Waves are rising
Since they separated at the lake that day, Xiao Luochen and Su Musong have not seen each other for half a month. This is the first time in all these years.
Su Musong asked for leave from his teacher for the past half month and did not go to school. Xiao Luochen was also very confused and felt relieved that he could not see Su Musong. Therefore, he had no plans to go to the Duke of Anguo's Mansion to find him for the time being.
If it were in the past, Xiao Luochen might not understand the meaning of the question Su Musong asked him by the lake that day, but after going to Yuelong, meeting Mo Xue and the young man in black, and listening to the stories of Yu Wujie and Bi Xing Zhai, he has realized that in Su Musong's heart, he may not be just a close friend.
Then what position does Su Musong hold in Xiao Luochen's heart?
Xiao Luochen couldn't give an answer, perhaps he was afraid of the true answer in his heart.
It was the end of the year, but there was no festive celebration in the prime minister's residence.
Xiao Luochen's eldest brother was implicated by his subordinates, impeached, demoted one level, and fined one year's salary. His second brother led troops in the northern border to resist Qingning, but the war was not going well. His sixth brother was in danger while investigating a case in Luzhou and his whereabouts are unknown.
Since Wang Zheng's exile to the Northern Frontier, the struggle between the Prime Minister and the Grand Tutor has intensified. Judging from the current situation in the Prime Minister's residence, the Prime Minister is clearly at a disadvantage. This is one of the reasons why Xiao Luochen can't be as reckless as Yu Wujie. His father has high hopes for him, and he can't abandon everything and become a rebel. However, he also absolutely doesn't want to become a stranger to Su Musong.
It has been raining and snowing since the beginning of winter. One snowstorm after another seems to be about to bury the city. Dark clouds are piled up, and another heavy snow is about to fall.
At the end of the afternoon, a heavy snowstorm, brewing for half a day, began to fall, accompanied by a biting, cold wind. Xiao Luochen sat lost in thought in the corridor for a moment, then felt a chill run down his spine as the wind, carrying snowflakes, blew through him. From a distance, he saw the housekeeper leading servants, seemingly carrying someone, hurriedly heading toward the backyard. Xiao Luochen went forward to check on them. Unexpectedly, it was his sixth brother, Xiao Luoyao, who had been missing for days. He was now unconscious, and his condition was unknown.
Following the group was a woman with disheveled hair, tattered jacket and skirt, stained with blood, red and swollen hands, purple cheeks from the cold, and a newly scabbed scar across her forehead. Xiao Luochen took a closer look and recognized that this woman was the girl who had fought with his sixth brother on the streets of Luozhou that day. Judging from her appearance, she must have encountered many hardships along the way.
The Prime Minister's wife was completely focused on Xiao Luoyao and had no time to care about anything else. The girl who returned with Xiao Luoyao was feeling guilty and restless. The journey was difficult and she was in a dishevel, which made her look particularly out of place in this clean and brightly lit residence.
Xiao Luochen knew what his sixth brother was thinking. Since the girl had returned with him, the relationship between the two must be extraordinary. However, since there was no confirmation from the parties involved, he didn't want to speculate rashly. Seeing her uneasy look, Xiao Luochen had to comfort her.
"Don't worry for now, sister. We've already invited the imperial physician from the palace. Sixth brother will be fine. You've been exhausted from the journey, so please rest for a while. Wait until the imperial physician has finished examining you before coming to visit Sixth brother."
The girl also recognized Xiao Luochen as one of the two young men who appeared when she and Xiao Luoyao were fighting on Luzhou Street that day. When she heard his name, she knew that he was the younger brother that Xiao Luoyao often talked about. She felt close to him in her heart. Seeing that he did not ignore or blame her like the others, she couldn't help but feel grateful.
"Thank you, Mr. Seventh Master."
However, Xiao Luoyao's life or death is unknown now, and she really has no intention of telling Xiao Luochen about the twists and turns of their journey.
Xiao Luochen also saw what she was thinking, so he didn't ask any more questions. He just told the housekeeper to treat the girl well according to the etiquette of a guest.
The girl didn't rest much after bathing and changing clothes. Worried about Xiao Luoyao, she came to visit him again. But before she could even get close, she was ordered to leave. The Prime Minister's wife had the housekeeper escort her out of the house. Despite her repeated requests to stay until Xiao Luoyao regained consciousness, the Prime Minister's wife refused to comply. Even Xiao Luochen's pleas were of no avail.
Xiao Luochen couldn't disobey his mother, so he had to give the girl a full amount of silver and asked her to find an inn to stay in first and make plans later.
The girl had no choice but to leave the Prime Minister's Mansion, but she did not leave. She stood outside the Prime Minister's Mansion, in the heavy snow, waiting for news of Xiao Luoyao waking up.
At the beginning of the evening hour, the snowstorm that had been raging all day finally subsided. Xiao Luochen escorted the imperial physician out of the house. As he passed through the corridor, he overheard the maids discussing
"That girl is quite stubborn. It's so cold, even holding a brazier, she still feels cold, yet she stands there in the snow waiting. It seems she has a deep affection for the Sixth Young Master."
"Could it be that you are trying to do this so that the lady will take pity on her and let her into the mansion?"
"It's not impossible. But the Sixth Young Master was seriously injured because of her. Whether he can save his life is another matter. I'm afraid Madam will never forgive her."
"But she risked her life to bring the Sixth Young Master back, didn't she?"
"Alas! Have you ever seen any official family in Kyoto take a woman from the underworld as their daughter-in-law?"
"Indeed. It seems this girl and the Sixth Young Master are not destined to be together."
"Look outside, water freezes to ice. If she keeps waiting foolishly, something bad will happen."
A word awakened the dreamer, and Xiao Luochen hurried out of the house to check, but saw a sea of white at the door, and there was no sign of the girl.
Xiao Luochen was worried, so he asked the doorman again, who said that he had just been taken into the carriage by Young Master Su of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion.
Xiao Luochen felt relieved when he heard that the person was taken away by Su Musong. Otherwise, if something happened to him, he really didn't know how to explain it to his sixth brother when he woke up.
However, I don’t know why Su Musong came at such a coincidence, and it is even more puzzling that he turned back after reaching the door.
Facts proved that Xiao Luochen's worries were not unfounded. The first thing Xiao Luoyao did when he woke up after sleeping for a day was to ask where the girl had gone. When the prime minister's wife said that she was not in the prime minister's residence and her whereabouts were unknown, Xiao Luoyao immediately ignored his serious injuries and dragged his sick body to look for her.
Fortunately, Xiao Luochen explained that the person was taken to the Anguo Mansion by Su Musong, and promised to visit him in person. Only then did Xiao Luoyao calm down.
Xiao Luochen had agreed to go to the Duke of Anguo's Mansion in order to reassure his sixth brother, but when the time came, he found it so difficult to get on the carriage to the Duke's Mansion. He really hadn't figured out how to face Su Musong, but with his sixth brother's entrustment, he had no choice but to go.
Some things may not be as difficult as you imagine if you really do them.
It was as if Xiao Luochen had originally thought that it would be extremely awkward to see Su Musong again, but the fact was, Su Musong came out to greet him with a smile on his face, friendly and warm, as if the incident by the lake had never happened.
"Luo Chen! I knew you were coming here. Has your sixth brother woken up?"
"Um."
Xiao Luochen felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but Su Musong, on the other hand, looked relaxed, as if everything was the same as before.
Su Musong handed the umbrella in his hand to Xiao Luochen's follower, and a servant immediately held the umbrella for him.
"Your young master has a cold. You must be especially careful in winter and never let him get wet in the rain or snow."
After passing the screen wall, there are two warm sedan chairs waiting.
"The girl's residence is not close to here. It's so cold, don't catch a cold. Let's take a sedan chair."
Su Musong seemed to be as meticulous and considerate as before, but Xiao Luochen knew that some things had changed. In the past, when Su Musong was around, it was never the attendants' turn to hold an umbrella for Xiao Luochen. In the past, when Su Musong was around, Xiao Luochen never had the chance to ride alone in a carriage.
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