"What did Empress Dou say?" Li Xiu asked curiously. Princess Pingyang was still young when she saved Ma Ye, so there must be many omissions, but Empress Dou was a very talented woman. Just looking at the few children she educated, she was very likely to see something.

"I remember that after I asked someone to save Uncle Ma home, my mother just looked at him, then sighed and said, 'It's another pitiful person', and then left." Princess Pingyang recalled and said, and after saying that, she also showed a sad look on her face. If my mother was still alive, I'm afraid the eldest brother and second brother would not have had such a fight.

"Is it another poor person?" Li Xiu couldn't help but savor it carefully when he heard this sentence. There were two key points in this sentence, one was "again" and the other was "a poor person". Both of these points proved that Empress Dou was likely to know some of the origins of Mr. Ma, otherwise she would not have said that.

"What else did Empress Dou say besides this sentence?" Li Xiu thought about it for a moment and suddenly asked again. Although this sentence proved that Empress Dou knew something, there was no other information other than that, so he could not judge anything at all.

"There are nothing else." Princess Pingyang thought about it again, but finally shook her head and said. In fact, she was very curious about Ma's identity. She had pestered him many times when she was a child, but Ma's time was unwilling to say it every time, and then she gradually stopped asking.

Li Xiu couldn't help feeling a little disappointed when he heard this. He opened the window and looked at Ma Master in front of him. He was also full of curiosity. Where did Ma Master take them and what happened to him that changed his situation so much?

After the carriage left Chang'an, it was going east at first. Li Xiu thought Ma would take them to Luoyang, but in the afternoon, he started to move northeast. When it was almost dark, the carriage stopped in a small town. Then the group rested in the town for a night, and finally moved forward the next day. It was not until afternoon that Li Xiu and the others arrived at a big city.

"Puzhou?" Li Xiu was also surprised to see the strange name on the city gate. To be honest, he really didn't know that there was such a city near Chang'an City. Although the size of this city does not seem to be very large, the city walls were built very sturdy.

"Puzhou is called the world by the Grand Historian. The legendary word "Houtu" in the Emperor's Land refers to this place, and there is also a very famous Houtu Temple here. I heard that the incense is very popular, but I have never been here." Seeing Li Xiu's puzzled appearance, Princess Pingyang couldn't help but explain with a smile.

"Wow~ Sister Xiuning, you are so knowledgeable. You even know what your brother doesn't know!" Qi Niang in the carriage heard Princess Pingyang's explanation and couldn't help but scream exaggeratedly. Since this little girl left Chang'an, she felt everything fresh. She didn't sleep until midnight last night, but she fell asleep again in the carriage today, and she has just woken up now.

"Haha, you little girl knows more than me now. I can't learn what your brother said." Princess Pingyang couldn't help but touch her little head when she heard Qi Niang's words. Since she recovered from freedom, Princess Pingyang's temperament has become much more lively and she loves to laugh more. She feels like she is a few years younger.

"Okay, we're here. Let's rest in the city today. I'll take you to a place tomorrow!" At this moment, Mr. Ma came to the side of the car and said to Li Xiu and the others through the window.

"Uncle Ma, what are you taking us to Puzhou for?" Li Xiu finally raised the question in his heart at this time. He had been holding back and didn't ask before, but now he has been in the place, and he can't help it.

"Here..." Mr. Ma looked up at the two words on the top of the city, and a sad look appeared in his eyes again. After a moment, he said, "This is my hometown!"

After Ma Master finished speaking, he sighed and raised his horse forward without much explanation. However, the word "hometown" alone was enough. Li Xiu carefully considered the meaning of the word "hometown" and sighed after a long time. He had several speculations before, but now it seems that only the most tragic guess is correct.

Under the leadership of Ma Ye, Li Xiu and his convoy entered the city. Although Puzhou City was called the world by Shigong Tai and was also one of the birthplaces of the descendants of Yan and Huang, it was a small city after all. The entire city covers a small area, and it is estimated that it is less than 10% of Chang'an and has not a large population. When Li Xiu entered the city, he found that the commerce on both sides of the street was not prosperous, and there were few pedestrians, which could not be compared with Chang'an at all.

"Puzhou is close to Chang'an, and is considered an important town on the northeast of Chang'an. In order to prevent the enemy from attacking Chang'an from this direction, in the Former Sui Dynasty, Puzhou was a military town near Chang'an. My Tang Dynasty also garrisoned heavy troops here. However, it was the first time I learned that Uncle Ma's hometown was here." Princess Pingyang introduced again at this time. As a general, she also knew some important towns in the Tang Dynasty.

While speaking, the convoy had already entered the city. Mr. Ma did not alarm the local officials, but directly found a clean inn and then directly booked the entire inn and barely stayed. After all, Princess Pingyang must bring some guards to accompany him when she was on her way.

During dinner, Princess Pingyang, Yi Niang and Qi Niang were having dinner in the room. Li Xiu left the guest room and came to the hall. He saw Ma Ye sitting there drinking alone. Li Xiu walked over and sat opposite Ma Ye and said, "Uncle Ma, why are you drinking alone? Do you want me to chat with you?"

"You kid is just a clever guy. Have you guessed the intention of me bringing you here?" Ma Master looked up at Li Xiu and said, after saying that, he raised his neck and another glass of wine entered his stomach, and the expression on his face also seemed quite sad.

"I did guess a little, but the past has passed, so you should relax!" Li Xiu comforted him at this time. In fact, he didn't know what happened to Mr. Ma, but he could only guess a rough idea.

When Ma Ye shook his head when he heard this, he then held the wine jar with both hands and drank half of the jar in one breath. Then he suddenly stood up and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to a place!"

After Ma Ye said that, he stood up and left the living room. However, he drank a lot of wine and walked a little shaky, which made Li Xiu very worried. He hurriedly followed him. After leaving the inn, Ma Ye did not ride a horse and walked steadily on the streets of Puzhou.

It was getting late at this time, and there were almost no pedestrians on the streets, which were already sparsely crowded. Even the shops on both sides of the streets began to close, which made Li Xiu frown repeatedly. Now in summer, the shops in Puzhou City closed so early, and there were even fewer pedestrians on the streets. In this way, the business here is really bad. It seems that the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty will take a long time to arrive.

Li Xiu and Ma Ye walked north along the street of Puzhou City, and finally turned east for a long time. It was estimated that this place should be the northeast corner of Puzhou City, and it was obviously a slum in Puzhou City. There were some simple and low small houses at the sight. However, around these small houses, there were many dilapidated yards. The houses inside collapsed, and the wood and bricks were taken away to build the house. Only some dilapidated ruins were piled there, which looked like an indescribable dilapidation.

Mr. Ma looked at the broken scenery in front of him, to be precise, the yards that had turned into ruins, and his sad expression on his face became even more serious. Finally, he slowly spoke: "More than ten years ago, this was not the case here. Puzhou was a military center. During the former Sui Dynasty, heavy troops were stationed. Some generals in the army settled their homes here and moved their families here. This is the residential area where the generals in the army were the most concentrated. At that time, the houses here were one by one. Although they could not be called rich, they were also considered comfortable."

"Uncle Ma, you... your home is here too?" Li Xiu asked tentatively at this time. Looking at the scene in front of him, it was hard for him to imagine what this place was like in the past.

"It's not just me, but since my father's generation, this is my home. My father is the commander of the Sui Army, and his official position is neither high nor low. In my generation, there were four brothers, all of whom entered the army. Moreover, my father had strict requirements on the four brothers. He has been practicing literature and martial arts since he was a child. After entering the army, everyone was promoted with his own abilities, and his final position was no worse than that of his father. At that time, our Ma family was famous in Puzhou City!" When he said this, he saw a look of pride on his face, as if he remembered the glory of the family.

When Li Xiu heard this, he nodded secretly, thinking that Ma Ye was indeed from a military family, and he had been trained in the Sui army for many years and participated in the three major campaigns against Goguryeo. With these backgrounds, it is no wonder that Princess Pingyang grew into an excellent general.

Just as they were talking, Ma Ye took Li Xiu to the corner of a street, where there was a larger ruin than other places. It can be seen that if it had not been destroyed, it would have been a mansion that occupied a considerable area.

"It's here. More than ten years ago, this was my home. I, my father, and my brothers. Several families lived here. This place is also called the Ma family mansion. My father is a very serious person and has high requirements for our brothers. But he likes children very much. Whether it is the children of the elder brothers or the children of my younger brothers and me, the father likes them very much. Every time the children make a mistake and our brothers want to teach them a lesson, those kids will run to my father for help..."

As Ma Ye spoke, his voice became sobbing, and he couldn't continue to say anything at the end. Li Xiu sighed at this time. Although he was mentally prepared, he did not expect that Ma Ye's experience was even more miserable than he expected. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!