"We are about to arrive in Wancheng. Wake up!" A carriage was driving on the official road from Wucheng to Wancheng. The driver was driving the carriage in front. Yi Xiaodao and three people were sitting in the carriage. Xiang Lian'er and He Yue'er fell asleep, when Yi Xiaodao was waking them up.
"Are you there? Where are you?" Xiang Lian'er asked, rubbing her eyes.
"We have arrived in Cong County." Yi Xiaodao replied.
Xiang Lian'er turned over and muttered: "Isn't it here yet? Call me when you get there."
However, He Yue'er suddenly woke up from her daze: "Cong County? We are almost at my house... Xiaodao, I want... to go home first."
Yi Xiaodao nodded and went to explain to the driver outside the carriage.
"Sister Yue'er, don't worry, no matter what, Yi Xiaodao and I are still here!" Xiang Lian'er said coquettishly in her dream, and He Yue'er smiled slightly and gently stroked her hair.
The three of them came to the foot of the mountain. He Yue'er said hesitantly: "How about I go back by myself..."
Yi Xiaodao took the burden from He Yue'er. Xiang Lian'er held He Yue'er's hand from the side and said with a smile: "Come on, Sister Yue'er, it will be dark next day."
Under the starlight and moonlight, the three of them arrived at He Yue'er's home, which was exactly the same as when they left. However, the body of the Maoji Guard on the ground had been taken away by the Heavenly Guard of the capital, and the house remained unchanged.
"This... is the same as when we left, nothing has changed." Yi Xiaodao walked around the house and said to the two of them.
Xiang Lian'er glared at Yi Xiaodao, made a hissing gesture, and quietly pointed at He Yue'er. He Yue'er stood in front of the door and looked into the room, her shoulders shaking a little. Even if Yi Xiaodao and Xiang Lian'er couldn't see her expression, they could guess that she was sobbing.
"Why... why haven't you come back yet! Dad! Mom! I miss you... wu wu..." He Yue'er cried.
Xiang Lian'er opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she didn't know what to say, so she could only sigh leisurely and stand behind He Yue'er.
Yi Xiaodao also walked up behind He Yue'er and said, "Don't worry, they may have been delayed by something. We have money now. Let the county magistrate post notices when we go back to Wancheng, and we will definitely find my uncle and aunt!"
He Yue'er seemed not to have heard, and cried to herself: "You will come back every day! Why don't you come back for so many days this time! Do you blame your daughter for running around? My daughter will never run around again. Please come back, please! Don’t let me go..."
Yi Xiaodao was also in a daze, thinking to himself: "If we can't find the notice after posting it, we will hire people to search it all over Wancheng. After searching, we will go to Wucheng, Wucheng, and so on." Changcheng will definitely be found. I can work on the ferry, go hunting in the mountains, chop wood, and help the government catch thieves. I can keep making money until I find them..."
The two of them were just like this, each talking about their own words. No one took a break, and it was not known whether the two of them listened to the other's words.
Seeing the two of them looking like this, Xiang Lian'er said with a hint of tears: "What are you doing? Don't scare me, okay! If you have anything to do, sit down and talk slowly! I'm so scared of you guys like this..."
I don't know whether He Yue'er was tired from crying or heard Xiang Lian'er's words. At this time, she stopped babbling and her crying slowed down slightly.
At the same time, Yi Xiaodao took Xiang Lian'er and He Yue'er with both hands, pulled them into his arms, and said in a low and powerful voice: "Don't worry, don't be afraid, I'm here! No matter what happens, Whatever happens, I, Yi Xiaodao, will always be with you! I am your family!"
He Yue'er heard Yi Xiaodao's words and hugged Yi Xiaodao. The originally weak crying turned into a heartbreaking cry. Seeing He Yue'er crying like this, Xiang Lian'er couldn't help but feel sad when she thought about herself, her parents drowned in the flood, and she was all alone. She also stretched out her arms to hug Yi Xiaodao and He Yue'er, and started crying.
After a long time, the two girls gradually stopped crying. He Yue'er let go of Yi Xiaodao, struggled for a while, and said softly: "Xiaodao, it's hot."
The three of them let go of each other. The corners of the second girl's eyes were wet and her cheeks were red. She didn't know whether she was crying or feeling a little embarrassed, but they remained silent. Yi Xiaodao was very calm. He walked into the house and said, "Yue'er, I'm not worried about you living alone on this mountain. Let's see what else you need to bring in the house. Pack your things. We'll live at Xiang Lian'er's house." go."
Xiang Lian'er said: "Of course Sister Yue'er is going to my house, why do you go?"
Yi Xiaodao shouted: "Don't listen, don't listen, you bastard is chanting sutras!"
Xiang Lian'er: "It's okay to go. It just so happens that my family's wealth is drowning, and we need a janitor..."
He Yue'er looked at the two people arguing and couldn't help but smile. Yi Xiaodao looked back and saw this beautiful woman crying and smiling, and Yi Xiaodao couldn't help but laugh.
…
The three of them spent the night at He Yue'er's house, and went down the mountain early the next morning. They hurriedly and slowly arrived at Wancheng.
Xiang Lian'er looked at the not-so-high gate of Wancheng and couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect to come back so soon!"
Yi Xiaodao thought about all these things and said, "I really didn't expect to come back..."
This was the first time He Yue'er came to Wancheng. Although he had experienced the tension and thrills of Wucheng and the prosperity of Beijing, he still felt novel about Wancheng and looked around.
"Xiang Lian'er, let's go to the city wall and pay homage to County Magistrate Zhang." Yi Xiaodao suggested.
Xiang Lian'er nodded and looked at He Yue'er, who replied: "Yes, I'll go too."
The three people came to the city wall. The soldiers standing guard on the city wall were not surprised by the three people. In the past few days, many people in the city came to the city wall to pay homage to their families. Although the city wall was an important defensive area for the government, the new county magistrate turned a blind eye to such a common thing and ordered the soldiers not to disturb them. As long as they did not cause trouble, they were allowed to go.
The corpses on the city wall had naturally been collected and cleaned up long ago. Only the bloodstains in the cracks of some bricks could prove that a very tragic battle had indeed taken place on the city wall.
Yi Xiaodao sighed, "I don't know where Magistrate Zhang died. There is not even a place to worship. If it hadn't been for Magistrate Zhang at that time, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to escape from this city wall..." As he said this, Yi Xiaodao Kneel down on the ground and kowtow to all directions.
Xiang Lian'er also followed suit, imitating Yi Xiaodao, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing in all directions.
He Yue'er understood that this magistrate was the benefactor of Yi Xiaodao and the others, but she had never experienced the bloody battle on the city wall, so it was too much to kneel down and kowtow when she was a stranger, so she had to bow a few times in all directions to show respect.
After kowtowing, Yi Xiaodao stood up: "Let's go, let's go to Xiang Lian'er's house first, and we'll discuss the rest later!"
When Xiang Lian'er heard this, she quickly got up: "Hey, are you serious! I haven't agreed yet!"
The three of them went down the city wall noisily, and there were a bunch of people standing around in front of the sign, pointing.
He Yue'er said: "There is a new notice, what does it say?" He Yue'er has lived in the mountains since he was a child and has never read or read.
Xiang Lian'er walked up to the notice board and stared at it for a long time. She blushed and said, "I don't know much about literacy. There are so many words here... I don't even know them..."
Yi Xiaodao walked over with his baggage on his shoulders, looking domineering: "I asked you to study more, but you have to raise more pigs. Now it's better, you can't even understand a notice! Get out of the way. Open, let me take a look!"
"Emperor Daqi told me: Since the founding of Daqi, it has prospered for six hundred years, thanks to the gift of heaven and the hard work of the people. I am afraid that the flood in Anhui City is because of my poor virtue, and I deeply feel that I have failed the people, and I am quite ashamed. However, Grand Master Li Changwen did not think about saving the people from fire and water, and saving the country from danger. He claimed credit and concealed retribution, which is unacceptable in heaven. Now I will leave the post of Grand Master Li Changwen and punish the three tribes to serve as a warning to other officials who dare to offend. Based on this same crime, heaven and man have learned from each other, and the people have killed together! The imperial court's negligence has caused the people of Anhui City to be displaced and find it difficult to make a living. I feel guilty. I have specially allocated 500,000 taels of silver and 300,000 shi of grain and fodder to relieve the floods, and exempted taxes for two years. To support the people. The edict was promulgated on July 21, the third year of Daqiqingguan."
"Well done! Your Majesty is so wise!"
"His goalkeeper Kong Bao is so domineering. I don't know how arrogant I am on weekdays. He really kills well!"
"With such an emperor, are we afraid that we will not have a good life?"
The people were talking a lot.
However, Yi Xiaodao smiled and whispered to the two girls: "They take it too lightly. If they are just asking for credit and concealing it, and they are just a man who has lost his official position and lost his title, how can he be punished by the three clans? This is a fight between Taishi Li and His Majesty. If we lose, we will eradicate the roots. Did you forget that day? Those people stood far away and did not hear, but we did. Taishi Li’s housekeepers all conspired to assassinate the emperor. I don’t know whether the little emperor is a sage or not, I only know It's very mean. This notice is more like a challenge. Those who dare to offend the emperor's authority will suffer this fate."
Xiang Lian'er didn't understand: "What? Does anyone dare to offend the emperor's authority?"
"Why not? Have you forgotten that there are eight vassal kings in Daqi? I heard that each vassal king now has a large number of soldiers. It would be best if the little emperor has the means to deal with them. Otherwise, the people will suffer again. ..." Yi Xiaodao said as he walked towards the city.
Xiang Lian'er hurriedly chased after her: "Hey, how come you, a little beggar, know so much? You can read and understand national affairs, are you really a beggar?"
"You've been begging for more than ten years, and you know this... Yue'er, leave quickly~" Yi Xiaodao turned around and shouted.
…
In a royal palace in the southwest, an old man sat at a desk, flipping through a thick stack of military books in his hand. Kneeling under the desk was a thin, middle-aged man, Mr. Wu.
"You said that the fourth child trapped himself in the capital to save you, and he lost a leg and an arm when you left?" The old man's face flickered in the light, making it hard to see. clear.
Mr. Wu lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, everything the villain said is true. The Fourth Young Master risked his life to save the villain. The villain did not dare to seek death, so he had to come back and report the real information to the prince. Whether he wanted to kill or behead him, the prince was at his mercy. Anyway, the villain’s life was given by the prince and the Fourth Young Master.”
The old man, who was called Prince, stood up, covered the candlelight, and slowly walked to the door. Mr. Wu quickly adjusted the direction of his kneeling: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"The fourth child tried his best to save you. If I do anything to you, the fourth child will not be happy. But although he is a bit stupid, he is my son after all. I handed him over to you just to keep him safe. An'an, you have to give me an explanation. Do you know who killed him?"
"The villain later inquired about Chen Congwei pushing Lin, Chen Congwei Shanshan, and... a young man. This young man was once a beggar in Wancheng, and Taishi Li's goalkeeper Kong Bao was also broken into his hands. His name is... Yi Xiaodao." Mr. Wu told everything he had learned. As for the Imperial Guard Wang Qing, he was kicked away by the Fourth Young Master. It did not stop him at all, and there was no value in reporting his name.
"I also heard that... after the Fourth Young Master was seriously injured, the injured Yi Xiaodao asked Chen Congwei to bring the Fourth Young Master to him so that he could punch him. The Fourth Young Master was so humiliated that he swallowed medicine... and committed suicide." Mr. Wu added road.
The prince touched the scimitar at his waist: "The fourth child is a strong person, but he is not a face-saving person, and he is not willing to be humiliated...Yi Xiaodao, Xiaodao, what a good name. Hahahaha..." Then he walked out with a smile.
Mr. Wu then collapsed and his whole back was soaked.
"The fourth child is gone. It's like I lost an arm... I'll cut off one of his hands. Whether he can survive depends on whether the fourth child protects him or not." The prince's voice came from a distance.
When Mr. Wu heard this, his face turned ashen...
