Chapter 577 The worries of the embroidered ladies [please vote for me!] (Change the title to a more suitable one)
As the river goes eastward, the night is as dark as ink.
A bright moon slowly rises to the sky, like a pearl hanging on the ink sky, emitting soft and clear brilliance.
The moon this night is particularly round and full, like a jade plate that has just jumped out of the Yaochi, crystal clear and unstained by dust.
I don’t know how many people from all over the world have looked at it.
On the dust-free river surface washed by the moonlight, an ordinary large merchant ship was sailing quietly.
The lights inside the ship were brightly lit, and the company flag of "Taoshou Zhai" was hung on the bow, fluttering in the wind.
On the stern deck where the bright lights of the cabin cannot shine, there is a tall and graceful figure standing. The woman has blond hair like flames and carries a frost-white long sword on her back.
There were several white sturgeons chasing the white waves splashing from the stern of the boat.
The candle in the snow looked away from the Lantern Festival moon, lowered its head, and a pair of green eyes seemed to be staring at a Yangtze River paddlefish chasing a boat below.
"It's hard for Yijun to go to bed. When the candle is extinguished, the star will sink. Will Senior Sister also stand there until the candle is extinguished and the star will sink?"
A gentle chuckle came from the dark cabin behind him. Xue Zhongzhu did not look back, but his gaze, which had been lost for a long time, still moved away from the paddlefish struggling to chase the boat.
Xue Zhongzhu took out a small red jade gourd from the wide sleeves of Wu Fu's skirt, raised his head and took a sip of wine.
Jingle Bell--
A pair of bare feet tied with red rope bells walked out of the cabin lightly.
"Before boarding the ship in the evening, I took Li Shu to pass the Shangyuan Lantern Festival in the city. On a lantern at the farewell pavilion at the ferry, I saw this unknown poem, which was quite interesting."
Yu Nianyuan stopped behind Xue Zhongzhu. She seemed to have gotten up at night after going to bed. She casually put on a large mink fur and tied her slim waist with a red ribbon, and said lazily:
"I don't know how much time has passed in the mountains. The world has been quiet for half a year. The streets below the mountains are full of life, and the literati are really interesting. No wonder the three junior sisters, the fourth junior sisters, and the little junior sisters before they were blind all liked to run outside."
"The results of it?"
The hoarse voice of the candle in the snow is colder than the river wind, and the strong wine in the jade gourd is not even warm:
"One will never be seen again, one is missing and has no news, and the last one is the stupidest and has no eyes left."
Yu Nianyuan was noncommittal and took the initiative:
"We contacted Li Zhengyan, and the people from the Xuanwu Camp were chasing after them. With the help of the imperial lackeys like the female officials of the Supervisory Council, Wei Shaoqi, Du Shuqing and the others entered Hongzhou and took a detour...
"We have to wait a little longer...to meet Senior Sister at the agreed place..."
On the stern deck, the howling river wind at night blew the soft words of the second lady Yunmeng intermittently.
Only the candle in the snow that is close can hear it.
Yu Nianyuan paused and then said:
"I heard that the situation of Kuang Fu's army on the southwest front is not optimistic. Qin Jingqin is really powerful. He is worthy of being a famous general of the Great Zhou Dynasty and a veteran of three dynasties."
"No wonder you are so anxious." Xue Zhongzhu's face was expressionless and he snorted coldly.
Yu Nianyuan narrowed his eyes: "It's better to hurry up, we can help you."
Xue Zhongzhu turned around and glanced at the figure of the second junior sister wrapped in fur in the darkness:
"What do you think is the chance of the Southwest Reinforcement Army winning?"
Yu Nianyuan tightened the large mink fur around his body, raised his head to look at the moon, and said with his lips:
"On the surface, what suppressed the momentum of Kuang Fu's army was Qin Jingqin's commanding sophistication and his skill in using troops. But on the inside, the most critical thing... was actually the Prince Xunyang's Mansion in Jiangzhou, which was firmly in the rear.
"The banner that Kuang Fu's army used at the beginning was that they had deposed the emperor and now King Xunyang is free. As a result, they have been fighting with Zhou Ting until now, and they have not been able to win the palace of King Xunyang."
She paused and said in a faint tone:
"Not to mention turning to Kuang Fu's army, even if King Xunyang died unexpectedly early on the eve of the rebellion, it would be better than him still alive and kicking, serving as a pacifier to the south of the Yangtze River, and becoming a banner for Zhou Ting to slap Kuang Fu's army in the face.
"The great cause of reviving the army is to rehabilitate Li Qian. This great cause is more important than Li Zhengyan's previous victory in conquering cities and territories in the southwest and singing victory all the way.
"Killing people is not as good as killing the heart. Now the Xunyang Palace has become the weapon used by Empress Wei Zhao to kill the heart and revive Kuang's army. It has seriously diverted away the world's security forces who could have helped Kuang's army to revive. It has also made many places in the world hate the heroes who rebelled against the Zhou Dynasty. They all watched.
"This move will definitely put a chokehold on Li Zhengyan's recovery army, and it is also the real reason why today's situation is not good.
"Logically speaking, Kuang Fu's army is not afraid of short-term defeats. No matter how powerful Qin Jingqin is, as long as the righteousness is there and the sky is high in the southwest and the emperor is far away, Li Zhengyan can lose many times, but Zhou Ting is rotten and rigid. He Qin Jingqin and the imperial army could not afford to lose a few times.
"Wei Zhao was cruel and cruel, and killed loyal people, but it is undeniable that his power play and imperial scheming were far superior to those of the men of the Li clan in recent generations.
"I heard that the Great Zhou Dynasty recently awarded a lot of rewards to Prince Xunyang's Mansion in Jiangzhou, and vigorously promoted the officials of King Xunyang's line. Wei Zhao also hinted that he promised King Xunyang the opportunity to leave Xian and re-enter the capital, so that he Be loyal."
Xuezhongzhu frowned and said coldly:
"Li Zhengyan also tried hard to fight for Prince Xunyang's Mansion. When he heard about the uprising, he sent lobbyists and advisers to persuade them to rebel.
"Li Zhengyan, Wei Shaoqi and others even stayed in Xunyang City for a while, but they all returned without success. Their letters said that there was a Jiangzhou official named Ouyang Lianghan who made suggestions for the timid King Xunyang and repeatedly failed. event."
"Ouyang Lianghan?"
Yu Nianyuan read out softly.
The candle in the snow nodded:
"He is the one who is currently making plans and assisting the female officials of the Supervisory Council and other court eagle dogs to hunt us down throughout Jiangnan. I heard that he was a well-known gentleman in the past."
Yu Nianyuan nodded gently:
"Are you a hypocrite... This man should be the chief official of Jiangzhou now, and he was also involved in the Buddha incident... Even if we don't care about his grudges with Li Zhengyan and the others, we still need to pay attention to this man in the future."
"Okay, leave it to you."
Xuezhongzhu turned around and looked at the water waves and paddlefish stirred by the stern of the boat below again, and suddenly said:
"It's Lantern Festival."
"Um."
Yu Nianyuan whispered:
"The people below have made some dried dumplings. Senior sister, please try them too. Li Shu likes them very much."
Xue Zhongzhu shook his head slowly and stared at the paddlefish, not knowing what he was thinking.
Yu Nianyuan lowered his eyes and whispered:
"During the Lantern Festival holiday, the city gates and ferries in Xunyang City should be less alert.
"Previously, all the spies in the city were destroyed by those imperial hawks. Now it's time to rearrange them. I've sent some new people there.
"However, the female officials of the Supervisory Council are still very vigilant. I heard that the ferry at Shuangfengjian is still taken over and blocked by them. There is also an old woman named Song at the Xunyang Grottoes who is in charge all day long. The layout of Xunyang City needs to be done slowly.
Even if you recover, it will definitely be no better than before..."
"It's okay, Second Junior Sister, watch and come..."
Yu Nianyuan heard the absent-mindedness in Xue Zhongzhu's tone. He raised his head and glanced at her tall figure with blond hair that reached her waist. At this time, he heard the voice of the senior sister:
"There is no news about Junior Sister in Jiangzhou yet?"
Yu Nianyuan was quiet for a while and shook his head:
"Not yet. But... again, the less movement there is, the safer it is. At least there is no conflict with the female officer of the Supervisory Yuan. I just don't know if I am still in Xunyang City, and why I haven't returned.
"Junior sister hides her wind and energy, so it is difficult to be discovered. If she wants to leave, no one will find her..."
"Um."
Xuezhongzhu then spoke:
"I suddenly remembered something. Is the Red Lotus Sword Seal still on my junior sister's body?"
Yu Nianyuan was slightly startled and nodded: "That's right, I left it there."
The candle in the snow squints:
"That day, we were held back by Song and the female officials of the Supervisory Yuan. When the little thief Die Lianhua sacrificed his sword to kill people, [Jiang Zuo] showed up. The young junior sister's red lotus sword seal should be able to be sensed."
Yu Nianyuan frowned slightly: "That's the truth...wait, senior sister means..."
Xue Zhongzhu was silent for a while, his brows furrowed, as if he was worried about something, and he shook his head after a while:
"It's okay. I'm just worried that my junior sister is stupid and ignores safety and goes after this thief. This may explain why I haven't come back for so long."
Yu Nianyuan's face suddenly became solemn, and his tone was thoughtful:
"What Senior Sister said is not impossible..."
The two were silent for a while.
After a while, Yu Nianyuan took a breath and took the lead in comforting:
"What is the specific situation? We are not junior sisters, so we can't be sure. Senior sister, please don't worry too much. Besides, with the skills of junior junior sisters and the red lotus sword seal that can be sensed, it is very likely that the owner of Dielianhua will not have time to declare it.
The sword was taken down, it cannot be said to be a blessing in disguise..."
"Um."
Xuezhongzhu nodded reluctantly and stopped talking.
Seeing this, Yu Nianyuan said again:
"Last time, the fifth junior sister made impulsive remarks... Don't worry, senior sister. All the sisters in Jianze, including the younger junior sister, respect senior sister.
"Besides, we see how the senior sister treats the younger junior sister. How could we not know that among the junior sisters in the hall, the senior sister is the most strict with her and cares about her the most..."
"Okay, the more you talk, the more disgusting it becomes."
Xuezhongzhu interrupted and said in an impatient tone:
"I am not sentimental..."
After she finished speaking coldly, she kept a straight face and stayed quiet for a long time, her green eyes looking down at the waves below:
"It's just that... I happened to see a few rare white sturgeons. This product is the most tonic. It can replenish qi and deficiency, activate blood and relieve pain. According to ancient books, it can benefit the five treasures and make fat people... just suitable for replenishing qi and blood for my little junior sister. She is too weak.
thin."
Yu Nianyuan pressed the corners of his lips and nodded:
"Okay, okay, it's just a coincidence."
After a pause, she also sighed:
"Speaking of which, my junior sister is probably spending the Lantern Festival alone tonight. I don't know where she is. She must be very lonely. We used to accompany her..."
"I'm sleepy." Xuezhongzhu waved his sleeves, turned around and returned to the cabin with a sullen face.
Yu Nianyuan stepped forward to where the senior sister was standing, glanced at the undulating white shadows in the white waves below, gently patted the railing with his palm, and returned to the cabin leisurely, saying to himself: "Mr. Wei is coming too, then
Just take two tails."
Just as the two girls left, a big three-legged bird shot out of the dark night like a sharp arrow, skimming across the water and drawing a perfect arc.
The three-clawed feet of this strange bird grabbed two Yangtze River paddlefish, and when it flew over the merchant ship, it dropped them with its pine talons.
"Bang bang——"
On the deck, two plump and nurturing paddlefish jumped helplessly a few times.
…
Ouyang Rong found that the embroiderer seemed very happy tonight.
The carriage the two of them were riding in was driving on Xingzifang Street, which was still lively in the early morning. There was a bustling scene outside the carriage.
In fact, at first, when Ouyang Rong took Zhao Qingxiu's hand and went out, the latter's expression revealed to him that he was a little scared.
The girl blindfolded with a sky-blue ribbon is used to hiding in a corner where no one is paying attention.
However, Ouyang Rong held her hand considerately, and even used this as an excuse to sit next to her, leaning against her body.
As if feeling Ouyang Rong's body as warm as a furnace, Zhao Qingxiu's nervous mood relaxed a little.
Later, after entering the lively market, the sound of fireworks, songs, and hawking were heard. When passing by several small street vendors, Ouyang Rong also paid for a bunch of candied haws and a rattle through the window.
, and stuffed it into Zhao Qingxiu’s hand.
Holding the candied haws in one hand and the rattle in the other, her little face covered with a ribbon was stunned for a moment.
Ouyang Rong lowered his head and took a small bite of the candied haws, and said vaguely, "If you don't eat it, I will eat it all."
Zhao Qingxiu quickly lowered her head and took small bites of the candied haws.
Ouyang Rong quietly spit out the candied haws in his mouth and threw it at his feet. He almost vomited it when he tasted the sweetness.
It seemed that she was affected by the festive atmosphere around her, and the most important thing was... being accompanied by someone. Zhao Qingxiu gradually lost her fear and became cheerful.
There were a lot more babbling sounds in his mouth, and he was full of curiosity about the outside world.
It was rare for Ouyang Rong to see her lively side.
Sure enough, no one doesn't like to go out and play. Well, if it's not lonely and boring, who likes to live alone in a dark corner every day, "twisted, crawling, rotting and smelly"?
The most important thing is who you go with. Of course it’s boring if you’re alone.
During the bumpy carriage, Ouyang Rong felt the touch of the embroiderer's shoulder touching his several times. At one point, the bumps were too great, and Ouyang Rong even reached out to help the round shoulder of the blindfolded girl with azure ribbon.
His hand still rested on Zhao Qingxiu's shoulder, with a concerned look on his face: "Are you okay?"
"Ahhh."
Zhao Qingxiu shook her little head, then slowly turned her head and looked at the extra hand on her shoulder.
But before she could say anything, she found that the man beside her let go of her hand in a very gentlemanly manner.
Zhao Qingxiu buried her little head.
Ouyang Rong sat upright throughout the whole process.
Along with the irreversible bumps in the carriage, her thin and small body bumped into his arms from time to time.
Ouyang Rong looked at the curtain in front of him and quietly gave a thumbs up to Ali who was driving the carriage outside.
After burning the incense, Ouyang Rong opened the car curtain and saw a familiar street approaching.
He couldn't help but rub his face, sighed, and seemed to mutter to himself: "Hey, it's already here,"
Ouyang Rong actually didn't plan to come here specifically, but Ali drove his car this way.
"Stop on the street, Ali."
"Yes, sir."
Ouyang Rong took out his old partner, a folding fan, from under his seat, turned to look at the ignorant girl beside him, and warned in a gentle voice:
"Miss Xiu Niang, please wait in the car and don't move around. I'll go out and wait in line...I'll be back soon, um, before you finish eating the candied haws."
"Yeah, Gulu." Zhao Qingxiu immediately put down the candied haws of apples and stopped eating, holding on to his sleeves with her little hands.
"What, you want to follow me too? Well, it's not impossible, but you still have to wait for me outside the corridor for a while? There are many people over there, are you sure you are not afraid just standing there?" His expression was confused.
Zhao Qingxiu opened her mouth "Ah" and bit the remaining half of the candied haws between her white teeth. She freed up her hands, grabbed Ouyang Rong's palm, and wrote on it with her index finger, her small face focused and serious:
【I am more afraid of one person.】
Ouyang Rong felt his palms itching and shrugged helplessly: "Okay, wait a moment...here, I've got this green bamboo stick."
Ouyang Rong took out a jade bamboo stick from under his seat and handed it to Zhao Qingxiu.
This green bamboo stick was newly made by him, and it is similar to the one he gave to Rong Nushi before.
Seemingly curious, Ouyang Rong repeatedly took out the gadget from under the seat. The girl blindfolded with a sky-blue ribbon lowered her head blankly and "looked" down.
"Ahem, let's go, stop looking."
Ouyang Rong quickly pulled her away and got off the carriage.
Looking at the lantern riddle gallery in front of him, he walked forward with a slightly embarrassed expression and started to line up.
Anyway, I've been here twice, so it's not bad this time. The extra money can't be wasted, can it?
Three taels of silver was enough for half a month's salary.
When he thought of this, someone couldn't help but feel confident. He didn't bother to fan the folding fan and stuffed it back into his sleeve. But Zhao Qingxiu reached into her sleeve, took out the folding fan, opened it, and fanned him seriously, like a caring follower.
Outside the lantern riddle corridor, I once again saw the familiar figure of a handsome young man with a folding fan arriving with his beautiful family. The grandfather and grandson who were selling tickets were slightly shocked at the same time.
The atmosphere fell silent for a while. The grandfather and grandson were in perfect agreement. They turned their heads almost immediately and looked at the handsome, blindfolded girl behind Ouyang Rong who was holding his cuffs. Their eyes were very complicated...