Fisherman Fubao made his fortune by fishing

Chapter 182 February 2, the Dragon King gets married

Time flies and it’s only three days away from February 2nd.

February 2nd is the birthday of the Dragon King, also known as the Green Dragon Festival. According to folk customs, every household eats pancakes on this day to ward off disasters for the Dragon King, so that the Dragon King can bless the year with good weather and a good harvest.

On the second day of the second month, people also cut the dragon head, which symbolizes good luck and fortune.

Early this morning, Huihai County suddenly issued a notice, and the yamen runners rode their horses at full speed to deliver the notice to various towns, posting it and announcing the county magistrate's decree.

In Xinpu Town, a scholar stood in front of the notice and said in disbelief: "This, this is simply, simply ridiculous!"

His face was ashen, and veins bulged on the back of his hands, as if he was enduring something extremely painful.

Seeing this, an ordinary passerby asked anxiously, "Brother, what does it say? Can you read it to everyone? Isn't it a bit early to issue the farming list this year?"

In the past, except for major issues concerning the national economy and people's livelihood, such as farming and taxation, the government would not easily issue notices. Occasionally, when a notice was issued to arrest a criminal, it would be accompanied by a portrait of the criminal.

Therefore, the people have become accustomed to what kind of notice will be issued at what time.

This notice came out of nowhere, right before February 2nd. Could something big have happened?

The scholar's chest was heaving with anger, and he shouted angrily, "The government said that on February 2, the Dragon King will get married, and they need to collect 18 young girls from the people to be brides and throw them into the sea for sacrifice."

This news was like water falling into hot oil, which instantly caused an uproar. The people were excited and kept talking about it.

"What?!" An old man was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth. "Marrying the Dragon King?"

"I've never heard of marrying a Dragon King since ancient times!"

"You still want eighteen young girls. Isn't this a disregard for human life?"

"Anyone with a daughter of marriageable age is in big trouble!"

Some people have quietly left the crowd, probably going home to report the news.

Someone was so angry that he said without restraint: "This is taking human life lightly! How come Wu Paopi, this evildoer, wasn't struck to death by lightning!"

"God is not giving us ordinary people a way to survive!"

"Why blame God? It was Wu Paopi who was corrupt and abused his power, taking human lives lightly!"

……

Less than a day after the notice was issued, the government began to take action, and the yamen runners went around arresting people with the household registration list.

Their target was very clear, and all they captured were pretty young girls.

In Fushui Village, at the Cai family's house, there were crowds of people surrounding the courtyard.

Almost all the men in the Cai and Li families stood outside the courtyard gate, confronting a group of yamen runners and blocking them from entering.

Old man Li was furious and said with a red face and thick neck: "What are you arresting people on?"

The yamen runner opposite said with a bad face: "We are also following orders. Li Mei'er, the granddaughter of the Li family, was chosen as the bride of the Dragon King. It is a blessing for your Li family. It is a great fortune to be able to serve the court and the people.

Don't be so unreasonable and hand over Li Mei'er immediately, otherwise don't blame us for being rude to you!"

As he spoke, the bailiff drew the sword from his waist, scaring the onlookers so much that they retreated one after another.

The villagers did not enter the town today and had no idea what was going on. When they saw the bailiffs coming into the village to arrest people, they thought the Cai family had committed a crime, but it turned out to be a wedding for the Dragon King.

Huihai County has never had such a custom since ancient times, so the villagers were naturally shocked and indignant.

An old man stood up. He had always had a good relationship with Mr. Cai.

"May I ask, sir, why do we suddenly want to marry the Dragon King? We have never had such a custom in Huihai County since ancient times!"

Other people also echoed, "That's right! Where does this custom come from? How can you just throw a good girl into the sea?"

They were also worried that their daughters would be chosen. This affected everyone's interests, so they were naturally surprisingly united at this time.

The yamen runner was not at all flustered, and said calmly, "There is a precedent for the Dragon King marrying a bride. Many years ago, there was a severe drought in the northwest for three years. The crops failed, the people were displaced, and countless people died. Later, it was because the court listened to the advice of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and arranged for the Dragon King to marry a bride that they succeeded in praying for rain and saving the people.

Now the county magistrate has invited an expert to observe the stars and divine, and the divination shows that a disaster star has appeared and there will be a devastating flood, which will cause great suffering and death toll.

Therefore, the county magistrate decided to marry the Dragon King in advance, in order to ask for the Dragon King's mercy and bless our Huihai County with good weather and good harvest.

How dare you, ignorant and unruly people, defy the imperial court's orders and defy the will of heaven? Do you want to rebel?"

At this time, the village chief came over.

"Wait a moment, officers. I am the head of Fushui Village. Please listen to me. Is there any misunderstanding here? Maybe it's just a coincidence of names. Li Mei'er is an islander. She is not from our Fushui Village! There is no one named Li Mei'er in our Fushui Village!"

In the face of this great event, Fushui Village was still united, and other villagers followed suit, "Yes! Yes! There is no one named Li Meir in our Fushui Village. She is not from our village."

"No! I'm over fifty years old, and I know all the boys and girls in the village, but there's no one named Li Meir."

The yamen runner looked down at the roster, not knowing whether he could recognize the characters or not, and said directly, "Yes, this is Li Meir from Tuwozi Village! There is no mistake! Take her away!"

The Li family members nervously blocked the door, and no one intended to retreat.

This time, Li Laosan did not act impulsively. Instead, he asked Jia Que to sneak out and go to the town to inform Li Yuer and the others.

If Li Yuer and the others have no other solution, he will fight them again.

In the yard, Guo Qingran dragged Li Meir into the house.

"Mei'er, don't go out, hide quickly."

Li Mei'er's eyes were red as she said, "People should not fight against officials. We cannot defeat them. If I don't go out, they will arrest Grandpa and the others."

Guo Qingran lowered her eyes. She knew very well what kind of people Wu Bapi and his son were. They were capable of doing anything.

It sounds nice to say that he is marrying the Dragon King to you, but it is just an excuse to forcibly abduct the woman.

Those girls would definitely not have a good ending if they fell into his hands.

Guo Qingran thought for a moment and said, "How about you find a place to hide first? Your household registration is in Tuwozi Village, so you won't be able to find them. They won't cause trouble in Fufushui Village, right? When they leave, you can seize the opportunity and escape quickly."

Li Meir was worried, "I can't watch my grandfather and uncle get arrested."

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Their hearts skipped a beat and they asked, "Who?"

"Qingran, it's me."

Hearing it was Cai Junyi's voice, Guo Qingran opened the door.

Cai Junyi glanced at Li Mei'er and Guo Qingran and said, "They came suddenly. It's too late to escape now. It's not suitable for both of you to show up. There is a cellar in the house. You should go down and hide first."

Li Meir didn't want to leave, so she said to Guo Qingran, "Sister Qingran, you have a special status, you must not let the yamen runners see you. Go down, they are looking for me, if I leave, everyone will suffer."