【Maple Cherry】

Chapter 6

The capital city is always bustling. Before they came out, Fengxiu and Wuyi never thought that the scene outside would be like this.In the barren countryside, the people who fled due to natural disasters and man-made disasters were displaced, and even starved to death, and some people even exchanged children for food.

A child of several years old tugged at the hem of Wuyi's clothes, and Wuyi sighed, took out the last few pieces of scattered silver from his waist and handed it to the child, seeing him turn around happily, he looked at that with his hands behind his back. The figure running away from the child let out a long sigh, "When I was in the capital, I thought it was a peaceful and prosperous age... Unexpectedly, after only ten days, it is already another world."

"Heaven and hell will be overturned overnight." Fengxiu's eyes were serious.

There was nothing unexpected about Fuying and Chu Wushang. They had seen this kind of place before, "This place used to be quite prosperous, but in the past two years, it has been flooded, the farmland has been flooded, and the people have been displaced." Mu Wushang looked at a tea stand not far away, walked over and knocked on the table in front of the drowsy tea owner, "Shopkeeper, have a pot of tea."

A few people sat down, seeing the listless look of the shopkeeper, and the tea being poured was bitter and cold, Fuying took a sip and frowned, stopped Fengxiu and said, "Don't drink it." He got up and looked at the shop next to him, and then looked at The stove for making tea, I got up and went to the store to ask for a clean pot and tea bowl, rekindled the fire and boiled a pot of water, made some tea leaves with me and served them up.

"Actually, it's not that delicate." Feng Xiu saw that he was busy, and said with a sigh.

"It's not that you are delicate. After all, I saw a dead body when I walked by the river just now. Although the water here is well water, it's not good to drink cold. We should be more careful outside." Fu Ying rinsed the teacup again with hot water, Only then did the steaming hot tea be poured to several people.

Seeing that Wuyi and Fengxiu were quite unhappy, he couldn't help laughing and said: "You don't need to take it too seriously, in fact these are nothing, I have seen them before when I was young."

Fengxiu took a sip of tea, "Speaking of which, I haven't asked where your family is..." He knew that Fuying had an older sister in the palace, but it didn't seem like she was her own sister.

"I can't remember clearly." Fuying held the cup and took a sip of tea nonchalantly, "I vaguely remember that there was a plague in our family at that time, and people in the family were sick and died. I was the only one in the family who was not sick. My elder sister escaped and went all the way to the capital, and later my elder sister went to work in the palace, and I also entered the palace."

Fengxiu recalled when he first met Fu Ying, but he was actually only five or six years old, "Then do you know what happened to your family?"

"Dead." Fuying shook her head, "Sister asked someone to go back and ask, and there were no living people in that village except for a few people who escaped. But I heard that it was not only our village that died at that time, And the general who was ordered to go to relieve the disaster at that time was also infected with the plague, oh...it was General Hussars!"

"What did you say?" Chu Wushang was taken aback, "Where is your village?"

Fu Ying took a look at him, reached out and took out a map to spread on the table, he pointed to a place, "It's here, it's probably in this direction, what's wrong?"

Su Wushang looked at the position of Fu Ying's finger and said nothing, "How could...?" Su Wushang frowned and looked at the map, "You mean that he died here 17 years ago? This is a village in the southeast, right? , but the prime minister told me that my father died in the war against the Southwest Army, what's going on?"

"Maybe Fuying was young at that time, and I remember wrongly. I don't think it was General Hussars who went there at that time." Wuyi looked at the map with this innocent hand, "This is not the problem my father told you. , Even looking at the official historian's records now, General Hussars indeed died in the war against the Southwest Rebel Army."

It's not unreasonable for Chu Wushang to think about it, but...he stared at the position on the map without saying a word.

Fengxiu took a look, "Maybe go and have a look, and things will be clear." He looked at the direction Fuying pointed, "Our current direction is Jiangnan. After leaving Jiangnan, we will go all the way to the southeast. It is not difficult to get here. .”

"Maybe." Fuying nodded, "I heard from my sister that when the general died, some people also repaired the tombstone. I was really too young to remember clearly. Why don't we go and see it together? .”

Chu Wushang nodded, and Wuyi pursed the corners of his lips, without saying a word.After a few people continued southward and passed the places with severe floods, the scenery gradually became more prosperous.During the Chinese New Year, although a few people wandered outside, Fu Ying cooked a table of meals in person. The fireworks and the children's laughter covered up the unbearable sight not long ago, and it was always a lot more comfortable to watch.

When the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, a few people can count on the real Jiangnan, "When you reach the seven towns in the south of the Yangtze River, you have really reached the territory of the king of the south of the Yangtze River." Fu Ying also felt comfortable when looking at the beautiful spring and the endless paddy fields.He picked some wild fruits from the tree and gave them to several people with a smile.

"My father is old friends with King Huainan, the king of Jiangnan, so you can go and visit." Wuyi rode on the horse and looked at the farmland from a distance, and said with a faint smile, "This is a good scene, and the fragrance of rice and flowers ten miles away is what ordinary people should look like."

Seen from a distance, someone was planting rice seedlings smiling in the field, and several people were riding along the road. When they got close, Fu Ying called out, "Brother, I would like to ask how far is it from here to the Jiangnan Prince's Mansion?"

"Oh." The man who was working with his head down heard the words and straightened up. He was wearing a water-blue bunt, a bamboo hat, and holding a seedling in his hand. He was standing in the field with his trousers rolled up. He was a man in his twenties, without any trace of a farmer's temperament on his face. He smiled and pointed out, "Go along this road, and the main street of the town is not far away, and it is the palace."

"Thank you." Fuying looked at him, and threw the uneaten wild fruit in her hand, which was caught by the farmer. "It's very sweet." Fengxiu and the others walked all the way.

After a few people walked away, a person in the field far away shouted: "Hey——Shang Fengyue——I have inserted everything here——!"

The man in blue smiled, and waved his hand towards the other side to signal the man to come over. Seeing that the man was wearing red trousers and a coarse coat, running over in the paddy field, splashing water and mud all over his face, He looked at the person in front of him with a bitter face, "Shang Fengyue, I came to Jiangnan as a guest, you are welcome, let me come to work in the fields, and you will not be given food if you don't work, you are a dignified Jiangnan king , do you want to be so stingy?"

"Drunk Huanglong, I didn't invite you here." Shang Fengyue smiled, wiped the fruit on his hand and took a bite, "It's quite sweet, you try it?" He just took a bite The fruit was handed to drunk Huanglong, and he went up to the ridge from the field, and smiled to the surroundings, "Let's go, I'm going back."

From the trees in the surrounding fields, a group of people came out of nowhere, and they all bowed in a well-trained manner, "My lord."

"Drive the car over, let's change clothes." Shang Fengyue smiled and looked at the direction Fuying and the others were going away, "I'm afraid there will be a distinguished guest at home today."

"What, what? I, the King of Huainan, am not a distinguished guest!" Drunken Huanglong poked out a brain belt beside him, with half a fruit still in his mouth, "Who are those people who asked you about the truth just now?"

"The one in purple is the eldest son of Prime Minister You's family. I met him last time when I went to the capital to pay my respects to the concubine." Shang Fengyue got into the car with a smile, drunk Huanglong followed and climbed in. He kicked it out, "Wipe your feet clean!" The person inside snapped.

"Oh." Drunken Huanglong sat obediently on the side of the car, and a servant handed him a square towel, and he hugged his feet and wiped them.

Wuyi frowned all the way, Fengxiu looked at him, "What's wrong?"

"I just saw that farmer looked familiar." Wuyi said.

"He doesn't look like a farmer at all, he has delicate skin and tender flesh." Fu Ying laughed, "He doesn't have the same temperament either, to the point that he is similar to the two of you, like a pampered son."

"That's interesting. After coming out of the palace in a while, go and have a look. Maybe it's someone who is an expert." Feng Xiu smiled.

A few people arrived at the palace and handed over greeting cards, and when someone came to invite them in, saying that the prince is out now and should be back soon, they waited in the front hall.It wasn't until Shang Fengyue walked back from the outside in white clothes and blue shirt, with silver crown and hair, that Wu Yi really remembered who that person was.

"Student Wuyi, I've met the prince!" When he saluted Shang Fengyue respectfully, Fu Ying was stupefied.He seems to have rewarded this prince with a wild fruit just now... My god, if I commit crimes, I won't be beheaded...

"Thank you, that fruit is quite sweet." Shang Fengyue stretched out his hand to support Wu Yi, and nodded and smiled at Fu Ying, "Take me back to pick some."

Shouldn't you kneel down and say that the prince has mercy?Fuying's eyes rolled, and after staying in the palace for a long time, she always felt that when these people laughed, it might not be true...

——to be continued