Everyone loves Huo Qubing

The garden is full of spring, the warblers fly and the grass grows, the willow leaves tip, and the fallen petals are colorful.Pingyang Marquis Cao Shi went to the fief to collect rent. It stands to reason that people can take a breather, but Pingyang Mansion suddenly became busier.I heard that a very powerful person, that is, the younger brother of the eldest princess, is coming to visit.When the older children talked about the hostess' younger brother, their faces were all full of admiration.

The horses and chariots guard of honor at the gate are quite grand, probably high-ranking officials in the capital.My mother also went to help, and even the uncle who bought me candied haws was taken to the kitchen to help.Looking at the second uncle who is sweating because there are too many horses to feed, I'd better not disturb him.

In order not to make mistakes, the hostess specially sent a steward to watch over us servant children and not to make trouble, but we agreed to play Cuju in the yard this afternoon.

How boring it is to squat at home, I wandered into the yard, but I didn't expect to run into a friend I hadn't seen for a while.

"Brother Xiang, you're here!" I flew onto him.

"Qubing!" Cao Xiang was surprised.

Cao Shizi is the only son of Cao Shi, Marquis of Pingyang, and his personality is not like his mother, but closer to his father Cao Shi.Cao Shi himself is very amiable and approachable, so much so that he needs to go in person to collect rent.Cao Xiang is also willing to play with us servant children, let us call him "brother".

Cao Xiang changed hands and hid the Cuju far away behind her.

"Qubing, you're still too young, I'm afraid I'll hurt you playing Cuju."

"No, I want to play!" I hugged Cao Xiang's thigh tightly.The other children took the opportunity to surround him and easily stole the Cuju from him.

"Okay," Cao Xiang listened to the noisy sound of silk and bamboo not far away, maybe she felt that it would be no problem for the brat to make noise, so she sighed and acted like his elder brother, "But today's banquet is special, you must not trust it Big, overplaying. If someone finds out and annoys the guests, I won't intercede for you."

The steward shook his head.The prince has spoken, how can he have room to comment.

The little friends snatched the Cuju and dispersed.

"Qubing, you are small, so just guard the gate for us."

"Okay." I'm small again, and what can I do, I'm already working hard to grow taller.Who told me that I was the youngest of this group of children, if it was Zhao Puonu's group of wild children from the countryside, I could bully and bully them.

Cao Xiang didn't intend to join the war at first, seeing that we were having fun, she couldn't bear it anymore.After all, he is someone who has played Cuju with the young masters of the capital, and he is indeed very skilled.

The ball is a bit high and I can't reach it.

Well, this is a good shot, and it hits the target.

Hey, where is this kicking?

An arc flew before his eyes, across the high courtyard wall.In an instant, the sound of silk and bamboo singing and dancing disappeared completely, only a Cuju "bounced" rolled in, which was particularly ear-piercing.

After only a moment of silence, someone shouted: "Guard!" Then there was a metallic sound of weapons being unsheathed.

"The culprit" Cao Xiang froze in place, a lot of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.Seeing that the situation was not good, the friends immediately dispersed.

Hmph, it's just a cuju, as for being so scared?

"What's going on here?" A question came from the next door, the voice was low and majestic.Even though I was in another courtyard, I could feel the oppressive and dignified atmosphere in the main hall of the banquet for a moment.

Only someone replied: "Your Majesty, be careful, it may be a hidden weapon."

Is it necessary to be so exaggerated?It's just a guest, it's just a child's cuju, it's just being kicked into the away game, so it becomes a hidden weapon, it's inexplicable.You rookies are not as courageous as the "little boy" you call me.

"Brother, this is not a hidden weapon. I think it's because the children were playing carelessly." The hostess's voice contained suppressed anger, and she thought she had guessed the owner of the Cuju, so she told the waiter, "Where is the steward? Go find the steward Come."

I know that Cao Xiang usually likes this Cuju the most, so I want to help him get it back.Before the steward got up, I turned around and smiled brightly at Cao Xiang.

"I'll pick it up."

***

Leaning out half of my body secretly, I will take a peek at the enemy's situation first.Wow, when has this place been so grand?Everyone's table is full of so many delicious things, and there are so many beautiful aunts.

The piano tuner in the front row is my aunt. My aunt's melodious Jin dialect is so pleasant, why don't you continue singing?I like to hear you sing "Mulberry".Why is the second uncle standing around at the door? Why don't you take advantage of the confusion and eat a few cookies, alas, he is really an honest man.

Those guards, please put down the sword in your hand, don't let the guests think that our Pingyang Mansion has a bunch of villains who wield knives and guns.

Hehe, the hostess looks so bad, I feel unlucky to be stared at by her like this.

Hey, don't you all look at me, what about Cuju?

Cao Xiang's Cuju was quietly lying under the piano table of my aunt.

Trying to ignore the surprised eyes of all the guests and friends, I bowed solemnly towards the host and guest, imitating the tone of the steward's usual speech: "Excuse me, I'm here to get the Cuju." After speaking, under the watchful eyes of everyone, I happily trot all the way towards the Cuju.

But someone got up from the seat, bent down, and picked up the Cuju before me.

When I raised my head, I met a pair of deep eyes, like a pool of autumn water, deep and deep.She has a high nose bridge, sword-shaped eyebrows drawn into the temples, a well-trimmed bun, and two thin lips that are beautifully pressed together.He was dressed in a black silk tunic.I stared intently at the black veiled crown on his head, secretly studying how a crown can be bent into that kind of arc.

I guess, this person is the younger brother of the eldest princess.He is taller and taller than anyone I have ever seen, and he is about seventeen or eighteen years old, but he is born with a low air pressure, sweeping everyone wherever he goes.Even if he doesn't speak, every move can tense the nerves of those around him.Being looked down upon by this kind of person, it's like a big mountain standing in front of me. Compared with myself, I'm so small, and the other person is cool and cold. If Cuju is in his hands, will you not return it to me?Will he be scolded?

The two of us stared at each other for a while, the corners of the other's mouth turned up slightly, and the deep autumn water in the eyes was full of ripples.

"What's your name?" He said slowly when he handed me the Cuju.

"Quill."

I grabbed the Cuju and turned around to run, ignoring the gasps of surprise from everyone behind me and the anxious calls of my second uncle and aunt.

***

Maybe I was tired from playing during the day, but I slept soundly that night.But I still remember the days when my second uncle taught me martial arts.

The second uncle said that learning martial arts should start with a baby. The next day I got up early, took the wooden sword on the wall excitedly, and strolled to my uncle's room.

"Where is the second uncle?" I shook my uncle who was still lying on the bed awake.

"I don't know." The uncle rubbed his sleepy eyes, turned over and continued to sleep on the couch.

"What about uncle?"

"Uncle went to work." The uncle muttered.

"Are you sure you don't know where the second uncle is going? He promised to teach me how to practice swords!"

"Second brother didn't come back to spend the night last night."

Didn't come back?Did you get sick from the banquet last night?It was a waste of my early morning.

Forget it, my stomach is also growling, presumably my aunt has already made breakfast and is waiting for me!People in our Wei family are all good at cooking. When I think of the pimple soup made by my aunt, the sliced ​​noodles made by my second uncle, and the naan cakes made by my aunt, my saliva will automatically flow down.

Three steps and two steps, I ran to the kitchen, but there was only one kid in charge of lighting the fire!

I was rewarded for getting up early: two bowls of cold porridge.

Resentfully holding the bowl of porridge and returning to the house, taking advantage of my mother's time to drink the porridge, I put my cold little face into my mother's arms, warming myself with her familiar body temperature.

Where did everyone go!Not keeping promises, my uncle.

***

The warm sun shines on the body, sweeping away the bleakness of the previous winter.

The skirt swayed lightly, the phoenix hairpin swayed slightly, and the hostess of Pingyang Mansion appeared at the place where the servants lived.Mother is washing clothes, and I am competing with a group of children to pinch ants.

When the eldest princess saw me, a smile appeared on her face, and she walked straight towards me.I looked up and met her eyes, and suddenly felt that something was wrong - could it be that she wanted to punish me because of the trouble I caused yesterday?I hastily ran back to the room in three steps at a time, and hid under the bed.

"Cough...cough..."

My mother pulled out the disheveled me from under the bed with the hands still sticking to the soap root, and met the hostess' eyes head-on.Seeing me in such a panic, she bent down her willow-leaf eyebrows, and her laughter was like a melodious bell.

"Qubing, thank you." She said.

"What?" She actually thanked me?Then she won't blame me?I blinked to make sure I heard correctly.

The hostess smiled and stretched out her hand, pulled the two small hairs on my head, wiped off the dirty ash on my cheeks, and then said slowly after she had done enough fiddling with her, "Your eyes are indeed very similar to Zifu's, they are sparkling. "

I let her rub it round and flatten it, as long as she doesn't plan to punish me, everything is fine.I didn't correct her either. Of course my eyes look like my mother's, how can I look like my aunt.

"This child is quite precocious," the hostess' face gradually became serious, "When you are older, I will send you to study."

Princess Pingyang summoned people from the courtyard and announced that our Wei family will be freed from slavery from today onwards. The procedures have already been completed. From now on, we can honor her as the eldest princess just like ordinary people.

Mother knelt to send the eldest princess away, and I covered my painful face from being rubbed.Did the hostess take the wrong medicine today?Just say weird things. What is "slavery"?People from the capital always speak very profound words, and she must be praising my fearless heroism for giving up my life to save her son last night.

After becoming a commoner, our family still lives in Pingyang Mansion lovingly.To be honest, for a while, there will be neither place to go nor money to buy a house.

The weather is not beautiful, and the weather has not yet entered the summer, but the weather is extremely hot. This year's crop harvest may be affected.My friends and I went to the fields to pull weeds, and when we came back, our backs were burning. My mother fetched well water for me, and I shivered when the cool well water applied to my back.This job reminds me of Zhao Puonu and the others. It is said that the north of Taiyuan has not been peaceful recently, and I only hope that they are well.

When the aunt returned to the hospital, the housekeeper of Pingyang Mansion was behind her.

The Wei family hadn't been this lively for a while.My second uncle and my aunt disappeared for a year. Regarding why they left me in the first place, my mother said that I was naughty and they didn't want me anymore.But I didn't take my mother's words to heart, I knew they would not want me, they must miss me very much, just like I often miss these two relatives who accompanied me growing up.

I heard that my aunt was brought home by a man named Your Majesty, who lives in the capital and is the biggest official in the world.There is no news about the second uncle, no news is good news, I hope he is safe.

The housekeeper said a lot, and the aunt and mother listened carefully.Although I couldn't understand the string of words, the joy on my aunt's face told me that it was definitely a good thing.

Soon I felt the taste of great disappointment-the aunt said that when I passed my birthday, the princess would send me to pay homage to my wife.

Pray to Master?Go to school?My ambition is to practice martial arts well and become a great knight in the future!This is the punishment for being mischievous to me, isn't it?How no one pays attention to my helplessness, my wailing?It's true that good things don't happen often, and bad things happen every day!

***

Mother helped me put on the dark clothes that the princess had tailored for me.One thing must be admitted, I actually have some expectations and curiosity about reading.

"I'm going to see my master, I'll play with you guys tomorrow!" I waved my hand, leaving the envious eyes of my friends behind me.I was the only one of them who came out of slavery early.To me, becoming a commoner is nothing but showing off and making my buddies envious. Life is the same as usual.The only happy thing is that the elders of the Wei family no longer have to do hard work, and the steward no longer bosses them around.

The eldest princess's carriage and horses stopped at the gate of the courtyard.Although nowadays it is not allowed to decorate carriages with jewels and magnificence, Princess Pingyang has a way to apply those bright patterns and changing glazes to the carriage body. Passers-by don’t even need to look at the license plate to know that this is the carriage of Pingyang Marquis. .

The princess married from the capital looks like a wealthy family. I once heard praises given to the eldest princess by others: "Graceful and luxurious, with a wonderful fragrance, a gentle voice, gentle and coherent movements, and just the right amount of sense in doing things." The poem says: Gao Shan Look up and stop, Jing Xing Xing Zhi." Usually, I don't think that when I sit beside her, I have a good understanding of these kind words.

Today, however, the princess seemed to have a gloomy look on her face; noticing the way she looked at the coachman, I thought I knew what she was thinking.

When the eldest princess married to Pingyang Mansion, she was at the age of flowers and jade.The second uncle is a beautiful young man who is well-known in Pingyang Mansion. The eldest princess admires him and orders him to be a riding boy, driving around every day in the fancy carriage that is characteristic of Pingyang Mansion.My second uncle started driving a carriage for the princess at the age of 12, and he has been doing it for three years. Except for feeding the horses at night, my second uncle's job is the easiest in the whole house, so he has the time to teach me how to practice swords.

The eldest princess likes to go out and walk around. Over time, the second uncle also got acquainted with him in Hedong. Passers-by would say, oh, this is the coachman of Pingyang Houfu.After the second uncle left, Pingyang Marquis Cao Shi recruited a new coachman, but the eldest princess seemed to be dissatisfied with the new coachman.Seeing the eldest princess staring at the back of the coachman's head in a daze, I guess she misses my second uncle just like me.

The relationship between adults is too complicated, I can't get in the way as a child, but if anyone dares to gossip about my second uncle outside, I will be the first to not forgive him.

"It's been a long time since the little coachman, is he dead?" Some time ago, the two maids in the servant's yard whispered like this, I kicked each of them hard, and watched them run away screaming.

The maids complained to the eldest princess that I kicked them, the princess asked me if this happened, I replied viciously, they cursed my second uncle!If the princess hadn't found an excuse to dismiss the two girls one after another, I would have seized the opportunity to play tricks on them.These new girls don't know how poor the second uncle was before. When he was a child, he was sent by his grandmother to the north to herd sheep in Beishan, which is farther than Chen Zhang's house, because the second uncle Zheng Ji lived there.He worked as a sheep-herding boy for the Zheng family's lazy people for several years, and only secretly returned to Pingyang Mansion when he mourned for his grandmother.The second uncle once said that he never wanted to go back to his biological father Zheng's family for the rest of his life.

The next thing I heard not long ago was that my second uncle was taken away by a vicious woman named Mrs. Dou, and almost died.Our Wei family wants money, wants a basket of poor people, and actually kidnaps my second uncle, this woman must be out of her mind.But then I heard people discuss in private that Dou Taizhu and Princess Pingyang seem to be having some holidays, maybe she kidnapped the second uncle not for money?

Fortunately, the second uncle, Jiren, has his own aura, and several of his friends in the capital rescued him.It is said that this incident alarmed His Majesty. As the saying goes, a senior official crushes a person to death, so His Majesty rewarded the second uncle with an official position to ensure his personal safety.A few days ago, my uncle also left Pingyang Mansion and went to the capital, because His Majesty also rewarded my uncle with the same official position, so that our Wei family will have two officials at once, and the uncle and the second uncle can take care of each other, and no one else will To bully them again.

Your Majesty is amazing.Auntie is really the lucky star of our Wei family.