Without Zheng He's concerns, I also settled down, and slowly fell asleep in Ah Ping's arms at dawn.

I don't know if everything will come to naught when I wake up, or if it's just a dream of mine......

If it's a sweet dream, then this sweet dream is not over.

I thought that Ah Ping would return after finding me, but unexpectedly, the boat stopped in the white sea fog and actually asked me to get off the boat. I looked around hesitantly, this white fog was so thick that it was difficult to discern my vision, could it be the fog barrier he said, could it be hallucinating?

When I got off the boat, I found that it was a rocky shore, and I was stepping on rocks, so I was afraid that it was docked on the side of the reef beach.

As Ah Ping walked all the way out of the fog, his vision finally widened, but he paused as he stared ahead. I suspect that I am hallucinating, or that I have seen a mirage.

Directly in front of us there were rows of houses, and there were figures in them, but ...... I turned my eyes away and stared into the distance, which looked like an island instead of a shore. After walking for a while, I was sure that this was really an island, but there were people living on the island, and I was full of doubts in my heart, but I didn't rush to ask Ah Ping, just wondering if it was he who found this misty island on the sea all year round?

But when the words on the boulder fell into my eyes, my mind suddenly became blank.

Ah Ping took my hand and paused to step down, and gently and slowly put his tone into his ear: "When you sang that song for the first time, I sketched such a scene in my mind, in the past, I was limited by my identity and could not build it for you, but now I can." ”

On a boulder that is more than a person tall is engraved three words - fairy tale town.

After that, I felt like I was in a dream, and I felt empty as I walked through this town, and behind the town was the woods, thinking that the dream was over, but I was completely stunned when I glanced at the hut in front of me.

"That's ......"

"I don't know what the candy house in the forest you sang looks like, I only have this house in my heart. But there is no way to move all the things in our house like before, so we can only restore them as much as possible according to the drawings, do you want to go in and have a look? ”

Want! The voice was stuck in his throat, and he could only hold his hand.

He chuckled and pulled me forward, only to see the closed door suddenly open from within, and a boy ran out of it, and hit me headfirst in the leg because he was running so fast that he took two steps back before he stopped.

The moment he raised his head, my heart immediately trembled, it was Yuan'er!

"Mother?" After exclaiming, he immediately jumped over and hugged me, tilted his head and shouted, "Mother, you are really back." ”

My nose was sore, and I couldn't resist squatting down to hug him. I wanted to respond to him, but I choked up when I opened my mouth, Yuan'er sensibly came to wipe my tears, and said in my mouth: "Mother, don't cry, Daddy said that you are gone, he is going to the sea to find you, and he really found you back." After a pause, he looked behind me, and then asked with a puzzled expression, "Mother, where is the little moon?" Why didn't he come back with you? ”

One sentence froze me, and my heart seemed to have opened a hole, breaking open little by little, and I was deeply saddened.

A scolding came from above his head: "Yuan'er, who allowed you to run out without reading at this time?" ”

"Ahh Father, I'll go back. Yuan'er had already broken free from my embrace, and ran back with his legs, so that I couldn't react. When Ah Ping came to pull me up, the pain in his eyes was gone, and Yue'er believed that he must have known about it, and it was the deepest pain in his heart to not mention it so far.

What surprised me was still to come, I didn't expect that not only Yuan'er was in the house, but also Yun Gu and Xiaoxiao, as well as Changning people. They were all excited when they saw me, and Yun Gu even turned around and secretly wiped away tears.

Who would have thought that the dreamlike catastrophe would be safe and sound after turning around, and that the person who did it would be standing by my side. It wasn't until I walked into the room that I couldn't help but turn around and wrap my hands around Ah Ping's waist, trying my best to calm down the complicated thoughts, but I heard him whisper in his ear: "Do you remember what I said when I was leaving?" ”

I remember that he said that if he didn't do it, the emperor would build me a house by the lake, and it would be fully staffed. Now instead of building a house by the lake, he built a fairy tale town on an island on the sea, and then built a house in the forest behind the town that was exactly the same as the home in Ginkgo Village. It's just that the personnel are not complete, and Uncle Mu and Yue'er are missing......

I hope Zheng He is lying, but in fact, Uncle Mu just took Yue'er to another place and didn't have time to come yet. But even Yuan'er and Yungu have been brought to the island, how can Yue'er not come yet?

His calm voice finally revealed a trace of bitterness: "Lan, we always have to accept some regrets, this is what the years look like." I replied lightly, I understood what he meant, but it was impossible for him not to save Yue'er if it was possible, but he couldn't do it, and he couldn't change the outcome.

The reason why he wanted to "die" in front of Zhu Di was to put an end to Zhu Di's "future troubles". The emperor is suspicious, Zhu Yuanzhang is the best example, only in this way can Zhu Di's suspicions be extinguished, so that there will be peace in the future.

So in Zheng He's words, Zhu Di just didn't believe that I was dead, but he never mentioned that he suspected that Ah Ping was still alive. I don't know how Zhu Di recognized that the charred corpse that looked like me was not mine, and I was afraid that the news of my appearance in the fishing village had also spread to the palace, so he would send Zheng He to the West to find it.

The matter of Yue'er has become taboo since this day, and no one mentions it anymore, but somewhere in my heart it never heals.

But gradually I also accepted that this is what we have been ravaged by fate to survive in the cracks, born in an ordinary and small life. Some people are thousands of miles apart, some are close at hand, some stay where they are, some are wandering, some are eager to compete for high positions, and some are willing to be plain. Everyone is losing in gain, and they are also moving forward in loss and cannot look back.

Later, one night, Ah Ping asked me if I thought this kind of life was boring. Of course I say no, ordinary days may be dull, but that's not what life looks like. However, he didn't accept my answer, and "robbed" me on the ship in the early morning of the next day, and actually opened his "death" route again, but this time he even brought Yuan'er with him.

At first, Yuan'er was still very excited, but the excitement didn't take long to fade because of seasickness.

Later, I saw that the child's face was so pale that I was so pitiful, I asked Ah Ping to decide whether to return to the flight. But Ah Ping threw a sentence and spit it out a few more times, and slowly got used to it, and rejected my proposal.

I had no choice but to say to Yuan'er: You may have a fake daddy.

Probably knows the reason why Ah Ping sailed, the island was originally deserted, and he opened up a small town, and most of the people who lived there were his original guards and family. It is impossible to open up wasteland and cultivate land in such a short period of time, so it is not easy to provide for the survival of an island person, because the materials on the island are almost gone, and he must go back to the shore to purchase materials.

As for where he got his financial resources, I don't need to ask, how could a man who is so calculating that he can even calculate his life not plan these things well?

Probably in response to what Ah Ping said, Yuan'er began to get better after vomiting for three days, and it didn't take long for him to recover his energy, and he could only see him running around on the ship, and he became familiar with the crew after a while.

After sailing at sea for two months before we reached the shore, dozens of us stayed at a farmhouse. In the afternoon of the same day, I saw Yan Qi go out with people, and in the evening they came back with a cart dragging a cart of materials, and they went out again the next day, still dragging a cart of things back in the evening.

Looking at the cart full of things, I frowned and thought that it should cost a lot of silver taels, and I told Ah Ping about the proposal in my heart later. After hearing this, he muttered for a while and said, "This is indeed a good idea, I'll see what business can be done when I go back." ”

Indeed, even if he had secretly hidden a lot of money, he would have to feed so many people and move to the island in such a car, I am afraid that there will eventually be a time when he will be empty. Moreover, it is a bit risky to ask him to come out to buy materials in person, and it would be better if he could plan for a reliable merchant ship to send materials to the island, even if he didn't want the foreign ships to know that there was such a small island hidden in the mist, then he could also send the materials to the merchant ship at a fixed time to take over.

I didn't think it was just such a proposal, which opened the era of Aping's economic hegemony from the sea to the land, he did not enter politics anymore and also had a unique understanding in business, of course, this is all an afterthought.

After nearly half a month of supplies, I thought I was going to sail back after all, but Ah Ping woke me up before dawn, followed him into the carriage in a daze, and felt sleepy so I fell into his arms and continued to sleep. By the time I woke up again, it was already dawn, and I buzzed and asked, "Have you arrived?" Ah Ping replied lightly: "It's here." ”

"Yuan'er, did they all come over together?" I thought I was back at the dock where the boat was parked, but when I lifted the curtain and found a forest outside, I was stunned and asked, "Where is this?" ”

"Take a closer look." Ah Ping reminded on the side.

I stared at it, and suddenly my heart tightened, this could not be ...... That forest, right?

Ah Ping took my hand and said softly, "Follow me." "The feeling of walking through the forest came to me more and more familiarly, it was really the forest where so much had happened, a few miles away was the village of Ginkgo, and the white hot spring mist could already be seen in front of me.

Suddenly, Appleington stepped down and whispered to me: "Wait, no matter what happens, don't speak." ”

I looked into his eyes blankly, and found that it was far and deep and completely incomprehensible, but when I walked further afield, I heard a faint voice coming from the white mist. Heartbeat, is there someone?

Obviously, Ah Ping's steps slowed down and stopped, and the two of them stood in the white mist and faintly heard a conversation.

"Uncle Xu, why is this water hot?"

"Because it's a hot spring."

"What is a hot spring?"

"Hot springs are ...... It's the hot spring water in the mountains. ”

"But you still haven't said why the water is hot."

My left hand was held between the palms of Ah Ping, and my right hand was hanging down at my side, and I suddenly couldn't help but tremble, that was...... Who is Zhu Gaoxu with? I wasn't sure, but hope rose in my heart.

The palm of my hand was gently squeezed, pulling back my disembodied senses, and I nodded to him to indicate that it was okay. There was no sound of conversation in the hot spring pool, only children were heard laughing and the sound of water, as if they were playing in the water.

I wanted to get closer to see clearly, but the clasp of my hand told me I couldn't go any further. If that person is Zhu Gaoxu, then with his ear power, he will inevitably be discovered. Ah Ping and I came alone on this trip, but if Zhu Gaoxu noticed it, he would be in danger of collapsing. I could only sharpen my ears through the layers of white mist to listen to the movement, until Zhu Gaoxu's lazy voice came out, and tears burst out of my eyes in an instant.

"Yue'er, it's time to go back."

It's really Yue'er! I had to bite my lip desperately to keep the sobbing sound from overflowing, Ah Ping said that there will always be regrets in life, and I accepted this statement, but I couldn't calm down when I learned that my own son was just a stone's throw away.

There was a pleading in his voice: "Uncle Xu, stay a little longer." ”

Zhu Gaoxu: "Aren't you afraid of your mother's worries?" ”

My heart is skipping a beat, mother?!

"Okay, then let's go back quickly, I'm afraid my mother is waiting over there in a hurry." Saying that, it seemed that both of them got up from the water, but immediately heard Zhu Gaoxu shouting: "Wait a minute, the water on your body must be dried before you can dress, otherwise you will catch a cold." ”

I can hear the tolerance and gentleness in the tone, which is not at all like the arrogant and domineering Zhu Gaoxu I met later. After hearing the sound of the rope, there were steps to walk away, and my heartstrings seemed to be buttoned up, and I hurriedly looked at Ah Ping with pleading eyes.

I want to take a look, a clear look at the moon! Instead of only hearing the sound of speech through the blank.

He nodded slightly and pulled me to walk slowly, my feet were so light that I couldn't be lighter, and when I came to the front of the mountain through the hot fog, I could vaguely see many figures shaking in front of me from a distance of several feet. Stopping and holding him back, he looked back at me with a blank look in his eyes and shook his head at him.

Can't go any further, Zhu Gaoxu came here with someone to accompany him, and just because he wanted to come to the hot springs, he sent back the soldiers around him to wait in front of the cave. I narrowed my eyes and narrowed my gaze, and vaguely saw a small figure being held in Zhu Gaoxu's arms, and when he reached the crowd, a woman walked out of it.

Then Yue'er was handed over to the woman, and when she gazed at it again, she suddenly recognized that it seemed to be a green lotus that she hadn't seen for many years!

After only a few words, they boarded the carriage, the curtain was lowered to cut off the view, and Zhu Gaoxu rode away on his big black horse. Seeing that group of people walk out of sight, their hearts are empty beyond words.

"Let's go." Ah Ping called me softly.

I walked back with him without objection, and when I got to the carriage in the woods, I suddenly hugged him from behind, and I didn't need to thank him for many years, I just wanted to hug him tightly like this.

"Ah Ping, I'll put it down." I whispered as I pressed my face against his back.

But I heard him reply to me: "Don't force yourself to let go, Yue'er is our son, and he has always reserved the most important position in our hearts." In fact, I have already installed a spy in Beijing, and it is not too difficult to know his information except that I can't meet him. Zhu Gaoxu took him from Zhu Di to take care of him, and it shouldn't be too bad with what he saw just now. ”

I see it, enough is enough.

He said something silently in his heart, then took a deep breath and said to him, "Ah Ping, let's go home." ”

He pulled my hand and turned around, staring at me with dark eyes and deep silence, and after a long time, he replied, "Yes." ”