flstandardbreds Chapter 143 Midsummer
Chapter 143 Midsummer
When the wheat harvest is ripe, it is time for Prince Yan to return to the State of Yan.
Early in the morning, Eunuch Li, who was ordered by the emperor, stood in front of the prince's mansion and whispered something with the officials from Yan State who came to greet him.
Yan Jingtian, dressed in the luxurious robe of the prince of Yan State, walked out of the mansion slowly with an upright posture. Seeing him, everyone bowed respectfully.
He stopped and his eyes fell on the gold medal of the Prince's Mansion again, and a faint sadness arose in his heart.
The attendant beside him reminded him in a low voice, "Prince, it's time for us to leave." Yan Jingtian came back to his senses, hummed lightly, turned around and was about to get on the carriage to leave.
"Brother Yan, please stay." Shen Nanting, who was riding in the carriage, held the curtain with one hand and held a jar of wine in the other.
What surprised Yan Jingtian even more was that along with Shen Nanting, the girl he had been thinking about came to see him off. Her beauty was like the morning sunshine, warm and bright.
"Brother Yan, I don't know when we will meet again. I specially brought a jar of Man Jiang Hong for you. I wish you a safe journey."
After saying that, Shen Nanting handed the wine to Yan Jingtian.
Yan Jingtian took the wine and felt moved.
Huaying bowed to Yan Jingtian and said, "I went to the temple a few days ago to ask for a peace locket for the prince. I hope that the prince's wishes will come true when he returns this time. I also have a folding fan with weapons on it, which can keep the prince safe for a while."
Qinghe handed the two exquisite brocade boxes in her hands to Prince Yan's entourage.
A trace of reluctance flashed in Yan Jingtian's eyes, "Thank you, Miss Shen. If... you want to visit Yan State one day, remember to find me at the Prince's Mansion." The climate in Yan State is humid and pleasant, and the people there are hospitable, simple and kind.
At this moment, I really hope Huaying can go back to Yan State with me...
Huaying nodded slightly.
At this time, the attendant came over again and said, "Prince, time is running out. If we don't leave now, we may not be able to make it to the post station in the evening."
Yan Jingtian came back to his senses and bowed to the people who were seeing him off, saying goodbye: "Goodbye, everyone. Take care."
He turned around, got on the carriage, lifted the curtain, and took a last deep look at Huaying, his eyes full of nostalgia.
He gently lowered the curtain and said to the driver, "Let's go."
With the driver's shout, the carriage started slowly and drove away into the distance.
Huaying stood where she was, watching the carriage go farther and farther away until it disappeared from her sight.
Eunuch Li watched the carriage go away and said to the people who were seeing him off, "Next spring, Crown Prince Yan will come to choose a Crown Prince Consort. It will be time for everyone to have a wedding banquet then."
When everyone heard what Eunuch Li said, the sadness of parting in their hearts dissipated a little.
"Brother, why is the prince in such a hurry to go back?" As a hostage, he can only return to his homeland when he gets married. Obviously, it is not the time for Yan Jingtian to go back yet.
"It has suddenly been reported that the Prince of Yan is seriously ill. It won't be easy for Brother Yan to go back this time." The princes of Yan State are all eyeing the throne. The fight may have already begun on the way back.
Shen Nanting was really worried about Brother Yan, but as a Wu countryman, he could only secretly pray that Yan Jingtian would get what he wanted...
In the blink of an eye, it was time to harvest wheat. The wheat was harvested, dried, and stored in the granary.
Huaying, wearing a veiled hat, stood at the door of the granary. As the last uncle came out and closed the door, the wheat harvest was finally over.
Who would have thought that the river beach that everyone was afraid of back then would yield a bumper harvest in the first year of trial planting.
"Uncle, please share the wages with everyone. They have been busy for so long, so let them go home and spend some time with their families." Most of these workers are experienced farmers from all over the country. After receiving their wages, they can go home and rest for a few days.
After all, we have to plant corn and cotton in a few days...
Mid-July, midsummer.
At the edge of the bamboo forest of Molan Pavilion, Huaying was lying on a chair, fanning herself with a fan and staring at the cicadas that were chirping on the branches.
This summer is very hot and it hasn't rained since the beginning of summer.
Qinghe was washing the fruits while watching the young lady fanning herself weakly.
"Miss, the Fu Mansion sent some more ice today. The housekeeper has already distributed it. The young lady and our yard have the most ice. Please go back to your room and rest."
Huaying wiped the sweat from her forehead. "The temperature this year is abnormally hot."
I picked up a piece of frozen melon and finally felt cool for a moment.
"We'll go deliver some winter melons to the Fu Mansion later, and visit the riverbank while we're at it."
"Okay, then Qinghe will go call Yuexing." Qinghe wiped his hands and walked out.
After everything was packed, Huaying put on a veil and went to the river beach in a carriage.
There were many more beggars wandering on the streets than usual. They were wilted by the sun and were walking laboriously on the streets of Chang'an, holding crutches and broken bowls.
Arriving at the riverbank, Uncle Liu saw the water truck watering the newly emerged crops with buckets of water. He hurried over and said, "Boss, why are you here in such a hot day?"
"I'll bring you some winter melons. Does this waterwheel irrigate every day?"
"My boss, although the water trucks are used for irrigating the fields every day, there are many fields and the seedlings are small. I'm afraid they can't be irrigated enough and the seedlings will die of drought. It would be great if there were a few more water trucks." Uncle Liu looked at the seedlings that had just emerged worriedly.
"I'll figure out a way to solve this. You guys should work harder these few days and irrigate more and divert more water."
Uncle Liu held the winter melon handed to him by Qinghe and replied respectfully, "Don't worry, boss. We will take turns day and night to water the seedlings first. I hope God will send down a heavy rain."
Huaying gave a few more instructions before leaving. Thinking that she was familiar with the road back to Fu Mansion, she said to Yuexing, "Go to the village where you ordered the waterwheel last time and find the master to order three more waterwheels. Be quick."
Yue Xing took the order and rode towards the North Mountain on horseback.
The carriage was moving slowly on the official road and suddenly stopped. Huaying almost hit her head, but fortunately Qinghe was quick to help her.
Suddenly, I heard someone outside shouting, "Buddha, please be kind and give us something to eat."
"Miss, I'll go and chase him away."
"Wait, give him the food in the car and ask him where it came from?"
Qing He was unlikely to get on the carriage again. "Miss, they are from Yuezhou, which is sixty miles away from the capital. Due to the lack of spring rain, the harvest was poor, and there was a severe drought in the summer. There was really nothing to eat at home, so they came to the capital to look for their relatives. Now they have used up all their money and still haven't found their relatives. They are miserable people."
"If it doesn't rain, we're going to have a disaster this year."
Qing He's hands trembled when he heard this, "Miss?"
Qinghe had never experienced a natural disaster, but she had heard about what it looked like to be affected by a disaster. The victims were so hungry that their faces turned pale and their bodies were ragged. They fought over stuttering, and some even sold their children.
After hearing what the young lady said, I became more worried.
"It's hard to say right now. This is the capital. The emperor will definitely pay attention to this matter when he learns about it."
If it was really a natural disaster, they had money in their hands and could still get by, but how would those farmers who relied on farming survive?
Huaying continued, "When we get back, tell mother to buy some more rice and flour for food and store it in the cellar."
All the way to the study room of Fu's house, seeing that Fu Shiyan had lost weight after not seeing him for only half a month, Huaying felt a little distressed. The palace examination would be held in half a month, would it be okay if he lost more weight?
"I didn't lose weight in the summer when I was in Taohua Town. How come I've lost so much weight now that life is better?"
Fu Shiyan looked up when he heard the voice, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He asked A Nian to bring a smoothie and walked to Huaying to pour her a cup of herbal tea.
"Maybe it's too hot this year. I have no appetite for anything."