Early in the morning, Zhang Shanlin came over with a bird cage, he stood in the yard and said in a loud voice: "Where is my eldest nephew?" ”

Zhang Li was combing his hair in the yard, and quickly put a finger to his mouth to signal him not to make a sound. Zhang Shanlin ignored his sister-in-law's meaning, and shouted to himself: "Why is Youlin so lazy, when has this happened, and he hasn't gotten up yet." Young Forest, Young Forest! So saying, he put the bird cage on the windowsill and went into the house.

Zhang Li hurriedly stopped and lowered his voice: "Ouch, uncle, you take it lightly, Youlin is still asleep." ”

Zhang Shanlin grinned, still loud: "Sister-in-law, this is all what you are used to, in the foreign school, does he dare to do this?" ”

Zhang Youlin buttoned his shirt and yawned and came out of the east room: "Uncle, what's the matter?" ”

Zhang Shanlin leaned over: "Big nephew, I'll change two birds again, you?" ”

Zhang Youlin said "um", stretched his waist, and went back. Zhang Shanlin lifted the bird cage and followed: "These two birds, hey, you mentioned ......."

Mother Zhao stood at the door and asked, "Young Master, what do you want to eat at noon?" ”

Zhang Shanlin hurriedly replied: "It's still the same as the old three, the middle section of the sauce, the tile fish, the braised chicken with winter melon, and the hemp tofu from the real four-eyed well." He thought for a moment, then added, "Plus a plate of small radish, but don't forget to put the garlic." ”

Zhang Youlin took off the handkerchief from the horizontal pole: "Uncle, you pick it up quickly, which of us wants to eat?" ”

Zhang Shanlin smiled: "Big nephew, you finally came back, I will accompany you to eat, let's also say that my two birds are ......" Zhang Youlin interrupted him: "Uncle, I can't go back for a while, the Boxers have occupied the Beiyang Normal School, and the teachers have all hid in the capital." ”

Zhang Shanlin was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed: "That's good, so that I can see Tian'er come to you......"

After Zhang Youlin finished washing up and eating breakfast, Zhang Li urged him to read a Boxer unveiling post that Li's mother picked up at the gate last night.

Zhang Youlin first swept through the ten lines at a glance, and then read word by word: "Today's fist order, the army and the people learned that the fist came to Beijing, and when it came to the second and fourth, a total of one and five, the red light in the world shone, and the fire burned bitter......ly."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'the fire burns bitterly'?" Zhang Li became alert, and Zhang Shanlin put down the tea bowl: "Sister-in-law, don't interrupt, let Youlin continue to read." ”

Zhang Youlin read again: "There is a true god in the southeast, who has sent down eight million soldiers, who can sweep away foreigners, dead bandits, who can protect the country and reassure the people, in front ......of the gate of each house, paste a charm, a foot of red cloth, and paste the ridges, and avoid fires."

"One step, one foot of cloth, can you avoid fire?" Zhang Li obviously didn't believe it, Zhang Youlin pointed to the post in his hand: "Mom, what's more, don't have three small flower needles on the red cloth, so as not to cause trouble with knives and guns......

Hearing this, Zhang Li's heart sank: There will be a disaster of swords and guns? Her mind spun into the air: what about the shop? What if it's robbed? Youlin shouldn't be involved, right? And the autumn moon, alas! This autumn moon...... Zhang Li was full of thoughts, and she almost didn't listen to what her son read later. After a long time, Zhang Li settled down, the shop was taken care of by Zhuang Huchen, and it was useless to be anxious; Youlin, you have to watch him this time, it's just Qiuyue......

Zhang Li raised his head: "Youlin, you go to see Qiuyue again, or persuade her to move over, alas, this market is messy, Qiuyue is alone, I don't worry!" ”

"Yes, Youlin, you can persuade her again." Zhang Shanlin also agreed.

"I'll go later." Zhang Youlin agreed very happily.

When they came to Qiuyue's house, the sister and brother sat at the stone table in the courtyard, the jasmine planted by Xiaoyu had already bloomed, and there was an intoxicating fragrance in the breeze. Although Qiu Yue was haggard than before, she was still beautiful, and she picked a few small white flowers and put them in Zhang Youlin's tea bowl. Zhang Youlin likes the warm feeling of being with Qiu Yue, and deep down, he longs for this warmth to accompany him for life......

"Young forest, what do you want?"

"Oh, I didn't think about anything." Zhang Youlin reiterated his mother's meaning again, but Qiu Yue still refused: "Your kind sister understands it, this is my own business, and I can't make trouble for you." Qiu Yue looked into the distance, her gaze scattered.

This is also expected, because Zhang Youlin knows Qiu Yue too well, she is a woman with a very strong heart, in addition to her beauty, kindness and talent, this also impresses him. Zhang Youlin was silent for a long time, and then plucked up the courage to say: "Sister Qiuyue, I ......" Zhang Youlin stopped, glanced back at Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu retreated with interest.

"Sister Qiuyue, I want to marry you!" Zhang Youlin stood up and looked at Qiu Yue, his eyes flashing with some kind of strange brilliance, Qiu Yue was stunned for a while.

"I'm telling the truth, as long as you agree, I won't go to study at Beiyang Normal School."

After a moment, Qiu Yue came back to her senses: "Youlin, my sister knows your thoughts, I thank you for Lord Yang!" ”

Zhang Youlin's face was flushed: "I, I really want to marry you!" ”

"My sister only has Lord Yang in her heart, and no one else will marry." Qiu Yue said, tears flowed involuntarily, and Zhang Youlin had to give up.

The wall clock on the wall rang "dang, dang", it was already ten o'clock in the evening, and Pei Ziye stood up: "Yes, I should go." ”

Erqingni sent Bei Ziye to the gate, and Bei Ziye wanted to say and stopped: "That...... What I've asked you to inquire about......"

Erqingni patted his head: "Look at my memory, I almost forgot, the foreigner who came out of the café with the girl Qiuyue that day was a diplomat from the Russian Embassy, and the young man I met later, guess who it is?" ”

"Who?" Bei Ziye seemed to be full of interest, Erqingni was mysterious, and he also leaned close to his ear: "It's the nephew of Zhang Ye who is playing with birds with us!" ”

"That's easy to do, let Steward Xu inquire about Ming'er, you can go back." Bei Ziye got on the sedan chair with satisfaction and went home.

Xu Lianchun, the housekeeper of Beizi Mansion, is in his thirties, not tall, but he is very shrewd. Xu Lianchun has been in the house since he was a child, his father is serving the old Belle Ye, and Xu Lianchun took over his father's class when he grew up. He has a liking for flowers, birds, insects and fish, and has worked hard to study, plus he has grown up in the house since he was a child, and he is well-informed, and he is also a famous player in the capital, and Zhang Shanlin is an old acquaintance.

When he went out to walk the birds this morning, Xu Lianchun deliberately turned a corner, and walked around Zhang Shanlin's house for a while, and saw Zhang Shanlin coming out of the gate with a bird cage, so he pretended to meet by chance and said hello: "Master Zhang, you are early." ”

"Steward Xu? But I haven't seen you anymore, what are you busy with these days? ”

The two walked side by side on the street, and after a few pleasantries, Xu Lianchun cut to the chase and asked about Zhang Youlin.

"Speaking of my nephew, hey, Sensei! Smart is really smart, but it's ......" Zhang Shanlin paused and lowered his tone, "It's a bit unorthodox, and the thief is bold, and he is a moth, and his mother is worried all day long for him." ”

"I heard that your nephew and the girl Qiuyue who came out of the Qinhuai River have a very unusual relationship." Xu Lianchun secretly looked at Zhang Shanlin with the rest of his eyes, Zhang Shanlin did not shy away from it: "It's not ordinary, Qiuyue's grandfather and my father are close friends, the two of them are commensurate with sisters and brothers, my nephew didn't dare to go home after doing something bad, and hid in Qiuyue's place to hide, Qiuyue really protected him!" ”

"Dare to love is such a thing." Xu Lianchun was relieved, and he leaned closer to Zhang Shanlin: "I said Master Zhang, you have to do me a favor." Xu Lianchun explained in detail what Bei Ziye meant, Zhang Shanlin felt that this was a good thing, Bei Ziye was a relative of the emperor and the country, no worse than Yang Xianji, and he was even happy that Qiuyue could have such a home, so he patted his chest and responded with a big bag.

Fanglin Garden is more than 200 miles away from the capital, at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by no people, Yang Xianji lives in a long-abandoned, dilapidated Taoist temple. At this time, the bright moon was in the sky, and the ground was sprinkled with silver moonlight, and Yang Xianji was writing in the north room with the faint light of the oil lamp. The furnishings in the room can be described as shabby, with only a table, two broken chairs, a wooden box, and a makeshift single bunk with a door panel, and a scattered pile of calligraphy banners written by Yang Xianji.

Yang Xianji's dog Rhubarb was lazily dozing on the ground, and suddenly, Rhubarb was agitated, stood up on his front legs, kicked out of the house with his hind legs, and barked at the door. Yang Xianji raised his head, and there was a knock on the door outside.

The person who came was actually Ivan, Yang Xianji was very surprised: "Why are you here?" ”

There was also a short young man standing beside Ivan, his name was Jia Er, he was born with thief eyebrows and rat eyes, he was a villager from Jia Village ten miles away from Fang Lin Yuan. Jia Er looked at Ivan: "Lord Yang, I can send it to you." Ivan handed over the silver: "Thank you." Jia Er took the silver and looked at it, but he didn't feel a burst of ecstasy in his heart, and turned around and left. He hadn't gone far before he stopped again, sneaked back quietly, peeked through the crack in the door, and then walked away quickly.

Yang Xianji let Ivan in and brought him a bowl of water, Ivan took the bowl and drank it all, looking like he was thirsty. Yang Xianji asked with concern: "It's all this time, why do you dare to leave the capital?" ”

Ivan shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands: "No way, I want to do business." When I left the capital, the situation had not deteriorated, and when I was done with my errands, I could not go back, and your army and the Boxers actually formed an alliance to block the embassy area in Dongjiaomin Lane, which is really unbelievable, and this is a violation of public international law. After a pause, Ivan continued: "The situation continues to deteriorate, the governments of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, Japan, Italy, and Austria have sent expeditionary forces to China, and they are currently on the way. ”

"And what's going on in Beijing?"

"Beijing has fallen into chaos, the Boxers have become the master of the city, it has many grassroots organizations called 'altars', but the relationship between altars is equal, no one can command anyone, no matter which government wants to negotiate with it, it is impossible, because this huge non-governmental organization does not have a unified leader, and what is even more strange is that the Boxers actually proposed to kill 'one dragon and two tigers', and 'one dragon' is the emperor. The two tigers are the prime minister, the minister of the Yamen, Prince Qing Yixuan, and the leader of the Westernization faction, Li Hongzhang, God, it's incredible! Ivan shook his head vigorously.

Yang Xianji pondered for a moment: "Mr. Ivan, how did you remember to come to me?" ”

"Miss Qiuyue spent money to buy the road card, and asked someone to send me to hide, she said that you are far away from the capital here, and it should be safe."

Yang Xianji paced a few steps in the room with his hands behind his back, and then stopped: "Is the person who sent you here just now reliable?" ”

"It should be reliable, I didn't spend a lot of money." Ivan took out the silver on his body and a letter from Qiu Yue and handed it to Yang Xianji, "This is what Qiu Yue asked me to bring to you." ”

Yang Xianji took the silver and put it on the table, but Qiu Yue's letter was held in his hand and not opened immediately. Qiu Yue's letter was carefully wrapped in a piece of pink silk, and looking at it, Yang Xianji fell into deep thought. Seeing this, Ivan stood up and walked to the side of the shop to admire Yang Xianji's calligraphy.

Yang Xianji pondered for a long time, and returned the silver and letter to Ivan: "Mr. Ivan, I have been degraded, and it is difficult to say when I will be able to turn over...... Qiu Yue is still young, so she can't just wait. ”

Ivan didn't answer: "Qiuyue is asking people everywhere in the capital, and I want you to be reinstated as soon as possible." ”

Yang Xianji shook his head: "I'm afraid it's difficult, the cases of our group of people are all approved by Lafayette." ”

"I've had someone check your case file too, alas...... It is not easy for this case to be turned over in a short period of time. ”

Yang Xianji looked at Ivan and said sincerely: "Qiuyue, I will entrust it to you!" ”

Ivan was surprised: "Why? ”

"Over the years, you have always had a lot of feelings for her, and now, you can finally realize your dream!"

"You're still alive, it's impossible, and Akizuki won't agree to it......" Ivan shook his head vigorously.

Ivan had a bumpy journey, Yang Xianji didn't have anything decent to entertain him, he only made a bowl of radish soup, and Ivan drank it with his nest head, and said "delicious" repeatedly.

Yang Xianji looked at him with a wry smile: "There is one thing I haven't figured out, you are a foreigner, since you met Qiuyue in Qinhuai River, you have always been in love with her, why is this?" ”

Ivan fell into deep thought: "It's a long story. When I was a teenager, I saw a Chinese picture of a lady in the hands of my benefactor, Father Maurice, and the woman in the painting was so beautiful and beautiful that she became the lover of my dreams. It was to find her that I came to the Great Qing Kingdom, I traveled a lot, and when I first saw Qiuyue in the Qinhuai River, I was shocked! ”

"What's wrong?" Yang Xianji felt strange.

"Qiu Yue is the woman painted on the "Lady Picture", that kind of look, that feeling, it's too similar! It was as if I had suddenly found something I loved that I had lost many years ago, and that moment was truly unforgettable! At that time, I especially wanted to bring Qiuyue back to Russia......" Ivan's eyes showed a faint sadness, "But in Qiuyue's heart, there is only you Yang Xianji!" ”

Jia Er is a gangster, his parents died when he was a child, and he only has an older brother who is five years older than him. Because he was idle on weekdays, and from time to time he did some stealing and stealing things, and his sister-in-law blew him out not long after he entered the door.

Jia Er is usually so poor that he can live for a month or two even now, Ivan paid him five taels of silver just now, which is a huge amount of money for Jia Er, he has never seen it grow so big, even if he drinks wine and eats meat every day, he can live it for a month or two. Jia Er held the silver tightly in his hand, and when he arrived in the village, he did not go back to his broken shack directly, but called open the door of his brother Jia Da's house.

The two brothers stood in the courtyard, and Jia Er couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart: "Big brother, there is a fortune!" ”

"What?" Jia Dagang woke up from his sleep and hadn't come back to his senses yet.

Jia Er leaned closer to Jia Da's ear and whispered: "There is a foreigner, just now I asked me to lead to Fanglin Garden, I guess he has a lot of silver on him!" Jia Er's eyes showed greed.

"Just one person?" Jia Da sobered up, and Jia Er nodded: "Just one." ”

After being silent for a while, Jia Da spoke, he hesitated a little: "If you really do it, it will be a matter of human life, and he is still a foreigner......"

"Big brother, why can't you think about it so much, right now, aren't you killing foreigners?"

Jia Da is different from Jia Er, he is still a little afraid of killing, Jia Er is anxious: "Do you do it or not?" ”

The word "fortune" stimulated Jia Da, and he gritted his teeth: "Then do it!" ”

Jia Erxi raised his eyebrows: "Big brother, that's right, but we can't just do it, the foreigner is tall and big, you have to greet a few more brothers, and the big yellow dog in the old Taoist temple who cares for the home has to think about how to deal with it first......"

The two discussed for a while, and then called two more villagers and hurried to Fang Lim Yuan with short knives and axes.

Yang Xianji and Ivan were still chatting, and suddenly, Rhubarb became alert, and it rushed into the courtyard and barked wildly outside the east wall. Yang Xianji followed out to take a look, found nothing, patted the rhubarb, and returned to the house.

"It's not a peaceful day!" Yang Xianji sat down across from Ivan, his words full of worry.

"Are you safe here alone, so far from the village?"

Yang Xianji looked at Ivan and replied self-deprecatingly: "I am a person who has been swept out of the house, and my home is surrounded by walls, what else is not safe?" ”

Rhubarb screamed desperately in the yard, and Yang Xianji was stunned: "In the middle of the night, there must be something!" With that, he stood up, walked to the edge of the shop, squatted down, stretched half of his body, and pushed hard, and the mechanism below made a "snap" sound, and then a stone slab was pushed open, revealing a hole.

Ivan was very surprised to see all this, Yang Xianji stood up: "Rhubarb is not right, you are a foreigner, I am not sure, this is a secret passage, you can walk along the river after you go out to the county seat." ”

"How can there be a secret passage here?" Ivan was puzzled.

"In the past, this was a Taoist temple, it used to be very rich, and it was robbed by bandits, so the Taoist chief built such a secret road to prevent accidents."

Rhubarb was circling in the yard, screaming desperately outside the wall, and a paper bag was thrown in from outside the courtyard wall, and Rhubarb jumped up and pounced.

Yang Xianji urged: "You better go down and hide first, if it's okay, I'll call you out again." Yang Xianji handed the oil lamp to Ivan and added: "Qiuyue will be entrusted to you!" ”

Ivan carefully got into the dark passage, Yang Xianji pushed the stone slab up, and moved the calligraphy banner on the bed to the stone slab to make a good disguise, at this time, there was a strange cry of rhubarb in the courtyard.

When Yang Xianji came to the door, he saw Rhubarb collapsed weakly in the center of the courtyard, bleeding from his seven orifices. Yang Xianji stepped forward quickly and exclaimed, "Rhubarb, what's wrong with you?" ”

Rhubarb stared at the pitiful eyes, stretched out his paws, and looked at Yang Xianji helplessly. At this time, Jia Da and Jia Er jumped over the wall into the courtyard, and Yang Xianji shouted: "What are you doing?" ”

Inside the tunnel, Ivan heard that something was wrong outside, and he pushed the slate desperately, but the slate had been firmly locked by the mechanism, and he tried his best, but the slate still did not move. Ivan shook his head and had to quickly leave along the dark passage.

In the courtyard, Jia second-hand held a short knife to force Yang Xianji, and he kicked the dying rhubarb: "Hey, this blood sealing throat is really effective!" ”

Jia Da ran to the gate and opened the latch, and the other two villagers also entered the courtyard.

"What about foreigners?" Jia Er asked viciously, Yang Xianji had calmed down at this time: "You guys are late, that person has already left." ”

Jia Er's face was full of suspicion: "Impossible!" As he spoke, he gestured to Jia Da, and Jia Da and a villager looked at Yang Xianji, and he himself took another villager to carefully touch the north house.

The north room was empty, and Jia Er muttered, "Did you really run away?" Just in the moonlight, suddenly, Jia Er found a bag of silver on the table and Qiuyue's letter, and he immediately pounced.

Jia Er came out of the north room with the silver and Qiuyue's letter: "Brothers, it's not in vain, where is the silver!" ”

Yang Xianji was forced by the villagers with knives and couldn't move, he shouted: "You take the silver, leave the letter for me!" ”

Jia Da grabbed the letter from Jia Xianji, and was about to throw it to Yang Xianji, but was stopped by Jia Er: "Slow! Jia Er stuffed the silver to Jia Da, grabbed the letter from Jia Da's hand, opened the silk bag, turned it over, and looked at it carefully.

Jia Da was impatient: "You can't understand, if he wants to, give it to him." ”

"No, what if there's a silver ticket hidden?"

Jia Er's mind was still on the letter, and the villager who came out of the north house approached Jia Da and whispered: "Big brother, what should I do with this person?" Jia Da stabbed Jia Er, Jia Er made a look, and motioned to kill Yang Xianji. Jia Da hesitated and didn't make a move.

Jia Er concluded that Qiuyue's letter was not a silver ticket, so he shook the pink silk of the letter again, and said to Yang Xianji: "This, I won't give it to you." As he spoke, he took the pink silk into his arms.

The villagers who forced Yang Xianji with a knife retreated to the side, Jia Er approached Yang Xianji, with a sinister smile on his face, he handed Qiuyue's letter to Yang Xianji with his left hand, followed closely, but the short knife held in his right hand came first, and stabbed Yang Xianji's right chest with a "poof".

Yang Xianji was stretching out his right hand to receive Qiu Yue's letter, when he was suddenly stabbed, he screamed, and blood immediately gushed out.

Even so, he was still struggling to snatch the letter from Qiuyue in Jia's second-hand life. Jia Eryi pushed Yang Xianji down and sneered: "The matter has been done, you can't leave a living, this is the rule......"

Jia Da and the other two villagers were stunned for a while.

The sky was already gradually white, Jia Er pushed them, the three of them woke up, and left with Jia Er in a hurry.

Yang Xianji was lying in the courtyard, blood stained a piece of land under him, and Qiu Yue's letters were scattered around him, slowly, also stained red with blood. Yang Xianji had fallen into a coma, and in a trance, the shadow of the autumn moon shook in front of his eyes, floating and drifting away......

The road is narrow, and that day Zhuang Huchen sent Erqingni to the gate of Rong Bao Zhai, and watched Erqingni get on the sedan chair: "Lord E, don't worry, I will send my men to the palace when I have prepared the goods in the past two days." ”

Zhang Shanlin walked over with a bird cage: "Shopkeeper Zhuang!" Zhuang Huchen turned around: "Boss, are you going to walk the birds?" ”

Hearing the word "owner", Erqingni poked his head out of the sedan chair, it didn't matter, he couldn't help but be stunned: "Dare to love Rong Baozhai is opened by Zhang's family?" ”

Zhuang Huchen accosted: "Lord E, do you also know Master Zhang?" Erqingni's head retracted again: "Who doesn't know Zhang Ye who plays with birds in the capital." ”

Zhang Shanlin took two steps: "Yo, my lord, are you leaving?" Erqingni beckoned through the small window in the sedan chair: "Master Zhang, see you back!" "This is good news, Erqingni thought to himself, Zhang Ye is the owner of Rong Bao Zhai, this is easy to do!

Of course, all this Zhang Shanlin is still in the dark. One morning a few days later, Zhang Shanlin was walking on a spacious avenue by the moat with a bird cage, and was walking on Xing's head with two arms thrown back and forth, when he suddenly saw Steward Xu getting off the carriage head-on, he was stunned for a moment, and then turned around and drilled into the crowd. The conscience of heaven and earth, Zhang Shanlin, who was entrusted by Steward Xu, did not help, but he was rejected as soon as he spoke to his sister-in-law. According to her sister-in-law, Miss Qiuyue is still moving around for Yang Xianji, and she has something to say, and she will not marry anyone except Lord Yang. In the end, his sister-in-law persuaded him not to worry about this kind of idle business. Zhang Shanlin had no shame to see Steward Xu again, so he had to hide.

Steward Xu is here for him, can you tell him to hide? At the next street corner, as soon as Zhang Shanlin turned out, Steward Xu stood on the steps of a shop and called him: "Master Zhang, what are you hiding?" ”

Zhang Shanlin's face was full of embarrassment, so he had to walk over hard: "No...... I didn't hide. ”

"How's it going?"

Zhang Shanlin pretended not to know: "What's the matter?" ”

Steward Xu is neither yin nor yang, and his tone is very different from last time: "Are you pretending to be stupid?" I heard Lord E-man say, you are the owner of Rong Bao Zhai, who is Lord E? That's Pei Ziye's brother! Rong Bao Zhai's large transactions are in the hands of adults, you weigh it. Steward Xu put Zhang Shanlin aside and walked the birds by himself.

Zhang Shanlin was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly caught up: "Hey! Steward Xu, dare you say that, this can't be rushed, it's supporting people! He had no choice but to lie. Steward Xu didn't stop at his feet, and still said without yin or yang: "Isn't Miss Qiuyue your Zhang family's family friend, and she still needs to be trusted?" I don't think you want to do it, do you? ”

"Don't dare, don't dare." Zhang Shanlin's head shook like a rattle, "Where can you afford to offend Master Bei, you let me for a few more days, let me ...... a few days" Zhang Shanlin thought to himself, he was really unlucky today.

Early in the morning, Kang Xiaoba sat cross-legged on the kang and played with his two "trolls", and he estimated that there should be a letter in the next two days. Kang Xiaoba's "trolls" are two ****, it was three years ago, he bought it from a British businessman named Wilson, with a caliber of 0.4 inches, a bomb capacity of 6 rounds, and an effective range of 100 meters. In 1900, the Chinese folk were undoubtedly intimidating to have a professional killer with such a weapon.

I saw Kang Xiaoba disassemble the pistol and carefully wipe each part with a soft cloth. A minion hurriedly walked in: "Eighth master, the person surnamed Huo has moved." ”

Kang Xiaoba continued to rub quietly: "Say! ”

"These days I have been staring near the Shengchang grocery store, the surname Huo has been stocking up and buying horses these days, it seems that he must be going to go far away, and then I met a young man from the Shengchang grocery store, and I heard the young man say that Huo Ye plans to set off tomorrow morning, go to the south exit, Juyongguan, Huailai, and rest in Huailai Jimingyi on the first night."

Kang Xiaoba flicked the bullet nest on *** and loaded the bullets into the bomb nest one by one: "Got it, you can go." ”

Kang Xiaoba raised his pistol for aiming and smiled coldly, his face full of murderous intent.

The next day, Kang Xiaoba came to the Yangfang area of Changping, and he aimed at a shaving shed on the side of the road, so he went in and pretended to shave his face.

The shaver shaved Kang Xiaoba's face while chatting with a waiting customer: "I said brother, have you heard?" Two days ago, there was a murder case in the box outside the Desheng Gate, a rich man surnamed Zhang, a family of five was killed, and the gold and silver in the family were also robbed. ”

"Is there anyone in the yamen?" The customer asked.

"Go, the catchers will conduct an autopsy when they arrive, and guess what? All five of them were shot to death......"

"Understood, it must have been done by Kang Xiaoba."

The shaver was a little excited: "Hey! How do you know? ”

"Kang Xiaoba's crimes have always been like this, he can kill people for a few taels of silver, and he doesn't leave a living, except for him, which robber has a 'troll'?" The customer analyzed it reasonably, and the shaver nodded: "That's right, I think he did it too, this kid is really fucking harmful, you have the ability to use a gun to do it with foreigners, how can you harm the people?" ”

The customer continued: "Hey, these days there is chaos in the capital, the Boxers first burned the church, killed the people, and then killed the red eyes, and even the court officials greeted together, and said that they wanted to kill the emperor. ”

"One day, I will catch this unreasonable thing and feed him to the dog with a thousand knives......"

Hearing this, Kang Xiaoba smiled coldly, and he tilted his head slightly: "I said that I shaved my head, have I finished shaving?" ”

The shaver unfastens the cloth: "Alright, alright......"

Kang Xiaoba stood up and asked casually, "I said two masters, do you know Kang Xiaoba?" ”

The customer sat on the stool that Kang Xiaoba had sat on just now: "Who knows this kind of bastard thing." The shaver gave him a cloth: "Yes, if I see him, I will immediately report it to the yamen and let him be caught quickly, this kind of person, hum!" Die one less one. ”

Kang Xiaoba "hehe" sneered twice: "Today Kang Baye will ask you two to be a ghost ......" He lifted his shirt like lightning, and two pistols appeared in his hand like a trick, and shouted softly: "Uncle, I am Kang Xiaoba!" ”

"Smack! Syllable! After two gunshots, the shaver and the customer were shot and fell, and Kang Xiaoba untied the shaver's apron and tied it around his waist, bent down and dragged the body away.

Zhuang Huchen sent a customer to Guang'anmen, only to see that this place was very lively, a team of Boxers, there were about 300 people, with red cloth wrapped around their heads, red belts tied around their waists, and red edges on their shoes, holding big knives in their hands, carrying spears on their shoulders, holding the banner that reads "Walking for the Heavens, Supporting the Qing Dynasty and Destroying the Ocean" to march towards the capital, the Qing soldiers guarding the city stood respectfully on both sides of the city gate, and kept shouting to the people who were watching the excitement: "Give way to the Boxers, let the way!" Lean to the side......"

Zhuang Huchen approached him and asked a Qing soldier: "Master soldier, how many are you here today?" ”

"To say the least, there are thousands."

Zhuang Huchen was confused by the formation in front of him, what kind of thing is this? He sent the customer away, went back to the shop to take a look, and went to Hufang Bridge, not far from Liulichang, to see the unveiling of the Boxers. He stopped in front of a post, only to see that it was written in black and red on it: "Return my country and return my rights, the sword mountain and the sea master dare to drill, even if the emperor is soft, he will not kill foreigners!" ”

Zhuang Huchen walked forward again, and the wall was pasted: "Kill one dragon, two tigers and three hundred sheep!" He asked a visitor next to him, "Do you know who these 'three hundred sheep' refer to?" ”

The spectator lowered his voice: "'Three Hundred Sheep' refers to ordinary Beijing officials, the Boxers said that only eighteen people among the Beijing officials can be pardoned, and the rest of the people should be like this." The spectator made a head-chopping motion.

Zhuang Huchen was frightened, and hurriedly looked around, seeing that there was no other person, then he nodded to the spectator: "You take your time." After saying that, he quickly pulled out and left.

On Liulichang Street, several Boxers came from a distance, they walked and watched, stopped in front of the door of Rong Bao Zhai, one of them read the plaque on the lintel: "Rong - Bao - Zhai." ”

Another person stepped up: "This is Rong Bao Zhai?" I heard that this shop is quite famous in the capital. ”

The senior brother waved his hand: "What we want is the paper for writing the post, whether it is famous or not, go in." ”

The Boxers entered the shop, they looked east and west, and felt that it was quite fresh, and the senior brother had a kind attitude: "Little brother, I want to write the paper for revealing the post." ”

Song Xuan hurriedly took out a stack from the counter: "Look, are there so many?" ”

"Not enough, more of it."

Song Xuan took out a large stack from the backyard: "These, is it enough?" ”

"That's enough for this time." The senior brother beckoned to the group: "Come here and take these papers away." The crowd came over and each hugged a stack of them.

Song Xuan smiled with a smile: "Your account, should you pay it off now, or ......" Before the words were finished, Zuo Ye and his minions dressed up as Boxers and swaggered into the shop.

Zuo Ye and Senior Brother exchanged their hands and greeted each other, and Song Xuan asked again: "Sir, do you pay this account now, or ...... What's the knot? Before the senior brother could answer, Chai He rushed forward: "You're tired and crooked, aren't you?" As he spoke, he shook the big blade in his hand in front of Song Xuan: "Lao Tzu is a Boxer, he risked his life to fight foreigners, and used you to break the paper, is he worthy of you, and he still wants silver?" ”

Song Xuan looked at him in horror and didn't dare to say anything.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhang Xi'er quietly slipped out, and as soon as he got out of the shop, he ran in the direction of Hufang Bridge. Halfway to meet Zhuang Huchen, Zhang Xi'er gasped: "Palm...... Shopkeeper, no, left...... Zuo Ye and the Boxers are both ...... It's all in our shop. ”

"Huh?" Zhuang Huchen was taken aback, and he hurried back. When he was about to reach the door, Zhuang Huchen stopped, calmed down, and then walked inside.

Entering the shop, Zhuang Huchen clasped his fists with both hands: "Ladies and gentlemen, you don't take good care of me, please bear with me, bear with me!" ”

Zuo Ye squinted his eyes: "Shopkeeper Zhuang, your fellow, you want to collect paper money from the Boxers." ”

Zhuang Huchen smiled: "Where can I ......" said, and then turned to the Boxer senior brother and nodded: "This 'master', the guy is not sensible, you can take care of it!" ”

The senior brother was respectfully called "the chief master", and his heart was very useful, and his tense face was loosened: "The shopkeeper, you still know how to do things, and we didn't say that we wouldn't give the silver, but this silver ......"

Zhuang Huchen waved his hand: "Hey, what silver is not silver, don't mention it, don't mention it!" ”

Zhuang Huchen sent them out like a god, wiped the sweat on his head, and hurriedly turned back to serve Zuo Ye.

Zhuang Huchen refilled the tea for Zuo Ye, and Zuo Ye rolled his eyelids: "Zhuang shopkeeper, you still do things in an authentic way, you can also sit down." ”

Zhuang Huchen sat down leaning over, speechless: "Master Zuo, are you also participating in the Boxer Rebellion?" ”

Zuo Ye picked up the tea bowl: "Shopkeeper Zhuang, do you want to participate?" ”

Zhuang Huchen smiled: "I'm not, I have to take care of the business." ”

Zuo Ye glanced back and forth at the shop: "Oh, take care of the business...... Shopkeeper Zhuang, there are so many Boxer brothers from outside, I won't say it, you know, this meal is a problem. ”

Zhuang Huchen was cautious: "I heard that those who came from outside all brought their own sticks and faces......" Zhuang Huchen was walking in a circle with Zuo Ye, and a few scattered people of the Boxers gathered at the door, shouting to come in.

Zuo Ye gave Hei San'er a look, and Hei San'er greeted them and stopped them outside.

"yes, even though they all have stick noodles, there is a time to finish eating?" Zuo Ye paused for a moment, and knocked on the table with one hand: "This foreigner, when will he be able to run away, but there is no time." ”

Zhuang Huchen's face was embarrassed: "Master Zuo, there is no input in the shop these days, and there is not much silver, can you allow me for a few days to prepare something for you?" ”

Chai He came over with a big blade: "I said the shopkeeper of Zhuang, you are toasting and not eating and drinking, what are you going to do?" ”

Zhuang Huchen hurriedly explained: "Brother, you misunderstood! ”

Zuo Ye stood up, rested one leg on the chair, and threatened: "Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi, Zhuang is the shopkeeper, you are an understanding person, and now Lao Tzu has entered the Boxer Rebellion ......"

Chai He waved the big blade in his hand, and said menacingly: "If you want to fool Zuo Ye, the guy in my hand doesn't recognize who you are!" ”

Zhuang Huchen smiled all over his face: "Master Zuo, don't worry, you can rest assured!" ”

Outside the gate of Rong Bao Zhai, Zuo Ye walked away with his minions, and Song Xuan stomped his feet angrily at their backs: "Isn't this eaten raw?" ”

Zhuang Huchen shook his head helplessly: "Alas, who let us sit on the ground and dig holes and open shops to do business." ”

Song Xuan was not convinced: "We do our duty to do business, should we be bullied by them?" ”

Zhuang Huchen didn't answer his words, but paid attention to the passers-by. On the street, I saw the scattered people of the Boxers and all kinds of idle people mixed in the flow of people, Zhuang Huchen was very uneasy, he instructed Song Xuan: "The market is not very clean today, let's go to the board as soon as possible, don't let people knock on the bamboo pole again." As he was talking, he saw Dezi's daughter-in-law holding the child in her arms from a distance, followed by several Boxers carrying large bags and small bags coming from the east, Zhuang Huchen frowned: "Bolt, go, take a handful." ”

Song Xuan greeted him and led everyone to tease the children while walking. The son of the son is more than two years old, with a pinch of hair on the top of his head, and a thin long-lived braid combed behind him.

When the daughter-in-law arrived at the door of Rong Bao Zhai, she first saluted Zhuang Huchen, and Zhuang Huchen asked: "You came, didn't you tell the son in advance?" ”

The daughter-in-law was a little shy: "I didn't have time." Zhuang Huchen pointed to everyone: "They ......"

"These are my brother's brothers in the Boxer, and my brother ordered them to send me over." Everyone hugged their fists at Zhuang Huchen, and Zhuang Huchen replied: "Everyone is tired, take a break inside." ”

The people put their burdens at the door, and the leader replied, "No, the people have arrived, and we will take our leave." ”

Dezi was pouring the inkstone in the west wing, and Song Xuan shouted when he entered the backyard: "Big guy, come out and see, who's coming!" ”

Dezi came out to take a look, first stunned, then happy, and anxious: "I said aunt, why are you here at this time?" ”

"I ...... I came with my brother, I'm afraid that you want to have a child...... "The daughter-in-law was timid, and the son was very excited when he saw his son, so he quickly hugged him and kissed him twice. The daughter-in-law coaxed the child and said, "If you are busy, we will not stay long." Dezi was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth: "It's all here, why don't you stay more or less......"

"Let's let them settle in the East House first." Zhuang Huchen commanded, and Dezi smiled: "Thank you, shopkeeper!" ”

When the camel bell rang, Huo Zhenxi and his party rode along the road, and behind them was a long group of camels and horses carrying goods. Walking side by side with Huo Zhenxi was a tall, vigorous young man, his name was Ma Wenlong, a Hui martial artist, and Huo Zhenxi's assistant. Huo Zhenxi looked at the sky: "Wenlong, tell me to the front, go faster, otherwise you won't be able to reach the Jiming Station before dark." ”

"I'll rush them right away, but ......," Ma Wenlong looked back, "I'm afraid it won't be much faster than I am, and half of the pack is pig iron, which is too heavy." ”

Huo Zhenxi sighed: "Alas, I'm in a hurry, relying on the camel team to transport pig iron, and then using pig iron to make a sword, our incident has to be delayed until the Year of the Monkey?" It's too slow. ”

"Yes, yesterday I met a team of Dong Fuxiang's armed guards along the Nanhe River, there are hundreds of people, probably to support Dongjiaomin Lane, I noticed that their weapons are all the same, and now the firearms of the official army are getting stronger and stronger, and if we continue like this, the possibility of us winning by swords is getting smaller and smaller." Ma Wenlong's words were full of worry.

"Then you have to do it to the end, after so many years of preparation, you can't stop doing it just because the guy in your hand is not as good as a person." Huo Zhenxi's attitude was resolute, and Ma Wenlong looked at him: "Big brother, before I came to Jingshi, I was entrusted by the leader to be responsible for your safety, and I hope that my eldest brother can cooperate with me." ”

"It's okay," Huo Zhenxi didn't care, "It's okay to be so chaotic in the capital, now that you have left the capital, what else can happen?" ”

"That's not sloppy, I only ask the eldest brother for one thing, no matter what I encounter on the road, I will deal with it, and the eldest brother should not take the initiative to intervene, unless I die."

"Wenlong, don't say these unlucky words." Huo Zhenxi looked ahead, Ma Wenlong was very stubborn: "No, big brother, you have to promise me!" ”

Huo Zhenxi retracted his gaze: "Okay, listen to your arrangement, this will be fine, right?" ”

"Brother Xie! The position of the eldest brother is in the middle of the line, don't go to the front of the line without my consent. ”

"I listen to you, brother!"

"I'll go to the front and take care of it." Ma Wenlong rode his horse forward.

On the side of the road in Yangfang, Changping, Kang Xiaoba, who was dressed as a shaver, was smoking with a cigarette pouch, he was waiting a little anxiously, suddenly, a camel bell sounded in the distance, Kang Xiaoba immediately stood up, knocked the cigarette pouch on the soles of his shoes, covered his face with a black masking cloth, and then walked out of the shaving shed. He stood in the middle of the road, his arms folded over his chest, and looked coldly at the approaching caravan.

Ma Wenlong, who was walking in the forefront, also spotted Kang Xiaoba, an alert light flashed in his eyes, and his right hand quickly took out two plum blossom darts from the dart bag and sandwiched them between his fingers.

The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer, and Kang Xiaoba made a stop gesture: "Which one is Huo Zhenxi?" ”

The camel team stopped, and Ma Wenlong replied first: "It's down there, is there something wrong?" ”

Kang Xiaoba smiled coldly: "It's a trivial matter, I want to borrow something from my brother......"

"I can see that I probably want to borrow my head for a use, am I right?"

"In the end, it's an old Jianghu, don't rub sand in your eyes."

Ma Wenlong said with a smile: "It's easy to say, it's easy to say, since it's a loan, you should also report a name, otherwise how can I find you when I go to Lord Yama?" ”

At this time, Huo Zhenxi, who was in the middle of the team, was just about to shout, a Hui martial artist gently "shh

Kang Xiaoba "hehe" smiled: "It's okay to say, have you heard of Jingdong Kang Baye?" ”

When Ma Wenlong heard that it was Kang Xiaoba, he was very disdainful: "Oh, you are Kang Xiaoba?" It's not a small reputation, but I heard that you always do some things like chickens and dogs, but you can't do big things, what's the matter, why doesn't the troll in your arms show up? ”

Kang Xiaoba didn't seem to care: "That's right, collect people's money and eliminate disasters for others, this is what I do for the eighth master, don't complain about me if you want to complain, who made Huo Zhenxi's head worth two thousand taels of silver?" ”

Ma Wenlong was not afraid: "Yo ho, I really didn't expect that my head is still so valuable?" So what are you waiting for? Let's shoot! ”

The two of them stopped talking, just stared into each other's eyes, and suddenly, the two shot at the same time, and Kang Xiaoba pulled out his two guns like lightning, "Smack!" Syllable! Two gunshots rang out, and Ma Wenlong struggled to throw out the darts while being shot, and the two plum blossom darts were in the shoulders of Kang Xiaoba......

After the deathly silence, with a "snap", one of Kang Xiaoba's pistols fell off his hand and fell to the ground, two bullet holes appeared in Ma Wenlong's chest, and he slowly slipped off the horse's back......

Huo Zhenxi suddenly pulled out his double hook and shouted: "Brothers, kill him!" ”

Kang Xiaoba covered his wounds and stumbled towards the shaving shed, everyone raised their weapons and pounced on Kang Xiaoba, Kang Xiaoba turned around and shot two more shots, and the two martial artists who rushed to the front were shot and fell, and the chasing people hesitated slightly and slowed down, but Kang Xiaoba took this opportunity to untie the horse tied to the shed pillar and jumped on the horse's back.

Huo Zhenxi scolded angrily and threw a double hook at Kang Xiaoba, the double hook rolled in the air and swept over Kang Xiaoba's head, Kang Xiaoba didn't care about shooting, he lowered his head and shrank up, rode his horse and fled.

Kang Xiaoba fled away in an instant, Huo Zhenxi knelt beside Ma Wenlong in despair, crying: "Wenlong, my brother ......"

The crowd found a mosque nearby and buried Ma Wenlong according to Hui etiquette.

Huo Zhenxi knelt in front of the grave for a long time, and kept muttering to himself: "Brother Wenlong, you left too hastily, big brother, I'm sorry for you, so I have to stay here for you, wronged brother......"

An entourage came over and urged: "Huo Ye, let's go, otherwise you won't be able to get to the post station tonight." Huo Zhenxi stood up: "Brother Wenlong, don't worry!" I will help you avenge your eldest brother, I will chase you to the ends of the earth, and I will cut off the enemy's head and send it to your grave, brother, you can rest assured! ”

Another attendant handed over Kang Xiaoba's left pistol: "Huo Ye, this is Kang Xiaoba's troll, you put it away." ”

Huo Zhenxi took the pistol and looked at it carefully, his eyes showed a fierce light: "Kang Xiaoba, Kang Xiaoba, if I don't kill you, I swear not to be a ......."

Zhang Shanlin had dinner at his sister-in-law's house, and before he meant to leave, he chased Zhang Li into the hall again: "Sister-in-law, do you think about it again?" ”

Zhang Li glanced at Zhang Shanlin: "Bei Ziye's idea of beating Qiuyue, why didn't he say it himself?" ”

Zhang Shanlin said with a bitter face: "Isn't this Qiuyue's temper, Bei Ziye had been deflated earlier, this time I'm afraid that if I don't deal with it, it will be yellow all of a sudden, Steward Xu means that I will ask someone to move Qiuyue first, and then Bei Ziye will come forward." Actually, if you want me to say, Yang Xianji is finished, Bei Ziye is also a relative of the emperor, if Qiu Yue can follow Bei Ziye, it can be regarded as her creation. Zhang Shanlin thought in his heart, don't mention the matter of the adult to his sister-in-law first, if he can solve the matter satisfactorily, wouldn't it save more blockage?

"It depends on whether she likes it or not!" Zhang Li had no intention of letting go, Zhang Shanlin had no choice but to beg: "My good sister-in-law, it depends on your three-inch tongue......"

As he was talking, he brought Zhuang Huchen in. Seeing Zhuang Huchen, Zhang Shanlin estimated that this time the paper couldn't contain the fire, and he stood up: "Sister-in-law, you can weigh it carefully, it's all for the sake of Qiuyue." With that, he left.

Zhuang Huchen is here to discuss this matter, Erqingni has already asked someone to bring a message, if the Zhang family does not help his eldest brother, then he will not take care of Rong Baozhai's business. Zhuang Huchen frowned and said with a sad face: "Alas, the owner, we can't afford to offend you!" ”

Zhang Li suddenly realized: "No wonder his uncle and I are grinding hard here, it turns out that there is something wrong here." Zhang Li thought for a long time and sighed: "Alas! Since that's the case, I'll go over and ask Qiuyue, but she has to take the big idea herself, although the Zhang family has this relationship with Qiuyue, but if Qiuyue doesn't want to, I won't force her. ”

"Yes, it can't be forced, alas! If Miss Qiuyue can agree to this family business, everything will be easy. Having said that, Zhuang Huchen knew in his heart that this matter was not so easy.

Early in the morning, Zhang Youlin was kicking sandbags in the yard, and Zhang Li came out of the hall with a gift: "Youlin, follow me to Qiuyue's house." ”

Zhang Youlin didn't stop at his feet: "What's the matter, you still have to work hard for your drive?" I'll just go over it. ”

Zhang Li shook his head: "You can't do this." ”

They came to Qiuyue's house, but they were empty. After waiting at the door for a long time, Zhang Li proposed to go to Ruifuxiang Silk Village in Dashilar to pull a few pieces of clothing for Qiuyue, Zhang Youlin felt a little ridiculous: "Sister Qiuyue is not short of your clothes." ”

"Who said she was missing? We sent it, that's a piece of our heart! Alas, something happened to Lord Yang, and she was helpless alone, which is really pitiful! "Zhang Li is distressed Qiuyue in his heart.

When they went to Ruifuxiang, the Dezi family was already here. The shop didn't open that day, so I had to take my daughter-in-law around with my son. They came to Dashilar, which is a famous commercial street in Beijing, where all the shops are carved red and carved with emeralds, brocade windows and embroidered households, and the crowd of people is bustling and endless. Dezi's daughter-in-law looked curiously to the east and west, and Dezi carried her son on her shoulders and followed behind beautifully.

A group of Boxers hurriedly walked over, and Dezi grabbed his daughter-in-law two steps to get out of the way, and when he saw the Boxers walking over, he wondered in his heart: "What are they doing here?" ”

I saw the Boxers stop in front of Lao Deji Western Pharmacy, and one of them shouted loudly: "It's this shop that still sells foreign medicines!" The elder brother of the Boxers stood on the steps: "Brothers, now, it is well known that we oppose foreign religion and boycott foreign goods, and the unscrupulous businessmen here still dare to sell foreign goods in broad daylight, what do you say?" ”

Someone shouted: "Ignite it and burn it!" The crowd chimed in: "Yes, burn it, burn it......"

Senior Brother waved his hand: "Well said! In order to teach these unscrupulous businessmen a lesson, kill them and make an example, today, burn them! As soon as the words fell, the Boxers swarmed in.

Not far away, in front of a stall selling children's toys, Dezi's daughter-in-law stopped, picked up a rattle and shook it, Dezi's son stretched out his little hand: "I want, I want to ......" Dezi handed his son to his daughter-in-law and asked the stall owner: "How to sell this?" ”

The stall owner was busy taking care of a big deal, and turned his head: "Just give a little." ”

"How much is 'give some'? You name the number. ”

Before the stall owner could answer, there was chaos in the streets, and a flood of people poured in from behind.

Dezi turned around: "It's not good, it's on fire!" He picked up his daughter-in-law and ran.

The stall owner shouted, "Hey, you haven't paid yet...... and the crowd continued to rush over, and the stall was overturned in an instant.

The fire burst out from the roof of the old Dekee West Pharmacy and quickly spread to the neighborhood.

Zhang Li and Zhang Youlin came out of Ruifuxiang, and Zhang Youlin exclaimed: "Mom, run!" He took his mother by his arms and ran towards the street.

They finally came to safety, and Zhang Li was already out of breath: "Thank God, it's finally out!" ”

Zhang Youlin looked back, and suddenly, he found the Dezi family, and his face changed greatly: "Mom, my senior brother is also inside!" ”

"Where?"

Zhang Youlin pointed to Zhang Li's family: "Over there, my senior brother's son is still wearing the little clothes you gave. ”

I saw the child on his shoulder, and his daughter-in-law ran out with difficulty with the flow of people, the child's coat was gone, and the little red belly pocket was particularly dazzling in the sunlight. Zhang Li remembered that it was given to the child when Dezi went back to visit home after the Spring Festival this year.

Zhang Youlin helped Zhang Li to a step: "Mom, don't move, I'll pick them up." With that, he turned and squeezed into the flow of people.

"Young forest, pay attention!" Zhang Li reminded loudly.

The pharmacy was filled with flammable materials such as alcohol, and when the fire broke out, the flames were so fierce that they spread in all directions, and the shops on both sides of the street soon burned down.

Zhang Youlin couldn't squeeze in, he climbed onto a windowsill, waved his hand and shouted from afar: "Senior brother, run here......"

Dezi heard it, and he also waved at Zhang Youlin.

Suddenly, a burning shop and its three-foot-tall signboard collapsed, burying the family and the surrounding people in the flames......

Witnessing this momentary change, Zhang Youlin's eyes widened in horror, and after a while, he let out a heart-rending shout: "Senior brother......"