The big tree was covered with snowflakes, and strings of ice ridges hung under the thick trunk, like harps.
Lu Sheng was sitting in the oxcart carriage, with a small charcoal stove in front of him. The heat released by the stove made the small space in the carriage feel warm.
He was wearing a loose black robe, his hair was tied with a black ribbon, and there was a string of dark gold beads hanging on his wrist.
The umbrella girl was sitting in front of him, holding a cup of hot milk tea and drinking it slowly.
This little guy is currently in the Yingying state. It should be said that for a long time recently, she has been in the state of Yingying controlling her body. Hongfangbai seems to have given up communicating with Lu Sheng and basically does not show up. If anything happens, she will be handled by Yingying on her behalf.
convey.
Lu Sheng picked up the milk tea, took a sip, and then turned his head to look out the car window.
Through the curtains, you can see the snowflakes flying continuously outside, falling diagonally. The wheels and people's boots make a crisp clicking sound in the snow.
"It has been five days since I left the Northland. The snowstorm is actually getting worse." Lu Sheng said calmly.
When he left the Central Plains this time, in addition to bringing the umbrella girl, he only took Ning San and Xu Chui with him. These two confidants made it easy for him to give orders to many things.
As for the rest of the people, they were mostly servants, guards and maids. There were more than a dozen people in the entire team. There were four cars and several horses. For someone who was the number one master in the North, this was already a very small scene.
He planned to wander around the Central Plains alone without notifying Shangyang Jiuli.
"How big is the gap between the Central Plains and the Northland? Yingying, do you know?" Lu Sheng asked softly.
Yingying took out a pen and paper, scrawled and held it up.
"The Central Plains is the Great Lake, and the Northland is the Pond. Whether it is resources, number of people, experts, cities, etc., the gap is huge."
"So big?" Lu Sheng raised his eyebrows, "So, there are many masters and strong people? How many of Hongfangbai's level are there? Do you understand?"
Yingying shook her head slightly, but quickly erased it and wrote new words.
"But my sister is very strong. Even in the Central Plains, compared to the nine families in the Central Plains, she is equivalent to a weaker heir to the head of the family.
However, the foundations of the nine Zhongyuan families are very strong, and the head of the family is far from being the strongest, but only the manager."
"That's it." Lu Sheng roughly understood that his strength was much stronger than that of Hongfang Bai, but he was not much stronger. He was probably still in the lower third level or the middle third level. Snake level is a nine-level classification.
The span is huge. The difference in strength between the top, middle and bottom is also huge.
It's hard to say what level is stronger than the Hydra level.
"It seems we have to be careful to hide it." Lu Sheng frowned slightly.
Dang Dang Dang
Suddenly, in the distant wind and snow, there was a faint sound of metal banging.
Lu Sheng opened the car curtain and looked forward. Through the wind and snow, he could faintly see a motorcade parked on the right side of the road, and the people inside were holding gongs and banging them hard.
"What's going on?" Xu Chui asked from outside the car, and then a guard came to ask.
The oxcart gurgled past this convoy.
Soon the inquiring Konoe came back and reported the situation to Xu Chui Ningsan in a low voice. After Ningsan learned about it, he got out of the car and came to the outside of the bullock cart where Lu Sheng was.
"Sir, we have a convoy going to the Central Plains. The wheel of the convoy broke halfway. We hope that we can use our team to go to the nearest city together. They said that they are from Yincheng and are willing to pay for the travel expenses."
"Oh?" Lu Sheng glanced at the convoy. A few horses pulled two carriages, and there were about a dozen people around carrying baggage and weapons, protecting a few women and children holding umbrellas in the middle.
"Let them get on the vacant oxcart." Lu Sheng went to the Central Plains this time, pretending to be a rich man who went to study. It was a true act, and he didn't worry about being seen through.
When he is not taking action, Lu Sheng is actually quite gentle. If he can help others without affecting himself, he is quite happy.
"Thank you, master." From a distance, Lu Sheng saw a burly man in the motorcade clasping his fists at him.
He nodded slightly and lowered the car curtain. These chores were arranged by Xu Chui and Ning San. With the strength of the two of them, they were more than enough to handle them.
The convoy continued to move forward, and that team also merged into the Lu Sheng convoy, following at the back at an unhurried pace.
At noon, the wind and snow became much lighter, and puddles of different sizes could gradually be seen on the ground, and the surface was also covered with a thin layer of ice. It was no longer white snow.
The servants began to set up a bonfire, and the place they chose to camp was behind a small hill near the edge of the forest, which just blocked the cold wind.
The two convoys were on the side of a driveway in the middle of a large snow forest in the ice and snow, making a fire to cook.
Lu Sheng got out of the car and sat beside the bonfire. Xu Chui was responsible for patrolling and guarding outside, while Ning San was arranging various chores.
The main person in the motorcade, a noble lady and two girls, one older and one younger, sat down. Also following them was the captain of the guard, the burly man who had clasped his fists before.
The noble lady has exquisite make-up and looks like she has recently been married. She is only about thirty years old. She is tightly wrapped in a lavender coat. She has slender eyebrows, big eyes and a small mouth. She can be regarded as the most standard water town woman.
The two daughters she brought with her, the older one was thirteen or fourteen years old and the younger one was only seven or eight years old, both were wrapped in snow-white coats and stared at Lu Sheng curiously.
The little girl was born in pink and jade, quite cute, and not afraid of life at all. She was held in front of her mother, quietly warming herself by the fire.
"Thank you very much for your generous help, young master. The little girl Zhang Rong happened to go out to pay respects to her elders in the family, but she didn't expect that the wheel of the carriage broke halfway. Fortunately, she met the young master passing by. Otherwise, we don't know when we will meet again in this wilderness.
Man." The lady thanked Lu Sheng gently and seriously.
"You're welcome. This road has always been safe, and it's a business road with dedicated personnel to maintain security. Every once in a while, there will be a team patrolling by. Even if you don't meet me, you will meet others soon. Besides, you still paid for it.
Yes, you're welcome." Lu Sheng smiled.
Just as the broth on the fire was boiling, the servant quickly came forward and put in seasonings, chopped green onions, soaked dried bamboo shoots, etc. Then he took out the prepared vegetable noodles and cut them into small pieces and threw them in.
Big pot of delicious meat buns.
Lu Sheng glanced at the meat pie in the hand of the little girl next to him. "If you're welcome, can we have a bowl together?" he invited with a smile.
It happened that these people were all from the Central Plains, and perhaps he could learn something about the situation in the Central Plains from their mouths. Although he also asked some information from the gang members who had been to the Central Plains, it was not comprehensive.
"Thank you, thank you. No, we have already used it." Zhang Rong waved her hands repeatedly, but before she could finish speaking, the little girl had already taken a bowl of steamed buns, held her chopsticks and started eating.
Seeing this, Zhang Rong was a little embarrassed and could only sigh helplessly.
Speaking of which, the Zhang family she married into was also a well-known name in fabric art in Yincheng. The family had a big business, some of them were working as officials, some were traveling in the world, and they were flourishing in all directions.
As a young mistress, she used to live a comfortable and worry-free life. But something that happened recently gave her a headache.
The Zhangjia cloth industry was suppressed by competitors from outside the city and fell into a bottleneck. The family tried every means, but finally had to make plans for marriage.
Regarding marriage, Zhang Rong's own marriage was the product of this. She already hated it deeply, so in the name of worshiping her ancestors, she left home and took her eldest daughter to relax.
The eldest daughter Zhang Ruoning was born when she was a teenager. Now she is fourteen years old. She is pure and beautiful, with a thin waist and round hips. She has a faintly charming appearance at a young age. Her legs are slender and can be closed tightly without any gaps.
.
Zhang Rong had vaguely heard rumors before and knew that her eldest daughter Ruoning was favored by the elders in the family and planned to be the key partner for marriage and cooperation.
After knowing this, she immediately became concerned about her daughter's marriage. She must let her daughter decide on her own happiness before starting to implement the marriage at home to prevent her from repeating her own tragedy.
So this trip to the Northland took place.
Unexpectedly, Lu Sheng, who was returning from paying homage, had something wrong with the wheels of his car.
Sitting by the campfire, Zhang Rongshi looked at Lu Sheng carefully. This young man who looked gentle and handsome seemed to have an extraordinary background. Looking at the team and the servants, they all looked quite imposing, unlike ordinary people.
There was some temptation in her heart.
While her daughter was drinking broth, Zhang Rongshi pretended to be casual and asked, "I wonder if the young master is going to the Central Plains this time to study or to visit relatives? The journey alone will take at least half a month, which is not an easy task.
"
"I'm studying." Lu Sheng replied calmly, "I wonder what the situation is like in the Central Plains now? I'm going to Bailing City."
"Bailing City? That's a coincidence. My mother's family is from Bailing City. Bailing City ranks tenth among the 100 cities in the Central Plains. You must want to go to Bailing Academy to study?" Zhang Rongshi said with a smile.
"Exactly, but I'm not familiar with the place, so I feel a little uneasy." Lu Sheng smiled and said, "Why don't you, Madam, introduce me to the situation in Bailing City?"
"Of course." Zhang Rong agreed happily.
The two of them got to know each other while resting. Lu Sheng got a rough idea of what ordinary cities in the Central Plains were like from Zhang Rongshi.
Unlike what he thought before, the Central Plains is extremely prosperous. For example, Bailing City is similar to Yanshan City, and there are many other more prosperous giant cities.
The royal court's 100,000 spirit tiger troops suppressed hundreds of cities, and each city was ruled by an extremely large aristocratic family.
This is fundamentally different from the Northland. In the Central Plains, aristocratic families all have their own spokesmen, and their power is extremely huge.
Lu Sheng easily found out about the Shangyang family. In the eyes of mortals, the Shangyang family was also a member of an ancient family, but there was nothing special about it. They were just like ordinary big business families.
Zhang Rongshi was also happy to establish a good relationship with Lu Sheng and pass the time. The two of them were asking and answering questions, and several days passed quickly.
After passing through the large snow forest, the forest slowly turned dark, and the finely scattered snow powder hung like pieces of white cloth in the forest.
After an uneventful journey, the convoy finally arrived at the first pass, Rongxin Pass.
When they got here, Zhang Rong didn't need Lu Sheng to escort her. She found the Zhang family's shop here, spent money to hire a new ox cart, and left alone.
But before leaving, she also left an address for Lu Sheng, which served as contact information and could be contacted by letter.
Although they found out that Lu Sheng was married while chatting, Zhang Rong didn't seem to care and regarded Lu Sheng as the potential partner for his daughter.
After separating from Zhang Rongshi, Lu Sheng passed through Rongxin Pass. The road behind was much wider and more comfortable, and the speed was much faster.
It only took five days for the convoy to reach its destination, Bailing City.
And the manpower arranged by Shangyang Jiuli has also been waiting here for a long time.