The medicinal herb merchant surnamed Zhao entered the courtyard, and saw the messy pile of orchids, he was happy and angry, and when he half-squatted down to carefully inspect the growth of the orchid, the anger occupied most of his emotions, and he said coldly: "This orchid is a medicinal herb, why is it so bad?" ”

Wang Yuanwai knew that he was at a loss, and sighed softly: "The little girl's purchase of orchids that day was just a whim, and our family has been doing the cloth business for generations, so where will we know how to take care of orchids." ”

The merchant surnamed Zhao looked pained and said angrily: "The orchid is growing so well, I'm afraid it won't be possible to make a first-class good medicine, and I'm afraid that the price increase I talked to you about will have to be discussed again." ”

So far, the king has a heart, and he doesn't care if he will lose money, as long as he can sell the orchid, he can do anything: "The price is negotiable, as long as you are willing to buy it." ”

"How much did you spend on the orchid at the end?" Zhao Qi sat under the porch, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand, and starry eyes stared at the people not far away who came and went to move the orchids to the courtyard.

There was a young man standing next to Zhao Qi, and he looked like a medicinal herb merchant who went to Wang's house to buy orchids. His name is Zhao Zijin, he is the son of the Zhao family's steward, and he grew up with Zhao Qi since he was a child. At this moment, he showed joy on his face and drew a number at Zhao Qi: "It's cheap, right?" ”

Zhao Qi nodded, only feeling that this amount was a little cheap.

"Originally, ordinary orchids shouldn't be bought so cheaply, but the father and daughter of the Wang family were probably really panicked, they didn't send someone to take care of the orchid, and let it blow in the sun and wind in the yard, probably because they were afraid that the orchid would rot at home if it went on like this, so they hurriedly wanted to sell it."

At that time, Zhao Zijin had carefully inspected orchids, they were all ordinary orchids, but for some reason, Zhao Qiqing was surprised: "I remember that you have always disliked flowers and plants and other literati and ink things, why did you suddenly change your personality now?" ”

"Entrusted by men." Zhao Qi whispered such a sentence.

What kind of person is Zhao Qi, his personality is indifferent and cold, and he has made many children of the family in the officialdom, but there are very few friends in fact, let alone the people who can let him help out.

Zhao Zijin had never seen Fang Tian, and when Fang Tian came to visit that day, he was not in the other garden, but serving the old lady in the mansion in Kyoto, and couldn't help but be a little more curious about the person who entrusted Zhao Qi: "The person who can entrust you with help must not have a simple relationship with you, I want to meet it." ”

"It's just a very ordinary person."

Zhao Qi said that, and then he was silent, as if only the orchids in the courtyard were left in his eyes. The pots of orchids that were brought in were not amazing, and even some of them were lifeless because they had not received good care for a long time, wilting like frosty weeds, where was there still the temperament of orchids.

Somehow, Zhao Qi smelled a wisp of orchid fragrance in the air in a trance, as if fine wine had entered people's hearts, and a delicate face appeared in his mind.

Zhao Qi frowned slightly and shook his head, wanting to get rid of all the weird thoughts in his mind.

Suddenly, there was a low call, Zhao Qi could hear that it was his younger brother Zhao Sheng's voice, and turned his eyes to look: "What's the matter?" ”

At this moment, Zhao Sheng should have been attending a lecture at Mr. Weiyun's, why did he suddenly come here?

Zhao Sheng seemed to be in a hurry, running fast all the way, and several times he almost bumped into the person who moved the orchid.

When he ran in front of Zhao Qi, he was so tired that he couldn't breathe: "Sir...... Mr. has a visitor today, so let's get out of class first, and if we have done our homework, I'll finish it later! ”

Seeing that the younger brother was sensible, Zhao Qi nodded with relief: "You can calculate it yourself, don't waste your studies because of playfulness." ”

"Brother! I understand everything you said, it was not easy for Mr. Weiyun to agree to accept me that day, how dare I waste my studies! ”

Zhao Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, and stared at Zhao Qi without blinking: "Brother, I heard that there was a distinguished guest at home yesterday, and it seems that I know him, why don't you tell me?" ”

Zhao Qi knew that the distinguished guest that his brother was talking about was Fang Tian, and the cyclamen came to meet that day, Zhao Sheng seemed to have a bad impression of Fang Tian, and Fang Tian came here, and it had nothing to do with Zhao Sheng, so he never told him.

"Miss Fang is here for the orchid thing, it has nothing to do with you, I don't want to affect your hard work, so I never told you about it. Why did you suddenly ask about this? ”

Zhao Qi's tone of voice was plain, as if he was saying something irrelevant, and Zhao Zijin on the side of his ears suddenly heard that something was wrong: "Girl? Zhao Qi, which girl did you get along with? And tell me, when I return to the capital, tell the old lady that she has been thinking about your marriage for a long time, and if she knows that you have a favorite girl, she will be very happy. ”

Zhao Qi was about to refute, but before he could open his mouth, he was preempted by Zhao Sheng: "That's not good, I've seen that girl, a country woman, not to mention her humble status, and far less beautiful than the sister of the Wei family, how can my brother go home alone?" ”

Zhao Zijin sighed and said: "Little boy, what you said is wrong, what kind of status is low, what kind of appearance is good-looking, marrying a wife and marrying a virtuous person, it depends on the character, the old lady is in the mansion, she often recites these two sentences, if she knows that the eldest prince has a favorite girl here, she must be very happy, so she will not care about the girl's appearance." ”

Zhao Sheng and Zhao Zijin spoke enthusiastically, neither of them noticed Zhao Qi's slightly frowning sword eyebrows and half-constricted eyes: "Don't say it, Miss Fang and I are innocent, and we don't have the kind of feelings you said." ”

Compared to the capital, this town is as dim as the stars on the side of the moon, and in the morning it does not have the faint bells of Kyoto temples, the creaking sound of the gates slowly opening that have been closed overnight, and the hustle and bustle of the city.

When Zhao Zijin opened his eyes from a sweet dream because of habit, he didn't hear a harsh sound, only a faint sound of chickens crowing in the distance, or a dog barking, or the hoarse tone of the low wind blowing dead leaves.

It's a delightful calm.

Zhao Zijin pushed open the door and saw Zhao Qi standing on the top of a corridor, leaning on the railing, his eyes closed, as if listening to the faint sound of the wind, and as if listening to the barking of dogs and chickens in the distance.

He was motionless and quiet, and for a moment Zhao Zijin even wondered if he was asleep, but when he called his name softly, he could still get a response.

Zhao Zijin is not as taciturn as Zhao Qi, his family taught him the principle of tactfulness since he remembered, and in the future, Zhao Zijin will naturally be the head of the Zhao family. He has always been sleek, accustomed to using a smile to hide his emotions, but at this moment, the smile at the corner of his eyebrows and eyes is very real: "I like the morning here." ”

Kyoto is too noisy and noisy, and living there will be a very tiring life: "No wonder you didn't return to Beijing after you sent your little boy here to study, even if the old lady sent someone to invite you in person, she didn't want to go back." ”

Zhao Qi opened his eyes, stared at the crumbling dead leaves on the branches, and said indifferently: "More than that." ”

It's not just because of the quiet atmosphere in the town, it's not just because he wants to escape the bloody facts of Kyoto.

Zhao Zijin looked puzzled and asked, "If there is more than this, what else can there be?" Do you really care about the Wei family's divorce? Or do you feel that you are too tired to carry the Zhao family alone, so you escape from reality and are unwilling to face it. ”

The latter is too heavy for Zhao Zijin and the entire Zhao family, just because the head of the Zhao family, the Marquis of Shengguo, has not heard from him so far, some people say that he has committed treason to the enemy, and some people say that he has died in battle.

Zhao Qi can't retreat.

"You better go back to the capital," Zhao Zijin said, "too comfortable environment will make the sharp knife rust, and finally raise the knife again, it will not move people." ”

Zhao Qi shook his head and said no.

"The ancients said that they are indifferent and bright-minded, and it makes sense, too many things have happened during this time, I want to find a relatively quiet place to relax my mood, you can rest assured, the comfortable environment will not only not wear off the sharpness, but will make me sober."

Soberness makes people clear-sighted, wise, and clear-minded.

Only by seeing clearly who the person hiding behind the scenes is to frame the Shengguo Mansion can we understand his intentions and contend with him.

Now the situation in the capital is too chaotic, like a turbid river, a misty jungle, and a dark cloud-obscured day, not only will you not be able to calm down, but it will intensify emotions and contradictions, and make everything worse.

Since he was a child, Zhao Zijin has never won against Zhao Qi once, even if he seems to be so taciturn, at first glance he is not good at arguing, but in fact, his psychology is very clear.

He simply didn't say more, sighed and said: "Whatever you want, I just hope you can think clearly earlier, the old lady is already old, no matter how good the tonic herbs are, they can't change this fact, and if you still don't do anything at that time, you will understand what bad consequences will be caused." ”

After finishing his words, his eyes turned and his eyes fell on the orchids in the courtyard.

Yesterday when the orchids were moved to the mansion, they were lifeless because they had not been properly cared for, but now it is the morning when the dew is heavy, and when the nectar falls on the branches and leaves, they come back to life and bloom again.

The delicate fragrance of flowers wafts slowly with the morning breeze, wafting in every corner of the mansion.

Zhao Zijin raised her eyebrows, suddenly remembered something, and her eyes fell back on Zhao Qi: "After you bought these orchids yesterday, you said that you were going to send them to that Fang girl's house today?" ”

Zhao Qi nodded silently.

Zhao Qi's marriage has always been the top priority of the old lady's concern, even if he once said that he would not get married if the family business failed, and even used a silent and indifferent attitude to scare away many official ladies who admired him, the old lady still regarded these words as children's nonsense.

Zhao Zijin, as the person sent by the old lady to supervise Zhao Qi, and as Zhao Qi's friend for more than ten years, he really wanted to see what the so-called Fang girl looked like, even if Zhao Sheng said yesterday that she had a mediocre face and a humble status, he couldn't kill his curiosity.

How could a girl who could make Zhao Qi, who was like an ice cube and like an iron iron, reveal a different emotion, how could she be an ordinary woman in a rural mountain village? She must have something special to make Zhao Qi's eyes fall on her.

The more I thought about it, the more excited I felt, Zhao Zijin proposed: "The country road is not easy to walk, especially for a boy like you who rarely goes out, you are the master and I am the servant, how about I take this trip for you?" ”

Zhao Qi didn't speak, and the gaze he cast on him already showed his thoughts.

Cannot.

Soon after, the hired chariots and horses arrived, and they made their way to a certain mountain village.

When Fang Tian came to the door in person that day, he told Zhao Qi his address, so Zhao Qi knew where she lived, and the orchids she transported were exactly where they went.

On the way, because he didn't know the way, Zhao Qi got off the horse and asked a woman who was standing on the side of the road and staring.