Fengzhou is the northernmost state capital of Chen State. After leaving Fengzhou, you can enter Chu State in two days' journey.
The group set out from the capital on the third day of March and arrived in Fengzhou on April 20th.
Although Fengzhou is located on the border, it borders the Chu State. Chen and Chu have been friends with each other over the years, and their ties have become closer in the past two years. Therefore, Fengzhou has never been heavily guarded. The imperial court has sent the main troops to the border
, all arranged in the state capitals bordering the grasslands.
Looking at the Fengzhou City Wall from a distance, a feeling of dilapidation came over me.
The rich land of Chen State was in the south of the Yangtze River. The further north the state capital became, the poorer it became. Officials who served in places like Fengzhou either did not perform well in the imperial examinations and were randomly assigned to poor places, or they were
Some criminals with certain stains are allowed to spend their old age in such a place without being dismissed and investigated.
Lu Teng rode forward and said, "Master Tang, Fengzhou has arrived."
The expression on his face was much more serious than before. After leaving Fengzhou, he was far away from Chen State and would no longer receive assistance from the government. The second half of the trip was the most difficult time.
He Rui walked forward, keeping five steps away from Tang Ning, and said, "Master Tang, let's enter the city."
Ever since the personnel arranged by King Duan in the mission frequently had troubles, He Rui did not dare to get too close to him.
Tangning was riding on the horse, looking forward, waving her hand and saying, "Enter the city!"
The local officials in Fengzhou had already received the news that Princess Pingyang's wedding party was about to arrive in Fengzhou. They opened the city gate early and the local officials lined up in two lines and stood at the city gate to greet them.
When the escorting procession came to the gate of the city, the Fengzhou Governor led the officials of Fengzhou to step forward and bowed: "Dong Cunyi, the Fengzhou Governor, and the Fengzhou officials are here to welcome Princess Pingyang. Your Majesty, the envoy has worked hard all the way!"
Tang Ning was riding on the horse, looking at the governor of Fengzhou below, and said with a smile: "Master Dong, long time no see."
He was extremely familiar with this Fengzhou governor.
Two years ago, when the other party was the governor of Lingzhou and the immediate boss of his father-in-law, the Zhong family suffered a lot in his hands.
Later, due to the assassination of Li Tianlan, Lingzhou officials were punished collectively and were demoted to Fengzhou. Speaking of which, he fell from a promising Shangzhou governor to where he is today, and he is also inseparable from Tang Ning.
But then I thought about it, if he hadn't forced Xiaoyi to marry his son, there would have been no such thing as throwing the hydrangea to attract a bride. If Tang Yaoyao hadn't smashed the hydrangea down, Tang Ning would have starved to death on the street.
In fact, he did not suffer any loss at the hands of Governor Dong, and there was no deep hatred against him. When we met again after two years, we just felt that things were different and people were different.
The voice in his ears was a bit unfamiliar, but he seemed to have heard it somewhere. Dong Cunyi thought it was a colleague from his early years. He raised his head and looked up, and saw a young man on the horse at the front of the mission looking down at him.
"This lord..." Judging from the age of the man on the horse, it was obvious that he couldn't be his colleague. Dong Cunyi couldn't remember where he had seen him for a while. Just as he spoke, a light suddenly flashed in his mind and he said in shock: "Yes.
you!"
As the former governor of Lingzhou, he was deeply impressed by the genius Jie Yuan who had not been seen in Lingzhou for decades, not to mention that he still had some unclear grievances with this person and the Zhong family.
Ever since the Chu envoy was assassinated in Lingzhou and he was transferred to Fengzhou, there has been no news from Tang Ning. Unexpectedly, only two years later, when we met again, the other party was actually the envoy to see her off.
Judging from his position in the team, his status must not be low.
Dong Cunyi felt sour and unspeakable, and a little uneasy. When he opened his mouth and didn't know what to say, Tang Ning said: "Princess is a little tired after traveling all the way. Let's go to the city first."
Dong Cunyi immediately nodded and said: "The post house has been prepared, the envoy please enter the city..."
Although the gate of Fengzhou City is dilapidated, the post house is kept very clean. There are not many houses in the small post house. In order to ensure tranquility, only the princess and a few envoys stayed there, and the others accompanying them were arranged in nearby inns.
After the group entered the post house, Lu Teng arranged for the guards to surround the inside and outside of the post house. At twelve hours every day, the 800 people were divided into four groups, each group of 200 people, to take turns on patrol.
Before Tang Ning walked into Zhao Man's courtyard, Lu Teng stopped him and said, "Master Tang, after leaving Fengzhou, the road may not be peaceful. I want to repair it in Fengzhou for a few days and send people to explore the front first.
Let’s discuss the route again.”
Tangning nodded and said, "Then just listen to Commander Lu."
Although Lu Teng didn't know how to adapt, stubbornness also had its advantages. At least he was extremely concerned about the safety of this trip. This was his professional field. Unless there was something obviously wrong, Tangning would not interfere.
Tang Ning walked into Zhao Man's room. She was sitting on the bedside, humming a cheerful ditty. She didn't feel sad at all about leaving her motherland.
Seeing Tang Ning come in, she immediately stood up and said, "I heard that the night market in Fengzhou City is very lively. Let's go out and have a look at it at night."
Fengzhou is neither a political center nor a major military town. There is no curfew policy. As long as you are wandering around the streets when you are not doing nothing, the guards patrolling the city will not pay attention to you at all.
Along the way, Tang Ning agreed to all her requests as long as they were not excessive. He nodded and said, "I'll go out in the evening."
Zhao Man sat obediently in front of the mirror and said, "Then please help me dress up. I like you to dress me up."
…
Fengzhou is located in the north, and it gets dark at night in mid-April.
Lu Teng set up a tent outside the princess's courtyard and personally guarded it. When he saw Tang Ning and a palace maid coming out of the princess's courtyard, his eyes stayed for a moment and then quickly looked away.
As long as it's not with the princess, he can be with whomever he wants.
It's just that Mr. Tang already has two beauties in his family, and he has an affair with the most beautiful woman in the capital. In addition, there are Tang Shui and that violent woman who went on a mission to the Chu State and still managed to get along with them.
The princess's maids are flirting with each other - it's really enviable.
He looked at the darkening sky, walked out of the tent, and said, "Add a few more torches..."
…
The night market in Fengzhou City is unimaginably lively. In terms of nightlife alone, it is even richer than the capital city.
Not to mention the various trinkets sold on the streets, all the major Goulanwa markets are brightly lit, and the shops on the streets are full of people. The night markets without curfew are even busier than the streets during the day.
This slightly changed Tang Ning's initial impression of Fengzhou. It may be a little rundown, but it shouldn't be poor. The sky is high and the emperor is far away. If you don't have any ambitions to become a general or prime minister, being an idle governor here would actually be a good idea.
Not bad either.
Zhao Man felt that she ate and slept along the way, and by the time Chu Guoguo got a lot fatter, she didn't eat anything at night, and just wandered around with Tang Ning. As long as she wasn't staying in the inn, she was just wandering around outside.
Very happy too.
Zhao Man walked beside him, jumping up and down with her hands behind her back, turning her head to look at him, and asked: "How are we going to come back from Chu?"
We haven't arrived in Chu State yet, so the situation is not yet clear, and the final measures taken are also different.
If something happens to the Prince of Chu, such as choking on food, choking on water, being hit by a meteorite when going out, or being assassinated, then the marriage will naturally be annulled, and they will come back as they left.
If none of these things happen, you will have to come back secretly, and subsequent events will be even more troublesome.
Tangning looked at her and asked, "If you can't see outsiders, including your father, after you come back from Chu, would you be willing?"
Zhao Man looked up at him and asked, "Can I see you?"
Tangning nodded.
Zhao Man said nonchalantly: "I do."
As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd in front suddenly surged. Tang Ning protected Zhao Man and took a few steps back. She heard a sound of breaking wind coming from the front, followed by a man's furious roar.
"Where did this barbarian come from? He dared to hit me!"
Although the light was dim, Tangning still saw the prairie woman standing on the street, carrying a small red whip.
Unexpectedly, she also came to Fengzhou, and it seemed that she had gotten into some trouble again.
"Take this barbarian..." The young man standing on the street covered his face and opened his mouth to say something. The expression on his face suddenly froze. He looked at a person standing in the crowd and blurted out: "Tangning!"
Tangning led Zhao Man out of the crowd, looked at the young man, thought for a moment, and asked, "Are you... Dong Mingjun?"
The young man finally came back to his senses, and the smile on his face gradually turned playful, and said: "What a coincidence, I didn't expect to see you here again..."
