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Chapter 22 Magpie's Tail
Chapter 22 Magpie's Tail
This night, Lu Jingyun slept very restlessly. He blamed the heavy snowfall in the middle of the night. In fact, the goose feather-like snow flakes were layered on top of each other. . The more silent the world was, the more he felt the chaotic sound of his heartbeat. Lying on his side on the pillow, the sound of his temples beating up and down disturbed him; when he lay on his back, he unconsciously looked out the window at the sparkling snowflakes. Then, the handsome face of the young master of the Xu family and the gentle and tranquil tone when he spoke, And the melodious sound of the piano in the house, the revolving lanterns seemed to rotate in his mind...
It wasn't until he felt the light in front of him getting brighter that Lu Jingyun finally sat up a little annoyed. He put on his clothes and got off the kang to push the wooden door. Only then did he realize that the snow had fallen so much that it was a little laborious to push the door.
The grandmother has just come to the kitchen to cook the pot. Xu is the wife who praised her craftsmanship in front of the master. Today, she will prepare the breakfast for the masters. She has prepared the fungus, daylily, dried mushrooms, frozen persimmons, eggs and other ingredients When she was ready, Lu Jingyun chopped some firewood for her, then took the bamboo broom and the burden and walked to the stable.
Xue Ji's sky is bright and green, the morning sun is bright and friendly, and the soft falling snow has not been stepped on. It was first stepped on by his feet, making a creaking sound, bringing a unique pleasure. Lu Jingyun took two deep breaths of icy air and felt refreshed. He should have been preparing to escape, but at this moment he was obliterated by an unprovoked laziness, so he temporarily left the matter of leaving behind.
He first poured the warm water that had not yet frozen into the stone trough, and mixed it with a few egg whites. After the horse had finished drinking, he carried the hay into the trough, climbed the ladder by himself, and swept the snow off the top of the stable. Then lead them to the snow, brushing and combing the dirt and dry knots from their ponytails and hair. His techniques are skilled and gentle, and the horses are softly and comfortably half-squinted. Lu Jingyun did take care of the horses, but they were only one or two of his own when he was in Ludi, and their bloodlines and breeds were not so precious.
"This is that old lady's grandson?" Lu Jingyun was picking up the hair that fell on the ground, when he heard the deep voice, he raised his eyes, the housekeeper accompanied a graceful middle-aged man who had walked slowly over the snow , I think that is the master of the Xu family.
"Exactly." Butler Zhou replied, he looked around and said with a smile, "Look, he does things very easily."
Master Xu nodded slightly and glanced at Lu Jingyun. He felt that the boy looked familiar in addition to being handsome, so he couldn't help but stop, "Have you served horses before?"
"Yeah." Lu Jingyun only responded and continued to do his own business.
Seeing that he cherishes words like gold, young and mature, Mr. Xu can't help but smile with admiration. He stepped forward and took away the most energetic black horse, turned over and jumped on the back of the horse. The butler found a horse and went with him. He patted Lu Jingyun on the shoulder to show his encouragement. Several pairs of horses hooves galloped, and the wind raised a burst of snow and mist, sticking to Lu Jingyun's face.
When he returned to the house, all the noodles were prepared and brought to the inner courtyard. The aroma of fried sauce still lingered in the air. A few servants kept sniffing and ran to the kitchen secretly to see if there was any leftovers. The braised sub, give them a taste too.
Lu Jingyun is not picky about food, he randomly ate a steamed bun with pickled sauerkraut and pickles, the master and the butler chatted and jokingly returned to the horses, and he went to the stables to settle the horses again, so the task of the day was easy. When he was almost done, he walked into the kitchen, where his grandmother was staring at the empty bowl left over from the noodles.
"With this kind of noodles, Ruxing can eat two bowls at a time." The old lady muttered, tears streaming down the wrinkles in the ravine, and then she choked low, Lu Jingyun stood beside her motionless, because according to the past Temperament, she must scold him again to vent her resentment against her daughter-in-law, but at this time, a loud voice sounded outside, interrupting the atmosphere of suppressed sadness between them, "Ouch, what is this snow? Can you sweep it? There are still dead leaves rolled up here, haven’t you seen it? Also, what are you doing sitting here? Don’t you know you want to cook bird’s nest? Fourth grandma is waiting!”
Mrs. Lu still loves face. Seeing those maids running in to boil water, she wiped away her tears and washed the pot. Lu Jingyun stepped out to see that it was the young maid who screamed strangely yesterday. the little eunuch.
When the little eunuch saw Lu Jingyun, his expression changed. He was a little curious, but also a little excited. He walked up to Lu Jingyun and muttered, "Hey, you changed your clothes, you still look... quite handsome. Tsk tsk, as expected, people rely on clothes and horses rely on saddles!"
Lu Jingyun disliked him for being noisy, so he didn't speak, turned around and walked out of the yard. The little eunuch stamped his feet angrily, but couldn't help but keep up, "Hey, you're a horse herd, what's your arrogance? I don't praise people easily. of!"
Lu Jingyun still ignored him. He had no interest in the Xu family at all, but after last night, he began to observe everything around him, and became a little curious about the depths of the house. , but the strong self-esteem does not allow him to take the initiative to inquire about the owner's affairs.
He ignored the follower behind him, and just walked aimlessly and slowly under the brick wall. At this moment, the piano sounded appropriately in the wall again, confirming the young man's mind, Lu Jingyun stopped and looked up, a red branch Mei leaned out of the eaves and landed on the gray wall, like a painting with too much blank space. There was a magpie leaning on the branch with its long tail up and down, and then spread its wings and flew away. Ding dong like spring water flowing out.
"You..." The little eunuch leaned in front of him, watching him make a silent gesture at him, and lowered his voice knowingly, "You won't peek at our young master again, will you?"
"Why should I peek." Lu Jingyun hurriedly turned around and walked away quickly, the back of his ears was slightly red, but fortunately he was wearing a hat, so his panic was invisible.
"It's normal to take a peek." The little eunuch patted his chin proudly, "'If you want to find the rare and unique style of northern Liaoning, Qishan Xufu is very popular.' Although northern Xinjiang is not as outstanding as Jianghuai, who does not know our second master's argument? Appearance and talent are also better than those of the Southerners!"
"It's not very clear, but, does your young master not go out on weekdays?" Lu Jingyun couldn't help but ask after remembering what happened last night.
"Hey, you've never heard of this! No, even though you can't enter the inner courtyard, I have to find a chance for you to see what is so beautiful in the world!" The little eunuch's mouth was not so loose on weekdays, but he He was just bewitched by Lu Jingyun's handsome appearance, and he kept talking with the maintenance and admiration of his young master.
It turned out that the Xu family had four wives and two sons. The eldest young master, Xu Fengmian, followed the family tradition and became an official many years ago, but he died in the line of duty. Master Xu was hit. After moving to Shanyuanli, he only asked the second young master to practice piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and read some ancient books. was pregnant at the beginning of the year, and should give birth in a few days. Whether it is a man or a woman, it is another treasure of Master Xu's heart.
"Our young master's paintings need to be auctioned in the city if we want to get them." The little eunuch talked about his young master's accomplishments in "qin, chess, and books", especially the talent in this painting, but this is not enough. The sound of the qin stopped abruptly, and there were screams and chaos in the yard. The maids outside all ran in panic, but one of them ran from the inside to the outside, panting and calling out to the little eunuch, "Qiu Li, hurry up. Go back and help, the fourth grandma is about to give birth!"
The mansion that had just finished the lively last night suddenly became noisy again. The Xu family used to have a private doctor, but it was still early. The doctor was not in the mansion. When the baby's cry finally resounded in the house, everyone was overjoyed and told each other that the mother and child were safe.
The fourth wife gave birth to a girl. Although Mr. Xu prioritized sons over daughters, he felt somewhat disappointed, but because of his doting on her, he still expressed strong joy and thoughtfulness. Supplements were prepared for the mother. Lu Jingyun watched the panic in the house this afternoon, and he couldn't tell how he felt. He couldn't help but think of his mother - he was born into the world after suffering from pregnancy, how could he be so ruthless Abandon yourself? Since he and his father used to be in harmony with each other and raised a case, why did he find someone else just a month after his death?
How easy is it to change the words of love? Family love is so, how can love be rock solid? She is really cruel. Lu Jingyun pondered silently, restraining himself again and again, the fire of grief and anger still filled his heart, he turned back to the kitchen to scoop some water, only to see the little eunuch running in again and waving at him, "Hey, you Come with me."
Lu Jingyun seemed to have received a secret hint, he followed the little eunuch to a secluded place, and the little eunuch took out a narrow note and stuffed it into his hand, "Your mouth is really strict, I've been talking to you for so long this morning. You have already seen the young master! This is given to you by the young master, remember to keep it a secret!" After he said that, he hurried back to the inner courtyard. Lu Jingyun took the note with the scent of ink, and his heart suddenly jumped wildly, expecting , Unbelievable, unknown anxiety swept through his head, he mustered up the courage to quickly glance at it, only to see the handwriting on it, just as amazing as the person who wrote it: I would like to see you in front of the barn in the middle of the night. Sir.
The goose-yellow full moon is like a veil, half-obscured behind the clouds. The snow grains on the white wilderness are shining with endless and moving silver light, which seems to echo the distant stars. Lu Jingyun walked to the stable. At that time, Xu Jiangmian was already waiting there. Today, instead of wearing the black clothes that he intended to escape, he was wrapped in a silver rat jacket that matched the white snow. The erect collar of the light blue honeysuckle pattern wrapped around his slender and well-proportioned neck. His trousers were tucked into the leather boots. Although he was a bit fat, it made him look like his waist was long and his legs were thin. When Lu Jingyun looked at his appearance again, he showed endless elegance.
"I'm ready to wait all night, but fortunately you came as promised." The young man said with a smile, his eyes were full of beauty, but there was a trace of unique sadness, so his bright and dazzling appearance was also plated with a touch of cool.
"What's the matter with me?" Lu Jingyun asked.
"Don't worry, I just want to ask you to teach me how to ride a horse. It's good to stroll around in the mountains in the middle of the night." Xu Jiangmian pointed behind him with a smile, and added, "You walk the horse with me, and I have silver dollars as a gift."
When Lu Jingyun heard the previous sentence, he was still looking forward to it, and when he heard that he wanted to give him silver dollars, he suddenly felt unhappy, turned around and walked back, "I'm not short of silver dollars, Second Young Master, please ask me for another."
"Please stay." Xu Jiangmian was secretly shocked by the arrogance of this man's temperament, and hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his arm, "I'm asking for advice sincerely, I don't have any other intentions... I really don't know what you're missing, and I'm afraid that you will be wasted. Strength and time... just now is my abruptness, so I'll apologize to my brother first."
He was young, and it was at the time when the boy's voice was changing, with some unavoidable hoarseness, but he still did not hide his clear and pleasant voice. This brother's call came directly into Lu Jingyun's heart, and he couldn't bear to shake the young master's hand. Thinking about it again, he felt that he was sensitive. In his heart, he was more willing to regard him as a partner of the same age, but they were only masters and servants now, and there was nothing wrong with Xu Jiangmian paying silver dollars.
Seeing that his footsteps stopped, Xu Jiangmian seemed to want to loosen up, so he hurriedly hit the railway while it was hot: "I don't know your brother's surname Taifu yet?"
"The surname is Lu, and the name is Yuanzhao." He was the owner after all, and Lu Jingyun also got off the donkey along the slope, turned and walked towards the stable, unlocked the door, and led out the third red horse on the left, "This horse's The temperament is stable and gentle, you go up and try."
"Okay." After Lu Jingyun had stabilized the harness and instructed him on the key points of grasping the hoop and tightening the reins, Xu Jiangmian cautiously climbed onto the horse's back, with Lu Jingyun's arms outstretched under the horse to protect him. He also told him some ways to protect himself, but seeing that the boy's movements were unfamiliar after all, he thought that if something happened, he would not be able to bear the responsibility, so he proposed to change to a longer saddle, and the two of them rode the same horse.
"With Brother Yuanzhao protecting you, that would be great." Xu Jiangmian jumped off the horse, and the two tied the saddle together. Lu Jingyun took up the reins and helped him up. He was wrapped in his arms, whipping the whip with his right arm to urge the horse to move forward. When the horse was sent away, he suddenly felt that there was almost no gap between him and Xu Jiangmian. He was secretly fascinated, while the young man looked thin, but his hips were round and full, and he was rubbing his place...
In the icy night, Lu Jingyun's face was red and hot. He suddenly felt that his lower body was very swollen and wanted to relieve himself. Every time he touched Master Xu's buttocks through thick clothes, he would feel a kind of feeling he had never felt before. There was an indescribable strange comfort, and he wanted to lean forward even tighter... He suppressed the longing in his heart and moved back some distance without a trace.
Young and ignorant!