Xuanxia

Chapter 1012 A Moment of Peace
Yue Heng's request made Fu Qingzhou laugh and cry.

Brother Yue is still the same Brother Yue. He and his familiar friends never play tricks on others.

"Okay, don't worry."

Fu Qingzhou patted his shoulder and said, "I can't guarantee the others, but if... uh... I rescued my sister-in-law, I promise not to kill the Yuan family in front of her."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Yue Heng patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief: "Then how about this, Brother Fu, let's talk about the past later, but for now, let's get down to business first?"

"Of course, your identity is different now, so go and get busy first." Fu Qingzhou said with a smile.

Yue Heng bowed and hurried to leave, but after a few steps, he turned back and shouted at him, "Brother Fu! The house that the emperor gave you was destroyed three years ago! But I bought the small courtyard where we lived at the beginning! You can sleep there!"

After shouting, he left in a hurry.

Fu Qingzhou was slightly stunned when he heard this.

The big house from back then is gone now?

But it's also true... I was the target of everyone's criticism at the beginning. Tang Jiao also said that they all escaped from the house at the beginning. At that time, those people from the aristocratic families must have turned my house upside down.

But that's okay.

Fu Qingzhou himself hadn't even lived in that house for a few days, so in comparison...

"It's still familiar and warm here."

He pushed open the door to the courtyard and took a breath.

There was no dust in the air. Yue Heng must have sent someone to clean it. But there was no smell of food coming from the kitchen, no whistling wind when Qiu Chan or others were practicing swords, no candlelight or window lights...

But that's okay.

Tang Jiao and the others will also be coming to Beijing soon. I heard that many of my old friends are now in Beijing, but as members of the Xuan League, they still have things to do.

"It's me who has the most free time right now."

Fu Qingzhou swiftly took off his weapons and coat, found the familiar rattan chair from a familiar place, and lay down leisurely.

He looked at the stars in the sky and listened to the gradually bustling voices of people on the street just across the wall. Fatigue and sleepiness surged over him like a tide.

Finally, I can rest assured for the time being.

Although there are still many things that have not been resolved and many doubts that have not been answered, at least there are no urgent matters that need to be dealt with immediately.

He has never stopped since he left Chaozhen Cave Heaven and fell into the Northern Desert.

Suppress the northern barbarians, ride the horses in Shu, and march quickly to the capital...

Fu Qingzhou's eyes slowly closed and he soon began to snore.

Perhaps because he felt so at ease, he fell into a deep sleep and was not alert at all. He didn't even notice that the door to the courtyard was pushed open.

The summer air was dry and mosquitoes were flying in the courtyard, falling towards his face, but he quickly waved a small fan and drove the mosquitoes away.

At some point, Tang Jiao sat next to him.

She didn't even have time to put down her bag, so she took a small stool and sat next to Fu Qingzhou, staring at him and waving a small fan to drive away mosquitoes and heat.

With the cool breeze blowing, Fu Qingzhou fell into a deeper sleep. He curled up limply in the recliner with his head tilted to one side.

Seeing him like this, Tang Jiao couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

She did not close the door of the courtyard when she came, and not long after, she heard footsteps approaching again.

Tang Jiao looked back with a little vigilance, but when she saw the person coming, she relaxed and just made a "hush" gesture.

Seeing her action, the woman at the door who wanted to shout happily closed her mouth in grievance.

That's Zhu Mei.

Wu Yan was standing next to her.

Tang Jiao gently put down the fan, walked in front of the two of them, and blinked: "What are you doing..." "It's over for now."

Wu Yan lowered his voice and said, "The leader told us to do our own thing. I had nowhere to go, so I thought of this and came here. I didn't expect you to be here too."

"Now that you're here, come in."

Tang Jiao whispered, then looked at Zhu Mei and smiled with narrowed eyes: "Why are you here too?"

"Sister...I want to eat." Zhu Mei lowered her head and said embarrassedly: "Sister Tang Jiao's food is delicious."

Wu Yan explained calmly, "She has made some progress in swordsmanship over the years, and she helped a little this time, but she gets hungry easily."

"In that case, put your things away and go prepare some food together."

Tang Jiao smiled and said, "Just don't disturb Big Brother. He's sleeping soundly. He's probably really tired."

The three of them quietly entered the yard, put down their things, and quietly left the yard. After about a quarter of an hour, they came back from Baishi Street after buying some things.

It was now night, and although it was not late at night, it was very difficult to buy fresh ingredients. In addition, due to the chaos in the capital city in the past few days, there were even fewer ingredients on the market. They had to buy some prepared meals at high prices from some big restaurants.

But even so, when these dishes have been cooked and placed on the table, there is still a delicious smoky aroma that makes you salivate.

Fu Qingzhou was awakened by the sound of cicadas.

The summer night breeze blew across his sweaty back. He opened his eyes drowsily and saw the lanterns hanging under the eaves swaying in the evening breeze. The orange-red light filtered through the window paper into the dining room, illuminating the eight-immortals table with a dim shadow.

There was clearly a figure sitting there, the chopsticks clinked against the porcelain bowl, and the aroma of wine mixed with the sweet and sour smell of sweet and sour fish floated in the air.

"Why hasn't the damn pervert come yet?"

Qiu Chan's voice was drunken, and her jade earrings flickered in the light: "I gave you face, didn't I?"

He propped himself up in a daze, and the rattan chair made a slight creaking sound.

Zhu Mei was chewing four-happiness meatballs with puffy cheeks, the shiny soup sticking to the corners of her mouth; Yuan Ziping was pouring wine for Yue Heng, the celadon wine jug reflected their flushed faces; Tang Min was sitting at the foot of the wall not far away, smoking his pipe; Tang Jiao was standing in front of the stove with her back to Fu Qingzhou, her lilac skirt sweeping across the blue brick floor, the silver hairpin in her hair dazzled his eyes.

"Sir, we are all waiting for you."

Yuan Ziping raised his glass, and the amber liquor trembled in the glass: "The bamboo leaf green that was buried three years ago will be drunk up by Miss Zhu if we don't come back soon."

Fu Qingzhou's fingertips touched the cold wine cup, and the yellow wine rippled under the moonlight.

Bury the wine? Have you ever buried wine yourself?
It seems that there is... Three years ago, one day, Zhu Mei heard from somewhere that wine buried in the ground tastes especially sweet, so Yue Heng, who was tired of studying, and Yuan Ziping, who had nothing to do, accompanied her to buy a few jars of wine and buried them in the yard...

At this moment, the seal on the jar is still there, but the red silk has faded into light pink.

"Why are you dazed?"

Tang Jiao suddenly pulled his arm from behind, causing the wine cup to fall over with a clang.

The illusion was like a broken copper mirror, Qiu Chan's jade earrings turned into scattered fireflies, Tang Min's pipe floated into the smoke, and Yuan Ziping's cup-holding palm gradually became transparent. He turned his head suddenly and saw Tang Jiao's real eyebrows and eyes. She had a white magnolia in her hair, which looked like it was newly bought.

"Brother, are you really sleepy?"

Tang Jiao wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief and pointed to the dining room: "Mr. Yue has finished his work and came here after smelling the aroma of wine. The wine and food we bought are almost not enough."

Beside the brightly candlelit Eight Immortals Table, Yue Heng was serving food to Zhu Mei with his sleeves rolled up. He changed his dark official uniform into indigo casual clothes. He raised his head and grinned at Fu Qingzhou.

Sitting next to Zhu Mei was the silent Wu Yan. There were seven or eight empty bowls piled in front of her, and she was slurping the ninth bowl of plain noodles.

Fu Qingzhou was pressed on a bench by Tang Jiao, and the sweet aroma of osmanthus wine mixed with the sour and spicy smell of vinegar-fried cabbage hit his face.

The cuffs of Yue Heng's sleeves were stained with the smell of blood from the palace, and the soles of Zhu Mei's boots were stained with the smell of fireworks from Baishi Street. These new scents overlapped with the sandalwood and ink scent in his memory.

Fu Qingzhou finally woke up, tilted his head back and drank the wine in the glass, letting the familiar burning sensation flow down his throat into his chest.

"So you're all here."

He smiled and said, "There are still some people who haven't come yet, but we will bring them all back soon."

(End of this chapter)