Opposite the entrance hall

It is said that time is like running water, and these days pass quickly. On the day of Zhengdan, Spring Festival couplets and red lanterns are hung everywhere in Lin’an City. Very busy.

The streets are full of children in new clothes gathered in groups of three or four, crackling firecrackers one after another, walking on the street and meeting people with smiles on their faces, holding fruits and snacks in their hands, more than usual How lively.

Ji Si was woken up by Yang Qin, this man became more and more ignorant after getting close to him, he would run to the mansion every now and then, without letting anyone know, he would push the door open and come in if he was familiar with the road, there was a "bang", Waking up Ji Si's somewhat beautiful spring dream, the whole person was nestled in the quilt, leaving only a pair of eyes outside, the eyelids trembled slightly, and then he turned over quietly, leaving his back for the uninvited guest, the meaning of seeing off the guest it goes without saying.

But Yang Qin has no eyesight, so naturally he didn't take it seriously and walked over with a few steps, urging: "What time is it? You still sleep, get up quickly, don't look like you are stealing people at night gone."

You were right, you really did steal someone, your brother-in-law.

Ji Si answered in his heart, but on the surface he just pulled up the quilt and tucked his whole body in, and a muffled voice came from the quilt, "It's New Year's Eve, you can calm down, go out and lock the door Take it, don't disturb me to rest."

"That won't work, you have to get up." Yang Qin sat down on the edge of the bed, and was about to start without saying a word.

Ji Si was so annoyed by him that his temper also came up, he stretched his legs and kicked, and suddenly lifted the quilt with messy hair and shouted: "What are you doing, I'm yelling at you, come here, insult me!" It's..."

As soon as Yang Qin said this, he quickly let go and took a step back, frowning, he disapproved of Ji Si's brazen behavior, "I'm a married man, don't try to make up my mind."

"Tsk," Ji Si sat cross-legged on the bed, scratched his messy hair, and asked sleepily with a wrinkled face after being so troubled by him, "Well, you're not going to accompany me in the mansion to endorse this big festival. Ma'am, why are you making trouble with me?"

"I came to look for you because of the big festival," Yang Qin said, "Your family is in Zhangzhou, and you have neither married wife nor relatives in Lin'an. This is a time for family reunion. It is inevitable that you are alone and miserable. It is still me." It is enough to think of you alone to invite you to my mansion for the festival, in previous years you would have been alone, but now that you are my brother of Yang Yunchuan, how can I leave you alone, I even called Cunxiao."

Seeing the smile on this man's face, Ji Si's heart felt hot, so he kicked his foot again, but the latter avoided him angrily and said, "You asked me to go with Du Cunxiao to the family banquet in Yang's mansion. If you don't know, you might think We are your second room."

"you you you......."

"What are you?" Ji Si slapped away the outstretched hand in front of him, smiling with crooked eyebrows, "Go back and memorize your books."

Recently, Yang Qin seems to be a bit of a prodigal son who turns around and works hard to make up for his shortcomings. He was fascinated by the Four Books and Five Classics, and he was fascinated by the Zhongyong University.In private, Ji Si often teased her.

Seeing this, he said displeasedly: "I'm too lazy to care about you, just stay here."

After all, he left angrily.

"Hey, you should close the door for me." Ji Si yelled at the back of the person.

"You can live alone."

"Who told you that I'm alone." Ji Si muttered while hugging the quilt.

He didn't intend to continue to sleep either, so he called the servant girl to wash up and waited for Chuyi to change his medicine before going to the street. Speaking of this injury, after he came back from Qi Mansion that day, Chuyi found out about it, and changed his medicine while Crying angrily, teardrops the size of soybeans flowed down, and at the beginning of the first day, he jumped out of his mind and said what he thought, and acted without looking at other people's faces. But after what happened to Dr. Cen, he grew up a lot overnight, and he just In front of Ji Si, it is the same as before, but it has been a long time since I shed tears. This crying frightened Ji Si, so he quickly lowered his voice to coax others, and repeatedly promised that no accident would happen to him, which made Chu Yi stop cried.

Staring at the side all day and night, changing the medicine and decocting medicine by himself, Ji Si's shoulder injury improved a lot in just two days.

The two went to the street. There are four main streets in Lin'an that lead directly to the city gates in the southeast, northwest, and they are very lively today. This is the first time I have seen the prosperity of Lin'an Zhengdan Festival on the first day of the new year. People are dazzled by all kinds of strange things. He dragged Ji Si to the center of the crowd, saw the flames spit out from the mouth of the middle-aged man, his eyes were wide open, his mouth was as long as it could fit an egg, Ji Si was amused by his dumbfounded appearance, Pei Yao was appeared at this time.

Behind her was the Pei family's guards, holding a child with one hand, who looked a few years older than Qi Nian, and looked somewhat similar to the Pei family brothers and sisters, so their identities were self-evident.

Pei Yao's eyes lit up when she saw Ji Si, she nodded slightly and said, "Ji Da..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Ji Si with a smile, "Second Miss, let's change my name, I don't want to be blocked here by my enemies."

Hearing this, Pei Yao looked at the crowded crowd, and immediately understood the meaning of Ji Si's words, covered her lips and smiled, and called nervously, "Ji...Brother Ji."

Ji Si did not doubt that he asked something else: "Is the second lady out on business? Why didn't you see Young Master Pei?"

"On the Zhengdan Festival, Lin'an has to be on guard. My brother is leading the foreign imperial army on duty." Pei Yao said.

Then the sleeve of her right hand was pulled, she lowered her head and looked sideways, and heard a soft voice asking: "Sister, who is this person? I seem to have seen such a good-looking person somewhere."

Hearing the sound and looking down, what he saw was a young man carved with jade, his eyes were black like gems, and he raised his head to ask innocently. Before Pei Yao could reply, the little girl with braids on the other side said coldly Said: "I didn't hear my sister say that his surname is Ji. Lin'an's surname is Ji, who is tall and good-looking, and how many people can have a relationship with our family. You are so stupid."

After being scolded all over the face, the young master immediately felt aggrieved, and was about to start crying as soon as his mouth was deflated. The little girl raised her brows and shouted sharply: "Don't cry, hold back."

The little prince immediately held back his tears, the tears in his eyes were rolling but he didn't dare to fall, it was very pitiful to cry or not.

Ji Si watched from the sidelines and laughed vigorously. He had heard about the twins of the Pei family. Pei Leyu, who was obviously the younger sister, was very similar to the Pei family. The blood of the generals of the Pei family was bleeding in his bones. At such a young age, Pei Lejin already has the air of a general, but as an older brother, Pei Lejin has a soft and gentle temper. When he is bullied, he will only scratch his head and laugh foolishly. He looks like a little girl in vain and tender.

Six years ago, these two were just milk babies, but now they have grown so big in the blink of an eye.Ji Si sighed in his heart.

The hearty and melodious laughter was as deep as a good Guqin, and Pei Yao's ears were trembling with excitement. She lowered her eyes in embarrassment, and said in a warm voice: "My brother and sister are naughty and let Brother Ji see a joke."

"It's okay," Ji Si still smiled cheerfully, "The young miss and the young master are lively and well-behaved, very cute."

Pei Yao followed suit with a smile, then took a deep breath and said, "Ji..."

"Second Miss," Ji Si interrupted with a smile before she finished speaking, "I still have something to do, so I'll go ahead, it's crowded here, so be careful, I'm going to say hello to your brother today, Farewell."

After the voice fell, he nodded and led Chu Yi out of the crowd. The smile on Pei Yao's face gradually dissipated, and the words she hadn't spoken stopped abruptly. Her eyes darkened a little. She turned in the direction Ji Si left, He could only watch helplessly as the figure of that person walked further and further away.

"Sister," Pei Lejin slapped her forehead, quickly tugged at her sleeves and raised her head, "I remember where I saw that person, the painting in Sister's room... ummmm..."

Pei Leyu covered Pei Lejin's mouth, stared fiercely, then looked at Pei Yao solemnly and said, "He's not clear, sister, don't bother with him, we have never entered your house."

The two of them sang together so much that the melancholy in Pei Yao's heart dissipated a bit, some things cannot be forced, it is better to relax than to be distressed and worried, to gain luck and lose life.

After trying to understand such a simple truth, Pei Yao said softly: "It's getting late, let's go back home, we have to watch the year later."

The voice was gradually covered by the yelling, but the crowd was still lively.

It's true that Ji Si has something to do and it's not just an excuse. He always treats the people around Qi Ran a little close. The Pei family and the Qi family are family friends, and Pei Zhan and Qi Ran are brothers in the same school. The elder brother doted on him, so he took care of Pei Yao and the Pei family twins as half siblings, especially after Old General Pei died in battle, he went to Pei's house every day, so he regarded Pei's house as half of his family.

He treats the Pei family well and Ji Si naturally does too, Pei Yao has a gentle temperament and looks like a lady of everyone, so she is not annoying, plus she is about the same age as Li Xi, Ji Si also treats her as a younger sister in his heart, and has never been in the past In other aspects, he thought about love, whether it was in the past or today, he gave everything to Qi Ran and others without getting anything, and he never thought that Pei Yao would have feelings for him.

At this time, I just sighed in my heart that this sister Pei Zhan is really good, there is nothing else, and led the first day of junior high school for a stroll in Lin'an City, then went to Du Cunxiao's mansion.

Du Yushi is a clean and honest man who has been in Yushitai for many years. At the end of his life, he was poor and poor, and his monthly salary was sent back to his hometown to repay his uncle and aunt's support when he was young. He only left some daily expenses. He has also improved, but at most he will not live in poverty. It is not enough to support the purchase of a house at the feet of the emperor in Lin'an, so the place where he lives is even more shabby than a nine-rank sesame official.

Yushitai is not considered lucrative, but it is also a fat job. Naturally, someone has a different kind of mind to please him. All kinds of beauties, houses, rare treasures come to him, and he is prevaricated by a few words. In a word, no, no, no.

Everyone who has come and gone has also known that the newly appointed Lord Du in Yushitai is a fool who can't get into oil and salt. Du Cunxiao calmed down quite a bit, although the place was a bit dilapidated, there was a watt to cover his head, a brick to shelter from the wind, and he had three meals a day without worrying about food and clothing.

But Ji Si couldn't see that this person wronged him. Whether Ji Shilang was a prince or a high official, he was the master who would enjoy himself. Although he was not extravagant and wasteful, he was also particular about it. If you order well, then what else do you need to defend your home and country? It is unreasonable to want the horse to contribute and not give the horse some good food.

When I came here today, I just stepped into the courtyard, and I saw Mrs. Du in Yushitai wearing cotton clothes and hemp shoes, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and holding a hammer to mend the leaks on the roof. He had a headache and raised his head and asked: " What are you doing?"

Hearing the movement, the person on the roof stopped what he was doing, turned around and looked down, gasped and said quickly, "Why are you here?"

Then he added, "Last night, the snow on the branches melted and pressed onto the roof. When I woke up in the morning, the roof collapsed. I will make up for it when I have free time today. You go into the house and I will come down right away."

"Slow down!" Ji Si reminded, looking at the man's wobbly appearance.

Then he entered the house with the first day of the junior high school. Some water in the house probably seeped in from the roof leaks, but it was cleaned up very cleanly, and the blessing characters and couplets were carefully pasted on. There were a few more window grilles on the windows. There was a bit of a new year in the room, and he and Chu Yi found a clean place before sitting down. Du Heng came in from outside the house, his clothes had been tidied up, and he was pouring tea in a good mood with a pot of hot tea in his hand. He asked in a loud voice, "Today's Zhengdan Festival, why do you have time to come here?"

"Here's something for you," Ji Si smiled, and pointed to a pile of beautifully packaged gift boxes on the table, "You pick and use it, and you can give it away if you don't need it."

Du Heng immediately understood what this person meant. Being an official means giving gifts during festivals and festivals is inevitable. He used to be a ninth-rank censor, but this year is very different. Some rules must be followed, Ji I think this is thinking of myself coming to give charcoal in the snow.

Thinking of this, Du Heng opened his mouth and wanted to refuse, but before he could say anything, he heard Ji Si say: "They are all given by others, and there is almost no room in my house, so you should be grateful for your help!"

Speaking of this, Du Heng had no choice but to nod his acknowledgment, made a note in his heart, and asked again: "Just this matter is not worth your trip."

"Why don't you say that Cunxiao is smart?" Ji Si chuckled, "Your place is a bit deserted, and there are no people in my place, why don't you go to my house and have a bar together."

Hearing this, Du Heng's heart warmed up, and it was rare for him to show a little smile, "I won't eat the wine after I received it. The teacher sent someone to call me earlier, and I have to go to his house later."

Du Heng used to be a student of Taixue, and the teacher he was talking about should be Mr. Liu, who is famous in Taixue. In terms of knowledge, he is not inferior to Qi Xiang and Fang Taifu, but he has no intention of being an official. Any Mr. Taixue can be said to have a great temper.

Ji Si had heard of this person's reputation but only today did he know that Du Heng was his student. Then he thought about Liu Hengyuan's full of knowledge and self-confidence, and Du Heng's steady, mature, world-savvy personality, but not accident-prone, was able to join this old man. My husband's eyes are gone, so I didn't force him any more.

The two chatted a few words, Ji Sinian heard that Xue was busy in and out of the mansion, it was not appropriate to run out by herself, so she had no intention of staying, and then she got up to leave, Du Heng chased after her as soon as she left the yard, Shen Said: "Almost forgot an important thing."

"Huh?" Ji Si was puzzled.

"Didn't you ask me to look up the totem of the eagle with folded feathers for you?" Du Heng lowered his voice, "A classmate of my Taixue is now doing a long history in Quding. I think Quding used to be Shuzhou, Shuzhou When Zhou went out, Xiqiang said that there might be some news, so he sent someone to send a letter to ask him to check for me, and I only received a reply the day before yesterday."

When he said this, his face was a little dignified, and he paused for a while before continuing: "In the 12th year of Chengde... that is, two years before the discovery of the Xiqiang fine work incident, there seemed to be a change in the Xiqiang country and suddenly alerted. Not to mention sending people to search the forests and villages near Zhuluyuan, they also secretly sent people to sneak into Shuzhou, as if they were looking for someone, and there was a lot of noise, making the people panic and think there was going to be a war."

Ji Si lowered his eyes and listened. He was still young at the time but he still had some impressions. He remembered that his father was busy with official duties at that time, and his worried brows had not been relaxed all day long. His mother said that it was because Xi Qiang deliberately provoked him, but Thinking about it now, Xiqiang had just gone through a civil strife and it should be time to recharge its batteries. In addition, they only searched but did not hurt anyone. It was more like looking for someone than being prepared.

Seeing that he was silent, Du Heng said again: "And this is not the first time this totem has appeared. I looked through the files over the years and saw it in the files reported by the local government. In the 13th year of Chengde, some people thought it was a fine work of Xiqiang, so they reported it." Going to Beijing, speaking of which, you should be familiar with the place.”

"I am familiar with?"

"Zhangzhou." Du Heng said word by word.

Zhangzhou?

Ji Si repeated it in his mind, his tight lips revealed his confusion, he didn't make a sound but his brows were tightly furrowed, a picture suddenly flashed in his mind, it was a child in rags and skinny , was kneeling on the ground picking up dusty steamed buns whose original color could not be seen, stuffing them into his mouth desperately, lest someone would happen to be the same as him.

Then a pair of boots suddenly appeared in front of my eyes, and the child's movement of stuffing the steamed buns became more and more nervous, and then a cold male voice came from next to my ear, "Is this Qingxue's child?"

"Yes," another voice sounded, Ji Si was very familiar with this voice, it was Qian Duo's voice, "When Qingxue was sent to Dajin with that batch of fine works, Qingxue changed her identity with... I've been there for several years, if nothing goes wrong, it should be in Lin'an, Second Master, how about we..."

"No hurry," the man called Er Ye raised his hand to stop the words behind him, and slowly squatted down and gave the disheartened child a hard slap, his five fingers on his neck gradually tightened, the child struggled desperately The pupils widened suddenly, as if the eyeballs were about to pop out, and the little face flushed red and rolled the eyes, as if someone would break his neck in the next second.

"Want to live?" the man asked.

The child's ears were already ringing, but he couldn't really hear what the man was saying, he could only see his lips opening and closing, but he still nodded his head, and then he was thrown aside forcefully, covering his neck and dying Coughing, the unswallowed food was mixed with bloody spit all over the floor, as if to cough up the internal organs.

"In the future, as long as you do what I say, you won't have to live a life like this again. The rich clothes, fine food, high beds and warm pillows are all yours. In the future, the Ji family will be nothing more than a dog in front of you. You let them give birth to them." To live, if you let them die they must die, you have to torture the enemy a little bit until they die, remember?"

The ten-year-old child was inexplicably afraid of this man who almost killed him. The pain in his throat kept reminding him of the nightmare experience just now. He nodded repeatedly, looked in the direction of the man and slowly raised his eyes, but he was about to touch this man. When he made a face, Ji Si felt a stabbing pain in his brain.

"My lord!" Chuyi shouted hastily as his expression changed.

Du Heng was also extremely flustered, he helped him up and said anxiously: "What's the matter? But what's uncomfortable, why don't you go into the room and rest for a while?"

"It's okay," Ji Si rubbed his brows and said weakly, "It's enough for the old problem to slow down."

He looked a little tired. The pictures he saw just now should be the memory of Mr. Ji when he was young. Qingxue is the name of Mrs. Ji's mother. Although the person in his memory didn't see his face clearly, Qian Duo was very respectful to him. Mrs. Ji's mother is also very familiar, and this identity suddenly becomes complicated.

Ji Si originally thought that Mrs. Ji was just an unfavored bastard born to a brothel girl, but now it seems that it is not the only case, the change of identity mentioned in memory?What identity did you change?Qingxue and whose?Is it a man or a woman?The other person went to Lin'an?

All kinds of signs indicate that this matter is far more complicated than he thought, like a fog with no exit, but the truth hidden inside is already being peeled off.

It's complicated but exciting. Ji Si couldn't wait to see what the play was about. He smiled with his lips curled up, his pale face was a little more beautiful, his eyes sparkled and he said briskly: " I'm sorry, I owe you a big favor this time, and I will pay you back when I have a chance."

Du Heng saw that there was nothing unusual about him, so he let go of his hand and stood aside, saying in a deep voice, "Although I don't know what you are doing, I know you know what you are doing so I can't intervene more, but this matter is far more complicated than I thought at first. , no matter what you do, you have to be more careful, if you need it, I will tell you."

"Just waiting for your words," Ji Si lowered his voice, "If your classmate is in Quding, then please send a letter to me and check someone else for me."

"Who?" Du Heng asked.

Ji Si squinted his eyes and said softly: "Minister of Rites, Kong Fengya."

The crackling sound of firecrackers in the hands of children running past outside the courtyard, mixed with the lively laughter, the sound of firecrackers burst into the sky one after another, the snow on the branches trembled and fell from the tree with a swish On the ground, it piled up into a small snow mountain.

When viewed from a distance, the snow-capped mountains are very short and very close, as if you can reach them with your hands, but when you look at them up close, they stand tall and towering and difficult to cross. Chengde Emperor stood under the eaves and watched seriously, and the biting cold wind penetrated into his chest, making him unable to hold back, whispered He coughed twice.

"It's time for Your Majesty to go in, all the empresses in the palaces have arrived." Sun Hai bowed and reminded in a low voice.

"It's been another year," Emperor Chengde sighed as he looked at Miyagi, which was gradually dimming and lit up with candlelight, "the days are going by a little faster, and for a moment I thought I had just succeeded to the throne from the previous emperor. "

He smiled and asked about other things, "How many years has Ah Si been here?"

Now Sun Hai couldn't understand what this moody monarch was thinking. After pondering for a while, he answered carefully, "Return to Your Majesty, it's been almost seven years."

"It's been seven years," Emperor Chengde said quietly looking into the distance, "If he's still not sure how promising he is, then let's not talk about it, let's prepare for the banquet."

"Yes." Sun Hai nodded to the little eunuch who was waiting at the side, and the latter immediately understood and hurried down to deliver the order.

"By the way," Emperor Chengde stopped as if suddenly remembering something, and turned his head to ask Sun Hai behind him, "Is the crown prince still the one who will keep the New Year's Eve this year?"

His question stunned Sun Hai, but he still nodded and answered, "Yes, the crown prince has always been doing the keeping of the old age."

Emperor Chengde fiddled with the white jade finger on his thumb, pondered for a while before slowly saying: "The crown prince's body has not been recuperated, it is hard work to keep the year old, don't add new wounds to the old wounds, let him cultivate well, Wen You Let him stay in the mansion with peace of mind after accepting the side concubine, and leave the matter of keeping the year...to Jingming."

"King Qin?" Sun Hai was a little surprised.

Keeping the old age is not a trivial matter, and it also represents the attitude of Emperor Chengde. He needs to burn incense and chant sutras in the royal ancestral hall until dawn. For some years, the East Palace is responsible for it. Occasionally, it will be handed over to King Liang and King Rui for a few years, but it has never been given to him. Passing the King of Qin was because the King of Qin was far away in Quding and not always in Beijing, and the second was because the King of Qin was not favored. Emperor Chengde's arrangement made people confused and surprised for a while.

"What?" Emperor Chengde looked over, "Is there anything wrong?"

"No, the old slave will arrange it now." Sun Hai didn't dare to presume the sacred meaning, he quickly lowered his head to avoid his sight, and said respectfully.

After finishing speaking, Emperor Chengde waved his hand and disappeared around the corner, "Okay, let's start the banquet."

When the footsteps were far away, Sun Hai raised his head and looked at the direction where Emperor Chengde left. After a while, he took out a jade pendant that looked like a crescent bud from his bosom, with a look of reluctance and nostalgia. The surface is rubbed shiny, it is not difficult to see the careful care of the owner.

He looked sideways at the dark sky outside the corridor, sighed faintly, put the jade pendant back into his pocket, turned and left.

The sighing sound was blown away by the wind before it drifted away. The wind blew so hard that the red lantern hanging under the eaves swayed, and the light and shadow hit the small field on the ground and flickered.

When Li Hongyang heard the news, he was holding his new favorite Concubine Ji and was listening to a play. Ji Si found this play troupe and originally planned to give it to Emperor Chengde to please him. The same is true for people and things. Before the gifts are sent out, they simply stay to relieve boredom.

Concubine Ji's slender hands twisted a peeled grape, leaned against the man's arms and put the grape in his mouth softly, Li Hongyang lowered his head and smiled, opened his mouth to hold the grape in his mouth, swallowed it before Looking at the subordinate kneeling below who sent the news, he said coldly: "He sent the third child to watch the new year?"

"That's what the news from the palace says."

"Your Highness, haven't we always underestimated King Qin? Hasn't he been hiding his strength and biding his time, sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight?" The guest at the side said anxiously.

Li Hongyang didn't answer, but looked at the head of the person below and asked, "What's the reaction from King Qin?"

"No response at all," said the person who reported the news. "When the news came from the palace, the King of Qin was practicing calligraphy. When he learned that he was going to watch the year, he shook his hand and destroyed the calligraphy. Where are the words at night?"

"He has leisure." Li Hongyang sneered a few times, then looked at the guest who just spoke, and said, "The third brother is much simpler than the eldest, if he really wanted to fight with me, he wouldn't go to that wretched place in Quding for a few years. , that temperament is like that of Concubine Shu who is weak and incompetent and afraid of causing trouble to her upper body, rather than being afraid of him, it is better to be more afraid of the one in the palace."

"What does your Highness mean..." Another guest official lowered his voice and said, "Does the emperor want to introduce another King Liang?"

Li Hongyang didn't answer, but just snorted coldly, "Who can guess what he's thinking, the youngest is timid and afraid, even though he doesn't have the guts to compete with the lonely, he still has to be on guard, this is an extra thought There is always nothing wrong, let people pay attention to it, and report it immediately if there is any trouble."

"My subordinate understands."

The person who reported the news backed out, and the Ke Qing who spoke earlier said again, "This King Qin will not be able to make a big deal. Your Highness is now guarding against King Rui. You must know that the mansion of General Pingbei stands behind King Rui."

"General Pingbei's Mansion," Li Hongyang repeated, with a cold look on his face, "isn't there General Dingwei's Mansion here?"

The tone was full of certainty, and it stirred up waves in everyone's ears.

And when Li Hongxuan heard the news, he was sitting in a pile of bamboo stick paste with his hair disheveled to paste the lanterns. He didn't raise his head when he heard the news, but asked lazily, "Do you think the third child can beat the second child?"

Song Chengjiu was stunned and replied, "The subordinates don't know."

Li Hongxuan didn't continue this question, but handed over the pasted lantern in his hand, and said with a crooked smile, "Here, see you off."

It was a very delicate red lantern with a silhouette painted on it, and it was made of excellent materials. Eleven of them hung in his house were all given by the master in front of him. This is No. 12.

The paper-cuts on the lamp are lifelike, and those figures seem to be moving when viewed through the light.

The servants of the Qi Mansion came one after another stepping on the light and shadow, and put plates of delicate and delicious dishes on the round table. The Qi family entered the table and it was not very lively. Qi Kuangshan only had his dead wife in his heart. There is no plan to continue, and with Qi Xi marrying into the Yang Mansion, the huge Prime Minister's Mansion is even more deserted, father and son are not talkative masters, if there is no Qi Nian to amuse and please, I am afraid it will be a meal Can't even say three words.

After drinking for three rounds, although they didn't talk much, they were very warm and harmonious. Qi Kuangshan and his two sons talked harmoniously, and would be amused by Qi Nian's words from time to time. In order to enjoy this rare family happiness, he inquired about Qi Xu's body and then pointed the conversation at Qi Ran who was peeling shrimp for Qi Nian, pretending to mention casually: "You are not young now, and Nian'er is also Be obedient and sensible, and you should hold on to your lifelong voice, if you have someone you like, just say it, and I will arrange it for you for my father."

As soon as these words came out, the scene fell silent. Qi Xu subconsciously raised his eyes to look at Qi Ran who was opposite him. He wiped his hands with the handkerchief used to clean his hands, and replied unhurriedly: "It's not too tiring for you to say this every year. You said that you let me marry and you don't worry about harming other girls. It's time to throw it away." It is the face of our Qi family."

Every time this topic is brought up, the atmosphere between the father and son will be a little stiff. When Qi Kuangshan first found out that Qi Ran was in love with Li Si, he was extremely shocked. Although Da Jin did not reject it, it was not considered popular. A model, even more strict rules, all the children in the clan are gentlemen and have never done anything out of the ordinary. Qi Kuangshan was depressed at first, feeling ashamed of his ancestors, but seeing his youngest son worried and sad Before it was too late, let alone poke him in the heart, he simply turned a blind eye and closed his eyes, forgetting about his face, reputation, and forgetting about it.

Now that he has half a foot in the coffin, he can see all kinds of false names, and only wants his children to be happy and his family to be safe.

But who would have expected that the little prince died of illness, Qi Ran seemed to have lost his soul during those days, Qi Kuangshan looked at it with pain in his eyes, but he was helpless, the friendship of young people was the strongest and sincere, like a flower blooming suddenly, but now Qi Ran is experiencing a plague of insects, all he can do is wait for him to get over it slowly.

Fortunately, the members of the Qi family have always endured hardship.

Qi Xiang loves his youngest son very much, upon hearing this, he just twirled his beard and stared at him, and said angrily, "My father didn't say that you must find a woman, as long as you are a knowledgeable, interesting, and good-natured person, you can do it anyway." Let me see a shadow, you are going to become a monk if you are so pure-hearted and ascetic."

"Pfft." Qi Xu couldn't help laughing out loud.

"You're embarrassed to laugh," Qi Kuangshan was angry, and immediately turned the gunfire around, and criticized again, "As a brother, you should lead by example, cultivate yourself, govern your family, govern the country and the world, and achieve success in your career without family."

Qi Xu smiled lightly but didn't speak, one on the left was more perfunctory than the other, and one was more indifferent than the other, Qi Kuangshan rubbed his brows sadly and became very anxious.

"Who said there is no shadow?" Qi Ran suddenly spoke.

Hearing this, Qi Xu's complexion changed and he suddenly felt bad. He was afraid that Qi Ran would say something that he shouldn't have said, so he quickly winked at the person. Said: "Isn't that grave still standing by the river?"

These words almost made Qi Kuangshan vomit a mouthful of blood, and after the family banquet, he went back to his room early to rest with a haggard appearance.

So Qi Ran went out from the gate of Qi Mansion openly and aboveboard, and was stopped by someone when he reached the front yard.

"Where are you going to watch the New Year's Eve tonight?" Qi Xu asked.

"Brother, why do you ask knowingly?" Qi Ran replied.

Qi Xu tightened the sable-haired cloak to cover half of his face, feeling that he looked like the elder who beat mandarin ducks in the scriptures, and said quietly: "It's better not to run around to keep the year old."

Qi Ran glanced at it calmly, but couldn't see why, so he just nodded lightly, "What brother said is true."

After that, he turned around and left.

"Don't you just perfunctory me, turn your back and climb over the wall?" Qi Xu asked.

Qi Ran didn't say anything this time, the meaning was self-evident.

The two brothers looked at each other, and finally Qi Xu sighed and turned to the side, "Go early and come back early."

After several people left the mansion, Qi Xu looked up at the red lantern hanging in the courtyard, touched his nose and said to himself: "I hope father won't think about keeping the year together tonight."

The light of the lanterns is very bright, and the Zhengdan Festival pays attention to a lively atmosphere, so the entire streets of Lin'an are lit with lanterns. There are only three or five family members in the huge streets, and it is usually rare to see silence. The candlelight in warm colors is quite a symbol of the city of thousands of lights, and the snowy road of a good year.

Qi Ran turned sideways into the alley, turned around and stopped under a courtyard wall, he jumped over the wall and entered Ji's mansion, the servants of Ji's mansion were greeted by Ji Si in advance, and passed along the way He didn't see anyone, so he just arrived at the courtyard of Hubu Shilang so easily.

There are many red silk ribbons hanging in the courtyard, and many lanterns are hung under the ribbons. When you get close, you feel as if you are in the sea of ​​lights. The figure of Minister Bu Ji.

Lips hooked into a smile, Qi Ran walked to the pavilion and took a seat, picked up the jug and poured two glasses of wine, picked up one of the glasses and put it in front of his nose to sniff lightly, squinted his eyes and raised his head to drink.

The man appeared after he had finished his third glass of wine. He stood outside the pavilion holding an umbrella, and asked with a smile in his eyes, "Hey, this is a rare visitor. I don't know that Second Master Qi is not here." It's a holiday in the mansion, what are you doing at my mansion?"

Holding the wine glass, Qi Ran raised the corners of his lips, looked sideways and said, "Here to send you warmth."

Ji Si bent his eyebrows and laughed out loud, and quickly went forward to close the umbrella and shake off the snowflakes on it, put it aside, leaned over and asked with a smile: "Are you cold?"

This question came out of nowhere, it has neither beginning nor end, but it is in line with Ji Si's temperament that every time he thinks about it, Qi Ran raised his eyebrows as if he had guessed something, and looked up at the snow that was getting bigger and bigger outside the pavilion. , nodded sincerely, "It's a bit cold."

After the words fell, Ji Si took out two jars of wine from under the table, blinked and said innocently, "This medicinal wine can also warm up the body, try it?"

His intentions were too obvious, Qi Ran raised his eyelids to look at the person in front of him, a smile appeared in his eyes, and said in cooperation with the person: "Okay."

Hearing this, Ji Si smiled even more joyfully, it is natural that he has ulterior motives to be at ease.