"Drive! Drive! Grrrrrrrr~~Mom, come after me!"
"Girl, don't pull my hair!"
In the afternoon, in the yard outside the study room in the inner courtyard, a little girl with pink and jade sculptures was riding on Zhao Xin's neck. Zhao Xin's hands were tightly holding the child's legs. As his steps became faster and slower, and his figure became higher and lower, the little girl burst into laughter from time to time.
This child has a fair and rosy face, tender and tender, with two dimples; a pair of big eyes like two black gems, clear and bright; lips are pink and full, and they will reveal their whiteness when smiling little teeth. She is the daughter of Zhao Xin and Tang Xiao, Zhao Lin, who is almost three years old this year.
Zhao Xin now has two sons and one daughter. Both sons were born to Shen Xuan. The eldest son is called Zhao Hao, the second son is called Zhao Sheng, and this is the daughter. A few days ago, Shen Xuan was pregnant again, Wang Zhenyi was pregnant again, and the 30-year-old French princess also had a baby.
Well, in order to better interfere in France's internal affairs and extend his hands into Europe in the future, Zhao Xin thought about the pros and cons, and finally took a substantive step. Although it cannot be fully disclosed, he can be regarded as Louis Charles's uncle after all. In terms of blood relationship, the unborn child has the blood of the Bourbon family, and will be eligible to intervene in France, Spain or Italy in the future.
Under the corridor, Tang Xiao, who was wearing a mother-of-pearl white silk jacket and a sapphire blue brocade horse-faced skirt with a smile on his face, watched the father and daughter playing around with a gentle look on his face, thinking to himself that if life goes on like this, How nice. Two weeks passed by like a flash, and when I thought that Zhao Xin would leave tomorrow, a few rays of melancholy also surfaced.
But she also understood that since she had decided to follow this person, this was the result. Forget her, Shen Xuan, Wang Zhenyi and A Miao don't have much time with Zhao Xin throughout the year. The most important thing for her now is to get pregnant again. Shen Xuan has already given birth to two sons.
Although Zhao Xin regarded Zhao Lin as a treasure, Tang Xiao knew that no matter how good his daughter was, she would belong to someone else's family sooner or later, and his son was the one he could rely on in the future. It is said that Tang Xiao has studied Mingli since she was a child, and received education in music, chess, calligraphy and painting since she was a child. Over the years, she has seen many new things and new ideas in Beihai Town. She can be regarded as a well-educated woman in this time and space; but the ups and downs of her childhood made her understand a The truth is, if a woman has no son, there will be no place for a man to cry if something unexpected happens to him.
After dinner in the evening, Zhao Xin accompanied Tang Xiao and his daughter to play cards in the flower hall. Unexpectedly, the head guard Chai Rugui sent several urgent telegrams, so he had to go to the study to deal with them. By the time he finished his work and returned to the backyard, it was already late at night, and his daughter She had already fallen asleep, and the nanny was watching over her.
When Tang Xiao gave birth to Zhao Lin, she was just twenty, and there were no elders around her, so she didn't know how to take care of her child. Not to mention her sisters, all of them looked at her with big eyes and small eyes, and couldn't even change their diapers.
After A Miao found out, she asked Wan Zao's wife to hire a nanny to take care of her at the hospital. The nanny was a widow. She was a nice person, especially one who didn't like to talk. Her husband used to work in a military factory, but he died in an accident, leaving a family of three behind. The nanny's son and daughter were grown up and were studying in a boarding school in Fuldan City. She had nothing to do, and she had feelings for Zhao Lin again, so she followed her to Boli. Tang Xiao himself was a poor man, so he didn't look down on the nanny at all. Later, he simply recognized her as his sister.
Seeing Zhao Xin come back, Tang Xiao, who was sleeping on the bedside, sat up, brushed his hair, got up and poured him foot-washing water, brought him a bowl of ginseng soup, and then moved a small stool to sit on it. On the opposite side, he washed his feet and massaged his legs with hot water. Everyone enjoys being an uncle, and Zhao Xin is no exception.
However, he really did not come to Khabarovsk to enjoy the blessings. In the two weeks, in addition to inspecting the steel plant and railway, he also made a special trip by boat to Trinshiji, where he paid homage to the Yongning Monument again. When he came back, he also stopped by Bar. Gram Village.
At first glance, today's lower reaches of the Hun Tong River seem to be no different from the past. On the river in the golden autumn, the Hezhe people's fast boats are still coming and going. The fishermen are catching migratory salmon, sturgeon and catfish to their heart's content. The loud Yimakan will also be seen on the shore or on the river from time to time. sounded.
However, many things are different from the past. Deleng'en Wooden City, which prospered due to the "Tribute to Mink Shopping for Wulin", has long been abandoned. Temple Street, located on the north bank of the estuary of the Hun Tong River, has also grown from a small village to a town with thousands of residents. Whenever the river thaws in the spring, a boatload of coal, wood and furs mined from the northwest of Kuye Island will be transported to the cargo yard here by sea ship, and then transferred to a river ship, along the Hun Tong River directly to Khabarovsk.
In addition, Temple Street Town is also the main fish processing base in Beihai Town. One-third of the canned fish eaten by Beihai Navy is initially processed in the town's factory and then transported to the cannery in Fuldan City. .
In Temple Street and Balke Village, Zhao Xin saw the steady happiness on the faces of Hezhe people who were increasingly prosperous. In addition to fishing and logging, they now regularly bring various handmade crafts to Khabarovsk for sale, such as fish skin clothing, fish skin boots, necklaces made of fish bones, mink hats, roe deer skin gloves, etc. wait.
As for the Feyaka people on Bitterleaf Island, they no longer have to travel thousands of miles inland to do business. Oha Town in the north and Dabo Town in the south are both densely populated. If that's still too far, you can go to the two coal mines in the west to exchange for the daily necessities you want.
Because Liu Sheng was the son-in-law of the Hezhe people, because Zhao Xin avenged Wukanbei, and because Zhao Xin was regarded as a god by the Kuye Feyaka people, there were almost a thousand Hezhe and Feyaka people in these years. People joined the Northern Navy.
They followed Zhao Xin north to Siberia, followed Liu Sheng and Fan Tong west to Mongolia and even the Tianshan Mountains, followed Wang Yuanfang and Deng Fei south to Java, followed Ding Guofeng to the South Asian continent, and some even followed Lu Qi to the distant Kinmen.
In today's outer Northeast, language is no longer a barrier for young people of all ethnic groups. The old people in the civil affairs and education department spent eight years training hundreds of young teachers who can speak fluent Mandarin, and successively opened more than 50 junior schools with food and accommodation, almost all of them of the appropriate age. of children are included.
Furthermore, as the agricultural product trading market in Khabarovsk becomes larger and larger, those border residents who often come here to trade have to learn a few words, otherwise they will not even be able to do business.
Faced with all this, Zhao Xin felt sincerely gratified. He felt that he and his companions had struggled for ten years to protect and change this land that was forever lost in another time and space. The mountains and rivers are safe, and the world is safe. From this, he also proudly comforted God in front of the Yongning Monument that he lived up to his original intention.
However, there was something he had to solve. Among the telegrams sent by Chai Rugui before, one was related to Tang Xiao. So when Tang Xiao went out to pour the foot wash, washed his hands again, and was about to turn off the light and go to bed, Zhao Xin, who had been thinking about what to say for a long time, finally spoke.
"There's something I need to tell you."
"Um?"
"Your mother has been found. I asked people from the Cao Gang to help investigate."
"." Tang Xiao was stunned for a moment. She raised her head and stared at Zhao Xin in disbelief. After a while, her eyes were full of tears, which made people feel distressed. After a while, she sobbed tremblingly: "Really? Where is she?"
Zhao Xin quickly held her in his arms, stroked her hair and said softly: "She remarried and is now in a village in the countryside of Yancheng. You want to see her?"
"No! If she had cared about me, she wouldn't have sold me to a human being." The more Tang Xiao thought about it, the more miserable he felt in his heart. He was trembling with sobs, like pear blossoms with rain. If it weren't for the fear of waking up the children in the east room, she would have cried loudly.
Zhao Xin sighed, kissed her forehead, and advised: "There's nothing we can do about it. Can she still beg for food with you for the rest of her life? Besides, there are always good and bad sides to everything. If you hadn't gone to Yangzhou, we would have We couldn't see each other anymore. What should I do if I can't find you?"
"Fuck you." Tang Xiao burst into laughter, lightly slapped Zhao Xin, and asked curiously: "How did you find it? I can't even remember what happened when I was a child."
Zhao Xin looked proud and joked: "Me, I was fished out of the sea. If I want to do something, the Sea Dragon King has to give me face."
It is said that the reason why Tang Xiao became a "skinny horse" for sale at that time was because her father died of a sudden illness when she was three years old. Since his parents only had one daughter, Tang Xiao, and no son, disaster struck.
As soon as his father was buried, everyone in the clan started a feast of "eating every household". Several elders came forward to preside over the sale of the Tang Xiao family's property, and then the banquet was held for more than a month. All the clan members with the surname Tang came to eat, one by one. My face was shiny after eating. However, Tang Xiao's mother and daughter were ignored in the days that followed. They were driven away even if they tried to borrow a hut at a relative's house. Tang Xiao's mother was forced to beg with her all the way.
The mother and daughter met a man when they were begging in Danyang. Tang Xiao's mother couldn't bear that her daughter would suffer again, so she sold her for five ounces of money. From then on, Tang Xiao never saw her mother again.
A few years ago, Zhao Xin decided to accept Tang Xiaoxiao, and finally learned about her life experience, so he started to think of finding her mother. The problem is that more than ten years have passed. The family that raised Tang Xiao was also slaughtered by Zhao Xin and others. Tang Xiao only had a hairpin left by her mother. She didn’t even know where her hometown was and where her mother was. Most people can’t remember it, so it’s really hard to check.
The Intelligence Bureau, the Ministry of Trade, the Cao Gang, and even Lao Huang from "Huang Shengtai" all helped with the investigation. It was really like finding a needle in a haystack. Finally, a few months ago, Huang Shengtai's newly hired clerk in Gui'an County, Huzhou Prefecture provided the clue. According to the elders of his family, a village outside the city had been exterminated more than ten years ago, and the family was The surname is Tang.
Afterwards, the Caogang people conducted a secret investigation and found that many things matched Tang Xiao's vague memory, and then they were sure that they had found the right one. So the people from the Caobang used their connections to establish friendship with the Tang clan members. When the heat was almost over, they learned through drinking and talking that Tang Xiao's mother was from a family named Qian in Changxing.
Changxing is located more than fifty miles northwest of Huzhou and on the edge of Taihu Lake, which saves trouble. When I found Tang Xiao's grandfather's house and took out the paper with the hairpin pattern on it and asked, it turned out to be true. Asked again, Tang Xiao's mother had indeed sent letters to her family, but she had remarried and was living in Yancheng.
Of course, the people who came to the door would not say that Tang Xiao was in Beihai Town. They only said that she was adopted as an adopted daughter by the owner of "Huang Shengtai". They came to find relatives because they were entrusted by the owner and gave her to the Qian family - that is, Tang The younger uncle has five taels of silver.
"So, have you met my mother? How is she?" After more than ten years, the mother in Tang Xiao's mind has become a blurry shadow.
"The people from the Caobang didn't meet her directly, but they asked about it from the villagers. His current husband's surname is Li. He shares several acres of land and has four children, a daughter and three sons. The eldest married off when he was fourteen. , the second child is about to start a family, and the other two are still young, from ordinary families."
Zhao Xin didn't dare to say that Tang Xiao's mother lived in poverty and married a bastard, for fear that she would be sad. After the person who went to look for him learned about the situation, he came to visit him, pretending that it was his mother's family in Changxing who asked him to send two ounces of money. Unexpectedly, the man surnamed Li didn't even ask. He took the money and gambled with it, losing nothing.
"Oh." Tang Xiao thought that those should be his younger siblings.
Don't blame her for changing her mind so quickly. One second she was in great pain, and the next second she recognized her relatives. You must know that among Zhao Xin's several women, Tang Xiaozhan is the most helpless. She is not Shen Xuan and Wang Zhenyi, who have their families behind them, nor A Miao, who has thousands of naturalized people from the island country as their backers, nor is she the French princess. Except for Zhao Xin and her daughter, she can't count on anyone.
Seeing that Tang Xiao was silent, Zhao Xin said casually: "If you want to see her, I'll have someone take her over. There's no point in thinking wildly."
"let me think again."
The unexpected news immediately confused Tang Xiao's mood and made him feel sleepy. Family, backers... all kinds of thoughts came and went. I thought about entering the capital in the future, taking my daughter with me, no one to rely on, how could I stand up?
My mother sold herself back then, but there was no way she could survive. Just like Zhao Xin said, can he still take it with him to earn a living for the rest of his life? Besides, if not for this, how could she have met Zhao Xin in Yangzhou? When the two met for the first time, this stinky man had a naughty smile and an air of money, so I fell in love with him at first sight.
When he kidnapped Ren Ya from his home that night, he thought he was a bandit mountain king, but who would have thought that he actually wanted to rebel and become the emperor. Why did he endure the pain and beg Hong Tao to let him go? It's just his unwillingness to serve others with his chess, calligraphy, and painting skills. How is he any worse than Shen Xuan? Is it still a sin to be young?
Alas, it will be troublesome to enter the capital in the future. When you become an emperor and have endless national affairs to handle every day, you may not necessarily have more time to spend with yourself than you do now. Look at these years, running around leading troops to fight, how many times can we see each other in a year? I said before that the four of them would be enough, but in the end, I provoked a barbarian princess, who was over thirty years old, and that woman had the nerve to do so. It’s really unbelievable how men behave like this... I fell asleep while thinking wildly. .
Zhao Xin didn't know that not only was the woman next to him unable to sleep well that night, but there was also a woman thousands of miles away from him who couldn't sleep because of him. But unlike Tang Xiao, who was attached to him, that woman hated him to death.
