The night gradually deepened.
The Taoist did not find a place to rest in the camp below like other people who did not bring a tent. Instead, he walked far away in the dark to a nearby mountain.
There are many troubles in places with many people, and there are dangers in places with few people. In fact, Taoist people don't care about troubles and dangers. They just want to be farther away, cleaner, and the air is better, and they can overlook the whole mountain well. The firelight in the camp was quite pleasant.
The calico cat walked to the edge of the hillside and looked down.
Only a small silhouette of the Taoist figure was left behind, which could hardly be seen clearly in the grass.
A large bonfire was lit at the foot of the mountain, and many torches were lit sparsely in the tent. Many people gathered in a circle and danced beside the bonfire. The singing and shouting could be heard clearly from such a distance, and the scorching heat was undisguised. It seems that even the cat can feel the emotion.
The Taoist was sitting cross-legged on the wool felt at the back, holding a small blue and white porcelain bowl with more than half of the water in it.
"It's time for Sanhua Empress to drink water."
"..."
The little silhouette in front turned around, first looked at the bowl in his hand, then looked up at him, and then said softly and carefully: "Empress Sanhua has drank some water."
"Miss Sanhua just took two licks."
"That's enough."
"not enough."
"That's enough."
"Empress Sanhua hasn't drank water for a day. Water is the source of life. Empress Sanhua should be a child who loves to drink water." Song You looked at her calmly, as if he knew what she was going to say, and added after a short pause. One sentence, "The same goes for little cats."
"Alright alright……"
Empress Sanhua was good at accepting advice, so she murmured in a low voice, looked away from the bottom, walked back reluctantly, leaned over the small bowl, and licked the water to drink.
After licking, she raised her head again and looked at the Taoist:
"They're going to race tomorrow morning!"
"Um."
"The fastest runner will get a sheep!"
"Um."
"Our horses are good horses! They run very fast!"
"Of course."
"Miss Sanhua can also ride a horse!"
"drink more water."
"I'm drinking, I'm drinking..."
The Sanhua Cat then lowered its head again and licked a few sips of water without drinking much. Then it raised its head again, its eyes shining brightly in the dark night: "Taoist, tell me, can Sanhua Empress go horse racing with them?" ? Win a sheep and come back? Just like you win a lantern!"
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked to his side.
She always carried the pony lantern.
"it should be OK."
"Can Empress Sanhua go?"
"Is Sanhua Empress asking me?"
"Miss Sanhua is asking you..."
"Sanhua Empress is a mature and smart cat. If Sanhua Empress knows that drinking water is good for the body, so she knows that she should drink more water, then of course Sanhua Empress also knows other things and can make decisions on other things. The right decision." Song You sat on the wool felt and said to her calmly, "Such a Sanhua Empress can obviously make her own decisions."
"Of course I know!"
After the calico cat told him, as if to show that he really knew, he immediately lowered his head and licked a few mouthfuls of water.
I don’t know if she understood what Song You meant, but after raising her head, she still looked at Song You and asked:
"Can Empress Sanhua go?"
"Since Sanhua Empress can make her own decisions, how can I stop Sanhua Empress if she wants to go?" Song You thought for a while, "But horse racing is not something that Sanhua Empress can do alone. It’s done, so we should discuss it with Ma’er.”
"The horse is our horse, and the horse will listen to Lady Sanhua."
"That's good." Song You nodded, "But we are outsiders and are relatively unfamiliar with the procedures of the Jockey Club. I will have to find an official tomorrow morning to find out."
"Ask an official."
"I'm good at dealing with officials."
"Miss Sanhua is good at dealing with rabbits and dogs."
"That's right."
Song You smiled slightly and said no more.
The calico cat quickly lowered its head to drink water.
I usually don't want to drink more water, but today I drank a whole bowl of water. When I walked around after drinking, the water in my stomach made a gurgling sound.
This added a lot of trouble to her dealing with rabbit dogs.
Song You closed his eyes and felt the aura of heaven and earth.
It was early March, already late spring.
If you are in the south, the weather is better, and you may feel a bit like summer when the sun shines. The weather is bad and it may be winter. However, in this Yanzhou grassland, the temperature difference between morning and evening is large. Even if the sun shines these days, you can still feel a bit chilly at night. You need to wear thicker clothes and put on a blanket to keep out the cold.
This place is vast, with no big mountains or torrents, and the highest mountain is only a hundred feet or so. However, the aura of this place has its own special qualities.
Vast and peaceful.
Throughout the ages, Yanzhou has always been a battlefield between the northern grassland tribes and the Central Plains dynasties. It is unknown how many heroes have fought on this land, and how many famous generals have galloped past. This vast land is like the starry sky above, witnessing With the struggle between the two sides, the ups and downs of civilization.
The howling wind seems to be filled with the whispers of history.
Song You realized this world and gave his heart to the world, letting it know that in the late spring of the sixth year of Mingde, such a Taoist had passed by.
Maybe many years later, other practitioners will come here, sit cross-legged here for a whole night, communicate with the spirit of this place, and talk to him thousands of years ago.
The calico cat was still running around on the grassland, sometimes catching hares, sometimes running to talk to the horses. At midnight, it ran to Song You and stayed there, absorbing the surroundings of him. The aura of heaven and earth around us also absorbs the essence of the moon.
…
Early next morning.
Song You packed up his things, went down the mountain, and returned to the camp again.
In the past, when the Dadu grassland was governed by the Northern King, the grassland meeting was held by the Northern King. Now that the Northern King is gone, and Dadu Chong has been transferred to Yanzhou, it will naturally be held by the government.
Song You went to an official to ask.
The officials of Dayan respected Taoists and monks very much and loved to communicate with monks and Taoists. Song You soon asked about it.
The government-organized horse racing meeting started at this hour. Registration does not require anything, just people and horses. There is not much to pay attention to. The competition venue goes around the camp and almost around the mountain. As long as you don't take shortcuts or sneak in halfway, it will be fine. The first one to reach the finish line wins.
I heard that the last day will be a little more complicated. You will write on the horse, someone will open a handicap, and the rewards will be richer. However, the first few days are very simple and mainly for entertainment.
Anyone can participate.
When Song You arrived at the starting point with Sanhua Empress and Bay Red Horse, many people had gathered here.
The participants were mostly teenagers, riding either carefully selected good horses or their favorite horses that they had grown up with. Almost all of them had no saddles or stirrups, only reins. Without a saddle and stirrups, it is the same as the bay-red horse that Sanhua Empress rides, but the horse without even a rein is unique to the bay-red horse.
Apart from Sanhua Empress, there were other girls, but there was no one as young as Sanhua Empress, and none as white, tender, and polished as she was.
Therefore, when Empress Sanhua rode her bay-red horse into the group of horses, almost everyone in the competition and onlookers cast their eyes at her.
Not only are humans small, but so are horses.
Although most of the people present were Beiyuan horses, which should be the same breed as the bay horse, the bay horse was indeed the shortest among them.
Everyone was either grinning or talking.
There was also an acquaintance among them, the boy from yesterday.
It's just that he came early and occupied a front position.
As soon as he saw Song You, he greeted Song You with a bright smile: "Sir, we see you again."
"Destined."
Song You also smiled with him.
The boy didn't see the horse or the girl beside him. He turned around and saw it. He couldn't help but asked in surprise: "You guys are here to race too?"
“Playing is the main thing.”
"Hey, you also want to win the sheep?"
“Playing is the main thing.”
"How can you outrun your horse when it's so small?"
"As the saying goes, people cannot be judged by appearance, and sea water cannot be measured. In fact, the same is true for horses." Song You stood outside with a gentle voice. A rare equestrian master, who will win is yet to be determined."
The young man couldn't help laughing after hearing this.
The people around him were speaking local dialects and they couldn't understand what they were saying, but Song You could probably guess it.
This was the entertainment of Empress Sanhua. Song You didn't care and really didn't want to say anything more. He just stood aside and smiled without saying a word until a kind person came to express his concern, fearing that Empress Sanhua was too young and the horse would be too young. They didn't even have a rein, so they would be in danger of falling, so Song You opened his mouth and explained a few words to them to prevent his Sanhua Empress from being pulled out.
Someone comes to host the event.
The young man was kind enough to translate for them.
The little girl on the horse listened carefully.
Until a shout——
There was a sudden commotion among the onlookers, and strange roars with local characteristics were heard. The horse in front was urged by its owner to run forward, and the teenagers behind also urged the horse to follow closely.
"Horse, run!"
A soft and thin voice.
Sanhua Empress lowered her body, grabbed the horse's mane with both hands, and didn't care about anything.
Let the bay red horse run forward.
Just listen to the chaotic sound of horse hooves and shouts, at least dozens of horses are running at the same time. Although there are mostly young people on the horses, the young people's spirit is quite impressive.
Song You's eyes only looked at that one——
A short bay horse without a rein.
The little girl lay tightly on her stomach, but her face was serious.
He is actually somewhat heroic.
Among a large group of horses, the bay horse was short and small. It would have been inconspicuous if it weren't for the youngest and extraordinarily beautiful girl sitting on it.
However, not far away, the onlookers on both sides realized something was wrong.
Although this horse is short, it runs extremely fast!
It was in a very far back position, but as soon as it started running, it kept passing the horses in front, one after another, and before it was even half way, it was already at the front.
"Oh..."
The onlookers were surprised and surprised, but also extremely excited because of it.
The sound of horse hooves gradually faded away and then circled back.
The one running at the front was the bay-red horse.
Although the bay-red horse was born short, it has long been compensated for by nature, and it has even become extraordinary. Sanhua Empress does not know how to equestrian, but she is small and light. Even if she rides a peerless bay-red horse, she is already running leisurely. Well, there is really no suspense about the result.
Song You was neither surprised nor delighted.
Only after hearing a cry from beside him and seeing the extremely happy Sanhua Empress walking back with a sheep in front of a group of people watching and complimenting her, and seeing the look on her face, did he reveal a smile.
(End of chapter)
