Since ancient times, Gyeongju has been known as the granary of the world, and there has always been a saying that "the world is hungry and Gyeongju is full."
However, in the past few years, due to the deliberate arrangements of the people in the imperial court, Qingzhou suffered a great famine that was rare in hundreds of years. I don’t know how many people starved to death and how many people fled.
But after all, this place has a solid foundation. Even after experiencing successive famines and earthquakes, it still survived.
Especially since the great chaos in the world, Wang Daotong, the strongest local man in Gyeongju, took the opportunity to take over Gyeongju and took the post of governor of Gyeongju.
Although this person has very selfish motives, it is not a bad thing for Gyeongju. In terms of major policies, it is still beneficial to the people of Gyeongju, and everyone can survive.
At the very least, in terms of taxation, the pressure is not very great.
Today is the traditional "Nongsang Festival" of Gyeongju people, which is specially established to celebrate the mulberry farming.
Jiangji Prefecture, as the closest prefecture to Pingzhou, would be greatly affected by a major earthquake.
But fortunately, the local magistrate is very capable. In the past two years, Jiangji Mansion has been almost completely rebuilt.
Under the rule, the people's lives can be managed fairly well.
On this day of celebration, there is no curfew. The streets are decorated with lights and colorful lights at night and are full of tourists.
Many people put on new clothes that they were reluctant to wear on weekdays and came out at night, hoping for a good harvest in the future.
For Gyeongju people, the "Nongsang Festival" is even more lively than New Year's Day to a certain extent.
At this time, countless people were watching on the streets of Jiangji Mansion.
Looking from a distance, it seems that there is a huge car driving slowly over there.
A businessman from out of town saw this on the roadside. He didn't know why and asked a passerby:
"Who is that over there? Is it the local prefect?"
"No, the local magistrate does not have such style. Over there is the 'Shen Sang Che'."
"The Divine Mulberry Cart? Is it the legendary vehicle of the Holy Mulberry Virgin who pioneered the art of silk reeling?"
"Yes, it's the Virgin Mary's vehicle."
"I see there is someone else in that car. Who can actually sit in that car?"
"That's Mr. Lin Xuexuan, a local celebrity, playing the role of Our Lady of Shensang."
"Lin Xuexuan, why does it sound like a woman's name? Is he a boy or a girl?"
"We call him Young Master, so of course he is a boy."
"Then why?"
"It's a long story..."
Before the passers-by finished speaking, they saw the huge Shensang chariot slowly approaching.
When the businessman saw this, he looked around and saw a person sitting in the car.
This person was dressed in goddess attire, holding a pot of mulberry tree sculpture in her hands, with delicate makeup on her face. She sat quietly in the car without blinking or moving, and always kept a smile on her lips.
If it weren't for the faint signs of breathing, one might have thought it was a clay sculpture made of paper.
The businessman was surprised when he saw that the person dressed as the Holy Mother of God was not only handsome but also had her feet bound.
This was the first time he had seen a man with his feet bound. From the looks of it, he had definitely bound his feet since he was a child, and was not just pretending to be on such a festival.
The confused businessman wanted to ask again, but the passerby had already stepped forward and ignored him. He just wanted to get closer to the car and ask for some of the special paper-cuts scattered by the Nongsang boy on the car.
As the car drove along, the two boys in the car kept dropping paper-cuts, and passers-by kept grabbing them.
The person who decorated the car with the Virgin Mary did not move once from beginning to end.
When a businessman seeks money, he would rather believe it or not. As soon as he wanted to go up and force a paper cut, he was pushed to the outside and could not be touched at all.
He waited until the car was far away, but he couldn't get closer, which made him a little regretful.
After fussing for a long time, the businessman felt a little thirsty and casually bought a sesame seed cake from a roadside stall to eat.
While I was eating, I saw a young man-like figure walking across the street.
The young man was very strange. Sometimes he was as bright as a god, sometimes as crazy as a ghost, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing, sometimes moving and sometimes quiet, and he looked extremely strange.
I originally wanted to take a closer look, but the young man who was still there a moment ago had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The businessman wiped his eyes and indeed did not find the boy again.
Could it be that I am dazzled?
Some businessmen who were not sure what they had just seen felt very confused...
This nightly event didn't end until late at night.
The Shensang car drove all the way to a tall and large house, with a plaque of "Lin Mansion" hanging on the front door.
Mr. Lin Xuexuan, who was dressed as the Holy Mother of God, got up with the help of two boys.
Being immobile for a long time made his body feel a little stiff. He only felt better after trying to take two steps.
At this moment, a handsome young man suddenly appeared outside the house.
The young man saw Lin Xuexuan and said directly:
"Mr. Lin, I am here for the first time and would like to stay at your residence for one night. Is it possible?"
Lin Xuexuan looked at the young man in front of her and felt that he was not like a mortal. Lin Xuexuan, who always believed in this, bowed to the young man with the courtesy of a woman and said:
"My house is not small, and there are many empty rooms. If you are willing to stay temporarily, Lin will not object."
As he spoke, he secretly observed the expression and movements of the boy opposite him, hoping to see some clues.
But he failed without a doubt. There seemed to be something abnormal about this young man. Lin Xuexuan couldn't tell what was wrong, but he still decided to let people into the house.
He also has some confidence, so he is not too scared.
The young man seemed very happy when he heard that he could borrow it, and he even danced a little.
At this moment, the side door of Lin Mansion opened, and a woman wearing a man's clothes, a sword hanging on her waist, and a pair of "big feet" came out.
This woman is Lin Xuexuan's wife, Gu Junbo.
This girl was heroic and masculine no matter how you looked at her. She came out with a few servants to welcome Lin Xuexuan back to her house.
Seeing the young man who seemed a little unusual, Gu Junbo asked directly:
"May I ask who this young master is and why he came to stay at my house."
The young man suddenly smiled and said:
"Just call me a good karma. I know a little about calculations. I sensed that your house was in trouble, so I came here to help."
When Lin Xuexuan and Gu Junbo heard this, they looked at each other and looked at the young man with some surprise.
The boy is naturally Ye Ming, who has been having some "mental" problems recently.
After the couple heard Ye Ming say that he could tell fortunes, they knew that he must be an expert.
Gu Junbo had extraordinary magnanimity and said directly:
"Since my husband has agreed just now, I will not object. The young master can follow us into the mansion."
Hearing this, Ye Ming smiled and followed them in.
After entering the mansion, Gu Junbo arranged for Ye Ming to stay in the wing of the mansion.
It was already early morning and almost dawn.
Lin Xuexuan, who had been out wandering the streets all night, was quite tired. Seeing that Ye Ming had been arranged, he was going to rest, and Gu Junbo followed him back to his room.
Lin Xuexuan saw this and said:
"Madam, I've had a hard night and just want to have a good rest. You guys will meet again tomorrow night..."
Hearing this, Gu Junbo shook his head and said:
"My husband has misunderstood. I followed you back to the room to say that you were a little reckless this time and should not bring unknown people into the house at will."
"But this person said he came to relieve us from the current crisis..."
"Husband, you are so serious. Many people know what we are facing now. As long as the other party investigates carefully, they will definitely know.
You shouldn't be so trusting. "
Seeing his wife say this, Lin Xuexuan felt a little resentful:
"Then why didn't you stop him before and let him stay?"
"Husband, you are the head of the family. Since you have spoken, I cannot refute it. Of course, I must follow your decision."
When Lin Xuexuan heard this, she was a little surprised, a little moved, and seemed to be acting like a little girl.
"Lady..."
Gu Junbo waved his hands grandly:
"I'm just saying this to remind you, husband, not to be too gullible. I've asked someone to check the wing where that person lives. If there is any abnormality, I can detect the problem immediately."
"My lady is still thoughtful, so I wonder how she plans to treat this person?"
"Since he said he can help us solve the problem, let's listen to what he has to say."
After the two of them finished talking, Lin Xuexuan took a rest while Gu Junbo dealt with other matters in the house.
At noon, the couple invited Ye Ming to have lunch together.
During the dinner, Gu Junbo asked:
"Master Shan Yuan, since you claim to be able to do calculations, you can help us resolve this crisis. Is it possible to figure out why my husband and I are different from ordinary people?"
At this time, Ye Ming, who looked drowsy, shook his head and smiled:
"What's so difficult about this..."
As he spoke, he pointed at Lin Xuexuan and revealed the roots of his family.
It turns out that the Lin family committed a lot of sins when their grandfather and grandfather were working on the family business, and they received retribution.
For future generations, all men will definitely not live past the age of six.
The ancestors of the Lin family were helpless and spent a lot of money to ask experts for help.
An expert told me that if the men of the Lin family want to survive, they need to take a woman's name, dress in women's clothing, imitate women's beauty, and raise the men as women.
Moreover, when marrying a wife, he must marry a woman with a male name, wearing men's clothing, and who is good at swordsmanship.
The ancestor of the Lin family adopted this method to raise his son, and indeed he survived.
Since then, the Lin family has been like this.
Some people among them tried to restore male names and men's clothing, but as a result, their descendants died young.
At this point, the Lin family no longer dares to violate their ancestral precepts, as has been the case for generations.
Lin Xuexuan is now married to Gu Junbo, the daughter of Jiangji Prefecture’s official, with extraordinary martial arts skills.
Seeing Ye Ming clearly explaining the details of the Lin family, Lin Xuexuan's eyes lit up and she felt that this person was trustworthy. He was about to say something more, but Gu Junbo's eyes signaled him to stop.
Then I heard Gu Junbo say:
"Young Master Shanyuan is really powerful. Since you said you were going to help us get out of trouble, you must also know what we are stuck in right now?"
Ye Ming was crying and laughing again at this time, pointing outside and saying:
"The cemetery is about dead people!"
When Lin Xuexuan heard this, her eyes lit up, knowing that Ye Ming was right, she would answer the question.
But she was stopped by Gu Junbo. Seeing that her husband was always easy to trust others, she couldn't help but feel a little distressed, but she didn't say anything.
The orderer brought a plate of silver and said to Ye Ming:
"There are five hundred taels of silver here. If Mr. Shanyuan can really help my family get rid of this crisis, I can use these as rewards."
Seeing this, Ye Ming just shook his head and said:
"A little money is of no use to me."
"I wonder what Mr. Shanyuan wants?"
The corners of Ye Ming's mouth curled up a little, and his smile was a little exaggerated. He pointed at the sword on Gu Junbo's waist and said:
"I want the lady's sword."
"Sword..."
Gu Junbo explained,
"This sword was accidentally acquired by my father in his early years. I asked for this sword when I was practicing martial arts when I was young. It has been with me for more than ten years now..."
"If Madam doesn't want to, forget it."
Ye Ming waved his hand, looking like he was not forcing anything.
Gu Junbo looked at the sword, then at Lin Xuexuan and Lin Mansion, and sighed softly:
"It doesn't matter, it's just an old thing. If Mr. Shanyuan can really help my husband and I solve this matter, I will give this sword to you."
Hearing this, Ye Ming laughed:
"Don't worry, Madam, this matter will be handled properly as long as you listen to my arrangements."
Seeing how confident the strange young man in front of them was, the couple looked at each other and felt that they might have found the right person this time.
Well, to be precise, they came to me automatically.
After making the agreement, Ye Ming smiled and said:
"Without further ado, let's take action now!"
...
