lady, please calm down

Chapter 302 Victory Song

Night, Xu time.

In March of spring, the wind is gentle and smooth, and mosquitoes and flies are not born.

It is the best time of the year.

Several carp lanterns were hung under the grape trellis in the Wangxiang Garden of the Hou Mansion, and giggles floated in the back house.

Ordinarily, this kind of carp lanterns would only be hung up during the Lantern Festival Lantern Festival. Today is not the right time to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
But the Marquis likes it!
To be more precise, Mr. Hou’s precious daughter likes
Didn't you see? Lu Anhou held the little Yuanbao to his chest. Every time he nudged the carp lantern with his fingers, the pink and tender little ball would stare at the lantern and giggle for a while.

Encouraged by the laughter, Chen Chu, who was in a state of confusion, became even more energetic.

It was obviously a childish game, but Chen Chu enjoyed it endlessly, and he laughed so hard that he just laughed.

Very useless.
The two of them laughed happily, and not far away, Yunong, who was sitting in the pavilion with Mao'er, smiled even happier.

Since childhood, Yunong has been an easily satisfied person.

She was troubled as a child, but she was happy if she could avoid being beaten and have a full stomach.

Later, when I arrived at Caiwei Pavilion, I was happy to get a few extra coins from Qin's mother.

Later, when she met Chen Chu, her biggest wish at that time was to be a maid by the young master's side.

At that time, I never dreamed that I would become a child and have such a pink and chubby daughter with my master, who could make my heart melt just by looking at her!

Yunong felt that even the most powerful poet in the world could not describe even half of the satisfaction and happiness in her heart.

Wanting to share something with the sister next to him, he turned around and saw Mao'er looking at Chen Chu and his daughter, slightly absent-minded.

Living together all day, Yunong naturally knew her sister's heartache, so she suppressed her joy a little, leaned closer and whispered: "Sister, is the method Sister Cai taught you useless?"

"."

Mao'er came back to her senses, looked at Yunong, and said helplessly: "If it was useful, would she still be silent until now?"

"Oh, by the way, I heard someone say that there is a Guanyin Temple to send children in Yancheng, Xuzhou. It is very effective. How about we go and burn incense?"

Yunong suggested in a low voice.

Mao'er shook his head and smiled bitterly, noncommittal.

It’s not like she had never tried burning incense, she had even taken more than a dozen decoctions. Her great-grandmother even asked for some incense ashes from somewhere and persuaded her to drink it with water.
But it was completely useless.

Hey. In the past, Taoist Master Taixu swore that he was destined to have a son and a daughter. It has been three years since the marriage was consummated, but it still hasn't come.

While he was feeling depressed, he saw a graceful red figure twisting his waist and entering Wangxiang Garden.

The night was dark and it was difficult to see faces, and even the cat knew who was coming. Only one person in the family loved wearing colorful clothes, and only one person walked with his butt twisted!

"Yo yo yo~ Little Yuanbao, let mother hug you."

Before the person even came forward, the familiar charming voice came over.

Seeing that Cai Hua was still more than ten steps away from Chen Chu, she opened her arms.
Chen Chu handed the little Yuanbao over with a smile.

Don't tell me, Cai Hua held the baby in a very professional manner. In such a big house, there is only one little guy like this. Who wouldn't want to hug little Yuanbao or suck on his pink little face?

'Paji~'

Sure enough, Cai Hua didn't care whether he wanted it or not, so he printed two marks of lipstick on little Yuanbao's face and forehead.

Yunong quietly pouted. It wasn't that she disliked Caihua hugging Xiao Yuanbao, but this cauliflower snake always called herself 'mother' every time she saw Xiao Yuanbao.
What kind of mother-in-law are you? I am obviously the one!

However, seeing that Caihua didn't have a baby, Yunong didn't care about her and just thought she was pitiful for Sister Cai!
Yunong found a suitable excuse for not being able to correct Cai Hua face to face.

But it was said that after Cai Hua held Little Yuanbao and teased her for a while, she glanced at Chen Chu's hair that was not yet dry, and asked as if unintentionally, "Huh? Didn't Chulang just return home not long ago? He bathed so quickly. Are you pregnant?"

"Haha, aren't you here to see little Yuanbao? I've been running around for a day, and I was afraid that the dirt on my body might make my daughter sick, so I cleaned her up at the Yamen before coming back."

When he returned to Jieshuai Yamen in the evening, Mao Dan naturally told what happened today, and Chen Chu, who had been prepared for it, behaved calmly and naturally.

This reason is very appropriate and impeccable.

Cai Hua chuckled after hearing this, kissed Little Yuanbao on the face again, and said to the ignorant daughter of the Marquis: "Oh, my daughter, please listen, your father really loves you!"

After that, he handed the little ingot back to Chen Chu. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the two of them getting close, Cai Hua suddenly smiled sweetly and said: "If you mess up your body outside, you can wash it off without taking it home. If you mess with someone outside, you can also Can’t you take it home?”

"Hua'er, why can't I understand what you are saying?" Chen Chu's sincere face was half confused, half confused, and very confused.

Cai Hua, an expert in catching traitors, took a look at Chen Chu. She was not sure about the latter's acting skills.
As the saying goes, you can catch an adulterer or a couple. Even if Cai Hua had doubts, she couldn't judge Chen Chu as "unruly husband" based on just a few clues!

So, Cai Hua calmly pursed her lips and smiled, and said: "I mean, Chulang should avoid making enemies outside, so as to save us women like us from being sought for revenge."

The rear residence of the Hou Mansion was in a happy mood, and the lights in Caizhou City were brightly lit.

At midnight that night, a team of dozens of people quietly left the camp in the south of the city.

The next day, the end of Yin Shi.

It is the darkest hour before dawn in Donghekou Town, Xiangcheng, in Chenzhou, northeast of Caizhou. Because the Ying River and Cai River meet here, a busy dock is formed on the west bank.

Places like the pier have always been a mixed bag and a smoky atmosphere.

On the outskirts of Hekou Town, there is a large courtyard that occupies a large area and is usually used as a place for loading, unloading and transshipment of goods.

At this time, the world was still in a chaotic night, and there was silence inside and outside the compound.

'Tuk-tuk-tuk~tuk-tuk'

After a rhythmic knock on the door, one long and two short, there was a slight sound inside the courtyard door, and then a person said through the door: "We are just making a living in the morning. Please come back in the morning if you have something to do."

But the people outside the hospital said: "The road is blocked by heavy snow, and I can't keep up with my journey. Please let me wait for my brother to go in and rest for a day."

This is strange to say. It's warm spring in March now. Where does the snow come from?

But when the people in the courtyard heard this, they opened the door with a creaking sound, raised their lanterns, shone a light on the face of the strong man outside, and whispered: "The door faces the sea, and the mountains and rivers are beautiful through the ages."

"The earth shakes the high hills, and the three rivers merge and flow for thousands of years."

When his eyes met the code, the man inside the door said again: "General Shi?"

Shi Xiaowu nodded and asked, "Lin's stall?"

Lin Dali also nodded, then looked around and whispered: "Brothers, please come in quickly. Hot soup, rice and beds have been prepared."

"It's work."

Shi Xiaowu responded with a smile, turned around and waved to the night. The men hiding in the grass behind the trees appeared one after another and quietly entered the courtyard.

After a while, brothers Shi Xiaowu and Shi Xiaosan each brought a bowl of rice and gathered in a secret room with Lin Dali and Luo Hong, the two stall owners of the Cao Gang.

"How about we wait until the two brothers have finished eating?" Lin Dali knew that these people had traveled all night and were feeling sleepy and hungry.

Shi Xiaowu shook his head and said while cooking: "It doesn't matter, Mr. Lin, just tell us what you know."

"Okay. The brothers upstream have reported that the official ship arrived in Chenzhou yesterday evening. If there is no accident, they will dock at Hekou Town tonight, but"

"But what?"

"Brothers upstream said that there were at least a hundred armored guards on the official ship."

Lin Dali stared at Shi Xiaowu's tattered shorts, his worry evident in his expression.

Not wanting to, Shi Xiaowu laughed and said confidently: "Lin Dongtou, if we were on land, I wouldn't dare say that I could hold it in my hands, but in the water, hehe, I am that life-threatening water ghost."

The ninth day of March.

Early in the morning, Mo Shaohong was sent off by Chenzhou officials, big and small, and boarded the ship to continue southward.

Until the official ship had sailed one mile, the densely packed Chenzhou officials were still standing on the shore, saying goodbye to each other.

The spring breeze blows, and the tender willows on both sides of the bank gradually recede.

Mo Shaohong stood at the stern of the boat, his thoughts up and down. The mood at this time is best described by Meng Jiao's poem from the Tang Dynasty. The dirty past is not enough to praise, but now the dissolute thoughts have no limit.

In the past few days, wherever he went, Mo Shaohong would be received with extraordinary hospitality by local officials.Just four or five days after departure, the cabin was already filled with yellow and white 'local specialties' donated by colleagues from all over the country.
Mo Shaohong knew that the reason why he was so popular was not because of his great reputation, but because of the 'King of Lu' brand on him.

As the saying goes, once the emperor and his ministers come to the throne, after the new emperor ascends the throne, who will be promoted and who will be demoted is not a matter of King Lu's words.

But not every local official has the opportunity to be "Jane in the Emperor's Heart", and as Mo Shaohong is the first local official sent by King Lu, many people will regard him as a bridge connecting him with King Lu.

Even a large part of the yellow and white 'local specialties' in the cabin were borrowed from Mo Shaohong to honor King Lu.
Even though he knew this, Mo Shaohong, who was always cautious in the capital, experienced the feeling of being surrounded by everyone, and was very grateful to King Lu for his promotion. He couldn't help but lament that a scholar would die for his confidant!
King Lu has shown great kindness, and he can only repay the favor by helping King Lu open up the situation in Huaibei!
The spring breeze flows smoothly along the river, and you can see all the scenery along the river in one day.

This is what a man should do, so that he can live up to the happiness of ten years of hard work!

at dusk.

After traveling a hundred miles, the boat will soon arrive at the Hekou Town where it will dock tonight.

Xiangcheng's officials, big and small, and many squires had been waiting on the shore early. The trumpeters and drummers on the side were waiting for the new Caizhou magistrate Mo Shaohong to arrive on an official ship, and they would play music to welcome them.

It's three o'clock in the unitary hour.

In the dusk, a flat-bottomed official ship with a weight of [-] materials slowly appeared in everyone's sight.

The magistrate of Xiangcheng only made a gesture, and one of the officials shouted: "Play music, the pipers and drummers play music!"

The big drum, five-stringed instrument, board and other musical instruments sounded at the same time, playing a festive "Victory Song".
Unexpectedly, as the official ship approached, two small sampans suddenly collided in the middle of the Ying River.

There were several men in rags on each boat, and they immediately began to curse each other.
The magistrate of Xiangcheng couldn't help but became furious and scolded his subordinates: "What's going on? Didn't you guys clear the river a long time ago? Where did the boat come from? If you disturb Lord Mo, will you bear the consequences?"

The officials responsible for clearing the river were equally confused. Looking at the two 'fisherman' boats that had been occupying the river and arguing with each other, they became very angry and shouted towards the river: "Idiot, get out of the way! Sir, I'm shocked. I want yours." Life!"

But the fishermen on the river were cursing vigorously and turned a deaf ear to the officials' cries.

Soon enough, the official ship rushing down the river rushed towards the two sampans.

The official ship has a wide hull, making it difficult to evade. Perhaps, there is no thought of evading at all.
In the astonished eyes of everyone on the shore, the bow of the official ship rolled past the two sampans.

The fishermen on the sampan screamed and fell into the water.
"Ah! I wonder if the official ship has been damaged!"

"It's over! Lord Mo will definitely be displeased."

"Where did this stupid villager come from! Now he's in big trouble!"

The officials and squires were talking a lot, but they were all concerned about the official ship and Mr. Mo's mood.

No one cared about the lives of the fishermen who fell into the water.

Only the drummers, who also came from the lower class, subconsciously stopped playing and looked at the river. For a long time, no one appeared again.
"Who told you to stop! Play quickly!"

The official who had just been scolded by the magistrate walked closer and slapped the old man playing the string string in the face.

"Oh, let's play it now, please don't fight me."

After some begging for mercy, the music started again.

However, this joyful victory song has a hint of sadness
We are all poor people, so we don't think we are human beings. The death of several fishermen is like the death of several ants.
In that compartment, on the official ship.

Mo Shaohong, who was standing on the bow of the ship in the wind, just felt the slight bumps of the ship's hull. Immediately, a follower came forward to report that it had hit two fishing boats.

Mo Shaohong frowned subconsciously, but then he looked at the river bank covered in red and green, with loud gongs and drums. His face looked better now, and he said kindly: "Forget it, it's a trivial matter. Don't blame Xiangcheng officials for this later." The squire is rude.”

Mr. Mo is a kind-hearted person. Even if there are some flaws in the river, he will not embarrass the local officials!

"You have extraordinary popularity and you treat the people with mercy! Your arrival in Caizhou is a blessing to the people of Caizhou!" the entourage said flatteringly.

Mo Shaohong stroked his beard and smiled lightly, and said to himself: "The people are the foundation of the world! Only when I treat the people well will the people love me."

Just as Mr. Mo was expressing his thoughts, several "common people" who had just been crushed into the river by the official ship quietly emerged from the water.

Under the cover of twilight, the first few people quickly approached the hull, quickly cut two 'J-shaped' hook nails on the hull, and then fixed the ropes already tied around their waists to the hook nails.

In this way, you can move with the official ship without swimming.

After freeing up their hands, some used chisels and others used drills. They cooperated tacitly. In just a few dozen seconds, a hole the size of a head appeared above the waterline of the hull.

Then, someone took off the big bag wrapped in oilcloth from the back.
Shi Xiaowu, who was close to the ship's hull, took the clay pot in the bag, blew on the fire, and got close to the lead on the clay pot.

Finally, carefully place it into the hole.

"Ten breaths of lead, pull~"

With a shout, several people quickly cut the ropes, plunged into the water like agile fish, and disappeared.
At this time, the official ship had slowed down and was slowly approaching the shore, only a few steps away from the land.

ashore.

The magistrate of Xiangcheng could already see Lord Mo's face clearly. Seeing Lord Mo standing at the bow of the boat, standing in the wind, with his clothes flying and a faint smile on his face, the magistrate couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

And sincerely praised: "Master Mo has a broad mind, and it seems that he is not angry with those idiots just now! There can be no more mistakes in the next reception!"

All the officials and squires beside him said in unison: Yes!

just
Just as the magistrate of Xiangcheng finished speaking, he suddenly heard a loud roar. He turned around and saw sawdust, gold and silver flying all over the river.
Looking closer, a large hole with a radius of more than ten feet appeared out of thin air on the port side of the official ship.

From time to time, open fires burst out of the cabin, and the river water poured in crazily extinguished some of the fires, producing streams of thick black smoke.

For a moment, the situation of the official ship could not be clearly seen.

After just a few breaths, another 'click' sound was heard, and the ship's hull seemed to be unable to bear it, and actually split into two from the hole.

There were more than a hundred of King Lu's soldiers and dozens of Mo Shaohong's followers on the boat. Except for those who were not killed or knocked unconscious by the explosion, they all fell into the water.

Fortunately for Mo Shaohong and his entourage, they were able to find wooden blocks floating all over the river as life-saving straw.

But those royal soldiers wearing dozens of kilograms of armor suffered a disaster. After falling into the water, they didn't even have time to call for help, and they sank straight to the bottom of the river.

Mo Shaohong was picking up a piece of wood and was panicking when he saw many shirtless and muscular men emerging from all directions.

These men appeared and disappeared in the water, approaching them quickly.

Mo Shaohong thought he had met a brave fisherman, so he immediately shouted to the man swimming at the front: "Folks, I am Mo Shaohong, please save me quickly!"

This shout immediately attracted several people to swim towards him at the same time.

Mo Shaohong couldn't help but be overjoyed.

The man who approached him first grabbed Mo Shaohong's arm, with a careless smile on his face covered with water drops. After taking a closer look, he said, "Are you Mo Shaohong, the new Caizhou colleague? "

"."

Mo Shaohong suddenly felt angry. This stupid fisherman was really rude and dared to call me by his first name!
He was angry, but he also knew that now was the time to use the other person, so he couldn't help but kindly said: "Yes! It's me! Whose surname is this hero?"

"Hey, my name is Shi Xiaowu."

"Hero Shi, please save me quickly! After we get ashore, I will ask the county magistrate to reward you!" Mo Shaohong wrote down the name of 'Shi Xiaowu' and waited until he got ashore to teach him what 'etiquette' is. !
"No rush~"

Unexpectedly, Shi Xiaowu, who was treading water with only his head above the water, walked around behind Mo Shaohong with a smile, and suddenly hugged the latter's neck.

Mo Shaohong was stunned when Shi Xiaowu leaned into his ear and said, "My Lord Marquis, please go to the Dragon King to ask about drought and floods next year. Can you please go there?"

"You~ Gududu."

The horrified Mo Shaohong seemed to want to say something, but Shi Xiaowu pushed him down, and his last words turned into a series of bubbles.
ashore.

The magistrate of Xiangcheng, who was so frightened by this incident that he froze in place, quickly shouted: "Save people! Save people quickly, save Lord Mo!"

However, his voice was completely suppressed by the sound of the drummers playing music.

Just now, they stopped playing because they saw a collision with a ship, but they were slapped by an official.

This time, I didn’t dare to stop no matter what I said.
The sun sets late, and the river is covered with golden scales.

The falling pieces of wood and the followers frantically calling for help destroyed this tranquility.

On the river bank, the shouting officials and squires were frightened by the loud noise and the sudden appearance of the "water thieves" and fled in all directions.

Only the drummers endured their fear and still played the festive "Victory Song" dutifully.

Paradoxical and absurd.
(End of this chapter)