Three days after Victoria's unicorn was found, Dora finally found an opportunity to take leave of absence and return home, anxious to visit her father, who was seriously ill. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

The two old nuns who were traveling with the carriage with the emblem of the Holy See of Light on the wooden edge had been chattering about the quality of the new batch of robes and fabrics of the Holy See, and Miss Dora was not at all interested in participating in such a boring discussion, and from time to time she lifted the curtain of the window and looked out, hoping that the stone statue that stood by the river and could not see clearly could appear outside the window, and that not far from that was her home.

As the sights along the road became more and more familiar, her heart slowly calmed down, and she remembered the lemon tree outside the window when she used to live at home, the honey egg roll that she wanted to eat when she was a child, and the childhood she lost.

After a long time, the carriage finally stopped, and Dora hurriedly said goodbye to the two old nuns, and did not forget to thank the grooms when she got out of the carriage, yes, she has always respected every groom, because her father Gary was a groom, and Gary drove the carriage fast and steady, and was called "Old Margary" in the carriage dealership. She raised her head to look at this five-meter-high stone statue, this statue was here a long time ago, the sun and rain had worn away her eyebrows, only a faint outline remained, she didn't know which god it was, when she was a child, she would occasionally bring her younger brother to the river to play, at that time she was so envious of the scenery on the left bank of the river.

After being stunned for a while, she came back to her senses and walked towards her house.

This block is surrounded by Jichang Street, slaughterhouses, textile women's workshops, low-class medical centers, brick houses, etc., many narrow houses are crowded together, and people come and go in all kinds of ways, it is a mixed lot, a labyrinthine network of roads, in all directions, dense, coiled with nodules. This is the place where the Wangcheng patrol team scratches their heads the most, but it is also the place where the people of Wangcheng make a living.

Dora's home was on Kiln Street, and she searched for a route in her memory, crossing the winding path to the broken door.

There was a soft knock on the door, and a tiger-headed imp poked its head out.

"Quinn. ”

"Sister——!" The little ghost cried out in surprise when he saw that it was him.

He threw himself into Dora's arms without a head, and was excited: "Sister, I miss you so much!

Dora touched his head lovingly: "I haven't seen him for so long and I still haven't grown up, are you obedient?" “

Twelve-year-old Quinn nodded vigorously: "Well, I've always been obedient, I don't believe you ask your mother, by the way, your father is very sick, you hurry in and take a look." ”

Dora entered the door, and a middle-aged woman with a sad expression came up to her, took her into her arms, and said with moist eyes: "Dora, my dear child, you have suffered. ”

Dora was in her mother's warm embrace, her nose was sore, and her tears were almost led out by this sentence, she quickly held back, now is not the time to feel nostalgic, shook her head and said: "Mother, I have not worked hard at all to serve Her Excellency the Holy Maiden in the church, she has always been very good to me, this time it has been delayed for so long because the unicorn she raised was lost, she has been very sad during this time, but fortunately, I found it the day before yesterday, and I can take the time to come back." ”

Mrs. Gary nodded, but she couldn't hold back her tears. Dora followed her mother and brother to her father's bed in the back room, although her mother had already told her in the letter, but she was still sad and frightened when she saw her father, who was as scrawny as wood lying in bed, and the weather-beaten man in front of her had fallen, and when she was a child, the figure who had been holding her in her arms with one big hand and whipping the carriage with the other hand to make the carriage run fast was now emaciated, a swarthy face was lifeless, and a thin bed was covered with a thin quilt on him, only the eyes could still reveal a little gentle light, and he knew that his daughter was back。

Dora sat on the edge of the bed and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could speak, two lines of tears finally fell.

She couldn't say the words of relief she had prepared, and said in a choked voice: "Father, you have a good rest, and I will arrange the affairs of the family." ”

Old Gary stretched out his weak right hand, stroked the tears from her face with difficulty, and nodded slightly.

Dora calls her mother and brother back to the outhouse, and she wants to find out what caused her father, who is as strong as a mountain, to become the way he is.

"Two months ago, your father was called to take charge of a car for a big man in the city, and just two days after he went there he was carried back by the guys from the car dealership, and the guys all said that he was because the car was too bumpy, and the big man's son bruised his forehead, and the big man beat your father seriously in a fit of rage. Mrs. Gary's tone was filled with grief and indignation: "Your father was too seriously injured, and as soon as he came back, he was lying in bed unconscious, I invited Dr. Walker from the infirmary to come and see, Dr. Walker said that it was not a big deal, and he also prescribed some medicine for the injury, but I don't know why the illness is getting worse and worse, and I can't even speak, I have run all over the medical halls around here, and even bought very expensive medicines, but now it's been two months, and people are getting worse and worse, so I have no choice but to write to you and ask you to come back and have a look." ”

Dora asked in a low voice, "Who the hell is that big man?"

Mrs. Gary shook her head: "The guy at the car dealer won't say anything, just say it's a man we can't afford to mess with." ”

Dora gritted her teeth: "Whoever it is, I'll find out." ”

Lady Gary took her hand: "Child, let's not think about this for now, I know that you are just a lady-in-waiting next to Her Excellency, and you can't do anything." This time, I want you to ask if you can find a noble medical center to have a look, and now there is only hope if you find a noble medical center. And then there's ......"

Mrs. Gary stopped talking, and Dora asked, "What else, Mother, tell me quickly, now it's up to me to figure out a way." ”

Mrs. Gary hesitated, looked at her and said, "Child, during this time, in order to help your father see a doctor, all the money you brought in every month has been spent, and I am ......."

Speaking of which, the already dilapidated door was violently slammed open.

A fat man dressed in rich clothes but covered in greasy greasy walked in proudly, followed by a shrewd-looking young man.

The fat man shouted loudly: "Old Gary, you are not dead yet! Today Lao Tzu is here again, hurry up and pay back the money, otherwise Lao Tzu will even take your broken house together." ”

"Who are you!How can you break into someone's house casually!" Dora scolded angrily in front of the two who came to her.

The fat man and the young man looked up and down at the girl who suddenly appeared in front of them, although it was not stunning, but it was also delicate and lovely, although she was young, her chest was already quite large, and a little time was enough to fascinate many mature beauties.

The young man at the back whispered a few words to the fat man, the fat man nodded, a lewd smile appeared, and he brushed his greasy hair: "Ouch, who did I say, I have long heard that Old Gary has a girl who is on an errand in the palace, it seems that it is you, I said girl, don't be nervous, I am a friend of your father Old Gary, and I am here to discuss something with him today." ”

Dora said with a calm face, "Did you break into a friend's house to talk about things, what are you doing here?"

Before the fat man could reply, Mrs. Gary tugged at Dora's sleeve and whispered in her ear, "He is Master Piwanse, who is in charge of the slaughterhouse, and your father has borrowed twenty-seven gold coins from him before, and has not repaid them, and has been collecting debts every day during this time. “

Twenty-seven gold coins, hearing this amount, Dora trembled in her heart, and secretly complained, her monthly salary was only eighty silver coins, which was converted into not a single gold coin, how could she really afford it. But it is impossible for such a father to borrow a large amount of money, and he is terrified that he will lose a gold coin in his arms, how can he spend so many gold coins.

Dora asked her mother in a low voice, "How can you owe so much money?"

Lady Gary's eyes darkened: "Because...... Because of thy father, he...... He gambles money. ”

Damn it!

Perhaps this is the only explanation, and it is understandable how much money you owe to it.

As if in order to match Dora's thoughts, Pivans's fat hand spread out an IOU: "Hey, hey, girl, see for yourself, this is an IOU written by your father, and you owe me a total of twenty-seven gold coins with interest, you can ask him if it's true." ”

I wish he had answered me, Dora was angry, and now that her father was lying in bed and could not speak, the creditors came to the door again.

Pi Wangsi put away the IOU, stared at Dora and grinned proudly: "Debt repayment, right, your father doesn't pay off his debts, do you want to pay it back for your father, if it's you, I may be soft-hearted and let you pay it back, and how to pay it back, we can discuss, hehehe...... Ouch!"

Pivanse snorted bitterly as she spoke, and it turned out to be Dora's younger brother Quinn who was angry when he saw this annoying big fat man molesting his most beloved sister, so he found a quick stone and threw it over, smashing his toes squarely.

Pi Wangsi sat on the ground in pain, clutching his toes, and angrily ordered the young man he had brought: "Grab that little ghost and beat him." ”

The young man threw himself at the frightened Quinn, and Dora took her brother behind her, and shouted angrily, "What are you doing? ”

The young man didn't dare to put down his hand to Dora in front of him, his eyes glanced at Pi Wangsi, who stood up again and said, "We have been here for so many days, and your family has not returned a single copper coin to me, what do you say about this matter, don't force me to even demolish this broken house." ”

"Wait a minute. Dora turned and went into the back room, and after a while came out and threw Pivance a parchment bag: "Here are two hundred and fifty pieces of silver, and we will exchange some of them for you first, and I will give you the rest in a month." ”

Pi Wangsi opened the sheepskin bag and looked inside, and threw it to the young man beside him: "One gold coin is equal to a hundred silver coins, and the amount you pay back is inevitably too little." ”

Dora said expressionlessly, "That's all I have for now, give me a month to raise it, or you won't receive any money." ”

Pi Wangsi looked at this sixteen-year-old girl with a calm face for a while, and smiled: "Okay, I'll give you a month, and after a month, if you don't see the money, you chick should listen to me obediently." Otherwise, hehe......" After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the dilapidated house of the Gary family with the shrewd young man.

Dora breathed a sigh of relief, when she proposed to her father to enter the palace at the age of ten, when she defeated her companions at the age of twelve and successfully chose to be the lady-in-waiting of Her Excellency, these were not the moments that made her so excited, this time it was really a matter of life and death.

She took out another sheepskin bag in her arms and handed it to Mrs. Gary: "Mother, I have brought five hundred silver coins this time, this is the remaining two hundred and fifty silver coins, you use them first, I will find a way about the noble medical hall and the remaining debts." ”

Mrs. Gary's tears fell again: "Son, I really hurt you. ”

Dora shook her head, not allowing herself to show her weak side, and she called Quinn to her, "Quinn, do you know what's wrong?"

Quinn was stunned, not knowing how to answer.

Dora slapped him in the face, and Quinn immediately cried.

Dora's face sank: "Don't cry, you're a boy, you don't want to cry in front of anyone, remember? This slap is a punishment for your mistakes today." ”

Quinn covered his face and held back his tears.

Dora touched his head: "My stupid brother, do you know that what you did wrong today is that in the face of a powerful enemy, you didn't estimate your strength at all, and you can only bring destruction to yourself like this." ”

Quinn choked up, "But...... They...... I want to ...... to my sister."

Dora said, "I know better than you who they are, but I want you to remember that when you don't have the strength to protect what is important to you, any protection you give is tantamount to harm." “

Quinn nodded understandingly.

After explaining a few more things to Lady Gary, Dora walked out of the house and returned to Shengluo Cathedral.

The girl walked through the bustling streets, burying her head so low that no one could see the expression on her face.