Southern Qi Fenghua Record

The Qingfeng Pavilion where Xia Houshu lives is the rearmost courtyard in the east side gate, and there is only a bamboo forest between it and the school.Entering through the gate, you will see a huge water tank with water lilies in it, and several colorful koi are raised under the water lilies.A wooden frame is built along the wall, and the vines of the wisteria climb up the wooden frame, with layers of leaves.When the flowers bloom, the curtains are full of flowers, and the courtyard is full of fragrance.

There are three upper rooms in the main building of Qingfeng Pavilion, all of which are used by Xia Houshu alone.

In the center of the main room is a round wooden table with four wooden stools carved with magpies climbing plums; on the guest table on the left is a light blue crooked neck vase with flowers in it, and on the right is a chessboard with chess pieces. Not finished.The east room is the study room, with a set of carved sandalwood desks, on which are neatly placed fine brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, behind the desk is a carved sandalwood chair, with several paintings hanging on the wall behind, The simple paintings of flowers and plants are not the work of famous artists, but they are also elegant and appropriate; there is a guqin near the window, covered with a thin white silk cover; a row of white sandalwood bookshelves and Bogu There are not many books on the bookshelf, most of them are piano scores, and there are only a few unique porcelain vases and carvings scattered on the ancient shelf.The West Room is Xia Houshu’s boudoir. There is a white sandalwood folding screen at the entrance. The white juan that decorates the screen is embroidered with light pink flowers, which contrasts with the bead curtain hanging from the roof. Smart; a soft gauze curtain is hung on the bed of yellow pear wood carving and embroidery on the north side, and a moon-white embroidered sachet with petals and soothing incense is tied on each corner, and light pink embroidered quilts and pillows are neatly placed On the bedside; on the dressing table in the southwest corner, there are several boxes of makeup powder and a large and exquisite jewelry box, which are elegantly arranged without losing the feminine beauty.

On the left and right sides of the main house, there are side rooms for maids and mother-in-law. Yunxi lives in the east side room.

It was quiet outside, and the temperature inside the house was just right for a good night's sleep.

Xia Houshu chose to live here at the beginning because he hoped to be closer to the school so that he could sleep a little longer before going to school in the morning.Unexpectedly, after living here for so many years, I realized that at night, this place has become the quietest place in the mansion. Except for the patrolling guards, almost no one would come here.

About another quarter of an hour passed, and there was still no movement outside. Presumably Yunxi was in a deep sleep, and she didn't even hear her screaming so loudly in the main house.

In an instant, Xia Houshu felt a sense of loneliness and melancholy that was long and long night without anyone to accompany him.

But this thought was just a flash, and soon disappeared in the darkness.

She sighed silently and rubbed her forehead lightly with her fingers.In the current situation, she couldn't fall asleep no matter what, so she simply took the outer garment from one side and put it on casually, lit a lamp in the dark, then went to the window and opened it, trying to relieve the suffocation in her heart.

The window was opened, the moonlight was cold in front of the window, and the bamboo shadows were whirling. A row of tall cypress trees stood across a hand-painted verandah, like loyal guards, guarding around the yard motionless.

A breeze blew through the open window and entered the room, instantly cooling the room.

Xia Houshu closed his eyes, quietly feeling the softness of the breeze, but vaguely felt that there was a strange smell of wine in the wind.

Where does the aroma of wine come from at night?

Only one wall away from here is Xiahou's family school, so there should be no one at this time.

Xia Houshu squinted his eyes, subconsciously looked in the direction of the wind, and saw a familiar figure sitting on the rockery behind the bamboo forest.With one hand behind his head, he held the wine jug in the other, and he drank sip after sip, very comfortably.

"Are you having nightmares again?" Xia Houyi said with a smile, and raised the flagon in his hand far away, "Are you interested in taking a sip?"

Xia Houshu shook her head without even thinking about it. The wound on her arm hadn't fully healed yet, and Pei Lang had repeatedly told her to avoid spicy and irritating things.Of course, she didn't want to disobey the doctor's orders because of her impulsiveness and lack of self-discipline, leaving an ugly and terrifying scar on her smooth arm.

Xia Houyi seemed to have expected that Xia Houshu would refuse, so he didn't continue to persuade her, but took another sip on his own.

Two days ago, when he saw Xia Houshu sneaking into the medicine shed in Muchunyuan with Yunxi, he guessed that she was injured, and must have gone to ask Pei Lang for medicine.Later, when he saw a bag of pearls that he gave Xia Houshu at Pei Lang's place, he fully understood.

It's just that everyone has their own secret, and Xia Houshu won't ask if he doesn't take the initiative to tell it.

The Chunxi House where Xia Houyi lived was next to Changxu Hall where his elder brother Xia Houxuan used to live. After Xia Houyi was gone, the Changxu Hall remained vacant. Except for the servants who were in charge of cleaning every day, Zhong Yuqing did not allow anyone else to come in and out at will. Gradually, it seemed a little deserted.Later, Xia Houyi moved into the courtyard next door, and brought a dozen or so maids and servants with him, making noise every day, and gradually restored the old atmosphere of fireworks.In addition, Xia Houyi has a lot of friends, and there are many people who come and go, and he often invites his close friends to Chunxiju to have a drink and chat, and that area seems to be the most lively place in Dongpianmen.In order to avoid suspicion, the female family members of the mansion basically avoided Chunxi residence during the day.

But tonight, Xia Houyi put aside his commotion and hid in her remote courtyard drinking stuffy wine, obviously he had something on his mind.

Xia Houshu stared at his brother's expression for a long time, seeing that there was indeed a bit of melancholy in his triumphant brows and eyes, but he still asked, "Why are you here?"

"Can't sleep." Xia Houyi's tone was a little drunk.

Xia Houshu rolled his eyes at him, but saw that although Xia Houyi was smiling on the surface, he was not as energetic as before, which made her wonder how much of what he said was true and how much was false.

She was thinking about it when suddenly there was an unknown sigh from the other side of the rockery, and she saw Xia Houyi jumping down from the rockery, with a vigorous figure, and then walked slowly in front of her.

The two brothers and sisters are separated by the window, one is outside the window and the other is in the window.

The night wind blew gently, with a touch of coolness in the warmth, spreading the aroma of the wine, as if it smelled a little drunk.

Xia Houyi raised the jug in his hand again, looked at Xia Houshu with a smile on his face, and explained casually: "I got a jug of good wine today, and I wanted to come over to drink with you, but seeing that your room is quiet, I was afraid of waking you up." You, so wait outside for you to wake up."

Xia Houshu's heart suddenly tightened when he heard the words.So, he's been here for a long time?

Did he also hear himself talking in his sleep?

When Xiahouyuan and his wife decided to take Xiahoushu back from Boyunguan, Xiahouyi was studying at Minglu Academy, and they didn't know it at first.Later, he heard something happened after hearing the news from the boy who brought him clothes in the mansion that something happened at home.At that time, Xia Houyi was less than 13 years old. After the death of his elder brother, even though he knew that his younger sister who lived in Boyunguan was assassinated on the way back to Beijing, and almost decapitated, he could do nothing except get angry. Can't do it either.But it's different now. Standing in front of Xia Houshu's eyes is no longer the weak second elder brother, but the future head of the Duke's Mansion of Yue.

If he knew that her previous experience was still haunting her like a nightmare, what would he do?

Everyone has their own little calculations that they don't want to be known to others, Xia Houyi has it, and so does she.

Xia Houshu didn't intend to tell the whole story, so he snatched the jug from Xia Houyi's hand without any explanation, and took a sip, but who knew it was strong wine, the spicy taste instantly went from her throat to her nasal cavity, choking her eyes uncontrollably and tears .

Xia Houyi stretched out his hand and patted her on the back, took the flagon in her hand, and couldn't laugh or cry: "I drink like you, no matter how good the wine is, it's a waste."

Xia Houshu glared at Xia Houyi with tears in his eyes, and couldn't help but coughed a few times in a row, without even a chance to speak back.

Xia Houyi saw that she was tearful and embarrassed, and couldn't bear to continue teasing her. He just patted her on the back graciously, but couldn't help smiling on his face, and teased: "You are such a big person, If you're still frizzy, whoever marries you in the future won't come to me every day to complain?"

Xia Houshu was very surprised. Although Xia Houyi often made fun of her, she couldn't understand why his future husband would come to Xia Houyi to complain.

Xia Houyi looked like he saw through her thoughts, and said: "As the saying goes, an older brother is like a father. Now that the eldest brother is gone, of course I have to rely on my second brother."

"Father and mother are still here, so I can't find you even if I think about it." Xia Houshu retorted.

"Whose husband and son-in-law dare to sue the old man about his wife? Naturally, it is easier to talk among peers." Xia Houyi explained, "In other words, do you think that with our father's prestige, how many dare to say in front of him? Isn't yours?"

"It's true." Xia Houshu rolled his eyes.

The topic changed just like that, Xia Houyi never asked about Xia Houshu's dream from the beginning to the end.

Xia Houshu coughed for a long while before finally feeling better, took out a handkerchief and wiped his face and the corners of his mouth.She raised her eyes slowly, looked at Xia Houyi's handsome face and teased: "It's late at night, you didn't really come to pour me a pot of wine and then watch me laugh, did you?"

"So what?" Xia Houyi smiled.

"Really?" Xia Houshu didn't take it seriously, reached out and patted his chest, and asked casually, "Won't your conscience hurt?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Xia Houyi casually opened the hand she was clapping on her chest, raised her head and took a sip of wine, "I heard that you took Ling'er out during the day, and you were reprimanded by the third aunt in person. I just came here to comfort you."

"It's such a big deal, I'll trouble you to go there yourself." Xia Houshu deliberately put on a look of being flattered, but his eyes were full of disdain, "No one in the whole house knows about Third Aunt's temperament Xiao? Now in this mansion, there are only three people of the same generation, you, me and Ling'er, but in these years, how have you and my brother and sister ever gotten good looks from her? Especially things related to Ling'er, she can't tolerate it A grain of sand. Poor Ling'er, who has to bear so much at such a young age. I also mourn her misfortune, and be angry with her. But what is rare is that my mother didn't care about this matter today. I see that if Ling'er doesn't wake up again, I’m afraid I’ll have to suffer in the future.”

"If the third aunt heard what you said, she would definitely fight you hard." Xia Houyi laughed.Although he usually doesn't like to meddle in the affairs of the family members, his heart is like a bright mirror.

"I'm not afraid of her because I'm honest with you." Xia Houshu said with a light smile, "Besides, Third Aunt is an elder, and she's not someone who likes to take the initiative to provoke trouble."

"I think you are relying on the third aunt not to really do anything to you." Xia Houyi said, "I remember that when the third aunt first married into the mansion, she was also gentle and generous, and she was very kind to me and my eldest brother. Unexpectedly The third uncle's condition suddenly deteriorated, and he went away within a few years. Ling'er's body and bones also followed the third uncle. These years, it has been really difficult for the third aunt, so if you have nothing to do, don't provoke her."

"How many mothers are easy? Could it be that our mother has had a good life these years?" Xia Houshu waved his hands and retorted, "If the third aunt doesn't even plan for Ling'er's future, but wants to be a junior like me?" If you don't care about these trivial things, it doesn't matter who will cry in the future." She glanced at the jug in Xia Houyi's hand again, and changed the subject, "Good wine needs good food. It's really boring for you to drink alone like this."

Xia Houyi knew that this topic should not be continued, so he stopped talking.

After a while, he glanced at his sister and asked tentatively, "Seeing that you are so greedy, how about I take you to a good place tomorrow?"

Xia Houshu frowned, looked up carefully at Xia Houyi's expression, listened to his words, and thought of his various abnormal behaviors tonight, it didn't seem like a temporary intention.

Xia Houyi didn't intend to explain too much, and just said: "Tomorrow at Sishi, you take Yunxi to swim in the lake first, and I will be there later."

"Why don't you go with me?" Xia Houshu asked suspiciously.

"Aren't I afraid that going out together will be too ostentatious?" Xia Houyi laughed.Seeing disbelief written all over Xia Houshu's face, he said, "I have something important to attend to."

Xia Houshu nodded thoughtfully and said, "I understand, swimming in the lake with me is just a cover."