As the only current master of the Zhang family's mansion, whether the orders given by Zhang Erzhen are reasonable or not, the old people in the mansion can't refute them, and all they can do is to obey and protect. So after Uncle Zhang sighed and hung his head from the butterfly courtyard, he instructed the little servants to have an extra pony carriage when they cleaned up. The nurse watched worriedly as Mingyue packed up a few men's clothes, and then turned to the girl who was sitting on the table table where the begonia flower carved stone blue was struggling to write, and wanted to persuade again, Zhang Erzhen spoke first: "When I leave, the house will be handed over to the nurse and Mama Hua to take care of, and Ruyue in the other courtyard will ...... , the nurse should be careful, don't have anything wrong, in the end, she didn't do anything wrong, if there are not enough people in the house, ask her to come back to help. I'll take Mingyue and Jinqiu with me, and Yinqiu will stay too. Oh--also, the nurse told Mama Hua that her distant nephew was gone, and if she wanted to go and see it, she would go tomorrow, and she would be buried later. And this letter, take it to the post station and send it to Beijing. The letter sent by the lady will also be sent to the Confucian Hall tomorrow. ”

Zhang Erzhen saw that Mingyue was still cleaning up, and said with a forehead: "Mingyue, we are not going to visit the mountains and rivers, just have enough clothes to wear." You go and see how Uncle Zhang is doing to get some grain, and tell Uncle Zhang that you can bring more coarse grain. Looking at Mingyue going out, Zhang Erzhen put down Yang Hao and sighed: "Nurse, you must look at Ruyue carefully, don't let anything happen to her, this girl looks honest, since she has gone, she seems to have changed as if she was a different person." Mingyue came back from the courtyard with red eyes, and I saw that something must have happened. ”

Where did the nurse think about what Ruyue, she persuaded hard: "Girl, Tai'an is away from here for a day, there is such a big earthquake, it must be panicked, what can you do if you go, you just want to receive food and clothing, send someone from the house to send it over, why bother to follow, it's not safe!"

The worry and anxiety in the nurse's eyes made Zhang Erzhen feel a little guilty, she folded the letterhead and sealed it, motioned for the nurse to sit down, and then said slowly: "If it weren't for the farther journey this time, you and Mama Hua would have taken it with me." But you can't leave the house, and now there are chaotic people, if we all leave, I'm afraid there will be chaos in the house, you and Mama Hua stay to take care of the house and take care of the eldest son, I can rest assured. I received news that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had returned from a great victory in the southwest and had already gone to Tai'an with part of his army. If I can see him, maybe we can go back to Beijing sooner. Over the past year, Wanjia has been even more rampant, and we have been shrinking back, and it is not a good idea to wait for the rabbit. What's more——, the relationship between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Concubine Wan Guifei...... It seems that water and fire are incompatible. These news came out after Zhang Erzhen read Jin's letter, and Jin's tone was not as heavy as before, but he was probably a little happier, and he also said a lot of things about thousands of families. The strange color in Zhang Erzhen's eyes made the nurse regret for a while, after all, she is still a little girl, the court affairs are complicated and deep, a girl's family is in danger, if it doesn't work, it will be a catastrophe. Zhang Erzhen knew what the nurse was thinking, and smiled and said with relief: "I am also an old acquaintance with His Royal Highness the Prince, what is the nurse worried about." I just dressed as a man, and no one knew who I was. When we were in Wuchang, didn't I also pretend to be a man to give porridge outside all day long, and at that time, everyone said that the son of the county magistrate's family was very good. ”

The nurse was even more worried: "How can I compare it with that time, now that the girl has a marriage contract and is older, if there is really some mistake, how can the slave and maid explain to the old lady." As she spoke, the nurse wiped away her tears. Zhang Erzhen didn't feel good in her heart, but this trip was imperative, "Don't cry, nurse, now that I have grown up, I naturally know how to protect myself." As long as the nurse takes care of the crane age, I can rest assured. I was back in a few days, and the damage from the earthquake was severe, and I did everything I could to help. ”

The nurse didn't dare to persuade again, the girl made up her mind, but the lady said nothing, so she packed up her things more neatly and carefully, the young man's clothes and pants, hairbands, belts, shoes, socks and hats should be taken care of, Zhang Erzhen climbed into the old place of the bed and turned out the small box, and thought for a long time before taking the warm ring that Zhu Youzhu gave him and put it into his arms.

On the second day, the sky was slightly bright, and a small blue oilcloth carriage in Zhang's mansion was followed by several carriages covered with reddish-brown oilcloth, and the small servants followed on both sides, hurrying south. In the carriage, Zhang Erzhen took two little girls in men's clothes in bright spirits, although the two girls were still sleepy, but their own "sons" were not sleepy, and they just suppressed the idea of sleeping. The nurse took Mama Hua to see the carriage leave, and then went to the other courtyard to find Ruyue, but she searched all over the courtyard, and she didn't see the shadow of the girl, and the nurse looked terrible and said, "It's bad!

"If she runs away, she will be a fugitive slave, and she will be handed to the government in the form of a piece of paper, and she will not come back obediently?" Mama Hua followed slowly.

"Mama doesn't know, the girl's deed of sale has long been torn up by the girl, and the girl is kind-hearted, so she didn't mention it again. When the girl was leaving, she told me to take care of her, but she disappeared suddenly, and Mama went back first, and I had someone to find her. "Mama Hua was disappointed and sad, she handed over her skills to Ruyue, Ruyue is indeed serious, embroidering clothes is done quickly and exquisitely, it is very good to be a first-class big girl next to the big girl, the big girl is kind-hearted, and never beats and scolds the maids in the yard, that is, when Ruyue cleaned up her clothes, she tore the girl's favorite autumn gauze skirt, and the girl didn't know. For so many years, the nurse thought that she had not seen the wrong person, and she was no longer seen in front of her, and she was flustered and sad......

As the carriage gradually moved south, the number of displaced people outside the curtain gradually increased, all in rags, dragging their families with them. Mingyue and Jin Qiu couldn't bear it, they were also poor people who didn't have enough to eat, and they even felt like they were connected to the same fate. Zhang Erzhen looked at these lucky people who were still alive and only expressed some sympathy. If they go north, they will arrive at Jinan Prefecture, which is not seriously affected, and they will be received by villagers in twos and threes, so that they will not starve to death. Uncle Zhang came over to ask if he wanted to send some food to these victims, Zhang Erzhen shook his head, this is just the beginning......

The scene of Tai'an Prefecture, Rao is well-informed, Zhang Erzhen can't help but be frightened. The mud had been clumped by the rain of the previous days, and the mud on the dirt road had not been dried in the gloomy weather for several days, and the wheels of the carriage had been wrapped in a thick circle of mud. Zhang Erzhen opened the curtain and looked into the distance, and the villagers and officials in the distance were still busy in the gray and vast, and there were faint cries, and their voices were weak and weak. It's been so long, it's impossible for the people buried underneath to live, and the bodies that have been dug up are piled up, and if there are living family members, they will come to claim them, drag them and bury them in their ancestral graves, and if the whole family is killed...... , which can only rot there, wait for the officers and soldiers to completely hollow out this village before burying them together.

"In front of us is Hejia Village, which was flooded by rocks, with a total of 143 households, all of whom were sleeping at home during the earthquake, and 56 households were in it. Childe, the scene is a little ...... , you still don't want to look at it. Uncle Zhang rode over, and his hand holding the reins of the horse trembled a little. Zhang Erzhen's eyes widened to see, and after a while, she lowered the curtain and said, "Send out some dry food, the living still need strength to continue working." Other than that...... Tell the officials that if the corpses are piled up like this, the living will not be far from death. "Although the weather is not hot now, the most terrible thing since the great disasters since ancient times is not only the plague, but also dysentery, plague, Japanese encephalitis, influenza, gas gangrene, and skin infections may appear. Zhang Erzhen has already brought a homemade cotton mask, and instructed everyone in the Zhang family team to bring it, and whoever doesn't bring it will stay, and there is no need to go forward.

After the first village, further south is Wujia Village, Qijia Village, Sunjia Village, especially Sunjia Village, almost the whole village is gone, and a few people who are lucky enough to live in the earthquake don't even have the strength to cry, Mu Ran stared at the servants who came and went with a pair of eyes, and it seemed that they couldn't even speak. The greatest grief of a person is that his relatives have died, but he is still awake. This is really into Tai'an, Mingyue wiped her tears and choked, Jin Qiu's eyes were red, Zhang Erzhen tightened her mask, and put on a soft melon-topped hat, she didn't look at the pair of desperate and helpless eyes outside the car, there was only so much she could do, she wasn't here to find excitement.

The carriage finally stopped at the door of an inn, which was one of the few buildings that did not fall down in the earthquake, and the huge plaque hung on the top of the house, so desolate that a few small people were afraid that the plaque would fall and hit people when they entered the door, so they dragged it down and made a loud "bang" sound, which exploded in the silent street. There is only a shopkeeper in the inn to watch, and he is very surprised to see someone come to stay in the hotel, and now the businessmen and travelers do not come to Tai'an, which one does not know whether he dares to come alive or dead, and he does not know that there are aftershocks.

Zhang Erzhen, who didn't know whether he was alive or dead, asked for a few private rooms and told everyone to rest first and do it tomorrow. The shopkeeper took the silver, shook his lips and said kindly: "Now there are officers and soldiers everywhere, Tai'an is very chaotic, and there may be an earthquake, if you come to make money, I advise you to leave quickly." If you have come to visit your relatives, you have all seen that the dead are buried now, and how many people are still alive. ”

Li Da on one side drooped his head and asked in a deep voice: "Shopkeeper, there used to be an old man of Qi who struck iron here, have you ever seen it?"

The shopkeeper shook his head, pulled his cuffs and said: "It's been a long time, I think it's long gone, that old man is pitiful, where can the thin skin and bones still strike iron, there are no children and grandchildren in the family, and no one will clean up when he dies." I heard that a daughter got married in the early years, but there is no news. ”

Li Da felt even more guilty, said goodbye to Zhang Erzhen and entered the vast night. Zhang Erzhen watched him go away indifferently, stopping Uncle Zhang from wanting to stop him, now that he knows filial piety, why did he go earlier!

The next day, Zhang Erzhen was sitting on a red lacquered wooden chair eating xiaolongbao, and Mingyue gravitationally came in. Li was a servant of the wind and dust, and his eyebrows and eyes were tired, Zhang Erzhen first let him take a sip of tea before asking: "There are many officers and soldiers here in Tai'an, why don't you see anyone sent by the imperial court, but I can find out which senior official sent by the imperial court came to relieve the disaster?"

Li Wei wiped a handful of tea stains on his mouth, and Gong Zheng replied: "Girl, I inquired for a while last night, and this morning I went to the gate of the county government and stuffed silver for the officials. Li Wei continued in surprise: "It was the imperial court that sent the prince to the disaster, saying that it was a branch of the army from the south, and the slave guessed, I am afraid that it is His Royal Highness the Prince." A while ago, he fought a great battle and retreated thousands of miles, and happened to return to Shuntianfu. The slave guessed that most of them were right, but the girl inquired about what this was doing, and the government usually made a lot of fanfare about disaster relief, but this time it was silent, and it might cause trouble again. ”

Zhang Erzhen motioned to go down and clean up first, and put his hands on the red lacquered wood table thoughtfully, not to show the news? This trick of the saint and Wan Guifei is naïve, not to let the people know who the post official who came to the disaster relief is, that is, His Royal Highness the prince is really sick and died, and the people will not sing praises, after all, death is heavier than Mount Tai, and there is also lighter than Hongmao, if the prince dies of illness, there is naturally too much difference between the death of the prince and the death of the epidemic area. Zhang Erzhen pondered for a long time, and suddenly had a ridiculous and terrifying thought, if the Wan family really took advantage of this natural disaster to attack the prince, wouldn't it be too easy, if it took hundreds of lives......

"Mingyue, let's go out and have a look!"