Chapter 17
It snowed all night, and Lin Shuge got up very early today. He woke up from his dream last night and felt flustered. He had a premonition that something bad had happened. He woke up early again this morning and wondered what was going on at home. Could something have happened?
After a whole day of traveling yesterday, Lin Shuge silently calculated the itinerary and concluded that he would be able to return to Ganzhou County by this evening.
He walked out of the room, and the servants of the post station cleared the snow on the main road to prevent people from falling when walking. They also tied cloth strips to the horses' hooves because there was snow on the road and the horses would slip when walking.
Magistrate Li came out yawning, "Shuge, you got up so early, why don't you get some more sleep?"
"I had a nightmare last night and didn't sleep well, so I got up early. To be honest, I felt like something was wrong at home."
Magistrate Li smiled mischievously, "You are so homesick at such a young age. What will you do when you get married?"
Seeing that Lin Shuge seemed to be about to refute, he said again: "Okay, let's hurry up today and let you return home early."
Lin Shuge was overjoyed, "Thank you, sir."
Magistrate Li was amazed to see that his face was full of smiles. He usually saw him as mature and steady, but today was the first time he saw him so happy. He chuckled, since he was young after all, and went to wash up humming an unknown tune.
The clouds were moving slowly, the northwest sky seemed to be higher, the ground was covered with thick snow, it seemed even more vast and boundless. The carriage continued along the way and finally saw the gate of Ganzhou.
The followers exclaimed one after another, and he finally came back. Lin Shuge heard the sound outside and lifted the curtain of the carriage. What came into view were the familiar city walls and familiar streets. As expected, only when going on a long journey did he realize how wonderful home was.
"Let Wang Ji take you home." County Magistrate Li had his eyes closed to rest, but when he noticed Lin Shuge's actions, he spoke.
"Thank you, sir."
After walking through the busy streets and arriving at the gate of his own yard, Lin Shuge thanked Wang Ji and smiled as he watched him rushing home. It seemed that he was also eager to return home.
He knocked on the gate, but heard no sound, so he pushed it open and walked in with his bag. As soon as he entered the gate, he saw Lin Xuan coming out, "Brother, you're back? Ayuan, Erlang, brother is back."
Then, Xie Chen almost ran out of the house immediately, his eyes full of excitement, "Brother." Before he could make the next move, Lin Qingyuan had already jumped up and threw himself into Lin Shuge's arms.
"Wow, woo, woo, woo, bro, you're finally back."
Lin Shuge touched his head with amusement, "Did you miss me? Don't cry, isn't my elder brother back?"
"Let's go in first," the three of them finally reacted. Xie Chen took the heavy bag in his hand and walked in front. Lin Qingyuan and Lin Xuan followed Lin Shuge closely on his left and right.
Lin Shuge smiled and tapped their noses, but when he saw Lin Qingyuan's walking posture, the smile faded, "Ayuan, what's wrong with your foot?"
"I sprained it, but I've applied medicine. It's okay," Lin Qingyuan said, looking up.
No, there are also injuries on the face. Lin Shuge glanced at him and walked straight into the main room. Inside the room, Xie Chen stood there with his back straight, with an unnatural look on his face. "What's going on? What happened?"
"Brother, this is what happened. I..."
Before Lin Qingyuan finished speaking, Xie Chen interrupted her and said, "Let me tell you." He explained the whole story one by one, and paused slightly when he said that Manager Cheng was dead.
Lin Qingyuan quickly added, "If it weren't for Erlang, Steward Feng would have been stabbed. Erlang had no choice but to do it."
"Why are you so nervous? How could I blame Erlang?" Even if there is joint liability, he should be blamed. There was coldness in Lin Shuge's eyes. He thought that when County Magistrate Li arrested these people that day, some fish slipped through the net. He didn't want to implicate his family.
Lin Shuge was filled with anger. "Ayuan, this won't happen again. I promise."
Lin Xuan interrupted, "Brother, you must be tired after the long journey. You should take a rest first and we will eat later."
"good."
Lin Xuan nodded and took Lin Qingyuan out.
Xie Chen waited until they left before saying, "Brother, I'm sorry. I didn't protect A Yuan well."
"How can I blame you? If you weren't here, Ayuan..." He didn't even dare to imagine what would happen to Ayuan.
Lin Shuge gently brushed his hair, "Zhongxuan, we are a family, and we will never point our spears and sharp blades at our family. And thanks to you, Ayuan is safe. But Zhongxuan, if you encounter such a situation again in the future, you must not take risks alone. Although you are a martial arts expert, if the other party has more people or is good at using tricks, not only Ayuan, but you will also be in danger."
Hearing the connection in his words, Xie Chen's eyes flashed with a smile, "I know, brother."
"By the way, I bought you gifts. I'll show them to you after dinner. I wonder if you like them."
"I like it." Xie Chen said immediately.
"You said you like it before you even read it." Lin Shuge said helplessly.
"I like everything my brother gives me."
"You just say nice things to please me. Okay, I'll take a rest first."
Upon hearing this, Xie Chen immediately said, "Brother, have a good rest. I'll go see how the meal is going." Then he turned around and gently closed the door.
Lin Shuge lay on the kang for a while, but perhaps because he was too tired, he couldn't fall asleep. It was almost the evening, and Lin Xuan and the others might have thought that he was still resting, so they didn't call him to eat.
He was really hungry now, so he got up and went out to the main room. When Lin Xuan saw him coming in, she immediately said, "Brother, you're up, let's eat."
"good."
Several people went to the kitchen and brought out the food. Since it was to celebrate Lin Shuge's return home, the food was extra sumptuous, including a bowl of scrambled eggs with black fungus, a dish of stir-fried meat with sunflower greens, a dish of braised spareribs, and Lin Shuge's favorite dried mushroom soup. The eggs are tender and fresh, the sunflowers are refreshing, and the ribs are firm and meaty, paired with a full bowl of millet rice, all the hardships along the way seem to be completely melted away.
"Axuan's cooking is getting better and better." Lin Shuge praised.
"If you like it, eat more. Although my cooking skills are not as good as yours, they are better than Erlang's." Ever since Xie Chen risked his life to rescue Lin Qingyuan, Lin Xuan's attitude towards him has changed drastically, and now he is even joking with him.
"Erlang can also cook?" Lin Shuge asked curiously. Zhongxuan didn't seem to know how to cook.
"Hahaha, brother, the leeks and eggs that Erlang made were raw, and the eggs were burnt." Lin Qingyuan exposed the secret, his face full of gloating.
Xie Chen's face turned cold and he glared at Lin Qingyuan. A closer look revealed that the area behind his ears was red.
Seeing him like this, Lin Shuge understood and helped him out. "Everyone is the same when they cook for the first time. The first time I cooked, I almost blew up the kitchen."
Sure enough, Lin Qingyuan began to ask him why the kitchen exploded at that time. Lin Shuge blinked at Xie Chen and said, "See, you still have to rely on me."
Xie Chen tilted his head slightly, not daring to look at him again.
After eating and drinking, the few of them divided the work clearly, washed the dishes and cleaned the house. Lin Shuge took out his bag and said, "I brought you gifts, come and have a look."
He took out an inkstone from his bag, on which were carved a few leaves of inkstone. The carving was delicate and the shape was lovely.
"This is for Ayuan. I hope Ayuan can pass the college entrance examination smoothly."
Lin Qingyuan took the inkstone and said happily: "Thank you, brother. I will definitely pass the exam."
"Axuan's is a book. I asked the female owner about her preferences for you. She really likes the calligraphy of Wei Dajia. Unfortunately, Ganzhou County has never seen it. However, there is one in Dingyuan City's bookstore. I bought it. Axuan can copy a few pages every day. She will definitely see it with her own eyes."
Lin Xuan couldn't put it down. Her eldest brother said she could go to the library to study. She was actually very nervous, afraid of disappointing her eldest brother's expectations and that the owner of the library would look down on her. Unexpectedly, her eldest brother had always remembered it.
"There is also Zhongxuan's." There was only one thing left in the bundle, which made it very bulky. "As soon as I saw this bow, I felt it was very suitable for you."
He took out a jet-black bow that looked like a crescent moon. Although the bow was simple, it was extremely hard and looked very imposing. Lin Shuge could even imagine Zhongxuan drawing the bow and shooting arrows, hitting stones and drinking feathers, and piercing willows from a hundred paces away.
Xie Chen touched the bow gently, with nostalgia in his eyes, and smiled at Lin Shuge, "Thank you, brother." He also had a bow before, which was a birthday gift from his father. He cherished it very much. Later, the bow was destroyed in that sudden incident. Unexpectedly, he received another bow here.
Seeing that the three of them liked it, Lin Shuge was delighted. "As long as you like it, it's getting late. Go and have some rest."
"Okay, brother, you should also go to bed early." Lin Qingyuan instructed.
Lin Shuge looked at Xie Chen who was lagging behind again, thinking that he had something to say to him, "Zhongxuan, is there anything else?"
"Brother, wait a moment." After saying that, he ran out.
Before Lin Shuge could react, he ran over again with big strides, "Brother, this is for you."
He was holding a fox fur coat in his hand. The coat was snow-white and seemed to glow silver under the light. The fur was soft. Lin Shuge reached out and touched it, feeling warm and soft.
"You hit me with this?"
"Well, I went hunting several times and sold a few preys. This white fox skin is the best, so I kept it and asked someone to make it into a fox fur coat." Lin Shuge had to get up early every day to go to work. The winter mornings were very cold. Although he had cotton clothes, the cold wind from the northwest would have frozen his body stiff. Xie Chen saw it all.
"Thank you Zhongxuan, I like it very much." Lin Shuge was moved, with a smile between his eyebrows, and looked at Xie Chen in a clear and clear manner.
Xie Chen replied: "As long as you like it, brother. Go to bed early, I'm going back to my room."
After saying that, he ran out very quickly. No matter how Lin Shuge looked at him, he felt that he was fleeing in a hurry.
"Zhongxuan, wait a minute. Come with me to the county government office tomorrow." Although Manager Cheng has been executed, Hei San is still there and has hurt Lin Qingyuan. Lin Shuge is very angry and has to interrogate him thoroughly.
After all, Manager Cheng died at the hands of Zhongxuan, so Magistrate Li had to go there in person to explain the matter.
"I understand, brother." Xie Chen stopped and replied.
Lin Shuge watched his figure disappear into the night, smiled and shook his head, "Why are you running? Can I eat you?"
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