Kaifeng Monster

Chapter 82: Wedding Dress (1)
Kaifeng Mansion, night.

The backyard has always been a busy place for servants, but it is as quiet as if they are sleeping at this moment.The door of the kitchen room was ajar, and a faint yellow light shone from inside.

Gongsun Ce was sitting by the clay stove, the pages of the book in his hands were slightly yellowed, the clumsy casserole on the clay stove was bubbling with steam, and the smell of the soup was getting stronger and stronger.

The door squeaked, and the candlelight changed slightly. Gongsun Ce subconsciously looked at the door, with a surprised expression on his face, and hurriedly stood up: "My lord, why are you..."

Bao Zheng showed a generous smile on his slightly tired face, and motioned for Gongsun Ce to sit down.

Gongsun Ce was a little embarrassed, but he sat back on the stool beside the clay stove.There was a low stool opposite, and Gongsun Ce had a strange thought in his mind: Will adults also sit down?

In my impression, Mr. Bao always sat upright, either in front of the court for trial, or with a few inspections of books. Such a short stool was used by the peasants when they gossiped. It's an elegant hall—will adults sit down?

As he thought this way, Bao Zheng had already sat down, with the front of his regular clothes casually pulled aside, sitting very naturally, as if he was used to sitting on a daily basis.

Gongsun Ce laughed at himself: I really think too much.

Your Excellency came late at night, what did you want to say?
Gongsun Ce carefully recalled this day, it was very common and there was no difference. When the lord came back from the court, he kept looking through the files in the study, with a peaceful expression, eating and drinking tea, just like in the past.

Is there anything I must talk to him about?I have to keep it in such a quiet time at night, in such a seemingly inappropriate place.

"The decoction is for guard Zhan?"

"Yes," Gongsun Ce glanced quickly at the volume that was placed aside, "Guard Zhan has been in poor health for a while, so he read a few volumes of medical books during the day and got some nourishing prescriptions, let's try them out."

Bao Zheng slightly nodded, paused, and said softly: "There is news from Xuan Ping today."

"Xuan Ping?" Gongsun Ce was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously sat up straight.

It has been a few days since I left Xuanping, and my concern has not diminished. Hearing Xuanping's name is different.

"The Holy Majesty praised Taishi Pang, saying that Taishi was able to advance and retreat well, behaved with restraint, and ordered and prohibited, which made the epidemic of Xuanping eased once."

Gongsun Ce smiled and said nothing.

"The people sent to Xuanping came back and reported that the local people thanked Grand Master Pang and the Holy Majesty for their kindness, and donated a monument of merit. Incense was burned day and night in front of the monument, and there was an endless stream of people praying for the Grand Master and the Holy Majesty."

The hearts of the people are the most honest, no one knows that the emperor can't sleep at night because of the cold sweat of the former emperor in the middle of the night, and hastily ordered Pang Taishi to rescue the city.They only know that at the most desperate and helpless moment, the gate of the city was opened wide, as if paving a way for them to survive. Grand Master Pang rode a tall horse, proclaiming an edict on behalf of the emperor like a god, and at the same time brought Kaifeng's best [-] A famous doctor to relieve Xuanping's difficulties.

Then, as if blessed by God, Xuan Ping's disease really stopped spreading.The patients are slowly recovering, and those who are obviously dead but have not yet been buried are miraculously returning to life.

Huge ecstasy swept through the whole Xuanping. In such overwhelming joy, what kind of cat demon killed people, and what Mr. Gongsun did to call back souls all passed his mind.Gongsun Ce and the others left without a sound, and shopkeeper Li was busy with reopening the restaurant, so he didn't even bother to send them off.

Their steps were light and slow, and they didn't look back too much. It was dusk when they walked, and behind the three figures stretched very long by the setting sun, there was a Xuan Ping who had come back from the dead.

"Mr. Gongsun, I have wronged you..." Bao Zheng's words brought Gongsun Ce back from his fragmentary and trance memories.

Gongsun Ce couldn't help but laugh: "My lord, what is the student's grievance?"

Bao Zheng sighed: "Who is the hero who got rid of the epidemic in Xuanping? This government is well aware. Don't say that Miss Duanmu lost all her mana because of this. Even you and Zhan Huwei almost lost their bodies. Sigh, just sigh." Now that the dust has settled, rewards are given for meritorious deeds, but the truly meritorious ones..."

Bao Zheng was silent.

The words are exhaustive but the meaning is endless, Gongsun Ce understands Bao Zheng's meaning very well.Since ancient times, one thing is different in writing and ink. The treacherous can be praised on the high platform, the loyal can be stepped into the dust, the traitor can become the wise lord, and the wise lord can become a fool.It is said that justice is at home in the human heart, but the human heart is a variable, twisted and blinded thing, and it also makes justice become variable, twisted and blinded.

"This time I went to Xuanping, originally it was not for fame and fortune, so why bother to lament for fame and fortune afterwards?" Gongsun Ce said indifferently, "My lord, the night is getting dark, let's rest earlier."

Bao Zheng nodded slightly, since Gongsun Ce saw it so detached, he couldn't just sigh.

Watching the adult's back go away, Gongsun Ce withdrew his gaze, and lifted the lid of the casserole with a cloth, and the strong smell of soup and medicine came to his face.

Move the pot, turn off the heat, and fill the medicine.

In the quiet corridor leading to Zhan Zhao's bedroom, Gongsun Ce held the soup bowl carefully.

Zhan Zhao fell ill on the road approaching Kaifeng.

Originally thought that the end of Xuanping's disease and Duanmucui's return together would be a celebration for Kaifeng Mansion, so Gongsun Ce even planned a small gathering, two cups of thin wine, three or five Home-cooked dishes, free and easy, fun and harmonious.

Who would have thought that Zhan Zhao would fall down.

At that time they were drinking tea in a small simple tea shop, the tea soup was cloudy, with tea crumbs floating on the surface, Duanmucui carefully blew the tea crumbs towards the rim of the teacup.Gongsun Ce hesitated for a long time, and asked the question he had always wanted to ask: "Miss Duanmu, you... won't leave for the time being, will you?"

Zhan Zhao suddenly stopped drinking tea, holding the teacup in his hand, motionless, but the surface of the tea was slightly rippling.

Duanmucui continued to blow the tea crumbs without raising her head: "How can I go, I won't be able to reach Yingzhou if I walk for another hundred years."

"Then..." Gongsun Ce probed.

"Go back to Kaifeng and stay here."

Zhan Zhao let out a light breath, a faint smile appeared on the corners of his lips.He stood up and turned to Xiao Er who was still busy at the tea stall: "Xiao Er, pay the bill."

Immediately afterwards, Gongsun Ce felt as if there was a shadow under the hood, accompanied by the sound of tea bowl being turned over, when he raised his head quickly, he saw Duanmucui supporting Zhan Zhao's body in a panic...

Then again?

Then he entered the city non-stop and went straight to Kaifeng Mansion.The return of Duanmucui and the downfall of Zhan Zhao are not easy to digest. Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Wang Chao, and Ma Han don't even know how to greet their return.

"Brother Zhan, what's wrong? Sister Duanmu, are you okay? As long as you're fine. Is Brother Zhan injured? Go into the room... How are you, Sister Duanmu?"

Talking incoherently and confusingly, I don't know whether to be happy or worried.Blindly worrying seems to be too ignorant of Duanmucui's return, and too happy seems to be a little indifferent to Mr. Zhan.

What's more, Kaifeng Fuzhong has something to do.

After hastily settling down in Zhan Zhao, Zhang Long hurriedly took Duanmucui to Hongluan's bedroom.

The bedroom is narrow, the window lattice is slightly open, Hongluan lies quietly on the bed, seems to be asleep.

"Sister Duanmu, look, it was fine a while ago, but suddenly two days ago..." He said while lifting Hongluan's quilt.

Men and women are different, Zhang Long's move was too abrupt, Duanmucui frowned unconsciously, but she soon understood what happened.

When the quilt was lifted, she saw Hongluan's body, the upper body was still in the shape of a woman, wearing a pale pink shirt, and the lower body was shocking, full of twisted roots, mottled bark, and dry and cracked soil.

In other words, her upper body is a human, and her lower body is a tree, a kapok tree.

Duanmu Cui sighed lightly.

The change started two days ago, calculated according to the date, it was when Wen Guweiyu died.

It seems that Wen Gu Weiyu has manipulated the spirits of these spirits by extremely vicious means.He is the host, and these spirits are the sprouts from his main body. If the sprouts are broken, the trunk will not be damaged, but if the trunk is destroyed, the sprouts will inevitably collapse.

Duanmucui gently covered Hongluan with a quilt, and shook her head towards Zhang Long.

"It can't be saved?" Zhang Long's eye circles suddenly turned red.

Hongluan moved a little, her pale eyelids opened a thread, and Zhang Long's stiff figure was vaguely seen wherever she could see.

"Brother Zhang..." she moaned weakly.

Zhang Long's throat rolled, he hummed almost choked up, and walked over.

Duanmucui bit her lip, quietly backed out, and gently closed the door for the two of them, but did not leave immediately.

The weather seems to be getting warmer, and the blue pool outside the corridor is full of spring breath.

What they experienced in Xuanping is indeed an adventure story worthy of a special book, but at the same time, here, everyone in Kaifeng Mansion also has their own stories, which may be plain or ordinary, but to them, they are already It is the whole world.

She has no intention of exploring whether Zhang Long is interested in Hongluan——Hongluan's fate is a foregone conclusion.The story behind the door leaf is slowly dying.

Maybe in a few days, you will see Zhang Long drinking alone, having a weird temper and ignoring others.

When he decided to kill Wen Gu Weiyu, he didn't think that he would bring Hong Luan into trouble. It was another regret that I didn't kill Boren, and Boren died because of me.

On the corridor, the servants were visibly busier than usual. Some were holding copper pots of hot water, and some were rushing to the stove to decoct medicine. As they passed by, they heard hurried and soft voices, "How about the Zhanwei?"

In fact, she had said to Gongsun Ce before: "Zhan Zhao is fine, it's just that he was rushed by Ming Dao's hostility, and he was temporarily rebellious."

Gongsun Ce was very nervous: "Isn't there a Cangjie suit for protection?"

"That's the way of the underworld."

Gongsun Ce let out a groan, but it didn't seem much easier. He felt the pulse, applied acupuncture, and ordered the kitchen to boil the soup quickly, driving a group of servants to their feet.

In such a busy schedule, Duanmucui felt that she was a bit redundant.

"Then I'll go back to the thatched cottage first, and I'll come to see Zhan Zhao tomorrow." Kaifeng Mansion is not her territory, and there are people coming and going, most of whom are unfamiliar faces. Thatched cottage, take a rest.

After all, it will take a long time to come back this trip.

At that time Gongsun Ce was busy, so he hummed casually, or because he was already familiar with Duanmucui, so there was no need to stick to common etiquette.

I was busy until it was time to light the lamps, and after my lord returned home, I couldn't help but ask again. Finally, I was free, and after washing up, I went to bed exhausted.

Waking up suddenly in the middle of the night, I just felt that something was on my mind, I tossed and turned, and suddenly remembered.

Wasn't Duanmu Thatched Cottage burned?

Dumbfounded at this moment, Ji Lingling jumped off the bed and knocked on the doors of Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Wang Chao, and Ma Han with only one shoe.Zhan Zhao was still asleep and didn't dare to let him know.

As soon as the matter was said, several people panicked.Today is not the same as before, she is a young girl with nowhere to go, what if something happens?
So I searched along the street with a lantern, almost searched all the streets and alleys, and then had a soft talk with the officers and soldiers guarding the city, and left the city, went to the western suburbs, and went to Duanmu thatched cottage.

When approaching Duanmu Bridge, Zhao Hu had sharp eyes, and at a glance, he saw that there seemed to be someone sitting under the bridge.

Gongsun Ce picked up the lantern and looked at it, and knew it was Duanmucui. When he finally let go of his heart, his nose suddenly felt sore.

He told Zhao Hu and the others to stay where they were, and he carried the lamp over, carefully lifted the skirt of his clothes, and walked down the not-so-steep river embankment step by step.

Duanmucui hugged her knees and sat under the embankment for an unknown how long, her eyes staring blankly at the surface of the water, and there was a glint of black water in her eyes.

The light of the lantern illuminated a small piece of moist soil in front of her, and she suddenly whispered: "Mr. Gongsun, how can this hut be gone?"

Gongsun Ce blamed himself so much that he couldn't speak, he suddenly felt that he was very selfish, why when he returned to Kaifeng, he put all his thoughts on Kaifeng Mansion and Zhan Huwei, and forgot about Duanmucui?
Now she has no magic power, no spirits to drive, no other friends, no shelter, and even a penny on her body.

When she was a fairy, she didn't need these things, but now she is a mortal, food, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea suddenly squeezed in front of her with a hideous face.

She's been sitting here for so long, has she ever thought about this?She may be thinking that she has been a general and a fairy, which sounds like a glorious scene, but so what, once she is defeated and returned to a mortal, she will not even be able to support herself.

No wonder she didn't go back to Kaifeng Mansion. According to her stubborn temper and temperament, once she got into a dead end, she might be able to sit here until dawn.

Gongsun Ce suddenly fell down with anger at Zhan Zhao.

If he is a good and careful person, he will definitely take care of everything for Duanmucui in advance: whether he is hungry, what he wants to eat, where he wants to live, whether he wants to be served by servants, whether he is bored, and what novelty do he want to buy? , What kind of clothes, cosmetics, hairpins and tins should I buy... There are no details.

Unlike myself, who completely ignored all of this, and let her face this sudden gap alone, and didn't think of her until the middle of the night...

Seeing her frail figure shivering in the cold wind in the middle of the night, Gongsun Ce's heart felt like a father's love for his daughter.

"Miss Duanmu, come home with me."

"I don't want to go back."

This answer is really expected.

Gongsun Ce sighed: "Then what are you going to do..."

"……do not know."

Isn't this deliberately looking for awkwardness?
Gongsun Ce sighed, and thought of a compromise, and settled her in an inn in the city first.

In the middle of the night, a team of errands knocked on the door of the inn, which almost didn't scare the shopkeeper into a heart attack. After figuring out the reason, he didn't dare to neglect, and hurriedly took him to the room.

On the way back, Wang Chao put forward his personal opinion: "Mr. Gongsun, it's not good to let Sister Duanmu stay in the inn. People come and go at the inn, so if my sister Duanmu thinks too much, it will only add to the sadness. "

Gongsun Ce said nothing.

He was struggling with another problem: this girl lived in the hotel alone, and no one was watching her, so she wouldn't think about it and run away secretly, right?
This issue deserves attention. Now that Zhan Zhao is still in a coma, if she runs away, how will she explain to Zhan's guard in the future?

No, she has to be transferred to a safe place—considering the dynasty's proposal, it's best to temporarily transfer her to a big family where husband and wife live together happily and warmly, so that she can feel the warmth of humanity.

When I told Zhang Long and Zhao Hu about this idea, everyone expressed their support.

After adding up, choosing, and considering, this family suddenly surfaced.

He was not an outsider, but a government servant who followed Zhang Long, named Li Nianqing, was about [-] years old, simple and honest, according to his colleagues, they had worked together for many years, and he had never blushed with him. He was absolutely a good guy.

The background is also very satisfying, brothers, sisters-in-law, four generations living under the same roof, already the father of three children, bustling and bustling, the mother is kind and filial, envious of others, presumably Miss Duanmu is reluctant to leave after living for a long time.

The more Gongsun Ce thought about it, the more satisfied he became.

Zhang Long found Li Nianqing the next day and said that he was a friend of Zhan Weiwei and would stay at his house for a few days.How could Li Nianqing be unhappy?Nodding his head like a chicken pecking at rice, he said that he would not want the money that Zhang Long stuffed him.

That's it.

The only regret is that the person involved was not very enthusiastic. When she mentioned it to Duanmucui, she was sitting beside Zhan Zhao's bed, leaning over with her hands resting on her back, muttering something to Zhan Zhao.After listening to Mr. Gongsun's words, she hummed, and then replied: "Whatever."

Lord Gongsun Ce doesn't care about villains, he said in his heart that you will know our painstaking efforts when you pass by.

He raised his foot and was about to leave, but after thinking about it, he cared about Zhan Zhao again: "Miss Duanmu, when will Guard Zhan wake up?"

According to the result of taking the pulse, he felt that all the functions of Zhan Zhao's body could not be more normal, why did he just not wake up?It is said that it was collided by the hostility of the underworld, how could this hostility be so evil?

"It will be fine in a few days." Duanmucui helped Zhan Zhao tuck the corner of the quilt, "When Zhan Zhao wakes up, give him some tonics, and I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Why don't you wake up if you have nothing to do?" Mr. Gongsun was entangled in the chicken-and-egg problem.

"I'm tired." Duanmu Cuibai gave Gongsun Ce a look, then looked down at Zhan Zhao, and murmured, "Lazy cat."

Then, in front of Gongsun Ce, she slightly bent her index finger and scratched Zhan Zhao's straight nose.

Gongsun Ce was dumbfounded.

Dare to love, she still takes care of it happily?

Is there such a caring person?

(End of this chapter)