The Yellow River bursting its banks is no joke.
To be on the safe side, Song Che did not continue on his journey and stopped at a post station for one night.
Early the next morning, I asked the postmen, but I didn't get any good news. The breach of the Yellow River was still expanding, the flood had spread for more than fifty miles, and more than a dozen villages on the south bank were affected.
Outside the inn, there are often refugees fleeing with their families in tow.
"Fellow, hasn't the breach been blocked yet?"
Song Che grabbed Yi Yimin and asked about the situation.
"Aren't you talking nonsense? If we are blocked, why bother to escape?"
Well……
We can only wait any longer.
In this way, we spent another night at the inn, but on the second day, more people fled than yesterday. You should know without asking that the breach still failed to be blocked.
Song Che couldn't wait any longer. Any further delay would affect his plan.
So he rented a carriage. While everyone else was fleeing to the north, he headed south, earning a lot of strange looks along the way.
Song Che stared out the window, not daring to relax for a moment.
"Boss, don't worry. There haven't been any heavy rains in the past few days, and it's the dry season of the Yellow River. The water flowing out will only flood some fields, and even if it comes, it won't be able to wash away people... Follow my route, and we'll be there tomorrow. When we reach Qingzhou, the floods will never reach us."
Nangong Yue gave Song Che reassurance while driving.
Song Che just sighed in his heart: Not to mention that the flood can't wash away people, but just looking at the yellow and dull Hongze can make people tremble with fear.
"Sister Nangong, when a dike bursts like this, it stands to reason that the state government should have sent people to seal the breach. Why has it been two days and no action has been taken?" Lu Jingxiang was confused.
The person outside the car sighed: "Qingzhou is a place where corruption is serious and officials often fail to act. This burst of the embankment is very abnormal and cannot be explained clearly."
If the embankment was really opened by man, who would be willing to block it?
gradually,
The sky was getting darker and darker, and drizzle started falling from time to time.
"Stop, don't fight anymore, stop..."
"You brat, you even dare to steal the river god's bride. I think you are tired of living!"
"You want to capture Xiaodie, I will fight for you!"
slapstick.
"There seems to be a fight in front, do we care about this business?" Nangong Yue stuck her head into the carriage.
Song Che knew what was going on as soon as he heard the words "River God's Bride".
"Of course I have to take care of it."
There was a sedan chair parked beside the road, and four bearers were punching and kicking a young man in civilian clothes who was about seventeen or eighteen years old. Next to him stood a bride who was about seventeen or eighteen years old in wedding clothes.
The young man was definitely no match for the four of them. He was knocked to the ground and rolled in mud. The bride was crying and trying to stop the fight.
"Stop it!"
Nangong Yue and Lu Jingxiang drew their swords and jumped out of the carriage.
Seeing that the man had a weapon in his hand, the bearer put away his fists and feet, but shouted: "Passers-by, please don't mind your own business. The boy here dares to openly steal a bride, and he will be beaten!"
"Then you want to beat people to death!" Nangong Yue shouted.
"You bitch, don't give me a toast and you'll be fined if you don't eat it!"
"I'm sure I'm going to take the penalty of drinking today!"
Nangong Yue and Lu Jingxiang rushed forward and knocked down the sedan bearer in just a few moves.
Knowing that he was no match, the bearer crawled away and shouted, "If you dare to steal the bride of the River God, you will be drowned by the flood!"
The young man struggled to get up from the ground. The bride wanted to help her, but the young man said: "Xiaodie, I am dirty, please don't soil your clothes..."
"Brother Shui." The bride came over with tears in her eyes and wanted to kneel down.
Nangong Yue hurriedly supported her and asked, "Sister, are these stupid people going to sacrifice you?"
The bride nodded and told her true feelings.
The bride Xiaodie and the young man Shuisheng are both from Dongyang Village in Yi County.
In order to protect eight villages within ten miles from floods, the head of the township found a goddess from nowhere and said that he had to sacrifice a living person to the river god to ensure peace in the village.
The "river god's marriage" is not uncommon in Jiangnan. It is an evil caused by feudal superstition.
"Brother Shui and I were childhood sweethearts. Brother Shui couldn't bear to leave me, so he came to stop the sedan..." The bride looked at the young man lovingly, wiped her tears and said, "Brother Shui, what should we do now? If I leave, our parents will become sinners in the village. What if the fairy wants to pay with their lives?"
The young man made a puff and knelt down in front of Song Che: "The official is very popular and he came to the rescue. You must be a warm-hearted and good person. I beg the official to save Xiaodie's life. Shuisheng is willing to work as a cow and a horse for the rest of his life!"
"Hey, get up quickly."
"If the officials don't save me, I won't be able to afford it, and I will kowtow to you!"
"Hey, hey, hey... I can't bear this kind of gift. I have gold under my knees. You should get up and talk first, right? This brocade robe of mine is worth more than eighty taels. If you want to force me to help you, I'm afraid it will get dirty. oh."
When Song Che said this, the young man stood up.
"The river god is getting married, where to get married, how to get married, is there really a river god? Tell me the truth."
These things must be clarified first.
The young man raised his hand and pointed somewhere:
"Ten miles ahead from this trail, there is an entrance to the Yi River. The goddess and the villagers have built an altar there. The woman selected for sacrifice will be tied to a stone weight and thrown into the water from the river entrance... I You really don’t believe in any river god!”
After listening, Song Che nodded, pursed his lips and thought for a moment, then suddenly came up with a plan and said to the bride: "Take off your wedding clothes, and we will go to the ceremony for you."
"Ah? Sir, how can this make..."
"Don't worry, my guards are highly skilled in martial arts and specialize in treating all kinds of monsters."
Song Che took out another ingot of silver, put it into the young man's hand, and said with a smile: "Single-handed, a hero saves the beautiful, and he is a good man. These ten taels of silver should be used to wish the two of you a happy marriage in advance."
Thank you again, newlyweds. The bride took off her dress and left hand in hand with the young man.
"The boss is so kind, he can easily grant someone ten taels of silver..."
"I can't help it. I have too much money and can't spend it all. I'm very distressed." Song Che held up the dress with a smile and asked the two women in front of him: "So? Between the two female Bodhisattvas, who will be the bride?"
Nangong Yue pouted, "I'm already old, and I can't pretend to be a girl. Let's let Jingxiang do it. She's young and beautiful, and her martial arts skills are better than mine."
"Sister Nangong, you're welcome, you are an unbeatable beauty."
Lu Jingxiang smiled and took over the wedding clothes, and returned to the carriage with Nangong Yue. When they came out, they not only wore wedding clothes, but also braided festive hair accessories. Nangong Yue also changed into a man's attire.
"The River God's mouth watered when he saw your appearance." Song Che said with a smile.
"Oh, I thought I would never be able to wear this kind of clothes in my life. Although it's just a show, I'm still very happy." Lu Jingxiang's face flushed with excitement.
"Then, let's get in the sedan?"
Lu Jingxiang stepped into the sedan chair, and Song Che and Nangong Yue acted as bearers.
"When the sun came out, I climbed the hillside. When I reached the hillside, I wanted to sing. I sang the song to my sister, who laughed after hearing it..."
Carrying a sedan chair, singing songs, and swaying to send the bride off.
