Cai Sanying and others have been ordered to be executed by the emperor, and the rest of the relevant personnel are also dead, and those who are escorted back to Beijing will be escorted back to Beijing. Therefore, Zhou Ying had no way of knowing whether Zhou Lian was loyal or traitorous, and after all, Zhou Lian had left the southern patrol team and was safe, so it was okay.

The emperor quickly fulfilled his promise and assigned ten personal guards to Zhou Ying. The leader is an acquaintance, who accompanied Zhou Ying and Zhou Jue to protect her sister and brother that day, and was imprisoned as a result of Huang Qian, the deputy commander of Huang.

Of course, now that Huang Qian is no longer the deputy commander of the right guard of the Imperial Forest Army, the emperor can spare his life, which is already an extrajudicial favor. Later, Ding Tang also made meritorious contributions in this case, but he did not want to be rewarded and interceded for Huang Qian, and Huang Qian was indeed strong in martial arts and had good skills, and the emperor also felt that it was a pity to be wasted, and it happened that Zhou Ying begged a few good guards to point Huang Qian to Zhou Ying and allow him to make meritorious contributions.

Zhou Ying observed in private, and saw that Huang Qian was not resentful of the death of his subordinates or his demotion, so he accepted Huang Qian.

Because Huang Qian had made mistakes before, he was extra serious and cautious when he escorted Zhou Ying to travel, and he couldn't tolerate Zhou Ying not being in his sight for even a second, although Zhou Ying was a little inconvenient, but for the sake of his own safety, he endured it.

However, in the next trip, Zhou Ying did not have the opportunity to go out several times.

Because of the delay in Jinfu for too long, the southern tour team then accelerated the trip, even if there was an occasional stop, it was the emperor who met the ministers in front, and the concubines and princesses met the women in the back, and after inspecting the officials, they rushed to the next location non-stop.

It wasn't until Jinan Mansion that the emperor slowed down his trip.

Zhou Ying suddenly received a parting gift from Yuxiang, and remembered that Yuxiang was about to arrive home. She hurriedly asked Su Zhi to wrap some silver clothes and send them to Cheng Yi, but she didn't expect Su Zhi to bring them back as they were. It turned out that Yuxiang felt that she had added a lot of trouble along the way, so she didn't take anything and left quietly.

At this time, he had arrived in Tai'an Prefecture, and Zhou Ying knew that Yuxiang's house was not far away, so it was just that.

On this day, the emperor led the ministers to inspect the water conservancy of the Yellow River, and Zhou Ying took Su Zhi and went out under the protection of Huang Qian and other guards.

I didn't expect Tai'an Prefecture to be quite prosperous, there are countless street vendors of all colors along the way, there are a lot of pedestrians on the street wearing silk and satin, and some of the worse ones are also wearing cloth clothes, all clean and tidy, with ruddy complexions, and the people's lives are obviously good.

Zhou Ying's face was a little hesitant, and she asked Su Zhi beside her, "Did I miss it?" It seems that not a single beggar has been seen all the way. ”

Hearing this, Su Zhi was also stunned, "I don't seem to have seen it." ”

Zhou Ying frowned and was silent.

Su Zhi was a little puzzled and asked: "The people here are rich and there are no beggars, which means that the state pastor has proper governance, isn't it very good?" ”

Zhou Ying said: "At the feet of the Son of Heaven in the capital, it is rich enough, isn't there also a family that is so poor that they can't open the pot and sell their sons and daughters?" There are rich people and poor people everywhere, so the scene of the world in Tai'an seems a little suspicious. ”

But then Zhou Ying shook her head, "However, this is not absolute, maybe this state pastor is a capable minister who is rare in a hundred years." ”

After that, Zhou Ying didn't care anymore, and it was just noon, and the group found a clean restaurant to have lunch.

Zhou Ying entered the private room and ordered local specialties, and when the dish was halfway through, she suddenly heard a noise outside the door, which was the voice of a woman crying, and the dispute was very close, as if it was separated by a door.

Huang Qian became vigilant, pressed his sword and went out to look, and when he opened the door, two sentences floated in, "Please, let me see the girl......"

Zhou Ying faintly heard familiarity, put down her chopsticks, and motioned for Su Zhi to follow and have a look. Su Zhi went out for a while, and then came back, her face was a little complicated, "Princess, it was Miss Yuxiang who asked to see her, and she didn't look very good." ”

Zhou Ying frowned, "Let her in." ”

Su Zhi was ordered to go out, but in a moment, accompanied by Huang Qian, he led Yuxiang into the door.

It's only been a few days since I saw her, and Yuxiang's appearance is a little bad. The dress has been worn for several days, and judging by the style, it is estimated that it is still the one I wore before leaving the palace. The upper is covered with loess, and it is clear that it has walked quite a bit. The face is fairly clean, but it is not applied with any fat powder. His face was yellow, his eyes were red and swollen, he had lost a lot of weight, his clothes were empty and hung on his body, and he looked very haggard.

Zhou Ying was really surprised, and was about to ask, but saw that Yuxiang had already pounced and knelt down.

Yuxiang kowtowed to Zhou Ying heavily, the knock sound hurt when she heard it, and sure enough, Yuxiang's forehead was red and swollen after a few clicks, her voice was hoarse, and her voice was like a cuckoo crying blood, begging: "Please be gracious to the princess, save my father and mother......"

As soon as Zhou Ying saw this situation, she knew that Yuxiang's request was probably not small, she leaned back gently, quietly lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea, and after weighing, she still motioned to Su Zhi to help, sighed and asked, "What's the matter, you stand up and talk back." ”

Su Zhi stretched out her hand to help, Yuxiang stopped kowtowing, but didn't get up, "If the princess doesn't agree, I won't get up." ”

Although she sympathized with Yuxiang's ups and downs, Zhou Ying didn't like to be threatened, "If you don't want to say it, forget it, Huang Qian, ask her out." ”

Huang Qian made a gesture to pull people, Yuxiang hurriedly dodged, "I won't go, the princess spares her life, I said, I'll say it now." ”

Zhou Ying raised her hand to ask Huang Qian to stop, Yuxiang didn't dare to delay any longer, for fear that she would be dragged out if she said one step too late, so she knelt down and opened her mouth, "My father was arrested by the government for no reason, and I begged the princess to save my father." ”

Hearing Yuxiang's words, Zhou Ying couldn't help frowning, "What happened, why did your father arrest him?" ”

Yuxiang saw that Zhou Ying's face was impatient, so she calmed down and hurriedly replied: "My father is a talent in the Bingchen period, and he has been concentrating on taking the exam, I was kidnapped in the lamp market last month, my mother couldn't afford to be sick, my father ran around for my business, and no one at home was in charge, so he couldn't open the pot anymore." A few days ago, my father went to the next county to inquire about my whereabouts, who wanted to be taken away by the officials, and his whereabouts are still unknown. ”

Zhou Ying was puzzled, "Did your father have an argument with someone when he inquired about the news?" ”

"No, it's the county magistrate who cleans up the beggars and homeless, and my father's clothes describe him as a bit of a wolf, and he was locked away as a beggar by the officials." Yuxiang endured the shame and said, "It's just a mistake, but my mother forced her sick body to clarify her identity with the official, and she also took the silver, hoping to redeem my father, but she was ridiculed and said that she was a rural village woman, and she dared to call herself a talented lady, and after going twice, my mother was also imprisoned......"

Zhou Ying couldn't help frowning when she heard this, "Apart from your father, who else is in your family?" ”

Yuxiang didn't quite understand why Zhou Ying asked about this, but she still replied: "My family Ding is not prosperous, my father is the only one in the previous generation, my grandmother pulled my father up, and married my mother to my father, but I didn't see my father admitted to Xiucai, so I kicked my feet." My mother is also a widow, she is old, and she has no dowry, so she was hired home by my grandmother. My parents only gave birth to me, and I have no siblings. ”

Zhou Ying asked again: "Since there is no one in your family, how did you know about the situation when they were arrested?" ”

Yuxiang was stunned for a moment, lowered her head, and looked a little sour, "It was the neighbor's brother Guo who told me, the relationship between our two families is not bad, he first accompanied my father to find me, and then accompanied my mother to redeem my father, so he knows something about the situation both times." ”

As soon as Zhou Ying saw this, she knew that the two of them were probably not ordinary neighbors. However, looking at Yuxiang's depressed expression, I am afraid that this relationship has also had twists and turns, perhaps not only because her father and mother were imprisoned, but also because of what happened to her disappearance for so many days.

Zhou Ying didn't want to poke Yuxiang's sore spot again, so she asked instead, "Have you ever visited the prison and seen your parents?" ”

Hearing Zhou Ying ask about this, Yuxiang gritted her teeth and said, "Why didn't you go?" As soon as I found out about this, I didn't dare to delay at all, so I hurried to visit the prison, but I didn't see anyone, but I was almost arrested. If I hadn't been alert, I wouldn't have had the life to see the princess. ”

Zhou Ying was silent.

Yuxiang pointed to the clothes on her body, and said, "Princess, look, the dress on my body is still worn by me from the palace. With such a fine silk silk, can they mistake me for a homeless beggar? Yuxiang smiled coldly and said hatefully, "They obviously already knew that they had arrested the wrong person, but they were afraid of leaking the news, so as soon as they knew my identity, they wanted to arrest me." ”

Hearing the ins and outs, Zhou Ying's eyebrows couldn't help but lock.

In fact, it is not difficult to understand when you think about it, the emperor drove out on patrol, and officials from all over the country picked up the subordinates to look better, so as to welcome the wishes, which is also human nature. It is not a new thing to lock up the homeless beggars, look good on the streets, and then release the people when the emperor is gone. But no matter what, you can't lock up the good people from poor families, especially Yuxiang's father still has fame on his back.

Even Xiucai dared to go to prison casually, this official is too bold.

These thoughts turned in her mind, and Zhou Ying remembered a key point, "I didn't make a noise when I traveled, how did you find me?" ”

Yuxiang looked a little uneasy, and her fingers twisted the corners of her clothes, "Although the princess is traveling in micro-clothes, she is dressed in splendid clothes, has a Beijing accent, and is accompanied by more than a dozen maids and guards...... and the saint drove to Tai'an Prefecture, and those who have a heart can see at a glance that even if this posture is not from the palace, it is also a noble person in Beijing. I followed all the way south, knowing that the ministers did not bring their daughters, and that they must have traveled with a princess. ”

Yuxiang secretly glanced at Zhou Ying, and was frightened by Zhou Ying's calm and waveless appearance, so she hurriedly lowered her head and said in one go, "The news in the market spreads the fastest, find the right place and ask around, you can know where to go." I wasn't sure it was a princess, but I didn't expect to be lucky......"