This can be remembered

Chapter 21
Shen Xiyao hugged the woman in his arms tightly, and the heavy rain "crackled" on them, making them all feel very cold.Ling Xuewei had experienced so many frights, she had passed out before, and now her body was shivering non-stop.Ling Xuewei only wore a thin nightgown when she came out, and she couldn't bear the cold autumn rain at this time.Shen Xiyao himself was also drenched through his clothes, and at this time, waves of chills also surged up.But he couldn't care about himself anymore, he limped to find someone, the body in his arms was getting hotter and hotter, it seemed like he was having a fever.

Shen Xiyao knew that Ling Xuewei's injury was not healed, and she couldn't stand the bumps and shocks.It should be dangerous now.However, the only thing he can do now is to find someone to settle down with Ling Xuewei.Even if Prime Minister Ling will arrive tomorrow, he will have to rush back to the capital. After all, this trip is a tight one, let alone he can't say he is sick and can't go to court for days.As for the breach of the embankment, he believed that Ling Xiang could find out the truth for him.

The night was thick, and the heavy rain was even more desolate.It was pitch black all around, and every household should have already fallen asleep.The fire at the inn attracted a group of people, but he was far away from there.

A thin lamp in front of him was like a bean, but the dim light made Shen Xiyao's heart tremble, like a lost person suddenly seeing the lights of his home.He cheered up and walked forward quickly.

A poor farmhouse with mottled walls, no decorations in the house, tables and chairs are incomplete.An old lady was fiddling with a loom under the lamp. She had a kind face, but she was also full of the vicissitudes of life of a poor family.Someone knocked lightly on the firewood gate, the woman was startled and looked out.I saw a embarrassed man holding a woman in his arms, standing silently outside the door dripping water all over his body.

"Come into the house." The old woman hurriedly beckoned that person to come in, but she didn't think much about who it would be to visit in the middle of the night.

Shen Xiyao walked into this simple farmhouse with dripping water, and the old woman had already taken a dry cloth and stepped forward: "Wipe it quickly." Her gaze fell on Ling Xuewei, and she was startled: "Hurry up and hug her to the bed over there. This girl is sick. Alright."

Shen Xiyao nodded, he was exhausted, he carefully placed Ling Xuewei on the bed, covered the quilt again, and then slowly sat at the table, picked up the glass of water handed by the old woman, and drank it down in one gulp.

"Ma'am," his voice was already hoarse, he looked around the room, and his eyes fell on the face of the vicissitudes in front of him: "Are you alone at home?"

The old woman sat across from Shen Xiyao, filled up the water again, and nodded: "My old man and his son are going to work for Mr. Zhang. Now it's autumn harvest. I'm busy, so I'll stay at Mr. Zhang's house." After speaking, she smiled.

"Are you still awake so late?" Shen Xiyao couldn't hide his curiosity.

"Weave some coarse cloth. They will definitely have to change their clothes when they come back from this trip." She said, looking at Ling Xuewei who was on the bed, and said, "I just had some anti-cold and antipyretic medicine at home, I have already fried it, wait a minute Give it to my daughter, it should be better. I will go to the doctor tomorrow morning."

Shen Xiyao nodded: "It's time to work."

"Who are you?" The old woman just remembered.

Shen Xiyao smiled sadly: "She is my wife. She was planning to go to Beijing to do some business, but she didn't want to encounter floods on the way. All the goods were gone, and she caught the wind and cold. The heavy rain made her sick, so I have no choice but to bother you."

"It's okay, just take a good rest here." The old woman looked at Shen Xiyao's tired expression and said, "There is another room next door, where my son usually sleeps, go there and rest."

"It's okay, I want to guard her." Shen Xiyao smiled wearily, and his eyes fell on Ling Xuewei.

"I'll go see the medicine." The old woman stood up and walked to the kitchen.

The candlelight was flickering, Ling Xuewei's face was even paler under the lamp.Shen Xiyao sat on the side of the bed, pulled the quilt gently for Ling Xuewei, and smoothed her broken hair sticking to her temples with his hands. His fingers slowly ran across his thin and clean cheeks. Kissed lightly on the cherry lips.

The morning sun shines through the mottled branches and leaves, and a drop of crystal water falls along the eaves. With the bright light of the morning sun, it falls into the still dense grass in front of the house, which is really moving.

Ling Xuewei opened her eyes, and the dilapidated rafters that had almost lost their color came into view. There was a fresh smell in the air, mixed with the faint bitter taste of medicine and the smell of incense.She turned around, and everything in the room became clearer.

On the simple and dilapidated wooden table is the soup that was still steaming overnight. In front of the window is a loom, which is still entangled with dense and thick threads. Like, there are three incense sticks just lit in front of the picture, emitting thin smoke.A peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

The door opened with a "squeak", and an old woman walked in with a slightly anxious pace. Seeing Ling Xuewei woke up, she stepped forward with a "Aiya" and said, "Young lady is awake."

"Aunt...here is..." Ling Xuewei looked around, not yet fully recalling what happened the night before.

The old woman didn't answer her directly, but just watched her hand over a piece of paper: "This is left by your husband, take a look. He disappeared early in the morning."

"My...husband?" Ling Xuewei took it in doubt.The handwriting on the paper is neat, with a good cursive hand, but it can be discerned that it is written with the left hand, and the real handwriting is deliberately concealed, but the strokes are slightly weak.

Ling Xuewei watched it quietly, and the events of the night before completely came to mind.Her complexion gradually turned pale, but she still looked at the old woman with a warm smile and said, "My husband will go to the capital first to find some friends to help, and let me stay here until I feel better before going." She said slowly Picking up the plain paper, he slowly lowered his head.

"You're not recovering from your illness, so stay with me for a few more days. But you take this back, we can't take it." The old woman said and handed over a piece of yellow and clear things, and she looked at it and found it to be an ingot of gold.

"Auntie, please keep it, it's a little sympathy from us." Ling Xuewei leaned forward, pulled the thick quilt on her body, and said to herself, "Who is it..."

The son who rescued her and put her in trouble the night before had become a memory that she could never get rid of.Although he couldn't see clearly in the fire, he covered his face, and she was a little dazed, but that temperament was unforgettable.Ling Xuewei remembered that in the middle of the night she was helped up to drink medicine in a daze, and there seemed to be a man lying quietly sleeping there beside the table.The candlelight was so dim that she couldn't see clearly, and she almost lost her memory.At this time, I vaguely remembered that there was such a person, who was haggard and tired, and a little embarrassed.But seeing that figure, she felt her heart warmed up, and she was able to sleep peacefully.

But, thinking of the fire again, in order to save her life, He Langzhong and Xia'er have already been turned into a pile of scorched bones...

Ling Xuewei sat there blankly, letting the tears flow quietly down her haggard face.

Outside the city gate, as soon as Zhang Dehai saw the smoke and dust kicked up by horseshoes in the distance, he must have stepped forward to see it clearly, and he was extremely anxious and worried.According to what Shen Xiyao said when he left the day before yesterday, he must have returned this morning.He stood guard outside the city gate early and prepared a carriage to meet him.After all, someone in the palace seemed to notice that the emperor was not there.It was already noon at this time, and there were more people coming and going.But he couldn't see the bloody horse, let alone the man he cared about.

Just waiting like this, without even sitting down to rest for a while, from early morning to noon, I didn't even bother to drink a sip of water.The old man at a tea stall next to him saw his worried face and was sweating unceasingly, so he kindly poured a bowl of tea soup and handed it over: "Guest officer, drink your saliva, it's the same if you sit here and wait."

Zhang Dehai turned around, saw the old man's sincere face, smiled and said: "I'm really worried." Looking at the tea soup, he realized that he was really thirsty, took it and drank it down, and his eyes fell on the official road in the distance .

The old man smiled and turned back, poured another bowl and brought it back: "Drink slowly, don't worry."

"Old man, have you ever seen a man riding a black horse passing by?" Zhang Dehai asked, afraid that he might have missed it by accident.

"There are a lot of guest officers riding horses, and there are also many black ones. I don't know what the one you are talking about looks like."

"My son..." Zhang Dehai hesitated for a moment: "He looks very handsome, and he will never forget it." After a pause, he said: "That horse is completely black, it is a rare horse. If you come from If you pass by here, you will definitely have an impression.”

The old man thought for a while and said: "Yesterday, no such person passed by. You and I came out as soon as the city gate was opened today. It has been so long and we haven't seen it, so we must have not come back. Wait a minute. It's raining over there, so it's definitely not easy to walk, and it's evening when you climb the mountains during the day."

Zhang Dehai nodded, and slowly drank the bowl of tea soup. For some reason, he felt bitter, an ominous premonition lingered in his heart, and his face darkened.

At noon, Ling Xiang and his party arrived at Yuqiu Town.The fire the night before left an indelible mark on the hearts of the townspeople.Although heavy rain fell in time, it only slowed down the spread of the fire.When it was completely extinguished, the Fulai Inn, once the largest in the town, had turned into a pile of scorched earth.There were charred black corpses mixed in, which was shocking.

As soon as Ling Xiang arrived in Yuqiu Town, he naturally rushed to the Fulai Inn without stopping.But what he saw shocked and saddened him.Among the skeletons found in the ruins where the human form can still be discerned, the unburned bright color is particularly eye-catching in a pile of gray and black, but it is also so heart-wrenching.There is also the jewelry that is still recognizable even though it has been deformed, which proves that the corpse whose face cannot be seen at all belongs to his most beloved young daughter, Ling Xuewei.

Ling Xiang couldn't help but collapsed, and Li Xian, who was accompanying him, hurriedly stabilized his falling body, and helped him to sit on a step next to him with the servants beside him.

"Master," the servant's voice was filled with grief and choked up: "Is that really Miss..."

Ling Xiang stared at the corpse, and nodded with difficulty.

Someone brought a bowl of water: "Is it your relative?" It was a local man who asked.

Ling Xiang pointed at the corpse: "My daughter." He drank the bowl of water as he spoke, and finally calmed down.

Looking up, the man who asked the question had a simple face, with sincere and kind eyes under the sun: "It's really pitiful, you still have to mourn."

"Brother, what's going on?" Li Xian grabbed the man and asked in an unbelievable tone.

"It started burning last night, but the reason is still unknown. Some people say that the inn accidentally leaked water, and some people said that they saw people sneaking around the inn at the beginning of the night, as if they were stacking firewood. All this will have to wait The government came to investigate." The man looked at the misery in front of him, shook his head and continued: "It stands to reason that it is impossible for someone to set fire on purpose. The owner of the Fulai Inn has always been willing to do good things, and all he does is conscientious business. to such an extent."

Li Xian nodded: "Can someone escape?"

"Several people who were drinking in the hall escaped. It is said that almost all the residents in the inn were spared." The man looked around: "I live not far away. I just fell asleep when the fire started, and I heard someone shouting. , so we came together to put out the fire. I didn’t see anyone coming out. The fire was really big..." He sighed and stopped talking.

Li Xian nodded, the man in front of him had obvious bruises under his eye sockets, it seems that he worked hard all night.

"Alas..." Ling Xiang sighed heavily and said to the servants beside him, "Go and collect Miss's bones, I want to take them home." Then he said to Li Xian: "Brother Li, thank you for being here The little girl's life was saved on the boat, but it's a pity that the little girl is destined for this catastrophe..." A line of tears flowed down Ling Xiang's aging face: "But the fire must be investigated, and I will give it to you." My little girl has an explanation." Having said this, his eyes became sharp and fierce.

"Master Ling, please mourn." Li Xian looked at the corpse, turned his eyes away, and really couldn't bear to associate the scorched and indistinguishable corpse with the peerless beauty on the boat.Perhaps what people often say "a beauty with a poor life" is just like that.

"Master, when will we leave?" the servant asked.

"Put away the young lady's body today, and ask the mage to save her first, and make some preparations, and leave for Beijing tomorrow. I want to pray for her." Ling Xiang stood up tremblingly: "Brother Li, is there an inn in this town?"

Li Xian shook his head: "This is the only family. If Mr. Ling doesn't dislike it, how about staying at my cousin's house for one night? It's just very simple..." He didn't finish, Ling Xiang shook his head: "Going out, there's something No problem. I'm afraid I'll disturb others."

Li Xian smiled: "Don't worry, my cousin's family is poor, but they are very hospitable. It's just a little far away from here."

Ling Xiang nodded: "I'll put my daughter's body in the temple before going."

"There is a small temple not far from the town, Miss Wrong is there tonight." Li Xian said and went to collect the corpse with other servants.

When the sun was westward, the people on the avenue outside the city gradually became less and less.The owner of the tea stall also packed up his things and was about to go home. He looked at the persistent figure standing in front of the road, shook his head and stepped forward.

"Guest officer, the city gate will be closed immediately, and you should go back."

"I'll wait a little longer, my son will definitely come back today." Zhang Dehai said firmly, in fact, he was firm in his uneasy heart.

The owner of the tea stall shook his head, seeing that the city gate was still half a minute away, he took out a stool and sat down: "Then I'll wait with you until the gate closes."

The wind blew up the loess on the ground, obscuring the empty road ahead.

Riding the smoke and dust from afar, someone came from afar, Zhang Dehai was shocked, as if he had a premonition, he was sure that the person who came was the person he was waiting for.

The city gate slowly closed behind him, and the owner of the tea stall came over to pull Zhang Dehai: "Quickly, close the city gate, or you won't be able to enter."

"Here we come, here we come." Zhang Dehai couldn't hide the excitement and excitement on his face. The owner of the tea stall followed his gaze and saw a black figure galloping towards him from a distance, bringing loneliness and joy in the flying dust. super dust.

"Don't close it yet, there are still people, we'll be there soon." The owner of the tea stall hurried to the city guards as if thinking of something, and stopped the city gate that was slowly closing: "Just be accommodating."

The city guards were also familiar with him, and they often came here to buy a bowl of tea and chat with the old man when they were off duty.At this time, they saw the figure riding far away, glanced at each other, and slowed down their movements.

(End of this chapter)