Five days later, Guo Song arrived in Luchuan County again.
Luchuan County has completely returned to calm, as if nothing happened.
Guo Song did not enter the county town, but took the carriage directly to the Yangtze River Wharf.
The carriage was rented in Jianzhou, but the weather was still too cold. Guo Song was worried that Xue Tao would fall ill sooner or later, so he rented a carriage in Yang'an County.
"Old man, I want to rent a passenger ship to Xiangyang. Are there any suitable ships nearby?" Guo Song asked an old man who was repairing the ship.
The old man glanced at Guo Song and asked slowly: "How big of a ship does the young master need?"
"How big of a boat will we need for two of us and a horse?"
"For two people, a five-hundred-stone passenger ship is enough. With a horse, it will cost at least one thousand stone. I happen to have a two-thousand-stone passenger ship that can take the young master to Xiangyang, but the boat fee is a little more expensive. The five of us
Boatman, I want eighty guan, and we will provide ordinary meals. If you want to eat better, you can make up for the extra money. It depends on whether you are willing, sir?"
This price is relatively fair. It takes at least a month to travel to Xiangyang, and the cost of the ship is also very high.
Guo Song hesitated and said: "I have no other requirements, the main thing is to be clean."
"There is absolutely no problem with cleanliness. Ours is a two-story ship. It was built last year. The young master and his wife live on the second floor, which is safe. We have bedding, but it is a bit old. If you want to buy a new one, we can
Purchasing agent.”
"It needs to be new, and I need to buy something better."
"No problem. Sir, please come with me to the boat and take a look. We have to prepare today and set sail early tomorrow morning."
When the old man saw business coming to his door, he immediately became enthusiastic and walked towards the river with Guo Song and Xue Tao.
Xue Tao wore a curtain hat, which was a bamboo hat with gauze hanging on the edge to cover his face, saving a lot of unnecessary trouble.
There is a 2,000-stone passenger ship moored by the river. It looks relatively new. A very young boatman is lying on the deck and enjoying the sun.
The old boatman shouted: "Sanwazi, go get them and get ready to leave the river!"
"Why!"
The young boatman jumped up like a monkey and rushed off the boat.
The old boatman invited Guo Song and Xue Tao to board the boat and explained: "The price of leaving Sichuan is a little more expensive, usually more than a hundred dollars. The main reason is that we can bring some goods with us, so we can give the master a little cheaper."
Guo Song waved his hand, "I don't need to explain anymore, I don't care. As I said, as long as the cabin is clean, everything else is fine."
"Let's go see the cabin right now!"
The old boatman took them up to the second floor and said with a smile: "We have a very nice suite. It has a sleeping cabin inside and a living cabin outside. It is spacious and bright, and is very suitable for two people."
Guo Song looked at the cabin and saw that the cabin was not bad. He saw that there were two empty cabins next to it, so he said to the old boatman: "I'm going to say something ugly in front of you. I have reserved the entire second floor. If you want to board other guests, I will
I don’t object, but I can only live down there.”
"Don't worry, Master! Since you have paid eighty dollars, it is enough to cover the second floor."
Seeing that his answer was perfunctory, Guo Song said coldly: "I am doing it for your own good. If a murder occurs, it will not be good for you!"
The old boatman was startled and nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, sir, since I promised, I will definitely do it."
The old boatman hurriedly went to prepare. Guo Song and Xue Tao walked into the cabin. Xue Tao blushed slightly and pointed to the inner room and said: "I live inside, you sleep in the outer room. If you are not honest, I will drive you to the next door."
Guo Song hugged her and said with a smile, "Wasn't I honest along the way?"
Xue Tao's face suddenly turned red and he said in a voice like a mosquito: "I know what you are thinking. What is yours is yours. Isn't it more meaningful to leave some things until a beautiful night?"
Guo Song kissed her red lips and said with a smile, "I'm looking forward to this too."
Xue Tao was so moved that he took the initiative to put his arms around his lover's neck and kissed him passionately.
...........
"Sail off!"
Early the next morning, with a loud shout from the old boatman, the two-thousand-stone passenger ship slowly left the river, slid into the center of the river, raised its sails, and sailed eastward along the current.
In Chengdu Prefecture, Cui Ning was furious. The search team that had been following the Luzhou River finally brought him clear news. Someone saw a tall young man taking a young girl on a large passenger ship.
The shipowner went, but it was already three days ago.
It was after Cui Ning's search in Chengdu Mansion and Jianmen Road failed, that he suddenly realized that the other party must have gone south. He hurriedly sent several teams south to track them, and finally discovered their whereabouts, but it was too late. The other party had already taken advantage of the situation.
The boat left the river.
This news made Cui Ning extremely angry, but then another news came. Xue Xun and his wife, who were going to Jianzhou to take office, were not on the bullock cart and they were also missing.
Cui Ning hurriedly sent someone to Zhaowang's Mansion to inquire about the news. The reply he received was that Xue Xun had probably returned to Beijing to report on his duties. He had left Zhaowang's Mansion seven days ago. Calculating, they should have arrived in Hanzhong by now.
Only then did Cui Ning feel like he had been fooled. How could he not become furious?
"How dare you bully me?"
Cui Ning gritted his teeth and said, "I have to cut him into pieces before I can express the hatred in my heart!"
Several confidants nearby looked at each other in confusion. I wonder if the common man the Lord mentioned refers to Guo Song or Xue Xun?
At this time, Cui Kuan hurried over, and someone invited him over. Only he could calm down the lord's raging anger.
"You all stand down!"
Cui Kuan waved his hand and ordered several staff members to retreat.
"Don't try to persuade me. I just hate myself for being too tolerant. If I had acted decisively earlier, I wouldn't have suffered the humiliation today!"
Cui Ning let out a long sigh, and his heart was full of annoyance. He should not have hesitated at the beginning, and directly sent people to rob Xue Tao into the house, make raw rice into cooked rice, and give Xue Xun enough face, I believe he had no choice but to admit it.
His original benevolence caused his dream to be shattered and affected his plan to ascend the throne.
Cui Kuan said slowly: "I don't want to persuade brother, but I want to remind brother that there are more important things than women. Brother, don't let the small things cost you the big things."
"You are talking about Jianzhou, Zizhou and Luzhou! Of course I will not ignore it. I have sent my confidants to take office. I will appoint the chief historian and control the army. The governor appointed by the imperial court will be ignored."
Cui Kuan sighed, "Brother, there are more important things."
"Is there anything else important?" Cui Ning turned around and asked in astonishment.
"I just received news from Chang'an that the emperor is seriously ill. According to the news from the palace, the emperor may not survive this winter."
This news was indeed important. Cui Ning immediately put Xue Tao's matter aside and asked, "Is the news accurate?"
"The news is accurate, our ten thousand taels of silver every year are not given in vain."
Cui Ning walked a few steps in the room with his hands behind his hands, and then asked: "Are there any actions in other feudal towns?"
"I'm not sure about this, but I believe they are actively preparing for war."
Cui Ning understood the implication of his brother's words and hesitated for a moment: "You mean, cut down the feudal clan?"
Cui Kuan nodded slowly, "When the prince ascends the throne, he will definitely work hard. Moreover, the likes of Yu Chaoen have been eliminated, and he no longer has any constraints from the government. I think the reduction of the vassal will come soon."
"How soon do you mean soon?" Cui Ning asked again.
"I mean it will take two or three years for him to secure the throne. I estimate that the reduction of vassal status will definitely begin in the next year at the earliest and three years at the latest."
"Where are we in Shuzhong?" This is Cui Ning's concern.
"The ancients said that the world has been settled and Shu has not yet been settled. Before the world is in chaos, Shu will be in chaos. I think the new emperor is likely to attack us first, so I advise my brother to put aside women's affairs for the time being and concentrate on preparing for war."
Cui Ning sighed for a while, "What you said makes sense. If you don't worry about the long term, you will have to worry about the immediate future. I have been a little careless in the past two years."
"Brother, don't bother with that matter anymore."
Cui Ning walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said with a ferocious look on his face: "There is also that thief Yang Zilin. On the surface, he is loyal to me, but in fact he wants to take advantage of the opportunity to fake it. Does he think I don't know? His pillow partner is already there.
So he was bribed by me, huh! If he wants to fake it, I will make it happen."
Cui Ning finally regained his sense. He immediately issued an order to cancel the search and send all the troops back to camp. At the same time, he ordered Yang Zilin to be beheaded and sent someone to send his head to the court to show his merit.