Trespassing shouldn't happen, especially at night, which was almost impossible.
Because in ancient times, when lighting was poor, people had an instinctive fear of the dark and difficulty in moving around. When committing a crime at night, the owner couldn't determine in advance whether you were going to steal or kill. Coupled with the traditional concept of privacy, the idea of trespassing at night was deeply rooted in people's hearts.
The law of the Tang Empire stated, "Anyone who trespasses at night without reason will be whipped forty times. The owner will kill the offender immediately, without mercy. "
Coupled with the curfew, it was unthinkable to visit at night. It was even more impossible to enter someone's house without knocking. As a result, the two of them were caught off guard.
However, Yang Fan wasn't surprised. Rules were rules. Once they were set, they could be broken. Who else but Maqiao would dare to trespass into his house and break the rule of not trespassing at night?
But Maqiao usually wouldn't come to his house. Normally, at this time, Maqiao should be at home with his mother making handicrafts. But the person who came in was really Maqiao.
As soon as Maqiao stepped in, he saw that the room was clean and tidy. There was a table and two people, a man and a woman, were sitting opposite each other. He couldn't help but let out an "Aiyo" and hurriedly bowed and apologized, "Sorry, sorry, I came to the wrong door …"
As Maqiao spoke, he retreated to the door. Just as he took a step back, he saw Yang Fan's face clearly and couldn't help but stop in shock. He held a clay jar in his hands and looked at Yang Fan with his mouth agape. He then looked at Tian Ai Nu and stammered, "This … this … this lady …"
Yang Fan reached out and pressed down Tin Aino, who was about to explode. He explained to her, "This is my friend."
Yang Fan got up and pulled Maqiao into the courtyard. He asked, "Why are you here?"
Maqiao said, "I was worried about Xiao Ning, so I went to her place after I came back. I heard from her that you didn't go to her place to eat Pasta soup tonight, so Xiao Ning asked me to come see you. I was thinking that you might have given me all the money to deal with me, so … I brought half a pot of porridge with me. Who is that lady? "
"She …"
Yang Fan rolled his eyes and said hesitantly, "Oh, she's my cousin. She came to visit me."
Maqiao rubbed his forehead and said, "Brother, can you find a more suitable excuse?"
"What?"
Maqiao said weakly, "You said that your hometown is in Jiaozhi and you have no relatives in the Central Plains. Now your cousin is visiting you? He came all the way from Jiaozhi to Luoyang to visit you alone? And you still want to hide her at home like a thief, not letting anyone know? "
Yang Fan's face turned red, and she said unhappily, "You know it's an excuse, why did you say it? Why are you asking so many questions? Just treat her as a thief. "
Maqiao held the pot and said woodenly, "Have you ever seen such a beautiful woman be a thief?"
Yang Fan said, "That's strange. Why can't a beautiful woman be a thief?"
Maqiao said, "Once you enter a brothel, you don't have to worry about food or clothing. There are too many paths a beautiful woman can take. Be a thief? Ha, haha, what a joke! "
Yang Fan was afraid that Tin Aino would be angry, so he quickly looked at the door and said in a low voice, "Don't talk nonsense. If she hears you, she won't forgive you!"
Maqiao sneered and said, "See, you're not happy with what I said, right? Quick, tell me who she is. "
"Don't you find it annoying?"
Maqiao looked at the door and squinted his eyes, whispering, "Your lover?"
Yang Fan's heart moved, this reason … seemed to make sense, so he pretended to ponder and said, "Hmm …"
Maqiao impatiently said, "So she really is your lover? My god, such a beautiful girl, quickly tell me, whose family is this girl, how did you hook up with her? "
Yang Fan knew that if he did not give him a satisfactory answer and satisfy this curious baby's curiosity, he would not give up, so he followed his train of thought and slowly said, "This girl … is the daughter of a merchant I met on the Luo River."
"Oh?" Maqiao held the pot with his other hand and pricked up his ears.
Yang Fan said, "This is what happened. One day, I was walking on the Luo River Bridge, and she was passing under the bridge with a boat. We fell in love at first sight, and after a while, we liked each other and decided to marry each other. But her parents despised the poor and loved the rich, and didn't want her to marry a servant, so … she eloped with me …"
Yang Fan made up a very vulgar story, but the more vulgar a story was, the more it satisfied people's curiosity, so Maqiao believed it without a doubt. He smacked his lips and said excitedly, "Then what do you two plan to do in the future?"
Yang Fan said carelessly, "What else can we do? Let her live here. According to the laws of our Tang dynasty, as long as the legal age for marriage is passed, and the man and woman are in love with each other, and a de facto marriage is achieved, then it will be recognized, and parents can't interfere."
Maqiao pinched his chin and said suspiciously, "That's not right … according to the laws of our Tang dynasty, a man can only get married when he is twenty and a woman is fifteen. You are only seventeen this year, and there are still three years to go. "
Yang Fan said, "So, I plan to live like this for now. After three years, not only will we be husband and wife, but we will also have many children. Her grandfather and Mother won't object to it, right?"
Maqiao gave him a thumbs up and praised, "That's a ruthless move!"
Yang Fan took the opportunity to say to Maqiao, "Now her parents are looking everywhere for her whereabouts, so it's good that you know about this matter, and don't tell anyone else."
Maqiao nodded repeatedly, "Of course, of course. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this kind of thing even if you beat me to death. "
Yang Fan let out a sigh and asked, "Oh right, how is Sister Ning doing?"
Maqiao said, "Auntie was also very angry when she heard it. She said that it's okay for a man to be poor, but if he has no ambition, then he will really have no future for the rest of his life. As the saying goes, a man is afraid of entering the wrong profession, and a woman is afraid of marrying the wrong man. If her daughter marries such a man, she will never have a chance in her life. Tomorrow, she will personally find a matchmaker to break off the engagement."
Yang Fan said cheerfully, "That's good."
The two chatted for a while more, and then Maqiao said goodbye and left. Yang Fan had already eaten until his belly was round, so he naturally took the porridge back.
Yang Fan flashed into the room and saw Tin Aino sitting behind the table, like a lotus flower emerging from the water. A pair of bright eyes stared at him with interest, which made Yang Fan's hair stand on end. He couldn't help but think to himself, "Why is she looking at me like that? What we talked about … could it be that she heard it? "
Tin Aino stared at Yang Fan until his eyes wandered, not daring to meet her eyes. Only then did she proudly raise her chin, snorted softly, and stood up with the help of the table, saying, "I'm sleepy. You clean up these cups and plates!" Finishing, she raised her head and like a proud peacock, she gracefully left.
…
The lights went out, and moonlight shone through the window, filling the entire room like flowing water. On the floor, it was like a sparse shadow splashed with ink.
Yang Fan went out to 'play and gamble' again. This time, Tin Aino naturally wouldn't follow him again.
Last time, Yang Fan found the sentence "escorted by the Longwu Army" in the Department of Records of the Ministry of War. At that time, the person escorted was the dethroned Crown Prince, Li Xian, and the destination was Bazhou in the center of Shu. This was completely different from Shaozhou in the south of the Yangtze that he wanted to investigate, but this was the only clue he could find.
Tonight, he would continue to read the unfinished documents about the second year of Yongchun. If he still couldn't find any other clues about the Longwu Army leaving the capital on official business, he would have to investigate this group of people who went to Bazhou in Shu that year. Although the two places had nothing to do with each other, the people who went to Bazhou on official business might be able to go to Shaozhou to do something else.
After a whole night of hard reading, when the time was almost up, Yang Fan rubbed his red eyes and let out a long sigh. Up until today, he had read all the official letters from the Ministry of War in the second year of Yongchun. That year, the only record of the Longwu Army leaving the capital was the one about escorting the dethroned Crown Prince Li Xian to Bazhou.
It looked like he could only start with this clue.
Yang Fan walked to the window and slightly opened it. He used his bloodshot eyes to look at the dark sky. The world was still vast, but it was already the darkness before dawn. The first rays of dawn were about to appear.
Yang Fan let out a long breath of impure air and looked back at those tables that were piled up like a mountain. Then, he lightly flipped down the stairs and threw himself into the boundless night like a nightingale …
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