This year's festival was particularly deserted because of the siege of the city.
Since the emperors and empresses had to observe filial piety, and in order to save food, there was no banquet in the palace on New Year's Eve, and only some rewards were given to officials of the fourth rank and above in the imperial capital. This reward was similar to before, mainly including clothing materials, gold and silk, but at this moment it seemed like it was reminding everyone about the problem of food storage.
It's a rare night for wealthy people to reunite at home, but now this reunion seems to be clouded with uncertainty because of the uncertainty of the future. However, because the city's baggage was sufficient at the moment, and as soon as they woke up, they might find King Qin's troops coming, so the children who didn't know their sorrow made a fuss for a while, and the atmosphere became lively.
Since Wei Changying had to deal with his two naughty and energetic sons, he had to stay up late, and he was still thinking about his husband who was far away in Yanzhou - or had left Yanzhou now... So when everything was over and he returned to Jintong Courtyard, She used her last bit of strength to comfort her two sons and settle them down. She was so tired that her hairpins were not removed and her clothes were untied, so she fell asleep on the couch.
... She was shaken awake by Huang in panic.
In fact, Wei Changying had never seen Mrs. Huang look so frightened and confused. Her clothes were disheveled and her hair was messy. She did not have the grace and calmness that Aunt Shaofeng should have. She grabbed Wei Changying's shoulders with both hands. , for the first time, he had no scruples about hurting her. Tears even splashed onto Wei Changying's face when he spoke: "The food and grass are burned!!!"
"What did you say?!" Wei Changying was woken up at this moment because he was too exhausted. At first glance, he was still a little confused after hearing the words, so he murmured in reply.
Huang almost cried and told the story: "About two hours ago, a fire broke out in the warehouse! Because it was daytime, it burned for a while before being discovered by the patrolling soldiers! When I rushed over, I didn't know when there was a small fire. The elite soldiers took advantage of last night's New Year's Eve and the soldiers were relaxed, and entered the city! They also found the warehouse, killed the guards, poured oil on the stored grain, and lit a fire! Now the whole city is rushing to put out the fire. But the soldiers outside are also attacking the city, and the fire has not yet been extinguished! It is said that 70% to 80% of the food stored inside cannot be saved!"
Wei Changying only felt that the blood in her body froze in an instant and then boiled like a furious wave. It rushed to the top of her head and jumped back to her feet. She grabbed the brocade quilt on her body tightly and suppressed her scream: "What about now?!"
"The Valve Master has entered the palace to go to court." Huang said with choked sobs, "It is said that Ximen's situation is very bad - Madam just sent a message asking people in the palace not to move around at will... but she privately sent the whole hall over, asking us to take the place of the two of them. Young Master, pack your things!”
There are currently no elite soldiers in the imperial capital. Without the Xuanjia Guards, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Royal Forest Army is a rabble! Previously, it was because everyone saw that the food reserves were sufficient, and it was also said that the troops of the King of Diligence would definitely arrive to relieve the siege before the food reserves were used up. Only the imperial guards, whose military discipline has been lax for many years, plus private soldiers, guards, and the young men in the city can work together can they be able to hold on.
Now 70% to 80% of the stored grain has been burned - the key point is that it was burned in full view of the public. The blow to the people of the city can be said to be fatal! Ximen is not feeling well at this moment. With people's hearts fluctuating like this, God knows how long he can persist, and whether he can persist? Even if you get through today, what's next? Even though the high-ranking family had not handed over all their grain reserves before, the chief leader of the Grand Master had been handed over! Next, food and grass are in short supply. What will the people in this city do
Anyone would think of eating each other after being extremely hungry! In this way, there is no need for the soldiers to fight. As long as there is no one to fight for the king, they can just besiege but not attack, and they can wait until the emperor is defeated without attacking!
At this point, unless King Qin's troops arrive immediately and can be seen on the city, the imperial capital will basically not be able to defend it.
Under such circumstances, each family must consider preserving their bloodline... Wei Changying didn't even have time to cry for the separation of mother and son and his own future fate. He got up in his clothes and rushed to the side room where his two sons lived to tidy up for them. Luggage.
She hurriedly found the winter clothes that must be worn in this season, packed the soft clothes that were easy to carry, and asked the wet nurse to wake up the two children and dress them.
Because they stayed up until dawn on New Year's Eve, the two children played around for most of the night and were sleeping in a deep sleep. The wet nurse couldn't wake them up no matter how much she screamed, so she had no choice but to dress them like this.
After putting on their clothes, the maid twisted a cold handkerchief and came over to wipe their faces. She forced the two children to open their eyes, and saw their mother squatting in front of her, taking care of her clothes and fur coat. Shen Shuguang let out a sigh, subconsciously glanced at the skylight outside the window, and muttered: "Mom, are you getting up so early? Didn't grandma say that the child will sleep until noon today?"
"Guang'er, take good care of your brother from now on, you know?" Wei Changying put his hands on his eldest son's shoulders and said a thousand words. At this moment, except for this sentence, he couldn't think of anything and couldn't say anything - trembling After saying this in a low voice, she turned to look at her second son Shen Shuxie, who was still rubbing his eyes in confusion, and whispered, "Xie'er, you will listen to your brother from now on... No, if my brother tells you to act nonsense, just Don't listen to him."
Although Shen Shuguang was only six years old, he was extremely smart. At this moment, he sensitively sensed that something was wrong. He stood up from the bed and asked, "Why did mother say this to us?"
"Be good in the future." Wei Changying gently touched his cheek and looked greedily at his little face full of doubts - it is very likely that after this separation, mother and son will never see each other again! She was unwilling from the bottom of her heart. She was born in a famous family, married to a good son-in-law, a loving couple, and had two sons... If she hadn't encountered this damn world, her life and her family would have started and ended in splendor and wealth!
The two children are still so young. Even if there are dead soldiers guarding them to break out, there are swords and arrows. If such a young and fragile child is even slightly scratched by the sword... And in this chaotic war, who knows whether they can survive Was he safely sent to his husband Shen Zangfeng? If something happens to her husband, the two children can only be sent back to Xiliang to live with their uncle.
Will you feel wronged by then
Even if she successfully reunited with Shen Zangfeng and his son, her husband was still young and had a high status. How could he not renew their relationship in the future? When the stepmother walked in, the first wife's son was the most annoying, and there were two of them... Wei Changying himself had never suffered the grievances in the backyard, but he had also heard many secrets in the inner house from his grandmother, Mrs. Song, and his dowry aunt, Mrs. Huang. What's more, isn't Zhang Shaoguang, the stepmother of former Crown Princess Liu Ruoyu, a ready-made example? !
If his two biological flesh and blood fell in love with a stepmother like Zhang Shaoguang, Wei Changying simply thought about it and felt that he would not be able to feel at ease even if he died!
She is extremely unwilling!
But what can be done? The mother-in-law only asked her to pack the two children's belongings. This was tantamount to telling her that once the city was breached or the siege was forcibly broken through, the dead soldiers would only be responsible for taking the two children out and not her.
This cannot be said to be cruel to the mother-in-law. If Wei Zhangying's guess is correct, even the mother-in-law herself is ready to stay... After all, there are 200,000 soldiers outside the city! Moreover, they are all the elites among the Rong people. They are simply not comparable to the Royal Forest Army in the city, which also claims to have 200,000 people, but the actual number is just over 100,000.
Although they are scattered to four gates, and there are only 50,000 soldiers outside each gate, it can be said that the area around the imperial capital is completely undefendable. Once you leave the protection of the city wall, you will have to face the pursuit of the soldiers who are naturally good at riding and shooting. !
Under such circumstances, it is impossible for the existing dead men of the Shen family to protect all the Shen family members from escaping. Because even the elite of the Xiliang army, who have been tempered in the flames of war with the Di people every year, must fight with the Rong and Di in this terrain, unless the opponent's morale is greatly reduced. Go and don’t tolerate any burden at all!
You cannot protect everyone, so of course you have to make a choice... Our sect is about to face a disaster. At this time, the priority is of course to protect the male heir who can pass on the bloodline.
Shen Xuan and Shen Zhou are both still in their prime. In the future, the sect's status will need to be maintained by them, and they will need to deal with the situation after the breakout. They will definitely not be abandoned.
Among the children under their knees, the sons will all be able to ride and shoot, so they will not hinder the dead soldiers. Like Shen Zangli and Shen Lianshi, they even have outstanding martial arts, which can also reduce the pressure on the dead soldiers.
But the grandchildren are all very young - if it were not for the fact that the male heirs of the Shen family were not missing, and the grandparents and uncles were all in their prime, and there was no one in particular who needed to be taken care of except the grandchildren, I am afraid that all the children would have been left behind this time. !
I told myself over and over again in my heart that my two children were lucky and had a good life, and were protected by many elders and dead soldiers. They would definitely be able to escape, and it would be better than staying in the imperial capital and letting me watch them die... Even if In the future, she will feel wronged because she will not have her biological mother to take care of her, but won’t Liu Ruoyu grow up just like that? Besides, the husband is not a father like Liu Hai - Wei Changying tried his best to hold back his tears and whispered, "Guang'er is the elder brother, and he must protect his younger brother in the future."
"Mother?" Shen Shuguang looked at her with great confusion, "Why later?"
"You go to your grandmother's place." Wei Changying suddenly leaned down and hugged the two children tightly, one on the left and the other on the right!
She hugged her so tightly that she almost used all her strength, wanting to rub the two children back into her body - the young Shen Shuxie even cried out in discomfort...
After a moment, she suddenly let go of her hand, stood up, turned her head decisively, and asked Huang, "Is Zhu Lei here? Tell him to come in and send Guang'er and Xie'er to the bedroom quickly!"
"Mom, why are you going to grandma now?" Shen Shuxie is still young. He is only four years old in name. In fact, he is only three years old. When he was hugged by his mother before, because he felt pain, he took the opportunity to cause trouble and reached out to hug his mother. The long hairpin that bound her hair at the temples was loosened a little, and she was playing with the hem of Wei Changying's skirt at the moment, completely unaware that farewell was imminent. Shen Shuguang, who was two years older than him, had already heard the suspicion. He grabbed his mother's sleeves in fear and asked repeatedly, "Didn't we just come back from grandma's place? Grandma said that we can sleep a little longer today." , Why are we going now? Why is Uncle Zhu sending us instead of my mother? "
Wei Changying looked down at him. His own image was clearly reflected in the eldest son's dark and bright pupils. On his childish and beautiful little face, there was confusion mixed with ignorance. At this moment, there were more instinctive emotions for no apparent reason. Fear was slowly spreading - this was her first child, and she was given to her mother-in-law to raise when she was not a full week old. Soon after, she went to Xiliang to accompany her husband. After returning to the imperial capital, she thought she could finally make up for this child. But who would have thought that in less than three years, she would leave him again
And this time, maybe forever.
She pinched her palms hard to stop the urge to cry. She smiled and gently raised her hand. As usual, she touched Shen Shuguang's head as if nothing had happened. She rubbed the softest and most reluctant love into her life. He said emotionally: "Be good, you guys go over first, I have something to do for my mother... I will go to your grandmother's place in a moment. You and your brother, go first!"
"..." Shen Shuguang was used to pleasing his mother. When his mother said this, he agreed habitually. But after agreeing, the boy felt suddenly empty in his heart, as if he had lost something. He was too young to be able to It was an accurate description of this feeling, but there was an instinct that made him suddenly grab the train of his mother who was about to turn around and leave, and shouted: "No! The child must go with the mother!"
Wei Changying quickly blinked away tears when she turned her head. She looked down at her eldest son with a smile: "You must be obedient!"
Shen Shuguang still insisted on asking his mother to accompany his brother to his grandmother's house. Unexpectedly, Wei Changying's hand arranging his clothes suddenly lightly brushed against his sleeping point, and he fell softly. Only then did Shen Shuxie realize that something was wrong. She pulled the hem of Wei Changying's skirt in confusion and said in a sweet voice, "Mother, what's wrong with second brother?"
"Second brother is asleep, Xie'er is good. After you go to grandma's house with Uncle Zhu, you have to obey grandma's orders for everything, you know?" Wei Changying said with the utmost gentleness. She hugged her eldest son, bent down, and kissed her gently. She touched her second son's pink cheek and touched his forehead. Her voice became calm and she ordered in an emotionless tone, "Call Zhu Lei in!" (To be continued)