Shu Yan stared at Xiao Mo, who was already flushed with his cheeks, and deliberately looked at the square-headed clogs that Xiao Mo was wearing. At that time, the shape of the clogs was different between men and women, the men's clogs were square heads, and the women's clogs were round heads.

"I can teach you, but I want to ask you, why do you always say that you are a woman?"

Xiao Mo smiled secretly in his heart: You are so frank and straightforward! Nowadays, the Dajin etiquette system is relaxed, and it can even be said to be chaotic. Men's powder, women's men's clothing. Don't you know that many women wear square-headed geta like men? How can you tell a man or a woman by their shoes?

"Well," Xiao Mo coughed unnaturally, "I told you before, because I have been more active and active since I was a child, and I am naughty all day long, so my parents want me to be quieter, give me a softer name, give me girl's clothes, and raise me as a girl, I have been a girl at home for 20 years, but in recent years, when I am out playing, for the sake of safety and convenience, I have become a man again, so at some point, I will say that I am a girl." ”

"You really don't look like a man."

"Of course, I have been a girl for 20 years, and I have the temperament of a girl in every move."

"Are you Qiang people dressed up like this? Tell me your story. ”

"We Qiang people don't look much like you Chinese. In terms of race, among the Hu ethnic groups that you call the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qian, Di, and Qiang, the Qiang people are the closest to the Central Plains people in terms of bloodline compared to other ethnic groups. In ancient times, the relationship between the ancestors of the Chinese and the ancestors of the Qiang people was quite deep. Dayu once sealed Shun's young son in the Qiang land, the Qiang people respected Shun's young son as the chief, because the Shun name 'Youyu', so, the Qiang people claimed to have Yu's after. Later, due to the continuous migration of the Qiang people and the continuous integration with the local aborigines, they were divided into many different tribes, so they gradually drifted away from the Central Plains people, and their living customs, clothing and language were also quite different from those of the Chinese. ”

"You said that your father's surname is Hua, and your big name should be 'Hua Xiaomo', but why do you call 'Jiang Xiaomo'?"

"Because my mother's surname is Jiang, there is no distinction between ginger and Qiang in ancient times, they all have the word 'sheep', and Emperor Yan is also surnamed Jiang, and the Qiang people are proud of their surname Jiang."

"Are the Qiang people matrilineal? Why do you take your mother's surname and not your father's? ”

"Not necessarily, the ancestors of the Qiang people did use their father's name and mother's surname as their name, but I didn't do it for this reason. Because my father was not a Qiang, but half Chinese. I grew up in Qiangdi, so of course I have to take my mother's surname. ”

"Chinese?" Shu Yan was puzzled.

"Well, my father can only be counted as half Chinese. My grandfather was the real Chinese. ”

"What real Chinese, half Chinese? It's getting more and more confused. ”

"Of course you're confused, that's why I look different." Xiao Mo smiled, "Have you heard of the ancient Silk Road?" In the former Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian, Marquis of Bowang, to the Western Regions, with the intention of uniting the countries of the Western Regions to flank the Xiongnu, but the political goal was not achieved, but inadvertently opened a trade route. Since then, merchants from all over the world have been exchanging goods along this ancient Silk Road, transporting silk, tea and other items of the Han people to the countries of the Western Regions, and the countries of the Western Regions will sell their horses, jewelry, fruits and vegetables to the Central Plains, and the trade is quite prosperous. My grandfather was one of these merchants, and his caravan of comprador silk from Chang'an was transported to the Western Regions, and then from the Western Regions the comprador goods were transported back to Chang'an, and as far as Persia. Originally, the business situation was very good, my grandfather's business was doing well, and he was engaged to the daughter of a wealthy local merchant in Dawan. But who would have expected that the political situation was sudden, and most of the countries in the Western Regions were in turmoil, and seeing that this prosperous ancient Silk Road, which had been opened with great difficulty, was about to be broken, my grandfather knew that it would be difficult to return to China if the Silk Road was broken, so he gave all the goods that had not yet been sold to his father-in-law, who had not yet married, to explain his intention to return to China, and proposed to dissolve the marriage contract, and the rich businessman agreed. Because he knew that if his daughter married into a big Han, once the ancient Silk Road was broken, he would never see his daughter again. My grandfather received the promise, and immediately simply packed his bags, rode lightly, and prepared to leave Dawan, and before he had gone far, he saw a veiled young woman standing by the roadside, and when he saw my grandfather's horse coming, he stopped in the middle of the road, and my grandfather recognized at a glance that this was his fiancée, whom he only knew one-sided. The woman stared at my grandfather for a long time, and my grandfather knew that he wanted to go home, presumably to stop him, and he didn't know how to face the woman, even though they never spoke. I was at a loss when the woman suddenly turned to the side of the horse, took my grandfather's hand, stepped on the stirrup, and turned over on the horse, and my grandfather realized that she was going with him—no, it would be more appropriate to say that she had eloped. Because she didn't have any packages with her, she obviously ran out behind her parents' backs. The woman put her arms around my grandfather from behind, and my grandfather was so moved that he didn't care about any propriety or impropriety, so he slapped the horse's ass hard and walked away. That woman was my grandmother. ”

"Your grandfather is loyal to the Han Dynasty, and your grandmother is loyal to love, which is certainly respectable, but you said that your grandfather was from Chang'an, and your Qiang land is still far from the Silk Road, why didn't they return to Chang'an, but came to your Qiang land?"

"Don't worry, listen to me. The two of them traveled all the way east, went through hardships, and saw that they were about to reach the border of the Han Dynasty, but who would have thought that the Han Dynasty had also changed the sky, the princes were fighting, the rebels were looting everywhere, and it was impossible to return according to the original Silk Road, so they turned south and planned to return to Chang'an. When they came to our Qiang territory, they were plundered by the local tribes, but luckily my grandfather met me, who was the chief of our tribe, and he brought my grandparents to our tribe. After a while, there was my father, who was very clever and handsome, and he liked my grandfather very much since he was a child, so my grandfather betrothed his youngest daughter, my mother. ”

"Oh, in this way, your grandfather is Chinese, your grandmother is from the Western Regions, and your mother is from the Qiang people, no wonder your appearance is a little special, plus your dual personality of men and women, it is really special......"

"Is it particularly ugly?"

"No, no, of course not, it's a peerless and special beauty. It's just that you are of mixed blood and have a dual personality, which is really difficult to understand. ”

Xiao Mo smiled: "What is there that I can't understand, in fact, I am a very simple person, but my life experience is a little more complicated." ”

"It turns out that you are not a common man either. Your grandfather is a chieftain, and in the Central Plains, he is a small prince, and you should be a nobleman. ”

"Where, we Qiang people do not have a formal patriarchal system, and a certain tribe can establish itself as a chief when the race is strong; When the race decays, it is bullied by other tribes, and then it is forced to attach itself to other tribes. Although my grandfather was a chief, our tribe is now declining and no longer prosperous. Speaking of this, a trace of worry flashed on Xiao Mo's face, "Not only our tribe, but also the entire Qiang tribe will also suffer tremendous oppression." ”

"What do you mean by that?"

Xiao Mo paused and replied: "Because, although the Qiang people are ancient, the population is not large; Although they are nomads, they are not good at riding and shooting, so in general, they are not strong. However, other tribes are rising rapidly, such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei and other tribes, and now they can't become the climate, in case one day, when the civil strife in the Great Jin Dynasty declines, they will inevitably take the opportunity to rise. At that time, one side is Qiangjin, and the other is Qianghu, and we Qiang people are caught in the middle, and we are bound to be in a dilemma, and the consequences are unpredictable. ”

"You mean, when the time comes, it is possible for you Qiang people to follow the Xiongnu and Xianbei to attack the Great Jin?"

"There is such a possibility, but it does not necessarily have to be on the side of the Xiongnu and Xianbei to deal with the Great Jin, but ...... For their own benefit, act at the opportunistic level. ”

Shu Yan listened to Xiao Mo's words and bowed his head and was silent.

"Brother Shu, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking, if Jin Qiang really fights, what will you and my brother do?"

"Hey, how can you really fight, I just have this kind of worry." Xiao Mo smiled, and suddenly asked rhetorically, "If there is a real fight, then what should we do?" ”

"Well, well, you can call yourself Chinese. Because your grandfather was a Han Chinese, if you are based on the Han people's view of clan inheritance, you should belong to the Chinese. Nowadays, many wealthy families have Hu women as maids, and there are also many Chinese men who have fornicated with Hu women to give birth to children, although it is disgraceful, but most of these children are also accepted by their families, and you are naturally different from them, and you are upright. ”

"Why should I call myself Chinese? Although my grandfather is a Han Chinese, I grew up in the Qiang land since I was a child, including my mother, I am surrounded by Qiang people, I am naturally a Qiang people, that feeling is indelible, how can I say that I can change it! Speaking of this, Xiao Mo suddenly had a nameless fire, "What do you say about righteousness or not." I see, you are already an official in the imperial court at a young age, and you have a bright future, and you will definitely work hard for the imperial court and do your best. If Jin Qiang really fights, where will you think of me, a righteous brother, and you will definitely turn against me. Rather than that, we might as well revoke the vows we took now! Speaking of which, Xiao Mo had already changed his tone, pulled Shu Yan and knelt down again, and was about to revoke his bow.

Shu Yan regretted his speech, which made Xiao Mo angry, he knelt down with a "plop" and said to several cases: "No matter how the overall situation changes, I will not change the relationship between me and Xiao Mo's brothers, just like the oath we just made, if there is a violation, I will ......"

Shu Yan was about to swear, but Xiao Mo suddenly laughed, he covered Shu Yan's mouth, "Forget it, I am relieved to have Sister Zhixin testify for us." It's not too early, you have to be on duty tomorrow, let's rest early. With that, he went back to his room.

Shu Yan also knows that Xiao Mo's temper is like a summer storm, which comes quickly and reaps quickly. He also got used to it, so he cleaned up a few cases casually and went to bed peacefully.