Chapter 71

Jiafu spoke like a flower, and stayed by Pei You'an's side day and night. This journey south, the spring light is getting stronger, and Pei Youan gradually seems to express the block in her chest. In the morning, tune the piano and drums with her. At sunset, listen to the song at the window. It's like a floating life. Thinking of meeting family as soon as possible, secretly hope that this journey will never end.

On this day, the boat entered Fujian, and stopped at a small fishing port called Langmen in the evening. The boatman went ashore to purchase supplies, spend the night, and continue on the road tomorrow morning. After five or six days of waterway, we can reach Quanzhou.

It was getting dark, and the light was on in the cabin. It was still early to go to bed. After dinner, Jiafu asked Sandalwood to take out a small chess table and put it on a wide couch by the porthole. After getting the chess jar and getting ready, he asked Tan Xiang and others to leave to rest, so he forcibly dragged Pei Youan, who was reading a book, over and asked him to play chess with him again.

Pei You'an is good at chess and walks all the way, often playing chess with Jia Fu for pastime. Jiafu can also play, and her chess skills are not too weak. Unfortunately, compared to him, she is still vulnerable. Often, Pei You'an wants her to win, but she has no place to move. After losing and losing again, Jiafu was so motivated that she refused to play with him. She went ashore on that day and bought a copy of the chess playbook. After being trained by a good teacher, in just over half a month, his level has improved a lot - at least Jiafu felt this way, and just thought, I have been carrying him on my back for the past two days and secretly studied a new hand of chess. Wanting to see his surprised look, after eating, I couldn't wait to pull him over to play chess.

Pei You'an was dragged over by her and sat down to accompany her. Jiafu knelt down in front of the chessboard, devoted herself, racked her brains, and laid out her whole mind, trying to lure his black dragon into a trap, but he just didn't fall into the trap, and sat idle by the side of the porthole, holding a piece in one hand and holding it in the other. After reading the book, as if intoxicated, enjoying herself, and clearly absent-minded, Jiafu stopped her hand and said angrily, "You bullied me!"

Pei Youan came back to his senses, glanced at her, saw her across the table, pouted and glared at himself, this small appearance was endearing, but he couldn't help teasing her again, and raised his eyebrows: " How did I bully you?"

"You look down on me! What does dual purpose mean?"

Pei You'an hurriedly put the book aside, apologized to her, and assured her that she would play chess well. Sure enough, she sat upright next, and Jiafu gave up and continued to play chess.

It's just that he didn't take a few hands, and when he heard the crisp "pop" sound, he slammed in the corner, and then stopped his hand and conceded.

Jiafu stared at the chessboard for a long time, and then she was dumbfounded.

I just wanted to play the game to lead him into the squat, but I ignored the general trend of the corners. His position, which seems to be mediocre, is actually above the eye of the chessboard. , the outcome has actually been decided, Bai Long refused to admit defeat immediately, and continued to occupy the land in irrelevant parts, but it was just lingering, and it was futile.

Jiafu raised her head and saw Pei Youan looking at her with an apologetic look on her face, but the corners of her eyes were clearly laughing, and she suddenly became angry. With a "crash", she raised her hand and erased the chess face, glanced at him, and snorted, He turned around and climbed off the bed, ignoring him.

Pei Youan laughed from behind her, raised his hand and grabbed her, forcibly dragged her back, put her in his arms, looked at her, and nodded solemnly: "My Fuer is annoyed. Let's play next game, this time you have to be honest with yourself, are you satisfied?"

Jia Fu had already obediently fell into his arms, but when she heard it, it turned out that he had already seen through his own thoughts and won himself, but he didn't forget to make fun of him at this moment, and suddenly became annoyed again, struggling to free his arm, Angrily: "You will bully me! I won't go with you! Let me go, I'll go and see the supper... Ouch, what are you doing..."

Amidst the complaints, Jiafu was picked up by him in the air and placed on the couch. Pei Youan turned over and pressed him up. Half of their bodies were on the couch, and half of their legs were hanging outside.

"I don't want to eat. I just want to play chess with you."

Pei You'an hugged her and said with a hint of teasing.

Jiafu's face was red, but she didn't give up, she was about to leave, her body twisted like a candy under him, suddenly he felt calm, bowed his head, put his lips to her ear, and said lowly, "No. move." His voice was slightly hoarse.

Jiafu was stunned for a moment, and immediately had an epiphany.

When the grandmother died, Pei You'an, as the great-grandson, was given the gift of beheading the decline in uniform. During this period, the husband and wife were naturally unable to have a house.

Not long ago, my grandmother was newly mourned, and during the period of hot filial piety, everyone was still immersed in grief, and Jiafu naturally didn't think about it. Now that Rexiao is out, the two are young and have a good relationship. They get along with each other day and night, and sometimes it is inevitable that they will encounter embarrassment like this moment.

This kind of mourning, for most people, to put it bluntly, is actually just for others to see, the matter of husband and wife, behind closed doors, who knows so much. But Jiafu knew that Pei You'an, although she felt distressed for him, would not deliberately tease him at such a time. Feeling that his body was strange, she immediately stood still and looked at him with wide eyes.

Pei You'an rolled over from her, lay on his back on the couch, raised his hand to cover his face, and after a while, let out a breath, and slowly sat up.

Jiafu glanced at him secretly, crawled over, and whispered, "Big cousin, I didn't mean to..."

Pei You'an whispered, "Fu'er, I have wronged you."

Jiafu shook her head vigorously: "It doesn't matter how long it takes me!"

Pei You'an stopped talking, only smiled, with gentle eyes, stretched out his arms and hugged her into his arms.

The silver candles were shining brightly, the water waves were slow, and there were occasional sounds of footsteps from the boatman walking across the deck outside the cabin.

Jiafu closed her eyes, resting in his arms like a bird, and hugging him quietly, she felt extremely peaceful in her heart.

Suddenly, there was a rapid gong sound in the ear, mixed with a vague call. Due to the distance, couldn't hear what was being shouted, but could feel it, and there was a commotion on the shore.

Gave opened her eyes.

Pei You'an pushed open the porthole and looked out.

Jiafu also probed out, and saw a group of officers and soldiers on the shore in the distance, holding fire sticks, beating gongs and drums, shouting loudly all the way: "All the boatmen, listen, Japanese pirates are attacking Quanzhou and Pinghai! There is an order from above, in order to prevent Japanese pirates from coming here, starting tonight, the port will be blocked immediately! All ships are not allowed to leave without authorization! Any rash action will be punished by the Japanese!"

Jiafu grew up in Quanzhou and was no stranger to Japanese pirates. Since the ancestors' previous dynasty, the coastal area has been harassed by Japanese pirates, and Quanzhou bears the brunt of every attack. After Taizu established his country, in order to defend against Japanese pirates, he set up many guards in the coastal area to train officers. influences. But in the nearly 20 years since Jiafu was born, Quanzhou has never been harassed by Japanese pirates.

She did not expect that at this time, there would be Japanese pirates attacking Quanzhou! It seems that the attack this time is not small, otherwise, how can the government here be disturbed?

"Big cousin!"

Jiafu's voice trembled slightly.

Pei You'an patted her on the back lightly to appease her, and then she stayed in bed and called Yang Yun out of the cabin. After a while, Yang Yun brought a man who looked like an official and hurriedly boarded the deck. The man knelt down towards Pei You'an. : "Liu Tong, the humble guard of the hundred households, I didn't know that Master Pei sailed here tonight, and I have missed a long way to welcome him. I hope you forgive me!"

Pei Youan ordered him to get up and ask about Quanzhou.

Liu Tongdao: "Sir Pei, this time the Japanese pirates and the robbers in eastern Guangdong have colluded, cooperated from the inside and outside, divided the troops into two directions, and attacked the two prefectures of Quanzhou and Yongning at the same time. The merchant ships took advantage of the slack defense of the two guards in the middle of the night and attacked the city by surprise, killing people and setting fires. The Japanese pirates entered from the south gate of Quanzhou. Although General Li arrived in time and repelled the Japanese pirates, it was reported that there were casualties in the area of ​​Nancheng. Some people, many large households, have suffered even more, and some households have heard that the losses are not light."

Pei You'an said, "Do you know the news about the Zhen family?"

Liu Tunnel: "The Zhen family in Quanzhou? When the Japanese pirates escaped, they set fire to the warehouse near the port. The fire took a few days to extinguish. The Zhen family's property must have also been lost. As for the people, the subordinates are not clear."

Jiafu was in the cabin, listening clearly and burning with anxiety. As soon as Pei Youan came in, he immediately grabbed his hand and said in a trembling voice: "Big cousin, can you go back to Quanzhou soon? My home is in Nancheng. I don't worry about my mother and them!"

Pei You'an said: "I'll take you back to Quanzhou as soon as possible. Don't be afraid, I have everything."

Madam Liu, Sandalwood and others packed up their luggage ashore. The county magistrate of Langmen was in a hurry because of the sudden incident, his official business was urgent, and he did not dare to neglect, so he also personally went to the port supervisor. Hearing that Pei You'an passed by here, he hurried over to meet him, and after a while, the post was delivered. Pei You'an thanked the county magistrate of Langmen for the required carriage and fast horses, and brought Jiafu to the carriage, and the group rushed to Quanzhou overnight.

The rest of the journey was no longer as leisurely as before. Except for the necessary rest, there was no rest in one breath, and finally arrived in Quanzhou three days later. The soldiers guarded the gate of the city, and they checked in and out. Pei Youan brought Jiafu into the city and approached the southern city. All the way, there were traces of the robbery and burning everywhere. Many people's gates even hung white funeral banners, and there were rumors inside. Cries.

Jiafu was frightened and finally rushed to the front of her house, slammed the closed door open, the servant stuck his head out, saw Jiafu, jumped up in surprise, turned around and quickly went in to report, Meng Shi didn't believe it at first, and rushed When came out, really saw Jiafu and Pei Youan, and then wept with joy, and hurriedly welcomed daughter and son-in-law in.

Catherine asked when she could not see her brother and grandmother.

Meng Shi was touched, and wept: "Before, the pirates and robbers entered the southern city, killing people and setting fires everywhere. Fortunately, our family had Li Zongbing sent troops to guard them in time, so the door was not broken, it's just your brother, who must fall into the trap now. At the hands of Japanese pirates..."

Meng Shi's grief came from it, and he was choked up for a while, unable to speak.

It turned out that last month, the Zhen family had a boat to go to Liuqiu, and the sea journey was not very far. Zhen Yaoting got the consent of his grandmothers Hu and Meng, and got on the boat with Zhang Da. When they returned, they were attacked by Japanese pirates, and the ship was hijacked in the middle of the journey. Along with the Zhen family, there were more than a dozen merchant ships. After Hu's last illness, his body had not fully recovered, and when he learned that his grandson had fallen into the hands of Japanese pirates, he was furious and fainted. People keep going to the government to inquire about news, while serving the seriously ill mother-in-law. It can be said that they are exhausted. They are about to send someone to deliver the letter in Beijing. At this moment, they see their daughter and son-in-law returning. How can they control their emotions for a while?

Jiafu held back her panic and hurriedly comforted her mother.

Pei Youan got up: "Fu'er, take care of your mother-in-law and grandmother, I'll go to the yamen."

After he finished his instructions, he turned around and was about to go out, when the concierge ran in and said that Governor Gao was here.

...

When such a big incident happened in Quanzhou, a bad handling was enough to take off the black gauze on his head. When Gao Huaiyuan heard the news, it was like burning his butt, how could he still sit still? While passing the news to Beijing, I personally came to Quanzhou to take care of the aftermath. Yesterday, people arrived, and they were setting up the coastal defense in person. I heard people report that there was news from the city gate. Master Pei from the capital came to Quanzhou and immediately brought people to the door. When he saw Pei You'an, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Sir Pei! Xiaguan is guilty! Xiaguan did not expect that Japanese pirates colluded with Yuedong robbers to attack! Fortunately, Xiaguan did not forget to take precautions on weekdays. I ordered the various guards to practice from time to time, and this time I was able to drive out the Japanese pirates in time! As for the dozen or so hijacked ships, adults can rest assured. All I can do, I just hope that Master Pei can understand the difficulties of the subordinate official, and can speak a few words for the subordinate official in front of Long Live, the subordinate official is grateful!"

Gao Huaiyuan did not lie. When he heard that there was a boat from the Zhen family in the hijacked ship, and there was the son of the Zhen family on board, he complained a lot at that time, and immediately sent a navy to search and rescue. But to be honest, in the vast sea, there is no goal, trying to catch up with the thief boat and then rescue people is tantamount to looking for a needle in a haystack. Hope is extremely slim.

Pei You'an called him up, and while he was pondering, there was another urgent report from outside: "My lord! My lord! Good news! The dozen or so hijacked ships are back! They can enter the port today!"