Beautiful step by step

Chapter 57

The morning in Jiuquan was a bit cold as usual, and when he woke up, Wei Wei felt dry all over his body.The forehead is tight, and the skin on the hands shows clear lines due to lack of water.In addition, the biggest reaction is the two feet.After working all night, she kicked the quilt to freeze for a whole night last night, and now the skin is tight and aching.

"hiss."

Gu Yu came in with a water basin and a cloth towel, just in time to hear his wife's cry of pain.Looking at the balls on the bed, it was impossible for her to cover her whole body with a quilt, she still didn't understand.

"Last night, before your lord left, he also asked you to take an extra quilt and cover it up with Madam, so that you won't get kicked out."

Wei Wei recalled Yan Heng's original words: "I'm not here tonight, Ah Mao bears with it and covers the bed with hugs."

He's so self-indulgent, no one will think about him when he sleeps.She was just used to holding plush toys before, and the quilt couldn't feel as good as a toy, let alone compared with his tight muscles.

Thinking of the involuntary hotness on her face, she quickly looked at the basin: "The two quilts are too hot."

"It's true, my lord. Why don't you ask me to watch the night?"

Yan Heng insisted not to let the servant girl keep vigil, Wei Wei also understood.In other big families, there are two husband and wife, one person and one quilt, sleeping on each side, and the sleeping posture is correct all night without any change.And when it comes to her proper unrestrained style, Yan Heng has always slept with her in his arms since he got married. This kind of weird sleeping position is really shameful for others to see.

"It's because I'm not used to sleeping next to someone."

After she finished washing her face, Gu Yu stirred another handkerchief to cover her feet.The warm and moist towel was wrapped up, and the dry pain just disappeared, and Wei Wei let out a long and comfortable sigh.

"The weather here is really dry. You can soak your feet when it rains. Ulan's mother made some suet ointment a few days ago. I tried it and it worked. You should follow suit."

Gu Yu's hands trembled a little, and the corners of his mouth hurriedly agreed: "Madam, I understand. I really don't know who we are taking care of whom."

Wei Wei is rare and emotional: "Of the people we brought to the Northwest, Gu Yu is the only one who is willing. I don't treat you as an outsider."

"lady."

Gu Yu murmured, his eyes were a little moist.She used to regard her wife as an imaginary enemy, but now thinking about it, she can't help but feel guilty.

"Why are you doing this? It's getting late, so hurry up and tidy up. By the way, what are you having for breakfast today?"

"My lord is not at home, and Ulan's mother cooked mutton soup. Liqiu and I made some noodles, and put the pancakes on it while the mutton soup was cooking. But we are not as skillful as Lixia, and the pancakes we made are a bit ugly."

Wei Wei always likes to eat what he has, and he is generally not too picky.As long as the person who cooks puts his heart into it, she will be satisfied whether it is delicious or not.

"I'm tired of eating round cakes all the time. It's good to have a fresh look once in a while."

Gu Yu jumped up for joy, since she was sold into Wei's house, this was her first time cooking.She hasn't cooked for a few years and is a bit of a handyman. Although she has done it with great care, it is still unsatisfactory.Unexpectedly, Madam didn't feel disgusted at all before eating, and she felt greatly encouraged.

"I'm going to serve breakfast to my wife."

Putting the cloth towel on the edge of the basin, Gu Yu quickly ran out the door.

There was a sound of closing the door, Wei Wei put on her coat, stood by the bed and began to fold the quilt.There are few people in the family, and she does not hesitate to do many things within her capacity.The quilt was flattened and folded vertically in two, and placed directly against the wall, then stretched out the bed sheet, lifted the curtain and hooked it to the side of the bed, and the messy bed immediately became tidy.

Looking at the two jacquard satin quilts on the bed, one dark blue and one light blue, Wei Wei couldn't help thinking of Yan Heng who hurried out of the house last night.After hearing what Zhuzi wanted Uncle Chen to convey, he rode his horse and rushed outside.

And she just wrapped up a little snack on the table with a handkerchief and stuffed it into his arms, and didn't add any clothes to him.It was so cold in Jiuquan at night, riding a horse was also a physical effort, not to mention the troubles that might be encountered when looking for account books.

"Ma'am, breakfast is here."

The steaming breakfast was served on the table, and the mist hit, and the warmth dispelled her complicated thoughts.

Gu Yu is really not modest. The common buns in the Northwest are round, but the one in front of her is not even an oval. To be precise, it is an irregular polygon.

Seeing Gu Yu bowing her head a little embarrassed, Wei Wei picked up the knife on the table.This is a habit brought by Ulan's mother. Mongolians eat more mutton, and they always have a knife by their side when eating.

Slashing the steamed buns on the plate twice horizontally and vertically, the original irregular polygon immediately turned into small pieces of about the same size.The original slightly ugly sawtooth will become the best decoration.

"It's so pretty."

Gu Yu's eyes lit up, and it was Madam who was the best.

"Don't turn off the fire on the stove, and warm up Ah Heng's meal at any time. Make it hotter, he will be hungry for more than one meal."

"Don't worry, ma'am, Ulan's mother is always hot."

"You go and eat some too."

After sending Gu Yu away, Wei Wei took a bite of the steamed bun.The temperature of Grain Rain was not well controlled, and the bun was a bit hard.However, she has good teeth, so it is just delicious to eat crispy pancakes with the pickles she brought over.

But thinking about things in her heart, she still lacked appetite.When she picked up the small piece of steamed bun for the second time and still didn't want to take a bite, she finally resigned to her fate and put down her chopsticks.Go inside and pick up an account book, push the plate forward, and compare the account book while eating.

The account books recorded with "One Two Three Four" in capitals made her dizzy for a while.She simply took out another piece of paper and gradually converted it into a table of Arabic numerals.After recording a page in this way, she was gradually attracted by the account book.

Gu Yu estimated the time, and when she brought tea up to replace the plate, she saw her wife holding a pen in one hand, and grabbing the plate with the other hand from time to time.Grab a mouthful of steamed bun and bite down, then grab a pickle, chew and swallow it, and then drink a mouthful of mutton soup.During the whole process, she never took her eyes off the account book.

"Let me serve Madam."

Hearing the sound, Wei Wei raised her head, the annoyance she had just had long ago disappeared, and a burst of joy was replaced by it.

"Why did Gu Yu come to collect the food in such a hurry, I only ate a little."

Gu Yu looked at the sun outside: "Ma'am, it's been an hour, and the mutton soup is cold."

"Ah, so fast?"

Wei Wei shook his sore neck and carefully put away the account book in his hand.

"It's okay when it's cold, I'll eat some more, you go do other things first."

"I'll give my wife something hot."

Wei Wei is immersed in the joy of discovering the simplest and feasible way to make money, so he will naturally agree with everything.Gu Yu put away the dishes, opened the door and was about to go outside when she was stunned by the sight in front of her.

The lord stood outside the door covered in blood, with a look of depression on his face that she had never seen before.

"Big... lord."

Ah Heng is back?Wei Wei glanced at the account book, and went up excitedly to see Yan Heng standing at the door, gloomy and lost all over his body, bringing the whole room into darkness.

"Gu Yu went to order some food, and asked Li Qiu to boil some water and bring them over. For those who came back with Ah Heng, let Uncle Chen entertain them for the time being."

After arranging everything one by one, she stepped forward to grab Yan Heng's hand, and pulled him to the table to sit down step by step.

"Is something wrong with Shishi's house?"

Yan Heng nodded mechanically, and when he saw the account book she had spread out on the table, his eyes finally became focused: "I'm late."

"Take a rest first, and then speak slowly."

Picking up the tea on the table, Yan Heng drank it all in one gulp, and then spoke to her with a long sigh of relief.

The village where Shitou's family lives is a little far from Jiuquan County. When Yan Heng rushed there last night, Shitou's house was already on fire.The people he brought tried their best to put out the fire and controlled the fire, but they couldn't save the family who had already been killed in the house and lit a fire just to burn their bodies.

The stone that followed collapsed on the spot, and everyone looked like an enemy.Maybe he would go on like this forever, but when he was going crazy, a group of men in black surrounded them.They snatched a child out from behind and threatened Shi Shi to hand over all the account books that Shi's family had hidden over the years.

Yan Heng was in a low mood: "That child is the son of Big Brother Shitou's family, and the only junior in their family. Shitou came to his senses, looked at me and then at the man in black. When he was hesitating, those people had already cut Dropped one of the child's fingers."

Oh my god, Wei Wei covered her mouth.

"It was I who persuaded Shitou to hand over the account books. Comparing my heart to my heart, if it was Ah Yun who was caught last night, I would do the same."

"Ah Heng did the right thing, what happened next?"

"After handing it over, Shi Shi said that the account book not only contained the records of his father's 20 years of clean hands, but also the deficit amount that his father took painstakingly from other account houses. There are not only Jiuquan, but also Wuwei, and The deficits of other counties, almost the entire Liangzhou government, are all in that account book."

Wei Wei knew a long time ago that a good accountant can know a lot of things from ordinary contact with the books.But she didn't expect that Daddy Shitou, an ordinary accountant with no grades, would unknowingly control most of Liangzhou's accounts.

"That ledger must be brought back."

"Well, after the child was replaced, I led people to chase after it. But they had too many people and their equipment was very sophisticated, and the people I brought couldn't beat them at all. In the end, seeing that everyone was going to die there, it was still the stone rushing They came out and said that the account books given to them just now were fake. Then the stone led them to the quicksand outside the city, and sank in with most of the people."

"he died?"

Although Wei Wei was a question, she was already somewhat certain in her heart.That's quicksand, once you encounter it, you will die without life.

"The quicksand outside Jiuquan City is very powerful. Ordinary people know that once they fall into it, there is no possibility of survival."

Speaking of which, Gu Yu was carrying a tray, followed by two young men, who were carrying buckets in.Wei Wei simply asked Gu Yu to put the food behind the screen, while she stood in front of Yan Heng.

"Wash first."

Yan Heng's whole body was stiff, as if he was somewhat resistant to this matter.But under her persistent gaze, he couldn't resist in the end.Putting his hands in his arms, he slowly took out an account book.

"This is?"

Wei Wei looked at the account book, although it was not thin, but said that it was a breakdown of Liangzhou government's deficits in the past 20 years, which was impossible.

"This was thrown out when the stone fell into the quicksand. It is the total deficit book of various departments over the past 20 years. As for Shitou's father in charge of money and food, the detailed rules for recording every deficit were all burned last night."

Wei Wei took it with both hands, and put away the blood-stained account book carefully.

"The dead are gone, all we can do now is that."

Pushing Yan Heng into the tub, Wei Wei said, "First, we must bury the dead; second, let this account book be used in the right place; and most importantly, take good care of the rest of the Shitou family."

A pot of hot water was poured over his head, and Yan Heng buried his head in the water.After a long time, he didn't raise his head until Wei Wei was worried that something would happen if he held back like this.

"Zhuzi and the others are digging graves. Ah Mao, I think there are spies among our people."

"Our people, you mean those who eat the roasted whole lamb banquet?"

"Well, Shitou's family has account books. It's no secret in Jiuquan County or even the entire Liangzhou. Not only his family, but any official in charge of money and food in the army will keep a detailed account in private. This is their life-saving talisman. However, those who People don't even know where the quicksand in Jiuquan County is, they obviously came from other places."

"Outside? Could it be Liangzhou?"

Yan Heng said affirmatively: "Calculating the time, the city of Liangzhou should have known about Shengjia's westward tour two days earlier, and the nerves of the officials there were already tense. Since the night when we roasted the whole lamb, the news spread, and it was heard that I wanted to Zha will definitely pay attention to it, sending so many people over, it will take almost this long time from transfer to marching."

Wei Wei's heart skipped a beat: "March? Could it be that someone in the army did this?"

Yan Heng's voice was a little lacklustre: "It should be, although those people deliberately changed their clothes and weapons, but some of the habits formed in the military training have not changed. Ah Mao still remembers when we got married, we mixed in the beggar team to make troubles Those four beggars from the Wu family? Although they tried their best to conceal it, it is not difficult to see that they are from the Northwest Army from the posture of swinging their knives and punching their fists."

"It's the Wu family again!"

Wei Wei lamented that every time something bad happens, you don't have to be a second person, it must have something to do with the Wu family.

"uncertain."

"what?"

"I hope that this matter was done by the Wu family. At least the emperor is afraid of them. But Wu Shangshu is still in the capital, and most of the Wu family followed the Northwest victory to the capital. They were left in the capital and have not returned yet. .Even if they have such intentions, the reaction speed is not so fast."

"That is?"

Yan Heng's expression was a bit complicated: "I also went to the capital, met Ah Mao, and inquired about the Zhenbeihou Mansion out of concern, and only then did I understand the situation in the northwest."

"Is this related to the Hou Mansion?" Wei Wei was a little confused.

"If you break it down carefully, it has nothing to do with the Hou Mansion, but in general, it has a lot to do with it."

Wei Wei didn't say anything more, but it was Yan Heng who asked first: "When we were in Liangzhou, Gu Yu once complained. Why don't we go to live in Liangzhou's ready-made government office, instead we have to find an inn with less favorable conditions now, Ah Wei There must be some doubts."

Pointing the ladle at her back, Wei Wei smiled: "I'm a little confused, but it's good to stay in the inn. The lady in charge is very enthusiastic. She told me how simple Liangzhou people are, and how lucky I am to marry Ah Heng." .”

After talking to her like this, the anger in Yan Heng's heart gradually faded, and finally disappeared after listening to her words.

"It's also my luck to be able to marry Ah Mao."

Goosebumps all over his body due to his sweet talk, Wei Wei stuffed him with a small piece of steamed bun: "Okay, let's get down to business. I remember that when we entered the city that day, we encountered a carriage, which seemed to belong to the governor's wife. I wanted to go over to say hello, but Yan Heng said that I was too tired to visit another day. I didn’t pay attention at the time, but now that I think about it, Ah Heng seems to be avoiding the Governor’s Mansion?”

"It's avoiding." Yan Heng gave her a meaningful look: "Ah, I know that the governor of Liangzhou is surnamed Chu."

"Chu? Could it be that this Lord Inspector is related to Zhenbei Houfu?"

"The father of the governor of Chu is the younger brother of the late Laozhen Beihou. Now the governor of Chu should be counted as the uncle of the family."

Wei Wei first thought of her own status. As a maidservant in the Zhenbei Hou Mansion, she was indeed a little embarrassed in front of the governor of Chu.But this is not the most important thing, a hero does not ask his origin.She is confident that she can not show timidity in front of Governor Chu.

She thought about the two giants in Liangzhou, the Wu family controlled the military power, and the Chu family was in charge of political affairs.It stands to reason that the two perform their own duties to restrain each other, and the Northwest shouldn't be in such a mess.

(End of this chapter)