Under a tree on the east side of the building. On the mahogany couch leaned a slender man, loose robe, with a slight water mark on his shoulders, and damp black hair, scattered on the backrest, two steps on the side of the couch spread a white blanket, on which sat a girl of twelve or thirteen years old in green, each holding a scroll in his hand, there was no communication, but there was a kind of tranquility flowing between them.

In the flower hall leading to the small building, Ah Sheng squatted on the ground, cutting the crispy yellow barbecue meat in the copper basin with a knife, and at the same time stood on its side, tilting his neck and pecking at the feather Yinxiao, muttering in a low voice:

"If you don't eat enough in the morning, you have to add food at this time, you kid has to eat a few meals a day, there are still many problems, it's really a toss, I knew that it was better to let you stay in the other courtyard, and now I want to serve you..."

Yinxiao heard his complaints. It just grunted twice in response, and then continued to comb its smooth feathers.

Yi Yu turned the last page of the scroll in her hand, recalling the plot of the story, reached out to the tea table on the side and poured a cup of tea to moisten her throat, the other side of the tea case was the soft couch where Li Tai was lying, she drank the tea, and peeked at Li Tai's side face, as well as his long undried hair.

Looking at it this way, the white fingers holding the teacup seem to have a silky touch that will not have time to dissipate, and suddenly remember that in the cottage in the mountain village when she was a child, the simple stove room, the fire is boiling hot water, she is small and she sits in a shallow wooden basin, with a cool feeling on her shoulders, Lu Shi gently shampoos her hair, the rough bath beans have an astringent taste, but it is a very comfortable taste in memory.

At this moment, Li Tai, who was especially damp on his body, although his facial lines still rarely changed, but in the eyes of Yu Yu, there was a slight relaxation.

Sensing her gaze that she had forgotten to hide for a while, Li Tai did not look back, but turned the pages of the book and whispered, "Pour a cup of tea." ”

"Uh-oh."

Finding that his gaze was still on the book in his hand, Yi Yu was a little less embarrassed, removed the teacup that had long been empty on his lips, took another clean celadon teacup on the tea table, and knelt down after pouring it full. Passed over through the tea case.

She raised her glass with both hands, only to realize that her behavior was inappropriate, and just as she was about to stand up, a large hand reached over and took the teacup from her hand.

Yi Yu watched him drink the tea in a few sips, and looked at the empty cup he handed back in his hand, and couldn't help but show a relaxed smile on his face.

The two days she lived in Xiaolou made her have a great change in her opinion of Li Tai, compared to the royal descendants of Gaoyang and Chengyang, Li Tai, who is in a high position, is surprisingly easy to get along with her.

He will not lose his temper inexplicably, nor will he deliberately use his status to oppress people, although his words are accompanied by a tone that is accustomed to giving orders, but people can't feel his arrogance and contempt, even at the beginning, the depressed feeling that makes Yu Yu uncomfortable seems to have become like nothing because of adaptation, except for talking less and treating people coldly, such a prince almost makes people unable to find the shortcomings in his behavior.

"Done?"

Yu Yu raised his head and met Li Tai's different pupils. Nodding, "Well, I'm done." ”

Li Tai closed the scroll in his hand and handed it to her, "On the shelf, count the sixth book from the left in the fifth row, and the thirteenth book from the right in the second row, go and get it." ”

Yi Yu took the scroll, got up and put on the shoes on the blanket, went to the study and put the book in his hand on the desk first, and curiously glanced at the title of the book on the cover - "The Biography of the Zuo Family in the Spring and Autumn Period", which is similar to the layout of the textbook issued by the Guozi Prison, which made her a little puzzled, Li Tai should have read the Thirteen Classics a long time ago, what are you doing with this at this time?

She turned around to the bookshelf and smoked the two books that Li Tai had asked for just now - "The Biography of Liang in the Spring and Autumn Period" and "Miscellaneous Conversations on the Book Mountain", and when she saw another volume of Spring and Autumn, she suppressed the doubts in her heart and returned to the courtyard.

Li Tai looked at the two books handed to him, and only took the following Spring and Autumn book, and Yu Yu knew that the miscellaneous talk was for her, so she didn't ask much, so she took off her shoes again and sat down on the velvet carpet.

***

Ah Wu was thirteen years old, slender, not tall, and his complexion was the same as that of most people he had ever seen, with a sickly hunger, and he had three older brothers, and a younger brother who was two years younger than him, so it was counted. He should be Ah Si, but the father of the brothers once said that Ah Wu originally had a sister.

Ah Wu's father died three years ago, in the middle of the barren fields, and when he died in the ploughing field, the brothers dug a grave under the low hill near their thatched hut and buried their father.

After the death of Ah Wu's father, the soldiers who took care of their family took away a piece of their family's best growing land, and the second brother was angry and quarreled with those soldiers and bandits, and the last leg was broken.

Ah Wu's eldest brother, who once secretly hid the grain harvested in the field, was found out by the soldiers, fell on the mountain, poured rain for three days, and when he put it down, he became dumb.

When Ah Wu was six years old, he knew that the most terrible thing was to be hungry, when Ah Wu was eight years old, he understood what the court was, what a prisoner was, and what exile was, and when Ah Wu was twelve years old, he understood how their family had fallen into this desolate land. When Ah Wu was thirteen years old, a second choice finally appeared on the road of life.

On a dark night, Ah Wu and his brothers were driven away from the barren fields where they had grown for ten years by a simple horse-drawn carriage, and they traveled for ten days in a row, passing through poor towns, neat villages, and winding mountains and forests, and finally stopped at a dilapidated courtyard in the suburbs.

Ah Wu and they were led into this courtyard, where the door was dilapidated and the wall skin was peeling, and they walked through the hallway. Step over the fallen leaves and walk into a room with a backdrop.

There were some cobwebs tangled in the corridor, and there was a screeching sound when the door was opened, Ah Wu helped the second brother in a little cramped, although his head was drooping, his eyes couldn't stop looking around.

"Your Excellency." Ah Wu saw the big man with the cheeks who had led them all the way from the barren field and respectfully handed something to the figure sitting on the chair with his back to them under the only window in the house.

"Sizhou... Less. ”

This person's voice is very low, and his tone is very special, it is the best voice that Ah Wu, who is used to hearing the hoarse and dry voices of the homeless people around him, and the arrogant and hideous voices of the soldiers, which makes people's mood relaxed.

"Cen Pingqi, Cen Pingzhong... Cen Pingqi, "This beautiful voice called the names of the five brothers one by one, with their backs to them, the voice was not loud, but clear, "Do you know what you are doing here?" ”

The five brothers didn't dare to speak at first, but the big man who brought them with them glared at them, and Ah Wu's second brother stammered a little: "Then, that uncle said that we can go with him, and we can eat two bowls of rice every day, and we will be full." ”

It was only because of this simple and almost charity reason that the five brothers did not hesitate to leave the barren land where they had grown to this day, two bowls of rice a day, and in a slightly larger town, a slave was more than that.

"Do you know what a pariah is?"

Ah Wu's face turned surprisingly pale, and his second brother quickly replied, "I know, I know..."

Ah Wu listened to what his second brother's dying father had told them, and when he narrated it, his eyes were a little red, the eldest brother was dumb and in poor health, the second brother was lame and couldn't work, the younger brother was weak, and the burden of the family's survival was almost on him and the third brother.

After being exiled for committing a felony, depending on the severity of the crime, the direct or collateral clan members were sentenced to a lifetime ban from leaving the place of exile, and their household registration was changed to lowly status. Women who have entered the untouchable nationality are not allowed to be virtuous, and men who have entered the untouchable nationality either do not enjoy military merits in the army, or they do not take advantage of the harvest.

The barren fields are not good for harvest, and it is common for them to be unproductive, and the soldiers who take care of these untouchables are often short of their food, and when the big man does not know how to find their brother through the checkpoint, the family has been hungry for two days, and only three pancakes and a pot of water make the eldest brother make up his mind and follow him away.

The man sitting under the window was silent for a moment, and just when Ah Wu's second brother nervously thought that he had said the wrong thing, the man slowly stood up from his chair, and the glimmer of the morning peeked in through the half-open window, and he turned to face them.

"I can feed you, clothe you warmly, and stop being pariahs, are you willing?"

Ah Wu was the most daring of the five brothers, he stared at the man who turned around, the special mask of black and white flow patterns met their eyes, covering the whole face of this man, his voice was still good, but there was an indescribable temptation in it.

"Would you like to?"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Ah Wu's second brother nodded vigorously, and then the third brother, and the eldest brother who couldn't speak also nodded his decision, and Ah Wu's younger brother grabbed Ah Sheng's dirty black clothes with both hands, and asked the man in a low voice:

"Really, really?"

The man with the black and white flow-patterned mask nodded slightly, and there was a hint of seriousness in his voice, "It's true." ”

"Then, I'm willing."

Hearing Ah Wu's younger brother's answer, the man with the black and white mask moved his gaze to Ah Wu, the only one who did not answer, and asked, "You don't want to?" ”

Ah Wu hesitated for a moment, and was pinched by his eldest brother on the waist before nodding and saying, "Yes." ”

The man sighed softly, his dark eyes swept across the faces of the five of them through the holes in the mask, and waved for the cheeky man to lead them down, and the door was hidden from the outside.

There was silence in the room, and the man in the black and white mask sat back in his chair, when the curtain beside him was lifted, and a slender white figure stepped out, stood beside him, and turned to open the half-hidden window.

The two stood silent for a long time, and then the masked man said softly, "How many more?" ”

The man in white leaned on the window railing with one hand, turned back to him and gave him a reassuring smile, "Soon." ”

(One more arrives, thank you for all kinds of tickets, it's the end of the month soon, and I strongly appeal for pink tickets!) I'm really afraid of being blown up--! ）