"Your Highness is not a local, and it is only natural that I was shocked when I heard about this, and it was the same when I first saw this kind of scene. I heard that the sacrifice of the river god grass mustard human life, I once sent officers and soldiers to stop it, but the green mountains and bad waters came out of the people, they didn't put the people of the government in their eyes at all, and they couldn't confront it head-on, so they took a detour and secretly sacrificed in private. The government rescued the 'living sacrifice', and it was impossible to keep it all the time, and if it was to be put back after all, they would choke it at that time and take the person away again. ”

Yu's hopeless heart sank suddenly: "That's it, you shouldn't ignore it." ”

I just heard those people talk about it, similar things will happen every one or two years, and after so many years, I don't know how many young women are really in their hands, which is really sad. As a parent official, how can he not act?

Jiang Cheng raised his hand and knew that he was at a loss, so he smiled bitterly and said, "Even if the government wants to manage it, it can't control people's willingness." ”

"Voluntary?" This time, Yu Hopeless was really surprised, how could anyone in the world put life and death aside and was willing to die for inexplicable reasons?

Just when Yu was hopeless and confused, a woman's sharp voice suddenly came from behind her, and the two of them looked back together, just in time to see a young girl breaking through the crowd and rushing all the way to the riverbank.

She was like a stone thrown into the water, causing ripples wherever she passed.

The old woman obviously didn't expect her arrival, and when she saw someone, she was stunned at first, and then said coldly: "Manman, why are you here?" Didn't I tell you that you weren't allowed to go out at will, and that you had to stay in your room all day today? ”

The girl, who was called slowly, rushed to the bank of the river, knelt down to the ground with an ordinary sound, kowtowed heavily, and said, "Grandmother, please let Miss Luo go, she is just a passerby, and she has nothing to do with the people of our whole village, how can the living sacrifice pick her?" It's me, the damn one! Grandmother, if you have anything to do with me, I have no regrets about life or death, I just ask you to spare Miss Luo's life! ”

Seeing this scene, Yu Wuwang truly believed that there were really people in the world who did not put life and death in their eyes: "River god sacrifice? ”

Jiang Cheng Taishou frowned and explained, "This is their bad habit. Because of poverty, there is no surplus food at home, the local people depend on the weather for food and clothing, and every autumn, they will choose a girl as a sacrifice to the river god, in order to pray for good weather in the coming year. I think this year's sacrifice should be the girl kneeling on the ground, but for some reason that is not enough for outsiders, it has been replaced by the current one. ”

Yu Wuwang looked at the girl who had been blindfolded and tied up carefully, and only felt that she looked a little familiar, but for a moment he couldn't remember where he had seen it.

"I originally wanted to hide this matter, but I never expected that someone would send the pleadings to the hands of the National Teacher."

Yu Wuwang smiled slightly, and said thoughtfully: "Maybe this is the will of heaven, the ancients have a saying called breaking and then standing, and now is the best time to break." ”

As he spoke, he clenched a small object in his hand.

After receiving the letter asking for help, Yu Wuwang was fully prepared, he was worried that those villagers would be angry and angry at the imperial officials, so he specially transferred the generals and soldiers of the army, and at this time they were all ambushed in the woods not far away, just waiting for Yu Wuwang to give an order, and then come out to control the situation.

Thinking of the preparations made in advance, Yu Wuwang's tense heartstrings relaxed slightly, and his eyes fell on the girl's body again, only to see that her expression was resolute, and her eyes were even more firm, obviously ready to die when she came.

"Grandmother, please let Miss Luo go!"

The old woman was unmoved, her eyes turned and fell on the surface of the rolling river: "Where is the sacrifice of the river god that can be changed if you want to?" No matter what happened before, no matter what entanglement you had with the little girl in front of you, she came to this river, and since then she has been a river god, and her life and death have long been beyond the reach of us mortals. Manman, you just go back. ”

As soon as the words fell, a middle-aged couple had already rushed towards the girl, trying to pull her up from the ground.

However, Manman refused to get angry, dodged the hands of the two men, and still knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "If Grandmother doesn't exchange me for the sacrifice of the river god, I won't get up!" ”

The old lady looked angry: "It's really the opposite! You rely on me to be nice to you on weekdays and deliberately threaten me, don't you? You two are still stunned what to do, why don't you pull your daughter back soon! Do you really want her to die? ”

The middle-aged couple stretched out their hands to Man Man again: "Man Man, go back with your father and mother, the matter of the river god has become a foregone conclusion, don't embarrass your grandmother." ”

"yes......."

Man Man looked up suddenly, tears glistening in his bright eyes.

"Daddy, please forgive Manman for not being able to repay your nurturing kindness, if there is an afterlife, I will definitely repay you by being a cow and a horse."

After that, he flicked his sleeves, and actually took out a sharp dagger from the inside, and without saying a word, it was across his neck, the movement was so fast, the strength was so great, and even everyone around him could not react before he saw blood.

Blood and tears flowed down, and the woman's face turned pale in shock: "Manman, you can't do stupid things!" ”

The middle-aged couple is like ants in a hot pot, in stark contrast to the reaction of the two is the reaction of the old woman, only to see her face sank and her eyes deep: "Are you forcing me?" ”

Man Man looked away with a weak heart, and said in a firm tone: "This is not persecution, I just want the river god to really have his sacrifice." Grandmother, when you were dividing the fortune before, the sacrifice you calculated was clearly mine, and you were reluctant to let me feel understandable, but grandmother, have you really thought about it? Miss Luo is just a passer-by, why doesn't she have a father and mother at home, and there are no relatives who love her and love her? Is it really fair for you to let her suffer such an unjustified calamity? ”

The old woman gritted her teeth, as if she had something to say, but she couldn't say a word.

Just when the two sides reached an impasse, the person who had been silent suddenly opened his mouth.

"I didn't."

Everyone was stunned, and their eyes turned to the person who spoke.

I don't know when, the blindfolded woman had woken up from her slumber, and she heard all the words that Manman and the old woman had said. I saw her reluctantly sit up, and the corners of her dry and pale lips hooked a bitter smile: "My father and mother are dead, my brother doesn't know where he is now, whether he is dead or alive, there are no relatives in this world who care about me and love me, so my life or death doesn't matter at all." ”

Manman's eyes widened, and the short knife across his neck loosened slightly: "Miss Luo, what nonsense are you talking about?" ”

She shook her head and said in a low voice: "I'm not talking nonsense, these words are true, I was originally a poor homeless person, my existence in this world is meaningless, and no one will care about it." I would rather die than live in confusion, and my father and mother are waiting for me underground. ”

"No—"

The old woman made a color to her son, and the middle-aged man understood, and snatched the short knife in Manman's hand, so that the old woman's heart fell completely: "Manman, have you heard everything?" Your kindness is not worth mentioning in the eyes of others, not only are they unwilling to let you change, but they even dislike you for meddling in your affairs and prevent her from dying. In this troubled world, it is too difficult to live alone, rather than struggling to survive, it is better to die calmly, and see the relatives you miss as soon as possible. ”

Manman's eyes were half-lowered, and his face was like ashes.

The old woman asked the middle-aged couple to take her away, turned her face and smiled apologetically at the onlookers around her: "This child has been spoiled by his family since he was a child, I don't know how serious it is, and I hope you folks will bear with me." ”

"Mother-in-law, stop talking nonsense, what time is it now, let's start quickly!"

The old woman smiled and nodded: "This begins." ”

If you want to walk back to the riverbank, you have to go past Miss Luo, and when you walk over, the latter asks softly, "How will I die?" ”

The old woman's footsteps paused, and she also lowered her voice: "You have replaced my granddaughter, I will not let you die too painfully, and someone will feed you a special poison later, and you will die in an instant after taking it, even if the gods go down to earth, it will be difficult to save you, and there will be no discomfort." ”

Miss Luo lowered her face: "That's fine, I'm afraid of pain, I don't want to die too painful." ”

Not many people in this world know that the old woman had a conversation with her last night when deciding who would be the sacrifice of the river god, and at that time, she had a chance to escape, but she did not escape.

"When I was unconscious on the side of the road, it was Manman who saved me, she carried me home from outside, and found medicinal herbs to help me heal, if it weren't for her, I would have become a meal in the mouth of the beast, and my illness was only improved under her careful care, and I won't live long, this life should be regarded as a reward for her life-saving grace."

The old woman raised her eyelids: "Do you have any regrets before you die?" ”

Miss Luo stiffened and nodded slowly, at that moment, a figure appeared in her mind, and the past instantly came to her mind: "Yes, I came to Jiangcheng this time mainly to see someone, and the Association for Science and Technology has no chance." But it doesn't matter, I know he's doing well, so I'm relieved. ”

The old woman looked away.

The ritual of sacrificing to the river god began again, perhaps because there was a fork in the middle, the expressions on people's faces were far more excited than before, and they were looking forward to it, but there was only one person, frowning and gloomy face, and muttering to himself: "What a familiar voice, my father and mother have passed away, surnamed Luo, and she came from Luocheng, is it her?" No, this is impossible, the eldest prince obviously said that he would take good care of her for the rest of her life, how could he release her? I must have heard it wrong. ”