But for the rest of the concubines in the mansion, especially the ones he loved the most, Zhou Shu still had great expectations, even if not all of them went south with him, at least half of them cried and begged to be with him, right?

The end result was a slap in the face - none of the most favored concubines were willing to go south with him!

When this result first came into his ears, Zhou Shuren was stupid, how could it be that the critical moment was reached......

Zhou Shuren's gentle and sensitive heart was dealt a fatal blow.

On the contrary, there was a concubine who he was not impressed with took the initiative to ask for help, and was willing to follow him south.

Zhou Shuren was still a little moved when he heard the news, and even brewed a sour poem in his stomach, and after meeting the real person, that interest faded instantly.

No wonder he has no impression in his mind, this woman's appearance is not very outstanding, she can only be said to be a middle-aged person, and she is not proficient in writing and ink, and she is extremely inconspicuous in the red and willow green of the Zhou Palace, no wonder she is not favored.

It's just that Zhou Shuren is a merry and talented man in the end, his heart is lost, and his face is not revealed, he asked for his name and surname, and knew that this woman was called Xingniang, so he nodded at her and praised her warmly.

When Princess Zhou heard this, she was also a little surprised, and specially called someone to ask: "What's the matter with that apricot girl?" Does she really want to go, or is it ......"

The henchman whispered back to her: "I really want to go." Her ancestral home in the south, followed her father to sing in Beijing for a living, met the Diao officials and flirted, the father and daughter could not get out, almost died, it happened that the prince was there to listen to the music, the hero saved the beauty, and later her father died, and the prince also ordered people to call the good life to rein. ”

Princess Zhou frowned when she heard this: "It's really a person who knows how to repay kindness, our prince ......."

It can't be said that it is useless.

She pondered for a few moments, and finally said, "It's cold now, so prepare more medicine for them to bring." ”

The henchman subconsciously said: "These things are just afraid that the queen mother and the East Palace are more thoughtful than us." ”

Princess Zhou glanced at her: "The queen mother and the East Palace know who Xingniang is?" ”

The henchman instantly came to his senses: "The princess is relieved, I will prepare for Xingniang's life." ”

……

The people of Zhou Shu have long known that life after leaving Beijing will not be easy, but imagination and reality are completely different after all.

At that time, it was the cold winter wax moon, the most difficult time of the year, and at this time of the year, the people of Zhou Shu should have roasted the fire in the room where the earth dragon was burning, and when the interest came, they would take a few beautiful concubines out to enjoy the plum blossoms, and then go to drink with a few brothers when they were free.

But now, he was struggling to face the cold wind of December, and his jade-like face was red and wrinkled by the cold wind, and his hands and feet seemed to have lost consciousness......

The emperor did not want to put his own son to death, and of course he did not make it too difficult, and even allowed him to take a few attendants on horseback, but he did not think about anything else.

Wake up, you're being exiled!

When he arrived at the post house where he stopped halfway, Zhou Shu people didn't even have the strength to bend their legs, and planted directly from the horse, but the apricot girl was in good condition, and quickly approached to help him up, and brought people into the post house with the attendants.

The souls of the Zhou Shu people seemed to be frozen, and they could only hear their teeth rattling, but they couldn't even say a word.

Xingniang touched his hand, it was as cold as ice, and if she screamed again, Zhou Shu should not be.

She was a little anxious, and even opened her mouth to take his fingers in her mouth, and used the temperature of her mouth to warm him.

The first thing people in Zhou Shu perceive is not warmth and heat, but pain and itching, which is also the first reaction of people's hands and feet to return to warmth after their hands are cold.

When he came back to his senses, he was quite surprised to see Xingniang's action, and felt that he was ashamed that a man wanted a weak woman to take care of him, so he hurriedly withdrew his hand.

Xing Niang said happily: "Is the prince's hand conscious?" ”

Zhou Shuren looked at her eyes that were pure joy, and he was a little distracted for a while.

When it comes to appearance, Xingniang is actually not beautiful, but looking at it at this moment, he feels that she has an indescribable smell, like the ripples of a pool of spring water blown by the wind in March, which inexplicably makes people feel comfortable.

At this time, he didn't know that it was actually a "truth".

Zhou Shuren replied to her with some hesitation: "Much better, thank you." ”

Halfway through, he reacted and hissed: "How are some-"

The postman brought hot water, and Xingniang served him to take off his boots, soak his feet in them, and said with a smile: "Pain is a good thing, but no feeling is bad!" When I was in the north, I once saw people who were drunk and sleeping out and froze to death, and some of them stayed outside for a long time, and suddenly went into a warm room, stretched out their hands, and tore their ears off, which was frozen......

This is another world that the people of Zhou Shu don't know.

He was stunned when he heard it, and couldn't help but ask a few questions, and Xingniang answered them one by one.

In the end, he reacted: "Isn't your ancestral home in the south, how can you know about the north?" ”

Xingniang sighed as if she didn't have any: "My mother is a northerner, and when the world was in turmoil, she fled south with her family, and was separated on the way, and married my father. ”

The movements of her hands stopped, and then she continued: "My mother's last wish before she died was to go back to her hometown again, she couldn't go, but my father took me north to live for a while. ”

Zhou Shuren was suddenly very ashamed.

He is now in trouble, Xingniang, this concubine who has not been favored by him much, but in vain he has followed him south, and everything he knows about her is just a name.

Zhou Shuren pondered for a long time, and finally said: "Xingniang, you better go back, I will write you a letter, and if you go back to the palace, it doesn't hurt if you want to remarry." ”

He said calmly: "When I helped you father and daughter, it was actually just a gesture, and if you follow me so far, you have already paid it back, and you don't have to walk with me anymore." ”

Xingniang shook her head and said: "Heaven and earth are so big, where else can I go?" At the beginning, the prince saved our father and daughter, although it was a gesture of effort, but for our father and daughter, it was a life-saving grace, and we cannot fail to repay it. ”

Zhou Shuren persuaded again, but Xingniang always refused to listen, so she had to obey her wishes and give up.

But with a gossip on this day, and then the relationship between the two is much closer, Zhou Shu people have always boasted of erudition, but really to the place, when traveling, he has read ten thousand books, how can it be compared to the ten thousand miles that Xingniang has traveled!

She is a woman who has endured hardships, knows the crops at four o'clock, understands the people of Pingtou, and waits for the wild vegetables to emerge at the end of February, and also makes a special trip to pinch the sprouts for Zhou Shuren to eat.

Zhou Shuren felt quite fresh at first: "When you were in the people, did you all eat these?" ”

Xingniang shook her head: "It's a good year, wild vegetables can only be found in the fields, and in hard times, the bark is eaten up......

Zhou Shuren was stunned and thoughtful.

The road is difficult, and what has been seen and heard along the way, where is it not difficult?

Jingshi is the richest place in the world, and the more difficult it is, the more difficult it is for the people to become.

There are many shocking things about the women who sell their children, the unclothed, the old men, and the baby girls who drowned in the ditch.

In addition, there are endless fleas, stinking dry toilets, quirky and incomprehensible country sounds, and squires who are the culprit......

And other than that, it's not without its good points.

At the very least, the people of Zhou Shu got out of the spiritual cage that trapped them before and came to a new, barbaric and vibrant new world.

He gradually began to feel that this exile was actually not so bad, and he swept away a lot of arrogance and extravagance when he was in Beijing before, and he could eat the vegetable cakes that he had never seen before, and he could eat them with relish at this time.

even found a place where he could beat Xingniang: "This is andrographis, which is contained in medical classics, and eating it can relieve fever and detoxify ......"

He pointed to another: "That's purslane, which clears away heat and dampness." ”

Xingniang looked at him with admiration: "The prince is really amazing, you can know this!" ”

Zhou Shuren was so hot that she saw that his back was hot, and he hurriedly waved his hand: "I also saw it from idle books, I only knew it before, and it wasn't until I went out to see it that I compared the words with the real thing." ”

When he said this, he really had a thought.

Hasn't he always wanted to write and speak?

Although the poems are elegant enough to be handed down to the world, they are a little more vain than the medical classics.

After that, the people of Zhou Shu began to devote their efforts to this aspect, and every time they went to a new place, they often wrote to the local governor to collect medical books for themselves, or visited the famous medical hall in person.

When the news reached Jingshi, the emperor was quite pleased, and it was in vain that his old man deliberately sent this kid out, you see, isn't this progress coming?

He also issued a special edict to commend him, ordering the eunuchs along the way to cooperate with the reasonable demands of the Zhou Shu people as much as possible.

When the attendant heard this will, he was overjoyed, and said to Xingniang: "Our prince is about to boil out when he sees it!" ”

He flattered Xingniang again, and flattered: "The friendship of the lady is remembered by the prince, and this time I have returned to Beijing, I must have the title of a side concubine." ”

Xingniang shook her head and said, "I followed the prince so far, not for fame. ”

He also said, "I'm afraid that now the emperor summons the prince to return, he will not return." ”

The attendant looked puzzled.

Xingniang looked at the figure of Zhou Shuren busy in the hall between the cases, and her expression was gentle: "Lord Wang, I don't know what I really want until now." ”

Zhou Shuren's journey continued, but the unjust and perverse spirit in his heart when he left Beijing had long since disappeared.

He took off the silk clothes he had brought out of Beijing, changed into coarse clothes like an apricot lady, and the two of them went up the mountain to collect medicine together, or surveyed the records of various county records, and selected useful people to record them in detail.

Under the wind and sun for a long time, the faces of Zhou Shuren are no longer the same as those of Yulang in the past, and their arms are much stronger, and their bodies are a little like King Yan.

He raised a parrot, which was very human, and when he went out to collect medicine, he often followed him.

For this parrot again, Zhou Shuren brought a bell by his side, shook the bell to make it ring, and called Xingniang to feed the parrot.

After a long time, Zhou Shuren didn't even have to open his mouth, and when the bell shook, the parrot screamed to himself.

"Apricot Niang! Apricot !! ”

Xingniang grabbed a handful of beans and came in from outside, her face helpless.

Zhou Shuren sat on the chair and was very happy.

In the winter of the previous year, they set out from Beijing and did not arrive in Yunnan until the summer of the following year.

At that time, the emperor's holy decree had already arrived, and Mu Ying, who was ordered to guard here, came to talk to the Zhou Shu people, but also invited him to live in the palace, but was finally rejected by the Zhou Shu people.

"To be honest, when I first left Jingshi, I complained a little about my father, but today, I really have some ...... understand."

Zhou Shu said: "In life, you should still leave something." ”

Mu Ying smiled: "It seems that this time the fifth brother has learned a lot!" If my father-in-law found out, I am afraid that he would be very pleased. ”

Zhou Shuren smiled but did not speak.

He continued his work in Yunnan, visiting famous doctors, verifying his old credentials, personally going up the mountain to collect medicines, and even going to local medical centers to see doctors in his spare time.

No one knew that this young man was actually the fifth son of today's son, the once famous and talented man of Zhou.

Until a plague hit.

Zhou Shuren, together with Mu Ying, stabilized all parts of Yunnan, and convened local famous doctors to discuss countermeasures, copied a few profiteers who sat on the ground and raised prices, while using feasible prescriptions to treat the victims, and on the other hand, using tough administrative strategies to stabilize people's hearts, the two-pronged approach, in just one month, the plague was effectively controlled.

The only thing that caught me off guard was that Apricot Niang died.

The life of this woman, who followed Zhou Shuren all the way south and accompanied him through the most difficult years, also ended quietly in this spring.

The attendant didn't know how to comfort Zhou Shuren.

Mu Ying knew that Xingniang had been with Zhou Shu for a long time, and her feelings were extraordinary, so she deliberately asked her wife to go to the funeral for her, and buried her with the gift of the prince's side concubine, with the heart of the whole Zhou Shu people, but she was also politely rejected by Zhou Shuren.

Zhou Shuren said calmly: "I am just a concubine now, how can Xingniang be so transgressive and use the prince's side concubine ceremony to bury?" ”

He found a shovel and came out, dug a pit outside the courtyard where he lived, wrote a tombstone himself, and buried Xingniang not far from the residence.