On the banks of the Qinhuai River, the streets are bustling. The season of mango planting is full of vitality. A man and a horse crossed the street, and the crowd dispersed from both sides, and the lively street suddenly fell silent.

Only one child crouched in the middle of the street to watch a bird lying on the ground.

A bird with a broken leg.

The child has no intention of leaving, and if it is so quiet all around, the child must feel safe, and only adults will not be able to stand the quiet. Hustle and bustle is the best protection.

The child has no such consciousness at all, only knows what is delicious and what is fun. Now, the bird on the ground caught all his attention, not even realizing that the familiar street had changed dramatically in a matter of seconds.

"I heard that there are many disasters in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and the victims will soon flock to Jinling. Now at this time, the ministers are still selecting dignified women from all over the country to send to the palace, hey, I am afraid that this tax will rise again. ”

"I just went up last month, and I don't know if I can eat enough if it rises again this month, and I don't know where else to go if I can't live in Jinling. ”

"Everyone is the same, we can't see us starving. ”

"If you give birth to a girl, you can still send it to the palace. ”

"Be quiet, you can't say such a thing, last time Gao Xiucai gave the money he had saved a lifetime to an official, saying that he could find a way to send his youngest daughter to the palace, but the money was taken, and no one was sent to the palace, but it was sent to the Lin Mansion in the east of the city. ”

"Lin Mansion, that's a place for full-time sacrifices, and recently there was news from the palace, saying that it was the Big Dipper, and a catastrophe was imminent. The Lin Mansion has been busy lately. ”

"I don't know how many children are going to be taken away. ”

"Shhh, don't talk nonsense, be careful of losing your head. ”

"It is said that Gao Xiucai's family, after the child's mother found out, cried for three days and three nights, and then became ill and is still lying in bed. Gao Xiucai realized that Jinling couldn't stay anymore, and wanted to take his lame son back to his wife's hometown, but he had never farmed much in his life, and his family originally had a little foundation, and then he wanted to be an official, and he was not admitted from Emperor Taizong to Emperor Wenzong, and it has been more than 30 years. Now I plan to learn how to go back to my hometown to turn over the wasteland and plant some vegetables, at least I can make a living, but in addition to holding a pen to write letters for others, where can I carry a hoe with those hands. ”

"Hey. ”

Everyone sighed repeatedly, but they didn't dare to speak out, even if the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes delayed life, at least the mountains and rivers of Jinling City were beautiful, suitable for all seasons, no frost in winter, and no insect pests in summer. Although life is hard, it is quite stable.

"The queen has been dead for so many years, and the emperor has not established a new queen, nor has he appointed a prince, and everyone is counting on one person to ascend to heaven, and the chicken and dog to ascend to heaven, and the people who gave birth to girls want to say that they don't have this idea, which is also a lie. can be ruined like this, and it is pitiful. ”

There were six sedan chairs, one after the other, staggering forward, and when the team in front of them stopped, the people in the sedan chair shouted, "Why don't you go." ”

"Madame, there's a child in front of you. ”

"How old is the child?"

"Looks like a six-year-old. ”

"Six-year-old, boy or girl?"

"Boy. ”

"Boy?" the woman said, silent.

Soon the man on horseback came up to the boy, took out a round cake wrapped in oiled paper, and handed it to the child, "Are you hungry?"

The child did not answer.

The man shoved the round cake into the boy's mouth again.

"Eat. ”

The boy then raised his head and looked at the man with wide eyes. Take the man's hand and put it on the bird.

"The bird is dead, so take the bread and stand aside. ”

"You save it, it's just a broken leg. ”

"It's clearly a dead bird, little ghost, if you don't leave, just follow me to a fun place. ”

"It's broken, can you save it. ”

"Are you deaf? I told you the bird was dead. ”

"Please, save it. ”

The boy held the bird in both hands and held it high above his head.

"What is a dead bird rambling here. ”

The man stretched out his hand, and the bird was knocked into the air and fell. If you don't die, you're dead.

"Why did you kill it?"

The boy ran to the bird, crying, and put it on his chest, holding it tightly, as if by doing so he would revive it.

"Whose child is this?"

The man asked angrily.

No one dared to say a word.

"Whose child is this, I'll ask again. ”

"Lin Gang, if it is a fatherless and motherless child, take him back. No matter whose child it is, they are all the people of Daqi, if they don't have their parents to take care of them, they can't see him helpless at a young age, bring him back to the house to get him something to eat, change into clean clothes, and then slowly look for his parents. ”

"Yes, this Lin Gang is Lin Lichi's eldest disciple, and I am afraid that this kid will never come back if he is taken to the Lin Mansion. ”

"I heard that the Lin Mansion will only send some children who will not live long to sacrifice to the gods, and those children who will not live long and die early, if they have no parents, they cannot be buried, and they can only be tied to stones and thrown into the water to feed fish and insects. ”

"Yes, there is a courtyard behind the Lin Mansion where many children have been adopted, and Lin Gang is said to be an adopted orphan, if the children can live healthily, the Lin Mansion will not use it for sacrifice. ”

"Who told you? I heard that the courtyard of the Lin Mansion specially raised boys and girls to be white and fat, bathed twice a day, took care of them with fine clothes and food, and asked my husband to teach poetry and literature, and asked the violinist of Liuxiang to teach music, just to please the gods. ”

"And such a thing?"

It is said that the emperor worships the Buddha and repairs the temple with a lot of money, and the status of the Lin Mansion in the palace is precarious over the years. ”

"This time the whole country was hit by a disaster, and the meaning of the Lin Mansion must be that the gods were angry and sent a great disaster. Those monks don't know what to say, in short, whoever believes it or not, it depends on our emperor's mind, and no one can guess. ”

"But for so many years, I haven't seen anyone crying and crying out for the lack of children. ”

"It is said that the Lin Mansion has made a generous move, and the aftermath is dealt with in all aspects, if it weren't for the matter of Gao Xiucai's youngest daughter this time, no one would dare to think about anything. ”

"In this way, it seems that the monks are better, at least they did not put the living people in the fire or throw the living people into the river. ”

"Lin Gang, is it done?"

"Yes, ma'am. ”

"Let's continue to hurry, enter the palace in an hour, and miss the auspicious time if you are late. ”

"Get up the car. ”

Lin Gang was tall and wore a light suit of armor, riding at the front of the team. The little boy was stuffed into the last pink sedan chair, and when the curtain was lifted, it was empty.

What happened before, Ze Zhu saw it clearly, and she heard the people's discussions clearly. It's just that she doesn't really understand these things, she only wore a lilac dress when she went to land, and a kind woman gave her an old dress, and told her that if she was in trouble, she could go to Willow Lane to find Mrs. Shen.

But now she did not have time to repay the kindness of this woman, she had to enter the palace and complete her mission as soon as possible. It was easy for her to sneak into the last sedan chair. The boy didn't shout when he saw her, neither of them spoke, and swayed with the sedan chair.