The autumn wind is getting more and more chilling. Outside Kuanzhou City and by the Shuoshui River, the scenery has turned yellow and decayed. Fresh frost covers the tiles and suddenly invades people.
The river gradually dried up, and the quicksand became frozen hard, but it became lively. Ship traders who could not use human mules began to move goods back and forth, and the Qiang people also moved frequently.
Autumn in Kuanzhou always made Zhang Congfeng feel that it was already winter. In addition, the collection of autumn grain had been completed. As soon as the cavalry team could transport it into Kyoto, he urged Mo Lingfeng to leave - no taxes or grain from the border states came into the vicinity. From all walks of life, go directly to the Third Division of Kyoto, so that the emperor can hold power in his hands.
On September 20th, Mao hour had just arrived, the stars were hidden and the moon was falling, but the sky was not yet clear, and it became increasingly dark.
In the dark night of Mo Mansion, lights were lit under the main porch, followed by the stable and the corner door, spreading from the outside to the inside of the house, with lights spread high above the ground for the servants to run around.
This is a rare lively scene in Mo Mansion.
The boxes and cages were loaded onto the carriage one by one, but I still felt that it was not enough. However, the carriage could not hold them indefinitely, so I had to give up.
The dozens of horses pulling the carriage carried luggage, coachmen, little yellow gates, and maids, bearing an unprecedented burden. They took heavy steps, snorted, and white smoke came out of their noses. They arrived at the front door and lined up in a long line. , waiting for the master in the cold wind.
After a long time, the two boys opened the door.
At a few o'clock, the dim lights came out. Mo Qianlan held Mo Lingfeng's hand without saying a word. Zhao Shiheng followed behind, looking very calm because he had finished speaking. The big yellow dog followed with a slumped look on his face, wagging his tail. Face, he took the opportunity to step on Zhang Chongfang beside him several times.
Grandma fell at the end and looked back frequently, feeling very reluctant to leave.
The group of people descended the stone steps and arrived in front of the first carriage. Mo Qianlan knelt down, touched her bun, hugged Mo Lingfeng, and took her whole little body into his arms. Like a knife twisting, it means frying.
He asked in a hoarse voice: "Is it cold?"
Mo Lingfeng shook his head.
Zhang Chongfeng stood aside and smiled apologetically: "Girl, please get in the carriage. The journey is long. The canal team is escorted by officers and soldiers, so it will be much safer."
Mo Lingfeng remained motionless as a mountain, and Mo Qianlan refused to let go. Sometimes he was afraid that she would be cold, and sometimes he was afraid that she would be hungry, so he went back and forth endlessly.
Zhang Gongfeng urged Mo Qianlan repeatedly and unpopularly. Zhao Shiheng stepped forward and asked Mo Qianlan to stand up: "It is not eternal death. Jiedushi should not be so sad. The girl is young and it makes her sad."
He also told Mo Lingfeng: "Don't be naughty along the way. Outside is not as good as home."
Mo Qianlan let go of Mo Lingfeng and couldn't help but pick up her fine hair at the temples with both hands. He was also surprised to realize that she was still in her early teens and had too many strands of hair to pull it into a bun.
I left home at the age of eighteen and was uneasy, living in fear. Ah Gu was so young, and I didn't know how sad I was. She didn't dare to look at her anymore, for fear that I would personally hold the whip, pull the bridle and drive the car, so she only whispered: "Ah Hey, be patient for a while, and my brother will pick you up."
Mo Lingfeng lowered his head and said "hmm", then turned around and got into the carriage.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Gongfeng went to put the horse stool in person and helped Mo Lingfeng into the carriage. Auntie followed and sat beside Mo Lingfeng.
Yin Bei was pulling Yin Nan chattering, and when he saw this, he quickly let go of Yin Nan. Yin Nan boldly sat in front of the car, grabbed the driver's whip, and waved it in the air.
With a "snap" sound, the riding whip whipped in the air with a crisp crack. On the large street outside the Jieduzheng's mansion, the sound was clear and straightforward, and there was another "snap" sound, which did not sound like it was being whipped on a horse. , but it was slapped on Mo Qianlan.
He picked up little Jiao'er from the ground, raised her in his arms, and held it in his heart. Even if Grandma is gone, what's the point of living for him even if he can live ten thousand years?
This separation made him anxious, and he couldn't help but take a step forward. Zhao Shiheng's hand was firmly on his arm, preventing him from moving rashly.
The carriage had gone far and would soon merge into the blue sky. At this moment, Mo Lingfeng suddenly opened the curtains and stretched out his head. It was not enough, and even his thin shoulders were squeezed out. , the upper body leaned out of the carriage, rising and falling in the bumps, his face turned to Mo Qianlan as hard as he could, and he let out a heart-rending roar: "Brother!"
"You must come and pick me up!"
"elder brother!"
Mo Qianlan endured it again and again, biting her mouth until it was filled with blood. She turned back to the house, walked quickly into the study, and sat down slumped.
Grandma is gone.
Mo Yefeng left.
Zhang Chongfeng's imperial mission met up with the Cao team ten miles outside the south city of Kuanzhou. The Cao team escorted nearly a hundred Taiping cars. They had to go to Jeju first and take the official road to the southeast. When approaching Luoshui, they changed to the waterway from the dock. , until Kyoto.
The canal team transporting troops stood on both sides of the Taiping chariot, with swords and guns standing everywhere, which was daunting. The grain road escort responsible for restraining the transporting troops first went to the carriage to salute Zhang Gong, said a few words, and set off again.
The Cao team walked in the front, the imperial delegation walked in the middle, and the students rushing for the exam followed behind. The team meandered for more than two miles.
Mo Lingfeng opened the car curtain and couldn't help but look back. After a moment, he turned back to the nanny and said, "Grandma, Wu Jin is behind, and there is Wang Jingha."
Nanny also opened the car curtain and looked back. She saw seventy or eighty people rushing to take the exam behind her. Wu Jin was easy to identify. He was dressed in gray, but his face was whiter. His posture was particularly tall and straight, and there were many people around him. When anyone spoke to him, he smiled and responded, occasionally raising his head to glance at the long queue in front of him.
She turned around and asked Mo Lingfeng, "Who is Wang Jingha?"
"Wang Yunsheng's son, the one with the biggest mouth."
The nanny didn't know who Wang Zhizhou's son was. She only knew that there were more than a dozen rich kids in the team rushing to take the exam, all riding horses and accompanied by servants. There was a young man in the middle, opening and closing his mouth. Not small indeed.
Auntie thought to herself: "Zhizhou is also a high official, why did he name his son like this?"
This team traveled day and night. After ten days, they left Jiaxian and arrived at Jeju. The cavalry team knew that there were many bandits at the intersection of Kuanzhou and Jeju. They did not want to stay here, but they just entered Jeju. It rained heavily.
The rain was surprisingly heavy, with wet and heavy black clouds pressing directly above the head, and water flowing everywhere like pillars, making it difficult to walk, trapping people and horses, and they could only stop at Heshanguan Station in Heshan County, Jeju.
Heshan County has a vast territory, and a posthouse is also very large. There are 24 rooms, and there are all kinds of places to feed horses and store grain. , but after entering, it was completely different.
In the hotel, the wood and stone materials are very rough. There is heavy rain outside and light rain inside. Many places are covered with dense cobwebs and dust.
The marquis and guards suddenly saw the large group of people and were at a loss. They could only place the horses and carriages in the rain. The cavalry team pushed the grain carts and placed them in the warehouse. Seeing the water on the ground and the roof leaking in the warehouse, they all secretly He complained and began to lay a second layer of oilcloth on the grain truck.
"Someone help!" The grain transport officer shouted to the students taking shelter in the corridor, "Quick! Don't just stand there!"
Not a grain of grain should be wet.
