The rain, like silver-gray sticky spider silk, weaves into a soft web, netting the whole spring world. The sky was dark and dreary, like the web-strewn roofs of an old dwelling. The gray-white clouds piled up in the sky were like white powder peeling off the roof.

Ancient road, west wind.

The carriage galloped in a gentle breeze and drizzle.

At some point, the rain began to fall heavier. The majestic rain relentlessly knocked on the gloomy soil, splashing one after another.

In the distance, there is a ruined temple, which is faintly visible in the misty wind and rain.

"Fourth master, there is a temple, we can take shelter from the rain temporarily. ”

"Good. ”

The dilapidated and ruined temple is swaying in the wind and rain. The suffocating smell is no match for a sea-fishing document on the pillar.

On the side of a big "list", there are two portraits, a man and a woman. The following is simply said: Fang Yu, male, the magistrate of Songzhou County, Jin Yuyan, female, the magistrate of the county. Theft, robbery, murder and arson, heinous. A reward of 1,000 yuan was offered for the arrest of the culprit.

It seems that this place is not suitable for a long time. With this sea fishing paperwork, how to walk in the future has become a big problem.

He Laoliu looked at the portrait and shook his head: "It seems that the people in the Songzhou Mansion are still grateful to the fourth master." This portrait is not like it. ”

"It must be grateful to the fourth master, so they are talking nonsense, so the painter can only do this. ”

Although the painting is a bit outrageous, there is still a little similarity between Yu Yan's eyebrows.

"The other day, I changed a few clothes at the tailor's, and I went to get them, just in time for a change. lest they be recognized. ”

Yu Yan changed in the carriage. She was dressed in a white flowered bandeau and a white gauze coat, her skin was as bright as snow, three thousand strands of hair were scattered on her shoulders, without any extra hair accessories, her body was wrapped with yellow ribbons, her eyes were full of brilliance, and she was covered with pink rouge to make her skin appear white and red, and her lips were smeared with light red lip blush, and her whole face looked particularly beautiful.

Fang Yu was wearing an ink-colored satin robe. The inside of the robe reveals the trim of silver openwork hibiscus. A jade belt is tied around the waist and a folding fan of ivory is held. is like the extraordinary figure of a gorgeous nobleman.

He Lao Liuliu shirked in every possible way, and finally had to obey. He changed into a snow-white straight-lined robe, a wide belt with moon white auspicious cloud patterns around his waist, his black hair was tied casually with a silver ribbon, there was no crown or hairpin, and a few strands of hair on his forehead were blown away by the wind, intertwined with the silver ribbon and flying, looking quite light.

"Sixth, put on this outfit, like a fairy descending to earth. ”

He Lao Liu scratched his scalp and smiled embarrassedly, "The fourth master made fun of me again." ”

"Sixth, you've also seen this list, do you know why?"

He Lao Liu shook his head.

"Madame loves swords. Yesterday I saw a man selling a sword on the street, so he bought it for ten taels of gold. Who knows, this is a seven-star dragon yuan sword, and it is the sword that Li Yuan wears with him. Therefore, it was exposed. ”

"What's the matter with Madame? We'll just return it. ”

"Return it to whom? The man who sold the sword is long gone. Besides, the wicked have already sued first, and now, there is no distinction between a hundred mouths. After a pause, Fang Yu said, "Sixth, if you are timid, we won't embarrass you, and now you have time to turn back." ”

"Where did the fourth master speak. I am left alone in the family, and the fourth master has helped me avenge it, and he is my great benefactor. The fourth master took me in, that is, my reborn parents, in this life and this life, there is nothing to repay, I am willing to serve the fourth master, before and after the saddle, and do my duty. ”

"It's a difficult and dangerous road, have you figured it out?"

"If it weren't for the fourth master, I wouldn't know where I am at the moment. Fourth master, I will follow you in this life and this life. ”

Yu Yan walked over with Nana, and her light posture was fascinating. She held the guzheng in her hand and smiled: "The two masters are fine, how about letting the little girl play a song for the two?"

He Lao Liu was taken aback: "This ...... Madame can't help it, and she is tormented by the small ones. ”

"Sixth, get some dry food and water, let's enjoy it while eating. ”

The melodious sound of the piano gradually rose, looking at the hazy scenery in the distance, Fang Yu let out a long sigh and groaned softly.

Who is it, dancing and flying in the thousand-year-old Tang Dynasty? Who is it? Who is the most rouge and tearless in the gaze? Who is it who tells sorrow in the wind and snow? I don't know whose dream memory is disturbed by a light incense? What scene of joy and sorrow is staged in the misty rain and misty? Wandering in the picturesque and poetic smoke and rain of the Tang Dynasty.

Yu Yan stepped on his tone, and then said slowly:

Who is it, in the hazy smoke and rain, mottled with poetry, burning a furnace of thoughts, warm three feet of deep cold? Who is it, following the floating clouds and waves, looking for the sea, drifting away forever, and continuing to write the legend?

The two looked at each other and smiled with affection.

After the rain, the three of them also finished resting and returned to the road. Look at the late day, there is still a long way to go in front of the station, and you must hurry up.

The sky was like a washed blue-black coarse cloth, and the stars seemed to be shimmering gold sprinkled on this coarse cloth. Under the starry sky, the breeze floats and the crickets chirp.

Gradually, twilight fell like a large gray net, quietly falling and enveloping the whole land.

As the night grew darker and thicker, the villages, the woods, the potholes, and the distant mountains seemed to have all fallen into a mysterious silence.

He Lao Liu drove the carriage and suddenly asked: "Fourth master, this road is very familiar, in case I meet an acquaintance, how should I answer?"

Fang Yu didn't answer and asked, "What do you think?"

He Lao Liu thought for a while and said, "I just said that the Songzhou County Office was sealed, so I defected to the young master." ”

"Sixth, have you ever read?"

"I've read it, I'm still a talent. It's just that when the family fell into the middle of the road, I didn't want to read it again. ”

"That's very good. If anyone asks, you say it's our steward. ”

"Fourth Master ......"

"Since you're a housekeeper, you should act like a housekeeper. We are not afraid to make money, but it will be used in its proper place. How to use it, that's your responsibility. There was not much money, but three hundred and eighty taels of gold and one hundred and sixty taels of silver, and we divided them into three parts, one for each of them. Fang Yu said, took out a copy of the money from it, and put it into the baggage of the sixth child.

"Fourth master, how can this be made?" He Lao Liu hurriedly refused.

"Since you are a housekeeper, how can you not have money around you?" Yu Yan said, "You can accept it, and when you see acquaintances, you don't have to whisper." ”

"Madame is right. Our face is in your hands. If you are humble in front of others, how can I be embarrassed by the fourth master?"

"Thank you for your trust. He Laoliu was extremely moved.

"I don't call you the sixth anymore, but I call you Lao He, which is more cordial. ”

"Listen to the fourth master. ”

In fact, Fang Yu's approach has another meaning. This He Lao Liu, on the surface, looks okay, but in fact, I don't know how it is. To be honest, he is willing to take such a big risk to follow him, maybe what other intentions there are?

Yu Yan smiled, then test him.

After driving for a long time, the Junlai Inn finally arrived. With a horse's hooves and a long neigh, the innkeeper came out to greet him with a smile on his face.

As soon as Xiao Er saw it, his originally smiling face immediately became gloomy, and he waved his hand vigorously at He Lao Liu: "It's you unlucky again, no wine, no meat, no accommodation, don't look at it." ”

He Lao Liu smiled awkwardly, rubbed his hands, and said, "Little Er, today is not the same as before. ”

"How is today, what about the past?" Xiao Er glanced at it and said mockingly, "Look at what you are wearing, you may have stolen this dress from somewhere?"

Fang Yu was about to get angry, but was stopped by Yu Yan in time: "Xianggong, let the housekeeper deal with it at this time, he is our housekeeper and can handle it." ”

Yu Yan's words were heard by He Laoliu very clearly, and he was very moved in his heart. It's rare for the fourth master and his wife to trust me so much, don't lose face for them.

Thinking so, he jumped out of the carriage, took a silver bar from his baggage, and threw it over.

"Little Er, don't look at people in the crack of the door. He Lao Liu puffed up his chest, swayed over, and said, "Serve the horses well, if you are hungry and thin, you must look good!"

"Yo, have you made a fortune?" Xiao Er rubbed his eyes, Mom, it was really white silver, "Aren't you working as a groom in the Songzhou County Office? Why, didn't the yamen arrest you together?"

"Hmph, what does the matter with me in the yamen? I have already come out and joined my new employer. He Lao Liudao, "Prepare good wine and good food quickly, prepare two other first-class rooms, and we will rest." ”

"Sixth, your luck is good. ”

He Lao Liu didn't answer, opened the curtain, and said respectfully: "Fourth master, madam, you can get off the horse." ”

Fang Yu jumped down from the carriage with a jump, the fan in his hand swaying slightly, as if he was a personable son.

He Laoliu helped Yu Yan, and saw her slowly get out of the carriage, her demeanor was light and graceful, like Chang'e in the Moon Palace.

"Fourth master, it's getting late, it's better to stay here tonight, and it's not too late to leave tomorrow morning. ”

Fang Yu nodded: "Lao He, just go and make arrangements." ”

Yu Yan smiled slightly: "You are the housekeeper, you are in charge of these things." ”

Butler? Xiao Er was stunned. Looking at the dress of these two, they must be rich sons and daughters. This He Lao Liu is actually their housekeeper?!

"Sixth, life is good, have you really become a housekeeper?"

He Lao Liu snorted and said, "Go quickly, don't delay." Otherwise, you want to look good. ”

"Yes, yes, three please. Xiao Er didn't dare to slack off.

Entering the inn, as soon as she sat down, Yu Yan saw a sea fishing document posted on the counter, the content of which was exactly the same as what she saw in the ruined temple.

Yu Yan immediately lowered her head, Xiao Er wiped the table while looking at her with strange eyes, suspicious in her heart, but she didn't speak.

He Lao Liu slapped the table angrily: "Why are you staring at my wife, you are so rude!

"Yes, yes, yes. Xiao Er agreed while hinting at He Lao Liu.

He Lao Liu got up and walked over and said, "Isn't it possible that the money given is not enough?"

"Sixth, you and I have known each other once, and there is something I must tell you. ”

"Speak!"

Xiao Er whispered: "I see that your owner is somewhat similar to the woman on the list, isn't it the wife of the Songzhou County Bureau? ”

"What a similarity, a bunch of nonsense!" He Lao Liu laughed, "This son lives in Chang'an and is engaged in the silk business. The woman was his wife, and she had come to Songzhou to visit an old friend. The lady of the Songzhou County Office you mentioned has nothing to do with my wife. ”

"How did you become someone's butler? Listen to it, I will study hard, and maybe I can have such good luck. ”

He Lao Liu smiled slightly and told the truth. It turned out that after taking revenge that day, the magistrate asked him to be a groom, and he agreed at first, but then after thinking about it, he felt that it was inappropriate. If the newly appointed magistrate is like his predecessor, wouldn't it be a burden to himself?

At that moment, he immediately resigned from the kindness of the magistrate, and when he went out, he happened to see the fourth master coming to ask for directions, so he met like this. The fourth master saw that he was diligent and did his duty, so he made him a subordinate. And after spending a few years of reading, knowing a few words, and doing things neatly, he made himself a housekeeper.

When Xiao Er heard this, his eyes were full of envy and jealousy: "You are really lucky, when I have such luck, it will be good." ”

He Laoliu patted him on the shoulder and said, "I will pass on my experience to you, and I must not say it to others." Be diligent and responsible, don't inquire about what you shouldn't ask, don't say what you shouldn't say, don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and you'll have such luck. ”

"Taught. Thank you!"

After He Lao Liu sat down, seeing that Xiao Er hadn't come yet, he whispered what he had just said to Fang Yu and Yu Yan. In fact, they had already overheard, but they nodded again and again as if they didn't know.

It seems that this He Lao Liu is okay. But it will take time to be able to be a trustworthy person.

The tired moon hid in the clouds to rest, leaving only a few stars as if to keep watch. The earth was already asleep, and the deserted path was silent except for the gentle breeze blowing, and the occasional barking of a dog or two.

In the second half of the night, another group of people came to the inn, dressed in official uniforms, with a big word "catch" on their chests.

The head catcher shook the sea fishing paper in front of Xiao'er, and asked sharply, "Xiao Er, have you seen these two people?"

Xiao Er looked at it for a long time, trembling and speechless. The head catcher is a person who has seen the world, and when he sees this, he already knows it.

He threatened: "If you don't say anything, I'll arrest you!" Normally, such villains can make him confess in a few words.

When Xiao Er heard this, he was really frightened, if he was caught in prison, it would be equivalent to death. He hurriedly waved his hand and shook his head: "No, no, no, I haven't, I haven't seen it, I haven't seen it." ”

The head catcher intensified his threat: "You really haven't seen it, if you dare to deceive people, I will immediately arrest you and return to the yamen!"

"I've never seen ...... before"

The head catcher asked again: "Is there anyone who looks more similar to the person in the painting?"

"Similar ......" Xiao Er hesitated, hesitated, and said tremblingly, "There is a woman who is a little similar to the one in this painting......"

"Where are the people?"

"She's not the suspect in the painting, she's the ......"

The head catcher was displeased, and said angrily: "Where are you!?"

"In, upstairs to the easternmost ......" Xiao Er pointed in the direction of a trembling hand.

The head catcher waved his hand: "You guys, come up with me and have a look!"