Brocade tears

Dongfang knew it for a while, but Meng Kuang still didn't know it when the sky was already dark in Dongfang.

She didn't sleep all night, she watched the sky light up.She got up and took a brief shower with cold water.Put on a net towel, tie up your belt, pull up your sleeves and put on your leggings, and go out.

After practicing Teng Dao in the courtyard for half a stick of incense as if venting, she finally sat on the steps of the west wing, sweating profusely, panting, and her depressed mood finally eased a little.

The door of the East Wing opened, and Meng Yan came out rubbing his eyes. He saw Meng Kuang sitting in the yard with a dagger in his hand, and could not help complaining:

"Sister, why are you so crazy in the early morning? You are so disturbing."

"Wan'er, how many times have I told you, don't call my sister so loudly." Meng Kuang said sullenly.

"Yes! As ordered, my good brother!" Meng Yan replied angrily.But seeing Meng Kuang's gloomy and unhappy appearance, her heart softened again, and she went back to the house and put on a coat and came out to Meng Kuang's side.

"What's the matter? Did you have something to do with her last night?" She asked her sister in a low voice.

Meng Kuang shook his head.

"Then why are you doing this?"

"I... I'm confused." Meng Kuang said.

"What's confused?"

"It's useless to be straight and lovesick, but it's okay to be melancholy."

"Ah?" Meng Yan was confused, why did Sister suddenly read a poem.

"The poem she wrote last night, Li Shangyin's "Untitled: The Hall of Mochou under the Heavy Curtain", after she finished writing, she fell asleep at the table, holding the jade Buddha I gave her in her hand."

"Hiss!" Meng Yan gasped, and said after a while, "It's really quite confused."

Meng Kuang glanced at Meng Yan, his eyes flickering with bewilderment.Meng Yan turned to look at her, frowned and said strangely:

"Could it be that she is trying to win your sympathy, sister, don't be fooled easily. Mother once said that you are too kind-hearted and easy to trust others. You see, your problem is really manifested in her. If she pretends to be pitiful for you a little bit, you will be troubled like this."

Meng Kuang probably guessed that Meng Ai would say that, and just sighed helplessly.

"Don't think so much, we just need to find out what happened back then from her, and then let her go, and have nothing to do with her since then. Why do you think so much? Add trouble to yourself."

"Hmm." Meng Kuang replied vaguely.

"Hey, hurry up and wash up, you're covered in sweat. I'll cook the morning food first, and you eat it quickly, and pack it up before your boss Guo Dayou comes, so that he doesn't see the flaws." Meng Yan urged road.

Meng Yan was right, Meng Kuang hurriedly went to the bathroom to wash himself and change clothes.Meng Ai started to be busy, first went to the kitchen to cook the stove, steamed and cooked the food, remembered that she cleaned and ironed the Jinyiwei uniform for her sister yesterday, and was still in her room, so she went back to the room and took the uniform to the bathroom for Meng Kuang .When she hurried back to the kitchen, it was almost time for the food to be cooked.Only then did she have time to wash and dress herself.

When she came out after changing her clothes, Meng Kuang also appeared under the kitchen fully dressed, and was adding fresh food to the table.When the two sisters were eating, there was a knock on the main door outside the courtyard, and it was Qingxu who had come.He came to help every morning, and Meng Yan took care of his breakfast and lunch. If he was not busy that day, he would go back to Lingji Palace after noon, because he had an order at Lingji Palace and still had homework to do.If the day is very busy, he will stay until the evening, and Meng Yan will keep him for dinner, but he will not stay at Meng Yan's place overnight.

Qingxu has a simple and honest temperament, is down-to-earth, and follows the rules. He is not so much like a Taoist priest, but more like a simple farmer.He is very familiar with medicinal materials and has a deeper understanding of the medicinal properties of various medicines than Meng Ai. As Meng Ai's senior brother, he is still instructing Meng Ai how to use medicines.

Although Lingjitang also sees doctors, more of its business is buying and selling medicinal materials, and making some Chinese patent medicines for sale.After all, Meng Ai is a woman, so it's not good to always show her face and practice medicine outside. Even if she doesn't care, the rumors and gossips around her can always kill people. This is to avoid unnecessary trouble.There is also Meng Kuang who disguises himself as a man in Jia's family, so the lower the profile, the better.However, due to Daoist Luo's deep network of contacts among medicinal material vendors, the medicinal materials of Lingji Palace are of good quality and price, and the young owner, Meng Ai, is quite approachable, caring and gentle, so Lingji Hall quickly became famous in the capital. It is well received, and many people travel across the city to get medicine, and the business is very good.On the day Meng Kuang returned home yesterday, Lingjitang received a large order of business, so that Qingxu was so busy until the curfew was about to rush back, and he will continue to be busy with this order today.

"What business?" Meng Kuang asked curiously while drinking porridge.

"I came to order yesterday morning. The person who came was a military officer with a reckless look. He still had two silver ingots of ten taels in his arms as a deposit. He said he was from the West Camp of Wuxiang Wei, and the camp needed to order a batch of bruises. Plasters require 500 people for two months. When the goods are ready, someone will come to pick them up, and then pay the final payment." Meng Ai replied.

"Wuxiangwei West Camp? What a coincidence? Aren't the medicinal materials of the Fifth Army Battalion purchased by the Huimin Pharmaceutical Bureau? How could an officer come to our place to purchase them?" Meng Kuang frowned, feeling strange.The Ministry of War assigned one medical officer and two doctors to each of the five military battalions of the capital. The medicinal materials were procured and rationed by the imperial hospital and the Jingshi Huimin Pharmacy Bureau.Among them, government-bank purchases accounted for the majority, and Huimin Pharmaceutical Bureau has long-term business relationships with large drug companies.Small private pharmacies like Lingjitang couldn't get orders from Huimin Pharmacy after all.

"Yeah, I'm wondering too." Meng Yan said.

"How much is this batch of goods?" Meng Kuang didn't quite know the prices these days.

"Our medicine is cheap, and it sells for one penny per patch, and two patches a day. That is to say, the daily dosage of one person is two penny, two months is 120 penny, and five hundred people is 60 penny. It was almost 60 taels of silver. He discounted all the miscellaneous pharmaceutical expenses in the middle, so he set 20 taels and paid [-] taels as a deposit." Meng Yan explained.

"Where is the 20 taels of silver? Let me have a look."

"It's in the cash drawer in the main hall. I'll get it for you." He said, took the key and went to the main hall, and brought two ingots of silver after a while.Meng Kuang took a look at it. This is a typical hammer-shaped ingot, one twelve taels, and the inscription on the bottom is engraved with the inscription "Ten taels of silver cast in Lintao Prefecture in the tenth year of Wanli". real silver.

Lintao Mansion?This place is not far from Ningxia Town.A thought flashed through Meng Kuang's mind for no reason, but he thought it had nothing to do with it, so he put it behind him.

Meng Kuang was still a little worried, and told Meng Yan and Qingxu: "Be careful with this business, don't make fools of it, if you find it's wrong, you'd rather not do it than push it away."

"Well, I can save it." Meng Yan and Qing Xu nodded together.

While talking, someone knocked on the door outside, Meng Ai hurriedly said:

"I'll go and open the door." As soon as the voice fell, Qingxu got up and went out.

Meng Yan followed behind, standing at the kitchen door and watching.Not long after, she hurriedly turned around and made a gesture, reminding Meng Kuang to put on the mask quickly.Meng Kuang then took off the mask hanging from his waist very neatly, and quickly put it on skillfully.Not long after, Qingxu led Guo Dayou in, and he was smiling and asking:

"Deputy Guo Qianhu, you can use the morning food? How about eating some too?"

"No, no, I've eaten." Guo Dayou said with a smile.As his voice came in, his tall figure also appeared at the door of Meng's kitchen.

Both Meng Kuang and Meng Ai got up, and Meng Ai blessed his body, and greeted him politely, "Deputy Guo Qianhu."

"Miss Meng, excuse me. I'm here to look for my thirteenth brother, and I have to go out on business today." Guo Dayou cupped his hands.

Meng Kuang on the side nodded his head as a greeting, walked up to Guo Dayou, pointed to his inner courtyard, and asked Guo Dayou if he wanted to see Sui Er.

Guo Dayou waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, there are other things to do today, go to the backyard to lead the horse, let's go through the back door."

The two walked to the backyard one after the other.Out of concern, Guo Dayou still asked:

"Is there anything unusual about that woman?"

Meng Kuang shook his head and made a locking motion, which meant that he locked her up and she couldn't escape.Not long after, the two passed by the west wing of the second entrance courtyard, and Meng Kuang pointed to the west wing.Seeing the padlock on the door and the closed window, Guo Dayou nodded and said:

"I don't worry about your work."

The two came to the backyard, Meng Kuang led the horse from the stable, followed Guo Dayou out from the back door, and in the alleyway of the back door, another Jin Yiwei was waiting there with two horses.Meng Kuang recognized him. His name was Zhou Jintong, and he happened to be one of Meng Kuang's general bannermen.It's just that Meng Kuang was promoted to a hundred households at the beginning of this year, and was sent out to the Northwest not long after. He didn't work with his subordinates for a long time, and he didn't know him very well.

She led the horse and followed Guo Dayou to Zhou Jintong's side. Zhou Jintong handed Guo Dayou's reins to him, then bowed to Meng Kuang again, and said: "I have seen hundreds of households."

Meng Kuang nodded to him with a calm expression.This general flag looks very young, maybe not as old as Meng Kuang, he is about the same height as Meng Kuang, with a strong figure, a pair of big piercing eyes, and two thick eyebrows pressing on him, looking a bit naive feel.But Meng Kuang knew that it was not easy for Jinyiwei to enter the inspection station, so this person must be capable.

"Get on the horse, let's go out of the city and go to Wuxiangwei West Camp." Guo Dayou said, and then took the lead to get on the horse and go.

Meng Kuang was not surprised at all, on the contrary, it was in his heart, so he also stepped on the horse.It's just that Zhou Jintong beside him showed a little puzzled emotion, but he didn't ask any more questions, and just followed.

A group of three rode their horses up and quickly disappeared into the streets of the capital.

……

After Meng Kuang left home, Meng Ai finished eating and was about to start work when he suddenly remembered that there was someone else at home.Sui'er is still in the west wing of the second entrance, guessing that she hasn't eaten the morning food yet.After thinking about it, Meng Ai filled a bowl of porridge, took a piece of oil cake, and a small dish of pickles, put them in a food box, and sent them to the West Wing.

The doors and windows of the bedroom in the west wing were locked. Meng Yan entered from the study in the north room, and the inner door leading to the bedroom from the study was also locked. The key was placed on the flower shelf next to the door, and anyone who entered the study could get it at will. But if the people locked in the bedroom don't break the glass partition, they can't get it.

Meng Ai unlocked the lock with a key and pushed open the inner door. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Sui'er on the bed not far away, her back was facing her, her body was half exposed, most of her back was exposed, and her clothes were disheveled. What are you doing.The insiders probably didn't expect someone to come in at this moment, so they hurriedly pulled up their skirts to cover their bodies.With a quick glance, Meng Ai seemed to see large scars on her back, as well as some new bruises and bruises.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she froze in place for a moment.Sui'er hastily tidied up her clothes, stood up from the bed, her complexion was a little pale.

"Are you... are you okay?" Meng Yan asked hesitantly.

"It's okay." Sui'er smiled, it was a concealed smile, Meng Yan could see the bitterness in his eyes.

This is the first time in nine years that Meng Yan has carefully looked at Sui'er again. The former sister Xiaosui has grown up now.Although her body has not changed much, the baptism of years and hardships has brought her a more serene and feminine temperament. She seems to be indifferent to everything, and everything seems to be unimportant in her amber eyes. It seems to be overdrawn, and it is vaguely about to break through the air, and the whole person seems to be transparent.Meng Yan's heart trembled slightly, his eyes were dry, his nose was sour, and he felt like crying.

Her throat moved, and then she remembered that she was here to deliver food.So he lowered his head and stopped looking at her, put the food box on the table, and said:

"Let's eat, I'll collect it later." After finishing speaking, he turned to leave.

"Xiao Ai... I'm sorry..." Sui'er said behind her.

"Eat..." Meng Yan hurried out without looking back.

Sui'er smiled wryly, sat down in some pain, opened the food box slowly, took out the food, and began to eat slowly.The food of Meng's family still seems to be the taste in memory.How long has she not cared about the taste of food?In the past nine years, eating was just to survive.

To live... It's just the belief of these three words that supported her all the way to the No.20 year of her life.If there are other beautiful things worth pursuing, if she is still qualified to pursue, that would be great.She really didn't dare to ask for extravagance, she could only think about it secretly in her mind.

Not long after eating, Meng Yan came back with a medicine box in his hand.Sui'er looked at her in surprise, but Meng Yan said sullenly:

"Eat quickly. After eating, I'll check your pulse." After finishing speaking, he sat opposite her.

Sui'er pursed her lips, and a smile slowly appeared on the corners of her lips.She lowered her head, and unknowingly, tears fell into the bowl.She didn't dare to look up, she buried her head and ate the remaining porridge cake bit by bit, not daring to waste a bit.When she finished eating, she raised her eyes, only to see that Meng Yan's eyes were red, and she was rubbing the corners of her eyes carelessly.She laughed again, and hot tears overflowed her extremely beautiful eyes, as if the amber that had been solidified for thousands of years was melted, dripping out precious gelatin.

"Why are you crying, you are not allowed to cry!" Meng Yan sniffed and said in a nasal voice.Immediately, he took out the pulse pillow from the medicine box, Jiao Sui'er stretched out his arm, and put it on her Cunguan ruler.

After a while of diagnosis, Meng Yan frowned tightly. The pulse condition was really bad. The meridians were messy and blocked. Floating and virtual pulses coexisted, and they also had the shape of thin veins. .This is an external injury turning into an internal injury, and the accumulation has become the root cause of the disease if it has not been healed.

"Take off your clothes and let me have a look." Meng Yan said.

Sui'er hesitated for a while and didn't listen to her, but Meng Yan urged her again, so she was able to take off her clothes and only wore a bellyband. It was early spring, and the room was cold, and she shivered slightly.As soon as the clothes were taken off, Meng Yan gasped.Sure enough, she was right. This person was covered in wounds all over his body. They were all old scars from the whip. Apart from the whip wounds, there were bruises on her back on her shoulders, waist and abdomen. They were beaten with sticks or other utensils.

"Who beat you like this?" Meng Yan said angrily.The doctor is benevolent, no doctor can see a weak woman with so many injuries on her body.It is so heartbreaking that such a beautiful body has been ruined into this appearance.

Sui'er did not answer in silence, whether she was unwilling to answer or unable to answer, leaving Meng Yan with a silent back.

Meng Yan couldn't wait for the answer, so he had to sigh helplessly: "Put your hair up, and I will give you trauma medicine first."