The rain was rapid, slow, and raining for a while, and it was dripping for a while, and it kept falling.

In the hall where Xiuxiu and Liu Xiaomei lived, Xu Ping sat on a chair, quietly looking out of the door, watching the raindrops fall from the sky, fall into the bamboo bushes, and hit the banana leaves.

In the hall, Liu Xiaomei hid on a bed, peaceful and quiet, as if she was asleep.

Liu Dahu and Qiu Niangzi sat on the side, leaning against each other, and were dozing off. When his sister left, Liu Dahu's whole person was in a mess, and it was all thanks to the support of Qiu Niangzi to avoid making jokes.

On the other side, Duan Yunjie was also asleep sitting there, she was also frightened a lot tonight, and she couldn't support it anymore. And although she is familiar with Liu Xiaomei, she doesn't have a particularly deep friendship. Here in Xu Ping, Duan Yunjie is still busy with business most of the time, and the little girl's playfulness is not suitable for her.

Next to Duan Yunjie was Xiuxiu. Her whole body was curled up in the chair, hugging her knees, her head tilted over her shoulders, and she kept looking at Liu Xiaomei on the bedboard. Xu Ping didn't know if Xiuxiu was awake now, or asleep, or if she slept for a while and was awake for a while, her current appearance was very worrying.

Liu Xiaomei has no identity, even if she is married to Gao Daquan, Gao Daquan is just Xu Ping's subordinate, there is no reason for Xu Ping to come over to keep vigil. But Xu Ping was really worried about Xiuxiu, so he had to sit here.

Xiuxiu's current appearance is very scary, she has never eaten or drunk, has no expression, is like a wooden man, and occasionally says a word, all of which Liu Xiaomei entrusted to her before she died.

The only exception is that she will say to Xu Ping very seriously: "Official, I have grown up." ”

Ten or twenty years, it is a long process for people to grow from toddlers to adults. But people go from children to adults often overnight.

Xu Ping watched Xiuxiu grow up, knew her better than anyone else, and knew what she wanted to say without her opening her mouth. But tonight, Xu Ping couldn't figure out why Xiuxiu became like this, and what she would become in the future, and he couldn't touch her mind.

At this time, Xu Ping knew that Xiuxiu was really going to grow up.

The lights flickered, and there was a very strange atmosphere in the room, sad and eerie. Outside the house, the rain suddenly came back and crackled.

This yard was once full of flowers, all kinds of small animals, monkeys jumping on trees, deer running in the grass, crabs and turtles crawling on the riverbank, everywhere, it was Xiuxiu's former friends. Since Liu Xiaomei arrived, Xiuxiu slowly put those little animals back into their homes.

The animals are gone, the flowers are still there, and they are experiencing the wind and rain outside.

Only the horse that accompanied Xiuxiu as soon as he arrived in Yongzhou was still in the stable, wagging his tail to watch the heavy rain outside the shed. It's old, but Xiuxiu has grown up and won't ride it again.

Heaven and earth are still that heaven and earth, but things have long been wrong.

Xu Ping remembered Liu Xiaomei's words relayed by Xiuxiu, hoping that in the future, people will not be destined to be slaves, at least, people must choose their own destiny and have the right to confront the tragic fate. This sentence gave Xu Ping a great shock, he didn't expect that the dying wish of a girl in the mountains who had experienced a lot of sorrow would be like this, all of this has nothing to do with her who is about to die, but it has nothing to do with her greatness.

Don't say that Liu Xiaomei, a person who has been without food and clothing since she was a child, and who has been oppressed a lot, is just an ordinary person who is full of food and drink, but also sighs that God is unfair, why is she not as good as others. But when life is like a candle in the wind, and everything in the world has nothing to do with you, how many people will say such a sentence for others.

Xu Ping still remembers the first time he saw Liu Xiaomei, the eyes full of curiosity about the world, and the smile full of hope for life. When all this came to naught for her, she left this hope in the world, and the hope of a better life to her people.

Since coming to this world, Xu Ping has not thought about what he must accomplish, he just wants to live his life in peace. If he wants to make money in a good life, he will find a way to make money, and if he is not bullied by others, he will be an official, so he will be admitted to the sergeant to become an official, but in fact it is plain.

Liu Xiaomei's words woke Xu Ping up, she came to this world, and she could still do such a thing and change the fate of countless people. Even in this corner of Yongzhou, the world has changed.

Private slaves and maids basically disappeared in the early Song Dynasty, and the Zhenzong Dynasty explicitly ordered that the hired people must set a time limit, and the hired slaves and maids were no longer the private property of the master, but the same as the state's household Qi people, protected by the laws of the imperial court.

Of course, this kind of policy was not discovered by the conscience of the emperor or any minister, but after a long evolution in the late Tang Dynasty, the rulers simply followed this trend.

Of course, it takes courage and courage to be able to adapt to the trend of the next generation.

Five generations of warlords fought in a scuffle, although the warriors were greedy and brutal, but they were also lawless, treating all traditions, morals, and ethics as nothing, and they dared to do what others did not dare to do, including smashing all political, economic, and social traditions, as long as it was beneficial to themselves.

This kind of lawlessness created the lively and progressive social state in the early years of the Song Dynasty, which was far from being achieved by any genius reformer in peacetime.

The unprecedented emancipation of the person, the slavery system of personal dependence was swept into the dustbin of history, which is the legacy left to the Song Dynasty in that troubled era.

In Xu Ping's era, in fact, there were officials and slaves throughout the Northern Song Dynasty, although the number was very small, but there were still sporadic appearances, mainly the families of the rebel leaders. It was not until the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty that the official slaves and maids completely disappeared, and in China, and possibly the world, it was the first time that such an era appeared in which no one was born at all, and there was no distinction between masters and slaves.

This system was not extended to all barbarian areas, especially many counties in the prefecture, including Yongzhou, where Tuzhou and Tuxian maintained their original system, and the governance did not follow the laws of the imperial court.

It was Liu Xiaomei's dying wish to make people no longer slaves for generations, and to turn the family into a household under the rule of the imperial court, and Xu Ping decided to help her realize this wish.

Footsteps were heard in the rain, the door was pushed open, and the two strode in.

Seeing Gao Daquan and Tan Hu, the sergeant standing at the door spoke loudly.

"Come in." Xu Ping retracted his thoughts and returned to reality.

Gao Daquan rushed into the house, saluted Xu Ping hastily, and then came to Liu Xiaomei's side, looking at Liu Xiaomei lying quietly on the bed board stupidly.

In a moment, there was a gap between heaven and man.

Xu Ping came to the tall body, sighed, and said in a low voice: "People can't be resurrected after death, mourn!" ”

Gao Daquan nodded, did not speak, and there were two tears in his eyes.

Xiuxiu silently got down from the chair, walked to Gao Daquan's side, and gently tugged at his sleeve.

Gao Daquan turned around, saw Xiuxiu's strange appearance, and said softly: "Xiuxiu, you-"

"Brother Gao, Sister Liu asked me to tell you, she can't wait for you, so she will leave first."

Xiuxiu looked very serious, and said it very clearly, as if she was doing a very sacred thing.

Gao Daquan nodded silently, his heart was confused, and he couldn't speak.

Xiuxiu said again: "My sister really wants to wait for you, but there is no way, Huang Conggui cut her vital point, and my sister in Jiangli wants me not to tell you." ”

"I've dragged my sister down, and I regret it—"

Xiuxiu still didn't have any expression, just looked at Liu Xiaomei quietly, and tears flowed out quietly.

After watching for a while, Xiuxiu suddenly turned around, walked in front of Xu Ping, looked up at Xu Ping and said seriously: "Official, Sister Liu Xiaomei asked me to tell you that the barbarians in their mountains should not be born slaves and servants, and they should not be beaten and bullied, do you agree?" ”

"I've already promised, Xiuxiu, I will definitely do what I promised."

"Just like Xiuxiu and Brother Gao, follow the officials, if you beat us and scold us, we won't follow you. You have never scolded me, and I have never thought of leaving the official. Xiuxiu whispered softly as if talking to herself, and raised her head again and said, "Official, you promised me, you have never deceived Xiuxiu." ”

"I won't lie to you, I will do what I promise."

Xiuxiu nodded: "Thank you, official!" I'm going to stay with my sister. ”

After speaking, Xiuxiu returned to the chair and looked at Liu Xiaomei on the bed board with her knees hugged.

Xu Ping sighed and patted Gao Daquan's shoulder: "Accompany Liu Xiaomei more here." ”

Then he gestured to Tan Hu and came to the door. The rain became lighter, and the rain drifted with the wind.

Tan Hu followed up and said in a low voice: "Tan Hu has seen officials. ”

Xu Ping didn't turn around, and asked in a deep voice, "Did you catch up with the thief?" ”

"No-no-no-"

Xu Ping turned around abruptly and looked at Tan Hu: "What's the matter?" Can they fly when they have wings? ”

Tan Hu didn't dare to raise his head, and said in a low voice: "The thief didn't go far by boat, he docked at a small pier seven or eight miles away, and then escaped on horseback. When I chased there, Gao Daquan left a soldier there, and he chased the thief. I caught up with him and arrived in Luobai County, it was raining heavily, and the trace of the thief was not easy to follow. I don't know how to get the news in Luobai County, and the magistrate brought people to pester us to greet us, and after a little delay, the thieves didn't know where to go. Gao Daquan and I helped track it down, but there was no news, and we had to come back in this weather. ”

Xu Ping said coldly: "In other words, Luo Bai County may have colluded with thieves?" ”

Tan Hu pondered for a moment before saying: "It's not good for my subordinates, it's true that the thief's whereabouts were lost because Luobai County brought people to entangle us, but they were also very enthusiastic and actively helped to find it, but it didn't work." ”

Xu Ping was silent, and after a while, he said, "Does Luo Bai have a way to Zhongzhou and Qianlongtong?" ”

"Yes, there is a three-way intersection not far from Luobai, one goes to Chungju, one goes to Qianlongtong, and the other goes to Shangsizhou. However, they are all mountain paths, and the horse team can only barely walk. ”

"I see, you go down."

Tan Hu retired, and Xu Ping stood alone at the door watching the rain outside. It seems that I still underestimated the seriousness of this matter, and I am afraid that it is not one or two families involved.

However, what does it matter, if you don't want to live a normal life, then you just don't want to live it.

(There is another chapter in the evening, which may be late.) I continue to ask for favorites and recommended tickets, and please help. ）