in spring

Chapter 317 The River of Missing
Two old boats slowly moved southeast along the spacious river. Several young men with white turbans on their heads and Indian costumes stood on the boats, watching the situation on both sides of the river vigilantly.A young man in Ming costume popped out of one of the cabins, talked to one of the men, looked around, and then quickly went back into the cabin.

This is a group of Daming missions who fled from Agra in a hurry, a group of Hindus who also escaped the persecution of the third prince Aurangzeb, and Ming craftsmen who have lived in India for many years.Ever since the mission left the capital Agra with the artisans, and met the attache of Daming and [-] soldiers on the way, the number of them has greatly exceeded expectations, so they had to temporarily buy an old boat at a high price on the river bank , just left smoothly.Along the way, although there were several waves of attacks, fortunately none of them were in danger, and only a few people suffered injuries of varying severity.After entering the section of the Ganges River, Daming's deputy envoy thought that this place was far away from the capital, but was closer to Banggala, and there seemed to be fewer pursuers, so he boldly raised the banner of Daming, and the pursuers never appeared again. After that, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but they didn't dare to take it lightly.

Hu Fei was holding a clay pot, and walked into the largest cabin on the ship with his head bowed. In order to avoid bumping his head, he had to bend his body and bowed awkwardly by the door. The people in the room had already spoken first: " Why are you still paying attention to these vain rituals? What's going on outside?" It was Prince Wen, half lying on the hastily made bed, his face pale.

Hu Fei walked over cautiously, and said softly: "Everything is fine outside, I think the pursuers have given up, the prince doesn't have to worry. When they passed the stern just now, the villain asked them to cook some food, thinking that the prince hadn't eaten any grains for a day and a night. It’s rice, I’m here to offer it, please use some of it, Your Highness.”

King Wen grinned and propped himself up to sit up, but Hu Fei hurriedly put down the pot and stepped forward to help him.When King Wen sat down firmly, he glanced at Tu Bo, a flash of disgust flashed in his eyes, and he turned his head away: "Don't be that curry again? It's a good meal, but I want to put a bunch of spices, making it red and red. Yellow, greasy, you lose your appetite after seeing it! I don’t want to eat it, you take it away!”

Hu Fei smiled and said: "The villain knows that the prince doesn't like curry, so he specifically asked not to add spices. This is white porridge made from rice mixed with water. Although it is simple, it is still light. It's just the container for the porridge. It is used to serving curry, so it has a bit of curry flavor, but it doesn’t actually spoil the taste of the porridge. Please eat some, my lord, otherwise how can your body bear it?”

Only then did King Wen reluctantly take a look at the rice porridge, and took two bites. He felt that the rice was too hard, and the water smelled like curry. No matter how he ate it, it made people frown, but compared to the meals these days, it was already pretty good. So he reluctantly ate half of the oatmeal and waved his hand: "I'll reward you with the rest, it's hard for you to be thoughtful."

Hu Fei's face froze, he thanked him with a smile, then put the porridge aside, planning to mix it into the rest of the porridge later and give it to others.

King Wen Jun sighed, and said: "This is the most stubborn time in my life. No matter how much the princess and the children persuade me, I insist on coming. Now I regret it. That day I was in danger on the horse, and I almost died. Toss this pair of old bones, fortunately you are protecting me, otherwise I don't know what is going on with me now!"

Hu Fei respectfully said: "My lord is so blessed, so he should turn evil into good fortune and bring good luck to death. The villain is only responsible for it, and dare not take credit for it."

Prince Wen smiled: "You cunning boy, what are you talking about! I know it in my heart, don't worry!"

Hu Fei naturally knew it in his heart, but he was still humble and respectful: "It's not a cliché, it's a villain's heart. If it was someone else, he would have fainted from fright, but the prince has been holding on. Calm and composed, and now the spirit is still so refreshing, we all admire the prince very much when we recall the situation that day."

Even though King Wen knew that he was flattering him, he still felt complacent, and scolded with a smile: "Okay, okay, don't say these words again, I know you are a good boy. You were tired after watching the whole night yesterday. Go back and rest."

Hu Fei responded, exited the cabin respectfully and according to the etiquette, turned around, and let out a deep breath.

Military officer Xiong came over to meet him: "How is your lord?"

He nodded: "Everything is fine." Thinking of the porridge in his hand, "The kitchen has made some rice porridge, please bring in some, my lord and brothers. You worked hard last night."

Coach Xiong slowed down his expression: "Thank you for thinking about it, let's treat the prince to dinner first."

"My lord has already used it, and said to give it to everyone."

Coach Xiong finally agreed, he looked at Hu Fei with a hint of admiration in his eyes: "The businessman surnamed Mu that Brother Hu knows, and the people he leads are all good hands, we are really honored to be able to go with him. Brother Hu, you have good vision! You are so courageous! If you hadn’t been prepared, we might have been trapped in the capital. The brothers are all grateful to Brother Hu in private!”

Hu Fei hurriedly said: "I don't dare to take credit for it. In the final analysis, if Master Xiong and all the brothers hadn't been brave and good at fighting, how could we frail people have escaped smoothly? I should thank the Lord and brothers!"

He was being polite here, and Coach Xiong became impatient: "I'm not used to being rude to people. Anyway, when I say thank you, I just thank you. I've made a note of this matter in my heart, and we'll see later! I'll go back to my room and call me." Take a nap, call me if you need something!" Then he turned and left.

Hu Fei smiled wryly, but thought secretly in his heart.I've heard that Mr. Xiong's family is quite prestigious in the army, and his temperament is also quite appetizing. If we make this friend, it will be beneficial in the future.So I decided to find another chance to have a good chat with the other party on the way back.

He was about to go back to the bottom cabin and take a rest, but before he reached the place, he was suffocated by the smell—the bottom cabin was already small, and there were seven or eight people crowded in, most of whom were soldiers who changed their guard half an hour ago .During the daytime in summer, the sun is so fierce that everyone is sweating profusely. Crowded in such a small space, the smell is enough to kill mosquitoes!
Although Hu Fei has suffered for several years, he is a person who loves cleanliness, and he is used to being particular about it since he was a child, so he couldn't step in with his feet, so he had to go out of the cabin again, and ran to the stern of the boat with a white turban on his head.The shore was very calm and there were almost no people. He watched it for a while, then gradually relaxed and closed his eyes.

In a daze, he seemed to see Chun Ying with his hands on his hips, with resentment on his face, and a little annoyed: "You said that this trip abroad will be safe and sound, and that you will come back as soon as possible. What's the matter now? It's time, where are you?!"

He couldn't help shouting: "I'll be back soon, I'll be back..." But suddenly he was shaken vigorously, and Chunying disappeared immediately. He was about to call her, but was shaken a few more times. When he woke up, it was the deputy envoy shaking him.He got up quickly: "But something happened?!" Looking around, the river was calm.

The deputy envoy shook his head and said: "It's okay, just be quiet, I think those people really don't plan to chase." I thought about it and thought about it, and I felt like I was doing something wrong."

Hu Fei wiped his face with his hands indiscriminately, and was a little puzzled when he heard the words: "What do you say, my lord?"

"That night...if I had listened to you and left earlier, that would be fine, but I left when the fire broke out! I think we have no hatred or grudge with the third prince. At most, we just don't like each other. The soldiers also made trouble at the English Mission. Didn’t they say that a prince’s entourage entered their pavilion? I only realized afterwards that those soldiers were going to hunt down that entourage, right? Setting fire to the pavilion was also to drive people away Come out. They are a little bold, but it has nothing to do with us?! Even if the fire spreads, we just escape, why run to the river bank?!" The deputy envoy became more and more uneasy, "You said India Do people think we are the prince's people? Think we are guilty and want to escape?! No wonder they shot sharp arrows at us without saying a word, and they didn't stop until we hung the Ming flag. After all, the two countries still have diplomatic relations , those four princes, I heard that each of them is extremely intelligent, there is no reason to be so stupid and kill us..."

Hu Fei thought of this a long time ago, but he didn't regret it: "Your Excellency, you are too worried. You have seen the situation that day. If we walked slowly, we would be buried in the sea of ​​fire. Since the princes are all He knows the seriousness and our origins, why did the third prince set fire to it? I’m afraid he also has the idea of ​​taking an opportunity to vent his anger? This kind of thing cannot be resolved by a misunderstanding, after all, they really set it on fire The embassy, ​​but there was no sign before. Now they are the ones who are in the wrong, and they will return to Sadi Port, Bangla, and join the officers and soldiers on the treasure ship. Your Excellency will send someone to discuss with the new Indian king. If there is a misunderstanding, send Let's talk about business matters; if there is no misunderstanding, we will sternly criticize, and then we will leave. The emperor will not blame us."

The deputy envoy felt that it was reasonable, and his face looked better, but he was still a little uneasy: "This mission is to celebrate the emperor's [-]th birthday..."

"No problem." Hu Fei said with a smile, "the mission has to pass through several small countries on the way back. Each country invites one or two clansmen or ministers as guests, and they go back to Beijing to worship together. Isn't it more important for all countries to come to court than a Western business road?" prestige?"

The deputy envoy clapped his hands and laughed: "It's wonderful! Let's do it like this!" Immediately, he couldn't wait any longer, and immediately got up to discuss with the staff. After discussing the best plan, he went to ask King Wen for instructions.

Hu Fei breathed a sigh of relief, lay down again, closed his eyes, and said to himself, "I'm here again, good spring, you must come too!"

Although Chunying didn't hear his voice at the moment, like him, she also took a boat on the river and headed to the south of the Yangtze River.

It was with great difficulty that she persuaded her father to nod, and then naturally she had to go back to the East Mansion to pay her respects and explain to the second old lady that she was leaving.I thought it was just a simple errand, but I didn't expect that behind my father's mission, there was a very complicated secret.

Both the Hou Mansion and the Dong Mansion have enough manpower, but they chose Lu Yougui. This was originally a decision made by the two hostesses after careful consideration.

The Nanyang fleet of the Hou Mansion has a large number of people, a large number of goods, and old qualifications. It is inevitable that there are a few unscrupulous ones.The Ministry of Criminal Justice and Dali Temple tried the case of the conspiracy between King Ke's Mansion and Grand Master Liang. In the confession of a steward, it was discovered that someone from the Liang Party had reached out to the Nanyang Fleet of the Hou Mansion and bought a veteran steward. The goods in the palace were replaced with those prepared by myself, so as to find opportunities to frame the Hou family and even the Li family.It's just that before the matter was successful, the Liang Party fell, and the Hou Mansion also escaped.

Knowing the truth, Lord Hou naturally wanted to clean up the house.But the trouble lies in the old senior steward, he is the only grandson of the big housekeeper of Lord Hou and the grandfather of the second grandfather. Such an important matter.If he rushed to arrest people rashly, he was afraid that his family would jump over the wall in a hurry and reveal some secrets.Therefore, Lord Hou asked the second master to go to the mansion to discuss, and in the name of giving a marriage, he would send a trustworthy person there. Take care of the things that are convenient to see, and then bring the manager's secret back to Beijing for disposal.

If you send trusted family members in the mansion, and the families with children are related, you are afraid that they will pass on news to each other and leak the rumors.The second master thought of Lu Yougui who had been used recently, so he brought him out. It happened that his brother was Li Jing's housekeeper, and he had served in the two mansions. Although he was released, he was an old man from generation to generation, the most reliable , and there are no messy relatives in the two mansions.Hou Ye didn't hesitate for long, and agreed - he still vaguely remembered that Lu Yougui had done an errand for him, when did he go to Dongfu?When did you leave the house again?Why didn't he know anything about it?

Lu Yougui went south just like that, while Chunying went south together in the name of being a companion to the bride.Accompanying him are Mo Han who runs errands for Lu Yougui, and his newly bought daughter-in-law, Mrs. He.Mother Lu was worried that her husband and daughter would not be taken care of on the way, so she took the two new ones with her. She invited a neighbor's wife to accompany her, and took her youngest son to bed at night.Although she agreed to Chunying and let Chunying travel with her father, she was still very unhappy.She always felt that a girl's family shouldn't go out to show her face, why go to the south of the Yangtze River if she has nothing to do?Even if there was a problem with Hu Fei's property, if he handed over all the contract documents to his husband, he would take care of it himself, so why should my daughter worry?
Chunying could only smile wryly, now that she was far away from the capital by boat, she was still a little depressed when she thought about it.

Looking at the green river, Chunying was stunned, and said to Hu Fei in her heart: "For your property, I ran all the way here under my mother's anger, isn't that interesting? You guy, when will you come back? !"

(End of this chapter)