Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

Chapter 162 Hug

"You sleep here tonight." Xiao Yan said.

Lu Ziqing was stunned for a moment, "Sleeping here? Why?"

"I'm going to leave the capital for a while." Xiao Yan looked at him, "If Prince Su comes to the mansion, you can stay in my room."

"Where are you going, Lord Marquis?" Lu Ziqing asked.

"Shuzhou." Xiao Yan said, "The wife and children of an official assigned to Meizhou were kidnapped by bandits in Shuzhou. I need to go there, leaving tonight."

"Shuzhou?" Lu Ziqing half-closed his eyes and thought for a moment, "There are many high mountains and steep ridges here, and the bandits are all armed with muskets. My Lord, you must be extremely careful when you go there."

Xiao Yan was puzzled for a moment. "The bandits have muskets? How did you know?"

"I used to travel all over the mountains and rivers with my master and visited many places. I happened to see them." Lu Ziqing said: "Not only in Shuzhou, but even in places like Yongzhou and Zhongzhou, the bandits still have fire bombs in their hands. Once..."

The words were on the tip of his tongue but he didn't say it. Once, when they were moving away from Shuzhou, they met a caravan of merchants on the road and were almost killed by the fire bombs of bandits.

"Nothing, anyway, my Lord, please be careful."

Xiao Yan said, "I didn't expect that the bandits would infiltrate the government so quickly and become so widespread. It will take a lot of effort to eradicate them completely."

Lu Ziqing paused for two seconds, put down the teacup, and said, "There is something I want to give to the Marquis. I will go back to my room to get it."

"it is good."

Xiao Yan watched him leave the room, then changed all the bedding into clean ones and packed some clothes. After a while, cold air blew into the room and he heard the door close.

Lu Ziqing handed a small medicine bottle and three small red cloth bags to Xiao Yan.

"This is an antidote for all poisons. My Lord, please carry it with you."

"Okay." Xiao Yan looked at the three small bags and asked, "What is this?"

"This..." Lu Ziqing smiled slightly, "My Lord, just treat it as a guarantee of safety. Give the other two to Deputy General Yang and Old Su, and..."

He took out another letter and said, "Give this to Lao Su as well."

Xiao Yan said "hmm" and when he took the envelope, his eyes accidentally strayed to the blood on Lu Ziqing's fingertips. Before the hand fell, he suddenly grabbed it.

"Why is your hand cut?"

This sudden action startled Lu Ziqing, "It was accidentally broken, it's nothing serious."

Embarrassment gradually appeared on his face and he wanted to pull his hand back, but Xiao Yan held his hand tightly and just looked at him quietly.

The room was so quiet that you could hear the occasional popping sound of the candlelight.

The tenderness in Xiao Yan's eyes seemed to be overflowing. The look was so ambiguous that Lu Ziqing felt uncomfortable being looked at and her face turned red.

He turned his face away and tried to pull his hand away, but just as he exerted force, his body was suddenly pulled into Xiao Yan's arms and held tightly.

This was even more thrilling than holding hands just now. Lu Ziqing's head suddenly buzzed, went blank, and his heart kept beating.

He froze in place, trying his best to calm his panic, and asked tentatively, "...My Lord, what's going on?"

Xiao Yan's face was pressed against his hair, feeling his heartbeat, and with a hint of barely perceptible nervousness, he spoke in a low and gentle voice.

"Let me hold you for a while."

Lu Ziqing's heart was shocked and he was completely stunned. Suddenly, he felt an indescribable panic.

He didn't know if it was because of the sensitivity he developed from the incident at the villa, but sometimes he felt that Xiao Yan's concern and actions were a little too incomprehensible.

The wind outside the house rustled the treetops, and the cool air from Xiao Yan lingered in Lu Ziqing's nose. After an unknown amount of time, he slowly raised his hand, gently patted Xiao Yan's back, and then gently called him.

"Master Hou?"

Xiao Yan closed his eyes and spoke in a voice so soft that it almost sounded like a whisper.

"If you need help, you can go to Hou Xuan. I'll have someone greet the court. Just go ahead. Remember to bring a cloak with you when you leave the house to avoid catching a cold. When I'm not around, you have the final say in the mansion. It counts at all times."

Lu Ziqing felt a mixture of emotions in his heart, and he replied dully, "...Okay."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Wen Zhong. "My Lord, the documents from the palace have arrived. General Yang and his men have just arrived."

Xiao Yan then let go of Lu Ziqing, looked at his flushed face, and said, "I'm leaving."

Lu Ziqing nodded slightly without looking back, only hearing the door close.

He stood there in a daze for a long time, until half of the candle flame burned out before he lay down on Xiao Yan's bed.

Lu Ziqing pulled over the quilt and smelled the scent on it. There was no special fragrance, but a cool air, which was the smell of Xiao Yan.

The capital city was already asleep late at night, but on Zhengyangmen Street, dozens of horses were galloping towards the city gate in the wind and snow.

Su Chengyi only stepped into the gate of the Marquis' Mansion the next day and followed Lu Ziqing out of the mansion.

As soon as the civil and military officials left the palace after the morning court session, Yan Qian caught up with Yan Mengjiang and walked side by side with him.

"Dad, why didn't I see Xiao Yan? I even asked around, and today isn't his day off. What do you think he's been up to?"

When Yan Mengjiang was crossing the Jinshui Bridge, his feet slipped and he sat down. Before his butt touched the ground, Yan Qian and the ministers beside him hurriedly grabbed him.

"Master Yan, be careful. The ice on the ground hasn't melted yet and the road is very slippery."

Yan Mengjiang seemed to be in shock. He turned around and smiled when he saw someone. "It's Master Pei. Oh, my old eyes are blurry."

Lord Pei is the Minister of War, Pei Gengwen. He is about the same age as Yan Mengjiang, with a pair of slightly raised thick eyebrows and a long beard that is a mixture of black and white.

Yan Qian greeted him, and Pei Gengwen said, "I just heard from my nephew about Xiao Yan. I heard that he had already left the city on horseback last night."

"Leaving the city?" Yan Qian asked, "What are you going to do in such a hurry?"

Pei Gengwen glanced around and whispered, "I heard from Feng Qi that he went there because of Song Lan's matter. His wife and children were kidnapped by bandits, so Xiao Yan went there in person this time."

Yan Qian's eyes turned and he said lightly, "It's just a kidnapping case involving mountain bandits. Why would he have to go there in person? Is this news true?"

"Feng Qi is Gao Jian's godson. Since he said so, it must be true." Yan Mengjiang said.

Yan Qian slowed down his pace, rubbed his fingers behind his waist, and looked at the two people walking in front of him thoughtfully.

Chen Ji hadn't read seriously for a long time. He read too late last night and slept until almost noon today.

As soon as he got up, he looked everywhere for Lu Ziqing. A servant was sweeping snow in the yard. He stopped someone and asked, "What's your name? Where's Brother Shenxian?"

"My name is Xiao Liu." Xiao Liu asked suspiciously, "Who is Brother Shenxian?"

"Oh, even Brother Fairy doesn't know." Chen Ji frowned childishly, "She's the most beautiful one in the mansion."

"The best?"

Xiao Liu hissed and silently compared Xiao Yan and Lu Ziqing in his mind, but he couldn't figure it out. Considering the relationship between master and servant, he said.

"The Marquis is away on a journey."

"That's an ice face, not a fairy brother." Chen Ji said bluntly.

"Ice face?"

Xiaoliu sighed inwardly, wondering what expression his Lord would have if he heard this name.

"Master Lu went to the government office early in the morning. Before leaving, he instructed that Your Highness cannot leave secretly and must report it. If you want to return to Prince Su's Mansion, Xiaoliu will send someone to take you back."

Chen Ji had a look of disappointment on his face. He grabbed a handful of snow and played with it in his hands. "I'm not going back. I'm going to live here from now on."

Xiao Liu said with a smile, "Master Lu said that you can stay here if you want, but you have to follow his arrangements, otherwise you will have to go back."

"What arrangements?" Chen Ji asked.

"You have to study." Xiao Liu put down the broom, took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Chen Ji, "Look, it's all written on it what the prince wants to do. The young master said it's an agreement with the prince."

Lu Ziqing's handwriting was beautiful, and Chen Ji liked it very much. He looked at the paper and said with a smile: "As long as you don't send me back, this little thing won't bother me. Go get me something to eat, and I'll study after I finish eating."