Qiao Mingyu's uncle's surname was Zheng, and he was originally from an aristocratic family.
The Zheng family are strict with themselves, never make mistakes in words and deeds, and have produced several generations of queens and prime ministers. The first emperor Yuan, the mother of Qiao Mingyu, was also a virtuous queen who was highly praised by women in the capital.
In fact, it was because of the increasing influence of the Zheng family. In order to suppress the aristocratic family, the late emperor deliberately let them die one after another. The Zheng family, who lost their beloved daughter, was hit hard. Coupled with the consolation of the late emperor's dismissal of power under the name of "consideration", it has since declined.
Ruidi still remembered how his father had the cheek to say that his grandfather was overthinking and needed to recuperate, so he ripped him off from the position of prime minister, and then lost a flashy idle job at will.
Later, the Zheng family's men's positions happened one by one, either because they were replaced by the emperor, or because they made mistakes and got sacked. In the end, the entire Zheng family had nothing to watch except for those few good-looking idle jobs. And the elites of the Zheng family who were dismissed for "doing the wrong thing" were all found and sent to the outside of Beijing, and were brought back by Ruidi one after another this year.
It's a pity that many of them lost their lofty ambitions due to years of wasting, some died of illness, some were not healthy enough to continue to serve as officials in the court, and some were extremely disappointed in the court and did not want to come back. Grandfather has also passed away, the eldest uncle is not an official material, the second uncle has retired from martial arts, and only one younger uncle can come back to lead the Zheng family.
"Little uncle has been very good since he was a child." Just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Qiao Mingyu and Gu Lian rode to Shu, accompanied by the male guard.
Because the female guard had already reached the marriageable age, this time, after returning from the expedition, she had also gained military merit, and it was the time when hundreds of families asked for marriage. Most of the female guard members are already engaged, so naturally they can no longer run around with the princess, and the rest will be soon. The women's army cannot last forever, and most of them still have to get married.
After getting married, a husband and a child can run around like a man. After all, a man doesn't need to get pregnant, and he doesn't need to manage the housework.
Qiao Mingyu originally wanted Gu Lian to ride the carriage, but Gu Lian was rougher than her. She felt that it was annoying to take a carriage every time she went out. She was a strong woman who walked from the Five Poisons General Altar to the Central Plains on foot. In the past, because of the maid and status restrictions, I had to ride in a carriage. Now that she is the princess, she can do whatever she wants, and she can finally say goodbye to the carriage.
"He can read and write very early, he can write poetry at the age of three, he can write at the age of five, and he was once a talented person who moved the capital." When he mentioned his little uncle, Qiao Mingyu seemed to have endless words.
The little uncle is much younger than her mother and queen. At present, he is only in his thirties, and he is only five years older than Ruidi. Qiao Mingyu has always regarded her uncle as her elder brother. In addition, her younger uncle is open-minded and considerate. Qiao Mingyu, who used to be a little girl, is even more obsessed with it. She just thinks it is much better than her serious-faced elder brother.
Gu Lian was more curious about why her little uncle went to Shu alone, and even caused Mr. Zheng to declare that he did not have this son.
"I'm not too sure." Qiao Mingyu shook his head, "My uncle has only come back once in so many years, when my grandfather and grandmother died."
The two old people were very affectionate, and within two days after Mr. Zheng died, the old lady went with him.
The commander of the male guard has changed, and the original one who was transferred to be the captain of the front guard is considered a promotion. The deputy commander followed suit, and the current two commanders were selected from the Zheng family's children.
After the Zheng family's civil officials fell together, the unwilling children followed the second uncle to the military attache to guide the way. However, this road is not easy to walk, and it is difficult to be promoted when there is no war, so they have to go to the southwest to work hard. There are many poisonous miasmas in the southwest, and the Zheng family lost several children there.
However, there are still people who fight, such as these two commanders today. One is Zheng Qi, the son of the second uncle, and the other is Zheng Liao, a descendant of the clan.
It was getting late, and the group decided to temporarily sleep in the forest. The deputy commander Zheng Liao took a small group of people to hunt, while the commander Zheng Qi protected the two girls.
"Cousin, sit down." Qiao Mingyu didn't pay attention to identity when he was outside.
Zheng Qi nodded and sat down by the fire.
All the way from Huaijing to Shu, they have been gone for almost a month. Quickly and quickly, you can reach the land of Shu in more than a month. The temperature in autumn and winter in Shu is higher than that in Huaijing, but it is often rainy or sunny. As soon as he entered the realm of Shuzhong, Gu Lian took out the special raincoat and sunscreen ointment and put them in a place where they can be easily taken.
Others don't know why, but they also follow suit.
Gu Lian pinched Qiao Mingyu's chin and watched carefully for a while, and then let go after confirming that there was no sunburn.
The sun here is not necessarily as strong as the summer in Huaijing, but the ultraviolet rays are more powerful. Anyone who is slightly allergic to ultraviolet rays can get itchy after five minutes of sun exposure.
"I'm fine." Qiao Mingyu said bluntly, but his body honestly handed over his hands, there were no clothes to cover here.
Gu Lian gave her a funny look, and really squeezed her hand to examine it carefully.
"What is this?" Seeing a small bag, Gu Lian immediately frowned.
Bao was born on Qiao Mingyu's finger, red and like a small particle. Qiao Mingyu shook her head, she didn't know why she had long bags, but she couldn't help but stretch out her hand and scratch it.
"Itching?" Gu Lian immediately took out a bottle of ointment from his arms, "It should be bitten by some bug, I'll put some anti-itch ointment for you, and it will be fine in a day."
There are many insects in Shu, and she felt that she did not need to take precautions so early when she entered Shu yesterday. Anyway, the ordinary insect repellent powder in the commander's hand was quite effective, so she did not take out the special insect repellent powder and sprinkle it around the resting space. Now it seems she was careless. The bugs here are very refined, and there are more types, so she still has to prepare them herself.
Cousin Zheng suddenly felt a little pain in his eyes, he silently turned his eyes away, and then broke the ambiguous atmosphere with a sound.
"We have already entered the land of Shu, and the road below will be more difficult, but it looks like we can reach my uncle in three days."
After the little uncle was found, he would naturally not continue to live in the broken cave. The local officials personally packed up a mansion and invited him to stay. Although the water has receded, the furniture and everything have been soaked in water for many days, and it is temporarily uninhabitable. Because they were going to the capital, the servants packed up everything they could, and most of them were sold off, leaving gold and silver as a spare.
Qiao Mingyu was a little excited, she would see her little uncle in three days.
Gu Lian took a sip of water and warned, "Shu Road is more difficult to walk than you think, don't be careless. I know cousin and you have been in the southwest for a while, but there is still a big difference between there and Shu."
Zheng Qi was used to Gu Lian calling his cousin after Qiao Mingyu. Although he was surprised by the relationship between the two, he was not a nosy. In Huaijing, there is still rumors that the national teacher and the emperor are ambiguous, so the princess and the county master have nothing to worry about.
"Brother Huang said that the road needs to be built." If the official road is repaired, it will not be so difficult to leave the land of Shu.
Gu Lian smiled when he heard the words: "It's not that easy."
It costs a lot to repair official roads in the plains, not to mention the land of Shu. In some places, it is necessary to dig a mountain and a road, and it is impossible to build a road in ten or eight years.
Ruidi is an aspiring man, but it is a pity that reality has constrained his ambitions. He has not yet succeeded in abolishing women's schools, and he can only think about building roads.
There were too many people around, Qiao Mingyu wanted to get close to Gu Lian, but couldn't do anything. Although the male guards can be trusted, it is too unrestrained to be affectionate in front of others, and Qiao Mingyu can't do it. Gu Lian didn't care, she was business as usual, she cared about Qiao Mingyu when she should be concerned, and her demeanor was naturally magnanimous. Later, Qiao Mingyu followed suit, but she still couldn't let go.
"It would be nice if you took a carriage." Qiao Mingyu leaned over her shoulder and said softly.
That way no one could see what she was doing in the carriage.
Gu Lian broke down: "They can hear it."
"..." Qiao Mingyu's ears turned red, "Just listen, what's the big deal!"
Gu Lian stretched out her hand to hit her chest, but she was quickly stopped by her eyes and hands, and glared angrily.
Gu Lian looked at her innocently: "Aren't you afraid of being heard, but are you afraid of being watched?"
Qiao Mingyu was speechless.
She has no way to take Gu Lian in her life. The rank is different. She is a famous celebrity, and she is a trumpet who just graduated.
Zheng Liao came back with a pheasant in one hand, and smiled when he saw the three people sitting by the fire: "There is a bamboo forest in front of you, guess what I saw?"
"Tapir beast." Gu Lian replied calmly.
The tapir is the panda. This is the ancient name. The tapirs of later generations are actually completely different from the pandas.
Zheng Liao, who wanted to show off, suddenly became discouraged: "How does the county master know everything..."
The most famous places in Shu are the broken leg fortress in Tangmen and their cute little ones. Who doesn't know about Tang Dynasty? Gu Lian also raised one, and later gave it to a friend of Tang Sect to help raise it, because she was licking blood all the year round, so she really didn't have the energy to take care of this little guy.
Qiao Mingyu had heard of the tapir beast but had never seen it. At most, she had seen the tapir beast wood carving given to her by her uncle. The wood carvings are colorful, lifelike and very cute.
Hearing that there are tapir beasts here, Qiao Mingyu couldn't sit still and thought about it, and wanted to go and see it.
"Eat first." Gu Lian grabbed her.
Pandas are cute, but they are not as harmless as they look. Especially this wild one is even more ferocious.
"Oh..." Qiao Mingyu was discouraged and sat back on the spot, looking at Zheng Liao and the others dealing with game.
Seeing this, Gu Lian pinched her face, took a pheasant and roasted it himself. Seeing this, Qiao Mingyu's eyes lit up, and Ah Lian baked it herself!
The author has something to say: Can you understand the desperation of a hard-shelled black bug five centimeters long and one centimeter wide that suddenly fell out of my hair one day when I was studying in Shu? Especially the thief who ran the bug could fly so fast, I screamed and shot it to death all the way, and my glasses were scared off...