(4)
The carriage passed through the small market in front of the city gate and gradually slowed down. The horse opened and closed its black nostrils vigorously, exhaling and inhaling continuously, which could not hide the hardship of the journey.
When they arrived at the city gate, everyone saw that a simple checkpoint had been set up in front of the gate. Surrounded by several armed guards, they were checking the luggage and belongings of people entering the city; a man holding a pen and a book in each hand was interrogating carefully about what was going on, and the wolf hair in his hand was majestically spreading ink. Those who want to enter the city have to accommodate him as much as possible and answer all questions as much as possible before they can enter the city.
"Next!" The interrogator with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks shouted to Zhao Kuo. The latter walked slowly up to him on horseback, got off the carriage, and imitated the people in the countryside who had already entered the city, and assumed a respectful posture.
"Hehe... Brother, this official officer, why do you have to do an interrogation when entering and leaving the town?" Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
The official sniffed and looked at the strange passerby in front of him with his eyes as big as a mouse. He first asked the guards on the left and right to search Zhao Kuo for any foreign objects, then walked around the carriage and asked: "Where did you come from? Where are you going? What's inside your carriage?" Who are you pretending to be?"
"Back to the official official brother! We are coming from Jiangzhou and are going north. No, we happen to be passing through your place. I hope all the official official brothers will be accommodating and let me wait for a few days to rest in the city so that I can continue on my way." Zhao Kuo cupped his hands and answered, thinking that he was dealing with it as he wished, but he didn't know that "the devil is as high as one foot, and the Tao is as high as one foot." Instead, the interrogator was knocked back.
"Hey! Are you from Jiangzhou?" The official twirled the thin and long mustache under his nose, and said with a malicious smile: "You came from Jiangzhou, a place with good food and drink, for no reason, and you said you were going north? The north is so big, where is this young master going?"
Zhao Kuo was afraid that his plan would show up and let others know too much about the whereabouts of himself and his friends, so he made up a half-truth and a half-false lie in an attempt to deceive others, saying: "To be honest, we are all the same." The merchant from Beizhen is rushing home!"
"Oh!" the interrogator wrote with a brush, and then said: "Then let the young master invite everyone from the carriage to come down? It's a routine for us, so I hope you don't take anything strange."
"We should cooperate with this!" Zhao Kuo replied: "It's just that, can the female family members be exempted... After all, it is a woman's family, so it is not convenient." Zhao Kuo pointed to his body and gestured a few times, indicating that those women should be allowed to leave. Officers and soldiers should not search women.
"Uh... Young Master, this is not a good idea!" Unexpectedly, after the interrogator heard the word "female family", he became more serious and vigilant. Then he leaned into Zhao Kuo's ear and whispered: "Since Young Master is honest with me, Then I will take it as it is. This is all an order from the superiors, saying that there was a female snitch recently, and there was a "flower mark" next to the eye. It happened that the emperor had returned from the expedition and wanted to rest in this Jiming Post. That’s why we, the government officials, were asked to come out to guard under martial law..."
"Oh..." Zhao Kuo suddenly said: "Since it is for the safety of the emperor, it is better to be more cautious!" After that, he called everyone out of the carriage. The armed guards rushed into the car to search the luggage. Sure enough, it was the emperor's arrival that made them work so hard.
The monkey-faced officer first cautiously took a clear look at the wanderers, and then asked Zhao Kuo: "How come you, a native of Beizhen, have a Miao? Dare I ask your surname? These guys, who are you, my lord?" relation?"
"This..." Zhao Kuo scratched his frosty temples, thought hard about Shao Qing, and replied: "My surname is Zhao, and the name is "Kuo". The most petite and lovely girl is the sister-in-law, and the one beside her is That heroic young swordsman is my personal bodyguard!"
"What about the other two?"
Zhao Kuo continued: "The other two... are my new concubines!"
"What?" Ajuan yelled in confusion. Murong Yan, on the other hand, seemed to know Zhao Kuo's intention and softly stopped her from the side. The two girls immediately acted like two "concubines". They both saluted Zhao Kuo and said "husband" in unison.
"That's it!" the monkey-faced official continued: "Since these three girls all have a close relationship with Mr. Zhao, it is really inappropriate to search their bodies in front of Your Excellency... Then I will just go as a formality and take the It would be better if the wanted man looks at their faces. Their bodies will be searched by Young Master Zhao, while my colleagues and I will watch from the side."
"Ah? We still need to search!" Zhao Kuo thought that the plan was flawless, but there was still a little flaw.
The monkey-faced officer took out a portrait of a woman from the book. After confirming the faces of the three girls one by one, he said, "That's natural! If something serious happens, neither you nor I can bear the responsibility!"
After the official officer searched Bai Feng, Zhao Kuo had to obey the order obediently under the pressure of the official officer. With an extremely rebellious mood, he started searching his own sister first. Fortunately, they are all friends who have known each other for some time. Otherwise, Zhao Kuo might never be able to clear up his reputation as "a lover of frivolous and ignorant girls" in this life.
After passing the checkpoint in front of the city gate, several people finally entered the city. The large and small streets and alleys, the regular buildings, the people coming and going, and the constant noises in their ears all remind them that this is a lively place that they don't know much about.
"Hey! Don't leave me!" Zhao Kuo drove the carriage alone, slowly chasing his friends in front. Suddenly he saw a Miao girl, Ajuan, turning around. He was so frightened that he immediately reined in his horse and stopped.
"What's the matter? You've taken advantage of us both, and you still want to sit with us?" Ajuan hugged Murong Yan, who was smiling helplessly next to her, and said angrily.
"Isn't this... to pass the test safely!" Zhao Kuo retorted: "If it were you who said it, I'm afraid you would start a fight with others after just two or three sentences. We are unfamiliar with this place, so it's better for us to keep a low profile. ah!"
"I don't care! The slave family just doesn't want to see you now..." Ajuan pondered for a moment, then turned around and hugged Bai Feng aside, and continued: "You, Zhao Kuo, are so talkative and take advantage of others all day long! The slave family is going to go shopping with Mr. Bai now, so don’t come with me, eh?" After saying that, Ajuan took the other three people to the end of an alley and walked to a more lively place, trying to get rid of them. Zhao Kuo driving a carriage.
Although Zhao Kuo followed closely, the crowd was too dense and the carriage could no longer move. He must have had a serious accident, so he left the carriage and caught up on foot.
