Chapter 111
The New Year in Xining City is very lively. Maybe because the three ethnic groups have different customs, the New Year celebrations are a mixture of the three ethnic groups’ customs. For example, during the Dasheng New Year, people paste red couplets, write the word “Fu” (good fortune), and set off firecrackers and fireworks. During the Lantern Festival, people also make lanterns, which is also known as the Lantern Festival.
The Rong people make a tower of dry food. They pile the dried fruits made in summer and walnuts and other nuts collected and dried in autumn into a pagoda shape. When staying up all night to celebrate the New Year, the whole family sits around the tower and eats the whole tower.
There are also female elders in the family who knit and sew colorful hats, bracelets and other items for the younger ones.
In the evening, we drank strong liquor and sang songs around the campfire.
The Yi people, both men and women, old and young, are good at dancing, playing special musical instruments, and eating dried meat - this is for those from poor families. Those who are better off can eat roasted beef and lamb, and drink a kind of bubble soup made from barley mixed with goat milk.
Children under the age of eight, regardless of gender, must have their heads shaved on the first day of the first lunar month, and then have their heads painted with a special green grass. This grass only grows in the soil after cattle and sheep have passed by in winter. After applying the juice of this grass, the hair will become thick, and everyone will have jet-black hair.
Xuanyifu's eyes lit up when he saw this. Yan Huaijin was so frightened that he stumbled a little and said, "Xuyifu, your hair is already very thick."
"Hehe, Yan Jinjin, you got scared when I just shaved my head."
"Then if you want to shave, I'll accompany you." Yan Huaijin said that it's not because Xuandu Fu is just a light head that he doesn't like.
This time it was Xuanyuefu's turn to be stunned. He looked at Yan Jinjin's appearance and thought of Yan Jinjin with a bald head in his mind - although he was still very beautiful, like a pure little monk, he still didn't want it!
"They say that children under eight years old can't be cured. We are both so old, so let's not do it." Xuanyu Fu gave up first and said, "I wonder if the juice of this grass can be dried and ground into powder. We can take it back. If Atuan's child is held in our arms in the future, we can apply it on the child."
Before Yan Huaijin could answer, Xuanyu Fu shook his head and said, "Forget it. I don't really like children. It's okay for children to play with us occasionally. If you and I take care of them every day, we won't have time to play!"
He still likes to play with Yan Huaijin.
Yan Huaijin nodded and said, "Xuan Duofu, you are still a child yourself."
"..." Xuanyu Fu couldn't hold back his smile and said, "Yan Jinjin, you are younger than me, and you always say this kind of thing." But he seemed quite happy.
On the third day of the first lunar month, an auspicious day, Mr. Hu's stepdaughter got engaged.
This stepdaughter was born to the lady of the Yi tribe and her ex-husband. She is fifteen years old this year, very beautiful, lively and resolute in character, and loves singing and dancing. Her fiancé is the son of a young general among the thirteen riders here, who is sixteen years old, a suitable age for her. He also looks good and is very handsome and heroic.
Because the rebellion in this area had just been pacified, and the Rong and Yi tribes had a large territory, a military command post was set up, and thirteen riders were independently sent out. The thirteen riders were not thirteen people, but a defense line was drawn in the remote area of the Rong and Yi tribes, with thirteen checkpoints, each with three to five thousand people, and the conditions were bitter, cold and difficult.
A true frontline fighter.
The Yi clan lady married her daughter to the young general's son. From then on, her daughter and the young general's son had to live in a small town in one of the checkpoints. The conditions there were worse than in Xining City. The Yi clan lady said, "It's very close to where the villagers of our tribe live. She can protect the people of other villages and ethnic groups there."
"Some of our tribesmen are still very afraid of Dasheng, but we have already surrendered and are now Dasheng people. We can't be afraid anymore. They don't speak Dasheng language and it's hard for them to integrate. Life over there is so bad. When my children go there, they can help the tribesmen and teach them how to spin wool and crochet sweaters. I will contact the textile factory here..."
The ladies of the Yi and Rong tribes became Hu Qingdian's concubines, not out of personal desire to live a good life. At that time, there was a war and all the strong men in the tribe died, leaving only the old, weak, women and children. They were the wives of the tribal leaders and took on the responsibility to ensure that the tribal people lived a good life.
As for Hu Qingdian, he said that even if she didn't become his concubine, she would take good care of the people of both tribes.
The two ladies did not believe that the oath of a man was not as strong as a marriage, and they would give birth to new children and integrate into Xining City more quickly. When they were the wives of the tribal leaders, the men would go out hunting, and they would arrange how the tribe would work. If the leader died and a new leader came up, they would become the new leader's concubines, managing and coordinating some of the tribe members, having their own cattle and sheep property, and rights, and naturally they would also have to bear corresponding responsibilities.
As concubines of the great official, they can better protect the clan members.
Manyu Fu initially did not have a very good impression of Hu Qingdian when they heard that he had taken a concubine here. However, after a long time, they realized that it was not the case at all - if Hu Qingdian took a concubine for beauty, he was a bastard.
Mrs. Hu felt a little aggrieved, but when he drank the wedding wine, he saw that Mrs. Hu looked peaceful and kind, and Mrs. Yi and Mrs. Rong also respected Mrs. Hu very much. Mrs. Hu also loved Mrs. Yi's stepdaughter very much and added a lot of dowry.
Mrs. Hu said: "It is not easy for women to live in the world, especially since they are very strong and have to take care of their own people. This is something I have never thought about."
On the third day of the first lunar month, there was an engagement banquet, and on the eighth day, there was a wedding banquet. The man was the eldest son of the Rong clan lady, eighteen years old this year, and he married the youngest daughter of a local merchant. There was a lively party with gongs and drums all day long.
Xuanfu drank a few more glasses because everyone came to toast him.
On the fifteenth day, the Lantern Festival, many people ate all the customs of the three tribes, and their stomachs were round. They held their cheeks with both hands and said, "I seem to have gained some weight."
"Let me see." Yan Huaijin looked at it carefully and said, "It's a little round, but it looks better and has more blessings."
Many blessings: the corners of the mouth that cannot be suppressed.
His innocent Crown Princess is really good at sweetening him!
After the fifteenth day of the lunar month, Xuanyifu's team was about to pack up and set off. During this time, there was one incident. Hu Qingdian came to him with a file. Xuanyifu took a look and found out that it was a Snow Lotus Pills scam case. The amount involved had been found out, a total of 145 taels of silver. Fortunately, no life was involved.
"Zhang Sheng, Le Bo, and Ku Yi Ma confessed that the money has been spent." Hu Qingdian bowed and said, "I think that the three of them should be punished with three lashes each, and then Zhang Sheng and Le Bo will build roads and factories to pay back the money. Ku Yi Ma is a girl, so she should be arranged to work in the textile factory. What do you think, Your Highness?"
Xuanyu Fu nodded and said, "Yes, I'll do as you say. But I'll pay the over one hundred taels of silver back to the deceived people first. Don't tell the three people. Let them do labor reform. If they reform one day and Lord Hu thinks they can be released, just give them the wages they earned from their work."
The team was leaving on the 18th, because they had to pack their luggage and do some shopping. Xu Lingguan had not been there for the past two days, and he took the ointment to find Kuyima. Kuyima and the other two were whipped three times. The whip had barbs, and although there were only three whips, the skin was torn and blood was dripping. It was very painful.
The three of them definitely couldn't work right away in this state, they needed to rest. The three of them were locked in a room, which was not a cell but a bit like a shelter.
When Xu Lingguan went there, he heard someone cursing Kuyima.
"It hurts so much, how come you can't even beg for help and still get arrested?"
Kuima: "If it wasn't for saving you two, would I have been caught? You're just talking big, but you don't know that the lackeys around the prince are all good-looking. What can I do?"
"Stop arguing, it's giving me a headache."
"I didn't want to argue with him. He blamed me first." Kuima cursed back.
The three of them were blaming each other. Kuima was not at a disadvantage in verbal combat against two of them. He even said that Zhang Sheng seemed to be trying to stop the fight, but in fact he was biased and was in cahoots with Lebo. Zhang Sheng was so upset that he gave up and said, "Okay, okay, I won't say anything. If you don't care, just quarrel."
Leber told Kuima to shut up.
Kuima said to Lebo, "You told me to shut up, so I shut up. Why didn't you say something when you just started the trouble?"
Xu Lingguan listened outside for a while and thought that the three scammers would break up after this incident, so he showed up. Kuima's back was bleeding because the quarrel was too intense, so Xu Lingguan handed him the medicine.
"This is the best golden medicine for wounds, you can use it."
"Who is he?" Loeb asked.
Kuima: "The lackey I'm talking about."
"She's really good-looking," Zhang Sheng muttered.
Xu Lingguan pretended not to hear and said, "Get some water to clean the wounds yourself, and live a good life from now on and don't lie to others."
Zhang Sheng and Le Bo looked at each other and came up with an idea. They changed their attitude and started to call Xu Lingguan Sir. They also said how pitiful the three of them were, how kind Kuyima was, and that the money they cheated was not only for us to spend, but also given to orphans by Kuyima...
"You two should shut up." Kuima scolded.
Officer Xu Ling couldn't tell the truth from the truth. Since these three people were used to lying, he didn't care. "We are leaving. You telling me these things won't cause me any trouble. Lord Hu has already decided the case. It's better for you to pay back the money down to earth."
"More than a hundred taels of silver, how long will it take to finish this?" Leber cursed.
Zhang Sheng lost interest in life when he thought about having to do hard labor for several years.
Xu Lingguan frowned at the two men's rogue appearance, and then said: "I'm leaving, you guys take care of yourselves. Lord Hu said that if you dare to cheat again next time, you will be whipped thirty times, and the punishment will be increased and you will be imprisoned. Today, I will let you off because no one was killed."
After saying that, Xu Lingguan left.
Kuima held the medicine bottle in her hand. When she spread out her hands, there was also a silver ingot of ten taels. She looked at the lackey's back and muttered, "You are so kind. You left and gave me this..."
Xu Lingguan didn't know why he gave money to Kuima. Maybe when he saw Kuima he thought of his mother. His mother was weak and submissive. The only time she stood up and was beaten was to give him a way to survive. When he was a child, he thought it would be better if his mother was more aggressive.
Later, when I grew up, I thought that my mother's environment was so harsh and domineering that it made it even more difficult for her and her son to survive.
Just like the master said, the world is like this, you can't blame a woman for wanting to survive.
I hope Kuima can live a good life in the future.
In any case, in the early spring of the seventeenth year of Ningwu, the Crown Prince's motorcade left Xining City in a grand manner. After traveling by land for half a month, they arrived in Fujiang to change to a large ship. The next stop was the cities in Jiangnan Road. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been out for a whole year and was expected to return home in May or June.
The ship was moving slowly, and Xuan Fu was bored and started writing letters to his two fathers, telling him about what he had seen and heard along the way, all kinds of things in Xining City, all kinds of interesting folk customs and activities, all kinds of food, and... how much His Highness loved his Crown Princess.
[…Father, you don’t know how vast and beautiful the scenery outside Xining City is. Yan Jinjin and I were riding horses and playing beside a clear stream on the hillside. I wanted to use the sky as a roof and the ground as a bed. Such a beautiful scenery should not be wasted, but my little princess seriously advised me not to force myself on her. I am really a male chauvinist! ]
Xuan Fu portrayed himself as a big pervert in the letter, and Yan Jinjin as a dignified, helpless and pitiful little princess. Yan Huaijin felt a little unfamiliar when he read it. Was he the one in the letter?
"You don't understand. When we return, even if my father wants to beat you up, he won't do so. After all, it was me, the bully, who abducted the innocent little white flower."
This is called wisdom! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince shook his head and continued to write about his bullying behavior.
Yan Huaijin looked at Xuanyifu with a burning gaze. Because his gaze was too intense, Xuanyifu raised his head and the two of them looked into each other's eyes. Xuanyifu thought to himself: Yan Jinjin, you are almost being mesmerized by me and becoming a little fool! I know everything!
"If these letters were to get out, your image would be completely ruined."
"I'm not afraid. As a man, I have to protect you."
Yan Huaijin was silent for a moment, then leaned over and kissed Xuanduofu on the cheek, "Xuandufu, you're so nice." Such a good Xuanduofu belonged to him, and he would love him, respect him, and protect him as much as possible.
"We grew up together. If I don't protect you, who will?" Xuanyu Fu acted like the head of the family and wrote furiously, continuing to shape his image as a bully. At the end, he said: We will probably be home in June this year, and I'm going to hold a wedding banquet!
He thought about it and realized that Yan Jinjin was still in mourning, so he changed his answer: I think March of the following year would be a good time.
The box of letters was delivered to the Taiji Palace. After Emperor Ningwu and Jiuqiansui finished reading them, Jiuqiansui immediately took the envelope and fanned Emperor Ningwu, "Don't get angry, don't get angry."
Emperor Ningwu slammed the letter on the table and said, "Look at who he learned all these messed up things from when he was away. The letter clearly says: My two elders, find me a wife as soon as possible. He even knew that Yan Huaijin was still in mourning, and he was like this -"
After all, he was his biological son, so Emperor Ningwu did not say anything unpleasant.
"He also wants to use the sky as his canopy and the earth as his bed."
Jiu Qiansui muttered, "As expected of your biological son, Duoduo looks exactly like you did back then. He's not young anymore. There's an old saying among the people that an old house is on fire."
"Poor Yan Huaijin is still in mourning at such a young age, and he advises us to do more."
"How could Duoduo be so careless and reckless, this kid?"
Emperor Ningwu:? "Is this brat my biological son now?"
"It can't be that Duoduo is talking about the neighbor Wang's family." Xu Xiaoman raised his eyebrows and smiled to coax his wife, "I see, Duoduo hasn't changed. He has only been out playing for a year. I have seen him grow up. He is a good child just like me..."
The good boy's temperament comes from the Ninth Prince, while the sex maniac comes from Emperor Ningwu.
Emperor Ningwu: ...
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
In fact, XuanDongfu's little tricks were known to his two fathers. XuanDongfu had a certain character. He grew up by their side. How could he go out to play for a year and his personality change drastically, turning into a bully who "robbed men of the people"? Not to mention that his two fathers would not believe it, even if Taifu Hu knew about it, Taifu would pat his chest and guarantee XuanDongfu, proving that the prince was not like that.
The prince is uneducated, lazy, gluttonous, lazy, playful, has many useless ideas, etc., but he will never rob a man from the people.
"He's just afraid that you will blame Xiao Yan." Xu Xiaoman sighed, feeling proud, "Our Duoduo is awesome, he's worthy of being my son."
Zhong Yun didn't say anything.
Xu Xiaoman looked over and patted his wife's hand, "Forget it, just let the child do what he wants. Duoduo looks serious and is not the kind of person who would easily change his mind."
"Let's get married." Zhong Yun said, and then asked: "Is Atuan old enough to get married?"
Xu Xiaoman: "...Do you still need to give me drugs? We are just coughing."
"To be on the safe side."
"Atuan is seven years younger than Duoduo. At sixteen this year, he is indeed old enough to choose a wife." Xu Xiaoman just treated it as a way to coax his wife. Anyway, Atuan was old enough to get engaged.
Zhong Yun: "Zhong Qiong didn't say to submit a petition to make Atuan the crown prince. After he is crowned the crown prince, he can choose a crown prince consort for Atuan who comes from a noble family and has a good family background."
"You know your fifth brother, he's a coward."
Prince Li Zhongqiong was highly regarded by the emperor during the Ningwu period. In the entire royal family, Prince Li was the most outstanding prince, but Zhongqiong was still cautious and never dared to act arrogantly because of the emperor's favor.
Perhaps Zhong Qiong also understood in his heart that his second brother did not have any true blood relationship with him, and it was just by coincidence that he caught the eye of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so his second brother valued and promoted him. How could he dare to act like a favored prince.
The Prince Li's Mansion is now full of flowers. The Crown Prince has no children yet, so he submitted a memorial to confer the title of Crown Prince on his son - he was afraid that the royal family would think too much and instigate discord, and it would be bad if the Emperor became suspicious and misunderstood that he had big intentions.
How could Zhong Yun not know this? He curled his lips and said disdainfully: "Zhong Qiong is so timid, his son must be timid too, if he gives birth to a timid child——"
"You just complained that Duofu was too brave." Xu Xiaoman was amused and said, "Forget it, you are still young, just go with the flow."
Zhong Yun looked at Xiao Man, "Aren't you worried?"
"I am worried." Xu Xiaoman nodded, holding Zhong Yun's hand, and said very seriously: "But I never regret giving birth to Duoduo. Just think about our son Duoduo, wouldn't you be overjoyed?"
Zhong Yun: "When I think about the many blessings, I get a headache. How can I be happy?"
"You're just being stubborn. I can read the letter box eight hundred times."
In fact, the two of them just watched it when they had nothing to do, and entertained their son with letters containing many blessings, which was very interesting.
…
Jiangnan Province is a large area with a total of five prefectures. There is no military command post because it is located in the inland Central Plains and is very safe. The waterways are unobstructed, there are few mountains, and there are mostly plains, lakes and rivers. This is a land of fish and rice, with many varieties of rice and abundant fruits. Two of the prefectures are also major silk prefectures and are good at weaving and embroidery.
The double-sided embroidered screens that Xu Fu had ordered from Boss Pang before were all made using the common techniques here. It can be seen that the embroidery techniques of the embroiderers here are more advanced, and the embroidery techniques are passed down from daughters to daughters, not from sons to daughters. The clothes and headdresses of the women here are very exquisite, and the shapes are varied.
For example, whatever dresses were popular in the spring and summer of last year have changed in style at the beginning of this year's spring. Last year's clothing patterns are no longer popular, and women from wealthy families spend a lot of money on dressing up.
The ship docked, and many Fu brought people ashore to pass through the first prefecture and county. While eating, they heard the local people chatting, "There is also an annual competition of skills."
"Which month will it be held?" Xuanyu Fu asked.
"July, Qiqiao Festival."
Xuan Fu nodded, it was too late, they went home then.
"March 3 is coming soon. Boss, if you want to join in the fun, you can go to the tea tasting meeting. There is also the Peach Blossom Spring Festival. The rich and powerful girls in the city go out, and their servants follow them all the way. It is a beautiful sight."
It's almost March now, which is very close. Faced with the other party's enthusiastic recommendation, many people said righteously: "I decline. I'm already married."
The other party laughed out loud, but seeing that the young boss had many servants behind him, he quickly stopped smiling and explained, "The boss is worrying too much. The Peach Blossom Festival and the Tea Tasting Conference are not places where ordinary people like us, especially men, can go in to watch. There are tents around them, after all, they are all women. It's just that at this time every year, some literati and poets come to watch from outside."
"Isn't that peeping?" Xuanyufu said.
The other party didn't like the word "voyeurism", but because of Fu's backers, he could only walk away, saying "we can't get along" and "pretending to be noble".
Many blessings: ...
"His defense was broken. The girls were having a party and no one was invited, but they went over to sneak a peek. I wasn't wrong."
Yan Huaijin praised Duoyufu, who cultivated male virtues, and said: "Duoyufu, you are very righteous."
Xuanyifu immediately straightened his chest.
Yan Jinjin understands him best!
The prefecture they landed in was relatively small and bustling, so they didn't plan to stay for a few days. The big ship was far away. Xuanyun Fu took dozens of people on a big ship and transferred to a small boat to land, creating an identity for himself as a small foreign merchant.
The local officials also wanted to pay him a visit, and they were all received by Wen Lianglu.
Xuanyuefu plans to stay here for a few days and then leave.
There was nothing wrong with the government affairs of Jiangnan Road. Zhou Quan had seen them all. Manyu Fu heard it and thought, "That means I can eat, drink and have fun in Jiangnan Road!"
Wuhu, the last stop, just for fun.
Therefore, Xuan Fu planned to have fun in Jiangnan Road by disguising himself as Zhao Mu, just like he did before. Of course, he had to bring along the security system, including Brother Lin Zheng, Wang Yuansun Liu Qiang, Xu Lingguan, as well as some elite personal soldiers and East Factory spies.
There were more than thirty thugs scattered around.
Jiangnan Road is very prosperous. In the early years, river bandits were suppressed here. Now this place is peaceful. However, the business is developed. After the big clans fell, chambers of commerce were established in various places and the economy picked up again.
They ate in the first prefecture and county for three days. The food here was sweet and sticky. Wang Banban, Liu Qiang and others couldn't get used to it. They asked why sugar was put everywhere and it was so sweet that it made their teeth fall out. Wang Yuansun, on the other hand, was very used to it.
"That's because the people here are rich. Sugar is a good thing. Ordinary people can put some sugar on their dishes, which means they are living a good life." Xuanyu Fu said, gnawing on the ribs again.
The spareribs here are cooked with soy sauce, which tastes salty and sweet, not sour and sweet.
Liu Qiang: "I know, but I still can't get used to it. How come you can get used to it everywhere?"
"This is the self-cultivation of a foodie." Xuanyunfu argued with Liu Qiang, saying, "Yan Jinjin can eat with me, but your old Wang obviously likes the food here, but you don't. What does this mean? It means that the two of you -"
Liu Qiang went crazy, interrupted him with a sound of "Ahhhhh", and said, "Don't be so vicious."
Liu Qiang liked Wang Yuansun very much and couldn't bear to hear people saying that they were not made for each other, or that they didn't have a tacit understanding or were not a good match.
Many blessings: Hehehe, just grasp it.
Yan Huaijin added: "Indeed, Xuan Fu and I have always been able to eat together. It has been like this since we were young."
The two of them even arrogantly high-fived each other in front of Liu Qiang, showing their tacit understanding.
Liu Qiang was so angry that his nose was almost crooked. He turned his head to look at Wang Yuansun. Wang Yuansun sighed softly. He had spoiled Liu Qiang and became childish. He said, "We could have fought each other in Chongming Hall."
"Yes, yes, that's right, we have a tacit understanding!" Liu Qiang quickly replied, smiling like an idiot, "We are a perfect match!"
Wang Yuanyuan couldn't eat at the next table. He thought, if we count the tacit understandings, Xu Xiaoman is out of the question, because he's afraid that the emperor will poison him. Zhao Erxi can barely be counted as one. In fact, Niu Dahai from Chongming Hall is also quite to his liking...
No, why would he think about this.
But at the beginning he also thought that if Duofu got married and had children, the Chongming Hall could be reopened, and Niu Dahai and his disciples would not be idle. If little Duofu stayed up and didn't go to send the children to school, he would go. The little grandson and princess would surely look like little Duofu, soft and chubby, so cute.
What a pity.
The author has something to say:
Your Highness Duozi: Father, you misunderstood. I didn't say that the two old men should not slander my father. Father, please believe me.
Emperor Ningwu slammed the table and said: Look for yourself and see if this is what you said between the lines!
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