The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

To celebrate Sun Heyin's move into a new home, several people made an appointment to visit Hanshan Temple.

the next day.

Shen Yunfei knocked on the door and saw An Lingrong standing in the morning light, her crabapple red dress making her look radiant.

This outfit was completely different from her usual plain attire - in the past she always liked to wear light colors like moon white and lotus purple, but today's bright red made her look like she was wearing the entire spring scenery of the south of the Yangtze River on her body.

Shen Yunfei looked a little dazed.

An Lingrong frowned and looked at him: "What's wrong?"

Shen Yunfei's Adam's apple rolled, and he suddenly felt that the morning breeze was particularly hot.

"My cousin looks very beautiful today."

He held it in for a long time and could only squeeze out this dry compliment.

An Lingrong chuckled at this, "We're going out for fun today, so naturally I have to dress brightly."

Shen Yunfei quickly said, "Cousin, wait for me, I'll go change my clothes too."

Since arriving in Suzhou, he has been dressing very modestly. Hearing An Lingrong say this, he hurried back to his room and changed into a dark red brocade robe.

Pick up Sun Heyin and go to Hanshan Temple.

It is late spring now. In the temple, ancient trees stand tall, and peonies and peonies are in full bloom, with a riot of colour.

It also happened to be the first day of the lunar year when a temple fair was held, and there were many pilgrims and tourists. There were also many wealthy families in gorgeous clothes who were traveling with their families. For a time, the temple was filled with the jingling of jewelry and the elegant appearance of people in fine clothes.

Shen Yunfei was in high spirits. Sometimes he pointed out the bracket structure under the eaves, sometimes he explained the inscriptions by famous artists in the Forest of Steles, and he told the history, allusions and legends of each building.

An Lingrong followed behind him, looking at Shen Yunfei's profile shining in the sunlight, and was secretly surprised.

She had originally thought this dandy boy was merely relying on his distinguished family background, but she hadn't expected him to be so well-versed in ancient architecture and history, quoting classics effortlessly in his conversation. His vivid explanations truly revealed the profound background of a child from an aristocratic family.

A few people were walking slowly along the bluestone path when they suddenly heard a burst of hurried footsteps coming from the side.

Shen Yunfei's eyes flashed, and he almost instinctively reached out to protect An Lingrong behind him, staring closely at the person in front of him.

On the other side, Liu Zhu and Sun He Yin surrounded An Lingrong on the left and right.

The man who came was a man in his thirties or forties, with a sallow complexion and sunken cheeks, and his coarse cloth clothes were patched with patches.

He was holding a thin little girl tightly in his hand. The child was only about ten years old, but she looked extremely thin due to long-term malnutrition. Her empty coarse cloth clothes hung on her body, and a piece of dry straw was stuck in her hair.

"Madam, please be kind..." The man suddenly knelt on the bluestone slab with a plop, his voice hoarse, "Buy this girl and give her a chance to live..."

As he said this, he kowtowed heavily, and his forehead immediately turned red.

Seeing this, Sun Heyin leaned close to An Lingrong's ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "It's about selling the child."

Seeing An Lingrong's frown showing confusion, he explained in a low voice: "Putting up a straw sign means selling yourself."

An Lingrong's heart trembled suddenly, and she looked at the girl carefully.

I saw her trembling all over, tears rolling down her face, leaving two winding white marks on her dirty little face. Her eyes were filled with fear, but she bit her cracked lips tightly and dared not cry out loud. Only her thin shoulders were twitching silently.

An Lingrong patted Shen Yunfei's shoulder.

Shen Yunfei understood and moved half a step to the side, but still kept his back tense and stared at the man.

"Who are you to her? Why are you selling her?"

"I'm her father!" the man rubbed his hands, his voice hoarse, "My family can't make ends meet anymore. I beg Madam to be kind..."

An Lingrong frowned, "Where's her mother?"

The man looked back at an old, crooked locust tree not far away.

Following his gaze, several people saw a haggard woman leaning against a tree trunk, wiping tears. The woman had gray hair on her temples, and her coarse cloth dress barely covered her body.

Seeing everyone looking at her, she suddenly staggered forward and hugged her daughter's frail body: "Cao'er! My Cao'er..."

An Lingrong slowed down her tone, looked at the woman and said, "What's going on? Is her father going to sell her, and you don't agree?"

Just as the man was about to speak, An Lingrong glanced at him, and Shen Yunfei immediately pinched his mouth and pushed him back, separating him several feet away.

The woman hugged her daughter, tears streaming down her face. "Madam, please understand... We are ordinary people from this neighborhood. I worked at the Sun family's weaving workshop. But six months ago, the Sun family went bankrupt, the workshop closed, and the cotton we grew in the fields can't be sold. We... we really can't survive!"

The girl raised her dirty little face and wiped her mother's tears with her sleeve: "Mom, I don't blame you..."

An Lingrong choked up and was about to call Liu Zhu to get the silver, but Shen Yunfei flew over and grabbed her wrist.

"Cousin, no." He lowered his voice, shook his head, and looked around.

An Lingrong then realized that, without them noticing, many men and women holding children had gathered around them, all staring at them intently.

"If it's easy to buy her, others will immediately gather around her. With so many people around, should we buy her or not?" Shen Yunfei said solemnly, "What's more, if people knew we were carrying money, we might get into trouble later..."

Sun Heyin also sighed softly: "This matter needs to be considered carefully."

An Lingrong knew that what they said made sense, so she clenched her handkerchief tightly and turned around with a hard heart.

She heard the heart-wrenching cry of a woman behind her. She paused and finally left quickly under the protection of Sun Heyin and Liu Zhu.

Back at the inn, An Lingrong gazed out the window at the bustling scene. After a long pause, she said, "They say Suzhou is the richest place in the world, so why are there so many cases of children being sold?"

Sun Heyin dug her fingertips into her palm and whispered, "The Sun family was once the largest cloth merchant in Suzhou, and their weaving workshops supported hundreds of families. Now, the monkeys have scattered, and cotton farmers have nowhere to sell their cotton, and weavers have nowhere to work..." She smiled bitterly, "Cloth prices have skyrocketed, and merchants have turned elsewhere, and even small workshops can't hold on."

An Lingrong felt a tightness in her chest.

When they were making love in the palace, did they ever think that the people outside the palace would lose their families and lives because of it?

Sun Heyin's voice got lower and lower as she spoke: "In the past few months, more and more families have been selling their daughters to join the flower boats."

Her voice trembled. "There are a lot of abandoned babies by the moat..."

If she had known this, she would not have taken revenge...

She closed her eyes.

But how can one know it in advance in this world?

The room was completely silent, with only the noise outside to distract from the noise.