Deep Palace past events

Yang Fan listened silently to what they had said for a long time before he understood: the children on this boat were all going to be sold to become eunuchs, and it was a long journey to Jinling, and it took about ten days to get there.I thought to myself: "I seem to be injured a little bit. Let's take a good rest tonight. I don't need to try to escape, so as not to anger them and cause death. Anyway, it is far away from Jinling, and there is always a chance to escape on the way. So I don't No more wasting effort, and fell asleep.

The next day, just after dawn, Yang Fan was awakened by the noise in the cabin.

I saw the children and Yang Fan crowded around a small square table by the door, while a taller child stood on the table, peeped out from the protective window of the door, and looked around. Watch and tell everyone what you see:

"Wow! The surface of the river has become so wide! The fog is thick, ah! There is also an egret flying above the water!"

"Come down quickly, let me come up and take a look!" The child with the smallest head said excitedly.

"Let me see it first! I've never seen an egret before!" Another taller child next to him was also in a hurry.

The child on the table said: "Don't fight, don't fight! I just came up, I have to watch it for a while, oops, it flew away!"

Hearing that the egret was flying far away, the child who had never seen an egret rudely pulled the child off the table in a hurry, grabbed it and put his face against the protective window.

"Did you see it?" The children next to me were eager and excited, and they kept asking.

"See shit! It's gone."

Hearing that the egret had disappeared, everyone sighed in disappointment.

"Let me also come up and take a look. I saw that you all watched it just now. It's my turn!"

Yang Fan said while trying to pull down the child above.The child didn't know him, so he didn't want to let him go, but when he saw that his injuries didn't seem to heal, he had some sympathy, so he gave up his seat.

After Yang Fan stood up, he watched and asked everyone: "Why did the river suddenly become so wide overnight?"

The child with a slightly higher head said: "Now the boat is not on the Han River, but on the Yangtze River."

Yang Fan sighed for a while, then asked: "Where are we now?"

The child who gave way to him replied, "Hankou."

Daojiazhuang is located in the countryside of Wuhan. Wuhan is the capital city of Hubei Province. Because the Yangtze River and the Hanshui River meet here, the geographical location is very important. It is the most important port in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Half of Zhuang Ding, who escorted the children this time, had never seen the Yangtze River. They were very excited when they heard that they could enter the Yangtze River soon, so they instigated a small leader to ask Mrs. Tian for instructions, hoping to sail ahead of schedule today.

Mrs. Tian and the others were also in a hurry because of their schedule, so they were happy to be a favor, and ordered the boat to sail at five o'clock.

The children were still in their dreams, but suddenly woke up by the bumps. It was very strange to see that the boat sailed earlier than usual today.

A child moved the small square table placed in the corner of the room to the back of the door, and stood up to have a look. He was startled when he saw the white mist and the water, but fortunately, someone with more knowledge told him that he might have entered the Yangtze River. .

When the children heard that the boat was sailing on the Yangtze River, they immediately became excited, and they all rushed to the table to feast their eyes first.

Yang Fan suddenly saw the children in the next room scrambling out of the cabin, crowding onto the railing to watch the river view.He hurriedly said to everyone: "Don't argue, let's ask them to open the door. Everyone go outside to see, the cabin door of the next room is open."

The children were startled, and they heard the cheers of children outside the door, and immediately shouted:

"We're going out too!"

"The doors of the other rooms are all open, so our door must be opened!"

As soon as he yelled twice, he heard a Zhuang Ding shout loudly: "What the hell is the little bastard screaming? I know how to open the door! Everyone listen carefully: whichever room is the most noisy, I will open the door of that room last!"

The children immediately stopped shouting and waited obediently for the door to open.Because I can go out immediately, there is no need to fight for the table.

Seeing this, Yang Fan asked the girl under the table who looked a bit like a girl: "Would you like to come up and have a look?"

The child said: "It doesn't matter whether you look at it or not, anyway, the door will open soon." Even so, he couldn't help but climbed up on the table to peek out.

But at this time, the fog on the river was thick, and the scenery was not very clear.I saw that the river water was yellow and turbid, which was quite different from the emerald green Han River.

After watching for a while, the door opened, and the children rushed out the door like they were grabbing gold.

Most of these children come from remote and poor areas. Although they have seen some small rivers and streams, have they ever seen such a magnificent scene of a rushing river?Seeing the rushing water below the feet, splashing Qiong Yao, and the surging white waves beating fiercely against the hull, even though he knew that there was absolutely no danger for the person on board, he still couldn't help but secretly feel fear.

Looking at the distance again, there are thousands of layers of snow waves, thousands of layers of mist waves, vast and vast, indifferent.Although Yang Fan is in prison and his future is uncertain, he can't help but feel relaxed and happy for a while when he sees the magnificent scene of Ruoshui Sanqian.

Yang Fan gazed at the river water for a long time, before returning to reality.He anxiously asked the child next to him: "After entering the Yangtze River, is it not far from Jinling?"

The child said: "I don't know how far it is. I heard from my father that Jinling is in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River." He turned his head and asked a child next to him, "How long does it take to get to Jinling from here?" The child said : "I don't know, I only know that it takes about 20 days to go from our hometown to Jinling by water."

Yang Fan knew that Jinling was Nanjing, and that Nanjing was the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, but he didn't know exactly which Six Dynasties it was.Frowning, he asked the child, "Where is your hometown?"

"My home is at the foot of Goddess Peak in Sichuan. It's about six or seven days away from here by water, right?" Thinking of the green mountains and green waters of his hometown, his heart suddenly felt sad.After lowering his eyes and staring blankly at the river for a while, two lines of tears flowed silently.

When Yang Fan saw this, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic, turned his head away, and meditated on his thoughts.

The children thought they would dock right away, but unexpectedly the boat did not dock at Hankou Wharf, and after marching down for more than half an hour, they finally stopped at a small pier in the countryside.

After putting down the springboard, Mrs. Tian and her senior brother Xiang Di took several Zhuang Ding ashore to find a famous local yin and yang gentleman to ask divination and fortune-telling to predict whether the transaction would be successful, while the children were shut up in the cabin again. Waiting to sail.

The children didn't know what Mrs. Tian was going to do, and they were feeling bored, when suddenly five Zhuang Ding, who delivered food, opened the door and came in.

Because there is only a small table in the cabin, there is no room for a few large bowls of food, and the dishes are still placed in the narrow space in the middle of the bed as in the past few days.

Everyone was pleasantly surprised to see that the food was much better than usual.

A child asked curiously: "Did the sun come out from the west today? The food is much better than usual, and there are pork ribs stewed with sweet potato noodles! This is my favorite food!"

Another child was more interested in the pot of stir-fried shredded pork with green peppers, and said, "What a good day is it today? Such a good meal!"

Several Zhuang Ding listened and looked at each other with a smile, and a fat man said: "Because all of you have been very obedient these days, Madam ordered to improve everyone's food from now on."

The man with a few pockmarks on his face echoed: "Yes, as long as you are all quiet and obedient, I guarantee that from Hankou to Jinling, you will eat as good as this meal every day from now on."

Although the children didn't believe his words, seeing that the food was very rich, they didn't bother to ask any more questions, and started fighting for bowls and chopsticks.

After spending a few days with everyone, Yang Fan knew everyone's virtues, and knew that eating with them should not be polite, otherwise not only would he not get a little bit of meat, he might not even be able to eat enough dry rice.They hurriedly grabbed a pair of bowls and chopsticks, filled a bowl full of rice, and started to eat.

Several Zhuang Ding saw that the children were eating like piglets, devouring them hungrily, with mysterious smiles on their faces, they closed the door and went out.

The children gathered around the two pots of meat dishes on the ground, chopsticks to and fro, and after secretly discussing, they wiped out the two pots of meat dishes first.

Because I was already half full, I ate a little more gently than before.Everyone was eating and drinking in silence, when a child suddenly said, "Maybe Zhuang Ding didn't lie to us, everyone will be able to eat pork every day from now on."

Everyone was surprised and asked one after another:

"why?"

"Peng Xiaowan, how do you know?"

"Peng Xiaowan, did you hear anything?"

Peng Xiaowan didn't answer but instead asked, "Does anyone know how many days it takes to drive to Jinling?"

Seeing everyone looking at each other in blank dismay, he asked himself and answered: "I guess it may only be about ten days."

"what do you want to say in the end?"

"Speak if you have something to say, fart if you have something to say, don't play dumb with everyone."

Peng Xiaowan sighed, and said: "I'm not sure, it's just a guess. Many people in our village want to be eunuchs. Although most of them were not elected to the palace, they have already hired swordsmen from Tulangzhong or the capital. Erjiang had undergone self-uterine surgery. I heard from them that the knife maker started to make the person eat good food ten days before cleaning the body. But the water was decreasing day by day, because he drank too much water and urinated more , it greatly affects the swordsmith. We are only about ten days away from Jinling, and they suddenly improved the food, so I thought it might be the reason..."

After hearing these words, the children also felt that the possibility was very high. The youngest child asked with some guilt: "Who is the knife maker you are talking about?"

"Knife craftsman is a common name, but it actually refers to cleansing masters. They are people who specialize in helping people cleanse themselves."

Hearing that they were about to be turned into eunuchs, everyone was inexplicably flustered and frightened. They were lost in thought for a while, but Peng Xiaowan seemed to comfort everyone, denying his guess: "But it's not necessarily true. I heard that those who have been cleansed Those who got it said: Whoever wants to purify must first go to the master of the body to "hang the crotch", that is, sign up, and he will be taken in after passing the examination of the master. We haven't "hanged the crotch" at the master of the body. , the master of cleansing will not cleanse us, and Daojiazhuang will naturally not give us good food and vegetables first."

The child with a girlish appearance asked anxiously: "Then how will the purification master examine us?"

"It depends on whether you look good or not, whether you are smart or not, and you have to 'touch your crotch'."

The girlish child asked puzzledly: "Is it good-looking, smart or not, what does it have to do with being a eunuch?"

The child's name is Wei Zhi, and his name is a bit girly, and his appearance and temperament are also a bit girly.When he was sold to Daojiazhuang, he already knew that he would be sent to the capital to be a eunuch.Because the family is too poor, and some people in the clan have prospered because of being eunuchs, so they also want to enter the palace to be eunuchs.

"That's not necessarily true. If you have made up your mind, even if you are ugly and stupid, the purification master will not make things difficult for you. However, after purification, whether you can be selected into the palace depends on whether you have the fate !Even if you are lucky enough to enter the palace, the masters will definitely not like this ugly and stupid eunuch, so it will be difficult to develop."

Peng Xiaowan sighed, and said again: "But Wei Zhi, you don't have to worry, you look like a little girl, so it's no problem to keep it."

Wei Zhi blushed when she heard this, and asked timidly, "Then... what does 'touch the crotch' mean?"

Peng Xiaowan burst out laughing, and said, "I don't understand this! It's just touching your dick!"

Wei Zhi blushed even more when she heard this, although she still didn't quite understand why she had to "touch the crotch", but she couldn't ask further.

A child next to him suddenly asked: "Does he want to be a eunuch? What is he doing as a knife maker? Why is he picking his nose and eyes?"

Peng Xiaowan said: "This is because you, Zhang Xiaomao, don't understand. Do you think that the knife maker is a one-shot deal with all of us, you pay the operation fee, and he cleans up with you, and then it has nothing to do with it?"

Zhang Xiaomao asked puzzledly, "What else does that matter?"

Seeing everyone looking at him curiously, Peng Xiaowan was a little light-headed for a while, as if he was very knowledgeable, and then he said flirtatiously:

"It seems that you all don't understand these things, so I will tell you some of the things I have heard, and let you know: Everyone who voluntarily purifies must be guided by his parents. Take the gift to the body master to "hang the crotch" and learn from the teacher. The gift from the teacher is usually a pig's head or a fat chicken, and a pot of white wine.

"In addition, depending on the family situation, some cash money is required. If you can't get it out, you have to point to the child. Make up for it when you get rich in the future. After the apprenticeship, the purification master and the child's parent or agent will write a contract document. The documents should clearly state the words of voluntary purification and life or death.

"There are two main purposes. One is that if the child dies after the operation, the body wash master will not be subject to a lawsuit. The second is to wait for the child to become prosperous in the future, and the body wash master can make another sum of money.

"Because after the apprenticeship, no matter how rich and prosperous you are in the future, the purification master will enjoy the highest respect. Therefore, it is secondary for the knife maker to collect surgery fees, and the greater benefits are yet to come!"

While talking, suddenly the ship shook violently.Zhang Xiaomao said: "It seems that the boat is sailing?"

Wei Zhi said, "I'll go and have a look." He moved the table to the back of the door, stood on it, and saw a boat slowly leaving the shore.

Not long after, the doors of each room were reopened, and the children squeezed behind the railing to watch the river view again.

But it was a pity that it began to rain soon. Although the rain was light, the wind from the river was cold and strong. Everyone couldn't bear it, so they went back to their rooms one after another.

That night the boat was moored at the edge of a deserted field between Tuanfeng and Huanggang.Because of the rain, it got dark earlier than usual.Just after dinner, it was pitch black all around.

The children naturally lost their freedom again, and were not allowed to leave the cabin except to go to the toilet.

Mountains and fields are no different than cities and towns. Once it gets dark, it will be very quiet, and it is easy for people to have the illusion of time.After the children lay on the bed chatting without saying a word for a while, they mistakenly thought that it was late, so they undressed and fell asleep.