The carriages were moving, and towards dusk, the team gradually slowed down.
Xue Poye looked out of the window and saw the faint outline of the city wall right in front of him, a thick black shadow crawling on the vast land, dignified and solemn.
This is a huge city.
This city looks tall and majestic, built with large pieces of bluestone. The three-foot-high city wall is slightly tilted, but it still gives everyone who comes from afar an indescribable sense of oppression. It seems that the city wall may push you away at any time.
Pressed below. There are still double-eaves pavilions on the city, perhaps used as turrets, and soldiers are patrolling back and forth on the high walls.
A solemn and majestic feeling emanates from this huge city wall.
Xue Poye has seen both Hangzhou City and Suzhou City, but compared with Kyoto, they appear too delicate. Although they are not necessarily younger than Kyoto, the vicissitudes of the years have left clearer marks on the walls of Kyoto.
Approaching the city wall, the team seemed to surrender in front of this majestic thing, walking very carefully and silently.
Xue Poye focused all his attention on the buildings in Kyoto. This huge city has been standing on this land for who knows how many years and has experienced many winds and rains. The outer edge of the huge bluestone has been somewhat weathered.
, but still stubbornly maintains its hardness.
"This is Kyoto." Xue Poye looked at the green lady and sighed softly.
The green lady's fox eyes flickered, and she said softly: "It's been a storm in Kyoto, so many people have returned. Don't even think about going back when the yin and yang are separated!"
Xue Poye's body trembled. As he read the words of the Green Lady, he felt that these two short sentences contained such huge philosophy and meaning.
The water in Kyoto is too deep and the fire is too hot. If you are not careful, you will fall in.
Power, money, beauty, conspiracy, struggle, and interests are derived in this vicissitudes of the city. Because of these interests and struggles, many people are trapped in it and cannot extricate themselves.
The weather seems a bit cold, and when the wind blows, it actually brings a bit of chill.
The team finally stopped in front of the city wall.
Xue Poye opened the curtain to take a look, but saw that the crowd in front was silent, without any sound, and they were as motionless as stones. However, at the city gate, there was a strange sound faintly heard.
The eldest princess's team had a large number of people, but Xue Poye's carriage was already at the back of the team, far away from the front. For a while, only vague noises could be heard, but no one knew what happened.
"Just wait, I'll go take a look!" Xue Poye whispered to Lady Green.
The green lady hurriedly grabbed the hem of his clothes and whispered: "This is an important place in the capital, and there are too many disputes. Don't get involved and don't cause trouble. It will be detrimental to our affairs."
Xue Poye thought for a while and realized that what Lady Green said was right, so he sat down quietly.
But sometimes I suddenly don't want to meddle in other people's business, but nosy people like to come to him.
"Xue Shitou!" A sharp voice sounded outside the carriage.
Xue Poye opened the curtain to look, but it was Eunuch Guo who had received his money, looking at him with a half-smile.
Xue Poye hurriedly got out of the car, approached and said, "Father, do you have another oral message?"
"You come with me!" Eunuch Guo didn't say much, flicked his fly whisk, turned around and walked towards the city gate.
Xue Poye was startled for a moment, and saw that Eunuch Guo was walking quickly and did not stop, so he quickly followed him. The green lady opened the car curtain a crack and looked at Xue Poye's retreating back, her pretty face was filled with worry.
Eunuch Guo's feet were fast, and Xue Poye's feet were not weak either. He shuttled through the crowd one after another. The eunuchs and palace maids and soldiers all looked at Xue Poye with some confusion, but no one said a word.
After passing Princess Yi's car and walking for a while, Xue Poye came to the eldest princess's luxurious and spacious car. Looking at the magnificent and luxurious car, Xue Poye sighed in his heart and glanced at the people beside the eldest princess's car. Taking a look at the gray sedan, one can only feel that the sedan exudes an indescribable and strange aura, which makes people feel a little embarrassed just by looking at it.
Xue Poye looked at the sedan, and the word "grave" inexplicably flashed across his mind. This was really irrelevant, but this gray sedan did give him a feeling of a tomb.
Xue Poye originally thought that the eldest princess was looking for him, but it was not until Eunuch Guo continued to move forward that he realized that he had misunderstood. He followed behind and weaved through the crowd, passing by the Yulin Camp, and finally approached the city gate.
The tall and dark city gate was thick and solid, like a natural moat. The city gate was wide open. Only then did Xue Poye understand why the eldest princess's team did not enter the city.
There are four city gates in Kyoto, namely "Qiqian Gate" in the east, "Haoding Gate" in the west, "Nanyu Gate" in the south and "Bei'an Gate" in the north.
Speaking of which, the Kyoto four-door is very particular.
This "Nanyumen" has another name, "Guimen". The word "gui" means wealth and honor. To put it more simply, this is a gate of wealth. Unless there are special circumstances, it belongs to the royal family. In addition to the green passage for dignitaries, ordinary people who want to go south have to go around and exit the city through the other three gates. This has become a strange rule in Kyoto.
The city gate that the eldest princess wants to enter is the "South Jade Gate".
What Xue Poye saw in front of him, inside the city gate, was also a large group of people. A round sedan in the air, nearly three feet above the ground, was lifted high in the crowd, like a rooftop.
The sedan has a round bottom and a half-cover top, which makes it look very plain and clean.
On the top of the cover, there is a white cone like a sword. The white cone is covered with golden feathers, showing a trace of luxury and momentum in simplicity.
In the middle of the two groups of people at the city gate, the city guard soldiers were prostrated and did not dare to move. The city guard captain was kneeling on the ground, sweat dripping from his body as if someone had poured a plate of cold water on him, and he was trembling all over. His face was black and blue.
Xue Poye suddenly understood something. Maybe the eldest princess could not enter the city because the group of people in the city blocked the way.
But Xue Poye was frightened again. Who in the world dares to block the eldest princess's way? Is it the emperor? But looking at the other party's appearance, it is obviously not the case.
However, Xue Poye only glanced at the crowd a few times, and suddenly he knew who was in that special high sedan chair.
Among the crowd, there were actually many Taoist priests mixed in, wearing Taoist hats and Taoist robes, holding fly whisks, and standing with one palm, and many Taoist priests were even mumbling something.
He thought of some rumors he had heard before. It was said that the current Grand Master of Chu had won the trust of His Majesty the Emperor, was extremely powerful, and was the pillar of Taoism.
Could it be that the Great Chu State Master was inside that high sedan chair?
This is really possible. There are only a few people in the world who dare to refuse to give way to the eldest princess, and this deeply trusted Imperial Master is probably one of them.
The two teams refused to give in to each other. As soon as they entered and exited, they were deadlocked at Nanyumen. The city guard of Nanyumen was so frightened that he wanted to dig a hole and jump down to leave this place of right and wrong and these two people. A very difficult ancestor.
Xue Poye was very surprised. In such a stalemate, why did Eunuch Guo bring him here?
"Xue Shitou." Eunuch Guo finally said, "The eldest princess ordered Xue Shitou to shoot the sky with an arrow!"
"Shooting the sky?" Xue Poye was stunned and even more confused.
Eunuch Guo had already leaned close to Xue Poye's ear and whispered: "The eldest princess wants you to shoot the golden roof with one arrow!" After saying that, he looked at the golden wire roof on the top of the sedan chair with a vague look in his eyes.
The voice was even lower: "If you hit, you will be rewarded heavily; if you miss, you will be punished without mercy!"
A trace of cold sweat broke out on Xue Poye's forehead. This eldest princess is really unique. She actually asked herself to shoot at the top of the Imperial Master's sedan. This is no joke. The characters above are grudge-y and can order the subordinates to do things at will. If she herself
If you really listened to the eldest princess's order and shot the top of the imperial master's sedan, the consequences would be really unimaginable. Maybe things would get serious and you would end up being the scapegoat to mediate conflicts.
Damn it, if I had known it, I would never have agreed to it.
Xue Poye regretted very much that he really did not have the slightest qualification or ability to participate in such a political struggle, or even a public struggle.
Before Xue Poye thought much, a Yulin guard had already presented his bow and arrow, and Xue Poye unexpectedly took it over.
However, as soon as he got the bow and arrow, Xue Poye felt a chill all over his body and said hurriedly: "Father, this is not a joke. I am not good at archery. If I accidentally hurt a nobleman, I can't afford to suffer, even if I hurt an ordinary soldier."
Or Taoist priest, I can't escape the blame. Please speak to the father-in-law and the eldest princess and send another expert to carry out this challenging task."
Eunuch Guo shook his head and whispered: "Xue Shitou, aren't you joking? There is no reason to change the eldest princess's order. I heard that you can shoot things three hundred steps away. That golden dome
It's at most two hundred and fifty steps from here, which is very easy for you. Come on, you're welcome, the eldest princess is waiting."
Xue Poye regretted why he wanted to show off in front of the princess and show that he could shoot at a target three hundred steps away. With such a reputation, trouble would come.
Xue Poye also hated that the struggle at the top had to use him as an outsider as a tool.
Thinking about the influence and influence in Hangzhou, outside the city of Kyoto, I was already an ant and a puppet controlled by others. If I had known this, I would not have made the trip to Kyoto even if I was killed.
At this moment, Xue Poye became more aware of the dangers of Kyoto. This was really no place for people to live.
While Xue Poye was still hesitating, he suddenly felt that his vest was being pressed against something hard, which was a bit cold. He turned around and saw a fierce Yulin guard looking at him coldly, with a dagger in his hand pressing against him.
on the back.
Xue Poye didn't know whether to laugh or cry. There were people behind him who were forcing him to shoot the arrow. It seemed that the people from Kyoto were really direct in their methods. He couldn't help but look at the luxurious Luan Jia. He saw that the brocade silk curtain was slightly opened, revealing a gap.
, obviously the eldest princess is paying attention here, but it is too far away and the gap is small, so the eldest princess cannot be seen.
"Xue Shitou, don't be stunned. Don't keep the eldest princess waiting. It's hard for everyone to do business!" Eunuch Guo couldn't help but urge when he saw Xue Poye's hesitation.
"If you want me to shoot an arrow, I have to take the thing off my back. How can I shoot accurately with this thing?" Xue Poye sighed and shook his head helplessly.
Eunuch Guo winked, and the Yulin guard withdrew his dagger, but still stood coldly behind Xue Poye.