"Go ahead." Gu Xu pondered for a moment and then said.
He is now unable to go directly to the blood pool of the Demon Immortal Clan in the Lingxiao Realm to help Shi Xiaohan awaken his bloodline.
Under such circumstances, her sleeping became a problem that he had to face head-on.
"Will you go back with me?" Shi Xiaohan tilted his head, stared at him, and asked softly.
The flickering candlelight reflected in her bright almond eyes, as if the stars had fallen into the clear autumn water.
"Your family, they probably don't want to see me," Gu Xu shook his head gently, then paused and said, "However, I will be in Luojing and watch you from a distance."
< br>…………
When Xiaohan returned to his hometown, he did not advertise it with any fanfare.
She simply wrote a letter to her father informing him of the news.
The letter was accompanied by a line of ink from Gu Xu, saying that the imperial concubine Enzhun returned to her hometown to visit relatives on the first day of April in the second year of the Yuan Dynasty.
On that day, she took several palace attendants through the space passage opened by Gu Xu with the authority of "Qiankun" and arrived at the Shi family's residence in Jiaodong Province.
Today's Shi family is no longer the wealthy and powerful noble family in the past.
After the change of dynasties, they lost the elixir workshop where they once made a lot of money and the endless spiritual fields. Their status was suddenly reduced to rural commoners, and they could only rely on the one-third of an acre of land in front of them to make a living.
Fortunately, they had accumulated some savings before, and Gu Xu gave Shi Lei a lot of property in the name of 'betrothal gift', which allowed them to maintain a relatively comfortable life and not fall into the trap of eating. The dilemma of having one meal but no next meal.
…………
Shi Xiaohan's carriage slowly stopped in front of a simple courtyard beside a field.
This is a Ruyi door with a narrow door leaf and a compact layout. The door lintel is engraved with a Ruyi-shaped floral ornament. The pillar gates are very different.
Although Shi Xiaohan did not have any fine clothes, no ceremonial guard, and no gong to clear the way.
Just like when I was an official in Yishui County in the past, I would sneak away to Laizhou Prefecture to visit my father on holidays and enjoy the local food.
However, at this moment, the simple house in front of her had been renovated, and the steps were so clean that not even a trace of dust could be seen.
The road outside the house is tightly blocked by a curtain, completely blocking the prying eyes of the surrounding people.
Everyone in the Shi family, old and young, from her aunt Shi Qiongying, who has the highest cultivation and prestige, to her peers of similar age, and even the children who have just entered the school, are all standing neatly at the door. forward. They bowed their heads and looked solemn, silent and no one coughed.
Occasionally, a child couldn't stand and muttered "legs are sore", and was immediately glared at by the mother next to him, who sternly reprimanded: "Shut up, don't offend the imperial concubine."
Shi Xiaohan’s father, Shi Lei, was also in the queue.
Like everyone else, he lowered his head, as if he was deliberately avoiding her gaze.
"This home seems to be no longer the home of the past."
Looking at the scene in front of him, Shi Xiaohan couldn't help but think silently.
When Xiaohan stepped forward and stepped down from the carriage, the practitioners present all raised their hands in salute, while the mortals knelt on their knees and prostrated on the ground, saying respectfully: "Greetings to the imperial concubine!"
Shi Xiaohan was stunned for a moment.
She usually only wields a sword and is not proficient in the ways of the world.
When Gu Xu is not around, she is really not very good at dealing with such scenes.
"You...you don't have to be polite," she responded with slightly unfamiliar words, "We...we can actually get along with each other as we did in the past..."
"You and your ministers have No, please don't try to hurt us." After hearing Shi Xiaohan's words, Shi Qiongying, who was standing at the front, immediately showed a fearful expression and bent her waist even lower, "Your Majesty, I miss you. It is already a great honor for us to be willing to condescend to come to Jiaodong to visit us ordinary people. How can we ignore the courtesy?
"This is disrespectful to the imperial concubine, and it is also disrespectful to the current majesty?" …”
It was this great aunt who had always been very strict with Shi Xiaohan in the past. She felt that she was too careless and lacked the demeanor that a lady should have. She was worried that if she couldn't get married, it would bring disgrace to the Shi family's reputation, so she rarely looked good on her. .
Last year, it was this great-aunt who first urged Shi Lei to make an engagement between Gu Xu and Shi Xiaohan, but after Gu Xu was wanted, she accused Shi Lei of "being Petty profits blinded his mind, and he failed to see the true face of the treasonous traitor," and urged him to break up the marriage quickly to avoid getting into trouble.
Nowadays, I look at her saying "empress" and "your majesty", and her attitude is as low as possible.
Shi Xiaohan bit his lip gently, his mood becoming more and more complicated.
She didn't know how to respond, so she could only stay in place like a piece of wood, listening silently as Shi Qiongying expressed her loyalty to the emperor in front of her and kept talking.
"If Sister Zhao or Sister Shangguan were here, what would they do?" She couldn't help but think to herself.
…………
The Shi family prepared lunch for Shi Xiaohan early.
Because the current emperor advocates frugality, the Shi family did not dare to cook phoenixes, cook dragons, cook gold and jade, and made this meal too extravagant.
But they still took very considerate care of her taste, specially preparing her favorite dishes such as beggar's chicken, butter-soaked snails, sweet and sour pork, etc.
Objectively speaking, this can almost be regarded as the most delicious meal Shi Xiaohan has tasted at home.
However, she was not happy at all.
At this moment she was sitting alone at the head of a long wooden table. A variety of dishes were neatly displayed in front of her.
The other members of the Shi family stood respectfully on both sides of the long table, silently watching her eat alone.
This undoubtedly made Shi Xiaohan feel very embarrassed.
After all, she never cares about her image when eating. In Gu Xu's words, she has the heroic demeanor of a heroine.
When she sees delicious food, she always takes a big bite, often leaving her mouth full of grease.
But now there are so many people watching seriously, how can she still dare to be as informal as before?
So, she had to sit upright, holding the bowl in her left hand and the chopsticks in her right hand, taking small sips and chewing slowly.
To her, this was as awkward as using the "Kunwu knife" to embroider.
Whenever she is in need, such as paper towels, tea, a bowl of rice, etc., these former tribesmen will watch her words and rush forward to show their courtesy.
The one who showed the most positive attitude was her cousin Shi Shuo.
In Shi Xiaohan's impression, this cousin has always been keen on doing business and making money. In the past few years, when she talked to him, he often seemed indifferent and seemed to think she was naive.
But today, Shi Shuo always accompanied her with a smile, and sometimes he would be one step ahead of everyone else and respectfully hand over what she needed before she even asked.
Shi Xiaohan also noticed that this cousin who used to love rich and beautiful clothes was actually wearing a pair of coarse cloth clothes that had been washed white. The edges were frayed and there were many patches on the clothes. It was different from his clothes. The glamorous image of the past is completely different.
"Although the Shi family's property was confiscated, they are not so poor!" She couldn't help but feel doubts in her heart.
But she quickly thought of a story Gu Xu once told her, called "The King of Chu has such a thin waist that many people starve to death in the palace."
The emperors of the Daqi Dynasty always wore fine clothes and fine food, were extremely luxurious, paid attention to ostentation, built large-scale construction projects, and did not hesitate to seize the world's resources for their own cultivation. Extravagance was also prevalent throughout the court, and officials, big and small, competed with each other and often tried their best to gain fortune and water in order to maintain superficial respectability.
But today, when the monarch who rules the wilderness is replaced by Gu Xu, a stingy guy who used to be reluctant to eat meat and only likes to eat tofu, the atmosphere of the country has changed 180 degrees. People Start taking pride in wearing simple, worn-out clothes.
When Gu Xu habitually wore his plain blue cloth shirt in the palace and severely punished a large number of corrupt officials, the courtiers also began to wear patched clothes to go to court. Some even deliberately changed the new clothes into the old ones. , deliberately making several holes in it.
Shi Lei stood aside and saw his daughter's uncomfortable look.
He really wanted to put aside the secular etiquette, walk up to her, sit next to her, and ask her how she was doing in the palace recently, whether she had enough to eat, and whether she had been bullied by others. , is His Majesty's attitude towards her still the same as before...
However, when he looked at the tribesmen around him, especially Shi Qiongying, who was standing motionless in the corner, he finally held back. Didn't do that.
The baby girl has now become a heavenly being, and is no longer the little girl who used to grab her sleeves and ask for snacks.
…………
Shi Xiaohan did not stay in the Shi family mansion for too long.
After lunch, she took a short rest and then asked to leave.
Although she grew up among this crowd, this is no longer her home.
Everyone in the Shi family sent them off respectfully.
When she came to the carriage, she took one last deep look at her father.
Although she has a lot of complaints about her father.
But when I think that if I really fall asleep, I may not be able to see him again for a long time, my mood is still a little complicated.
At this moment, Shi Lei took a deep breath and could no longer suppress his emotions. Under the strange gazes of everyone, he walked to the carriage in three steps and caught the Daughter's wrist.
Thousands of words come to my lips, but I don’t know where to start.
He hesitated several times and finally spoke slowly: "Xiaohan, how have you been in the palace recently..."
At this moment, he vaguely heard Shi Qiongying scolding him behind his back and telling him to retreat. Come back and don't offend the imperial concubine.
But he turned a deaf ear.
Shi Xiaohan looked at him, dazed for a moment, then raised the corners of his mouth and smiled, with two dimples clearly visible.
"I'm fine. Father, don't worry about me. Your Majesty takes good care of me. He even taught me how to make cakes recently."
"That's good, that's good..."
Shi Lei also smiled and watched his daughter board the carriage under the escort of the palace people.
The carriage started slowly, the wheels made a slight rolling sound on the ground, gradually accelerated, and went further and further away.
When the carriage reached the end of the road, a black space crack cut through the sky like lightning, and then the carriage drove straight into the crack and disappeared completely.
…………
"How does it feel to go home?"
After Shi Xiaohan returned to Changchun Garden, Gu Xu rubbed her black-haired head and asked with a smile.
"That's not my home anymore," when he heard his words, Shi Xiaohan snorted, threw himself into his arms, and buried his head in his chest, "This is it." ( End of chapter)