11-20

Chapter 11 - Heavy Rain

This heavy rain did not stop for seven days and seven nights.

The rainwater on Nanyangfu Street reached people's knees, and many shops on the street were flooded. At this time, there were not many customers coming to buy things. Most of the shops in the city were closed and not doing business. Many shops were soaked in water and were in a mess.

"Let's move all the things on the first floor to the second floor. After the rain stops and the first floor is cleaned, we can move the things down." Li Tong was thinking about the things in the store. He arrived at the store Together with the work, we will move all the things we can move to the second floor.

Fortunately, there are clerks in their store watching over them. The goods in the store have been moved to the second floor for storage, and the water below will be cleaned out in time. Otherwise, there will definitely be no way to sell so many goods if they are soaked in water.

This rain seems to have no intention of stopping and will continue to rain like this.

Continuous rainfall caused the Nanyang River to rise, and it was about to break through the last line of defense. If the river water were to rise, the entire Nanyang Mansion would be flooded by the river water in an instant. When the rain subsided a little, Mr. Yao, the Yin of Nanyang Prefecture, braved the rain and led his officers and soldiers to put bags of sand and gravel on the river bank to block it, so that there would be a little buffer if the water came up.

The people in the city saw it, and some people spontaneously went to help. This matter was a matter of vital importance to the lives of all the people in the city. 9

The scholars of Anlu Academy knew the news, and after asking their husband for instructions, the scholars of the academy all Run to the river to help. Li Wen and Zhang Xuan came here to help with everyone else. Looking at the river water lapping on the bank, they both had the same worry in their hearts. If the river flooded, the entire city would have no place to run.

"I hope the river will not flood."

"I hope."

None of them can guarantee whether the river will rise, and everyone is worried.

Fifty years ago, there was a flood in Nanyang. The flood submerged the entire city. Houses collapsed and many people were drowned. Human corpses and dead animals were floating everywhere on the water. People still remember this. The memory is still fresh.

After decades of recovery, Nanyang Mansion has finally returned to its prosperous appearance today. No one wants to experience such a disaster again.

In the face of disaster, human power is so small.

Fortunately, the heavy rain slowly turned into moderate rain, and then moderate rain turned into light rain. The river water did not rise much. As long as there was not another sudden heavy rain, Nanyang Prefecture was expected to be able to survive. When the wealthy households and common people in the city heard the news, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but until the rain stopped, people couldn't really let go.

It was still raining lightly outside. Li Wen, wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat, rode a horse and led people to Zhuangzi for a run. He always felt uneasy if he didn't come here to take a look. After all, he had put so much effort and effort here in the past few years.

"Young master, why are you here now?" The steward at Zhuangzi saw the young master coming with someone and hurriedly invited them into the house.

"How are you doing here in Zhuangzi? I'm worried about coming here and taking a look." Li Wen took the cloth and wiped his face, and asked the person in charge to send someone to call several regional managers in the field to come and sit together and ask.

On the way, he had a rough understanding of the situation in our fields, but he still had to ask a few managers, they were the ones who knew best.

After a while everyone arrived, and when they saw the young master here, they all greeted him respectfully.

"No need to be polite, everyone, please sit down." Li Wen asked everyone to sit down. Without turning around, he went straight to the point and asked about the situation in the fields.

When a steward talked about this year's wheat harvest, he was extremely happy and said, "Fortunately, the wheat in our fields has been harvested a few days ago. Otherwise, if it had been left in the fields, it would have been destroyed."

Others The managers all told one by one the situation of the land they managed. It was raining outside every day. They would take people to inspect the land and deal with any problems in time. They dug ditches for drainage in each field and dug openings on both sides to let the water drain out, so the water in the field did not submerge all the crops.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone should pay more attention in the future. If the crops in the fields can be harvested, they should be harvested in time. When this year's food is harvested, everyone will have enough food next year." From everyone's words, Li Wen could hear the hard work of these farmers. When he was a child, he worked in the fields with his parents.

Farming itself is a hard job. A whole year's hard work and hope are in the fields, and a natural disaster can destroy it in one day. Everyone is working so hard just so that the family can have enough to eat and live on in the next year.

Now that the grain production in the fields has increased, Li Wen has not increased the harvest. He will harvest whatever he harvested in the past. However, on this basis, he has made the harvest calculation more standardized, which is more fair to both parties.

"Yes, yes, don't worry, young master." The stewards all understood in their hearts.

Fortunately, the cotton trees in the cotton field haven't bloomed yet. Otherwise, with this rain, there would be no flowers left.

After spending half a day, Li Wen inspected Zhuangzi. If he saw something, he would make some suggestions and let his men handle it. Li Wen is definitely not as professional as these people when it comes to farming, but he has some experience and insights accumulated over thousands of years in his mind. These are some things that can be given to everyone as suggestions.

Overall, Zhuangzi also suffered a small loss, but it was not a big loss.

It would be a waste if there was no place to collect so much rainwater. Later, he would have to lead people to find a place to dig a pond. Fish and shrimp could be cultured, ducks and geese could be raised in the pond, and the water could also be used to irrigate farmland. Thinking about it this way, Li Wen felt that it was necessary to dig more ponds to store water.

Since he took over Zhuangzi, the life of the serfs here has been slightly better than before, and they will not be beaten and punished by evil servants at every turn. Zhuangzi's management here is all new, and several servants who have been doing evil have been driven away. No one dares to act like before. Now that he has taken over here, he must act according to his rules. .

The relationship between Zhuangzi and the nearby tenant farmers has become more harmonious. Li Wen took people to visit the tenant farmers' homes.

"There's a lot going on today, so I won't go in and sit inside."

When everyone saw him, they would invite him inside to drink water. Li Wen thanked others for their kindness, but only asked a few words outside and did not go inside. . Today he was in a hurry to go back and hurriedly came here to check it out. Seeing that everything was fine here, Li Wen took the people away.

Li Shangu, who returned from Nanyang that day, returned to Qingping Town smoothly. He returned to the village in a carriage. As soon as he stepped into the door of his home, a strong wind blew outside, followed by thunder and lightning, and heavy rain began to fall. It was hailing and no one dared to go out.

This made Li Gushan a little frightened. Fortunately, he walked a day faster, but if he had been a day late, his life might have been handed down in the river.

In this weather, there will definitely be ships in the river that will be sunk, and many people will die.

"It's a good thing you're back now, otherwise I wouldn't know how to worry about you at home." Every time the man at home goes out, Sun Yi is always worried and can't sleep at night. After seeing the man at home come back, she felt relieved.

"I'm not back now. What's there to worry about? You can just think about it all day long." Li Shangu came back from Nanyang Mansion and brought back a lot of things, including a letter written by his son to his wife.

On the way back, Li Shangu didn't open it first. He waited until he got home and gave the letter to his wife, "This is a letter written by Sanbao for you. Open it and have a look."

Sun Yi got the letter written by her son and said, I unfolded it in front of the whole family and read it word for word to the mother, husband and children at home.

Just like the letters written by children back home in the past, they started with asking if the people at home were okay, and then said that everything was okay in Nanyang, so that the people at home could rest assured. In the letter, he also informed his family that he was going to take the provincial examination this year, and then asked his family to wait for his good news.

"My dear grandson, my ancestors have blessed me. My dear grandson will definitely pass the exam this time." After hearing her grandson's reply, Mrs. Li's eyes became wet. The old lady wiped the tears from her eyes and said.

"Yes, Mom, Sanbao will definitely pass the exam this time." Sun Yi also missed her son who was studying abroad very much. As a mother, she could not accompany her son in person. The son held his mother's feet and said he missed his brother. He looked at his father with accusing eyes because his father refused to take him with him.

If it weren't for the fact that this was his biological son, this man would have wanted to pick up the little son who was holding his wife's thigh and throw him outside.

It's also raining here in Qingping Town. It's been raining for a full month, and most of the crops in the fields have been flooded.

Their side of Lijia Village is fine. Most of the people in the village are working in the workshops, and every household In addition to farming, there is additional income, and it is not all dependent on what is in the ground. At that time, even if there is not much food in the fields, they can still use the silver to pay taxes and corvee.

But people in other villages may not be so good.

But since the rain, there have been fewer ships going south and north. For a while, no merchants came to them to get goods. There were usually a lot of people waiting at the door. Seeing more and more goods piling up, Li Gushan ordered to reduce

production and let some of the workshop go home first.

Although some people were muttering in their hearts, everyone understood it when they saw that no one came to buy goods and their goods were piling up more and more. I thought that when the weather gets better and there are ships and merchants coming and going, the business in their workshop will be as good as before.

In the past few years, many families in the village have made a little money. As long as they are not lavish, they have some food in their homes and the family will not be hungry.

Chapter 12 The Emperor has no money.

From May to June, it rains in many areas of most of Dacheng.

The most serious areas are in the south. Several provinces in the south are experiencing widespread rainfall. Continuous heavy rains and sudden increases in rainfall have caused rivers to rise and rivers to burst their banks. The rushing water has flooded countless houses and farmland overnight. Many people did not even have a chance to escape, so they died in the flood.

No one can compete with God for natural and man-made disasters. In the end, it is the common people who suffer.

Beijing

"pp"

A fast horse ran on the streets of Beijing, and the people on both sides of the road gave way. The fast horse passed by, its hooves fell, splashing water on the ground, and the soldiers on the horse delivered the fold to the capital.

The folds were handed over one level at a time and were uploaded to the desk in the imperial study room.

The emperor, who was sitting in the imperial study room, opened the booklet and quickly scanned it. His brows furrowed more and more as he read. Floods occurred in the south, inundating more than a dozen areas in three provinces, tens of thousands of fertile fields and countless villages, and many people died.

When the officials below saw that the disaster could not be controlled, they sent him to the capital with a discount.

The emperor summoned several court ministers to the palace overnight to discuss how to provide disaster relief. He sent the papers to several ministers. The emperor asked, "Tell me, what are you going to do about this matter?"

Every time at this time, All the ministers lowered their heads and stood there silently.

There are floods in the south, and warehouses must be opened to provide disaster relief!

But they did not dare to say this. Each of these ministers knew that the court had no money and the treasury was empty. The court could not provide so much food and silver for disaster relief. The intestines in the stomachs of these ministers all have many twists and turns, and no one understands some of these twists and turns better than them.

At this time, there are many mistakes. If the emperor entrusts them with such errands, should they shirk it or do it? These ministers will not rush to do this kind of thankless drudgery. Who would want to go south to provide disaster relief when they can stay comfortably in Beijing as high officials.

It is better to wait for others to speak and see what others say. It is not too late for them to speak again.

"Why, you're all mute? When I asked you what to say, you all had nothing to say. If I hadn't asked you, you would have rushed to stand up and talk endlessly." The emperor looked at each of them. The ministers who spoke were his ministers. When the critical moment came, all of them fell silent.

"I deserve death!" Seeing that the emperor was angry, several ministers knelt down to apologize.

The emperor's expression was not very good. He looked at the ministers kneeling in front of him and said, "Get up. I want you to discuss how to provide disaster relief, not to punish you by kneeling."

"Yes, I have thanked you, Your Majesty. "

But in the end, the emperor and several ministers in the imperial study could not come up with a solution.

A minister had the courage to suggest, "Your Majesty, if you look at this matter, why not discuss it at court tomorrow morning and gather the wisdom of everyone, maybe we can come up with a better solution."

On this day, the emperor became very angry in the imperial study. When several ministers left the palace, they all looked sad.

That night, the emperor and other ministers outside the palace soon knew what was going on when the emperor hurriedly summoned several ministers into the palace. Several princes found the ministers and went to the palace to discuss the matter.

Prince Yang Shaomu, who was in the East Palace, just asked the people below to find his companion. There were also several aides raised in his palace in the study. Compared with the many officials coming and going from the houses of the eldest prince Yang Shaoyong and the third prince Yang Shaokang, the East Palace can be said to be deserted.

Yang Shaomu knew the excitement in the eldest prince and third prince's mansion, so he just chuckled in his heart and didn't care.

"I think you are quite calm." Zhao Xiangyi and the prince have known each other since they were young. He was the prince's companion for several years when he was young. The two have been close friends since they were young. But when he was fifteen years old, he went to the border to serve as a soldier, and he stayed there for five years.

If he hadn't gotten married at this age, his mother wouldn't have written a letter urging him to come back. This time, illness was used as an excuse to get him back. Zhao Xiangyi knew this was an excuse, but he had to come back to the capital. Zhao Xiangyi himself also knew that it would not be so easy for him to leave for a while after he came back.

Five years ago, he was told about a marriage at home, but the marriage between the two families had just been settled, and the young lady died of illness not long after. For a while, there was a rumor in the capital that the eldest son of General Zhao's house was destined to be his wife. As soon as Shake's wife said that, plus Zhao Xiangyi had not been in Beijing in the past few years, no one was involved in this marriage with the General's Mansion.

But even if his people come back, Zhao Xiangyi doesn't care about his marriage.

"If I couldn't keep calm, I wouldn't be sitting in the position of the crown prince today." Yang Shaomu always calls himself "I" in front of his companion, not this palace. It can be seen that the relationship between the two people is very different. generally.

The prince convened the ministers of the court and the central government to discuss national affairs at best, and at worst it was to form a party for personal gain. The eldest prince and the third prince have done more and more outrageous things in recent years, using various means to win over the ministers in the court. As a result, the court has been divided into several factions. Some support the prince, some support the eldest prince and the third prince, and others Support the seventh prince born from Concubine Dong.

As the emperor gets older, the princes below him have more to think about, and the little actions of the eldest prince and the third prince become more and more frequent.

However, his father may not be happy to see the princes and the ministers of the court getting too close. Yang Shaomu understands this truth better than anyone else.

Floods occurred in three southern provinces. Prince Yang Shaomu really cared about the people. Otherwise, he would not have found several staff to discuss the matter overnight. "I think my father will definitely mention this matter in the morning tomorrow morning. I don't know." What do you gentlemen have to say about this matter?" One

gentleman said, "Your Highness, we might as well send someone over there quickly to find out what the situation is."

"Well, this matter is important."

They expressed their opinions one after another, but firstly, they didn't know the situation in the south, and secondly, it was a fact that the DPRK had no money, so how to provide relief without silver, the latter was an issue that needed to be considered.

There are also so many people who died in the flood there, what is the situation, and how to deal with the situation after the disaster. The most terrifying thing after a disaster is a plague. Once a plague occurs, it will be all over the city and there will be almost no chance of survival.

How to avoid and deal with this plague are all issues they need to discuss.

It was almost late at midnight, and it was already very late, so Yang Shaomu asked several of his staff to go back and rest. There were only two people left in the study, the prince and Zhao Xiangyi. Yang Shaomu looked at his reading companion who had not said a few words sitting here all night, smiled at the corner of his mouth, and said, "Ayi, what do you think about this matter?" "

I thought you already had the rules in mind, why would you ask me?" He's just a martial artist, what can he say? Zhao Xiangyi, the prince's companion, was not qualified at all. He spread his hands and threw the question back to the prince.

Yang Shaomu put his hand on his forehead and couldn't help but laugh out loud, and said, "Ayi, you are still the same as before."

"Ayi, stay with me tonight?"

"No, I'd better go back. "Okay." Zhao Xiangyi got up and did not stay in the East Palace.

However, except for the prince's personal attendants, no one knew when and where Master Zhao left the East Palace.

At this time, Zhao Xiangyi and his men had returned to the general's mansion and fell asleep on the bed in his own room.

After his companion left, Yang Shaomu sat in the study for a long time before going back to the room and lying down. Not long after, Yinshi got up to dress, wash up, and go to the palace to attend the morning court. On the morning of the

next

day, the emperor asked the eunuch to send the memorial to the ministers and asked them how to deal with the matter.

The ministers in the Jinluan Hall lowered their heads and did not dare to speak.

"Father, I believe that the prefects in various places should first open warehouses to provide disaster relief and appease the refugees." The eldest prince Yang Shaoyong opened warehouses to provide disaster relief, and then asked the court to allocate money and send people to deal with the disaster.

Does this eldest prince who is ignorant of the sufferings of the people not know that his father has no money, or is he pretending not to know? If the emperor had money in his hands, would the emperor still be in such distress? He had already waved his hand and asked people to bring food and silver to provide disaster relief.

Prince Yang Shaomu lowered his head and said nothing, and chuckled in his heart.

Everyone understands the principle of opening warehouses to provide disaster relief and allocating money to provide disaster relief, but where does this money and food come from? This is what they have to consider. The imperial court can't come up with any money, so what are they going to do?

Obviously the emperor was not very satisfied with what the eldest prince said, and continued to speak, "Anyone else has something to say."

"Shang Shu, Hubu, please stand up and express your opinion." The emperor nodded to Hubu. The name of Shangshu.

"Your Majesty, the humble minister is guilty." The Minister of Hubu who was standing in the queue stood up. As soon as he stood up, he knelt on the ground to plead guilty. He cried and said that Hubu had no money and could not afford so much grain and silver. Hubu Shangshu stood up. There is no money, even if the emperor chops off the head of him, the Minister of Household Affairs, he will not be able to get so much silver.

Looking at the old minister who was kneeling in the main hall crying with runny nose and tears, the emperor's face was so heavy that ink dripped from his face, "Get up^'

" I thanked the emperor. "The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, who was kneeling on the ground, got up in embarrassment. He stood back in the queue and wiped his tears with his sleeves. It was obvious that he was really crying.

Such serious floods occurred in the three southern provinces and flooded so much fertile farmland. With so many people dying, the imperial court must not leave it alone.

Every year, various floods, snowstorms, and droughts occurred in various places. All kinds of disasters in the local areas were reported to the imperial court and asked for money. Little did they know that the emperor also had money in his hands. I have no money, so how can I get so much money to go around to provide disaster relief?

After a morning meeting, no regulations were agreed upon, and the emperor lost his temper again.

"If there is something to do, leave the court if there is nothing to do-" "

Long live the emperor." Long Live Long Live One."

After the morning court, the emperor asked the eunuch to invite several court ministers and several princes to the imperial study to discuss political affairs.

This matter was discussed for two more days.

By the morning of the next day, After the Minister of the Ministry of Finance finished speaking, he just stood there and took out a little grain and silver. There is only so much, and no more will cost him his life.

The rest is up to the emperor to find a way.

The emperor himself also knows that the imperial court has some good money, and this is what the Ministry of Finance can provide. We have reached our limit. There is no other better way to do this. We can only send this batch of materials first, and then send as much as we can later.

"Father, I am willing to go to Pingzhou to appease the people and take responsibility. Disaster relief. "Seeing such a good opportunity in front of him, the eldest prince Yang Shaoyong jumped out and asked his father to lead a team to provide disaster relief.

The third prince Yang Shaokang then jumped out to request an order and expressed his willingness to go to disaster relief.

The eldest prince is the fourth prince . The third prince is the daughter of Concubine Chen, one of the most important concubines. The third prince is the son of Concubine Shu, one of the four concubines. The two princes have some status in the palace by relying on their mother concubines. Concubine Chen and Concubine Shu also have strong backstages. Now the two princes are The eldest princes are in their own clique, and they usually compete for everything.

The mother-in-law of the fourth prince Yang Shaojian is just a low-status palace maid. After the emperor was drunk and favored, she was lucky enough to be pregnant with a dragon son. Among the princes, the fourth prince has the lowest status in the palace. Yang Shaojian usually behaves in a low-key manner and seems to be indifferent when the

eldest prince and the third prince are seen fighting . They rushed to the south to provide disaster relief. Prince Yang Shaomu, who was standing in front, remained silent,

"Prince, why don't you speak." "The emperor's eyes fell on the prince and asked.

"My son is here. Yang Shaomu knew he couldn't escape, so he raised his hands and said, "Return to my father, I am willing to go to Pingzhou to rescue the victims and deal with the situation." "

"good. "The emperor said hello and issued a decree, "I ordered the prince to take the food and silver for this disaster relief on my behalf. The Minister of Household Affairs will assist me and dispatch three imperial doctors from the imperial hospital and two thousand guards, including the necessary personnel. At your disposal, I will leave for Pingzhou in three days to deal with the flood, appease the people, and save the people from the fire."

Later, the emperor also appointed two ministers to accompany the prince to assist the prince in dealing with the disaster.

"My son, I received the decree. "Yang Shaomu knelt on the ground to receive the order.

"I accept the order. "The two ministers who were named knelt down to receive the order.

"Retreat from the court -"

"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor."

The eldest prince and the third prince looked at Yang Shaomu with unwillingness, but their father appointed the prince. Going south to provide disaster relief, they had no choice but to rob.

Yang Shaojian's relationship with the prince was peaceful, and the two could still exchange a few words and

hand over the needed grain and silver to the prince in charge of the disaster relief . After Shao Mu sent someone to check that there was no problem, at dawn on the third day, Yang Shao Mu traveled with his companion, two ministers appointed by the emperor, several imperial doctors from the imperial hospital, and two thousand guards. Go to Pingzhou to provide disaster relief.

Chapter 13 Disaster Relief Trip

The rain continued to fall for a month and then gradually stopped.

The sun shines through the clouds, and for a moment it feels like being enlightened by the light of Buddha. As soon as the rain stopped, the water in Nanyang River stopped rising and slowly receded. The governor of Nanyang Prefecture and the rich people in the city really felt relieved and no longer had to worry about the river bursting its banks. .

But many places in the south are not as lucky as Nanyang Mansion.

Severe floods occurred in the three southern provinces, and the disaster was serious. His Royal Highness, following the Holy Spirit's decree, went to Pingzhou with men, horses, food and silver to provide relief.

On the way to Pingzhou, everyone barely rested, and the team was all in a hurry. The accompanying officials and imperial doctors, as well as more than 2,000 guards escorting the grain and silver, were all rushing non-stop. It was very hard for everyone.

Along the way, they met many people who were fleeing. These were homeless people. There were old and young people in the fleeing team. Countless people died of illness and starvation on the road. In some towns, large and small, the local prefects and county magistrates had their city gates tightly closed, prohibiting the fleeing people from entering the city. There were people blocking the city gates.

They encountered many such things along the way. This time they were rushing to Pingzhou, where the disaster was the most serious. Officials from various places knew that His Highness the Crown Prince was heading south for disaster relief, and they had already made preparations to welcome His Highness. Yang Shaomu did not stop at the place where he passed by, but as a prince, he ordered the magistrates and magistrates in various places to arrange for the refugees. The common people left an imperial doctor and several guards there to help deal with the victims.

Along the way, they also encountered many gangsters who attacked the court to provide food and silver for disaster relief.

They were all annihilated by Zhao Xiangyi. The victims knew that His Highness the Crown Prince The team escorting the silver grain came to the south to relieve the victims. When the team escorting the silver grain passed a town, the victims who received the news surrounded the team and rushed over to loot it. If Zhao Xiangyi had not reacted in time, killed the chicken to scare the monkeys, killed the leader in time, and led troops to suppress the victims, I am afraid it would have caused even greater chaos.

They can be cruel to gangsters, but they can't be cruel to Yang Shaomu, a good citizen.

Along the way, they saw the desolation after the disaster, the miserable conditions of the victims, and the conflicts that occurred today. This was contrary to the junior high school where they traveled, and made His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's eyes look sad.

"Zixuan, you have to understand that if we didn't suppress these victims after today's incident and let them rush towards our team escorting food, there would definitely be more serious consequences." Zhao Xiangyi's soft heart towards the prince and the victims is understandable. He made the same mistake when his own soldiers were killed because of his softness.

Today, many of the guards they brought were scratched and injured by the victims, and two guards were stabbed in the abdomen by the victims with weapons during the conflict. If the imperial doctor accompanying them had not treated them promptly, they would have died long ago.

Among the guards who were scratched by the victims, some of them had ulcerated wounds and developed low-grade fever. These guards were afraid that they were infected with the virus. In order to avoid spreading it to more people, these guards could not Then go with their team and ask for additional placement for treatment and treatment.

"There is no kindness in the eyes of the hungry victims. They may do anything." Zhao Xiangyi is a soldier. The first thing he considers is the prince who is traveling with orders this time, and then the people who follow them. safety issues, and finally the victims.

"Ayi, I understand what you said. I was biased. I only cared about the people in front of me and didn't think about the longer term." Zixuan is Yang Shaomu's cousin, and Zhao Xiangyi called him by his name. When Yang Shaomu heard what Zhao Xiangyi said, he knew he was right.

If this food is taken away by the victims here, the people behind will have no food.

After arriving here, Yang Shaomu realized that the disaster was far more serious than they imagined. The granaries everywhere were empty. How could the grain warehouses be opened and distributed? At this time, merchants also maliciously raised the price of grain.

The roots of the wild vegetables and trees on the road were dug up and eaten by the victims. They were afraid that something even more unpredictable would happen later.

The group of them also encountered many things along the way. Government officials from various places were treating them both covertly and covertly, which was not true. Take him as the crown prince seriously. Yang Shaomu knew that there must be other people behind him.

After thinking about it, it was only those few in the capital. These matters needed to be handled by Yang Shaomu himself.

Every day, people open their eyes, close them again, and it's the middle of the night before lying down in bed to rest.

The closer their team got to Pingzhou, the more serious the situation they encountered on the road.

Corpses were floating everywhere, and corpses that had been soaked in the water for a long time had already emitted a foul odor. The rotting corpses polluted the water sources, making them no longer clean. After people drank the water, their bodies began to suffer from diseases.

After the heavy rain stopped, the sun began to shine, the weather began to get hotter, and the bodies that were not disposed of in time gave off a foul smell.

The plague began to appear in Pingzhou City. At first, a few people in the city had fever and vomiting, and then more and more people suffered from this condition.

The prefect of Pingzhou had the city gate closed, not allowing people in the city to come in or out, let alone people from outside coming inside. People died every day in the city, and their bodies were carried out and burned outside. However, the plague in the city was uncontrollable and continued to spread.

On this day, just before sunset, they saw an inn on the roadside, where the team stopped for a short rest.

"We still have more than a hundred miles to go to Pingzhou from here. We can reach Pingzhou tomorrow." Yang Shaomu was in the inn room, and sitting opposite him was his companion Zhao Xiangyi. After days of traveling, Yang Shaomu's face showed a bit of fatigue. He said with a wry smile, "I, the prince, don't even know what the world is like if I don't leave the capital."

"If you have the opportunity in the future, go out more often." Just leave. If you don't leave the capital, you won't be able to see what kind of life the people are living. "Compared with the tired look on everyone's face, Zhao Xiangyi's expression was as usual. He had been at the border for many years, and his life of marching and fighting was even more difficult. He had been there for a long time. Already used to it.

It happened that he had nothing important to do in the capital, so he went to Pingzhou with His Royal Highness to provide disaster relief. Zhao Xiangyi felt calm about the various tragedies he saw along the way. These things were already commonplace for him.

The lives of the people at the border were even worse, and they were robbed by the barbarians from time to time. The barbarians were greedy and cruel. They not only came to Dacheng to rob things, but also killed all the men and children and took away the women. Often by the time they drove their leaders and soldiers away, the barbarians had already burned, killed, looted and fled.

Dacheng seems to be calm on the surface these years, but in fact there is a lot of friction and fights at the border area every day. If it were not for the Zhao army guarding the border, the Hu people would have passed through the gate and burned, killed and looted inside the pass. However, in recent years, the emperor has suppressed military generals and praised civil servants. The status of military commanders has become lower and lower, and the status of civil servants has become increasingly low. high.

Civil servants and military generals have been sworn enemies since ancient times. The status of military generals is deteriorating day by day, and their status in the court is in jeopardy.

If the entire Dacheng Emperor had not been able to find a second general to replace their Zhao family, they would have uprooted their Zhao family long ago. Zhao Xiangyi either didn't understand these things, or after understanding them, he understood why his father had been cautious for so many years, and why his fourth uncle was unwilling to be related by marriage to the royal family.

"You're right. The prosperity of the capital is fascinating. If you don't leave the capital, you really don't know what kind of life ordinary people live." Yang Shaomu suddenly felt a little envious of his companion and went wherever he wanted. . Unlike the prince, he cannot leave the capital for no reason. If he had not traveled under orders this time, he would still be in the capital.

Yang Shaomu knew that everyone was watching him during this Pingzhou disaster relief trip.

There is no room for him to make any mistakes in the disaster relief work this time. For his father, the ministers of the court, and the scholars and people in the world, if he, the prince, does well, he should be punished. If he does not do well, he will be punished. If everyone in the world insults him, he may not even be able to keep his position as prince.

There are still an unknown number of people in the capital hoping that he will make some mistakes here so that they can exploit the problem. The best thing is to kick Yang Shaomu out of this position. Before leaving Beijing, his mother told him something, and Yang Shaomu understood it in his heart.

With his mother in the capital, Yang Shaomu was not worried about any trouble in the capital.

What he needs to deal with now is Pingzhou disaster relief and how to make arrangements for these people. Whenever he thinks of these, Yang Shaomu can't sleep at night. Zhao Xiangyi stayed in the prince's room for a while, and the two of them talked for a while.

Zhao Xiangyi paused before going out and said to Yang Shaomu without looking back, "We have to leave early tomorrow morning. You should rest early."

"Well, you too." Yang Shaomu can Feeling the concern from the companion, a faint smile appeared on the corner of the mouth. The Tian family is ruthless, and there is no ordinary family affection between father and son, brother and brother. Only this companion, who has been with him since childhood, is someone he can trust and be close to.

It must be Yang Shaomu's blessing to have such a friend.

That night, Yang Shaomu summoned the two accompanying officials to discuss tomorrow's affairs. He also discussed a few words with the two staff he brought before going to bed under the care of his attendants. Zhao Xiangyi, who lived in the room next door, heard the door closing in the room next door and the room became quiet. He closed his eyes when he knew the people in the room were asleep.

Tonight, the moon and stars are sparse and the night is quiet, it is a good time to kill.

Zhao Xiangyi, who was sleeping on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes, quietly got up from the bed, picked up the long sword he put at hand, and pushed the door open.

Yang Shaomu, who was sleeping in the next room, also woke up. Before going to bed, he took off his clothes and was only wearing obscene clothes. He got up in a hurry and only put on a robe outside. His Royal Highness stood in the dark place at the end of the bed. The long sword in his hand slowly pulled out, and a cold light flashed.

"Ey--"

The window was pushed open by a man in black from the outside without making any sound.

The assassin who came in saw the bed without anyone, turned around, and was greeted by the long sword stabbed at him.

"Ah."

"Bang! " "

Yang Shaomu studied martial arts with a martial artist when he was young. Not only was he capable of fighting on the battlefield, but he was also capable of protecting himself. He used the long sword in his hand to pierce the assassin who came to assassinate him, and kicked him away. "Are you okay

?

"I'm fine. " "

Zhao Xiangyi entered Yang Shaomu's room. The sword in his hand was stained with red blood, which was human blood.

"Orbit! "There was a sharp sound when the weapons were handed over. When they heard the sound upstairs, all the guards in the inn woke up.

"There is an assassin! "

Protect His Highness -" someone shouted, and the guards below rushed up. The door was pushed open, and the assassin with his face covered rushed in.

In the room upstairs, Zhao Xiangyi kicked an assassin away. These people The purpose is very clear, he is here to kill the Crown Prince. Facing these people who want his life, Yang Shaomu is not soft at all. He kills one by one, and kills the two

secret guards who protect the Crown Prince . The guards rushed forward, and people from both sides faced each other.

"Kill!" ,'

"Leave two alive!" After seeing someone coming up, Zhao Xiangyi stood beside Yang Shaomu. His purpose was to protect His Highness the Crown Prince. If something happens to the prince during this trip, the entire Zhao family will not be able to shoulder this responsibility

. What's more, for Zhao Xiangyi, Yang Shaomu's identity is not only the prince, but also a friend who he can protect with his life.

From the day he was selected as the prince's companion, the fates of Zhao Xiangyi and Yang Shaomu had long been inseparable, which also meant that the Zhao family was on the prince's side. The war between the princes for the throne was now impossible for the Zhao family to escape even if they wanted to. In this case, there is no need to avoid anything. Zhao Xiangyi stood beside Yang Shaomu openly.

There were many people on their side, and no matter how powerful the assassins were, they fell under their swords, and the last assassin fell.

Two assassins were captured alive, swallowed the poison in their mouths, and died on the spot.

"Damn it!" Yang Shaomu threw away the sword in his hand angrily. Needless to say, these desperate assassins were most likely sent by several of his brothers in the capital to take advantage of him, the crown prince. life.

He came out to provide disaster relief, and these good brothers didn't forget to give him a big gift.

Very good!

"Are you injured?" Zhao Xiangyi also knew in his heart who was responsible for the assassins sent along the way. There were many people who wanted the prince's life. A sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm not injured. Are you okay?" Yang Shaomu shook his head. He knew it was useless to be angry now. He still had to deal with the disaster here first. Seeing the corpses on the ground, in addition to killing all the assassins, there were also casualties on their side. Yang Shaomu asked people to deal with them.

Zhao Xiangyi waved, and someone came over to deal with it.

There was no room for staying in this inn. After half an hour, they organized their team and left the inn.

The owner of the inn and the waiters were so scared that they trembled and hid under the counter. After the people left, they crawled out from under the counter. The owner saw the silver on the counter, picked it up and put it in his arms. middle.

Chapter 14 Before the Provincial Examination

The team traveled for more than half a month before the provincial examination. Yang Shaomu led the disaster relief team to Pingzhou.

Before approaching Pingzhou Fucheng, the accompanying officials, the Crown Prince, and the staff brought by the Crown Prince discussed whether His Highness should enter the city. They all knew that there was a plague in the city. If the plague spread, it would cause more serious consequences.

As the crown prince of a country, the accompanying officials believed that His Royal Highness should not put himself in danger.

"Your Highness, please think twice."

"You don't need to persuade me, I have already made up my mind." Since he was going to Pingzhou Mansion no matter what, Yang Shaomu raised his hand to persuade the people below and said , "I am the person in charge of the relief work going south this time. If I arrive at Pingzhou without entering the city, and everyone in the world knows about it, I will be laughed at by everyone in the world."

If he, the prince, doesn't even have this courage, he also There is no need to be this prince.

This disaster relief trip was a test for him as a prince by his father, and it was also a test for him as a prince by the people of the world. If he did not even dare to enter the city, let alone the people of the world looking down on him as a prince, Yang Shaomu himself would also Look down on yourself.

Seeing that His Highness the Crown Prince had made up his mind, the people below did not dare to persuade him.

Zhao Xiangyi, the prince's companion, did not say a word. Whether the prince wanted to go in or not, he always followed the prince. Yang Shaomu glanced back at the companion who was following him. Both of them had understanding in their eyes.

The city gate of Pingzhou Mansion opened, and soldiers on both sides stopped the victims who wanted to enter the city. Feng Baoshen, the prefect of Pingzhou, led his officials to pick up the Crown Prince.

"Your Majesty, please see Your Highness the Crown Prince. Your Highness the Crown Prince is a thousand years old."

"Get back on your feet."

Before entering the city, Yang Shaomu's eyes lit up when he saw these ragged people. Immediately ordered the prefect of Pingzhou to send people to build temporary shelters outside the city to house the victims. In addition, he sent people to build porridge sheds outside the city to distribute food to the victims every day.

"Yes." Mr. Feng said with his hands raised.

Then Yang Shaomu entered the city with the officials of Pingzhou. The once prosperous Pingzhou City now had no pedestrians on the streets. Some houses had white strips hanging on their doors. The wind blew sand and brought a putrid smell. .

Zhao Xiangyi followed the prince, never leaving, his sharp eyes swept over him, taking in the situation in the city.

After traveling for such a long time without even taking a break, His Royal Highness took Pingzhou officials, large and small, and the accompanying officials to the government office to discuss how to deal with the disaster relief.

As the August Provincial Examination is getting closer, more and more candidates are rushing to Nanyang Mansion. Nanyang Mansion is one of the largest examination centers in the North. Thousands of candidates rush here to take the scientific examination.

There are some refugees who want to enter the city guarded at the city gate. At this time, there are not too many refugees coming outside Nanyang Prefecture.

The officers guarding the city gate inspected the pedestrians entering the city, and the inspection was stricter than usual. Candidates had to show certificates before they could enter the city. Merchants entering the city had to have certificates stamped with local seals before they could be let in. Those who did not have any pass certificates on their bodies Refugees are not allowed to enter the city.

The city was bustling and bustling, in sharp contrast to the refugees outside the city who were unable to enter.

There were floods in the three southern provinces. His Royal Highness was ordered to go south to provide relief. Scholars all over the world spread the news one by one, and even the common people knew about it. The scholars living in the inn gathered together and talked about the disaster in the south and the prince's trip to Pingzhou to provide relief.

"I heard that there is a plague in Pingzhou, and more and more people are dying of the plague..."

"I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrived in Pingzhou, and entered the city with the imperial physician and accompanying personnel. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, as a country The crown prince did not abandon the people in danger and did not care about their life and death. It was for the sake of justice!"

When talking about the plague, everyone's face showed fear. The plague is a more terrifying and serious thing than the flood. If it is a village, If a plague breaks out, it is very likely that the ten houses and nine empty houses will be empty, and everyone in the village will die.

Everyone is talking about what His Highness the Crown Prince did along the way, and the people he brought into Pingzhou City to deal with the disaster. . Regarding this matter, these scholars had both praise and criticism. More scholars still agreed with His Highness the Crown Prince's behavior of sharing the joys and sorrows with the people and not leaving the people alone.

There are new developments every day in the south. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took people to Pingzhou for disaster relief. Every day, soldiers rushed back to the capital and delivered them to the emperor's desk. Even if he was sitting in the middle of the capital, the emperor had no idea what was going on in the south. He also knows everything well.

Officials in the court also knew what the prince had done when he went south to provide disaster relief.

The news in the capital is well-informed elsewhere. The provincial examination in August is getting closer and closer. At this time, the capital is also gathering candidates from all over the country. Scholars all over the world are talking about the prince's going south to provide disaster relief.

"Damn it!"

After hearing the praise of the prince from the scholars outside, the eldest prince Yang Shaoyong broke a famous vase when he returned to the palace.

Unexpectedly, he, Yang Shaomu, was so lucky that so many assassins he sent did not even return any news after they arrived. Needless to say, those assassins sent were already dead.

He couldn't believe it, Yang Shaomu had such good luck to escape every time!

He was obviously the eldest prince, but why did that useless Yang Shaomu take the throne? If there was no such useless person like Yang Shaomu, he would be the one who would take the throne of the prince, and the one who would take the throne in the future would be his eldest prince Yang Shaoyong!

It was obvious that he had first raised the issue of going south to provide disaster relief to his father, but in the end it fell on Yang Shaomu. Otherwise, it is his eldest prince, Yang Shaoyong, who is favored by scholars all over the world today, rather than his royal highness.

Thinking

of this, Yang Shaoyong could not hide the violence in his eyes.

"Bang, bang, bang -"

There was the sound of smashing things in the house, and someone came from the palace. The imperial concubine sent a messenger from the palace to invite their master into the palace.

"Master..."

Hearing the sound in the room stopped, the servants guarding outside the door had no choice but to enter. Risking the possibility of being beaten to death by their master, they said tremblingly, "Master, the ones from the palace are here. Sir, please come into the palace."

Yang Shaoyong's violent eyes swept over the servant who came in, his chest rose and fell, and finally he withdrew his gaze and strode outside. When their master walked out, the boy's legs weakened, he hurriedly got up from the ground, and followed his master to serve him.

It rained for a long time in Beijing some time ago. After the rain stopped, the sun was shining every day and the weather was getting hotter day by day. The sun is shining every day, the ground has been dried, and the wind can blow sand all over one's face.

A carriage was running on the street. Pedestrians on the road had long been accustomed to the traffic of carriages and horses in the capital. When they heard the sound, they subconsciously avoided it to avoid being hit by the carriage.

The people who live in the capital are all dignitaries. If they are hit by a carriage, they deserve it. There is no place to seek justice. The common people have long been accustomed to these unfair things.

"Master, the weather is hot. I asked the kitchen to cook a bowl of white fungus soup for you. You can drink a bowl to relieve the heat." The thick servant outside the door took advantage of their young master to put down the book in his hand and brought a bowl. Tremella Geng came in, worried that their young master was too tired from studying.

"Put it down." Lu Zhishu glanced at it and asked the slave to put it on the table.

He did not live in his uncle's house, but his family bought him a house outside, and he lived here, and the family arranged servants to take care of his daily life. In addition to studying in the Imperial College, Lu Zhishu returned to his small courtyard and studied in his study.

The little slave looked at it and realized that he couldn't disturb their young master's study. He put the white fungus soup on the table and went out hesitantly.

Lu Zhishu didn't notice Xiaonu's expression and looked calmly outside the room.

Today is the day of rest in the Imperial College. Lu Zhishu returned home from the Imperial College and was studying in the study. He had heard more or less about the things outside, and his classmates in the academy were also talking about it, but Lu Zhishu never talked about these things with others, and only read his books with peace of mind.

It has been more than five years since he arrived in the capital. The elders in his family were officials in the capital, and he had obtained a quota to study in the Imperial College. So after discussion, his father and uncles at home sent him to the capital to study. That year Lu Zhishu came to the capital to study.

The capital was a long way away, and he didn't have a long vacation while studying at the Imperial College. Therefore, Lu Zhishu had not been back to Qingping Town for more than five years.

He still remembers his classmates and friends when he was a child. After studying at the Imperial College, Lu Zhishu realized how far apart he was from others and why he always failed the Li Wen exam. Therefore, he made greater progress in his studies than before. effort.

In the past few years of studying in the capital, Lu Zhishu has not met the same friends and confidants as before. No one is like Li Wen who is not afraid of his cold face and always likes to get in front of him. There was no one like Li Wen that he was willing to get close to and interact with as a friend.

In the past few years, Lu Zhishu had only had contact with Li Wen, but had no contact with Shen Zijing and the others. There were several letters exchanged between the two, so Lu Zhishu knew that as soon as he left, Li Wen went to Nanyang to study.

The two of them just missed each other and arrived in the capital without meeting each other.

After the government examination that year, Lu Zhishu was sent to Nanyang by his father to study. The subsequent college examination was also taken in Nanyang. He did not go back to Qu'an Mansion to take the exam, so he did not encounter them.

Counting the time, they haven't seen each other for six or seven years. I wonder if the other party still remembers that he is such a good friend.

Three years ago, Lu Zhishu did not take part in the scientific examination of that session. Firstly, he was not very sure that he would do well in the examination. Secondly, he knew that Li Wen would postpone the examination for another session, and he wanted to be in the same examination room as Li Wen. Meet again.

Even though they haven't seen each other for so many years and the two are no longer studying together, Lu Zhishu believes that with Li Wen's results, he will definitely pass the provincial examination and come to the capital to attend the meeting. He will just wait for his arrival in the capital.

"I'm waiting for you in the capital, will you come?" Lu Zhishu's mouth curved slightly, he picked up the book at hand again and read it intently.

"Ahem--"

Li Wen, who was far away in Nanyang, sneezed, not knowing that anyone was thinking of him.

Chapter 15 Without further ado,

many refugees gathered outside the city gate of Nanyang Mansion. The officials guarding the city prevented the refugees from entering the city. The Qiuwei exam is coming soon. There are so many victims guarding the city gate. If he, the governor of Nanyang Prefecture, leaves these victims alone and lets the victims starve to death outside the city gate, his reputation as the governor of Nanyang Prefecture will be ruined. Doesn't sound good.

Since ancient times, most officials have been for fame and gain, for their own reputation and their own interests, rather than for the benefit of the people. Master Yao thought about himself and his own reputation.

After considering various reasons, Mr. Yao, the governor of Nanyang Mansion, still had two sheds built outside the city and

sent several official servants to serve porridge to the refugees outside. Every day, there are many victims waiting for food outside the city. With at least one bite to eat, they can survive and not starve to death.

As soon as the big pot of porridge was brought out, the victims waiting outside rushed forward. The big man with a big spoon in his hand shouted: "Get in line, everyone, get in line..."

"Anyone who occupies a seat randomly is Get out!"

The men in front took advantage of the stronger ones and pushed the old, weak, women and children to the back, and they were at the front. The woman with her child held her several-year-old child in her arms and queued up for food with a broken bowl.

"Uncle, please give me more."

"Next one." The officer carrying a spoon scooped up a spoonful of porridge and shouted.

During this period, what scholars talked about the most was that the Crown Prince went to Pingzhou to provide disaster relief. What he said was as clear-cut as seeing it with his own eyes.

After learning about Mr. Yao's donation of porridge to the victims, the students praised His Highness the Crown Prince and also praised Mr. Yao, the governor of Nanyang Prefecture.

However, after Li Wen learned about Master Yao's behavior, he did not agree with his approach. You can give out porridge for ten days and half a month, and you can give out porridge for a month, but how can you still give out for three months or even longer? If you know that you can have food just by lying down, then not everyone will just lie down and wait. Waiting for someone to give them a bite of food, which encourages the laziness of these refugees.

Li Wen has never agreed that people can get something without working. Getting something without working will only create laziness in people.

Only a small number of refugees have arrived in Nanyang now. As more refugees arrive, more food will be needed. Where can we get so much food by then? Moreover, autumn is coming soon, which means the arrival of winter. When the weather gets cold, these refugees who gather outside the city gate don't even have a place to stay. Wouldn't they freeze to death outside?

It wasn't that Li Wen didn't agree with Master Yao giving the victims a bite to eat, but he didn't agree with Master Yao using such a method to help the victims.

It is better to teach someone to fish than to teach him to fish!

It was approaching the autumn of August, and he had been busy preparing for the exam during this period. Therefore, Li Wen had no time to go to Zhuangzi during this period. If he needed anything, he would ask Zhuangzi's people to come directly. When he came this way, he ordered the people below to do it.

After knowing that there were refugees gathered outside the city gate, Li Wen still had some thoughts about this, so he asked the servant to go over and inform the steward to come over and ask the steward to do some things.

"You take some time to go outside the city every day. If you meet the right people, you can hire a few more part-time workers to go back to Zhuangzi to work. Anyone who can work is an honest and capable person. Zhuangzi's side Aren't there still some old houses that are unoccupied? Let's arrange for people to live there and be responsible for two meals a day." Li Wen asked the steward at Zhuangzi's side to go out for a walk outside the city. We need manpower to do things on the side. If we encounter a good one, we can hire a few more to go back to work.

In the early stage, we need to conduct an inspection, and we don't need to pay too much. If these people can work, they will be given a place to live and a meal to eat. If they do a good job and their character is not bad, they will be selected and arranged separately. Li Wen will make clear the relationship between these matters and the supervisor, and he will handle them well if he knows the supervisor.

"Yes, the young master is thoughtful. I'll go over and have a look tomorrow morning." The people in charge knew that their young master was kind-hearted, otherwise he wouldn't be so kind to the serfs and tenant farmers in Zhuangzi. Even if they do a good job as managers, they can get a salary raise once a year and various rewards.

But that's not to say, they are currently short of people to work in Zhuangzi. As for the place to live, they can now work for them if they can give them a bite to eat. If it is done well, then pick it out and arrange it separately according to the master's instructions.

"Oh, yes, one more thing, take a look at Zhuangzi's or Tiannong's. If there are suitable people, pick a few who are smart, quick to learn, and know how to work, and go to the person in charge of each district. Send two or three more people over there to learn and work. "There are too few managers in the area, so Li Wen thought it would be necessary to send a few more people to learn from them. He had a hunch that these people might be able to send others in the future. use. There are many farmers farming in the world, but he can say that there are not many farmers in Dacheng who

can really grow good land and know how to grow more food .

This group of people under him are talents that he has spent several years of hard work to cultivate. They are all good at farming.

Good talents must be cultivated to avoid being unable to find people when they need to be employed in the future. Come and use.

"Okay, okay,

" just remember the few things I just said. I have nothing to do here. You can go back and do your business. "After finishing the instructions, Li Wen sent people back.

Everyone is busy now. When the grain in Zhuangzi is harvested in July, there will be a lot of work in the fields. In the next two or three months, There is a lot to do, and a lot of manpower is needed. In previous years, when he was not so busy studying, he would go to the fields to help with the work. It was said that he was experiencing life and learning all kinds of farming knowledge.

It is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books . Lu, you still have to do many things yourself before you know how to do them.

"I remember everything the young master said. If there is nothing wrong here, I will go back to work. "The steward kept everything the young master said in mind, saluted him, and went out.

After leaving the matter to the steward, Li Wen paid little attention to Zhuangzi's affairs . Then, he devoted all his energy to studying.

Halfway through June, Li Wen waited until he received a letter from his family,

telling him that his father had returned home safely, and his family knew that he would be here soon. When he was taking part in the scientific examination, his father wanted to come to Nanyang to accompany him in the exam. When Li Wen received the letter, he quickly wrote to ask his father not to come over.

There was still chaos outside, and the road must be uneasy. Even if his father came from home by boat, Li Wen didn't want his father to come to Nanyang at this time. It was too risky to take the waterway or the land route. He was worried about several people in front of him. He couldn't sleep at night. He didn't feel relieved until he received a letter from his mother-in-law and knew that his father had arrived home safely.

A few days after Li Wen's letter was sent, Qingping Town received a letter from Nanyang. , the letter was delivered to Li's Cake Shop.

The shopkeeper received the letter and was about to send someone to the village to deliver it to their boss. When he saw their boss coming to the shop, the shopkeeper gave the letter to their boss. , smiled and said, "Master, this is a letter from Nanyang, it must be from the eldest son.

"Haha, that's right. Sanbao's letter was answered so quickly this time. " "Li Gushan took the letter from the shopkeeper, put it in his arms, and waited to read it when he got home.

In the past few years, the business of Li's Cake Shop has been getting better and better year by year. Ladies and ladies from all over the town are regular customers of Li's Cake Shop. The cakes and pancakes made by Li's Cake Shop are very popular among everyone. welcome. Every year from July to July, the store's business will be better. Every year, merchants passing through Qingping Town come to Li's shop to order mooncakes and transport them to other places for sale.

It's not that there are no people outside who have the idea of ​​making cake recipes at Li's cake shop, but these people gave up the idea when they learned that the eldest son of the Li family had passed the scholar examination at a young age.

After finishing his business in town, Li Gugu hurried back home with the letter from his son in his arms.

When everyone came back, Sun Yi unfolded the letter sent by his son to the family. The letter began with greetings to the family as usual, and then mentioned the scientific examination. The letter mentioned the refugee issue, which made the family People should not go to Nanyang these days.

The letter also reminded the villagers to pay attention to the issue of refugees. If refugees come to their village to beg for food, it would be better to let them know how to deal with it.

"Sanbao told us that everything is fine with him in Nanyang. Dad, Sanbao said in this letter that you don't have to go to Nanyang. It's not peaceful outside now. What do you think about this?" After reading the letter sent back by his son, Sun Yi From the letter, she learned that things were not peaceful outside now. She rarely heard about what was going on outside in the village, so she didn't know much about it.

But since her son specifically wrote home to inform her, she, the mother-in-law, could see her son's nervousness and worry from the letter.

"I also heard some things about the south from passing businessmen, and I also met a few refugees from the south in the town. In this case, I will see later when I can go to Nanyang to see the Three Treasures. "Li Gushan travels between the village and the town every day. He has seen several refugees from other places begging in the town.

He learned some things about the outside world from the merchants in the south. It was not peaceful outside now. If this is the case, the refugees may soon come to the villages near them. Their Lijia Village is now said by everyone to be the best village in the ten miles and eight villages. I am afraid that it will attract some unhappiness by then Necessary trouble.

When Li Shangu said this, he became vigilant and immediately said, "I will go to the village chief tomorrow to talk about it. It is best to build a protective wall in our village so that we can sleep peacefully at night."

They all know in their hearts that although the refugees are pitiful, there are also some bad people among these people. In groups, they will become bandits and kill people for food. Once people are hungry, they will do anything.

"Well, this matter is necessary. It's just that we are starting the construction now, will it be too late?" Hearing her husband's words, Sun Yi couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"I will discuss it with the village chief and the others tomorrow. At worst, I will stop work in the workshop for a few days and transfer all the manpower to build the protective wall. If it is not enough, I will invite some people from outside to do it." When thinking of this, Li Shangu's Feeling a little impatient to wait, he stood up and prepared to go outside, saying, "While it's still dark, I'll go over and talk to the village chief about this matter."

"This matter shouldn't be delayed. , then go quickly." Mrs. Li said with worry in her heart.

"Okay, Auntie, Xiaoyi, you are at home, and your son is at home, don't run around." Li Gushan touched his son's head and strode out.

Little boy Li Haopeng raised his little head and watched helplessly as his father strode away.

"Your father has gone to the village chief's grandfather's house. We are at home." Sun Yi also reached out to touch the little son's head and said to the little son, "If you meet people you don't know outside, don't talk to them. "Do you know?"

"Bad people will eat children. If you are so cute, you will probably be caught and eaten by the bad people. Then you will not be able to see your father and mother, and you will not be able to see your grandma." Are you afraid that your brother will not be here anymore? "

My son's life has been going well since he was born. He has been well fed and raised well since he was a child. He is white and fat, and he looks cute. If this happens, If someone with bad intentions sees it, he will really have bad thoughts. Sun Yi felt that as a mother, it was necessary for her to tell her children not to trust strangers, let alone get close to strangers. Who knows if there might be human traffickers who prey on children.

Can't see my brother?

"Afraid!" When Li Haopeng heard that he would not be able to see his brother after being eaten by bad guys, he nodded hurriedly and assured his grandma seriously, "Grandma, I will never talk to people I don't know when I see them. Don't be fooled." When Mrs. Li heard what her daughter- in-law

said to her grandson, she also said something to scare her,

"Mom, I'm afraid." "Li Haopeng threw himself into his grandma's arms.

"Don't be afraid, grandma is here and will protect Xiaobao. "Sun Yi saw her younger son's appearance and knew that he had listened to her words. The couple only had two children. The eldest son went to study so far away at a young age, and only the younger son was raised by her. , the whole family feels very sad.

Although the younger son is not as smart as the older son, he is still willing to study and learn from his elder brother. He has been determined to be a scholar like his elder brother since he was a child

. , It would be best if the younger son can pass the exam. If he doesn't want to study in the future, he can stay at home and do business with his father. The eldest son must be a promising person, and he might be able to pass the exam this time. When Juren comes back, no one will dare to bully them.

The past few years have been getting better and better every year. Sun Yi hopes that these days will continue to be good...

Chapter 16 Construction will begin immediately.

"Knock, knock—"

The people in the yard heard the knock on the door and asked inside, "Who is knocking on the door?" The person who opened the door in the past saw Li Li coming outside. The valley invites people into it.

As soon as Li Gugu entered the house, he mentioned the refugee issue to the village chief.

"Well, yes, if you didn't remind us, we wouldn't have noticed these things. I'm going to ask everyone to come over to discuss and discuss how to handle this matter." As soon as the village chief heard what Li Gugu said, he knew We need to pay attention to this matter and immediately send people to find Li Zheng and come over with the clan elders.

Everyone was called over at this moment and saw Li Gushan at the village head. The village head looked serious and didn't know what was going on.

Someone asked aloud, "You came to us now, but what happened in the village?"

"I came to you all because I have something to discuss with you." Li Mao invited everyone to sit down and started talking. There was a flood in the south and the issue of refugees. The life in their village is now good, and they will probably be jealous and jealous of others. If they attract thieves, not only will their money be in danger, but their lives may also be in danger.

Li Mao raised the issue of building a protective wall in their Lijia Village. He said, "I came here to discuss this matter."

In the past few years, no one among them was aware of the safety of the people in the village. When this issue is mentioned now, everyone breaks into a cold sweat. Fortunately, there have been no bandits in their village in the past few years. Otherwise, I don't know if their Lijia Village would be what it is today.

"I agree with your proposal. It is necessary for our village to build a protective wall."

After learning about what happened in the south, everyone present unanimously agreed with the village chief's proposal. It is best for their village to This protective wall can be built quickly. If any bandits really come to their village, the county magistrate will not take care of these things. It is not just the people in their own village who will suffer.

"Okay, now that everyone agrees. Building the protective wall is a major issue for our whole village. We will call the villagers together tomorrow to discuss this matter." Village Chief Li Mao said with a serious face.

"Yes." Everyone nodded.

"Yes, this matter should not be delayed, it should be dealt with quickly." Many of them are people who have lived for most of their lives. They have never seen anything. People who are hungry will do anything. come out.

In the past, their village was poor and they never thought that anyone would take advantage of their village. Nowadays, several workshops have been built in their village. Cars and horses come to their village every day, and it is impossible not to attract attention.

Their village is good, and many people outside are envious of their village.

"The silver needed to build the protective wall is a matter for our whole village. When the time comes, every household can collect some, and it should be enough." Speaking of the money needed to build the protective wall in the village, The village chief asked every household to chip in some money.

In recent years, every household in their village working in the workshop must have had some money on hand, and they would not be able to collect enough money to build a protective wall in the village.

This is something done for their village. People who work in their own village do not need to be paid, and lunch will be included when the time comes. Their village doesn't have enough manpower, so they have to hire people from other villages. Mainly in these aspects, it costs more or less money.

"Yes, these things need to be reminded clearly."

"If the money for building the wall is not enough, I can make up for it here." This is a matter for the whole village, and Li Shangu will not be stupid. He regarded this matter as his own business, but he said that if there was a shortage of silver at that time, he could more or less make up for it here.

"This can't be done." The seventh uncle disagreed when he heard this. He said, "If this silver tael is not enough, your family's stickers will not be needed. Sanbao still has to take the scientific examination. Sanbao has been studying abroad for these years, which is not a silver tael. If you don't want to take the money that the clan has raised for your family, I won't talk to you about it."

"As for these matters in the village, they are our whole village's business. How much silver should be spent, and how much silver should each household contribute. , let everyone join in, you don't have to bear the burden."

The seventh uncle has been in good health over the years, and his own grandson passed the college entrance examination the year before last, and he was ranked at the bottom. The status of a scholar. But if Sun Tzu wants to go forward, the possibility of passing the exam is slim.

Now that his grandson has passed the exam to become a scholar, the seventh uncle's requirements for his grandson are no longer high.

But Sanbao's child passed the scholar examination at a young age and is now about to take the Qiuwei examination. If the Li family can produce a candidate for examination, or even a candidate for Jinshi, he will laugh out of his dreams. Therefore, the seventh uncle has been very partial to Li Gushan in recent years, hoping that their boy can take the exam. Bring people back.

As soon as the seventh uncle's words came out, everyone present echoed his words one after another.

It wasn't until dark that Li Shangu went back home in the dark.

"Knock knock -"

"It's me."

The grandson and his son were waiting for the man to come back. He heard a knock on the door, hurriedly went out to open the door, let the man in, and said, "Why are you back just now?" , I still want to go out to find you. "

It's dark, and I can't see the road outside.

"Everyone spoke a little late, which made you worried." When he came back and saw his wife and son waiting for him, Li Gushan felt a warm current flow in his heart. Knowing that his mother-in-law was waiting for him in the house, Li Shangu went over and said a few words to his mother-in-law, asking him to take a rest early before leaving her room.

When the man at home came back, Sun Yi coaxed the child to go back to the house to sleep, and brought clean clothes to the man at home for him to take a bath. When they first built the house, the eldest son insisted on having a separate bathing area in the house. Only after living in it now did they realize that it was much more convenient.

The lights in the room were blown out, and the couple went to bed to rest. "

Eye

-or-eye-orbit--"

Early on the second day, the village chief asked people to beat the gongs and drums.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. Let's go over and take a look. Maybe there's something going on in the village."

When the people in the village heard the sound of gongs, they all put down what they were doing and went to People gathered at the entrance of the village ancestral hall. Seeing that the village chief, Li Zheng, and the elders of the clan were all here, the villagers in Lijia Village didn't quite know why the village chief had asked them to come here early in the morning.

They haven't heard what happened in the village recently. Is there anything else they don't know about?

"What's going on in our village?"

"I don't know either."

People in the village didn't even know what was going on.

However, several clan elders went home last night and mentioned it to their families, so the people in those families knew what the village chief was calling them here for today.

Li Gugu stood behind the others, while Sun Yi supported her mother and followed her husband.

"Brother, grandma." Li Laoer and Li Dahua also came. When Li Laoer saw his eldest brother and grandma, he shouted

and Li Dahua followed suit.

Mrs. Li Wang glanced at Li Dahua, frowned and said nothing.

However, Sun Yi responded and didn't pay much attention to the confused second aunt. Fortunately, the two families have lived and eaten separately in recent years. Except for the New Year's Day, the two families only get together to have a meal. Usually Sun Yi is busy with her affairs. It's not often that I meet this second aunt.

"Quiet-"

Seeing that everyone was almost here, the village chief raised his hand to signal everyone to quiet down.

Everyone fell silent and waited for the village chief to speak.

"Everyone knows that our Lijia Village has opened workshops in the past few years. Most of the families in the village can go to the workshops to work, and do not have to go to the town to do hard work." The village chief started from the workshops in the village, and then It was mentioned that the people in their village were living a good life now, and then the issue of refugees was mentioned.

"...So, for the sake of the safety of the people in our village, I, the village chief, and Li Zheng, after discussing with the elders of the clan, decided to build a protective wall around our village, which can also protect us. The safety of the people in the village. We can sleep peacefully at night without having to worry about someone from outside coming to steal things in our village." Li Mao talked about the construction of a protective wall in the village and the stakes involved. Make it clear to the villagers in the village.

After listening to the village chief's words, the people below were talking one after another.

"We agree with the village chief's decision." A voice of agreement came from below, agreeing with the village chief's proposal to build a protective wall.

Many of them have taels of silver hidden in their homes. This is the taels of silver that their family has worked hard to save over the past few years. If the thieves break into the village and take away the money, where will they find a place to cry? go.

So later the village chief asked every household to pool some money to build the protective wall. Except for a few short-sighted people, most people agreed to pool their money to build the wall.

When he heard that some people were unwilling to take the money, Li Mao did not force them to come up with the money. He recognized a few people who said they disagreed. He said, "They are not willing to contribute or raise the money to build this shelter." A wall is fine

. When the protective wall is built, the houses of those families will be separated from the outside. "

It happens that the houses in the back of the village are built in clusters, and several families still live in old houses. , the few families who just said they would not chip in, just separated their homes outside the protective wall.

So as soon as the village chief said these words, those who just shouted that they had no money and were unwilling to contribute and collect the money suddenly lost their voice.

Everyone in the village knew what kind of people they were. Among the few households just now, Li Dahua's natal family was among them. If Li Dahua's mother and two brothers hadn't committed suicide on their own, Li Gushan wouldn't have driven them out of the workshop angrily and wouldn't have allowed them to go inside to work.

One was too lazy to cook, and the other wanted to join forces with outsiders to steal soap-making recipes, but was caught on the spot. If the village chief and clan elders hadn't looked out for Li Lao Er's face, they would have driven all the members of Li Dahua's family out of the village. I've never seen such a spoiled person.

Li Gugu stood up from behind and said, "Nowadays, building the protective wall in the village is a major issue for all of us in the village, so I decided that no work will start on the workshop until the protective wall is built. After the protective wall is built, the workshop Construction will continue here. "

This is also to allow the people in the village to build the protective wall quickly. If it is delayed for too long, it will be detrimental to them.

Naturally, some people feel that there is no need to close the workshops. Their protective walls can be built and the workshops can continue to open. However, Li Shangu disagreed and wanted all manpower to be deployed to build the wall.

Without further delay, construction started immediately on the day the decision was made.

Under the leadership of the village chief and Li Zhengmen, the whole village was mobilized to build this protective wall. Every household, young or old, as long as they were able to work, had to go outside to do things. Their own village did not have enough manpower, so they hired some people from other villages to do the work.

With the joint efforts of so many people, the protective wall in Lijia Village is constantly growing at a speed visible to the naked eye...

Chapter 17 Preparation for the Examination

As soon as June passed, July entered.

Nanyang Mansion is one of the largest examination rooms in the North. At this time, most of the candidates have rushed to Nanyang Mansion to prepare for this year's Autumn Wei Examination. This time, Li Wen didn't have to travel thousands of miles to take the exam like others. This saved a lot of time on the road and he could spend more time reviewing.

There was still more than a month before the exam day, and the academy suspended classes. The gentlemen only gave them the task of studying, and they did not need to go to the academy, so Li Wen stayed at home to review. Dean Fu personally gave him pre-examination tutoring at home, which was not possible even if he had money. The teacher you can ask for.

Just like studying in the past, I get up to the sound of cockcrow, practice martial arts and boxing every morning, and then study in the study. Usually Li Wen would go to Dean Fu after breakfast in his own courtyard. The teacher would give him a lecture for two hours in the morning and stop at noon.

This means that every year from nine o'clock in the morning to twelve o'clock in the afternoon, the teacher gives him four hours of lessons.

After he finished, Dean Fu gave him a topic and asked him to go back in the afternoon and write an article. The article should be completed and submitted on the same day. Dean Fu will read and comment on his article, pointing out the deficiencies in his article and how it should be revised.

On this day, Li Wen brought the written article to Dean Fu, "Teacher, this is the article the students wrote today."

After Fu Yihan read it over, he could see in his expression that he was satisfied with his disciple's article. It can be seen that this disciple has really worked hard on policy questions. Even with his picky temperament, he has to admit that his disciple's articles are getting better and better, and even he can't find any faults.

"In the past few years, your writing has improved a lot. It shows that you have worked hard on it." Fu Yihan saw his disciple's diligent study, otherwise he would not be so fond of this disciple.

"Hehe, it's the teacher who teaches well." Li Wen said with a smile on his face, "Without the teacher, how could the disciple's articles be as good as they are now and catch the teacher's attention?" You must know that moment in the beginning. , what he thought was a good article was scolded by Dean Fu as nonsense and a mess.

"Ha!" Fu Yihan chuckled, and this boy would give him a high hat.

Fu Yihan knew about the floods in the south and what the current situation was in the DPRK. Even if others were not in the capital, Fu Yihan knew about some things clearly. Here he mentioned a few words, "This year's scientific examination may mention it This time around the disaster relief, you should put more effort into this aspect and be prepared."

"Yes, the school knows." Li Wen actually thought about these aspects and would pay more attention to current affairs. The content of the scientific examination will be related to matters such as the national economy and the people's livelihood, as well as some issues that the emperor and officials are most concerned about.

If these questions are tested, it will definitely be beneficial to him. He still remembers more or less the history he learned back then, and it is very useful to summarize the experiences of his predecessors and put them here.

"I heard that the person sent by the imperial court to preside over this autumn palace is Lu Changping, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. It is said that Lu Changping and you are from the same hometown." Fu Yihan picked up a few documents from his hand and motioned for others to come forward and get them.

Li Wen stepped forward to take it and waited for Dean Fu to speak.

"These are articles and poems written by Lu Changping, as well as some letters exchanged with others. Here are also some questions from the provincial examination papers in previous years. Take them back and have a look." Fu Yihan had heard a little about Lu Changping's political style, and by the way He gave the students a few words of advice.

"It's great. With these things from the teacher, the students will definitely go back and look at them carefully. The students thanked the teacher." Li Wen knew that these things in his hand were worth a thousand pieces of gold, and they might not be able to buy them if he had money, or they were Only a big shot like Dean Fu could get him the pre-exam review materials.

From his teacher's words, Li Wen was almost certain that it was Lu Changping, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, who came to Nanyang Mansion to preside over the scientific examination this time. This Mr. Lu is also the uncle of the Lu family where Lu Zhishu is an official in the capital. If Lu Changping comes to Nanyang to preside over the scientific examination, it will be a very beneficial thing for him.

Coupled with the information in hand, he can go back and study the preferences and writing style of Mr. Lu.

There is no such thing as a 100% guarantee in the examination room, but if you master a little more important information, you will be 10% more confident.

Participating in scientific examinations often depends on luck. If the article is well written, it will be useless if it cannot catch the eye of the examiner. This is why the level is obviously very high, but it is failed every time. If the article catches the eye of the examiner, it will basically lead to a higher ranking. Sometimes some technical skills are useful.

He knew that Lu Zhishu and Shen Zijing and Su Yuan would all take exams this year, and Li Wen had contacts with all three of them. Every year when he went home to celebrate the New Year, he would meet up with Shen Zijing and Su Yuan, but he had not seen Lu Zhishu for so many years. Lu Zhishu has been studying in the capital for these years and has never been back home.

He thought that if they are here after autumn and go to Beijing to take the examination next year, they will definitely be able to get together in the capital.

Of course, Li Wen had never met Mr. Lu.

It is said that Mr. Lu has not been back to the Lu family's old house in Qingping Town since he became an official in the capital, so it is normal that he has not seen it.

"Go on, go on, go back and read these papers. You don't have to come to my place in the next few days. If you don't understand anything, come and ask me." Fu Yihan felt it was an eyesore when he saw his disciple smiling like this. It's so scary that people should leave quickly.

"Yes, I'm going back to study." Li Wen knew that Dean Fu was a very upright person and always said he disliked him as a disciple, but he didn't know how much he liked him in his heart.

?Dean Fu: He obviously didn't think so!

Seeing the disciples leaving, Dean Fu from behind smiled and shook his head.

Li Wen took the essay paper given by the teacher back to the courtyard where he lived. As soon as he returned, he entered the study room and asked the waiter not to disturb him if he had nothing to do. Even dinner was brought to the study by the waiter, and he took it into his stomach in two or three bites. He didn't know when the empty bowl placed in the corner was taken out.

The young man who was reading at night in his study immersed all his thoughts in reading. He was so fascinated by the book that he forgot the time.

In the middle of the night, Li Tong got up and went to the latrine. He saw that the lights were still on in the young master's room. He knocked on the door, but no one responded. When he pushed the door open and saw his young master still sitting at the desk reading, he had to remind him aloud, "Young master, it's already late, why are you still reading and not going to bed? Why don't you go to bed first and get up again tomorrow?" See? "

Studying is important, but the body is the capital of revolution. Isn't this what their young master often talks about? How could I have forgotten it?

"It's so late. Okay, I won't read. I'm going to bed now. You can go to bed too." When Li Wen realized what was happening, he realized it was so late in the courtyard. He closed the book in his hand and said, Go back inside and sleep.

Seeing that their young master had gone back to his room to rest, Li Tong breathed a sigh of relief and went back to his room.

The sky is full of stars, and a bright moon hangs.

He received a letter from Shen Zijing earlier and knew that Shen Zijing and Su Yuan would come to Nanyang during this time to participate in this year's autumn examination. Li Wen replied to the letter and prepared a place for them to live.

At this time, the rooms in the restaurant and inn were already full, but he disliked that there were too many people in the restaurant and inn, which would affect his review before the exam, so Li Wen knew that Shen Zijing and Su Yuan were coming to Nanyang to take the exam early. I rented a small yard for them outside. The environment is quiet, and living here does not affect reading.

In the past, on the way to the exam, friends would help make arrangements. This time when it was his turn, Li Wen had arranged all these things in advance, just waiting for someone to come and stay.

Counting that the time was almost here, Li Wen sent Li Tong to the dock early to wait for him.

"Master Shen, Master Su, you are finally here." Li Tong waited here for two days before the young masters of the Shen family and the Su family arrived.

"Our young master has arranged a place for you to stay. Please follow the two young masters."

Shen Zijing recognized the boy who was serving Li Wen. After saying hello, the group followed him to the place where he lived.

Li Wen, who was studying at home, received the news that Shen Zijing and Su Yuan had arrived in Nanyang Mansion. He immediately put down the book in his hand, strode out, got on the carriage waiting at the door, and entered the city.

The carriage arrived at the door of the small courtyard, and Li Wen reached out and knocked on the door.

"It's Master Li, come in quickly." The housekeeper who opened the door saw that it was Master Li, and hurriedly invited people inside.

Not long after they arrived and the things in the room had just been packed, they heard someone knocking on the door. Hearing the sound, Shen Zijing guessed in his mind whether Li Wen was here. Shen Zijing walked out of the room and saw Li Wen, who had followed the steward in. He strode forward, hugged his good friend, and said with a smile, "Haha, I was just wondering if you were here, really. You're here."

"I know you're here. I'll come over and take a look. I guess you'll be here in the next two days. Did you have a good journey?" Li asked, looking over at Shen Zijing. Su Yuan, who was standing at the door, smiled at Su Yuan.

"Smooth, smooth." If it hadn't gone well, they wouldn't be here.

Su Yuan stood by the door, watching them laughing.

A few years have passed, and each of them has grown up, and their appearance has changed more or less. Su Yuan didn't change much. He still had a round face, fair and tender appearance, and he smiled more. He always followed Shen Zijing quietly.

Shen Zijing looked like a romantic scholar, tall, tall, and handsome.

These two people have really never been separated since they were young. They were together even in the next few years when they were studying. Their

good relationship is enviable.

In the past few years, the three of them would get together to have tea every year when they returned home. The relationship between the three of them had always been very good, and it would not feel strange if they met now.

"Come inside and sit down. We haven't seen each other for more than half a year. I have a lot to say to you." Shen Zijing's personality has not changed much from before. He is a cheerful person, no matter where he goes They love to make friends everywhere.

It seems that they met at the beginning of the year, but now it is July, so they have not seen each other for more than half a year.

"Yeah, time flies by so fast." Li Wen followed Shen Zijing into the house and saw the neatly tidied house. He knew that Shen Zijing and Su Yuan were going to live here for a while, so he Also arrange the house as well as possible.

There was brewed tea on the table. Shen Zijing poured a cup for Li Wen, and the three of them sat down.

"Are you still used to it here?" Li asked.

This courtyard was chosen by Li Wen. It was not big, but it had several rooms, enough for Shen Zijing, Su Yuan and the servants they brought to live together. The environment here is relatively quiet, and it is not very far from the examination room. It only takes about half an hour to walk to the examination room.

"It's very nice here. Thank you for arranging a place for us. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to find a place to stay here." At this time, the restaurants and inns were basically full, and many candidates came to take the exam. I couldn't find a place to live, so I had to share a room with several candidates, and the environment was still very noisy.

A small independent courtyard like this must be rented at least three months ago, otherwise it would be impossible to rent it now if you have the money.

"How do you say thank you? I have been friends with you for so many years, so I still need to say such kind words." He is currently living in Dean Fu's home, and it is not convenient for Shen Zijing and the others to live there, otherwise it would be There is no need to rent another house for Shen Zijing and Su Yuan outside.

Hearing Li Wen's words, Shen Zijing laughed and said, "Yes, since you said so, we won't be polite to you anymore.

The three of us haven't seen each other for a long time, and we have a lot to say when we meet.

Now outside There were many people in the inn, so Li Wen asked the waiter to order some dishes and bring them over to the restaurant. He had a meal with Shen Zijing and Su Yuan and chatted for a few words, knowing that they had worked hard all the way here. After dinner, Li Wen didn't stay any longer and proposed to go back,

"You guys have a good sleep tonight, and you can study your books when you get up tomorrow. "

There is not much time left before the exam, and everyone is seizing this last moment to review their books. Li Wen said, "I won't be here for the next few days. You guys should review well here. If you need anything, you'll be there. I'll leave a message at the shop in the south of the city^"

He stopped coming so as not to disturb Shen Zijing and Su Yuan from their studies.

"Okay, I won't keep you longer. Let's have a nice drink after we finish the exam. Be careful on your way back. "Shen Zijing said.

"Okay. "Before going out, Li Wen whispered a few words in Shen Zijing's ear.

"Okay, I understand. " Shen Zijing bowed his hands to Li Wen.

After bidding farewell to his friends, Li Wen got on the carriage waiting at the door, waved to the two people at the door and let the carriage go.

Chapter 18 Cousin Cousin

At the moment, the villagers in Lijia Village are rushing to build a protective wall outside the village.

Building a protective wall in the village is a major event for the whole village. The workshop has stopped work, and all the men in the village over fifteen and under fifty must come here to work. Women and children in the village also come to help with the work. Just do your part.

At this time, if any man is still hiding at home and does not come to help with the work, he will be drowned to death by everyone in the village.

"Cousin, let me help you. This thing is so heavy, how can you carry it." Li Baotian saw Li Siya in the crowd at a glance, squeezed over, and smiled to please him. When Li Siya saw Li Baotian appearing in front of her, her expression suddenly turned cold, and she said coldly, "No need."

Speaking of which, Li Baotian was the son of her uncle, and he was usually a lazy person. I idle around all day, asking my family for money and not doing any work. Li Siya looked down upon her grandma's relatives, disliked her uncle's and second uncle's families, and even less liked Li Baotian, who was always pestering her.

Li Baotian fell in love with his sister-in-law's beautiful little cousin, who was getting more and more dignified. They were similar in age. He told his mother-in-law that he wanted to marry his little cousin, and she asked him to help him find out what his sister-in-law said. She might be able to do this. It really can happen.

"Cousin, don't be so heartless. We are all cousins. As the saying goes, cousins ​​are made for each other." Li Baotian noticed a few years ago that his little cousin was getting better and better as she grew older. He was itching in his heart to get someone, but his little cousin was always kind to him.

"Shameless! Who is meant for you?" She didn't bother to look in the mirror. She looked like that. Li Siya felt bad when she saw Li Baotian.

After glaring at the person, Li Siya left, ignoring Li Baotian who was standing behind.

There were many people here, and Li Baotian didn't dare to do anything to Li Siya.

Everyone around them looked at them.

Noticing that the eyes of the people around him fell on him, Li Baotian was a cheeky man and said, "My cousin and I are joking." He still had a smile on his face and stared at the little cousin's leaving back with burning eyes, feeling in his heart You are thinking, when I marry you home, let's see how I treat you!

Before anyone could get it, Li Baotian was already thinking about how to punish his wife, but he didn't think too far ahead.

"Is Li Baotian pestering you again?" The girl who was close to Li Siya also saw Li Baotian pestering Li Siya just now, and asked in Li Siya's ear,

"Don't mention that kind of person, it's disgusting to look at him!" "Li Siya felt sick when she thought of the way Li Baotian looked at her.

"Pfft..." The little girl covered her mouth and laughed.

Speaking of the girls in the Li family, Li Daya got married two years ago. She was talking about a young man from another village. He was a hard-working man. He had three brothers at home and a few acres of land, so his life was pretty good. Li Daya got married at a young age, and she became pregnant within two months of getting married. In the spring of the next year, she gave birth to a big fat boy. Her father-in-law and mother-in-law were very happy, and they became even more kind to Li Daya. After Ya got married, life went by pretty well.

They got engaged for the first time in the year of Erya. The other party was the son of a family with a surname from the same village. Both families agreed to the marriage. Both parties were very satisfied with the marriage and expected to get married at the end of the year. Now Erya is in To be married.

We all belong to the same village, and everyone knows the basics, so that we can take care of each other in the future.

The marriage of the two granddaughters was decided by Li Wang's biological grandmother, and Li Dahua, her biological mother, had nothing to do with it.

But Li Dahua was very dissatisfied with the marriage of her two daughters. But except for her, everyone in the family agreed, so no one listened to Li Dahua, the mother-in-law's opinion.

It's Siya's turn, and Li Dahua wants to be the master of everything.

In the past few years, her status in the family has become increasingly low. The men in the family have treated her indifferently. After giving birth to four daughters, none of them are close to her. The youngest girl actually listens to a few words from her mother-in-law. Li Dahua often thinks about how great it would be if this youngest girl was a son, but it's a pity that there is only one girl. She can't like this youngest girl no matter what.

Since giving birth to the youngest girl, Li Dahua has not been able to get pregnant again. The doctor has seen her several times and there is nothing wrong with her body, but there is no news about her belly.

As a woman gets older, it becomes more and more difficult to conceive a child. Li Dahua is secretly worried. She also wants to have another son, but her belly is not up to par, so it is useless for her to cry.

It's not just because she gave birth to a son that her mother-in-law didn't like her. When the man in the family came back, he didn't even say a few words to her. Li Dahua hated her mother-in-law and the girls she gave birth to. She thought they were all just a few. The girl had hurt her, and he had been even worse to several other girls in the past few years.

"Sister-in-law, why are you here?"

"Sister-in-law." That day, the sister-in-law from her mother's family came to find Li Dahua, holding Li Dahua's hand affectionately and calling her sister. The two women held hands and were affectionate. They seemed closer than sisters.

"No, my sister-in-law came to you because she has something to ask my little sister."

Li Dahua didn't know why her natal sister-in-law came to her. "Sister-in-law, tell me, what's the matter?" Li Dahua used to talk to her natal family. When people are close to her, if there are any good things at home, she will take some of them to her parents' house, and from time to time she will subsidize the money back to her parents' family. Therefore, her mother, brother and sister-in-law are very good to her, a little sister who married outside the family.

The family affection that could not be found in her husband's family was found in Li Dahua's family.

Little did she know that her mother-in-law's sister-in-law scolded her for being stupid behind her back. How could a daughter who was married outside think about her mother's family all day long and move things to her mother's house. But this was their family that moved in. The two sisters-in-law were very supportive of this little girl, and their usual attitudes were very enthusiastic.

"No, my sister-in-law sees that Siya is getting old too. My sister-in-law came here to ask if Siya of your family has told someone else, but there is someone she likes." They are all from the same village. Whose girl has said if she has told someone else? , it is impossible for people in the village not to know, let alone that this is a girl from her sister-in-law's family. The woman came to her sister-in-law for a purpose today.

"Isn't this what I'm watching?" Li Dahua said as the smile on his face froze.

"Oh, that means it hasn't been decided yet." Mrs. Li Chen suddenly had a smile on her face and said, "I came here to see my sister today, not just because of the two children Baotian and Siya. Little sister, look at this The two children are about the same age, and they often played together in the past, right? "

"As for the Baotian child, you, my sister-in-law, have also watched him grow up. He has been sensible and well-behaved since he was a child, and he has read a few books, so he is considered a good person. Half a scholar 0 "

Thanks to this little girl bringing back some silver, her son had some silver to send to study. In this matter, Mrs. Li Chen was sincerely grateful to this little girl for bringing back some silver and telling her family about this. .

It's just that the boy is not a good student. He said he had to get up early every day, and his husband often punished him with physical punishment. After two years of studying, he no longer wanted to study. When he returned home, he cried and made trouble. The family couldn't help it, so they agreed that the child should not study.

Mrs. Li Chen had the nerve to say that her son was only half a scholar, but he didn't even know a few words, yet he was still a scholar.

Many families in their village envied Li Shangu and Sun Yi for having a boy who could read and come back as a scholar. But not everyone's children can be admitted as scholars, otherwise their Lijia Village would not have had only two scholars in the past hundred years, one was the boy from Li Shangu's family, and the other was Li Xiulin, the son of the village chief's family.

Li Xiulin is still a scholar who took the exam for so many years.

"Well, that's true. I, my sister-in-law, have watched the child from Baotian grow up, and he is a good one." Li Dahua couldn't give birth to a son himself, so he became even more fond of the sons of his two elder brothers. No matter how he looked at him, he felt that Nephews are nice, so Li Dahua treats her nephews better than her own girls.

Seeing the younger sister nodding, the sister-in-law knew that there was something serious about this, so she continued, "Little sister, I see that you also feel sorry for Baotian, don't you think so?"

Seeing that the younger sister still didn't understand what she meant. , Mrs. Li Chen cursed stupidity in her heart, but still said with a smile on her face, "Sister-in-law, I just thought, Baotian and your family's Siya have been playing well since they were young, and the relationship between the two children is also good. , Seeing that the two children have reached the age of marriage, why don't we make the two children a couple? Isn't it true that the wealth does not go to others?"

After hearing what her mother-in-law said, Li Dahua finally understood. What was going on when her sister-in-law came to her today and asked, "Baotian and our Siya?"

Why didn't she know that the two children were getting along? That damn girl Siya didn't say anything to her, the mother-in-law. Li Dahua scolded her daughter again in her heart.

"No, that's right. If the child from Baotian hadn't come back and told me that he liked your Si Ya, I, the mother-in-law, wouldn't have known that the child has fallen in love with his little cousin. So, as the mother-in-law, I will do it today. Come to me shamelessly to talk about this matter. If the matter between these two children can be successful, little sister, you have an extra son, right? Baotian will call you mother from now on. "Li Chen is sure that Li Dayuan will not give birth to a son. On this point, he said, "If the two children can succeed, shouldn't we kiss each other?"

"That child in Baotian has liked you as a girl since he was a child. If he can call you mother, then he will be able to dream of it." Wake up with a smile. "Several children in the family like my sister-in-law to come. Every time she comes, she brings a lot of things. How can you not like it?

When her mother-in-law said this, Li Dahua was really moved. She thought that the marriage of the two previous girls was decided by her mother-in-law. This time, it was her turn as the mother-in-law to take the final decision. Besides, this is a nephew from her mother's family. This is going to happen. The two families will become closer, and she will have half a son.

If she doesn't have a son in the future, this half son can still be treated as her own and provide for her in her old age.

Thinking of this, Li Dahua felt that if the marriage between the two families could come true, it would definitely be a good thing for their family. Seeing her sister-in-law's thoughts, Li Chen held Li Dahua's hand and patted the back of it. She smiled and said, "Little sister, this is what we have decided. When my sister-in-law goes back, she will find a matchmaker to come to your house to propose marriage." "Okay."

"Okay, I'll talk to the men at home about this later." Li Dahua nodded.

When Li Siya came home from outside, she happened to see her aunt coming out of her house. She called out, "Auntie.

" I didn't expect that the yellow-haired girl from before has grown up now, and the longer she looks, the better. No wonder she is so obsessed with the boy in her family. When she goes back, she says she won't marry her unless she is this little cousin, and makes them trouble. It's really true. I have a terrible headache.

Mrs. Li Chen was happy to see her son marry Li Siya. She knew that Li Siya worked with Sun Yi. Outsiders could not even take a look at the small workshop, and only a few women in the village went to work there. Unexpectedly, Li Dahua has a capable daughter. If she can work with that woman Sun Yi, she will get a lot of money every month.

This sister-in-law of hers was a bit stupid, but she married into a good family and had plenty of food and clothing. This made the woman feel envious and jealous of this sister-in-law. Why is her own life not so good?

"My aunt has something to do at home, so I won't sit here. When can Si Ya have time, she can come and play at her aunt's house." This would allow the two children to socialize more, and Mrs. Li Chen smiled more and more kindly.

"I haven't had much free time recently, so Si Ya won't go to my aunt's place. Auntie, walk slowly."

Standing at the door, Li Si Ya noticed the last look her aunt gave her and became wary.

Going back to the house at night, Li Dahua mentioned the matter of her girl and her natal nephew to the men at home, "... If this thing can happen between our two families, we can get married. Si Ya's marriage will be just like going back to her own family. I My mother-in-law and my sister-in-law will treat Si Ya well and treat her like her own daughter.

"What are you talking about? You want Si Ya to marry into your mother's family?" Li Laoer thinks that the mother-in-law is crazy. No, no one knows who those in her natal family are. If she goes out to the village to find out, no one knows.

"Why not? That child in Baotian is so good. My eldest brother and second brother are good people. If Si Ya marries her, my mother-in-law must be good to Si Ya." In Li Dahua's heart, no one is better than her mother's family. The people on the other end are better.

Li Laoer looked at his wife in disbelief, thinking that this woman was blinded by lard and would say such things.

The things his eldest uncle and second uncle did made him unable to hold his head high in front of his own eldest brother. If it weren't for his elder brother's persuasion, Li Laoer would have left the workshop long ago and gone back to work in the town. How could he stay in the workshop and continue working.

The sounds of people talking in the room spread outside. Li Siya, who was standing in the corner, carefully hid her figure and eavesdropped on the conversation in the room.

Good on you Li Baotian!

She also asked why her aunt came to their house today. It turned out to be this idea!

What a beautiful thought!

Even if she can't get married in this life, she won't marry that disgusting Li Baotian! After eavesdropping on the conversation between her father and mother-in-law outside for a while, and knowing what was going on, Li Siya left quietly and went back to the house to sleep.

Chapter 19: Not two days after Li Siya ran away from home

, her aunt actually invited the matchmaker and the woman who protected the matchmaker to their door. Li Siya had been paying attention to the house from time to time in the past few days. movement. As soon as she saw the matchmaker leading someone to their door, Li Dahua went back and saw her mother-in-law and the matchmaker sitting together, laughing and talking, but her eyes turned red with anger.

"Auntie, I don't agree to marry Li Baotian. This marriage is impossible. I don't agree!" Li Siya rushed in like a little calf and threw everything in the room out.

Li Siya angrily threw out all the things the matchmaker had brought, picked up the broom at the door and chased the people outside,

"Get out!"

"Get out of here!"

"Get out, you are not welcome in my home!"

" We are here to match you out of kindness, but you can beat me, the matchmaker, for such a fierce mother-in-law, let me, Mrs. Li, see who dares to marry you!" The matchmaker who was kicked out spit at the door, and the person who brought her brought her with her. Something, twisted around and left.

When Li Siya saw the person leaving, she threw the broom on the ground and snorted, "I wouldn't marry Li Baotian even if I were a aunt in the mountain!"

It was better for her to kill herself than to marry Li Baotian.

"You damn girl, you're going to fall on my head, aren't you!" Li Dahua saw her girl losing face like this, so she angrily picked up the stick in the corner and chased Li Siya, waving the stick in her hand. He shouted, "What a shock to you! Let me see if I don't beat you to death today!"

"You damn girl, how dare you run away!"

Li Siya was not a mother-in-law who would stand obediently and let her mother-in-law beat her. When he saw her mother-in-law chasing after her with a stick, Li Siya ran to her eldest mother-in-law's house. Li Dahua chased after him with a stick. Li Dahua had eaten well over the years and had grown bigger and bigger. The fat all over his body was shaking when he ran.

People in the village saw the mother and son, one chasing and the other running, and they didn't know what was going on.

Someone who knew about it said that Li Dahua wanted to marry his daughter to a boy from his uncle's family. It's not like there were no cousins ​​in the village who got married. It's just a village. Everyone knows what kind of family they are. Only the people in Ma Guihua's house, and only Li Dahua, treat her family members as good people.

At this moment, Li Dahua is still thinking. Tell your daughter to your nephew.

As soon as the people in the village heard about this, they shook their heads and said, "I have seen a lady cheating on my daughter, but I have never seen someone cheating on my daughter like this."

"That's not it."

No family in their village wanted to be with the Li Guihua family . When it comes to getting married, the boys in their family are all talking about daughters-in-law from other villages. Even their daughters are married to other villages. No one in their own village is willing to marry their daughter to their family.

For the things their family did, everyone in the village looked down upon them.

Li Siya ran to her aunt's house, and her aunt was still chasing after her.

Seeing Li Dahua chasing Si Ya, Mrs. Li frowned and asked, "What are you doing? Li Dahua, are you holding a stick in your hand to hit me, an old lady?"

Li Siya started. Her grandma went to her eldest mother's house and told her grandma exactly what happened. Although her grandma doesn't love their sisters, she won't cheat them like her mother did, otherwise her two sisters wouldn't all be in good families.

Who is Li Baotian? He's just a lazy gangster who doesn't do anything. He spends all his time gambling with others in the town. When he loses all his money, he goes back home to cause trouble. His two aunts come to their house from time to time to borrow money, but the borrowed money is never returned. .

"Auntie, I didn't, no." Li Dahua hated Li Siya so much in her heart that she quickly threw away the stick in her hand and dealt with that dead girl later.

"I heard Si Ya talk about your family's affairs. Li Dahua, are you a confused mother? Who are those people in your natal family? You want Si Ya to marry to your natal family?" Li Wangshi said Hearing her granddaughter's words, she looked at Li Dahua with knives in her eyes. She felt that she was blind back then to allow such a woman to enter their Li family's home.

"What's wrong with Si Ya marrying back to my mother's family?" Li Dahua was glared at by her mother-in-law. She shrank her shoulders and said something back,

"My grandma and eldest brother are such nice people. If my uncle hadn't driven my eldest brother and my second brother out of the workshop and wouldn't let them work in the workshop, my eldest brother and my second brother's family Life will not be as difficult as it is now."

"Why is it that in this village, every family has someone working in the workshop, but my eldest brother and second brother are not allowed to work in the workshop..."

Speaking of this matter , Li Dahua still complained in her heart that her uncle kicked her eldest brother and second brother out of the workshop, and even her nephews were not allowed to work in it. Wouldn't this cut off their family's future?

These words made Sun Yi on the side frown.

"You stupid woman, you think about your mother's family all day long. If you don't want to live with the mountain people, you might as well pick up your things and go back by yourself. I'll ask the matchmaker to arrange a good marriage for the second son and give him a child. "Big fat boy." In recent years, Mrs. Li has become more and more disinclined to see the second son's family. It's not that the second son's family can't give birth to a grandson for her, but that Li Dahua has done well, and that Li Ma's family has done well. What kind of things are those people doing?

As soon as he heard what his mother-in-law said, Li Dahua didn't dare to say anything.

On this day, Li Siya stayed at her aunt's house and returned home after dinner.

Ever since he was rejected by his cousin, Li Baotian hated Li Siya in his heart for causing him to lose face and be laughed at. Li Baotian followed Li Siya for two consecutive days. Finally, when Li Siya was alone, he covered her mouth and tried to take her to a corner.

"Uh-huh..." Let me go!

"Cousin, just follow me. I like you so much. If you marry me, I will definitely be good to you." Li Baotian thought about whether his little cousin would marry after they had cooked rice. It's hard to give it to him.

There was a huge disparity in strength between the man and the woman. Li Siya struggled desperately and was dragged to a deserted place by Li Baotian, which made her feel very scared.

During the struggle, Li Siya was kissed on the face by Li Baotian. Li Siya opened her mouth and gave the hand covering her mouth a hard blow.

"Ah..."

Li Baotian felt pain and released his hand to cover Li Siya's mouth, "Damn girl!" How dare you bite me. "

"asshole! Whoever wants to marry you, just go ahead and dream! "Li Siya usually does physical work and has some strength in her hands. She finally broke away from Li Baotian, grabbed a stick in the corner and hit Li Baotian. After hitting him with the stick a few times, he threw the stick and ran outside.

" Little girls, you dare to run away from me, don't run away! "Li Baotian chased after him, but after only two steps, he didn't dare to chase for fear of being seen.

When he returned home, Li Siya locked himself in the house, his hair was disheveled, and even his clothes were struggling from the struggle just now. The girl was so frightened that

she couldn't stay here anymore. What if Li Baotian came to her door and asked her to marry him?

She huddled in the corner and cried for a while. , Li Siya got up, started to take out the clothes from the cabinet, found a piece of cloth and stuffed it inside, and roughly wiped the tears on his face. After thinking about it, Li Siya took out the clothes again. Too many things would attract attention when leaving the village, so she simply put her clothes back and simply packed two clothes.

Then he took out a jar in the corner, took out the silver hidden in it, and put it in his arms. After thinking about it, Li Siya found a piece of charcoal in the kitchen stove and wrote a line of words on the wall: I'm going to see my third brother!

While everyone was busy at the moment, Li Siya ran away from home with a small baggage on her back and money in her arms to find her third brother.

The family came back for dinner in the evening, but they didn't see Siya coming back for dinner. Li Erya asked, "Why can't you come back for dinner if you don't see Siya?"

"That damn girl can eat if she wants. It would be better if she doesn't." Li Dahua gulped. While eating the meal, she still didn't take it seriously and scolded her a few times, which made her even scolded by her mother-in-law when she went back to her parents' house, and her sister-in-law was also angry with her.

Li Erya thought that Siya would sometimes go to the aunt's house to eat, so she didn't think much about it, thinking that she might have eaten at the aunt's house.

After their family built a house, they had a spare room. The sisters no longer had to crowd into one room, and each of them lived in one room. As for the youngest sister, she used to sleep with the eldest sister. Later, after the eldest sister got married, she slept with the second sister -Is* Wu

Si Ya has a somewhat withdrawn personality and doesn't like to share a room with any of them. She lives in a room by herself.

Erya didn't see her sister come back that night, but it was dark outside, so Erya didn't dare to knock on the door of her parents' room, so she had to sleep and wait, and fell asleep while waiting for someone behind her. When Erya got up early the next morning, she went over to the room where her sister lived and took a look. She saw a line of words left on the wall, and her eyes suddenly widened.

Erya learned a few words from Sanbao when she was young, so she knew a few words. Erya knew the words on the wall.

"Dad, Siya left a message, saying that he was going to find Sanbao." Li Erya I hurriedly went to find my father and tell him about this.

"Si Ya is looking for San Bao? San Bao is studying in Nanyang." Si Ya is looking for San Bao? The Three Treasures are in Nanyang, and Li Laoer still doesn't believe it.

When he went back and really saw the words left by the third girl, Li Lao Er hurriedly went to find his elder brother.

"Let's go to the town to look for the person first. Maybe he is still in the town." After Li Shangu heard this, he hurriedly took people to the town to look for him. Li Laoer also followed him, and everyone looked for someone in the town. No one was found in the circle.

"Have you found anyone?"

"No.

" What should I do?

"I asked acquaintances in the town to help search and see if they could find anyone. " "

Sun Yi was very worried when she found out that Si Ya was missing. She didn't give birth to a daughter herself, so she treated her second uncle's daughter as her own. Now that she heard that Si Ya was missing, she still ran to look for San Bao. How wonderful is this! The girl's family has never traveled far, and the farthest she has been is to the town.

I heard that it takes several days and nights to go to Nanyang Mansion. It's so far away, so if you are spotted by a bad person. What should I do if I turn away? Sun Yi was so worried that she burst into tears of worry.

"Oh, this girl!" "It's really daring.

"Don't worry, I'll send someone to look for him. Maybe he's still in the town. We can find him back in the town. We have to go far, so I asked people on the passing cargo ship to help me look for her and ask if there was any news about the fourth girl.

After going back and discussing the matter with his family, they did not agree with Li Shangu writing a letter to tell his son about this. Thinking that his son was about to take the scientific examination, it was not good for Li Shangu to write to his son at this time and ask his son to find someone, so as not to delay his son's studies.

Now that Li Shangu couldn't leave the village, he had to arrange for two guys who usually went with him to Nanyang to search there first to see if they could find anyone. Later, when his son finished the exam, he wrote a letter to tell his son about it and asked his son to pay attention to it.

"I'm sorry, brother. It would be best if we can find the fourth girl. If we can't find her... I, the father, will feel sorry for that girl." Li Laoer wiped his face and did not blame his elder brother for not writing to his nephew. Xin went to ask his nephew to help find someone.

Everyone went out to look for people all day long, and it was getting dark now.

After bidding farewell to his mother-in-law, eldest brother and the others, Li Laoer took his mother-in-law and two girls back home.

"If it weren't for you, would Si Ya leave?" As soon as Li Laoer got home, he slapped his mother-in-law, grabbed her things and threw them outside, and drove her back to her parents' home. He has endured it for so many years. It was this mother-in-law who almost broke up with him, his mother-in-law, and his eldest brother. Now she still doesn't dislike her enough and wants to push his daughter into a pit of fire.

Li Shanmin still doesn't know who is in that room of the Yue family?

He has not cared about the affairs of his family these years, and he really pretends that he knows nothing. "I eat everything in and out, and think about your parents' family all day long. Since your parents' family is so nice, you should go back and live with them." ! I can't live with you anymore! ''

Even if these girls don't like it, they will get married when they grow up. In the past few years, Si Ya has become more promising than her sisters. The eldest brother and sister-in-law praised Si Ya several times in front of him, and Li Laoer only took a second look at the little girl.

Unexpectedly, she disappeared as soon as he turned around, if it weren't for the mother-in-law at home who had been forcing her all day long. Is it okay for the fourth girl to marry her maternal nephew?

"I won't go back, I won't leave, I know I was wrong..." Li Dahua hugged the man's feet with both hands and cried to admit her mistake, "This is not my fault. Is it good for this family? You keep saying you have no son all day long. Don't I want a son? How can you drive me back to my parents' home? I have been with you for more than ten years, and I have worked hard without any credit..." "

Go away! If you can't find Si Ya, you won't have to come back in this life. "Li Laoer took Li Dahua for a while and kicked him away.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." Li Dahua knelt on the ground and cried.

Now that the eldest sister is married, Si Ya has run away from home again, and only the four sisters are left. Li Erya and his youngest sister were at home. Li Erya took his little sister back to the room and refused to let her go out. The things her mother did made even her daughter feel chilled. My mother forced her to leave.

Within a day, everyone in the village knew that Li Laoer's daughter was missing.

After being beaten by Li Siya, Li Baotian went back and took a look and saw that there were many clothes on his body. There were bruises everywhere, and that damn girl beat him with all her strength.

"I just wanted to say a few words to my cousin, but she hit me with a stick and said she would never marry me..." Li Baotian's family told him. A-niang complained and wanted her to go to her sister-in-law's house to find trouble with that little girl Li Si-ya. It would be best if she could marry him back, but she didn't expect to hear that Li Si-ya had run away from home.

But she turned around. I heard that Li Siya ran away and disappeared.

"Let's not go to your sister-in-law's house now and ask again later. "Li Chen is a shrewd person and knew better than to go to her sister-in-law's house at this time. Li Siya has disappeared, and their home is still in chaos. They didn't target them when they went there.

But Ma Guihua and her family No one expected that Li Dahua would be driven back to her parents' home by her husband's family.

When they saw her sister-in-law being driven back, the expressions of her two sisters-in-law immediately changed,

"Okay, I'll ask you to help me find her." "Li Shangu said hello to a few acquaintances working at the pier, gave them some money, and asked them to help find out if they had seen a little girl going alone to the pier. If they saw someone, Tell him that

there is a lot of commotion in their family and Li Siya is still not found, so he is probably no longer in Qingping Town.

At the same time, with the concerted efforts of the entire Lijia Village, a protective wall surrounding the entire Lijia Village was built in less than ten days. On the day it was completed, everyone in the village rejoiced. The village celebrated the completion of the wall just like the New Year.

After the protective wall was built, there were also some security constructions in the village. Only a small number of villagers in their own village participated in these internal security constructions, and outsiders were completely unaware of them.

However, there was no news about Li Siya's visit, so Li Shangu and Li Laoer went to the Yamen to report to the officials. Li Shanshangu stuffed some money into the yamen people and asked the government officials to help find out if there was any news.

In mid-July, it is time to harvest the millet in the fields. At this time, people in every household are rushing to harvest the millet in the fields. The rain some time ago damaged many crops in the fields, so it also affected this year's harvest.

At this time, the grain in the fields must be collected as soon as possible. In case it is stolen at night, this is their grain for the year. There are

more and more refugees in the town. The refugees from other places arrive near their village and ask people from nearby villages. People beg for food. The villages outside are not like our village, which is blocked by protective walls. Some villages have refugees entering, and things are missing in the villages.

Thanks to this protective wall in Lijia Village, outsiders are not allowed to enter the village casually. When the refugees cannot get in at the entrance of the village, there are refugees begging for food at the door.

"Master, give me a sip of water."

"Master, the child hasn't eaten for many days. Please give me a sip of food..."

"Go, don't be stuck here."

The village chief had already told him, Refugees are not allowed to enter the village, otherwise they will be responsible for anything that happens. In serious cases, they will be expelled from Lijia Village.

Seeing refugees appearing near their village, it was not an option to let them starve to death outside, so after Li Gushan discussed with the village chief and the others, they picked a few honest people and recruited them to help with the work, as long as they had two meals a day. Food, as for the village, these outsiders are absolutely not allowed to enter.

Chapter 20 Autumn

As soon as July passes, August will soon come.

The Provincial Examination is held every three years. Because it is held in August when autumn begins, the Provincial Examination is also called Qiuwei. The candidates taking the scientific examination this time are all candidates who have passed the college examination and obtained the student status. Only those candidates who are eligible to participate in the autumn Wei scientific examination.

The township examination starts on the ninth day of August.

Different from the previous exams, where you can come out after each exam, this time the rural exam requires you to stay in the exam room for three days and two nights. Candidates cannot go out until the exam is completed. Therefore, candidates must prepare everything before entering the examination room. The pen and ink used for the examination, as well as food and bedding, must be prepared one by one.

As soon as the white dew passes, the temperature drops rapidly, and rainy weather may occur.

There is an autumn rain and a cold. Once it rains in this season, the weather will be particularly cold, so bedding and clothing to keep out the cold must be prepared.

In the days leading up to the exam, Li Wen adjusted his state of mind and no longer studied as hard as before. Instead, he tried his best to relax himself, relax his mind, and enter a state of preparation before the exam.

With the experience of the previous exams, Li Wen also knew how to adjust his anxiety and mentality this time

. The night before the exam, Li Wen did not stay up all night reading like other candidates, but started studying early. Went to bed and went to sleep. There is nothing more important than a good night's sleep at this time. He will spend the next three days in the examination room. It's not that he has never taken the examination, so he naturally knows that the ring block inside will not be very good. He will definitely not be at home by then. I slept so well.

Getting a good night's sleep and ensuring you have sufficient mental and physical strength is the first step to do well in the exam.

I slept until the next day and had no dreams at night.

Without waiting for anyone to call him, Li Wen got up early the next morning. He was a bit pressed for time today, so he didn't have time to practice boxing. He had to hurry up and get ready to line up for the exam.

"Master, wash your face." Li Tong had dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious that he didn't sleep well last night. While yawning, he brought some water and came over to wash his face. When he saw that their young master had already He got up before him.

"Master, did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes, very good." Li Wen couldn't help but smile when he saw the dark circles under the little book boy's eyelids. Even now that he has servants to serve him, Li Wen is used to doing his own things. He does things like dressing and washing himself, and is not used to having others serve him.

On the ninth day of August, Li Wen was going to Gongyuan to take the exam early in the morning.

Knowing that his disciple was going to take an exam that day, Fu Yihan got up very early. Before Li Wen went out, he came over to Dean Fu and told the teacher that he was going to take an exam. "Teacher, I'm going to Gongyuan to take the exam.

" "Well, let's go." For this exam, you can answer the questions as usual and perform normally. "Fu Yihan has nothing to worry about his disciple. As long as nothing unexpected happens, his disciple should not fall out of the top five in this Qiu Wei exam, and may even get the first place.

"Yes, students must obey the teacher's instructions. The disciple has gone now. The teacher is waiting for good news about the student at home. "Li Wen saluted the teacher, bid farewell to Dean Fu, and strode towards the door.

Fu Yihan, who was sitting in the room, saw the disciples leaving, with a slight smile on his face.

There was someone waiting at the door . In the carriage, all the things that their young master needed to take the exam were moved into the carriage. Li Tong was waiting beside the carriage. When he saw his young master coming out, he reached out to give him a hand and said, "Master, hurry up and get in

today. " The housekeeper of the mansion sent two more guards to follow them.

There were two lanterns hanging in front of the carriage. It was still dark at the moment and the road was not yet clearly visible.

When they arrived at the gate of Gongyuan, there were already many candidates queuing up here.

The two guards helped lift the things down, and Li Wen stood at the back of the queue to wait for inspection and admission. The candidates who come to take the provincial examination are all talented people. Most of them are in their twenties and above, and there are even old men in their seventies.

There are very few candidates like Li Wen who obtained student membership qualifications at a young age and took the provincial examination. So from the moment he stood here, a lot of eyes fell on him. Li Wen had long been used to this. He had done this in the previous exams.

Age is not a problem, whoever has the ability will be better, just let your strength speak for itself.

Following Li Wen in line was an old scholar with gray hair, probably accompanied by a son and a grandson. One called the old man "father" and the other "grandpa".

That is right, the three generations of father, son and grandson.

The man stretched out his hand to support his father and said expectantly, "Dad, you will definitely pass the exam this time. Dad, if you pass the exam this time, you will have the status of

being a judicial officer." Juren is an official. If you are in the imperial court, If there are vacancies, people can fill them and become officials.

"Yes, grandpa, you will definitely pass the exam this time."

Li Wen, who was standing in front, was eavesdropping on the conversation between the grandfather, his son and his grandson, just for boring entertainment and entertainment. The old man saw the yellow-haired child standing in front of him and said with contempt in his eyes, "The yellow-haired child dares to come to participate in Qiuwei. Those who don't know think that Qiuwei can be passed casually."

"What? ?" Li, who was eavesdropping from the front, asked, are you talking about him? He stood here without saying a word from beginning to end, so how could he be so jealous?

"Young Master." Li Tong felt unconvinced when he heard others talking about his young master.

Li Wen took Li Tong's hand and shook his head slightly. Why should they care about what others say? If they stand with their mouths on others and what others have to say, can they still block others' mouths and not allow others to say anything?

He didn't care what others said, because every time he slapped those who looked down upon him in the face with the truth.

If you still take the scientific examination at an old age, what if you pass the exam and get a national examination? The imperial court would not choose someone of such an age to be an official. Even if you are lucky enough to be selected by the court to be an official, to put it bluntly, how many years can you be an official at your age?

Why bother, when our children and grandchildren are so old, why not enjoy the happiness at home? I have to take part in the provincial examination with my old bones. Li Wen shook his head in his heart. He didn't care what others said about him. He just wanted to be himself.

Seeing their young master shaking his head at him, Li Tong also lowered his voice and followed his young master without saying anything.

It was a bit cold in August. The temperature in the morning was the lowest of the day. The cold wind made people shiver. After standing in line outside for a while, Li Wen felt cold. Fortunately, he had brought warm clothes with him, otherwise he would have to sit in the examination room without freezing.

This time, thousands of candidates came to Nanyang Mansion to take the Qiuwei exam, and more and more people followed.

The old man behind saw the yellow-haired child in front of him who didn't dare to answer, so he thought he was afraid of him.

"Erion - orbit - orbit -"

After waiting for a long time, I finally heard the exciting sound of the gong.

The officer in charge of order outside the examination room stood at the front and shouted, "All candidates are lining up, ready to check in..."

"Bang bang... line up!"

"Those who disrupt order will be punished for cheating!"

The examiner in charge of the Qiu Wei Examination this time was an official specially sent by the imperial court. In order to avoid anyone coming to him before the exam, it was not until the day when the exam started that the examiner Lu Changping, who was in charge of the Autumn Wei Examination in Nanyang Prefecture, showed up. in front of people.

The examination in charge of Qiu Wei this time is related to his political performance, so Lu Changping attaches great importance to it.

"Master, the inspection has started ahead."

"Well,"

"I don't know how long it will take before we get here."

"Just wait, we will eventually get there."

On the contrary, at this time, Li Wen didn't have any doubts in his heart. Nervous.

When it comes to the provincial examination, the inspection is very strict. There are small compartments separated by sheds next to the entrance. After checking that there are no problems with the items brought by the candidates, the candidates have to enter the small compartments to be searched and inspected by the officials. , meticulous, not even a hair is spared.

Each candidate came out from the small cubicle completely changed from what they were before entering. The candidates who went out one by one had disheveled hair and pale faces, looking like they had suffered great humiliation.

Looks of fear began to appear on the faces of the candidates standing in line at the back.

"Take it away!"

"Uncle, I was wronged. I didn't put the thing in..."

It wasn't you who put it in, but it was me who put it in! The officer in charge of the inspection waved his hand, and two officers came forward and dragged the candidate off.

Another candidate who was carrying illegal items was taken away. This is the third candidate who was found to be carrying items.

The candidates watching from behind felt sad.

If a candidate cheats, he or she will not be able to take the scientific examination until three years later, or at worst, the results of the previous examination will be cancelled, and he will not be allowed to take the scientific examination again

in the future . Even so, there are still people who take chances and take risks to cheat.

The candidates in front came forward to be examined one by one. After waiting for a long time, it was finally his turn.

"Okay, give me the things. After I go in, you can just go back. Come pick me up after I finish the exam." Li Wen grabbed a large package and carried it on his back, which contained Two quilts and several pieces of thick clothing, as well as a test basket with pens and ink, and a large basket of food. He would rely on this basket of food during the three days he was there.

"Oh, okay, young master, I wish you good luck in the exam." Li Tong saw his young master carrying things forward alone. He stood behind and watched. For some reason, his eyes suddenly became moist.

Li Wen waved to the little book boy and stepped forward to be examined.

The officer in charge of the inspection was dumbfounded for a moment when he saw so many things. The officer stared, and when he saw a smiling face, he couldn't get angry anymore. As the saying goes, don't hit someone with a smiling face. Li Wen grasped this point. When others are angry, he just smiles.

The official had no choice but to accept his fate and start checking.

Shake out the bedding and cotton-padded clothes and take them apart to see if there is anything trapped inside.

Knowing the rules of the examination room, the covers on the outside of the quilt that Li Wen brought were tied with ropes and could be pulled open. The cotton inside was sewn row by row and stuffed in. You can pull it out directly to see. After checking, he stuffed it back in. When the check was done, his bedding was not damaged at all.

The same goes for cotton-padded clothes. You can take them apart and put them back together after looking at them.

After checking the two beddings and several pieces of thick clothing he brought, then came the food he brought, such as cakes, millet, dried meat, dried vegetables, noodles, etc. Li Wen also brought dried fruits, which are sun-dried fruits. .

Without looking back at Li Wen, he knew that the faces of the people waiting for him in line behind him were all green at this time.

"Thank you, brother." After finally finishing the inspection, Li Wen quickly tied up the quilts and clothes, put the food back, put the pen and ink back into the basket, and left without leaving anything behind.

Huh---

after the boy carried a lot of things and left, even the officer who just checked secretly breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

After checking your belongings at the front, you have to enter a small cubicle for a body search later.

Ba$monthRUi is gone.

"...! " "When Li Wen came in and was searched, he realized why the scholars who had gone out in front were all pale and even walked with shaky steps.

The official asked him to take off his clothes. Knowing that there was such a procedure, he would not take off his clothes. There was no way to get in, so Li Wen took off his clothes without hesitation and neatly, including his shoes and zizi.

Then he untied his hair and put the officer's hand on his head. Touching it inch by inch, his scalp felt numb

. "

Roughly pinched his nose! He

also used such a long object to pierce his ears.

Brother, be careful, one of you will go deaf if you don't do it right! Li Wen was very nervous, and he didn't dare to move and let the other person go. Pluck his ears.

The most terrible one even roughly opened the little chrysanthemum behind him to check...

"...! "Li asked.

Damn it! Why didn't anyone tell him to check his anus?

After the inspection, even a man as big as Li Wenxin didn't want to talk.

He quickly put on his clothes, shoes and socks, and tied up his hair casually. Li Wen hurriedly left without raising his head.

Goodbye! Oh, no, I won't see you again in this life!

Just so that he wouldn't have to go through this kind of inhuman inspection and body search again, Li Wendu secretly vowed to Qiu this time. He must pass the exam, and he must do well in the exam!

After going through the strict inspection and body search, he will go to the examiner in charge of the exam to confirm his personal information. Only after reading the sign can one enter the examination room.

"Li Wen is from Lijia Village, Qingping Town..."

"He is a student. "Li Wen stood in front of Mr. Lu and kept his gaze downward. He did not raise his head curiously to see what Mr. Lu looked like.

"Well, let's go in." "When Lu Changping saw an examinee from Qingping Town, his expression didn't change at all. He didn't even look at the examinee any more. After completing the routine inspection, he handed out a small sign to let people in.

Li asked with both hands After taking the sign and carrying his pile of things on his back,

Li Wen entered the examination room and looked at the number on the sign. Fortunately, it was not next to the bad number. , Fortunately!

But the dormitory where he took the exam was in the first row, at the very edge.

This dilapidated dormitory had air leakage from all sides, and there was nothing blocking it in front, so everyone had to sit in the open air. I have to take the local exam for three days, and I have to sleep here at night. The wind blowing in from the side is a bit strong, and it may be a bit cold, but it is ten thousand times better than sitting next to the smelly horn

! There is a wooden bed for one person to lie down in, a table and a chair, and a small stove with a charcoal fire next to it for the candidates to use. There is no toilet bucket. If you want to use the toilet, you have to go to the public latrine.

Even though he had taken the exam several times before, Li Wen still felt cramped when he saw such a small exam dormitory. It is very scary to think that I have to stay in such a small place for three days and two nights.

Hurry and seize the time to clean up this place, he will stay here for three days and two nights!

"Ahem..." There was a thick layer of dust on the table, and it flew up as soon as the dust was dusted. Could it be that no one has come in to this place in the past three years, right?

He really guessed it right. Qiu Wei is held every three years. The last time anyone came in was a few years ago. There was a thick layer of dust inside.

"Cough cough cough..."

I heard a violent cough from the person next door. Almost everyone who came in here was choked by the dust. For a while, there were coughs one after another everywhere.

There was so much dust here that Li Wen had no choice but to find a piece of cloth to cover his face. He accepted his fate and began to clean up the table, wipe the chairs, and wipe the dust off the wooden bed. Fortunately, he brought The two rags that came were wet with water.

Damn it, two rags are not enough!

"Whatever!" Just make do and survive these three days and two nights! Li Wen couldn't help it. After cleaning it as much as possible, he put one layer of bedding on the bed and another layer on top.

"Aha..." I'm so sleepy! Li Wen opened his mouth and yawned. He got up very early today.

It was still early at this time, and the stars and moon were still hanging in the sky. Calculating that there was still a lot of time, and there was still some time before the exam started, Li Wen took off his shoes and got under the quilt without thinking, intending to sleep for a while, but he accidentally fell asleep while squinting.

"!" The man opposite who was still cleaning the table was dumbfounded!

At this time, Shen Zijing found his dormitory in front of the number plate. When he saw the stinky number next to him, he stood outside his dormitory and said, "..." Can you not go in?

Obviously it couldn't be done. Shen Zijing cursed in his heart and could only accept his fate and go in.

In his sleep, Li Wen didn't know that his good brother was sitting next to the bad guy in the exam.