In the House of Chen..,
The tailor finished making Li Xiao's clothes.
Li Xiao had tried on the clothes,
She was praised by Momo Zhang like a fairy.
After putting away the clothes, Momo Zhang went to choose a headdress according to the clothes,
She also had to discuss with Zhang-sun the makeup that Li Xiao was going to wear that day.
These days, everyone was busy,
So was Li Xiao.
Four or five days of sultry weather,
As long as the sun came out, it made people sweat all over.
Today, it was Zhao Hu's turn to watch over Li Xiao at home. He stood in the shade of the tree, sweat dripping down his cheeks.
The maidservant brought out a plate of iced watermelon and placed it in the shade of the small pavilion.
Li Xiao now knew how to put on the airs of a young lady in front of the servants,
She gradually developed these states into a habit so that on the day of her birthday,
She would not let Lord Chen lose face.
She hoped that she could play the role of his cousin well,
So that everyone would think that he had a very, very good cousin, and not some wild cousin.
"Brother Zhao, come and eat the watermelon too." Li Xiao smiled at Zhao Hu, who was standing in the shade of the tree.
Ever since Li Xiao was attacked by Third Miss Qian that day, Chen Jue had asked them to work harder to protect her.
Zhao Hu hurriedly waved his hand,
"Miss, you can't call me brother Zhao anymore."
Lord Zhang had already quietly told them that they didn't dare to let Li Xiao call them brother anymore.
Lord Chen's cousin..,
Called them brother..,
What a scandal.
Even if Li Xiao dared to call them that..,
Did they dare to respond?
They didn't dare, they didn't dare.
Li Xiao pursed her lips,
"Zhao Hu,
Come and eat some melon. "
Zhao Hu smiled and wanted to refuse, but Li Xiao quickly nodded at him like a little hamster.
He thought for a moment and walked towards her. The sword at his waist swayed slightly as he walked.
After Zhao Hu sat down, Li Xiao casually found an excuse to send the servant girl away.
"Zhao … Zhao Hu, are you done with the dagger?" Li Xiao widened her eyes in anticipation, waiting for his reply.
Zhao Hu nodded and looked around. Then, he took out a small dagger from his bosom.
When he handed the dagger to Li Xiao, he was still a little worried and asked, "What do you want the dagger for?
What's the matter? "
"I'm fine." Li Xiao smiled at him, then placed the dagger in her palm to examine it.
The dagger was very small, and it fit perfectly when she held the handle. It was made according to the size of her small hand.
She pulled out the dagger and looked at it under the sunlight. The dagger was very thin.
He gently slid it across the watermelon. It was extremely sharp …
After carefully wiping the dagger, she put it into her sleeve.
When she looked up, she saw that Zhao Hu wasn't eating the watermelon. Instead, he was looking at her with concern.
"Why aren't you eating the watermelon?"
Li Xiao raised her eyebrows. Because of the high temperature, her fair skin was suffused with a layer of light pink. It was especially cute.
However, after experiencing Li Yu's massacre of the residence, the little girl's eyes seemed to be filled with determination and some light of maturity.
She was no longer full of innocence and timidity.
Zhao Hu nodded and lowered his head to quickly eat two pieces of watermelon.
It was cold and refreshing, and the juice was rich. His entire body was refreshed from the inside out.
"I'll still tell Lord Chen." Zhao Hu thought for a moment and said.
"It's okay. I'll also tell Lord Chen tonight.
Just say that … it's for self-defense. "
Li Xiao smiled and thought, "You can say that this dagger was originally yours. You didn't specially make it for me. I … I asked for it from you."
Zhao Hu thought for a moment and nodded.
Li Xiao ate the watermelon contentedly.
The sun was scorching, but there was watermelon to eat.
… …..
In the evening, Li Xiao was sitting in the courtyard practicing calligraphy when a servant suddenly walked in.
Li Xiao looked up. The servant immediately stepped forward and said, "Miss, this was sent to the residence. It was said to be for you."
Li Xiao looked at the servant's hand in puzzlement. It was a small box with a letter in it.
She reached out to take it and looked at the box again. Then, she asked, "Where was it sent from?"
"From the north." The servant lowered his head and answered.
Li Xiao stroked the small box and took the envelope beside it.
There was not a single word on the envelope. She tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.
The letter was carefully folded. When she opened it, she saw that it was written in a somewhat natural style.
It was a letter from Qiao Fang.
She pursed her lips and finished reading. She read the words of longing and blessings on the letter.
This was a gift from Qiao Fang for her coming of age.
She closed the letter and pressed her white fingers on the envelope.
After a moment of silence, she put the letter back as it was. She turned to look at the small box and pushed it to the table. Then, she looked up and said to the servant, "Throw it away."
"Huh?" The servant was stunned.
"Throw it away." Li Xiao looked at him seriously.
"Don't you want to open it and take a look?" It looked like a very delicate box.
Li Xiao shook her head.
The servant stared at Li Xiao. When he saw that she was serious and didn't seem to be joking, he reached out and took the small box.
"What about the letter?" The servant asked.
Li Xiao thought for a moment. Then, she pinched the letter and handed it to the candlestick beside her. The flames licked the paper in an instant.
In a few seconds, it turned into ashes.
The servant watched as the letter burned. He pursed his lips and bowed to Li Xiao. Then, he took the small box and went to throw it away.
But when he left the courtyard, he specifically ran to the steward to report Li Xiao's order.
Steward Chen looked at the delicate little box and knew that it was sent from the north. He said indifferently, "Send it to Jingbei Hou fu. In Daren's name, give it to Jingbei Hou."
What's the matter with throwing it away? Qiao Shizi thought that Miss accepted it.
Send it back to Jingbei Hou fu for Jingbei Hou to take a look at. Also, tell him to discipline his son and stop doing these private things.
"Yes." The servant responded. He hurriedly took the small box and left the fu.
… … …
The next day was Li Xiao's coming of age ceremony. Many people in the capital were talking about it.
Some people were invited. Some people had never seen Chen Jue hold a banquet and were curious about what it would be like.
There were also people discussing the matter of Chen Jue suddenly hosting a banquet. There was a strange smell everywhere, and they always suspected that it was a conspiracy. No matter how they looked at it, Lord Chen was an old-school official who was isolated from all kinds of banquets and gatherings.
In Governor Zhang's fu, Zhao Zhifang was also worried about this matter.
"Have you already planned it out?
Is it foolproof? "In recent months, Zhao Daren had lost a lot of weight." How are you going to kill that girl? "
Zhang Minglei drank the flower tea and slowly looked up at Zhao Zhifang.
Since he was injured, he began to prefer these sweet things. It made him feel warm and alive.
"Say something." Zhao Zhifang's eyes were full of anxiety.
"You come to my fu every night. Will that girl die?" Zhang Minglei mocked absent-mindedly.
"I can't sleep well these days." Zhao Zhifang scratched his eyebrows. He sat opposite Zhang Minglei, but he didn't feel comforted.
"What are you afraid of? Even if they want to take revenge, they will come to me first." Zhang Minglei snorted. He had been like this since he lost his arm.
His temperament was much gloomier.
"A few days ago, you carried a person out of your fu. What happened?" Zhao Zhifang frowned.
In the past few days, every little thing that happened made his hair stand on end.
"You'd better not keep an eye on my fu."
Zhang Minglei finally looked up and stared at Zhao Zhifang. "She's just a toy. She keeps staring at my arm. I get annoyed."
Zhao Zhifang frowned. "You … should control yourself."
Now that he lost his arm, his position was unstable. If someone found out about this, he would probably retire.
"Hmph, is that a problem?"
Zhao Zhifang sneered. "Do you remember that the Min Family has a beautiful daughter and a beautiful son?"
"Who in the Min Family isn't beautiful?
The Min Family has a beauty … "Zhao Zhifang's brows never relaxed.
However, he couldn't help but recall the past when he heard Zhang Minglei's words.
Once, when he was in his early teens, his mother wanted to help him marry a girl from the Min Family.
However, at that time, the Min Family was glorious and famous in the imperial court. It wasn't easy to marry a girl from the Min Family …
However, later on …
"I once raised one."
Zhang Minglei suddenly raised his head. There was a snicker on his face. His expression was ambiguous, but there was also a hint of fierceness.
"You raised one?" Zhao Zhifang was stunned. "You stole … Wait, the one who escaped from the Min Family?"
"Grand Secretary Liu supervised the search of the Min Family."
Zhang Minglei recalled. Under the candlelight, his expression was dark and gloomy. "At that time, all of us wanted to kill the Min Family, but His Majesty didn't make up his mind.
However, the civil and military officials in the imperial court … With so many of us working together to kill one person, how could we give His Majesty a chance to change his mind … At that time, Su King and we were all thinking of ways to delay the search … "
"Yes, it took more than a month to search for all the Min Family's wealth and relatives …" Zhao Zhifang also recalled that they were busy in the dark every day for more than a month.
"Yes, more than a month.
My soldiers stayed outside the Min Residence for more than a month.
Even a pigeon couldn't fly out of the Min Residence's courtyard. Naturally, no food could enter the Min Residence.
After more than a month, everything that could be eaten and used was used up. The youngest children of the Min Family all starved to death … "Zhang Minglei said.
"At that time, Minister Min's youngest son was sick. Madam Min even begged at the door," Zhao Zhifang said.
"That child was seriously ill, but he didn't die of illness.
It's just that my brain was damaged by the illness, and from then on, I've been a little fool … "Zhang Minglei said, revealing an expression of reminiscence.
Zhao Zhifang's expression turned solemn when he heard his words.
He noticed that Zhang Minglei used the word 'from then on'. In other words, that child of the Min Family actually had a 'future'?
That child wasn't beheaded after the house was searched?
Zhang Minglei met Zhao Zhifang's gaze and said with a smile, "Yes.
Liu Zheng, University Student Liu!
University Student Liu, who was in charge of the house search, was actually moved by compassion. Later on, he secretly released Min Zheng and Min Zhao. "
Zhao Zhifang's eyes widened. He finally understood.
The two brothers, Li Yu and Li Xiao, must be the descendants of one of the siblings.
"I originally wanted to capture the siblings and raise them. Unfortunately, that sister was taken away by someone at the risk of her life.
So, I secretly raised that brother. "
Zhang Minglei took another sip of flower tea and let the tea fragrance spread in his mouth. "That child is really good-looking …"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but laugh.
"I thought that no one in this world would know that I was hiding the son of a sinner."
"Where's the child?" Zhao Zhifang glared at Zhang Minglei.
How could a martial artist not understand the principle of nurturing a tiger and inviting calamity?
Zhang Minglei met Zhao Zhifang's angry gaze and shrugged.
"Gone."
"Gone?" Zhao Zhifang asked.
"Yes, one day, that child … disappeared into thin air." Zhang Minglei suddenly sneered. "Just like Li Yu's corpse, he disappeared into thin air."
As he spoke, his gaze suddenly became sharp and burned with anger. It was just like Li Yu's gaze when he killed his way into Liu Tianping's residence.
"There's still someone, someone is helping the Min family … Not only is that girl alive, but there's also someone else.
Someone hiding in the dark and watching us, but we don't know about it! "Zhang Minglei gripped the teacup in his hand tightly. His fingers trembled slightly because of the force.
"You were wrong just now."
He raised his head. His viper-like gaze landed on Zhao Zhifang's face, causing Zhao Zhifang to tremble unconsciously.