At this time, it is nearly three watches, the night market in front of Caofu is still lively, not to mention the increase in young men and women, secretly sending autumn waves in the laughter, even the wonton stall couple who were almost knocked over by a frightened horse, over fifty years old, are still full of energy at this moment, no tiredness, and greet every guest who comes to dine very enthusiastically.

The old man's surname is Ma, ranking third, the name Ma Xiaosan, the old woman's surname is Niu, ranking second, and the name Niu Erniang. The two had a son under their knees, went out to do business in their early years, went to sea from Quanzhou, went south to the South China Sea, never returned, life and death are unknown. The two originally had a shop in Shangjing, but in order to go south to find their son, they pawned the shop. After five or six years of going south, I found nothing. After returning to Beijing, he was penniless. I had to borrow a few thousand wen from the east and west, and set up a wonton stall to sell some wontons in the night market to make a living.

Fortunately, Shangjing is the capital, and it is a prosperous and prosperous era, a wonton stall, only a night market, and the daily income is more than 100 Wen, which is enough for two people to make a living.

Although it has been more than an hour, the two of them still have palpitations. Fortunately, there was an endless stream of guest officers, and the two of them were so busy that they didn't care about what had just happened. After a young woman and her personal maid left, there was no guest officer for the time being, and the two were able to rest, and they couldn't help but talk about the horses again.

"Erniang, if Xia Xiaolangjun hadn't pulled the two of us, the two of us might have been injured by the horse." Ma Xiaosan sighed with emotion, but also sighed, "How stupid did the two of us just now, I forgot to thank Xiao Langjun for saving his life, it shouldn't be." ”

"That's right, the two of us are too rude." Niu Erniang pulled the hair in front of her forehead, wiped her hand on her apron, and wiped her tears, "Fang Cai's little Langjun is more like our lost son, San Lang, if he can be our righteous son, I will wake up laughing in my dreams." ”

"What do you think? Xiao Langjun is our savior, do you still want to recognize him as a righteous son? It's not us who are his saviors. Ma Xiaosan blamed Niu Erniang on his lips, but in fact, he couldn't help but think in his heart, if he can really recognize Xiao Langjun as a righteous son, he and Erniang can be relied on in their old age, forget it, don't want to, how can he make Xiao Langjun recognize him as his father?

"It would be great if my son was still there......" Niu Erniang sighed and wiped her tears again.

"Shop, come to two bowls of wontons, more coriander and more vinegar, soy sauce too, not spicy dishes."

Two guest officers, a man and a woman, came to the wonton stall, both of them were 20 years old, the man was wearing a long shirt, thin face and light eyebrows, thin lips and big ears, and his eyes kept rolling around, shrewd and alert. The woman is dressed in an ordinary way, but also has a thin face and light eyebrows, a small cherry mouth, a smooth forehead, and a pointed chin. The upturned bun on her head indicates that she is a married daughter, but her expression is slightly sad, and the white flowers on her head are particularly eye-catching, obviously she has just lost her husband.

When Ma Xiaosan and Niu Erniang saw the guest officer, they hurriedly retracted their thoughts and began to get busy.

"Qi Niang, as soon as Luo Da dies, you are also free, if you meet the person you like in the future, you can marry again, don't be sad." After the man sat down, he took out a handkerchief and wiped the table and bench before inviting the woman to sit down, "Besides, Luo Da is unkind to you, why be sad for him?" His death was also self-inflicted. ”

"Fourth brother, I'm not sad for Luo Da, I'm sorry for myself." The woman sat opposite the man, just facing the Cao Mansion, her gaze stayed at the door of the Cao Mansion for a moment, "If it weren't for my father forcing me to marry Luo Da three years ago, if I had done my best to do business in the past three years, Quanyou Business House would not be a few points worse than the good times today." My father wanted me to marry Luo Da, and in the past three years, I have achieved nothing except arguing with Luo Da and getting angry. The good times are always there, and it is precisely in these three years that the wind has surged, and it is the first trading house in Daxia. It's really hateful and angry, the girl in the family is really good, no one forced her to marry, otherwise she wouldn't have today's achievements. It's also that she didn't meet me, hum, if I make a move, I will definitely be able to swallow it up. ”

Before Great Xia, girls mostly referred to unmarried women. Before the girl, she has to comb two "buns" on her head, separate from the left and right, and stand symmetrically, like a "girl" character, so it is called "girl". Tang Dynasty Liu Yuxi's poem "Sending Xiao Fan": "The flower girl is thirteen or fourteen, and the spring is about to be people." "After the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty, the people of Wu Chu called the maid a girl, and the girl gradually became depreciative. The woman called the little lady of the Lian family with a girl, which was deliberately despised.

"Daddy's decision, I can't refute it, in the past few years, I have wronged you." The man looked at the woman lovingly and handed over the chopsticks, "Qi Niang, as soon as Luo Da dies, you will find a good family to marry, and you will also bring the Luo family's property." With the financial resources of the Luo family, it can help Quanyou Commercial Bank grow rapidly, and it is not a problem to eat the good times within three or five years. ”

The laws of Bactria stipulate that the dowry brought by a woman when she marries is the woman's personal property, and when she remarries, she can take it away. In order to prevent his brothers from sharing more property, men mostly buy real estate in the name of their wives after marriage, and after their deaths, their wives remarry and take them away. Luo Da bought a number of real estate and commercial houses in the name of Dong Qiniang before his death, and as soon as he died, Dong Qiniang could naturally dispose of it at will.

"That's exactly what I wanted!" Dong Qiniang took the wonton handed by Niu Erniang, picked up a coriander with chopsticks, and his eyes fell to the door of Cao's mansion again, "The prince said that Li Dingshan returned to Beijing, and there were only two places to go, one was where Song Chaodu was, and the other was where Cao Yongguo was." ”

"I think the prince is too careful." The man buried his head in eating wontons, he was also hungry, and his eating appearance was quite unsightly, and he couldn't take care of much, "Li Dingshan made friends with the prince before he left Beijing, and after returning to Beijing, he should also meet with the prince first, how could he go to see Song Chaodu and Cao Yongguo, who have gone to the general trend?" What's more, Li Dingshan returned to Beijing this time because he was forced by the three princes. Looking at the capital, the only one who can ensure Li Ding's kindness and thoughtfulness is the prince. The prince just sat in the palace and waited for Li Dingshan to come to the door. Cao Yongguo is only one from the five grades of Honglu Temple Shaoqing, no power and powerless, known as Sleep Qing, among the seven Qings, the most idle and useless. If Li Dingshan defected to Cao Yongguo, where could Cao Yongguo protect him? ”

Qiqing refers to Guanglu Temple, Sinong Temple, Taifu Temple, Weiwei Temple, Taifu Temple, Honglu Temple, and Dali Temple. Taifu Temple is known as "busy" because of its many affairs; Sinong Temple is widely distributed because of the warehouse in charge, and is known as "going to Qing"; Guanglu Temple is known as "full of Qing" because of the wine and food in the palm of the palm; Honglu Temple is in charge of the tributaries of the neighboring countries, and although the national situation of Daxia is on the rise, there are still wars with the surrounding countries, and there are few tributes, so it is called "sleeping Qing".

"Since the prince thinks that Li Dingshan may come to Cao's mansion, he naturally has the prince's reason, you and I don't have to question the prince's eyeliner and judgment, just follow the prince's instructions to check Cao's mansion. It's also that the prince cares too much about Li Dingshan and doesn't want him to make any mistakes. Dong Qiniang carefully ate a wonton, her mouth was fragrant, and she couldn't help but praise, "It's delicious, it's delicious, it's delicious, it's all over the capital, this wonton is the best." Shopkeeper, I will come to your house often in the future. ”

Ma Xiaosan nodded and smiled: "Thank you, guest officer." ”

Ma Xiao, dressed in short clothes, is loyal and honest, with a big nose, big eyes and big lips, and is as simple as the poplar trees that can be seen everywhere in the capital. Niu Erniang is also gentle and simple-looking, no different from most of the low-level merchants and hawkers in Shangjing. The two of them were as ordinary as a wave in the river, and no one paid much attention to them.

Brother Dong Si and Dong Qi Niang are brothers and sisters of the same mother, Dong Si is known as Dong Si, because he is ranked fourth, known as Dong Si, and is on an errand in Dali Temple. Dong Qi Niang's name is Dong Qi Niang, because she ranks seventh, she is known as Dong Qi Niang. The ancestors of the two were important ministers in the former dynasty, and later their families fell into the middle of the road, and the two depended on each other since childhood.

Dong Qiniang secretly glanced at Dong Si, she got up and added some coriander, took out more than ten coins and put them aside, and pretended to ask inadvertently: "Shopkeeper, just now Cao Shujun's horse fell into the water, I heard that someone saved him, who is that person?" ”

"Yes......" A bowl of wontons is only three texts, and the guest officer is more than ten texts, Niu Erniang was overjoyed, and she was about to say Xia Xiang's name when she opened her mouth to be happy - when Cao Shuli asked Xia Xiang's name, when Xia Xiang answered, she heard it clearly on the side - suddenly her feet tightened, and she was stepped on by Ma Xiaosan, and immediately knew that she was too talkative, and when the words came to her mouth, she turned a corner, "It's a white-faced scholar, handsome, like a little lady." ”

Dong Qiniang showed a slight look of disappointment: "Do you know his name, and where is his name?" ”

"Set up a square table, all the guests who come, this capital is the capital, and the people who come and go are guest officials from all over the world, even Fanguo and Hu people, who remembers what is the surname of a white-faced scholar? Does the guest officer recognize him? Ma Xiaosan was afraid that Niu Erniang would lose his mouth for a while in a hurry, so he took over the conversation and smiled, "This scholar is no different from other scholars, that is, he is more handsome and whiter, but he is very worthy of the little lady, could it be that he has lived up to the little lady's affection?" ”

"Phew,!" Dong Niang couldn't help but be ashamed and angry, and wanted to have a seizure, but after thinking about it, she couldn't help it, and simply followed Ma Xiaosan's words and said, "Don't hide it from the old man, he is really a negative man, originally said that after the slave family reconciles and leaves, he and the slave family will get married." Now that the slave Langjun is sick and dead, I came to look for him, but he avoided him. Most men in the world are just as affectionate. ”

The atmosphere of the Great Xia Dynasty is much more enlightened than that of the previous dynasty, and when the husband and wife get married, in addition to the husband can divorce his wife, if the woman is dissatisfied with her husband, she can also take the initiative to file for divorce, and both parties agree, which is for the sake of reconciliation. "If a man who is unscrupulous marries a wife and dies by taking her wealth, and his wife is unable to support herself, he shall be allowed to change his wife from now on" means that if the husband is unable to support his wife, the wife has the right to divorce. "If the husband does not return after being away for three years, he will listen to his wife remarry", and if the husband has not returned home for three years, the wife also has the right to remarry someone else.

"Hehe, hehe......" Ma Xiaosan laughed implicitly, with his eyesight, he could see at a glance that Xia Xiang was by no means the negative man that Dong Qiniang said, Dong Qiniang and Xia Xiang were also ignorant, so he pretended to be confused, "There are many men in the world, and women are also common." Men and women love love, who is right and wrong, where can you say it clearly in one sentence or two? What love and hatred can't be solved with a bowl of ravioli? If there is, two bowls. ”

"Haha." Dong Qiniang didn't laugh, but Dong Si was amused by Ma Xiaosan's words, and he couldn't stop laughing, "The old man is so eloquent, it's really condescending to go to Washe Goulan to tell the story." ”

In addition to kabuki, there are also various entertainers, storytellers, animal trainers, jugglers, magicians, sumo wrestling, sketches, martial arts, bows and arrows, kejuju, puppets and so on.

"The guest officer laughed, I only sell wontons, where can I tell stories? I don't even know a few big characters. Ma Xiaosan stirred the spoon in the pot and scooped up a spoonful of soup, "Do you want to add soup, two guest officers?" ”

"Don't." Dong Qiniang was no longer interested in Ma Xiaosan and Niu Erniang, sat back in her seat, swept her eyes around Cao's Mansion a few times, and said in a low voice, "The prince suspects that Cao Yongguo and the third prince are secretly in close contact, and it is not unwarranted suspicion. Cao Yongguo and Li Dingshan have always been good friends, three years ago, Li Dingshan was dismissed from Beijing, and the three princes wanted to get rid of him quickly, but they didn't know where Li Dingshan went after leaving Beijing. Later, Li Dingshan's old friends in the capital were either dismissed or demoted out of Beijing, and only Cao Yongguo and Song Chaodu remained. Song Chaodu is protected by King Qing, but Cao Yongguo is alone, among the princes, no one spoke well for him, but he was safe and sound. With the power of the third prince and Hou Pingpan's temperament, how could it be that he was not demoted out of Beijing? is based on the prince's speculation that Cao Yongguo may have secretly surrendered to the third prince. ”

"If this is the case, the prince sent me and the two of us to monitor the Cao Mansion, because he was afraid that Li Dingshan would not know about Cao Yongguo secretly throwing himself into the Third Prince's Mansion, and if he came to the Cao Mansion after entering Beijing, he would have thrown himself into the net?" Dong Si frowned slightly, he thought that the prince ordered him and Dong Qiniang to pay attention to Cao Yongguo's every move, which was a complete waste of time, but the king's order was difficult to disobey, no matter how reluctant he was, he had to do it, and when he heard Qi Niang say, he suddenly became enlightened, "Listening to Yan Hao, he has already found out that when Li Dingshan left Zhongshan Village, three people in Zhongshan Village also left at the same time, one called Xia Xiang, one called Xia Lai, and one called Xia Go." The three were all students of Li Dingshan in Zhongshan Village. ”

"The prince asked us to pay attention to Cao Yongguo's every move, because he wanted us to protect Mr. Li Dingshan." Dong Siniang subconsciously looked back, and saw that Ma Xiaosan and Niu Erniang were busy, not caring at all what they were talking about, and thinking too much, but they were just a wonton stall couple, who knew what major affairs of the court, even if they heard it, it was in vain, "What is the prince's mind, we can't guess, although he is good friends with Li Dingshan, he doesn't have to fight with the third prince for Li Dingshan." In the past three years, the three princes have changed from what they used to be, and they are already in full swing. What's more, now that the emperor is sick, it is very likely that the third prince will succeed to the throne. ”

"Let's not think crankily about the prince's thoughts, guess right or wrong, it's all wrong." Dong Si was too lazy to think too much, he just wanted to do what he could in front of him, "But Yan Hao found Xia Xiang, Xia Lai, and Xia Go behind his back with Gao Jianyuan, what is the purpose?" Could it be that he wanted to use Xia Xiang and the three of them to lure Li Dingshan to show up? Li Dingshan must have been in Shangjing at this time, the three princes laid a net, but they did not find his whereabouts, it can be seen that he is in Shangjing in addition to Cao Yongguo and Song Chaodu, in addition to responding, Yan Hao wants to use Xia Xiang and the three to find Li Dingshan's whereabouts, which is also a good plan. I'm wondering, should we also follow Yan Hao's clues to investigate? ”

Dong Qiniang lowered her head and was silent, the wontons in the bowl had been eaten, only the clear soup at the bottom of the bowl was left, and there were a few coriander leaves floating on the soup, she muttered for a long time before saying: "Yan Hao only found out the whereabouts of Xia Lai and Xia Qu, but he didn't know where Xia Xiang went, but he had already sent a fast horse to Zhongshan Village again, to ask Xia Xiang's mother Xia Xiang's whereabouts." It is estimated that it will not be long before it will be clear whether Xia Xiang is in Beijing or somewhere else. If Xia Xiang is in Shangjing, it may be of some use to draw out Li Dingshan, but if it is in another place, it will be of no use to the prince's major affairs. ”

"Xia Lai and Xia Go are really fatal, they can't fall off the cliff and die, the children of the mountain village, they are really solid, haha." Dong Si remembered the tip report he received, saying that Xia Lai and Xia Quan fell under the cliff, and the two fell one after the other, and they were rescued separately, but they were only injured by skin injuries, which is also a miracle, "Xia Lai went north, Xia went south, this pair of hard-working brothers, I don't know that the other party is still alive, and I don't know if we can see each other again in this life." Speaking of which, it's all to blame on Li Dingshan, if it weren't for him, Xia Lai Xia would not have walked out of Zhongshan Village, and it would be better to be a villager than to go away. ”

"It doesn't matter if they're dead or alive, just talk about irrelevant things." Dong Qiniang snapped and dropped her chopsticks, looking displeased, she got up and left, "It's not early, it's time to go back." How to report to the prince, you have planned in advance, don't let the prince pick it. ”

Dong Si was not annoyed, he smiled, took out a few pennies and put them on the table, remembering that Qi Niang had already paid more than ten wen just now, and took it back.

When Dong Qiniang and Dong Si disappeared into the crowd, Ma Xiaosan and Niu Erniang glanced at each other, and both of them were stunned and panicked. Although the two didn't understand what was going on, they probably knew that someone wanted to harm their benefactor Xia Xiang, what the third prince was Yan Hao, Xia Xiang was clothed, under the pressure of the royal authority of the third prince, it was strange not to break his bones.

No, you can't let the benefactor be harmed by the bad guys, Ma Xiaosan said to Niu Erniang in a low voice: "Erniang, I'll go to Caofu to report the news, and you will close the stall." ”

"Cao Fu ...... Where can you get in? Niu Erniang thought for a moment, had an idea, got up and borrowed a pen and paper from Tian Dalang, who was writing letters on behalf of him, "San Lang, you write a letter and send it to Cao's mansion." ”

Ma Xiaosan slapped his thigh: "Erniang is still thoughtful, there is no way to report the news, and there is a way to submit a book." After speaking, Ma Xiaosan, who just claimed to be illiterate in big characters, wrote a letter on the board of the wonton with a piece of paper, and after a while, more than 100 words were waved in one stroke.

Subsequently, Ma Xiaosan took off his apron, sorted out his clothes, came to Cao's Mansion with a solemn face, and handed the letter to the porter.