At five o'clock in the Yin hour, the morning bell rang.
Before dawn, the twelve city gates in the west of Shengjing were wide open.
Several horses galloped into the city, heading towards the north palace of Dongshi.
The visitor dismounted at the gate of the palace and was taken to Xie Tingzhou's study by the guards.
Running all night, I was covered in a thin layer of sweat. The leading guard wiped the sweat from his forehead and took long steps.
"It's only the fifth watch. I'm afraid it will disturb His Highness' rest. I'll wait until His Highness wakes up before reporting."
The guard leading the way said: "Your Highness is awake."
The man didn't understand. Just when he was about to ask, the guard said, "I just came back from Zuiyun Tower and I'm still drunk."
"Did something big happen in Jingzhong?"
The guard shook his head, "We're here, go in by yourself."
Qingpuju is very repressed, and no one likes to get close to him for fear that something will go wrong.
When he heard the guard's announcement, Xie Tingzhou was leaning on the couch, his forehead aching, and he was playing with a bottle of high-quality gold medicine in his hand. He didn't know what he was thinking in his dark eyes.
He spent two days in Zuiyun Tower. He was obviously tipsy, but his mind was very clear. The more he drank, the more he understood what he wanted.
He glanced out the window and asked, "What time is it?"
"At six o'clock in the year," Konoe said.
Xie Tingzhou rubbed his brows and said, "Let him in."
The guard came in and reported that the errand was not done well. While he was telling the whole story, he paid attention to Xie Tingzhou's face, his heart hanging in a knot.
"When we arrived, it was already too late. There were no casualties among the other villagers, only my husband..."
"At that time, the uncle was still breathing a sigh of relief, so he asked me to tell you a few words..."
The guard recalled the scene at that time.
The old man was lying in a pool of blood, holding his breath and said: "Tell them, don't blame yourself, old man...I have been alone for so many years, and it has been a long time...not so lively. I have long thought... …I want to go down and see my wife, my wife, and my children. Now that I’m gone…I’m very happy, but…I have something to worry about.”
It had just snowed the day before yesterday, and the piece of golden polygonatum outside the window was bent down by the fine snow.
Xie Tingzhou walked to the window, his breath stagnating in his throat. He did not expect that the relaxation and comfort of those few days would turn into a life-threatening weapon for his father-in-law.
"Is there any more?" he asked calmly.
The guard said: "My uncle asked me to tell Xiao Yu that I don't know who Xiao Yu is."
Xie Tingzhou: "Just tell me."
"The uncle said that although his house was not very good, it was still a shelter from wind and rain. He left it to Xiaoyu and asked him to live there if he had nowhere to go one day. Then the uncle entrusted the dog to Please find me a suitable home."
The guard finally finished conveying the uncle's words.
Xie Tingzhou asked: "Where is the dog?"
The guard did not dare to raise his head, "My subordinate buried him next to his relatives' grave as requested by my father-in-law. The dog did not know what His Highness was going to do with it, so he took the decision without authorization and brought the dog back."
Xie Tingzhou stretched his fingers to fiddle with the snow on the windowsill, thought for a moment and said, "You did a good job."
"Then, what to do with the dog?" the guard asked boldly.
"bring it here."
The guard took the order and left, just reaching the door.
"Wait." Xie Tingzhou changed his mind, thought for a moment and said, "Give the dog to Xi Feng and let him send it to Shi Yu."
He has a plant in his yard, and within an hour the rhubarb has become its meal.
Besides, the dog was very afraid of him and would tuck its tail when it saw him. However, Shigure became very happy every time he saw him.
The first light of dawn added a layer of gold to the snow.
Xie Tingzhou wrote a word, but still couldn't calm down.
Shiyu was red-eyed when he left the village. Now that he heard that his father-in-law passed away suddenly, he didn't know how sad he would be.
He couldn't lie to himself, he was worried.
Another hour passed, and the study door suddenly opened.
Xie Tingzhou strode out and said, "There's no need to follow."
Xi Feng stopped, and the white feathers under the eaves fluttered up. They circled in the air and then swooped down towards Xie Tingzhou, landing on a branch on the roadside.
The branch was stepped on by it, and broken snow fell down.
The road to Lu Mingxuan was very quiet. There was a servant sweeping the house. When he saw him, he immediately knelt on the ground.
The closer we got to Lu Mingxuan, the clearer the barking of dogs became, and occasionally there was the sound of claws digging at the door.
Xie Tingzhou's eyes flashed, he quickened his pace, pushed open the courtyard door, and Big Huang rushed out from the door.
Dogs have good memories, and Dahuang also knew him. He circled around him and ran to the door of a room, where he barked again, looking very urgent.
Xie Tingzhou noticed something was wrong. Da Huang was screaming so loudly, but Shi Yu didn't come out.
The door was ajar, leaving only a crack where the rhubarb squeezed out.
As soon as he opened the door, light came in and fell on the person on the couch. Xie Tingzhou's eyes suddenly froze.
When he came here, he thought a lot about how to face him and how to deal with his dirty thoughts towards him.
He had restrained it, but still wanted to possess it.
It’s just that what I didn’t want to see was this scene.
Shigure was lying on the bed, his cheeks were red, and his white lips were dry and cracked.
Xie Tingzhou touched his forehead, which was very hot, and called softly: "Shigure, Shigure?"
Shen Yu's body ached with fever, and her back hurt even more. Someone was calling her, but she couldn't open her eyes.
Xie Tingzhou saw his lips moving and leaned over to listen, but he didn't hear him speak, only the hot breathing in his ears.
There was a teapot beside the bed, and I wanted to pour him a glass of water, but when he lifted it up, it was empty.
"Here comes someone." Xie Tingzhou shouted loudly.
No one responded outside the door for a long time.
Xie Tingzhou became increasingly angry and walked quickly to the door of the courtyard, "Here comes someone!"
The maid who was sweeping quickly threw the broom aside and walked quickly to the courtyard gate, "Your Highness."
Xie Tingzhou was filled with anger, "Where is the person Lu Mingxuan is serving?"
The maid said tremblingly: "His Royal Highness was not in the capital before, so Lu Mingxuan had no servants to serve him."
Xie Tingzhou was silent for a moment and said, "Tell the doctor, get another pot of water and ask Xi Feng and Chang Liu to come over."
When he returned to the room, Dahuang was extremely well-behaved, lying sleepily beside the bed. He looked up when he heard footsteps, and then lay down again.
Shigure's breathing became more rapid on the bed, and his forehead was hot, but he didn't sweat.
Once the trauma is not treated well, it is easy to get infected and have a fever. I don’t know how long he has been lying here alone since he was whipped.
Xie Tingzhou looked at him blankly and for the first time began to regret the decision he had made.
How could those twenty whips beat him like this?
He stretched out his hand and pinched his collar. After a while, he seemed to make up his mind and carefully pulled away.
His shoulders were narrower, thinner, and whiter than those of ordinary men.
The clothes slowly fell to his waist, and the scars on his back were fully exposed.
The torn whip marks were crisscrossed on the back, but separated by a distance of palm length.
Xie Tingzhou came closer in confusion, his eyes swept across his back, but he suddenly froze there.
Under the prostrate slender body, the sides of the chest were squeezed into beautiful round arcs.
Xie Tingzhou's brain exploded like thunder, and the string in his brain suddenly broke.
His eyes moved from there to Shigure's face.
They slept in the same bed all the way, but he didn't realize that she was a girl!
So what does his pain and struggle these days count?
It can only be considered ridiculous.
The wall in his heart had obviously begun to collapse, and he was ready to accept that kind of self, but reality opened up a new way for him.
At this moment he didn't know whether to be sad or happy.
