Legend of the Orchid

After returning to Hou's mansion, the maids heard that Mr. Li had returned, and they were all as excited as birds, eager to come and visit.

Zhong Lan thought the group of women were noisy, and told them not to enter the house, but asked Siqi to prepare a bathtub and hot water. He wanted to wash his body well.

Siqi left obediently, Zhong Lan untied her coat, leaving only her close-fitting gown, and waited for the hot water by holding on to the screen. After a while, she saw Siqi and Baochun carrying a wooden bathtub together. Siqi apologized and said that the bathtub was too It was so heavy that she couldn't carry it by herself.

Zhong Lan didn't express her opinion, watching them fill up the hot water and signaled the two daughters to go out, but the two maids rushed to shout: "Master, let the servants serve you!"

"No need." Zhong Lan said weakly, he just wanted to be alone, and it was not good for others to see his body covered in bruises after all.

It's a pity that Baochun suddenly let out a strange cry, Zhong Lan saw her pointing at her back, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"My lord, you have shed a lot of blood!" Baochun said tearfully, and before Zhonglan could express her opinion, she threw herself on him and stripped Zhonglan's shirt off.

When the skin was exposed to the air, the two women were startled. They saw Zhong Lan's back was bloody and bloody. Although there was no obvious wound on her chest, it was covered with crimson hickey marks and many deep bite marks. Even the tooth marks are clearly visible.

Zhong Lan lowered his eyes, his cheeks were flushed, he was annoyed that he was unable to cast spells, otherwise the two maids would not remember what they saw and heard today under his control.

He wanted to wave his hand, but he couldn't do it, so he ordered verbally: "Go out, don't let outsiders in."

Seeing the young master's resoluteness, the two girls had no choice but to say yes, and reluctantly left.

Zhong Lan sighed, removed all her clothes, and staggered into the basin.Sure enough, his back was bleeding again, and the moment the wound was covered with hot water, the stinging pain made his little face twitch uncontrollably, and then he clenched his teeth, forcing his body to adapt to the hot stimulation.

He rubbed the tooth marks on his chest, his heart was filled with resentment again, Ting Jie even said he was a dog, but he thought Ting Jie was a dog, is this taking him as a bone?

After eating it clean, he was thrown out like this.

Zhong Lan's long eyelashes were like butterfly wings, covered with dense water vapor, they fluttered, and a drop of transparent water dropped.I feel pity for this situation, it makes people want to crush him into pieces and hold him in their arms.

So immersed in thinking, Zhong Lan didn't realize that the water in the basin was cold. Zhong Lan propped up her body, and as soon as she touched the ground, she almost fell on the slippery ground.

Just as he was about to get dressed, he heard the spring knocking on the door, and the other party shouted: "My lord, have you finished washing, can I come in?"

Zhong Lan was a little upset for a while, and felt helpless, and reprimanded: "Stay outside, I won't let you in, don't come in!"

Baochun replied disappointedly.Zhong Lan got dressed and lay down on the bed before letting Baochun in.It turned out that she brought Zhonglan Jinchuang medicine, but Zhonglan only asked her to put the medicine on her back, and the spring bandage was also ingenious.

Later, Siqi also brought Jinchuang medicine, and she also cooked a few side dishes.

Zhong Lan ate a few mouthfuls of food, but it still tasted saltier than Jiangnan's. There was also a lot of fennel and tangerine peel, and there was a tingling taste on the tip of her tongue. Ask Siqi: "Are you from Sichuan?"

Surprise flashed across Siqi's face, and he nodded immediately. Baochun at the side gave her a meaningful glance. From this day on, there has been some discord between the two women.

Two days later, Zhong Lan saw that the corners of Baochun's mouth were swollen and there were still some scars on her face that hadn't completely disappeared. She asked her what was the matter, but the other party faltered and said that she accidentally fell while walking. want to laugh.

He recuperated at home for a month before he regained his energy. During this time, Li Yu wanted him to summon a big week, but he pushed him away on the grounds of retreat. Fortunately, after the national disaster, Xiao Zhou's status in front of Li Yu rose sharply. After Xiao Zhou couldn't see her husband's nostalgia for the past, Li Yu didn't dare to express his nostalgia so vividly, so he didn't insist on letting Zhong Lan cast a spell.

Another reason is that Zhao Guangmei's frequent visits to Houfu relieved Li Yu's mood.

This Zhao Guangmei has always liked to recite poems and fight against each other, but unfortunately, all the relatives and friends around her are people who dance with knives and swords. Although the second brother Zhao Guangyi never leaves his hand, he is still a full-fledged martial artist in his bones. I am overjoyed, wishing to talk about poetry and Taoism with Li Yu every day, and talk at night by candlelight.

Li Yu was also very happy. On the one hand, it was because he had made a confidant, and on the other hand, it was because of some vanity. He didn't expect that some of the enemy's princes and nobles would not underestimate his status as a subjugated slave, but regarded him as a guest of honor. This contrast allowed Li Yu, who was used to contempt, to regain some self-esteem.

Li Yu was happy in this room, but Xiao Zhou was not happy in that room. After she came to a foreign country, she was unaccompanied and could only live with Li Yu. I didn't expect that now there was an extra Zhao Guangmei, who occupied most of Li Yu's time and let Li Yu She often gets drunk until she loses consciousness, which makes her feel like an outsider.

She had no choice but to go to Li Zhonglan, but Zhonglan couldn't bear the loneliness and refused to see guests, so she had to return disappointed.

One night, Zhong Lan was watching two spring orchids in her room, when she heard a howl in the distance, she was startled, just as Shiqi entered the room, Zhong Lan asked what happened.

Siqi laughed with a "puchi", shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Mrs. Jin's birthday is today, and Mrs. Hou Ye went to celebrate her birthday. When she came back, she lost her temper at Lord Hou. The king has taken a fancy to our wife, and his words and deeds are so contemptuous, which made my wife angry."

Zhong Lan thought that although Xiao Zhou was outspoken, she still understood the basic etiquette. The current shrew-like behavior is not like her usual behavior at all, it must be caused by great stimulation.

He recalled Zhao Guangyi's staring eyes at him again, and he couldn't help feeling a chill in his heart, and said in disgust, "King Jin is really not taboo."

Siqi curled his lips and said: "It is said that the king of Jin has a hard life and restrains his wife. The women around him are either not long-lived or weak and sick. This time celebrating his wife Li's birthday is to celebrate Li's birthday. Li Shi seems to be running out of oil and the lamp is dying..."

Zhong Lan suddenly coughed hard, Siqi received the cue and quickly shut up, when Baochun came in with a basin of hot water, she said with an innocent expression: "My lord, I will help you to wash up. "

"Let Siqi come, you go out first." Zhong Lan has been relying more and more on chess recently, chatting with this maid with a double bun when she has nothing to do, chatting about some secrets of the palace, of course other people don't know much about chess, so she went around Going around, it always comes to Ting Jie.

Through playing chess, Zhong Lan learned that Ting Jie had the habit of going to bed late, and smiled helplessly.

Ting Jie didn't go to bed late, he didn't sleep at all, but he didn't know when Ting Jie went to bed every night. He always slept to death first, and in exchange for the sore body the next day, the other party was still alive and well. , This kind of catharsis regardless of day and night sometimes makes Zhong Lan worry that if she stays with Ting Jie every day, she will die in bed one day sooner or later.

Zhong Lan also gradually learned about Tingjie's hobbies, such as Tingjie's love of calligraphy and jade wares. In addition to practicing swords in his spare time, he spent his spare time admiring jade pieces and copying copybooks in his study. ", but unfortunately only got a facsimile. He has been looking for the original work these years.

Tingjie doesn't like flowers and plants, but during his duty in Shannanxidao, he built an orchid garden next to his house. There are many varieties of orchids in it, and there are special gardeners to take care of them. Sichuan and Sichuan are very rainy. Later, he built a flower house , It can be said that the orchids are well cared for.

Siqi said that His Royal Highness Zhao would go to Lanyuan to stand alone when he had nothing to do. No one could disturb him for half an hour. Every time he came back from Lanyuan, he always looked very sad.

Suddenly the corners of Zhong Lan's mouth were raised high, and her chest was like fireworks blooming in the sky.He likes orchids, so Ting Jie also likes them?When Ting Jie saw those orchids, he was thinking of him, right?

It turned out that he thought that Ting Jie had forgotten himself in the past two years. It turned out that he was still thinking about himself all the time, and there is nothing more joyful than his own will not being let down.

"The orchids of His Highness Zhao, no one cares about them now?" Zhong Lan asked with a smile.

"Most of them were given away by His Highness, and a few pots were brought back to Beijing." Si Qi pointed to the two pots of light pink and yellow-green orchids in the room, "They are all here!"

Siqi's ability to say these things was tricked out by Zhong Lan bit by bit. She kept it a secret at first, but later she slipped her mouth, and she kept talking more and more, and finally she had to reveal her identity completely.

She is the maid Zhao Tingjie brought back from southern Sichuan, and was sent by Tingjie to serve Zhong Lan, but she did not reveal some other things. She is still Tingjie's "Yi Ren", and the ultimate goal of "Yi Ren" is to Restrict Jin Wang Zhao Guangyi.

After Zhonglan found out about Siqi's identity, not only did she not blame her, but instead regarded her as a confidant, but on the second day after Xiao Zhou attended Mrs. Jin's birthday banquet, Siqi suddenly disappeared for no reason. Not a single strand of hair remained.

Zhong Lan was so anxious that she ordered people to look for it for a long time, and had to ask Zhao Guangmei, who often came to visit, to search the whole city, but the chess game seemed to have evaporated, and there was no news of it.

Zhong Lan suspected that Siqi's remarks about the King of Jin made Zhao Guangyi murderous, and couldn't help being angry and annoyed, with depression in his chest, and his face towards Baochun became worse day by day.

Baochun also has self-knowledge, and tries to avoid hanging out in front of Zhonglan as much as possible, but it is still difficult to dispel the hatred in Zhonglan's heart.Beating a dog depends on the owner. If the dog is beaten, the owner will definitely lose face.

Besides, he hasn't seen the courtyard for a long time.