Shanglin Night Snow

As the sun sets, the crowds on the long and narrow streets are thinning out, surrounded by shops selling cosmetics, jewelry, cloth, etc. There are no restaurants and restaurants, so there are fewer people, but the weather is getting hotter, and there will be another wave of people after nightfall. So even if the door is empty at this moment, the shops will not close early to refuse customers.

Guo Jian sat behind the counter of his own shop, pounding the anthers in the platinum with a small pestle, pounding for a while, and sighed twice: Jinfu is out, and he is the only one eating today, but the new maidservant is performing it for the first time. It is still difficult to know whether the food that comes out can be imported.

Rubbing his deflated stomach, Guo Jian wondered: About half an hour ago, the little maid was sent to wash rice and vegetables, but the smell of fireworks has not yet been smelled, and I don't know if she put the rice in the pot?Stirring the medicine with one hand and scratching his thigh with the other, he let out a long sigh: If he hadn't been lazy for taking these two steps, and he didn't want to shout loudly like a layman, he should have rushed to reprimand this saboteur!But fortunately, he knew that Jin Fu was going out today, and Bi Po, who usually does the washing and cooking, was not there, so he made a plan so that he would not go hungry no matter what.

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard footsteps coming in, accompanied by that exciting voice: "Second shopkeeper, I have brought everything you want." It was Xun Miao.

As soon as the voice fell, the familiar smell of roasted meat was already on the nose.

Throwing down the wooden pestle and looking up, Guo Jian smiled and said, "Didn't I say it earlier, from now on I will call my second brother, or A Jian." After taking the oil-paper bag and counting roughly, he was surprised at first: "I bought them all? Even Peach Blossom Cakes are not missing either! Did you go to line up before noon?" Speaking of this, eyebrows twitched, looking worried: "Have you ever met that fat old woman from Diao's house in Chenji?"

Xun Miao thought for a while: "But that plump woman who is dressed in gorgeous clothes, still wears heavy make-up even though she is old, and needs the help of a maidservant when she walks?"

Guo Jian nodded: "Exactly! Fortunately, you bought all the pastries before her, otherwise you will return empty-handed, and you will be bored!" He spat, obviously experiencing it himself.

Xun Miao smiled wryly: "When I went, she had already arrived, and she stopped at the door and threatened not to buy with her first, no one would want to step into the store! Fortunately, if someone complains, they will speak up, and they will fight hard..."

"But the old woman can reason with people?" Guo Jian didn't believe it.

"I can't!" Xun Miao blinked: "I can't do it with people, but I can do it with a knife!"

"Knife?!" Guo Jian stretched his neck and swallowed, "Hurt someone?"

"No need." Xun Miao smiled cheerfully: "It just happened to be a theory with her that the mother and daughter had just brought back a new knife from the blacksmith's shop. His face turned pale with fright, he yelled to kill and ran away, and the two little servant girls behind him couldn't catch up."

"There is such a thing!" Guo consciously relieved his anger, and then smiled, and then showed surprise: "You said 'mother and daughter', could it be that the knife is actually two women?"

Xun Miao walked a few steps forward and put the oil-paper bag on the table, nodding at the same time: "It's the elder sister Cui Po, mother and daughter in your house, who opened the gourd soup shop." Looking back, the voice was grateful: "I said this One person can only buy one bag of Peach Blossom Cakes, but seeing that I was in distress, her mother and daughter even gave me the bag, which shows that they are also kind people."

"So..." Guo Jian tapped his fingers on his forehead, and his eyes were evil: "I just remembered that you almost married this young lady from the Ma family? Then you have to be careful, this is Yasha's courtship, right and wrong Fu! It seems that the mother and daughter have decided that you are going to be a son-in-law!"

Unexpectedly, he also knew about this, Xun Miao blushed suddenly: "Second brother, don't make random guesses, that matter was just mentioned casually at the beginning, but now things have changed, maybe that little lady Ma has already agreed to someone else, but don't make a bad marriage because of a joke. .”

Guo Jian saw that he didn't seem to be putting on airs, and he thought that he really had nothing to do with the Ma family, so he stopped teasing him and turned to good words: "Jokes are jokes, but why don't you mention marriage now? You said that it was because the time did not come, but now that your situation has improved a lot, why not ask the princess to look for you again?"

Xun Miao was startled, and was a little flustered at first: "I'm not in a hurry to start a family...Because I want to be an official outside the office recently, getting married will add a lot of trouble to the family, so it's better to talk about it later..."

"External appointment?" He didn't think he had given up on this idea yet, Guo Jian was puzzled, and quickly asked several times: "Why? Are you unhappy living in my house? Do you not get along with my elder brother?" See The other kept shaking his head and scratching his chin: "Didn't you lose too much betting with my mother?"

"And...it's not like that." Xun Miao was powerless to resist, and could only smile wryly: "I am very good with Huiqing, and I am very comfortable in the house, and I have never been to the big lady's card table recently. I only live in Beijing, China and Japan. For a long time, you should go out to sharpen it at the right time..." Or people with a guilty conscience always like to add to the snake, just like at this moment, when his upper and lower teeth slipped, and he couldn't stop, he said again: "In fact, you also think so... "

Guo Jian jumped up: "What? You said that my elder brother also wants to take another job?"

"Guo Kai wants to take a foreign job?" He ran out of words and uttered again.

Seeing that Guo Jian's mouth hadn't moved, Xun Miao thought to himself, could it be that the room is so high and wide that there are still lingering sounds?Just as he was wondering, he saw that the former had bowed down: "The official is coming today, why didn't he order someone to come and report first, so I can prepare."

The visitor seemed to smile: "I am free right now, and suddenly wanted to go out for a stroll, so I came here."

Xun Miao was startled, turned around and saw the handsome figure in blue in front of him, and hurriedly bowed to salute.

After motioning for the two to be flat, Mu Yun asked Jin Fu.

Guo Jian replied: "Today is the birthday of Mrs. Wu, the shopkeeper of Caijinbuzhuang, and I invited the princess to have a drink." He and his wife have been working here for many years, but no one in the neighborhood knows that the princess is the princess. Communication with the outside world is just like a fish in water, free and easy.

Mu Yunqi nodded, and asked again: "Has Jin Fu visited Yin Che recently?"

"King Jia?" Guo Jian shook his head: "Never! During this period of time, the shop is very busy, opening a shop to welcome customers during the day, and still needs to try out powder and ointment at night, because there is no time to spare yourself." After thinking about it: "Your Majesty asks this , Is something wrong with King Jia, or is he sick? Then I will tell the princess tonight and ask her to go check it out tomorrow."

Mu Yunqi took a few steps forward and sat down, signaling him not to be in a hurry: "I just asked casually, because King Jia had trouble recently and he was not in a good mood, I thought Jin Fu had already gone to check on him if he knew about it, but since it's like this , so there is no need to bother her, I have already promised Guo Xie to visit the palace often, and it will be no problem to have him accompany and persuade."

"Guo Kai! He went to Jiawang's mansion again?" Yan Luo saw the four gazes of uncle Lang and uncle, and Xun Miao was dumbfounded at first: He said that just now? !It's just that he was distracted for a while, and when he heard that the name was smeared with King Jia again, he became annoyed... It was hard to get over the water, so he had to plead guilty: "Your Majesty forgives the offense for your disrespect."

Mu Yunqi twitched his brows lightly: "From what you said, do you think Guo Kai should not go to the Jia Palace?"

Xun Miao bowed his head lower and lower: "I don't dare! It's just that my court has a statute, the royal family is not allowed to communicate with foreign ministers in private, and the minister is only worried about Guo Kai getting close to King Jia or attracting foreign discussions."

Mu Yunqi seemed to think about it: "Although Qing's words are reasonable, but the situation is special, and it is said that the infantry commander is responsible for guarding King Jia's mansion. stop?"

Now that he had got the steps, Xun Miao dared not to step down, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty's words are very true, this is my minister's multi-heartedness."

Nodding, the officials changed the subject: "Qing just mentioned that Guo Kai wants to take a foreign post, but is it true?"

Fortunately, he had a draft early on, so Xun Miao took a deep breath and reported respectfully: "The truth is that I want to ask for a foreign job, but I don't dare to talk about it. I am free to discuss this matter with General Guo, and General Guo agrees. An official like me, who is used to reading sages and sages, wants to know the real situation in the world and the sufferings of the people, so he should go out and sharpen it." After a short pause, "It was General Guo and I's suggestion to appoint him abroad, and I don't know what he thinks about himself."

Mu Yunqi smiled and didn't say any more.On the contrary, Guo Jian breathed a sigh of relief, patted his chest and said that his elder brother would never think so, because he will only return to Beijing for more than a year, if he invites him out again, his mother will definitely not agree, and at that time he will inevitably look for life and death, making the house restless.

Xun Miao frowned quietly - he hadn't thought about this at all!If it was true what Guo Jian said, Guo Kai didn't dare to ask him out easily, and he couldn't take back what he said, so what should he do if he gets it?The more I think about it, the more annoyed I become, but I can only blame myself for not thinking carefully and regretting for a while.

Fortunately, Uncle Lang didn't notice anything strange about him.When the official's house arrived, Guo Jian wanted to show his kindness to the landlord, so he rushed to urge the meal, but when he went out the back door, he saw the little maid came first, and told him that the dinner was ready, and the banquet could begin.

Xun Miao was in a daze, when the host invited them, he followed the two to the small flower hall behind in a daze.

The dishes are complete, at first glance, there are three bowls and five cups, all meat and vegetables, and the newly bought meat snacks (although it is only for one person, but it is considered to be more attractive), it is quite rich.However, as soon as they entered the mouth with chopsticks, the three of them frowned quietly.Guo Jian's complexion darkened every time he took a bite. After tasting all the dishes on the table, he finally put down his chopsticks and called "Aman" coldly.After a while, the door curtain was lifted, and the round pink face of the little servant girl poked inside. At a glance, there was still a little white mark on the corner of her mouth, which could be cake crumbs.

Guo Jian pointed to the table: "Did you eat these dishes by yourself?"

The maidservant is new here and hasn't learned how to look at her face, so she answered calmly: "My maidservant likes to eat snacks, there are still some pancakes I bought at noon, and my maidservant is eating."

Guo Jian suppressed his anger: "You are so smart! Let me ask you, why do these vegetables, fish and meat all taste the same in the mouth, without saying a word?" He picked up a piece of meat that was so white that it seemed to have been rolled in a lead powder box, and shook it He shook but did not shake off the sticky vegetable leaves, the corners of his mouth trembled with the tip of his nose, and his face became more and more distorted, "And I didn't ask where the vegetable leaves came from, just said that the meat smelled fishy when you entered it, and when you closed it, there were vegetables left." I really wonder, how do you manage to make every dish taste equal?"

With big eyes shining brightly, the little servant girl smiled innocently: "What's so difficult about it? Just boil it all in one pot."

"One-pot-cook!" Guo Jian said every word, his complexion turned from white to green.

Only Xun Miao knows that Guo Jian is delicious, and he also hates others for spoiling food. It is rare to see him get angry in his life. Only once in the Eight Immortals Tower, a plate of fried rabbits just served was knocked over by a drunk. The man who dared not even step on a grasshopper jumped up and grabbed the culprit and questioned him sharply. The drunk man spoke rudely, so he picked up the dishes and smashed them on the head. Fortunately, Xun Miao died Hold it, so as not to bloom on the head!And looking at his expression now... Xun Miao's eyelids twitched slightly, suppressing all the thoughts for a while, and silently moved his whole body.

Fortunately, Guo Jian tried his best in front of the saint, and he was able to bear it.She crossed her arms and glared at the maidservant: "The Wang Po who recommended you said that you came from a poor family, so you haven't even smelled the smell of fireworks? What do you usually do at home?"

No matter how dull she was, the little maid always saw the coldness on the Patriarch's face, and felt a little terrified: "I... When I was young, I told a fortune teller that there would be a calamity of fire, so I never got close to the fire, and usually only fed chickens and watered it down. vegetable."

Guo Jian snorted coldly: "You are more leisurely than me!"

The maidservant was also alert, hearing his words, she felt that she was clumsy and lazy, remembering that Wang Po had taught her, but the head of the family accused him of saying that no matter what he didn't know, he had to say that he had learned it, or was just learning it, so he replied: "My maidservant. I am also learning to cook! I mix pig food every day at home, my mother said that any pig that people eat can be eaten, but there is no need to add salt to the pig food, I will definitely remember it next time!"

Seeing the fire in the man's eyes jumping up, Xun Miao quickly moved the nearby dishes away with one arm, stood up and took two steps forward to block him, and cast a wink at the still dazed little maid: "I seem to hear the cat Call, hurry up and see if your pancakes have been taken away by cats."

The little maid's expression turned cold, and she turned around.

Xun Miao turned around on the spot, seeing those eyes that were still shining with fire, but turned to look at the one who hadn't made a sound.

Mu Yunqi got up: "I heard that there is a brocade tower nearby, and the food and drink are very good. Since it's still early, you might as well go have a drink."

Xun Miao hurriedly bowed his head: "I accept the decree!" Pulling Guo Jian up: "Second brother, let's go."

At night, the dust and heat on the road have dissipated, and the night wind gusts, blowing the quiet breath of flowers and trees on the nearby river embankment, taking two deep breaths, it makes people feel much more comfortable.

"Officials—officials, wait!" The voice behind him came from far to near.

The three of them turned their heads at the same time, and saw that it was Aman, the little maid who could only stir up pig food, chasing after him panting.

"What?" Guo Jian couldn't hide his disgust.

"I'm here to give the money bag to the officials." Aman raised his hand and showed the heavy yellow pouch, "The lady told you that if the officials go out, you must bring money with you, and you can't eat it for nothing!" He raised his head half an inch high, his eyes and brows were full of satisfaction, and he seemed to think that he was right, and his merits were overwhelmed. Because of this, his voice was clear and loud, not only Mu Yunqi and Xun Miao could hear it clearly , there is no shortage of side-eyed people around.

The roots of his ears were hot, Guo Jian lowered his eyes as much as possible, as if he could hide his face like this, and smiled coyly: "It's better to be considerate, otherwise I will inevitably make a fool of myself today."

Mu Yunqi smiled and continued walking.

Xun Miao, who was walking at the end, could see the pavilion of Jinlou from a distance, and felt for the shrunken money bag hidden in her waist, sighing secretly.

After entering the restaurant, the boy was surprised when he saw Guo Jian: "Second shopkeeper, the food and drink you pre-ordered earlier are not for your own use? Are you here to have a drink with a friend?"

The three of them were startled, but it was Guo Jian who came to his senses first, and said, "You admitted your mistake, it was my brother who came earlier, but he also bought food and drinks here?"

Only then did he realize that he had misunderstood the person, and the young servant complained: "Brother Ling came here before nightfall, and he seemed to be in a hurry, so he ordered some fine wine and food to take away with him."

This place is only a hundred feet away from the Jinliang Bridge, and after crossing the bridge and going south for two or three li, you will arrive at King Jia's residence.Xun Miao's face darkened.

Upstairs, the three of them sat down in a pavilion.

After a while of food and drink, Guo Jian's mood seemed to be at peace for an instant. While eating happily, he also forgot about the gifts of the monarch and his ministers. Lang and uncle exchanged glasses from time to time, talking and laughing happily, and almost forgot the person who was sitting silently eating and drinking—Xun Xun Miao was not in high spirits, and after a few drinks, he became more reticent and melancholy. Even though he tasted the table full of delicacies, he didn't taste much.

At the end of the banquet, people dispersed, and it was already Xu time.

Xun Miao took the official's carriage back to Guo's house.As soon as he entered the courtyard gate, he saw that the light was on in the man's house. When he approached the gatekeeper to hide it, he was lazy and elegant, and went straight to the door.

Hearing the movement, the curtain of the inner room was lifted, Guo Kai walked out slowly, his eyes swept over the face, as if surprised: "Have you been drinking?"

Throwing the oiled paper bag in his hand on the table, Xun Miao did not hide his displeasure: "I bought food but no one shared it. I can't find a place to have a drink to relieve my boredom?"

The man frowned: "What's wrong with you?"

"Let me ask you," Xun Miao clenched his fists, unable to suppress the anger in his heart, "Where did you go tonight?"

Guo Kai truthfully said, "I went to Prince Jia's Mansion." After taking two steps, he glanced back provocatively: "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Xun Miao sneered, "Today's Dragon Boat Festival, you went to privately meet King Jia under the pretense of 'official affairs', but you were still confident?" Nose sore, eyes trembling: "You know..."

Seeing him like this, Guo Kai suddenly felt soft-hearted, turned around and approached him, and pulled him to sit down at the table: "I didn't mean to meet King Jia privately, but recently he had many accidents and was in a bad mood. The officials ordered me to sit down. Go to visit more often, I can't turn a deaf ear."

"However, the imperial decree did not order you to go and accompany him on the day of the festival, just to find an excuse to abandon relatives and friends?" Xun Miao was still aggressive, and his eyes were red before he could finish his words.

Knowing that he was in the wrong, Guo Kai had no choice but to say nicely: "This is my fault, I'll punish you with three glasses of wine as an apology, okay?" Seeing his complexion softened, he took advantage of the situation: "King Jia is getting better now, I can't think of ten days In half a month, things have changed and the clouds have cleared, so I don't need to go anymore."

"What do you mean, you still have to go in these two days?" Sniffing, Xun Miao frowned, but his tone was not as sharp as before.

"It's only a few days." Guo Kai whispered softly, patting his clenched fist on the table comfortingly.

Sniffing his nose and raising his head, Xun Miao suppressed his grievance for a while, and only Yu Yu who stayed in his eyes begged: "Akai, you said last time that you would leave Beijing together with me, since you have made up your mind, why don't you act sooner?"

But he looked away: "This matter can't be rushed, you just ask yourself, I have to play by ear."

It was like a gust of cold wind blowing into the chest, making one's whole body cold.Xun Miao lowered his eyes: "Haven't you changed your mind?"

There was a moment of silence.

The man smiled deliberately: "Why do you think so?"

"It's better if it hasn't changed!" Xun Miao smirked vigorously, his smile was still seven points bleak.Ding Ding looked at the person in front of him, with half hope and half persistence in his eyes: "I happened to meet an official in the second shopkeeper's shop today, so I mentioned the matter of you and I wanting a foreign job. Yue, if there is nothing to disturb you, you may be able to leave Beijing within this year."

"What?" Guo Kai's complexion changed: "You said that you have already asked for a foreign job for me before you became a saint?" Seeing him nodding, a cloud suddenly gathered on his face, and he stood up with a flick of his sleeves: "I said that I wanted a foreign job. But it’s definitely not right now! You don’t know my situation at all, yet how dare you do it for me? This is really out of selfishness and recklessness!”

The gleam of brilliance left in his eyes also faded away, let him be reprimanded, Xun Miao got up, folded his sleeves and said indifferently: "It's just a joke, I just asked for a job outside, and I didn't drag you down, so don't be in a hurry?" After going out, let the man be alone in a daze.

Because of the alcohol, I felt stuffy when I walked into the court, and it seemed that a big stone was blocked in my chest, making me breathless.Go back to the house and drink a cup of herbal tea, grab the plums under the eaves and eat slowly in the night breeze. Looking back, the light in the main room is still on, thinking of that person, not to mention being with him, but up to now, he has never even had a face. Lu, Xun Miao felt humiliated, had chest pains and shortness of breath, and thought that the only way to feel comfortable was to find a quiet and cool place to blow the wind, and even cry a little.

After returning to the house, he grabbed two handfuls of melon seeds, packed two pieces of dried meat, tied a rope to Xifu, a black dog who was sleeping drowsily under the eaves, and went out.

Chasing the wind all the way, unknowingly came to Zhouhe.On the embankment, a pool of white water shimmered under the starry sky.The night wind was blowing gently, and insects were singing everywhere.

Surrounded by no one, I sat on the ground and cried for a while, feeling really comfortable physically and mentally.Wipe away the tears, wrap the dog leash around the wrists and let Xifu walk around (bring a dog for self-defense, the lessons learned from the past cannot be forgotten!), threw two pieces of dried meat down, and then took out the small bag containing melon seeds and ate them: two handfuls of melon seeds He can eat until midnight, if the person is not found by then, he will move out of Guo's house tomorrow, and then go his own way without disturbing each other.

Xifu had already eaten at night, and was awakened from a dream and was dragged out. He was listless. He only smelled the dried meat, and then turned his head and wandered around—not because he didn’t want to be quiet, but because there were too many gnats and it was hard to get rid of it. interest.

The melon seeds were eaten so much that my lips were about to crack, but the midnight drum had not yet sounded.Xun Miao was bored, and walked along the embankment, the night wind with water vapor rushed towards him, making him feel a little cold.

"Wow--" Xifu suddenly became agitated, trotting to his feet and barking forward.

With the dark moon and black stars, Xun Miao could only see the dark tree shadows in front of him with his eyes wide open, and the rustling sound of the wind blowing the leaves in his ears was accompanied by the sound of insects one after another, which was no different.Alcohol makes people courageous, he followed Xifu step by step, the embankment under his feet was flat and solid, which made him more courageous.After a quick walk, Xifu slowed down and lowered his head to sniff the grass in front of him.Xun Miao looked ahead and vaguely saw something lying across the grass, like a cloth bag or a big rock.I don't know if it was an illusion, but in the blink of an eye, I felt that the object moved, and I took two steps back in shock, and the remaining trace of alcohol instantly turned into cold sweat and wet my back.

"Wow ----" Xifu called again.

Then the thing moved again, and then one after another, it seemed to be ready to rise!

His whole body was trembling, but his legs were stiff and he couldn't move.Xun Miao opened her mouth wide: "Ghost—" However, the word was too weak to reach her ears.