Shuofang City is very lively in winter, there are children piling snowmen on the side of the street to have snowball fights, and on the street, because of the cold winter wind and drank a few more sips of wine in the north men are all red, around the fire, in the atmosphere of steaming wine also talk more, and strangers at the next table can talk for a long time, sip after sip of wine for themselves and each other, and talk in a tone, as if roaring at the throat. The streets of Shuofang City are now even more crowded and crowded than on milder summer days, and the whole city is full of life, a gift of winter to the land.

The lively sound made Liu Qingxue's heart even more trance-like. There has been no mourning in the Liu family's house, and even if there is a mourning, the Liu family is not a prince, and has no right to ask the people of the city to mourn and wear filial piety together. Liu Qingxue was like a lonely shadow in a lively sound, moving forward step by step.

There are many sleds and mule carts passing in and out of the streets, ruts and footprints that crush the snow in the center of the street into mud. Liu Qingxue lowered her head all the way, not asking the direction, only to see that the snow added was getting whiter and whiter, and the footprints were getting thinner.

She looked up suddenly, and she had already reached the North City Gate, and beyond that was Yawan. Liu Qingxue stopped, only to notice that there was a rustling sound of snow behind her. Liu Binyuan also dismissed his entourage and followed Liu Qingxue all the way, but Liu Qingxue didn't notice it. There are few people here, and only a row of deep and shallow footprints left by the siblings on the way to the road meander forward.

Looking at the shallow snow on the eaves, Liu Qingxue sighed: "In the early winter, my mother said that she was cured and wanted to go and see your gray-haired ape. Now, my mother has not survived this winter. ”

Liu Binyuan lowered his head and suddenly asked, "Sister...... You, are you angry with your father?"

Liu Qingxue was stunned for a moment, her face was like frost: "He didn't even see his mother's last face, so you don't blame him?" He didn't know that his mother was seriously ill, and he was in the Liu family all day long, and he didn't see him come to visit and take care of him more. ”

Liu Binyuan said in a low voice: "But what my mother said before she died...... You said yes!" I choked up a little as I spoke. When he thought about his mother's death, his sister and father did not treat each other, but they might become more and more stiff, and a home seemed more and more cold and unwarm.

Hearing Liu Binyuan's words, Liu Qingxue wanted to refute, but when she saw Liu Binyuan, who had always been willful, showing a decadent expression on his face, she couldn't bear it. Her mother's advice was still in her ears, and she sighed, the chill on her face disappeared slightly, and said, "I'll do my best." ”

She looked at the smile on Liu Binyuan's face, her heart warmed slightly, and her depressed mood also lightened a little. She turned around and said to Liu Binyuan: "You go back and rest, I'm tired of walking so far." So saying, he walked to his lodgings.

Along the way, Liu Binyuan was very quiet, and if he had to put it in normal times, he would probably be chattering endlessly. Along the way, I saw some children of the Liu family, all of whom saluted respectfully, and even comforted Liu Binyuan, thinking that they knew about the master's mother. Liu Qingxue had something on her mind and didn't speak. Liu Binyuan and his parents lived in the weeping willow house of the head of the family, watching Liu Binyuan walk back to the residence, she was alone again, and she didn't want to go back to the room to shrink, so she walked to her parents' room again, wanting to see how the future was prepared.

As she approached the porch, she found a red-lacquered coffin lying in the open space in the courtyard, but there was nothing inside, and several people stood outside the door with their heads bowed, but far away from the bedroom. After seeing Liu Qingxue, he hurriedly saluted. Liu Qingxue frowned, and was about to ask what this group of people were doing standing here in a daze, when she suddenly heard some sounds from her mother's bedroom.

She got a little closer, and she recognized it as Liu Yuelei's voice. She looked inside through the gap in the eaves of the window and found that Liu Yuelei's dark clothes were torn many times, and she could faintly see the bright red blood stains on his body. Liu Qingxue remembered what Steward Yuan said before, her father should have just returned from the Northern Wasteland, and she rushed to visit her mother without being injured, and the resentment in her heart suddenly decreased.

"Lan Yu, do you remember, when Liu Heng and I fought for you, you watched with a smile and a grin, and in the end you still let me go home...... I've been proud in front of Liu Heng's kid for a long time......"

"When Cher was born, I thought she looked like you, and we hugged and laughed all day, and after she said the first words, you were so happy that you didn't sleep all night...... And the ...... of Hama Yuan"

"Lan Yu, do you remember......

I only heard Liu Yuelei talking about some of the past as if no one was around, all kinds of things when he was young, and his voice was full of tenderness, and he couldn't hear that he was confiding in a corpse at all. Speaking of which, the voice of the head of the dignified Liu family was also a little choked.

Liu Qingxue sighed, retreated farther away, no longer eavesdropping, but also did not leave, standing in front of the people outside the porch, silently waiting for her father to come out. It wasn't until it was getting dark that Liu Yuelei appeared through the door and beckoned a few maids to go in. When he saw Liu Qingxue, he was stunned for a moment, didn't speak, and went back to the house again.

After another half an hour, Liu Yuelei came out, but he was still holding Mrs. Liu in his hand. Mrs. Liu has been bedridden since she was sick and rarely goes out, so she only wears a close-fitting nightgown, and at this time, Mrs. Liu is wearing a pale yellow robe, her hair is neatly coiled, and she is wearing some gold and silver jewelry, and her face is even smeared with rouge, which looks very graceful and luxurious.

Liu Yuelei obviously dressed up Mrs. Liu, Liu Qingxue's nose was sour, and a few tears slipped down quietly. Liu Yuelei slowly put Mrs. Liu in the coffin, waved his hand and motioned for the people to carry it out, and the remaining people in the mansion stood smartly far away, and only Liu Yuelei and Liu Qingxue were left in the courtyard.

Liu Qingxue raised her head and saw that Liu Yuelei had a haggard face and some minor injuries on his body, and finally sighed and said, "You are still here." ”

Liu Yuelei nodded slightly and said, "I'm late, I'm sorry for your mother." He saw that although Liu Qingxue's eyes were red, he was smart, and the Liu Qingxue in front of him seemed to overlap with Mrs. Liu many years ago, with similar eyebrows and eyes, and similar posture, he couldn't help but be in a trance, but his eyes gradually moistened, and everything in front of him was blurry.

Liu Qingxue naturally couldn't imagine that her father saw that she remembered the appearance of her deceased wife when she was young, and saw her father staring at her distraction, a little uncomfortable, so she turned sideways.

Liu Yuelei came back to his senses and said, "Ah, you're tired all day, let's go rest first." He hadn't said this kind of caring to Liu Qingxue for a long time, and after saying it casually at this moment, he realized that he was a little unaccustomed.

Liu Qingxue has always been bad at words, so she had to answer: "Yes." He bowed and withdrew. She hadn't had a good face for Liu Yuelei for a long time, let alone saluted. This scene of father and daughter filial piety is the first time in many years that the two of them have been filial.

Liu Yuelei naturally understood the meaning, turned his head, and said: "Your mother's mourning hall, I let people set it up in the main hall, you ...... You can check it out. Liu Qingxue stopped, and then Liu Yuelei heard a gentle response, and then the footsteps faded away.

It wasn't until he couldn't hear Liu Qingxue's footsteps that Liu Yuelei reached out and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. A servant woman came out of the inner room, beckoned to light the lights in the house, and stepped forward and said, "Master, do you need to call a doctor to bandage you?" Liu Yuelei nodded lightly, and suddenly thought of something, and said, "Call Mr. Chen to see me." ”

The servant woman answered and beckoned a servant to go. Soon I heard footsteps outside the door again, but it was not the doctor who came first, but Chen Ye.

He came so quickly, even Liu Yuelei was a little surprised, stunned for a moment, and couldn't help asking, "Hey, why did you come so fast?"

Chen Ye lowered his head and replied, "The master led the troops to rescue and ordered his subordinates to pay attention to the things in the house, so Madame...... Madame's affairs, as well as the old man and Master Heng returned to the house together, and the subordinates soon found out. Therefore, the subordinates expected that the master would summon him, so he rushed from Master Heng early to wait. ”

"Lord's Day mourning. Chen Ye said softly.

Liu Yuelei shook his head, as if throwing the miscellaneous thoughts out of his head, and asked, "How are Liu Heng and them?"

Chen Ye reacted and replied, "Master Heng's injury is very serious, although he is out of danger, he is still in a coma. The more than 400 people brought out by Master Heng this time were almost wiped out, and if he hadn't sent someone out for help in advance, the losses might have been even heavier. ”

Liu Yuelei frowned and said, "With the people we came into contact with later, they are not very many, even if they have that kind of arrow and crossbow weapon, the effect in such a dense jungle is limited, and it should not be able to severely damage Liu Heng and them." It should be that they encountered a third-party attack first, and then they were exploited by the people of Yunzhou. ”

Chen Ye nodded and said, "The old man expected it to be good, the few surviving people all said that they were first attacked by the barbarian apes in the Northern Wasteland, and then they were forced to retreat to the periphery, but they were ambushed by the group of people in Yunzhou. Thanks to the master's quick decision and support with troops, he was able to save the defeat. ”

Liu Yuelei was still sullen: "I was afraid that one or two people from Yunzhou would escape, so I took the team around in a circle to surround them, which took some more time, and also suffered Liu Heng and them, and suffered such heavy losses." How's the trial of those people we have captured?"

"They haven't let go yet, although the enemy is completely wiped out today, but for the time being, I don't know if there are any remnants of Yunzhou in the Northern Wasteland. ”

Liu Yuelei said: "No matter what, today's events can't be hidden from Yunzhou." Even if Yunzhou's power in the Northern Wasteland is uprooted by us and no one survives, Wei Zhuoxi's old guy will quickly notice that he has lost contact with the Northern Wasteland. With the strength of the Liu family alone, it can't compete with Yunzhou. ”

Chen Ye's heart froze, and he still asked, "Does the master want to ......?"

"Not bad. It's been planned long enough, and now is the right time. Do you have any suggestions?"

Chen Ye was silent for a moment, took a secret breath, and then said, "As the saying goes, the enemy of the enemy is the friend, and it is best for us to choose one of the three parties that are at war with Yunzhou." My suggestion is to go to the sea city, because compared to the other two parties, it is closer to Shuozhou and it is more convenient to negotiate. In addition, Benhai City is rich and powerful, King Chengji is an honest and reliable person, if he succeeds in forming an alliance, he will be a reliable and powerful helper, and he has severely damaged the Benhai City army, and it is said that he also killed Xiao Muyizi, so their conflict is the most direct. ”

Liu Yuelei nodded in agreement. But the most critical issue Chen Ye didn't mention, and he himself knew it, but for some reason, neither of them was willing to explain.