I didn't have time to put on my clothes, so I ran barefoot to the door. As soon as I opened the door, I was stunned by what I saw.

In the middle of the night, more than 20 guards holding torches stood in the courtyard, they were dressed in armor and armor in a circle, and the burning torches in their hands reflected the red color of the courtyard.

"Which house are you guarding? Why break into the Taishi Mansion at night! I stood on the steps and shouted at the crowd.

More than two dozen guards turned their faces to look at me in unison, and the seven or eight guards who had turned their backs to me immediately retreated to the side, and Shi Mo, who was dressed in white and had white hair, walked out from behind the guards.

"Zi is not shocked." Shi Mo was wearing a bedgown, his hair was scattered, and his white witch robe was just draped over his shoulders.

"Master, what's going on?" I walked briskly down the steps.

"Uh-hmm-" There were a few strange screams on the grass behind Smoke, muffled but forceful, as if someone had been choked or gagged.

I was puzzled and leaned my head behind Shi Mo, brocade shoes, bearded pants, and then two tightly tied thighs. Thief? Assassin? I was about to take a closer look when a man suddenly flashed out in front of me, blocking my way.

"Doctor Candle?" In front of me was an old man with gray hair, wearing a crown, wearing Confucian clothes, and a solemn and dignified face, this person was the grandfather of Candle Chun, a pedestrian in charge of the ceremonial affairs of the Jin Kingdom (1) Candle Guo.

These days, I have met with Shi Mo a few times when I was helping him prepare for the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony. The old man is not smiling, attaches great importance to etiquette, talks about etiquette and is the way, and does things at a glance. Compared with Candle Zhen's wild and uninhibited temperament, this grandfather and grandson are completely different from each other in the sky and underground.

"Zi Di has seen Doctor Candle." I knew that Candle was the most important thing about etiquette, so I respectfully bowed to him even though I was barefoot and wearing only my underwear at the moment.

Candle returned a salute with me, turned to Shi Moli and said: "No, Xiao Sun broke into the Taishi Mansion at night, disturbed Taishi Nai's usual teaching, and he was determined to come to the door to make amends." ”

"Doctor Candle doesn't need to mind, Ling Sun's invitation tonight is also in the way of the heavens, but the gift of worshipping the heavens is imminent, and I really can't ......" Shi Mo said this, frowning, and his face was full of embarrassment.

"The woman's blood is filthy, and Taishi will sacrifice to the gods for the king three days later, and he must not be contaminated with evil at this time. This is the rule of the ritual, and since you are a pedestrian, you must not break the etiquette. The old man said impassionedly, turned his head and shouted to the guards: "Don't you take people away from me quickly!" ”

As soon as I mentioned the candle, I immediately thought of the candle. While they were talking, I glanced at the grass. Sure enough, it was the candlestick that had not been seen for many days that was tied up and thrown on the ground.

I didn't have time to think about it for a while, so I rushed up and tore off the rag in Candle Chu's mouth: "Brother Candle, why are you here?" ”

"Zi Di, Zi Di, save Mi Cao, come back to the house with me to save Mi Cao!" The candlestick struggled to be lifted from the ground by the guards. He kicked and twisted as hard as he could, and several of the guards didn't grasp it for a moment, and he slammed him to the ground with a "bang-" thud.

"Doctor Candle, what are you doing here?" I turned my head and shouted to the old man Candle, squatted down and helped the candle up: "What do you want me to do?" Mi Cao, what's wrong with her? ”

"What are you still doing? Why don't you take someone away for me! Doctor Candle's face became more and more ugly, he roared angrily at the guard, turned around and raised his hand and slapped Candle Chun fiercely: "You are a bad thing, you dare to mention that woman's name!" You've lost all of my old face! ”

The constantly screaming candle was lifted up, and I wanted to hold his hand, but Doctor Candle stopped in front of me on one side: "The ugly house of the Candle family makes the wizard laugh." Please stop the shaman, don't send it. ”

"Doctor Candle, but what happened to your granddaughter-in-law?" Candle Chun broke into the Taishi Mansion in the middle of the night and made such a big fuss, and now he was carried away by the people of the Candle Mansion like a pig, don't think about it, it must be Mi Cao's big incident.

"The old man's granddaughter-in-law is the daughter of the post family, and the witch should not listen to the nonsense of others." Doctor Candle's face froze, and he said coldly.

"Doctor Candle, let's let Xiao Wu take a look. I am close friends with Brother Candle, and I have heard about the two of them, whether this matter is in accordance with the etiquette or not, Mi Cao is now pregnant with the blood of your Candle clan after all. ”

"The sorcerer has the responsibility of worshiping the heavens, and he must not be contaminated with half of the filth, and in order to protect the sacrifice, the old man would rather not have this bloodline." Dr. Candle straightened his back and categorically rejected my request.

I turned my head and wanted to ask Shi Mo to help persuade me, but unexpectedly, Shi Mo also had a cold and hard face.

The roar of the candle tree became farther and farther away, and the old man candle bowed and left with the rest of the guards.

"Master, why didn't you let me go?"

"If you go tonight, if anything goes wrong with the sacrifice three days later, the Taishi Mansion and the Candle Mansion will suffer with you." Shi Mo pulled the witch robe he was wearing and said earnestly, "Zi Di, your biggest weakness is the hot heart in your stomach. One day, if it can cool down, as a teacher, you can really rest assured that this Taishi Mansion will be handed over to you, and the safety of this Jin Kingdom will be handed over to you. ”

"Master, I understand the stakes here, but the child in Mi Cao's womb ......"

"If the boy dies, it will be his right life. Don't say more, go back to sleep. The ritual after three days is not to be missed. Shi Mo's expression changed back to the high-ranking Jin Kingdom Taishi, looking at his indifferent eyes, I consciously closed my mouth and turned back to the room.

and death, the life of the child.

What about my existence? Back then, if I hadn't broken into the secret room at night to rescue my aunt, I might have become a bowl of broth on Zhisong's case; Back then, if I hadn't rescued Wu Feng in the fire, I would have been burned to ashes with A-Niang's body. If there is no fight for the number of lives in this world, who can say it in vain?

The boy sent by Shi Mo to serve me is a well-known clever ghost in the mansion, and tonight, his brother who is the guard happens to be on duty next to Shi Mo, so soon after everyone left, I sent the little boy to inquire for me about the candle and the night of the Taishi Mansion.

According to the guards, the grandson of the Candle Mansion entered the mansion late at night to ask to see Taishi in order to save a pregnant concubine in his mansion, and the concubine was punished by Doctor Candle for colliding with his wife. The grandson was anxious to beg Taishi to save people, but the old man Candle, who arrived on the back foot, didn't let Taishi save people, and made a fuss, so Candle Chu broke into my yard instead.

Doctor Candle just said that the woman's blood is filthy, and this woman must be referring to Mi Cao. Bleeding in pregnant women is a bad omen, and if you don't take medicine in time, you are afraid that you will die twice.

"Xuan'er, I'll go out. You lie down on the bed, and no one will open the door. I lifted the quilt and pulled the boy onto the bed.

"Sorcerer, you're going to Candle House?"

"Well, count the days, the child will be born in a few days, and if I don't try it today, I'm afraid I'll regret it in the future. You lie down and sleep, and I'll be back when you wake up. I pressed the boy on the couch and pulled out a set of corseted green clothes from the cupboard. It's best to sneak into the Candle Mansion to see Mi Cao later, and if you can't see it, you have to hand some useful herbs to Candle Tree.

"Sorcerer, do you really have to go?" The boy grabbed the quilt and asked unwillingly.

"Well, don't be afraid. I promise that I won't be discovered by Master. ”

"Hey, Taishi already knew that the wizard was going to sneak out!" The little boy sighed like an adult, lifted the quilt, and came in with a set of servants' burlap skirts from outside the door, "After Taishi asked the sorcerer to smear his face, put on this suit and go to the Candle Mansion, and bring this medicine ......" The little boy said and took out a small white medicine bottle from his bosom and handed it to me.

"You just met Master?" I opened the medicine bottle and smelled it, and it contained perilla mugwort leaf pills.

"Taishi also asked people to prepare a carriage for the wizards. He said that it was best for the sorcerer not to go, and if he had to go, he would pretend to be a witch who delivered medicine. ”

"Little ghost, why didn't you say it earlier!" I smiled and knocked on the child's head, and said in my heart, Master, Master, it turns out that you also have times when you are soft-hearted.

It was the darkest hour before dawn, the moon was long gone, and only two or three dim remnants were left in the dark sky. From Taishi Mansion to Candle Mansion, you have to pass through the longest street in Xinjiang City. At one end of the street, drunken outsiders are still indulging in yesterday's old dreams with their bags and wine jars, and on the other side, the early vendors have already started a new day with their burdens and feeling the darkness. The carriage of the Taishi Mansion went all the way to the west, shattering the tourists' dreams, driving away the drowsiness of the hawkers, and finally stopped in front of the gate of the Candle Mansion.

In the name of delivering medicine to Taishi, I, a black and ugly-looking witch, successfully entered the Candle Mansion.

Dr. Candle summoned me in the front hall, and he sat behind the desk, his eyes half-squinted and his face tired. The porter held a bronze lamp and shone it around my face as he had commanded, and he looked up, but before the torch-like gaze of the past fell on my face, it was already scattered in the air.

"Taishi asked you to deliver the medicine?" He asked.

"Yes." I bowed my head and whispered.

"Do you need to attend the festival in three days?"

"The little girl is a witch who takes care of the medicinal materials in the Taishi Mansion, and she is not qualified to participate in the sacrifice yet."

"Oh, that's good......" Doctor Candle said without saying a word for a long time, I cautiously glanced up, and found that the old man after the case had already fallen asleep with his eyes closed. After a long night, this harsh old man was already exhausted.

"The head of the house?" The steward called tentatively, and Doctor Candle snorted, closed his eyes and waved at us: "Go down." Summoning the Changfang family to come, even if it is a sister, it should also be sent a ride. ”

"No." The steward bowed and led me out of the front hall.

The widow of the long house, I think it is the princess of the country who married Candle Zhen's father, but it is a pity that a pair of sisters have been going around for so many years, and finally became mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

"The shrine maiden went in along the path, and the innermost room with the lamp was there." The steward handed me the brass lamp in his hand, and turned to leave.

"The steward should lead the way, I'm afraid that I will go off the wrong path and will not be able to save people." In the gray-blue morning light, a winding tree-lined path leads nowhere.

"I bled all night, and I was not saved. At this time, I'm afraid that the fetus has already fallen. The witch went in and took a look, and went back to make a statement for Taishi. I still have to get Cao Ruren in time before the woman dies, but it's too late. The steward trotted away.

Can't keep the child? My heart was cold, and I walked quickly into the path with the lamp.

sanjiangge