People in Yanzhou City who have a little bit of face know that there are a total of three people in the family of General Shang Da, and in addition to himself, there are two unmarried sisters who are following him. A younger sister surnamed Liu was the daughter of his uncle; Since his uncle died in Youliangchuan in the 18th year of the Eastern Common Era, he has been helping him take care of the family's affairs. This girl's appearance is good, her personality is good, her temper is kind, and she is very sensible, whether it is to treat people or receive things, she has never lost her manners, and people who don't know the root can't see that she is a girl who grew up in the countryside. Shang Cheng's other sister, because she rarely goes out, so not many people have seen her; Generally speaking, she is only known as Yang. As for what kind of relatives she and Shang Cheng are, because there are many rumors, it is impossible to distinguish between true and false. One of the more widely circulated theories is that the eldest lady of the merchant surnamed Yang and the former Yanzhou prefect Tao Qi were relatives who were roundabout about the corner, and Tao Taishou also received great favors from her ancestors in the early years. A few years ago, the eldest lady was taken by a powerful family in her hometown and wanted to ask her to go back to be a child, so the eldest lady fled to Yanshan to avoid trouble. But the other party's origin was too big, and Tao Qi couldn't cover it up, so he found an excuse to send her to the merchant mansion to be with Miss Liu's family. The two girls are inseparable in age, and they can talk about each other, and they will soon be inseparable, and it is said that they also exchanged champas for the Qixi moon and vowed to become sisters of the same heart......

As soon as a discerning person hears it, he knows that this story is a romance. Tao Qi has a steady and upright personality, and he is old and sophisticated, no matter whether the Miss Yang family is true or false in avoiding trouble in Yanzhou, he will never send her into the business mansion. To do so is to destroy your reputation! But after listening to this story, most people pouted and sneered on their faces, but they were all in awe of Tao Qi in their hearts, and Jiang was really still old and spicy! Nowadays, how many people dream of tying up the general, but they don't know the essentials, only Tao Qi has clever means, and quietly took the lead A big general is a bachelor, Tao Qi sent Miss Yang into the business mansion, obviously to be a companion to Miss Liu's family, in fact, isn't it just the idea of getting the moon first near the water?

In addition to lamenting that he does not have Tao Qi's vision and ability, people will inevitably put the Miss Yang family, who rarely shows up, and Tao Qi and Shang Cheng together. People despise Tao Qi's actions and pity her life experience, some envy her for her step-by-step ascension, and some gloat at her for not getting an exact name from Shang Cheng for a long time......

Inevitably, some of the talk reached Pan'er.

She was angry when she heard this. How can these people be so arbitrarily choreographed? They are so bad, they are completely in the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain! Tao Lao Governor is a kind-hearted person, not only helped her settle down in Yanzhou, but also never asked the seventeenth uncle who begged him for help, let alone mentioned help to anyone; How could such a kind person have the dirty thoughts that those people say? What she was even more angry about was that those people spread her nonsense, so why did they even involve the topic on the monk's eldest brother?!

But she was helpless about these rumors. She is a miserable woman who has no home to return to, a person who can't even tell her origins, and now she is still living under someone else's fence, what can she do to those people who make up nonsense? Yue'er, who has a hearty personality, and Erya, who is righteous, were going to find those people to judge for her, but she stopped them. Alas, you can't blame others for this, you can only blame her own misery for this matter. Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder how nice it would be if she had died at that time, so that she wouldn't have to go through torture over and over again......

The ordeal three years ago was like the sky falling for her. She was only sixteen years old. In just over a month, she has experienced hardships that are difficult for others to encounter in their lifetimes. was kidnapped by bandits, disregistered by the family in the official, and rejected by the husband's family......

It's hard to imagine how she survived the first two years. Even herself, her memory of that time is also very vague. All she remembered was that she often woke up from nightmares in the middle of the night, sweating profusely, biting the horns and forcing herself to cry out loud. Many nights, when others were already immersed in sweet sleep, she still stared at the blurred beams with her eyes wide open. It's not that she's not thirsty to sleep, but she's afraid that if she falls asleep, she will experience disaster again in her dreams. Perhaps, she was not able to distinguish between dreams and reality at that time; She's afraid; She's scared; She feared that when she closed her eyes, all the good things in front of her would be nothing, and she would once again fall into the abyss of endless darkness......

She endured it all in silence, but she never held a grudge against anyone. She was a filial daughter, and it was impossible for her to resent her father. She felt that all the misfortunes that had befallen her were her life. She believed she was born to endure these sufferings; She is still alive to endure more suffering. Heaven must be watching her with eyes, she thought, and if she had taken all the calamities upon herself, then God would have mercy on her filial piety, and would never have sent bad luck to her father and brother again, and they would not have suffered any more misfortunes......

In the first year or two, it was because of this naïve idea in her heart that she had the reason and courage to live. But she was afraid of people's gossip and afraid of others pointing fingers and poking behind her back, so in the two years in Huojiabao, she almost never walked out of the mansion. Even now, she rarely shows her face outside, so many people only know her surname Yang, Shang Cheng's younger sister, and the eldest lady of the merchant, but few people know what she looks like......

In the year she arrived in Yanzhou, her mood was much brighter than in the past. Because she has a very good relative by her side, the eldest girl of Uncle Seventeen's family. This is not to say that Yue'er and Erya are not her relatives. No, Yue'er and Erya, as well as Uncle Seventeen and Aunt Seventeen, as well as Brother Zhao and Siya, and him...... They are all her relatives! However, because the eldest girl, like her, has also experienced an unbearable suffering, the two of them can understand and understand each other, and there are many things to say. In addition, just as she takes care of the business, the eldest girl is also helping her mother with housework, and many times, the two of them can discuss and discuss the affairs of the two families together.

Yesterday evening, while she was tidying up his study, she stumbled upon a paperwork. She usually never looked at his official documents, but yesterday she didn't know what was wrong, so she just glanced at it. At this glance, she saw a name that was too familiar to be familiar anymore - Yang Heng, her father's name......

Her heart was pounding, and she read the front and back of the document like a thief. After reading it, she realized that her father is now also in Yanshan. She was so excited that her heartbeat stopped, and there was only one thought in her mind: God, Dad is here in Yanshan, Dad is in Yanzhou! Daddy is here!

She immediately made a decision: no matter what, she had to see her father, even if it was just kowtowing and not talking! No matter what, she had to see him!

She didn't even bother to clean up the study, so she hurriedly asked someone to inquire about her father's whereabouts.

She first found Suza, the leader of the guards on duty, but turned around and left without saying a word to Suza, leaving Suza alone for a long time. She felt that the fewer people who knew about this kind of thing, the better, after all, there were too many involved. Her father's career stumble made her inexplicably sensitive and afraid of this kind of thing! So she immediately called someone to ask for Baokan. Yes, apart from him, except for Brother Zhongshan, the only people she can trust in this kind of thing are Brother Shi and Brother Baokan! And she also kept an eye on it, not only did she not let Bao Kan tell him about it, but she also repeatedly told Bao Kan that the fewer people who knew, the better.

Does this still need her to instruct? Bao Kan understands the power of it better than she does. Her father Yang Heng was the leader of the seventh year of Dongyuan, but now he is a nine-grade sesame official, no need to ask, either he has made a big mistake or is involved in some big case. Thinking of Ran Tao, who was almost a victim and was also a scholar in the seventh year of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, Bao Kan was confused and vigilant Yang Heng was mostly in the Liu Lingtai case. Yang Heng has this identity, Bao Kan originally didn't want to help, but first, he couldn't rely on Pan'er's bitter pleading, second, he couldn't bear to watch her wipe her tears, and the third thought was more complicated, and he couldn't figure it out for a while...... In the end, I agreed.

If the guard of the Yanshan Admiral's Mansion wants to find out who is staying in Yanzhou City, it is not an easy task? Even if Yang Heng's identity was sensitive, Bao Kan didn't want to cause trouble, so he casually sent a few henchmen to ask at the post inn outside the city, and found Yang Heng in less than half an hour.

Knowing Yang Heng's whereabouts, Pan'er couldn't muster up the courage to come. She was afraid that her father would not want to see her, and she was even more afraid that her father would not recognize her as a daughter. After grinding and grinding until today, under the repeated persuasion of the eldest girl who accompanied her for a night, she finally put on her heart and quietly slipped out of the door dressed as a scholar......

Now, she is sitting on the edge of the kang in the wing room, still wiping her tears.

Yang Heng also had red eyes, lowered his head, grabbed the gauze shirt with both hands, and sighed one after another.

He never dared to ask his daughter how she had come over in the past few years. Looking at her dress, he judged that she should not be living in a poor family. But not being poor does not mean that people are not suffering, there are so many places of suffering in this world that people dare not imagine it. Even if she is taken in by a large family, she may not be able to enjoy happiness, will her parents-in-law not treat her, will her husband no longer cherish her, and the jealousy of the eldest woman? There will always be torture of one kind or another...... And that's not even the scariest thing! It occurred to him that there was another possibility. He couldn't help but glance at his daughter out of the corner of his eye. This dress, this dress, the gold flower embedded in the head of the soft foot, and the jade hanging around the waist...... It dawned on him that his daughter was probably in that kind of place right now!

His hands trembled, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. No! He groaned inwardly. No, it won't, it can't be! His Yang Gongdu's daughter will never fall into such a situation!

But human thinking is always like this, and when he tells himself not to think about it, terrible thoughts cannot restrain one after another......

He covered his face with his hands in agony; Tears trickled down her fingers. No, it won't, it won't be like this; It's all his fault, it's all his fault!

Yang Heng cried, but Pan'er stopped crying. With tears still hanging from the corners of her eyes and cheeks, she tried to make a smile appear on her face, and said, "Dad, why are you crying?" Isn't your daughter right in front of you? ”

Yang Heng also squeezed out a smile, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and said, "Dad didn't cry." Daddy is happy...... Seeing that you are doing well, my father is happy. ”

"Grandma's body has been okay for the past few years?" Pan'er asked.

"Good. Her old man's health is good......" Yang Heng lied against his will. His mother's health has been good and bad since the beginning of winter last year, and she has asked several doctors and taken a lot of medicine, but there is no improvement. Of course, the old man is a bit shy about hiding his condition, which is also a reason why his condition does not improve. He knew that this was because his mother didn't want to drag them down anymore......

Pan'er pursed her lips, not wanting the tears to fall again, she was silent for a while, and then asked, "Is my brother okay?" Where's my aunt, how is she? She still called Yang Heng's continuation as her aunt according to the customs of her hometown, but not Erniang according to the popular title of the capital.

"They're all good." Yang Heng also held back his tears, tried his best to make himself look relaxed, nodded with a smile and said, "Your brother has grown a lot in the past two years, and he is about to catch up with you as a sister." Your second mother is fine, before I came, she also mentioned you...... "He buried his head and couldn't say any more." Before leaving home, his mother and wife told him that he must find every means to inquire about his daughter's whereabouts, and if life is not going well, he must help her no matter what; If your daughter is in trouble, then you must pull her out of the sea of suffering...... But looking at his daughter's current situation, what will he do to save her? Whether it is from the teaching workshop or from the wine store, it has to cost a lot of money, where does he have so much money? His tears rolled down again. Alas, it's all him, the father, isn't it......

Pan'er pretended not to see him crying, and said, "Dad, at the moment, several imperial court officials are living in the city, and the wind in the state city is not good. I can't stay here for long......"

These unclear words reflect Yang Heng's terrible speculation. He grinned violently and whined.

Pan'er was immediately frightened by her father's sudden actions. She didn't know what she had said wrong, so she quickly stopped. She was right, there were indeed four chasers living in the city; Not only did they come to find Uncle Seventeen, but they also wanted to find something wrong with the monk's eldest brother, this is all an obvious thing, why did they make my father so sad? She immediately thought of what had happened to her father in recent years, and what Bao Kan had said to her last night. She understood immediately. It seems that my father and his old man are worried that their official duties have not been implemented, and they will be punished when they go back, and they will meet themselves again, and they are mixed with public and private affairs, so they are sad. She immediately comforted her father and said, "Don't worry about official business, old man. I heard Dou Niang say that Brother Zhongshan will come back to report on his work in a few days, and when the time comes, I will tell him and ask him to help you talk to Uncle Liubo about liquor......"

Yang Heng was still swallowing and choking, but Pan'er's words could be heard clearly, and he asked casually with teary eyes, "Who is Dou Niang?" ”

"It's the maid Dou'er that my mother pointed out to me before......"

Yang Heng understood. But he didn't understand it too much. And what is Brother Zhongshan and Uncle Liu, why are they involved in the liquor matter again? There have been so many things that he is a little confused in his head now, so there is another big thing that he doesn't realize at all: how can his daughter know about the errand assigned to him by the Ministry of Works?

"Brother Zhongshan is the man of Dou Niang." Pan'er explained to her father, "He was promoted to an official position, and he wants to come to the Wei Mansion to change the letter." When Dou Niang entered the city the day before yesterday, she came to the house to sit once, and she said that Brother Zhongshan would arrive in two or three days. ”

Yang Heng finally sobered up a little. He wiped away his tears and asked thoughtfully, "Brother Zhongshan?" It's Sun Fu, right? "He is not a local official, so he is not familiar with the civil and military affairs of Yanshan, and he has only heard of a few people, but among them is this Sun Fuyiyi, who is the son-in-law of Huo Lun, the owner of the wine shop he has dealt with in Yi County, and he can't hear about it. Seeing Pan'er nodding, he asked again, "What about the sixth uncle...... And who? He was very suspicious that this sixth uncle was Huo Lun, because he knew that Huo Lun was the sixth in the Huo clan.

I heard Pan'er say: "The sixth uncle's surname is Huo, and his name is Lun......

Sure enough, it was him!

“…… Dou Niang is the daughter of the sixth uncle. Pan'er said again.

Yang Heng's eyes widened in surprise. Ah, the maid Dou'er who followed Pan'er at the beginning is now, yes...... It's the general's wife?

Seeing Pan'er nodding, he opened his mouth, completely unaware of what he should say. He can only sigh that the encounters in a person's life are too unpredictable! Who would have thought that he, a jinshi and the first, would be reduced to being the master of the workshop of the Ministry of Works, and who would dare to predict that a maid would become a wife of the court?

He immediately thought of something else. He had now realized that what he had just feared was just his unwarranted speculation, and that Pan'er had not encountered anything he had never thought about. This also made him have some expectations: since Dou'er has such a creation, what about his daughter? Although the number of lives can't be forced in the sky, she won't be inferior to Dou'er, right?

He was immediately ashamed of his thoughts.

But he really couldn't help but think about it. And he couldn't control his mouth, so he actually asked his daughter: "Are you ...... now" He really didn't know how to say the following words, so he could only look at Pan'er with his eyes open.

Pan'er's expression was a little gloomy, she lowered her head, hesitated for a moment before saying, "My daughter is now living in someone else's house. ”

Pan'er's hesitation was misunderstood by her father. Yang Heng thought that his daughter's situation was not good, so he didn't want to tell himself. The irresistible disappointment and loss fell on him in an instant, and the little spirit that had just been lifted up was suddenly dissipated by the cruelty of reality. He was on the edge of the kang, uncomfortable and painful and did not want to speak. It seems that the number of human lives is indeed the most difficult thing in the world......

Pan'er didn't notice that her father's expression had such a huge contrast in an instant. She was more worried about how long she would stay here. She was very scared, lest the fact that she was talking to her father here would be seen by some well-intentioned people and used as a handle against Shang Cheng. Bao Kan repeatedly warned her that her father was involved in some big case, and that at present, the personnel in the court were complicated, and someone was trying to find a way to deal with her eldest monk, so she had to be cautious and cautious; Moreover, once something happens to Shang Cheng, it is not just as simple as one or two people who will suffer; It will implicate a lot of people!

She stood up and said, "Daddy, I really can't stay any longer." I have to go. Don't walk around these days, as soon as Brother Zhongshan arrives, I will immediately ask him to come to you, and you can tell him if you have anything. She took out a purse and handed it to Yang Heng. It's urgent, I don't have anything for you and your family. Here are ten taels of gold, sent by Brother Baokan. There are also two night pearls, which were given to me by the eldest sister, and it is useless for me to keep them, so you can take them back to grandma and give them to my aunt. There is also a five-colored coin made by Ouchi, which is him during the New Year, and he ...... The monk brother gave it to me. You take it back and let your brother hang on him, and be happy! ”

Yang Heng was holding his purse, and he had already been dumbfounded.

"Dad, daughter, daughter......" Pan'er choked up and couldn't speak anymore. She retreated to her feet, and was about to kneel down to kowtow to her father, when she heard a long voice at the door laughing:

"Hah! Good for your Yang Gongdu! Yanqing and I are afraid that you will be lonely and lonely in the post house, who knows that you will not see each other for a few years, and you are a humble gentleman who has grown up with romantic knowledge! As he spoke, the man had already pushed the door in by himself, with a flick of his wrist and a twist of his fingers, a folding fan with a picture of a hundred birds towards the phoenix was opened, waved it twice, shook his hand again, and closed it with a hula, and the fan bone knocked his palm around Pan'er and turned half in a circle, and sighed in his mouth, "...... Brother Gongdu has a good eye! This little lady looks handsome and coquettish, and she is really a romantic character, which is really pitiful to me. ”

Ran Tao was dressed as an ordinary scholar, and followed Ouyang Zhi in. He originally wanted to echo and make a joke with Yang Heng, but when he turned his eyes, he had already seen Pan'er's face clearly, and he was so shocked that his face was a little out of shape, and his mouth was wide open, but he couldn't even spit out half a word.

Yang Heng jumped over and grabbed Ouyang Zhi's unruly hand, and said anxiously, "Ouyang Xiaoqi, what are you going to do?" ”

Ouyang Zhi didn't care, his arm was dragged by Yang Heng, and even his body was dragged diagonally, but he was pretentious and dashing, so he didn't worry about Yang Heng first, turned around and continued to say to Pan'er: "This little lady is polite below." Gongdu, don't drag me. I don't know if the little lady is working in the workshop, or in which wine store? If you have time, you must go to teach the little lady's tea cooking skills. One by one, if you don't let go, I won't pay attention to the wine and dinner today. ”

Yang Heng threw his hand away, and roared with hatred: "Ouyang Zhi, this is my daughter!" This is my daughter! ”

As soon as these words came out, Ouyang Zhi and Ran Tao stopped at the same time.

Pan'er also came to her senses at this time. She stood up and helped Yang Heng to sit down first: "Dad, don't be angry, your body is important." Turning around, he glanced at Ouyang Zhi contemptuously, and said coldly, "You are Ouyang Zhi, right?" I've heard a lot of people talk about you. People say that you are indiscreet and frivolous, and I thought it was someone else's nonsense, but who knew that what they said was true. I have written down everything you just said, and I will go back and ask Uncle Di and Uncle Lu to see if people like you can be qualified to judge Duanzhou. He knelt down and bowed to Yang Heng again. Daddy, my daughter is back. After speaking, he got up, nodded slightly to Ran Tao and gave a scribe salute, and then walked away.

Ouyang Zhi was completely dumbfounded. said the wrong thing and misunderstood Yang Heng's daughter, but he didn't care much about it, and it was over if he compensated Yang Heng. But who are the "Uncle Di" and "Uncle Lu" that suddenly popped out of Yang Heng's daughter's mouth? Di Xu? Land-mailed? Didn't Yang Heng's daughter be robbed by bandits in the early years, how could she be familiar with the two health department officials?

Ran Tao chased out and failed to leave Pan'er, he jumped back like a headless fly, pointed at Ouyang Zhi and sighed except for shaking his head, and finally stomped his feet hard, stuck his butt on the edge of the kang, and whined his thighs:

"Ouyang Xiaoqi, Ouyang Xiaoqi, how many times have I told you, you want to keep your mouth down, you want to keep your mouth down, you see what you have done today? What did you do today! ”

Ouyang Zhimian glared at him and asked, "That woman, who is it?" ”

"Who is it? Who else do you dare to ask? Ran Tao jumped up and sprayed his face, roaring and roaring, "You don't know who that is?" You don't know who it is, and you dare to talk nonsense? I'm telling you, that's the general's eldest sister! It's the eldest lady of the merchant! It's Sun Zhongshan's sister-in-law! He gasped and glanced at Yang Heng, who was as stunned as Ouyang Zhi, sighed and said, "...... She is also the daughter of Brother Gongdu, Yang Paner. ”