By the time we crossed the river and got off the ferry, it was almost noon.

Yangzhou is still full of people and traffic, and now it is a busy time. When we get ashore, a carriage has been arranged at the ferry to pick us up. I have hardly touched the ground in the past few days, but due to my health, there is nothing I can do.

I could only let Pei Yuanxiu carry me up.

But this time, I still held on to my strength and sat by the window, looking outside through the swaying curtains.

Knowing that Yangzhou is already Pei Yuanxiu's sphere of influence, his mood is different when he looks here. Speaking of which, it is indeed a clever move to not let Yangzhou show a rebellious attitude. Pei Yuanhao's treatment of Yangzhou is different. At this time

It is difficult to fight even if we fight. If we don't fight, it will be even more difficult to conquer the six provinces of Jiangnan.

It’s really hard to guess what the situation will be like in the future.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but look back at Pei Yuanxiu. He was still sitting calmly next to him, with an unchanging gentle smile on his face. The corners of his eyes were curved, and his whole person was like the warmest piece of warm jade.

I can't help but want to get close to him.

Who would have thought that on the other side of the vast Yangtze River, the six Jiangnan provinces that were in conflict with the imperial court belonged to his command?

Thinking of this, my mood becomes even more confusing.

Just when he raised his eyes to look at me, I could only pretend not to see it and turned to look at Ping'er. The child didn't say a word the whole way and was unusually silent. Of course I also understood the impact this incident had on him.

How old he is, and now the closer he is to home, the paler his face becomes and the more silent he becomes.

I was afraid that he would be crushed, so I said softly: "Ping'er. If you feel sad, just tell Aunt Qing."

He raised his head and looked at me in a daze, and after being silent for a while, he said, "Aunt Qing, I'm afraid my mother will be sad."

"..."

"I dare not tell her. What should I say?"

"..."

"My mother, she is the daughter of a wealthy family. She ran away with her father to be with her. For so many years, her grandparents have not allowed her to go back. She only has her father and us. That was the time when her father went to Nan'an and did not come back.

, what should she do if she can’t sleep every night? What if she knows that dad——?”

Listening to him talk, I started to cry, and I felt bitter in my heart. Before, I thought Sister-in-law Qi was pretty and beautiful, and her manners were not as rude as ordinary village women. I didn’t expect that she had such a past, leaving for a man.

Home, she abandoned everything, but this man found another woman behind her back. This was a painful blow to her.

I gently stroked Ping'er's hair and said softly: "Ping'er, I know how sad you feel when something like this happens. But you have to remember that you said that you are the only man in the family.

It is your responsibility to prevent your mother from crying. You should not cry now, but think clearly about what you need to do to prevent your mother from crying!"

When he heard my words, the child was shocked, his tearful eyes flashed with light, he bit his lower lip and nodded vigorously.

Seeing him like this, I was only slightly relieved. When I turned around, I saw Pei Yuanxiu looking at us thoughtfully.

Although he always smiled gently at me along the way, it seemed that this time, he also looked a little dignified. When he met my eyes, he nodded gently.

Although nothing was said, both parties understood.

There are some things that have not been solved yet.

Ping'er has been stuck in the pain of his father betraying his mother, but he has forgotten that the woman said that his father promised to cross the river years ago, but did not go there, but Gu Qi was not at home either.

Where is he these days?

This is what has always made me most uneasy.

The carriage was almost driving to Gu's house. As long as you walked through this street and turned a corner, you would be there. I also reminded Ping'er to wipe away his tears. At this moment, there was a sudden noise in front of me.

The streets of Yangzhou were already very lively, but this time it seemed different from the ordinary liveliness. I could faintly hear someone shouting, everyone was running forward, and I could vaguely hear a few people running beside the carriage talking -<

/p>

"What's going on? Why is it burning over there?"

"It seems like people from the government have passed by."

"Go and see, which store is it?"

I heard something was wrong, so I subconsciously lifted the curtain and looked outside. I saw that there seemed to be a fire burning somewhere in the bungalow in front of me. Thick smoke rose straight into the sky, darkening a large area of ​​the sky. Everyone around me turned towards that direction.

Ran over.

That direction——

I was stunned for a moment, and Ping'er happened to look outside, took one look, and was stunned.

"That, that, that's——"

"Ping'er."

"That's my home!"

He suddenly became anxious and was about to rush under the carriage. I had no time to catch him, but Pei Yuanxiu next to me grabbed him and said to the coachman outside: "Quick!"

The coachman received the order, raised his whip and waved it twice. The road was not long originally. After turning a corner, the carriage arrived at the door of Gu's house. There were already many people gathered here, all looking at the fire there. Ping'er broke away.

He jumped out of the carriage, but his feet gave out and he fell to the ground in a panic.

There seemed to be a familiar neighbor nearby. When he saw him, he immediately said: "Oh, Ping'er, why did you come back just now? Your mother and your sister are both in there and haven't come out!"

Ping'er was frightened and was about to rush in. People around him immediately stopped him. Someone said: "Don't be stupid, kid. If such a fire goes in, it will burn you to death!"

At this time, I was also carried out of the car by Pei Yuanxiu, and I staggered over to hold Ping'er, only to see that his face was pale, and he seemed to have lost his soul. He looked stupidly at the fire that was soaring into the sky. The Gu family had already It was completely engulfed in fire. The beams fell one by one, sparking countless sparks. The fire was burning and spurting out along the door frame. It felt unbearably hot when I got closer. I could only hold on with all my strength, together with Pei Yuanxiu. Only by stopping him can we stop this kid from doing stupid things.

"How could this happen...how could this happen..."

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He was completely stunned. He slowly stopped struggling and stopped rushing in. But his whole body was shaking, shaking so hard that in the end he could hardly stand. He fell to his knees with a plop, his eyes closed. God is looking inside.

When I looked at all this, I was as shocked as he was.

Why is this happening? What happened to this fire? The seventh sister-in-law and the second girl are all inside, what happened?

The deep pain in my heart surged up, and I almost cried, but I couldn't. As for Ping'er, he didn't even have a tear, he just looked inside, his eyes were so dry that they lost all light.

I suddenly saw several people from the government nearby, all busy putting out the fire.

Why do people from the government come to the Gu family again?

At this time, I heard several people around me talking in low voices: "Did you hear that their family is in trouble?"

"Yeah, I know. She's the woman the government posted a while ago that they were looking for."

When I heard this, my back immediately felt numb.

"I heard that someone reported to the police that the woman was at their house."

"Are you there?"

"Later, the government officials came to look for him, but they couldn't find him. But they seemed to have found something in his house. No, they even brought the widow today, but the woman set fire to the house herself."

"Ah? She set the fire herself?!"

"Yes. We saw it with our own eyes."

My whole body froze for a moment, and I felt a dull pain in my chest. I raised my head in disbelief and looked at the Gu family that was engulfed in fire.

It's because of Gou Er! It was he who followed Yunxiang and found out my whereabouts, so he went to report it to the police, but I had already left the Gu family that night, but the government here still sent people to search the seventh sister-in-law's house, but they didn't They found me, but they seemed to have found something else. When they came again, Sister-in-law Qi burned down the house by herself.

What exactly is it?

Why did the seventh sister-in-law let her burn down the house and bury herself and the second girl in it?

I looked at Ping'er who was kneeling on the ground. He seemed to be completely empty. He was kneeling there and doing nothing. He just stared blankly at the fire in front of him. I slowly walked over and hugged him. It was obvious that the heat was burning in front of me. flames, but this child's whole body is like a piece of ice, even my heart is so cold that it hurts.

A familiar pain surged into my heart, and I immediately felt that I was about to get poisoned again. My eyes went black for a while, and then a warm hand stretched out from behind and supported me.

When I looked back, I saw it was Pei Yuanxiu.

He was still very calm. Even in the surprised and envious eyes of some people around him, he still seemed to be standing alone in the sea of ​​people, unstained by the dust. The only light and shadow in his eyes was the thin figure cast by me. He said solemnly

Said: "Don't be sad. Let's wait and see."

At this time, it seems that he is the only one who can still be so calm.

And when I held Ping'er's hand, I felt the palm of my hand was cold.

I don't know how long it took, but the fire was finally put out, and a strong smell of burning came out of it. The government officials tied **** cotton cloth around their mouths and noses before they dared to enter carefully.

The charred bodies of the seventh sister-in-law and the second girl were soon discovered.

The two of them were still sitting on the bed, and the seventh sister-in-law was holding the second girl tightly. As soon as the horrible scene appeared, I immediately covered Ping'er's eyes. He didn't struggle, didn't even move, he was just in my palm.

, a burst of hot wetness gushes out.

The official on the other side went to the backyard, where Sister Seven usually made steamed buns. Now the beams had collapsed, the stove was broken, and it was a mess.

As soon as they walked over, someone suddenly shouted——

"There is something here!"

We were all surprised. We subconsciously walked over and took a look. We saw those people carefully peeling away the blackened charcoal and bricks around them. We saw that behind the smashed stove, there was a big empty shell.

, and now, a white thing is exposed inside.

My heart sank and I took a closer look.
Chapter completed!