Can't wait for the coachman Hu San. Yi Yu and Lu Zhi got into Du Ruojin's carriage passing by the back door of the school dormitory and went to Cheng Mansion together.

Yi Yu entered the carriage and just sat down beside Lu Zhi, when he handed over an octagonal copper hand stove the size of two palms, and at the end of the hand stove was a fine pile cuff with silver thread trim.

"Take it." Du Ruojin saw that she didn't answer, so she spoke up.

Without waiting for the Yu Yu to move, Lu Zhi first reached out and took the hand stove, stuffed it into the cold little hand of the Yu Yu and put it on his knees, the Yu Yu said thank you, and then wrapped the hand stove with ten fingers, and the comfortable heat began to spread from the fingers, and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart when her nose was a little cold at the door of the dormitory just now:

This Du Ruojin is really a considerate person.

After the carriage moved, Lu Zhi asked, "Brother Du went to Cheng's mansion to find Master Cheng for something?" ”

After all, Du Ruojin is the husband of Guozijian, and it is unlikely that he went to Cheng's Mansion to see the injured Cheng Xiaofeng, although the two have a relationship.

Du Ruojin replied: "No, I'm just like you, I'm also going to see Xiaofeng, and the second brother was going to go." But I was taken away by my uncle after the competition just now, so I could only ask me to visit. ”

It was originally a visit on behalf of Duhe, which is also reasonable. Yi Yu knew that the uncle he mentioned in his words was one of the nine judges of the Five Academies Art Competition, Master Du, Du Ruhui's younger brother - Du Chuke, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry.

Unlike his elder brother, who maintained a neutral attitude in the Chang'an party struggle, this Lord Du held another position, which was the governor of the Wei Palace, and was obviously a supporter of Li Tai.

Lu Zhi and Du Ruojin got the second woodcut from Lu Shuqing today, and talked about the last competition the day after tomorrow.

If it is said that among the nine competitions of the five academies, the most varied questions are not the music arts that include the most variety, nor the calligraphy art of the more than 40 students who tossed around in the surrounding building for half an hour that day, but the ritual art that makes people cry out for the pain every year.

Etiquette refers to, not only a "Book of Rites", but also the ability to deal with people and people, the test questions are also based on this, not to write and paint in the Junzi Building, but according to the questions of the competition, to Chang'an City to complete the task, to see who can return to the Junzi Building first, the twists and turns in the process, just hearing is not able to understand.

Yi Yu heard Lu Zhi say that sometimes a ritual competition has to be held from morning to night to determine the winner and loser.

"Brother Du, do you still remember the etiquette competition when you were still in school last March?" Lu Zhi seemed to think of something interesting. Holding back a smile, he suddenly asked.

Seeing the helplessness on Du Ruojin's face, Yi Yu was curious, and after hearing what they said unclearly, she turned her head and asked Lu Zhi with her eyes.

Ignoring Du Ruojin's embarrassment, Lu Zhi opened his mouth and said to her:

"At that time, I was still in the four colleges, and the topic of the ritual art competition on the last day was to let the only apricot tree in Dr. Jin's house in our institute to obtain two apricots and Mrs. Jin's souvenir. He ran from the east of the city to the Jin Mansion in the west of the city, and was told that Mrs. Jin visited Mrs. Liang's house. ”

Yi Yu only listened to the beginning, then felt interesting, adjusted his sitting posture, and listened to him quietly.

"Someone turned around and went to Mrs. Liang's house, and some smart ones thought about bringing apricots first, and then the province would run again, but who knows, this apricot was picked early by Mrs. Jin a few days ago, and it was given to several good ladies in Chang'an City."

When Yi Yu heard this, he could imagine it. How depressed the students who were in reference at that time must have been.

"There are three families who have got this apricot, the nearest is Mr. Dongfang's house, and a group of people went to the house of the wine lord, and that day only Mr. Dongfang's granddaughter, Miss Dongfang Mozhu, was there——"

Halfway through Lu Zhi's speech, he couldn't help laughing, Yi Yu had already guessed that it must be something about Du Ruojin, although he was curious, he didn't dare to ask.

Du Ruojin took the expression of Yi Yu looking at Lu Zhi into his eyes, the embarrassment just now disappeared, and said softly:

"I'll talk about it later-more than ten of us arrived first, after entering the house according to etiquette, I wanted Miss Mozhu to mention the basket of apricots, Miss Mozhu was very generous and asked her subordinates to carry a basket out, but there were only ten apricots left in the basket, which was enough for a dozen of us, so Miss Mozhu proposed that we each take out a thing, as long as she was satisfied with whom, she would exchange two apricots with whom."

"Someone chose the jade pendant on his body, and someone took out the sachet in his sleeve..... But the first to change to an apricot is your eldest brother's green leaves, which are called mint, right? ”

Seeing Yi Yu nodding, he continued:

"That's it, after Miss Suezhu agreed to exchange with the four of them, only the last two apricots remained, but there was nothing satisfactory to her, and she knew that I was good at danqing, so she offered me to paint one for her, and gave me the last two apricots... How can this painting be completed in a while, I refuse. I wanted to go to the other two to try my luck, but Miss Suezhu suddenly lost her temper and said that I didn't paint for her, and I didn't give the apricots I promised to change just now. ”

Yi Yu only listened to Lu Zhi's chuckle, and he could also imagine the scene of Du Ruojin being pestered by that interesting Miss Mozhu to paint.

Accompanied by Lu Zhi's laughter, Du Ruojin sighed lightly, "At that time, there were two students from Tai Academy who were replaced by apricots, and they were holding on, I thought it would be good to let them go first, so I should go." ”

Yi Yu said in his heart, this person has a good heart, but he is also too unlucky, and if he is left like that, he must not be able to complete the competition.

Lu Zhi finally finished laughing, coughed lightly, and took over the words, "Brother Du sighed and did something, if you weren't left by Miss Mozhu, how could you be the first to complete the ritual art competition." ”

"Huh?" Yi Yu's face was surprised.

Lu Zhi explained: "Brother Du promised to help Miss Mozhu paint, so those of us who got the apricots naturally left first to look for Mrs. Jin at Mrs. Liang's house, but when we arrived at the Liang Mansion, Mrs. Jin had already left. We only went back to Dr. Jin's house when she returned home, and pounced on the air, and the next person did not know where Mrs. Jin went, we searched for Mrs. Jin all over Chang'an, until the evening failed, and then returned to the gentleman's building. ”

"I thought that no one would complete this art competition, but after everyone arrived, the Lord of the Wine Sacrifice announced that it was Brother Du who won."

Yi Yu finally couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter?" ”

"After Mrs. Jin left the Liang Mansion, she went to the Dongfang Mansion... So Brother Du had lunch there, and in the afternoon he made a portrait of Miss Mozhu. With Mrs. Jin's letter, and the last two apricots left by Miss Mozhu, I returned to the Gentleman's Mansion first, haha, and later-"

"Ahem, Brother Lu."

Lu Zhi's "later" was interrupted by Du Ruojin coughing lightly, and the unfinished Yu looked at her eldest brother.

After Lu Zhi winked at her, he smiled and said, "Okay, good, don't talk about it, what happened later is not interesting." ”

At this time, the carriage also stopped outside the door of Chengfu.

***

In the evening, Li Tai, who changed into a brocade robe, accompanied by Ah Sheng, got into a carriage parked outside the door of the secret mansion and went to the palace for a banquet.

On the carriage, Ah Sheng lightly poured tea for Li Tai, and guessed slightly: "I heard that Miss Chengfu was injured in the morning and couldn't go to the archery competition, Miss Lu made friends with her, thinking that she would stay in Chengfu for dinner at night." ”

There was a family banquet in the palace in the evening, Li Tai was supposed to go back to the Wei Palace, but in the afternoon, he took someone back to the secret house, what was it, others didn't know, but Ah Sheng knew it very well, but when it was dark, he didn't see anyone come back, and seeing that the banquet was approaching, he didn't dare to urge, but fortunately, his master still remembered that he had to attend tonight, so he didn't make him too embarrassed.

Li Tai glanced at him, did not take the tea cup he offered with both hands, and reached out to pick up a miscellaneous book on the mahogany table next to the tea case, which was the last time Yi Yu fell on the car.

The carriage turned around and reached the vicinity of the entrance of Guiyifang, slowed down, and after a few more feet, it actually stopped.

Ah Sheng asked through the curtain, "What's wrong?" ”

Li Tai was still flipping through the book. The carriage did not move because of its sudden stop.

The coachman replied respectfully: "Back to Steward Li, there are two carriages parked outside the workshop, one of which seems to be inside the house, shall we wait, or tell them to give way?" ”

This coachman is working in the Wei Palace, but he also recognizes the car dedicated to the secret house.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ah Sheng was stunned for a moment, and he heard a familiar and clear voice not far from the car:

"I'm really bothering you, I'll change this car and go back."

He subconsciously aimed at Li Tai, and heard another gentle male voice sound:

"Your eldest brother is talking about this car, didn't you admit it wrong?"

Li Tai's eyes were removed from the scroll in his hand, and under Ah Sheng's peeking glance, he stretched out his right hand to open the curtain on the wall of the car on the side, and took in the situation outside the car through the yellow lantern hanging high next to the doorway.

Not far from the gate of the fang, two carriages were parked next to each other, and outside one of the brown-red carriages, there were two figures, one slender and one long—

Du Ruojin followed behind Yu Yu and got out of the carriage, pointed to the ordinary-looking car on the side and asked her if she was wrong, after having dinner at Cheng's Mansion in the evening, Lu Zhituo, who received a short note outside the door of Cheng's Mansion, sent her to Guiyifang, and left in a hurry.

The two were no more than an arm's length apart, and Yu Yu shook his head at him with his face up, "No, thank you." ”

"Then get in the car, don't catch a cold."

Yi Yu answered, turned around and was about to leave, but he screamed, turned around again, and in Du Ruojin's puzzled gaze, his little hand poked out of his cloak, handed over the hand stove that he had been holding, and said:

"I almost forgot about that." Just a gust of wind blew and made her shrink her neck.

Du Ruojin laughed lightly, gently pushed the hand stove to her with one hand, and thoughtfully pulled the cloak on her crooked shoulders with the other hand, "Take it, give it to me tomorrow." ”

On the carriage at the other end, Li Tai squinted lightly, watching the long figure arrange the petite girl's cloak, and the big hand holding the scroll tightened, watching her get into the carriage, before retracting the hand holding the curtain and closing his eyes without saying a word.