The location of Lijia Village is a bit remote. It is not on the main mountain road of Xishan Mountain. Instead, it follows the tributaries of the river and settles near the plain a little further away.
Probably because of its remote location and not close to the main city of Jiangcheng, Lijia Village is obviously more than twice the size of an ordinary village. If you stand at the entrance of the village and take a quick look, you can see that there are only about a dozen households.
The houses are somewhat dilapidated and the fields in the village are not growing well. I don't know if it's because the land is relatively barren.
Ning Xiuyun and Jian Xun rode their horses to stop at the entrance of the village. Looking up, among the rows of houses, there were women and children drying wild vegetables, washing and cooking. Young children chased and played with each other, and occasionally they heard laughter and curses.
A peaceful scene.
Ning Xiuyun glanced down at the fields where rice was planted. The rice was diseased and crooked, the leaf tips were a little withered and yellow, the root system was dry and hard, and the loess was slightly cracked with a few gaps.
It seems to be caused by lack of water? Looking around again, I found that there seemed to be no drains in the village.
There were also farmers tending crops in the fields. Rows of chickens and ducks were strolling among the rice fields. Several men were carrying farm tools and preparing to return home. After walking a few steps, they spotted two outsiders at the entrance of the village.
Jian Xun also noticed the person coming. He dismounted, held the reins, and took the reins from the prince's hand.
Jian Xun's original intention was to slowly lead the horse into the village, while His Majesty the Crown Prince could sit peacefully. Before leaving, Shen Qiqian gave many instructions.
But as soon as Ning Xiuyun's hand was empty, he felt a little uncomfortable and dismounted.
At this moment, a man carrying farm tools approached. The leader smiled brightly and said, "Where are you two from? Where are you going?"
Jian Xun was about to speak, but was grabbed by Ning Xiuyun in his sleeves.
How could Ning Xiuyun dare to let an honest man like Jian Xun make up a story? He didn't know what excuses he would come up with, so he stepped forward and stood side by side with Jian Xun and replied: "We brothers came out from Jiangcheng. I got lost in the Western Mountains, and I finally found my way out. I don't know where this is...? Our brothers are preparing to go to southern Xinjiang, and we don't know which direction to go?"
The man said: "This is Lijia Village. Going out from the south of the village, passing through a swamp and wilderness, is the main city of Southern Xinjiang."
Ning Xiuyun nodded and said with some embarrassment: "We brothers have been walking for half a day . I haven't entered yet, I wonder if I can rest in the village for a few days?"
The man scratched his head and hesitated: "Of course it is possible, if the two young masters don't mind it."
Ning Xiuyun and Jian Xun The clothes he wore were exquisitely made and looked like they were made of the finest materials. Even the hairpin on Ning Xiuyun's bun exuded a sense of luxury.
It is indeed wealth that can be seen at a glance. The man hesitated only because: "There have been no outsiders in the village for a long time, and I don't know which family can take in two of them..."
Ning Xiuyun tugged on Jian Xun's sleeves, Jian Xun understood, and then He took out the money bag from his arms and said, "I wonder if eldest brother can give up his love and let us beg for some water and rice?"
The money bag was bulging and heavy in his hand, which was very eye-catching.
The man's eyes lit up, he shook the hoe on his shoulder and said hurriedly: "Of course it's okay, you two can come with me."
Ning Xiuyun and Jian Xun looked at each other, then led their horses and followed the man.
A money bag seemed to silently bring the distance between several people. The man was speechless and asked casually: "The two young masters seem to have extraordinary bearings. Do you think they are of the same family background?"
Ning Xiuyun waved his hand, smiled and said: "It's just that the family is a little poor."
"Young Master travels in a low profile, I understand, I understand... I guess you don't want people to recognize your identity when you wear a mask, right?"
When Jian Xun heard this, his body suddenly tensed up. Tension, one hand tightened the reins.
The prince paid a private visit incognito, but the words of the imperial master could not be violated regarding the fate of the country, so the mask on his face was not taken off. The man suddenly lifted the mask, which aroused Jian Xun's vigilance.
Although people in the countryside may not know the instructions given to the prince by the imperial master, Jian Xun always felt a sense of violation.
Ning Xiuyun reached out and shook his arm, signaling to calm down.
He lowered his tone and said, "That's not the case. It's just that I injured my face when I was young and left scars. It looks so fierce. If I don't cover my face, I might scare people."
The man paused and made up for it with a slight embarrassment: "Uh...I'm a stupid person, don't blame me, sir..."
Ning Xiuyun said a few words of relief, and the two of them chatted.
He noticed that the farm tools on the man's shoulders seemed to be on the verge of damage.
The hoe was a little worn, and there was some dirt on it, but after walking all the way, it was all clean now.
Ning Xiuyun's eyes were deep and he learned a lot about Lijia Village from the man as he spoke.
Because this village is so remote, it is inconvenient to do anything. Many people have moved away in recent years, and now there are only a dozen households left. To prevent it from becoming a deserted village, it depends on the villagers' unwillingness to leave their hometown.
The remaining people basically all have the surname "Li", and they are related to each other, so they help each other until today. This man's surname is Li, and his order is Li Fu.
After walking all the way, Li Fu took the two of them back to their home in the south of the village.
Surrounded by mountains and rivers, there are wooden houses built with wood from the mountains. The man's house is more popular than the abandoned courtyards around it.
The yard of this house is already one of the most spacious in the village. In addition to a main house, there is also a side yard.
Clothes were drying on racks in the courtyard.
There is a dustpan next to the manhole cover. There are a lot of dried fungi in it. They look dry and black, and it doesn't look like they are still edible.
There was a wooden ladle placed on the manhole cover, with a crack in the middle.
Ning Xiuyun raised his eyebrows slightly, and saw Li Fu shouting into the house. A woman wearing a turban and plain clothes came out of the house. When she saw two strangers, she looked slightly flustered and said, "This The two of them are..."
Li Fu said: "Yuan Niang, these two young masters want to buy some rice and stay in the village for a night. You can clean up the side room."
Yuan Niang is handsome and fair, but her actions There was some confusion in the room, and then she nodded in response and said: "You two young masters, please wait for a moment."
After saying that, she turned around and entered the side room to pack her things.
There was a sound of waving a broom in the house, which seemed to be dust, and the woman coughed a few times.
Jian Xun tied the two horses by the tree outside the courtyard. When he came back, he saw the prince and Li Fu filling the water bags they had specially emptied by the well.
Ning Xiuyun took out a small handful of broken silver from his money bag, and the two of them handed over the money with one hand and delivered the goods with the other. Li Fu bumped into the prince and got money from a little well water, and his face blossomed with joy.
Jian Xun: "..."
Jian Xun has never seen such a prodigal person.
Although he knew that the prince had been living in the East Palace for a long time, this move was too generous. I'm afraid it wasn't because he didn't know that he couldn't use so much money, but he was used to rewarding people, and now he didn't care about more or less.
Jian Xun suddenly remembered that night in Jiangcheng, when Xiu Yun took ten copper plates from his hand and gave them to the young man who sold himself to bury his father. The man knew the price of a thin coffin.
——His Xiuyun is better.
Jian Xun folded his hands on his chest and watched. In fact, as a subordinate, he couldn't comment on the prince's behavior. It wasn't his money anyway.
Ning Xiuyun had two water bags in his hand. When he saw Jian Xun coming over, he reached out and stuffed them into Jian Xun's hands.
Jian Xun took it easily and stood guard next to him holding the water bag.
Li Fu happily put the money away, waved his hand and said grandly, "You two young masters, please wait a moment. After Yuan Niang has tidied up the house, I will ask him to prepare some dry food so that the two young masters can go on the road."
"Thank you very much." Ning Xiuyun echoed.
The two chatted for a while. Li Fu said that a friend invited him to a small gathering at his home today, and he could not stay here with him, so he had to give up the conversation.
Li Fu changed his clothes and left in a hurry, leaving the two of them looking at each other in the courtyard.
In the side room, Yuan Niang tidied up the house, came out with a broom, and whispered: "The two young masters will rest in the side room tonight, and I will prepare the meals." Ning Xiuyun said: "...Thank you."
Yuan Niang ignored it. She went into the house minding her own business and scooped out a ladle of water to wash the pot with unfamiliar movements.
Yuan Niang didn't pay attention to the two grown men. She only listened to Li Fu's instructions and made a fire to cook and prepare dry food. She bought firewood and went into the house to wash rice and wash vegetables.
Jian Xun wanted to help her but was rejected by her. She even backed away in panic and almost threw away everything in her hands.
She seemed to want to turn around and run, but her feet suddenly stopped.
"Thank you, Master, for your kindness... It doesn't have to be like this." She struggled to hold a pile of firewood, her sleeves were turned up, and there seemed to be a scar on her wrist.
Ning Xiuyun frowned slightly. In order to avoid suspicion, he simply pulled Jian Xun's sleeves and entered the room, closing the door.
The two of them stood at the door and looked out through the cracks in the wooden door. They could only hear the crackling sound of firewood burning.
Jian Xun asked hesitantly, "The relationship between Li Fu and his wife seems a little tense?"
"Wife?" Ning Xiuyun looked up at him, half-smiling, "Do you think that woman is Li Fu's wife?"
Jian Xun raised an eyebrow and explained. He said: "These two people live in the same courtyard, and Li Fu doesn't shy away from his words. Don't you think so, Your Highness?"
"No matter how discordant the husband and wife are, they always help each other and support each other, but Li Fu never treats the woman. He didn't even look at it directly, and he was even rude and arrogant." Ning Xiuyun said softly.
Not only that, Li Fu's attitude towards Yuan Niang was very contemptuous, as if she was just a plaything in his hand.
The two are definitely not related.
Even the woman's movements when doing housework were not very agile, and she seemed not used to doing these things.
He sighed and said, "Li Fu deliberately left a beautiful woman to live with two strange men. What's his intention? Can't you see?"
Jian Xun's expression suddenly changed, "Your Highness means... "
He didn't say it clearly, but he already realized that Li Fu just wanted to use Yuan Niang to do something.
Suppose that the two of them did not come here to investigate the banditry, but were just a passing rich man who was so bold that he attacked this beautiful woman.
When Li Fu's wife was bullied, Li Fu would raise the butcher's knife as a matter of course, and the money would naturally fall into Li Fu's hands.
That Yuan Niang was terrified of the man's approach. Even if Jian Xun had no ill intentions, she would almost panic and choose a way out. It was probably not the first time that this happened.
Ning Xiuyun took out his money bag from his arms and turned it around in his hand.
He said: "How could this jackal let go so easily after seeing flesh and blood?"
He must have swallowed it all to satisfy his unsatisfied greed.
But this may not be Li Fu's only plan. He doesn't know what he is doing when he goes out to visit friends.
Jian Xun groaned and said, "It's better to go to other houses and ask about the situation in Xishan."
"No need. You can't ask anything if you go." Ning Xiuyun said softly.
He turned around and looked at the furnishings in the room. They were no different from ordinary farmhouses, except that no one had lived in this side room for a long time and was covered with dust. Ning Xiuyun reached out and touched the tabletop, and his hand was stained with dust.
Jian Xun asked: "Then just wait like this?"
Ning Xiuyun looked sideways at the bed and said: "...It seems that the bedding hasn't been sent here yet. It seems that there is still the second half."
Jian Xun frowned and understood. , this means that although the Yuan Niang was scared, she was threatened by Li Fu. If the two of them didn't take action, she would take the opportunity of sending the bedding to the door.
But according to the prince's inference, they couldn't stay here, but the prince seemed to have no intention of leaving.
"You can't hide." Ning Xiuyun curled his lips, turned around and walked two steps to Jian Xun's side, sighing: "I have another way."
Jian Xun subconsciously wanted to step back, but heard a message coming from outside the door. There were subtle footsteps, and then Yuan Niang's timid voice: "I will give bedding to the two young masters... Young Master?"
Ning Xiuyun leaned over Jian Xun's ear, and the distance between the two was instantly closed. Extremely close.
"Don't move." Ning Xiuyun warned.
Jian Xun stopped retreating and was confused.
Seeing that no one answered the door, Yuan Niang took the initiative to open the door.
The sunlight came in, and I saw two people in the room huddled together. Looking from the side, their ears and temples were rubbing against each other. They were very intimate. One was black and the other was white.
The young man in white stretched out his hand and seemed to be about to hug the person opposite.
Seeing this, Yuan Niang's face turned pale and she stammered, "Sorry for disturbing you!"
With a "pop", the wooden door was slammed shut.
There was a little dust at the door, and the room gradually fell silent, so quiet that you could hear each other's heartbeats.
Jian Xun's ears were so good that he only heard the gradually accelerating sound entering his ears.
Jian Xun was slightly stunned.
Your Highness the Crown Prince...are you afraid?
Yes, no matter how calm the prince behaves, this person is used to being pampered. How could he be indifferent once he entered the gangster's den...
Just as Jian Xun was thinking this, he saw the prince move, and his warm breath sprayed on Jian Xun. Jian Xun felt a shiver running down his neck, as if out of some habit.
"Bang bang bang."
Unknowingly, without the owner knowing, the two heartbeats slowly overlapped.
Ning Xiuyun: Whose money? (Take out Jian Xun's betrothal gift)
Jian Xun: Is he afraid? (The seriousness of the matter has not yet been discovered)