I go to the ancient imperial examinations

Chapter 254 Stone Village

In the early morning of the second day, feeling the coldness different from Jiangnan again, Zhan Feiyu rubbed his icy hands, and quickly got into the carriage. The thick curtains of the carriage cut off the oncoming cold air.

"Miss, take the hand stove." He Nuan handed over the red copper hand stove with peonies and flowers, "There is a copper signature on the bottom, if it is not warm, you can fiddle with the charcoal fire."

Zhan Feiyu hugged the warm hand stove, and couldn't help but sigh: "A Nuan, half of my credit is due to you!"

He Nuan was amused, "I'll check other things."

This time I went to Shitou Village. Xiangwu County is poor, and there is probably not much food in the village. He Nuan bought ingredients early in the morning and borrowed a stove in the village to cook a decent meal.

When Yin Wuyan got into the carriage, he saw Zhan Feiyu wrapped into a ball, holding a hand stove, his white and tender face was hidden in the white fur collar of the cloak, it was obvious that he was afraid of the cold.

"Big brother, aren't you cold?" Zhan Feiyu looked at Yin Wuyan, who was only wearing a silver-trimmed black brocade robe. Even in the south of the Yangtze River, he looked thin in this season, not to mention the huge temperature difference between morning and evening in Xiangwu County. Any colder it would freeze.

The little paw stretched out and landed on the back of Yin Wuyan's hand. A warm feeling came, and Zhan Feiyu's eyes widened suddenly. After being surprised, he was full of envy. The big brother's hand was as warm as a stove.

"People who practice martial arts are not afraid of the cold." Yin Wuyan shook Zhan Feiyu's chubby and soft paws, and couldn't help worrying about her future imperial examinations.

The township examination is in August, and the general examination is in February. There are three consecutive exams in the freezing weather, and the little girl may not be able to stand it.

Zhan Feiyu sullenly said, "I'm also half a martial artist, why am I so afraid of the cold?"

Looking at the bragging little girl, a smile flashed across Yin Wuyan's phoenix eyes, and she knew how to punch and kick, without even the slightest bit of internal strength, so she was better than those boudoir girls who couldn't get out of the house. Be stronger.

"Fat girl, you can't do this, then look at us, you're just wearing a jacket, you're about to become a bear." Outside the carriage came Chong Guang's presumptuous ridicule. It's no different.

So angry... Zhan Feiyu rolled his eyes and decided to let Chongguang eat boiled Chinese cabbage at noon!

With the sound of horseshoes, they head towards the west. Xiangwu County is in the west of Weizhou, and Shitou Village is in the west of the west, adjacent to the ancient Qiang people.

Because of the cold winter, the villagers have gone to the mountains to chop wood and store firewood for the winter.

It was only late October, which was nothing to the villagers of Shitou Village. It was really cold in December, and the ice in the river needed to be smashed with an ax to get water.

"Ma'am, I have already asked Village Zheng. Master Xu and the others live at the foot of the mountain at the end of the village. The road there is too narrow for a carriage to get on." Lian Er, who was standing outside the carriage, kept rubbing her hands. It was colder than Fucheng. , the key point is that there is a wind, blowing on the face as if to blow away a layer of flesh.

Zhang Yiyi, who was also holding a hand stove in the carriage, looked even more ugly, but considering the purpose of this trip, she had to come this time.

After a while, after getting off the carriage, Zhang Yiyi put on a luxurious fox fur cloak and a hood, but even so, the chill still penetrated into his bones.

"Ma'am, worry about your feet." Lian Er hurriedly supported Zhang Yiyi's arm.

Except for the coachman who stayed where he was guarding the carriage, four guards, a woman and another servant girl also followed behind the two of them, and the eight of them walked towards the foot of the mountain one step at a time.

On the hillside, under the cover of rocks and weeds, a child in a dusty padded jacket looked at the group of people coming from a distance. On his rough and chapped face, a pair of black eyes were full of joy, but with a little bit of joy. very restless.

"Who?" Guard A yelled angrily, and with a flash, he pulled out the child hiding in the grass.

"Let me go!" It must have been frozen for a long time, the voice was hoarse, the child struggled desperately, but unfortunately the back collar was firmly grabbed by the guards, and it would be useless for him to move any more.

Confirming that there was no danger, Guard A threw the child out in disgust, and at the same time he fell to the ground, he stepped on his back to ensure that he could not move.

"Where did the beggar come from!" Lian'er frowned and looked at the dusty child, and hurriedly supported Zhang Yiyi to take two steps back, "Madam, go this way, don't get your clothes dirty."

The back was trampled, and the child could only raise his head. His head was covered with grass clippings, his face was covered with dust, but his eyes were like a little wolf, staring straight at Zhang Yiyi who was not far away.

Zhang Yiyi was suppressing her irritability. She lived in a pampered state for eight years. She was tired and cold just after walking for a quarter of an hour. Looking at the dirty wild child in front of her, especially his pair of black eyes, dark, Cold and cold, Zhang Yiyi let out a cry of shock, and accidentally stepped on a lump of dirt and sprained her foot.

"Ma'am!" Not only Lian'er exclaimed, but the guards at the side also became worried.

Although Madam has no status, she is equivalent to the hostess in the back house of the Hou Mansion, and is deeply loved by the Hou Ye. If she is injured in this remote village, the guards like them will inevitably be punished.

"Little bastard!" Guard A yelled angrily, stepped hard on his foot, stepped on him twice, and kicked him out again, but the direction was the half-person-high rock not far away.

Fortunately, the child knew a little bit of kung fu. The moment his body flew out, he quickly adjusted his movements, abruptly reversed his direction and fell into the grass. If he hit a rock, he would definitely have a bloody head.

"Huh?" Guard A's face darkened, and he looked at the child who hid away dissatisfied.

Coughing twice in pain, the child endured the pain and quickly got up from the yellow grass, staring at the guard armor with angry eyes, and clenched his rough little hands into fists.

"Don't worry, it's just a twist." Zhang Yiyi stretched her ankle, but it didn't hurt, so she thought it was fine.

Hearing Wu Nong's soft voice, the child once again looked at the luxuriously dressed Zhang Yiyi. Under the sun, her face was as white as if it would glow. Her delicate face and slender figure showed that she did not belong to the village with every frown and smile. The dignity and elegance of a woman.

The child clenched his hands even tighter, and his black eyes were still fixed on Zhang Yiyi, but he didn't have the surprise and excitement when he peeked at it before.

Probably the child's gaze was too intense, Zhang Yiyi looked up, frowned in distaste, it was too dirty, the padded jacket seemed to be unclean, and even looked at it.

And although the child stood up straight, his face was covered with dust and grass clippings, Zhang Yiyi felt nauseous and wanted to vomit after inhaling the snot twice, a dirty country child dared to look at himself with such eyes.

"Okay, don't waste time." Zhang Yiyi said softly, at first it sounded like she was tolerant, not caring about a child.But Lian'er, who was supporting her, knew that Madam didn't want to blow the cold wind here.

Guard A gave a warning glance at the child not far away, but he didn't make any further moves, but his eyes were full of malice.

His previous throwing and kicking had already caused internal injuries. If he didn't see a doctor, and after a few days of delay, even if the child was killed, he would be weak and sick in the future.

When Zhang Yiyi and his group walked a little farther, the child's tense body suddenly hunched down, clutching his stomach and coughing violently, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, but the few people who walked away against the wind did not look back.

After a long while, he fell down and sat on the ground. The child raised his eyes and looked at the people who were walking farther and farther away. With the last touch of the corner of his mouth, the admiration and joy in his eyes completely disappeared.

……

Half an hour later, although Zhan Feiyu was afraid of the cold, he felt warm after walking for a while.

"Big brother, isn't that child frozen and stupid?" Looking at the child sitting on the rock from a distance, the wind was blowing fast and the weeds were dancing wildly, but the child was sitting against the wind.

Hearing the sound, the child stood up abruptly, staring at Zhan Feiyu and the others warily. Looking at Zhan Feiyu who was also wrapped in a fox fur cape, the child's eyes suddenly burst into intense hostility.

"Yo, you can still stare at people, you don't look stupid." Chongguang laughed, and walked over in three or two steps. Seeing the dry blood at the corner of the child's mouth, and seeing the scratches and bruises on his face, his brows couldn't help but frown. Wrinkled, "Is this stupid?"

Glaring fiercely at Zhongguang, the child stepped back, clenched his hands into fists, and looked at his posture, it was obvious that he had practiced martial arts.

"You're not smart at all, but you'll look even more stupid now, fat girl, you're still smart." Zhong Guang looked at Zhan Feiyu, who was dressed like a ball, jokingly.

I think back when I was in Jinlin Village, the fat girl met Qi Ye, she was a person who knew the current affairs, she was sweet-mouthed, and would run back like a girl, with her short legs making a fuss.

In contrast, the child in front of him has a backbone, but unfortunately, he is rigid and easy to break!
"Uncle Chongguang, you're getting more and more verbose. If you're not cold, I'm cold." Zhan Feiyu looked at Chongguang with disgust. He was a coward back then, but that's not human nature.

Being urged, Chong Guang took out a porcelain bottle from his arms, poured a pill into his palm, looked at the child who was obviously about to run, quickly grabbed his arm, pinched his chin with his right hand, and threw the pill directly past.

Looking at the child who made two pee pee pee pee, Chong Guang tsk-tsk twice, "The ancestral secret medicine, it melts in the mouth, no one can deceive you."

Zhan Feiyu rolled his eyes, took the lead and continued to walk forward, "Brother, let's go."

"Slow down." There was perceptible concern in the cold voice, Yin Wuyan took a step to follow behind Zhan Feiyu, but his slender figure blocked the cold wind.

Stone Village is a big place, and the houses of the villagers are all built together, and there is only General Yang's family walking along this road.

A faint smell of medicine spread in his mouth, and after a long while, the child felt a burning sensation in his abdomen. He looked at Zhan Feiyu and the others in front of him, but quickly turned towards the path beside him.

Unlike Zhang Yiyi's disgust when he saw the stone-yellow mud house, Zhan Feiyu was no stranger to it.

In the past in Jinlin Village, except for a few people who built green brick and tile houses, most of them got stones from the mountains, and then mixed loess and grass clippings to build houses.

"Fat girl, the road to Enemies is narrow." Chong Guang winked at Zhan Feiyu, the guards and maids of the Marquis Mansion at the edge of the town are standing in the courtyard, and the door of the main room is closed, so you don't need to look to know who is there in.

He Nuan put the basket containing the ingredients on the ground, and glanced at Chong Guang, he was so out of tune all day, wouldn't he be afraid that Master Qi would beat him up?

Now that the people from the Hou Mansion came first, Zhan Feiyu found a corner sheltered from the wind and stood, and picked the silver charcoal inside from the copper stick under the hand stove, and the temperature of the hand stove rose instantly.

Yin Wuyan asked He Nuan to take out the sapphire bracelet, and said to Chongguang, "Return it to its original owner."

"Yes." Chongguang picked up the bracelet and walked towards the gate of the courtyard without saying a word. He still looked like a rich man, but there was a bit of sarcasm in his eyes.

Last night Qiye asked someone to investigate, although the news has not come back, but Zhongguang figured it out with his toes, what Zhang Yiyi said to protect the media was just to marry the fat girl to her who was sent away on the day she was born Son, one year younger than the fat girl.

Because he is the son of a guilty minister, naturally there is no good marriage, and at first glance Zhang Yiyi seems to be planning for his son, but it is not for the money of the fat girl.

In Zhenbianhou's Mansion, Zhang Yiyi has some rights, but this is because the old man is still in charge. When the son inherits the Hou's Mansion in the future, Zhang Yiyi will have all the plants and trees in the Hou's Mansion except for those clothes. I can't take it with me.

But having a daughter-in-law of a "merchant" is different. At least she will be able to live comfortably in the future, and she will not be short of money. Moreover, she has been with the old master. Most people don't look at the face of the monk or the face of the Buddha, and they dare not make things difficult for her.

"Idlers avoid it!" Guard A raised his hand to block the heavy light, his eyes were a bit wary.

That day in the ruined temple, the person who was injured by Yin Wuyan with a tree branch was the personal guard of the Hou's mansion, and also the person who secretly protected the old Hou.

As for Guard A, they were just ordinary guards, they didn't even know that the other party was injured, so they knew that Chongguang was a trainer, but they also didn't know how strong their skills were.

He stopped, and Chong Guang folded his arms around his chest, "Okay, the guest is up to you, your master is the wife of the major general, so you can be regarded as the master of this house."

"You dare to talk nonsense and slander my wife!" The guard A's expression changed suddenly. They had heard some rumors, but no one dared to say clearly. It's okay to offend my wife, but if you offend Lord Hou, you will definitely be dealt with by military law .

"Am I wrong?" Chongguang asked suspiciously, looking at the angry guards, mother-in-law and girl, he laughed again: "Since it's not the master's house, why do you stop me from entering?"

Guard A was so angry that he couldn't find anything to refute, and then looked at Chong Guang who was arrogant, and drew his sword in a rage.

It's a pity that he moved fast, Chong Guang's action was faster, his right hand slapped on the arm of the guard armor, and the long sword that had just been drawn out an inch fell back, and Chong Guang grabbed his arm and turned around, then pointed at his butt Kicked.

After some fluent movements, the first guard was kicked out and fell in front of the main room door with a bang.

Not to mention that Old General Yang and Yang Shoucheng are military generals, even Zhang Yiyi also heard the voices outside, and clenched his hands even more angrily, but he didn't show it on his face.

With outsiders coming, this conversation must not continue. Zhang Yiyi suppressed her anger, choked up and said, "I know you don't believe me, but I have no shame in my heart. I just want to see Xu'er. In the past eight years, whenever I think of Xu'er Son, I feel like a knife is piercing..."

The tears of a beautiful woman are the most endearing, even the Marquis of the town can't help but feel soft-hearted.

But the middle-aged man standing aside had a blank expression, neither pity nor anger, calm as if Zhang Yiyi was a human-shaped wooden stake.

Zhang Yiyi lowered her head to hide the anger and disgust in her eyes, and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, "I have nothing else to ask but to see Xu'er."

(End of this chapter)