After the hero goes crazy

Chapter 359 Don't hide

When Yao Shouning was talking, Lu Zhi suddenly pulled her into his arms.

"you……"

She was startled, and turned around on her toes off the ground, and she had already changed places with Lu Zhi.

Shizi, who was listening to her with his head down before, turned around and shouted:
"roll!"

I saw several scrawny and ragged people surrounded by Shizi, at this moment, under his scolding, they did not retreat, but stretched out their hands to grab his clothes:

"For stuttering..."

"Give me something to eat—"

These people were so thin that they were skinny, their eyes were so big that they almost protruded from their sockets, and their expressions seemed a little numb.

In the darkness of night, Yao Shouning raised his head and looked at one of them, terrified by the deathly silence in his eyes, subconsciously shrank his neck, and hid in Shizi's arms.

The place where Lu Zhi was standing was originally hers, that is to say, these refugees originally came for her.

These people were not scolded by Lu Zhi to retreat, but grabbed his clothes and asked him to give him something to eat.

Even with Lu Zhi's skill, once trapped at this moment, it is difficult to get out.

Yao Shouning thought of the piece of tribute he had given away casually earlier, knowing that he had caused trouble, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Lu Zhi's body was pushed to the left and right, and he couldn't stand upright.

There were more and more people, these people walked unsteadily, staggered around and shouted, causing great psychological pressure on Yao Shouning.

In a trance, she remembered the scene where the crowd took on the shape of a monster after the firecrackers went off, and she turned pale with shock.

She was born in a family of officials. Although her life could not be called rich and powerful, she had never really suffered. She had never seen such a terrible scene.

While feeling a little flustered, the movement here caught the attention of everyone on the altar.

Chu Shaolian turned his head and lowered his head to give some instructions.

There are many people participating in the holiday party tonight, and there is a high possibility of turmoil. The Chu family probably has already dealt with it.

A group of soldiers was stationed around the altar, but there were too many people surrounding it, and it was difficult for these soldiers to squeeze into the crowd.

At this moment, someone raised a mallet and beat the drum vigorously.

'boom--'

There was a heavy sound, and the restless crowd froze.

"It's porridge!" Someone on the altar shouted.

As soon as the words fell, the refugees who had been pulling around the two princes suddenly rushed towards the altar like a receding tide.

The two escaped immediately, and the people in the General's Mansion, who were blocked outside and unable to enter, breathed a sigh of relief when they saw this scene.

Amidst the sound of running, Duan Changya's face turned pale, and he approached Lu Zhi's side:
"My lord, are you alright?"

"It's okay." Lu Zhi shook his head, feeling that the previous scene was extremely thrilling.

His clothes were already messed up, and he was suffocated by the crowd before.

Yao Shouning was still in his arms, and he couldn't leave her and escape alone, so he had to endure it forcefully, with his heart in his throat.

Now, once the crowd dispersed, he slowly let go of his hands, his palms trembling with fear, and asked Yao Shouning:
"Where's Shouning?"

"I, I'm fine."

Yao Shouning's face was pale, and his whole body trembled slightly:

"Sorry, I--"

"Don't say such things."

With a gentle tone, Lu Zhi reached out to touch the corner of her eyes.

There was a little crystal drop of water hanging from the end of her eyes, following Lu Zhi's movements, the drop of water hung on his fingertips.

"It's not your fault that you kindly give away food."

He comforted him softly, and Yao Shouning forced a smile without making a sound.

Lu Zhi knew that she felt guilty, and it was difficult to dispel her anxiety with just a few words from him at this moment, so he changed the subject:
"You saw something happened to Chu Shaolian earlier?"

Yao Shouning sniffed, held back his tears, and nodded.

When Chu Shaolian was mentioned, she subconsciously turned around and looked in the direction of the altar, and happened to see that Chu Shaolian was also looking at her—to be precise, his eyes kept falling on Lu Zhi, only looking at her incidentally.

After noticing Yao Shouning's gaze, he shifted his gaze slightly, showed a gentle smile, and nodded to her.

He had done them a great favor just now, so Yao Shouning should be grateful to him in his heart.

But at this moment, he tilted his head and smiled, but it coincided with the face of the broken neck that Yao Shouning saw in the illusion earlier.

In an instant, Yao Shouning seemed to see black and red blood gushing from his seven orifices, which made her shiver.

The cold air came from her back, causing goosebumps all over her body, she lowered her head subconsciously, avoiding Chu Shaolian's sight.

"what happened?"

Lu Zhi sensed that she was not in the right mood, turned his head and noticed Chu Shaolian's gaze, and quickly moved his steps to block his sight.

Fortunately, Yao Shouning was already frightened by the impact of the refugees earlier, so at this moment the two looked at each other, Chu Shaolian didn't have any doubts, just smiled, showing a thoughtful look.

The prince protected Yao Shouning away from the altar and walked to a place where there were few people.

After experiencing the previous shock, the people in the General's Mansion did not dare to stay far away, they stood in twos and threes, forming an encirclement circle, keeping out tonight's pedestrians for the two of them.

When the night wind blew, Yao Shouning's palms were cold, he subconsciously rubbed his arms, and reluctantly said:

"I just 'saw' that he jumped off the palace wall and fell to his death."

"died?"

Lu Zhi was surprised when he heard this.

Don't look at the Chu family's power now, but in fact it's just a strong outsider.

The Chu family is numerous and powerful, controlling the prison, but the only one in the Chu family who really holds the real power is Chu Xiaotong.

The so-called rich people have distant relatives in the mountains, and poor people in the busy city have no one to know—this sentence is vividly displayed in Chu Xiaotong.

When Chu Xiaotong was young, his family was poor, and he was brought up by his widowed mother alone.

And after he became an adult, he rose to the top of the sky and was trusted by the Chu clan, so he gradually had more relatives and nephews.

Now the Chu family seems to be flourishing, but in reality it still revolves around Chu Xiaotong. After his wife passed away, only one son, Chu Shaolian, was left behind.

I don't know if Chu Xiaotong's lineage is doomed to be difficult for offspring. Chu Shaolian has been married for many years, married his wife Fan, and has no children so far. If he dies, Chu Xiaotong's lineage can be regarded as extinct.

Chu Xiaotong loved his only son like a jewel in his palm.

Judging from his feud with Su Wenfang back then, and since then not only Su Wenfang was oppressed by the Chu family, but even Su Wenfang's brother-in-law Yao Hui was unable to be promoted for ten years, it can be seen that Chu Xiaotong loves his son very much.

Under such circumstances, Chu Shaolian committed suicide by jumping off the palace wall. Could it be that something major happened to the Chu family?
Lu Zhi became suspicious, guessing that something might happen to the palace in the future.

Could it be that Emperor Shenqi unloaded the grind and killed the donkey?Or did Chu Xiaotong offend the emperor?
He glanced back at Chu Shaolian, this person is about to become an official, and the sacrificial ceremony tonight may be his starting point, and it should be the way to replace Gu Huanzhi.

In the blink of an eye, many thoughts flashed through Shizi's mind, but seeing Yao Shouning's uneasy expression, he seemed to be out of his wits, and he knew that she was first frightened by the "predicted" scene, and then frightened by the riots of the refugees. moment.

"Leave him alone." Lu Zhi shook Yao Shouning's hand and said:

"Let's go for a walk by the river."

When she heard the word 'by the river', she barely perked up and nodded.

At this time, the night was dark, but there were many people by the river.

Today's Shangsi Festival, apart from the refugees who came to give alms after the sacrificial ceremony, there are still many people visiting.

By the river, there are peddlers carrying burdens along the street to sell, and the best sellers are all kinds of lanterns.

Yao Shouning and Lu Zhi walked all the way and saw many girls carrying all kinds of lanterns. When they saw Lu Zhi who had taken off his mask, his eyes lit up first, and then his cheeks were flushed. Some people even stared at him boldly, or It's whispering with the people around you, or laughing like silver bells.

Lu Zhi turned a blind eye to these gazes along the road, and just stared at Yao Shouning:
"Do you want a lantern, I'll buy one for you too."

Yao Shouning was still thinking about what he saw in the illusion earlier, he was startled when he heard this, and looked up at him.

He gestured, and pointed to a woman beside him who was staring at him obsessively:
"It's this kind of lantern. I think it will look good when you carry it. I'll buy one for you."

His eyes were focused, and his eyes were shining brightly under the light. It seemed that the woman he was pointing at seemed to have been given a fixation technique, and he didn't pay attention to Yao Shouning who was standing in front of him at all.

The girl was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a cute appearance, a pair of slender eyebrows under the bangs, and a sweet smile when she smiled.

Beside her was a younger girl, holding one arm with her, while holding a uniquely shaped lotus lantern in the other hand, with a small candle lit in the center of the flower core.

Seeing Lu Zhi looking over, the two looked at each other, and then giggled.

After whispering a few words, the older woman generously came out with a lantern and asked Lu Zhi:

"This young master wants the lantern in my hand?"

What she held in her hand was a hexagonal palace lantern with various flowers painted on the surface, which was rather delicate.

Lu Zhi didn't speak, Yao Shouning finally came to his senses and tugged at Lu Zhi's sleeve.

For some reason, she felt a little awkward.

She remembered what the son had said, that many women in Shendu City would surround him when they saw him...

Yao Shouning glanced at Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi silently took out the mask hanging from his waist, and covered his handsome face.

"Ah this..."

The girl's face flushed red when she saw him move.

Only then did she see Yao Shouning standing beside Lu Zhi, she couldn't help sticking out her tongue, and hurriedly followed the little girl beside her to leave.

Yao Shouning also felt embarrassed at first, but then her heart moved and she shouted:
"Sister, don't go."

The two girls turned around at the same time, and the older girl said:
"I'm sorry, I didn't know this son was you..."

"No, no, no——" Yao Shouning waved her right hand, but her left hand was holding onto Lu Zhi. She struggled twice, but Shizi pulled her very tightly, and she couldn't break free.

As a result, the eyes of the two girls became even more clear.

Lu Zhi's eyes fell on her through the mask. She blushed and tried her best to ignore Shizi's attention, and looked at the two girls:

"I didn't mean that..." She wanted to explain, but seeing the curious and scrutinizing eyes of the two, she suppressed her shyness, turned her gaze to the younger girl, and pointed to her palm:

"I just want to ask, where did you get this kind of lantern?"

She vaguely felt that such a lantern was very familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

But the Liu family has always been very strict with her, and rarely let her go out in the past, let alone come out to join in such excitement during festivals.

"Oh, so my sister said this."

The two girls looked at each other, then suddenly realized.

The older girl had a generous temperament and whispered a few words to the girl beside her, and the younger girl handed her lantern and said:
"I bought this at a calligraphy stall near the river. The owner of the stall seems to be a down-and-out scholar who sells calligraphy and painting."

Seeing Yao Shouning's bright and beautiful appearance, the little girl had a good impression of her, and warmly approached her:
"As long as three Wen, you can ask him to inscribe, draw, and then fold the paper into lanterns and put them in the river."

The older girl nodded, then added:

"My sister saw the delicate and lovely lanterns, so she bought two. One was put in the river, but the other was reluctant and wanted to take it home."

When Yao Shouning heard this, a certain scene in his memory seemed to be touched.

Not caring about losing her appearance, she took the lantern handed over by the little girl and looked at it carefully. Sure enough, she saw calligraphy and paintings inscribed on the petals. She looked at it carefully, then sent it back to the little girl, and asked:
"I don't know where this calligraphy and painting booth is?"

The two sisters stretched out their hands and pointed to the rear left:
"Go straight up along this path, walk a hundred feet, and you will find the one with the most people."

Yao Shouning nodded, and was about to leave when the older girl said:
"Sister, you are a perfect match for your ideal."

She praised sincerely:

"The appearance matches well, and he is also very patient with you."

At this moment, why didn't she know that she had misunderstood earlier?

Yao Shouning's face flushed red, she stammered and said:

"We, I, no..."

When she was nervous, her mind went blank, she turned to look at Lu Zhi subconsciously, and took his hand:
"World, world..."

Lu Zhi's heart was in full bloom, and he thought it was the most touching words he had ever heard in his life.

He pulled up his mask and gave the girl a big smile.

The two sisters pursed their lips and smiled, and left arm in arm.

By the time Yao Shouning was thinking about how to speak, the two sisters had already disappeared.

She turned her head and looked around, only to see people all around, where could she see the two of them?

"My lord, why don't you explain?"

She stamped her foot and asked Lu Zhi.

"I'm also very embarrassed." Lu Zhi had an innocent face, his heart was bubbling with beauty, and he thought happily: Shouning and I are a match made in heaven, and others can see it.

Yao Shouning's face was hot, and he retorted softly:
"you have not!"

"I was really shy, I put on my mask, and when I reacted and wanted to explain, everyone left."

He said confidently:
"You didn't say that just now."

"But I am, I haven't thought about how to say it—" Yao Shouning was a little anxious.

He is serious:
"Me too."

"You're talking nonsense!" Yao Shouning glared at him, and he shook his head:

"I didn't, you wronged me."

"..." She couldn't compare to Lu Zhi's thick skin, so she had to be pulled away by him with a blushing face.

"Don't care what they say, they're just strangers, it's okay to misunderstand anyway—"

The son pretended to be serious, and led her for two steps:
"Did you see that lantern and remembered what happened that night at your house last year?"

"right……"

When it came to business, Yao Shouning should have been distracted, but when she remembered the previous scene, she was really shy and was about to speak, but was interrupted by the prince:

"Do you think this lantern is similar to the one we fished in the river that night?"

He was too cunning, and he didn't give Yao Shouning any chance to escape. Changing the topic, Yao Shouning had no choice but to suppress his shyness for a while, and nodded:

"Yes, I think it looks a bit similar. I want to ask this calligraphy and painting stall if he sets up a stall here every year."

"Then let's go."

The prince took her hand and walked towards the direction the girl pointed earlier.

She struggled with her hands twice, but Shizi not only didn't let go, but pulled her even tighter.

His palms were warm and strong, wrapping her tightly so that she could not escape.

"Shou Ning, don't hide." He noticed the girl's movement, lowered his head, and said with a pun:
"I will hold you well and not let you get lost."

(End of this chapter)