Shen Wen asked Su Wanniang to sit on the old donkey. Su Wanniang looked at the old donkey and worried: "Can it pull people? It looks like it is going to die."
Zhang Yunzheng said angrily, "Ride for two days before you lose your breath, or you won't even have this."
Shen Wen helped Su Wanniang, who was wearing a face scarf, onto the donkey, and several of them set out on the road.
The old donkey walked very slowly, slower than they walked. They walked for a whole day, from early morning to dark, according to Shen Wen's estimate, they had traveled twenty miles. The next day was not much better, and after walking for a few more days, they left the coastal area. There were refugees on the road, and many people walked against them and went to the sea. Information is underdeveloped in this world, and people don't know where to go in a famine. If they don't visit relatives and friends, they can only rely on word of mouth to make a living. They are often stopped by someone along the way and ask: "Where are you going? There is no food in the east?!" Zhang Yunzheng always said: "Fortunately, there is something to eat by the sea. We only came here to go home, otherwise I'll stay there..." Immediately the people looked hopeful and headed east.
The further inland, the number of people fleeing famine gradually increased. Although Zhang Yunzheng's clothes were shabby and their donkeys were half-dead, they were not conspicuous walking in the ranks of refugees, but Shen Wen was always cautious and decided not to walk in broad daylight. Now at the turn of spring and summer, it dawns early, and they set out on the road in the early morning. When it was dawn, and there were too many people, they would find a place to rest, wait until evening, and then go late into the night.
Zhang Yunzheng had enough bank notes to buy food and water, but he could still buy them on the coast, but when he went to the inland area, sometimes even if he had money, there was nowhere to buy food and water. So every time he could buy it, Zhang Yunzheng would buy more, which made everyone bear a heavy burden. Su Wanniang stopped riding a donkey and let the donkey carry heavy loads. Even Shen Wen carried more than 20 catties of things on his back. The straps are swollen.
They set off at midnight that day, but at dawn they found that the road ahead was full of people. Shen Wen, who was timid and fearful of getting into trouble, naturally stopped immediately, and signaled Zhang Yunzheng to leave the road and walk up a small hill next to him, wanting to see what happened.
When they reached the small slope, they saw a black mass of people in the distance, there should be ten to twenty thousand people, huddled in front of a city. Zhang Yunzheng said, "I'll go and have a look."
Shen Wen hurriedly stopped: "What are you doing! One more thing is worse than one less thing, we..." She looked around, sighed and said: "We can't go around. This area is hilly. If you leave this road, you have to go out more. Dozens of miles or even hundreds of miles."
Zhang Yunzheng said, "I'll go ask what happened."
Shen Wen said: "Let Yulan go! He can inquire about the news."
Yulan looked at Zhang Yunzheng, Zhang Yunzheng nodded, Yulan put down the package on her back, Shen Wen urged: "Go and come back quickly, just ask questions, don't make trouble."
Yulan smiled and said, "Don't worry! I'm like a mouse, I'm sure I won't cause trouble." She walked away quickly.
The others sat on the floor, because they had only walked for more than an hour, and they were not hungry, and only drank a few sips of water.
Zhang Yunzheng pulled Shen Wen aside and asked in a low voice, "Are you afraid again?"
Shen Wen flattened his mouth: "I don't want to disperse the action. There are many people over there, and they are all refugees. I don't think it will be a good thing."
Zhang Yunzheng smiled: "So you don't want me to go there?"
Shen Wen turned his face away: "You have to protect us here!" They don't have strong crossbows or groups of guards now, only Zhang Yunzheng can do it, and Shen Wen doesn't want Zhang Yunzheng to leave.
Zhang Yunzheng raised his chin triumphantly: "Do you know how powerful I am?!" He folded his arms and looked forward, looking very tall.
Shen Wen giggled, and Su Wanniang and the Fourth Prince also took the opportunity to exchange glances.
Soon, Yulan came back panting, and said to them, "This is a group of people who have been gathering for several days. The gates of this city are closed to prevent the refugees from entering, saying that it is because the refugees went in to rob and steal. There are no other decent towns, but there is still some food in this city, so the refugees blocked the gates and wanted to enter."
Zhang Yunzheng frowned, but didn't say anything.
Shen Wen sighed: "It seems that we really have to take a detour, this situation will be difficult for three or two days..."
Before she could finish her sentence, there was a commotion in front of her, a group of people came from a distance on the main road, and there was the glint of weapons in the dust. Shen Wen looked over and said, "Oh, it's soldiers, we have to avoid them!"
Zhang Yunzheng looked ahead and said, "Didn't you say that the inland government soldiers have no resistance?"
Shen Wen said: "That's for the Northern Rong cavalry! It must be powerful for the refugees."
While speaking, the team of soldiers approached, there should be two hundred people, armed with knives, guns and sticks. The refugees began to commotion, and there was movement in the city. Shen Wen didn't want to look any further, so he pointed in one direction and said, "Let's go quickly, otherwise we will be in trouble once those refugees disperse."
Although Zhang Yunzheng didn't want to detour far, but he always listened to Shen Wen's advice, so he pulled the donkey down the hill and detoured far away. They didn't go far, and there was already a lot of shouting. Looking back, Zhang Yunzheng saw that the group of refugees had broken up and dispersed, and the people fled in all directions with the old and the young, crying loudly.
Zhang Yunzheng said: "Whose idea is this? Not opening the city gate? Is this murder?"
Yulan panted and said: "It is said that it is the meaning of the people in the city. There are too many refugees around, and they are afraid of chaos. I heard that some towns were looted by the refugees, and many people died..."
Several people stopped talking and just walked silently. There were noisy voices from behind, and someone was running in their direction driven by the officers and soldiers. Zhang Yunzheng pulled the donkey frequently, but the donkey couldn't move fast.
Someone shouted from behind: "Those people have donkeys!" "Quick! Chase them!..."
Zhang Yunzheng turned around: "They are chasing us! Are we going to fight or not?"
Shen Wen also turned around, saw hundreds of people, shook his head and said: "You can't fight! They are all desperate people, you can't provoke them!"
Su Wanniang gasped: "Leave... donkey... leave... them... ok... I can go..."
Those people approached, and Shen Wen also knew it had to be like this, nodded and said: "Then let's unload things quickly!"
The five people hurriedly unwrapped the donkey and carried it on their backs, let go of the donkey, Shen Wen helped Su Wanniang, Zhang Yunzheng and Yulan supported the fourth prince, and started trotting. Those people caught the donkey and started to rob it, so they stopped chasing them.
After running for half an hour, they completely left the dangerous place. When they arrived at the rolling hills, the exhausted few sat down. The sun is shining, and there is a piece of dry grass around.
Zhang Yunzheng sighed: "We don't know how many wrong roads we have to go around in this way." Shen Wen took a sip of water and said, "We don't go around far, just wait here. Those refugees are dispersed, and we will go back. Anyway, we Don’t go into that city, it’s okay to walk on the road, right?”
Several other people thought about it and thought it was worth trying, so they ate some dry food and took a nap in the wild.
When they got up, the sun was setting and the sporadic withered grass was golden.
The fourth prince said to himself: "The drought is terrible."
Shen Wen snorted: "Won't floods be terrible? Next year's floods will cause the Yellow River to divert in many places and flood for thousands of miles. Most of the other major rivers will burst their embankments, and entire villages and towns will be washed away, and the people will not be able to escape."
The fourth prince frowned: "If this is really the case, why should I warn you..."
Zhang Yunzheng raised his eyebrows: "How to warn? Who will listen?"
Su Wanniang sighed: "Who dares to say that? You will be beheaded if you confuse people with lies."
The fourth prince also understands this truth, this dynasty is extremely taboo against predictions such as celestial phenomena and easy calculations! The reason is that if the prophecy is not true at all, it is useless to prepare, and if the prophecy comes true, it will be even more troublesome! The prophet becomes the uncrowned king who promises everything! That's okay? What does the emperor do? Can anyone have a higher vision than the emperor? If one day the prophet said something unfavorable to the emperor, what would the people do if they responded? ! Therefore, if someone says that he can predict the future, the government will immediately use false words to confuse the public and arrest him, and torture his ulterior motives. … If someone says now that there will be a flood next year, he will indeed be beheaded. … At the beginning, when the third prince proposed to store grain, he didn't dare to say that he had learned any prophecies, but only thought about it from a cautious point of view, but as a prince, he made a suggestion, didn't it also not be adopted? …
The fourth prince was struggling, and Shen Wen looked at the fourth prince: "The imperial tomb where you are located will have a flash flood in August next year, breaking the river embankment and destroying a quarter of the mausoleum city. It’s an ominous omen, our dynasty is about to perish. The emperor was furious, and the general guarding the tomb was beheaded. You can go and warn.”
The fourth prince was worried: he could imagine the difficulties involved, and immediately felt a heavy heart, with a huge burden.
In the twilight, they started to walk with heavy packages on their backs, and everyone was in a low mood. Zhang Yunzheng scouted the way ahead and walked cautiously towards the main road. Along the way, you can often see refugees lying on the side of the road, some are dying, and some are injured. With the previous experience, they are evasive and do not dare to approach, so how can they save others
Back on the main road again, there were indeed few refugees, but there were more people who were killed and injured on the side of the road. As the night darkened, officers and soldiers entered the city. Torches were lit on the city gate. They were walking along the main road, and when they approached the city gate, several arrows shot at them, although they were still far away, but Zhang Yunzheng hurriedly led them staggeringly ran down the main road, laughter came from the city, and someone shouted: "Don't get close! "
A few people stayed away from the city wall, and worried about the refugees around them, they hurried past the city before going on the main road again. They walked for a few more days before they understood why those refugees surrounded the city: the surrounding area was mostly hilly and there were not many villages. The fields were barren, and although there were still fresh rivers in some places, there was nowhere to find food. People fleeing famine had no place to beg for food, so naturally they all went to that town. But how can that town save the people from all directions...
The fourth prince sighed while walking. They used to carry a lot of food and water, but after walking these days, they have become lighter and lighter, which made them worry instead of happy. Hearing the fourth prince's sigh, Zhang Yunzheng thought he was tired, and said: "We really can't stop, we have to hurry to the next city, otherwise we will have no food."
The fourth prince hurriedly said: "I don't want to stop, I just think about what happened that day, and I can't blame those people in the city."
Zhang Yunzheng always loves to criticize, but this time even he couldn't scold others, he could only nod his head and say, "We all protect our own food and refuse to help, how can we blame others?"
Shen Wen turned back in front and said: "Only when we have food and clothing can we talk about helping others."
The fourth prince asked: "Then how can we achieve what the Buddhists say by sacrificing one's life to feed the tiger?"
Shen Wen said: "There must be love."
Zhang Yunzheng muttered: "It can be done for family members, but it is difficult for outsiders."
The fourth prince was frustrated: "Some family members are in trouble."
Zhang Yunzheng felt sorry for the fourth prince: "You are really unlucky, if you don't even have a home, where can you rest?"
The fourth prince almost choked up, smiled wryly and said: "There is really no room..."
Zhang Yunzheng patted the fourth prince's shoulder and said: "It's okay! If there is nothing now, it means that there will be no future!"
The Fourth Prince looked at Su Wanniang's back, nodded and said: "Yes, in the future, I want to have a family."
Zhang Yunzheng felt that he already had the chance to win, and agreed: "That's right! Family and everything prosper, good people have good families! This is a must!"
Shen Wen pinched Su Wanniang's arm, and Su Wanniang pinched Shen Wen back...
Yulan suddenly said: "Look, there are shooting stars!"
It turned out that he was listening to his young master's usual dumbfounded words, so he couldn't help but look up at the sky, and happened to see a shooting star in the sky. Everyone looked up, and when they saw it, they suddenly stopped. Among the stars in the sky, meteors streaked by, emerging one after another, like silver rain, flickering, with indescribable mystery, the afterglow will disappear completely after a few seconds.
None of these people had ever seen such a beautiful celestial phenomenon, and they were stunned for a moment. After a long time, the meteor shower passed before several people breathed again.
Su Wanniang whispered to Shen Wen: "It's so beautiful, this is the most beautiful night sky I've ever seen in my life."
Shen Wen also nodded: "Where can I see it in the city? They are all sleeping in the house at this time."
Although the fourth prince didn't say anything, he also felt that this was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. In the vast starry sky, the Milky Way was as bright as a cage of smoke, and that brilliant meteor shower, even for a moment, was worth his journey.
Zhang Yunzheng said: "Oh, I heard people say that there are many immortals who came to reincarnate in the world."
Shen Wen said with a smile: "Some people say that many important people will perish."
Zhang Yunzheng's heart sank, and he said unhappily, "That's not it!"
Shen Wen thought about it, yes, he shouldn't be so negative, his father is the number one military general in the court, according to the title in this world, he is "General Star", how can he curse his family? He hurriedly said, "Okay, you're right."
When it was time to rest, the fourth prince found an opportunity to whisper to Su Wanniang: "Did you see it? The two of them stopped arguing."
Su Wanniang glanced at the fourth prince, "That's a good thing, our young lady has a good temper, although brother Zhang is a little anxious, but he is kind, and they are actually a good match." In these words, there is a vague meaning that Shen Wenren is not good, but the four Naturally, the prince would not point it out. What he is thinking now is that if Shen Wen and Zhang Yunzheng are really of one heart and one mind, it would be terrible: Zhenbeihoufu has soldiers and Pingyuanhoufu has money, Shen Wen's scheming is amazing, Zhang Yunzheng dared to act boldly, if these two people were stumbling and uncoordinated, it would be fine, if they had a perfect understanding, would there be anyone in this world who could beat them
The emperor and the crown prince are already at the point of defeat. One of them is his father, the other is his elder brother, they are all blood family members, but he has no sense of intimacy at all. Instead, he feels closer to these "outsiders" around him. This is really true. Unfaithful and unfilial! Fortunately, the third prince is also my elder brother, and I support him to take the position, so I have not betrayed my ancestors, and my conscience is more or less justified...
Naturally, no one could see the fourth prince's secret thoughts, and he would not be so stupid as to tell Shen Wen, Zhang Yunzheng, or even Su Wanniang, his guilt. He knew he would be in danger if they suspected him of any attempt to tip off the Dauphin. But they trusted him, so it meant that it was impossible for him to get close to the emperor and prince. The death of his mother and concubine created a gap between him and his father, and the prince's intolerance prevented him from taking refuge. He is actually a refugee who doesn't even have a home of his own. Apart from following them, what other path is there
The fourth prince felt that he had really become a bereaved dog, so he could only follow Zhang Yunzheng, Shen Wen and the others down-to-earth. After the incident, he married Su Wanniang, and went to sea with Shen Wen and the others to build his real home.
They were running out of food, and Zhang Yunzheng became worried. Sometimes he and Yulan went to passing villages and small towns to buy some grain at a high price, but the closer they got to the disaster area, the less grain they could buy. Later, they could only eat a bowl of porridge and a few pieces of cake every day, and several of them became pale and thin, looking exactly like the refugees on the road.
Zhang Yunzheng said to the fourth prince: "The last time we went to Yan's Academy, the surrounding area was okay, and the inland area from there is the disaster area. It's only been less than a year, and when we went from the sea to the other side, there was also a disaster! The disaster area has expanded, so it can be seen that the replaced prefect is a dog official!"
The fourth prince sighed wearily: "So what if it's not a dog official? There must be no food in the official warehouse now."
Shen Wen frowned and regretted it. She agreed to go first because the location of Yan's Academy was not a hard-hit area, and now they couldn't find food. Could it be that they were going to starve to death on the way
Shen Wen said: "We have to find Mrs. Pingyuanhou's shop as soon as possible."
Zhang Yunzheng said: "My mind is in a mess now, and I can't think of anything."
The fourth prince said: "I heard from shopkeeper Zhou that all the shops in the interior that could not continue to operate have been withdrawn."
Zhang Yunzheng said: "Most of those are my...grandfather's site, my... Fufu's, if they are big, they won't be withdrawn easily." Ping Yuanhou's letter card, how could it be withdrawn casually
Shen Wen looked at the sky, it was almost noon, and said: "Then let's find a place to rest, think about it."
They walked to a dry forest by the side of the road, and before they were about to sit down, they found a skinny young man sitting beside a big tree.
A few people wanted to change places again, but seeing the young man with his eyes closed, his face haggard, and no one else around, they sat away from him. Zhang Yunzheng looked at that person vigilantly, and was relieved when he saw that he was motionless.
They rested for a while, and when they were about to set off, they passed by the man, and they could see that the man was dying. Along the way, they have seen too many dead and dying people, and they have become numb. They knew early on that they couldn't be rescued, and they didn't have much food, so they were about to leave. Under the noon sun, in the corner of the fourth prince's vision, he saw something shining between the fingers of the man on his abdomen, and he couldn't help but Turning his head to look, he found a white flag under the man's slightly curled fingers.
The fourth prince stopped, turned around and walked towards the young man, Zhang Yunzheng followed him: "What do you want to do? Be careful!"
The fourth prince nodded, but still walked in front of that person. The young man was only in his twenties, and his face was so thin that only bones remained. The fourth prince touched his shoulder, the man murmured something without opening his eyes. Zhang Yunzheng didn't see it, but the fourth prince could tell from the faint pronunciation and lip shape that the person was saying "... those who are good at defeat are not chaotic..."
These are the words and sentences in the famous "Thirteen Chapters of Chess Classics", which come from its "Joint War Chapter": Those who are good at winning do not fight, those who are good at fighting do not fight, those who are good at fighting are not defeated, and those who are good at losing are not chaotic... It is about the mind of the game Gentle.
"The Thirteen Chapters of Chess" is a classic game in the game, and later generations commented that it is full of "wonderful and eternal insights", because it not only talks about the way of chess, but also contains many principles of governing the country and the family. This is the fourth prince. Very favorite book.
This person is citing this sentence now to warn himself that although he is defeated, he must not collapse. If death is defeat, then at least he can deal with it peacefully...
The fourth prince knelt down and helped the man up, untied the water hyacinth from his waist, and gave the man a few sips of water. The young man slowly opened his eyes, and the Fourth Prince took out a few pieces of cake from his bosom, and placed them in the young man's hand.
Zhang Yunzheng said, "You can't save him even with a mouthful of dry food."
The fourth prince said: "Then let's leave him a few catties of food."
Zhang Yunzheng was surprised: "How much food do you think we have? We only have a dozen catties left in total."
The young man struggled and said: "No... no more, in the sky... someone will play chess with me... very good... I can go..."
The fourth prince thought of the Qionglou Yuyu he saw, and said: "Since you can see heaven and play chess with immortals, you are a spiritual person. Stay in the world and you can do something." He turned to Zhang Yunzheng and said, "Take Give him half of my ration."
Shen Wen and Su Wanniang also came over, hearing what the fourth prince said, Su Wanniang said: "Give it to me, I don't have much to eat."
Zhang Yunzheng rolled his eyes: "What's yours and mine? Everyone eats equally..." Although Shen Wen didn't object, Zhang Yunzheng gave the young man a small bag of hard dough pancakes. He took out a water hyacinth, and took out a few silver bills and stuffed them into his arms.
They got up and went on the road, Zhang Yunzheng asked the fourth prince: "Are you hungry and confused? I don't think your mind is so clear."
The fourth prince sighed: "I don't know what's wrong, I just suddenly feel that death is nothing, so don't be so afraid."
Zhang Yunzheng frowned: "Is this sacrificing oneself to feed the tiger? You didn't love him either..."
Shen Wen and Su Wanniang, who were originally worried, both laughed, and the fourth prince felt depressed: He might have caused everyone to suffer because of such a person, so he said with a trace of apology: "That's right, he said something about chess at that time, which is also my favorite book." …”
Zhang Yunzheng squinted at the fourth prince, "You are indeed hungry and stupid!"
A few people had fun in bitterness and laughed a few times.
After that, it's even harder for them. Each person can only eat one bite of cake and one meal of gruel per day. Fortunately, after walking for a few more days, there were more villages around, and Zhang Yunzheng bought some grain at a high price, allowing them to continue on their way.
Gradually, the cities and towns became more and more frequent. Shen Wen said that they had entered a very affluent area before the disaster, and they probably couldn't die of hunger. The mood of several people got better again, and they started talking and laughing again. After this period of time, Su Wanniang has gotten used to walking around. The weather is summer, and the climate is warming up. They walked under the starry sky at sunrise and sunset, and although they were always hungry, they didn't feel it was so bitter.
Finally, they walked outside a big city, and they were very excited to see a porridge shed by the roadside of the city gate from a distance.
When they got closer, they saw the character "Li" on the porridge shed, and they became even more excited: If this is Li's charity work, they are at the end of it.
As soon as her heart relaxed, Su Wanniang felt her legs go weak, and she sat down on the ground, and Shen Wen sat down with her. The fourth prince also sat down, Zhang Yunzheng looked at the three people on the ground and said helplessly: "Just rest for a while!"
Yulan knelt down and suggested, "Let's have some porridge before going into town. I'm hungry! I don't have the strength. Besides, what if this isn't Madam's business?"
But Zhang Yunzheng felt that it was an embarrassment, so he shook his head and said, "No way! How can I eat porridge bought on credit?! I can't hold my head up for the rest of my life. Let's go to the city to buy it."
Yulan read Yang'er: "Master! Can't I eat it?"
Everyone felt like drooling, Zhang Yunzheng glared at Yulan: "You don't give me face!"
Yulan was not afraid at all, and said: "You guys rest, I will go to line up..."
Zhang Yunzheng shook his head: "No way!"
A homeless man who passed by heard their argument, turned around and said: "The porridge is for the old, young, women, children and the sick. You guys are going to see the Li family's guy in front. The Li family has odd jobs to do. One day Come down to take care of the food. Don’t queue, and they won’t give you porridge when you get there!”
Yulan lost her spiritual support and fell to the ground all of a sudden: "I have to rest too!"
Zhang Yunzheng scolded: "You said just now that you were going to line up, get out of here..."
Perhaps seeing Zhang Yunzheng's face covered in dust but carrying a long sword wrapped in rags, a person from a group of refugees sitting not far away came over, also with an unrecognizable face, baring his yellow teeth and arching at the three of them. After making the move, Zhang Yunzheng was too lazy to care about others, and Yulan pretended not to notice, only the fourth prince nodded out of his natural good temper, and that person whispered, "Brothers are from the Jianghu?"
Zhang Yunzheng had just finished reprimanding Yulan, and said in a bad tone: "Can you control it?"
The man chuckled, "It seems that my brother is angry?"
Zhang Yunzheng didn't speak again, the man said in a low voice: "Then the Li family is not authentic, they have to work for them even to eat a bowl of porridge, digging canals and clearing the land, isn't that a waste of people?! The man is from the world, how can he do that?" Humiliated by them like this?"
Zhang Yunzheng frowned and looked at him: "What do you want to say?"
The man went on to say: "I have something rich and noble, brother, do you want to do it?"
Zhang Yunzheng was about to speak impatiently, but the fourth prince hurriedly interjected: "What is it? Let me hear it?"
The man lowered his voice and said, "This Li family's porridge has been in existence for more than three years. It is an hour a day. Although it is only for women, children, old and young, hundreds of people come every day. How rich do you think this business is? How about... He looked at Zhang Yunzheng, Zhang Yunzheng's eyes flashed brightly, the fourth prince stood up, pressed Zhang Yunzheng's arm, and asked: "Why not?"
The man came over: "We inquired, this business used to be silk and satin, and made a lot of money! In recent years, it has been in recession, but the emaciated camel is bigger than a horse, why don't you guys sneak into their shop at night here, and robbed them of their silver..."
Zhang Yunzheng raised his arm, the fourth prince hurriedly held him down again, and continued to smile and said: "Since the business is not good, there must be no money."
The man whispered: "They give away porridge so much, there must be a granary. We will torture them and find out where they are. In this year, if there is grain, then there will be all the gold and silver treasures... "
The fourth prince interrupted: "Have you ever eaten porridge from the Li family?"
The man was taken aback, blinked his eyes and said, "I've eaten it."
The fourth prince asked: "How many times have you eaten?"
The man waved his hand and said: "Several times, but every time I have to help with work, it's disgusting! So I know where they live, go west into the city, and I will lead the way at night."
The fourth prince nodded, and asked again: "Do you have anyone else?"
The man waved his hand to the refugees: "We have found five or six people. This elder brother has a sword, so he will definitely be of great help. After the matter is completed, we will be divided into four or six..."
The fourth prince put down his hand and said to Zhang Yunzheng: "Four to six points, what do you think?"
Zhang Yunzheng also understood what the fourth prince meant, and snorted: "I don't think so! You call all your people, and I'll see what it's like, and whether it's worth giving you anything."
The man hurriedly said: "We also have some hands, you wait, I will let them come." After speaking, he left.
Zhang Yunzheng took off the long sword on his back and held it in his hand. Yulan got up from the ground and held the hilt of the short sword in his waist. The always gentle fourth prince looked around, reached out and picked up a stone, as if he was facing an enemy.
Shen Wen and Su Wanniang stood up and walked away. Su Wanniang asked softly, "Is it important?"
Shen Wen helplessly whispered to Su Wanniang: "He likes to fight, does it matter if it's important or not?"
Su Wanniang smiled, pushed Shen Wen and said, "You really spoil him!"
Shen Wen whispered into Su Wanniang's ear, "At least I didn't..."
Su Wanniang immediately stopped Shen Wen: "Stop talking! Someone is coming over there."
When those people came over, Zhang Yunzheng rolled his eyes. These six or seven people all looked poor, with sharp-mouthed monkey cheeks, skinny faces, stooped backs, and ragged clothes. The person who came to talk to Zhang Yunzheng pointed to Zhang Yunzheng and said, "Look, I found a hero who can follow us to do things. This time it will definitely succeed."
Zhang Yunzheng squinted his eyes, looked at these people, and asked, "Are you all going to grab it?"
A few people nodded excitedly, eyes glistening with gum, Zhang Yunzheng scolded: "I'll kill you ungrateful, wolf-hearted, shameless bastards..." The fourth prince hurriedly said: "You can't kill people! They are just thieves! "Throwing stones, clapping hands.
Zhang Yunzheng didn't draw out his sword, but only held the sheath, he punched with one hand and kicked with his foot, several people were beaten and fled in all directions. Zhang Yunzheng was out of breath and couldn't chase him out at all. After those people ran away, they turned around and pointed at them and shouted: "A robber! That man wants to rob the Li family!" "He is a thief in the Jianghu!" "Hurry up and take him to the government!"...
Many refugees gathered around them, and someone shouted: "Hey! Do you have a conscience!" "Everyone go together!"
Zhang Yunzheng looked at the fourth prince angrily: "Look! A little thief? A villain! A villain should be killed! They are nothing!"
The fourth prince said loudly to the people around him: "Just now, those few people who wanted to rob the porridge house were spotted by us and beat them away. Please don't get me wrong!" His voice was not loud, and people still surrounded him , a few of them hurriedly ran, Zhang Yunzheng pushed and shoved all the way, fortunately, they had just rested for a while, and their pace was fairly fast, and soon they ran outside the city gate, Zhang Yunzheng and others slowed down their pace, the soldiers only thought they were refugees. Booing, without going into the details, let a few people into the city.
Although the city was full of buildings and shops along the street, like other places they passed by, the streets were full of ragged beggars. After they came out for such a run, they were so hungry that their hands and feet were weak. They were almost like beggars. Zhang Yunzheng found out about the place where the Li family's business was, and he wished to come there as soon as possible. He hoped that it was really his mother's business, so he could have a full meal. .
The more they want to go fast, the more they run into things. Not long after I left, the door of a tall courtyard next to the street suddenly opened, and a woman with disheveled hair and a child rushed out, followed by someone chasing after her, and this woman ran out a few steps and fell right beside Su Wanniang. Fortunately, she knelt down and cried to Su Wanniang: "Save my young master! He is going to be beaten to death!"
Zhang Yunzheng and the others had to stop, only to see that the boy in her arms was only four or five years old, his head and face were swollen, and his exposed arms were covered with scars. Five or six servants and women ran out from the gate, dragging the woman back, and the woman cried loudly, shouting hoarsely: "Help! You are about to lose your breath, you have been hungry for three days! Desperately breaking free from the pull of several people, he pushed the child in his arms towards Su Wanniang, saying: "Save him! Save him! Please! My wife is dead, my little lady is going to kill him!..." The servant next to him Hearing this, the mother-in-law beat and kicked the woman, cursing, "What nonsense are you talking about!" "Rip her mouth off!"
Su Wanniang was unprepared, and caught the child with her arms. After hugging her, she realized that the child was extremely light, it turned out to be a handful of bones. Su Wanniang said angrily: "You don't stop! Save the child first!"
She was hungry and thirsty, her voice was no longer clear, and her face was disheveled and her clothes were torn. Those servants didn't listen at all. Zhang Yunzheng shouted: "Stop! Beat people like this in the street, do you still have the law?!"
Those people saw that he was fierce, so they stopped beating the woman. Some people came forward and said, "Give us the child, he belongs to this mansion!"
Su Wanniang looked down at the child in her arms, and saw that there was blackness on his face, resembling her mother's expression when she passed away, she shouted in panic, "Hurry up and find the doctor! This child is sick!"
A servant came over and pulled the boy's arm: "What's wrong?! Pretend to be sick! Madam said, don't spoil him!"
Zhang Yunzheng stopped him and said: "This kid doesn't seem to be pretending to be sick!" He turned his head and looked around: "Go to the doctor quickly!" There were so many onlookers around, no one answered.
Su Wanniang groped in her arms with one hand, took out a small piece of dry food, and brought it to the child's mouth, but the child's lips were chapped, the fourth prince untied the water hyacinth and handed it over, Su Wanniang poured some water into the little boy's mouth, and the water flowed smoothly Seeing the corner of the child's mouth dripping down, Su Wanniang yelled: "Son, wake up."
The boy's eyelids moved and opened a crack, Su Wanniang hurriedly said, "Son! Eat something..."
Shen Wen hurriedly said: "Don't say that!"
But it was too late, a smile appeared on the child's swollen face, and he called softly: "Mother..." Then he seemed to sigh, and closed his eyes again.
Su Wanniang was anxious, and kept yelling: "Wake up! Child! Wake up!..." But the body in her arm softened, and she put her hand under the boy's nose, and she was no longer breathing. Su Wanniang hugged the little boy's body and cried: "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that! I hurt you..." When she said that, the child was relieved. Su Wanniang cried and said: "You can be reincarnated as my child, I will treat you well, treat you well..."
A servant shouted: "This woman killed our son! Report to the officials!"
The fourth prince said angrily: "What nonsense are you talking about?! Look at this child, he was clearly beaten to death!"
Several servants gathered around: "Who saw him being beaten? But we all saw this woman strangle him to death!" "Yes, she herself said that she killed the child!"
The woman who had been beaten crawled over, snatched the child back from Su Wanniang's arms, and wailed loudly: "Madam! I'm sorry! I didn't keep your child!..."
The fourth prince said loudly: "If this child is really murdered, then go and sue the officials!"
Someone laughed softly, and a servant laughed at the fourth prince: "What a country bumpkin! Sue the officials?! My master is the prefect! Go sue!"
Another servant said: "Quickly go and tell the master that these foreigners killed the eldest son and want to make a false accusation!"
Zhang Yunzheng stepped forward and kicked him somersaults, cursing: "Things that turn right and wrong!"
Several servants and mothers-in-law shouted: "These people are mobs!"