It is said that the south of the Yangtze River is a water town, and on the green Qiantang River, painting boats, small rafts, and fishing boats abound. Those who play the piano on the painting boat, sing Kunqu opera, and those who hold the pipa in their arms and sing the commentary, the women are delicate and graceful, Wu Nong speaks softly, and Diancui only thinks it is good and interesting.

There is a woman passing by, with a beautiful figure, with a reserved and slightly shy face, seeing a young and handsome man like Yuan Zhiheng, he would never step forward to throw a handkerchief and throw papaya like the daughter of the capital, only the corners of his eyes were slightly pursed, and he blushed and covered his hat more tightly.

Dian Cui then remembered that he was in a hurry to get out of the carriage, forgot to wear a hat, and felt that those women seemed to be looking at him curiously, and suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

The so-called following the customs of the locals, Diancui asked Xin'er to take his hat.

Xin'er and Diancui put on their hats, and relied on the last time they came, and the autumn moon next to them chattered about the scenery of Hangzhou Mansion, Dongxue laughed at her and said: "I have been here once and I have become a person from this Jiangnan water town, don't you know that our lord is from Hangzhou Mansion, and the girl of Rose is also living here." ”

Listening to Dongxue's words, Xin'er blushed, how could she forget this. Looking at the old man again, I saw that his face was indifferent, and he did not have the excitement and joy of returning home, but Rose looked at this familiar scene, and her expression was slightly hidden.

"Xianggong, look at the river, what are you doing?" Diancui asked.

Yuan Zhiheng said softly that he was worshipping the river god.

In this spring and summer, Jiangnan is festive and lively, and there are many festivals. In a few days, it is the Spring Silkworm Festival to worship the ancestors, in May it is the Dragon Boat Festival, in June it is the Flower God Festival, and the Qixi Qiqiao Festival is needless to say......

"Is the River God Festival in March every year?" Diancui asked curiously.

Yuan Zhiheng looked at her curious appearance, smiled, and said, "The fifteenth day of every month is the River God Festival......

And he said, "Let's go and see." ”

On the river beach, several people who look like the leading patriarch are leading the people of the clan to kneel, and there are roosters, carps, and knife head meat on the desk, and a pole and flag are erected in front of them, and they are whistling in the wind.

"Sacrifice the river!" Ha Gong's voice trembled, but it was full of mysterious majesty.

At this moment a raft appeared on the river, tied to which a girl with oil braids and a red dress was tied. The girl had no expression on her face, and her eyes looked at the river with wooden eyes.

Several strong men stepped forward, cut the fixed straw ropes on both sides of the raft with knives a few times, and then pushed the raft into the river with great force.

"What are they doing!?" Xin'er asked in surprise.

"Offering a river sacrifice, that woman is a sacrifice to Lord Hebo." Rose said lightly.

"But ......" Xin'er was shocked.

"Go and save someone! Save! Dian Cui instructed Li Qingshan and Du Xiaozhu.

"Slow," Yuan Zhiheng suddenly said, "Let's go back." ”

Diancui was surprised and asked: "They are sacrificing living people here, and Xianggong, you are the new prefect, how can you let them take people's lives?" ”

"It's not as simple as you say." Yuan Zhiheng sighed, turned around and walked back.

"I don't understand." Diancui is still unwilling, a good girl, saying that the river god will be sacrificed to the river god?

"If you don't understand, don't ask." Yuan Zhiheng suddenly became a little irritable and said coldly.

Dian Cui opened her mouth slightly, her eyes were a little red, and she was very aggrieved in her heart, but this time Yuan Zhiheng did not come to coax her.

After getting into the carriage, the maids saw that the lady was sullen, and they were also uncomfortable.

"Madam, the sacrifice to the river god has existed since ancient times, and those big clans choose the women to sacrifice from the clan on their own, and it is difficult for outsiders to manage even the government." Rose grew up in Hangzhou and understands the customs.

Diancui felt aggrieved in her heart, watching the girl sink to the bottom of the lake, and was reprimanded by Yuan Zhiheng, although what Rose said was not unreasonable, but she always felt uncomfortable in her heart.

If she was still an ordinary woman, and those big clans chose young women to sacrifice to the river god, she would have experienced it in her heart, but she is now the wife of the official of the parents of this mansion, and she has already substituted this layer of involvement in her heart, and then she has a little compassion in her heart when she looks at the people of Hangzhou.

Previously, she knew that Yuan Zhiheng had a cold side in his temperament, but today he was even worse, as if he had some kind of forbearance hatred for this land and the people on it.

Thinking of this, Dian Cui couldn't help but shudder in his heart. Yuan Zhiheng, who arrived in Hangzhou, was different from those in the capital and even in Qianjia Village.

Because of the calm atmosphere, the prefect couple who wanted to continue the private interview with Weifu also stopped thinking and went directly to the yamen of the state capital.

When the yamen of the state capital heard that the newly appointed prefect had arrived, they naturally greeted each other outside the yamen.

After meeting him, he realized that the prefect was so young, and even the lady beside him still had a little childish childishness on his face.

These people in the government are all old people, and when they see that the adults are hairless boys, they are a little contemptuous in their words and deeds.

"I don't know if the lord has suddenly arrived, and the lower officials have missed the distance, and I hope the lord will forgive me," an old acquaintance in the house took the lead and stepped forward to say: "It's late tonight, but the inner courtyard in this mansion hasn't been cleaned up yet, I'm afraid that the lord and Mrs. will be surprised, and I will move to the restaurant near here, and I will ...... when the inner courtyard is cleaned up."

This is interesting, after they clean up the inner courtyard and then move in from the restaurant, the inner courtyard will not be cleaned up for a day, Yuan Zhiheng and Diancui will have to live outside for a day.

Diancui raised his eyes and looked at Yuan Zhiheng, can he bear this matter?

saw him sneer, and walked straight to the gate of the mansion with a little cui's hand.

"My lord, my lord......" The old acquaintance was surprised, he really didn't expect that the young prefect would ignore his words and go straight inside.

He made a look, and two small officials jumped forward to intercept Yuan Zhiheng, Yuan Zhiheng said coldly, and then kicked the two little officials to the cornerstone of the door.

Everyone was stunned, Jiangnan people are good at scheming and gentle, even if they are not in their hearts, they will not do such a brutal method, the new prefect came to the first time and did not agree with each other. The two little officials, both burly men, were now kicked out by him, and they fainted there.

In the silence of everyone, Yuan Zhiheng, Diancui and all the maids entered the gate of the mansion.

"My lord, it said that our new prefect is the new champion of this year's department, and it should be the champion of martial arts, right?" A small official muttered.

The old acquaintance touched the sweat on his head, and said How do I know, but this one doesn't look easy to mess with, and after speaking, he looked at the inner courtyard with a worried face.

Let's say that Yuan Zhiheng Diancui and his wife entered the inner courtyard, but they saw that not only was it in disrepair and noisy, but it was quite magnificent, precious flowers and plants, and all the utensils were quite exquisite, and it was not small to look at, compared to the champion mansion in the capital.

Walking further inside, I saw that the lights were bright, and there were maids shuttling among them.

Several maids around Diancui looked at each other, what does this mean? Xin'er stopped a kind-faced little maid and asked, "Are you all subordinates in this courtyard?" Who brought you here? ”

The little maid didn't answer, but asked, "Are you guests invited by our family?" Can you give your name, I can pass it on my behalf. ”

is also a clever maid, Xin'er was a little stunned and didn't know what to say for a while, but Qiu Yue next to her said solemnly: "I don't know who your lord is, now this courtyard should belong to our prefect, if you want to spread the trouble quickly, say that the prefect has arrived, let the people in the house come to take over quickly." ”

The maid looked obviously stunned, a little undecided, and secretly looked at these unfamiliar guests.

"Go quickly!" Yuan Lu, who was beside Yuan Zhiheng, was a native of the capital, and there was a little impatience in his tone. The people in this government are really strange, the adults have only arrived on the first day, and they have received such treatment, which is really bold!

The little maid was scolded by Yuan Lu, and she was so frightened that she ran to the master's house to report.

Yuan Zhiheng and the others were not familiar with the courtyard, it seemed that there seemed to be a female dependent, and it was not easy to break in at will, so they had to wait outside.

After waiting for half an hour, a middle-aged man with a medium-sized white face and a meticulous beard came out of it. A middle-aged beautiful woman beside him was smiling and behaved dignified and generous, which made people feel like a spring breeze and was kind and noble.

The middle-aged man looked at Yuan Zhiheng and was silent for a long time, and Yuan Zhiheng also looked at him levelly. Diancui had never seen such a scene, and she didn't know how to speak.

But I heard the middle-aged beautiful woman smile and stepped forward to hold Qi Cui's hand, and said: "I think this is Lord Yuan's wife, it turns out that she is so beautiful and young, but I didn't expect the two to come so quickly, we are not ready yet, and it is really my fault that I did not welcome Yuanying." Please don't be surprised. ”

This lady has a very beautiful demeanor, with a light smile on her face when she speaks, but she also has a beautiful demeanor, and she talks softly with people, and she hears that Diancui's ears are very ironing and gentle, making it difficult for people to perceive the sense of reserve and contempt.

Diancui has been running around for a day with Yuan Zhiheng's "micro-service private visits" to various places in Hangzhou during the day today, and the clothes and hair may not be bright and tidy, plus there was a small conflict with Yuan Zhiheng on the river beach, and the frustration on his face has not completely faded.

Facing this woman with a lot of manners, she suddenly returned to the situation when she was an aunt and concubine in her previous life, and she felt ashamed of herself.

She was so stunned, she was so stupid, and the letter that she was waiting for was even more hairy when she looked at the lady. Fortunately, the two big girls next to her, Dongxue grabbed her palm, so that she should come over, and heard Qiu Yue say:

"Please don't be surprised by this lady, our wife came all the way from the capital to Hangzhou Mansion, very tired, plus our people in the capital, it is inevitable that the temperament is a little more reserved...... Dare to ask who this lady is, and why does she live in the courtyard of our prefect? ”

Qiuyue means that their wives are arrogant, and it is inconvenient to talk to those who are unknown.

When the woman heard her, an almost inaudible embarrassment flashed on her face, this person from the capital is really difficult. I had to look at the man next to her.

The man wanted to strike first and let Yuan Zhiheng speak first, but he didn't expect Yuan Zhiheng to look at him and just wait for him to explain. The two little guys beside Yuan Zhiheng looked at themselves like thieves.

The man laughed and said, "You and I are destined, and I am also the prefect of this Hangzhou Prefecture." As he spoke, he led Yuan Zhiheng to the courtyard.

"Oh?" Yuan Zhiheng said: "When the Holy Majesty ordered Yuan to serve as the prefect of Hangzhou, he did not mention that there was another one. If Yuan is wrong, he will ask the household department in the book and confirm it as soon as possible. ”

The man was embarrassed for a while, and only listened to the butler beside him play a round and said, "Lord Yuan, you are indeed the only prefect in this Hangzhou. Our Lord Wang is the former prefect, but now he has not waited for the transfer from above, presumably Lord Yuan will not mind that our Lord Wang temporarily lives in the mansion, after all, this courtyard is not small, there are many and miscellaneous things, and it is not easy to move for a while. ”

Dian Cui came back to his senses at this time, and it turned out to be the previous prefect and his wife. When the new prefect arrived at the government, the old prefect had not yet been settled, and it was indeed embarrassing that he should not leave and did not know where to go.

"I occupied your yard, I really shouldn't be, and please don't blame Mrs. Yuan," the beautiful woman's face was no longer arrogant, and she only blushed and explained to Dian Cui in a warm voice, during which she deliberately said that the Hangzhou Mansion is very deep, and the new prefect may be confused, and she and her family are willing to help.

The woman's words were sincere and earnest, but the king was smiling and silent, looking like he was in his chest.

Yuan Zhiheng was very impatient on his face, and was about to speak, but he heard Diancui say softly, Okay, that annoys the lord and the lady.