The world is my home
"...I don't really believe it," the leading soldier said honestly, "Who would accidentally destroy an imperial tomb for fun?"
Xu Shulou sighed and stood up from the ruins.
"Don't be impulsive," the mausoleum guards quickly pointed their spears at her, "Don't resist, come with us, you will be in jail for a few months at most, and you don't have to fight us to the death!"
"Don't fool me," Xu Shulou said angrily, "Destroying the imperial mausoleum is a capital crime."
The leading mausoleum guard shrugged: "Of course you will be beheaded if you destroy the mausoleum of our dynasty, but the Xiao Kingdom is gone, so why would the officials today sentence you to death for this?"
Xu Shulou was stunned for a moment, then turned around to take a look at Xiao Juncheng's tomb as if to confirm. The large characters "Monument to the Sacred Virtue of Emperor Xiao Taizu" were unmistakable.
She felt mixed emotions for a moment: "Is the Xiao family already the former dynasty?"
"Of course." The soldiers guarding the tomb looked at her strangely.
“…”
"The Xiao Dynasty lasted for more than 200 years, which is not a short time," the mausoleum guard said cautiously, "Well... Miss, if you have a grudge against the Xiao family, you don't have to pick a fight with us. We are not from the Xiao country. We just didn't do well and offended someone, so we were sent here to guard the imperial mausoleum of the previous dynasty."
"...I won't embarrass you. Take me to the government office."
"Okay!"
As she was suspected to have the strength to smash through the imperial mausoleum with her bare hands, the soldiers guarding the mausoleum did not dare to offend her. They followed her attentively and escorted her into the yamen like guards.
The new dynasty had already moved its capital elsewhere, and the ancient capital of two dynasties was now just an ordinary prosperous city. The local chief really didn't care much about the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty. He was about to order the bailiffs to throw her into jail, but after hearing Xu Shulou say that she was willing to pay compensation, he immediately changed his expression, extorted a large sum of money from her for repairs, and in the end, he didn't even let her enter the jail, and drove her away contentedly.
———
On Wuchen Island, Bai Roushuang rubbed her stiff neck and said, "Go tell them, if they keep talking nonsense, I will bring people to smash their mountain gate!"
"Yes!" The disciples of Wuchen Island responded.
"Elder Bai, you have a bad temper." A teasing female voice sounded.
The disciples of Wuchen Island were shocked: "Who is it?!"
"I'm here to invite you to dinner, Elder Bai," the woman said with a smile, "Do you have the honor to do so?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw someone leaning against the door of the hall, waving a colorful folding fan in her hand. Her face was blurry against the light, but the silhouette alone made her look quite elegant and suave.
Bai Roushuang only saw a silhouette, but she knew exactly who it was.
"..." She laughed, "I knew you would come back!"
When did that person fail to do what he promised?
———
One month later, in the mortal county town.
Xu Shulou was strolling around casually, buying a few pieces of chestnut cake from the east and a dime of cold drink from the west. By chance, he came across the door of a candied fruit shop and walked in.
There is a very delicate hand-woven bead curtain hanging on the shop door, and you can tell at a glance that the owner of this shop is the kind of person who loves life very much.
Xu Shulou gently lifted the bead curtain, which made a crisp sound, alerting the people inside that a guest had arrived.
As soon as she stepped through the door, she was greeted by a smiling face.
The proprietress of the preserves shop smiled at her kindly: "Miss, you are a stranger. Is this your first time here?"
“…”
The lady boss was very enthusiastic: "Since it's your first time, I'll give you one of each. If you like it, you can buy more."
Xu Shulou stared at her in a daze. The proprietress's face gradually overlapped with the beautiful and graceful face in his memory. Xu Shulou took the fork and small plate she handed over, put a pickled green plum into his mouth, and suddenly his eyes became red.
The proprietress was startled and quickly stuffed a handkerchief into her hand: "Girl, what's wrong with you?"
The handkerchief was washed very clean, and it exuded a refreshing aroma of soapberry. Xu Shulou took it and held it in his hand with great care. He swallowed the title that was about to come out of his mouth and shook his head at the woman: "Nothing, just... I suddenly miss home."
The woman then smiled knowingly: "The girl has been away from home for a long time?"
"Too long."
"Why don't you go back?"
Xu Shulou laughed: "Now... the world is my home."
There was another crisp sound at the door, and someone lifted the curtain and walked in.
He was a middle-aged man with an elegant appearance, his clothes were stained with dust, and he was holding a vegetable basket in his hand.
The proprietress smiled apologetically at Xu Shulou and said, "Miss, you try it first." Then she walked forward and looked at the man and said with a slight frown, "Look at you, why are you so dirty again? What's in this basket?"
Xu Shulou turned his back to the door and listened to the most familiar male voice in his memory: "The dog of Wang Er's family at the corner of the street was lost. He reported it to the government office. I helped to look for it for half a day. When I came back, he insisted on giving me a basket of vegetables."
Xu Shulou turned around and asked with a smile, "Are you from the government office?"
The man smiled shyly. His clothes were covered with dust and he was holding a basket of vegetables. But his smile was very gentle and warm. “I am just a ninth-rank official in the government office.”
"Don't listen to his modesty," said the old lady who was leading her granddaughter to pick candied fruits. "Mr. Xu is the most popular official in Xianyou County. If the west family loses a pig or the east family loses a dog, he will help them find it enthusiastically. He never thinks that our little things are too much trouble for him. He is also good at studying. If the private school teacher has any problems, he will help him. By the way, last month my granddaughter got seriously ill and the county was short of medicinal materials. It was Mr. Xu who rode his horse for several hours to search for medicine in several towns before bringing it back. When he came back, the inside of his leg was worn out and the blood was seeping through his clothes. It was scary to see!"
The man smiled bitterly: "Don't tell anyone about my bruised thigh that time, and don't send us eggs so often in the future. Keep them for your granddaughter to nourish her body, and you don't have to take care of the business every day."
"Who said I'm here to take care of your business?" The old lady waved her hand and said, "Isn't it because the boss lady's cooking skills are good? If I want to coax my granddaughter to take medicine, she can't do without this candied fruit for every meal."
The man looked at the proprietress and smiled: "Yes, my wife is the best."
The proprietress rolled her eyes at him.
Xu Shulou laughed and said, "Since you said so, I'll buy a pack of each of these candied fruits."
"Can you finish it, young lady?" the proprietress advised gently, "Although this candied fruit is not likely to spoil, you should buy less. It is better to buy the freshest ones in season after you finish it."
"I can eat it. I love this stuff."
"Okay, I'll pack it for you."
"Madam, it's time. If there are no other guests, we can close the door and go eat," the man said with a smile as he helped wrap the candied fruit with oil paper. "Today I will cook for you and make your favorite sweet and sour fish, and use these vegetables to make a salad."
"OK."
Xu Shulou paid the bill, stared at them one last time, turned around and left with a smile, strolling down the long street carrying a large paper bag of candied fruits, and gave a pickled green plum to Bai Roushuang who was standing on the street.
Bai Roushuang was picking something up in front of a small stall. After paying the copper coins, she quickly caught up with him and said, "Senior Sister, where are we going next?"
Xu Shulou was at the end of the long street. He stopped in the sunset and looked back at her and smiled: "The snow lotus in Tianshan is about to bloom. I want to go and see it."
【End of the article】
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