Crown Prince

After some time, there was no movement in the Zheng family, Wang Han and his wife felt more at ease, and they no longer constrained Li Ying to stay at home all day.

As soon as Li Ying got to let the wind go, he immediately rushed out with his small pannier on his back.He has really been trapped in the house for half a month, and no one can bear it.

The weather happened to be good on this day, and it was not yet the hottest summer, so as long as we hid in the shade of the trees, it was quite pleasant.Li Ying was wearing a single shirt, with his white, tender, and fat arms exposed. When he walked through the bamboo forest to the field, the villagers who were weeding the wheat raised their heads to greet him, and the women with their children and The young daughters-in-law all stepped forward to tease him, and squeezed him from time to time.

"Where is Dalang going?"

Li Ying pouted and pulled his arm back, there were indeed several red finger marks on it: "Go to the Dongtou River to catch fish..."

"Da Lang is very clever in speaking...Hui Niang really has a way..." Another woman sighed, "My dog ​​can't walk steadily until now."

Dog... Li Ying couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching.He used to dislike the name "Wang Dalang", but compared to dogs and cats, it's still his parents who would name him...

"Ladies and gentlemen, Dalang is in a hurry, so please stay with me." He avoided a hand that wanted to pinch his face again, and said with a cute smile.

Ladies and gentlemen laughed.

Li Ying ran away in embarrassment.

He also knows that with his current honor, it is a bit ridiculous to say such polite and serious words... But it is one thing to pretend to be young to his parents, but to pretend to be cute to other unfamiliar people... That is abnormal ! !

...Forget it, he should hurry up, it will be very hot when the sun is high.

It is said to be a small river, but in fact the easternmost river in Baoquan Township flows outside Chang'an. It used to be a veritable moat, but when it reached Baoquan Township, it had become a "small river" as high as the knees of adult men.The river is not rushing, and there are some big stones thrown by the villagers in the middle for people to cross the river.There are also fish, shrimp and mussels in the river, so occasionally children and some young people come here to wander the river to catch some tooth-beating sacrifices.

When Li Ying came to the river, it was about an hour before noon.He went out late, but luckily Madam Hui made some pancakes with vegetables for him, so that he could stay by the river until the afternoon.

"It's so hot now...what can we do in summer..." Li Ying took out a small handkerchief and wiped his forehead, looking at the sky complaining.Didn't it mean that ancient times were cooler than modern times?But why didn't he feel this... Two years ago, when he was young, he was wrapped up by Madam Hui and stayed at home. Although the bamboo forest was a bit rough, it was very cool in summer.This year... Will he face the cruel reality from this year onwards?

Li Ying's little friend quickly walked to the banyan tree by the river, took out a rough cloth from the small pannier for a cushion, and then sat down.The little butt moved to the left and right, and finally found a comfortable sitting position.

Huiniang put a lot of things in the back basket, like three round and small hearth cakes, and a sweet rice porridge with a small bamboo knot, which is relatively watery and is used to quench thirst.Li Ying also found a ball of dough with a pointed top and dyed red inside?He took out the dough and found that it seemed to be the legendary... Cherry Bilo?

Li Ying expressed his excitement.

The most famous snack in the Tang Dynasty is this Biluo. I heard that there are not only fruits, but also lamb liver Biluo and crab roe Biluo Taiping Biluo!But those are snacks that can only be found in Chang'an City. Usually, people in the township and village will not go to Chang'an City, and they have to pay to enter the city.Holding this small pastry, Li Ying thought to himself, it seems that mother didn't go to Chang'an either, the last time she left home was to go to the market a few days ago... Then, it was his uncle who gave it to her?

Li Ying carefully opened the Bi Luo with his small snow-white hands. The outside part was quite simple, the skin made of flour and baked in the oven, but inside the thin skin were really cherry fruits! !He looked at these brightly colored fruits in surprise. They must have been made in a famous food workshop in Chang'an City. The most famous thing about Cherry Biluo is that the color of the fruit stuffing inside remains unchanged after being baked, which is both beautiful and delicious.

He couldn't help but think of those pastries in his previous life. They always said there were some fresh fruits in them, but the better ones gave you some canned fruit inside, and the bad ones simply had nothing at all.

Li Ying sighed and took a bite out of his small mouth.Uh... It really is a cherry. After all, it is baked, and the water has evaporated, so it tastes very soft and sweet... The outer skin is so crispy... Delicious...

A certain cub groaned and ate Bi Luo, leaving nothing but scum.

When the sun rose above his head, Li Ying was already lying on the ground with a small belly hiccupping, and empty bamboo knots and cake residues were lying beside him.He lazily squinted his eyes under the shade of the tree, considering whether to sleep for a while before talking.

Suddenly, there was a sound of splashing water next to it.

There are fish! !Li Ying sat up abruptly, and ran to the river to have a look. It seemed that there was something long and black rolling in it, making small splashes constantly!

"There are fish!! I saw it!!" Li Ying spun around excitedly, and then remembered what to do: "Yes! I'm going to get it...get the small net!" A soft fishing net comes out.This is what my mother took out for him from the market. There is no such thing as a large fishing net in the north. It is cut from a corner of a fishing net. His father trimmed it with wood and made a handle. .

The section of the river that Li Ying chose was the shallowest section, just up to the height of his calf, and the water flow was extremely slow, clear to the bottom, with only some pebbles at the bottom.He rolled up his trouser legs, exposing his snow-white little feet, and then carefully lowered himself into the cool water, getting closer to the little thing that kept thumping.

Obediently... come to my brother... let my brother catch you home and stew you into soup...

Li Ying held up the small fish net, and expressed with firm eyes and swift movements, little fish, you are wrong if you want to run away—obediently submit to my pomegranate———pants———let’s go—— ——

"Puff-"

"..." A certain cub was tragic.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Ying climbed ashore with a sullen face, then took off his clothes and spread them on the hot stones on the shore to dry, then picked up the coarse cloth on the ground and shook it, wrapped around the fat On the white and tender little body.

The small fishing net that was upside down on the shore moved, moved again, and finally, under Li Ying's gloomy gaze, it was thrown open suddenly.

Li Ying squatted down carefully, staring at the little thing that kept shaking its body with wide eyes, and then couldn't help poking it with his finger.

"what is this?"

The thing moving in front of him was obviously not a fish.This creature has a long and slender body, almost as long and thin as bamboo chopsticks, but it is not a snake, because snakes...obviously, it is impossible to have feet, and on the head - there are two crooked sticks? ! !

Li Ying picked up the thin stick and brought it in front of him, carefully looking at it inch by inch.The little thing looked at him with black eyes, with a horse's head and hyena tail, stag horns and eagle claws, and a whole body of shining black scales. Isn't it just a legendary dragon?

Since the little dragon came, it was at peace, and it meekly grasped his fingers with its tiny claws, and then its slender body was wrapped around Li Yingbai's tender arms, like the tail of a fish's fin on his arm like a baby. Rubbing up and down, it brought waves of itching.

"This damn world..." Li Ying murmured, looking at the little thing on his arm.This is the biggest difference between his Tang Dynasty and the real Tang Dynasty...

In the real Tang Dynasty, there should be no mythical things like dragons... there shouldn't be any mix-ups.To be correct, he shouldn't be here from modern times, because gods and ghosts should not exist.

But here it is.All the people here have more devout beliefs than Christians, because God has never really appeared, but those gods often perform miracles without incident, swaying in the admiration of all people in the world, and returning to the sky triumphantly .

Another example is the chopstick-like dragon in front of him.

Li Ying looked at the great dragon in his hand, and the first thing that came to his mind was, is there really Ni Lin?He stared at Xiaolong questioningly, then tapped Xiaolong's head with his fingers, and then touched the two rulers on top of its head. Dragons have no rulers and cannot ascend to the sky... I really want to saw them off and try...

Xiaolong shook his extremely small head, his two beards trembled, and then bent upwards with great difficulty.Li Ying squinted his eyes, and his fingers seemed to slide down the little dragon's head carelessly, and slowly moved towards the jaw. I remember that it was said that the dragon's reverse scales were all on its chin, shouldn't it be true?

Sure enough, before Li Ying's fingers could be touched and taken out, the little black dragon suddenly spewed out two clouds of air, and quickly slid along the next door to him, then leaped with all four limbs, flashed across the air and fell into the In the water, a small water splash made no sound.

"Hmph." Li Ying pouted dissatisfiedly, then walked to the riverside and squatted down while wearing her little apron.The little black dragon came out of the water again, only his small head was exposed, and Li Ying looked at each other, humming in his mouth, as if expressing his dissatisfaction.

What are you dissatisfied with... Li Ying poked it in the heart and said, I'm still wet because of you... If the clothes are not dry before I go home, I will definitely worry my mother!He propped up his chubby little chin and watched the little dragon flicking its tail, rolling up and down in the water, swimming back and forth, and couldn't help but start to be dazed.

There really are dragons in this world... I don't know, what kind of god is Nianxing?With such an appearance, he must be a Shangxian... His temperament is cold and surly, moody... Could it be Erlang Shenjun?It's not right, I didn't see the third eye, and there was no roaring dog beside me... Then, could it be Emperor Ziwei?Qinghua?Leizu?Uh...it doesn't seem like it.

"Tell me, why did Nianxing bring me here?" Li Ying asked the little black dragon in a low voice, "And why didn't you come to see me after you left?"

The little black dragon tilted his head and stared at him. After a while, he suddenly turned around and dived into the water. After shaking away a circle of water ripples, he disappeared into the clear water.

Li Ying looked melancholy at the empty river, his fingers still felt cold, but Xiaolong had disappeared.

Yes, he is just a mortal.

The sun was setting.Li Ying put away his things dejectedly, then put on the dried clothes neatly, and went home with a small basket on his back.

Mother Hui was surprised to see her son enter the door with a look of grievance on his face, and she didn't show her the basket as usual.

"Dalang? What's the matter?"

Li Ying looked up at his mother and shook his head: "I didn't catch any small fish today..."

Wang Han came over with a bundle of firewood, and picked up his son, "I think it's a big deal... I'll go tomorrow."

"I'm not going!" Li Ying struggled to get off the ground, and then ran into the house.Erlang had just woken up from a nap, and was nibbling happily on his toes in the basket. Li Ying picked him up with his mouth pouted, and moved him onto the bed step by step with difficulty.

"Be careful." Wang Han watched helplessly as Fan Tuantuan's eldest son carried the same fan Tuantuan's younger son to the bed, and then began to tease him.This child is still like this, when he is in a bad mood, he starts to tease his younger brother.

While doing embroidery, Hui Niang looked into the room.When Wang Han left the room, she whispered, "Have you talked to Da Lang?"

Wang Han shook his head: "Da Lang is only three years old...Is it too early?"

Hui Niang sighed, lowered her head and carefully began to embroider a peony on the yarn: "We have to wait for him to finish the rural school, and it will take two years...but I have to tell Da Lang now, he has always been smart, We don't need to worry about it..."

Wang Han kept his head down on his work and didn't talk anymore.Although he has two sons, the eldest son makes him feel more at ease and dotes on him more.As long as he thinks that Dalang will go to a farther school in the future, or even a Chinese school, he will feel a little more depressed.

What about being smart?After all, Dalang is only a child, and his family has no power or power, so it doesn’t matter if he only studies in the countryside, if he studies in Jingzhao Prefecture, he is mostly a son of a wealthy official family, even if he is bullied, he has no one to support him, and he has nowhere to complain!

"I just hope that he will be safe and successful in the future, not that he must be famous."

When Hui Niang heard her husband's words, she stared at the big red peony in her hand and became startled.How could she not know...and how could she have the heart to leave home alone at such a young age?If she wasn't the daughter of the Zheng family in Xingyang, why wouldn't Dalang and Erlang be woodcutters and hunters in Baoquan Township for the rest of their lives?It's just because of her family background that her brother made such a request... This made her feel a little wary.

People without power are like duckweed.

Didn't she see enough in the Zheng family back then?

"It would be best for Dalang to go to the state and county to take the exam as a tribute to the township. If he can't, if he wants to avoid his brother, he can only rely on himself. "Hui Niang paused, thinking about the submission of papers, her brother himself was reminding her that if she borrowed the voice of the Zheng family, she would be able to stand out without being the first paper.

Wang Han also participated in the boy's test in his early years, so he is not ignorant of the scientific test.He also thought of this point. The selection of scholars in this dynasty does not depend entirely on the Chunwei Provincial Examination, but also on the recommendation of famous people, or the public records of the Ministry of Rites, or the records of dignitaries.He also thought that the Patriarch of the Zheng family wanted to use this condition in exchange for his son.But if the son is gone, what's the use of those false names!

"Let's wait until Dalang enters the village to study." Wang Han stood up and walked into the house in annoyance.

Hui Niang didn't look at him, but coughed a few times.She has always had an obsession in her heart.

She looked at her hands, which were flawless, soft and smooth a few years ago.However, after years of hard work, although it is still fair, it is already rough...

"Hui Niang doesn't regret marrying Wang Lang, but you have prevented Hui Niang from seeing her mother for ten years, and not returning to her family... Now you are trying to take my child away... This hatred is not repaid, it is really hard to forgive! '

Li Ying is completely unaware that his parents are arguing about his future, and they are still teasing the silly Erlang viciously, and they are getting more and more cheerful. The previous depression has long since lost the country of Java.

"Erlang is so stupid... Do you like brother?" He poked Erlang's chubby cheek, and the child grabbed his finger and stuffed it into his mouth silly.Li Ying looked at the way the child pursed his mouth, and couldn't help shaking his head seriously: "Oh, the child has nothing to worry about, he only eats and sleeps."

As soon as Wang Han entered the door, he couldn't help laughing when he heard his son's old-fashioned words.