Return of the Swallow

Qin Yining shook her head, unintentionally playing with the jade gourd hanging on her skirt with her bare hands, then turned around and walked slowly inside with Ji Yun and Bingtang.

Food in Jinggang is tight these days, but after all, Pang Xiao is reluctant to let Qin Yining starve. Pang Xiao only eats gruel, and Qin Yining eats better than Pang Xiao. Every time porridge is delivered, Pang Xiao will do it. He fished it out and gave it to Qin Yining. Qin Yining didn't eat much and deliberately saved some, but Pang Xiao ate what Qin Yining had left at every meal.

The masters are all like this, and the others are in a similar situation.

Jiyun, Bingtang and others felt distressed when they saw it, wishing they could contribute their own rations. But Qin Yining refused every time, and watched them eat, telling them every time: Now is not the time to enjoy, as long as you can survive.

They were moved by the master who thought about them in this way.

Therefore, the food crisis has become a heavy burden on everyone.

"Your Majesty, there is really no other way. The situation in Jingang City is pretty good, but the situation outside the city is even more miserable. Magistrate Chen sends people out every day to check the situation and gather the dead people together to deal with it, just to avoid any epidemic. "Jiyun said.

Bingtang sighed: "But the people live in such an atmosphere and watch their relatives and friends die every day. Even if they survive in the future, they will probably collapse mentally."

A few people returned to the room. Qin Yining sat down on the heated kang with a thick duck down mattress next to the window and sighed: "Now we can only try our best to let more people live. Only when we are alive can we have emotions. As for whether we can accept it in our hearts." , we can only give it to time.”

This topic was too heavy, and several people did not speak for a while.

Qin Yining propped herself up and looked out the half-open window. A few yellow leaves were falling and falling on the neat bluestone floor tiles.

At this moment, I saw a person walking quickly, stepping over a few fallen leaves on the ground.

"Princess." It was Liao Zhibing who came.

When she saw Liao Zhibing coming, Qin Yining stood up quickly. Her vision went dark for a moment, and she immediately held onto the square table.

Ji Yun and Bingtang hurriedly supported Qin Yining, "Princess, please get up more slowly."

"It's okay." Qin Yining walked quickly to the door of the house, "Mr. Liao, how are you?"

Liao Zhibing smiled and said: "Fortunately, the first batch of treasures has been exchanged for gold and silver and silver notes. They are already outside the city. Princess, do you want someone to transport these things in?"

Qin Yining thought for a while,

He smiled and said: "No, coming to the city is too eye-catching. Let's take these treasures to Huimin Village immediately. The prince is going to visit Liu Yuanwai today. In order to avoid being misunderstood as a 'bandit', we should hurry up It’s better if you rush there.”

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but chuckle.

Liao Zhibing was very happy when he learned that his party had arrived in time, and he hurriedly went down to make arrangements.

Qin Yining ordered people to prepare a car, took Bingtang and Jiyun with him, and left the Yamen under the escort of four spies including Jingzhe.

The weather is getting colder, the streets are deserted, and there is no one everywhere. The desolate scene makes people feel depressed just looking at it.

After leaving the city gate, he saw from a distance that Magistrate Chen had ordered people to set up a porridge shelter for disaster relief. Qin Yining felt a chill running down his spine when he saw the dark figures.

If it is not handled properly and food cannot be obtained, it is unknown how many of these people will die.

Thinking of this, Qin Yining's eyes became determined and he ordered people to hurry up.

Liao Zhibing was acting together with several elite tiger guards. They had all followed Qin Yining to Shuize Country. They were all familiar faces, and they became a little more cordial when they met.

And when these people saluted Qin Yining, they were more intimate and casual.

The group of people hurried to Huimin Village and reached their destination in a short time.

There is only one broad street in the entire village, and there are rows of houses and courtyards on both sides of the road. At this time, every house is hung with white curtains. It is autumn again, and the desolation makes people feel extremely desolate.

However, there is one family that stands out from the rest, standing out among the rest of the village.

Just look at the courtyard wall, which is twice as high as an ordinary courtyard wall, and there are high observation platforms at the four corners. Although the building is not very exquisite, it looks more elegant than ordinary homes.

The goal is so clear, it saves the time of searching.

Qin Yining led people towards the courtyard, but soon he saw hundreds of royal guards lined up outside the courtyard gate.

The courtyard door was open, and Pang Xiao was talking to an old man in sixties wearing a sapphire blue wide-sleeved muslin robe.

The old man's attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, "... Your Majesty is for the people, and this old man can understand it. But look, there are dozens of people in this old man's family. Besides, the food in my hands is not blown by the strong wind. Your Majesty is a man of benevolence and righteousness. How can you be more benevolent and righteous than the foolish kings of the previous dynasty when you assist the Holy One and care for the people? Now, the prince has brought so many people to block the door of the old man's house. What do you think he should do if he calls the old man?"

These words may seem haphazard, but in fact they are both soft and hard. If the person in front of me is really unreasonable, I am afraid that the old man will be directly punished for the crime of disrespect, but Pang Xiao is not this kind of person. I think the old man has also spotted Pang Xiao. Only the temper dares to speak like this.

Pang Xiao smiled, and when he heard the sound of footsteps and carriages and horses, he looked back and saw Qin Yining lifting the car curtain and looking at him. When he saw Liao Zhibing and his entourage and several carriages following Qin Yining, he suddenly understood.

He has a baby bump because he is afraid that he will not be able to move around without money and will bear the reputation of a bandit for nothing.

Pang Xiao originally had no intention of robbing, but just watched the people in the city die one by one. Did the Holy Spirit react? He couldn't bear to watch so many people starve to death. Before the treasure arrived, he wanted to get credit first and solve his urgent needs first. of.

But this Liu Yuan is an old and cunning person who doesn't take soft and hard advice at all. It's useless for Xiao Zhi to use emotion and reason. To put it more seriously, he will lie on the ground and threaten Pang Xiao, saying that he abused ordinary people. Pang Xiao's attitude softened a little, and he showed the same face as before.

Pang Xiao was even thinking about applying pressure, but Qin Yining happened to come at this time.

Pang Xiao said: "I understand what Liu Yuanwai means. I am just a reckless man, and I don't dare to compare with anyone. I am not trying to steal this food from you. I have been standing here for so long to discuss with you. What's the price? Member Liu is a smart man, so he should know that my patience is very limited, right?"

When Liu Yuanwai saw it, he couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, reflect on what he just said, and couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.

Pang Xiao added: "The season this year is not good, and God is not willing to help the people. The people have been hungry for so long, and I am afraid they have run out of patience. The court is a clever woman who cannot cook without rice, but the rice is here with you. You say , what will happen if people find out that you have so much food in hand?"

Liu Yuanwai's face suddenly turned pale.

It was true that he had food in his hands, but he didn't dare to tell anyone about it. Even the nursing home he raised at home might not know what he had in his warehouse.

In this world, whoever has the bigger fist has the final say. If Prince Zhongshun ordered people to rob them, or if he directly spread the word, I am afraid that even the hungry people would rob their house without Prince Zhongshun sending people.

Maybe the whole family will be dead by then!

After thinking about this clearly, Liu Yuan's facial features wrinkled up in confusion.

Seeing that this man was finally afraid, Pang Xiao said: "There is no need to be nervous, Mr. Liu. I am just stating the facts and have no other meaning. After all, I am here to buy food and grass today. I will not ask Mr. Liu to go out." It must be sold at a certain price, but as a Zhou people, seeing so many people starving to death, Liu Yuanwai wanted to think of a suitable price. Don't worry, as long as the price is right, I will order it to be delivered immediately. When the money comes, I will never default on it, let alone rob the food when I see it."

Liu Yuan saw that Pang Xiao had been standing here talking to him for so long. If he had a bad temper or a domineering temper, he might have time to speak, and the soldiers and horses would have rushed in.

Thinking of this, Liu Yuan said: "My lord, don't blame me. I can't help it. You said, there are so many people in the family. What's more, there is indeed a shortage of food now. I can't sell all the food to you. Please forgive me, lord." .”

"It's easy to talk about." Pang Xiao waved his hand casually and said, "Just tell me the price."

Liu Yuanwai thought for a moment and pointed his fingers at Pang Xiao.

Pang Xiao couldn't help but sneer when he heard this: "It seems that I still haven't fully explained what I said to Liu Yuanwai. Or maybe Liu Yuanwai still can't figure it out himself?"

Looking back around, Pang Xiao sighed: "It's so comfortable to live here with mountains and rivers. It's a pity that the year is bad and there are more and more hungry people. Many of the fallen bandits don't know where they are hiding in the mountains. It's really worrying." .”

Liu Yuanwai looked at Pang Xiao's eyes that contained murderous intent, and immediately realized what he was talking about. He quickly put away his two fingers and said, "Your Majesty, it can't be any less. If you are too old and old, you will lose money. Think about it. , how long has this heavy rain been raining? The price of food keeps changing every day, you should be considerate of me."

Pang Xiao saw that his scare was effective, and Liu Yuanwai turned pale with fear, his head was covered in cold sweat, his lips were trembling and he relaxed, and he couldn't help but laugh secretly in his heart.

Pang Xiao still had a serious look on his face, and he remained sullen and silent.

Upon seeing this, Jing Huwei, who was accompanying him, immediately stepped forward to speak intelligently, "My lord, you see that this member of the Liu family is not sincere in doing business with you. Why don't you ask the Liu family who else has a lot of food nearby?" ? It’s okay to leave it here and talk about it later.”

What's to be said later?

Liu Yuan was so frightened that his hair stood up. He stared at Pang Xiao nervously, gritted his teeth and put away a finger, "Your Majesty, you can do a good job, it really can't be any less. You can't say that you are here to sell food. , Are you going to let me squander your money?"

"How dare you!" Jingzhe listened for a long time, and immediately stepped forward smartly and yelled: "How dare you be rude to the prince! Don't you want a head on your head!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, how about you tell me the price?" Liu Yuanwai almost held his head to avoid it.

Seeing that he had been frightened enough, Pang Xiao said with a smile: "No need. I won't let you lose money. All the grain and grass you have here, as long as they can be used, will be sold to me. In addition, Liu Yuan also knows the grain merchants. , and also recommend a few to me.”