Chapter 21 Chapter One

Old General Hao came back from Jiangbei suddenly at dusk, and there was no news beforehand. The tenth concubine, Nan Rulin, was the first to discover that General Hao had returned.Nan Rulin played cards at No. 13 Liu Mansion in Tongrenli this day. She played for a whole day, but her luck was always bad. After twelve rounds, she had already lost a hundred and ten yuan, so she added four more rounds as an exception, until she was ashamed of her pocket. , and owed Mr. Liu's second wife fifteen yuan, only then did he admit his bad luck, and went back rubbing his sore back.Not far from the gate of Liu Mansion, Nan Rulin heard the noise of a car horn behind her, looked back inadvertently, but was startled.It wasn't just one car, there were actually many cars, rolling over the dusty roads of Shiminli Yamen in Tongrenli.The first one was a black sleeping car, very old, the front of the car had been hit, Nan Rulin knew it, it was the car that Adjutant Zhang used to ride in.You don't need to look at the car behind to know that it must be General Hao's armored car, and there must be guards carrying box guns standing on the pedals on both sides of the car.

This time, he panicked, his heart was beating wildly, his whole body felt so swollen, he didn't dare to think about the poker game in Liu's mansion, his mind was filled with only one thought, and he quickly slipped home through the back door.But her legs didn't listen, as if she would fall if she moved a little, Nan Rulin had no choice but to turn her back first and stand still facing the wall. The sound of the car horn mixed with the roar of the engine rang behind him, from far to near, like thunder.It was not yet completely dark, and the western sky was still orange, with a faint light shining on the street.Nan Rulin could clearly see her own reflection on the wall, so she became more and more flustered, afraid of being seen by General Hao who was sitting in the car, she was already stammering about the words to answer.

At this time, two handsome young men came over, and one of them was very familiar, Yuan Jizhi, the adjutant of Jingyuan Li, No. 40, Tongrenli.Yuan Jizhi occasionally went to Liu Mansion to play cards, and was very friendly to Nan Rulin, and even lent Nan Rulin fifty yuan.Nan Rulin remembered that Yuan Jizhi hadn't paid back the fifty yuan he borrowed, and he didn't know whether he forgot it or wanted to forfeit it.Nan Rulin's money was also tight, and she wanted to mention it several times, but she finally swallowed it back. Yuan Jizhi is not good at borrowing money, but he is really sensible. Seeing Nan Rulin's panicked expression, and seeing Old General Hao's armored car approaching, he didn't ask Nan Rulin to say anything, so he pulled his companion into the car. Nan Rulin's body blocked half of it.

Yuan Jizhi and his companions stood very close, they were standing face to face with Nan Rulin, Nan Rulin felt the hot air from Yuan Jizhi's mouth rolling on her face, and the fragrance of Yuan Jizhi's hair cream penetrated into her nostrils.Yuan Jizhi's hair is black and shiny, parted on both sides, very beautiful.The words are also beautiful, full of Jingbai - he said it to his companion, as if Nan Rulin didn't exist. Old General Hao's armored car drove up to him in a blink of an eye, and then rumbled past him again. Yuan Jizhi stopped talking and stopped talking to his companion. He first smiled at Nan Rulin, and then said to Nan Rulin He said: "Mrs. Ten, go back quickly. If Old General Hao knows that you are still outside, you will be in trouble."

Nan Rulin really wanted to say a word of thanks to Yuan Jizhi, but her mouth changed, and she just said indifferently: "What's the trouble? Our Hao Mansion is not the Palace of the King of Hell, and our master is not the Lord of Hell." Yuan Jizhi squinted his big eyes, looked at Nan Rulin with a smile and said teasingly: "Well, Mrs. Ten, you are not afraid that General Hao will rule you by family law, so let's go to the 'New Republic' to listen to the play now, how dare you Is it?" Yuan Jizhi was very handsome, squinting his eyes, he looked even more handsome, and there were dimples at the corners of his mouth when he smiled.Nan Rulin liked him from the bottom of her heart.It wasn't that General Hao came back suddenly, she really wanted to listen to the play with him.It's just that Yuan Jizhi is also bad, and he never mentions it on weekdays, but today he used this to attack her army, so he said conveniently: "Old Yuan, don't be so obedient, if you want to invite me, you should say hello early—— I'm afraid you don't have the guts, let alone the heart."

The smile on Yuan Jizhi's face froze, and the corners of his mouth twitched, as if he wanted to say something more, but Nan Rulin turned around and left, looking calm and aloof. The calmness and aloofness disappeared automatically after not being maintained for a long time.At the entrance of Baijuren Alley, which leads to the back door of Hao Mansion, Nan Rulin walked briskly at first, and then ran out of breath in the red satin cheongsam.The heels of the high heels hit the bluestone floor loudly, causing two men in western clothes from the Japanese consulate in the alley to stare blankly at her.Nan Rulin couldn't care less, and still ran arrogantly, thinking while running, the back door of the mansion can't be closed at this time, it would be terrible if it was closed.

Nan Rulin figured that it was not a good omen for General Hao to come back at this time.The old man's Ding Guojun and his distant nephew Hao Baochuan's An Guojun were stagnant on the Jiangbei Zhangqi line, but they came back suddenly. Something must have happened to Laoying in the provincial capital.If she was blocked by the old man at this time, she would at least have to eat a family law.The old man's family law is really powerful. There are leather whips for beating people, hemp ropes for strangling people, and pistols for killing people. Nan Rulin is afraid when she thinks about it.Among Mr. Hao's ten wives and concubines, except for Hao Keshi, who is the main house, who has never practiced family law, the other nine concubines have all practiced family law.

It occurred to me that the sixth wife, Xiujuan, and the ninth wife, Ruifang, might be in trouble.Ruifang and Captain Wang of the guard team are good friends, Nan Rulin knows it, Nan Rulin saw Ruifang kissing Captain Wang in the back garden of the mansion with her own eyes.Afterwards, Ruifang treated Nan Rulin kindly, and kept sending clothes and some gadgets that were rarely seen in the market to Nan Rulin.Nan Rulin also pretended not to see what happened to Ruifang and Captain Wang, and sometimes helped Ruifang a little.Nan Rulin didn't know about Xiujuan's affairs, she just heard from other wives that Xiujuan was on good terms with a handsome guy outside, and they seemed to have discussed elopement or something.

Thinking of it this way, my mind settled down a lot.Since old man Hao didn't come back just for her, she needn't be so frightened.She went out to play cards privately, even though she violated the house rules, it was not a big deal, the big deal was starving for a whole day, the ninth wife, Ruifang, and the sixth wife, Xiujuan, committed infidelity, if old man Hao found out, they would die. Arriving at the back door of the mansion, through the solid iron gate, he was watching the back of Captain Wang of the guard team leaving.Captain Wang had his hands behind his back, holding a bunch of keys in his hands.Nan Rulin sighed softly at Captain Wang's back, and wanted to call Captain Wang to open the door, but seeing that her cheongsam was still up, she bent down and pulled the cheongsam neatly, and then regained her composure before calling out. Captain Wang.

Hearing Nan Rulin's call, Captain Wang turned around, opened the door swiftly, let Nan Rulin in, and flattered him, "Mrs. Ten, it's a coincidence that you came here. You old masters just walked in." Nan Rulin asked casually: "Isn't Jiangbei under attack? Why did the old man come back?" Captain Wang said: "I heard that the fight was not good. The old man's new second division has defected. The division commander Liu Anjie said to himself that he telegraphed the whole province and announced a truce. The old man's battle can no longer be fought."

Nan Rulin walked towards the fourth courtyard where the dormitory was located, and asked again: "Then you're back?" Captain Wang said: "I just came back. I heard that Liu Anjie is also in the provincial capital now, and the old man might make a deal with Liu Anjie—hey, Mrs. Ten, aren't you playing cards in Liu's mansion today? No Hear something?" Nan Rulin said: "We women and Taoists don't care about these things." Captain Wang still asked: "Didn't you see Mr. Liu in the Liu mansion?" Nan Rulin shook her head, "I didn't see it." Captain Wang said to himself: "It must be in Hao Baochuan's Jingyuan. Mr. Liu's rebellion this time must have something to do with Xiao Hao, maybe it was Xiao Hao's instigation..." At this time, she had already reached the flower wall in the courtyard, Nan Rulin didn't want to chat with Captain Wang anymore, for fear that the smell of Captain Wang and Ruifang would get on her.Coincidentally, at this moment, she saw a figure flashing on the other side of the flower wall, and Nan Rulin didn't dare to talk to Captain Wang, she nunuzui asked Captain Wang to go away, and walked into the moon gate of the four-in-one courtyard with three feet and two steps. The person on the other side of the flower wall is Ruifang, the ninth wife. When Ruifang saw Nan Rulin, she hurried over, grabbed Nan Rulin's hand and said, "Well, my sister, you are back! Our whole family is waiting to see the old master, and there is only a short distance between the inside and outside." You and Xiujuan. Xiujuan deserves to be unlucky, I can't control it, but sister, you and I have to control it, so I came to you, afraid that you would be shut out." Nan Rulin asked, "Does Hao Keshi know that I'm not here?" Ruifang said: "Why don't you know? I know. I blocked it and said that you are sick. Didn't you even eat lunch? The old witch didn't seem suspicious, she just said that the old man came back and asked you to see him." While talking, Rui Fang also straightened Nan Rulin's messy hair that was blown away by the wind. When Nan Rulin heard that Xiujuan hadn't come back, she worried for Xiujuan and said, "Isn't something wrong with Xiujuan? I heard that the old man was suffocated in Jiangbei, and he was angry. If Xiujuan is found out at this time, , I don’t know how to fix her!” Ruifang said: "Let's not worry about her, she deserves what she deserves even if she suffers from family law, let's go to the hall of the front yard to see the old man!" Walking on the road, Ruifang said again: "The old man is very angry, as if he has taken gunpowder, and that old hag of Hao Keshi is also sullen. Let's be careful what we say." Nan Rulin quietly whispered into Ruifang's ear: "Ninth Sister, don't worry, I won't let the matter slip between you and Captain Wang." Ruifang also reported: "I will never say anything about you playing cards at Liu's mansion." Nan Rulin felt aggrieved, and wanted to say, my matter is different from yours, but she didn't say it when she got to her mouth. She thought, maybe Yuan Jizhi would really invite her to the theater in the future, and she might also use Rui Fang's, in this way, she and Ruifang will be evened - of course, not yet. Ruifang probably guessed what Nan Rulin was thinking, and asked unintentionally, "Did you lose money again?" Nan Rulin nodded: "I'm not always lucky, I lost all my rules this month..." Ruifang hesitated for a while and said, "I'll lend you some more." This made Nan Rulin embarrassed: "I haven't paid back the one hundred I borrowed from you last month!" Ruifang smiled and said, "If you win all, just return it to me." Nan Rulin blamed her lack of confidence and said, "What if... what if I lose again?" Ruifang said: "Then I can't force you to hang yourself—we are with whom!" Whispering like this, the two walked along the stone road in the courtyard of the mansion to the end and entered the courtyard.The door of the hall leading into the yard is closed, and there is nothing in front of the door, no one can be seen, only a few soldiers' coachmen in the west garage are playing with the car.The hall was also very quiet, and no words came out. This emptiness and silence made Nan Rulin uneasy.Nan Rulin always felt that something was going to happen, her heart was torn, and she wanted to pee.Originally, she wanted to pretend to be sick, but now she doesn't have to pretend, her body is really soft and wobbly, and she always wants to lean on Ruifang.Ruifang was also afraid, but she pretended not to be afraid, and pulled Nan Rulin's hand to pretend to talk about pharmacology and pathology, but Nan Rulin could clearly feel Ruifang's hand shaking, It's still sweaty. When they arrived at the door of the hall, they were about to open the door and go in, when they heard General Hao shout like a thunderbolt from the eerily quiet hall: "Bring these two bastards in!" Rui Fang was stunned, His face paled for a moment, and he kept his hands on the edge of the door so as not to fall down.Nan Rulin was startled, her crotch became hot for some reason, and it was only later that she wet the floral trousers she was wearing next to her body.