Mikago

Today is the first day of the Double Ninth Festival, the host's family was exhausted during the day, so they moved the banquet to night.

The masters were admiring chrysanthemums and eating crabs under the porch of the garden, but the servants were busy in and out, so they couldn't have a moment of leisure.

Lu You hid in a hidden corner of the roof, looked around the crowd, and soon found her sister.

Ye Yueshan was sitting right behind the sons and daughters of the Qin family, holding a silver braze gracefully.She picked the crab meat out of the shell, dipped it in ginger vinegar and delivered it to the girl's mouth.

In this way, she carefully fed the children of the Qin family, but she didn't even have a bowl of white rice in front of her.

The rest of the Qin family also regarded Ye Yueshan as a servant, without the kind of harmony and warmth revealed in the letter before.

Yes, this is the reality, the eternally cold reality.

Lu You suppressed the resentment in his heart, and continued to observe under the cover of tree crowns and roof ridges.The sons and daughters of the Qin family began to doze off after eating.After Mrs. Qin gave some instructions, Ye Yueshan hugged the girl and led the boy, and left the garden.

Lu You quietly followed her sister to the small courtyard where the children of the Qin family lived, and hid under the big tree in the courtyard to eavesdrop on the movement in the house.

About a quarter of an hour later, Ye Yueshan, who had settled down the children, came out with a rattan basket in her arms, which contained the clothes the two children were wearing just now.

"...It's so late, do you still want to wash these clothes?"

The sadness and resentment in my heart can only be turned into a sigh at this moment.Lu You stood under the walnut tree like a shadow and asked softly.

Ye Yueshan was taken aback, she turned her head suddenly, took half a step back first, then opened her eyes bit by bit.

"Zuo..."

Her voice was as weak as a mosquito, but she could hear the obvious trembling: "Zuo... Lan?!"

"Sister, it's me."

Lu You took a step towards her, letting the dim light of the first quarter moon illuminate his worried face.

Ye Yueshan froze, she didn't even notice that the bamboo basket in her arms fell to the ground.

After what seemed like a long time, she suddenly came back to her senses, covered her mouth, and rushed to Lu You in two or three steps.

"Zoran?! Is it really you!"

Sorrow and joy choked up in Ye Yueshan's throat, she reached out to touch Lu You's face, cautiously, for fear that everything in front of her was just a dream.

"You...you have grown taller...and your appearance is not the same as before."

She said this incoherently, and suddenly withdrew her hand: "You, why are you here?!"

"Sister, I'm sorry!"

Lu You let out a long sigh, and suddenly hugged Ye Yueshan tightly.

"I shouldn't have let you go out of town alone; I shouldn't have thought that there are still people in this world who would treat us sincerely; I shouldn't have believed your letters... If I could have found out sooner... earlier..."

He choked up and gasped for breath, feeling so distressed that he couldn't speak any more.

Ye Yueshan knew that the truth could not be concealed, so she stretched out her hand and gently patted her brother's back.

"This is not the place to talk, come with me."

The two siblings came to a wing room in the backyard.

This is Ye Yueshan's residence, which is less than half the size of her former boudoir.Apart from the small wooden bed in the corner, the only thing there was a wooden table with a half white candle standing on it.

Lu You was heartbroken and angry, and asked in a low voice, "When did they let you live here?!"

"The third month after arriving at the Qin family."

This is the end of the matter, there is no need to hide it anymore.Ye Yueshan first asked Lu You to calm down, and then she narrated the details of these years.

Back then, Ye Yueshan hid in a coffin and left the south gate of Zhaojing, and went to Liuquan to join her uncle.In the first few months, life in the Qin family was fairly smooth.Like the Qin family, she lived in a small courtyard with a single family, and her food and clothing expenses were roughly equal.

However, Mrs. Qin is a suspicious and jealous woman. Although she doesn't say anything, she is full of hostility towards Yueshan, a young and beautiful cousin.

On the surface, she dispatched a maid to serve Ye Yueshan, but secretly monitored Ye Yueshan's every move.She even remembers clearly who she meets with every day and what she said.

In addition, Ye Yueshan carried some money with her when she took refuge in the Qin family.She would take the initiative to take out some every month as the cost of sojourn.However, after a few months, the money was slowly exhausted, and he had to rely on the Qin family for food and clothing, so naturally he had to act according to the eyes of others.Gradually, Mrs. Qin's sarcastic remarks and accusations became more and more explicit, and Master Qin also pretended to be deaf and dumb.

Yueshan is not without backbone, she once thought of asking the maids to tie the knot and make some embroidery for the outsiders to earn some money.However, when the matter got to the ears of Mrs. Qin's family, she thought that what she did was clearly mocking the Qin family's meanness and lack of kindness.After objecting several times, Ye Yueshan gave up this thought.

However, the big turning point of fate came more than a year later.

"Hey... let's talk about you first."

Ye Yueshan stopped, lowered her head to hide the sadness in her eyes: "How did you get into the Qin family? Do uncle and the others know?"

Of course, Lu You came prepared, so he explained that he had been an apprentice in a paper and pen shop all these years. By chance, he met a knight from Tianwu Palace and learned some self-defense skills.It just so happened that the chivalrous master was coming to Liuquan City these few days, so he followed to meet his sister.

Ye Yueshan was dubious when she heard it, but she really couldn't understand the truth of the matter, so she could only hold Lu You's hand and repeatedly confirmed that he was in good health, and then managed to regain her composure.

Lu You took the opportunity to ask: "What happened later, why did the Qin family treat you as a maidservant?"

"Hey, don't join the crowd if you don't have money, and you can't find relatives if you are in trouble."

Ye Yueshan frowned slightly, and after much thought, she still opened her mouth and said: "That year, when my uncle came back from running a business in the east of the Yangtze River, he said...the place where father and mother were exiled encountered pirates, and he went to see...many corpses Line up in several rows by the sea, father and mother... are all inside..."

Having said that, she raised her head and looked at Lu You with teary eyes: "Zuo Lan, our father and mother are gone..."

Lu You knew about this a long time ago, but seeing his sister sad, he still couldn't help feeling sad.

But then again, my uncle's experience also confirmed Tang Ruilang's previous words from the side.

No, now is not the time to think about the Swiss franc.

This is the fact - after learning of the death of Ye Kaiquan and his wife, the Qin family's attitude towards Ye Yueshan has completely changed.Not only did he drive her out of the small courtyard with a single family, but he even made her a maid for her cousins.

"I know you will be angry now, but I've already thought about it. At least the Qin family took me in, and didn't report to the police, didn't drive me away, and provided three meals a day. Ordinary people want to get this Shouldn’t I exchange my labor for food and clothing? For me, this may already be a good result.”

Ye Yueshan chuckled lightly, but still couldn't erase the sadness between her brows.

The more she said this, the more distressed Lu You was.

"But father and mother raised you up and taught you piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, not to make you someone else's maid. You should have a better life, find a man who is well-matched and worthy of you to be your husband-in-law... "

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something: "By the way, the prince you mentioned in your letter... Is he a real person, or did you write it to lie to me?"

"No, that's, it's true."

Ye Yueshan's pale cheeks were instantly covered with a faint blush: "However, there is no such thing as talking about marriage. He is a wealthy businessman who often comes to the Qin Mansion. As for the others... they are all fabricated, so that you assured."

Sister and brother are connected, of course Lu You can see the meaning behind Ye Yueshan's words, but this can only make him more worried.

"Sister, come with me!"

He firmly grasped Ye Yueshan's hand: "I have the ability to support you now, so that you have no worries about food and clothing. Follow me, it's ten thousand times better than staying here and watching people's faces!"

"Follow you and go back to the capital?"

Ye Yueshan's heart fluttered for a moment, but she finally shook her head: "Liuquan City is calm and calm, and I'm used to this kind of life. Although there is you in the capital, the situation is changing at the foot of the emperor... I don't want to live in those precarious days. .”

"It won't be precarious!"

Lu You touched the thin calluses on Ye Yueshan's hands, and said eagerly: "After returning to Beijing, I will arrange a dormitory for you, arrange your food and clothing expenses, and ask the maidservant to serve you..."

"But you, an apprentice in a calligraphy and painting shop, how can you do these things?"

Ye Yueshan's eyes revealed a trace of doubt in the blur: "Zuolan... tell me honestly, is there something else you are hiding from me?"

"No."

Lu You took a deep breath, but still didn't have the courage to tell the darkest secret.

"The master of Tianwu Palace has a lot of friends, I can ask him..."

"Stop having unrealistic expectations of others." Ye Yueshan interrupted him with a wry smile, "I don't want you to suffer for me, it will definitely make me a thousand times more uncomfortable than it is now."

"But I don't want you to continue to live like this! How can they deserve to order you? I can't swallow this breath..."

Lu You's eyes were slightly red, and his voice was even trembling with anger.

Ye Yueshan quickly held his cheeks, and pressed her forehead against his.

"Since the day we became prisoners of the imperial court, we have been doomed to hide in Tibet and fend for ourselves. Zuolan, after the death of my parents, my elder sister should have taken good care of you. But what I can do now is only Just not to trouble you... If you don't even let me do such a little thing, then in the future...how can I explain to my parents?"

"Who asked you to tell your parents?! I am the man in the family, and I should take care of you!"

Lu You couldn't wait to prove his determination, but Ye Yueshan seemed to be more determined than him.

"I know you are doing it for my own good, but calm down and think about it, if I go back with you, can you guarantee that no one from the imperial court will come to trouble us for the rest of your life?"

"I told you, someone will help me."

"No," Ye Yueshan shook her head, "Those who help you are actually helping themselves. At this moment, your interests may be the same, but in the future..."

Just as she was saying this, there was a rustling sound outside the door. It turned out that it was my cousin who got up at night and was calling Ye Yueshan to serve her.