To know what happened to Bai Qingyun, you have to start from twelve years ago, that is, on August 15 of the 32nd year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty.

Smart readers can understand at a glance that it is a Mid-Autumn Festival.

It was a beautiful day, especially sunny.

In the evening, the sun begins to set.

The setting sun rolled down the hillside like an orange-red fireball, and it rolled and rolled and fell into the gap between the two mountains. The round sunset was slowly squeezed flat, and the gap below became narrower and narrower, but it still stubbornly sank, and finally, in an instant, it was squeezed, and half of the sky was dyed red.

It's a small mountain village.

The red sunset is reflected on the earth, making the green crops even greener and the clear river more beautiful. The curling smoke rises from the farmhouse, and from a distance, it looks like a heavenly palace.

Several children are dressed as rangers, all of them looking strange. They are armed with wooden swords, chasing me in the village alleys, and they are so noisy that chickens and dogs jump over the wall.

There is a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree on the bank of the small river, and the huge crown of the tree stretches out in the shape of an umbrella, and the branches are luxuriant. The autumn leaves have turned yellow, and the fan-shaped leaves have fallen to the ground and spread out in a fan-shaped patch along the riverbank.

At the bottom of the ginkgo tree sits a boulder, which is charcoal-colored and shiny.

Bai Douwen was standing silently on the stone, holding an awning in his hand, looking out in the direction of the sunset.

In the distance is a group of pedestrians, walking among the strangers. There are vaguely seven or eight people, forming a "one" formation, or carrying steel forks and wooden sticks, or carrying bows and arrows and ropes, high and low, staggering, and gradually disappearing into the trees at the foot of the mountain.

That's a special team. For the safety of the lives of the whole village, they often have to fight with ferocious beasts, creating one miracle of life after another. They are spontaneous, and no one forces them, although someone will die from it. They were the roughest, bravest, and drunken idlers in the village. They each have a nickname: One-Eyed Dragon, Bull Guest, Liu Slowman, Scarface, Qian Daring, Qian Mancang, and Xu Da Nose.

There is a special person in that special team, and he is Bai Yuquan, the son of Bai Douwen.

Bai Yuquan was the only one in that hunting team who had a family. Because of his courageous nature, calmness in the face of trouble, and unchaotic in the face of danger, he has become an indispensable leader in this team.

Let his son Bai Yuquan be the captain of the hunting team, this is the most reluctant thing for Bai Douwen.

The Bai family has been passed down from generation to generation, and it is the fifth generation to pass it to Bai Yuquan. Baidou Wenyuan is a native of Quzhou, Zhejiang, and worked as an official in the capital in his early years, and the official was the head of the Ministry of Industry. His wife Liu is the daughter of a famous family, diligent and thrifty, simple, virtuous and dignified. Because of the love between husband and wife, they couldn't bear to take a concubine, and they didn't see her pregnancy until her wife was thirty-one years old. So the husband and wife burned incense and kowtowed every day, prayed to their ancestors, and begged for the weak and widowed, if a woman is pregnant, she will become a male fetus as soon as possible. God fulfilled people's wishes, conceived in October, and really gave birth to a boy, and he was beautiful. The two of them are happy and regarded as pearls in their palms. However, the court has fierce partisan disputes, and once defeated, it will punish the heirs and end up with no children and grandchildren. So Bai Dou Wen asked the Son of Heaven for permission, sold his property, wrapped his eunuch savings, took his wife and children, searched all the way, and finally migrated to this small mountain village as a lifelong habitat.

The small mountain village is located in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, which is a small basin deep in the mountains. Maybe it's the crater left by an alien body hitting the Earth in ancient times, who knows? Oh, yes, God knows. Ha ha!

The small mountain village is flat, the soil is fertile, rich and rich, surrounded by lofty mountains and mountains. A small river meanders from west to east from a flat hinterland surrounded by mountains, curving like the neck of a white swan. Every time there is a flash flood, the clear water of the river becomes muddy and accompanied by dark red quicksand, so the villagers call the river Hongsha River.

There is a spring on the north and south sides of the Hongsha River, which is the main source of water for the villagers to drink. The water is clear and sweet, and it is affectionately called the "sister spring" all year round. This village was also named "Shuangquan Village".

A bird's-eye view of Shuangquan Village is like a huge and beautiful natural Taiji map.

Shuangquan Village is tranquil, as quiet as the flowing water of the Hongsha River. The villagers came out of the sun, returned from the sunset, fell asleep with insects, got up when they smelled the chickens, and worked this rich hot land. However, the presence of wild beasts often destroys their quiet life.

At noon today, Li Laohan's ploughing cattle suffered a misfortune, and according to eyewitnesses, the incident was committed by a tiger. Ploughing cattle were the representatives of advanced productive forces in agricultural production at that time, and whoever wanted to slaughter ploughing cattle had to report to the government for approval, so this matter was not trivial. Moreover, if this tiger comes to Shuangquan Village again, the lives of the villagers will be greatly threatened. As soon as the news spread, the air in Shuangquan Village suddenly became tense. The members of the hunting party quickly gathered together and immediately made a decisive decision to hunt the tiger before it got dark.

Bai Dou Wen was worried. He is extremely reluctant for his son to travel today, not because today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, but mainly because today is the day when his daughter-in-law is about to give birth.

Daughter-in-law Shu Xiaomei was born in a scholarly family, hardworking and virtuous, with a beautiful appearance, and is a rare good daughter-in-law. Perhaps due to the influence of the Bai family's genetic factors, she passed the door at the age of nineteen and became pregnant at the age of twenty-nine.

It's getting dark.

The cool autumn breeze blows along the surface of the river, soaking the muscles and bones. Bai Douwen still stood on the stone in a daze, unaware.

"It's really worrying to have a child for the first time at such an age!" Bai Douwen sighed and muttered to himself, "It would be nice if my wife was alive!" Four years ago, his wife died of typhoid fever.

"Master......" cried a little girl timidly.

He didn't have to look back, he knew that it was the maid Xiaocui standing behind him, and he didn't need to ask, she was here to call him for dinner.

The stone under his feet is not only tall and big, but also because the children often play on the stone, the surface has been smoothed and shiny, and it is not easy to go up, and it is even more difficult to come down. Bai Dou Wen bowed down and tried a few times, but after all, he didn't dare to climb down, so he had to imitate the children's playful movements, carefully sat his butt on the stone, and slid to the ground.

Xiao Cui saw that Master Bai's movements were so funny and clumsy, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and sneer.

Bai Douwen glanced at Xiao Cui, and said with a sullen face: "What are you laughing at?"

Xiao Cui hurriedly smiled, lowered her head and fiddled with the corners of her clothes.

Bai Douwen said in a kind tone: "Go, ask Steward Lu, how did I do the things I explained." ”

"Hey!" Xiao Cui replied urgently, feeling relieved. Then, she threw up her twine-like pigtail at the back of her head and walked away.

Bai Douwen walked slowly towards the door of his house.

This is a large mansion with a high front yard and a quiet courtyard. The backyard is a garden, and there is a clear water spring in the middle of the garden, which is one of the "sister springs" of Shuangquan Village. The spring water is crystal clear, crystal like jade, sweet and refreshing, because it is in the courtyard of the mansion, the white bean warm stone pond is owned exclusively. Outside the pond is planted with famous flowers and flowers, and there are strange rocks and strange peaks. Build a pavilion by the pool, hang a plaque on it, and the big book "Yuquan Pavilion" (the white jade spring is named after this). The green locust and willows next to the pavilion cover the sun. In the pavilion, the breeze is slow, the fragrance of flowers is fragrant, and it is intoxicating.

As soon as Bai Douwen entered the gate, the housekeeper Lu Hengping limped up to greet him, and said as he walked, "Master, everything is ready." Then he added: "According to your orders, they are all placed on the garden pavilion." ”

"Yes! Bai Douwen nodded with satisfaction. He looked around the hall and saw that all the houses were brightly lit and noisy. Apparently they were all busy with their daughter-in-law's delivery.

After a moment's hesitation, Bai Douwen walked steadily towards the back garden.

"Master, it's better to ...... after dinner," Steward Lu advised.

"Leave me alone. Bai Dou Wen paused slightly, turned to Steward Lu and said, "I can't eat it...... Remember, don't let anyone bother me. ”

"Yes, sir!" Steward Lu replied respectfully.

Passing through the Moon Gate and following the winding path, Bai Douwen came to the garden pavilion.

In the middle of the pavilion was a low-legged table with three fruit offerings on the table, two large red candles at each end of the table, the candles had been lit, and the flames swayed in the wind. He knelt on the cushion, took three sticks of sandalwood from the table, lit them on a candle, and respectfully inserted them into the censer. After three prostrations and nine prostrations, he prayed silently in his heart, asking the gods to bless his son and daughter-in-law with a safe night, and praying that the ancestors would give his daughter-in-law a boy to renew the incense.