These three bird calls sounded like the most common sparrow calls on the eaves of houses in the fields. Others would have thought they were just ordinary bird calls, but Pei Weixuan could hear subtle differences. They were not bird calls, but bird calls disguised as human calls. He opened his eyes, put on his clothes, put on his cloth shoes, walked to the window, pushed it open, and indeed saw a figure squatting under the window.
The figure saw the window open, raised his head and whispered, "Young Master."
Outside, the moonlight shone on the figure.
Pei Weixuan recognized him as Huo Ye, the captain of the black-armored guards beside his elder brother. He was the person his elder brother trusted the most. He was of the same age as his elder brother, and had an ordinary height and appearance.
The Black-Armored Guards were both my eldest brother's guards and secret guards. Even Empress Dowager Fu was unaware of the Black-Armored Guards' existence. When my eldest brother got into trouble, the Black-Armored Guards were not in the capital.
Later, when the palace coup occurred, Huo Ye learned that it was too late to rush to the capital, as his elder brother had been beheaded on the spot by Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor.
When Huo Ye was still on his way back to Beijing, he received a letter from his elder brother via carrier pigeon, and learned that the late emperor had actually written an edict to make his elder brother the crown prince, but nothing had been announced to the world in time, and his elder brother had encountered an accident.
When Huo Ye returned to the capital with his black-armored guards, the Pei family had already been exiled. Huo Ye still had to stay in the capital to look for the imperial edict issued by the previous emperor.
The palace is heavily guarded, but of course there are still my eldest brother's men inside.
Huo Ye collaborated with the people in the palace to find the imperial edict, but they accidentally exposed their tracks and were killed by Empress Dowager Fu.
That edict has not been found yet.
Huo Ye and the black-armored guards stayed in the capital for some time, but they could not find the imperial edict. Empress Dowager Fu was also looking for the edict, but could not find it either. She did not know where the late emperor had hidden it. In addition, the censors in the court wrote a letter accusing Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor of exiling the royal bloodline and the queen, which caused a big uproar. Therefore, Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor are now in a state of panic.
Unable to find the imperial edict, Huo Ye could only come to find the young master first.
Huo Ye knew that his master was gone, but he asked them to continue following the young master.
He had originally brought only a part of his men back to the capital, and the remaining part of his men were scattered everywhere, and now they had all come to the border to reunite.
Huo Ye said this in a low voice and added another sentence.
"Young Master, it's time for you to leave."
Pei Weixuan nodded.
There is no way Empress Dowager Fu would spare their lives.
He didn't take action on the way to exile because taking action at that time would be too obvious and ostentatious, which would make the officials in the court rebel and would also make people in the world despise him.
He couldn't stay in the borderland as an ordinary criminal and commoner for the rest of his life. For the sake of his family, he had to take over his elder brother's position.
Otherwise, when Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor have consolidated their power in the court, the first thing they will think of is to put them to death. No matter if it is him, his family or Yu Niang, no one will be able to escape.
Pei Weixuan said in a kind voice, "Wait in the bamboo forest outside the town. I'll talk to my family and go find you in the bamboo forest after daybreak."
Huo Ye thought about it and couldn't help asking, "Young Master, do you want to go back to the capital to find the imperial edict first?"
This would also make it more legitimate to attack Concubine Fu and the new emperor.
"No." Pei Weixuan stood by the window and could vaguely see the mountains in the distance, covered with mountain mist. He said slowly, "There is no rush about the imperial edict. I know where the imperial edict was hidden by my father. Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor are also looking for this edict, wanting to destroy it to cover up their evil deeds. If we return to the capital and find the edict, Concubine Fu and the new emperor will be desperate." They will not care about anything and will massacre the court with blood. They will also send people directly to the border to kill all the Pei family members.
As long as the imperial edict is not found, Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor will at least take the officials in the court into consideration and will not resort to desperate measures to eliminate the problem completely.
There would be no benefit for him in announcing the imperial edict to the world now, so there was no need to rush into it.
When the time comes, the imperial edict will be in his hands.
Even now, it would not be difficult for him to get the imperial edict.
Huo Ye also understood instantly.
But if we don’t look for the imperial edict, what should we do now?
There are only a few hundred black-armored guards. How easy is it to make a move?
He couldn't help but ask what was on his mind.
But the young master suddenly asked him, "Did my elder brother leave any money for you?"
Huo Ye knew that the silver money the young master was talking about was not one hundred, two thousand or twenty thousand taels, but the huge amount needed to start a business.
Huo Ye said: "No."
These black-armored guards were also poor. Let alone thousands or tens of thousands of taels, they couldn't even afford ten taels of silver. Some of them went to the mountains on both sides of the canal and became pirates. Of course, they didn't kill people or rob people. They just robbed the goods of some unscrupulous merchant ships. They didn't dare to rob official ships for the time being.
Pei Weixuan glanced at Huo Ye's sloppy handwriting and understood.
He said, "You go first. I will meet you after breakfast."
Huo Ye nodded and left.
After the others left, Pei Weixuan did not sleep either. He stood by the window for a long time until he heard soft footsteps in the main room outside. It was Yu Niang who woke up.
Xu Qinyu had already gotten up and lay in bed in a daze for a while. She had not slept well last night and had dreamed that she and the Pei family had somehow become the victims of the disaster in the north, fleeing from famine and having a miserable life on the road. She had cooking skills but they were of no use to her and her whole family was freezing and starving.
After being in a daze for a while, Xu Qinyu put on her clothes, got out of bed and went to the kitchen to prepare braised pork intestines.
She had just entered the kitchen and hadn't even started the stove when she heard footsteps. She looked up and saw it was her fourth brother.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Good morning, Fourth Brother."
Pei Weixuan nodded, went to the stove and skillfully used a fire starter to burn the firewood.
After the stove fire was lit, Pei Weixuan went to fetch water to fill the water tank and chopped the firewood.
After finishing all the work in the yard, he returned to the kitchen stove. The braised pork intestines in the big pot were already bubbling and emitting an aroma.
Pei Weixuan suddenly said, "Yu Niang, I will leave after breakfast."
"Leaving?" Xu Qinyu was stunned for a moment. "Where is Fourth Brother going? Going out to buy medicine?"
She didn't react for a moment.
Pei Weixuan did not respond to Yu Niang, he just looked at her deeply.
He didn't want to lie to her, but he couldn't tell her the truth about this matter, nor could he tell his mother the truth.
He had to make up a reason to lie to them.
Xu Qinyu suddenly came to her senses, and she suddenly realized, "Fourth brother, are you planning to go out and explore the world?" A man should have ambitions, and it would be good for him to go out and explore the world. Otherwise, it would not be good to let fourth brother be trapped in this small yard. Fourth brother should also have his own career and ambitions. She used to think that fourth brother could not help her make fire, chop wood and wash ingredients for the rest of his life. It was such a waste.
It’s good that Fourth Brother is willing to go out and try his luck now.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Fourth Brother. I will take good care of Mother and Ning Jie'er and the others. But where are you planning to go?"
Pei Weixuan thought about what to do next and could only tell Yu Niang, "Follow the caravan first."
Xu Qinyu nodded, and it was almost exactly what she had guessed.
It is true that following a caravan is the best way to broaden your horizons. After following a caravan for two years, it will be much easier to do something you want to do on your own.
"Then Fourth Brother, you have to be careful when you are outside. Don't get into conflict with others. There's nothing wrong with giving way in everything. If you encounter danger..." Xu Qinyu began to talk to Fourth Brother about going out.
Pei Weixuan felt helpless.
Yu Niang is indeed different from anyone else.
Xu Qinyu talked a lot, and suddenly remembered that her fourth brother said he would leave after breakfast.
She stopped talking and scooped up the braised pig intestines.
These braising soups are different from the ones used to make Roujiamo before. You can continue to use them tomorrow and just change them every few days.
After serving the marinade, she cooked bean porridge on the stove, asked her fourth brother to help her clean the pot, and then went out.
She went to a nearby butcher stall and bought a lot of pork tenderloin.
She planned to make some dried meat for her fourth brother to take with him. She didn't know how long he would be away this time, and one or two months would probably be considered short. It would be very hard to follow the caravan and sleep in the open air. It would be nice to be able to bring some food for him now.
When she came back with the meat, Wen had already gotten up.
She was sitting in the kitchen in a daze, and her eyes looked a little red. It must be because her fourth brother told her that he wanted to go out and try his luck.
Hearing the sound, Wen turned around and saw her daughter-in-law. She stood up and went to help Yu Niang carry the things in her hands into the kitchen. "What did you buy, Yu Niang?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Isn't Fourth Brother going on a long journey? I bought some pork belly and am going to make some pork jerky for Fourth Brother to take with him on the road." After saying that, she looked around but didn't see Fourth Brother, so she asked, "Mom, where is Fourth Brother?"
Wen said, "He went out to buy firewood. He said he wanted to buy more firewood so that it could be chopped properly." She was also worried that if he left, Yu Niang would have too much work to do.
Xu Qinyu nodded. In fact, if her fourth brother wanted to go out and try his luck, she planned to hire a handyman to help her with odd jobs like killing fish, pounding fish paste, washing vegetables, etc.
Her hands were busy all the time. She washed the pork tenderloin she bought, cut it into long strips as thick as two fingers, and then marinated it. After it was marinated, she fried it slowly over low heat. She also fried and crushed dogwood, pepper, sesame and three other spices to make the seasoning. After the dried meat was fried, she lit the fire again, heated the oil, poured in the prepared seasoning, and then poured in the dried meat, stir-fried until fragrant.
This is how beef jerky is made, but it tastes great, fragrant and chewy, and can be eaten as dry food or as a snack on the road.
She made quite a bit, kept a little for herself for everyone to try, and wrapped the rest in oil paper for her fourth brother to take with him on the road.
When the dried meat was ready, the fourth brother came back with a large cart of firewood and started chopping firewood in the yard again.
Xu Qinyu made several more sauce-flavored pancakes, brushed with homemade sauce, which were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a rich sauce flavor.
For breakfast, she had soy sauce pancakes, bean porridge, and pickled shredded radish that she made herself.
A lot of sauce-flavored pancakes were made, and there were plenty left over, enough for several people. They were all wrapped in oil paper and left for Fourth Brother to take with him on the road.
The weather is still cool, so the sauce-flavored pancakes can be kept for a few days without any problem.
After breakfast, Pei Weixuan went back to his room and packed his bag. He didn't have much to bring with him, just two sets of clothes, and the dried meat and sauce-flavored cakes that Yu Niang made for him. The two foods alone took up more than half of the bag. Xu Qinyu also took out ten taels of silver and stuffed it into his bag.
When you go out, you still have to carry some money with you.
When Pei Weixuan was about to leave, not only did Wen's eyes turn red, but Ning Jie'er and Gui also felt uncomfortable.
The two children also vaguely understood that he was going on a long journey, and they were a little uneasy.
Xu Qinyu was also feeling depressed, but she was the first to wave to her fourth brother, "Fourth brother, goodbye."
Pei Weixuan glanced at Yu Niang. Her bun was still empty with only a wooden hairpin. She had wanted to buy some pearl jewelry years ago but had never done so. She hoped that when he came back, he could personally put a beautiful gold hairpin in her hair.
He looked at Yu Niang deeply again, then turned and left.
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