Fate pushed her into a quagmire, and she told herself that she was going to climb out.

The bad situation didn't give her any chance to feel sorry for herself and worry about her pain, and if she didn't pull herself together, she might not survive the night.

She stretched out her small black hand, picked up a small wooden stick, and wrote on the ground one by one.

Zhuge , Wei, Mu, Jue, Che, writing this, she slowly frowned. It was already dark outside, and the sound of silk and bamboo in the courtyard came from afar, and there were singing and dancing in the middle of it. She silently thought about it for a long time, and finally wrote down the last word: Yan.

In the staggered hall of Zhuge Mansion, Yan Xun's right eye suddenly jumped suddenly. He furrowed his brow, turned his head slowly, and looked deep into the dark night.

The night is dark, the jackdaws are flying high, and this muddy and ugly dynasty has rotted from the inside.

The old is destined to be destroyed, leaving the new order to be reborn in the ashes.

Even though the wounds around his body were painful, Chu Qiao still forced himself to stand up, running back and forth around the small firewood room, occasionally stopping to rub his skin with his hands to prevent freezing to death in this dilapidated firewood room.

The drum of the third watch had just been beaten, and the window that was more than one person high was suddenly slowly opened, and then, a small head was revealed. Chu Qiao was stunned for a moment, looked up, and saw that the person who came had bright eyes, and his eyes cautiously turned around in the firewood room, and after seeing Chu Qiao, his eyes suddenly flashed with joy. He raised his fingers and made a silent gesture, then turned over and jumped into the firewood room with his hands and feet.

The boy hurriedly ran forward, stretched out his arm, and hugged Chu Qiao in his arms, his voice was a little choked, but he comforted firmly: "Yue'er is not afraid, the fifth brother is here." ”

The boy was very thin, not very old, but eight or nine years old, wearing an earthy gray dress, which was very ill-fitting, and looked more and more thin. His stature had not yet grown, only half a head taller than Chu Qiao, but the contours of his face revealed a weathered tenacity. He hugged the child in his arms tightly, kept patting her on the back, and comforted her over and over again: "Don't be afraid, the fifth brother is here." ”

For some reason, Chu Qiao's eyes suddenly became wet, and big tears couldn't stop falling, wetting the boy's rough clothes. I don't know if it's the spontaneous reaction of this body or her own true emotions, in such a strange and cold night, this weak but warm embrace is too precious.

The bright moonlight shone in through the slightly open window and shone on the two small children. It was cold all around, and there was only a slight warmth in the chest. The boy's small body is like a tough mountain, and even if he shuddered with fear on this cold night, he still held his sister firmly and tightened his arms strongly.

"Yue'er, are you hungry?" The boy let go of his hand, stretched out his black fingers to carefully wipe away the tears on Chu Qiao's face, pulled out a good-looking smile, and said with a smile, "What did the fifth brother bring you?" ”

The child took out a small cloth bag from his back, sat on the ground, and opened the cloth bag neatly, and the smell of food suddenly wafted out. He raised his head and saw that Chu Qiao was still standing, raised his eyebrows and said suspiciously, "Sit down." ”

A large coarse porcelain bowl with blue and white on the sides that have been ground to the point that it has lost its color, and there are a few small notches on the edges. A full bowl of japonica rice, piled with some green vegetable leaves on top, there are not many oil stars, but the taste is so fragrant. The boy handed over a pair of chopsticks, stuffed them into Chu Qiao's hand, and urged, "Eat quickly." ”

Chu Qiao lowered his head and took a bite of rice into his mouth, his mouth was very salty, and there was the smell of tears, and his throat was very blocked. She chewed mechanically, occasionally sobbing softly.

The boy looked at Chu Qiao with a blank eye, every time she opened her mouth to take a bite, the boy also opened his mouth gently, as if he was teaching her how to eat, and when he saw her swallow, he would squint his eyes happily.

The chopsticks were fiddling in the bowl, and suddenly something was inserted, and when it was picked out, it was a piece of braised pork that was still steaming.

A piece of meat the size of a thumb, burnt to a little burnt, half fat and half thin, in such a dark and cold night, it was so tempting.

A loud grunt suddenly sounded, Chu Qiao raised his head and looked at the boy, only to see the boy rubbing his stomach in embarrassment, and deliberately said nonchalantly: "I just finished eating, and I'm not hungry at all." ”

Chu Qiao handed over the chopsticks and said, "You can eat." ”

The boy shook his head suddenly, "We ate very well tonight, the fourth young master added vegetables to us, braised carp, sweet and sour pork ribs, vinegared tenderloin, whiteboard duck, so many dishes, I want to vomit when I eat it, and I can't eat anything now." ”

Chu Qiao stubbornly held up his chopsticks, "I don't like to eat fatty meat." ”

The boy was slightly stunned, glanced at Chu Qiao, and then at the braised pork, swallowed his saliva unconsciously, and after a long time, he stretched out his hand to take Chu Qiao's chopsticks, carefully opened his mouth to bite on the fatty meat, and then handed back the remaining lean meat, smiled, showed a mouthful of white teeth, and said with a smile: "Yue'er, you can eat it now." ”

His nose suddenly became sour, Chu Qiao quickly lowered his head, tears rolling back and forth in his eyes, but he never endured it.

After a long time, she slowly raised her head, smiled at the boy, opened her mouth to eat the piece of meat, and grinned as she chewed.

"Yue'er, is it delicious?" The child's eyes are bright, like bright stars in the sky.

Chu Qiao nodded vigorously, his throat was very blocked, and his voice was choked, "It's delicious, the best thing I've ever eaten in my life is this piece of meat." ”

"Fool." The boy reached out and touched her head, with a slight sadness on his expression, and said, "How old are you, you can say things like this all your life." Don't talk about the future, let's just say how many delicacies we ate when we were young, you were still young at that time, maybe you can't remember. But don't worry, one day in the future, the fifth brother will let you be fed and clothed, and bring you all the good things in this world to eat, not only braised pork, but also ginseng, abalone, bird's nest, shark fin, elephant pull, you can have everything. At that time, no one will want to bully us again, Yue'er, do you believe Fifth Brother? ”

Chu Qiao nodded, lowered his head and tried hard to pull all the rice into his mouth, the taste was bitter, but it was so warm.

"Yue'er, don't be afraid." The boy took off his coat and draped it over Chu Qiao's shoulders, his voice was immature, but he said firmly word by word, "Fifth brother will protect you, I am here to accompany you, don't be afraid." ”

The moonlight is miserable, the light and shadow move, shining through the gap in the firewood room, shaking out a large white light, like frost under the moonlight, the two children's small bodies are close together, so small, but so warm.

The lights are boiling in the distance, the silk and bamboo are playing, the taste of wine and meat is melodious, and the Zhenhuang City, which never sleeps, finally ushered in the climax of the grand dinner. Under the brilliant lights, no one remembered the girl who had survived the hunting ground today, and the cold wind howled, rolling the flame flag of Great Xia into the hunt and flying.

When he woke up on the second day, the boy had already left, and there was a row of beautiful small characters written on the ground: Fifth brother will come back in the evening, and there will be steamed buns under the firewood.

Chu Qiao picked up the dead branches in the corner and saw two yellowed steamed buns wrapped in a piece of oiled paper. She held them, her face calm, but her eyes grew gentle.

After three days of neglect, the boy would come to her every night with food, and then quietly leave the next day. On the third day, the door of the firewood room was opened with a bang, and Zhu Shun condescendingly looked at Chu Qiao, who was still alive after three days in the firewood room, his brows furrowed more and more, and finally, he ordered someone to let her out.

The moment he stepped out of the firewood room, Chu Qiao stood at the door, took one last look at the dilapidated house, the corners of his mouth pursed, and then resolutely turned his head.

The further she went, the more dilapidated the house became, and everywhere she could see a large group of children carefully hiding behind the branch corridor, secretly watching her. After walking to a small courtyard, as soon as the steward's subordinates left, a large group of children suddenly rushed up and immediately hugged her.

"Little Liu, you're back."

"Sixth sister, we thought you wouldn't come back."

"Sister Yue'er, woo ......"

The children screamed and cried unabashedly, Chu Qiao was startled, and for a while he could only be stunned in place and surrounded by them, enduring the tears and snot of this group of little radish heads.

"Alright, don't cry."

A male voice suddenly sounded, and the children turned their heads and immediately shouted happily: "Fifth brother! ”

The boy ran in from outside, holding a cloth bag, and just ran two steps, when all the noise was scattered on the ground, and it turned out to be a bag of melon seeds. The children immediately cheered, let go of Chu Qiao, and ran forward.

"Don't rob, everyone has it." The boy looked like an adult and said, "Yue'er just escaped death and was seriously injured, everyone should not quarrel with her, everyone has to help her do her work these days." ”

The children nodded again and again, and a girl with two small braids raised her white and tender face, and said with a smile: "Fifth brother, don't worry, we will help the sixth sister." ”

The boy said, "Xiao Qi, are your injuries healed?" How did you get out of bed? ”

"Fifth brother, it's all right." The child smiled and looked up, stretched out his hand and rolled up his sleeves, only to see that the bruises and purples on it were all whip marks, and the skin and flesh had been turned over in some places, and had not yet completely healed. Xiao Qi smiled and said: "The medicine you brought is very useful, it won't hurt if you apply it, Xiao Hachi was kicked by the wind when she was feeding the horse yesterday and injured her waist, I have to help her." ”

"Pity, come in, I have something to tell you." A little girl suddenly stepped forward and took the boy's hand.

The boy looked back at Chu Qiao and said, "Yue'er, it's windy outside, you can come in too." ”

In the dilapidated and low room, there is a large kang with more than ten sets of bedding neatly placed on it. The boy named Lin Xi said, "Sister Juxiang, what's the matter? ”

Ju Xiang is not very old, ten years old, she squatted down, opened the dark kang hole, and took out a small box, "In five days, it is the death day of my father, mother and uncle, and we are ready for the incense candles and paper money that you want us to prepare secretly." ”

Lin Xi nodded, "Be careful, don't be found out by the steward." ”

"Well, don't worry, no one will come to our side. It's you, be careful when serving by the side of the fourth young master. The day before yesterday, I heard Si Tao in the Huanyi room say that the third young master's room killed two more companions. Although the fourth young master is not like the third young master, he has a strange temperament and is unpredictable. The old man is not at home, and the young master Huai doesn't care about the affairs of the inner house, they are becoming more and more unscrupulous, the old lady killed more than 20 little female slaves last month, and the Du family, which was bought with us, is extinct, I am really worried that one day it will be our turn. ”