When we arrived, there was already a large crowd of people around the pond in the West Sea.

Many palace maids and eunuchs were fishing for river mussels with nets, and some directly rolled up their trouser legs and went down to the shallows to touch them.

Listen to them chirping: "The river mussels in this winter are the fattest, take them back with hot water first, take out the trembling white and tender mussel meat, simmer it with the salty bones, and add some garlic sprouts when it comes out of the pot, ouch that taste!" It couldn't be more tender! ”

After hearing this, I swallowed my saliva and poked Xue Moyao with my finger.

He stifled a smile: "I'll call someone to arrest you." Then he pushed the guard next to him: "Fish for two big ones." ”

I clasped my palms together, almost jumping for joy.

Xiaoshu took the hand of the Lannei people and slipped out of the Manna Temple, and came over and patted me on the shoulder: "It's early!" Where there is something new, there is always our Xue guard to find out for you. ”

Lan Neiren said with a smile: "Chengri's family is in and out of the right place, and Xue Guards still don't go to ask Concubine Niangniang to make decisions for you." ”

The two of them laughed evilly again.

I tugged at the corners of my mouth: "Everyone else is busy fishing for game, but you two can feed the hungry worms by chewing gossip." ”

Xiaoshu clapped his hands: "Oh, forget about the serious things, I haven't eaten this thing for many years, and I think about it very much." Walked away. ”

Then she pulled the Lanne, and trotted close to the pond embankment.

More and more people came to hear the news, and everyone was very lively. Several adults from the fashion food bureau came and dismissed the crowd: "They are all scattered." These river mussels come from unknown sources, how can they be taken lightly! ”

The crowd exploded and muttered, "This river mussel is all alive, why can't you eat it?" ”

"Yes, yes, if you want to say it's dead, we naturally won't touch it."

For a while, the persuader talked to himself and couldn't maintain it. The people who fished were shirtless and in full swing.

The guard came back with a net and handed it to me: "All of them are fat, Shangshu looks feasible?" ”

I touched the shells with delicate threads, each one almost the size of a human face: "Very good, thank you." ”

The two of us turned around and left the noise, and Xue Moyao told me on the way back: "If you really eat it, but you have to cook it for a long time, these should all be swam from the wild pond outside the palace, for fear of water insects." ”

"The harem water system, if it really leads to the outside of the palace, I didn't believe it at first." Then he was happy: "Maybe you forced the water monkey to be in a hurry, it dug a waterway and escaped by itself, which gave the river mussels a chance to swim over." ”

Xue Moyao fell silent and said silently: "I'll tell you quietly, there is an old reservoir. ”

I was stunned: "How do you know?" ”

"This is the ...... Only the Xue family knows. ”

"The princess's song?"

"Whew. Originally, the former Chao Reservoir was responsible for most of the water used in the old palace site. Later, Miyagi was reformed twice, and the water source was no longer diverted. After the change of dynasties, the water in Miyagi has long been replaced by the canal water from the south, the deep well water, and the sweet water mountain spring in the north garden, who can remember this matter. And the old reservoir used to have a special feature that it was inhabited by a large group of river mussels. This mussel is plump and has produced a night pearl the size of an eyeball. So this song should have been made up by the muddy kid based on this. ”

"And then?"

"It was because of the ability to produce good pearls that the reservoir was turned into a pearl diving field. When it comes to the word pearl, most people don't know what it means. The round ones are beads, and the special-shaped ones are gills. Regardless of the pearl, as long as it is aquatic on that side, it will be extraordinarily bright. But it is not inexhaustible, after five or six years of vigorous mining, the output deteriorates, and then there are no pearls to take, so it is completely abandoned. ”

I thought of the nine small words on the pendant, and asked, "Then after all these years of desolation, now that the river mussels are flooding again, will there be pearl divers again?" ”

He scratched the back of his head: "Why don't I take you to take a look?" ”

"Hey, how can you be in the company of well-dressed beasts in the wilderness."

"Then I won't go."

"Forget it, I'll believe you again."

"Don't force it."

Then, the super fierce fist fell on him.

Riding a fast horse, he walked all the way north, passed through the periphery of Beiyuan, and entered the mountains.

The clouds are yellow and the sun is shining, the grass and trees are withering, all the sounds are silent, and the winter mountains are bleak like sleep.

The hard wind hurts the face, like a dead branch scratching the skin. I rubbed my hands together and covered my cheeks.

Xue Moyao took off the wine bag hanging on the horse and handed it to me: "If it is cold, take two sips, and your body will be warm." ”

I took it and sniffed the wine, a bit like the monkey brew I drank in the old days.

Then he sighed that there were no flowers in the empty valley, and there was wine in the new camp, and last year was poorer than this year.

Winding on the small hill road, turning three or five times, in the empty place between the mountain bags, a bright lake appears in front of you.

"That's it."

The two of us dismounted, grabbed the miscellaneous reeds, and walked to the water's edge.

The duckweed withered, like pieces of rotten rags slumped on the water. Everything was so quiet, there was not a ripple, and it looked like stagnant water.

"Well, I see, the mussels are hungry here, and they have moved their families thousands of miles away, but they don't want to come out of the pit and fall into the well, which has become everyone's meal."

"You little poor mouth~"

The two of us walked along the edge of the reservoir for a while, and found that it was all wildland, no mussel slopes, no silver beaches, and no pearl divers. Not to mention that there are people diving pearls, there is no trace of people.

"Hmm...... Outside the imperial city, it was so deserted. I pursed my lips and felt like I had run for nothing.

Xue Moyao took the reed pole and opened the way with yellow grass: "Those who secretly come to fish for mussels and pearls must come at night, and they don't dare to do it during the day." Because this pearl has never been forbidden to be picked privately, it is all government-run. Then again, what are you doing looking for pearl divers? ”

"The eldest princess told me that when Huang Weng Weng left the palace, she had a secret related to a pearl diver."

Xue Moyao chuckled: "That year, she was only four or five years old. What real secrets can there be? It's all about coaxing her, and you believe it. ”

I looked him in the eye: "Pearl fishing is all official?" Does that mean that "pearl diver" is a serious profession? ”

His eyes swirled at my eyebrows: "That's true, the imperial court has a special pearl diving bureau." Once the common people join, they cannot quit for life, and if they flee, they will be punished like deserters. ”

I frowned: "How come I've never heard of the pearl diving bureau?" ”

It's just a very small department under the "general supervision", and it is not directly under its jurisdiction, and it is often divided into local, mostly along the river and coastal areas. The land in those places is scarce and barren, and it is not easy to grow grain, so many people only have this one way, which is to go down to the river and the sea for the government, dive for pearl diving, and exchange pearls for rice. ”

I nodded: "It turned out to be under the Ministry of Industry." The Ministry of Industry has the least twists and turns. He looked at him with a smile and joked: "Shangshu Shilang is in charge of the six departments, and even the little son in the family knows a lot about the door!" ”

He blinked: "Don't keep talking about miscellaneous things, talk about you and me." ”

"What do you and I have to say?"

"Although I don't participate in the scientific examination, I strive to make a contribution to Yu Linwei as soon as possible, and I am promoted from "Lang General" to "Zhong Lang General". In this way, the Governor should be satisfied. ”

I laughed awkwardly: "What are you?" ”

He said in a serious tone: "You know what I mean. Hearing that the third son of the Nian family was devoted to business and was a concubine, the Governor of Fan Du and Su Neisi were not satisfied. Even if the Queen Mother mentioned it, she would give up, and in the end she only promised him the young lady of your cousin's family......"

"Don't talk about it." I interrupted him: "I don't want to mention this, and I don't think about marriage anymore. ”

After returning from the reservoir in half a circle, I shook my legs and got on the horse: "Let's go back, it's a little later, I'm afraid there will be wolves in the mountains." ”

He let out a breath and followed my horse: "Since you still have a hurdle in your heart, then I will slowly accompany you through it." ”

I was speechless, just let the cold wind mess around.

The next day, when I heard the news, the young son of Liu Crocodile slave who was captured from Luoyang was sent to the court.

With the emperor's order, I went to see this drooping boy to see if I could find out anything, and to report what I knew to him.

The courtyard is deep and secluded, and if you don't come here for a long time, you just feel that the atmosphere is suffocating. stopped in front of a small courtyard between Yongxiang and the violent room, and the leading eunuch saluted: "Fan Shangshu, this is it." ”

Before I even got in, there was a strong musty smell mixed with a foul smell, and I couldn't help but hide my nose.

The eunuch said with a smile while leading me in: "This Yeting Palace belongs to the old palace site, the drainage channel is old and dilapidated, and when it rains and snows, it often seeps water into the house, so the humidity is a little bigger." I'll get you a hand stove and spices, so that you'll be at ease. ”

I nodded: "It's hard work." ”

The courtyard was very small, and it took more than a dozen steps to enter the hall, and the eunuchs spread clean cushions on the stacked mats: "You sit, and the small ones will come when they go." ”

I looked at this dilapidated house, and the furnishings were all in the old style. The lacquer on the wood is all gone, and there is a coarse porcelain teapot on the desk, and the black spout is missing, like a person with an open mouth.

A servant woman pushed a boy with big ears out of the inner chamber and bowed to his knees.

The boy was so impatient that he seemed to be angry with everyone, and shouted, "Don't push me, don't push me, you thieves!" ”

I laughed and said, "What a tough guy!" It's just as reluctant as when I was caught in the palace. ”

He raised his eyes, and his eyes were so big that he seemed to be glaring at me: "You were also caught?" ”

I pouted: "Yes, it's just tied horizontally along the bundle, and the five flowers are tied up and hung on the second beam!" Then the leather whip was dipped in cold water and whipped hard, and I was annoyed so much now! ”

The palace maids beside him let out a burst of laughter.

As soon as the kid raised his eyebrows, although he was angry, he was also a little afraid, but his mouth was still hard: "Since you are annoyed, why don't you go to take revenge and come to see me for something?" ”

I put on a smug expression: "Of course it's revenge!" At that time, the person who arrested me in, one of whom was sent to the coal mountain to dig coal, has now been dyed Kunlun slave. One shaved his hair to serve as a lamp in the temple. There was also a calf cut off and told him to learn to sing dwarf play! ”

He opened his mouth roundly: "Wow~~, there can still be such a happy thing!" ”

I nodded exaggeratedly: "So! The main thing is that I'm too smart and understandable! Come and come, you can't get out on your own, you might as well stay and behave well, what ideas do you have, and plan for yourself! ”

I squatted down and handed him the two pieces of plum meat in my sleeve: "I see you, you are the same person as my sister." So I heard that you were arrested, so I came to take a look, and I think it's quite fateful. It's just that now, it's up to you to believe your sister. ”

Then the eunuch came in from outside and presented me with the hand stove.

I took it in my hand and sizzled, "It's so warm." Seeing that his clothes were thin and that there was a little snort under his nostrils, he put the stove into his arms: "Come, you are also warm." You're still wearing a single jacket in late autumn, and these people are freezing you. ”

He clutched his hand stove: "I never knew the cold on snowy days before...... Somehow, these days I want to shrink my head and hands into my clothes. ”

I laughed and said, "It's frozen, and I definitely haven't eaten well." Okay, think about what my sister just said, and when you have time to go back, I'll bring you roasted mutton to eat. ”

I got up, and as soon as I walked outside the hall, I heard him say, "Sister, I want to eat now." ”

The corners of my mouth twitched, and I smiled with satisfaction.