Crossing Prince Yinren

In the middle of winter, the dripping water in the city of Beijing turned into ice, and the rare warm sun on this day coincided with the temple fair, and it was the close of the new year. There is a lot of people everywhere.

The base of the tall and thick city wall is sheltered from the wind and facing the sun. It is also a gathering place for all kinds of toys and food vendors. The pot came out one after another, and the old man with loose teeth stood in front of the pot and waited, specifically telling him to add an extra egg; the cauldron selling stewed meat and cooking meat was steaming white steaming "gurgling" sound, and his clothes were shiny The meat-faced boss in the big apron chops the chopping board with a big kitchen knife, and the stewed meat drips out fat juice under the knife, and the fragrance is even more fascinating...

Adjacent to the stall selling big bowls of tea was a broken table with three legs that was about to fall apart. On it were the four treasures of the study. There was a bamboo pole next to the table, and an old white cloth was tied on it. , the handwriting is full of spirits and extraordinary momentum, as if to fly away with rags.

Sitting behind the table was a young scholar wearing an old gray cotton padded jacket, and beside him stood a handsome boy. His own cuffs had been frayed, revealing the cotton inside. The boy was also dressed in shabby clothes, but he didn't care at all. , holding a middle-aged man with an unshaven squirrel coat sitting in front of the table wrote a word "person" on the paper, and said in a daze: "A decent person, what do you want?" A person like this should be in the world, even if he is alone, he may be lonely..." He shook his head again and again, his face full of sympathy.

The middle-aged man asked eagerly: "Then where should I go to find her?"

"If you add 'I' to the character 'I', you can find it in a few minutes. The character 'Xun' is above '彐' and below 'inch'. Hu Tongxue is probably in the square inch where there is more snow and snow is more appropriate. Master Hu, don’t go any further. I looked for it in the distance, let’s think about the familiar place.”

The middle-aged man was thoughtful, and suddenly seemed to remember something, stood up excitedly, and said: "Thank you sir for pointing out the maze, this is gold, please accept it, if you can really find the little girl, Hu will definitely come to thank you again! "He took out a 1000 Wen banknote from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and put it on the table, turned around and left in a hurry.

The scholar turned his back and said: "Master Hu, go slowly!" He held the money in his hand with a smile on his face, and squeezed it tightly.

When the boy saw the man turn around, he immediately leaned over his head and said, "My lord, how much did he pay?"

The scholar unfolded a corner of the banknote, and showed him the words "One Thousand Wen" with great care.

The little boy exclaimed, "So many! He really is a rich man!"

The scholar hurriedly looked around, and reprimanded: "Speak softly!" He quickly stuffed the banknotes deeply into his bosom, and hid them carefully.

His wealth is not in vain, he is a poor scholar who came from other places to rush for the exam.

Xiaotong also knew this truth, so he quickly covered his mouth.

But it was too late. There were many people watching at the tea stand and nearby when he was telling the fortune, and Xiao Tong's voice was even more eye-catching.The peddlers and customers who were doing business nearby were only envious, but an idle man who was lazily basking in the sun against the city wall not far away had an unrighteous light flashing in his eyes, but unfortunately neither the scholar nor the boy noticed.

The scholar hid the banknotes, smiled at the people who looked over, and supported the cover in front of the table in a concealed manner. Seeing that no one was looking here again, he was slightly relieved.Seeing that his face softened, the little boy approached him as he straightened the paper and ink, and said happily in a low voice, "Master, is the money enough to make a fine cloth dress?"

The scholar couldn't hide his joy: "Go to the cloth shop later and ask, if it's enough, we will both make new clothes for Chinese New Year this year!"

The little boy was even happier, and kept the paper and ink in order.

He has grown so old that he has not worn new clothes a few times!When he was three years old, his hometown was hit by a disaster, and his parents fled famine and abandoned him on the road.The son's parents were kind-hearted and picked him up, saying that he was a school boy for his son who was studying, but he was actually a son because he was young.Later, the owner and his wife passed away one after another, and the son had no other relatives, so he was taken care of as a younger brother.It's just that the young master's family is not rich, and the young master does his best to study, and he has not worn new clothes a few times, so he can only wear the young master's old clothes all the time.

In the following time, both the master and the servant couldn't hide their joy, and they were lucky enough to tell the fortunes of the two of them, and they got dozens of coins.At noon, both the master and the servant were hungry, and when they got up in the morning, they only drank a bowl of thin porridge from the rented master's house, and they couldn't stand it anymore.

Watching the hot golden buns coming out of the fried steamed stuffed bun stand opposite the tea stand one after another, the intriguing aroma came in bursts with the white steam, the scholar hesitated for a long time, and finally "resolutely" touched it from his arms. He took out four or five copper coins and a ten-cent bill, stroked it reluctantly a few times, and handed it to the boy: "Xiaoer, go buy some buns."

The little boy was overjoyed, and carefully took the money and walked to the steamed stuffed bun stall. The buns were not very big, and cost four for five Wen. The little boy handed over fifteen Wen to the stall owner. Pad, ask the child to take it back.Holding the oily and hot steamed buns just out of the pan, the little boy felt the heat from his palms to his back, and even his heart warmed up, and the saliva from the aroma near his nose was about to drip down immediately.

Holding the buns in his hands, he walked toward the road with full concentration, as if he was holding a treasure, and for a moment he forgot about the candied haws that he had secretly envied all morning, for fear of being bumped into by someone—but when he got to the middle of the road, the accident still happened Now, a cute five or six-year-old girl in Yuxue wearing a rabbit head hat, holding a bright red candied haws in one hand and a delicate windmill in the other, ran out from nowhere, turned around while laughing, and hit him hard. The bun in his hand flew out, and the little girl fell to the ground suddenly, and the candied haws rolled into the dust just like the bun.

The little boy was also staggered by the bump and was stunned.Seeing that the steamed stuffed bun that was about to reach his mouth flew away, and the little girl who fell down was not wearing gold or silver, but she was obviously well-dressed, but now there were obvious oil stains on the beautiful and delicate clothes, and he also But at the age of two or three years older than the little girl, those who were afraid of being wronged almost cried out immediately.

When the little girl bumped into him, a voice from behind exclaimed: "Miss!" At the same time, the scholar also reminded in shock: "Smile!"

The voice of exclamation quickly stepped forward to help the little girl up, wanting to check where she fell, the scholar also hurriedly stepped forward to apologize for Tong'er, and wanted to help tidy up the little girl's clothes, the man held the little girl vigilantly and separated him , only in her twenties, fair and handsome, but with cold eyes.The little girl was shocked, avoided his inspection, patted her chest very cutely, and said, "I'm fine."

Another two or three people walked over quickly, the first one was wearing a light ink cloak, tall and straight, with the hem of a plain shirt turned out of the cloak as he walked, walked up to the little girl, knelt down and wiped it with one hand. The little girl accidentally got ashes on her face, and asked: "How is it?" The voice was low and deep like the strings evoked by an ancient Qin Zheng, almost with a sense of rhythmic beauty, making the surroundings quiet for a moment.

The two people who followed him also came to the front at this time, both of them were dressed in extraordinary aura, the scholar secretly groaned in his heart, the aura of these two people was even worse than that of a high-ranking official he had seen from afar before - the Taoist platform of their mansion However, one of them still seemed to be a human being. A sesame seed falling from the sky in the capital city could kill him. Who did they offend?

The little girl said: "Daddy, I'm fine." Glancing at the little boy who had tears in his eyes, she spoke clearly and responsibly like a little adult, "It's my fault. This brother's matter."

The scholar immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but the boy's grievances surged, and tears immediately fell down.

"Oh?" There seemed to be a slight smile in the man's voice, "Then what should you do?"

The little girl looked at the rags of the tearful boy and the scholar, then at the buns on the ground, and ran to the bun stall to take out copper coins from her embroidered purse, and also bought twelve buns.

The man stood up and watched her move.

The owner of the steamed stuffed bun shop looked at the white and tender little hands of the little girl who was only as high as the pot, then at the group of people standing not far away, and then at the steamed stuffed buns that had rolled all over the floor, and took out a large uncut one. On a piece of straw paper, the twelve buns were wrapped respectfully and properly, so that the little girl could hold it with one hand.

The little girl brought the steamed stuffed bun to the little boy, and said, "I'm sorry, I knocked off your belongings just now, I'll pay you for this." Put the steamed stuffed bun into the little boy's hand.

The little boy took it in a daze, not knowing how to react for a moment: he had never seen such a beautiful and polite little girl from a rich family.

The scholar was also very surprised, and he didn't speak for a while. The little girl rolled her black grape-like eyeballs, and asked someone from behind for the candied haws she bought earlier, handed it to the little boy with both hands, and said, "Here's for you too, don't be angry." .”

The little boy looked at the string of mountain reds that were crystal clear and full of rock sugar fragrance, and involuntarily picked them up in his hand.

The little girl raised her face to look at her father to invite credit, and the man seemed to give a low laugh, and looked at the scholar.

Only then did the scholar realize that he should also say polite words and thank him for excuses. He was about to open his mouth when he saw the man's face, but suddenly his mind went blank, he couldn't think of anything, he was speechless and speechless.

What kind of face is that, thin lips of fresh water color, straight nose bridge, skin is almost flawless except for a thin and light scar on the right cheek, eyebrows are like ink, and they are drawn obliquely upwards towards the temples, with a pair of narrow and long Eyes, most of the eyeballs are hidden by the thick eyelashes, the corners of the eyes are slightly raised, it seems that they are born with a proud look, noble and unparalleled...

The man looked at the cover behind the scholar, and said indifferently: "Good word." He took the little girl's hand and walked away. It was not until he walked far away that the scholar came back to his senses.

When the two of them came to their senses, the hot steamed stuffed bun in the boy's hand was already a bit cold, and the people around were all shocked by the dignified aura of the few people, and when they were out of sight among the crowd, they started discussing the hot buns enthusiastically. The origin: "It must be the son and grandson of some family. Look at such a bearing, how can it be possible for someone from an ordinary family to have it!"

"Perhaps they are talents and celebrities who came from other places to rush for the exam. Isn't it next year's big competition? Look at the clothes they wear, except for the little girl who is made of cloth, and even the little old man makes a silk gown to wear during the New Year. He didn't even bring a purse or jade pendant, which high-ranking official would dress so poorly..."

"Impossible! Who came to rush for the exam and brought their daughter with them? And you listen to that little girl, she has an obvious Beijing accent!"

"Old Zhang, it's because you haven't seen it! Who said that silk and satin must be better than cloth? Go to the cloth shop and ask. Nowadays, good cloth is much more expensive than silk. Now it's not like it was a few years ago. Heavy silk Those weavers with light cloth and cheap cloth can’t live a life. A few years ago, the best flying flower cloth was no more than two yuan a piece of silver. How much do you think it costs now? Two taels of silver may not be enough. Buy it! The nobles above are vying to wear it!" Mystically lowering his voice, he made a bow in the direction of the Forbidden City, "I heard that even the emperor and his elders like to wear it..."

"The emperor and his elders must love to wear this cloth. Otherwise, the Songjiang cloth was specially included in the tribute at the New Year's Eve? Speaking of which, the price of cloth began to soar at that time. It was made by the Ministry of Industry the year before last. The vertical spindle machine that produces twelve yarns and the shuttle that can weave wide cloth can weave the cloth as fast as flying, and the price of good cloth has not dropped at all, and the supply is still in short supply!"

"Of course, I heard from my nephew who came back from doing business in Hangzhou that the big merchants there ship the cloth to foreign countries by boat and boat, and they can sell as much cloth as they want. In some places, cotton cloth can be sold to us. The price here is dozens of times! There are also some savage countries, and the savages directly exchange gems and gold! I heard that my old bones want to be a seafarer, but it’s a pity, I heard that the red-haired pirates on the sea are really real. sharp……"

At this point, the topic started to digress, and they scrambled to talk about the huge wealth of big merchants in Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Ningbo, as well as strange overseas anecdotes.

The scholar and Tong'er walked back to the stall silently and sat down, sharing the steamed stuffed buns. While eating, the boy still held onto the candied haws and was reluctant to put it down.The scholar pricked up his ears curiously while eating. He came from a remote village in Henan. It's different from everyone else.

As everyone was talking, a person at the big bowl of tea stall suddenly stood up, and the fat man who was sitting on the same long bench with him at the other end was caught off guard and pushed the bench up into the air. When he fell to the ground with a clatter, he was hit hard by a flying bench, and the tea bowl on the table was also overturned, and the tea spilled all over him, and he yelled angrily, "You son of a bitch, do you want to kill me!" Your father died and rushed to the funeral? Won't you say hello to your father before you get up?..."

The benches on this kind of tea stand are mostly thin and narrow strips, which can sit two or three people at the same time. If they sit near the two ends, the people at one end will often sway the people at the other end when they get up, and they will be tilted like a seesaw. He got up and fell to the ground with the stool.The fat man was so embarrassed and furious that he couldn't get up for a while. The owner of the tea stand was shocked, and put a white handkerchief on his shoulders and rushed to eat him.

The fat man was hit badly by the fall, and was extremely annoyed. When he got up, he immediately punched the thin man, and then pulled him back by grabbing his clothes. : "I suddenly remembered who the man who was at the head just now was. I was so shocked that I forgot to sit on a long bench. I'm so sorry..."

The fat man said angrily: "Then who surprised your grandson like this!?"

The thin man swallowed, paused, and the fat man raised his hand to strike again, he hurriedly said: "I said, I said!... Then, it seems—it seems to be——Long live, old man..."

The people around were all attracted by this quarrel, and they became silent when they heard the words. The scholar was still snickering with his bun covering his face, because the fat man was wearing a green silk robe, and he just fell to the ground and couldn't get up. The big green-haired tortoise was stunned when he heard this.

After a moment of silence, the fat man spoke out everyone's thoughts: "What are you talking about!? It's not such a nonsense that I'm afraid that I will beat you up. What is the old man doing here?..."

Everyone looked in disbelief, and the skinny man argued with a mournful face: "Really! Do you still remember the great epidemic in the capital in the 32nd year of Kangxi? The emperor, who was still the crown prince at that time, ordered the city to be closed. Aren’t you all afraid? Prince Ning took the lead in storming the Chaoyang Gate, trying to force his way out, but the Emperor himself went to the gate to stop him, and he was assassinated. I saw it with my own eyes..."

The fat man didn't believe it and said: "Who are you lying to? How many years have passed? How many people were there at the gate of the city? You can still recognize that side when you see it?"

The thin man said eagerly: "What I said is true! I was standing near the front and could see clearly. Besides, the emperor and his old man's demeanor, who can forget it after seeing him?" He didn't say where he was standing at that time. Although it was near the front, the direction was not very good. From the beginning to the end, I only saw half of the profile of the prince at that time, so it took me so long to recognize him.

But undoubtedly these words were already extremely convincing, everyone became silent again, the scholar and the boy cast their unbelievable gazes on the steamed stuffed bun in their hands.Then everyone looked at the fried buns and candied haws in their hands, their eyes full of admiration.

The scholar originally opened his mouth wide to bite off the half of the bun in his hand, but under the eyes of everyone, he closed his mouth embarrassingly.

Suddenly someone exclaimed: "Ah! That little girl called the emperor and the old man 'Daddy' just now, isn't that, it is... the emperor's only daughter so far, Princess Ning'an?"

Everyone turned their attention to the buns and candied haws again: These were bought by the princess herself!The owner of the steamed steamed stuffed bun stall looked at his pot, and couldn't believe it. The Princess Princess came to his stall to buy steamed stuffed buns in person!Looking at Xiaotong again: I even apologize to such a kid!

Everyone's thoughts were the same as his: The princess and her old man are so amiable, lovely and approachable!

Shocked by everyone's naked, jealous and envious eyes, the little boy hid the candied haws behind him, fearing that someone would snatch it.

Everyone was excited now, those who did business didn’t have the heart to do it, and those who planned to go shopping elsewhere did not go, all the idlers put down their bowls and chopsticks, scrambling to chase in the direction where the man and the little girl were going. In the past, hoping to see "Tianyan" again, the number of people under the wall disappeared by more than half in an instant.The rest of the stall guards who couldn't leave were also very excited, chattering wildly, praising the emperor for how handsome, talented, diligent and caring the people are, and how much the princess I saw just now She is smart and cute, has a good demeanor, is not arrogant, Shen Yuluoyan is even overwhelmed by the country... It doesn't matter that such a five or six-year-old girl can be said to be beautiful and cute at best, and it is far from Chen Yuluoyan's allure.

Everyone kept talking until the sun gradually moved westward and the market was over.The scholar and the boy originally wanted to catch up to see the "Holy Lord" again, but the stalls were hard to get, so they couldn't keep up. At this time, they planned to close the stall ahead of time, and bought cloth and made clothes during this fair. The middle-aged man who was tidying up with Xiaotong in the morning and asked him to find out the whereabouts of his daughter suddenly came with several people, all with happy faces, walked to the stall and bowed deeply: "Mr. I found my little girl in the old house Meixuetang! Mister is really a god!"

The peddlers who set up the stall and the customers who hadn't left yet looked at the scholar in surprise: No wonder the Lord Long Live and the Princess Princess look at this master and servant differently. It turns out that these two are not ordinary people!

This middle-aged man looks like a businessman, but he seems to have studied for two days, and he speaks politely.The scholar was overjoyed when he heard that he had done the calculation correctly, and said, "Oh? Then congratulations to Mr. Hu! You dare not be a man of gods. This is also because the relationship between Mr. Hu and Qianjin's father and daughter is not perfect, and it is Mr. Hu's own blessing."

The middle-aged man shook his head and sighed: "Oh, it's been more than a month since my little girl and I ran away from home angrily. I've searched everywhere. I'm afraid she was kidnapped by a kidnapper. I lived in an old abandoned house, and she hid for a month! This dead girl is really angry, if it is not for Mr. Guidance, I don’t know how long it will take to find her. This month, I have been suffering in my heart... "The man's eyes turned red as he spoke, he tilted his head to cover up, and bowed deeply again: "There is nothing else I can do to repay you, sir, this is a cover I made for you."

A person who followed him stepped forward, looked at the scholar reverently, and shook off a piece of brocade cloth in his hand. On it were two lines of thick ink characters: "One word knows life and death, three lottery connects ghosts and gods"!There is also a line of small characters in regular script on the lower left: "Hu Mou Wanxin, a gift from Hu Mou, on the first day of December in the fourth year of Changping."

Passers-by who came and went saw this momentum, and all cast awe-inspiring eyes on the scholar.

The man put a few banknotes into the scholar's hand respectfully: "This is a small thank you."

The scholar pretended to decline and said: "This is all the blessings of Mr. Hu himself. This couple of young students especially can't afford it, can't afford it."

The man forced the money into the scholar, pretending to be displeased: "Sir, do you think this little money is too little?"

The scholar sighed along the way, and said: "Master Hu said so, Xiaosheng can only accept it brazenly." Glancing at the face value of the banknote, he suddenly smiled, and hurriedly tucked the money into his sleeve.

The two chatted with each other for a long time, and the scholar gave the man another lesson to settle the business, and the peddlers on the street were almost gone.The scholar and the boy carried the broken tables and stools, and walked to the pre-optimized cloth shop under the guise.

The little boy asked the scholar adoringly: "My lord, why are you always so accurate in your calculations? How do you know that the girl from that family is safe and just hiding nearby?"

The scholar smiled wickedly and said, "Hey, my lord, I didn't figure it out..."