Zhao Qing nodded and signaled Zheng Dan to continue.
Zheng Dan said calmly: "For the past sixteen years, I have lived in Zhuluo Village under the jurisdiction of Juwu Dayi, living with the elders of my father's family to the east of Huansha River."
Juwu Dayi is one of the largest cities in the Yue Kingdom, and Zhao Qing knows it.
The city planning of the Yue Kingdom was based on Dayi, large counties, other counties, large counties, and small counties, with a total of five levels from large to small. During the Spring and Autumn Period, counties were larger than counties.
The Chungquanyi where she is now is just a separate county, also known as a small county. It is far incomparable to Dayi, whose wall circumference can reach hundreds of miles.
Zheng Dan lives in a village under the jurisdiction of Dayi. Not to mention how good the living conditions are, at least they are not bad. It is impossible for such a stunning beauty to be born in a truly remote and remote area where everyone is sallow and skinny.
Zheng Dan's tone was as calm as water: "My father and mother come from two different families in Xidong and Xixi respectively. My father's surname is Zheng, and my mother's surname is Shi. Their marriage is two Forbidden by the family.”
"So after my sister Yi Guang and I were born, people in the village started talking a lot, accusing this was not a legitimate marriage, but a 'wild marriage.' Fortunately, my father and mother truly loved each other and were not afraid of other people's rumors. , raised us two sisters with heart."
Zhao Qing on the side tilted his head, fully understanding the meaning of Zheng Dan's words.
During the Zhou Dynasty, the system stipulated that "people with the same surname should not marry." There is a saying in "Zuo Zhuan": "If a man and a woman have the same surname, they will not be born together."
Since the two families, whose surnames are Zheng and Shi, have the same surname, the marriage of Zheng Dan's parents was naturally not blessed by others.
The "wild union" here refers to the relationship between men and women that is not in accordance with the etiquette system. The most famous example is Confucius. Confucius was born when his uncles Liang He and Yan Zheng married in Yeye. One of them was an old man and the other was young. They did not conform to the ethics and education, so they were called Yehe.
Zhou Li prohibited a bunch of marriage relationships that might be detrimental to future generations, with the original intention of promoting good health and good breeding.
But in fact, the two families did not intermarry for who knows how many generations. They were not close relatives at all, and there would be no harm.
"But the good times did not last long. When I was more than two years old, my father was drafted into the army and eventually died at the hands of the Wu people. After hearing the news, my mother became sick with worry and died of illness at home half a year later."
Zheng Dan's fingers unconsciously grasped the corners of her dress, and her tone fluctuated.
"After my mother passed away, the two families broke off diplomatic relations. I was taken to the Zheng family, and my sister was taken to the Shi family, and their names were changed. What awaits us is not the care and maintenance of our relatives and elders, but the common responsibility of both families. Treated with indifference.”
"Although we are separated by a stream, I understood at a young age that living in my father's family was already so difficult. My sister's suffering would only be worse if she stayed in the Shi family. It was hard day and night in my heart."
They are very similar to their own origins. They both lost their fathers in their early years and have a big feud with the Wu people. Zhao Qing thought silently.
In order to deny this unrecognized marriage, were Zheng Dan and Xi Shi changed by their family from the normal surname for women to surname?
Patriarchal etiquette generally has stricter requirements for women than for men. Living in her mother's family, Xishi will naturally suffer more hardships.
"That night, I got a fever and walked towards the stream in a daze, trying to suppress the heat in my body with cold water. If I accidentally fell into the water, it would be a relief."
Suddenly, Zheng Dan's eyes lit up. I just heard her continue:
"Five or six steps away from Huansha River, I fell unconscious and fell to the ground. I don't know how much time passed, but a kind and soft voice sounded in my ears, saying that there was an opportunity that could change my situation. Ask I wonder if I can get it.”
"At such a critical moment, of course I agreed. So, in an instant, the fever in my body disappeared, and I understood the text inexplicably, and a map with a location appeared in my mind."
"Half a month later, taking advantage of the opportunity when Old Zhengtou, who was guarding the village entrance, went out to buy wine, I sneaked into a valley outside the village alone and found two gold foils recording the cultivation techniques in the cracks in the rocks."
Do you meet the old man who delivers treasures in a desperate situation?
Zhao Qing blinked. It sounded like a good thing, but the old man found Zheng Dan instead of looking for anyone else. There was a high probability that he had a purpose behind it.
In addition, there are two gold foils in total, one for Zheng Dan and Xi Shi?
Just listen to Zheng Dan softly narrating: "I was naturally excited after I found the legendary magical method. I immediately unfolded the first gold foil and started practicing. What I didn't expect was that in terms of practicing, I could be regarded as a master. The little genius managed to get started in just half a day."
"Soon, the clan members who came out to search captured me. But I didn't feel much panic, just because I understood that in a short time, those people in the family would be far surpassed by me."
"A few months later, the Zheng family accidentally discovered that I was practicing martial arts, confirmed my talent, and began to regard me as the core of the family, investing resources in training, hoping that I would benefit them in the future."
"Haha, you treated me like this a few years ago, but now you change your attitude and think that I am just an ordinary child who will forget the past when you grow up? In my heart, my sister Yiguang is my only relative."
"Soon, after negotiations between the two families, I met my sister again. That year, Yi Guang was only seven years old, and she was already pretty and graceful, but what I saw on her flawless white face was that she didn't have any confidence at all. Strong, but deeply inferior and cowardly.”
"I know that this is not her own character, but that the Shi family has caused her to be like this. Holding Yi Guang's little hand, I walked to a place where the two families could not see her and listened to her tell her past experiences."
"From then on, I began to work wholeheartedly to help Yiguang regain her confidence. I taught her how to read, learn etiquette, and dress. I gave her the second gold foil and taught her the details on the gold foil step by step. content."
"The strange thing is that as I practice more and more deeply, I often have some inexplicable dreams. The world in the dream is pure red, which gives me a bad premonition."
Zhao Qing listened silently to Zheng Dan's emotional narration, and suddenly became envious of the relationship between their sisters. At the same time, he was quite suspicious that Zheng Dan's dream of redness was influenced by the intervention of others.
"A month ago, a man with a goatee came to Zhuluo Village and said that he was Fan Li, a doctor of the Yue Kingdom. He wanted to invite Yi Guang and I to become princesses in the palace of Kuaiji City."
The few people were getting closer and closer to the market, and Zheng Dan's words were gradually coming to an end.
"The princess has a very high status. Apart from the King and Queen of Yue, there is no one in the country who can bully our sisters. So I agreed, and Yi Guang also agreed."
"But Fan Li said that after becoming the princess, no one in the Yue Kingdom can bully me. However, the Yue Kingdom cannot control the Wu people. On the way from Zhuluo Village to Kuaiji City, there may be many Wu people. The Chinese attacked."
"He said that if possible, Yi Guang and I could split into two routes. One route would be protected by him personally, while the other route would be protected secretly by the caravan. I asked him which route was safer, and Yi Guang would take that route."
"He told me that his strength is much higher than that of the caravan, but he may encounter more dangers. Overall, his journey is safer. So, I came to the caravan."
"Just last night, I had a new dream. The dream was no longer red, but dyed with some other colors."
Zheng Dan turned to look at Zhao Qing, and there seemed to be a crystal luster in his eyes. He suddenly said seriously: "Ah Qing, I think the changes in the dream are due to your influence."
My influence? Can the inner power of Shen Zhao Gong still affect dreams? Zhao Qing rubbed his hair. They had arrived at the entrance of the market.
It was a large courtyard with a black door and an area of more than ten feet, which reminded Zhao Qing of the Roman Colosseum.
At the entrance of the Black Gate Courtyard, there were still two soldiers holding short swords. It seemed that this kind of slave trading place was under official control.
After chatting with the soldiers for a few words, the caravan guards walked in front, with Zhao Qing and Zheng Dan behind, and entered the yard. I saw dozens of large and small tents set up densely in the yard, leaving only a few vertical and horizontal aisles.
Zhao Qing looked to the side and saw seven or eight wooden cages inside a tent. Each wooden cage contained a slave with only a small amount of cloth covering his body.
The slave trader standing at the entrance of the tent saw someone looking at him, pointed at a short-haired man in a wooden cage with patterns tattooed on his shoulders and arms, and promoted with a smile:
"The Sanyi savages we just captured are strong and have no injuries. They only cost 80 coins each!"
People with broken hair and tattoos? I'm afraid I can't even speak Vietnamese. Zhao Qing turned his head and looked elsewhere.
The price of slaves in the Zhou Dynasty was much cheaper than that in the Qin and Han Dynasties. After Baili Xi became a slave, Duke Mu of Qin only used five black goat skins to buy him.
At this moment, there was a noise in the distance. Zhao Qing concentrated his skills and heard a rough voice among them saying loudly:
"I promise that Shiliuben is one of the leaders of Panyu Ridge and knows a secret related to King Zhou Mu's treasure. If someone is willing to redeem me, I will tell him this secret."
A person who looked like a customer said to himself: "Panyuling, I remember this is where a large mountain village is located in the Kuaiji mountains, right? It is said that it is only three or four hundred miles away from here, and it often plunders surrounding towns and villages. Caravan."
Then there were several whips and shouts, and the person who took action should be the slave trader Xu Shiliu belonged to.
For a character like the leader of a copycat village, he must have good martial arts skills. How did he become a slave? And since he was caught, why not send him to the government for punishment? There is something strange about Zhao Qing.
"Okay, I redeemed it!" A young man's voice came from a distance.
