Red House Farm Stay

"The third prince hasn't come back yet. I'm afraid he's discussing countermeasures outside. How to stop the refugees. Why did you go early? Relief, food, and porridge. Who would travel long distances to the capital to survive? If you are far from home, just look at the daughter-in-law of the Liu family and you will know."

Wang Gou'er was smoking a pipe, and the Liu family's daughter-in-law, dressed neatly and had a full meal, was able to take a look.She is smart in speaking and doing things, and getting along with the villagers is not bad. Presumably, she was also a flower in the village before.

If he hadn't left his homeland, why would he have married into a family like the Liu family.

"You men are really, these three sentences are inseparable from important national affairs. These things are arranged by the officials. Anyway, we are at the feet of the emperor, so there is nothing to be afraid of." Liu Shi has a kind of blind confidence in living at the feet of the emperor.

I don't know if it was because of Liu's auspicious words that the number of refugees has really decreased. It is rumored everywhere that the third prince's disaster relief is effective. These people have all returned to their hometowns and stopped coming to the capital.

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites breathed a sigh of relief, otherwise Shengshou really didn't know how to step down.

Sure enough, the village head of Liujia Village got through his connections and was selected among a group of farmers who came to the palace to celebrate their birthdays.A total of [-] old farmers from all over the country came to present their own food and vegetables. Firstly, it showed the support and love of the people for the imperial court.

The village head cut new clothes and worshiped the ancestors. The first three days after entering the palace, he even fasted for three days.It also allowed Jia Zhuo to see more deeply what imperial power means in the hearts of ordinary people.

On the day of Shengshou Festival, there will be fireworks in Jinling City, and Qing'er really wants to see them.Of course Jia Zhuo didn't dare to go to Jinling City, and Grandma Liu was even more reluctant to move. Ban'er also shook his head, saying that he was not interested in fireworks.Wang Gou'er didn't want to spoil his daughter's interest. This kind of big day would never happen again in many years, so he decided to bring Mrs. Liu and her daughter into the city together.

"If we go there early in the morning, we won't drive. We will take the donkey cart in the village directly into the city, stay overnight, and return at noon the next day." After watching the fireworks in the evening, of course, we can't drive all night, so we can only live in Jinling City. last night.Wang Gou'er arranged it like this, and asked Ban'er and Jia Zhuo if they wanted anything, and he bought it and brought it back.

"The paper for handwriting is almost gone. I bought some cheap ones, and the ink sticks are almost gone." Ban'er always wanted the same things, and he hardly paid much attention to food and clothing. What I have is nothing more than pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

"I want a pair of suede boots. Qing'er and I each have a pair. They are waterproof and warm." Jia Zhuo thought about it seriously. When the cotton shoes were stained with snow, they turned into water and got into the shoes, which was cold and clammy.Go to the fire to roast, put it on and do something casually, and it will get wet again.She can't feel her feet after being frozen all day, which is what she hates most in winter.

"Okay, buy them all, and buy a pair for Ban'er." Wang Gou'er nodded with a smile.

"You have to have a pair yourself. It's not decent to go out sometimes." Grandma Liu also smiled. It would be great to live like this year after year.

On the day of Halloween, Ban'er drove them to Liujia Village in a mule cart, then returned with an empty cart, and went to the main house.

It was cold, and the family began to light charcoal pots, and everyone sat in the main room to warm up the fire. Farmhouses did not waste as much as lighting a charcoal pot for each house.

As soon as I came in, I smelled a fragrant fragrance. The peanuts were roasted in the charcoal basin, and they were probably ripe at the moment, emitting an aroma.Jia Zhuo frantically went to pick it up, but was picked up by Ban Er, who picked it up quickly and steadily, peeled it off with his own hands, and handed it to grandma and Jia Zhuo.

"I don't want to eat anymore. I'm old and can't bite anymore. You can eat it yourself." Grandma Liu didn't want it. She just smiled when she saw how delicious their food was.

Jia Zhuo also wanted to peel it, but Baner hurriedly snatched it away, "Be careful of the burn."

"You're peeling too." Jia Zhuo couldn't believe it, so he just picked one up, and as soon as he got it in his hand, he threw it away with a scalding "Aiyo".

Ban'er smiled "hehe", picked it up and peeled it, and put the peanuts on a small plate on the table for Jia Zhuo to eat.

"Why are you not afraid of being hot?" Jia Zhuo was a little unconvinced.

Ban'er spread out his palm to show her, "I have thick skin."

Jia Zhuo touched it with his fingers, where the skin was thick, and the palms of his hands were full of thick calluses, so naturally he was not afraid of being scalded.He was just a 15-year-old boy, Jia Zhuo raised his eyes and met Ban'er's eyes.How long did they stare at each other? Jia Zhuo only felt that it was as long as a century, but when he looked away, the peanut on the plate was obviously still steaming.

Ban'er nervously went to see his grandma, only to find that grandma had fallen asleep with her eyes closed.

"I'm going to get a blanket for grandma." Jia Zhuo also found out, and just as he opened his mouth, Ban'er had stood up and walked out, and said concisely, "I'll go."

After putting the blanket on grandma, she woke up and said, "I didn't fall asleep."

"I know grandma isn't asleep, but I'm afraid you'll be cold." Jia Zhuo poured hot tea again, and each of them took a cup, warming their stomachs.

"Oh, Mrs. Leng left a message for our parents, saying that they went to the Uncle Leng's house, and asked our parents to go to Jinling City to see the fireworks together at night." Thinking of this, Baner thought, Said.

"It's time for them to go north for a family reunion after the Chinese New Year, and they don't know how easy life is over there." Grandma Liu couldn't help worrying about them.

"I don't know anything else. If the government over there can be as disciplined as the military, it should be right. However, the people in the Cha family seem to dislike King Suqing very much." The eldest son Luo Lingyuan's military temperament is definitely not a lazy The second-generation ancestor who can practice it must have received extremely strict training.Jia Zhuo held the teacup in his arms. The fire in the charcoal basin was so warm that he felt drowsy.

"King Suqing was born in the army, and he doesn't think highly of literati. It seems that he killed a son-in-law of the Cha family because of something about food and grass." Master said.

"No wonder the ninth son reacted like that at that time." Jia Zhuo suddenly realized.

"Young Master Ninth... You guys, have talked about this before." Ban'er turned the charcoal basin and added charcoal to it.

"Didn't I copy his travel notes while he was away? He found out, so I mentioned it." She also showed Ban'er the travel notes, and Ban'er liked to read the strange cases recorded in it.

"Master Jiu is going to leave after the Shengshou Festival or after the Chinese New Year. We don't know what to give." Ban'er felt happy again when he thought that he was leaving and might never come back.

"It seems to be leaving after the New Year. Just send some earthenware. People like them don't lack anything anyway. It's the same for them." Jia Zhuo believes that Wang Gou'er can handle this matter beautifully. Liang, she is too lazy to worry about it.

"Tomorrow, how much corn and rice will we plant, and how much will I harvest in total? Can I grow enough?" Jia Zhuo just asked casually. She wanted to bring the Wang family to the city after the death of Prince Zhongshun. Even if you don't go to Jinling, you can move to the county seat.For such an astute person as Wang Gou'er, there must be no problem in starting a small business. It's easier than farming.

"I discussed it with my father. Your rice seeds are too eye-catching. You might as well put them aside. We'll take them out after Prince Zhongshun dies."

"That's right, once you plant it, you can't hide it." Jia Zhuo held her chin and understood their worries. Anyway, the Wang family would not be hungry anymore, so she nodded, "That's fine, I really hope that old man Die early."

Prince Zhongshun is the emperor's uncle. He is almost 60 years old this year. If he lives longer, it is possible to live another ten or twenty years.Jia Zhuo calculated his age in his mind and sighed.

At noon the next day, the Wang family did not come back as scheduled. Ban'er drove a mule cart to the village to wait.The village chief's family has already asked people to go to the village chief's house to ask for news, and Ban'er is also waiting in Liu's village.

There was no news from the chief, and Ban'er didn't want to wait any longer, so he asked the children in the village to help him run to Xiaodongshan, and then he drove to Jinling City in a mule cart.

When Miss Qiao heard what the messenger said, she quickly grabbed a handful of candy, wrapped it in kraft paper and stuffed it into his arms, "Thank you for coming to report the letter, go back and eat with your sister, and be careful on the way."

"Brother Ban'er told you not to run around, just wait for him at home." The little boy hopped away with Tang in his arms.

At this moment, Baner also left when he arrived at Liujia Village, so Jia Zhuo went straight to Xiaodongshan, climbed to the top of the mountain and looked down, the small house of the ninth son was quiet.Yesterday was the Shengshou Festival, so he must have been in Jinling City.

But no matter what, their news was better than their own, and they ran to knock on the door, and the people who opened the door were all unknown people.The previous manager was also absent, the uncle who was driving the car and Xiao Cai were all gone.

Fortunately, the people in the kitchen recognized her, and when they came out to ask, it was strange to know that this was the case, "Master, I moved to Jinling City a few days ago. The Cha family has a big house in Jinling City. It’s just that the young master doesn’t like living here. Since the girl said so, let’s also ask people to go to Wannian County and Jinling City to ask about it.”

Seeing Jia Zhuo still not leaving, the cook smiled and said, "I have some news. I'll ask someone to report to you. Don't worry about it. I think there's something about Halloween. It's because everyone had so much fun last night. Too much, today, I can’t even get out of bed.”

"Thank you, Ma'am, I'll wait for your news at home." Jia Zhuo thanked you again and again before going back. She knew that Wang Gou'er was at home and went out with his wife and daughter. She would never drink too much outside Yes, it will not delay the time of the return journey.

What's more, the village head didn't come back, so what a coincidence.

Grandma Liu prepared meals for the whole family at home, but she couldn't wait for anyone. Ban'er went out and didn't come back. Jia Zhuo said hello and ran out.When he came back, his face was full of sadness.

"Come on, let's have a full meal first, no matter how important it is, we have to eat." Grandma Liu served Jia Zhuo with food, and the two ate in silence.

"What could happen?" Jia Zhuo couldn't figure it out.

"Even if there is something wrong, it has nothing to do with us small people. At most, they have been caught in the fishing pond." Grandma Liu was worried, but felt that the possibility of something wrong with them was still very low.

In the afternoon, Xiao Dongshan got the news first, saying that the magistrate's wife from Wannian County said that it was nothing serious, so they could feel at ease.

Grandma Liu stuffed a handful of copper coins to the messenger, "Thank you little brother, if there is anything else, please come again."

If he ran an errand and passed on a word, he would get dozens of copper coins. If he didn't like it, there was a small hill on the left and right, that's all.

"Don't worry, I'll come over if there's anything to do, and I'll report to your family as soon as I have something." After saying that, she left happily.

"Look, the county magistrate's wife said it's okay, she can still coax us." Grandma Liu patted Jia Zhuo, "If you want to wait, go inside and wait. It's so cold, how can you stand outside."

Roasted peanuts have lost interest, and I don't want to eat any of the things in the fruit bowl. From time to time, I run outside to look up and down.Every time I came back disappointed, and ran out again when I heard a little movement.

After waiting until the sunset, Jia Zhuo finally heard the unique sound of "kicking, tapping, tapping" of the mule cart, and Jia Zhuo ran to the intersection excitedly.Ban'er was driving the car and saw Jia Zhuo stop, Qing'er jumped down and hugged Jia Zhuo, "I was scared to death, I thought I would never come back."

"Go, go, what nonsense, didn't you come back well?" Jia Zhuo held her hand, seeing that Wang Gou'er also helped Mrs. Liu down, and the whole family was in good order, so he was relieved.

"It's really unlucky, who knew that this kind of thing would happen." Liu complained as she walked into the house.

The whole family was hungry, so Jia Zhuo hurried to the kitchen to heat up the meals and bring them out.

Qing'er took a big sip of the cured pork rib soup, and hummed comfortably, "I've been queuing in the cold wind today, and I'm almost freezing."

"What's going on?" Grandma Liu asked seeing that Wang Gou'er also drank half a bowl of soup in one go.

"Yesterday on the Shengshou Festival, all the officials came to congratulate, and there was a big banquet in the palace. I heard that the emperor vomited blood on the spot."

"Isn't it? Outsiders don't know, but Leng's family is well informed. Their uncle was in the palace at the time." Liu tsk-tsk for a long time. They watched the fireworks yesterday in the restaurant box set by Leng's family, and at night. Live in Leng's house.The news is naturally better than that of ordinary people outside, but there is only one sentence when they come and go, and there is no more words.

"When entering and exiting the city gate, everyone's name and residence must be registered, and all outsiders must check the wayfinding. There were a lot of people entering the city yesterday for Shengshou, and today they all vaguely heard the news of the emperor's accident, and they were in a hurry to leave the city, so they lined up. There's a long line."

Ban'er explained for them that he saw that something was wrong, and after inquiring about it, he waited at the place outside the city until the evening when he waited for their family, got in the car and drove back.

Why is it not Prince Zhongshun who vomits blood? This is Jia Zhuo's strongest thought.

The village head hasn't come back yet, because they just cleaned up the dishes, and someone from the village head's house came to inquire about the news.Regarding the matter of the emperor vomiting blood, no one in the Wang family dared to tell the outside world. They only said that they didn't know why the gate of the city was so strictly checked.

"We have been inquiring all day long, and the village chief said that the old patriarch of another village he knew also entered the palace and did not come back either." The village chief's son looked terrified. In a state of bewilderment.

"We're just going to join in the fun and watch the fireworks. We're far away from the palace, so it's impossible to know what's going on inside the palace. However, the village chief and the others are all entertained by the Ministry of Rites. Is it because it's difficult to leave the city today, so they simply stayed here tomorrow? Send it back."

Wang Gou'er's comfort made the village head's son calm down a little, thanked him for the news and went home.

The son of the village chief went to Jinling City the next day, and the people from the Ministry of Rites told them that the emperor entertained these old peasants to live in the palace for a few days, so that they don't have to worry.

When the village chief's son came back, his whole body was floating, living in the palace, what a blessing it was, I couldn't even imagine it.Everyone in the Liu family village looked envious, only the people from the Wang family were surprised when they got the news.Except for Liu Shi and Qing'er, the others don't believe in such things at all.

A few days later, the village chief finally came back, his face flushed with excitement, and he couldn't speak clearly when he got home, he just cared about being happy.Maybe it was because I was so happy that after a few days, I fell asleep and never woke up again.Everyone said that his fate was too weak to bear such a great blessing.

The Wang family left, and Wang Gou'er started smoking a pipe when he came back. Ban'er whispered to Jia Zhuo, "The other patriarch who entered the palace with the village chief is gone."

There are 48 people left, all old farmers sent over from various places, and they are already on their way back.Whether they are dead or alive is definitely not something they can inquire about.It's just that these people, a lot of age, travel back and forth, even if they die on the road, or disappear when they go back, I'm afraid no one will think of it.

The family members of the deceased probably never thought that the other 49 people would suffer the same fate as them.Even if I know two or three by chance, I'm afraid I think it's a coincidence.

"Is Mrs. Leng back?" Jia Zhuo asked.

"No." Ban'er shook his head, this matter is really unpredictable.

Jia Zhuo went to the top of Xiaodong Mountain to look down every day. The small house was very quiet, the carriage was not there, and the ninth son never came back.

There may be a major incident in the palace, but ordinary people don't feel it, and life still has to go on.Wang Gou'er bought a small yard with a pavement in Wannian County, the front yard and the backyard, and the yard has its own well.

"I went to see it. The yard is a bit dilapidated. The tiles need to be replaced, and the ground needs to be patched again. There are still furniture inside, but they are a bit old, and they can be used by scrubbing."

"The shop used to be a cloth shop, and the owner sold it cheaply when he had to go back to his hometown." Mrs. Liu was also very satisfied, 180 taels of silver, and another 20 taels of repairs, 200 taels was enough.

"Okay, okay, look after it, it must be good." Grandma Liu asked Wang Gou'er to repair it quickly and rent out the shop first.

"Well, these days I am looking for someone to fix it, and at the same time hanging it out." Wang Gou'er nodded.

This shop can be rented out to earn 15 taels a year, and if one day is lost, one day's income will be lost. Naturally, I want to hurry up.

"Uncle, why don't you open a shop yourself." Jia Zhuo was very excited when he heard that they bought a shop.

"There is no good business to do at the moment, let's rent it out first." Wang Gou'er smoked his pipe and lowered his head.

"Our family is not a person who can do business, and it's not that his father didn't do it before, so he paid for it. If Mother didn't take Baner to your house, we would not be able to survive that year." The Liu family mentioned What happened back then was shaking his head.

"Okay, don't talk about it." Wang Gou'er stood up, frowning rarely, his face full of displeasure.

"Don't let people talk about it, it's okay, just don't talk about it." Seeing that Wang Gou'er's face became more and more ugly, Liu shut up dissatisfied.

Jia Zhuo tactfully stopped mentioning this, and a few days later, Mrs. Leng returned to Liu's Village, and she was the first to visit Wang's house.

"You didn't say anything outside, did you?" Aunt Leng knew that the Wang family was not talkative, but she still couldn't help asking.

"Don't worry, the village head's son came to ask, and we didn't say a word." Grandma Liu comforted her.

"Oh, you don't know, we stayed at his uncle's house, and we were worried every day, for fear of something happening." Aunt Leng didn't say what she was afraid of, and Grandma Liu didn't dare to ask.

In the end, Mrs. Leng patted her chest, "It is said that being with you is like being with a tiger. We know it. After the Chinese New Year, when the weather turns warmer, we will be on our way."

Aunt Leng was completely frightened by the atmosphere in Uncle Leng's house this time, and she just wanted to leave quickly to reunite with Uncle Leng.

"Bring more medicinal materials with you, especially if the child is still young. Be careful on the road." Grandma Liu picked up the things on the road and chatted with Aunt Leng. The topic gradually became lighter, and the expressions on the faces of the two people also relaxed. Started to smile.

The situation in the palace was far more serious than the insiders thought.After the emperor vomited blood, he stayed in bed for three days before getting up.In the past three days, the First Prince and Prince Zhongshun have dealt with the insider and concealed the news.

After the emperor could get up, the eldest prince and Prince Zhongshun handed over the results of the disposal to the imperial court. How to deal with the aftermath, especially how to deal with the third prince, was up to the emperor to decide.

"You bring a team of people yourself, and bring that brat back to me first." The emperor is still panicking now. Look at what he is doing. It is rare for a fiftieth birthday to be taken away by his son. The slap hit the face, wishing to tear the kid's heart.

"But, didn't your majesty say..." Prince Zhongshun glanced at the eldest prince, hesitant to speak.

Knowing that they had something to say, the eldest prince hurriedly left.

Prince Zhongshun cupped his hands and said: "The ministers brought all the elite, not for..." He pointed to the north with his finger.

The emperor waved his hand, "He's not the only son, unless he comes in person, unfortunately, he's afraid he won't dare."

"Yes, I will do it immediately." Prince Zhongshun received the order and set off immediately.