Chapter 71

Indeed, recently, Changping County has been experiencing a season of many events.

Yang Shouwen also sensed something was not right, but he couldn't figure out what was going on.

Changping, in a later era, might be part of the capital. But in this era, it is merely a small county on the border.

Yet, in this small county, one incident after another has occurred.

Now, Changping is shrouded in mystery.

Various forces are vying for control here, but no one knows who is who.

The entire Changping County seems to be enveloped in a fog, and even the county magistrate, Wang He, has started to act strangely. This has made Yang Chenglie and his son feel an inexplicable pressure, even a faint sense of fear.

"By the way, do you still remember the numbers on the map Jiaoli showed us?"

"What about it?"

"I remember the first number is 810. Does it ring any bells for you, Father?"

Yang Chenglie stretched, closed his eyes, and pondered for a moment. Then he suddenly opened his eyes, a strange look on his face.

"Moche, he started the rebellion on August 10th."

Yang Shouwen nodded and said softly, "If I'm not mistaken, all the numbers on the map are dates."

Yang Chenglie, upon hearing this, drew a sharp breath.

He stood up abruptly and paced around the room for a while before turning to Yang Shouwen. "Do you remember the other numbers?"

"Er Lang remembers two more: 826 and 828. But I can't quite recall where they are marked. Don't you find this strange, Father?"

"Of course it's strange."

Who would mark the exact dates for military campaigns?

This isn't like modern warfare, where precise timing is required.

In this era, only approximate dates would be used. To specify a particular day would be too unbelievable.

Unless...

Yang Chenglie shivered and got up, ready to leave.

"Father, where are you going?"

"I'm going to see the county magistrate and get that map."

"It's so late, the magistrate is probably already resting... Why don't we wait until tomorrow to ask for it, so as not to disturb his sleep?"

Looking at the time, it was already past midnight.

Yang Chenglie knew it was too late, so he nodded and didn't insist.

"Xizi, it's not early. Get some rest... Tomorrow, remember to send a message to the old soldier and don't forget about Huang Qi's matter."

"I remember, Father, don't worry."

Yang Chenglie got up and left the room, leaving Yang Shouwen alone.

His body was exhausted, but his mind was still very active. He blew out the lamp and lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Since he regained consciousness, scenes and events kept flashing through his mind, in a very chaotic manner. He tried to make sense of the clues he knew, but to no avail.

He sat up and took out the oil paper package from his leather bag.

He lay back on the bed, fiddling with it in his hands. If it weren't for a voice in his head telling him not to open the oil paper package, Yang Shouwen might have really opened it out of curiosity.

Unconsciously, Yang Shouwen fell asleep...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Prince, why didn't you come to save me?"

A sorrowful voice echoed in Yang Shouwen's ears. He opened his eyes and saw the magnificent palace.

The palace was engulfed in flames, and bodies were everywhere.

A woman, drenched in blood, reached out to him.

"Prince, save me!"

"Ah!"

Yang Shouwen shouted, not sure if it was out of anger or fear, but he woke up suddenly.

"Brother Xizi, what's wrong?"

A timid voice came from beside him. Yang Shouwen felt a bit dazed and turned his head to see the lovely face of Youniang. Concern was evident on her face, and she reached out to touch his forehead.

"Brother Xizi, are you sick?"

Although he hadn't looked in the mirror, Yang Shouwen knew his face must not look good.

"Youniang, how did you get in here?"

"I brought you some water to wash your face, but I heard you shouting in the room... So I came in to check."

"Brother Xizi, who is Gu'er?"

You ask me, who should I ask?

Yang Shouwen felt like he was being driven mad by this damned nightmare! After returning from Guguzhu, he hadn't had this dream again. But in the dream, Youniang was running around with a sword, which left him confused.

Now, that damned 'Gu'er' has appeared again!

Yang Shouwen shook his head vigorously, threw off the covers, and got out of bed.

Fortunately, he didn't have the habit of sleeping naked, and people in this era wore undergarments when they slept, or he would have been in a real mess. He took the wet towel from Youniang and wiped his face vigorously, which cleared his head a bit.

"I don't know who Gu'er is; I don't even recognize this person."

Yang Shouwen looked troubled, threw the wet towel into the basin, and picked up his toothbrush.

Spit, spit, spit, even the order was wrong... What a damned start to the day.

Yang Shouwen brushed his teeth, wiped his face, and sat on the porch, letting Youniang comb his hair. Tang people kept their hair, and this was a daily routine. However, Youniang seemed to enjoy combing Yang Shouwen's hair, smiling and chatting about topics she found interesting.

"Brother Xizi, from now on, your hair must be combed by Youniang."

"Sure!"

Yang Shouwen was somewhat absent-minded, watching the five dogs, including Bodhi, running around the courtyard, which made his mind even more muddled.

Youniang finished combing Yang Shouwen's hair and sat beside him, looking a bit unhappy.

"Youniang, who bullied you?"

"Brother Xizi, yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival, but we didn't celebrate it together."

"Oh... It's okay, Youniang. Don't you know that the moon is fullest on the 16th... By the way, we haven't eaten mooncakes yet. Let's go to the street later. There will be many delicious things."

"Really?"

Youniang was immediately happy, nodding her head like a chick pecking at rice.

However, when Yang Shouwen got dressed and was about to go out, he found several tails following him.

Youniang had told Qingnu, so Qingnu wanted to go too.

Then the two of them went to find Songshi, but Yang Jiaoli happened to pass by and, hearing about the delicious food, also wanted to go.

In the end, when Yang Shouwen took Youniang out, he was followed by Yang Jiaoli, Qingnu, and the five dogs. Yang Shouwen found this scene quite helpless but couldn't find a reason to refuse them.

Thus, a large group left the Yang residence.

Regarding the origin of mooncakes, there are many theories in later times.

According to Baidu, the earliest mention of mooncakes was in the Southern Song Dynasty's "Meng Liang Lu." However, Baidu also says that in the "Luo Zhong Jian Wen," it is recorded that Emperor Xizong of Tang gave mooncakes to the new imperial scholars at the Qujiang Banquet during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Anyway, with Baidu's unreliable nature, it's hard to know what the real situation is.

However, Yang Shouwen saw with his own eyes that in the first year of Shengli, mooncakes were already being sold on the streets.

The mooncakes of this era were very simple, not as varied as in later times.

Tang people liked sweet food, but Yang Shouwen preferred salty egg yolk mooncakes, which were considered a rare delicacy. He still bought many different shapes of mooncakes, including diamond-shaped, chrysanthemum-shaped, and plum blossom-shaped. The two little girls each ate only half and didn't want more, so the remaining mooncakes were mostly given to Yang Jiaoli. Of course, the five dogs, including Bodhi, also got to enjoy them.

Today, Changping was even more deserted than yesterday.

There were more patrolling soldiers on the streets...

Yang Shouwen and his group wandered around the streets for a while and then sat down in a wine shop near the city gate.

"Big Brother, is that Second Brother?"

Qingnu suddenly pulled Yang Shouwen's arm and pointed to someone at the city gate.

Following her finger, Yang Shouwen saw Yang Rui, dressed in official attire, resting at the city gate with a few people.

"Stay here, I'll go check."

Yang Rui had gone to the county office with Yang Chenglie early in the morning. Logically, he should be sitting in the left office at this time.