The rain was pouring down, Zhao Qi and Yun Xiang were wading on the muddy road, the sludge had swept to the calves, and their faces and hands were also mottled with muddy water.

In normal times, Yun Xiang must be extremely disgusted with such a self.

But for now, she only felt that her life was more precious than ever, so she had no time to care.

The rain became heavier and heavier, and the road became more and more muddy. Yun Xiang touched the rain on his face, raised his eyes and looked forward, but saw a mist and couldn't see his five fingers.

At this time, her feet were sore, and she tripped over a branch, and she screamed "oops" and fell into the mud. The muddy water splashed everywhere, and half of his face was stained with muddy water.

She cried in disgust and tried to wipe it with her hands, but her hands were also dirty, and she could only get dirtier and dirtier the more she wiped.

Zhao seemed to squat down to help her, and said, "Let's go, if they catch us, we will only die!" ”

Yun Xiang glared at him fiercely, slapped his hands heavily in the mud, and said, "If you don't leave, they will kill me if they catch me." After tossing all night, I was tired of not killing anyone. ”

"Xiang'er, now is not the time to be angry." Zhao seemed to say: "If you die, how much does it mean for me to live alone?" If it's for me, you're going to live. ”

Yun Xiang suddenly became angry and said, "Phew! You're going to coax me! You say you are King Jane, so I will recognize you as King Jane? Didn't you say that the man was your good friend? Why did he kill you again? Can I still believe your words? ”

Zhao Ru's eyebrows were raised, and his hands tightly held her shoulders. "Don't touch me!" Yun Xiang shook his shoulders and shook off his hand.

Zhao seemed to only smile bitterly and said, "It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, but you are a daughter, do you know what happened to you in the hands of that gang of strongmen?" ”

"What's the end? If you can't fight, you will die. Having said that, Yun Xiang's tone softened a lot.

"Humph! I'm afraid you're going to die! Zhao seemed to say: "Catch a girl like you, they will stick a wood or peach pit in your mouth, tell you not to bite your tongue, and then strip naked and let others humiliate you, and then use a rope to parade through the streets, and finally cover you tightly with a fishing net, and cut you to death with a small knife." ”

Yun Xiang's little face turned pale in an instant, and his eyes flickered. She didn't speak, but her muscles trembled, and she already had a strong fear.

"Let's go, even if we are tired to death, it is better than death." When Zhao seemed to come to hold her again, she didn't resist.

The two stood up, Yun Xiang sobbed again, and said, "Good and decent, why should I run away from home, why should I run away from home, I want to go home......"

"Good! I'll send you home. Zhao seemed to take her hand and walked forward.

As soon as he took two steps, Yun Xiang suddenly stretched out his other hand and grabbed his wrist and said, "You are a repeat offender, if you enter the city, will you ......?"

Zhao seemed to smile sadly and said, "I am a dying person, as long as I can protect you, what does it matter if I hand over my life?" ”

Yun Xiang's eyes were full of tears, and he suddenly pounced on him, hugged him tightly, and said, "No! I don't want you to die, I want you to live with me. ”

Zhao Ru touched her head and said with a smile: "No matter life or death, we all have to go to the city." Rest assured, I'm covered in mud right now, and no one will recognize me. ”

So they walked hand in hand, and after walking for an unknown amount of time, the torrential rain gradually subsided, and the cold air almost froze people's noses and ears. The two of them looked up at the sky, and the sky as black as ink slightly revealed the whiteness of the fish's belly.

Zhao seemed to have a tight heart, and secretly thought: "I have to take advantage of the night to enter the city, I am afraid that my identity will be exposed after dawn." ”

Yun Xiang suddenly pointed forward and said with a smile: "Zhao Lang, look! ”

Zhao seemed to follow the direction of her finger, and in the hazy mist, they saw the looming lights on the city wall and the city tower, although they couldn't see anyone yet, but they knew that they were not far from the city gate.

The two of them were in high spirits and unconsciously quickened their pace.

The soldiers on the tower of the city were scorching, cautiously observing the surroundings like searchlights, and suddenly saw two figures wandering in the direction of the city gate, and couldn't help but shout: "Who is it? Stop! ”

"Stop!" The soldiers on the city tower shouted in unison, and the mountains and rivers were magnificent. "Huh?" Yun Xiang was taken aback, and hurriedly pulled Zhao Qi to stop his steps.

"Who are you?" A soldier on the tower asked, leaning on the wall.

Zhao Ru raised his head and replied: "Master Huijun, I am a traveling merchant who came to Tokyo, but I didn't expect to meet a strongman just outside the city, and I finally escaped with my clumsy wife!" ”

The soldier looked at the two of them, and when he saw that they were muddy and disheveled, he did not suspect them, and continued to ask, "What kind of strongman?" ”

"The little ones don't know, I just listen to what they say about the Cao Gang, and the leader seems to be surnamed Wan." Zhao seemed to reply.

"Cao Gang?" This phrase caused a commotion among the soldiers.

So the soldier hurried down the tower, opened the gate and rode out on his own.

When he came to the two of them, he dismounted, looked at them, and said, "Have you heard clearly, is it indeed the Cao Gang?" ”

Zhao seemed to say: "Hear clearly, it's the Cao Gang!" ”

Yun Xiang didn't dare to look at the soldiers, just nodded vigorously.

"Where are they?" The soldier asked.

Both of them pointed in the same direction at the same time.

The soldier nodded, and then asked, "Since you are traveling merchants, what about the goods?" ”

Zhao seemed to reply: "Master Jun, it's a great luck that my young husband and wife were able to escape their lives, how can I return all the goods guaranteed!" ”

The soldier also felt reasonable, looked around to make sure that no one else was following, looked at the two of them again, and said: "In this case, you can go to the nursing home in Anjifang for a while, and wait for the court to exterminate the strongman, and then report to Kaifeng Mansion." ”

"Yes, thank you, Master Jun." Zhao seemed to be busy giving him a bow, and Yun Xiang also bowed.

"Don't thank me, this is the emperor's grace." The soldier pointed to the city and said, "Go in, and another master will take you." ”

After thanking him again, they entered the city gate, and went to the nursing home in Anjifang, led by another soldier.

For more than 100 years, there has been no large-scale war in the Great Song Dynasty, although it is at peace with the Western Xia, but after all, it is also in the northwest border, and the hinterland of the Central Plains like Kaifeng Mansion has always been peaceful, so the interrogation of soldiers will not be too strict.

By this time, the sky was already shining slightly, and the city of Tokyo was already visible with "night incense" pushing dung trucks, and several households had removed their door panels and splashed their faces on the street.

The cold wind suddenly rose, and Yun Xiang held Zhao's hand tightly, feeling the last little warmth from his palm.

The nursing home was a refuge for the widowed and lonely in the Song Dynasty, providing free housing and simple food, and later providing free medicine for the seriously ill, which can be said to be the precursor of the welfare system.

Having said that, however, the nursing home is still a dilapidated scene. As soon as Yun Xiang and Zhao seemed to have walked, the smell of rancid and mildew came to their faces.

Yun Xiang hurriedly covered his mouth and nose, raised his eyes, and saw only a few dilapidated houses nearby, the people here were poorly clothed, and their dirty bodies seemed to have never been cleaned.

Some of them were sleeping, and some were leaning against the corner, staring blankly at the visitors.

Yun Xiang tugged at Zhao's sleeve and said, "Let's go, I don't want to live here." ”

Zhao Yi smiled and said: "The right to endure for a while, don't help it." ”

The soldier explained a few words to the caretaker of the nursing home, and the caretaker was very attentive and submissive.

The soldier turned to the two of them again and said, "Although this place is simple, it is better to have tiles to cover your heads, than for you to wander." ”

Zhao Ru smiled: "Exactly." The former Dawes was a burrow, but I was dexin. With this place to live, my husband and wife are satisfied. ”

The soldier nodded and left, and the caretaker came with the book and asked impatiently, "Name, why are you here?" ”

Zhao seemed to have two fake names and let the caretaker register. As soon as the caretaker recorded, he felt that something was wrong, looked up at Zhao Ru and said, "Listening to your accent, it looks like a Tokyo person, how can you say that you are a traveling merchant here?" ”

Zhao seemed to be stunned for a moment, and then replied: "It's not a secret, the little one is busy all year round, and he speaks various languages, so when he comes to Tokyo, he naturally speaks official language." ”

"Oh?" The caretaker looked at him and Yun Xiang from head to toe and said, "Then I'll listen to you say a few words of hometown." ”

"Nong can listen to the slave, Tang Shi said, the waist is wrapped around 100,000 yuan, and the crane is riding down Yangzhou. It's talking about even Yangzhou. ”

Yun Xiang said boldly. Zhao seemed to be strange, why did she speak Yangzhou dialect?

The caretaker looked at her again, although her face was covered with mud and her clothes were tattered, her eyes were quite beautiful, and she had a bit of the charm of a Jiangnan woman.

"Are you from Yangzhou?" The caretaker asked while taking notes: "What kind of customs does Yangzhou have?" "It's like small talk.

Yun Xiang was about to answer, but the caretaker rushed to say, "Let him speak." ”

Zhao seems to have grown up in the deep palace since he was a child, how to know the hometown and terroir of Yangzhou, and his palms were sweating for a while, and he didn't know how to deal with it.

Seeing that the identities of the two were about to be revealed, suddenly someone in the distance called: "Lao He! ”

The caretaker looked back and saw a man who looked like a rich man, dressed in rich silk clothes.

"Yo! You're getting old! The caretaker didn't care about Zhao Yi and Yunxiang, and hurriedly greeted him, and said, "Yuan Daguan, you are old and diligent!" ”

Yun Xiang looked at this person and always felt that he was a little familiar, but he couldn't tell where he had seen it.

Zhao Ruyi took her hand and said, "Come in!" So they both went in, and mingled with the crowd.

The caretaker, surnamed He, accompanied the rich man of Yuan, and there was a small commotion in the nursing home, and the children came to beg for food, and several small servants who followed the rich man Yuan also opened the cloth bags they carried and distributed the dough cakes with sugar to the children one by one.

"You are really a living bodhisattva!" The caretaker smiled and said, "The government has allocated food every month, and you have to add another amount, which is really the reincarnation of a living Buddha." ”

Yuan Dacai looked at the poor people here, his eyes swept over their faces one by one, and when he swept to Yunxiang, his eyes suddenly showed a little strangeness.

Yun Xiang felt this strangeness, but she didn't think much about it, she just thought it was an illusion caused by her too nervousness. But this anomaly only lasted less than a second.

The rich man turned to the caretaker and said, "Build a porridge shed immediately." ”

"Yes!" The caretaker answered and left.

Being a caretaker in a nursing home is a chore, and although there is no such thing as a lowly status in the Great Song Dynasty, people often refer to such a profession as a lowly status together with the tomb keeper and Yexianglang.

Because they will live with the stench all year round. Although these people in nursing homes have access to government assistance, it is very limited. Most people are malnourished and struggling to survive.

The so-called people are poor and short-sighted, and many people do not hesitate to rob or steal in order to survive, which will indirectly bring trouble to the caretakers of nursing homes.

However, this benevolent and generous rich man Yuan has been scattering his wealth month after month, not only saving many poor people, but also saving the caretaker surnamed He a lot of trouble. That's why he's so attentive.

Some young men with some strength helped the rich man Yuan and the caretaker to build the porridge shack together, and then boiled the porridge on the fire.

However, Zhao Qi and Yun Xiang hid in the shadows, and no one noticed them.

"Xiang'er, how can you speak Yangzhou dialect?" Zhao Ru asked.

Yun Xiang smiled bitterly and said, "In the past, my father often went there to pick tea, but I often went with him when I was a child, and I learned it. ”

"I see." Zhao nodded thoughtfully.

Yun Xiang glanced at the porridge shed in the distance and said, "Zhao Lang, let's go drink a bowl of porridge too, the slave's stomach is hungry." ”

Zhao seemed to cast a rather stern gaze at her, and said, "No, you and I are golden and jade, how can we eat with these beggars." After we ate this porridge, we really became beggars. ”

"But......" Yun Xiang gently tugged at his sleeve and said, "We will starve to death if we don't eat again." ”

Looking at the poor Yunxiang, Zhao Yan's heart also softened, and he had to sigh and say: "The eldest husband can bend and stretch, or it doesn't matter if he is humiliated once." ”

So he took Yun Xiang's hand and went to line up to receive porridge. Although the bowls handed to them were very rough and looked like they hadn't been cleaned for a long time, Yun Xiang, who had been tossing all night, was already hungry, so he could still care about this.

She received the porridge, and after quickly thanking her, she squatted at the mouth of an alley and drank it, and other beggars also squatted around.

Looking at her at this time, there is still the reserve and demeanor of the second girl of the Mo family, which is clearly a poor beggar woman.

At this time, someone suddenly patted her on the shoulder from behind, and Yun Xiang looked back, it turned out to be a six or seven-year-old girl, who seemed to be in a nursing home.

Yun Xiangman thought that she was here to rob her own porridge, so she hurriedly drank all her porridge and said, "I don't have it here, you can go there and get it." ”

The little girl shook her head and asked, "Big sister, do you want to eat cooking cakes?" ”

Yun Xiang was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly asked, "Do you have cooking cakes?" ”

The little girl nodded and said, "Follow me." As he spoke, he took Yun Xiang's hand and went deeper into the alley.

"Where's the bread?" As soon as Yun Xiang's voice fell, he only felt that his eyes were dark, and then he lost consciousness, and the whole process was silent, so that when Zhao seemed to squeeze out of the pile of people with porridge, he couldn't find her.