Chapter 85 The girl has her reasons
"Cousin Heng, you are too kind. I will go for a walk in the village while you go to look for some elders. I can let the maid lead the way for you." Shi Jianli nodded and went out with her two personal maids.
The guard bowed and called out "Miss Pear".
Ming Zhouheng glanced at her back and found a servant to lead the way into the inner courtyard.
It was summer, and the cicadas were chirping loudly in the village. When you walked to a place with many trees, you could hear the cicadas chirping at the top of their lungs.
After walking in the village for more than two quarters of an hour, the sun gradually rose higher. Many villagers were working in the fields. The villagers they met on the road were all polite to the three people.
A group of children came running over. When they saw Shi Jianli and the other two, they looked at them curiously for a few times, whispered to each other for some unknown reason, and then ran into a small forest formed by several big trees.
The children all had a small cloth bag hanging around their waists.
After a while, they climbed up the tree like monkeys. The tree was full of children hanging on it, chirping.
The cicadas' chirping seemed to become more shrill.
Shi Jianli was standing in the shade of a tree not far away with Lanxing and Xianyue, watching.
"Are they catching cicadas?" asked Lanxing.
Suddenly she remembered that a few years ago she and Xianyue also jumped up and down with the girl.
"Cicadas are also a medicinal ingredient. Every summer, children in the village will climb trees in groups of three or five to catch them and sell them to the pharmacy. Even though they are chirping loudly now, they will be caught in a few days. In a few days, there will be few cicadas chirping at the foot of the mountain." A voice sounded behind him.
Shi Jianli turned around.
Ming Zhouheng walked closer and continued, "I was one of these kids when I was little. I dried cicadas and sold them so I could buy snacks."
"Second cousin Heng." Shi Jianli greeted him politely.
Ming Zhouheng smiled and nodded, "When we came out, my great-aunt said she would send someone out to look for you, so please go back, cousin."
"Okay, thank you for letting me know."
When Shi Jianli returned halfway, she ran into the head maid beside the old lady, "Miss Li, the old lady and the Duke's wife are looking for you."
"Do the two elders have anything to tell you?"
"No, I haven't given any instructions. I do have something to ask for. It's not urgent, but it's a big deal." Mei Xin smiled. "For ancestor worship, the head mother of each branch usually personally selects the incense, candles, thread money, and funeral materials. We haven't selected the incense for our branch yet. The Duke's wife will go to town to buy incense this afternoon."
"Miss Li is the future wife of the Crown Prince. The ancestral worship ceremony only takes place once every five years. The old lady and the Duke's wife want Miss Li to accompany them."
Shi Jianli blinked and nodded: "Okay."
After returning to the house, Shi Jianli went in to pay a visit to the old lady and Yuan Yuhe, "Old lady, aunt, I'm back."
The old lady looked her over, nodded, and asked with a smile, "Where did you go this morning?"
"I went for a walk in the village. The simplicity and liveliness of the village were quite interesting. I just saw a group of children hanging on the trees catching cicadas." Shi Jianli, who was sitting next to her, replied.
"When our family worships our ancestors, it's usually our mother who buys incense and other supplies. Since you're here this year, you can come along."
"Okay, Sister Mei Xin has already told me."
Yuan Yuhe said, "Li'er, go back and change into something more formal before coming back. You should dress more formally when buying things for the sacrifice."
Shi Jianli agreed, went back to her room, chose a pair of formal clothes to change into, and combed her hair into a bun again.
When she saw the hidden arrow brought over, her eyes paused, and she took it and tied it around her wrist.
"What do you want to do with this sleeve arrow, girl?" Xianyue was puzzled.
Shi Jianli couldn't explain the inexplicable uneasiness in her heart, "I think it's better to wear it."
Xianyue didn't ask any more questions after hearing this. The girl had her own reasons for doing things and her intuition was very accurate.
After packing up, I went to find Yuan Yuhe and saw that she had also changed her clothes.
Shi Jianli looked around, but didn't see Mingyuelin, so she asked, "Sister Lin, aren't you going?"
"She was full of energy yesterday, but today she complained of dizziness. Doctor Xiao Chu examined her and said it was due to acclimatization, so he told her not to go and to rest at home."
The coachman drove three carriages and stopped them in front of the mansion gate.
Knowing that the mansion was going to buy incense and offerings, Ming Chuan's eldest son and his wife and Ming Zhouheng were already waiting in front of the mansion, and Ming Zhoushi and Ming Zhouqi also accompanied them.
Mrs. Li said, "We have lived here for decades and are more familiar with the county. Let us show you the way."
"That couldn't be better." Yuan Yuhe smiled and responded, then looked at Ming Zhouheng. "Zhouheng is here too. Just now, after he went back, I praised this child to my mother for his knowledge. When he goes to Beijing to take the entrance exam, let him live in our house. He can just focus on studying and not worry about anything else. He can also keep Zhoushi company."
Mrs. Li's smile became more and more obvious, but she said modestly: "Heng'er is not good at other things, but he gives me less worry when it comes to studying."
Ming Zhouheng said modestly, "Aunt, you are so kind. I can't help much at home, so I came here with my parents to accompany you to the county."
I was a little surprised that my cousin went with us.
"You and Zhu Shi and the others are riding in the same carriage together. You are all scholars, so you should be able to talk to each other."
Ming Zhoushi continued, "I've always known that Second Brother Heng is a good student, and I've long wanted to ask him for advice on his studies."
"I don't deserve your advice, but I will tell you everything I know and discuss it with you, my fourth brother."
"Okay, let's all get on the carriage. We can discuss books and strategies in the carriage." Yuan Yuhe said with a smile, pulling Shi Jianli to the front carriage.
The last car was occupied by several men, and the last car was occupied by maids and guards from the mansion.
After Shi Jianli got on the carriage, she realized that this was the carriage she and Mingyue had taken on the way to Chaozhou.
"The last time we came back ten years ago, we arrived in the morning, and your uncle and his family arrived that afternoon. This time, we were delayed a little longer on the road, and they were also late for some reason." Yuan Yuhe said in the carriage.
Shi Jianli poured Yuan Yuhe a cup of nourishing flower tea and said, "Maybe something happened on the way, or something happened in the court, so he left late."
Mrs. Li was also an elder, so she poured a glass for Mrs. Li, who thanked her somewhat stiffly.
Dongyu Village is relatively close to the county, and the carriage arrived there in an hour and a half.
It was just past noon and no one had lunch yet, so Yuan Yuhe asked about Dali's, the best restaurant in the county, and took everyone in for lunch.
…
At this moment, at the entrance of Dongyu Village, a man who looked to be in his thirties was driving a mule cart into the village in a hurry, looking dusty and dusty.
"Isn't that the third son of the clan leader? He usually dresses very respectably, why does he look like this?"
"It seems to be urgent."
"Did I see correctly just now? Why do the third brother's clothes look torn? He also looks like he hasn't taken a shower in a few days, and half of his hair is disheveled."
The villagers were talking about it.
As soon as Ming Lao San got home, before he even tied up the mule, he rushed into the yard and shouted, "Dad, something bad has happened! Run away!"
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