The rain was still falling in thousands of strands, and by the time we reached Dongcheng, the sun had already faded.
The long street is cold and deserted. From the patrol guards of Xin Mansion passing through the clean intersection to the front of Xingzhong Academy, many people will turn their heads to take a look at the heavily guarded academy gate.
This place was originally the site of Congxin Palace, which was converted into an academy a hundred years ago. Although it is an old site, the building is not old at all. Once it was transformed into an academy, it has a unique elegance.
However, the academy stopped teaching two years ago and is now mostly used to entertain distinguished guests from Congxin Mansion.
Although the military envoys from the Eight Capitals have not yet arrived, those who arrived earlier have held many meetings here in recent days.
The patrol guards left the academy without stopping.
Not long after they left, a long and gorgeous sedan came from another long and spacious street.
Unusual sedans for traveling. These sedans are brightly colored and decorated with gold and gauze. They are accompanied by cute and smart little maids.
The sedan car team arrived at the open space in front of the academy, and one by one, the beauties in light clothes were pulled out of the sedan chair.
Some beauties come here every day, and some come here for the first time today.
They lowered their heads and entered the academy through a side door.
Some are tall, some are short, some are plump, some are thin, it’s up to you to choose.
A few rows of buildings away, Xia Zhaoyi and Zhi Changle, who had changed their clothes, knocked on the door of the tallest restaurant beside the river.
The sky had not yet completely darkened, and only two lights were lit in the restaurant lobby.
Business in the store was not good, so the shopkeeper personally entertained them and welcomed them upstairs.
Xia Zhaoyi wanted two upper rooms. After entering the room, the shopkeeper diligently pulled out the Tongping mulberry wood stool and said, "Girl, sit down. Hot water and tea will be delivered soon."
Zhi Changle opened the window facing the water, and the cold river breeze blew in with the rain, which was quite refreshing.
He looked around and said to Xia Zhaoyi: "What a beautiful scenery!"
Xia Zhaoyi walked away, the wind blew her broken hair, and the river view outside the window came into view, misty and rainy, a poetic ink painting of distant mountains and vast waters.
"The scenery here is always good, the best is the winter snow scene," the shopkeeper came up and said, "You come from Yong'an, you must have never seen such a big river tide, right?"
"It's quite common," Xia Zhaoyi said with a smile, "I've been to many places all over the world."
"Awesome!" the shopkeeper said, "Young girl, her vision and magnanimity far exceed those of others at such a young age!"
"The pier over there is so big." Zhi Changle said, looking ahead.
Xia Zhaoyi looked around and saw that there was no one there anymore. The huge airport was even more deserted than the long street. There were two large ships parked next to it, and a fishing fire was dimly lit on one of them.
"Yes, it's very big," the shopkeeper stepped forward, "This is called Xilongdu, and it is the largest ferry in the entire Youzhou. In its heyday, boats were all coming here, so it was very lively."
"Why is there no one now?" Zhi Changle asked.
"Hey, it's returned to the government. No pedestrians or tourists are allowed to cross it. This river is now the government's river." As he said, the shopkeeper pointed to the other side, "From that point on, towards this area, all the cargo ships have flown in the past two days.
The guest officer arrived late. If he had arrived earlier, we would have seen nearly a thousand officers and soldiers carrying goods here!"
"That should be spectacular." Zhi Changle said.
The shopkeeper hesitated in his heart before he thought that such "spectacular" was a good thing.
The waiter brought the fine Qingxiangshan Silver Needle tea, followed by food.
The shopkeeper was polite again, said goodbye and left.
The shopkeeper's wife had been waiting downstairs, and finally she saw the shopkeeper coming down. She hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "How is it? Is your identity suspicious?"
"People are in business."
"I heard that the accent is Yong'an's?"
The shopkeeper nodded.
"That's Song Zhiyi's person. We can't protect him. I'd better go to the government and tell him!"
"Oh, don't bother me!" The shopkeeper pulled her, "It's not easy for us to do business, and they are not stingy with their moves!"
The shopkeeper took out a piece of silver and said, "I have never seen such a generous customer back then!"
"You have money but no life to spend it. Let me see what you do!" His wife took the money from his hand. "If something goes wrong, I don't care about you!"
The waiter left two candle lamps in the room. Zhi Changle felt that the light was too dim, so he lit two more candles.
Xia Zhaoyi didn't eat much. After eating, she looked at the map.
Zhi Changle called the waiter to pack his things, came back and sat down not far from Xia Zhaoyi, and his eyes fell on her map.
The girl looked at it very seriously. She had a very thin charcoal pencil in her hand. She gently sketched on the map, or moved slowly along the ridges of mountains and rivers.
"What we saw when we entered the city today is that the situation is really serious," Zhi Changle said in a low voice. "If we want to inquire about the Chamber of Commerce, I'm afraid it will be difficult. Moreover, it will be harder than usual to gain their trust."
"Well, it will be difficult." Xia Zhaoyi looked at the map and said casually.
Zhi Changle held up his cheeks and sighed softly.
Their purpose of coming to Youzhou this time was simple and pure. They just wanted to see the chamber of commerce, buy shops, and join a trading house.
This is Youzhou. Pingyang Road is in the north and Zhitu is in the west. It is the shortest and fastest road to Pingyang Road and Qiyue Road.
The front line in the northwest battlefield is always tight. In recent years, benevolent people from all over the country have been donating, but the donations have become less and less.
It was difficult to maintain the front line, and there were endless wars and wars in the rear. Xia Zhaoyi no longer wanted to rely on Zhao Ning's trade routes. This time he came to Youzhou, firstly to open up his own caravan, and secondly to cut off Li's people.
As for Tian Dayao and Song Zhiyi, she didn't want to have anything to do with them at all.
They had been traveling for days, and Qingxiang Village was a closed place. Therefore, if it hadn't been for Zhao Ning's letter, they wouldn't have even known that Tian Dayao's Eight Capital Army envoys were coming to Youzhou for a gathering.
The Badu military system is currently the military reform that Tian Dayao values the most, so he knows how strict the control of Congxin Mansion will be.
It was getting darker and darker, and the clappers were banging outside.
Xia Zhaoyi packed up her things silently, stood up and said, "Brother Zhi, I'm going out first."
"Well," Zhi Changle also stood up, "Please remember to be careful. If you are still ugly, I will go find you."
"No," Xia Zhaoyi said solemnly, "I may not be ugly again, but I will definitely be fine."
"But……"
"The banging sound has gone away," Xia Zhaoyi glanced outside, "Brother Zhi, I'm leaving. Remember not to come looking for me."
Xia Zhaoyi went to the room next door first. After changing into a pair of light night clothes, she did not leave the door. Instead, she opened the window and climbed upstairs. Finally, she hung upside down from the eaves and stretched her back.
They went up to the high eaves.
This restaurant is the largest and tallest on the riverside. Now that she is standing on the top of the mountain, with a panoramic view of the mountains, the huge Congxin Mansion seems to have turned into an irregular chessboard in her eyes.
A strong wind blew by, causing her ponytail hanging behind her to fly. Her bright eyes swept across the city, and finally landed on a long street where the lights were brightest.
Although they are far apart, it seems that they can smell the sultry fragrance.
Those bright lights and bright feasts create a ecstasy of warm and fragrant soft jade.
