Summer nights are the season when songworms are active, and even though the night is deep and countless people have gone to bed, the sound of insect chirping still comes in from outside from time to time. If you are at the edge of the pond, you will hear the croaking of frogs from time to time. These movements, combined with the heat of a summer night, will always wake people from their sleep from time to time.

The pillow has been covered with a bamboo pillow mat, and the bed has also been replaced with a smooth rattan mat, however, Chen Lan, who can't fall asleep after tossing and turning, still feels uncomfortable with a dry body on his body. If it weren't for the fear of trouble, she would have wanted to get up and take a shower again. As she tried her best to slow down and turn back from the direction of the wall, she realized that the faint dancing sound that she could hear just now had suddenly disappeared. It was pitch black in the room, and she could only move her head closer, only to see his awake eyes.

"Woke you up?"

"It's none of your business, I slept lightly." Yang Jinzhou saw that Chen Lan's pretty face was close at hand, and couldn't help but reach out and gently rub her cheek twice, and said softly, "This is still at home, wake up when you are outside, and wake up immediately at the slightest disturbance." Do you feel too hot? If that's the case, let Ming'er put more ice cubes in the house. ”

"Where is so troublesome, the heart is calm and naturally cool. In this way, you sleep, I can't sleep, so go to the courtyard for a walk. ”

Seeing that Chen Lan really crossed over from him and got out of bed as he spoke, and then pulled his shoes to put on his clothes, and walked out after a while, Yang Jinzhou couldn't help but half-sit up. When he heard the sound of her and Hongluo talking softly outside, followed by the sound of Wrapping Yucui dressing, he hesitated for a moment, and finally got out of bed.

After tidying up Ling 1un's middle coat, he saw the old wound on his left chest. After taking a bath just now, Chen Lan personally applied Y ointment to his old wounds, and because of the scar that almost killed him back then, she also nagged and told herself a lot, which also made him decide to hide the experience of going to Chongming Shasuo. Heng and Zhu have already come back, why are you worrying so much?

Hongluo accompanied Chen Lan to walk a few steps in the courtyard outside, "Hearing a sound behind her, she turned her head and saw that it was Yang Jinzhou who walked out of the house, she had to remind Chen Lan softly, and then tiptoed to the side, and after a moment, it was Suo Xìn who avoided the house. Because it was a big house with seven rooms, as soon as she lifted the curtain of the West House, she heard Yun'er's low muttering from inside.

"It's so late, why do you keep making noise?"

"Loud x, is the old lady walking in the courtyard outside?"

Yun'er's voice stopped abruptly, but after a short time, there was a fluttering chuckle: "One is that it is easy to return home, and the other is that I am looking forward to waiting for Lang Jun at home day and night, what is not good to say in bed......,... Hey, "Good sister, don't you be awkward to me, can't I stop saying strange things?" This noble person's habit is different from ours, sleep, sleep, tomorrow has to get up early! ”

Although it was only thirteen, the moon in the sky was already rounding. It's only the height of summer, even in the bright moonlight, the bluestone ground seems to still have the heat of the day, and there is not much coolness. From time to time, a breeze blew, but it was blocked by all the thin clothes, and after walking around the courtyard, Chen Lan felt that the clothes of the vest were already soaked and completely attached to his body. But the hotter it gets, the more uneasy her heart becomes," and then she finally stopped.

"Uncle Quan......"

Chen Lan started to say this, and there was a sudden knocking sound outside the courtyard. She glanced at Yang Jinzhou, and when she saw that he was stunned, she immediately arrived in front of her, and opened the latch after asking. Standing outside was the sister-in-law, she was a little strange when she heard the male voice, at this time she saw that it was Yang Jinzhou who responded in person, she was startled at first, and when she saw Chen Lan behind Yang Jinzhou, she quickly lowered her head.

"It's so late, what's the matter?"

It was Yang Jinzhou who asked, and the sister-in-law was a little more restrained, and after curtsiding, she hurriedly explained: "It's called én from the outside to the second one, saying that there is an urgent matter outside, let the report come in, regardless of the lord or wife." It happened that the slave maid was on duty tonight, so she came over immediately. ”

Yang Jinzhou and Chen Lan glanced at each other, and neither of them asked what was going on. Immediately, Chen Lan said: "It's really inconvenient for me to go out and make up, you can follow your sister-in-law over for a trip, just let your sister-in-law send back any information, she has always been safe and reliable." ”

"It's fine."

Chen Lan went back to the room to get a cloak and handed it over, seeing that Yang Jinzhou followed her sister-in-law, she stood in place for a while, and finally turned around and went back to the house. With such a sound, not only did the mother-in-law who was the caretaker in the courtyard wake up, but the red snail in the house had already come out with the lamp in hand, and even Yun'er came out with her eyes and shoes to check the movement.

"What's the matter in the middle of the night? Doesn't this mean that the overall situation has been decided, and it really doesn't let people sleep! ”

Even if you look at the big picture, sometimes there will be side effects.

Chen Lan sighed in his heart, after all, he couldn't help the sweat and sticky discomfort, so he asked Hongluo to fetch water, and wiped his body after washing his face. When she entered the house, Hongluo came into the house with a fan, and said with a smile: "I don't know how long it will take for the master to go, Madame might as well sleep first, and I will fan you." ”

"No need. It's so good that you can't sleep," don't sleep with this toss." Chen Lan casually took a pillow and leaned on the bed, and then smiled, "Forget it, since you are also awake, go to bed and talk to me." I can't even close my eyes when I'm so scared. ”

Hongluo went to bed and sat next to Chen Lan as he said, but he was still holding a fan in his hand: "Madam, if you want me to say, "Usually you sleep sweetly when the master comes back, but tonight the master is back, why are you so restless?" ”

"I don't know, I always feel like I'm stuck in something, and it's very uncomfortable." Chen Lan sat there, pressing his chest and looking at the tent above his head, squinting his eyes for a while and saying a little dazed, "Just like you said, if you don't say that there should be no more major events outside, just say that Uncle Quan is back, and I should always be at ease, this time it's wrong." ”

"Ma'am, you're thinking too much." Although Hongluo has only been serving for more than a year, he knows Chen Lan's feelings very well, and at this time, he has to persuade him, "In the end", it may be too hot.

The summer in the south of the Yangtze River is not like the north, and the damp heat and humidity "make people dry and uncomfortable." Mrs. Suo Xìn went to take a bath again, and when she washed, the master would come back. ”

Since a few days ago, "the weather has suddenly been so hot that people are restless, Chen Lan has been sleeping unsteadily for several days, so at this moment, when Hongluo said this, she was naturally willing to believe it in her heart, but she shook her head and said: "No need, you have to toss people to boil water in the middle of the night, and when it is hot during the day tomorrow, they will have no gods." It's nothing big now, I'll make up for a nap during the day. Speaking of which, I really want to......,..."

Hongluo thought that Chen Lan was thinking about the summer in the capital, but he didn't know that Chen Lan frowned slightly, thinking about the air conditioner fan in that distant time and space. In the small talk of having a ride or not, time flew by minute by second, and I don't know how long it was" There was a light call from the sister-in-law outside the house. Hongluo glanced at Chen Lan, who was drowsy, and hurriedly got up and hurried out. After a while, she crept in, and she glanced at the bed, and was about to put the tent away, when she heard a voice.

"What did sister-in-law say?"

Is this still not asleep? Hongluo sighed secretly, but then bent down and sat down at the head of the bed: "Madam, the master asked my sister-in-law to say that it was Jinling Academy......,... Mrs. Ai suddenly fell into the middle of the phoenix. "X stroke!

Chen Lan turned over and sat up, and the trace of sleepiness just now was completely gone. That day, her grandmother Zhu was so angry with her third uncle Chen Ying that she suffered a stroke and lost her speech, and she even had a bad plan when she was in danger. But now how old is Mrs. Ai Song, even if she is really angry and ruined by Bī to the end of the road, how can she commit a stroke so coincidentally?

Knowing that the sister-in-law had left, Chen Lan didn't want to ask the reason for the matter, so after thinking about it, he gradually lay down again. Hongluo had also seen Mrs. Ai before, although she didn't know very well about the role she played, but she also knew a little bit. So, she thought about it, and quietly got up and quit the room, "When she went outside, she saw that Yun'er had already slept and was breathing evenly, so she didn't alarm anyone, and went straight to the west wing and knocked on it."

After a while, the én was pulled away, and it was Aunt Liu who opened the én.

Hongluo saw that the person was neatly dressed, and knew that this person woke up when he thought that he was knocking on the courtyard outside, and he bent his knees slightly and told all the reasons before, and then whispered: "I see that Mrs. is always in a bad mood tonight, and I seem to be thinking about it again after hearing the message just now, so I want to ask the two aunts to come forward to accompany them." After all, I don't understand anything about this big thing out there. ”

As soon as Aunt Liu heard the movement, she put on her clothes and got up to discuss with Aunt Yun, just now when her sister-in-law came, she was neatly dressed, so at this time, Hongluo said this, she glanced back and agreed. Cover up and follow the red snail out, and when she entered the main room, she suddenly said: "Yun'er has sharp teeth and sharp mouth, she can speak and inquire about the news, and the long dysprosium red tassel was given by the eldest princess, and her loyalty is good, but she can't match you if you are meticulous." Hongluo, a few of you are gone, you look at the right person now, you might as well train one or two well, so as to save no successor. ”

Hongluo didn't expect Aunt Liu to say this suddenly, and she was stunned for a long time and agreed. When Aunt Liu went straight into the West House, she couldn't help but stand in the bright room and be stunned, pondering what she had just said over and over again, and gradually sat down distractedly.

"Clip people."

In the room, Chen Lan, who was reclining on the bed, heard this call, raised his eyes and saw that it was Aunt Liu, so he sat up straight, and asked someone to sit down at the head of the bed with a smile. Seeing Aunt Liu's face full of concern, she knew that Hongluo must have said everything, so she sighed bluntly: "I talked to Xiao Shi about the past year before, and I was just uneasy, but now it sounds like I really said it." If Mrs. Ai is questioned by the government, she is to blame; But if there is a ghost in this disease......,......

"What's the oddity? She deserves to be killed! Madam, you are fine with everything, but you are too soft-hearted. Aunt Liu pulled up the thin silk veil, and said earnestly, "Fortunately, Mrs. is not in the palace, I think that the queen mother was because she acted upright and soft-hearted, and it was more difficult to be in the middle palace than when she was in the palace. If it weren't for the emperor's deathly protection, he would have been calculated by those concubines who played tricks. Madame is decisive in her ways, so why sigh for a damn person now? ”

Hearing Aunt Liu's natural appearance, Chen Lan unconsciously moved in his heart, and then smiled bitterly: "Aunt Liu misunderstood what I meant." She and I are not related, and the stumbling block behind her back is to kill us, so why should I worry about her life or death? Although I say that I am soft-hearted and affectionate, I am also a person who "cherishes the old and the poor, but it is not enough to pity those who deserve it!" It's just that if she dies, "others will definitely make a big fuss about it, after all, she is in Jiangnan, and many people have to call her master; If she didn't die but lost half her life, others would also say that she was angry with the current situation, "Some are fighting lawsuits; If she survived this and recovered, she herself would not have missed this opportunity to make a big splash. ”

Chen Lan said it categorically, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. After seeing and hearing too much of the messages of those dead people, she no longer felt as palpitating as she had at the beginning. Should she be glad that she has fully integrated into this era, or lament the fact that people will eventually be transformed by the environment?

However, Aunt Liu breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this, and her slightly frowning brows were completely expanded. After moving her body and getting closer, she persuaded in a low voice: "It is said that the three stinkers are Zhuge Liang, and now that the master is back, even if His Royal Highness King Jing returns to Beijing tonight, Luo Shi and Xiao Shi are still left." The situation like that in the past was gently and skillfully unraveled, not to mention the present. Besides, the master is not a person who blindly avoids being beaten, so please let go of 10,000 hearts, madam. ”

"It's not so much worrying, it's like using the same means once, twice, three times" is really boring. Chen Lan shook his head, and his words revealed a little coldness, "When someone thinks about using Jiang Eighteen's life to build momentum, I wouldn't have thought that this matter would also be my turn." In their eyes, only their own life and death matter, and other people's lives are not lives, but when the matter comes, who knows if their lives are in the hands of others? ”

"I hope this time I can directly smash Huanglong and capture the culprit."

Although Aunt Liu said this in her mouth, she knew it in her heart. Whether it is a palace fight or a party struggle, "the fall of the real brain is often too widespread, so most of the unlucky ones are x pawns." Mrs. Ai doesn't care whether she is dead or alive after the stroke, and the matter is about the end of it.

Chen Lan and Aunt Liu talked for a while, and then sent news from outside, saying that Yang Jinzhou went to Jinling with Sister Luo** Knowing that Luo Xu, who was a student of Shentong, was with her, she felt a lot more at ease, "I gradually fell asleep during the chat." But Aunt Liu never retreated like this, but put down the tent and moved a chaise longue from outside, and actually guarded it in front of the bed.

It wasn't until the second day that Yang Jinzhou returned home. asked people to send a letter to the back, and he was patient with xìn to take care of the arrears of official duties in the previous days in the front office. Most of this is clerical work, assisted by a few subordinate officials, plus he himself has a good foundation in writing, and finally it was almost cleaned up at sunset. Coincidentally, "just as he passed through the second hall of the front ya, and turned the corner of the road, he almost collided with Chen Lan."

Seeing that Chen Lan was carrying a food box behind Hongluo, he immediately understood, "On this hot day, there is a big kitchen in front of you, and you have prepared a chilled sour plum soup in the afternoon, why are you busy?" ", ", you used to go out to fight, you couldn't use fresh vegetables and vegetables, you ate too much greasy, and then you used cold astringent things, which was not good for the stomach. You don't care about your body, I still care! Chen Lan complained angrily, and seeing that Yang Jinzhou was a little embarrassed, she also took advantage of the situation. When the two of them went back together, she whispered, "Don't think that if you are healthy, you will be fine, Mr. Bi also said before, but all generals who march and fight seem to be as strong as cattle when they are young, but many hidden dangers are hidden in the body, and it is impossible to do it." ”

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Hearing this, it seemed perfunctory, Chen Lan suddenly turned his head sideways, but he felt that he looked at him, as if there was something hidden in his expression, and the words she came to her mouth and swallowed them back. When she returned to her room after accompanying him to see the Jiang family and having dinner together, she finally couldn't help asking, "How is Mrs. Ai?" ”

"Stroke aphasia. It is the same as the condition of Mrs. Hou of Yangning before. ”

Seeing Chen Lan's face full of shock, Yang Jinzhou, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, couldn't help but hook his hand and hold her: "Don't worry, something can't happen." When I came back yesterday, I went to see Her Highness King Jing at her behest and tore some things apart. Originally, I wanted her to retreat from the difficulty, but because when Xiao Shi came later, he mentioned some things to talk to you, so His Royal Highness immediately asked the dark line in the academy to raise her vigilance. As for her stroke this time, the doctor who invited him said that it was just because of a sudden fall, and when Ji Xi and I went, the Ai Shan chief did not have any radical words and deeds, but showed his discouragement, and told us that he had exhausted his heart after a series of incidents these days. So, when I came back in the morning, Ji Xi stayed there. ”

This is a concise statement, but the meaning is clear. Chen Lan thought that he would be relieved, but he still couldn't let go of the heavy feeling in his heart. Therefore, leaning on Yang Jinzhou's arms, she suddenly asked thoughtlessly, "Do you believe it?" "I don't believe it. Yang Jinzhou burst out these two words, "Sensing the movement of the person in his arms", he used a little strength to clamp the body that was about to bounce up, "When I saw her yesterday, although she was shocked and resentful, she also showed a little frightened. Moreover, when I got the news last night, I inquired that she was only in her early thirties this year, and she had always paid attention to the way of self-cultivation, and she would never suffer a stroke as Mrs. Yangning Hou was angry at the beginning. ”

"I didn't make a big fuss about it...... It's not like the style of those things that came before. ”

"It's different. And I think that Ai Shanchang's discouraged appearance is definitely not a disguise. Yang Jinzhou squinted his eyes as he spoke, and his wrinkled face under the white head appeared in front of him, and his regretful eyes appeared, and he shook his head for a long time, "Although there were rumors outside the world that Ai Shanchang didn't care about the affairs of the academy and was just a puppet, but today I saw his meticulous appearance when he fed Y in front of his wife's bed, it really didn't look like he was a little unwilling." ”

"Master, madam, Luo Shi is back."

This abrupt sound outside suddenly alarmed Chen Lan and Yang Jinzhou. Chen Lan almost subconsciously broke free, straightened up his clothes and stood up, seeing Yang Jinzhou's surprised face, she couldn't help but pull the person out of the way. When the couple arrived in the bright room, Aunt Yun, who was standing beside the én, picked up the bamboo curtain, and the next moment, Luo Xu crossed the én threshold and entered the house.

"I still come here to disturb you so late, please forgive me." Having said that, Luo Xu didn't have any embarrassed expression, and sat down on the first chair under the left of the two of them unceremoniously, ", I have been busy all day, and I didn't have anything to fill my stomach at night. Before you speak, can you find something to cushion my stomach first? I didn't think I was an outsider. Therefore, Yun'er and Changdi on the side couldn't help laughing, and even Aunt Yun couldn't help laughing. Chen Lan saw that the corners of Yang Jinzhou's mouth also moved, so he quickly ordered the two girls to go to the X kitchen to see if they had prepared supper. As soon as the people left, she suddenly said, "Okay, while they are looking for things, can Luo Shi explain the explanation?" "Chief Ai has already given me the statement of affection, and now the imperial court can finally justifiably appoint the chief and dean of Jinling Academy. After saying this, Luo Xufang leaned on the backrest for a long time, but his hands unconsciously grasped the armrest, "I also found a doctor who is light this year but has good medical skills to pretend to be an entourage and follow in, and took advantage of the unpreparedness to check Mrs. Ai's pulse, and paid attention to the situation, he said, this is not so much a stroke as X, but more likely to give Y to people." As a result, when Ai Shanchang sent me out, there were many hints, which were nothing more than saying that Mrs. Ai was seriously ill, and if there was any fault, he, as the chief of the mountain, and the husband and master, should bear everything, and asked me to write a letter to explain and plead for him. If I'm not expecting it, maybe it's him......"

Chen Lan was taken aback when he heard this: "You mean ......", "I can see the truth and falsehood." Moreover, this Ai Shanchang is famous in Jiangnan, "It is definitely not He Mingqin and other imaginary people who can be compared." And it is Mrs. Ai who presides over the overall situation, as long as he pushes everything and doesn't know anything, even a letter of resignation, most of the court will forgive him in order to appease Jiangnan, why should he stand up and bear this? If he really did this, his reputation would have been ruined, and there might be other dispositions, but Madame's life and future should be saved. Luo Xu sighed deeply as he spoke, his face revealing a little confusion, "It's just that I knew today, why bother in the first place."