It has been thirteen years since the fall of the old Chen State, in order to appease the people in the south of the Yangtze River after the Sui army invaded Jiankang City, it did not carry out too much looting, so at the beginning of Jiankang City even if it changed its course and changed its owner, it still retains its original style, the building is elegant, the pagoda is solemn, and the imperial capital city is still standing proudly.

However, with the rising rebellion of the Jiangnan scholars against the rule of the Sui Dynasty, and with the rounds of local uprisings that were difficult to completely eradicate, Yang Jian, the Duke of Daxing, finally ordered the burning and razing of Jiankang City, in order to eliminate the desire of the people in Jiangnan to restore the country.

Most of the residents who originally lived in Jiankang City were forced to move to the stone town and Xizhou city in the west, and the stone city that was originally used as an acropolis was expanded a lot, and the Jiangzhou Prefecture was also set up in the city to govern the original Jiankang City area.

It's just that Jiankang City is already densely populated, even if Stone Town is expanded again and again, it still can't carry the residents from all over Jiankang City, so many people who don't have money to buy land and build houses in the city began to build houses outside the city gate.

Because the crowd of people outside the city gate is not less than that in the city, many rich people in the stone city will also buy real estate outside the city, and more businessmen with solid families have already opened a number of restaurants and goulans outside the city, you must know that the government in the city is negligent in the management of the square area outside the city, and all kinds of entertainment in the square area outside the city are readily available, and many literati and who come to Jiankang City to travel and pay their respects can not help but sigh, and the singing and dancing of the square area outside the stone city will not be inferior to that of the Shendu Sleepless City in the past.

Xu Wei took an ox cart all the way to the small good shop outside the south city gate, and after wandering around the square and inquiring around, it didn't take much effort to find the residence of Liu and Wang Liu, all because Liu was kind and diligent, and often helped the neighbors around, while Wang Liu acted flamboyantly and dressed to travel was quite eye-catching.

It was the sunset that dyed the streets and alleys in Xiaoshanfang red, and the smoke rose in the fang, and the fragrance was permeating, Xu Wei came to the door of a house without a plaque, because of its rich decoration and the simple building of Xiaoshanfang, so although there was no plaque Xu Wei could recognize it at a glance, he stood at the door of the house and knocked lightly on the knocker, and it took a while for an old woman to slowly open the door.

Xu Wei bowed his head to explain his identity and intention to the old woman, he was a soldier in the northwest crusade army of the Sui Dynasty, and Deng Yunxin, the ancestor of the Liu family, was a colleague in the army, Deng Yunxin was killed in the last battle with the West Wolf Clan, and entrusted him with his dying message and belongings before his death, asking him to bring the relics and the message back to his wife Liu.

The old woman looked up in surprise when she heard this, "The Deng Yunxin you are talking about is Young Master Deng who served as a lieutenant officer in the Jiangnan Military Mansion?" ”

"Yes, mother-in-law, do you know my brother?" Xu Wei asked.

The old woman's tears flowed down, "Why don't you recognize it, I watched him grow up, I have been in his family since I was thirteen years old, but unfortunately his family died early, and the family fell into the middle of the road, otherwise how could a scholarly family rush into the barracks, thanks to his natural divine power in the army appreciated by the general, seeing that life has changed for the better in the past few years, but in the end, alas, Yunxin is ......"

Deng Yunxin was brought up by the housekeeper and the old woman, the old woman regarded it as her own, Deng Yunxin also honored her like a filial piety to the old mother after making contributions at a young age, and now she learned the exact news that the heavens and people are separated forever, the old woman could no longer control it, and leaned against the gate and cried.

The cry soon led out other people in Wang Liu's mansion, two small servants wearing the same domestic servant's clothes came to help the old woman, Xu Wei asked if Liu was in the house now, the old woman sobbed and said that Liu and Wang stayed nearby to buy tables, chairs and other furnishings, and had not yet returned, please go home and wait first.

But it also happened that Xu Wei was just about to follow the little guy into the door to enjoy some tea and snacks in the hall, when the sound of a carriage was heard not far away, and the wind chimes hanging on the eaves of the carriage sounded crisply.

Xu Wei looked in the direction of the carriage, there were six or seven men in different clothes and weapons in front of the carriage to open the way, and behind the carriage were five people dressed as domestic servants, including men and women, the man driving the carriage was also wearing rough linen clothes, with big shoulders and wide shoulders and a strong body, as the carriage got closer and closer, the man driving the carriage also glared at Xu Wei fiercely.

The carriage slowly stopped, and a lady about thirty years old opened the silk curtain and looked at the door: "What's the matter, what are you all standing at the door?" Why is my mother-in-law still crying? ”

When the old woman saw Liu who got off the carriage, she cried even more, pointed to Xu Wei and said that Deng Yunxin was not killed in battle three years ago, but died on the battlefield this year.

When Liu heard Deng Yunxin's name, his eyes softened suddenly, but then there was a look of embarrassment on his face, because her current husband, Wang Liu, also followed from the carriage.

Wang Liu was wearing a silver-red robe with an open placket, the robe was embroidered with rich and compelling gold-edged stripes, and the blue boots were hung with jade, which was polished brightly, his figure was relatively small, fortunately he was not bloated, and the whole person was quite energetic when he wore gorgeous clothes, and Wang Liu's mouth was hung with two small black mustaches, and his eyes were shining and he looked very shrewd.

"Who is this?" Wang Liu held a string of prayer beads that looked very expensive in his hand, and a large number of Xu Weidao in indigo robes.

"She is Deng Yunxin's peer in the army, and she said that she has a last word and a relic to bring to me?" Liu is slightly taller than Wang Liu, dressed dignified and decent, and at a glance he knows that he is a person who knows how to count etiquette.

"Deng Yunxin?" Wang Liu's eyes narrowed and he wondered, "Your husband? Didn't he die in battle three years ago? ”

"Yes......" Liu Shi frowned, her expression and tone were a little cramped because she mentioned her first husband in front of Wang Liu, "At that time, the brother next door who also joined the army said that the battalion where Yun Xin was located was surrounded by the West Wolf Clan, and the whole army was wiped out, and if he hadn't died, why hadn't there been a letter in the past three years?" ”

"Mo is not a liar?" A guard next to the carriage, dressed in brown half-arm clothes with stubble on his face, was suspicious.

Xu Wei saw that the people around him didn't believe him, took out a piece of jade pendant and handed it to Liu, and said: "Madame can know this jade pendant, Brother Yunxin said that as long as you take out this jade pendant, Madam will definitely believe in my identity." ”

The jade pendant was brought to the Liu family, but Wang Liu took the first step up to take a look, "Good jade, this is a good jade." ”

Liu Shi took the jade pendant, her eyes turned red all of a sudden, and she barely held back her choked voice and said, "Yes, this is his family's ancestral jade pendant, but after all, ...... After all, he still couldn't save his life...... What the hell is going on. ”

"No hurry, no hurry." Wang Liu took the jade pendant from Liu's hand very easily, and asked the little servant in the family to bring Xu Wei into the mansion to serve with a satisfied face, "Since Brother Xu has some relationship with my wife, it is better to stay and eat some dishes, drink some thin wine, and then talk about the matter slowly." ”

Xu Wei saw that Wang was enthusiastic, and he hadn't eaten for a day, so he naturally agreed.

The house that Wang left in Xiaoshanfang looks very new, some of the halls are empty, no wonder you need to buy some furniture, the hall for wine and dinner is not far from the main hall, and outside the hall is a small garden, at this time reflecting the sunset, the flowers and plants are beautiful and pleasant.

Walking into the dining hall, the green bricks with lines on the ground are smooth and shiny, and the beautifully carved beams and pillars are eye-catching, but in the middle of the hall are some shabby round tables and benches, which seem to be a little out of place with the surrounding environment.

But Xu Wei didn't care about this, he looked at the clean hall and the vibrant green potted plants on the four corners, and had a long-lost sense of family warmth.

Xu Wei had just sat down and exchanged a few words with Wang Liu, Liu and others, and the night's meal was almost ready.

I don't know if it is a rich person like Wang Liu who pays more attention to a balanced diet, and the dinner at his house is vegetarian except for a freshly stewed duck soup, and the oil, water and taste are relatively light, which makes Xu Wei a little surprised, but after thinking about it, maybe people who are used to eating delicacies and delicacies outside will be so restrained at home, after all, even if they are the best delicacies of the mountains and seas, there will still be various problems in the body if they eat too much.

Fortunately, although the food was light, the wine was good, and there were six people sitting at the square table, in addition to Wang Liu's wife and Xu Wei, there was also an old steward in the palace and two guards hired by Wang Liu's house, one of which was the fierce coachman who drove Wang Liu's carriage at first.

After Xu Wei and a few people toasted for a while, he began to tell Liu and others some things about Deng Yunxin, most of these things also happened after Xu Wei and Deng Yunxin met, and Xu Wei was not particularly clear about the previous things.

Deng Yunxin's original Wuyi battalion was indeed surrounded and destroyed during the second full-scale invasion of the Great Sui by the West Wolf Clan, and most of the people in the camp died tragically, but Deng Yunxin did not, because of his natural divine power and quite a general's style, he was transferred to a guard army before the second full-scale invasion of the West Wolf Clan, because this guard army needs to guard the safety of the nobles who are about to go out on the expedition at all times, and the traces of the nobles are inevitably leaked, and all the generals transferred to the guards cannot contact the outside world, even if they are family members.

"Generally speaking, before joining the Guards, all generals can send letters to their families or ask their fellow villagers not to read them, and Brother Yunxin said that after receiving the appointment, he also wrote a letter to his fellow villagers in the Wuyi battalion, entrusting him to bring them back to Stone Town." Xu Wei took a sip of wine and said regretfully, "It's a pity that the heavens don't fulfill people's wishes, not long after Brother Yunxin left the Wuyi Battalion, the entire Wuyi Battalion was destroyed, and his news naturally couldn't be transmitted back." ”

The sturdy coachman rudely tore off a duck leg and stuffed it into his mouth, looked at Xu Wei Bushan and said: "Hmph, I also served as a big soldier in the Jiangnan Military Mansion for a year before, how come I have never heard of such a mysterious guard." ”

"yes, I haven't heard of it, but are there any other names?" Wang Liu took the soup bowl that Liu gave him and asked.

"This guard army was personally selected and formed by the nobles, and it is not among the twelve palace guards, nor is it a thousand cows in the palace, you may not have heard of it." Xu Wei actually didn't want to explain too much to the other people at the table, he just wanted to entrust Deng Yunxin's last words and relics, but he didn't expect that he was just greedy for a meal, which made things so troublesome.

"We've never heard of it and it has nothing to do with you, but let's talk about it first, what kind of guards are you, and which nobleman is protecting?" Another monkey-faced nurse on the table who looked a little thin asked coaxingly.

"This matter really has nothing to do with Brother Yunxin's death." Xu Wei glanced around at everyone with a smile, then put away his smile and stared at the two aggressive nurses on the table, "There is a lot involved, I hope you don't inquire about it." ”

"Okay, since it is inconvenient for Xu Gongzi to reveal, then we still won't inquire." Wang Liuyu took a leisurely sip of soup with a spoon and said, "It's just that how did the first husband of the inner man die?" ”

Seeing Wang Liu's inquiry, Liu on the side also raised her head with great concern, but perhaps because there were Wang Liu's and others at the dinner table, she quickly lowered her head again.