Flavored candle shop

"General! The army is only ten miles away from the border town, so there is still time to withdraw!"

"Where to withdraw?! How to withdraw?! If we withdraw, what will the people in the city do?!"

"But... but the army has 10 people, and we only have [-]. Once we confront each other, we will definitely lose! General! Think twice!"

"The request for help has been sent to the nearest neighboring city, and the messenger is rushing to Shangjing... There is no need to fight, we just need to defend the city until the reinforcements arrive, and the danger of the border town will be resolved."

"General, reinforcements...will they come?"

"Whether we come or not, we must stick to the border town. The first line of defense on the border must not be broken!"

……

"Daddy, will the reinforcements come?" The four or five-year-old boy was wearing a coarse cloth blouse and carrying a small bundle. His big black grape-like eyes were the clearest lake in the border town where the wind, sand and sun were all year round.

The tall man in armor picked up the child, and after lifting his son up to play 'flying high' a few times as usual, he said: "It will come."

The people around were chaotic and tense, and under the guidance of the officers and soldiers, the people in the border town dragged their families and carried baskets on their backs, and fled out of the city in a line.Before long, this place will become an empty city with only soldiers left.

The child's eyes, which are cleaner than oasis lakes, turned into crescent moon lakes in an instant, and his fat little arms wrapped tightly around his father's neck: "Then I don't want to go! I want to be here with you." Daddy wait for the reinforcements to come together!"

"No!" The general refused loudly. Seeing that the child in his arms was trembling with fright from his sudden loud voice, he quickly softened his expression, shook his arms skillfully, and said in a slow voice, "Grandfather is still waiting for you." Well, remember?"

The child blinked: "Remember! My grandfather and grandmother said last year that they will take me to see lanterns this year!"

"Just remember..." The general couldn't bear to let go of his son for a moment, so he walked all the way to the back city gate with his soft baby in his arms, where there were already several caravans waiting.

"Red General, don't worry! We will send the young master to Shangjing safely! We will never disappoint your trust!" the skinny businessman assured, patting his chest.

The rest of the businessmen followed suit, and only one rich-looking businessman kept his mouth shut and bowed his head.

The general's rough and warm big hands finally touched his son's prickly head, and gently put the ignorant child into the car. The iron-blooded general, who has never shed blood and tears, turned around with red eyes and clasped his fists: "I hope you can do well on this journey." Take care of the children a little more! This great favor, my family of Hongliu will definitely repay it in the future!"

"Hey! I can't do it! Isn't the Red General trying to discourage us? We have been able to conduct business in the border town safely all these years, all thanks to the Red General's ability to manage the army! Now...now it's just a way to send the young master back to Beijing, It's such a trivial matter, it's not worth it!"

The merchants quickly avoided the red general's salute, only the fat businessman seemed to be slow to react, and when he followed the others to move aside, the red general had already finished the salute and straightened up.After receiving the gift, he had no choice but to pay back hastily with his fat head buried.

"General take care!"

The wind in the border town is constant all year round.

The child didn't retract his head from the car window until he could no longer see the tall figure. He rubbed his eyes and said with a sob, "Uncle Fat, did you get sand in your eyes too?"

The fat businessman glared at him with red eyes, turned around and ignored him.

The skinny businessman chuckled twice, and said in a strange voice: "Young master, it's not that your fat uncle has sand in his eyes, he's got love in his eyes, he misses his mother-in-law and has red eyes!"

"You man! What are you talking about with children!"

"Hey, hey, okay, okay, I won't talk anymore, don't really cry!"

The skinny businessman just rolled his eyes when he begged for mercy, felt bored, and simply teased the white and tender child again: "Young master, do you know where we are going to pass along the way?"

"Hmph, he's only five years old, what can he know?"

But the child raised his little hand high and said loudly: "I know, I know! If you walk ten miles out of the border town, you will not cross until spring! Then there is Luotuo Pass, and after passing Luotuo Pass, there are Weicheng and Yucheng... Daddy said, As long as there is no yellow sand and the road is full of red flowers and green grass, once you look up, you will be able to see the tall city gate of Shangjing!"

"Yes, the young master is really smart!" The skinny businessman looked at the rolling yellow sand outside the car window, and said with emotion, "From the border town to Shangjing, it is a road to spring..."

The child hugged the bundle in his arms tightly, and nodded with a vague understanding.

It's a pity that the one who arrived in Beijing faster than the stop-and-go caravan was the news that the border town was broken, the red general killed himself in fear of crime, and the neighboring city guard Sui Jian led troops to help, forcing the army to turn the tide.

Discussions in Beijing are boiling.

……

"The Liu family was raided? It's impossible!" Under the candlelight, the fat businessman's body cast a huge black shadow on the door.

The skinny businessman held him back, and said in a low voice, "What am I lying to you for? Those who went to the city to inquire about the news said that the second elder of the Liu family died of a sudden illness the day after the news came that the border city was broken. I think that the two elders have supported the Jingzhong Yuyoutang for many years, so there is no implicated, but all the properties of the house were searched, and the servants of the Hong family and the Liu family were dismissed..."

"Sigh, there is no one in the Hong family, and all affairs are taken care of by the in-laws of the Liu family all year round. The man in the palace is clearly satisfied that the two elders of the Liu family have died wisely."

The fat businessman's voice trembled: "This is to blame the Red General for the destruction of the border city? But... But the Red General clearly evacuated the people in the city in time! Even if the city was destroyed, didn't that Sui Jian took the border city back again?" Is it? What the army broke through was nothing more than an empty city! Why is Your Majesty so desperate—”

"Speak carefully!" The skinny businessman sighed after interrupting the fat businessman loudly, and after a while of silence, he said in a deep voice, "That's not an empty city, there are still ten thousand soldiers inside."

"...all dead?!"

"...This is not something we should be concerned about. What we should worry about now is the young man in the caravan...that child." The skinny businessman said, "Although the one in the palace said that the crime was not as good as his family, but the Hongliu family is now Where is there anyone else? What's more, this person in our caravan... After all, he has a special status, if someone finds out..."

"What do you want to do?" The fat businessman's face was full of vigilance, "We promised the Red General to send the young master to Liu's house in Shangjing safely!"

"The Liu family is gone!"

"...Then I'll take care of it! It's only a five-year-old child, how much food and clothing does it have?"

"Hey, it's not a matter of food and clothing at all, okay? He is the son of a criminal and everyone is beating him! You are asking for trouble if you keep him! It may even hurt yourself! Are you really desperate?"

The fat businessman said calmly: "I like to ask for trouble."

Seeing that the fat businessman didn't listen to the advice, the skinny businessman slapped the table anxiously: "You stubborn! Are you hiding something from me again? You, you, you... are you still thinking about the life-saving grace of the Red General?"

The skinny businessman walked around the room in a hurry, but the fat businessman was very calm, and took a sip of his tea in a dazed manner: "The Red General didn't save me alone, he also saved you."

The skinny businessman stopped walking: "Which of us who have been doing business in the border town all year round has not been rescued by the Red General? But do you think who is willing to take the risk to help the Red General raise his son? Except you, a stubborn person!"

"Why do you think the Red General is so relieved to hand over his only son to the caravan?" The fat businessman only said one sentence, and the skinny businessman understood everything.

"I used to work in the Hong family when I was young."

Not only the grace of saving lives, but also the friendship between master and servant...even more.

The skinny businessman sneered: "Okay, it's hard for you to hide it from me! It's really hard for you to pretend that you didn't know each other in front of the red general in front of everyone! Now you only know the real face when things happen, what a loyal family. servant!"

The fat businessman's face didn't change for a moment, and he said: "If you want to scold you, you can scold you how you want in the future. I will never retaliate. Now you just say whether you will help me or not."

The skinny businessman lay down on the chair angrily: "My ancestors are really jealous, how did I meet such a terrible enemy like you!"

"Help, help! If you don't help me, why talk to you about this alone!"

"Hmph, I've long since discovered that you treat the young master differently, and you pretend to be indifferent every day, pretending to be indifferent in front of me! I'm not afraid to expose you!"

"Yes, yes, what's the relationship between us? How can I hide this knowledge from you?"

"Hmph, I know how to command people... The people of our two families don't have to worry about it, they are always strict with their mouths, but that day, the Red General handed the young master to our car in front of everyone in the caravan, and wanted everyone to shut up." Mouth, neither coercion nor temptation is the best policy...Let me think about it, in our current situation, it is better for the golden cicada to get out of its shell, or it is better to hide it from the sky and hide it..."

The fat and thin businessmen who gathered together and whispered about life-saving plans did not notice that behind the curtain in the corner of the room, there was a group of small black shadows biting their wrists and trembling.

……

The caravan stopped outside the gate of Shangjing for three days, and the child quietly looked at the gate of Shangjing with his bundle in his arms.

Three days later, the child in a coarse cloth blouse washed off the wind and sand around him, and walked alone to the end of the spring road called Shangjing.

Dad said, no matter what time, the Hong family will never hurt others.

He wants to stay in Shangjing... His grandfather's family is gone, so he can only go to Yuyoutang if he wants to stay in Shangjing besides begging on the street.My grandmother said that the nursery hall is the place to take in those orphans who have no father, no mother, and no relatives.

Daddy died, and so did my grandfather and grandmother, and he too is now an orphan.

……

On this day, Shangjing Yu Kindergarten took in a ragged, disheveled, healthy boy who didn't know what to ask.

After washing the dirty child whose eyes were swollen like peaches, the aunts in the Yu Kindergarten felt very distressed. Who would be willing to throw away such a well-born child? I'm afraid it will be those goddamn flirts again What a crime, but fortunately the child was clever and ran away by himself!Otherwise, if this appearance is sold to those... committing crimes!

After feeling distressed, the aunts couldn't help but feel a little happy. Except for some disabled children who were abandoned by their parents, most of them are little girls. It's rare to have a boy with no problems. When he grows up, he can also help with heavy work... …Even if he is still young and has few things to do, it would be nice to have a cute and healthy child running around by his side to raise his eyes.

However, such a beautiful plan only lasted for half a year. Half a year later, when the child was about to be six years old, the housekeeper of Princess Yining's Mansion came to the Yu Kindergarten in person to select children of the right age.

This is the tradition of the Yuyoutang. Most of the orphans adopted by the Yuyoutang don’t know where they came from, they are clean and white, and their hands and feet are diligent. Being favored by those high-ranking officials and noble families, after all, giving these orphans a job can be regarded as doing good deeds, and it is also good to say that they are famous.

When other mansions came to Yuyoutang to pick people up a few times ago, the aunts would not let him show up on the grounds that the child was young, but this time they were very active in changing him into clean and new clothes, and they gave him advice one day in advance to let him He behaved well.

"Zizai, Princess Yining's Mansion is the best place in the capital! You must perform well tomorrow!"

"Yes, yes! You can see the style of a mansion just by looking at the servants in the mansion! As long as it comes from Princess Yining's mansion, it will be so friendly!"

"Oh, son, with your appearance, the only way to go to the capital is to enter Princess Yining's mansion, so that the aunts can rest assured..."

"Don't be afraid, baby, Steward Yin and Auntie have such a good relationship. If you are not selected, Auntie will give you a place even if she loses her old face!"

"Bah, bah, bah! What are you talking about frustrating now! The cub looks so good, only the blind one can't see it! Cub don't panic, just behave as usual, you will definitely be selected!"

"..."

The child who had grown taller and lost a little baby fat nodded quietly and obediently.He still doesn't know that he is once again standing at a fork in the road of his life.