Lei Yue Longmen

From Weiyang to Danyang, there is an official road that has been opened since the reign of Emperor Shengzong. There is a post house every [-] miles, a kiosk every [-] miles, and a post every [-] miles. Originally, it was only for imperial messengers and officials to come and go.But? Since the Great Rebellion, the imperial court has been unable to make ends meet for a long time, unable to allocate money, food and horses to all post stations, so it acquiesced to those post stations on non-essential roads to receive business travelers in private, charging a lot of money to maintain basic communication on post roads.Since the reign of Emperor Qingzong, the national power has been restored, and the post office has recovered, but this rule has not been changed, so Cen Zhu's journey is very lively.

They pretended to be rich businessmen going south, walked and stopped on the official road for five days, and finally reached the border of Danyang.Danyang is located on the southeast coast of Yurui, with a well-developed fishery and sea salt industry. Several coastal counties are rich, but the inland is relatively barren.Yingrou's father's hometown is located in a small village between the coast and the inland, forty or fifty miles away from the coast.

On the sixth day, Cen Zhu changed his listless attitude from the previous few days, and specially changed into a sky-blue t-shirt. His whole body was as clean and beautiful as the clear sky, brand new.When Ying Rou saw her, her eyes sparkled softly, and she asked with a smile, "Why are you dressing up like this today? Don't you want to be that low-key grain merchant?"

Cen Zhu stroked the cherry tassels on the crown, and said with a smile: "I won't pretend anymore, I'll pretend to be your elder brother today. I will support you."

The smile on Yingrou's lips faltered for a moment, and then faded away, "Support me? I'm afraid all the girls in the village will be vying to be my sister-in-law."

Cen Zhu tilted his head and thought for a while, "What's the matter? Isn't it bad? Do you want me to pretend to be your sister-in-law again?"

Ying Rou was amused, "Isn't the result the same?" Then she breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Well, since you want to support me wholeheartedly, I will allow you to be my elder brother once."

The two of them bumped up and down the mountain path for half a day before arriving at the entrance of the village. The road ahead was narrow and rugged, and it was difficult to drive, so Cen Zhu sent his servants away and walked to the village with Yingrou.From a distance, I saw an old lady wrapped in a headscarf sitting under a big banyan tree not far away, leaning on crutches and staring blankly at the entrance of the village, as if waiting for someone.If you look closely, you will find that her eyes are not focused, and her expression is dull and indifferent.

Yingrou was pleasantly surprised, walked quickly to the old lady, and softly called: "Grandma?"

The old man's scorched face suddenly loosened like a mountain of mud, revealing a trembling expression.

Cen Zhu knew that this should be Yingrou's grandmother.It was a bit surprising, she didn't seem to be close to Yingrou, without the support of Yingrou's extended hand, she struggled to climb up with crutches.Without saying a word, he walked tremblingly towards the village.

Cen Zhu didn't know the reason? Seeing Ying Rou's expression was a bit sad, he vaguely guessed something? Maybe the old lady has always complained about the family who took her son away.

Touched her shoulder, "Let's go, don't let grandma get lost."

"Ah."

The two half led and half followed the old lady to the front of the remote old house.Cen Zhu looked at the short, dilapidated stone and mud tile house in the yard through the low stone wall half a person's height, and was silent for a moment.

"You lived here a few days ago?"

Yingrou nodded, knowing what she was thinking? She said with a faint smile, "Actually, it's good to live here. There are no outsiders to disturb you. It's quiet and free. It's quite suitable for me." After speaking, she was very interested Tell her calmly, "There is a small river to the west of the village. The scenery is beautiful. There are fish in the river. After you settle down, how about I take you to the river to fish?"

Cen Zhu also smiled, nodded, and entered the door with her.The old lady didn't even greet them, and went back to her room leisurely.Surprisingly, the sound of "Shua! Shua!" was heard from the small tile-roofed house on the east side.

Cen Zhu: "Is someone cooking here?"

"It's Shi Ai!"

Yingrou walked to the small tile-roofed house, and after a while, she heard a pleasant cry from inside the house, "Your Highness, you are back! I was just going to deliver food to the old lady. This...the room is full of oily smoke, you Go out first, my dishes will be cooked right away." From this address, Cen Zhu concluded that Ying Rou was acquainted, and after meeting each other, it turned out to be the case.

The visitor had a high nose and deep eyes, which were very different from those from the Central Plains. He was wearing a water-green gown, with a high bun on his head, and was also wrapped in a green scarf, with sharp edges and corners.The lips are sharp, a bit like shuttles on a loom.The most surprising thing is that although she is a woman, her body is much taller and stronger than ordinary people. Lifting two buckets of water from the kitchen is like ordinary people picking up a bowl and strolling in the garden.

Ying Rou smiled and said: "Shi Ai was originally from Tsing Yi Wei. When I left Tian Que, she was the only one who followed me. Although she was born heroic, she has a very clever mind. Not only is she proficient in Chinese and Lan Que , Tuhun language, and good at basic necessities of life. Thanks to her, I don’t have difficulty walking in Yurui.”

Cen Zhu suddenly realized that it turned out to be Tsing Yi Wei, no wonder his physique is so strong.As far as she knows, there are seven Davids in Tianque, the capital of Lanque, which is equivalent to Yurui's "Shenwu Army", responsible for defending the safety of the imperial city.The blue, blue, and white are the upper three guards, led by the Queen herself, and the red, purple, black, and yellow are the lower four guards, served by the leaders of the royal relatives and nobles of Lanque.She had had the good fortune to deal with the Blue Yiwei, the head of the Seven Davids, and was almost killed by their leader as an assassin.Since this Shi Ai was born in Tsing Yi Wei, he must be very skilled.Originally, I thought about supporting both grandparents and grandchildren, but it seemed unnecessary.

After the meal, Ying Rou arranged for her to rest on her small bed, and after running around for five or six days, Cen Zhu's body was already exhausted.But? She tossed and turned in bed and couldn't fall asleep.Hearing movement in the yard, he got up, opened the door and went out in a daze.

Shi Ai is playing with a fishing net in the yard.She shaded the sun overhead and asked:

"What is Miss Shi doing?"

"I'm not a aunt, nor a mother, please call me Shi Ai." Shi Ai replied while pulling the net.

Cen Zhu suddenly found it funny. The word "girl" was originally Yu Rui's most common title. For her newcomer, it might be a combination of "gu" and "mother". She is not used to it, but it is normal.Thinking back to when she was Hua Qing back then, she also preferred to be called Hua Qing directly. Adding a girl always felt cumbersome, and the word "Qing" was enough to represent everything.

So he readily agreed: "Okay, Shi Ai, what are you doing?"

"Drying fishing nets!" She replied straightforwardly.Cen Zhuoxin? Said that I naturally knew that you were drying fishing nets, but I wanted to ask you what you did for drying fishing nets?

"What's the point of drying it? Are you going fishing?"

"The old lady told me earlier that the princess would go fishing by the river in the afternoon, so she asked me to take a fishing net to dry."

It was only then that Cen Zhu remembered that Ying Rou had indeed said this, and thought to himself that the old lady was quite awkward, she clearly took her words to heart, yet she just ignored them and didn't even come out for lunch , or Shi Ai sent it in.

She yawned hugely, "Oh~ It seems that the old lady trusts you very much! By the way, where is Yingrou?"

"Go to school."

"School?" Cen Zhu regained his energy all of a sudden.After careful questioning, it turned out that the so-called school was just a promise made by Yingrou to a group of children to teach them calligraphy.The address of the school is in the grove where she wandered before.

When Cen Zhu looked over, he saw seven or eight children sitting around Yingrou, each holding a branch in their hand, writing and drawing on the ground.Knowing? She smiled and didn't bother her. She waited until she had finished the lesson. Yingrou looked back at her and smiled a little embarrassedly.

"It's terrible, our Yingrou has become a teacher. How many years of cultivation did he become a student of Mr. Lan!"

Yingrou heard her teasing, blushed and said: "Don't laugh at me, I want to live here, I always have to find something to do, don't I? Teaching these children to read, I feel very fulfilled."

"Yes, yes! Mr. Lan, what did you say? What is it?"

"Also~ want to ask for a fight?"

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Yingrou shot her a look, dismissed the children, and sat down with her in the grove, "What about you? What are you going to do? When will you go back?"

"Are you going to drive me away just now?"

Yingrou smiled, shaking the twig as if she had something on her mind, "If you insist on staying, I can't drive you away even if I want to!"

Cen Zhu looked at the face that was originally as bright as a cherry blossom, and under the bright sunshine, it seemed to be stained with a touch of sadness.Don't dare to make a joke? He said straightly: "I can't leave now. Our emperor sent me here as a foreigner. I have to finish the mission before I can go back."

Yingrou: "Oh~ so that's the case, did I just say it?, so? The kindness of coming all the way to see me off has ulterior motives."

Cen Zhu: "..."

Sometimes, she is really eloquent, and I can't even tell her.

The two sat in the grove for a while, Cen Zhuo yawned five or six times in a row, and almost sucked the bugs floating around his mouth into his mouth with his last breath.Ying Rou looked annoyed and funny, and helped her to open it, "Why don't you sleep more? You're going to be sleepy."

Cen Zhu rubbed his eyes, and yawned again, and said with a tired face, "I can't sleep."

"Is the bed uncomfortable to sleep on?"

Cen Zhu twisted his neck helplessly, "A little bit." He regained his energy and said, "Accompany me for a walk in the village! Maybe I can fall asleep when I'm tired." Ying Rou saw her haggard and tired look, Very suspicious of her suggestion that you can fall asleep when you are tired.

But after all, she couldn't hold her back, and the two of them walked slowly on the country road in the village. The village is not big, with only a few dozen households, but because of the uneven terrain, each household is far apart.There is a lot of idle land between households.Cen Zhu only saw some children playing with stones and gray-haired old men on the path, and rarely saw adults.Upon questioning, it turned out that most of the villagers had gone to sea.This village is no longer close to the sea, and the fishing industry is far less developed than the coast, but the villagers are still eager to go fishing.And not only this village, but several nearby villages.

This is something that has only happened in recent years.

Cen Zhu suddenly felt a little strange, so he asked Yingrou: "How did your grandmother live before you came?" The old lady is old, and she is blind, so she obviously can't fish anymore.And there is still such a big net in the house, most people can't get rid of it? Such a heavy net.

Yingrou shook her head and said sadly: "Grandma knows how to weave straw sandals, but few people come to buy them. I heard from people in the village that there was an Uncle Huang who often fished by the river and would pass by here to pick up some food for grandma. .The rest of the time must be very difficult!"

Cen Zhu listened attentively, "Who is this Uncle Huang? Have you met him?"

She shook her head, "I just heard that Uncle Huang is a fisherman and lives in a certain village upstream. Once a boat passed by our village and was thirsty and wanted to ask for a bowl of water. He came to grandma's house and saw grandma The house was full of straw sandals, and it happened that his shoes were worn out, so he exchanged a pair of straw sandals with his grandmother with a fishing net. After that, every time he fished, he would pass by here to borrow the fishing nets from his grandmother, and return them after fishing. Give grandma some as compensation."

After hearing this, Cen Zhu felt full of loopholes, "I'm thirsty on a boat, isn't there water under the boat? Why do I need to go to the village to ask for water? And how much is a pair of straw sandals worth for a fishing net? What do you do? You need to make a living. Why do I feel that this Uncle Huang has ulterior motives!"

Ying Rou was not surprised, she just smiled, "This Uncle Huang hasn't fished for several months since I came here. If I have the chance, I would like to see his true face in Mount Lu."

On the way, Yingrou was disturbed by a woman named Mrs. Zhang, who held her and talked for a long time.The other party was too enthusiastic, and Yingrou couldn't turn away from her body, so she could only look at Cen Zhu helplessly.Cen Zhu pointed to the big tree next to him with a smile, and went to rest under it.

When Ying Rou found her, she was squatting with a group of chattering children under the tree, watching them throwing stones intently.The child seems to have a heart? To invite her to play together, she just smiled and shook her head, and did not participate.Yingrou walked over with a slight smile, took out a few oranges from the basket, and distributed them to each of them. The children got the oranges and ran away happily as if they had reached a tacit understanding?

Cen Zhu looked up and saw Ying Rou, and smiled slightly, his eyes lazily narrowed into two lines due to the sunlight shining through the tree gap.

"Sleepy?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah!" The voice was sticky, and she looked at the orange in her hand.

Yingrou smiled helplessly, peeled the last orange, took off the white strands from the flesh, broke off a piece and brought it to her mouth, "Hey, Mrs. Zhang gave it, it's the last one! Go back to sleep after eating ,OK?"

"En." Cen Zhuo took a bite of the orange and put it in his mouth. When his teeth and cheeks were stirred, the pulp and juice exploded in his mouth, sour and sweet.She squinted her eyes contentedly, and ate the second, and the third...

Yingrou saw that she was eating deliciously, and her heart was wrapped in sweet and sour tenderness.Even the fingertips were trembling slightly.

The sun shines on the golden dirt road, the breeze brings the warm fragrance of Sophora japonica, and the two of them walk side by side on the small path home. Isn't it the peace and serenity they yearned for ten years ago?Unexpectedly, after going around for many years, they finally came here, and no one was absent.It's just, never? I can't go back to the beginning.