For the next few days, it was snowing heavily every day in Shuo City, and the streets were much more deserted.
In the Xu Fu, He Xinying stood in front of the study and knocked on the door. The person inside said, "Come in." He Xinying walked in.
"The kitchen made some red bean sweet soup. It's too cold outside." He Xinying smiled as she took the small bowl out of the basket and placed it in front of Xu Zhiheng's table. "Husband, drink some to warm up your body. Don't freeze."
Xu Zhiheng's gaze fell on the small white porcelain bowl on the table. In the porcelain bowl, the red bean sweet soup emitted a sweet and greasy aroma. The brown soup made him suddenly think of the tonic that the He Family had sent a long time ago.
It had the same color and the same sweet aroma. That soup was extremely effective. After He Yan drank it, he had a high fever for three days and could no longer see.
Xu Zhiheng subconsciously raised his head. He Xinying was looking at him tenderly. Her appearance was somewhat similar to He Yan's. Xu Zhiheng's heart suddenly jumped and he subconsciously stood up. His sleeve accidentally brushed against the soup bowl on the table. The sweet soup spilled all over the floor and stained his clothes.
"Husband, are you alright?" He Xinying jumped in fright. She quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the soup off Xu Zhiheng's body and called a servant to clean it up.
"I'm fine." Seeing that the sweet soup had spilled, Xu Zhiheng was relieved. He took the handkerchief and wiped the water off his body.
"This bowl spilled. I'll have someone send another bowl over." He Xinying hurriedly said.
"No need." Xu Zhiheng held her hand and smiled as he pulled her to sit next to him. "I'm not hungry."
The woman's hand was warm and soft. It slightly dispelled the uneasiness that had been plaguing him for the past few days.
He Xinying sat down next to him. After thinking for a bit, she said to Xu Zhiheng, "I heard from Liu 'er that my mother's health wasn't good. She has been bedridden. I want to go back and see my mother. Husband, do you have some free time these few days? Why don't you come with me to He Clan? "
He Xinying felt uneasy when he kept the book in her room. If one day Xu Zhiheng ordered people to search the entire mansion on a whim, he would be easily discovered. Moreover, this military book came out of nowhere. She herself didn't understand what was going on. It would be better to go back to the He family and ask Second Madame He about it. Her mother knew more about her eldest sister than she did.
"You want to go back to the He family?" Xu Zhiheng paused and asked He Xinying.
He looked at He Xinying with a scrutinizing gaze. He Xinying's heart skipped a beat. She grabbed his arm and said, "I'll go back and take a look. I'll be back tomorrow. Husband, can you go back with me? " My mother hasn't seen you in a long time. "
He Xinying hadn't suffered much since she was young. When he married her, Xu Zhiheng knew that she was a bit arrogant and willful when she was in He Clan. However, after she entered the Xu Residence, she had always been well-behaved. This was different from He Yan's temperament. Although He Yan never caused trouble and knew his place, it was impossible for him to act spoiled like He Xinying.
Xu Zhiheng said, "I'm very busy these few days. I'm afraid I don't have time to accompany you back to the residence. How about this, I'll ask someone to send you back first. After a few days, when I have free time, I'll accompany you. "
He Xinying timely revealed a wronged expression and said, "… Okay."
Xu Zhiheng smiled and held her hand. His thoughts had already drifted to other places.
He naturally couldn't go to He Clan right now. Not to mention He Yuansheng and his brother, who knew what He Rufei was planning right now. He had arranged spies in his residence to try and find something that could be used against him … and He Xinying as well. Xu Zhiheng thought that although He Xinying was his wife, her surname was He. Who knew if He Rufei had communicated with her? This was also good. Since He Rufei was able to arrange spies in his residence, who knew if he wouldn't beat him at his own game?
This time, he would let He Xinying go home first to find out.
In the middle of the night, it began to snow again.
It was freezing cold. He Yan groped his way out of bed in the dark. The room was pitch-black and she didn't even light an oil lamp. Fortunately, she had long been used to being blind. Even if she didn't light a lamp, she wouldn't fall down when she walked around the room. After she finished dressing, she took out a short sword from the drawer and went out.
The snow was very heavy. In order to make it easier for her to move, she wore very thin clothes. She only wore a thin layer of cotton underneath her night clothes. As soon as she went out, her snot was about to come out from the cold. There was a charcoal fire burning in the fragrant stable, giving off a weak light. The courtyard was quiet inside and outside. He Sui, his son, and Qing Mei were all sleeping soundly. There was also no movement in Chi Wu's room. He Yan quietly opened the door and walked out.
There was snow everywhere and the long street was covered in a silvery white. Lanterns hung under the eaves of the houses along the street, bright red. It was very lively. In less than two months, it would be the New Year. The New Year's atmosphere was already there, although it was still a bit cold.
He Yan exhaled and a white fog immediately appeared in front of her. It was strange to say that the Liangzhou Guards' winter was much colder than Shuojing's winter. However, at that time, they trained every day until they were drenched in sweat and forgot about the cold. Now that they were here, they really did stomp their feet in the cold.
She had only walked a few steps when she almost reached the end of the street. She saw a carriage parked there. He Yan was stunned for a moment. In the middle of the night, there was no one on the empty street. It was as if she had seen a ghost when there was such a carriage in the middle of the road. He Yan narrowed her eyes and looked carefully. There was a coachman sitting in front of the carriage. When he saw her, he took off his hat.
"Fei … Fei Nu?" He Yan said in surprise, "Why are you here?"
Fei Nu did not speak. Instead, the curtain of the carriage was lifted and a person walked down. He was wearing a dark gold brocade robe with cloud patterns. His figure was tall and elegant. When he looked over, he was like a painting in the snowy night. It was Xiao Jue.
He walked over, his boots stepping on the snow, making a squeaking sound. He Yan waited for him to come closer and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping at night? What are you doing here?"
Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows and said disapprovingly, "What about you? Why did you go out in the middle of the night? "
"I …" He Yan was speechless for a long time, "I couldn't sleep, so I came out to relax."
Xiao Jue sneered and stared at her calmly, "Eldest Miss, you came out to relax and wear night clothes?"
He Yan scratched her head. She knew that this person was very smart and would not be easy to fool. She frowned and said, "I came out to do something …" She looked at Xiao Jue and suddenly realized something. She looked back and glanced at him, "You followed me all day and even in the middle of the night? Xiao Jue, even if I am your fiancée, you don't have to follow me so closely. "
Xiao Jue: "…"
"What are you thinking?" He seemed to be speechless. "You went out in the morning and bought a short sword from the blacksmith shop in the west of the city. Tell me," he said lazily, "You went out so late at night. Did you kill or set fire?"
"When I bought the short sword, didn't I get rid of Chi Wu?" He Yan was puzzled, "How did you know?"
When she did these things, she was always very careful. She knew that Chi Wu would be suspicious if he found out, but it was not easy to get rid of that big guy.
"It's not Chi Wu," Xiao Jue said, "Anyway, I know." He glanced at the short sword that He Yan hung on her waist and said with some disdain, "Didn't I give you money, so you can't buy a good sword?"
"What does this have to do with the sword?" He Yan said, "The most important thing is the person who uses the sword and the swordsmanship. My swordsmanship is good, I don't need a good sword to shine. "
Xiao Jue nodded and said, "You are diligent and thrifty."
"… Those are good words," He Yan asked, "Why do I feel like you are scolding me?"
The snow outside didn't stop, and soon her hair and body were covered with a thin layer of frost. Xiao Jue pulled her under the eaves of a house by the street and stood on the outside, blocking most of the wind and snow. She only asked, "You haven't told me yet. It's so late, why did you bring a sword out?"
Seeing that he could not hide it anymore, He Yan sighed and told the truth, "I was thinking that He Rufei must have some other relationship with the Uto. He Rufei is a cautious person, so it's hard to find anything that can be used against him. I want to go to the He Family to find other evidence. If I can find evidence that He Rufei is related to the Uto, that would be the best. "
"The He Family?" Xiao Jue frowned slightly, "You plan to go alone?"
"I was also a member of the He Family in my previous life," He Yan leaned closer and whispered, "I am very familiar with the inside and outside of the He Family. I also know secret passages that others don't know about. It's easy to sneak in. It's definitely not a problem for me to go alone. "
"No," Xiao Jue interrupted her without thinking, "It's too dangerous."
"No, what's so dangerous about it?" He Yan refuted, "I can fight against ten of the He Family's guards. At this time, they are already asleep. The room He Rufei is living in now is the room that I used to live in. I know all the secret compartments in the bookshelves and the hidden compartments in the wooden drawers. When I finish looking, I will leave immediately. It won't be a problem. I have ambushed tens of thousands of Uto's camps at night. There's nothing to be afraid of about the He Family. "
"He Rufei is already suspicious of you and will definitely increase the number of guards in the residence. It's not a good time to go to the He Family now."
"If we wait any longer, I'm afraid that all the evidence will be destroyed."
Xiao Jue's gaze fell on her body. After a moment, she said, "I'll go with you."
"What?" He Yan immediately refused, "If you go with me, you will become a burden. I can escape easily by myself. It will be very inconvenient if you go with me. "
"Then you don't have to go."
"Xiao Jue," He Yan was angry, "Why are you being so unreasonable!"
"En."
This person was so stubborn? But if she quarreled with him here, the neighbors would be woken up and she wouldn't be able to escape. He Yan was in a deadlock with him for a long time. Finally, she gave in and gritted her teeth, "Alright, but I really didn't expect that Second Young Master Xiao would be so clingy in private. Everyone says that Second Young Master Xiao is cold and unapproachable."
"Same to you," Xiao Jue crossed her arms and looked at her, "Lady He has the habit of going to other people's residences in the middle of the night to relax." He leaned over slightly and looked down at He Yan. His tone was so indifferent that it made people gnash their teeth, "I'm afraid that if something happens, the husband will pay for his wife's debts."
This person probably never lost an argument with others. He Yan was also annoyed and said fiercely, "Forget it. If you want to go, then go. But I'll say it in advance. When we really go to the He Family, don't regret it."
Xiao Jue smiled and reached out to her waist. He Yan quickly protected the belt, "What are you doing?"
He took a deep breath, "What do you think I'm going to do?"
"A man and a woman alone in the middle of the night. There are many things that can be done." He Yan whispered, "Then who knows what you're going to do?"
"He Yan," Xiao Jue said calmly.
"I'm just joking." He Yan smiled fawningly.
"Your sword is too lousy. Change it to this one." He took off his sword and handed it to He Yan.
"Isn't this the Autumn Drinking Sword?" He Yan was stunned. Xiao Jue had already stuffed the Autumn Drinking Sword into her hand. She knew that the Autumn Drinking Sword was precious and wanted to return it to him, "Why are you giving it to me?"
Xiao Jue looked at her and smiled, "Change it to this one. I don't want other people to say that my Xiao family is poor and embarrassing me."
"What other people," He Yan quickly said, "Pei pei pei, we're going to the He Family today. We definitely won't alarm anyone. How can other people see us?"
Without waiting for He Yan to finish, Xiao Jue had already pulled out the short sword at her waist and walked forward, "Take it."
He Yan had no choice but to follow.
Fei Nu stopped the carriage at the side of the road. The three of them left together and rushed towards the He Family.
The He Family Residence was located in the west of the city. The residence didn't look as elegant as the Xu Family Residence, but it was still considered imposing. Fei Nu was waiting outside the residence. He Yan brought Xiao Jue to the backyard wall. When they reached a place, he stopped and said in a low voice, "Here, this is my secret passage."
Xiao Jue stared at the hole in front of him, which could barely allow one person to crawl through, and asked calmly, "Your so-called secret passage is a dog hole?"
"Shh," He Yan put a finger to his lips, "Lower your voice. This dog hole isn't an ordinary dog hole. I dare say that no one in the He Family knows about it. "
"When I was young, I disguised myself as a man. However, I didn't have much strength. When I was with other boys, I was always worried that I would be exposed. My family was also afraid that I would be exposed too much outside and cause trouble, so they locked me up in the residence. Before I entered the Xian Chang Guan, every day before dawn, I would crawl out of this dog hole and climb to the capital's Donghuang Mountain to help the monks carry water and chop firewood. In the beginning, the skin on my hands was very worn out. Later on, after calluses grew, I was able to practice martial arts with Shi Tou hanging from my wrist. "
"The youths in the Xian Chang Guan are very powerful. If I hadn't secretly climbed the mountain to practice, I'm afraid that I would have been even more miserable in the Xian Chang Guan."
"Ah," Her heart was moved, "Could it be that at that time, I helped the monks in the temple too much work, so Buddha saw my sincerity and gave me a chance to live another life? No wonder everyone always says that we should build good karma. It's true, don't you think so? "She turned to look at Xiao Jue.
Xiao Jue pinched her forehead and said, "So, what you mean is, you want me to crawl through the dog hole?"
"Yes." He Yan said, "I already said that you must come with me, so don't regret it. It's not like I didn't remind you."
"No." Xiao Jue slightly frowned and turned her head away, as if she was disgusted by it, "I'll climb over the wall."
"Don't, there are traps everywhere in the He Family's walls. He Rufei must have rearranged them. I also don't know where they are. If you trigger the traps, all our previous efforts will be wasted." He Yan looked at her, "Then why don't you be like Fei Nu and wait for me outside. I can go in by myself."
"No."
"Young Master, please do me a favor," He Yan said helplessly, "I can't do this, I can't do that, what do you want?"
Xiao Jue looked at the dog hole for a moment without any expression. Suddenly, she lifted the corner of her robe and half-knelt down. She turned her head to He Yan and said, "You go first."
This time, He Yan was really shocked, "You really want to crawl through?"
"Hurry up." Xiao Jue couldn't bear it anymore.
He Yan originally wanted to use the dog hole to make Xiao Jue back off. He didn't expect her to really crawl through it. For a moment, he was filled with emotions. Xiao Jue's sacrifice was really too big. If the soldiers of the Nine Flags Battalion knew that their Commander in Chief didn't sleep and crawled through a dog hole in the middle of the night, they would definitely kill her.
However, He Yan didn't purposely make things difficult for her. This dog hole in the He Family's house was dug by her personally. The He Family didn't like to raise dogs. He Yan was the one who personally raised the stray dogs outside. This place was much safer than climbing over the wall as Xiao Jue had said.
"Then follow me." He Yan whispered, "Be gentle."
She didn't mind crawling through the dog hole at all. After all, she had crawled through it since she was young. It had been a long time since she last crawled through it. She felt quite familiar with it. She moved her body and crawled in like a loach. Xiao Jue endured it and crawled in as well.
The walls of the He Residence were thick and this hole was dug by He Yan when he was young, so it wasn't very big. With his current adult stature, it seemed a little narrow. As soon as he crawled out, before he could stand firm, he saw a yellow thing under the weak light of the lantern pounce over with a "whoosh".
Xiao Jue was about to make a move when He Yan whispered in surprise, "Er Mao!"
The thing called "Er Mao" ran in front of He Yan, rolled around, and grabbed He Yan's leg affectionately. It was a yellow dog.
Xiao Jue asked, "What is this?"
"It's my pet." He Yan whispered, "I thought Er Mao would be chased out after I died. I didn't expect it to still be here."
To be precise, when He Yan was young, he picked up a stray dog and brought it home. He named it Da Mao. The He Family didn't like dirty stray dogs. However, at that time, He Yan didn't have any friends. When he was lonely, it was good to have a yellow dog as a companion. He begged Madam He to let Da Mao stay in the residence. Da Mao gave birth to a litter of puppies. However, the weather was too cold. Other than Er Mao, none of them survived. The one that survived, Er Mao, was a mute.
He Rufei removed all traces of He Yan. He Yan thought that he would never see Er Mao again. He didn't expect to see it again. However, Er Mao usually lived in the backyard and caught mice to eat. It wasn't that He Rufei didn't want to get rid of it, but that he had forgotten about it.
"It seems like it recognized me." He Yan looked at Er Mao who was wagging its tail happily at him. He sighed, "I was classmates with you, Lin Shuanghe, and Yan He for so long. You didn't recognize me. Your eyesight is not as good as Er Mao's."
Er Mao foolishly stuck its tongue out at He Yan and smiled.
Xiao Jue closed her eyes and said patiently, "Now is not the time for you to reunite and reminisce."
"I know." He Yan gestured to Er Mao to sit down. The yellow dog obediently sat down. "Er Mao, you stay here and keep watch for me." She turned to Xiao Jue and said, "Come with me."
The He Residence was very big. He Yan walked very cautiously. Everywhere he went, he would hide in the dark to see if there were any servants around. Although she didn't enter the He Residence a few days ago, she secretly wandered around the outside of the He Residence. The number of servants in the He Residence was much more than when she was still here. She didn't need to think to know that it was He Rufei's doing.
Maybe He Rufei thought that the He Residence had more servants, so he could maintain the image of "General Feihong". Or maybe he had a guilty conscience.
The courtyard that He Rufei lived in was also the courtyard that He Yan used to live in. It was the deepest and most innermost room in the He Residence. Xiao Jue asked in a low voice, "Why is it so far away?"
"Because Young Master He was born ugly and eccentric." He Yan said, "He doesn't like to interact too much with others."
There were very few servants in her courtyard and it was very secluded. If He Yan was a quiet child, it would be fine. But children always had many fantasies. She was originally lively and curious about everything. Because of her identity, she could only stay in the courtyard and play by herself. After a long time, even if she wasn't eccentric, she was raised to be eccentric.
As a child, she couldn't do this or that. Even the servant girls couldn't serve her, let alone play with her. After a long time, she would find fun for herself. For example, she used a tree branch to draw pictures in the sand. She could accurately draw every room in the He Residence because she had walked through it thousands of times in her mind.
He Yan had once suspected that after she joined the army, the reason why she was always so sensitive to the terrain and had a photographic memory was actually because of the experience she had when she was young.
"There are changes in the structure of the residence." He Yan said in a low voice, "We have to be careful."
It was already very late at night. The people on night watch were all in the outer courtyard. There were no movements in the residence so they could be a little more at ease. Seeing that they were about to reach He Rufei's courtyard, He Yan became more and more nervous.
When they turned into a long corridor and were about to walk forward, He Yan's footsteps paused. Suddenly, she quietly pulled Xiao Jue into an empty tea room.
Xiao Jue was about to speak when He Yan covered her mouth, "Shh, there's someone here."
There was the sound of footsteps outside. It was probably a servant who went to the outhouse at night. The footsteps passed by the door and the sound gradually faded away. When there was no more sound outside, He Yan let out a sigh of relief. When she turned her head, she was stunned.
The moon had come out at some point. It shone through the window and shone on the ground. Xiao Jue was pushed to the wall by her, his back against it. He Yan was so nervous that her whole body was almost lying on top of him, but he didn't move at all. His hands were slightly behind him, as if he was deliberately avoiding her. He Yan covered his mouth, looking like a female hooligan who was molesting others.
She was shocked and subconsciously retracted her hand.
The young man looked at her indifferently. Suddenly, he curved his lips and said silently, "Are you taking advantage of me?"
He Yan almost choked. She shook her head, "No, no, I was too anxious just now. I didn't do it on purpose."
The young man nodded with a faint smile. His eyes clearly showed that he didn't believe her.
He Yan couldn't say anything. Anyway, it wasn't the first time she molested Xiao Jue. She didn't care if it was just one or two times. She glanced outside through the door. Seeing that there was no one, she whispered, "Let's go."
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