Chapter 80
After dinner, the two of them sat in the yard to enjoy the cool air. There was no wind tonight, and the moon was hanging above the pear tree in the yard. The night was quiet.
Lin Shuge looked up at the pear tree laden with fruits, with lush branches and leaves, and said, "Help me pick the pears off this tree before you leave."
The pear tree in the yard is a pear tree that is unique to the northwest. When ripe, it is golden in color, soft and juicy, and has the taste of ice cream. He has waited for half a year and it is finally ripe.
"No, I can't climb trees." Xie Chen said deliberately.
"You can't climb trees?" Lin Shuge looked him up and down suspiciously. He clearly looked like he could climb trees, so he must be kidding.
"Yes, climbing walls and trees is not the behavior of a gentleman. Moreover, some people didn't even mention any reward for such hard work." Xie Chen smiled with a hint of malice.
Reward, yeah, great.
"Zhongxuan," Lin Shuge's voice was as gentle as water, "come closer to me."
Xie Chen looked at his face which suddenly enlarged. His eyes were bright under his thick eyelashes, and his profile looked particularly cold in the moonlight. His throat tightened and he stared blankly at the person in front of him.
He suddenly woke up with a slight pain on his face.
Lin Shuge pinched his face, "Will it? If you don't help, I will go find Zhou Du, or Xu Yu or Lu..."
“Yes, yes, yes, I can.” Xie Chen hurriedly said, “It’s no use looking for them, no one can climb trees as well as I can.”
Xie Chen stood up, walked to the tree, and jumped lightly onto the pear tree. The mottled moonlight was dim, casting shadows through the gaps. Xie Chen sat on the tree, picked up a few pears and put them in his lapel, then looked towards Lin Shuge.
"Brother, come and take it." Xie Chen smiled brightly, his eyes like stars, his back leaning against the tree branch, gently brushing away the leaves, an unruly smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Lin Shuge walked under the tree, raised his hands, and said helplessly: "Give it to me."
Xie Chen handed him the pears on his lapel one by one, but said, "Brother, I can't come down."
Lin Shuge put a bag of pears on the table without even looking at them, and replied, "No pretending, and no acting like a spoiled child."
"Really, brother. I thought it was easy when I went up there just now, but now I'm a little scared standing up high." Xie Chen's voice was filled with a hint of nervousness.
Lin Shuge hurried over and stretched out a hand to him, "Hold me and lend me some strength."
"good."
Xie Chen was half standing on the tree, reaching out his hand to him, but unexpectedly his feet slipped and he fell straight down. Lin Shuge's heartbeat quickened, and he wanted to stretch out his hands to catch him, but was dragged down by Xie Chen who fell from above. Seeing that both of them were about to fall to the ground, Xie Chen used his wrist to hold his waist tightly, and the head was spinning. He closed his eyes slightly, and the expected pain did not come.
Lin Shuge opened his eyes and heard a muffled groan in his ears. He heard a strong heartbeat from under him. Lin Shuge supported Xie Chen's chest with his hands and stood up. "Hurry up and let me see if you are injured?"
"I'm fine. Is my brother injured?" Xie Chen held his waist and looked at him carefully. Lin Shuge felt a little uncomfortable and turned his back to him, "How could you be injured when you were protecting me just now?"
Xie Chen turned to face him and said, "Brother, it's all my fault. I didn't stand firmly just now and got you into trouble."
Seeing that he lowered his eyes slightly, still the same as before, Lin Shuge suppressed the uneasiness in his heart, pulled up his hand and took a look, and sure enough, there was a scratch.
Lin Shuge could only go in to get medicine, clean the gravel from his wound, and apply medicine. Seeing that he didn't say a word, he looked up and asked, "Doesn't it hurt?"
Xie Chen showed an expression of unbearable pain for a second, and said in a soft voice: "It hurts."
Lin Shuge waved his hand away and said, "I'll borrow a ladder from Xu Yu tomorrow and ask him to come and help."
"No need, my brother and I can do it alone, we don't need him." Xie Chen promised.
Lin Shuge had made up his mind and would not be moved no matter how much he talked.
If Xie Chen had ears, they would have drooped down long ago. He looked at Lin Shuge, who was as hard-hearted as a man, and sighed slightly in his heart.
The two of them sat in the yard. Lin Shuge took a basket and filled it with pears to wash, and gave him one.
"Brother, do you want to go to Yandu?" After playing, Xie Chen remembered something.
"Yandu? I really want to go and see it." He has been staying in the northwest since he came here. Naturally, he wants to go and see Yandu, as it is the capital of a country.
"What if I become an official?"
"Be an official? An official in Beijing? I don't want to go." The situation in Yandu is complicated now. It is said that the Ding family is powerful in the court, but the young emperor has already taken power and there are powerful ministers and young masters. You don't have to think about what will happen. He has no power or influence. If he rashly goes to Yandu, it will be bad no matter which side he stands on. He might die without a burial place one day.
It’s better to stay in the Northwest and do something for the people. If the government and the people are in order in the future, then... let’s talk about it later. It depends on those in power.
But why did Zhongxuan ask this?
Xie Chen looked at Lin Shuge with doubts in his eyes and said with a smile: "I just want to know what my brother's future plans are."
Lin Shuge: "Do you know how? If I want to go, you have to go with me, right?"
"Yes, wherever my brother goes, I will go."
"Well, I'll take you wherever I go." Lin Shuge laughed helplessly.
The moon was slanting, and seeing that it was getting late, Xie Chen urged Lin Shuge to go to bed quickly.
"You're going back to your room to sleep tonight?" Lin Shuge saw him walking in another direction.
Xie Chen said, "Hmm," and said, "I have cleaned up the house today."
Lin Shuge crossed his arms and smiled, "Oh, really? Then I'll sleep with Xiaobai."
Xie Chen paused, "Brother, go to bed early and have a sweet dream."
Lin Shuge looked at his back and guessed that it might be because adolescent boys are more embarrassed, and he was indeed embarrassed about what happened this morning, so he let him go.
Xie Chen was sleeping soundly when he heard a slight noise from the window. He woke up immediately, "Who?"
A dark figure jumped down from the window and knelt down. "Sir, news came from Yandu that the Ding family seems to have set their sights on Ganzhou."
Xie Chen sat up with his clothes on, "Ding Wenhong?"
"Yes, after Lord Ruan came to Ganzhou last time, Ding Wenhong heard that Ganzhou had grain and money, so he sent people to inquire about it. Ding Wenhong wanted to get a piece of the pie, and he informed the Ding family after returning. The term of office of the Ganzhou County Magistrate is about to expire, and it is estimated that he has already issued the order."
Xie Chen stood in front of the window and said, "Try to pass the news to Marquis Jingyuan and let Lord Ruan mediate."
In recent years, the county magistrate of Dingyuan County has been directly appointed by the county governor. This time, the Ding family has intervened, and it will be difficult to deal with.
What's worse is that Ding Wenhong is just a playboy. Relying on being a branch of the Ding family, this man has no morals, but has mastered the evil deeds of the playboys in Yandu. If he were to be the magistrate of Ganzhou County, all his brother's previous efforts would be in vain.
"Sir, there is one more thing. The Ding family has noticed Master Lin."
"What did you say?" Xie Chen was shocked.
"Lord Lin has made quite a stir in Ganzhou. At first, Yandu only thought it was a minor incident, but a lot of news has been passed to Yandu time and time again. In addition, Ding Wenhong has already investigated this place thoroughly. It seems that the Ding family intends to transfer Lord Lin to Yandu and recruit him."
Xie Chen clenched his fists. If his brother went to Yandu, he would naturally be regarded as a member of Ding's party. The two factions in the court were attacking each other. His brother had just arrived, and even if he was innocent, he would be branded as a member of Ding's party. If not, he would not have been willing to let his brother endure the hardships.
I have to find a way to keep my brother here.
"Send a message to Qianming and Xia Yi, reporting that the governors of Yongzhou and Yuanzhou secretly accepted bribes and deceived the emperor."
"Yes, sir." The black shadow replied, then turned over and jumped out of the window.
He was no longer sleepy at this moment and could only think about the current situation in his mind.
The county magistrates of Yongzhou and Yuanzhou are both members of the Ding Party. Recently, someone reported that the two of them accepted huge amounts of money from local wealthy businessmen to sell them recommendation quotas, but the matter was suppressed by the Ding family and the imperial party is still unknown. If it were to be exposed at this time, it might be possible to delay it for a while or two.
Since this matter concerned Lin Shuge, he had to consider it carefully, but unfortunately he didn't have many people available.
"Zhongxuan, can't you sleep?" Lin Shuge's voice came from outside the house.
Xie Chen opened the door and saw Lin Shuge wearing clothes and holding an oil lamp. He helped him tidy up his clothes and asked, "Brother, why are you out so late?"
"I just got up to sleep and heard some noise from your side, so I came to check on you. Are you not used to sleeping here?"
Xie Chen said nothing.
Lin Shuge thought he was embarrassed to answer, "Come on, follow me."
Reason told Xie Chen that he shouldn't go, but before he could react, his hand had already reached out, "Okay."
Lin Shuge pulled him out and said, "We are going to have the mood of a night out with candlelight."
"The days are short and the nights are long, why not go out with a candle?" Xie Chen said with a smile.
"Young man, would you like to take you to a nice place?" A smile appeared on Lin Shuge's brow. It was late at night and there was only a glimmer of light burning on his side. His side of the face was hidden in the darkness. The semi-light and semi-darkness seemed like a dream, as if to lead people into a dream.
Xie Chen cooperated with him and said, "Where are you taking me, sir?" The corners of his mouth raised, and his eyes followed him closely, like a scholar who couldn't wait to follow.
"I'll take you... take you to look after a ferocious beast." Lin Shuge pushed open the door and Xiaobai parkoured around the room.
"I was woken up by it. I don't know what happened to it today. It kept running around. I think you need to suppress it."
Lin Shuge picked up Xiaobai who was about to jump onto the table and said seriously.
"oh."
"Hmm?" Why did it feel like Zhongxuan wasn't in the mood, not at all like he was cooperating with me just now.
Xie Chen brought Xiaobai over. Xiaobai was extremely excited and was waving his claws and teeth in Xie Chen's arms. Xie Chen looked at him silently. Xiaobai was sensitive to the danger and gradually calmed down, meowing twice at Lin Shuge.
Lin Shuge gave it a helpless look, took off his outer robe, and said to Xie Chen: "Sure enough, you have to come, come and sleep."
Xiaobai nestled in Xie Chen's arms feeling aggrieved. Xie Chen touched it and said hello.
Maybe he was tired from running, Xiaobai lay down beside Xie Chen's pillow and fell asleep soon.
Xie Chen blew out the light, turned around and lay down.
Lin Shuge looked at Xie Chen who was eight meters away from him and asked curiously, "Why are you so far away from me? Am I a monster?"
Xie Chen thought to himself: If I get too close to you, I’m afraid I won’t be able to suppress the fierce beast in my heart, but he said, “I don’t sleep well, I’m afraid I’ll crush you.”
"Really?" Lin Shuge stared at the back of his head, doubting in his heart. Last night you wanted to sleep with me, but today you are hiding so far away. You are different every day. Let's see what you will be like tomorrow night.
Being stared at by Lin Shuge, Xie Chen felt like a thorn in his back and could only divert his attention. However, his mind was uncontrollably thinking about the scene of Lin Shuge falling into his arms today. He seemed to be holding his brother's waist. His waist was so thin that it seemed that one hand could hold it. His brother seemed to be sitting on him.
With a loud bang, it seemed as if a string broke in his head. Behind him was the sound of Lin Shuge's shallow breathing. Xie Chen quickly stood up and went outside quietly.
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