The host's family prepared a sumptuous meal, but no one was in the mood to eat the meal seriously. Zhu Xuan is the prince's master, so he sat in the chief, took everyone to the first cup of wine to worship heaven and earth, the second cup to worship ghosts and gods, and three cups to remember the dead, and then there were no words. A room of people silently shaved a small bowl of dried white rice each, and it was considered to be a feast.

When they came out, Zhang Puzhu announced that they still had to go to the vigil. Shang Cheng is now "sick", and Emperor Dongyuan also passed on a message beforehand, "Don't be tired when you are sick", don't be tired when you are sick, so don't let him keep his spirit according to the system; To be able to come to a trip is enough to see the sincerity of "Si Xin Weishang"; You must take care of your health, so go home early to rest after the "matter or also" worship one by one, don't you say?

The dictation is not long, only a few words, and the tone sounds very polite, it is completely the appearance of a discussion, and at the end he also asked for Shang Cheng's opinion, which shows the Eastern Yuan Emperor's compassion for Shang Cheng. It's a pity that his hard work was in vain. Shang Cheng had a headache when he heard others say ancient words, not to mention this kind of ancient calligraphy? The Hanlin scholar who came to deliver the message left after speaking, he didn't even remember the content, and he couldn't talk about it if he wanted to find someone to ask for advice. I pondered for a long time, and finally understood: This is Emperor Dongyuan who doesn't want to see him, so he made a special trip to let someone come over to inform him, so that he can get out of the house after dinner.

With the dictation of Emperor Dongyuan, it is impossible for Shang Chengcheng to stay if he wants to. He followed everyone to the mourning tent, and others had their own places that had been arranged a long time ago, so he entered the mourning hall alone and worshiped the deceased again, and then left Ganquan Palace.

At this time, a thin stream of rain drifted in the sky. The wind wrapped in raindrops and fell on his face, and the chill taught him to shiver. He sat down in the saddle and glanced back. Nowadays, the entire street of Daning Fang has been filled with spirit flags; As soon as the cold wind of sleet passed, hundreds of flags fluttered in the sky; Drummers shake brass bells from the street to the end of the street, throwing paper money everywhere; The scattered paper money swirled in circles with the cool breeze blowing on the ground, and it was stacked on the ground, I don't know how many layers were stacked; There is no end in sight to the lacquer-painted Shrine of the Shrine. There is an endless stream of people who come to mourn, like Shang Cheng is now in Da Le Fang, where both sides of the main street are full of carriages and mounts. A few errand officers who didn't know which yamen, with white cloth on their arms, followed behind the family members of the prince's mansion, dispatching carriages and horses to lead the guests to drive away the lively idlers, all of them were busy with sweat.

Shang Cheng was looking at this chaotic scene, and Gao Qiang muttered beside him: "Commander, I'm afraid this rain is not small." I don't think we'll go back today, just rest at the county uncle's mansion for the night. It's not too late to go back when the rain stops tomorrow. ”

Shang Cheng nodded "um", but was speechless.

Gao Qiang immediately beckoned a guard to come over and ordered: "You hurry up and go back to Zhuangzi first, tell a few young ladies and ladies at home, and say that the governor will not go back today......

Before the little guard could agree, Shang Cheng had already interrupted him: "No." I don't have to tell my family that we're going back today. ”

A strong one. He looked up at the sky again. Right now, the sky in the north is even darker, and no one can see the road; The wind is like a gust of urgency, and the more it urges, the tighter and tighter it gets; A large black cloud was surging over, and it was about to spread overhead. Under the oppression under the cloud curtain, several owl birds dragged their cooing and croaking all the way, and scattered and fled in panic. Obviously, there is a heavy rain coming, at this time, why is the governor still in a hurry to rush back?

Shang Cheng didn't bother to explain to Gao Qiang. Actually, he didn't want to brave the heavy rain to travel. But there is no way, because this is the dictation of Emperor Dongyuan. Either go back in the rain today, or be taken by the imperial history another day, maybe you will have to suffer dozens of court staffs, where to go, do you still need to ask?

Gao Qiang didn't ask anymore, pulled out the oil coat that protected him from the wind and rain from the hanging bag next to the saddle, handed it to Shang Cheng, and muttered non-stop: "Then you have to put on this first." If you go back and get sick, you'll have to clean me up again. He himself put on his oil coat and shouted to a few guards, "You guys, hurry up and put on all the raincoats one by one!" This rain is going to rain a lot......"

Shang Cheng ignored him. There is no reason why the horses in the city cannot gallop, even if he is in the Shangzhu Kingdom, he can only move slowly with the horse rope. He took the reins and said, "Go out of the inner city first, find a place to eat and then hurry." I was so hungry that my chest was pressed against my back. ”

Gao Qiang spit out in his mouth, let his mount follow, and asked with a smile beside Shang Cheng: "You came to the funeral early in the morning, and the main family didn't say that you would like to sit at the table?" This was a bit disrespectful to the prince, and even the heavenly family was swept in; But Gao Qiang doesn't care. His experience is not far from Zhao Shishi, and he is also an orphan, so he joined the border army in order to have enough to eat. From the beginning of the defeat of Alegu, he followed Shang Cheng all the way from birth to death, and walked down in two or three years, from the worthless border army soldier at the beginning, to the captain of the forbidden army of the seventh grade, more or less a person, who came in and out of the barracks, many people would respectfully call him "High School Captain Gao", which made him feel extremely beautiful and proud. Drinking water and thinking about the source, he attributed everything he has now to Shangcheng. Don't talk about the grace of promotion, the life is all the commander's, and those nonsense? As for not being respectful enough to speak or something, that person will be treated. The prince has never blocked the knife for him, and it is his business to live or die!

Shang Cheng glanced at him, snorted and said, "You are also a camp school, and you didn't remember to send a guard when you spoke?" ”

"Isn't this in front of you?" Gao Qiang salivated and smiled, "Besides, in this capital, the battalion captain is a little bigger than sesame, what is worth it?" ”

"Are you still too young to be a battalion captain?"

Listening to Shang Cheng's tone, it seemed a little unkind, and Gao Qiang didn't dare to stiffen his mouth. But he still muttered quietly, "It's not too big." ”

Shang Cheng put away his smile, thought for a while, and said, "You're right, the battalion captain is not big. But all the generals came from the battalion captains, do you understand what the reason is? ”

Gao Qiang shook his head. He hadn't thought about it. But he immediately gave another example to prove that Shang Cheng was wrong: "Wang Yi, Yiguo Gong Wang Yi!" "The opportunity to catch the Governor at last made him feel very happy, as if he had accomplished something very remarkable. He said loudly, "Wang Yi, he has never been a battalion captain!" ”

Shang Cheng did not refute him. He didn't want to go on with it. Wang Yi is his friend, and he can't talk about the strengths and weaknesses of his friends behind his back, let alone in front of his subordinates. He didn't want to explain what he had just said. Whether Gao Qiang can understand the truth in the sentence "All generals have the experience of battalion captains" depends on his understanding and creation. can understand, maybe there will be more room for development than the battalion captain in the future; If you can't understand it, you don't necessarily have no chance. Nothing in this world is absolute; Everything is constantly evolving and changing, anytime, anywhere......

Seeing that he had no intention of talking, Gao Qiang also closed his mouth and concentrated on the horses and hurried.

Now, the clouds have pressed overhead, and the wind is getting tighter, but the rain has not yet fallen. But the streets, houses, and trees in front of and behind have become blurred, and they seem to be covered with a layer of dust. There were few figures in sight on the street; Every house is ready to close the door and close the window; Vendors running around the streets are carrying their burdens, anxiously looking for a relatively dry place to shelter from the rain. There was a tense atmosphere throughout the city that preceded the heavy rain.

Shang Cheng and the others didn't speak, just hurried quietly. The only sound on the street was the kicking of the horseshoe buckled on the stone path.

As he was walking, Shang Cheng seemed to hear someone shouting to him.

He turned his face away and glanced curiously.

It was Xun An, the official who worked as an errand in the Yamen of Pingyuan Mansion.

Xun An ran over, and when he was about to get closer, he didn't know if he tripped over the slate ridge or stepped on something slippery, and he fell on the spot. The cloth that hung on his shoulders was thrown out several paces at once, and a hundred and ten copper coins rolled all over the place; The people also threw themselves on the ground and did not move for half a day. This can bluff Shang Cheng enough. He hurriedly jumped off the horse and hurried over to see if Xun An had fallen. Before he could get to the front, the guy got up again, but the corners of his forehead were red and there were several bloody cuts on his nose and cheeks.

Xun An grinned, didn't know whether to laugh or gasp, and said, "I watched from a distance, and I thought it must be you!" At first glance, I dared to shout, but I didn't expect it to be you! ”

Looking at his embarrassed appearance, Gao Qiang and a few guards squeezed their eyebrows and held back a smile. This guy is so much fun! Did he just shout? I'm afraid I can have several voices, right? The sound was so loud that everyone around was looking around. If it weren't for the fact that they were all riding on horses with knives on their shoulders, and they could guess their identities at a glance, maybe someone would come over and treat them all as thieves!

Shang Cheng also couldn't help but laugh and asked him, "You didn't fall, did you?" ”

"No, no, no!" Xun An said in a loud voice, shaking his head quickly at the same time. But his shaking movement may be a little big, and his body suddenly swayed, if it wasn't for Shang Cheng's eyes and quickly tugging on his arm, maybe he would have to fall to the ground again.

"Why don't I accompany you to see the doctor?" Shang Cheng asked him. Gao Qiang has already asked people to inquire about where to find a medical hall or pharmacy nearby.

Xun An shook his head vigorously and said, "It's just a knock, where is the need to see a doctor?" Only then did he realize that it was Shang Cheng who was holding himself. Realizing this, he immediately panicked, and struggled twice before he could break free, and his face immediately became red and purple as if drunk, and even his feet were vain, and he was a little unsteady on his feet. What is the identity of the person, and what is his identity? can let Shang Cheng help support himself, even if there is green smoke on the ancestral grave, he doesn't dare to be it!

Shang Cheng also ignored his nonsense, seeing that Xun An's appearance didn't seem to have fallen out of the way, and someone had already gone to the house on the street to inquire about looking for a doctor, so he took the blanket picked up by the guards, shook it vigorously, listened to the rattling of copper coins, and joked: "Okay, old Xun, you can make so much money and grain every month as a little catcher, your Pingyuan Mansion is really rich!" Go back and ask to see if there is a real shortage, and I will also go to your yamen to eat. He saw that Xun An was wearing a black home-woven old homewoven cloth clothes, so he fell and was embarrassed by either mud or water everywhere, and said with a smile, "Why did you come out to patrol the street wearing such a suit?" I don't work today, or do I sneak home to report the good news to my mother-in-law? Seeing that the expression on Xun An's face suddenly became strange, he teased him in a long voice, "Oh, I know one by one!" You guy, you must be looking for a good ......."

Gao Qiang and several guards couldn't help but laugh when they looked at Xun An's embarrassing description, coupled with the big green bag on his forehead and his bruised face.

Xun An suddenly threw away the blanket in his hand and knelt down: "General, Lord Shang, please, I beg!" Please save your little life! ”

Shang Cheng was taken aback by his actions, and only after a moment did he react, and hurriedly dragged him: "Suffers from sissy plague!" If you speak, you will speak well, what will you do with this famous hall! The words in his mouth and his hands were strange one by one, and he didn't pull Xun An for the first time. He was also a little anxious, and roared sharply, "Hurry up!" ”

"Nope! I won't get up......" Xun Anwu shouted freely. But is this something he can do? Gao Qiang and the other guard grabbed him by the arm one by one and directly set him up. Even so, his legs were curled up and he remained in a kneeling position. "General, Lord Shang, please, please save the lives of my family! As long as you nod your head, I will pay you back in the next life as a cow and a horse! ”

There was a lot of trouble here, and there were two groups of people over there, one was the street patrol officer of Pingyuan County, and the other was the criminal department who was passing by. The death of the crown prince itself is a national event, and there are secrets behind the matter that the imperial court cannot express, so the city has been full of patrolling officers and soldiers in the past two days. They saw a bunch of people blocking the middle of the road, and it seemed that there was still some dispute, so they immediately outflanked them with iron rulers and leather ropes. The two guards immediately split their heads and cut them off, and as soon as the waist card flashed, the two groups of people retreated without saying a word. Mother, the eight-rank lieutenants of the Plains General's Mansion can only listen to people's calls, and the tall man in the middle is afraid that there will be no five or six grades? But they didn't go far, and they stopped when they quit a stone's throw in case they were to be called for help.

Shang Cheng ignored the errands. He asked Gao Qiang to put the person down, frowned and asked, "You make it clear, what's wrong?" "He has dealt with Xun An several times before and after, and knows that this is a responsible person, and he also follows the principles and rules when he is an errand in the yamen; Now that he is forced to kneel down on the street and beg for help, needless to say, he must have suffered a great calamity and grievance. He thought that if Xun An was really wronged, he would definitely help him!

It took him a lot of effort to understand Xun An's suffering. The main thing is that this guy has a handful of snot and tears, babbling and talking, which is really annoying.

At the beginning of last month, Xun An's mother-in-law fell ill with a fever, and it took more than half a month to get better. Xun An's dolls are still young and can't help adults much, so in order to take care of his mother-in-law, he took half a month's leave in the yamen. In the past half a month, he has been so tired that he is on all fours, so his mood is very bad all day long. When the mother-in-law saw that he was well, he went back to the yamen to cancel the leave, but on the first day of the yamen, he had a dispute with someone in the east market. Speaking of which, it is also to blame that he had a bad temper during that time, and he couldn't talk to people in a few words, and then they quarreled, and then the two of them pushed around, and as a result, he grabbed the man to the tethered horse stake and hit his head and broke his head. Originally, this is not a big deal, if you hurt someone, you can pay for soup and medicine, and if you can't do it, you can add some money for pastries and snacks. But Xun An should be unlucky, when he had a dispute with someone, he happened to pass by a royal history; I don't know what the imperial history thinks, so I wrote the matter into an official document and handed it over without asking, and then several big officials in the Plains Mansion were shouted by their superiors and reprimanded them with their heads and faces. The officials of the Plains Mansion were reprimanded, and of course they had to find out where they were angry; They didn't dare to find Yu Shi to be angry, so they could only teach Xun An a lesson. So Xun An's public meal came to an end. But that wasn't his worst time. Xun An lost his errand at the yamen, and he didn't have any ability to make a living, so he stayed at home every day watching his mother-in-law sigh and listen to the doll crying, and his mood was naturally even worse. Just a few days ago, he couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and got up to drink, but he died of sleep, and he didn't know what to do, so he accidentally knocked over the lamp and burned four families......

"No dead people?" Shang Cheng asked him.

"No, no dead." Xun An said, "Fortunately, there are no dead people, otherwise I, I ......"

Shang Cheng didn't wait for him to finish his sentence before he understood. If someone died in the fire, Xun An would definitely not be able to talk to himself here. And Xun An was also lucky, this fire only burned four houses. If you look at the houses on both sides of this street, you can see that eighty percent of the houses in the capital are grass houses and wooden houses, and if you accidentally run out of water, it is not impossible to burn down half of the city in one go. At the same time, he also understood why Xun An kept begging him to save his life, this was paying back others!

He asked, "How much do you have to pay for others?" ”

“…… It's still bad, it's still more than seven hundred thousand. Xun An said with tears in his eyes. He had borrowed everything he could, but it was still far behind, always far behind. He had already discussed with his mother-in-law, and if it really didn't work, he would sell the doll to pay off the debt, and if it didn't work, they would be ready to sell themselves too. He is so good that he knows words, and his mother-in-law is also a good hand at tea and rice, and with this ability, he can always find a good buyer. But they calculated that even if they sold everything they could, the money would not be enough to pay off their debts. But they can't help it. These remaining debts can only be paid slowly after they arrive in a new place to earn wages......

Shang Cheng was completely speechless. Listening to Xun An's crying decision, he felt cold for a while, and then felt as if there was a fire burning in his heart. There seemed to be something in his eyes, and it was clear that Xun An was standing in front of him, but he couldn't see the appearance of this person clearly; There seemed to be something in his throat and eyes, and he wanted to say countless words, but he couldn't spit out a single one; It was because of these indescribable things that he felt as heavy as a thousand boulders on his chest, and he could barely breathe...... He exerted all his strength before he gritted his teeth and struggled out a sentence:

"I'll pay it back!"