In the Zhou Marquis Mansion in the capital, Yuyi came out of the main courtyard and did not return to her own courtyard. She said to her personal maid, "Go and call Ming Ling and tell him that I have something to ask him."
The girl knew it must be about Master Yu, so she didn't dare to delay and said, "Yes."
Today, the two younger ones, Ming Ling and Ming Feng, did not go to the garden. The two boys were learning to read together. When Ming Ling heard his sister calling him, he thought it was something serious and quickly stood up and signaled the maid to put a cloak on him.
When he got out of the house, he asked the girl, "What did my sister want to talk to me about?"
The girl said, "You will know when you go there, young master."
A huge amount of money was spent on building Zhou Garden. There are many places with beautiful views, and it is not cold in winter because some places are equipped with glass.
Yuyi was waiting for her brother in the small pavilion. When she saw him, she pointed at the warm tea and said, "Have a cup of tea to warm yourself up."
Ming Ling didn't feel cold, "Sister, what do you want from me?"
Yuyi motioned to the maids around her to go downstairs and told them that she wanted to test Yu Yueyang.
Ming Ling felt unhappy. Did the Yu family arrange a marriage for her sister? She puffed up her face and said nothing.
Yuyi pinched her brother's face with a smile, "Sister will give you a task, go and test him yourself."
Ming Ling's face was tense. "Well, I will definitely test him well."
Yuyi sat in the small pavilion, "Then sister will wait for you here."
After thinking it over, she secretly decided that Mr. Yu was not suitable and that her younger brother would be the best person to test him. Children have sharp eyes and minds, and children's feelings are the most intuitive.
Ming Ling rolled his eyes, "Yeah."
In Tujia Village, Changli took his son to find the boy’s home. There were four thatched houses. The yard was very clean and a hen could be seen.
Changli's eyes fell on the pile of firewood and he understood, "This family has a clan to rely on."
Minghui thought so too. The two of them stood there for a long time. The boy they had just seen came out and asked in a very reserved manner, "What business do you have in my house, Master and Young Master?"
Changli, "I saw you selling firewood just now and wanted to see whose child was so sensible, so I followed you to see."
The boy looked relaxed. "I am from the Wang family. We have strict family rules and the children are all very sensible."
Chang Li nodded. He had seen it early in the morning. The Wang family was good. When he heard the child's praise and trust for his own clan, he smiled and said, "The family rules of the Wang family are indeed good."
The boy was happy to hear that, but then he realized that it was rude to let the guests stand outside the door, so he hurriedly said, "Master and young master, please come in. There is nothing in the house, but there is still no shortage of hot water. Please come in and have a cup of hot water to warm your bodies."
Changli was surprised that the child was quite brave. He took his son into the yard and said, "Excuse me."
In the subsequent conversation, it was mentioned that the child's father died in the war, and his mother later remarried. The clan helped to keep the pension money. He received 200 coins from the clan every month until the pension money was all received. This was the same for the three orphans of the Wang family. Even if their mother did not remarry, the silver was still kept by the clan.
Because of the clan's intervention, the child's immediate family members dared not to covet the silver. Once discovered, they would be expelled from the clan. Now that food is in short supply, experienced elders know that life is difficult and it is hard to survive without the clan's protection.
The boy is very talkative. He carries firewood on his back every day to exchange for food. He is a determined and successful man. There are two other children in his family. One is a twelve-year-old brother who goes to the clan school at dawn. The youngest is a sister who is five years old this year.
Minghui listened with great interest, and then asked, "Isn't that the orphan of the Wang family?"
The boy's face was depressed. "Our clan can't do anything about it. My great grandfather was the head of the village. He did do something about it, but every time he did, their lives became even worse."
Changli asked, "Are they miserable?"
The boy nodded. "There are two other families in our village who died in the battle like my father. One aunt hanged herself that night, leaving her child to suffer. Another aunt remarried with her child, but she didn't protect him and he was bullied all the time."
Chang Li thought that the Wang family was a minority with strict family rules, and the situation of other children was almost the same.
Changli took his son away. Minghui did not leave any money, but only some dried meat in his purse. The little boy saw that the dried meat was terribly hot and kept thanking him.
After hearing the news, he wanted to see it with his own eyes. People with other surnames all lived on the outskirts of the village. Two families were famous because of their children and pensions. He only saw a child from the Bu family. The mother of the family had remarried and wore a straw jacket. The child's shoes were torn and there were many cuts on his feet from frostbite. He didn't see the child of the other family, the Tong family. Changli was a little anxious. He didn't want to delay in Tujia Village. He wanted to visit all the nearby villages as soon as possible, and then have the county magistrate take charge of these children. He could send the children to Beijing after receiving a reply from the capital. He was afraid that if he delayed any longer, some of the children would not be able to hold on.
Changli was in a heavy mood and whispered to his son, "If it weren't for your grandfather's suggestion, very few of these children would have survived the food shortage."
Minghui opened his mouth. He finally understood what grandma meant by reincarnation. "Dad, they will be taken over by the imperial court in the future. They will have enough food and warm clothes."
Chang Lian touched his son's head and said, "Yeah."
In the capital, Yu Yueyang was a little confused, then he realized that he had made a mistake and his face turned red.
Ming Ling was even more confused. He was still thinking about how to test Master Yu. Before he could come up with a plan, he met Master Yu who was coming back from the toilet. He was leaning against the railing, lost in thought, and then someone called out to him. He was so frightened that he lost his balance and hit his head on the railing.
Yu Yueyang said at a loss: "I saw that the place where the young master was standing was dangerous, so I told him, but I didn't expect to scare him."
Yuyi was shocked when she heard the news, and rushed over. Seeing that her brother's forehead was red from the knock, her eyes instantly turned red, "It's my fault."
Yu Yueyang cried out, and then he saw Zhou Si's eyes were red, as if she could cry at any time, and he panicked, "No, no, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have shouted. I should have walked over and I wouldn't have scared the young master."
Yuyi understood calmly that her brother did not do it on purpose, but was just frightened. She looked at Yu Yueyang with an indescribable look in her eyes. He was going to offend her brother to death before even testing him.
Yu Yueyang's face was red as blood. He was already feeling uncomfortable, and seeing Zhou Si in this situation made him feel like his head was smoking. He was a little tongue-tied, "I, I didn't mean it."
Mingrui narrowed his eyes. He felt something was wrong. Then he heard Mingling laugh.
Ming Ling did smile, so he knocked his head and saw that his forehead was a little red. Actually, it was nothing. It was Master Yu who made a fuss and thought that he was seriously injured. This guy was really interesting. "I'm fine, nothing happened at all. It's my fault that I didn't stand firmly. It's not Master Yu's fault."
Yu Yueyang felt that the young master of the Zhou family was a really good person, and grinned, "It was also my recklessness."
Ming Ling walked forward and said, "Mr. Yu has such big dimples, can I touch them?"
Yuyi felt embarrassed, "Well, Mr. Yu, don't worry about what my brother says."
After saying that, he glared at his brother.
Yu Yueyang was not shy about his dimples. He felt that his two dimples were a blessing and said with a smile, "Okay."
As he said that, he squatted down. Ming Ling was a little dumbfounded. He actually let him touch her. Then he raised his hand and touched her without any hesitation.
Yuyi looked at her brother's hand. Not only did the boy touch it, he also pressed the dimple with one finger and hooked his finger, thinking to himself that Master Yu was silly.
Ming Ling took his hand back and said politely, "Ming Ling is sorry, and I would like to thank you for your kindness just now."
Yu Yueyang stood up and returned the greeting, "You are too polite, young master."
The smile on Mingrui's face faded. He used to like everything about Mr. Yu, but now his eyes were full of criticism. "Let's go back too. Everyone is waiting for us."
Yu Yueyang said ok, took two steps and couldn't help looking back. Unexpectedly, Zhou Si was looking at him. Her face turned red again, and she turned her head quickly and never dared to look back again.
Yuyi touched her face, "Am I scary?"
Ming Ling smiled, "Sister, Master Yu is shy."
Yuyi chuckled, raised her head and touched her brother's forehead, "Does it really not hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt, I just have tender skin."
Yuyi took her brother's hand, "What do you think of him?"
"Very easy to bully."
Mr. Yu must be afraid of his sister.
Yuyi didn't say anything, so Mingling asked, "Sister, is it him?"
Yuyi curved her eyes and said, "Guess."
Ming Ling, "That should be it. If my sister was not satisfied, she wouldn't ask me what I think of Mr. Yu."
Alas, he doesn’t know many words, and he wants to write a letter to his parents.
In the imperial palace, Zhou Shuren ignored the second prince's glance with a calm face. Tsk tsk, he didn't feel guilty at all. It had nothing to do with him whether the emperor gave the princes more homework.
The Second Prince regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. Yesterday, he not only met the Third Uncle, but also the Second Uncle. With Zhang Jinghong by his side, his mind seemed particularly immature. He was so devastated that he had to do more homework today!
The prince smiled. His second younger brother had grown up, but still had less schoolwork. As the eldest brother, he was worried sick about his younger brothers’ studies!
The emperor seemed not to notice his second son's abnormality and asked Zhou Shuren: "Marquis Zhou is very good at educating children. Is the homework I added too little?"
Zhou Shuren felt the gazes of several princes, fearing that he would say something terrible, "I think."
Oops, he paused deliberately. This was a very bad idea. Facing the nervous expressions of several princes, he smiled and said, "I think it's okay."
In Tujia Village, Changli and Minghui had just walked back to the headman's house. There was a little girl next to the headman. The little girl's face was bruised and purple, and there was blood on her forehead. The headman said angrily, "Let's go. I'll go back with you."
The little girl burst into tears, "My brother is dying, his whole body is very hot, and he is locked in the wood room, wuwu."
Changli asked, "What's the village head here?"
The head of the village didn't want to say that this was the face of the village. If he had known earlier, he should not have accepted these outsiders to settle down.
The headman left without saying a word. Minghui whispered, "Dad, let's go take a look."
Changli had a bad feeling in his heart, "Okay."