of decisiveness, just listening to the sound made Lime feel a little good.

"Childe, please." Lime said, putting down the cup in her hand, and the light that had first fallen on the man's eyes flashed with some doubt, and then disappeared after a moment.

The man was about to say thank you, but was interrupted by an unusually high voice behind him, he paused and nodded to Lime, "Thank you, girl." ”

"What a rebellion! This is all to deceive our people! An indignant voice pierced through the crowd, and the owner of the voice was striding towards the adjacent table, "General Xiao has been on the border for many years, has great military achievements, and is loyal to the emperor, how can he rebel!" ”

"Then you say, what's going on?" Someone asked.

"I've heard that the emperor is afraid that the general's merits will overshadow the lord and threaten his throne, so he will find a reason to get rid of the general, and our Xiao Guogong died because of this!" The person who provoked the conversation didn't care about lowering his voice, and said excitedly, "So this is the punishment from heaven, and the emperor is doing this now, and even the heavens can't look at it and wants to send down the punishment in person." This also shows that our general is wronged! ”

"Who's to say it isn't?" Another person came over, "The Xiao family is one of the best in our Tongcheng, the Xiao family has been practicing medicine for generations, who would have thought that they would end up like this, and they also had a reputation for rebellion!" ”

"yes......"

"If you want to talk about this Xiao family, who doesn't give a thumbs up in our Tongcheng......"

There were more and more onlookers, and the voices became more and more noisy, and Lime had no intention of listening.

When Xiao Guogong was an official in the court, he was honest and honest for the people; When Xiao Er Shao defended the border, the eastern border was worry-free for ten years.

But for the people of Suyan, the Xiao family is the magnate of the capital after all, and the people who live on the clouds are masters. The survival of the powerful in the capital is of little significance to the people living at the bottom, but it is just a conversation after dinner.

But this time it was not the case, they had not experienced war for decades, and they were surprisingly concerned about the death of the Xiao family's father and son.

On the way from Fushitani to Tongcheng, almost all towns are talking about this matter.

Although the people's opinions are different and there are differences, most of the people are unhappy with the Xiao family's father and son. What's more, he even preached in public that the current emperor framed Zhongliang, was mediocre, and was not worthy of being the emperor of Su Yan, and his fate was naturally very tragic, and he was beheaded in public as a punishment.

The people's views and positions are surprisingly consistent, and most of them are on the side of the Xiao family. These phenomena would not have been possible if there had been no one to propagate and influence the minds of the people.

All of this was premeditated.

And the initiator of all this is her brother, the son of Qianyi Wangfu, Fang Jinyue.

"Girl, I want to ask the girl, can the girl know where the valley is, and how many days will it take to start from here?" The man asked the shopkeeper for a cup of tea, and after a few sips, he casually asked Lime, as if he didn't have much hope for Lime's answer.

It has been a few months since the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, and the envoys of various countries have returned to China, but the general Qiu Chulin of Shuo Chu is still in Suyan's country, and he is still looking for Yuangu, which really surprises Lime, "Yuangu is a medical valley that escapes the world, and there are very few people who know its location, but Gongzi is going to Yuangu for medical treatment?" ”

"That's right, my relatives in the family have been Shen Ke for many years, and they have been looking for countless doctors, and it is difficult to get rid of the disease, and I heard that the lord of Yuangu Valley is a miracle doctor in the world, so I want to go to Yuangu to find a miracle doctor." Hearing Lime's answer, Qiu Chulin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said with a little excitement, "I visited all the way, asked all the way, and ordinary people couldn't answer the four words 'Escape Medical Valley'." Girl, if you can show you the way, you will be grateful. ”

"To the northeast, bypassing the Nanqiao Mountains and the Fushui River, the Yuangu Valley is in the canyon of the Fuding Mountains. From here, if you ride a fast horse day and night, it will take about six days. Lime pondered for a moment and said, "I only know so much, whether you can find it or not depends on your luck." ”

"The girl is generous and grateful." Qiu Chulin got up and thanked the lime deeply.

He took out a copper coin from his bosom, broke it in half in front of the lime, and handed one of them to the lime, "Girl, such a great kindness, there is no way to repay it, if the girl needs to go down in the future, please take this copper coin to Shuochu Chu'an City, tie this copper coin to her wrist, and someone will contact the girl." ”

"Childe is polite." Lime took the copper coin and looked at it for a long time, and had never seen anyone take half a copper coin as a token.

When Lime came to Xiao Mansion, it was noon. Even so, there was a long queue of people who came to mourn in front of the Xiao Mansion.

"The two of you are also here to mourn." The old housekeeper of the Xiao Mansion stopped the two limes who wanted to enter the door, and he said apologetically, "The doctor of the country is benevolent, and he has been accumulating virtue and doing good deeds all these years before his death. Please see, these people in front of the door are all in the township that has received the favor of the country. Regardless of their status, they are consciously queuing up to mourn, which is also a sign of respect for the national government. No one understands the sad mood of the two more than Xiao Lao'er, but out of respect for the Guogong, let's ask the two to line up at the back. ”

The old housekeeper's sad mood was beyond words, but he was still thoughtful and calm, and his words were leaky, which made people unable to refute it, worthy of the Xiao family, even if he was a housekeeper, he was also calm and shrewd.

"What you said is reasonable, butler, the two of us are abrupt." Lime picked off half of the Canaan bamboo he was carrying around his neck and handed it to the housekeeper, "Can you ask the housekeeper to give this to the eldest young master?" ”

"Wait, little old man, let's go." Butler Road.

After so many years in Xiao Mansion, he naturally learned to observe words and feelings, these two people held tokens, and their identities were unusual, he didn't dare to slack off at all, and hurried towards the eldest young master.

After a short time, the old butler ran out to greet the two limes, "You two have been waiting for a long time, please come with me." ”

After Lime and Xiu Yi entered the Xiao Mansion, the housekeeper said, "Girl, the eldest young master is waiting for you in the backyard, please come with me." Childe, please take care of yourself, Xiao Mansion, you can go anywhere. ”

"Butler, prepare a filial piety dress for me, and I will keep watch in front of the national spirit for seven days." Lime said, "The eldest young master's place, I won't go to it first, and after seven days, the prince will be in the ground, and I will go to pay a visit." ”

"Okay, everything is ready, the eldest young master said, it's all up to you." As the butler spoke, he led Lime to the other direction, "Girl, I'll take you to the room that the eldest young master has prepared for you." ”

"Hmm." Lime replied, then turned to Xiu Yi and said, "Xiu Yi, you can do it yourself, I'll go and change into filial piety clothes." ”

"There you go." Xiu Yi Dao.

After seeing Lime leave, Xiu Yi went to the mourning hall to put on a stick of incense, and as soon as he left the mourning hall, he saw Xiao Shizhi waiting for him on the side.

"His Royal Highness the Prince." The Way of Relief.

"Lord Xiao." Xiu Yi responded, "I haven't congratulated Lord Xiao on his promotion. ”

"Thank you, Your Highness the Prince." Xiao Shizhi, he raised his hand to guide Xiuyi, "His Royal Highness the Prince, please." ”

"Lord Xiao, please." Xiu Yi Dao.

The two of them didn't say anything all the way, until Xiu Yi followed Xiao Shizhi into the study.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, how is the little sister's injury?" Xiao Shizhi asked eagerly.

"After taking the Life Renewal Pill, I can save my life for the time being." Xiu Yi picked up the tea on the table and sniffed it, the tea fragrance was light and pleasant, it was indeed good tea, "Lord Xiao's sword is not light." ”

"She, can you blame me?" Xiao Shizhi asked hesitantly.

"Why don't you ask her personally?" Xiu Yi asked rhetorically.

"I'm afraid she won't even see me." Xiao Shi's heart was apprehensive, and his tone was not confident.

"She never blamed you for hurting her." After a long time, Xiu Yi said, "What she is most afraid of is that her brother, who has been looking for many years, is a ruthless person, Xiao Shiqian's death has made her very disappointed in you, what you want to do, whatever you want." ”

Xiu Yi dropped this sentence and left the study. He said all this, and the stakes can only be considered by Xiao Shizhi himself.

Lime followed the old butler to the room he had prepared, thanked the old butler, and pushed the door open and entered the room.

The Xiao family's old house has not been inhabited for many years, and only an old housekeeper has been staying here all the year round.

There was a filial piety dress on the bookcase, and Lime was just about to change into it, when she heard the door opened, and when she turned around, someone had rushed to her, hugged her tightly, and stuck her in her arms, crying silently.

"Sister......" Manxue was dressed in plain clothes, her delicate body kept trembling, she raised her head, her eyes were swollen from crying, and she asked with concern, "Sister, how is your health, you must not have anything to do, otherwise Xue'er will have no relatives." ”

"I'm fine." Lime hugged her tightly, gave her strength, and told her that she was not alone, "Cher, I'm sorry that my sister couldn't be with you." ”

"It's okay if my sister is fine, it's just that Daddy and Brother are ......," Manxue said, and began to choke again.

"Xue'er, Uncle Xiao has been poisoned for more than ten years, suffered a lot, and has long exhausted his mental strength, and now that he has passed away, he can be regarded as a relief." Lime whispered in her ear and comforted, "Don't cry, Uncle Xiao has a spirit in the sky, and he must not want to see you take care of your body like this." ”

"But the second brother, why did he go to the palace, why did he take poison and commit suicide......" Man Xue held Lime's shirt tightly, with tears on her face.

The trembling voice of the snow struck Lime's heart, and she opened her mouth, but she couldn't say a word. The death of the second brother has nothing to do with her, it is her, and it is all her fault.

"Xue'er, don't cry, put on filial piety clothes, let's go to the mourning hall." Lime's trembling voice was filled with endless sorrow and self-reproach. Now she can't do anything, she can only go to the mourning hall to atone for Uncle Xiao and her second brother.

When Lime and Manxue came to the mourning hall, the queue outside the door waiting for condolences was longer, Lime knelt on the pudun in front of the spirit, meditating on the spirit, and the guests who came to mourn continued, and every Lime gave a welcome gift, sincerely.

At night, Lime sent the snow back to rest and knelt alone in the mourning hall.

The door of the mourning hall was open, and a breeze was blowing, and the flame of the lantern in front of the spirit was constantly beating, and Lime got up, closed the door, and refilled the lamp with some oil.

Now she is alone in this mourning hall, and her heart is as calm as water.

She had been in turmoil, and when she thought back to all the things that had happened since she had come out of the valley, her heart could not be at peace for a long time.

She gets the truth she's been seeking, even though it's never what she wants; She found her brother, who she had been obsessed with for many years, but also lost two of her loved ones.

She got what she wanted, but lost what she least wanted to lose.

There are gains and losses in the world, and her persistence is only exchanged for pain in the end.

The door was pushed open, and the night breeze blew through her shirt and lifted a corner of her veil.

During the day, there were many mourning guests, and in order to save a lot of trouble, the veil of lime was never removed.

When he caught a glimpse of the woman kneeling beside him, he was a little surprised, "It turns out that the girl is from the Guogong Mansion, and she is really abrupt during the day." The deceased is gone, please mourn the girl. ”

"Thank you, Childe." Lime's voice was cold, his eyes were as calm as water, and his veil floated slightly, "If Childe wants to condole, come back tomorrow, Xiao Mansion will thank you in the evening, Childe's move is not in line with etiquette." ”

"It's really not polite." Qiu Chulin bowed deeply three times in front of the spirit, and looked at the lime with a little concern in his eyes, "I hope the girl cherishes her body and says goodbye." ”