one
Xie Xiangcai and Murong Mingzhu drove a carriage and followed the imperial army from Qingmeng City. It took them ten days to reach the capital.
"Cars and horses are prohibited within the imperial city."
Xie Xiangcai stood in front of the notice board outside the city gate and read word by word.
In the carriage, Hu Jie snorted coldly and said in a lazy voice, "I can do everything except killing people in the capital. Let's go to the capital!"
Xie Xiangcai couldn't help but clicked his tongue after hearing this. It seemed that the master's status in the Daqing Dynasty was truly inferior to that of one person and superior to ten thousand people.
There is no royal land in the world that can be exempted from any laws in the capital. It seems that the status of Master, the Lord of Qingmeng City, is really unparalleled in the world!
The Emperor's Nine-Drive Road in the Imperial City, this road runs through the entire Anqing City. Traditionally, only at the beginning of the year or during important clan sacrificial festivals, the emperor's carriage would pass here.
But today, there was this eight-horse carriage driving slowly on this road where ordinary people did not dare to stop.
Driving forward were two handsome young men, one wearing silver armor and the other with his hair tied up.
Ordinary people don't understand what it means, but the children of the big families or the elders of the sect walking on both sides of Tianzi Road have noticed the noble totem representing an ancient clan on the carriage.
The Tiger family is a long-lived family.
The few people who saw it took a breath of air and quickened their pace towards the house.
The lord of Qingmeng City in the Daqing Dynasty has not been in court for ten years, and now he comes to the capital without any warning. I am afraid that the capital will soon change!
Xie Xiangcai suppressed the curiosity in his heart and let himself look ahead, not looking at the novel things on both sides of the road.
Murong Mingzhu on the side looked much calmer. After all, this was not the first time he went to the capital. He had sneaked into the capital many times alone. Although he ended up in a mess, he could be considered to have accumulated a lot of experience and lessons.
He whispered to Xie Xiangcai on the side, "Junior brother, the capital seems peaceful, but we must not take it lightly. If you are walking alone on the streets these days, don't let down your guard against anyone, lest you get burned!"
Xie Xiangcai's face calmed down and he nodded heavily.
He looked around at the roads on both sides again, feeling a little cold in his heart. He felt that no one walking on both sides of the road was an ordinary person.
The two drove forward through several crowded streets, and finally got off the car in full view of everyone and walked towards a large and impressive inn.
The post here was nominally to collect documents and information transported from other continents in the Daqing Dynasty's territory, but in fact it was a resting place for the dignitaries who were guarding the outside when they came to Beijing to face the Holy Spirit.
However, this time Hujie came to Beijing, this inn was contracted as a place where Hujie and his senior brother Xie Xiangcai lived, clothed and lived these days.
Xie Xiangcai and Murong Mingzhu were the first to jump off the carriage and walked into the inn. After looking around for a week, Xie Xiangcai nodded with satisfaction.
The station here is not only extremely spacious, but also has a majestic interior, which is enough to show the master's noble status.
However, Murong Mingzhu on the side frowned, and his hands involuntarily reached for the Dragon-Slaying Sword on his waist.
The young man was a little confused and turned his head to ask his fifth senior brother, "Senior brother, why are you frowning?"
Murong Mingzhu said in a deep voice, "It turns out that when Master came to Beijing to meet the Holy Spirit, he always stayed in the East Palace. Many years ago, he even slept with the late Emperor. I didn't expect that now that I enter Anqing City, I can only live in such a small room. In a small inn, how is this different from an ordinary city lord? Although the master is only the lord of a city, the importance of Qingmeng City to Daqing is obvious to all the people in the world! In addition, the master protects the country and goes to Zhuguo. Given your status, don’t you think it is an insult to the master to stoop to such an inn?”
"Come on, I didn't say anything, what are you doing all the time, you little brat?"
Hu Jie pushed Murong Mingzhu away from him and walked toward the inn while eating melon seeds.
Seeing this, Murong Mingzhu had no choice but to shut up, sighed and led Xie Xiang to follow Hu Jie's footsteps.
The post station is divided into three floors. The first floor is a huge hall. The back of the hall is connected to the kitchen and latrines, which provide dishes and drinks for Hu Jie and his party.
The second and third floors are guest rooms, but before Hu Jie and the others stayed, the second floor had been converted into a two-room floor with transparency from north to south, and the third floor had been converted into a large flat floor for one person to live in.
Brother Xie Xiangcai consciously put his luggage and other things on the second floor, then went to the third floor to clean Hujie's house and prepare everything he needed.
The layout of Anqing City spreads out from the Emperor's Hall in the center, and is divided into five rings from the inside out. People in the capital "occupy the land as kings" from the inside out according to their status, and it has taken root and continues to this day for hundreds of years. Time has formed a unique layout.
Nowadays, Xie Xiangcai's master and his disciples only live within the third ring road. Those who have always lived here are some fourth and fifth grade officials. Although these officials already have considerable say in the court, but with Hu Jie It is really an insult to him to live in a post station in the middle of the third ring road.
In the room, Murong Mingzhu became more and more angry as she thought about it. She never expected that those old guys in Anqing City would dare to be so disrespectful to the master.
After Xie Xiangcai learned about the relevant layout of the capital, he was also very dissatisfied. However, the master himself did not complain about anything, so they, as disciples, could not say or do more.
After things were arranged in the station, Murong Mingzhu's anger was mostly gone. He took off his armor and put on a set of casual clothes, and suggested that he take Xie Xiangcai around the capital.
Xie Xiangcai had never been to Beijing, so he naturally accepted it happily. After taking off the Fengyun Sword from his waist, he put on a set of less eye-catching blue gown and cloth shoes, and followed Murong Mingzhu out of the inn.
two
The two of them walked on the rather spacious streets, shopping and eating together. In less than half an hour, they had eaten all the famous snacks in the capital.
Xie Xiangcai held half of a roast duck for skinning in one hand and a small bowl of bean water that exuded a strange smell in the other hand. He followed Murong Mingzhu with his hands and feet in a somewhat comical manner.
Murong Mingzhu couldn't help but laugh. After all, his junior brother was only a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy. He had a tough mind, but he was still childish.
However, what surprised him was that Xie Xiangcai ate the roast duck with gusto, which was difficult for even ordinary people in the capital to swallow.
After a while, Xie Xiangcai's flat belly bulged out, but he was still not satisfied.
"Junior brother, is the school mistreating you on weekdays or something? Why can't you even have enough to eat?"
Murong Mingzhu couldn't help but laugh when she looked at Xie Xiangcai devouring his food.
Xie Xiangcai swallowed the last bite of roast duck, wiped the grease on his mouth with his hand, and grinned, "No, no, the food in the school is good, but I have a bigger appetite. Now I'm in the capital again, There are so many new things, I just want to try them all.”
Murong Mingzhu took out a handkerchief from her arms, grabbed Xie Xiangcai's wrist and wiped off the oil stains on it, then put the handkerchief into his hand and said with a smile, "After all, he is also a disciple of the Immortal, so he can't be so sloppy, right? "
Xie Xiangcai chuckled, and then asked Murong Mingzhu, "Senior brother, do you know of any other places that sell delicious food? Take me there!"
Murong Mingzhu pondered for a moment, and then showed a tangled look on his face. After another long while, he hesitated and said, "I have a place. Although it is not a very popular place, the taste is very good. Back then, I secretly After Yan'er took him out of the palace, he went there to eat a bowl of noodles."
After hearing this, Prime Minister Xie realized why his senior brother had such an expression, so he nodded slightly and followed Murong Mingzhu's footsteps towards an inconspicuous alley.
Although the alley is small, it is bustling with people, making it difficult to walk in the narrow alley.
Xie Xiangcai followed Murong Mingzhu and squeezed in for a long time before arriving at a small stall with only a few tables.
The owner of the stall is an old woman who is over 60 years old. The old woman is wearing a worn and patched gown. She is holding a noodle bowl and ladling noodle soup into it.
Murong Mingzhu stood aside until the old woman finished beating the bowl of noodles, then she said, "Grandma, Mingzhu is here to eat noodles again!"
The old woman was stunned for a moment when she heard Murong Mingzhu's voice. Then she turned her head and looked at him with a smile on her face and said, "It's Mingzhu! That little girl, why didn't you bring her with you this time?"
Murong Mingzhu pursed her lips tightly, but still smiled and said, "Grandma, Xiaoyan has something to do. Today I will bring my junior brother to your place to eat noodles!"
The old woman turned her gaze to Xie Xiangcai and said with a smile on her face, "Junior brother, you are such a handsome young man. There is an empty table in the corner. You can sit there first! Old woman, I will go and see how much marinade is left in the pot. , is it enough for the two of you?"
After saying that, the old woman swayed and walked towards the house.
Xie Xiangcai locked his eyes on the table in the corner, and just as he was about to take a step towards it, two figures appeared out of nowhere, walked straight to the empty table, and sat down on the two chairs next to the table. .
Xie Xiangcai and Murong Mingzhu were stunned for a moment. After looking at each other, Xie Xiangcai frowned and walked forward, came to the two of them, patted the shoulder of one of the young men in black, and immediately clasped his fists and said, "This young master, this table..."
The young master in black shirt suddenly turned his head and looked at Xie Xiangcai. Just as he was about to speak, his expression became extremely exciting.
"It's you?"
Xie Xiangcai listened to the exclamation of the young master in front of him, took a closer look, and immediately noticed the two very familiar and distinctive beards on the other man's upper lip.
"Chen Lianxue, are you pretending to be a man again?!"
Xie Xiangcai exclaimed, but before he could finish his words, the other party covered his mouth.
Shen Lianxue stood up angrily, punched Xie Xiangcai hard on the chest, and whispered, "Don't yell! Don't yell!"
Xie Xiangcai looked at the other party with a half-smile but not a smile, "Chen Lianxue, to be honest, you look quite handsome pretending to be a man. Why don't you just stay a man from now on, so that we can still be brothers!"
Shen Lianxue rolled her eyes at Xie Xiangcai with great disgust, "We haven't seen each other for a long time, why have you become so glib?"
Xie Xiangcai scratched his head, then looked Chen Lianxue up and down, and asked curiously, "Why did you suddenly appear in the capital? Aren't you from Wanyangzhou?"
Shen Liexue curled her lips, "Do you think the capital belongs to your family and only you are allowed in but not others? I came to the capital this time to find a famous swordsman to learn swordsmanship. Recently, my swordsmanship has been stuck and it is difficult to improve. My father spent a lot of money to come here to let me study. . I also want to ask, why did you come to Beijing?"
Xie Xiangcai shrugged, "Of course I came to the capital to meet the master, and I came to see the customs and customs of the capital, and to experience the scenery that is different from that of Qingmeng City. Speaking of which, if you want to study with a famous master and learn swordsmanship, you might as well give me some silver coins. I'm here to teach you, we don't know each other before fighting, I'm sure I can give you a discount, even a few taels less is not a problem."
Shen Liangxue stepped hard and thanked Xiangcai, "You teach me? Why don't you urinate and see how virtuous you are! Hmm... By the way, after the King's Ceremony in Yishan Mountain that day, your strength has improved. Where is it now? ?”
Xie Xiangcai looked mysterious and asked, "What state have you reached?"
When Shen Lianxue heard this, she couldn't help but raise her head proudly, "Huh, let me tell you, this lady... No, this young master, I am already halfway to the state of total enlightenment. It will not take half a year to reach the fifth state in one fell swoop. When we meet again, you have to lie on the ground and beg me for mercy!"
After saying that, she looked at Xie Xiangcai and asked with contempt, "Eighth Young Master, how is your realm now? Are you still at the early stage of the Four Realms and have stopped moving forward?"
Xie Xiangcai smiled and raised a palm, and the light blue energy quietly formed a cyclone.
Shen Lianxue's smile gradually solidified, and then she punched Xie Xiangcai's chest again angrily.
"Haha, you still need to practice more, Master Shen Lian."
Xie Xiangcai said angrily.
Murong Mingzhu on the side took advantage of the opportunity, stepped forward, and cupped her hands to the somewhat unfamiliar Shen Lianxue, "Miss Shen of the Shen family in Wanyang has long admired her superb swordsmanship. Today, when I see her, her swordsmanship is indeed extraordinary. She is truly a heroine!"
Shen Lianxue looked up at Murong Mingzhu, curled her lips and asked, "Who are you? Do we know each other?"
Xie Xiangcai's face was full of dark lines, "This is my senior brother, the fifth son of Qingmeng City."
Shen Lianxue's expression froze when she heard this, and she quickly stood up, "It turns out it's the fifth young master, I'm rude, I've long heard that the fifth young master is superb in swordsmanship, and I've always wanted to find an opportunity to go to Qingmeng City to spar with the fifth young master. When I saw you today, you really showed your magnanimity. Extraordinary, the sword energy is amazing!”
Murong Mingzhu couldn't help but feel a little amused when she saw Shen Lianxue looking like this.
The eldest daughter of the Shen family does not look like an ordinary woman in her demeanor, speech and demeanor. Instead, she is more like a free and easy swordsman and martial artist in the world. However, such a character is unique and has a unique flavor.
Murong Mingzhu saw that Xie Xiangcai had a good relationship with Shen Lianxue, so she whispered in his ear and said something about getting along well with each other.
After all, with Shen Lianxue's swordsmanship talent, it is quite possible to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship in the future. Rather than offending a future swordsmanship master, it would be more cost-effective to make good friends with him as soon as possible.
But what Murong Mingzhu didn't know was that ever since Xie Xiangcai grabbed each other's private parts that day on Mount Yi, the relationship between the two had become extremely delicate.
Although Shen Liexue looks calm now, in fact, her heart has been in a mess for a long time. If the energy in her body hadn't been used to suppress the blush on her face, she might have looked no better than a ripe red apple.
At this time, the old woman who had just entered the room came out holding a big bowl and came to the table tremblingly. She looked at Shen Lianxue and Xie Xiangcai with some surprise, feeling a little at a loss for a moment.
Seeing this, Murong Mingzhu asked Xie Xiangcai what to do with her eyes.
Xie Xiangcai spread his hands and had no choice but to ask Murong Mingzhu to tell the old woman to give up the last bit of noodles to Shen Lianxue, and they both ate something from the old woman's house.
Shen Lianxue finished the noodles with satisfaction, stood up and patted the maid next to her on the shoulder. She turned to Xie Xiangcai and said, "Xie Xiangcai, you brothers, just go shopping in the capital. We are going to Master Song Jianshi's house!"
Murong Mingzhu asked in surprise, "Is this the Song Changkun Song Swordsman from Zhuxie Lane?"
Shen Lianxue nodded heavily, "It's him. There are countless swordsmen in the capital, but this Song swordsman can be ranked among the top three."
Murong Mingzhu chuckled, turned to look at Xie Xiangcai and asked, "Junior brother, since you and Miss Shen are acquainted, why don't we go together to meet this Song swordsman and learn some swordsmanship and gain some luck? Isn't it a good thing?"
Xie Xiangcai pondered for a moment after hearing the words, and then looked at Shen Lianxue and nodded lightly.
Shen Lianxue snorted coldly, "Okay, I'll let you follow me and see how advanced my swordsmanship is now. It just so happens that after the sword training is over, there will be an opportunity for exchanges and exchanges. After I have dealt with Sword Master Song's disciples, I will come to deal with you!"
Xie Xiangcai smiled lightly and cupped his hands, "I wish you could do it."
"Then let's go!"
Shen Liexue shook her hair and took the lead to walk out of the alley.
Murong Mingzhu said goodbye to the old woman, leaving some copper coins behind, and then followed Shen Lianxue with Xie Xiangcai.
