During the Qianping period, there was a severe drought in Gaozhou in the northwest, and the rain had not yet arrived in May, and the famine was recommended.

The scorching sun was shining overhead, and the heat wave was rolling in, and as far as the eye could see, the scorched gray-black earth was cracked into lumps, and the earth was rolled up.

Fu Chen walked for several hours, and the blisters under his feet made him have to pause. Not far away, a peasant huddled on the ground with his back on his back, his scrawny body seemed to break at a moment's notice, his reddish-brown skin was like old bark, and his thin claws like dried trees were digging into the ground, trying to find some roots to satisfy his hunger, and the blood and dirt mixed together was a little shocking.

Such a situation is not uncommon, Fu Chen can no longer have superfluous sympathy, his situation is not much better than that of a peasant, compared to hunger, the lack of water is the main cause of the loss of his vitality.

Somehow tripped over something, he fell to the ground crookedly, and he didn't get up again.

He gasped like a dried fish, despair and exhaustion draining his persistence and endurance little by little, if only it could rain at this time.

Tick, tick.

The touch of the liquid dripping on the face is very real, is it true that the prayer works?

He was filled with the most sincere gratitude, if it weren't for the fact that the tear ducts had already died and could not secrete water, he would have burst into tears!

At this time, nothing makes him ecstatic more than rain, which is God's best gift! He tore open his eyelids with difficulty, but what caught his sight was a nail rake, and the person holding the nail rake was the old man who had just plowed the ground, and he did not notice that he had woken up, and the old man seemed to be looking for a place to start, hoping to kill him with one blow.

And what he thought was the rain was the blood from the wounds of the old man's thin claws.

The old man's forehead was shaking violently, and the Adam's apple was protruding and rolling, especially on the shriveled neck, indicating that he was waiting for the food to arrive.

In the flash of light, Fu Chen thought, cannibalism! He is the food in the eyes of the old man!

The shadow of death brought about by hunger makes the last bit of humanity shaky.

He quickly kicked the nail rake, and under the threat of his life, he squeezed out the last strength in his body, rolled to the side to avoid the fatal blow, and stood up and ran wildly, without even looking back.

His eyelids were beating all the way, his heart felt like it was about to explode, and his throat was burning more and more painfully, but he didn't dare to stop.

Even if he was lucky, he met a pile of artemisia grass on the way, and the experience of his previous life told him that this plant has a high medicinal value, mainly for malaria, heat stroke, etc., and most importantly, it can be eaten, and he didn't care about the image and ate several handfuls, and finally alleviated his thirst, took off all the rest and put it in his pocket, ready to give it to his brothers and sisters at home.

When he went back, he saw an unseen ox cart on the yellow earth outside the house with dust and left, the ox cart is a rarity in the barren Gaozhou, and his eldest sister sat on the car, sixteen this year, long-term malnutrition made her look like eleven or twelve, so thin that a gust of wind could blow it down, her eye sockets were deep, and her eyes were big and godless, when she saw her younger brother Fu Chen chasing the ox cart over, she opened her throat, like a leaky speaker: "Go back, Xiaochen, don't chase it...... We...... We've got something to eat! ”

The blood on Fu Chen's face mixed with the mud flowed down, the upper and lower rows of teeth chattered, and he opened his eyes to see the eldest sister walking farther and farther.

This is the last thing the eldest sister said to him, the eldest sister was sold to a lame man who lost his wife in Zhaoxi Village, Fuxian County, Yuzhou, Yuzhou is rich and not affected by the drought, it was a good place to go, but the lame man is already in the age of knowing his fate, and there are many vices. The depression in his chest lingered for a long time, he hated his own powerlessness, and his eyes were sour when he saw the bag of millet that Tsuchiya put on his feet, and these grains had changed his sister's life.

A few months have passed, and the food that the eldest sister got in exchange for was still almost eaten, and Fu Chen had already gotten up before dawn, ready to go out to find something to eat.

But I vaguely heard the choking sound of my mother outside the door, and the sound of intermittent conversations came.

"The second child agreed......"

“…… I'm going to send him to the palace tomorrow......"

"No matter how poor you are...... You can't sell your children! ”

The mother was so sad that she seemed to be out of breath, and the sound of exhaling and inhaling was uncontrollable, and there was a long sigh from her father on the side.

"I'll go in place of my second brother." When Fu Chen heard himself say this, he walked to his parents almost without hesitation, and in the face of his mother, who was crying breathlessly, he slowly knelt on the ground.

"Oh my boy, what are you talking about!! You're too young to understand...... You won't even be a man in the future......" Ending crying, Mother Zhao looked at Fu Chen, who was only eight years old, in disbelief.

"Mother, I'm smarter than the second brother, and the second brother is too old, they don't have to!"

"Silly boy, the palace is a place to eat people, I went to the town a few years ago and heard that the old Zhang family sold their third son, and within a few years they rolled up the mat and threw it into a mass grave outside the city, and they couldn't even find the bones...... "The father's eyes were also red, and he covered his eyes with dry hands, and he couldn't say it, if he had the ability, which family was willing to sell his children, they would starve to death, but they couldn't hurt a few children together.

Zhao, who was reluctant to send the child to the palace to be a eunuch, howled and cried when he heard the words, and hugged Fu Chen into the child out of breath, "No, you and the second child will not go, we will never sell the child again!" Let's get your eldest sister back and don't get married! We are a family, and we will be together at all times! ”

In ancient times, it was taboo to say the word "death", but the meaning of Zhao's words was obvious, but she risked her life to save these children.

The hot tears fell on Fu Chen's face, and even his heart seemed to be burned, Fu Chen reached out and hugged his thin mother, stroking the lines on his back bones, this woman who was not as old as him in his previous life had a hard time but never thought of harming the child, but the mother shouted out without any psychological barriers.

When Fu Chen came to this era a few years ago, he carefully played the role of this childish child, in this era of belief in ghosts and gods, any behavior that deviates from the norm can be burned to death, he did not show anything beyond this age and era, and gradually integrated into it. He had seen the woman of the old flower family at the entrance of the village muttered a few words, and it was believed that the devil possessed her, and according to local custom, she had to disembowel her belly to purify her soul.

For a long time, he was incompatible with this era and this family, and he had been living as a bystander, but unconsciously, he had regarded this family as a real family, and when this heavy family affection was poured into his heart, even the hard-hearted people would be touched.

"I'll go! Father, mother, believe me, I'm just the right age, and there will be a good price. He knew that there was an age limit for the selection of eunuchs in most dynasties, and the same was true of the Great Jin Dynasty in his memory, and it was best for children to be at an age when the gender was still vague, and it was better to be ignorant. And the palace also has simple requirements for the children who are elected to the palace, such as appearance and speech, compared to the second brother who has few words, he believes that his price will be higher, but he never expected that he would also calculate how much money he can sell for one day.

Most importantly, he might be able to avoid Naraush's stab.

"Take this silver and redeem the eldest sister, and we will all live."

Only by living can there be hope.

……

…………

"Tatsuko, Tatsuko, wake up!"

The body was pushed, when Fu Chen woke up from the bunk, cold sweat flowed on his back, and the person who pushed him was Chen Goudan, but because the eunuch in charge thought the name was not good, he changed his name to Chen Zuoren, who was responsible for inspecting the fire candles.

"What's wrong?" Fu Chen's voice was still hoarse, and he obviously didn't wake up.

Outside the prison yard, there was a sound of "knock-knock, knock, knock", one slow and three fast, that is to say, it is one o'clock in the morning.

The coat is sticky and uncomfortable, it is impossible to take a bath, as a little eunuch who sweeps the floor without grade, the share of bathing can be pitiful.

"As soon as I came back from my inspection, I saw that you were sleeping unsteadily, and you kept muttering something, did you get a nightmare?" Chen Zuoren didn't say that when he first came in, he saw Fu Chen trembling all over, his face was pale, and his appearance was not penetrating.

"I don't remember much......" Fu Chen hadn't dreamed of entering the palace for a long time, and after three years, his vivid faces were still clearly recognizable. glanced at the little eunuchs who were sleeping on the left and right of the bunk, but they were not woken up by their movements, and the snoring one after another was particularly loud in this small room.

"It's okay if you're okay, it was really scary just now." Chen Zuoren patted his chest fearfully.

"Thanks to you for calling me, I wouldn't have been caught in the shadows." Fu Chen also responded kindly.

"Who are the two of us, you're polite!" Chen Zuoren was about to go to bed when he undressed and heard some movement outside.

The two glanced at each other and quickly communicated, in the court, most of them have hearts, and most of those who lack hearts and eyes will not live long.

Not long after, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, which was not difficult to hear in the dead of night, and before Fu Chen could get dressed and go to the bunk, there was a slight knock on the door.

Fu Chen stopped Chen Zuoren and spent a few seconds analyzing the situation, judging from the frequency of his footsteps just now, it was urgent, but he didn't want to make a big move, it should be that they needed manpower.

Fu Chen and the others opened the door, and they saw Li Xiangying standing outside, who was the eunuch in charge of the Zhengsanpin of the Internal Affairs Office, followed by several little eunuchs of the Li faction, this Li Xiangying is a shrewd master, known for his ruthlessness, and the little eunuch and little palace maid who was killed by him can be counted as a dozen thrown out every few months.

Fu Chen raised a heartless smile, which complemented his age, exerting the effect of one plus one being greater than two. Although he is a small and thin person, he smiles at everyone, and his eyes are black and clear, which makes people hate it.

lowered his voice and asked, "Master Li, what's wrong?" ”

Li Xiangying had a little impression of this little eunuch with clear eyebrows, he was honest and diligent, and bent over slightly, "Find a few people with tight mouths, come out quickly, don't alarm too many people." ”