When I met with Shu Tong on the dock to Ningguo, she didn't blame me too much, after all, she came back intact and was about to leave this murderous Nanguo Mansion by boat.

In order to avoid people's eyes, we did not take a merchant ship, but got on a cargo ship transporting medicinal materials, and I and Shu Tong and Brother You were also dressed as merchants, and we were supposed to go all the way back to Ningguo, but when the ship was about to go offshore, it was a coincidence that Shu Tong accidentally mentioned a person.

"I heard that you took a bag of gold leaves to help a boy on the painting boat redeem himself?"

She originally wanted to make a joke with me, say such things to tease me, and poke my gossip by the way, but this sentence really reminded me of one thing - last night in the canopy by the ferry, I promised Chen Lanzhou to take him to meet Brother You today and let him follow Brother You to do business.

I almost jumped up from my stool: the gentleman is hard to follow, how can I be so confused that I have forgotten such an important matter.

Shu Tong hurriedly got up: "Sir, what's wrong with you?" ”

"I forgot to take him with me," I explained to her as briefly as possible as I walked up to You Sifang and begged, "Brother You, I want you to help pick up someone." ”

You Sifang came to calm down and comforted me: "Sir, don't worry, you tell me who it is first." ”

"It's the little boy on the painting boat that Shu Tong just mentioned, his name is Chen Lanzhou, if he doesn't go with us this time, he is afraid that he will be taken away by his cousin who is an official in the imperial capital," I am afraid that You Quartet will not know the seriousness of the matter, I said, "The reason why he does this kind of work on the painting boat is that his cousin supports him." ”

You Sifang frowned and pondered for a moment, and then said with a resolute look in his eyes: "Presumably Mr. also knows that this person has nothing to do with us, and his affairs are not a big deal in my eyes." But from his standpoint, maybe it is true, as Mr. said, this is his only chance to live again, so I am willing to pick him up. ”

My eldest brother You is so calm and steady, and he can push himself and others, and he is a good person.

I got off the boat in a hurry, and Brother You went to the painting boat on my behalf, but I heard from the boss that the little boy named Junqing left here last night and never came back. So I found a few more eyeliners, listened to my description of Chen Lanzhou's appearance, and ran in different directions, and we waited for news in a private room in a restaurant.

Shu Tong put away the joking look when he was on the boat, looked at me seriously, and said gently: "Dare to ask what kind of feelings Mr. has for that Lanzhou son?" ”

I was stunned: "Huh? ”

Shutong stroked my shoulder, "I think you are very attentive to this son, are you a little happy with him?" ”

This is the first time I think about my feelings for Chen Lanzhou, and through Shutong's question, I seriously examine my heart.

After a long time, it was confirmed, and Tong Shutong said, "It should be true that I like him, but my feelings for him are not just like it so simple, so pure, he is our old man in the south, I have the same pity and love for him as my sister and brother, for him, what I hope most is that he will not have to suffer so much torture and pain, instead of coveting his beauty and wanting him to be with me." ”

Shutong tugged my sideburns for me and said softly, "Well, I understand." After a pause, he added, "We are also happy that Mr. can meet someone he likes." ”

Around the end of the evening, the eyeliner sent by Brother You came back, saying that Chen Lanzhou came out of a private house in the south of the city with a son, and now went to the restaurant opposite Xiyuan to eat.

"But time is tight, and we can't be sure if the person we are looking for is Chen Lanzhou, so we have to wait for Mr. to take a look in person." They said.

It was inconvenient to travel together, so I asked Shutong to wait here, and let Brother You follow in secret, I changed into a black robe, and hurried to the restaurant they said.

There is a narrow alley in the back street of the restaurant, the night is everywhere, the narrow alley is dim, we take a shortcut from there, the alley is 100 meters long, there seem to be many people besieging a person at the end, the sound of swords slamming together, jumping into the mossy stone wall with a piercing sound and finally pouring into my ears, after all, it is still too far away, I can't see who the besieged person is, I only feel that when he jumps over to avoid the sword, the ink-colored robe flying up on his body is a little familiar.

Maybe it's not the person I thought of, after all, he is not the only one in this world who wears an ink robe, compared to me tonight. So I didn't pay attention to these things that had nothing to do with me - I wanted to go to the restaurant to find Chen Lanzhou quickly.

Huangtian lived up to his wishes, and through the slightly pierced window paper, after confirming that one of the two people eating inside was Chen Lanzhou, I turned around, and the eyeliner of Brother You, who was standing in the corridor on the second floor of the restaurant, nodded happily, and he left with confidence; Looking over the railing on the second floor, he made a color with Brother You who was waiting downstairs, and Brother You smiled reassuringly.

I paid the gold leaf, sat down in the private room next to Chen Lanzhou, ordered two dishes casually, and sent Xiao Er out, and after closing the door, I listened attentively to the movement next door.

In the end, it is not a specially customized door and window from the Western Regions, the sound insulation effect of this restaurant is far from the tea room on the top floor of the painting boat, so I heard the conversation next door clearly.

Tonight, the person who had dinner with Chen Lanzhou was, as I expected, his unscrupulous cousin.

I only heard this cousin Chen say: "Isn't it good to go to the imperial capital with me, why did you suddenly change your mind?" ”

Chen Lanzhou replied: "I have been trapped in the painting boat for many years, but I rarely have the opportunity to take a look at the bright sky outside, and now I want to walk around when I am free, instead of going to the imperial capital to be an idle bookstore owner, I can only live up to my cousin's kindness." ”

I thought that what this cousin Chen asked was a bit redundant, why didn't the little boy of Lanzhou want to go to the imperial capital with you, don't you have a little bit in your heart?

Sure enough, he had a number in his heart, but after listening to the silence next door for a long time, Cousin Chen asked again: "Is Xiaozhou afraid that if I go back to the imperial capital with me, I will put you in prison again, so you don't want to go with me?" ”

Chen Lanzhou denied it with a smile in his voice: "No, brother, don't think like this." ”

"Don't you hate me for letting you into this boat?"

"Brother Lan Ting," Lan Zhou said slowly, "This prison is not a real prison, skinny and hungry and unbearable, and I want to live." Thank you Brother Lan Ting, save my life, I'm still alive. ”

It's this understatement and painless tone that makes me feel very distressed to hear.

"Hehehe, that's good, that's good." Cousin Chen let out a hearty laugh that made me extremely disgusted, and then, the sound of the scroll spreading out came from next door, "I heard the owner of the painting boat say, a young man recently gave you a lot of gold leaves to help you get out of the painting boat, you can help your brother identify, is that boy painting this girl?" ”

The situation seems to have taken a turn for the worse, I don't know if the girl in the painting is me, but I have a chill for no reason: my acquaintance with the little boy of Lan Zhou is just a coincidence, and he is far away in the imperial capital, and we have nothing to do with it, how can he take a painting and ask if it is me?

Chen Lanzhou next door denied it unhurriedly, and his tone was different from the previous calmness and indifference: "As Brother Lanting inquired about, and the boss of the painting boat also said that it was a son who gave me gold leaves, but the painting was a girl." ”

"She used to be a woman disguised as a man for a long time, you just have to see if her appearance is not like that son."

Chen Lanzhou chuckled, but his tone became more and more cold and indifferent: "Don't say that the appearance of the boy and the girl in the painting is indeed different, just talk about men and women, in addition to their appearance, they are also very different." ”

Cousin Chen didn't give up, and his voice also carried a hint of scrutiny: "How can you be so confident that you think they are not the same person?" ”

"Hehehehe," Chen Lanzhou smiled coolly, "I have slept with him in the canopy boat and in the painting boat room, that is a real man, otherwise how does Brother Lanting think that the son of the other family will reward me with a bag of gold leaves for no reason?" ”

After hearing this, I froze there and could barely move.

No matter how stupid I am, I understand that the person in that painting is me, otherwise Chen Lanzhou would not lie so calmly, and he would not have told this lie round and smooth.

The cousin named Lan Ting seemed to believe it, muttering something and wondering: "Since the person in the painting did not appear, then why did he come all the way to buy a house?" ”

"I wonder who my brother said 'he' is?" Chen Lanzhou seemed unintentional and seemingly careless, but he asked the question I also wanted to ask at this moment.

Chen Lanting sneered and said, "It's nothing, it's just an idle prince with no ambitions, if it weren't for His Majesty the Emperor's still a little liking him, he would have followed his brother to the underworld to be the emperor's brother and brother." ”

"Oh."

Chen Lanzhou stopped and didn't continue to ask, but the cousin was still unsatisfied, and continued to tell his younger brother about the moving rights and conspiracy of the emperor: "I think His Majesty the Emperor is just a woman's benevolence, this person has been suspected of hiding soldiers, and it is a disaster to continue to stay, since he has no protection when he left Beijing on his own initiative, I can only solve this trouble for His Majesty the Emperor." Speaking of this, he took a sip of wine, and said slightly frustratedly, "He is a good person, he accidentally let him run away last time, and this time he is far away from the lake, so it should be difficult to fly." ”

"Then Xiaozhou wishes my brother all the best."

The sound of the seat moving sounded: "Brother Wei left first, I'll go see how the situation is over there." This painting is for you, and if you see this girl in the future, when you travel all over the world, write to me and let me know. ”

"Okay." Chen Lanzhou said.

I watched through the crack in the door the cousin Chen, who was a little lame in his right leg, and waited for half an hour to make sure he didn't come back, and I finally walked out of the room and pushed open the door next door.