In the blink of an eye, it is mid-July, the sun rises in the early morning, and the golden morning light shines on the Tianshui Bridge.
In the big house deep in the alley of the Pei family, the maids who got up early had finished their work and gathered around the verandah, chatting:
"It's absolutely true. I heard it from Biaotou Chen himself. Master Ye ran to Junshan Terrace in Zezhou and split half of the lake in half with one knife. The old swordsman flew more than three miles away..."
"Three miles?"
"No, Master Ye took advantage of the wind and left after the fight, holding in his arms a stunning beauty..."
"Who are you hugging? It can't be Sanniang, right?"
"Sister Xiuhe said no. Sanniang is so reserved and can be held by Master Ye in public. I'm afraid the sun will come out in the west..."
…
A flurry of words entered the elegant West Residence. Zhe Yunli, who had been practicing boxing by the lake every day, was rarely absent from the table.
In the boudoir where the young lady lives in the west house, the doors and windows are closed.
There is a table outside, covered with a soft blanket, and white jade bird cards are neatly placed; on the small case are the copied homework, pen, ink, paper and inkstones.
The back room is separated by a bead curtain. There is a light blue coat and skirt draped on the screen. A sword over three feet tall is placed on the dressing table. Next to it are rouge and gouache, a hairpin box, a wooden donkey for birds, a small jasper turtle and other small objects.
In the show bed, Zhe Yunli was wearing white pajamas, lying on the pillow in a large font shape, with a loose collar showing a touch of whiteness. Her spirited face was full of gloominess, and she would turn over and sigh from time to time:
"well……"
In a few days, Zhe Yunli will turn sixteen, and she has completely transformed from a little girl into a serious heroine.
According to the conventions of the world, at the age of sixteen you can find a husband and marry someone, and you can also go out on your own to explore the world.
On such an important day, the master is thousands of miles away in Nanxiao Mountain, and the master's wife has run away with cousin Jing, and she doesn't know when she will come back, not even the lazy bird is here.
Zhe Yunli hadn't slept well these past few days. He woke up early today and was tossing and turning in bed, thinking about his future arrangements.
Now that she is a grown-up girl, the mistress will probably not force her to copy books and spank her anymore...
If you are not a little girl, you must have great ambitions. As a swordsman, your ambition is to compete for the top swordsman. I wonder if getting my cousin Jing drunk and beating him up counts...
I've been thinking wildly for a long time, and it's already sunrise.
Perhaps because she was afraid that the sun would burn her butt before she got up, and was laughed at by the Pei family maids, Zhe Yunli got up slowly, washed up, put on her skirt, dressed up like a charming lady, and went out alone to the street.
The weather is cool in autumn and there are many people on the streets of Beijing.
Zhe Yunli walked through the streets and alleys, wandering aimlessly for a long time. He had a few bags of snacks in his hands and returned to Dyefang Street without even realizing it.
The renovation work on Dyefang Street has basically been completed. Now the street has a brand new look. The shops on both sides are being renovated. A few fast-moving ones have begun to open for business. There are also more cars, horses and pedestrians on the street that was rarely visited in the past.
There are many bonsais planted in the small courtyard of Shuanggui Lane. They have not been moved yet, so naturally these things have not been removed. Luo Ning told her before leaving that she should come over from time to time to visit and water them.
Zheyunli ate melon seeds, said hello to the Pei family steward on the street, and walked to Shuanggui Lane, still thinking about her arrangements for growing up.
As a result, as soon as I turned into the alley, I suddenly found a sneaky figure wandering outside the small courtyard deep in the alley.
Zhe Yunli suddenly came back to his senses and looked carefully, only to see the figure outside the courtyard. She was a girl dressed as a maid. She was leaning on the courtyard wall and looking inside. Her legs were dangling in the air and seemed to have fallen on the wall.
??
Zhe Yunli was stunned for a moment, his eyes showed surprise at first, then panic, and he looked around.
The maid in the alley spotted Zhe Yunli with the aroma of books out of the corner of her eye. She was slightly stunned. She didn't recognize it at first. After careful identification, she fell off the wall and said with surprise:
"Miss, Miss..."
Zhe Yunli quickly raised his hand to signal the other party not to be surprised. He quickly came to him and looked around:
"Ping'er, why are you here? Where is the master?"
Ping'er is the maid of the leader of Pingtian. She is usually responsible for the leader's food and daily life. Because she and Zhe Yunli are similar in age, they have a close relationship.
Ping'er was very excited after not seeing each other for nearly half a year. She took Zhe Yunli's hand and said:
"The leader didn't come. I originally asked someone to deliver a letter to Madam, but I was afraid that she wouldn't have enough food and clothing, so I asked for it myself..."
Hearing this, Zhe Yunli couldn't help but become nervous:
"Master wants us to go back to Nanxiao Mountain?"
Ping'er nodded: "Madam is not here, everything big and small has to be taken care of by the leader. It has been almost half a year. It would be fine if Madam was busy with business, but Madam has not done anything..."
Zhe Yunli took Ping'er back to the yard and frowned slightly:
"Why are you doing nothing? My wife and I both rescued Qiu Daxia..."
"Yes, you should go back after you are rescued. What are you still doing in the capital?"
"Well... Mistress, I still have some important things to do. I'll go back after I finish them."
"The leader said that if the matter of entering the palace cannot be accomplished, forget it."
Ping'er sat on the small bench and said seriously:
"How risky is it to sneak into the palace secretly? My wife's martial arts skills are mediocre, and the information is not well researched. The new sword leader is from the imperial court. Such a powerful master, my wife has been in the capital for half a year, and she has not mentioned a word..."
"..."
Zhe Yunli blinked his eyes, because the master's wife was the one who made the decision on these important matters, and it was not easy for her to talk nonsense, so she responded:
"Master Wife has her own sense of discretion. The matter of entering the palace is 100% sure. Just go back and reply to Master like this. We will go back when the matter is finished."
Ping'er shook her head: "That's not possible. The leader said a few days ago that Madam can't even figure out the experts in the imperial court. It's easy for things to go wrong if you stay in the capital. Let me tell you to go back; if you really have a way to do serious things, just
Let me report the progress in time..."
Report progress??
Zhe Yunli sat up a little straighter, a little unhappy:
"Master, can you please supervise me and my wife?"
Ping'er shook her head quickly: "It's not supervision, it's just helping to run errands and take care of the food and daily life. If the young lady or madam dislikes it, I will go back, or the leader can come in person."
Master is coming?
Zhe Yunli felt that if the master came over, her happy days of walking during the day and playing mahjong at night would be completely over. Thinking about it, she could only bite the bullet and said:
"How could I dislike it? You came just in time. I haven't finished copying the book yet..."
"The leader has said that you are not allowed to copy books for you. I have to check on your behalf every day. If you don't obey, the leader will send someone to take the young lady back."
Zhe Yunli opened his mouth. Although he didn't speak, he felt that the whole world had turned gray...
——
At night, downstream of Qingjiang River.
A fleet of several giant ships sailed smoothly on the river.
On the second floor of the cabin of the first treasure ship, lights were on in the room near the stern. Night Terror Hall had a saber hanging on his waist. He stood with his hands behind his hands by the window, looking at the turbulent river behind him, with a little helplessness in his eyes.
If three girls have no food to eat, then living with five girls and a dozen maids is basically equivalent to confinement.
All the female family members live in the boat building. The rooms on the second floor are the dormitories for the accompanying palace ladies. The upstairs is the bedroom of the Queen Mother and Benben, and the well-informed Master Xuanji also lives in it.
Outside the ship building, there are also guards and black government experts responsible for security. Not to mention the Night Terror Hall, which drags Ning'er and Sanniang on the road day after day. It is not convenient to even go out and move around. They basically stay at home these days.
, lying on the bed recovering from his injuries.
Ning'er and Sanniang lived next door. During the day, they would come over to apply for medicine, and would give him a kiss and pinch on the way, but they did not dare to stay in the room at night.
As for the three women upstairs, Benben was afraid that the master would misunderstand, so he only came to visit when the medical girl came to check the pulse; while Xuanji, the real person, was afraid that the queen mother would misunderstand, so she drank too much all day long and couldn't come here at all; as for the queen mother, needless to say
Yes, there is no reason to meet at all.
Because it was too boring to stay in the room, even Niaoniao was not willing to accompany him. He went upstairs to eat and drink all day long and basically never came down.
The ship set off from the Wuxi Canal and sailed upstream for several days. It had arrived near Jiang'an Pier, which was less than ten miles away from the official wharf outside the capital.
The fleet is fully loaded with imperial troops, and is also escorting bandit leaders such as King Wu, Yao Wenzhong, and Bai Siming. When they arrive at the official dock, thousands of people will enter the city. I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble.
Ye Jingtang saw that the official ship behind him was already packing up things and getting ready to disembark, so he turned around and walked out of the room.
In the next room, Ning'er and Sanniang were also packing their things. Although the door was closed, with Ye Jingtang's perception, they could still hear whispers:
"But I've got it, I'm afraid Jingtang might be holding it back..."
"I want to go back to accompany Yunli. Didn't you say last time that women are not bad at tossing around? He has been recuperating for so long, and you just want to try it out alone..."
"You're holding it in a lot too. You rubbed my arm last night. You probably couldn't hold it in in the middle of the night and came over to join in the fun..."
"Do you think I'm the same as you? I wish I could be clean for a few days..."
"Just pretend..."
…
Ye Jingtang listened for a while, without interrupting, and followed the stairs to the third floor.
This ship is a treasure ship used by the empress for traveling. The third floor is magnificent and spacious, but there are not many rooms. It is only divided into a study bedroom and an outer hall for viewing.
She was about to return to the palace to be a canary, and the Queen Mother would definitely be reluctant to leave. She stood on the viewing terrace and looked at the scenery along both sides of the river.
As expected, Master Xuanji got drunk again. She stood behind her, hugging the Queen Mother's waist, and resting her chin on her shoulder. She didn't know what she was doing. When she saw Ye Jing coming up, she turned around and looked away again.
Went back.
In the study room, the door was open, and Dongfang Liren was sitting in front of the desk, with his back straight writing something on the paper. He looked like he was reviewing memorials and thinking about national affairs, with an extremely focused expression.
Ye Jingtang wanted to knock on the door, but after thinking for a moment, he remained silent and relied on his martial arts skills to sneak into the study silently and quietly touched the side of the desk.
Looking up, Benben could see that he had an open copy of "The Tears of a Heroine" in his hand, which showed a scene in which a heroine was injured and was treated by a thief.
On the pages of the next few chapters, there are drawn pictures. The upper part is the environment described in the book. The flowers, plants and trees are all carefully outlined without any carelessness. The images of the chivalrous woman and the little thief are even more detailed.
Although I am painting on paper, I can feel the undulating lines of the watermelon, which is far more abundant than an ordinary woman, and the power of the hand holding it...
Ye Jingtang was astonished when he saw this, just like Dongfang Liren saw him practicing martial arts. He carefully looked at the shameless thief in the book, and found that he was extremely handsome, and he could be said to be a powerful weapon from the Hantian Temple...
?
Ye Jingtang blinked his eyes, feeling flattered in his heart. He didn't expect Benben to be so sincere and that he was actually painted in his mold.
Looking at the humiliated chivalrous woman again, even though she tried her best to make her look different, the heroic spirit between her brows still gave her a sense of déjà vu...
"..."
Ye Jingtang blinked his eyes and held it in for a long time. The only thing that came to his mind was: No wonder the watermelon painting is so big...
For fear of being disturbed, Ye Jingtang didn't make a sound, but just stood not far away and looked at it quietly.
Dongfang Liren concentrated on painting. After finishing a picture, he wrote the plot of the book in the blank space below, which can be said to be full of sincerity.
After finishing writing, Dongfang Li put down his pen, raised his hand and stretched out.
"Hmm~...Hmm?!"
As soon as Dongfang Liren raised his arm, he found a young man in black standing not far away.
Their eyes met, Dongfang Liren blinked, then his face turned red, and he quickly covered the paper on the table:
"Who let you in?"
Ye Jingtang pretended not to see anything and gestured out the window:
"The ship will arrive soon. I came up to ask about the arrangements. I saw His Highness was busy with official business, so I didn't bother him."
Dongfang Liren felt that Ye Jingtang must have been watching it for a long time. He glanced at the erotic pictures on the table, put the paper away, and said displeasedly:
"You are my subordinate, so you must remember your identity. I originally wanted to draw a picture album for you. Since you are so pampered and arrogant and don't know etiquette, this thing..."
Ye Jingtang saw that Benben was about to give up, so he quickly apologized:
"I understand my mistake. I will definitely say hello when I come in from now on."
Dongfang Liren snorted softly, because it was originally painted for Ye Jingtang, so he didn't pursue it too much, and instead said:
"We still have to transfer King Wu and other thieves to the custody of the Ministry of Justice. I'm afraid we will have to work for most of the night. You are injured, so you don't need to follow me. Go back and rest early. How is your injury?"
"After so many days of rest, it's almost done. I'll report to Heiya on time tomorrow morning."
"Don't be so anxious. You have been busy since the murder case on Zhuji Street. It's time to relax for a few days. Don't you want to move to a new house? Come to the Yamen when you are done. I will go and ask you for a reward. With this achievement,
It shouldn't be difficult to find a real title."
Ye Jingtang didn't care about these things and said with a smile:
"Your Highness will just take care of the arrangements. I'll take my leave now."
"Um."
Dongfang Liren nodded slightly and began to sort out the papers he had drawn. When he noticed that Ye Jingtang had taken a few steps and then turned back, he frowned and said:
"Anything else?"
"With these paintings, can you..."
"no."
Dongfang Liren worked tirelessly for so many days to draw these. If Nightmare in the Night took it to play with and lost it or got it dirty, or got stained with something strange, she would be afraid that she would vomit blood, so she made a plan for it.
He waved his hand as if there was no need to discuss it and said:
"I will give it to you after I finish the painting and bind it."
When Ye Jingtang saw this, he didn't force it and gave an instruction:
"Let's focus on business. Just draw these things slowly. I'm not in a hurry."
"Know it."
…
————
I'll take a day off tomorrow to write a detailed outline.
The plot has entered the middle stage, and there are a lot of directions that can be developed. I haven’t written the detailed outline yet. I just want to make a rough outline today. I can’t even decide on the title of the volume. I’ll take a day off to sort out the plot or 2