Chapter 79 Making New Friends

"Fourth sister, fifth sister~ Xiaotao~" Minglan called out loudly, but no one responded. She was pushed in one direction. She was small, and if she didn't follow the crowd, she would be pushed and fell. She saw an adult trying to walk back, but was pushed to the ground. Fortunately, he climbed fast, otherwise others would have stepped on him.

Finally escaping from the danger zone, the nervous crowd calmed down, and the crowd gradually thinned out. Minglan found a gap and got out of the crowd. Looking at the strange streets and strange people, and the inquiring eyes from time to time, Minglan felt scared belatedly. The more scared she was, the more she could remember the things that frightened her. A-niang told her that in some places, there would be traffickers who kidnapped young children. She also told her that if she got separated from her family, she must not go to the alleys with few people, but must go to the crowded streets and not talk to people easily. Minglan walked aimlessly on the street. She wanted to find a friendly shopkeeper to ask where Fanlou was, or if he could help her pass a message.

Minglan saw a bookstore with three large gilded characters "Moxiang Zhai" hanging on the lintel, which looked particularly elegant. This reminded Minglan of the bookstore opened by Mingxi, and she had a natural trust. Minglan decided to ask the shopkeeper for help.

The bookstore owner was carefully sorting out the account book with his head down. When he heard footsteps, he looked up and saw a girl with a loose bun walking in. She was about 70 or 8 years old and had a few light dust marks on her face. She had obviously just escaped from some not-so-refined environment. However, in sharp contrast to her slightly shabby appearance, the clothes she wore were not very gorgeous, but they were of extraordinary quality and exquisite embroidery, which was obviously not something that ordinary people could have.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper put down the account book in his hand, walked forward slowly, and asked in a gentle tone: "Little girl, are you here to find a book or for something else?"

Seeing that the shopkeeper was indeed kind, Minglan straightened her clothes and bowed her head, "Hello, shopkeeper! I got separated from my brother and sister at the lantern festival. Now my parents are in Fanlou. Please ask someone to help me send a message to my father. I will definitely reward you for your kindness!"

"Fanlou? Aren't we going back to Fanlou?" A crisp female voice came, and the shopkeeper didn't have time to speak.

Minglan looked over and saw a young lady of the same age as herself. She had a high bun, was neatly dressed, and had an indescribable heroic spirit and boldness. She had bright eyes, a straight nose, a handsome and resolute face, and an extraordinary aura between her eyebrows, as if she was born with an overwhelming aura. Next to this heroic young lady stood a young boy, who was not very handsome, but had a calmness beyond his age. Minglan felt that he stood like a pine tree, and treated the people around him with a polite distance, but when he looked at the young lady, he had a more youthful agility.

While the young lady was talking to the young man, she also looked in Minglan's direction. The young man asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to release the water lanterns? Why don't you want to go now?"

The young lady was obviously dissatisfied that the young man did not answer her question directly. Instead, he made trouble and pretended to be angry and ignored him. Seeing this, the young man immediately coaxed her, "Yes, yes, we are going back to Fanlou. Your mother and my mother must still be waiting for us. Then I will pay for the books and go back?" The young man's attitude changed very quickly, and it was hard not to suspect that he was used to it. Then he rushed to the shopkeeper and said, "Shopkeeper, settle the bill!"

The shopkeeper saw that Minglan was staring at the young lady over there, so he didn't rush to ask in detail. He went to settle the bill for the young man first. The books chosen by the young man were all related to the art of war. It seemed that he was from a family of military generals.

"Are you going to Fanlou?" Seeing that Minglan had been staring at her without saying anything, the young lady took the initiative to speak. Minglan

was stunned for a moment before she realized that the other party was talking to her, "Yes, I got separated from my brothers and sisters at home, and I want to go to Fanlou to find my father and mother first." After saying that, she thought that she should introduce herself first, and hurriedly saluted to the young lady, "My name is Minglan, my surname is Sheng, and my father is Chengzhilang who was transferred back to Beijing from Yangzhou this year. What is your name, young lady?"

The dashing young lady saw that Minglan looked cute and well-behaved, and didn't talk too much, which was very much to her liking, so she also saluted, "My name is Guifen, my surname is Zhang, and my father is the Duke of Ying. You are so beautiful Look! I am the only girl in my family, I have no younger sisters. You are so pretty and I liked you the moment I saw you. "

Minglan was not prepared for her to praise herself so bluntly. She was surprised for a moment and then laughed, "When I saw Sister Zhang, I also thought she was heroic and heroic, like a heroine. You can tell at a glance that she has an extraordinary temperament. I was stunned!"

Zhang Guifen was also praised by Minglan. After paying the money, the young boy came over with the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper asked, "Miss Sheng, do you still need me to send someone to send a letter to Lord Sheng?" The shopkeeper seemed to have heard the two people introducing each other and could directly call out Miss Sheng.

"Shopkeeper, please go ahead. We have to go back to Fanlou as well. Just take her back!"

"Then I'll have to trouble Miss Zhang! As expected of the Duke of England, you are so chivalrous and brave!" The shopkeeper also imitated the two girls and praised them.

The three of them said goodbye to the shopkeeper and started to return to Fanlou. As soon as they walked out of the store, Zhang Guifen slapped her forehead and said, "I forgot to introduce you. This is Zheng Xiao. His father, General Zheng, is the commander-in-chief of the Yulin Army."

Minglan and Zheng Xiao greeted each other. The three young men were all straightforward and had a good chat. However, Minglan was worried about Molan and Rulan, so she hurried back to Fanlou to tell Sheng Hong.

"Sixth sister!" Minglan looked in the direction of the voice and saw Qi Heng running towards her. Minglan saw that his clothes were torn and he was panting. He was very anxious. He was no longer the noble gentleman he usually was. "Sixth sister, I finally found you. Are you injured?" Qi Heng took a breath and asked Minglan about her condition. It was not for nothing that he ran towards her breathlessly at this time. "Master... Master, you ran too fast! Sixth sister, are you okay?"

"Brother Yuanruo, I'm fine. My fourth sister and fifth sister and I went to see a juggling show. Who knew that the artist who was performing the fire-breathing show lost his hand, and the fire jumped onto people. Everyone ran out in a panic. My fourth sister and fifth sister and I were separated, and Xiaotao disappeared." Minglan saw familiar people and remembered the danger at that time. She also thought about the missing fourth sister and fifth sister. She wanted to cry as she spoke.

"Xiaotao and the other little girls have been found. They are together and have returned to Fanlou. Only you and the fourth and fifth sisters have not been found. It's great to find you now. Your father has also sent people out to look for you. I believe your two sisters will be found soon. Don't be afraid!" Qi Heng comforted her.

After confirming that Minglan was fine, Qi Heng noticed Zhang Guifen and Zheng Xiao, "Madam Zhang, Master Zheng?"

"I thought Young Master Qi couldn't see us. I wanted to say hello when I saw him running over, but I didn't expect that he had just seen us!" Zhang Guifen and Qi Heng were joking, and it was obvious that they were familiar with each other. Zheng Xiao suddenly tensed up when he saw Qi Heng.

"I apologize to you two. I was too anxious about Sixth Sister just now, so I ignored you two. It's my fault!" Qi Heng apologized quickly. "

Oh? I heard that Mr. Zhuang went to Sheng's house to sit in the court, and you also went to Sheng's house to study. This Sheng family is that Sheng family!" Zhang Guifen pointed at Qi Heng and then Minglan as if she had suddenly realized something.

... "That's right!" Qi Heng replied.

The four of them returned to Fanlou together. Zheng Xiao seemed to be on guard against Qi Heng. Zhang Guifen noticed that he was not happy and asked him in a low voice, "You don't like Qi Yuanruo?"

Zheng Xiao pursed his lips and refused to speak. It was not that he disliked Qi Heng, but Qi Heng was a talented young man with a good appearance. Many young ladies liked to play with him, and the wives of various families also liked him. Zheng Xiao saw that Zhang Guifen and Qi Heng could chat well, and he was afraid that the plum he had been guarding would be picked by others. "I don't dislike him, but I'm not familiar with him. After all, his family values ​​literature and my family values ​​martial arts." Zhang Guifen thought it made sense, so she left it alone.