Gu Qi sat up holding her stomach, blew out the lights in the tent, quietly opened a corner and looked outside.
The lights in the surrounding tents were also turned off, and it was quiet. Two night watchmen were left outside, taking a nap together.
I stuck my head out and looked out, and there was a faint bamboo forest to the east, swaying gently in the wind.
It's too late to wait. If I delay any longer, I'm afraid my clothes will be stained.
Thinking of this, Gu Qi turned around and walked to the corner of the tent, took out some straw paper from the bag, and ran towards the bamboo forest in the dark.
When I came back, I was a little panicked. I accidentally stepped into the fire that had just been extinguished. The sound of breaking branches woke up the boy on duty next to me.
"Who's there?" A boy rubbed his eyes and shouted in the direction of Gu Qi.
Afraid of disturbing others, Gu Qi hurriedly ran for two steps: "Keep your voice down! It's me."
Another boy stood up. After seeing the person clearly, he smiled and said, "It turns out to be Mr. Pei. Didn't you go into the tent to rest? Why did you come here again?"
Gu Qi tugged on her pants: "I was feeling anxious just now, maybe I had a bad stomach."
"I see. Then Mr. Pei, please rest early."
"Thank you for your hard work." Gu Qi raised her hand to pat him on the shoulder.
The man shrank back and said with a smile: "Master Pei, you didn't wash your hands."
"Uh-huh, that's right." Gu Qi smiled awkwardly and took his hand back: "What, I'm going to rest first."
The physical discomfort made Gu Qi restless in his sleep. He lay there for an unknown amount of time. The darkness around the tent gradually faded. Gu Qi stood up and looked outside. It was already dawn.
The fire had been extinguished, and wisps of white smoke were rising.
Gu Qi took out some more straw paper and ran towards the bamboo forest.
Coming out of the grass and about to walk back, a voice came from behind: "Master Pei, are you here to relieve yourself too?"
When I turned around, I saw that it was the boy I was chatting with yesterday.
"Yeah, you haven't slept all night?"
The boy wiped his hands with his clothes and said with a smile: "No, we took turns keeping watch at night. When it was about midnight, I went to bed."
"Oh," Gu Qi looked at him with a complex expression as he finished wiping his hands, and deliberately kept a distance while walking side by side with him.
Returning to the tent, he took out the water from the water bag, poured it on his hands and washed them.
After a while, everyone around them woke up and went out.
The fire was rekindled, some hot water was boiled, and some dry food was eaten.
"Master Xue, I thought about it carefully yesterday. If the Ying River water enters the lake and there is no more water flowing downward, why not move the last two counties in the northwest to the southeast? From your perspective Judging from the map drawn yesterday, these six counties are relatively scattered, and the places should be rich."
Xue Peilin took a sip of hot water, shook his head with a smile, swallowed all the food in his mouth, and then slowly said: "There are eight counties in this county, and each county has ten villages. The villagers in each village I don’t know how many there are at the moment. But at this scale, migration is not easy!”
"It's indeed a bit difficult," Gu Qi put the hand stove close to her stomach to ease the pain. He continued: "But if we rashly open a lake and divert the lake water downward, we must pass through the mountains. It is no easier to dig mountains and build canals than to move out."
Xue Peilin nodded and said: "What Mr. Pei said is true. I have also thought about diverting the lake water, but the lake is a natural reservoir. Once the reservoir is gone, I am afraid it will cause greater floods. There are also problems with relocation. There are certain difficulties, not to mention that such a large-scale relocation will take a long time, and the distribution of cultivated land after the relocation will also become a big problem. Compared with the two, the former only needs to dig for water diversion, while the latter needs to divide the land and There will be many subsequent troubles in re-registering the population."
"Well, Mr. Xue is still thoughtful."
Gu Qi fell into deep thought.
The best way to solve the flood problem and avoid having their identity exposed is to relocate the two counties.
But as soon as this idea was proposed, it was rejected by Xue Peilin.
What he said is not unreasonable. If you move out, the land needs to be redivided. These lands are in the hands of powerful noble families. How easy is it to divide them?
Gu Qi started to feel sad: Yuan Chengxi really gave me a big problem.
"Master Pei, don't be discouraged. I believe there will be a solution."
Gu Qi raised his head and forced a smile.
Xue Peilin wrapped the remaining dry food and put it into his luggage. Then he stood up and said: "It's getting late, let's set off as soon as possible, and try to get to the inn ahead to rest for a night before dark."
Gu Qi stood up when he heard the words, feeling a warmth coming from his lower body.
Alas, being a woman is such an inconvenience.
Gu Qi sat back in the car. The groom shouted "drive" outside, and the car started to move forward.
Looking at the scenery outside, I can't help but marvel at the uncanny craftsmanship of nature. It can not only create such beautiful scenes, but also destroy everything in an instant.
The pain in his lower abdomen intensified, causing Gu Qi to break into a cold sweat.
She pulled the bag next to her and found the medicine bottle given by Yan Churong. She poured two pills out of it, stuffed them into her mouth and swallowed them. Then she leaned against the car and fell asleep unconsciously.
At dusk, a group of people's carriage entered the city.
Gu Qi looked up and saw "洐州" written on the city gate tower.
The carriage continued to move forward, and when it passed an arch bridge, it heard a pleasant tune.
Gu Qi opened the curtain and looked out. There were several boats on the river. From time to time, there was the sound of playing in the boats, and sometimes there was the sound of women singing and playing pipa.
The bustling crowd on the riverside kept looking at the boats on the river.
"Is today a special day?" Gu Qi asked.
The boy sitting outside replied: "It's not a special day, but it's a hometown near the water. There are more programs in the evening."
The carriage stopped at the door of an inn.
Gu Qi straightened her clothes and got out of the car.
Xue Peilin walked over directly: "Let's rest here tonight."
Gu Qi looked up at the brightly lit inn and said, "Okay."
After following Xue Peilin into the inn, the waiter ran over and asked: "Two guests, do you prefer to stay in the hotel?"
"Give us two guest rooms."
"Okay, two guest rooms!" The waiter shouted upstairs at the top of his lungs.
Then he made a gesture of invitation: "You two go upstairs and just follow the guy above."
Gu Qi supported Xue Peilin a little while another waiter stood at the top of the stairs and led the two of them to the two inner rooms on the west side.
Opening the front door, Gu Qi and Xue Peilin walked straight in and sat down at the table.
"Would you two rest first or see what you can eat?"
After hearing what the guy said, his stomach started to growl.
Gu Qi said: "Here are some of your specialty dishes and boil a pot of hot wine."
"Okay, just wait!"
The waiter closed the door from the outside. Gu Qi picked up the teapot on the table and poured Xue Peilin a cup of hot tea.
"I slept in the open yesterday, so Mr. Pei must have not had a good rest. He needs to rest early today."
"Mr.
As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but yawned.
Xue Peilin stroked his beard and smiled.
After a while, the food was served. After having a full meal with Xue Peilin, they returned to their room.
Have a good night's sleep.
When I woke up, it was already bright.
Gu Qi stood up, washed her face briefly, and walked to Xue Peilin's room.
"I don't expect you to be very filial to my old man, I just hope you can be kind to Shu'er! After all, she is your daughter!"
"If my father-in-law says this, my son-in-law will be ashamed! Now that Zishu is a good man, how can I dare to neglect him!"
father in law? Son-in-law?
Gu Qi stood at the door, and the voice sounded familiar, as if it was Zhao Yu's voice.
Then the "Zisu" in Zhao Yu's mouth should be Zhao Liangren.
"Who's out there?"
Zhao Yu roared and quickly opened the door!
Gu Qi patted her chest, shocked: "General Zhao, why are you here?"
"It turns out to be Mr. Pei." Zhao Yu slowly lowered his hand holding the saber.
Xue Peilin sat in the room and waved to Gu Qi: "Master Pei, come in and talk."
After Gu Qi entered the room, Zhao Yu closed the door and said, "I was ordered by His Majesty to escort you two to Tuzhou, but he had something to do yesterday and couldn't get away, so I came to meet you. You guys should wait here for a day, and then we can set off together after my son joins you."
"I see, thank you for your hard work, General Zhao."
Xue Peilin poured a cup of tea and motioned for Gu Qi to sit down. Then he said to Zhao Yu: "You have worked hard all the way. Go and get a guest room to rest. When you wake up, go back to the capital."
"Yes, my son-in-law will go out first." Zhao Yu bowed deeply to Xue Peilin, opened the door and walked out.
"Master Pei, drink tea."
"Oh," Gu Qi took the tea cup and took a sip of water: "When did General Zhao come?"
Xue Peilin said: "This morning."
"I guess I traveled all night to get here. General Zhao is very filial and sincere. You are very lucky to have such a good son-in-law."
Xue Peilin snorted: "Now this Lord Tutong is no longer my virtuous son-in-law."
It was previously learned from Li Li that Zhao Yu's wife was Xue Qin, the daughter of Xue Peilin, and later the daughter of Zheng Xu, who was Zhao Dexun's mother.
Looking at Xue Peilin's attitude today, it seems that he has some opinions on Zhao Yu.
"About General Zhao, I have heard a little bit about General Zhao in the palace. Now that Mr. Zhao is deeply attached to the saint, and with the support of the Zhao family, Mr. Xue can feel relieved."
After hearing what Gu Qi said, Xue Peilin let out a long sigh: "I am just a daughter. I thought that by marrying Zhao Yu, I would have enough food and clothing. Who would have thought that after only two or three years of marriage, she would die from childbirth. Only Shu'er is left. Not long after, that boy married Zheng Wanxin, Zheng Xu's daughter, and gave birth to a son and a daughter. My poor Shu'er has been neglected since then, and even her father has rarely hugged her! If I had known this, I should have taken Shu'er over from the beginning, and it would have been better for us and my wife to raise her, rather than suffering all the hardships in that cold place."
As he spoke, Xue Peilin shed tears and raised his hand to wipe it casually: "I don't expect Zhao Yu to do anything to me. I only hope that he can pay more attention to Shu'er. There is so much intrigue in the harem that she can't handle it. Of. Alas!"
Gu Qi poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Xue Peilin, comforting him: "With Your Majesty's care, Zhao Liang is naturally fine. Things are unpredictable, adults should take care of themselves and don't let their relatives worry."
"I'm fine. Since His Majesty sent Zhao Dexun here, let's wait for a day until everyone is ready before setting off."
Gu Qi nodded.
Zhao Yu rested for a while and rode towards the county in the afternoon.
Gu Qi and Xue Peilin stayed at the Luozhou Inn for one more day until Zhao Dexun came to meet them the next day before continuing on their way.
