Chapter 109: Plum Blossoms 19 Where did this wild brother come from?
Tingyan saw that he had a cold expression on his face. She didn't show any surprise as she had imagined, or any emotion of meeting an old friend again. Instead, she kept avoiding him.
"You really don't recognize me?"
Song Yanze was busy helping them sort out the damaged grain pile, and didn't want to pay attention to what he said. He immediately snatched the things in his hand, pushed him aside, and helped them finish the job in no time.
"You said your name is Tingyan?"
Song Yanze lowered his eyes and adjusted his robe sleeves, his tone was nonchalant, not like a question. Xuan Qing looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, Song Yanze turned around and glanced at him lightly.
Xuan Qing immediately turned around to help and did not interfere in the feud between Commander Jiang and Lord Xiao Song.
Commander Jiang...you're on your own.
"How do you prove that you are Tingyan?"
Tingyan looked at Song Yanze's profile. He seemed to always avoid her sight. Could it be that she didn't dare to recognize him after seeing him like this?
"There is a small dagger in your sleeve, with a wild goose carved on it. It is a gift from me to you."
He had to get close to him, catch his eyes, lean over and talk to him non-stop.
"You call me Brother Xiaoyan, and I call you a nerd. Now that you have really become an official, why don't you recognize me?"
Song Yanze suddenly threw the winnowing basket used to collect grain at him, raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze moving from his eyebrows to the scar, and then to his beard and lips.
He didn't paint his face darker because he knew he was dark enough.
"My brother Xiaoyan is joining the army in Yanzhou. Where did you come from?"
"I retired from the army and became a bodyguard. I passed by here and didn't expect to see you again."
He spoke without blinking an eye. Song Yanze felt that he had been deceived, because this man was a liar.
"Then you should have heard of me, why didn't you come and recognize me before?"
"You are the master, and I am just a commoner, how dare I marry you?"
Song Yanze looked at him and suddenly laughed: "I don't dare to pursue high, so what are you doing now? You didn't say a word when you left, and you came back... it's the same again! Do you think it's funny and interesting?"
"Are you making fun of me?" After saying that, she didn't want to hear his answer and just threw her sleeves and walked towards the village.
Jiang Tingyuan was really panicked and quickly chased after him and grabbed his wrist.
"No, that's not it. I had no choice at the time, and I didn't want to leave..."
Jiang Tingyuan pulled him over forcefully, and Song Yanze was dragged around and fell into his arms. The smell of soapberries on his body was still very familiar, warm and fragrant, and the rhythm of his heart beating was under his palm.
Why did I suddenly realize it now? I was obviously familiar with him, but I didn't recognize him until now.
Seven years ago, he was not as tall and strong, but he also did not have so many scars, his hands were not as rough, and he did not have the bloodthirsty and cold aura he has now.
Fame on half a piece of paper, thousands of mountains with wind and snow.
What a journey he has gone through...
Song Yanze lowered his head and sighed deeply, then hugged him back and clutched his robe tightly.
Jiang Tingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt a little unhappy.
Hug and cuddle... Have you forgotten that you are married? But Song Yanze was so cold to him just now, and he was not happy.
Brother Xiaoyan is back now. We can’t just distance ourselves from him just because he didn’t fulfill his original promise, right?
Even a needle pointed person would feel ashamed of himself for his narrow-mindedness.
Song Yanze pushed him away. Jiang Tingyuan saw that his eyes were red and felt distressed again. He wanted to reach out and touch his cheek.
Then she remembered that her hands were dirty from digging rice just now, so she carefully pulled out a piece of clean undershirt and dipped it on his cheek.
"Have you forgiven me?" Jiang Tingyuan felt a little uneasy for some reason. He had become like this, he couldn't be seen through.
"Can you still call me brother Xiaoyan?"
If his Lord Xiao Song knew about this, he would be finished, so he had to slowly think of a solution.
But before that, he still wanted to be Xiaoyan's brother for a while and accompany him to get through this stage first.
Song Yanze watched him act, acting very hard, and pushed away the hand he stretched out again, and laughed.
Playing split?
Jiang Tingyuan is tired of being Xiaoyan's brother and wants to be Xiaoyan's brother again?
Okay, then just do what a big brother should do, and don’t even think about anything else.
"Brother Xiaoyan." Song Yanze smiled again, but pushed him away and kept a distance from him.
"We are all grown up now, it's not time to be so close. Brother, don't you think so?"
Jiang Tingyuan was stunned, unable to answer for a long while. Not even holding hands? Then hugging is not allowed, kissing is not allowed, and sleeping together is even more impossible?
Otherwise, Brother Xiaoyan would have just crossed his arms and brought Jiang Tingyuan back.
Song Yanze bowed to him and performed all the formalities: "We have not seen each other for a long time, and it is time to reminisce with you, but I have something important to do, so please forgive me."
As Song Yanze spoke, he went to find the old village chief of Zhaojia Village. Jiang Tingyuan had wilted and was completely silent, following him like a wandering ghost.
"Master Xiao Song! I never thought that an old man like me would see you again."
The old village chief had met Song Yanze before. Although he was the governor of a state, he was very hands-on and had no airs. He would occasionally come down to see the farmland and chat with them.
As time went by, the people in the area all knew that if there was a young scholar with rosy lips and white teeth helping with farm work and chatting with them patiently, it was most likely the prefect coming to visit.
"These people came not only today, but also every once in a while. They said they were checking to see if there were any refugees who had turned into bandits, which was not a problem. But today they were quite suspicious, and as soon as they came they asked where Wang Er's wife and children were."
"Fortunately this knight is here, otherwise I don't know where Wang Er's wife and daughter would have been taken to."
Song Yanze raised his eyebrows. What a coincidence! Wang Er had just revealed the problems of the dam to him that day, and today someone had touched his wife and daughter.
Wang Er participated in the construction of the dam from beginning to end. He was not like an ordinary laborer, but an expert, just like a foreman. He was probably the only one who could tell the whole story, and more importantly, he dared to speak out.
It's not necessarily that no one would read it, but the only one who dared to speak out was Wang Er. Or, in other words, some people said in the past that once a wife, children, or parents were arrested, they would not dare to say more.
At this critical juncture, no one would pursue the matter any further, as they just want to survive.
This Jiang Tingyuan has found Zhaojia Village, so he must have followed his lead.
The last dam that had not been blocked was blocked overnight. There was water seepage in all three dams, but at least it could hold out until the river was dredged.
Fang Yifeng did a great job in resettling the victims and preventing the epidemic. He saw along the way that although there were many victims, they were arranged in order according to prefectures and counties. Some parts of the provincial capital also designated areas to resettle the victims.
The only most important thing is food.
Forcing the people to sell their land at low prices and the soaring grain prices were actually a problem. There was a shortage of rice in the entire Jiangnan Province, and the price of rice was soaring. Since there was a shortage of grain, the rich had no worries about hoarding grain, so they immediately lowered the grain prices to buy land at low prices.
These wealthy people do not only refer to landlords and wealthy businessmen, a large part of them are officials who are themselves big landlords.
Otherwise, why did the Neisi Yamen send people to harass and arrest people to put pressure on us, and why did the Fansi Yamen delay in distributing grain?
Song Yanze went to check the granary in Zhaojia Village. They had already started mixing the fine flour with the second or even third-grade flour which was black and yellow in color.
Grain must go through processing to become white refined flour before it can be eaten. Only families who are so poor that they are about to starve to death will process the remaining ingredients again, the more the better.
When Song Yanze was doing this, Jiang Tingyuan followed him. Xuanqing wanted to come over several times, but he gestured to move away. Song Yanze talked back and forth with these old farmers, and he didn't understand many things.
Seven years ago, how could this precious Lord Song understand all this? Jiang Tingyuan felt itchy in his heart. He watched him frown and think deeply, and then watched him carefully pick up the rice grains to examine them.
Song Yanze put down the rice in his hand, turned around and suddenly met his eyes. He was used to not hiding that greedy look and forgot that he was still the "brother".
Song Yanze's eyes and eyebrows were relaxed and upright. He frowned slightly, revealing a subconscious alert expression, but soon looked at him in confusion.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Jiang Tingyuan gritted his teeth and his jaw tightened. The name he hated the most came back to him like a ghost. But he couldn't say anything and had to swallow the blood and knock out his teeth.
"Nothing, I'm just a little surprised to see that you've become quite knowledgeable about farming in these years."
Song Yanze smiled and walked out keeping a distance from him.
If you don't like acting, then let's see who can't act anymore first.
Song Yanze was going back to the provincial capital. He had to review the official documents and paperwork from various prefectures and counties, so he couldn't stay here any longer.
Jiang Tingyuan naturally found an excuse to follow him. Song Yanze did not chase him, but just rode in front with Xuan Qing following beside him. He was squeezed behind and eaten the dust.
Xuan Qing glanced at his master, but Jiang Tingyuan was afraid that Xuan Qing would be exposed, so he had to follow behind with a smile. His resentful eyes almost made two holes in Master Xiao Song, whose clothes were fluttering in front of him.
As soon as they arrived at the posthouse, Song Yanze handed the whip to Xuanqing, and then told Xuanqing to arrange a room for his "brother". After that, he smiled and bowed to him, and went upstairs to read the documents.
Jiang Tingyuan only had time to turn over and dismount, and saw Song Yanze flick the sleeves of his crimson official robe, leaving a piece of it at the corner of the stairs.
"Sir, why don't you just reveal your identity?"
Can Jiang Tingyuan say that he was jealous of himself because he was petty? That's impossible.
I had finally found an opportunity to learn more about Jiang Tingyuan and his heroic achievements, but I ended up asking about Brother Xiaoyan.
He just went with the flow and let him see this "Brother Xiaoyan" who was inferior to him in every way, and tell him that he was safe. He would probably be able to let it go.
It was a good idea, but I regretted it after taking the first step.
"I have my own plans, don't ask."
Xuan Qing was solemn, as if he understood something, but he didn't know what he understood.
"Arrange for me to live next door to him."
Xuan Qing consciously stood behind him, bowed his head and was about to reply when a head popped out from upstairs.
Song Yanze looked at the two of them suspiciously and shouted, "Xuanqing? You..."
Jiang Tingyuan felt for the first time what it felt like to have his heart beating out of his throat. He immediately pulled Xuanqing and smiled at him: "Look, this brother is also very polite."
Song Yanze frowned and looked at them for a long time, and Jiang Tingyuan almost broke out in a cold sweat. His little Master Song finally let them go, retracted his gaze, and left.
Xuan Qing was about to continue speaking when Jiang Tingyuan raised his hand to stop him, fearing that Lord Xiao Song would strike back again.
Xuan Qing shut his mouth, took his master into a side room, and simply left without saying anything.
After a day of hard work, it was already time for dinner when we got back. We had all eaten dry food on the way, so no one had any appetite. Jiang Tingyuan couldn't let go of the person he had hugged during the day who had obviously lost a lot of weight.
He turned around to look at the empty and thin bed and made a decision immediately.
The elder brother wanted to go to his younger brother to chat late into the night by candlelight and sleep with their feet touching.
He washed up immediately, put on his outer robe, and his inner garment was loose, half exposing his chest. He smelled of fresh soapberry.
Although there is a possibility of cheating on me, it is more tormenting for him to sleep next to Lord Xiao Song and do nothing.
He immediately turned around and knocked on the door of the next room. Lanterns were lit in the corridor. He still had documents to deal with, so he must not have gone to bed yet.
Jiang Tingyuan continued to knock on the door patiently, and soon he heard some noise coming from inside.
He adjusted his expression, not to be too expectant, to be friendly, maybe smile?
The door opened with a creak.
"Who is it...Ah! There's an assassin!"
When Ji Bai opened the door, he saw a big man with a scar on his face and a beard, almost reaching the door frame, and smiling at him. He almost fainted, and his shout was his last act of stubbornness.
Xuan Qing was the first to rush over with his sword drawn. Seeing Commander Jiang's face, which was uglier than a ghost, he silently put his sword back into the sheath.
"What's going on?"
Xuan Qing replied, "This is the only room left on this floor of the inn. On both sides of Lord Xiao Song live his sworn brothers Shi Yucheng and Lord Ji Baiji."
Jiang Tingyuan's forehead jumped, he pressed his head, and suddenly turned back to look at Ji Bai. Only then did Ji Bai realize that it was a misunderstanding.
At this time, a door far away from them opened. Song Yanze looked at them with his hair loose and wearing a robe, and asked them softly: "What's wrong?"
He stood in the room without moving. After listening to Ji Bai's words, he smiled, looked at Jiang Tingyuan, and then lightly looked away.
"He is my elder brother. I am sorry to scare Lord Ji."
Jiang Tingyuan found his door and turned to go to him, when suddenly a gentle male voice came from Song Yanze's door.
"Mei Yuan, there's an assassin? Is it okay?"
Jiang Tingyuan clenched his hands suddenly, and Xuanqing swallowed hard when he saw his expression. Song Yanze turned around and smiled at the people inside. From Jiang Tingyuan's angle, he could only see his profile.
In the candlelight, his face was fair and radiant, and he was wearing a royal blue robe loosely. His inner garment was loose, revealing his collarbone and slender, beautiful neck, and his long black hair fell down on his shoulders.
No one knew better than him the beauty and bliss beneath those loose collars, and yet there was someone else in his room at the moment.
Shi Yucheng came over and helped him pull up his outer robe. He was actually wearing an outer robe as well.
Jiang Tingyuan was about to bite his teeth off. Brother, didn’t you say that you should avoid suspicion?
Where did this wild brother come from?
"Mei Yuan told me that Ting Yan has changed a lot, but I didn't believe it. Now I see that you are really different."
Shi Yucheng whispered to Song Yanze to go back first, looked at Jiang Tingyuan with a smile, and was secretly shocked by the aura he exuded.
It’s true that life is different after joining the army.
"It's getting late today, let's find some free time tomorrow to reminisce about the past."
Jiang Tingyuan held onto the railing of the corridor, trying his best to suppress his urge to rush over. Song Yanze just glanced at him, then immediately pulled up his outer robe and went into the inner room, so that Jiang Tingyuan could not see him.
Jiang Tingyuan felt a pain and numbness in his heart, as if the thorn that had been bothering him for years was pricked.
Shi Yucheng acted like a master and smiled at him kindly, but he felt it was a provocation.
"Okay, but it's getting late now. Why is Brother Shi still in Mei Yuan's room?"
"Mei Yuan and I had a candlelit night talk."
With a click, Jiang Tingyuan broke off the wood carving on the armrest.
Do I still need to sleep with my feet together?
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