New·New Consort

A ray of sunlight slanted down the bed curtain, and as time passed, it fell on the tightly closed eyelids.Feng Suzhen opened her sleepy eyes, and what she saw was a gray and dark green curtain.

After a good night's sleep, she stretched comfortably, sat up, slowly opened her eyes, and was familiar with the surroundings.

The interior furnishings are very simple, one table and two chairs, the tea set is yellow, and the walls are cracked and haven't been repaired for a long time.Huailai has been through wars for a long time, and the folk customs are aggressive, so it is already the best room in the inn in this city.

Princess Tianxiang went to the west of Beijing in a white dragon fish suit. Some people were anxious and some were suspicious, but for her, Feng Suzhen, it was the best way to recuperate. At least, she slept in a separate room with Tianxiang, and she slept very peacefully.Counting that it has been lingering in Huailai for seven or eight days, Tianxiang seems to have forgotten the purpose of going to Xuanfu, and takes her around Huailai every day with great interest.

Huailai is adjacent to the important town of Nine Borders. It has suffered from wars since the previous dynasty, and it settled down two years ago. Last year, it signed a peace treaty and opened up business with the Chahar tribe of the former Yuan family. , after the Shanxi merchant money bank "Hengtaisheng", which is popular all over the country, the city is even more prosperous.

In the two lives, Tianxiang liked the market. Even in the previous life, even if she was the eldest princess of Jianguo, she would often go to the market in the capital to listen to the vendors hawking and feel the fireworks of the people-this is more beautiful than playing in the temple. reality.

Feng Suzhen was very surprised by Tianxiang's simple and down-to-earth concept.

Tianxiang had a heated fight with businessmen from all over the country, and even went to the Tumu Fort to perform a ritual ceremony for the former sergeant.Yesterday it was even more whimsical, I bought a small courtyard near the government office with a lot of money, and it is currently being tidied up, and it will be ready for people to live in soon.Feng Suzhen noticed that it seemed that Xuanfu was just the beginning of Tianxiang, and Huailai was the real destination.

After washing up briefly, she went out to Tianxiang's room.

I thought that the princess should still be asleep, but I didn't expect that she was sitting upright, holding a white dove with a black spot in her arms, with a pensive expression on her face, wondering what she was thinking about.

"Why are you worried, son, do you need a little help?" Seeing that the master seems to be worried, the servant Feng Suzhen is very dedicated to ask first.

Tianxiang stroked the pigeon's head: "I was thinking, this pigeon has worked hard for me as a messenger. It's not polite to always call it a pigeon. It's better to give it a name. You are very knowledgeable, son-in-law. What's the name of the pigeon?" ?”

Feng Suzhen smiled and said: "Doves are rarely seen in the books of sages, but I remember that in "The Chaoye Qizai" it was said that Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty used carrier pigeons to convey messages. From Chang'an to Luoyang, he could return several times a day for five hundred miles. Zhang Jiuling also raised I bought a pigeon called Fei Nu. The speed of a pigeon is the most important thing, chasing the wind and chasing the moon and shadows surpassing the light, the princess should think about it from this aspect."

Tianxiang was still in a state of contemplation when she heard this. Feng Suzhen drew up a few names in her mind, and was about to speak, but she heard Tianxiang say in surprise: "Yes, yes! Xiaohei is called Xiaohei. It is so white, so why not just call it Xiaohei?" It's all right."

Feng Suzhen had a stiff smile on her face: "...as long as the princess likes it."

Tianxiang shook her head again: "But the son-in-law is also so white, no no no, he will mess up!"

Feng Suzhen comforted: "Princess, don't worry, I will never rush to agree when the princess calls Xiaobai."

Tianxiang's eyes rolled: "It keeps cooing, so let's call it cooing."

Feng Suzhen smiled and said, "I have an idea?"

Tianxiang turned her head and asked, "What?"

Feng Suzhen pretended to be profound: "Call it the eldest princess."

Tianxiang was taken aback for a moment, then came to her senses, isn't the emperor's aunt the eldest princess?She laughed loudly: "That's fine, that's fine, Your Highness the Eldest Princess."

The "Eldest Princess" shrank her neck in confusion.

After simply having breakfast, the two led the donkey out of the house.

Recently, there has been a lot of excitement in the west of Huailai City. A group of officers and soldiers guarded a man who looked like a master sitting at the entrance of the famous Hengtai Shengqian Store in the commercial city.

Feng Suzhen and Feng Suzhen met yesterday, and immediately found out that this place was after the armistice. The guards of Xuanda and Dafu wanted to raise money from the people to buy military land and raise soldiers. Come rushing to beat Feng.

[-]% profit per year, which is quite high interest for merchants.It is quite common for officials to borrow money from the people, which was originally a way of raising funds.It's just that the cost of raising soldiers is huge, so the loan is too much, and each bond starts at twelve taels.

There are quite a few people buying bonds, most of them are businessmen with spare cash.Tianxiang suddenly became interested, pulled Feng Suzhen into a queue, and bought 100 taels. Tianxiang counted on her fingers, and when she picked it up next year, she could earn ten taels of silver.

She held ten bonds and stared at the sun for a long time, with the signatures of Xuanfu Guard and Heng Taisheng on them.At that time, with such a coupon, even if the merchant who bought the coupon leaves Huailai, he can cash the bond in other money banks.Although some seals are not very clear, there is a serial number under each coupon, and the name of the corresponding issuer is signed, which can be regarded as triple insurance.

She carefully put this thing in her arms, as if it was a huge sum of money.

Feng Suzhen remembered her behavior of spending a lot of money to buy a yard yesterday, she rolled her eyes, and led the donkey to help Tianxiang sit down: "Next, go to our yard?"

Tianxiang climbed onto the donkey but said, "We are going to visit an old gentleman."

"Which old gentleman?" Feng Suzhen asked.

Tianxiang said: "An old gentleman who has been a teacher for many years, I asked someone to inquire for a long time, and then I found out that he lives in seclusion here."

"Trust someone? Who did you trust?" Feng Suzhen was even more puzzled.

"Shan Shiwen."

"Shan Shiwen?"

Tianxiang explained: "It's the mansion soldier who followed me to Miaozhou, who played dice with me last time. His brother is stationed here, and he is from Qianhu here. I sent him to the front station to inquire about this for me. Man, he sent a letter to the inn this morning saying he found it."

Feng Suzhen understood, it was the thirty essays!When Miaozhou said goodbye, she only said that he was returning to the capital with the government soldiers, but today, Tianxiang should have arranged other tasks for him.The guards of the princess mansion are all noble children, and it is normal for the elder brother to lead the army.

"Chasing!" The noise of horseshoes broke the tranquility of the trails in the suburbs of Beijing.A young man with a wooden bird in his arms hit his horse and galloped in a panic. There were only two escorts beside him, but behind him was a large number of chasing soldiers.It was night and there was no one around. If anyone saw this scene, he would definitely find it strange: the leader of the pursuers was a handsome young man in military uniform, while the others were people from the quack with different clothes. It is not clear whether this is the capture of bandits by officers and soldiers, or the robbery by mountain bandits.

Finally, the young man ran into a dead end in a panic and was blocked tightly.

The young man in military uniform patted his horse forward, and sneered at the man escorting the young man, "Master Zhang, the inspector of the Eight Houses, left Beijing in a hurry late at night, why didn't you ask my younger brother to escort him?"

The person who escorted the young man was none other than Zhang Shaomin, inspector of the Eight Houses.

Zhang Shaomin smiled kindly and said: "How dare you work as the governor of the imperial army? This government is only escorting a friend to leave the capital. I don't want to alarm the governor of the East. It's a crime."

"So? Then let me see what kind of friend Mr. Zhang is escorting!" Dongfang Sheng urged his horse to approach, and was about to make a move, but the young man with the wooden bird in his arms suddenly turned around and angrily said: "Dongfang Sheng, Where did you hide my lady?!" It was Mei Zhu who was disguised as a man.

"Plum bamboo?!" Dongfang Sheng was horrified, his heart sank, knowing that it was a trick.

"Miss Meizhu, your young lady has passed away, and the governor of Dongfang is also suffering from the loss of his wife. You should not mourn too much, let's continue on our way!" Zhang Shaomin bowed his hands politely to Dongfang Sheng, turned his horse's head, and Plum and bamboo galloped towards the south together.

The horseshoes ran all the way for nearly an hour, and the three of them found a deserted earth temple on the side of the road and stopped.

Zhang Shaomin ordered his men to feed the horses, and went into the temple to light a fire.Meizhu hugged the wooden bird made by the prince, saw that the other wing was still unpainted, hesitated for a long time, and asked, "Master Zhang, am I going to go for a long time this time?"

Zhang Shaomin said: "Miss Meizhu, I don't know how long I will go. Now that the south is flooded and Mr. Feng is alone in his hometown of Luzhou, I think you are also uneasy. My subordinate is very reliable and I will send you there. It’s no problem to protect the two of you comprehensively. When the capital is settled here, I will definitely write to you and send someone to bring you here.”

His face was honest and his words were sincere, which made people feel very reliable. Mei Zhu had no choice but to suppress the reluctance and anxiety in her heart, thanked Zhang Shaomin, and went to rest.

Zhang Shaomin squatted beside the bonfire, stirring the dancing flames with a thick branch, his eyes darkened.The crown prince stayed in his mansion for a few months, and he could clearly see that the crown prince, who was ignorant of human affairs and only knew how to do carpentry, had affection for the plum and bamboo girl. Obviously, plum and bamboo also had some sincerity towards the prince.However, after all, Mei Zhu's status is low, and without the support of her mother's family, how can she become the future mother of a country?

However, Princess Tianxiang is so devoted to Meizhu, that she came to inspect the government to remind him to get rid of her slavery for Meizhu, and then specially sent someone to inform him, asking him to send Meizhu to Feng Shaoqing in Luzhou, pretending to be a parent , as the second daughter of the Feng family.

This is to completely cleanse her identity as an official lady.

Zhang Shaomin added a handful of firewood to the fire. He did what he should and shouldn't do, so what happens to Mei Zhu depends on her fate.But, how did the princess have such a deep relationship with the Feng family?And the son-in-law is also surnamed Feng, does it have something to do with the Feng family?Tonight, plums and bamboos were used as bait to lure Dongfang Sheng away, and the prince took the opportunity to leave the patrol mansion. He had time to check Tianxiang's recent changes.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shaomin casually looked to the west, that person took the prince away, can he protect the prince well?

In another direction on the outskirts of Beijing, a fine horse was galloping westward without stopping. What was unusual was that the horse carried two people in tandem, both of whom were men.

The thin man sitting in front leaned on the horse and couldn't stop shouting: "I'm going to vomit, I'm going to vomit, let me down, let me down!" The man flew off his horse and threw him under a tree beside the road. The thin man immediately retched.These two people are the prince Fang who came out from the patrol mansion, and Yijian Piaohong who was entrusted by Tianxiang to take care of the prince.

Seeing that the prince had almost vomited, Yijian Piaohong threw a water bag to him: "Drink!"

The prince was hunted down by him before, and at this moment he was still a little scared, he hesitated for a while after taking the water bag, and then touched his lips.Yijian Piaohong frowned: "Finish the drink quickly, so we can continue on our way!"

The prince cried bitterly: "I still have to hurry?! Me, me, my whole body is going to fall apart!"

Yijian Piaohong's voice did not fluctuate, and he said coldly: "They will soon find out that they are chasing the wrong person, and they will chase in the opposite direction. I can escape, and if your sister is here, I can escape, but you don't want to escape now. Follow me, I’m afraid we’ll never escape!” He picked up the crown prince involuntarily, threw him back on the horse, and wrapped his arms around his chest: “If you’re still lying on your stomach, you’ll still vomit later!”

The prince had no choice but to be surrounded by him, and the two galloped westward all the way.

It was difficult to travel at night, and the two deliberately detoured several times in order to prevent the pursuers. They did not turn north until it was dusk.Yijian Piaohong was used to the rivers and lakes, so he didn't feel anything, but the crown prince couldn't bear such suffering, and fell asleep in Yijian Piaohong's arms amidst the turbulence.

When he woke up, he only found himself lying on the bed, with pain all over his body, and the window was bright white, but he didn't know what time it was.Just as he was wondering, he saw an old man with white hair and eyebrows sitting in front of the desk in the room, seeming to be concentrating on fiddling with something.

After seeing the belongings in his hand, the prince's eyes lit up, he struggled to get up, and limped to the table with his sore body: "Old man, are you a carpenter?"

What the old man was fiddling with was carpentry work. He was using a plane and a carving knife to make some models, which were the tenon shape that the prince was familiar with.Skilled craftsmen, without a single nail, can join the different shapes of wood together and make them into ever-changing shapes, which are integrated into one.The old man smiled but didn't answer, his hands moved more flexibly, and after a while he made something out of wood.The things are interlocking, driving right and left, like a spinning wheel, but more precise.

"Old man, what is this?" The prince couldn't help asking.

"This is the keel waterwheel." The old man spoke slowly with a strong southern accent.He picked up a glass of water, put it on a low place, and shook the model with his hands. The keel water wheel creaked and turned, and the flap sprocket rotated, bringing the water from the low place to a high place, and gurgled down.

The old man laughed loudly: "The keel cart roars and the water enters the pond. When it rains, we can still hope for a good harvest."

"It's amazing, it's said that water flows to low places, but it turns out that it can also go to high places." The prince's eyes lit up, he couldn't put it down, and praised the model one after another: "Old man, you can flow water upstream , leading to a high place, can the wooden bird fly to a high place?"

The old man smiled and said, "What's the difficulty?" He took out something from his bag, flashed it in front of the prince's eyes, and then took it back.

Out of the corner of the prince's eyes, he saw that it was a vivid black wooden bird, but it was much lighter and exquisitely crafted. The moment it passed before his eyes, the wings seemed to flap a few times!

Surprised and delighted, he hurriedly said, "The old man will teach me!"

The old man replied: "It's okay to teach you, but I have some work here, which is much faster than your wooden bird. You need to help me do this well, so that I can see how your carpentry skills are?" "

The prince said happily: "Excellent, excellent, what you want me to do, old man, I will do. I don't know - the old man's name, how do you call him?"

The old man stroked his beard and said with a smile: "This old man's surname is Song, and his name is Chang Geng. He used to be an instructor in my hometown, and he can be regarded as a gentleman. If you don't mind my son, just call me Mr. Song."

The busy inside and outside of the house fell into the eyes of the two people outside.

"Mr. Chang Geng, his subordinates are really skilled." Feng Suzhen nodded after watching the whole process from the window, "Since the previous dynasty, scholars have always paid attention to classics and history. Unexpectedly, Mr. Song has written a rare book of practical learning. Since Shen Kuo Since then, it can be described as No.800 in 1 years.”

Tianxiang smiled and said: "Mr. Song assisted the Governor-General in the Xuan Mansion a few years ago to make red barbarians. In the past two years, the imperial court and Chahar ceased fighting, and then he retreated to Huailai to live in seclusion. He is an official and a craftsman. If you know the identity of Mr. Song, you will say that I am fooling around."

Feng Suzhen shook her head: "Princess, I'm not only the champion, I'm also good at rolling dice! I read Mr. Song's book last night, and I read a lot. Everything in the world, once done well, the truth is the same The princess painstakingly found this teacher for His Royal Highness, hoping to cure the prince's tricks."

Tianxiang already knew that her elder brother was not stupid, otherwise she would not have been diligent in politics for ten years in her previous life.It's just that the prince's mind is still trapped in the nightmare of childhood, and he can't extricate himself from it. Except for carpentry, other things can't enter his heart.When Zhang Shaomin imprisoned him in the mansion earlier, he had invited an old carpenter to explain the sufferings of the people to him, but after all, it was only superficial. Although a skilled craftsman understands the people's feelings, he is not as good as a man of insight who understands the way of the world, let alone Song Changgeng, who has been working for decades. Mr. Wang is a good teacher, and it is perfect for educating people.

In the previous life, when Song Changgeng's "Heavenly Creation" became popular in the capital, the emperor's brother had been on the throne for three to five years, and Mr. Changgeng had passed away at that time, so it was inevitable that the emperor would feel regret when talking about it.In this life, Tianxiang deliberately remembered such a reason, and ordered Shan Shiwen to inquire about Song Changgeng's whereabouts in Nanzhili.

Song Changgeng readily agreed to Tianxiang's request, showing surprising enthusiasm.It didn't take much effort for Tianxiang and the two to invite this famous teacher.

Regarding the matter of the crown prince, Tianxiang considered it thoroughly, which Feng Suzhen had to admire.Huailai is only a day's walk away from the capital, but it is adjacent to the important town of Jiubian. To be prosperous, there are many merchants coming and going.Due to years of poverty, most of the local people believe in Buddhism, but the Taoists who want to be immortal are not visible. There are no eyes and ears here, and it is convenient for the prince to hide.

Tianxiang and Feng Suzhen went into the house to deliver meals to the prince, and exchanged a few words with the prince, seeing that the prince was all about learning the skills from the old man, so they didn't say any more, and let him go.

When the two of them left the room, they saw a tall figure with a sword fluttering red.The chivalrous man stood leaning against the wall and galloped all night, although tiredness was still visible on his face even though he had rested.Tianxiang looked at his exhausted appearance, and felt apologetic.Feng Suzhen noticed the mood of the two of them, and said: "Brother Jian came here in a hurry. He must be tired at the moment, so we should rest for a while. There is nothing in the new yard. Shan Shiwen and I went to buy some utensils and household items. You might as well drink with Brother Jian." Have a cup of tea."

Tianxiang knew that she was avoiding her on purpose, and said with a smile: "I bought some more wine and meat, I haven't seen Yixiong for a long time, I want to have a drink with him!"

In the courtyard, Tian Xiang and Yi Jian Piao Hong sat opposite each other, silent for a long time.

Finally, Tianxiang was the first to pour him a cup of tea: "Brother Jian, Tianxiang can't repay you for your kindness to my brothers and sisters. Tianxiang offers you a cup of tea as a token of respect."

A sword fluttering red, his slashed cheeks were still numb, but there was a warm smile in his eyes. He drank the tea poured by Tianxiang in one gulp, and Mumu uttered three words: "It's delicious."

Tian Xiang smiled and said: "There is no good tea in Huailai City, this tea is made from bamboo leaves that I picked with my son-in-law on the road a few days ago. I didn't know before, so it turns out that bamboo leaves can make such delicious tea water."

Yijian Piaohong took another sip of the tasteless tea, the faint fragrance on the tip of his tongue was astringent, which made him a little sad, but he still nodded heavily: "That's good."

Tianxiang happily talked about her experience of showing her might in Miaozhou, from how the son-in-law discovered the strangeness of Miaozhou as carefully as dust, to how the son-in-law accompanied her to visit the fake imperial palace wisely at night, she talked about it one by one The ups and downs are as ups and downs as folk tales.

Yijian Piaohong always had soft eyes, listening quietly.

The two just "chat" unilaterally from Tianxiang until the sun set and dyed Tianxiang's cheeks red.

At night, Feng Suzhen and Shan Shiwen bought some cooked food and came back, and they immediately opened the table as soon as they came back.There was not much talk during the dinner, only listening to Song Changgeng talking about some ingenious things in farming in Mandarin with an accent, Tianxiang exclaimed: "It's amazing, it's only thanks to the handful of snow stored last year. Can water make the rice seeds dissipate the heat and prevent fever?”

The prince was quite impatient: "Mr. Song, I have heard a lot about farming, but how can the wooden bird fly?"

Tianxiang was dissatisfied: "Brother, you are full of wooden birds, so what if you just listen to Mr. Song talking about farming?"

Song Changgeng chuckled. He has taught for many years, and he has seen many rich people who don't distinguish between five grains: "The people are the grains, and the nations are righteous. My son, a stranger can't live for a long time, but the five grains give birth to him. Man, why are you alive and kicking?" , because people eat five grains, food is their heaven.”

The prince nodded: "Yes, yes, my sister told me before that my wooden bird has no heart, liver, spleen, stomach and kidneys, so it can't eat, so it can't move - so Mr. Song always tells me about these whole grains, and it's useless Yu Muniao." Thinking of this, the prince put down his chopsticks, and his face was frowning again.Tianxiang was so eager to poke his head with chopsticks.

Song Changgeng cheerfully said: "Master, you are wrong! There are thousands of things in the world, and the truth is the same. Humans eat whole grains, ferocious beasts eat meat, weak animals eat grass, big fish eat small fish, and small Fish eat dried shrimp, and dried shrimp eat river mud. Wooden birds do need to eat if they want to fly, but it’s not that they can’t eat, but you didn’t find the right food for it. Today you saw it and I’ll give it to you The keel waterwheel I saw was used to divert water into the field, but there is another kind of waterwheel that does not require manpower, and only relies on a few sails, and when the wind turns the wheel, the wind will stop. This is moving by the wind!"

The prince's eyes lit up: "Really? Mr. Song, what do you think a wooden bird should eat? Can it also move on the wind?"

Song Changgeng didn't answer directly, but twirled his beard and shook his head and said: "Such a god, even if you eat a dead thing, you can live. This thing can't be said."

The prince became anxious: "Well, what is there to say?"

Song Changgeng kept secret: "Knowing is easy, but life is also difficult; knowing but not doing, knowing is useless!"

Feng Suzhen took the conversation and said with a smile: "Master, you have eaten the five grains, but do you know where the five grains come from and how they are grown?"

The prince frowned: "I know what to do with those? Gentlemen stay away from the kitchen!"

Feng Suzhen continued: "Mr. Song said that a living person cannot live for a long time, but the five grains produce it, and people have to eat when they live. Conversely, the five grains cannot grow on their own, but they are born. These five grains are all planted. It’s smooth, and the avenue is not violated. If you know how to grow five grains in farming, you will know how to grow food for wooden birds.”

The prince suddenly realized, and couldn't help feeling melancholy: "What year and month will we have to wait..."

After the meal, the crown prince restrained himself and Song Changgeng continued to study the waterwheel.

The author has something to say:

When the prince's whitewashing is in progress

Don't ask me what is the relationship between the summary and the text

The territory follows the setting of the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty. Xuanda is the border outside the mouth, and Huailai is a small town nearby, the gate to the west of Beijing.

Song Changgeng is Song Yingxing.

Why do you ask me who Song Yingxing is?Please go to your junior high school history teacher and plead guilty.

What do you mean Song Yingxing should have died?

I don't care, I want to kill him, +1s