[Baiyutang] Wind-dried clothes

In the past two days, the Kaifeng Mansion has been gloomy. In the past, the courtroom was full of laughter, but now there is no one laughing. Even the tea shop next to the yamen, which used to receive the officials of Kaifeng Mansion, is not seen here. people.The doctor watched at the door all day, chatting with others in his spare time, and heard some rumors from the neighbors, saying that the Zhanwei in Kaifeng Mansion died of his wife, and it was the murder of an enemy who came to seek revenge.

Ding Meng's death was like a loud slap on the cheeks of everyone in Kaifeng Mansion. This slap silenced everyone. Usually in the yamen, no one dared to speak rashly. Hung-chien Pavilion" revealed their respective scars, and the anger could only secretly surge in their chests.In this atmosphere of self-insecurity, Si Shu, who had just been named a sixth-rank school captain, also moved from Lu Fang's house to rest in the classroom, and guarded Kaifeng mansion day and night to prevent Hongjian Pavilion from attacking him again.

Bai Yutang and Lu Caichun still stayed in Lu Fang's other house.Lu Caichun is usually the most lively and good at speaking, but now she is silent a lot, Bi Tao saw her wiping the shadow of the saber fish with a silk handkerchief in the courtyard, with a dazed expression, and when the knife was polished, the silk handkerchief was broken into several pieces.Bi Tao watched the movements of her hands by her side, and often had to remind her aloud, in case she cut her hand when she was wandering.

Bi Tao vaguely knew that it was because of Zhan Zhao's wife Ding's death.She had seen Ding's cold face in Zhan Zhao's house, and she couldn't feel sorry for her. Seeing Lu Caishu was so lost, she was puzzled, and she bumped into Bai Yutang in the garden, and asked him, "Five Lord, I see that sister Chun is not in good spirits. Once I woke up in the middle of the night and heard sister Chun crying in her dream, sometimes talking in her sleep, which woke me up and woke me up. Or else I saw her eyes open. I opened my eyes all night without closing my eyes. What happened?"

When Bai Yutang heard the words, Ding Meng's death appeared in his mind again. He had rarely seen such a tragic scene before.He sighed, and said: "You try to persuade her. She saw something bad, maybe she was very frightened."

Bi Tao seemed to understand but half understood, and said, "Then let me try."

When she asked Lu Caichun, she heard her say: "I, a person who once slept in a coffin and crawled out of the grave, what can I be afraid of? Fifth Brother is just talking nonsense, so you don't have to worry about me. If I Talking in your sleep at night disturbed you, so we slept separately, anyway, the four elder brothers all lived in Kaifeng Mansion, and the house was very empty."

Time passed quickly, and the shadow of the needle on the sundial circled around and gradually melted into the night.The moon hung on the cornices, and it was time to settle down again.The silver leak gradually moved, and the little girl beside her snored softly and entered the dreamland again, but Lu Caishu opened her eyes wide, staring at the mosquito net on the top of the bed.The white shadows are like the smoke in the flat forest and the cemetery.She didn't dare to close her eyes, as soon as she closed her eyes, she could see Ding Meng's pale blue face, and her ashen eyes.The first time she saw a dead body was at the age of Zongjiao. The blood of the dead man flowed from the mouth and nose and dripped into the muddy ground.At that time, she was also like now, sleeping restlessly all night.

Suddenly, the window lattice was knocked lightly.With a thumping heart in his chest, Lu Caichun took a quick breath in shock, and took out the sword fish shadow from the pillow with one hand, poked his head out, and went to look at the window.The moonlight outside the window is clear, and the figure is reflected on the screen.It was a shadow she was all too familiar with, it was Bai Yutang.

Outside the window, Bai Yutang lowered his voice and asked, "Sixth sister, are you still awake?"

Lu Caichun turned over and got out of bed, pulled on her cloth shoes, and approached the window.The surroundings were so quiet that only the chirping of crickets remained. She put her hands on the window screen and asked, "What is Fifth Brother doing here so late?"

Bai Yutang laughed softly: "I heard from Bi Tao that you were so afraid of ghosts that you woke up in the middle of the night, didn't the young master come to help you catch ghosts?"

Lu Caichun knew that he was worried about himself, but he couldn't help but snorted softly, and said, "I haven't seen fifth brother's fighting, do you want my younger sister to help fifth brother polish the cinnabar and draw yellow talismans?"

Bai Yutang said: "Don't be talkative, go to bed quickly. There is nothing to worry about."

Lu Caichun restrained her desire to argue with him back and forth, and said softly, "Fifth brother also rest earlier." After saying that, she turned around and lay down on the couch.With her head resting on the porcelain pillow, she clenched her fists and closed her eyes.The tragedy seen in Pinglin appeared before his eyes again.She tried her best to turn her mind away and think about pleasant things.Since she hadn't slept well for many days, drowsiness soon overwhelmed her.

When I opened my eyes again, the moonlight outside the house was a little dimmer.Lu Caichun suddenly figured out what Bai Yutang was going to do, he teased vaguely before, would Lu Caichun get over it for a while.Thinking of this, she quietly removed Bitao's arm on her stomach, turned up, took out the cloak from the cabinet, and stepped forward to open the partition.

He poked his head out and looked to the side, as she expected, Bai Yutang moved an armchair and placed it under the window of the wing room, holding the saber in his right hand, and sat with arms folded, while his head was already leaning against the window lattice, his eyes seemed to be closed. He fell asleep.Seeing this, Lu Caichun smiled wryly and sighed lightly, couldn't help but raised his hand and rubbed his eyes slightly.Holding the cloak in both hands, she approached on tiptoe, shook off the cloak, and wanted to cover him.At that moment, Bai Yutang suddenly opened his eyes.

Seeing Lu Caichun's shocked and bewildered face, Bai Yutang laughed out loud, and suddenly asked seriously: "Still can't sleep?"

Lu Caichun stretched out the cloak with both hands, neither letting it go nor not letting it go, so she could only answer his words with stiff hands: "I've been asleep for a long time, and I just woke up."

Bai Yutang stared at the cloak in her hand, and asked, "Aren't you tired of holding this cloak?"

Hearing this, Lu Caichun covered his head with the cloak in his hand, and said, "I'm not tired—I'm just afraid that I'll freeze you, fifth brother!"

Bai Yutang grabbed the cloak that was sliding all the way down, and said with a smile, "Such respect is really rare."

Lu Caichun asked: "Fifth brother, have you caught a ghost? If you haven't caught a ghost, you'd better go back to your room to rest after a whole night!"

"I didn't catch the ghost. I listened to your words and went back to sleep. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for my young master?" Bai Yutang chuckled, turned his gaze to the grass and trees in the courtyard, and said, "If you can't catch the ghost, it's good to look at the moon."

Lu Caichun had nothing to do with him, so he said, "Fifth brother, just wait." After saying that, she turned around and pushed the door open to enter the room.After a while, she also brought out an armchair, placed it side by side with Bai Yutang, turned around, and sat down too.The two of them stared at the moonlight and tree shadows in the courtyard without a word.The surroundings are silent, only the chirping of insects in twos and twos, hiding in the grass under the eaves.

After sitting for a while, Bai Yutang spoke first, "Why don't you pick a date and send Bitao back to your hometown first."

Lu Caichun thought for a while, then nodded and said: "That's right, don't let her spend time in Bianjing with us." At the end, she turned her head and asked: "Do you have any idea about Sister Ding? Master Bao said that you can catch Hong Someone from Jiange?"

Bai Yutang shook his head and said, "There is no news from Mr. Bao. I have also inquired from friends in Jianghu recently. Among the people I know, there is no one who has witnessed Hongjian Pavilion's actions. There is no news about them. , it seems to come out of nowhere, only hearing its shadow, not seeing its shape. Your uncle also guessed before that the news of Hongjian Pavilion was released deliberately by the other party, just to inform about 'Xiangyang'. I think the news is probably half-hearted True and half false. The Kaifeng Mansion is in the open and the Hongjian Pavilion is in the dark. If they make no mistakes and let people see their whereabouts, we may not be able to defeat the enemy for a while."

Lu Caichun said: "Sister Ding's matter caused such a big commotion, and this matter was also written by Hongjian Pavilion, why can't we find any clues?"

Bai Yutang heaved a long sigh, and said, "Sister Ding's case was definitely not done by one person alone. In the forest, there were many people around to watch, and the traces were messy, and no useful clues could be discerned. As for Zhan Xiongfei, only It was a box that would explode when it was opened. I asked all around the teahouses and wine shops, and only one beggar seemed suspicious. But that beggar was indeed often begging nearby. He said that there was a person who looked like a child. The box was placed by Zhan Xiongfei's side, and he ran away after putting it down. Many people in Kaifeng Mansion followed the beggar's description to look for the child, but they never found it."

Lu Caichun pondered for a moment, then asked again: "It's not common to see a box that explodes, so why don't you start looking for it?"

Bai Yutang said: "According to what Zhan Xiong Fei said, this box doesn't look like something from the Central Plains, maybe it was brought over by Hu merchants from the Western Regions. Hu merchants have no fixed residence, and they migrate back and forth all year round, making it even more difficult to inquire about it." Heavy, not to mention that the pattern of this box has been cut off by someone before, and now it has been blown to pieces."

Lu Caichun asked again: "Fifth brother, do you think this has anything to do with Pang's ghost face? He is the only one I have seen with strong martial arts and ruthless means."

Bai Yutang shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it doesn't have much to do with it. After all, the west of the city is sparsely populated, with many graves and insufficient guards. It's often a place where desperadoes flee. It's not accidental that Sister Ding and you had an accident there. But you guessed it?" However, the Pang family was only relatives, they had no real power, and they were only stupid and mediocre. They didn't need to support the desperadoes in Hongjian Pavilion, let alone offend Kaifeng Mansion for an insignificant court disciple. "

After Lu Caichun listened, she couldn't ask any more questions.The two sat quietly for a long while, and Bai Yutang asked, "Have you seen Zhan Xiongfei recently?"

Lu Caichun shook her head, and said: "I haven't seen him recently, but when I went to the street, I met Ya Huan who used to serve Sister Ding. She told me that Brother Zhan went to patrol the streets during the day as usual, and at night, I just sat alone in the wing room and drank wine, fell asleep on the table after drinking, and went to patrol the streets the next day. I think I am not very energetic."

After hearing Lu Caichun's words, Bai Yutang didn't know what to say.Lu Caichun finally sighed: "I hope that the people from Hongjian Pavilion will be arrested and brought to justice as soon as possible."

The next day, when it was light outside the window, Bi Tao turned over and found that the couch was empty, she quickly jumped up, but she couldn't find Lu Caishu in the room, so she opened the partition to call her outside, but she took two steps outside, looking to the side Looking sideways, she saw Lu Caichun curled up on the armchair with a big cloak in her arms, leaning her head on Bai Yutang's shoulder, and fell into a deep sleep.Bai Yutang closed his eyes at first, but suddenly opened his eyes when he heard footsteps.When he moved, Lu Caishu woke up instantly.

Bi Tao held her mouth shut and dared not make a sound, seeing this, she quickly took a step back and retreated into the house.Hu Shu squeaked, but she closed the partition.Hiding back in the house, Bi Tao secretly praised herself for her quick response.

This morning, since the case of Bi Liu, for the first time, Bai Yutang, Lu Caishu and Bitao did not eat breakfast together.Bitao and Bai Yutang ate the meat porridge together, and Bai Yutang said to Bitao, "Your elder sister Chun seems to have something to tell you, since you've finished eating, you should hurry over."

Bi Tao wrapped two steamed buns with rouge in oiled paper, pinched them with one hand, and took a bowl of porridge with the other hand, and sent them to the wing.Pushing against the partition with his elbow, he walked around the screen, only to see Lu Caichun pacing back and forth in front of the couch with disheveled hair.She put her thumb in her mouth and gnawed on it, her face was blushing to the tips of her ears.Bi Tao put the food in her hands on the table, and asked tentatively, "Sister Chun, do you have something to say to me?"

Lu Caichun was so confused that she couldn't think about it for a while, so she asked, "What do I have to say to you?"

Bi Tao said cautiously: "Fifth Master told me that Sister Chun has something to say to me."

Hearing this, Lu Caichun thought for a moment, then stopped.She suddenly woke up and said: "That's right - I was just about to ask you, would you like to set off tomorrow and go back to Huainan? I heard that the flood has receded, and herbs and rice grains are being distributed everywhere in the village. You don't have to be afraid of the plague when you go back." famine."

Bi Tao nodded and said, "That's fine, I can bring my sister's ashes back to Zili."

As soon as Bi Tao finished speaking, Lu Caishu sneezed hard.She rubbed her nose, and looked at the window with screened screens. The green trees in the garden were already dying.She stared at it for a while, then sighed suddenly, and said softly: "It's almost autumn..."

Bi Tao asked her: "Is Sister Bu not feeling well? Could it be that she has contracted a cold?"

Lu Caichun shook his head, changed the subject, and said to Bitao: "Since we are going back to Huainan, we must meet the four elder brothers and go to the Yamen of Kaifeng Mansion later."

Bi Tao asked, "Will Master Wu also go to Huainan?"

Lu Caichun suddenly heard Bitao mentioning him, coughed uncomfortably, and said, "Go and ask him."

After noon, Lu Caichun reckoned that it was past time to patrol the streets in the morning, so he went to Kaifeng Mansion with Bitao and met the four righteous brothers in the classroom.After exchanging pleasantries, Lu Caichun told the four of them about Bitao's return to Huainan, and the four of them nodded and said, "Alright, Sixth Sister, please be more careful on the way here."

Han Zhangdao: "Brother You recently heard from Mr. Bao that there seems to be an errand that requires sending people to Huainan. It was originally to be guarded, but now... since you are going, maybe you can solve Mr. Bao's worries on this matter— —Hey, is Fifth Brother going to Huainan?"

Xu Qing couldn't see Bai Yutang with his probe, so he couldn't help asking, "Did the Fifth Brother not come?"

"Little brother is here." Bai Yutang's voice answered from outside the door.Lu Caichun didn't dare to turn her head to look at him, but quietly put her arms around Bi Tao's shoulders, and stood aside.Seeing Bai Yutang, Xu Qing happily strode forward, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Fifth brother, you came just in time, brothers have something to talk to you about." He told Bai Yutang about his trip to Huainan.

Bai Yutang glanced at Lu Caichun, saw that she was looking around and couldn't find a place to fall, so he changed his mind, listened carefully to the advice of the righteous brothers, and said: "If the matter is not troublesome, what happened to Mr. Bao Bao no problem."

Han Zhang said: "It shouldn't be troublesome. Brother You vaguely heard from Wang Chao Mahan that he was escorting a scribe who had just completed his Ding hardship period to serve as magistrate in a certain county in Huainan."

Bai Yutang wondered, "A county magistrate wants Mr. Bao to be so caring enough to send someone to escort him?"

Han Zhang shook his head and said, "I never asked—but this scribe seems to be Lord Bao's favorite student, and his name seems to be Yan Chasan."

Bai Yutang nodded thoughtfully, and said, "Since that's the case, I'll just go and ask later."