Chapter 295: Children in some Places Never Grow Up

Suzhou Lakeside.

Wei Yuan stood alone in the ice and snow, looking at the frozen lake in front of him, and heard the sound of firecrackers from time to time.

The people throughout Jiangnan are immersed in the New Year atmosphere.

Some brothels in Suzhou and Hangzhou are also overcrowded these days.

After a year of busy work and a year of saving money, at this time, the people in Jiangnan will more or less have some spare money to spend on leisurely activities.

Either drinking and having fun, or hugging some charming women and listening to them sing songs to whiten the peace.

No one cares about the life or death of the people in the North.

At this time, Wei Yuan was holding a piece of paper in his hand, which recorded the latest news about the Qizhou Campaign.

Xu Changzhi witnessed with his own eyes that tens of thousands of people, all men being purified and all women naked, knelt down outside Qizhou City until they froze to death.

There was also a relatively peaceful period when people from the north came to escape the war and wanted to enter Qizhou City. However, Xu Changzhi was worried that enemy troops would sneak into them.

Until those people were massacred by foreigners, Xu Changzhi never opened the city gate.

In the Qizhou area, there are already sounds of national subjugation, although judging from the current situation, it is still far from that step.

But Wei Yuan believes that if this battle continues, sooner or later the mountains and rivers will be shattered and the land of China will sink.

Not long after, Wei Yuan, who was standing alone in the wind and snow, suddenly saw several children wearing large flowered coats chasing and playing.

There were several Tiger Guards more than ten steps away from Wei Yuan. They wanted to drive the children away, but when Wei Yuan shook his head and signaled, they simply followed the children.

Then, Wei Yuan was seen waving towards the children.

The children did not dare to step forward rashly.

Wei Yuan waved to Xie Yuying, who was standing not far away, and motioned for her to come over.

After Xie Yuying arrived, Wei Yuan asked, "Do you have any candy on you?"

sugar?

Xie Yuying shook her head.

Wei Yuan saw a jade pendant hanging on her waist, so he simply took it off and said to the children:

"Uncle will ask you a few questions. If you answer it well, I will give this jade pendant to you. How about that?"

Xie Yuying turned to look at the children not far away and smiled at them.

However, those children still did not dare to step forward.

Wei Yuan frowned, "When I was a kid, if anyone dared to give me such a jade pendant, even if he was a dentist, I would step forward."

Yaxing is commonly known as a human trafficker.

Xie Yuying smiled and said: "Master Hou likes children very much?"

Wei Yuan was silent.

Xie Yuying showed a sweet smile and walked towards the children. Then, she lovingly stroked the head of one of the children and said with a smile in Jiangnan dialect:

"That big brother wants to play with you for a while. My sister will buy you some candies later, okay?"

Several children burst into laughter instantly,

"good!"

Then, he jumped up and down to Wei Yuan,

"Brother, what do you want to play with us?"

"Brother, you look a bit like a servant."

"."

In fact, it is not difficult to understand Jiangnan dialect as long as you listen carefully.

What Wei Yuan spoke was the Mandarin popular in Bianjing, and these children in front of him could understand it.

I saw him holding a child in his arms, and asked with a smile: "It's Chinese New Year, what did your parents buy you?"

The children rushed to respond:

"My father bought me new toys, and my mother made me new clothes."

"My father bought a pig, which can feed us for a long time."

"My dad prepared a lot of meat."

"."

They talked a lot.

The people in Jiangnan were indeed wealthy. They not only prepared new clothes, but also all kinds of meat, toys, firecrackers, fine wine, etc.

I am preparing to have a whole day of fun together as a family on New Year's Day.

Wei Yuan put down the child in his arms.

At this time, Xie Yuying came to a group of children and stared at the scene in front of her.

Wei Yuan sat on a stone and asked the children again,

"Are your friends like you?"

Several children gathered around him and nodded.

Wei Yuan asked again: "What do you want to do when you grow up?"

They answered one after another:

"When I grow up, I want to study in the imperial examination and become an official. My father said that being an official will ensure that you have enough food and clothing."

"I want to be a carpenter, my mother said, a craftsman will never die of hunger in a famine year."

"I want to be a doctor, cure diseases and save people!"

"When I grow up"

"."

Wei Yuan stroked the back of a child's head and said sincerely:

"Okay, what you said is very good, but do you know? At this moment, in some places, in this land, there are many children like you who will never grow up."

Several children were confused and showed confused expressions.

"Why don't they grow up?"

"My mother said that as long as the Chinese New Year is over, I will be one year older. If they don't grow up, is it because they are not celebrating the Chinese New Year?"

"."

Wei Yuan smiled and said nothing, and just handed the jade pendant to a tiger guard and asked him to pawn it in exchange for some money and buy some candies for the children to share.

Immediately afterwards, the children followed the plainclothes tiger guards and jumped away from the place.

Wei Yuan looked at their backs and said nothing for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, a maid brought a cloak and handed it to Xie Yuying.

She put the cloak on Wei Yuan and said softly: "Master Marquis, it's cold outside, should you go back?"

Wei Yuan looked at the paper that was balled up in his hand. He didn't know what he was thinking in his heart. He felt quite confused and numb, as if he had lost his way:

"If Bianjing is lost in the future, Shenzhou Luchen, those children, and women like you will not end well."

Even if the Zhou Dynasty was subjugated by the Liao, people like Wei Yuan would definitely be treated favorably by the Liao as long as they wanted to live a good life.

The only difference is whether he wants to live with infamy.

But the only thing that is certain is that from now on, the children and women who have grown up on this land will no longer live like individuals.

Xie Yuying squatted in front of Wei Yuan, held his hand, and said with a smile: "As long as the Marquis is here, that day will never happen."

Wei Yuan took a deep look at Xie Yuying and asked: "Two days ago, a maid next to you secretly asked a doctor to diagnose your pulse. When do you plan to tell me the details?"

The latter's face instantly turned extremely pale as if he had been struck by lightning, "Master Marquis, I..."

At this point, she knelt down suddenly and kowtowed: "The slave family is guilty. The slave family knows that their status is not worthy of the Marquis. The slave family does not dare to tell the Marquis that she is pregnant."

Wei Yuan said in a deep voice: "So, you want to secretly abort my Wei family's seed?"

Xie Yuying has been with him for half a year. Recently, she noticed signs of morning sickness, so she secretly asked a doctor to check her pulse. The result was as expected.

Hearing this, she felt panicked and kowtowed to Wei Yuan.

"Please Lord Marquis, please tell me, the slave family does not have the courage."

"The slave family. The slave family is worried. The slave family asks the Marquis to punish him!"

After talking hesitantly for a long time, he still failed to tell the truth.

Wei Yuan could probably guess it.

It was simply that Xie Yuying was afraid of the eldest lady in the mansion whom she had never met before, and worried that the fetus in her belly would not be able to safely fall to the ground.

Therefore, she wanted to hold it off, preferably until her belly gradually grew bigger and she couldn't hide it anymore, until the day the child was born.

By that time, the deal was done. As long as the Wei family's child could fall to the ground smoothly, she would have no regrets even if she died.

For her, to be able to give birth to a son and a half daughter for a hero like Wei Yuan was a blessing that could only be achieved in three lifetimes, and it was God's mercy.

Therefore, she wanted to give birth to the child in her belly no matter what the cost.

Wei Yuan helped her up, looked at her slightly bulging belly, subconsciously touched her, and murmured:

"We cannot let this child see a broken and displaced world when he is born."

Having said this, he stood up slowly, his eyes full of determination.

——

At this time, in the British government palace.

Ever since Zhang Fu was assassinated, Zhang Guifen moved here with Brother Zhuang and Sister Jing.

One is that he wants to accompany his father to heal, and the other is that the outside world is not peaceful.

Zhao Xi sent many more guards to the British palace. Even if Zhang Guifen did not consider herself, she should consider the safety of her two children.

After all, everyone knows that Wei Yuan is a thorn in the flesh of Liao and Xia countries, and his children are naturally among the strategies of Liao and Xia countries.

Due to emotions and reasons, Zhang Guifen did not dare to live alone in Zhongyong Hou's mansion.

At this time, Minglan was chatting with Zhang Guifen.

"Auntie, I heard from many people that many people have died in the Northland in the past few days, and the world is not peaceful."

The latter nodded slightly, "How can there be no immortality in war?"

While talking, he was reading a letter from Wei Yuan.

Minglan was not curious about the content of the letter.

"I heard from my father that many officials from other places are thinking of running away."

"Even in our capital, there are some people who feel uneasy."

The reason why Minglan said this was because this war was so unusual.

Everyone is talking about it all the time.

She was worried that something bad would happen.

"Auntie, tell me, why didn't the imperial court send my uncle to fight against Liaoxia?"

"Now the people in the capital say that only my uncle can defeat Liao Xia."

"Even the common people know it, but they don't know what the imperial court means."

Ming Lan, who had never dared to cause trouble, only dared to say this in front of Zhang Guifen.

While reading the letter home from Wei Yuan, she echoed sadly:

"Yes, if even ordinary people understand something, how can the imperial court not understand it?"

With the outbreak of the war, many nobles and officials in Bianjing were directly affected.

For example, at this time in previous years, officials from the Ministry of Revenue had already begun to prepare for the annual banquet.

Moreover, envoys from various countries have also arrived in the capital one after another.

Scenes of singing and dancing can be seen everywhere in various streets in Bianjing.

There are merchants from the Western Regions who are playing with things that are relatively novel to the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and there are also some capable people and strangers who are showing off their skills.

But this year, not only did the Ministry of Revenue not organize the annual banquet, but even very few businessmen from various countries came.

This year is definitely the most deserted year since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty and Bianjing as the capital.

Of course, only Bianjing was relatively deserted, and the Jiangnan area was not affected by the war at all.

After a while, Minglan saw Zhang Guifen still looking at the family letter and said curiously:

"What on earth did uncle say to aunt? To make aunt look at it for so long?"

Zhang Guifen said in shock: "It's nothing, it's just that your uncle found a concubine outside."

Concubine?

Is my uncle looking for a woman in Jiangnan?

Minglan was stunned, and her heart was beating fast, fearing that Zhang Guifen would suddenly get angry.

"How can this be!"

"Who is my uncle? How could he be misled by women? It must be those vixens in Jiangnan who seduced my uncle. What is the identity of the woman my uncle found?"

Zhang Guifen said casually: "She is a geisha."

Geisha?

My uncle found a geisha as a concubine?

Minglan was immediately angry like a meat bun,

"That vixen is really hateful. A mere geisha wants to enter my uncle's house? Don't you even look in the mirror!"

"Don't worry, aunt, my mother will never let a geisha enter the Wei family as a concubine."

One of Sheng Hong's concubines, Lin Qinshuang, was a geisha.

Wei Shuyi was extremely disgusted with women like geishas.

In her mind, children born by geishas will not develop in a good direction.

For example, Lin Qinshuang's daughter Sheng Molan.

Zhang Guifen held the letter in one hand and clenched her other hand to support her slightly tilted head.

For a moment, she felt a sudden surge of charm, which made Minglan involuntarily infatuated when she saw it.

"Your uncle also said in the letter that the woman is already pregnant"

What? !

There is a child?

Minglan was dumbfounded and at a loss for a moment.

She squatted in front of Zhang Guifen and gently pinched her legs.

"It must be that vixen who seduced my uncle. Others don't understand my uncle, but you don't understand?"

"Aunt, don't get angry because of this. Moreover, although she is a geisha, she is pregnant with my uncle's child after all. It is the seed of the Wei family, and the child is innocent after all."

"Aunt, don't worry. After my uncle returns to the capital, I, as his niece, will definitely vent your anger for you."

"I want to see what kind of vixen is so bold that she dares to enter my uncle's family!"

Hearing the voice.

Zhang Guifen looked at the angry Minglan and suddenly laughed out loud. She pinched Minglan's nose with her fingers and said with a smile:

"What are you talking about? I'm not angry."

Not angry?

Minglan frowned and said, "Aunt, if you feel unhappy, just say it."

Zhang Guifen shook her head, "I was just thinking that since the woman is destined to marry into the Wei family and has a child in her belly, shouldn't I, as the mistress, express my gratitude?"

"As for what to give, it's really a headache."

Minglan widened her eyes and felt incredible, "Aunt, are you really not angry?"

Zhang Guifen asked back, "What's there to be angry about?"

After a pause, she helped Minglan up, stroked Minglan's increasingly beautiful face, and said with a smile:

"I'm not a jealous woman, your aunt."

"What's more, who is your uncle? It's not an exaggeration to say that he is a dragon among men. How could he have only your aunt and me as a woman in his life?"