When the banquet came to an end, the hall was already full of cups and plates, and the guests were a little drunk. At this time, Su Xinsheng said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have ordered someone to clean up a few guest rooms, and I will ask you to bend in the garden for one night tonight, and it will not be too late to leave tomorrow." ”

Yu Mengyan was a person who couldn't endure hardship, and almost didn't hesitate to agree: "Lord Suhou's courtesy can be described as meticulous, but the widow is disrespectful. Xin Jia and Zhou Chang saw that Yu Mengyan had agreed, so it was not good to excuse themselves too much. After the banquet was dismissed, the servants of Su Chen's life mansion led the guests to their respective rooms to rest.

When Zhou Chang's family arrived at the guest room, they found that there was no couch in the room, only two sets of bedding and bedding on the ground. Zhou Chang thought to himself: Although there is no couch, it is better than camping outside, so don't be too demanding. So he asked the servant who led the way, "Excuse me, there are four people in my family, and I dare to ask if there is any extra bedding in this room?" ”

The servant replied respectfully, "My lord, there are only two sets of bedding in this room, but there is a room next to it that is empty, so the villain will go and move the bedding from the empty room." Zhou Chang didn't want to make more trouble for the servants of the Su Mansion, so he said, "No need, you can take my two children to the empty room to sleep." The servant said that this was much easier, and hurriedly bowed down and responded, "Only, only." Two sons, please come with me. ”

Zhou Kao and the two said goodbye to their parents and came to the adjacent guest room, Zhou Kao was about to sleep in loose clothes, but Zhou Fa said that he wanted to relieve himself. Zhou Kao looked in the room and didn't see the urinal, so he had to take Zhou Fa out of the room, planning to go to the thatched house. But Zhou Fa went to the door of the room, and saw that it was dark all around, and the two of them had no torches to illuminate, so Zhou Fa became frightened and refused to go far if he said anything. When he saw a big tree planted in front of the house, he said, "Big brother, I'll relieve myself under this tree, right?" ”

Zhou Kao thought to himself that this was the villa of the Suhou family, and it was inappropriate to pee in the inner courtyard. But Zhou Fa couldn't hold back when he was young, so he ran to the nearest tree by himself without waiting for Zhou Kao's answer, and Zhou Kao had no choice but to take care of him on the side. When Zhou Fa finished untying his hand, the two were about to go back to the room, when they suddenly saw someone coming out of a room in the north room. The man at the head has a torch in his hand, and it is vaguely the setting moon; The two people who followed behind, although the light was too dim to see clearly, Zhou Kao guessed that it must be Daji and Morning Star. Zhou Kao was afraid of being seen by them, so he hurriedly pulled Zhou Fa to hide behind a big tree.

Zhou Fa poked out half of his head from behind the tree, and saw the three of them bypass the north room and walk towards the back of the house. He asked, "Big brother, why doesn't Miss Daji sleep so late?" What are they going to do? Zhou Kao said: "Do you see clearly? Is it really Miss Daji? Zhou Fa nodded, and Zhou Kao was as clueless as him. Zhou Fa said again: "Why don't we follow them quietly and take a look?" ”

Zhou Kao was shocked and thought: I just met Miss Daji by accident before, and I was almost questioned by Lord Suhou. If you deliberately go to spy on Daji's privacy and be discovered, what will it be? So he said, "This is not possible! Let's hurry back to our room and rest. ”

Zhou Fa is the most curious at this age, where is he willing to go back? No matter how Zhou Kao persuaded him, he just pestered him to go. Zhou Kao could only scare him and said, "Aren't you afraid of the dark?" It's dark behind the house, be careful if a monster comes out to eat you. But Zhou Fa is only afraid of the dark, but he is not afraid of people, and he also understands that there will be no demons and monsters in the places where Daji and the others go. He said, "Big brother, there is not much movement in this courtyard now, and no one will find us." I just glanced at it from afar, and then I came back. ”

In fact, in Zhou Kao's heart, he also wanted to see what Daji and the others were doing, so he said: "You said, just take a look and come back, and you are not allowed to play tricks when the time comes." So the two crept to the eaves of the north room, and followed Daji and the others from a distance, until they entered the backyard of the manor.

This backyard is not very large, there are no tall trees in the yard, only some shrubs such as begonias and honeysuckle. Zhou Kao didn't dare to get too close, so he bent down and hid behind the bushes, looking in through the canopy. Daji and the others walked to the middle of the courtyard, and Xiyue lit a courtyard fire with a torch, and the courtyard suddenly lit up a lot. It's just that in this way, Zhou Kao is even more worried that he will expose his secrets, and he is so nervous that his palms are sweating.

Zhou Fa didn't have any of these concerns, but instead stretched his neck and widened his eyes, lest he miss something interesting. He saw Xiyue take a few steps to the side, and set fire to the courtyard one by one. Only then did Zhou Fa notice that there was a circle in the middle of the yard, and the circle was compacted hard soil; There are eight Tingliao branches evenly distributed around the circle, and each Tingliao has a strange symbol underneath. Daji stood in the center of the circle, looking up at the night sky; Morningstar was beside her, holding a round plank in her left hand and a very short copper dagger in her right hand.

Zhou Fa asked in a low voice, "Big brother, what kind of talismans are painted on the ground?" Zhou Kao looked at the ground and said to him, "That's not a talisman, it's called gossip." I've seen it in my father's room before. The names of the eight trigrams are Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, Xun, Zhen, Gen, and Dui, and each hexagram has its own meaning, corresponding to different things such as heaven, earth, water, fire, wind, thunder, mountain, and Ze. ”

Zhou Fa had never learned gossip, and he didn't know if he could eat "Qiankun Kanli", so he asked: "What is this gossip for?" ”

Zhou Kao scratched his head and replied, "Actually, I don't know much about it, I only know that it is probably used for divination and questioning." ”

"Miss Daji, are they telling fortunes now? What do you mean by asking a question? ”

Zhou Kao was annoyed by his repeated questions, so he said, "I don't know, don't talk, take a good look at it yourself." ”

Zhou Fa was bored, so he had to keep silent. At this time, he saw Daji pointing to the sky from time to time, saying something to the morning star. Zhou Fa was too far away to hear the exact words, but he noticed that every time Daji finished speaking, Morning Star carved a mark on the wooden board with a dagger.

Zhou Kao also looked up at the sky, when the moon was duly yellow in the night sky, appearing and disappearing in the clouds, most of the stars were obscured by black clouds, and only some of the brightest stars would be visible from the gaps in the clouds. It's just that at this moment, the moon is in the south, and Daji is facing due north, which shows that Daji is observing the stars.

After a while, Daji turned around and faced the hexagram Gen, pointing to the stars in the northeast direction, and the morning star was still marking the board as she had instructed. Zhou Kao suddenly came to his senses and said to himself: "It turns out that the gossip on this earth is used to determine the direction and help Miss Daji determine the position of the stars in the sky. ”

Zhou Fa heard Zhou Kao's self-talk, and wondered: Aren't these stars all the same? What is the use of Miss Daji doing these things? He couldn't understand it, and soon felt bored, and said to Zhou Kao: "Big brother, let's go back." Although Zhou Kao was a little reluctant, he saw that Daji had turned to the "Zhen" hexagram in the east, and knew that if he waited for her to face the south after a while, he would not be able to leave if he wanted to. Thinking of this, he hurriedly took Zhou Fa and left quietly.

Early the next morning, Yu Mengyan asked Xin Jia and Zhou Chang to bid farewell to Su Hou. When the three of them came to the north room, they saw the old servant cleaning the courtyard under the steps. Yu Mengyan stepped forward and said, "Dare to ask Lord Suhou if he is in the room?" We have come to say goodbye to Lord Suhou, and please inform me on our behalf. ”

The old servant answered, and immediately went into the room to tell Su Hou. It didn't take long for Su Xinsheng to walk out and say, "Three adults, are you going to leave so early?" ”

Yu Mengyan said: "Exactly. Seeing that the time of the Shang king's accession to the throne is approaching, it is better to go to the court song earlier. I wonder when Lord Suhou is ready to leave? ”

"The younger generation originally planned to leave today, but the sister-in-law watched the sky last night and calculated that there might be rain today. She also specially instructed me to leave the three adults to stay in the annex for two more days, and it was not too late to leave after the rain. ”

Zhou Chang looked up at the sky and saw a thin layer of clouds floating in the air, the sun was rising in the east, and the dazzling sunlight penetrated through the clouds, illuminating the sky with a thousand rays of light. He thought: This kind of weather doesn't look like it's about to rain, why is Su Hou's tone so determined?

Xin Jia recalled that since he left Yucheng, the weather had been cloudy and sunny for several days, and even if there was rain, it was not unusual. What's more, the rain is usually not heavy at this time, and if the trip is delayed because of a little rain, then what will you talk about leading the battle in the future? So he said: "Thank you for your kindness, it's just that Lord Zhou Chang and I do have important matters to do, and we must rush to Chaoge as soon as possible." And how can you be held back by a little rain? ”

Su Xinsheng nodded, and asked again, "I don't know what Lord Yuhou thinks?" ”

Yu Mengyan also calculated in her heart: It is the rainy season now, and once it rains, it may not be able to stop in a day or two. If this rain lasts for four or five days in a row, do you want to stay in the other garden and not leave? So he also said: "It's not far from here to Chaoge, maybe by the time we get to Chaoge, the rain hasn't rained yet." Even if it does rain, it is estimated that it will not be a big deal. ”

Su Xinsheng saw that he couldn't keep it, and he was no longer reluctant, and sent everyone straight to the gate of the other garden. After Zhou Chang said goodbye to Su Xinsheng, he found the bear outside the village and ordered him to leave the camp and set off. Along the way, Zhou Chang always remembered Daji's prophecy and kept an eye on the changes in the weather. By noon, the wind was getting stronger. Yu Mengyan's team was holding a flag, and a yak tail was tied to the flagpole, and the oxtail hung down when there was no wind, but at this time the oxtail was blown around by the wind.

When they reached Xiaocai, the team arrived at a place called Huaiyi, and Sioux City was not far ahead. At this time, the sky was already overcast, Zhou Chang raised his head, and suddenly felt a cold on his face, it turned out that a drop of rain was falling on his cheek. He couldn't help but admire in his heart: he couldn't imagine that Daji could accurately predict the changes of time at such a young age, which was really prescient.

Yu Mengyan sat in the carriage and suddenly noticed that there seemed to be traces of rain on Yu Yan's clothes, and he asked, "Yan'er, is it raining?" Yu Yan didn't notice it himself, he stretched out his hand to feel it, and then said, "Father, there are some scattered raindrops falling, or you don't even notice it." ”

While the two were chatting, the rain became heavier and heavier, and in a moment Yu Yan's coat was full of raindrops, and he asked, "Father, why don't we camp here first and avoid the rain." Yu Mengyan looked at the front of the road and said, "The front is Sioux City, let's camp on the outskirts of Sioux City." ”

However, Yu Mengyan's carriage has a cover, which can be said to be inviolable from wind and rain, and Yu Yan is riding a horse, and there is no cover on his head. Yu Yan was afraid that his hair would get wet, so he took a bamboo straw and put it on his head. This bamboo tape is actually a hat with a handle underneath, which is probably the prototype of the umbrella of later generations. Finally arrived outside Su City, Yu Yan's coat was already soaked, he hurriedly asked the soldiers to find a place to camp on the side of the road, but then heard Yu Mengyan shouting: "You have to find a high place to camp!" Only then did Yu Que wake up - in this plain area, the ground is prone to water on rainy days, and the camp tent will be soaked in muddy water for a long time, which is very bad.

He looked around, only a small hill on the south side of the road more than a mile away, Yu Yan hurriedly shouted to his soldiers: "Hurry! Set up camp on the hill to the south! ”

The mountain was in the middle of a field, and there was no road for horse-drawn carriages to pass, so Yu's convoy had to leave the road and drive slowly through the field. When he arrived at the bottom of the hill, Yu Yan found that the carriage could not go up at all, and he didn't know what to do, so he had to ask his father. Yu Mengyan sighed: "You first ordered people to set up camp tents on the mountain, and then we will walk up the mountain." These carriages were left at the foot of the mountain, and only a team of men were sent to guard against the thieves. Yu Yan got the instructions and immediately followed them.

The Xin and Zhou families followed behind Yu Guo's convoy and also came to the bottom of the hill at this time. Zhou Chang and Xin Jia were both battle-hardened and naturally understood the reason for camping on the high ground, and the two of them each took their soldiers up the mountain on foot. When they reached the top of the mountain, they found that the terrain above was high in the west and low in the east, and the soldiers of Yu Guo had already occupied half of the east, so Xin Jia and the others had to continue to go up and camp at a higher place.

By the time the men and horses were settled, everyone was exhausted, so they ate something and went to bed early. It rained all night, and it continued to rain, and it didn't stop until the morning of the second day, after the big eclipse, and the rain gradually became lighter.

Zhou Chang and Xin Jia walked around outside the tent, and saw that the clouds in the air had not dispersed, and it was estimated that the rain would not be over for a while. Zhou Chang asked, "Shall we leave today, or will we wait until the rain has completely stopped?" Xin Jia said: "I think it's better to ask Lord Yuhou what he means first, and then make a decision." Zhou Chang nodded, and walked down the mountain with Xin Jia.

The two came to Yu Mengyan's tent and said to the guards outside that they wanted to see Yu Hou, and the guards entered to report, and immediately came out and replied, "Your Excellency, please." ”

Xin Jia and Zhou Chang entered the tent and saw Yu Mengyan sitting alone next to the desk, with one hand and his eyebrows locked, and his face was full of sadness. Xin Jia hurriedly asked, "Lord Yuhou, why is your face worried?" Didn't there be an accident? ”

Yu Mengyan completely lost his usual high-spirited look, and just said weakly: "Two adults, please sit down." Then he continued, "My Yue'er is sick." This morning she said she was weak and dizzy, and I touched her forehead, but it kept getting hot. Although I have taken the medicine, I have not improved at all. Well, what can I do? When he said this, he never raised his eyes to look at Xin Jia and the others, as if he was talking to himself, which shows that his heart is in chaos at the moment.

Xin Jia and the others were unexpected, Zhou Chang said: "I saw Miss Yuefei yesterday who was fine, why did she suddenly get so sick?" ”

"Ahem, it must have been the wind and rain on the road yesterday, and I suffered from the wind and cold. Yue'er, how could she have suffered like this? I regret that I shouldn't have listened to Su Hou in the first place, if I stayed in his garden for a few more days, why would I be like this? When Yu Mengyan said that she was excited, she almost wanted to cry, and the frustration in her heart can be imagined.

Except for saying a few words of comfort, the two of them were powerless about it. Yu Mengyan sighed with emotion, and then asked, "What are the two adults doing here?" Xin Jia replied: "The two of us were going to discuss with the adults when to leave, but we didn't expect Miss Yuefei to be ill and didn't know ...... adults."

Yu Mengyan waved his hand and said, "I must wait until Yue'er's illness is cured before leaving, if the two adults have something to do, go first, don't wait for me." Zhou Chang thought for a while, and then asked, "Where is Miss Yuefei now?" We want to visit and visit. Yu Mengyan said: "Yue'er is resting in her mother's tent, I'll take you over." ”

Mrs. Di's tent was near the left, and Yu Mengyan lifted the curtain and led Xin Jia and them into the tent. I saw a thick blanket spread on the inside of the tent, Yuefei lying on a large leather mattress, Mrs. Di sitting beside her to take care of her, and Yu Yan pacing back and forth on the side. When Mrs. Di saw Xin Jia and the others coming, she was about to get up and salute, but Xin Jia hurriedly whispered: "Madame doesn't need to be polite, we are here to visit Miss Yuefei, don't disturb her recuperation." ”

Mrs. Di nodded in gratitude. Xin Jia and the others took two steps forward, and saw that Yuefei was covered with a thick quilt, and only her face was exposed. Her face was pale, her hair was messy and sticky to her cheeks and neck, and she was obviously sweating profusely. Xin Jia turned to talk to Yu Mengyan for a few words, and then said: "Miss Yuefei needs to be cleansed and conditioned, so we will retire first, go to Chaoge, and discuss it tomorrow." ”

The two returned to their camp and told the rest of the people about Yuefei's illness. Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Tai thought that they should visit in person, so they took the three juniors with them and chatted with Mrs. Di for a while. By the time they came back, it was already noon, and Xin Jia asked, "Look at Yuefei's condition, I don't know when it will get better." Lord Yu Hou said let's go to Chaoge first, when do you think it's time to leave? ”

Mrs. Jiang said, "Why don't you discuss it tomorrow." One is to see if Yuefei's symptoms will ease, and the other is to see if the weather will clear tomorrow. If you look at the sky outside, it will probably rain today, and if you go forward in the rain and make another person sick, it will not be beautiful. ”

Zhou Chang looked at Taiji, and the two had no objection to this. In the afternoon, as Mrs. Jiang said, the rain gradually became heavier again, and everyone stayed in their respective tents, and they could only sigh and worry about the rain. Until the evening, Zhou Kao still paid attention to the movement outside before going to bed, but the sound of the rain continued all night, and no one knew when the rain would stop.