Chapter Twenty-Five: The Warm Day in Lantian
Li Hong has always been pampered and not shocked, the clouds are light and the wind is light, as if boiling hot water will not be splashed on his body without saying a word, but today he shouted and screamed. Fan Ning estimated that he had caused a big disaster, and subconsciously looked at Xue Ne, his little face was full of panic.
In the face of dozens of Lin Army crossbowmen before, she was not afraid, but at this time, she was afraid of Li Hong, and it was estimated that she was more afraid of affecting the red lotus. On the occasion of Li Hong's presence, Xue Ne shouldn't have interjected casually, but he didn't want to see Fan Ning so helpless, and said softly with relief: "Your Highness just wants to find out what the word 'extinguish' means, and I don't blame you, don't worry about ......"
Xue Ne's forgiveness made Fan Ning feel relieved, she found that she was too dependent on Xue Ne in front of others, and she was a little annoyed, but she didn't pretend to be self-pretentious, trembled her long eyelashes, and lowered her eyes to remove the veil full of gems and beads.
The beauty is like a peach, the lips are a little, people can't take their eyes off, Li Hong stared at her for a long time and was silent, the room was so quiet that it was terrifying, only the sound of the north wind whistling outside the window could be heard.
Not only Fan Ning panicked, but Honglian and Xue Ne also couldn't sit still. Honglian tugged at Li Hong's sleeve: "Your Highness, what's wrong with Ning'er?" What does that mean 'extinguish'? ”
Li Hong closed his gaze, turned his face to look at the slowly undulating more leak on the side, and tried his best to calm his emotions: "If I guessed correctly, he should be talking about 'Minyue'......"
Min Yue? Xue Ne couldn't help but be a little surprised, Helan Minyue, Helan Minzhi's own sister?
"If it is said that Helan Minzhi still has two points of human conscience, it is to his sister Helan Minyue. Helan Minyue is also the cousin of the main palace, the wife of the Wei State of her father...... passed away three years ago", Li Hong was reluctant to mention this past, although his tone was light and light, but he hung his head, so that people couldn't see his expression clearly, and could only see the jade crown of his hair, "I thought you looked very familiar before, but I didn't expect it to be like her......"
Helan Minzhi and Helan Minyue are both the children of Wu Zetian's sister Wu Shun, Wu Shun is widowed, so he has been living in Chang'an with this son and a daughter, and often enters the palace to visit Wu Hou.
In the past five or six years, the regent of Empress Wu has occasionally had conflicts with the emperor, and the emperor has made many concessions when he thinks of the relationship between husband and wife, and his heart is inevitably depressed. Helan Minyue, who looked like Empress Wu, often comforted her, which made Li Zhi feel quite relieved and canonized her as the Lady of Wei. Helan Minyue got carried away because of this, and even had a lot of disrespectful words about the queen, who died violently three years ago, and there were many rumors that the queen was the killer.
Fan Ning obviously had no interest in these palace secrets, pinched his chin, and was quite confused: "Shouldn't it?" I'm the most wanted criminal in Chang'an City, and the crimes I committed are also related to Hongwenguan, isn't Helan Minzhi a scholar of Hongwenguan? Doesn't he know what I look like? How can you still recognize me as Mrs. Wei? ”
"Of course he doesn't know", Li Hong chuckled, with indescribable disdain written on his face, "Do you think Helan Minzhi is cautious?" Will you also focus on whether the suspect is a man or a woman, and what does he look like? He just needs to know that there is such a big event during the prison of the palace, and he can take the opportunity to make a big fuss. Besides, you don't mean that he drank wine, and you are drenched with dirt, and it is understandable to admit your mistakes in a vague and hazy way. ”
Xue Ne's expression was confused, he had never seen Helan Minyue, and he couldn't understand how similar Fan Ning would be to her, he just hoped that Helan Minzhi would forget everything when he woke up, and never come to look for talents again.
Several people had their own concerns, and when they were silent, Helan Minzhi suddenly shouted downstairs: "Where is the mother here?" ”
Listening to the voice, this person was still not sober, and it was estimated that he was stunned by Fan Ning, and he forgot about looking for Honglian.
Honglian was extremely nervous, and her little hand grabbed her skirt suddenly, and the thin rouge couldn't suppress her panic. Li Hong quietly held her hand and signaled that she would be fine.
Xue Ne shifted the screen slightly, blocking it in front of a one-person-high wooden cabinet, and beckoned in a low voice: "Your Highness, you can hide people here, you can hide them first, and leave this place to the ministers to deal with." ”
The noise downstairs became louder and louder, and it sounded like He Lan Minzhi didn't believe his mother's words, and began to search one room after another. Li Hong no longer hesitated, and hid in the closet around the red lotus. Fan Ning picked up a copper lock and hung it up, and muttered in a low voice: "Give birth to a child and then come out......"
Xue Ne didn't care about her naughtiness, pointed to a wooden box next to him and said, "You hide here, I'll deal with him." ”
"I won't hide", Fan Ning put on his veil again, checked it in front of the bronze mirror, turned around and pushed Xue Ne and said, "You can't deceive people, don't say leaky, hide quickly." ”
In the blink of an eye, Helan Minzhi had already made trouble on the second floor, Xue Ne was not worried about Fan Ning alone, and stumbled: "Horizontal, horizontal and vertical, am I not your benefactor?" I'll be with you ......."
"You are a fart", Fan Ning's little face was more red than the red silk on his body, and he forcibly stuffed the tall Xue Ne into the wooden box, "Don't mention this stubble again in the future."
Fan Ning was covered in dust, and her outfit was completely different from what she was now, when the veil of jewels covered half of her face, and the red lotus groomed her again, making her look very much like a Tianzhu dancing girl. Fan Ning silently prayed that Helan Minzhi would not recognize her, before turning around and picking up the sword, and when he heard a bang, the door was violently pushed open, and the drunken Helan Minzhi broke into the room, and the owner of the sect followed closely behind, shouting in shock and fear: "Oh, the scholar stays, the scholar stays, there is no one in the ......"
Before the master's voice fell, he could hear a few brushes, and the wind blew from nowhere so that the bangs were going to turn over to the top of his head, and the two turned around to look, only to see one day Zhu Wuji holding a long sword, dancing impenetrable, a move and a style of sharp and fierce, whistling and mighty.
In the shadow of the white-edged sword, the long sword was close to his heart several times, frightening the two of them to take a few steps back. The sect owner was also shrewd, his eyes were round, and he pretended to be helpless: "Hey, scholar...... This is my newly bought girl, Tianzhu people, I can't understand Chinese, I'm not ** good, I'm very vulgar and cut when I meet people, hurry up and close the door, but don't let her hurt you......"
Helan Minzhi was so frightened that he woke up half of his wine, and he left the room in a panic, almost tripping over himself. The owner of the sect closed the door and scolded, "Who let this room be opened?" If a person runs away, how can it be good to hurt a distinguished guest? ”
The little servant immediately stepped forward and hung a copper lock at the door, Helan Minzhi relieved himself, felt that he had just lost his temper, raised his sleeves to wipe his sweat in embarrassment, and continued to look for someone in the first few rooms.
Fan Ning didn't dare to relax, still dancing hard, about a quarter of an hour of effort, Helan Minzhi's negative anger left, the owner's apology gradually faded away, she sat on the ground, panting tiredly: "People are gone, you all come out......
Xue Ne stepped out of the wooden box in response, strode forward and opened the copper lock of the cabinet, and Li Hong led the red lotus out of the cabinet. Honglian raised her slender arms, slowly relieved her muscles and bones, and stepped forward to help Fan Ning pinch her tired shoulders: "Although I am in that cabinet, I can hear how hard you work outside, I have to thank you for coming today, otherwise I am afraid that I will be forced to death by that person......"
"I also heard the sound of her dancing sword, and I was afraid that she would accidentally throw the sword away several times, if it was pierced on the cabinet, the palace would be an explanation", although Li Hong joked, he stepped forward to salute Fan Ning, "Thanks to you today, otherwise I really don't know what will happen to that guy." But this place is really unbearable, and the main palace will arrange for Lian'er to live in a safe place, and you should also go to Lantian. ”
Although the dungeon was blown up, the ghost market was served again, and Fan Ning had nowhere to go, and the only place to stay was to go to Lantian with Xue Ne. But Xue Ne didn't have time to mention it, and Fan Ning didn't agree, so he was arranged by Li Hong like this, which made the two of them unspeakably embarrassed.
Honglian is such a smart person, seeing that the two of them are uncomfortable, she diverted the topic to Li Hong: "Your Highness, I have a little sister, who is now the concubine of the shopkeeper of Xianbu Village, Fang gave birth to a child, I have always wanted to go to see it but I can't be empty, I might as well go to her house tonight to borrow it, and I don't have to work with His Royal Highness to arrange it." ”
"If you want to go to see her, I will ask Zhang Shun to arrange for her to live in someone else's house in a few days, how can I rest assured?" Li Hong refused to agree, and coaxed, "The house I bought with Shen Yan's money before has been cleaned up, and I didn't want to move in the first month, but now I can't take care of those, so I'll live in it today." ”
Fan Ning was dressed in Tianzhu clothes, her white arms, and her slender waist was all revealed, Xue Ne wanted to talk to her, but she couldn't look anywhere, and finally she could only look out the window: "I, I'll go back to the house first, pack up my things, and I'll pick you up later......"
Fan Ning thought of going to Lantian with Xue Ne, but he was also very embarrassed, and before he could say the words of response, he heard Li Hong helplessly say: "What other important things do you have in that house?" just escaped from Helan Minzhi, don't you run away quickly, are you still waiting for him to wake up and come back to make trouble? Hengzhi has so much money in your pocket, what do you lack Lantian to buy it? Don't have nothing to do, the carriage downstairs is for you, and the palace will summon Zhang Shun to pick it up. ”
After that, Li Hong pushed and shoved the two of them out of the room, the residual snow outside the window had not disappeared, the cold wind was howling, Xue Ne hurriedly draped Qiu Yu on Fan Ning's shoulders, wrapping her white and flawless skin. The two looked at each other, said nothing, and walked side by side to the stable.
Honglian heard them go away, and asked Li Hong in a low voice: "Your Highness, does Xue Yushi like Ning'er?" ”
"It's not just liking, it's admitting fate and giving heart, as if the devil is stunned", Li Hong joked with a smile, but his hands were not idle, and he moved the screen back into the distance, "This kid is quite obvious, even you can see it." ”
"Yes, no matter who talks in the room, Xue Yushi has been looking at Ning'er", Honglian couldn't help but feel funny, "I think the two of them are quite compatible, not to mention their appearance and bearing for the time being, both of them are like children, and they blush at every turn, which is really interesting." ”
"yes, I hope this stupid boy can get his wish soon, and we'll clean up quickly, seeing that it may snow again tonight."
The carriage left Chang'an from Baling and traveled in a roundabout way. Beyond Lishan, it is Lantian, Xue Ne looked at the beacon tower on the top of the mountain, remembering the princes of Zhou Youwang in this beacon fire show more than 1,400 years ago, just for the sake of a smile, and the bottom of his heart couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
It is estimated that in Xue Chuyu's eyes, his behavior is no different from that of King Zhou You, but he is just stunned, so he abandons his family and his safety like this. But this matter is very involved, and it is difficult to explain it to Xue Chuyu, I just hope that he will not take the opportunity to make trouble again.
Xue Ne was thinking about the horse, and suddenly felt a heat on his body, it was Fan Ning who opened the door and returned the mink Qiu to him, Xue Ne half-turned around and said, "You are dressed, I am not cold." ”
"It's snowing again, your hands are frozen red, and you still say it's not cold? You have a big coat and can cover both of us, so don't be strong. ”
Xue Ne looked back, and sure enough, Fan Ning was also drilling in this robe, he turned around and continued to beat the horse and hurry, and the smile on the corner of his mouth couldn't be hidden.
This section of the mountain road is very durable, and with the wind and snow visiting, it was almost late at night when the two arrived at Lam Tin. Fan Ning hurriedly jumped out of the carriage, pushed open the courtyard door tremblingly, and walked in but slowed down: "It's so beautiful here!" Why is there a swing left by the people who used to live here? ”
Xue Ne was embarrassed to say that he had specially asked someone to tie it up for her, led the horses into the shed, and carried the things they bought on the street down the ground with his back: "There are two thick pieces in the house, you put them on first, and I will make a fire to cook......"
"Come on, the dignified Xue family's eldest Langjun, what will you do if your ten fingers don't touch the spring water", Fan Ning sneered, and entered the kitchen first, polished the flint after adding firewood, and lit the stove.
Xue Ne packed up and hurried over, wanting to help but couldn't intervene, so he could only follow her all the time. Fan Ning turned around and bumped into him, Xue Ne reached out and helped her, but it fell on her smooth and slender waist, both of them were embarrassed and speechless, and after a long time, Xue Ne said: "Send me some work, otherwise you are cooking, but I am standing next to me, it is too unseemly." ”
"I'll just cook a soup cake, it's not troublesome, if you really want to do something, just wash those two pottery bowls."
Xue Ne followed Fan Ning's instructions, washed the bowl and brought out the soup cakes. The two sat side by side on the stool next to the stove, Fan Ning held the soup cake, did not start for a long time, but put it on his knees, and a warm current soon surged through the whole body, and the exhaustion and cold were swept away.
Xue Ne raised his hand to remove Fan Ning's veil, and under the light of the fire, his expression was extremely gentle: "How can you eat with a veil?" ”
Fan Ning smiled, trembled his long eyelashes, and held the veil in his hand: "It's very warm to wear, and I forgot to take it off for a while." ”
"Don't wear this dress tomorrow, I'll go to the street and buy you two new ones, and buy a pair of noodles."
"You've said this three or four times, is this dress so ugly?" Fan Ning tugged at his clothes, and his tone was filled with an unconcealable sense of loss.
Of course, this dress is not ugly, especially when Fan Ning wears it, revealing Ao Xue's skin and slender waist, which is so beautiful that Xue Ne almost couldn't take his eyes off it several times. If one day, how good it would be if she was willing to wear it just for him, Xue Ne thought so, but said: "You have a bad spleen and stomach since you were a child, how can it be good to expose your body on such a cold day and freeze to death." ”
Fan Ning can't say, why her heart is overflowing with a strong sense of attachment at this time, Xu is from childhood to adulthood, except for Li Chunfeng, only Xue Ne cares about her so much. Fan Ning secretly scolded herself for being greedy, and she had dragged Xue Ne to the point where she was, but she was still greedy for his goodness. The unspoken words in Xishi last night have disappeared with Chunxue, and the only thing she wants to know now is things related to the case: "By the way, I forgot to tell you, Xue Chuyu should be involved with the people of the Criminal Department, today I heard him and the housekeeper in the underground palace that he was going to the Criminal Department to report you for hiding me, I was afraid that it would be unfavorable for you to leave evidence, so I destroyed half of the underground palace......"
"I know that he is complaining to my mother today, I don't know what will happen to him in the future, and he can't help it for the time being, so he can only hurry up and solve the case."
"You can solve the other cases in three times and divide five by two, why did this one drag on for so long", Fan Ning said that it was fake that he was not in a hurry, but he didn't want to put too much pressure on Xue Ne, so he didn't urge.
"Why did Shen Qi only see you jumping off the library pavilion alone, I still can't figure it out, when I figure this out, I can solve the case. By the way, 'what is close is not inferior, and what is far away is resentful', has Master Li ever told you about it? Yesterday, His Royal Highness received a secret letter, which has been compared, and it is Master Li's words, so these two sentences were written. ”
"Any news from Master? Why didn't you say it earlier! Finally having a clue about Li Chunfeng, Fan Ningdeng's eyes were red, and he was indescribably excited.
"Don't worry, since Master Li sent a letter, it means that he left on his own for some reason, and he can't show up now...... These two sentences should be clues sent by him, do you understand what they refer to? ”
"Master is a Taoist priest, you don't know, how did he teach me these Confucian knowledge?" Fan Ning held her cheeks, looking puffed out, as if she was blaming Li Chunfeng for saying goodbye, causing her to worry day and night.
Hearing Fan Ning say that Li Chunfeng never mentioned it, Xue Ne had a calculation in his heart, it seems that this is indeed Li Chunfeng's deliberate hint at the crown prince Li Hong, but what is this referring to? Xue Ne was like a second monk who was confused, and he had no thoughts at all.
"'Only women and villains are difficult to raise, those who are close are not inferior, and those who are far away are resentful', Master will not be captured by some woman and ask us for help, right?" Fan Ning really began to think wildly, and he didn't know what bizarre drama was being arranged in his little brain.
"Your kung fu is taught by Master Li, more than 30 strong archers of the Yulin Army are still difficult to get close, Master Li's kung fu is above you, which woman can capture him? Have you ever heard Master Li talk about any familiar woman? ”
Although Li Chunfeng loves to socialize with people, but it is just to know more about the secret art of folklore, and there is not much intersection, Fan Ning shook his head and said: "The woman that Master knows the most is me and Sister Honglian, and there is no one else ...... again."
After that, Xue Ne and Fan Ning fell into contemplation together, if you talk about women, the most amazing woman in the world is the queen of heaven, she has nothing to do with this case, it should be ruled out, is Li Chunfeng reminding Fan Ning and Honglian that they will encounter any danger?
Xue Ne had no clue, and Fan Ning on the side was also anxious, poked the firewood in the furnace with a burning stick, and said angrily: "Master is really, it's so awkward to give a hint, it's better not to say it." He is an old Taoist priest, and there are few women around him who can't guess, if it's a man next to him, he can't count until tomorrow morning! ”
"How could it be", Xue Ne took it extremely naturally, and only after saying it did he find that there was a bit of ambiguity, "I know fewer women than Master Li, and you are the only one......"