Tranquility

"It's raining!"

"Hahaha, it's raining! I'm not dreaming!"

"God finally has eyes!"

A quarter of an hour ago, there was a sudden thunder explosion in the sky. Everyone looked up and saw the dark clouds covering the entire sky at once.

The originally clear sky turned dark in the blink of an eye, like night.Then the bean-sized raindrops hit the person's cheek with pain.

The people in Lianhua Town no longer cared about the Lianhua Empress, they all danced excitedly, and some even tore off their clothes, letting the raindrops hit them violently, as if only feeling this pain could let them know that they were not dreaming.

After the initial ecstasy, one person shouted: "What are you doing standing there? Hurry up and get water!"

Only then did everyone wake up, and immediately ran home. The huge Goddess Temple became empty in the blink of an eye. Only Tang Ning and his party, the magistrate sitting on the ground, and the Taoist chief who was still suppressed were left. There are a few little guys who have disappeared this time.

How to deal with these people now, Tangning was having a difficult time.

According to Tangning's position and rank, he has no right to deal with other county magistrates. He can only report to the county magistrate's Shangfeng. Moreover, he is not a censor and has no right to impeach him. At most, he can report to the governor.

At this moment, a gorgeous carriage drove over, and in the eyes of everyone, two pretty maids came down. One of the two maids opened an umbrella, and the other turned around to support a noble lady in plain clothes and a gauze hat. woman down.

Although she couldn't see her face, she should be a woman from her clothes and hair accessories, but her walking posture was graceful like a girl's.

Under the scrutiny of everyone, the lady approached generously and said, "Leave these people to me."

It was a light sentence, but the tone was surprisingly domineering.

Without waiting for everyone's reaction, as soon as the lady stretched out her hand, more than a dozen guards came up from behind, and carried a few of them down neatly.

At this moment, Tang Ning was sure that this noble lady was Princess Fushou.

Summarizing the lessons of the previous dynasty, Dazhao has very strict restrictions on the vassal kings. The vassal kings and princes cannot touch military power. catch my breath;

But the princess and princess can raise guards.These bodyguards are not bodyguards. Firstly, they are soldiers of the country. Secondly, they come from innocent backgrounds. Some of them are even masters. The bodyguards are privately trained bodyguards of princes and sons, and most of them are servants.In modern terms, one is organized and the other is not.

Therefore, even though Xie Baiyun is the heir of Prince Dazhao's real power, his pomp is really not as good as the princess with five hundred guards in front of him.Even the princess's own father, the loyal king, is not necessarily more handsome than his daughter.

Tang Ning was sizing up the princess, and the princess seemed to be interested in Tangning.

She looked in Tangning's direction, and paused, "Are you the new co-prefect of Yongzhou?"

"Returning to the princess, it is the humble minister."

"You actually recognize me, not bad."

Princess Fushou nodded, then turned around gracefully and left.

Several people were baffled by this style, why did the princess come here? If it was for the corrupt officials and treacherous ways, it would be fine to send a few guards to arrest people, why bother to do it himself.

Anyway, it was someone else's business, and it was still pouring rain. Tangning and the others had no time to worry about it, so they rushed to the inn to protect the two children.

The inn was full of joy. Many servants were shirtless and drenched in the rain in the yard. When Tangning and his party came in, the waiters smiled and asked if they needed water.

Tang Ning looked around at the distressed appearance of everyone, especially Ah Bao, who hadn't bathed for many days, and would be washed by the rain, and there would be mud marks on his body, so Tang Ning nodded without hesitation, and ordered the staff to send someone to Ah Bao's house to follow him Mother said that Ah Bao was with him.

It was more than half an hour after everyone finished grooming. Tangning hugged Ah Bao who had been cleaned up, and called everyone to the lobby for lunch.

The rain outside was still pattering, and the post station carried out the large tank for water storage, which was full after a while.

Tang Ning and the others were sitting in the lobby, waiting for the food to be served while listening to the sound of the rain chatting; Ah Bao snored comfortably on Tang Ning's shoulder, Tang Yu couldn't bear him taking his father's arms, and from time to time To tease him, others smiled indulgently, the atmosphere was very relaxed and comfortable.

Unexpectedly, before sitting for a long time, three people came in from outside, the first one was wearing a white scholar's shirt, about 40 years old, his face was as white as jade, and he was as thin as bamboo. Although the corners of his mouth were smiling, his eyes were very melancholy.

Seeing him walking towards her, Tangning felt that this person had a very gentle demeanor, so she smiled at him.

"Everyone, Mr. Pei took the liberty to interrupt. May I ask if this is Yongzhou Tongzhi Master Tang?" The scribe walked to the table not far away, and the distance was just right, which shows that this person is a very meticulous and thoughtful person.

"Exactly, you are Mr. Pei. Tang received your post today. He was supposed to sweep the couch to welcome him. But something happened. It was late. Please forgive me for being so negligent." Tangning stood up, Salute respectfully.

"Your Majesty Tang, you are too polite. Mr. Pei is a teacher. He has no fame and cannot be called an adult."

"Mr. Pei." Tangning smiled apologetically at Mr. Pei and cupped her hands again.

Mr. Pei smiled, acquiesced in this address and said: "What happened in the morning, Mr. Pei heard that it was because the boy escaped, which made Mr. Tang's young master have such a twists and turns. It happened that a certain servant had just caught a thief in the kitchen of the inn. After inquiring, it turned out to be the boy who ran away, so someone brought him here to make an apology to Mr. Tang."

Probably because of Mr. Pei's unique temperament, everyone's eyes were on him. When Mr. Pei said this, everyone noticed that two servants behind him were holding a skinny child.

Tangning saw that the child was naked, his whole body was tanned, his big eyes were rolling around, the whites of his eyes were protruding, and he was very alert.The child didn't seem to be afraid. After rolling his eyes around, he stared at Ah Bao who was in Tangning's arms, and his thin wrists were twitching restlessly in the servant's palm.

Tangning saw that his hands were not much bigger than Ah Bao's, and that his arms were so thin that people worried that they might be broken. She felt pity, and said, "Let him go."

"My lord doesn't know something, don't look at this boy is thin, his movements are really slippery, if he is allowed to escape, it will take a lot of effort to catch him back." The servant was a little unhappy.

Tangning didn't speak, but looked at Mr. Pei.

"Ali, according to Mr. Tang's words, there are so many adults here, and we are afraid that one of his children will not succeed." Mr. Pei did not reprimand the servant's trespass, his tone was still gentle, but he let the servant obediently let go.

The child was free, rubbing his wrist and leaning towards Tangning.

Tangning didn't avoid it, but asked with a smile, "You are Brother Rui that Ah Bao mentioned? What's your name and how old are you?"

The child looked into Tangning's eyes and suddenly grinned, "My name is Xi Rui. I heard from my stepmother that I am ten years old this year."

Tangning really didn't realize how big this kid was. Seeing that he was seven or eight years old at most, she felt pity for him even more. She reached out and stroked his head, "He's already this big."

Before she finished speaking, a drenched woman ran in from outside the lobby. She glanced around, and then her eyes quickly turned to Tangning. Seeing the child in Tangning's arms, she couldn't help but shouted, "Ah Bao."

Hearing his mother's call, Ah Bao finally opened his sleepy eyes, and habitually opened his arms and shouted, "Mother, hug me."

The woman took a few steps forward and hesitated when she saw the people around Tangning.

Seeing this, Tangning took the initiative to carry the child forward and handed it to the woman.

The woman gave birth to a child, plopped down on her knees, bent over and said, "Thank you sir, thank you sir."

"Hehe, sister-in-law, you don't have to be polite. Get up quickly. After all, this official abducted your child," Tangning joked.

The woman shook her head again and again and said: "Don't dare, it's Ah Bao who is stubborn and has caused trouble to your lord."

Tangning has long been accustomed to the people's fearful and sincere attitude, and knowing that the other party is uncomfortable here, she simply said, "Well, I like Ah Bao very much, and I wanted to have dinner with Ah Bao, but I have something to do, sister-in-law will take Ah Bao first. Bao, go back. By the way, you should recognize this child, why don’t you take it with you.”

The woman followed Tangning's pointing, and then she saw Xi Rui, and she couldn't help being surprised, "Ari, didn't you run away?" After speaking, she looked at Tangning anxiously.

"Auntie, I was caught." Xi Rui scratched her head, seeing that the woman was about to cry, she quickly comforted her: "It's okay, this lord is kind, let you take me with you."

The woman quickly stood up, hugging Abao with one hand, and pulling Xirui with the other.

Unexpectedly, Xi Rui dodged and dodged, under the woman's astonished gaze, knelt down in front of Tangning, hugged his calf and said, "My lord, I know you are a good person, please show mercy and accept me." Don't look down on me, I can do everything, I have great strength, I don't want anything, I just ask you to give me food. If you don't accept me, I will die sooner or later."

Tang Ning was suddenly hugged by someone's leg. She was not used to it, so she subconsciously struggled away, but this Xi Rui was really strong, and she hugged her tightly and refused to let go. Tang Ning was in a dilemma. Compassion is one thing, but taking someone away is another. something happened.

When Tang Ning met Shu Hongyu, she was still young, including her previous life, she was only 30 years old. That's why he adopted Shu Hongyu.But ten years later, he has experienced ups and downs in life, and has been in the officialdom for a few years, fully realizing the multiple joint responsibilities in ancient times. Although Shu Hongyu is Doctor Lu's apprentice, he has also followed suit. Up to now, he still sends people to Qi County every year.

While Tangning was hesitating, the woman also knelt down and said, "Your Excellency, you don't know, this child has a hard life. He is not from our town, and he doesn't know who his real father is, so he was born to his mother." So he took him to marry Zhang Tiejiang from our town. Who would have thought that when he was three years old, his mother died of illness, and Zhang Tiejiang married the daughter of Butcher Li's family. Not a good face. A few years later Blacksmith Zhang also died, and the daughter of the Li family lost all scruples, and even beat and scolded him, letting him do all the work. This time the town is going to choose a lotus boy, and the chosen one People can fetch an extra bucket of water every day, and if they really ask for rain, they can get 50 taels of silver."

"The Taoist priest said that he wanted a pair of ten-year-old boys and girls. Boys are more expensive than girls these days. Those who have girls are cruel-hearted and some people are willing to buy them. But it is not easy to raise a ten-year-old boy to such a big age. If people are willing to come out, the daughter of the Li family pushed A Rui out, in fact A Rui is only nine years old."

When the woman said this, she simply put A Bao down and kowtowed her head, "My lord, please be merciful and let A Rui be an errand boy for you. He is the one that the little woman saw growing up. I don’t have to say my heart, I’m very kind to my family’s Abao, seeing the little woman and a widow’s life is difficult, and she often finds time to come over to help.”

Tang Ning saw that the woman's forehead was blue, and she didn't care what men and women were defensive, so she hurriedly helped her up, not wanting to be interrupted by Xie Baiyun, so she pulled the woman up first.

The woman's strength is naturally not as strong as Xie Baiyun's, and she was not reconciled when she was pulled up: "A Rui ran away this time, and there must be no good fruit to eat when he goes back. A little woman and a widow are still taking Ah Bao, so if you want to take care of him Difficult, poor Ari doesn't know how long he will be tortured by that shrew, the little woman really can't bear it, if she knew this, she might as well not help him escape, and dedicate it to the Lotus Empress so that she can have a good pregnancy in the next life."

Shu Hongyu saw that he was becoming less and less like him, so he hurriedly said: "Third brother, why don't you just accept him, I think he is very clever and a talent to make, just as Yu'er lacks a book boy, let him follow Yu'er first How do you recognize words?"

"This..." Tangning pondered for a while, seeing Tang Yu's expectant eyes, she knew that he liked Xi Rui quite a bit. Tangning examined Xi Rui again, and felt that he had suffered so much at such a young age. It's rare that he hasn't grown crooked, not only does he not have a newspaper office, but he can also repay the widow who took care of him; and despite his clever appearance, from what he just said and did, he is calm and thoughtful inside.

Tang Yu couldn't get in touch with such a child on a daily basis. Tang Yu's growth environment was too simple. There should be a few concubine brothers in the family of a child similar to him, so Tang Yu couldn't get along with them.Now there is a book boy with such a background by his side, which may help him see people and things from another angle.

"Then let him follow Yu'er first."

After Tangning finished speaking, Xi Rui let go of her hand, and immediately kowtowed three times, "Thank you, Master Ende."

The woman wept with joy, hugged Xi Rui, rubbed her arms and said: "It's over, it's over, Ah Rui, you have to work hard and live up to your lord's kindness."

Tangning waved her hand and said, "Okay, it's raining heavily outside, I won't be able to leave for a while, you go back with your aunt first, and make arrangements for everything, I will call you when I leave."

Immediately afterwards, Tangning bought some food and steamed buns for them, and sent the three of them away who were so grateful.

"Master Tang is really kind-hearted. This child has caused so much trouble for him, yet he is still willing to take him in and promise his future. Pei admires his open-mindedness."

I have to say that getting along with this Mr. Pei is very comfortable. When Tangning was dealing with the matter just now, he was like an invisible person, making people ignore his existence. After the matter was over, he would use this to talk again. This will never mention it, very interesting.

Mr. Pei wanted to find out the details of Tang Ning, the new co-prefect of Yongzhou, and Tangning also wanted to learn about the situation in Yongzhou from Mr. Pei.

In this regard, the fledgling Tang Ning was clearly no match for Mr. Pei, who was suspected of being a loyal aide to the king.

According to Mr. Pei himself, he is not an aide of King Zhong, but the husband of Princess Fushou. After marrying, Princess Fushou stayed in King Zhong's mansion to teach the grandsons of Prince Zhong's concubines.The reason for going out this time is because Princess Fushou is a new widow and wants to go back to her natal family to be a widow. He was ordered to pick up the princess.

As for the situation in the officialdom in Yongzhou, he lived deep in the palace and had little contact with him. If he insisted on saying something, it would be that the prince is loyal and benevolent, the officials are diligent and motivated, and the people live and work in peace and contentment.

On the contrary, Tang Ning was unknowingly told a lot by this old fox. If Xie Baiyun hadn't interrupted her, she might have talked even more.It's a pity that Xie Baiyun's identity is sensitive, and he dare not show too much, causing the old fox's suspicion.You must know that there are also turbulent undercurrents among the feudal princes, especially between princes with different surnames who have real power and clans without real power.

Even so, Tangning was also caught by the other party's understanding of everyone in her family.

Because of the rain, it got dark very early. Although there was no rush that day and the weather was good, everyone had dinner early and went back to their rooms. If it didn't rain tomorrow, they would have to get up early and hurry.

After returning to the room, it was the world of the two of them again. In the morning, the two of them were interrupted and quietly recovered.

When Xie Baiyun came out from behind the screen after taking a shower, she saw Tangning with her wet hair staring at the lamp in a daze.

Looking at the beauty under the lamp, the soft light shrouded Tangning's face and his plain white underwear, forming a hazy mood.

Xie Baiyun was obsessed with watching it, and only wished it would last forever.