Not long after the women left, they carried the two wooden beds into a city - Qingshui City.
If we compare the scale alone, this city is about the same size as Zhuyuan City, the capital of Zhuzhou.
But if you look at the architecture, the difference is very obvious.
Qingshui City is not square but circular.
The city wall, which is more than two feet high, is made of wood, and the roads in the city are also made of wood.
Most of the buildings in Daxuan are made of wood, which is the same as in Qingshui City. However, the houses in Qingshui City have a distinctive feature, that is, they have no yards and are all houses.
The front house is connected to the back house, the big house is connected to the small house, the smaller house is a house, and the larger house is connected to the house.
The city lord Ke Kun personally went out to welcome Mo Chi and Xu Zhiqiong to the mansion. They passed through several houses from the front hall to the main hall.
The biggest problem with this architectural layout is lighting. In the main hall surrounded by many houses, there is almost no sunlight.
But the main hall was not dark, and Xu Zhiqiong could not find the light source.
Xu Zhiqiong really doesn’t understand why the building should be designed like this?
Save floor space?
It seems that there is no saving, the city lord's house covers a large area, and many rooms seem to only serve as corridors, which is a complete waste of building materials.
Mo Chi explained from the side: "Yu Xianguo's houses are all like this. Without a yard, they look less open, but such houses are suitable for war.
The connected houses are like layers of fortresses. Even if it is surrounded by several times the number of enemy troops, this mansion can still hold up for a long time.
This is not only true for the city lord's house, but also for private residences. On Dayu's land, anywhere can become a battlefield."
Having said this, Mo Chi smiled bitterly, his smile full of helplessness.
The city lord prepared a dinner. Because it is close to the river and has vast mountains and forests, Qingshui City never lacks food, and is rich in delicacies from the mountains and rivers.
A maid took a piece of venison, sprinkled it with a little salt and sauce, and fed it to Xu Zhiqiong's mouth.
Xu Zhiqiong ate it in one bite. It was a simple combination but so delicious and tender.
The maid fed him one bite at a time, and Xu Zhiqiong ate it one bite at a time. Tao Huayuan looked on, her cheeks twitching.
"Junior Brother Xu, don't you have hands? Don't you know how to eat?" Tao Huayuan rubbed the meat knife on Xu Zhiqiong's leg.
Xu Zhiqiong straightened his expression, looked at the maid and said, "Go down!"
The maid couldn't understand what was said, but she saw that Xu Zhiqiong's expression was wrong, and she didn't know what she had done wrong.
The city lord Ke Kun can speak Daxuan, but it is very difficult for him to say: "Marquis Xu, do you think this woman is not handsome?"
Xu Zhiqiong glanced at Kekun, smiled slightly and said, "I'm not a womanizer."
Ke Kun was startled and looked at Mo Chi.
Mo Chi whispered a few words to Ke Kun in Yu Xian dialect. Ke Kun frowned and said in Yu Xian dialect: "Your Highness, you know, except for me, there is no man in this family anymore! I can't find a man to come.
Serve him."
Mo Chi knew the inside story, so he tried to change the subject: "You don't need to pay attention to Marquis Xu. He brought his man with him. Let's have a drink first."
But this topic seems to be lingering, and Kekun's resentment has been building up for a long time.
Xu Zhiqiong could not understand Yu Xian's words, and saw that the expression of the city lord Kekun was getting more and more excited, and his voice was getting higher and higher, as if he was expressing some kind of dissatisfaction to Mo Chi.
Mo Chi remained silent most of the time, and occasionally said a few words. Judging from his expression, he was trying to comfort Ke Kun.
Shan Yan's expression was very complicated. She didn't want to be rude in front of the city lord, but she couldn't hide the worry on her face.
After dinner, Kekun asked a group of women to perform songs and dances.
Yu Xian's singing and dancing are somewhat different from those of Da Xuan. Da Xuan's musical instruments are mainly qin, se, sheng and Xiao, with soft dance postures and euphemistic tunes.
Yuxian's musical instruments are mainly panpipes, piccolos and leather drums, with cheerful tunes and unrestrained dancing.
Xu Zhiqiong likes to watch dances, but he noticed something.
Apart from himself, there is no man in this city lord's home, and even the guards at the door are women.
After enjoying the singing and dancing for an hour, Mo Chi expressed that he was tired, and Ke Kun ordered the maid to send the guests to rest.
Xu Zhiqiong wanted a room with windows, but Shan Yan said from the side: "You can't let guests sleep in a room with windows. This is disrespectful to the guests."
Thinking about it from Yu Xianren's perspective, this is indeed reasonable.
The house with windows is on the outermost floor of the house. In the event of a war, it will definitely be the first to be attacked.
Xu Zhiqiong could only do as the Romans did and lived in the innermost house.
The room was much darker than the main hall, and was entirely illuminated by two candlesticks.
It was June, with no windows and no ventilation. I thought the room would be very stuffy, but when I entered the room, I found it was extremely cool.
Xu Zhiqiong remembered something and didn't feel stuffy when he was eating in the main hall.
He found a red pottery vase in the house with a bouquet of plum blossoms in it. There was always a cold air around the plum blossoms.
Shan Yan introduced from the side: "This is my specialty in Dayu. If we call it in Daxuan dialect, it should be called ice plum. If you put this plum blossom in the sun for a day, it will emit cold air for two days."
Xu Zhiqiong touched the plum blossom, and the petals were really as cold as ice.
A breeze blew from behind, mixing a warm and humid air with the cold air. Xu Zhiqiong looked back and found a bamboo as thick as the mouth of a bowl stuck on the wall. The breeze came from the bamboo tube.
Blown out.
Shan Yan said: "This is the wind-swallowing bamboo. Although it is made into a bamboo tube, the bamboo is still alive and needs to be watered every day.
The bamboo tube is connected all the way to the outside of the house, and every thirty or fifty years of breathing in, a large amount of wind will be sucked in and blown into the house."
The two things, Ice Plant Plum and Wind Swallowing Bamboo, together form a natural refrigeration system.
Xu Zhiqiong said: "This good thing should be sold to Daxuan. In the middle of summer, there will be a rush."
Shan Yan smiled and said: "Dayu is not short of money. Besides, these two things cannot survive even a day without the soil and water of Dayu."
"What do you mean by leaving the soil and water of Dayu? Can't this thing survive in Yunzhou?"
"As long as you leave the territory of Dayu, it will wither within a day. Lord Yun, please rest early."
Shan Yan left, and Xu Zhiqiong was about to go find "Senior Brother Tao" when Mo Chi suddenly walked in.
"Marquis Yun, it's your first time coming to Dayu. There must be a lot of things you're not used to."
Xu Zhiqiong said with a smile: "It's just that the room is a little darker. I'm a lantern holder and always work at night, so it doesn't matter if it's a little darker."
Mo Chi came to his senses and ordered the maid to bring in three earthen jars.
Opening an earthen jar, warm yellow light burst out from the earthen jar, and the number of candlesticks in the room seemed to have doubled.
When I opened the second earthen jar, the room was brightly lit, as if an incandescent lamp had been lit.
Opening the third earthen jar, the room was as bright as day.
Xu Zhiqiong took a look into the earthen jar. There seemed to be only some half-rotted dead wood in the jar.
Could it be these dead trees that are glowing?
No, it's not dead wood, it's moss growing on dead wood.
Just when Xu Zhiqiong was curious, Mo Chi reminded him: "When Marquis Yun feels dim, just open the jar. When you want to take a rest, just close the jar."
Mo Chi pondered for a moment and said, "You must have seen that there is not a single man in the Qingshui City Lord's house."
Xu Zhiqiong nodded and said: "I was about to ask about this, but I was afraid of losing etiquette."
Mo Chi said: "The Lord of Qingshui City is a close confidant of mine. Because of me, he suffered some injustices. All the men in his family were conscripted to the capital to be used as human beings.
The human race refers to men who cannot get married and are responsible for reproduction. Their offspring follow the mother's family and have nothing to do with the human race family."
Xu Zhiqiong realized something.
It is a very cruel punishment to make a man become a human being.
Just like the men of the city lord Kekun's family, all unmarried men are theoretically destined to have no heirs.
Mo Chi sighed and said: "Marquis Yun, when I send you to the capital, according to the agreement, I should return to Daxuan to be a hostage. I'm afraid you will suffer some injustice in Dayu.
But you don’t have to worry, if you encounter something, just tell Shan Yan, I still have subordinates in the capital, and they will help you then."
After saying that, Mo Chi left.
Xu Zhiqiong thought about the current situation.
Mo Chi is leaving.
Tao'er is leaving too.
I stayed alone in Yu Xianguo, but I couldn't even speak to Yu Xian.
Life here doesn't seem to be easy.
It doesn't matter, I came into this world alone, didn't I get through it?
Xu Zhiqiong went to Tao Huayuan's room and saw that Tao Huayuan's eyes were slightly red.
"Why are you crying? Is it because the maid fed me two pieces of meat? Is this kind of thing worth worrying about?"
"You thief, who cares about you?" Tao Huayuan sobbed, "I just used the magic circle to discuss with Master whether I could stay with you for a little longer, but Master just refused.
When we were in the main hall, we couldn't understand a word that those Yu Xian people said. You are not in good health now. How can I feel at ease if I leave you here alone?"
"Don't cry!" Xu Zhiqiong wiped the tears on Tao'er's face, "Tell me first, where are you going?"
Tao Huayuan said: "Five days ago, before we arrived in Yunzhou, I received the sound transmission array from Master. Master asked me to send you to Wansheng City, and then immediately go to a deep valley outside the city.
He said that there is a spiritual realm of yin and yang in the deep valley, and if you are infiltrated by the spiritual energy, your cultivation level will definitely increase greatly."
"Yin-Yang Spiritual Realm?" Xu Zhiqiong was very puzzled. "Yin-Yang Dao originated from Daxuan and flourished in Daxuan. How could the Yin-Yang Spiritual Realm appear in Yu Xianguo?"
Tao Huayuan shook her head and said, "I don't know the reason."
Xu Zhiqiong thought for a long time and suddenly asked: "Why did Taibu ask you to escort me to Yu Xianguo? Is it really for my safety?"
Tao Huayuan also thought about this question for a long time: "Master admires you very much, but he may not care about you that much."
Then why did he ask Tao'er to escort me?
"Does he want you to send me to Yu Xianguo, or does he want me to bring you to Yu Xianguo?"
This problem is what Tao Huayuan is worried about: "Looking at the current situation, I'm afraid it's the latter. I'm not familiar with Yu Xianguo. It's not easy for me to sneak into Yu Xianguo. But if I follow you, I can justifiably reach the country."
Capital City, and then..."
Tao Huayuan suddenly had a bad premonition: "Master, his temperament has changed a lot these days. He doesn't care much about you, and I'm afraid he may not care about me either. Did he really ask me to come to Yu Xianguo to improve my cultivation?"
Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said: "I'm afraid it's just to explore some secrets. The deep valley outside Wansheng City, the so-called Yin-Yang Spiritual Realm, must have secrets that Taibu wants."
Tao Huayuan said: "I am worried about this. If I reveal my identity and harm you, Yu Xianren will definitely treat you as a spy."
"It's okay for me. They don't dare to touch me. I also have a way to escape. But what should you do if you fall into their hands?" Xu Zhiqiong pinched his chin: "What kind of treasure is there outside Wansheng City? What?
What things can make him so tempted?"
Tao Huayuan said: "These days, I always hear him talk about where to live. He keeps saying that he wants to find a place to live."
"Finding a place to live?" Xu Zhiqiong found it increasingly difficult to understand Taibu's thoughts, "Could it be that he wants to move the Onmyoji Division to Yu Xianguo?"