Plum Blossom Cake and Wine (4)
There was a subtle hint of silence in the air, and the boy's eyes were dark.
Xu Ning tried to remain calm and said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. He is just a little kid now."
"nothing."
Whirlpools appeared on his fair cheeks, and the boy stood up with a bright smile.
"If you have anything to say, just say it."
Tang Xixu didn't finish his words, which made Xu Ning feel uneasy. She always felt that he was up to no good.
"Hurry up. Mom made butterfly cakes today. If you don't catch up with me, I'll finish them soon and won't leave any for you."
When Xu Ning heard about butterfly cakes, he forgot about what happened just now. Unfortunately, his legs were short, and no matter how fast he took steps, he could not catch up.
"Wait for me!"
The little girl almost cried as she watched the boy disappear.
Tang Xixu curled his lips and fell back, grinning wickedly: "Oh, you're going to cry."
Xu Ning wanted to control it, but he couldn't.
Tears were welling up in her eyes, her lower lip was drooping, and tears were about to flow out.
"No way, I was just teasing you, why did you take it seriously?" The boy was a little flustered and no longer had a playful smile.
“Wow wow wow!”
Xu Ningmo said, I swear it’s not that I want to cry, I just can’t control it.
Passersby around kept looking back.
"What's going on?"
An old man came towards them and said, "How could you bully your sister? She's so well behaved. It's a shame you're a man. Sigh."
The uncle drew a sugar figure and handed it to Xu Ning: "Don't cry, little sister."
The old man had a kind face and his hands, covered with old yellow skin, gently stroked the loose hair on his temples.
"How could I have that?" Tang Xixu was speechless, and many passers-by who didn't know him pointed and talked about him.
Inadvertently, Xu Ning made a face at him, and the boy opened his eyes wide, unable to speak out his pain.
…
As soon as Tang Xixu entered the room, he saw his father's eyes shining brightly. He waited for his father to come and hug him as usual.
"Hey, my little girl is back."
Surprise flashed in his clear eyes.
Are you changing people now?
Before Xu Ning could react, she was lifted up in a big bear hug, moving away from the ground and raising her sight.
The young man lowered his eyelids. He never thought that since a younger sister came into the family, he would fall out of favor?!
"Did that kid bully you?"
Xu Ning looked down at the boy, shaking his gourd head like a rattle: "No, Daddy. Brother Xu is fine."
The hairs on Tang Xixu's back stood up and the young man breathed a sigh of relief.
My love for you is not in vain.
"Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
Madam Mo hit Tang Xixu's hand as he was twisting the vegetables.
"I understand, mother."
The boy quickly swallowed a small piece of Hu pancake.
"Ye Yulan has already retreated to Xizhou, so why is he getting involved with the people of Jin again?"
Chen Yin held his forehead, his rough face full of worry.
After the defeat, the Lieyin Sect retreated to Xizhou and remained silent for four years. Now it seems to be making a comeback with the help of the Jin State.
"It doesn't have to be that devil. When he invaded the Central Plains, he was poisoned. If it weren't for the Dust-Reaching Sword Immortal Fang Hongzhi, there wouldn't be Daxin today."
Mo Wenqing's other deputy general Chen Qingfeng said.
Xu Ning's cheek paled, and he pricked up his ears to listen carefully.
"You may not know this, but it is said that the devil Ye Yulan started this war in order to find his wife and children."
Mo Wenqing and his wife had heard about it, but the situation was urgent and the demon's attack was fierce, so they had no time to delve into the details.
Everyone present fell silent. Chen Qingfeng continued, "He's quite lucky, a demonic being with both a son and a daughter. The eldest son is four or five years older than Brother Xu, and the younger one is a daughter."
Chen Qingfeng couldn't find a reference point, so he looked at Xu Ning who was eating, and scanned her up and down. "As for the youngest daughter, she's about the same age as Miaomiao."
"I heard that his wife learned about his evil ways and wanted to persuade him to return to the right path, but she accidentally injured him while he was in seclusion. In a rage, the woman fled with her child in the middle of the night and returned to the Central Plains. Ye Yulan came after her to find her."
Xu Ning swallowed the last mouthful of soup and said, "Uncle's story is so boring. It's full of loopholes. It's not good to listen to. It's not good to listen to."
Mo Wenqing laughed loudly: "Qingfeng, this is just some ridiculous unofficial history, how can you believe it?"
"I also heard someone say that after I came back from the battlefield that year."
"If that's what you said, uncle, I've heard something."
Mo Tingzhou was silent for a long time.
"There were rumors at the time that the Dust-Rising Sword Immortal Fang Hongzhi and Ye Yulan had also been a couple."
"That's impossible. You're being even more absurd. How could the world's greatest swordsman be entangled with a demonic cultist? She's the first female swordsman of all time, a powerful figure in the Daxin Dynasty, a god of war who protects the people of Daxin. Even His Majesty has to show respect to her."
It's not just Chen Yin, few of the people here believe it.
Tang Xiwan put down her chopsticks and wiped the corner of her mouth with her handkerchief. "But I think it's possible."
"To be honest, when I was still unmarried, I once had some contact with Fang Jianxian. She traveled a lot, and by chance, I happened to be there to listen to music that day, and she was there too. We hit it off right away, and we had a great chat."
Tang Xiwan looked somewhere in the distance, recalling the details.
"This woman's appearance and temperament are beyond the mortal realm, unique in this world. She has a cheerful nature and is not particular about trivial matters. She only likes all the beautiful things in the world."
This is quite similar to me.
Thinking that the sword immortal also loves "beauty", Xu Ning felt that he was not vulgar.
"Ye Yulan is also a handsome man of the highest order, as beautiful as a jade crown, and his words and actions are quite gentlemanly. If she likes him, it is also human nature."
Tang Xiwan didn't say that she was also attracted to him back then. If she hadn't met Mo Wenqing, she would probably have pursued him too.
Chen Yin couldn't argue with him, so he continued, "Even if they were in love, it was Fang Hongzhi who killed Ye Yulan. Would she still want to murder her own husband?"
"This is even more outrageous."
Tang Xiwan didn't say anything else and took a sip of tea: "Everyone, enjoy your meal."
Chen Yin shut his mouth and ate his meal obediently.
These words were like a pusher and a veil, driving Xu Ning to explore.
"Mother."
Tang Xiwan caught a glimpse of a tender little white hand tugging at the corner of her clothes.
"Mother, Little Grape wants to hear the story of Sister Sword Fairy."
Tang Xiwan knew that if the little girl acted coquettishly, something would happen.
It was a matter of the older generation, but her best friend had not had a happy life, and she didn't want to talk about it.
Xu Ning begged again, her intuition telling her that these things would definitely be useful.
Tang Xiwan frowned and looked at the child in front of her. She was suddenly startled. Something flashed through her mind, and she remembered what Chen Qingfeng had just said.
The woman smiled and said, "Grape, when do you want to start listening?"
The little girl pouted and touched the small tufts on her temples: "Then please let mother start from the beginning."
"That year, there was a woman who roamed the martial arts world, doing justice..."
Time passed minute by minute, Xu Ning rested his head on Tang Xiwan's knees, the past was like an ancient nursery rhyme, Xu Ning was drowsy, and fell asleep unknowingly.
The little girl's cheeks were squeezed together, her face was rosy, and her curled black eyelashes were thin and dense.
Tang Xiwan placed the little girl in her arms on the bed and tucked her into the corner of the quilt before leaving.
"Don't talk about these things in front of Miaomiao anymore."
Tang Xiwan warned coldly.
After dinner, Chen Qingfeng saw Miaomiao asking Mrs. Mo about what happened that year, and then he realized what was happening.
Madam Mo left, and the man lowered his eyebrows and slapped his mouth: "Look at my mouth."
The sky in Ye County was filled with yellow sand. Tang Xixu was pushed forward by the wind, and sometimes he walked against the wind, and his face was always covered with yellow sand.
The wine shop in Huahang had closed down long ago, and Xie Taohua had been ill since that day, lying in bed all day.
"...That's it. You must take your medicine on time..."
When Tang Xixu and Xu Ning came over, the old doctor was giving instructions to Hua Xing.
The man frowned and nodded, looking at the prescription, his expression was not very good.
"You two are here." Hua Xing's face was haggard, and he pulled the corner of his mouth with difficulty. "Taohua told me yesterday that it had been a long time since I saw you. I didn't expect you to come today."
The furnishings in the yard were still the same as a month ago, except that there were no herbs drying in the sun. The house was filled with the strong smell of medicinal soups, mixed with the scent of soothing incense.
"Cough, cough"
The woman looked even weaker. Last time I saw her, she could still walk, but now she had difficulty even standing up straight in bed.
Xie Taohua vaguely heard the voices of the boys and girls. Her head was dizzy and she couldn't lift a finger.
"Xiao Xiangxiang, here I come."
Her eyelids felt heavy, and Xie Taohua forced herself to open them.
"Sister Taohua." As Xu Ning spoke, tears fell on the back of the woman's hand.
The woman raised her hand to wipe the tears from the little girl's cheek. Xu Ning realized it and quickly wiped it herself.
Xie Taohua wanted to touch Xu Ning, so the little girl lay on the quilt and nudged her furry head into the woman's arms.
"Is Xiangxiang happy?"
This word of concern sounded very much like what her mother said to Xu Ning in this life.
Xu Ning sniffed her red nose and muttered, "I'm happy, of course I'm happy. Brother Axu and his family treat me very well."
The girl on the quilt raised her head, and the woman lowered her head, and their eyes met.
Sister Taohua looks very much like someone.
Xu Ning searched quickly in her mind, yes, like her!
In the previous life, the system informed him that the mission had failed and replayed the scenes after Xu Ning's death. One of the scenes was in the secret room of Jin State, and He Lansheng looked at the room full of portraits of women almost morbidly.
Sister Taohua looks about 60% like the woman in the painting!
Xu Ning suddenly raised her head and asked without caring about the other people around her, "Sister Taohua, do you know He Lansheng?"
The air froze for a moment, and the sickly woman regained consciousness. After a long pause, she smiled and said, "I don't know him. Why did Xiangxiang ask about him?"
Xu Ning was not stupid and caught the change in Xie Taohua's expression.
"No, just asking casually."
The little girl added, "A few days ago, I heard Daddy and the others talking about He Lansheng, the prince of Jin State, and so on. I came here to ask about him."
Xu Ning was not sure what He Lansheng's situation was at this moment, whether he was in Jin State, whether he had gone to Daxin, or was in Lieyin Sect.
Hua Xing and Xie Taohua both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister Taohua, you must take the medicine seriously. Even though it's bitter, you'll get better after taking it."
"Hua Xing said that the apricot blossom cheese made by my sister is delicious. Xiangxiang wants to try it."
The little girl's eyes turned red again.
"Okay, little greedy guy."
The woman wanted to scratch the little girl's nose, and she used all her strength to barely touch her face.
The temperature difference between morning and evening is large here, so at dusk Hua Xing added another quilt and spread it on Xie Taohua.
"I already told you, I'm not cold. Ahem, ahem."
Hua Xing said nothing, locked the doors and windows, and brought a bowl of boiled medicine.
The medicine was black and Xu Ning could smell its bitterness from a distance.
The little girl frowned, pinched her nose and stood up to make way.
There was a wisp of smoke above the medicinal soup. Hua Xing scooped a spoonful and blew gently. He waited until the smoke had all dissipated before presenting it to the woman's lips.
Xie Taohua turned her head away and didn't want to drink.
She had been drinking it for so long but still hadn't recovered. She reeked of medicine and even hated herself.
Xie Taohua knew her illness and her physical condition well, and taking medicine was just deceiving herself.
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