Qi Ning carried Chi Danmei to the river, walked straight to the canopy, and shouted inside: "Is there anyone there?" No one answered at first, and after calling twice more, he saw the gray cabin curtain opened. , stuck out his head and shouted to Qi Ning: "Is there someone who wants to cross the river?"
Qi Ning was not polite and jumped on the bow of the boat. The man had already come out of the cabin. He was a strong man in his thirties, dressed as a boatman. When he saw Qi Ning holding the man, he raised a finger and said: "The two of us are crossing the river. , thirty cents."
Qining nodded and went straight into the cabin. The cabin was quite dark. There was an oil lamp hanging there. It was raining heavily and the tent was swaying. The oil lamp was also swinging around. He saw that there was another person in the cabin. , squatting in the corner, there was a small stove. There was a fire in the stove. There was some smoke and dust, but it was not choking. The man fanned the fire with a small broken fan. Hearing the sound of Qin Ning coming in, he looked back. Smiled and nodded.
Qi Ning saw that he was in his early sixties, maybe because of years of hard work, and his body was relatively strong, so he nodded to him. When the old man saw Qin Ning holding someone in his arms, he frowned slightly and asked, "Are you sick?" ?”
Qi Ning nodded, and the old man pointed to a place nearby and said, "If you don't mind, rest there." There was a shabby bedding spread on the floor, and there was a musty smell in the cabin. The bedding was shabby and shabby. It looked like it had been used for many years, and he couldn't be picky at this time. Qining carefully placed Chi Danmei on it and lay down. At this time, he found that Chi Danmei's face was wrinkled after being wet by the rain, and some places were still sallow. But there are a few places where it is as white as snow.
He knew in his heart that Chi Danmei had disguised herself when she sneaked into the palace, but once her face was wet with rain, it lost its effect. He stretched out his hand and wiped Chi Danmei's face, but this time it was very easy. Wipe it open, and wherever your fingers pass, a large area of snow-white skin is revealed. The old man fanned the flames without paying attention.
Qi Ning pulled off a piece of cloth from his body and helped Chi Danmei wipe her face. The crumb-like substance fell off her face. In a moment, a face with unparalleled beauty was revealed, with an almond-shaped face and a beautiful nose. The facial features were exquisite, but the face was pale. Qining took a breath and felt a little weak.
He was worried. The mission was still in Lucheng. According to what Bai Yuhe said, Chi Danmei was given twelve hours. But Chi Danmei looked like this. Not to mention twelve hours, it was seventy-two. Hours can't go anywhere, and I can't always stay with Chi Danmei during these twelve hours.
A gust of cold wind blew, and the strong man had already lifted the curtain and came in, saying: "The wind and rain are too strong, and the waves on the river are also strong. It is difficult to get there at this time. Please wait a moment."
Qining asked: "What place is this?"
"You don't know where this place is?" The strong man said with a smile, "I think I lost my way in the heavy rain. This is the Qiushui River. Just over a hundred miles to the northeast is the City of King Lu. Isn't the guest here? Are you going to King Lu's City? That's the wrong direction."
Qi Ning thought to himself that he had walked a hundred miles in a daze, and the Dong Qi soldiers would not be able to catch up in this hundred miles. He was a little more at ease and sat down on the edge. The strong man came to the stove. , Qining turned his head and glanced, and saw a small iron pot on the stove, which was probably used by the two boatmen for food and drink.
The old man took a small bag from the side, took a small piece of salt from it, opened the lid of the pot and put it in, stirred it with a spoon for a while, then brought a small bowl with half a bowl of soup and said : "This is fresh fish caught in the river. Your friend is sick. It might be better to drink some fish soup. If the guests don't dislike it, please come and drink some soup together."
Qi Ning thought that the small pot was not big and did not have much soup. It was food for the two boatmen, so it was not easy for him to share it. Besides, he always had to be careful when going out. He smiled and said: "Thank you, you two." Please use it for yourself.”
The old man didn't insist, so he brought the bowl over, and he and the strong man sat at the small iron pot to eat. It was just fish soup and no other food.
Qining couldn't help but ask: "Are you two having lunch?"
The old man nodded and said: "Exactly, this is the first meal today. The river is different from the lake. Moreover, there are few fish in the river at this time, so we can't catch many fish." He shook his head and sighed: "If it were a young man, I would still be able to dry out the fish every year. A lot of dried fish, besides selling some, I still have a lot left over.”
"What? Is it that river fish are getting harder and harder to catch?" Qining asked curiously.
The old man smiled and said: "This is also the reason, but..." shook his head and said: "That's it, it's nothing. The guest's accent doesn't seem to be from here?"
Qining said: "I am a foreigner and I am traveling around with my friends. My friends are sick and lost their way."
"That's it." The old man said: "After crossing the river, you go south. Less than twenty miles away, there is a large bamboo forest, which is easy to identify. There is a small temple there with only two monks. The old monk is very skilled in medicine. That’s great, you can take your friend over and have a look, you will definitely be able to cure the disease with medicine.”
Qi Ning said hurriedly: "Thanks for the advice."
The strong man drank the soup very quickly. He drank a bowl of fish soup in the blink of an eye, but he didn't eat more. The old man said: "Eat another bowl."
The strong man shook his head and said: "I'm full." He went over and opened the boat curtain at the back. It was windy and rainy outside, and the heavy rain was pouring on the deck. He frowned and said: "It seems that the rain will not stop for a while, guest, but I feel a little sorry."
Qi Ning knew that there was nothing he could do about it, so he shook his head and said: "If God is not kind to us, there is nothing we can do about it. That's right, brother, are there many people crossing the river on weekdays?"
The strong man shook his head and said: "Not many. In fact, walking more than thirty miles to the north is the official road. Passers-by use the official road. There are not many people walking this road. We are not here either. I would ferry people across the river, and in my spare time I would catch some fish in the river to make a living. If there were occasional guests crossing the river, I would take them with them."
"Since it's not easy to fish here, why not move to another place?" Qining asked, "You and your son don't seem to be very wealthy here."
The strong man said: "You are rich, it is good if you can eat." He sat down and said: "We are not father and son, this is my uncle, and I am his nephew."
"oh?"
The old man sighed: "To be honest, my nephew originally had land and property. Five years ago, there was a rebellion in Mount Tai. The imperial court conscripted all the young men near Mount Tai into the army to work as civilian laborers, transporting grain and grass to build camps. My nephew was I lived near Mount Tai, and was also drafted. After more than half a year of fighting, the imperial court wiped out the bandits. When my nephew returned, my family and several acres of real estate would no longer exist."
Qi Ning was startled and wondered: "Why is this?"
The strong man sneered: "Taishan is suppressing bandits. The court has imposed additional taxes. If you don't pay them on time, you will be imprisoned. I don't have that much money at home, so I can only use the few acres of thin farmland to mortgage to exchange for some money. Then God is also blind." "Eye, there was a severe drought that year, the crops were not harvested, the fields were harvested, and several members of the family had no food to eat, and they all starved to death." At this point, he clenched his hands into fists, his eyes full of sorrow, but Extremely angry again.
"My hometown is like this, so you can only come and seek refuge with me." The old man shook his head: "I originally had a son who lived by fishing with me, but he was drafted into the army in the first few years. After he left, there was no news from him again." He paused. , sighed: "Dongqi Elementary School, every piece of land and every lake has its own owner. In places with real water, beautiful fish, and many fish, it is not our turn. We can only make a living in such unattended rivers." After drinking all the soup in the bowl, he sighed: "If... if the previous emperor was still here, it wouldn't be like this."
"First Emperor?" Qi Ning was startled. The old man obviously felt that he had said too much. He waved his hand and said with a smile: "Nothing, nothing. I am just talking nonsense. Guests should not take it seriously."
But the strong man couldn't help but said: "Uncle, this is also true. I still remember that when we were young, we could have enough food and clothing, and farm one-third of an acre of land without starving or freezing. But now...!" A bitter smile! With a cry, he said: "These days are getting worse each day. I can still drink soup today, but I'm afraid I won't even be able to drink soup tomorrow."
Qi Ning glanced at Chi Danmei and saw that some color had returned to her face. He felt a little relieved and asked, "Is it possible that the current emperor is not as good as the previous emperor?"
"The current emperor?" The strong man snorted coldly and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. The old man winked at him. The strong man hesitated and closed his mouth, but he seemed to be depressed and couldn't help it. He lost a sentence and said: "Not to mention the former emperor, even the deposed prince is much better than him."
"Deposed Prince?" Qi Ning was startled again. Seeing that the strong man didn't speak, he knew that the two people were on guard. He smiled and said: "Don't worry, you two. It's windy and rainy outside. Let's just talk here. I'm Even outsiders, I have heard that the king of Qi is somewhat dishonorable. If he were really a good emperor, there would not be many troubles in the country."
The strong man smiled and said: "You are a sensible person. You are right. I heard that the leader of the Taishan rebellion was someone who was close to the deposed prince. He led people to rebel. He said that he wanted to avenge the deposed prince. At that time, it was the palace The man inside killed the deposed prince."
Qi Ning was a little confused and asked: "Brother, who is the deposed prince you are talking about? Is he the prince of the current king of Dong Qi? I heard that the king of Dong Qi has three sons and two daughters, and he was appointed a prince not long ago. Could it be that there was another prince before? Is there a prince?"
The old man sat on the edge of the cabin, shook his head and said: "The deposed prince is not the king's prince, but the king's brother." After thinking for a moment, he said: "I have been sailing for many years, and I have met a lot of people, and I have also heard them talk about some. The previous emperor had two princes, and the current monarch was originally the second prince. Before him, the previous emperor had already established a crown prince. However, more than 20 years ago, the crown prince suddenly rebelled. I heard them say that the deposed prince will still be the emperor. He led his troops to rush into the palace, but was noticed by the former emperor in advance. The deposed prince was arrested and his title was deposed. Within a few months, the former emperor passed away. Before his death, it was passed down that he was the second prince, who is now the prince. I don’t know what happened to the deposed prince.”