“Cousin, do you really want to get married to the girl of the Ye family?”
The first snow came unexpectedly, and tiny snow particles were floating all over the sky. The sky and the earth were already dim and I couldn’t see clearly. There were few pedestrians on the road, and a black-topped donkey cart drove along the post road at the foot of the mountain. The wheels crushed the thin snow and made two marks, and soon a layer of fresh snow fell.
The young man who was driving the car was elegant and gentle, wearing a straw raincoat and sitting sideways on the shaft of the car. He ignored his cousin’s talkative words, shook the reins, and drove the donkey cart to speed up.
It’s not early, and they don’t have to stay in front of the village or the back of the village. They must find their place before dark, otherwise it will be difficult to guarantee that they will not freeze to death outside in the wind and snow. They also encountered many victims along the way, and it was very common to have hunger on the road.
These victims were forced by the chaos and natural disasters in the south. They were hungry and cold. If one is not good, they would become bandits and bandits. Originally, according to the plan, they should have been able to reach their destination two days ago, but the journey was not peaceful, and it was already delayed when they encountered the wind and snow again.
Zhou Yuanming did not get a response and leaned out of the car tent and said, “Cousin, aren’t you worried yourself? The girl of the Ye family looks like, whether she is beautiful or ugly, and whether she is fierce or not. You have never seen her before. I thought this engagement was given up, but I told you that when we were coming, your old lady asked her specifically, and she said…”
“Yuan Ming!” Xie Rang interrupted him and said indifferently, “It’s very windy outside, how can you talk so much?”
Zhou Yuanming shrank his neck so coldly that he retracted back into the car. He quickly pulled out his head on the curtain of the car and said unwillingly: “But, cousin, I heard that the girl of the Ye family is only fourteen years old…”
“This marriage was decided by my grandfather back then.” Xie Rang said calmly, “Now my grandfather has passed away. As long as the girl in the Ye family does not regret the marriage, I will naturally marry her.”
Zhou Yuanming was about to put down the curtain and go back, but Xie Rang turned his head and explained, “Also, remember, even if Miss Ye is younger than you, since she is my wife who has not passed away, you should call her Sister Ye when you meet. You must not be rude.”
“…I know.” Zhou Yuanming wanted to speak but stopped, but still agreed obediently.
Xie Rang glanced at Zhou Yuanming and said nothing. His cousin is only fifteen years old and is still young, but he must be aware of the right measure.
Xie Rang and the girl from the Ye family were children who were decided since childhood. Miss Ye was just born at that time, and Xie Rang was only four years old.
The Ye family was far away in Xuanzhou, Jiangnan Road. Xie Rang’s grandfather Xie Xin was the prefect of Xuanzhou at that time. The Ye family was a prominent gentry and prominent family in the area, so the two sides naturally had exchanges. One day, Xie Xin was talking to the head of the Ye family while he was tasting tea, he heard that the Ye family had just given birth to a legitimate granddaughter. It happened that Xie Rang was just about to be enlightened. He held his pen and ink in his arms and muttered and walked past his grandfather’s study with his three-character scripture in his arms. Xie Xin pointed at Xie Rang and said with a smile.It’s better to be a family in both families.
The head of the Ye family naturally would not object, and the two decided on the spot to engage in this engagement.
Who knew that in just half a year, my grandfather was appreciated by noble people and was promoted to the capital to become an official. In the next ten years, my grandfather’s career was smooth and he rose all the way, from a fourth-rank prefect to the position of the second-rank minister of the Ministry of Revenue and an important official of the court.
In this way, the engagement between the Ye family became a bit subtle.
This time and another time, the gentry house in a small place is really not enough to see the Shangshu Mansion. In addition, the distance from Xuanzhou to the capital is long, and the two families have not had many trips back in the past ten years.
It can be said that this engagement is still counted, all within the thought of the grandfather’s thank-you letter.
Until four years ago, Xie Xin was involved in the court’s power scheme, stood in the wrong team in the battle for the throne, and was confiscated and was soon killed in the prison in a unclear way.
As soon as Xie Xin died, the Xie family was like a building overturned. In one night, the huge Shangshu Mansion fell to the ground. The descendants who had already entered the government were imprisoned and questioned, and the rest of the family were exiled to Lingnan.
Xie Rang was fourteen years old that year and embarked on the road of exile with his family. After walking for more than two months, before halfway through, the old emperor passed away, the new emperor ascended the throne, and the world was pardoned.
The new emperor’s throne came in a bad way, and he probably wanted a good reputation. He was particularly kind and issued an order to pardon Xie Xin for his crimes and allowed his family to return to his hometown.
Thank you for not having to exile anymore. However, after all this trouble, the elderly, weak, women and children were already dead and sick, and turned around and walked back. It took them half a year before they could return to their hometown in Lingzhou. Xie Rang’s mother did not die on the way to exile, but died of illness on the way back to Lingzhou. Her father had already been assassinated by the border, and Xie Rang, who was fourteen years old, became the mainstay of the family.
When I was moved, the situation of the Xie family became embarrassing. After the Xie family had an accident, the two families broke off their news. Xie Rang originally thought that since both parties did not mention it again, the Ye family’s engagement would probably be so incomplete.
In the past few years since the new emperor ascended the throne, there has been no peace in the world. There were severe droughts in the southwest and floods in Huainan, and wars were everywhere in the border areas. A few months ago, King Zhao raised an army to rebel in Jiangnan Road. Xuanzhou was the fief of King Zhao. The Ye family was inevitably involved. They were first exploited by the rebels and collected money and grain. When King Zhao retreated, the court army fought over, but the Ye family was charged with “adjustment”.
The promiscuous crime is a serious crime of raiding a family and extermination. The head of the Ye family knew that it was impossible to escape, so he could only find a way to send his descendants and grandchildren to escape. So while the city was broken and the chaos was broken, Miss Ye was sent out of the city and traveled thousands of miles to Lingzhou to join the Xie family.