Jiaochu

Chapter 107 Chasing Beasts in Nanshan Paddock ([-])

On the other side, when Yan Fei entered the tent, he saw Su Shi looking at a scroll and walked over to take a look at it. The painting was a market scene, with small bridges and flowing water, and traders and pawns. The characters depicted were vivid, including an old man selling oil and a childish child. Playfully, a few strokes or two outline the expression of the person in the painting, which is very vivid, making the viewer feel as if they are actually there.

Yan Fei saw a line of small characters written in the upper left corner of the painting. He bent down and looked at it. It was the place name of a small town in Qi State.Su Shangshu and Yanjiang had previously recorded the customs and customs along the way when they were on an envoy to Xiyan. After returning, they copied several of the scrolls and gave them to Su Shi for viewing.

"Are you worshiping the river god?"

Yanfei's eyes fell on the figures by the river. There were men and women. Most of them could only see their backs. They all held a peach blossom in their hands, with a brocade bag tied to the end of the branch. One of them had already bent down to hold it. The peach blossoms on his hands were put into the water, and one person put his hands together as if making a wish.

"Qi State has had the custom of worshiping the water god since ancient times. It is said that the water god likes peach blossoms in the world. When the peach blossoms are in full bloom, a brocade bag containing wishes is tied to the peach blossom and put into the water. The brocade bag will float with the peach blossoms to the palace where the water god lives. If the brocade bag is opened by the Water God, then the person's wish will come true." Su Shi finished talking about the customs of Qi State in a gentle tone.

Yanfei took a look at a peach blossom tree painted beside the bridge. The flowers on the tree were in bloom. He didn't comment on the custom of worshiping the water god. He looked at the painting twice more and then found a seat to sit down. He held it up with one hand. With his head, his index finger habitually tapped the table. He tapped it a few times and then paused, as if he was thinking about something. After tapping it twice more, he looked up again and looked outside the tent. After looking away, he picked up the table. I looked at a history book and asked casually, "Don't you feel bored reading these every day?"

Su Shi smiled slightly and asked gently: "Do you feel bored practicing martial arts every day?"

Yanfei had nothing to say. After reading the book for a while, he glanced outside the tent. He turned back his gaze and opened a page of the book in front of him. He said casually, "Princess has changed a lot in the past two months. When I saw you before, I looked like an enemy." Yeah, either staring at me or running away." He said as if he didn't quite understand the reason why he was hated before. He seemed to have forgotten that he twisted someone's arm and called him a crybaby when we first met. Now that I'm clean, I seem to have forgotten that I always had an expressionless face before, my eyes were cold, and the clothes I wore were dark ink, and I just had the words "Keep strangers out" engraved on my forehead. .

It was Su Shi who reminded Yan Fei that he found the reason. After thinking for a few seconds, the question in his heart was still not solved. He held back several times when he wanted to ask. He felt a little embarrassed. Could it be that he let him To pester a little girl and ask her why she is nice to him and why she likes him. If it were so sour, he would buy a piece of tofu and kill him without even being able to say it out loud, but he would think about this question in his heart from time to time.

As if he could see Yan Fei's thoughts, Su Shi said: "As time goes by, people's hearts will be revealed, and when the time comes, it will naturally come to an end."

"I didn't say that the princess was hypocritical." As if he accidentally revealed his true feelings, Yan Fei coughed unnaturally and changed the subject, "You didn't have a nightmare last night, did you?"

Su Shi replied: "I slept peacefully."

At this time, Ye Lingxi's voice came from outside the tent. Yanfei closed the book and placed it on the table. Su Shi also put away the scroll. The two of them got up and walked over one after the other.

Ye Lingxi first looked at Su Shi's wrist, and Su Shi said it was fine. Ye Lingxi nodded and told the two of them that she wanted to go back to see her big brother. Yan Fei offered to send her back, and Ye Lingxi agreed with a smile. Yan Fei's soft and doughy smile made Yan Fei a little unable to resist, so he could only turn his eyes slightly sideways to divert his attention.

In the room, Zhao Ce and Ye Xingye were playing chess boredly, chatting intermittently, each having their own troubles and sorrows.When Xiao Luzi came in and said that Ye Lingxi was back, both of them strode out of the house in high spirits, as if they had been given a shot of blood, and went over to greet him excitedly.

Seeing that Yan Fei was still there, Zhao Ce didn't give him a good look, as if the other party had done something despicable and sinister, Yan Fei didn't bother to pay attention.

Ye Xingye was anxious to ask Ye Lingxi if the things had been sent out, so he sent the two of them: "You guys should go back first. The imperial doctor said that the eldest brother needs to rest, and not too many people can be left in the house. Lingxi and I are enough to watch. " Soon after he asked Xiaoluzi to send the two of them out, Zhao Ce moved his feet when he saw Yanfei leaving.

After the two figures disappeared behind the moon cave door, without waiting for Ye Xingye to ask questions, Ye Lingxi told him that the girl had gone back yesterday afternoon. It was like a basin of cold water was poured on his head. Ye Xingye lowered his head listlessly, and Ye Lingxi comforted him. He would have a chance next time, and Ye Xingye cheered up a little.

At almost noon, the people who hunted the silver fox came back one after another.

This time, the person who hunted back the silver fox was Yang Qin, Minister of Industry.Not only were some ministers surprised, but Yang Qin himself also felt lucky.At that time, he wandered around the woods for a long time without finding any trace of the silver fox. Seeing that it was almost noon, suddenly a black shadow passed above his head. The silver fox ran over from the other end of the path and nestled behind a stone without moving. , he quietly went over and pounced on the silver fox in his arms, without even using the arrow.

This silver fox was quite well-behaved and didn't struggle or scream when being held in someone's arms, so Yang Qin just carried it back.When Commander Wu handed over the silver fox, he was still a little reluctant to part with it.Commander Wu put the silver fox into a cage and asked the guards to take it down, and then took Yang Qin, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, to meet the saint.

Ye Lanchen asked Yang Qin if he had thought of a reward. Yang Qin asked that the river workers' wages have not been paid yet. Now the river embankment reinforcement project has entered the final stage. The next step is to dredge the river. If the river workers' wages are not paid first, I'm afraid it won't go well later.

"Didn't the Ministry of Revenue allocate money?" Ye Lanchen asked.

Yang Qin replied honestly: "Rong Shangshu said he had no money."

It happened that the governor of Yangzhou received a secret letter two days ago. In the letter, he accused the Danyang County governor of being corrupt and perverting the law, levying excessive taxes, plundering people's wealth, indulging his children to do evil, and killing good people. The local people complained and lived in misery.Ye Lanchen asked Rong Shangshu and Su Shangshu, the two ministers of Hubu and Libu, to review the matter, so they did not go together during the autumn hunt.

If Rong Shangshu had been present, he would have spoken out to defend himself, but he was not there, and the ministers who were usually close to him did not want to be the first person at this moment, so they dared to say anything to Yang Qin because of his upright temper. At that time, if you can't explain it clearly, you will drag yourself into the water.

(End of this chapter)