On the banquet table.
Meng Tiangang, Chu Xiu, Xia Qingshan, and Meng Xiaochuan sat opposite each other, drinking wine.
In the next room.
Xia Chuxue looked at the table full of delicious food and had no appetite at all. Her eyes were dim and she felt unspeakably depressed.
"There are differences between men and women." Jiang Rou chuckled, "When you get to Chang'an City and make new friends, you can have a drink together."
"Mom, when you were young, did you eat alone like this?" Xia Chuxue asked.
Jiang Rou blinked and shook her head, "When Mom was with your uncle, there wasn't so much protection between men and women. When I met your father, your father pestered Mom every day..."
Xia Chuxue's cheeks turned a little red, and she felt even more heartbroken.
The night gets darker.
Between heaven and earth, the night is like thick fog.
Chu Xiu simply wrote a letter, hung his sword on his waist, picked up the book box on his back, and quietly left the east chamber courtyard.
Xia Mansion is located on a high pavilion.
Xia Qingshan and Jiang Rou quietly looked at Chu Xiu who left quietly.
During the banquet, Xia Qingshan had already noticed that Chu Xiu was leaving with Meng Tiangang and Meng Xiaochuan.
"Before, we were only thinking about whether to marry Chu Xue to this boy, but we ignored this boy's thoughts." Jiang Rou sighed softly.
"Hmph, our daughter is beautiful and beautiful. No boy can refuse her. This boy just made sure that we will take Chuxue to Chang'an City." Xia Qingshan put his hands behind his back and said calmly.
Jiang Rou shook her head and said nothing more.
If Chu Xiu left alone, she would naturally stop him; if he was traveling with Meng Tiangang and his grandson, she would have no reason to stop him.
She could care about Chu Xiu's safety unscrupulously, but she could not restrict Chu Xiu's freedom.
"I have a feeling."
Jiang Rou said softly, "This disciple of my brother may soon become famous all over the world."
"There are countless geniuses in Chang'an City. It is not easy to become famous there." Xia Qingshan stared at Chu Xiu's leaving figure and said, "Let's wait and see. If he can make a name for himself in Chang'an City..."
Speaking of this, Xia Qingshan stopped and looked a little gloomy.
"Why didn't I see you doting on your daughter so much before?" Jiang Rou complained.
"..."
The sky is getting brighter, and the white fish belly appears in the east.
There was quite a lot of dew on Lingshan Temple.
Huitong, dressed in white monk robes and holding a long stick, walked quickly down the mountain with a warm smile on his handsome face.
The monk came out of Lingshan and wanted to visit Chang'an.
Lingshan County City, Xia Mansion.
Xia Chuxue got up early, washed and dressed briefly, and then came to the east chamber courtyard.
This time, she had a sword hanging from her waist.
I plan to test Chu Xiu’s true strength.
After yesterday's experience, she would naturally no longer look down on Chu Xiu.
"gone?"
Xia Chuxue was stunned and didn't expect this at all.
“There is frost at night in Lingshan Jianjia, and the moon is cold and the mist is all green.
Beautiful mountains and rivers, walking thousands of miles alone, looking at the north and south of the river.
On the road of rivers and lakes, I hold my sword and drink wine, drink drunkenly and sing wildly, and live my life in the misty rain.
Looking back in Chang'an, we met happily over a pot of warm wine. "
"What an average poem."
After reading Chu Xiu's letter, Xia Chuxue complained softly, silently folded the letter and put it in her arms.
The image of Chu Xiu "walking alone for thousands of miles, holding a sword and drinking wine" could not help but appear in his mind, and he longed for it.
"Is this the world in his mind?"
…
…
Zhongzhou, outside Chang'an City.
As the imperial capital of the Daqian Dynasty, it is not an exaggeration to say that Chang'an City is the largest city in the world.
The city gate alone is three feet high.
The majestic city wall is like a steep cliff in the abyss, standing as majestic as a mountain.
Under such a towering city wall, everything in the city should not be visible.
However, there are always high pavilions and palaces in the city. As if they are not willing to just stand in the city, they actually rise from the ground and reach into the sky.
"Is this Chang'an City?"
A handsome young man with a slightly pale face, wearing a white Confucian robe and carrying a bookcase on his back, looked up at the giant city of Chang'an, with a hint of wonder in his eyes.
Chu Xiu.
Next to him, there were two people standing, a young man in black and a monk in white.
Meng Tiangang's grandson, Meng Xiaochuan.
Lingshan Temple, Huitong.
When leaving Lingshan County, Chu Xiu and Meng Xiaochuan went together.
Not long after, the two met Huitong, who was also coming to Chang'an City.
It took the three of them nearly a month to complete the 8,000-mile journey and arrive at the central city of Chang'an.
"Let's say goodbye here, and we'll meet again on the day of the National High School Examination." Meng Xiaochuan hummed, "Walking with you, I will almost become a beggar."
With that said, Meng Xiaochuan strode forward, waved his hand gracefully, and walked towards the city gate alone.
Chu Xiu and Huitong looked at each other and grinned.
The biggest problem the three of them encountered along the way was that they had no money.
Their favorite thing to do is to rob the bandit villages they encounter along the way.
If you have a safe journey, you may go to a gambling house to rob, perform in a busy city, or hunt and pick wild fruits in the mountains.
The three of them are all very poor, but they spend their money more generously than the other.
For Huitong, money is just something outside the body, and it is a burden if it is left on the body.
As far as Chu Xiu is concerned, with money, he naturally needs to buy various materials for making wine.
For Meng Xiaochuan, without his grandfather's discipline, he tried all kinds of new things along the way. He visited gambling houses, brothels, the halls of powerful gangs and other powerful places along the way, etc.
This leads to... They just robbed the bandits' den in the morning, and by night, all the money may have been spent freely.
So much so... Along the way, the three of them didn't even change their clothes. They often needed to hunt and pick some wild fruits to satisfy their hunger.
"Amitabha." Huitong said the Buddha's name and said softly, "In Chang'an City, there is a temple where the eminent monks of Lingshan Temple are stationed. The young monk wants to go there. I wonder where Brother Chu is going?"
The three of them were traveling together and their relationship was extremely close. When Huitong called Chu Xiu and Meng Xiaochuan, he usually called them 'brother' instead of 'donor'.
"Chang'an City is so big, where can't you go?" Chu Xiu chuckled, "I'm still young and don't like to live a life arranged by others, so just go."
"Little monk, I really want to be as free and easy as you." Huitong showed a bit of envy on his face and walked towards Chang'an City.
Chu Xiu smiled, looked at the majestic Chang'an City again, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
From Shuzhou to Lingzhou, and then from Lingzhou to Zhongzhou... Chu Xiu had also seen extremely prosperous cities during these two journeys, but those prosperous cities all paled in comparison to Chang'an City.
Not to mention other things, just talking about the streets, the streets in Chang'an City are generally three to five times wider than those in other cities, and the streets are even more flat.
At least one-third of the clothes worn by passers-by are brocade and fine clothes.
Walking on the bustling streets, Chu Xiu gradually developed a sense of loneliness, like "I am alone in the world drinking wine and I am awake alone."
Towards evening, the sun sets.
The entire city of Chang'an seemed to be dyed in the golden-red afterglow of the setting sun.
"Find a place to stay first."
When he came to an intersection, Chu Xiu stopped and thought that he only had three taels and five pieces of silver with him. The exams for Zhuque Academy would not start until mid-April, which was still more than half a month away...
"I'm in a tight situation, so I'll save some money first."
Chu Xiu pondered for a moment and decided to rent a cheaper house to live in first and then make plans.
Leaving the bustling streets, we came to a neighborhood called 'Ping'an Fang' in the south of the city.
There are a total of 108 lanes in Chang'an City, and each lane has one or two restaurants and inns.
Came outside an inn.
Chu Xiu looked at the plaque for a while: Frequently Come to the Inn.
I don’t know whether it is due to the weather and disrepair; or whether it is intentional. The red paint on the upper part of the "Chan" in the "Changlai Inn" has basically fallen off, leaving only the lower part of the word "Han". .
Chu Xiu took a second look and walked into the inn lobby.
