On the fifteenth day of the first month of the third year of Wanli (1575 AD), Xu Ling'er bought gifts and offerings in Ji'an County and returned to his homeland.

Since the Xu family is the third generation, in fact, there are no relatives with direct blood here, and she only remembers that Ah Degong, who her father often mentions, is her grandfather within five suits.

Accompanied by Feng An and other soldiers, he found Ade Gong in the farmhouse in Heshan Village, Tongping Township, Ji'an, and the old man heard that Xu Yihou's daughter had returned, and he was so excited that he burst into tears.

When Xu Ling'er made a big salute, the old man hurriedly helped her up, pulled her closer and asked kindly, "Child, how are your parents now?" ”

At this moment, Xu Ling'er thought of her father who was trapped in the East, her heart was like a knife, but it was inconvenient to say it clearly, so she nodded with tears.

The old man sighed: "When your father left the village, that is, at your current age, he was a talented man in our ten miles and eight townships, and he was a talent in the township examination, but it is a pity that your grandparents have tuberculosis all the year round, missed your father's future, gave up the opportunity to take the exam, and changed to study Qihuang, he is talented and intelligent, and the medical Tao is brilliant, and after your grandparents passed away, he traveled the rivers and lakes alone, and I heard that he went to Nanjing, and this thirty years have passed......"

Xu Ling'er was sad for a while, and gave the old man a generous gift, saying: "Grandpa, the grandson is not filial, he has not returned from home for decades, and he passed by his homeland on the way to run an errand. In the early years, I traveled with my father and never settled down, but now that my grandson has grown up, I will definitely accompany my father back again in a few days. ”

"Child, knowing that it is not easy for your father and daughter to be outside, you don't need to pay attention to vulgar etiquette, you can see your juniors who are away from home, and know that you are all safe, and you will be at ease."

So, the old man arranged for his family to kill chickens and ducks, and invited Li Zheng and the Xu family from Heshan Village to his home and warmly entertained them.

After lunch, Ah Degong and Li Zheng and others accompanied Xu Ling'er and brought gifts to visit door to door.

In the evening, the children in the village picked up lanterns, set off fireworks, and everyone gathered together in the ancestral hall of the Xu family.

In the sound of fireworks, someone sent a large pot of Lantern Festival and sacrifices, placed on the offering table of the ancestral hall, and under the leadership of Ade Gong, a grand ancestor worship ceremony was held.

After the worship ceremony, everyone shared the Lantern Festival together, and Ah Degong led Xu Linger and others to her family's cemetery, burned incense in front of the graves of her grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-grandfather, and offered sacrifices.

Xu Ling'er lit the paper in her hand, her eyes were full of tears, and she began to pray silently in her heart......

A cool breeze blew, the flames in front of the tomb flickered, the burned paper flew around, and the sparks floated in the night breeze.

The moonlight flows like water, the stars are sparse and the moon is bright, Xu Linger looks at the sky from afar, and deeply understands this strong nostalgia, the feelings of the mountains, and the hope of the bright moon and breeze......

Ah Degong said: "Child, look at the mountain, the water, the flower, the grass, and the tree...... They are all spiritual, and in the future, wherever you go, don't forget that this is the root! ”

"Grandpa, please rest assured, my grandson will never forget that my roots are here."

Continuing to fiddle with the burning paper, after a moment of silence, Xu Ling'er whispered: "The drum breaks the pedestrians, and the sound of a goose in the autumn." The dew is white from tonight, and the moon is the hometown of Ming. There are brothers who are scattered, and there is no home to ask about life and death. The length of the letter is not reached, and the army has not ceased to be suspended. (From Don. Du Fu's "Remembering My Brother on a Moonlit Night")

Feng An remembered Hu Shouren's entrustment before leaving, asking her to persuade Xu Ling'er along the way, there were many things that she hadn't had time to say, so she took this opportunity to persuade on the side: "Yes! The length of the letter is not reached, and the army has not ceased to be suspended. Miss Ling'er, don't let down the hard work of the two chief soldiers. ”

Looking up at Feng An, Xu Ling'er shook her head lightly and replied, "Flowers have a reblooming day, and no one is young." ”

"Thirty merits, fame, dust and earth, eight thousand miles of clouds and moons, don't wait for idleness, the young man's head is white, empty and sad. Miss Ling'er, I hope you can understand Rusong Gongzi. Although we are women, we also eat food and serve as soldiers, serve the court on errands, and face danger all the time, do you know? After Lin Shaoqi's merchant ship was hijacked by pirates, General Hu informed General Li as soon as possible, if it weren't for Lord Li secretly exerting his strength in the Yamen of Jinyiwei, how could Jinyiwei spare you? ”

The burning paper reflected her cheeks red, and her eyes flashed with crystal tears, and at this moment, Xu Ling'er, who was preoccupied, lowered her head and was silent.

Feng An continued: "Actually, General Li Rusong also sent a letter to Lord Hu, Li Shaoshuai is well versed in the art of war, wisdom and bravery, in all battles with the Mongols, he always takes the lead and charges ahead, and is a model commended by the Ministry of War!" Sister Ling'er, what are you waiting for......"

Xu Ling'er couldn't listen to it anymore, and covered her face with her hands and cried.

Ah Degong came to persuade him: "Child, it's not early, let's go back." ”

Xu Ling'er stopped crying, nodded and replied, "Grandpa, I finally know my family, and I will come back in the future." ”

Ah Degong also heard Feng An's words, and asked with concern, "Child, haven't you got married yet?" ”

Xu Ling'er nodded silently.

"Children, men should get married, women should get married, no matter how busy they are, don't miss the major events of your life......"

Before Ah Degong finished speaking, Xu Ling'er replied: "Grandpa, no matter where the descendants of the future generations will be, we must not forget that this is our root." ”

Early the next morning, Xu Ling'er and others packed up and prepared to travel, and Ade Gong led the men, women and children of the whole village to send them to the Shili Long Pavilion.

At the beginning of people, their nature is good, their sex is similar, and their habits are far away. If you don't teach, sex is migration, and the way to teach is to specialize......

The sound of a group of young children reading, Xu Ling'er stopped, stood in front of Ah Degong and the villagers who saw him off, bowed deeply, and persuaded: "Grandpa, uncles, uncles, folks, please go back." ”

Everyone said goodbye to Xu Ling'er one after another, and Ah Degong, who was full of tears, said: "Child, you have to remember to come back often." ”

Xu Ling'er knelt in front of Ah Degong and kowtowed three times, and then got on the horse with Feng An and the others, and turned around to say goodbye to his father and fellow villagers......

"Poetry and books are easy, rites are in the spring and autumn, the number is six classics, and you should pay attention to ......" In the sound of Mengtong's reading, Xu Linger left her hometown with tears.

According to the established itinerary, board the ship from Jiujiang to Nanjing, and arrive at Xiaguan Wharf on February 2.

found an inn in Nanjing and stayed, Xu Ling'er persuaded again: "Sister, you have worked hard all the way, then go to Zhenjiang, along the Grand Canal to Tianjin Wei, out of Shanhaiguan to Liaodong, I am very familiar with this way, you can rest assured to go back." ”

"Miss Ling'er, don't be surprised, I must send you to Lord Li Chengliang's account, this is Lord Hu's order, we don't dare to disobey." Feng An replied.

Xu Ling'er knew that it was useless to talk more, so she smiled and said: "General Feng, you are really a confidant sister, in fact, I want to stay in Nanjing for a few more days, I wonder if you will mind?" ”

"You can stay as long as you want." Feng An replied.

"There's a merchant here, who was kidnapped by pirates, and we rescued him, and I want to see him."

"Listen up, sister, as long as you don't think we're in the way."

Since he arrived in Nanjing, he couldn't go to Tang Jing's house to have a look, so Xu Linger took Feng An and others to the bustling city of Gulou and knocked on the door of Tangfu.

The doorman opened only half of the door and asked, "Who are you looking for?" ”

"Is Tang Daguan at home?" Xu Ling'er asked.

"The master here is surnamed Wu, not Tang, you can go." The doorman said that, and quickly closed the door.

Xu Linger was very disappointed, I don't know what happened to the Tang family?

When they arrived in the bustling city, Xu Ling'er decided to invite Feng An and the others to a meal, so she took everyone to a big restaurant, and the guys warmly welcomed them in.

It wasn't lunch time yet, and there weren't many guests inside, so the people who ran the hall made tea for everyone and put the recipe in front of them.

Xu Ling'er said with a smile: "After eating coarse tea and light rice all the way, everyone has worked hard!" Today, February 2, the dragon raised its head, the custom should eat fried bacon, hehe, presumably everyone is tired of eating bacon, now the delicacies of the mountains and seas are let go of eating, what you want to eat just order. ”

"There's no need to break the bank, we are all self-sufficiency soldiers, and we don't have anything to pay attention to." Feng An replied.

"Sister, don't be polite to me." Xu Ling'er called the guy over and asked him to introduce the flavor characteristics here.

After listening to the guy's colorful introduction, everyone ordered their favorite dish, and before the dish was served, Xu Linger asked, "Can you know Tang Jing and Tang Daguan on the opposite street?" ”

The guy was stunned for a moment, and asked with a puzzled face: "Are you from out of town, are you familiar with Tang Jing?" ”

"They are all businessmen, and they have had a one-sided relationship."

"Really? You're here for him? The fellow asked.

"I came to see it when I passed through Nanjing, but I don't know where he moved."

"Girl, I won't tell you, Tang Jing's house has been raided."

Xu Ling'er asked in surprise, "What is the reason for this?" ”

"Alas, it's really surprising, who would have thought that after being the hereditary prince, Tang Jing actually became a pirate when he left home, and what is even more outrageous is that he dared to harbor a widow at home!"

Xu Ling'er couldn't believe it, her eyes widened and asked, "May I ask why you say this?" W-What the hell is going on? ”

"The guest officer doesn't know, if you want to talk about this, it really can't even be made up by Wang Shifu, who is making a play, it's really bizarre! Hehe. ”

At this time, Feng An was also interested and asked, "What kind of bizarre method?" Please tell me about it. ”

Tang Jing had been missing for six years, as a result, his home was occupied by his friend Xu Kun in the business field, and suddenly one day, he came back with a buddy, the strange thing is that he came back, the dove occupied the magpie's nest Xu Kun disappeared out of thin air overnight, so, the Xu family sued the government, but it happened to catch up with the Qingtian master Hai Rui to Nanjing to take up a new job, of course, the people of the sea really did not say, the only Qingtian master in the world, but the strange thing is that the sea master favored Tang Jing, the Xu family sued him for several years and did not sue him, It wasn't until Master Hai was transferred back to the capital that Tang Jing was sued. ”

"What about suing?" Xu Ling'er asked.

"How? When Master Hai left, Dongchang immediately sent troops to copy the Tang family, and their big business was all confiscated, Tang Jingchong went to the border outside the border, his wife was sent as a slave, and the two daughters were sold into the Qinglou. I used to say that Tang Jing harbored the Japanese Invaders, but I still didn't believe it, his two daughters had just been sold into Cuihua Building, and they were suddenly rescued by the Japanese Invaders, and it was said that this Widows were more powerful than Tuxing Sun. ”

Hearing that Tang Qiong and Tang Yao had been rescued, Xu Ling'er was relieved, but pinched two handfuls of sweat for Hai Rui, and then asked, "So, didn't Tang Jing even affect Master Hai?" ”

"Otherwise, this case is a bit bizarre, the guest officer doesn't know, Xu Kun is the nephew of Xu Gelao, the first assistant of the previous dynasty, but Master Hai has never bought this Xu Gelao's account. The Tang family harbored the Japanese Kou, and the people of Jinling City knew that everyone was very worried that Master Hai would be implicated by Tang Jing, and that he would be questioned by the imperial court, so he wrote the Wanmin Table, but at this juncture, guess what? I heard that Xu Ge Lao not only fell into the ground, but also wrote a letter to Lord Zhang, the first assistant of the current dynasty, which can be regarded as saving Master Hai, not only did Master Hai not have an accident, but he was transferred back to the capital and promoted to a higher level, do you say bizarre? ”

No matter what the rumors are, Xu Ling'er knows the ins and outs of these past events very well, she knows that now that Zhu Hui is under guard in the capital, then, there are still many people in charge of the overseas trade of Tang Ji Weaving Workshop, Elder Yuekong, Xuande Zhenren, Jingkong Jingming Brothers, Song He, Wanxi, Han Xiaoyu, Zhang Min'er, Wu Lian and others, where are they now? Who is the "widow" who saved the Tang sisters?