When Lu Shaodan came to look for Ye Qiong, it was already the right time.

Ye Qiong received the news that Lu Shaodan was coming to visit very early, and sent the maid who was keeping vigil early without waiting, and as soon as the time came, she heard someone knocking three times on the wooden window of the wing, and opened the window to see that it was Lu Shaodan.

"Come in, just go through the window, it's too eye-catching to walk through the door, and you don't know that you're a thief." Ye Qiong smiled and gave way to the position, and Lu Shaodan supported his hands lightly and turned into the house.

According to etiquette, men and women do not sit at the same table at the age of seven, and when they grew up together when they were young, Lu Shaodan often went in and out of Ye Qiong's boudoir, and even if he occasionally visited privately, he just came and went in a hurry and didn't dare to stay longer.

It was really the first time that Ye Qiong was invited to sneak in through the window like this.

If it weren't for the fact that both of them had important things to say, even the most loyal maids around Ye Qiong would not be easy to hear, and they would not have taken such a big risk to meet in private at night.

In order to hide from those maids, Ye Qiong spread her hair in a bun and changed into her bedclothes, holding the candlestick and leading Lu Shaodan to the small table in her boudoir and sitting opposite him.

As the saying goes, looking at a gentleman under the moon, looking at a beauty under the lamp, Ye Qiong, who is dressed up before going to bed, has a different kind of beauty of clear water hibiscus, Lu Shaodan only glanced at it and felt a palpitation in his heart, and hurriedly turned his eyes away and lowered his head to drink tea.

Ye Qiong was ignorant and took the lead in asking, "You came here to tell me about the Xie family's Beijing suburb courtyard, right?" ”

At yesterday's court meeting, Xie Yongyan took off his hat and asked for resignation for his son's crime, and was repeatedly retained by His Majesty, and there was a lot of uproar in the capital, but what crime Xie Maoshi really committed, there were different opinions in the market, and even Lu Chunwang couldn't tell the truth of the news.

Only Ye Qiong knew in her heart that if a high-ranking cabinet minister like Xie Yongyan could take off his hat and ask for guilt, it would mean that the Xie family had committed a big crime. And the only thing that can be linked to such a big crime recently is probably the news that Lu Shaodan sent to the Wen family, about the Xie family's private brothel.

Lu Shaodan bowed his head and said, "The person you said who died in that courtyard is the youngest grandson of Yongyibo, who has been favored since childhood. Yongyi Bo knew about the Xie family's courtyard, and heard that his little grandson died in the courtyard for unknown reasons, so he united with the Wen family who took the initiative to extend his hand to him on the same day, and poked out the matter of the Xie family's private brothel at the court meeting. ”

Ye Qiong's expression was a little unnatural, his eyes blinked, and he seemed to see the drunkard with a bloody hole in his neck again, and he threw himself with a cruel smile, and he didn't speak for a long time.

It wasn't until the lights exploded that Ye Qiong suddenly came to her senses, and when she looked up, she saw Lu Shaodan looking at herself intently, her face unbearable.

Ye Qiong was a little embarrassed and said, "What are you looking at?" ”

Lu Shaodan didn't answer the question, and slowly talked about his past: "The first time I killed someone was when I was ten years old. ”

"Ten?" Ye Qiong covered her mouth in surprise, her heart tightening.

No wonder the princess of Nanping County let herself take care of Lu Shaodan more, and when she was ten years old, she killed someone with her own hands, and Lu Shaodan was far more burdened than she thought.

"Yes, it's ten." Lu Shaodan said, looking reminiscing, "You should know that every year I will be away from the capital for about two months, and Master Cui will take me around the world at that time. That time, there was a sudden snowstorm on the road, and Master Cui and I were in a hurry to rest in a ruined temple, and after a while, two more people came, saying that the snow was too big to hide from the snow. Seeing that they had no malicious intent, I asked Master Cui to keep them. ”

Ye Qiong could already vaguely guess what was going on, but she was still fascinated by it.

Lu Shaodan continued: "The snow howled all night, and I heard someone outside the door asking for help, so I begged Master Cui to go out and have a look. It turned out that there were long knives in the baggage they carried, and seeing that there were only two of them, Master Cui and I, I didn't look like a commoner's child, so I moved my evil heart. Master Cui didn't return for a long time, and only me, who was only ten years old, faced the two of them. ”

Ye Qiong only felt that her body was also cold, as if she saw that in the wind and snow, ten-year-old Lu Shaodan stood in front of the thief who was half a body taller than him, holding a long knife, with a resolute gaze.

It's not that you don't be afraid, but there is no time and room for fear, once you show a flaw because of fear, you will die in an instant, and you can only fight for your life.

Lu Shaodan lowered his eyes and took a sip of tea, and continued: "Those two thieves have never learned martial arts, and they are actually not my opponents at all. But in that battle, I was still so frightened that I was even cut in the shoulder, and when I was really inspired to be bloody, and plunged the long knife into their chest, I felt as if something had suddenly changed in my body. When I looked up, Master Cui was standing by the door looking at me with relief, it turned out that he had already discovered that there was something wrong with those two merchants, and it was just a test for me. ”

Speaking of this, Lu Shaodan looked at Ye Qiong with undisguised appreciation in his eyes: "Ye Qiong, I went to see that corpse with my own eyes." At such a critical juncture, you are braver and more resolute than me, you have done a good job, you don't have to look back, it is the person who wants to hurt you, it is he who takes the blame and deserves it. ”

Ye Qiong's throat was stalked, and a thousand words were blocked in her chest, and there was only a soft "thank you" in the end.

The meaning behind the words, they have been friends for a long time, and there is no need to mention it.

"Alright, after the story, let's get back to the point." Lu Shaodan said with a smile, "After all, Xie Yongyan has been a cabinet minister for so many years, and he has also made great contributions, and he is also one of the few people who has taken the right place in the previous dynasty to His Majesty. Besides, I heard that there are many officials in that courtyard, and if His Majesty keeps holding on to it, it will slap many people in the court in the face. His Majesty said that for the sake of Xie Maoshi's serious injury, he would no longer be punished with rods and imprisonment according to the law, but only raided Xie Maoshi's mansion and took away his official position and never hired him, and asked Xie Yongyan to go back to his house to rest for a few months and sort out family affairs before returning to the court. ”

Emperor Shunhe's punishment of Xie Maoshi was already quite light, according to the law of Da Liang, officials and private brothels will be punished with eighty rods and one month's imprisonment, and they will be removed from their official positions and never hired.

Ye Qiong said keenly: "Above the court, if you go down, there will be new people coming up." I remember that Li Guangji, the first assistant to the cabinet, is about to beg for bones, and if there is Xie Yongyan, I am afraid that there will be a big change in the cabinet. ”

Lu Shaodan's eyes flashed with surprise, and he asked rhetorically: "I didn't know, you have a lot of insights into the affairs of the court?" ”

Lu Shaodan just asked casually, but Ye Qiong secretly regretted his words.

In his previous life, because of the in-laws of the Wen family and the Xie family, Li Guangji's preferred cabinet chief assistant was Xie Yongyan. In his previous life, Xie Yongyan was also the chief examiner of next year's spring festival, and he had accumulated a lot of prestige in Shilin, and soon after that, he became the first assistant of the cabinet, and since then it has been smooth sailing, and his son Xie Maoshi is the same.

These are all cognitions of the previous life, and the situation in this life is very different, and you have to guard against letting people know that she is reborn and returning, but you can't say it casually.

Thinking of this, Ye Qiong smiled and said: "After all, my eldest uncle has been a servant of the Lu Department, and my master is still Mr. Zou, I know something, and it's not strange." ”

Lu Shaodan's eyes flashed, and he didn't believe Ye Qiong's statement in his heart.

He grew up with Ye Qiong, how could he not know how many catties and taels her eldest uncle had, although her eldest uncle was a household servant and could barely participate in the court meeting, but he was still far from knowing the affairs between the cabinet and analyzing them. When Mr. Zou served as Ye Qiong's master, Lu Shaodan also checked his details, and knew that Mr. Zou was free and easy but cautious, even if he discussed with students, he would not let the topic involve the affairs of the court.

So, where did Ye Qiong know about these news, did she rely on reasoning?

Lu Shaodan decided not to think about it.

Ye Qiong is Ye Qiong, even if she hides something from him, it is her own choice, and she will not harm herself.

As if sensing the stagnation of the atmosphere, Ye Qiong changed the topic and said, "By the way, I also want to ask you to protect someone for me." ”

Lu Shaodan straightened up and said, "You say." ”

Ye Qiong took out the painting she painted, the painting was a graceful and colorful woman, with a faint charm between her eyebrows, it was the prostitute who Ye Qiong had seen in the courtyard that day who was good at talking about playing the kite, Ye Qiong said: "This woman I saw in the courtyard, she seems to be good at playing the kite, and she has seen me with her maid, she should remember my face." If she hadn't shown me the way that day, I wouldn't have been able to escape. If you can, can you help me save her? ”

Lu Shaodan looked at the painting, but said something else: "I heard that you painted a strange painting at the snow banquet in Xie Mansion?" ”

Ye Qiong was stunned for a moment, not knowing why Lu Shaodan suddenly turned the topic here, so he nodded and said, "Yes, what do you ask it for?" ”

Lu Shaodan smiled a little scoundrel: "Give it to me, and I'll help you do it." ”

When Ye Qiong heard this, she got up and took out the framed painting from the box containing the calligraphy and paintings, opened it and put it in front of Lu Shaodan, and said, "Oh, you can see it for yourself." If you like it, just ask me directly, and don't have to make it a condition. ”

Lu Shaodan looked at the soldier in the painting, dreaming of blowing the horn and camping the company camp and hunting with flags, but lying down in the snow in despair, a little stunned, and his eyes seemed to see far away.

Ye Qiong was slightly surprised, stretched out his hand and shook it in front of him, Lu Shaodan came back to his senses, pointed to the war horse on the painting and said: "This horse is wrong, the tail of the military horse should be erected and knotted, so as not to get entangled in the rope when charging, or block the sight of future generations." ”

Ye Qiong was taken aback, she didn't expect this war horse to be so exquisite, and she didn't expect that Lu Shaodan would actually know these things.

Could it be that Lu Shaodan's first time entering the barracks was not fifteen years old as everyone said in his previous life?

Ye Qiong didn't ask more, and said, "Okay, I'll change a few strokes and give it to you." ”

Speaking of War Horse and Lu Shaodan's experience in his previous life, Ye Qiong remembered some news again, and said in a low voice: "If you help me save people, I will always give you some corresponding rewards." You have already told me that you are a person from the Zhenguo Mansion, and the Zhenguo Mansion is a family heirloom with military merits, and sooner or later you will have to reveal your identity and go back, without military merits, how can you gain a foothold in the Zhenguo Mansion? ”

Lu Shaodan's expression froze, she didn't expect Ye Qiong to analyze the situation for her like this, her heart was warm, and she said, "What do you mean?" ”

Ye Qiong smiled confidently: "In my opinion, you might as well set your sights on the north." In this year's autumn flood, it was not only the Daliang territory that was affected, but also Gu Congyan said that the disaster in Beiyan was also serious, and a lot of cattle and sheep were lost. The weather is good now, if it is colder, the Beiyan people have no cattle and sheep to spend the winter, and they are bound to go south to plunder, once it starts, this war will not be able to stop casually. ”

Lu Shaodan's eyes lit up, and he solemnly thanked Ye Qiong.

It was getting late, the business was over, Lu Shaodan didn't want to stay, so he got up and said goodbye, took out a purse from his sleeve before leaving, and said: "This is what my mother asked me to give you, and your affairs can't be hidden from my mother, so she made this sachet and gave it to you, and put some soothing medicinal materials in it." ”

Ye Qiong took the sachet, and when she saw that Lu Shaodan was still reluctant to leave, she asked again, "Is there anything else?" ”

Lu Shaodan opened his mouth, his ears were red, and finally said that it was okay, and he slipped out of the window.

It's strange, when it comes to really facing Ye Qiong, why can't you say the invitation to ask her to go to the Shangyuan Lantern Festival?

Ye Qiong stayed where she was, confused, hung the sachet on the bed curtain, and had a good night's sleep.

……………………

In Xie Yongyan's house, Xie Maoshi's own house was taken back, and he moved back to the ancestral house of the Xie family in the capital.

At this moment, Xie Yongyan was lying on the bed with a pale face, and Luo Xian was carefully blowing the medicine to Xie Maoshi's mouth with a cold hand, but he pushed it and smashed the medicine bowl.

Luo Yang lowered his head, disdain and schadenfreude flashing across his face.

At this time, Xie Yongyan walked in with a straight face and said, "What are you making a fuss about, you don't even take medicine, who are you going to show your face?" ”

Xie Maoshi snorted coldly and glared at Xie Yongyan with red eyes.

Xie Yongyan looked at Xie Maoshi like this, his expression eased, and said, "Dad can't help it, if you don't sacrifice you, do you want the entire Xie family to be buried for that brothel?" Since you are injured and you can rest well after resigning from your official position, you don't want to think about it, you still have a Xuanjie, Xuanjie is smart, I will take him with me to raise him personally in the future. ”

Xie Maoshi didn't say a word, as if he hadn't heard Xie Yongyan's words, but he was indignant in his heart.

Obviously, the brothel was his father's idea, and the entire Xie family was involved, but because he was now crippled, it was all pushed on his head.

Father just saw that his chess piece was useless, so he used it in the end!

Xie Yongyan looked at Xie Maoshi, and asked his subordinates to bring up a box containing a branch of American ginseng, and he said with a warning: "Look at this American ginseng, your eldest brother in Jiangnan specially bought it from a foreign businessman, and transported it all the way into the capital to replenish your body." Your eldest brother is such a filial person. ”

Xie Yongyan is Xie Yongyan's second son, and there is an eldest brother in front of him, who is being released to Jiangnan as an official.

Xie Maoshi's eyebrows trembled, but he still didn't speak, Xie Yongyan saw that he didn't eat firewood, so he snorted coldly and shook his sleeves and left.

As soon as Xie Yongyan's front foot stepped out of the hospital, Xie Maoshi bounced up from the bed, regardless of the injuries on his body, he threw everything he could fall, and said hatefully: "Abandoned son, I am already an abandoned child......