"Wearing dogwood, you will be safe this year and in the future."

When the man raised his hand, the sleeves inlaid with dark gold patterns were dyed with a light medicinal fragrance, and he felt relaxed and slightly cool. When the dogwood fruit touched her ear, she realized what she was doing and he tied a dogwood hairpin for her.

The custom of Dayin Double Ninth Festival is that the elders in the family plant dogwood trees for the younger ones.

At the moment, they are the only ones in the house on Pingnan Street. Gu Changjin is a few years older than her, so he can barely make sense by planting dogwoods for her.

On this day in the previous life, which was the Double Ninth Festival in the 21st year of Jiayou's reign, it was he who planted dogwood hairpins for her.

On that day, she was supposed to go to Liumiao Hall to pay her respects, and Mrs. Xu would give her a hairpin. But Mrs. Xu didn't pay much attention to the matter and casually talked to her for less than a cup of tea before letting her go back to Songsiyuan.

Rong Shu didn't pay as much attention to whether or not to hairpin the dogwood tree as people did at that time, and he didn't realize that if he missed hairpin hairpin once, he would suffer some serious illness.

She never thought that as soon as she returned to Songsi Courtyard, Gu Changjin came from the study, holding a handful of freshly picked dogwood fruits in his hand.

He said to her: "How many years have I made my wife longer? I can

wear dogwood hairpins on my wife during this year's Double Ninth Festival." After finishing the hairpin, he paused and then said: "Madam, I will wear dogwoods for this year and from now on." They will all be free from illness and disaster."

He looked as comfortable as beating a drum, his crow-feathered black eyelashes were always lowered, and he didn't even raise his eyes to look at him. He only smelled the fragrance of ink on his sleeves.

On this day in the previous life, Gu Changjin had planted dogwood hairpins for her. Only this time, she stood on the footstool, her eyebrows lowered slightly, and her eyes fell on his face.

Perhaps he was afraid that the hairpin would be unstable, or perhaps he was afraid of hurting her. His eyes were very focused, and his eyes, which were usually dark and bottomless, were covered with thin light, reflecting a bunch of red agate-like fruits.

At that moment, Rong Shu's mind wandered far away. She wondered, had he been so focused when he was pinning dogwood for her in the previous life?

"Girl, what's wrong?"

In the cabin, Luo Yan saw Rong Shu staring blankly at the dogwood in his arms. He looked at the dogwood in his arms in confusion and asked, "Is there anything wrong with this dogwood?"

Rong Shu lowered her long eyelashes, shook her head and said with a smile, "There's nothing wrong." As she said that, she hung the dogwood on the wooden door of the cabin.

After hanging the dogwood, Rong Shu ate another glass of chrysanthemum wine and a small piece of Double Ninth Festival cake at night.

Her drinking capacity was always light, and she fell asleep not long after eating.

The cabins where she and Gu Changjin rested were on the left and right of the dining cabin, dozens of steps apart.

She had just turned off the lights in her room, and Gu Changjin knew about it in the other room.

He looked at the suddenly dark river in front of him, pulled down the wooden window in the cabin, and said to Chang Ji and Hengping: "Have you found out what happened before Mother Zhang came to Shen's house?"

"You found out." Chang Ji said: " Zhui Yun said that Zhang's mother was born in an ordinary family in Ningbo Prefecture. After getting married, she met a man, and her husband and daughter died. That year, there was a severe food shortage in Dayin, and people died of hunger everywhere. , had no choice but to sell herself as a slave and work as a wet nurse in the Shen family. Zhui Yun went to Ningbo Mansion personally to investigate. There was indeed such a family named Zhang there, and the second daughter of this family did die after her husband and daughter. So I went to Yangzhou, and my identity and age match each other."

Chang Ji frowned tightly as he spoke.

Mother Zhang's identity seemed real, but how could an ordinary woman be good at poisoning? Not only is he good at poisoning, he is also literate, and he has a calm and ruthless personality. Such a person is more like a specially trained secret agent.

Gu Changjin lowered his eyes and stared at the chrysanthemum wine on the table, and said slowly: "Mother Zhang and Shen Zhi may be Xu Fu's people."

Chang Ji and Hengping looked at each other, and their expressions sank slightly.

"If they are really Xu Fu's people, could it be that she arranged for Zhang's mother to be with the young lady to facilitate the communication of news with Shen Zhi? Is it also to better control Shen Zhi by letting the master marry the young lady?"

Gu Changjin Rubbing the wine cup, she pondered for a moment and then said: "Mother Zhang came to Rong Shu when Rong Shu was born. Wherever she went, Mother Zhang followed her. It was more like keeping an eye on her all the time, and It's not to convey news."

"But the young lady is just an ordinary lady, why would Liu Miao Tang keep an eye on her?"

Chang Ji was puzzled.

It's not that he looks down on the young madam in his heart, or thinks that the young madam is not powerful, but that the person from Liu Miao Hall will never waste his time on a person who is worthless.

Is the chess piece of Mother Zhang buried beside the young madam for so long, and even forcing the master to marry the young madam, just because the young madam is Shen Zhi's niece who is not even related by blood?

Somewhat unreasonable.

Chang Ji's suspicion is also what Gu Changjin is worried about now.

Xu Fu never does useless work. If Zhang's mother and Shen Zhi are really hers, Rong Shu is probably still a chess piece in her hand and has never left this chess game.

Gu Changjin looked at Hengping, "In a few days, the passenger ship will dock for supplies. You will take the opportunity to disembark and go to Suzhou to look for Xuance. It's time to repay the promise he owed me. As for the person Wenxi is looking for, you Stay in Suzhou to investigate, be careful not to let Wenxi find you. "

Hengping should be.

"Chang Ji," Gu Changjin turned to look at Chang Ji, "after you go back to Beijing, you will be responsible for guarding her. If she is in danger, send her to Four Seasons immediately -"

The man's voice stopped abruptly when he said this.

Chang Ji was listening with his ears pricked up when he saw his master paused mid-sentence, and subconsciously asked: "Where to send her?"

Gu Changjin's eyes fell, and he paused for a moment before continuing: "Qiushan Villa, send her to To Qiushan Villa."

Rong Shu heard from Liu Ping four days later about Hengping's disembarkation.

"Do you know why you got off the ship?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My subordinate didn't ask." Liu Ping said, "Girl, do you want me to go and inquire?"

Rong Shu said hurriedly, "No, Heng Ping will disembark. He must have listened to Master Gu's instructions. Most likely, there are some tasks to be performed. These things We don't need to ask."

She said and opened the wooden window door. The sun was setting outside the window, and the rays of light spread on the river, making people dazzled by the sparkling gold.

"Tomorrow will probably be a good day again."

If we can catch a good day when sailing on the river, the speed of the boat will be much faster. These days can be regarded as God's blessing, and every day will be good.

It's a pity that such good days only lasted for a few days before things changed.

On the night of September 29th, the wind suddenly blew up on the river, and the waves rolled up the frost and salt. A cloud of autumn rain fell "pat-ta-ta-ta" in a short while, splashing hazy mist on the river surface.

Rong Shu was still sleeping soundly in his dream while holding the moon pillow.

Suddenly there was a "bang" and the ship's hull shook violently, followed by several increasingly heavier crashes.

"Bang", "bang", "bang" -

the passenger ship was hit by several cargo ships and suddenly rushed towards the cliff on one side.

Rong Shu woke up amidst the increasingly violent collisions. She hurriedly put on her coat and got down on the bed. As soon as her feet touched the ground, the violently shaking hull of the ship suddenly tilted and she rolled out.

In the panic, a hand with sharp bones firmly grasped her wrist and pulled her into his arms.

"Breathe quickly." It was Gu Changjin's voice.

Rong Shu just took a breath, and before he could realize what happened, he was pulled into the water by Gu Changjin. The cold river water came from all directions, and she shuddered hard.

At this time, on the misty and rainy river, three cargo ships collided with a passenger ship. Hundreds of oil barrels rolled down and pine oil spilled, spreading from the bottom of the ship to the river.

The fire started from the cargo ship in the middle and swallowed up several other ships in a short time. Even the passenger ship that was hit by the cliff was not spared.

The fire was scorching, the waves were splashing, and the sparks were flying into the air.

After several "booming" sounds, Rong Shu felt a violent wave of air coming from not far away. The man behind her seemed to groan, and the arm around her waist relaxed a little.

But he never let go and took her to swim to the shore.

Rong Shu didn't know how long they had been swimming. His body was getting colder and heavier. But she knew she couldn't stop, nor could she hold Gu Changjin back.

Seeing that he could see the dark mountain shadows on the river bank, Gu Changjin gradually slowed down.

After a while, the man suddenly let go of his arms, put his hands on her lower back, and pushed her forward hard.

Rong Shu quickly turned around to look at him.

The firelight illuminated the water behind him, and wisps of blood mist spread in it.

Gu Changjin opened his mouth and made a "Gurgling" sound, wanting to say to her: "Swim forward, don't look back."

The moment his lips moved, his vision went dark, and all the strength in his body seemed to be suddenly withdrawn, and his body was spinning uncontrollably. Slowly sinking, the last scene that remained in his mind was her eyebrows illuminated by the firelight.

In a daze, I remembered that the fire in Fuyu Mountain had once illuminated the features of my father and mother.

They cursed him in the fire, but their eyes were telling him: Live on, Suiguan'er, live well, don't look, don't look back.

Gu Changjin once didn't understand why they wanted to leave him alone in this world.

However, the moment he closed his eyes, he seemed to understand how his father and mother were feeling at that time.

Rong Zhaozhao, live on.

Just keep living, there is no need to look back.

In the darkness, he heard a childish voice echoing in his ears.

"Suiguan'er, do you think we will die?"

Fiery light poured in from the wooden lattice windows on the wall.

In the dim light, two little boys of similar age were lying on the couch in a wooden house.

The boy who spoke just now was frail and delicate. He tilted his head slightly, looked at the boy next to him, and said, "Suiguan'er, do you think we will die?"

"No. Dad said, yes. Many people have survived this epidemic." The boy named "Sui Guan'er" smiled slightly, his pale and clear face showing a tenacity that did not suit his age, "My father and Uncle Ni have already set out to find us. The medicine to cure the epidemic, Ni Yan, you have to believe in my father and your father, they will definitely find the medicine for us and we will survive."

Wen Ruo seemed to be inspired by the determination and optimism in his voice. The boy also smiled and said weakly, "Yeah". He squeezed the jade pendant hidden in his clothes tightly with his hand and said, "We will survive."

[We will survive. ]

Gu Changjin opened his eyes suddenly, his body was still sinking, but a soft hand was always holding him.

The girl's hair was covered with black hair scattered in the water. Her palm-sized face looked a little stubborn. She was gritting her teeth and pulling him up with great strength.

Gu Changjin blinked slowly, kicked off his feet, swam towards her, and held her hand firmly.

With a "crash", the two of them emerged from the water, inhaling greedily.

Rong Shu stared at his back and his voice trembled slightly: "Gu Changjin——"

"I'm fine." Gu Changjin pulled her to the shore and said: "Get ashore quickly. Those cargo ships carrying pine oil did it on purpose. If you hit him, someone will come looking for him immediately."

Blood kept pouring out of him.

Rong Shu looked at his gold-paper-like face, and his throat felt as if there was a ball of cotton stuck in his throat.

She was afraid that he would push her away like he did just now, so she didn't care about the defense between men and women. She held his hand tightly and said word by word: "Gu Changjin, let's go together for the rest of the way. The reinforcements haven't come yet." No one is allowed to leave anyone behind before."

The little lady was soaked all over, her teeth were chattering as she spoke, and her moist red lips were already turning purple from the cold.

However, the eyes she looked at him were as bright as cold stars, and if she looked carefully, she could still see the anger hidden in them.

She was angry.

Gu Changjin really wanted to find a safe place to hide her and then lead her away.

Those dead men should be coming for him, and the master behind them is either the Qi family or the Xing family. If she leaves him, she won't be in danger.

But at this moment, facing her bright and slightly angry eyes, Gu Changjin felt incredibly soft in his heart.

"Okay." He said with a faint smile on his thin lips, "Let's go together, no one will be left behind."