Xu Qinyu remembered that after the fourth brother jumped in from the top of the wall, he was holding a cloth bag, and there were no other puppies around him. She looked carefully at the fourth brother's clothes, and found that his clothes were smooth and not bulging. There was definitely no room for a puppy to be stuffed inside.
She even stood up and looked around Fourth Brother, still a little confused, "Fourth Brother, where is he?"
Pei Weixuan stretched out his arm in front of her. Xu Qinyu didn't understand what was going on, so she leaned over and stared at her fourth brother's sleeve. Then she saw something slowly crawling out of the navy blue sleeve.
Then--
A panicked scream echoed from the kitchen.
"ah!!!!!!!!!!"
A small snake slowly emerged from the navy blue sleeve.
The little snake is snow-white all over, its head is also white, but its eyes are red.
Xu Qinyu never expected that the guardian creature her fourth brother mentioned would be a small snake. When a small snake suddenly jumped out, her first reaction was to be startled.
Pei Weixuan was also frightened by Yu Niang's scream, and a look of helplessness appeared on his face. The little snake was also frightened by Xu Qinyu's scream, and it shrank back into Pei Weixuan's sleeve.
Xu Qinyu's face turned pale. She pointed at Pei Weixuan's sleeve and asked in a trembling voice, "Fourth Brother, is this the thing you mentioned for guarding the house?"
"yes."
Pei Weixuan was silent for a moment before he replied, "Yes."
He still looked a little helpless; he didn't expect to scare Yu Niang.
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but ask, "Fourth brother, where did you bring this little snake back from? Can it guard the house?"
"It can grow quite large and is very good at guarding the house."
As Pei Weixuan spoke, he stretched out his hand to tease the little snake in his sleeve. The little snake slowly crawled out of his sleeve again, tilted its head, and looked at Xu Qinyu with a pair of deep red snake eyes.
Xu Qinyu thought the little white snake was quite pretty. After hearing what he said, she immediately asked, "How big can it grow?"
No, no matter how big it grows, no one will use it to guard the house!
Not really. Some people do like to keep pythons as pets, such as the golden python. These pythons can grow very large and if you keep them at home, ordinary thieves won't dare to steal from you.
Pei Weixuan lowered his eyelids, "I found it in the mountains. For some reason, it didn't hibernate and was coiled on a tree. It's still a young snake. It can be about ten feet long and can grow very big in a year. It's quite deterrent as a guardhouse." He did find it in the mountains. He didn't know why it was hanging on the tree. No one took care of it in this season and it would freeze to death without food. And thinking that Yu Niang said she wanted an animal to guard the house, it was more powerful than a puppy, so he brought it back to show Yu Niang. Maybe she would like it. He didn't expect to scare her.
Xu Qinyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Ten feet was about three meters. A snake that could grow that big must be intimidating!
Who would dare to come to her house then?
She was planning to sell braised fish at home. If this little snake really grew into a giant python, all the customers would be scared away.
To be honest, Xu Qinyu knew that when it grew up, it would definitely be a much better guardhouse than an ordinary puppy. At least Mrs. Luo would not dare to trespass into the house. However, snakes are cold-blooded animals, and she had never raised one before, so she was still a little afraid of this naked animal. She was more accepting of furry pets.
Wen and Pei Jianing were also frightened by Xu Qinyu's scream and woke up.
When they realized it was Yu Niang who was screaming, their faces changed. They didn't even have time to put on their clothes and hurriedly put them on and left the room. Seeing the kitchen light on, they immediately came in. They didn't even have time to ask Pei Weixuan when he returned. Wen immediately asked her daughter-in-law, "Yuniang, what happened? Why did we hear your screams?"
Ning Jie'er saw the little white snake in her brother's sleeve at a glance.
Well, she knew that if she asked her brother to find a pet to guard the house, he would definitely find some strange animals, and he actually brought back a small snake. Since it was a pet to guard the house, this small snake should be able to grow into a giant python, and her brother would not be afraid of scaring the fourth sister-in-law. Speaking of which, her brother seemed to have a poor ability to empathize with others. She always thought it was because her brother had been sick and weak since childhood and was a little cold. Now she realized that the fourth brother probably had similar feelings towards them and his family. Even though the fourth brother would help them and do everything for the family to the best of his ability, it was more due to his status.
She could feel that her fourth brother was sometimes more friendly to the pets he raised in the palace.
Ning Jie'er couldn't help but say, "Fourth brother, how did you get back a little snake?"
Mrs. Wen also noticed the little snake in her son's sleeve and was startled. She couldn't help but take two steps back, "Xuan'er, why did you pick up a snake?"
Pei Weixuan said calmly, "I found it in the mountains. It didn't hibernate, and it can protect the house, so I brought it back."
Xu Qinyu thought about it and discussed with him, "Fourth brother, raising this is a bit scary. I'm afraid it will even scare the guests who come to our house. How about we not raise it?"
Pei Weixuan glanced at her and said, "The snake is too small. If you send it back, it won't survive the winter. Send it back in the spring."
"Okay." Xu Qinyu thought it was okay.
The little snake is still small. There are only more than two months left until the beginning of spring. It should not grow much in two months. Moreover, this snake is jade-colored all over, and looks quite cute. It is not that scary. It is fine to keep it at home for the time being.
Ning Jie'er and Wen Shi had no objections, and judging from their expressions, they both seemed to be used to it.
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but wonder why her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were so calm.
She naturally didn't know what her cheap husband had kept in the palace.
After this incident, Xu Qinyu never dared to ask her cheap husband to bring her any puppies again. She planned to ask around to see if there were any mastiffs. Otherwise, ordinary puppies would only have average ability to guard the house. Moreover, in winter, there were many people who beat and stole dogs, and ordinary puppies could not withstand these dog thieves. Mastiffs were different. They were loyal to their owners and looked very fierce. They would not eat food fed by outsiders, and they were also very deterrent to guarding the house.
The little snake from Pei Weixuan's sleeve crawled out, slithered around on the ground, and finally curled up in a circle beside the stove and didn't move.
It seems to be too cold, and knowing it is warm by the stove, I warm myself here.
Xu Qinyu didn't bother the little snake and was busy making pancakes and frying eggs.
Ning Jie'er helped to watch the stove, while Wen and Pei Weixuan went to sweep the snow in the yard. The snow on the roof had not been cleared for a few days and was a bit thick, so Pei Weixuan knocked it down as well and piled the snow in the backyard. The entire front yard looked clean and tidy.
After finishing all this, Wen cleaned the house again and took the clothes that the family had changed out of last night to the well to wash.
When she was a child, she cleaned the room and washed clothes by herself. Even after entering the palace and being a concubine for more than ten years and then a queen for several years, she was not unfamiliar with these tasks. In fact, even when she was a queen, she often did needlework. The underwear worn by the emperor and several children were all sewed by her. She had a good relationship with the emperor. People thought that the emperor made her the queen because he did not want the future queen's relatives to have too much power, and because her family had no power, the emperor chose her. This was not the case. It was just because Emperor Sheng Jing really loved her and regarded her as his wife.
She also knew that her personality was not suitable for being a queen. She also knew that Concubine Fu was targeting her. She even knew that letting Concubine Fu become the queen would not be good for her children. So her thoughts were not simple. She also wanted to compete for the position of queen, but she was not as cruel as Concubine Fu. She did not expect that Concubine Fu would attack the children in the harem and even poison the emperor in the end.
Concubine Fu is too cruel and ruthless.
Wen closed her eyes, feeling a sharp pain in her heart.
…
After Pei Weixuan swept the snow and cleaned the dirt off the ginseng, he found a shady place. It was too cold and there was no sun, so he couldn't dry it in the sun, but it would be fine to dry it in the shade.
After he finished with the ginseng, he saw Yu Niang carrying a small basket of mushrooms and handed it to him, "Fourth brother, wash them for me."
Xu Qinyu planned to stir-fry some mushrooms, and she planned to save the remaining mushrooms in the evening so that she could buy a hen to make mushroom and chicken soup, which would taste fresh and nourishing.
The climate in the southwest is humid, and the mushrooms grown there are delicious. Just stir-fry them with a little lard and add a little salt. No other seasoning is needed, and they will be very delicious.
After eating porridge with mushrooms, Xu Qinyu left the stall.
She didn't let Pei Weixuan go with her, guessing that he must have not slept all night. She didn't let him go to the stall with her, so he just looked at her.
Xu Qinyu was also very persistent. She didn't sleep for a whole day and night. She still wanted to take care of her body! The toxins in her body had not been completely removed.
"Fourth brother, go back to your room and sleep. Come back to the stall with me tomorrow."
Pei Weixuan looked at Yu Niang. Her face was full of determination, and her eyes were staring at her without blinking.
She seemed to stick to what she had decided on, which was completely different from the second young lady in Marquis Dechang's mansion.
Where did she come from...
Pei Weixuan said the word "OK" lightly in a hoarse voice. He didn't insist and went back to his room to sleep.
Xu Qinyu went to the stall alone. Wen washed all the pots and pans in the kitchen and tidied up the kitchen. She said something to Ning Jie'er, asking her to look after Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er, and then went out to help wash clothes.
When they arrived at the dock, Xu Qinyu's roujiamo sold very quickly. She also asked the people on the merchant ship where she could buy a mastiff.
Zhuanzi bit his roujiamo and told her, "What do you want a mastiff for, young lady? They are only found in the north, but not here. They are good at hunting and guarding the house."
When Xu Qinyu heard that it was only found in the north, she couldn't help but sigh. It was difficult to find a stronger mastiff.
If that doesn't work out, I'll just wait and see if any dog has puppies and buy one.
After finishing her stall, Xu Qinyu went to buy pig offal and fish as usual. Today she also bought an old hen and would go back to make soup later.
Unexpectedly, when buying fish, she saw a small black ball next to the old man's stall. It was tied with a hemp rope and tied to the old man's feet. The small ball had injuries on its hind legs, as if it had been bitten open by something. Xu Qinyu stared at the small ball for a few times. At first glance, it looked a bit like a cat, furry. But when she looked closely, it was not a kitten, but a little leopard?
A pure black little leopard, Xu Qinyu was startled.
She remembered that there should be no black leopards in such places. In the local area, there should be leopards with spots on their bodies. There are no black panthers.
Forget it, this isn’t her time and space, so the map sections might be quite different.
"Uncle He, is this a little leopard?"
After buying fish from this old man for so long, Xu Qinyu knew his family situation. He knew that his surname was He and he lived in a village near Yuanbao Town. His son was a fisherman. Due to the cold weather and the low income at home, he often caught fish and sold them in the town. He had thought that the fish would be hard to sell, but he didn't expect to meet Miss Xu. She bought all the fish and came to him to buy fish every day. He didn't have to pay for the fish. He just dug a hole in the ice and cast a net to catch them. He could make a lot of money every day.
Recently, Xu Qinyu asked Uncle He to help collect eggs, radishes and cabbages in the village.
Eggs in the village are cheap, two for one penny, and radishes and cabbages are even cheaper because they are grown at home, less than one penny per pound. This saves her some money on making roujiamo.
Uncle He said, "It's a little leopard. My son found it when he went fishing at the lake. It seems to be a cub. It was torn apart by animals in the mountains and ran down the mountain. I just happened to find it, so I thought of selling it in town, but I don't know if it can survive."
Xu Qinyu knew that when the weather got cold, not only people would be easily frozen to death, but the cubs of animals in the mountains would also be in danger of freezing to death.
She knew that there were some young men from wealthy families in the capital who kept cheetahs to help with hunting and show off, but most of them were spotted leopards, and she seemed to have never seen any black leopards.
Once this thing is tamed, it will be like a big cat, and it is a cat. No one can resist a big cat!
If we can really rescue it and raise it, we can use it to guard the house. It is definitely better than using a big python to guard the house.
When Xu Qinyu thought of the little snake, her face froze.
Xu Qinyu was a little moved.
"Uncle He, how much do you want to sell this little leopard for?"
Uncle He said quickly, "If you want it, I'll give it to you. You take care of my business every day. Besides, this little leopard is so seriously injured, I'm afraid no one else will buy it."
Xu Qinyu finally gave the money and gave all the money she earned today to Uncle He.
Mr. He was still reluctant to accept it, but Xu Qinyu finally stuffed the silver and money into his mouth, and Mr. He accepted it. He then helped move the fish to the compartment under the cart. Xu Qinyu also carefully picked up the cat. It didn't struggle at all and didn't move. It looked like dead, but its abdomen was still moving, so it should be alive.
My cheap husband knows medicine, so I’ll ask him to help treat it when we get back.
Xu Qinyu quickly returned to Guihua Lane.
Pei Weixuan had already woken up and was chopping wood. The water tank in the kitchen was full of water. There were also several wooden basins and barrels next to the well, which were also filled with water.
Seeing him, Xu Qinyu immediately called out, "Fourth brother, come and take a look."
Pei Weixuan looked up and saw a small, black animal in Yu Niang's arms. He didn't need to see the animal's face to know it was a black leopard cub. He also saw the bloody patch on the leopard's hind leg. He put down his axe and walked over to take the leopard from Yu Niang's arms. It didn't move. He said, "It's seriously injured. I'll go get some medicine."
Xu Qinyu took the little leopard again and saw her fourth brother striding out of the yard and heading towards the alley entrance.
Pei Jianing also brought Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er over.
The two children were very curious about the little leopard in her arms.
Pei Jianing couldn't help but ask, "Fourth sister-in-law, where did the little leopard come from?"
Xu Qinyu told her sister-in-law how the little leopard came about.
Pei Jianing was silent after hearing this. He thought, "I don't think there will be more and more animals in the house in the future..."
She remembered that when her fourth brother was in the palace, he had a golden eagle, a tiger, a lynx, and a yak...
She just didn't know if those animals would be killed by that evil woman, Concubine Fu, after they were exiled. She naturally hoped that they were still alive as they were all innocent. Moreover, she used to often go to her fourth brother's palace to feed them.
Xu Qinyu carried the little black panther back to the kitchen and saw that the little snake was still coiled on the kang, not moving.
It won’t sleep like this for two months, right?
So should I feed it or not?
Xu Qinyu glanced at the little black cat in her arms again. If she could save it, would the two of them fight? Would the little black panther bite the little white snake?
She's already worried before she even starts raising the baby.
Without waiting for Xu Qinyu to think about it, she put the little black panther next to the small stove where it was warm, and went out to kill the fish.
Pei Jianing also squatted over and slowly helped.
After the fish was cleaned and marinated, Pei Weixuan also bought some medicine.
He boiled the medicine on a small stove, and when it became a paste, he took it outside to cool. Then Pei Weixuan went to treat the wound on the little leopard. He shaved off all the hair on the wound and took some strong liquor to clean the wound. The little leopard finally reacted and cried out in pain, weakly, like a kitten.
The whole family squatted in the kitchen and watched Pei Weixuan treat the little leopard's wound.
After cleaning the little leopard's wound, we finally started to sew it up. After suturing, we applied cooled ointment and bandaged it.
Pei Weixuan told Xu Qinyu, "Just change the medicine every three days."
Xu Qinyu nodded.
Fourth brother is quite capable. The medicine he prescribed is very effective. She felt that the chilblains on her face were almost healed.
In the evening, Mrs. Wen was not very surprised when she learned that her daughter-in-law had bought a little leopard that was almost bitten to death. She was probably used to it.
Xu Qinyu also felt relieved and a little excited. It was the first time she had raised such a big cat.
Wen came back early today and helped push the cart out to sell all the fish.
In the evening, Xu Qinyu fried some tofu again. She started stewing the mushroom chicken soup when she came back at noon. She cleaned the old hen. It was a chicken raised by her family and ate wild vegetables and insects. It didn't even need to be blanched. There was no need to add oil to the iron pan. She poured the chicken pieces in and stir-fried them until the fat inside was fried out. She added two slices of ginger and water and brought it to a boil. The boiled water should not have any foam. After boiling, pour it into the casserole and simmer on low heat for one and a half hours. She added the washed mushrooms and sprinkled a little salt. No other seasonings were needed. It was ready to eat after cooking for another quarter of an hour.
The stewed chicken soup was golden yellow, and although it was a bit oily, it was exactly what the family needed. The chicken melted in the mouth, and the mushrooms absorbed the broth from the chicken soup, and combined with their own flavor, even Xu Qinyu drank two big bowls. In the end, the whole family ate up a large casserole pot of wild mushroom chicken soup.
The people in Guihua Lane felt that the food at Miss Xu's house today was particularly delicious, more delicious than any other day, full of the rich aroma and flavor of chicken soup.
…
There was not much snow in the next two days. The next day, Pei Weixuan went to the mountains again. He went to the mountains to collect herbs, the herbs he used and the herbs the little leopard used.
The night he left, the little white snake that always coiled around the stove woke up, stuck out its tongue, and swam to Xu Qinyu's side.
Xu Qinyu was still a little afraid of it, but when she saw it kept swimming around her and didn't leave, she suddenly realized what was going on.
Is it hungry?
She knew that snakes eat by swallowing, so she stood up, cut two pieces of fish, put them on a small plate and placed it in front of the little snake. It lowered its head, stuck out its tongue, picked up the fish and swallowed it in one gulp.
Xu Qinyu became happy. Seeing two children squatting nearby and looking at them eagerly, she cut two more pieces of fish and gave them to the two children, "Feng'er and Yan'er, come and try it."
The two children happily took the fish pieces, put them on the plate, and watched the little snake swallow the fish.
After the little snake finished eating, it stuck out its tongue and stared at Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu guessed it was not full, so she cut a few more pieces, and finally fed it to Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er one piece each. The two children were coaxed by her and rarely showed a smile on their faces. The three of them fed the little white snake almost two or three pounds of fish meat. The little white snake then crawled back to the stove and curled up next to the little leopard without moving.
The little leopard refused to eat or drink and just lay down beside the stove and fell asleep.
Xu Qinyu looked at the one black and one white, both of which were almost curled up into a ball, and unexpectedly found them quite harmonious.
Pei Weixuan did not return until the next afternoon, carrying two cloth bags, one of which was full of mushrooms and the other full of medicinal herbs.
Xu Qinyu also recognized some medicinal herbs, but the herbs he collected were all unfamiliar to her.
Pei Weixuan came back and dried and prepared the herbs. He also dried the red fruit, mixed it with other herbs, and divided it into four parts.
Two days later, it started snowing heavily again.
That evening, after dinner, Xu Qinyu finished braising the pig intestines, and Wen Shi cleaned the kitchen. Pei Weixuan told them, "Mother, Yu Niang, I'm going to need a medicinal bath to remove the toxins from my body. I might need you to stay by my side and tie me up with hemp rope, or I might lose consciousness and destroy the house."
Wen was worried, "Brother Xuan, I hope everything is OK."
Xu Qinyu was also a little worried. It felt a bit dangerous to tie them up with hemp ropes.
"It's okay, don't worry, Mom."
The poison in the body must be removed, Wen nodded.
Pei Weixuan boiled the medicine he had prepared in an iron pot, poured it into the bathtub, and added a bucket of cold water. He took off his long coat, leaving only a pair of trousers, stepped into the bathtub and sat down, then used a knife to dissolve his wrist, and blood dripped down his wrist into the bathtub.
Sister Ning has been called by Wen to coax the two children to sleep.
There were only three people left in the room.
Xu Qinyu felt that this medicine did not have the unpleasant bitter taste of traditional Chinese medicine, and was rather fragrant.
She couldn't help but glance at her fourth brother's exposed back. His skin was very white, and he was a little thin, but with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
At this time, Xu Qinyu was surprised to find that the blood from her fourth brother's cut wrist mixed with the medicinal bath and did not disperse. It was just a thread, like a blood painting in the water. She didn't dare to breathe, and the same was true for Wen.
Pei Weixuan glanced at the two of them and said, "Tie me up."
The two men then hurriedly took the hemp rope next to them and helped tie the man up.
"Tie it tightly."
Pei Weixuan said.
Wen gritted his teeth and pulled the hemp rope so hard that it was about to dig into his shoulder blades.
The way they tied him up was to first tie his hands behind his back, then wrap his arms around his body and tie his entire upper body tightly, making him unable to move.
After tying him up, Wen's hands were shaking. Not long after, the two saw Pei Weixuan's face becoming paler and paler.
The bloodstains finally melted and gradually dissipated in the medicinal bath, but the medicine should have seeped into his blood vessels through the wound on his wrist.
Xu Qinyu looked at his blood vessels which were bulging. The blood vessels, which were supposed to be blue, gradually turned black, like black lines covering his entire body.
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