In the early morning of the next day, in accordance with the emperor's will, the Ministry of Rites gave Wu Shuang, She Gang, Nanping, and Zhang Shan a reward of thousands of gold, a knighthood, imperial wine, and gold flowers.

Seeing them walk out of the palace gate freely, the civil and military officials sighed, and the emperor also said with emotion:

"The rivers and lakes are far away, and the heroes go, and the high-ranking officials are not paying attention; life is not wasted in the world, and they dare to laugh at the green mountains and be haggard!"

Out of the deep courtyard of the palace, they came to the bustling street, and suddenly, they heard a sweet cry:

"Good rouge gouache! Gentlemen and ladies come and take a look!"

Wu Shuangli stopped, and She Gang saw that his face showed a particularly pleasant smile, and looked towards the rouge gouache shop, so he said with a smile:

"Owner, buy these things, you can go with Nanping! I'll go back with Zhang San to eat some dog meat and drink some wine!"

"Remember, don't drink high!" Wu Shuang still smiled and said, "After dinner, let's go back to Songshan Manor." ”

"Okay!" She Gang said, happily disappearing into the bustling crowd with Zhang Shan.

Today's Xu Zixuan and Xiang'er are very excited, early in the morning she heard her father say that Wu Shuang and his group of brothers have made meritorious contributions to the rescue, and this morning, the emperor wants to reward them for their meritorious deeds in front of hundreds of civil and military officials; it is said that Wu Shuang's official position and Juelu are extraordinary, which makes their family very happy. Especially the old lady, he thinks that in this way, Wu Shuang and his daughter's family affairs will be a good match, and they are extremely compatible!

Xu Zixuan doesn't care about this, she doesn't care what kind of name he receives, what kind of lucrum he enjoys, she only cares about her in his heart, that's enough! Xiang'er's mind is the same as what she thinks, the only difference is that she must take Nanping to the grave of Mo Sijiang, the commander of the riding capital, and tell him: She is going to live with Nanping for the rest of her life!

To-day, both girls were dressed beautifully, and Xiang'er had become a noble and generous young lady, and they were waiting—waiting for their lover, who had been knighted by the emperor, to greet them.

Xu Taishi's carriage returned, Xu Zixuan and Xiang'er rushed forward to greet them, but when Xu Taishi stepped out of the sedan door, the two girls suddenly found that Taishi's face was very ugly;

The two girls didn't know why, but when they saw Mrs. Xu's expression, they didn't dare to ask in person. At this time, among the subordinates and servants, they whispered, adding fuel and vinegar to the affairs of the early dynasty, and spread it loudly.

Xiang'er Yingying heard something and immediately told the young lady. So, Xu Zixuan called the old housekeeper Xiao Hua and asked them about the situation, and Xiao Hua told them all about the refusal of Wu Shuang and his brothers to be rewarded by the emperor.

"What's that!" Xu Zixuan said, "Everyone has their own ambitions!"

"However, the master is very disappointed!" Xiao Hua said, "When he went, he smiled and told me that in the future, the third aunt will become the youngest and highest official in their family......!"

"Hey!" Xiao Hua also felt really sorry for Wu Shuang's refusal of the emperor's reward, he said, "People have never dreamed of such a good thing! However, they don't treat it the same thing! Alas! They are so young and too ignorant!" Xiao Hua sighed.

Wu Shuang and Nanping came to the Taishi Mansion, and the doorman was very polite, he said:

"Two sons, please wait! I'll go and inform the master!"

After a short time the doorkeeper went and returned, and said to them:

"Two sons, please come in, come with me!" led the two of them to the Grand Master's large living room.

The Taishi was already sitting on the chair, and when he saw them enter the living room, he reluctantly laughed and said:

"Two young heroes, please take a seat!"

As soon as they entered the door, Wu Shuang and Nanping felt the displeasure of the Taishi. Although he spoke with a smile, the two young men did not feel the warmth and cordiality of the other at all;

The servant entered the tea, and just as Wu Shuang was about to drink the tea, Xu Taishi suddenly spoke, so Wu Shuang simply didn't bother to drink it, and put the teacup on the small table next to his elbow.

Taishi said slowly:

"The old man has a son and three daughters, the eldest daughter is married to the son of Yangzhou Thorn Shi, and is a first-class general of the border stopper; the husband of the second daughter is currently the imperial history of Zichen, and he is also a third-grade civil official; the son guards the border court and has been promoted to the envoy of the Xingyang Festival. It can be said that the fourth and third princes of our family have always been prominent ......" Before he finished speaking, Wu Shuang already knew what he meant, so he and Nanping stood up and saluted and said:

"Master Taishi, today we brothers have made a special trip to say goodbye to you, and there will be a date later!" After that, the two turned around and walked out of the hall door.

At this moment, Xu Zixuan and Xiang'er just arrived, and they walked down the stone steps in the living room to greet Wu Shuang and Nanping; they didn't know what topics they had talked about with her father, all they had in their hearts was excitement and excitement—the excitement and excitement of seeing their lover.

They came to the gate together, Xiang'er and Nanping already had an idea, Xiang'er and Xu Zixuan and Wu Shuang said:

"Sister, if you accompany your brother-in-law, we won't bother!"

"What are you talking nonsense!" Xu Zixuan blushed and shouted excitedly, "You two are afraid that we will disturb you! Then let's leave quickly!" she smiled excitedly, and Xiang'er's words especially made her happy.

So, Xiang'er and Nanping stopped a carriage and ran along the street.

Wu Shuang and Xu Zixuan came to the moat, at this time, the sun was setting, the wind and waves were calm, and several fishing boats were moored along the shore, as if they were napping on the river, and the streets were bustling with pedestrians.

She excitedly held Wu Shuang's arm, and that kind of tenderness and sweetness made anyone who passed by marvel at it, and couldn't help but cast a look of envy;

Coming to the river, holding on to the smooth white jade railing, facing the riverbed, Wu Shuang suddenly said with a faint smile:

"Xuan'er, let's get here!"

If there is a thunderbolt in the cold winter, it is the sentence that Xu Zixuan heard just now; she was stunned for a moment, and then asked with tears in her eyes:

"Brother Wu Shuang, why?"

Wu Shuang withdrew his gaze from the river, looked at her tearful face, and smiled for a long time before saying:

"Fool, I'm kidding you!" he said, kissing her deeply on the forehead. When he raised his head, Xu Zixuan was still squinting happily, but when the sun set in the sky, he saw a crystal tear falling from the corner of Wu Shuang's eyes.

Suddenly, a child's cry for help came from the river:

"Help, help, father, mother......"

They looked up in horror and saw that a fishing boat with a cable by the river was on fire, and the smoke was billowing and the fire was raging, and the cabin was already surrounded by fire, and yes, there was a child of six or seven years old in the bow of the boat, and he occasionally saw his weak figure in the smoke drifting. There was no one in the neighboring boat, and the people on the shore were very anxious when they saw it, and they didn't know what to do, and someone in the crowd asked:

"Why have all the adults gone, and there's only one child on it?"

"Fishermen are like that," said one man, "and the adults must have gone out into the street to sell fish." ”

"Then the boy must have been playing with fire and setting the boat on fire!" said another man anxiously.

"What to do, what can be done?

At this moment, the ship's cable was burned, and a gust of wind came, and the fire became even bigger, and the boat floated into the heart of the river. Seeing this, Wu Shuang hurriedly said to Xu Zixuan:

"You wait for me here, I'll take a look!" he said, took a step and walked out, but after three or four steps, he suddenly stopped, he turned around, looked at Xu Zixuan and smiled faintly, and took out a beautiful rouge buckle from his sleeve pocket, ran over and handed it to her and said:

"Just now, I saw it when I passed by, I don't know if you like it or not!"

Xu Zixuan took it in her hand excitedly, smiled and said:

"As long as it's sent by you, I like it!"

Wu Shuang turned around and strode towards the fireboat, Xu Zixuan shouted anxiously behind him:

"Be careful!"

Suddenly, a figure flashed in the light of the fire, like an eagle flying over the river, and as the figure flew aboard, the people could not help but exclaim. However, who would have thought that at this moment, something was burning in the cabin, and there was a loud roar, and the fire was so great that the man who had just stepped on the deck was also swallowed up by the great flames!

Xu Zixuan cried bitterly until the fireboat sank to the bottom of the river, and she did not wait for Wu Shuang to swim ashore with the child; it was late at night, the wind was clear on the river, and the street was silent, and the people along the street heard the intermittent wailing of the boatman and a woman! )