Since the last time they went back to their hometown to worship their ancestors, although Feng Jinyuan's branch was not removed from the family tree, the old patriarch also said that it would be best for everyone to not have any contact with each other until they die. Even the grave of Feng Jinyuan's grandfather on the top of Fengqi Mountain can be moved at any time as long as they want. Feng Jinyuan thought that he would never go back in this life, let alone have any contact with people in his hometown, but he didn't expect that the other party would take the initiative to come to his door today.
He snorted and said, "You said so much at the beginning, and you showed no mercy when you drove us away. How dare you come to my door after the disaster today?"
The old lady was not too happy about it. She was reprimanded by the clan leader in Fengtong County, which made her feel embarrassed. Unexpectedly, the situation changed and the old Feng family finally came to her for help.
"Who are the people who are here?" the old lady asked He Zhong, "But is the old patriarch here in person?"
He Zhong shook his head, "The old clan leader didn't come. It was my second uncle and third uncle who came, along with a few children. There were more than ten people in the group!" He Zhong looked a little embarrassed, "Madam, there are more than ten people!"
The old lady didn't react for a moment, "What's wrong with more than ten people?"
Cheng Junman reminded him, "Since they have suffered a disaster, they have come to us for refuge, so they must stay. This would be fine if it were any other time, as the mansion would not be short of a dozen people. But now we have to move, and the house over there is said to be very small."
The old lady slapped her forehead and said, "What should I do?"
Cheng Junmei said, "We can't let them wait at the door, let's go out and take a look."
When someone from the old family came, the old lady naturally had to go out to greet them personally. Once the old lady left, everyone had to follow. Except for the pregnant Han who was left behind, the rest of the Feng Mansion went out in a hurry, even the already released An followed. The servants held up countless large umbrellas to protect the masters from the rain, but the rain was too heavy, how could the large umbrellas cover it? Some umbrellas were blown away by the wind before they even got around the screen wall of the Peony Courtyard.
After a lot of effort, the group reached the gatehouse and saw more than a dozen adults and children standing outside, with one child still crying.
Feng Jinyuan took two quick steps and came up to greet the two old men: "Second uncle, third uncle."
The two old men looked to be about sixty years old. They were drenched in the rain, their backs were bent, and their shoes were worn out from fleeing all the way. When they saw Feng Jinyuan, the older one said quickly, "Finally, I'm glad to see you. Many people died on the way here. If we can't go to the capital anymore, I'm afraid I'll have to die with my old bones."
The old lady glanced at him and asked indifferently, "Why are you so embarrassed?"
The man sighed and replied, "To be honest, sister-in-law, the heavy rain in Fengwu County lasted for a month and finally caused a flash flood. Our ancestral home was destroyed. We tried our best to escape, but many people still died."
Feng Jinyuan asked him: "Where is the old patriarch?"
When they heard the question about the clan leader, the expressions of the dozen people became depressed, and even the crying child stopped crying.
Third uncle took over the conversation: "The old clan leader told us to flee to Beijing and come to you. He went up Fengqi Mountain and said...he wanted to die with his ancestors." He squatted down while speaking, took down the bundle he had been holding in his arms, and put it on the ground. When people looked, they saw that the bundle contained a pile of tablets. Third uncle continued: "These are the tablets of our ancestors. The clan leader said that it is not easy for your branch to gain a foothold in Beijing. Although we are fleeing, we cannot cause trouble to our family. So our idea is that if it is convenient for your family to take us in, we will stay. If it is not convenient, we will look for another place. But we hope that these tablets can stay here. After all, you have the ancestral hall. No one can be wronged but the ancestors cannot be wronged."
When the old lady heard this, she felt embarrassed again. How could she not accept the person who had fled from far away? If this word got out, what would happen to the Feng family? So she quickly said, "It's convenient! How could it not be convenient? Such a big mansion can accommodate so many people!"
Cheng Junman also nodded and said, "It's raining so hard outside, where can we go? Let's stay here and wait until the rain stops."
After the old lady spoke to Cheng Junman, Feng Jinyuan didn't know what to say. Although he lamented in his heart, he still had to welcome everyone into the house.
When the children heard that they could stay, they were so happy that they knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Feng Jinyuan. This kowtow made Feng Jinyuan even more embarrassed to say that he would not stay, so they all returned to the hall of the Peony Courtyard. For a while, the hall was packed.
Cheng Junman took the initiative to make arrangements: "There are a few empty courtyards in the mansion now. Kang Yi, Ru Jia and Chen Yu's houses can all be occupied. There is no time to clean up now, so just move in." At the same time, she ordered the servants: "Go and boil hot water for the guests to bathe, and prepare clean clothes." Then she looked at the second uncle and said: "It's raining heavily outside. It's impossible to buy cloth and ask a tailor. I can only find some clothes for you to change into first. I hope you two uncles don't mind."
Second Uncle waved his hands quickly: "Don't mind, don't mind. It's a blessing to be able to stay here. Why are you still picking new clothes? Besides, it's raining so hard outside. It's best if everyone doesn't go out."
A little kid said, "When we came here, we saw someone outside the city fall into a mud ditch and couldn't get out. The carriage was stuck."
The old lady was a little worried when she heard this, "Is the flood in Fengtong County serious?"
Second Uncle nodded, "It's more than serious. The entire Fengtong County is gone."
Feng Jinyuan was a little frightened. Fengtong County was not a small county. The flood could destroy an entire county. What was going on outside? After all, he had been the prime minister for many years. It was impossible to say that he did not care about the people and the world. Otherwise, Emperor Tianwu would not have kept him in the position of prime minister for so many years. Now, when he heard that the disaster was so serious, Feng Jinyuan was a little restless. However, his official rank had been reduced to the fifth rank. What else could he do if he could not sit still?
Seeing Cheng Junman arrange the people from his hometown in an orderly manner, Feng Jinyuan suddenly felt dazed. He was thinking, if there was no such thing as the sinking fish, how good it would be to have the two nieces of the queen as virtuous wives, and he would still be the prime minister, and he would not have to move. When people came from his hometown, he would not have to feel so sad as he did now. He could treat them well and gain a good reputation from the outside world.
His face showed obvious regret, and the old lady saw it and taunted him, "You regret it now, but what did you do earlier? If you had used the care you put into Chenyu on Ah Heng, our Feng family would have everything they wanted, and everyone in our family would be very impressive when they went out."
Unfortunately, Feng Jinyuan didn't realize this. In his opinion, all this was caused by Feng Yuheng, so he reminded the old lady: "If Feng Yuheng hadn't interfered, Chen Yu wouldn't have died!"
The old lady knew that she couldn't make sense to her son by talking to him, so she simply said to him without further ado, "Go and get the deed. Even though it's raining hard, I think Eunuch Zhang will come anyway. We can make an exchange with him then. Let's go over there and clean up the mess."
Feng Jinyuan was most afraid of talking about the title deed. When the old lady mentioned this, he didn't dare to look her in the eye. He just turned around and looked at the heavy rain outside, muttering: "It's raining like this, even if we change the title deed, can we move?"
This was the truth. The old lady also sighed and said, "I hope the palace won't rush us too much. At least wait until the rain is lighter."
At this time, in the County Lord's Mansion, a man wearing a golden mask and a light purple robe was standing in Feng Yuheng's boudoir, and shouted to the girl who was sitting on the table, swinging her legs and eating grapes: "Girls should pay attention to their image. They are all beautiful ladies from noble families, and you look at them!"
The people at the table were not happy: "What's wrong with me? Didn't you find me the same way? Ever since the day we met, I could have used my two thin arms to carry you out of the crevice in the mountain. Have you ever seen a beautiful girl with this ability? Xiao Mingzi, don't be so picky!"
The masked man quickly ran over and said in a flattering voice, "Not picky, not picky. What I mean is that we are people of status after all. How can we peel grapes by ourselves?"
The people at the table nodded. "If you want to talk like that, I like it. Fine, peel it for me!"
"What?" Someone twitched his lips, "Why do you keep so many maids?"
"If I let the maid do everything, then what do I need you for?" She stretched out her hand to hook the neck of the person opposite her, "Be good, you peel it sweetly."
With just this one sentence, someone resignedly sat down next to her and started peeling grapes silently.
When Wangchuan and Huangquan entered the room, they saw their two masters sitting side by side at the table, their four legs dangling there, one eating grapes and the other peeling grapes. Their mistress even said, "Xuan Tianming, it would be even better if you could dig out the grape seeds for me."
The two girls had dark lines on their faces, thinking that only Feng Yuheng would dare to do such a thing, and only Feng Yuheng would dare to say such words. If it were someone else, they would see whether the Ninth Prince would whip them.
Huang Quan took two quick steps, approached the two, and said, "The kitchen is already preparing dinner, Your Highness, please stay and eat with us."
Xuan Tianming nodded and said as a matter of course: "It's raining so hard, I must stay for dinner." As he spoke, he turned his head to look out the window. The sound of heavy rain could be heard through the half-open window. He added: "If the rain doesn't stop, we'll just stay here for the night."
Feng Yuheng glared at him: "Why don't you treat yourself as an outsider?"
Xuan Tianming moved closer to her: "We are not strangers in the first place, and this is not the first time we have slept together." Then he asked the two girls, "Right?"
Wang Chuan nodded, "Yes."
Feng Yuheng rolled her eyes at him and said nothing. It was raining so hard outside, and Xuan Tianming took the risk to come out to see her. It was dark after dinner, so how could she bear to send him back?
Seeing that Feng Yuheng had no objection, Wangchuan changed the subject and told her what happened in Feng Mansion, and also told her: "The news was delivered by Madam Cheng." Tongshengxuan still had some respect for the Cheng sisters. After all, they were the nieces of the Queen Mother and they were on Feng Yuheng's side. Wangchuan and Huangquan called them Madam Cheng and Madam Cheng II.
Feng Yuheng asked her: "Is the disaster in Fengtong County very serious?"
Xuan Tianming took over the conversation: "The terrain over there is low, and it is a mountain city. Floods are not to be feared, but mudslides are to be feared. The Qin Tianjian said that the rainfall this year is abnormal, and I am afraid that the disaster will be severe."
Feng Yuheng thought for a while, then raised the corner of his lips, "Since Feng Jinyuan has become a fat man from the village head, we can't hit him again. I'm thinking, why don't we help the poor!"
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
