in spring

Chapter 56
The next morning, after Li You greeted the elders, he rushed back to Huanhuaxuan under the pretext of going back to study, and then under the cover of Meixiang, he took Chunying to Zhumengshan residence quietly.

Chunying held a food box in one hand, which contained Jianlian jujube soup and walnut cake - because she was afraid of making a mistake in the efficacy of the medicine, she finally didn't put Jun Qianzi in it, and added the goose oil and pine nuts that the third young master wanted to bring Rolls and yam cake with date paste, and even brought two fresh oranges that arrived yesterday.In the other hand, she was carrying a cloth bag, which weighed ten catties, and it was all the fruit charcoal that had been collected with great difficulty. Because she couldn't raise enough quantity at the moment, and she was afraid that it would be inconvenient to carry, so she only took this much for the time being.

It was a very cold day, and the snow had not yet melted in the middle of the night. It was a pity that she was only wearing a half-worn padded jacket and ordinary embroidered shoes on her feet. It was so cold that she was about to freeze, but she had to carry such a heavy thing to avoid people. After running so far, Chunying felt a little guilty, especially when she saw that the person walking in front was empty-handed, only holding an oil-paper umbrella under his armpit. He also wears ear warmers and wraps them tightly.Seeing her working so hard, she didn't even say "I'll help you carry some", but urged her to walk faster.

After finally coming to the bamboo forest outside Shanju, Sanqing had seen them a long time ago, caught up to ask, and took all the things in Chunying's hand, and got a grateful look.Li You asked: "Is Brother Nian in the house?" Seeing Sanqing nodding, he happily walked in.

Zhou Nian warmly welcomed them. Chunying also felt that when he looked at her, his eyes changed a little, it seemed to be a little more friendly. She didn't quite understand why. She just ran away yesterday. Shouldn't you be angry?But not only did he not care, he also said good things about her to the third young master, saying that she was honest and capable, careful in doing things, a good girl, and thanked the third young master for sending her here.

The third young master Li You also felt very happy after hearing such words: "You are too polite, is she worthy of your praise for a little girl? But it sounds like she has lived up to my expectations, and she has done a good job. I will reward her."

Chunying was overjoyed, but restrained herself in time, and didn't dare to show it, and quickly sent the food box: "It's cold, Master Nian, let's have some snacks first."

Zhou Nian sighed helplessly: "Why is it food again? Brother You, this is not the time to eat, what is this? Breakfast or lunch?"

"You can call it whatever you like." Li You calmly sat down on the chair, "Anyway, I know you must have not eaten this morning."

Zhou Nian couldn't help but laugh, took the basket and looked at the contents, glanced at Li You, and sat down to eat helplessly.

Li You smiled, turned to Chunying and said, "You are waiting outside, I want to talk to Brother Nian, I will call you if I need anything." Sanqing passed by, and the latter lit the brazier with the charcoal they brought, and heated up the tea made in the morning, and brought it up to greet the guests.

Chunying walked outside Shanju, a little bored.Most of the bamboos in the bamboo forest were bowed down by the snow, and the leaves were withered and yellow, but they still showed a faint green color, and they stretched densely. When the wind blew, the snow powder fell down.The sun shot down from above the bamboo grove, but only bits and pieces fell on the ground. Although Chunying also felt the warmth, her body was still getting cold gradually. She felt a chill slowly spread from the soles of her feet to her legs, body, and head. Finally, I couldn't help it anymore, I sneezed, another cold war broke out.

Suddenly there was a fuzzy feeling coming from behind, Chunying turned her head suddenly, saw Sanqing standing behind her with a straight face, she was so frightened that she took a big step back immediately, and asked weakly, "What...why?"

Sanqing took a deep look at her: "Come here." Then he turned and left.Chunying was a little strange, but followed him, followed him around the wall, and came to the side of the house, where there was a small platform with wooden railings, but a long eaves, but it was not afraid of rain or snow Yes, and it happened to be leeward, so it was warmer than where I was standing just now.

There is an open space under the platform, the snow has been cleared, and there is a pile of dead branches and dry grass, with a lot of dried bamboo leaves mixed in, and a pot with a broken edge next to it.Chunying was guessing what it was for, Sanqing took out another straw mat, put it on the edge of the platform, and said to her, "Sit."

Does that mean she was told to sit on that cushion?Chunying sat on it carefully, and felt that it was soft, not cold, and quite comfortable, so she smiled at Sanqing: "Thank you."Chunying's face froze, and she looked away with a dry smile.

Sanqing squatted in front of the pile of dead branches, folded the long dead branches to a suitable length, and cleaned the snow from the dry grass and bamboo leaves.Chunying held his chin to watch him work, and asked: "If we didn't bring charcoal, are you going to burn this to keep warm?" Sanqing nodded, then turned around and said: "There is smoke, it's not good."

This means... Burning firewood and dry grass and dry leaves will produce relatively large smoke, will it be noticeable?Chunying understood a little bit, why Zhou Nian and Sanqing had no charcoal before, and would rather be frozen than burn firewood. If it hadn't snowed last night and the temperature dropped a lot, maybe they haven't planned to prepare other fuels yet?Chunying secretly spurned the person who withheld the charcoal fire, and decided to turn around and file a complaint with the third young master.

The waiting time was really hard, and the more I sat, the colder it became. Chunying simply got off the ground and walked around the open space, picking off a bamboo leaf, remembering that when I was young, when I went back to my hometown to play, the children in the same village would use bamboo leaves and grass leaves to whistle. She can even play ditties. I wonder if she can make a sound with bamboo leaves in winter?
She held the bamboo leaf in her mouth and tried to blow it, but it didn't work, could it be that the method was wrong?Another blowing method was changed.Before she could make a sound, someone took the blade from her hand, and when she looked back, it was Sanqing again. She asked, "What's the matter? Can't you blow it?" The sound is so small, so it should be no problem, right?She glanced at the platform, through the window sills there, she could vaguely see inside the room, Zhou Nian was talking happily with the third young master, and the latter laughed from time to time.That sound was much louder than his own blowing.

Sanqing said in a muffled voice, "No, others will know." Then he turned and returned to his original seat.Chunying twisted her hands boredly, with a hint of embarrassment, she walked back to the straw mat and sat down, then stared at the bamboo forest and became dazed.

There was another burst of laughter in the house, Chunying glanced back, turned her head, but saw a hand stretched out in front of her, in the palm lay a straw grasshopper.She blinked and looked up at Sanqing in disbelief, but the latter said blankly, "I'll play with you." He threw the grasshopper into her arms, and turned back to break the dead branches.

Chunying smiled and said, "Give it to me? Thank you." She picked up the grasshopper and took a closer look. Although it was made of hay, the workmanship was very delicate. Cocooned hands.Is he afraid of being bored?Chunying began to feel that this strange man in black, who looked scary on the surface, was actually quite cute.

She looked over and over with the grasshopper, and found a piece of hay to study the weaving method. Suddenly, she saw a black shadow flashing in front of her. Here we come." He rushed into the house.

Chunying was startled, and ran up to the platform to look into the distance, only to feel that the bamboo branches were densely packed, and it was impossible to see if someone was coming, but since Sanqing said so, it should be true.She looked left and right, and ran back into the house, just in time to hear Sanqing's voice: "...There are still about a hundred steps left, and he came alone, without bringing anyone else."

Li You gritted his teeth: "What is the second brother doing again?! People have been tossed like this, what else does he want?!"

Zhou Nian lowered his eyes, and said calmly: "Maybe I heard that you are coming, you should take someone away first, let him see, once you sue the old lady, you will be reprimanded again."

"Don't even think about it!" Li You not only didn't leave, but swaggered down on the chair, "I'm not here, wouldn't it be cheaper for him? Who knows what he will do to you again? I want to see if he can treat me what to do!"

Zhou Nian frowned: "Brother You..."

"Stop talking!" Li You interrupted him, "Although I am young, I cannot change my status. If I try to bear it, he will bully me!"

Zhou Nian sighed, stopped persuading him, and told Sanqing: "Take down the brazier, the tea is already cold, so there is no need to take it away." Sanqing nodded, and went away with the brazier in his hands, the room was cold quickly When they got down, Chunying shivered, and then heard Zhou Nian say to her: "You should avoid it at the back, lest the second young master take it out on you." Chunying glanced at Li You, seeing that he had no objection, she went In response, he ran behind the curtain Zhou Nian pointed at. It was a small cubicle with a bed inside, which seemed to be Zhou Nian's bedroom.

The furnishings in the bedroom are simple, except for a bed, a closet, a washbasin stand, and a box, there are two large bookshelves filled with books.Chunying leaned over, and saw that most of the books were collections of classics and history, and there were also many poetry books. She took a peek outside, and reached out to take a book to read. The words were neatly copied in small letters, and she recognized a few of them. It is a familiar Tang poem.I flipped through a few more books and found the same handwriting inside.She began to wonder, could these be copied by Zhou Nian himself?

The second young master's voice came from outside: "What a coincidence, third brother, I didn't expect to meet you here. I remember that you seemed to be planning to go back to your room to study? Why did you come here?" After a short pause, Then he changed his tone: "Zhou Nian, go and pour me a cup of hot tea! You have no eyesight! Master, I came to the door, and you are still standing still, do you understand the rules?!"

Chunying was disdainful in her heart, and then heard Zhou Nian's voice: "I was rude, please wait a moment..." Before he finished speaking, the third young master had already spoken: "Second brother, don't go too far! Brother Nian lives in our house, it's not for him to serve you!"

"Too much?" The second young master Li Chang sneered, "Where did I go too far? He is not the old young master of the Zhou family, but now...he is just an official slave. My father kindly saved his life, but he didn't let him come to us. Playing like an uncle at home! If you want to eat, you have to work! I just asked him to pour a cup of tea, for the sake of acquaintance since childhood!"

Official slave?Chunying was taken aback, recalling Zhou Nian's life experience, she somewhat understood.

"You!" The third young master Li You panted, but soon subsided, "Second Brother, Is it just for drinking tea today? Please tell me what you want, I still have some homework to do I have to wait to ask Brother Nian for advice!"

Li Chang sneered: "Yo, when did the third brother start to study knowledge? He also came to ask homework? What does he know about this kind of thing as an official slave? If you want to ask, just ask me, good brother, brother, I will teach you well... ... Presumptuous! What kind of tea are you pouring?! You want to freeze me to death in this cold weather?!"

Zhou Nian said indifferently: "There is no charcoal or firewood in the house, but I can't make hot water or make tea. It's a small rudeness."

"Boom", the sound of the cup breaking came, and Li Chang was a little annoyed: "Are you here to demonstrate to me?! What? Did I not give you food or clothes?! My family kindly saved your life and let you You live in peace and prosperity in the mansion, and you rely on my younger brother's power, dare to show me face? Against you?!" Then there was another clatter, as if something fell to the ground, Li You Angrily: "What are you doing?! Let him go!"

Then, there was a loud noise, as if the desk fell to the ground, and then there was silence.Chunying was terrified when she heard it in the room, and hurriedly rushed to the curtain.

(The cold wave is coming, your hands are stiff, everyone should take care~~~)

(End of this chapter)