Han Changmu raised his eyelids, his eyes seeming to be laughing at Leng Linjiang's words, as if he could have the power to protect himself without Xie Mengxia.
Leng Linjiang's face turned red when Han Changmu looked at him, and he became more and more charming without knowing it. But when he opened his mouth, he instantly broke the charming feeling, and he looked like a scoundrel: "If I can't protect you... Ancestor, you are the unlucky one."
Han Changmu seemed to have been persuaded by Leng Linjiang, and said calmly: "Mr. Cheng Qi will disguise himself as a maid and sneak in with you." He looked gentle, moisturizing and silently soothing Leng Linjiang's restless heart: "This These are ringing arrows, you and Mr. Cheng Qi each carry three in case of emergency."
As he spoke, he handed over three small dark yellow bamboo tubes about the thickness of a thumb, with a slender twister hanging from the end.
Leng Linjiang hesitated for a moment and did not go to catch the arrow: "Well, if the water bandits find me, won't I die miserably?"
Han Changmu glanced at Leng Linjiang: "The water bandits want people, and they won't search your bodies."
"You promise?" Leng Linjiang asked.
"Promise." Han Changmu said.
Leng Linjiang was relieved and hid the three arrows in his sleeves. He didn't want to but heard Han Changmu add another sentence.
"You have to put away the rattling arrows, otherwise I won't know where to salvage you." His voice was still so gentle, but his words were not so nice.
Leng Linjiang was used to hearing this. He turned his head, pretending that he was deaf and couldn't hear.
Han Changmu patted Leng Linjiang on the shoulder and said two words lightly: "Don't worry."
After waiting in the tea shed for a while, on the official road leading to Liangzhou, the sound of rapid horse hooves got closer and closer, and everyone looked up.
Dust was flying all over the sky, and the sound of horse hooves was as chaotic as the beat of drums. The group of people hurried to the outside of the tea shed, got off their horses, and saluted in unison: "Sir."
Han Changmu nodded slightly, stood with his hands behind his hands, and said calmly: "Go ahead."
A young man at the head stepped out from the crowd. The hem of his light gray cross-collar gown was stained with some mud, and his leather boots were even more muddy. He leaned over and said, "My subordinates have carefully checked in several villages along the way. Then The gang was indeed water bandits on the Jialing River. In the past half month, they had been looking for unmarried girls in several villages along the way who had haircuts of under 20. At first, they half cheated and half bought them, but later the villagers learned of their intentions. He refused to sell the girl to them again, so this group of water bandits began to rob her."
"Didn't the villagers report to the officials? Are all the villagers dead?" Leng Linjiang jumped out wearing a pony top and a delicate grass-colored skirt. The beaded hairpin in the bun was caught by the warm sun setting in the west , the bright golden light can almost blind people's eyes.
The young man closed his eyes subconsciously due to the golden light. When he opened them again, he saw Leng Linjiang's painted face. He endured it again and again, but he couldn't hold it back and still laughed out loud.
Seeing Leng Linjiang's face darken and his eyes dancing with anger, the young man took a step back hastily, his shoulders hunched over with a compensatory smile: "Master Shaoyin, please calm down. The villagers have reported to the official, and Li Zheng has also They reported it to the county, but the county was short of manpower and only sent a few people to stay in the village for a few days. As soon as the people from the county came, the water bandits withdrew. As soon as the people from the county left, the water bandits came again. It’s really hard to guard against.”
Leng Linjiang frowned angrily and shouted loudly: "Why don't you take precautions if you can't take them?"
Xie Mengxia walked over with her skirt swaying and patted Leng Linjiang on the shoulder: "Stop yelling, your fans are about to fall off."
Leng Linjiang: "..."
Young man: "..."
"..." Han Changmu was quiet for a moment and looked at the young man: "Continue talking."
The young man's shoulders shook slightly, and he gritted his teeth to hold back his laughter. He did not dare to look at Leng Linjiang and Xie Mengxia again: "This group of water bandits has been entrenched in the Jialing River for more than 30 years. They are said to be water bandits. They are not like ordinary fishermen on the river." No different, the government had carried out several campaigns to no avail, and had not found out where their thieves were. As for the sacrifice to the river god, it was only ten years ago that the water bandits recruited a scholar who was good at calculations and was known as the divine fortune teller. At first, the old woman must have kept bad records. Sacrifice to the River God is held once every two years. Each time, the fortune teller will divine a place for sacrifice and the number of sacrifices required. Therefore, the location and number of sacrifices to the River God will be determined each time. The number of people is different, but they are always on the river from Liangzhou to Chang'an City. In the past half month, villagers from several villages have given away their girls, and the gang of water bandits have not yet worshiped the river god. I don’t dare to break into the city of Liangzhou to snatch the girl, so I am already looking for someone to cheat on me, and I plan to buy some back.”
Han Changmu raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Leng Linjiang and Xie Mengxia.
The look of her head full of hairpins and gorgeous clothes is really eye-catching.
The river is full of water at night, and the moonlight is reflected on the surface of the river, with shimmering and broken floating shadows rippling away.
The river was extremely quiet late at night. A large boat was pushing through the river. The water was sparkling and the sound of water was distant.
This building ship is not very huge. It has only two floors, the upper and lower floors. The second floor is located above the deck, with dim lights dimly reflected on the window paper, while the first floor is located below the deck. It is a huge bilge with no windows. Allow a narrow door to enter and exit.
There were many people on the deck, and many people were walking back and forth. Their steps were so low that they were almost audible, but the sound of swords touching was very clear.
The moonlight reflected on the sword, and the dazzling cold light fell on the rippling waves.
There was only one light on in the huge bottom cabin, which seemed extremely dim, and with about a hundred people crowded inside, the cabin became too small. All kinds of inexplicable powdery smells were mixed together, and the smell was a bit heady.
Leng Linjiang, Xie Mengxia, and Cheng Chaoyan were huddled in an inconspicuous corner. At this time, the three of them had already changed their clothes. They only wore light makeup on their faces, and wore gray and coarse clothes. The hair could not be more simple and simple, and there was no decoration in the hair. At first glance, it looked like a girl from a poor family who had no choice but to sell herself into slavery.
Leng Linjiang used the faint light to look at the people in the cabin calmly.
There were about a hundred girls crowded into the cabin, all with hairpins and sarongs. Some were beautiful and some were ugly, but they were all just above hair and under twenty.
Bought more than a hundred girls in one go, even if each person only had three to five taels of silver, it was still a big expense.
Leng Linjiang silently calculated in his mind and found that being a water bandit indeed brought in more money than being a courtier.
He recalled the memory of Jialing River in his mind, and was surprised to realize that he had read a little less. He vaguely remembered a sentence and a half, but he still didn't remember it clearly and in detail.
"The Jialing River starts from Feng County, flows through Gyeonggi Road, Shannan West Road, and finally merges into Jiannan Road."
"The tributaries of the Jialing River are complex, and the river is plentiful and rapid. Boats can be used where the river is wide and calm, but boats are often destroyed and people killed in places with dangerous shoals and rapid water."
"Yungui, Yungui, the yellow bone fish in the Jialing River is very delicious. I ate it once last time and I will never forget it. Do you think we can have a meal this time?" Xie Mengxia suddenly leaned on Leng Linjiang's shoulder and said, He asked in a lowered voice.
In fact, he didn't have to lower his voice so low, it would have made him look guilty.
After the water bandits had just delivered the purchased girls to the cabin, they probably expected that these helpless girls would not be able to escape, so they just locked the door from the outside and left no one to guard them.
There was a lot of noise in the cabin. Some of the girls knew each other. After sitting on the floor bored for a while, they started chatting everywhere. It was whispering at first, and then it became noisy.
Under such circumstances, Xie Mengxia deliberately lowered his voice, feeling guilty.
Leng Linjiang pushed Xie Mengxia's head away and said with a smile: "I'll get a boat back and let you eat as much as you like."
There were vague footsteps outside the door, which sounded particularly familiar. He curled his lips and gave a smile.
The people outside seemed to pause in front of the door for a moment, then pushed the door open and placed the steaming meals in the food boxes on the dining table. They turned to greet Han Changmu and said, "My lord, you came out of the palace and haven't used the food yet." Well, I've sent it to you."
Han Changmu snorted and glanced at Yao Yao expressionlessly: "Drink too much?"
Yao Yao chuckled twice: "Bao Cheng has finished the exam and is finally free. I was so happy that I drank two more drinks. Please forgive me."
Han Changmu pursed his lips and asked again: "Does the Apricot Blossom Light Rain taste good?"
Yao Yao nodded repeatedly: "Sir, do you want to try it?"
Han Changmu said one word calmly: "Okay."
Yao Yao suddenly jumped for joy and quickly spun out of the small room. After a moment, he quickly spun back again. He was holding an unopened wine jar in his hand and placed it heavily on the food table.
"Sir, after so many days of hard work in the Gongyuan, you should have a few drinks today." Yao Yao smiled and opened the seal of the wine jar, and the strange aroma of wine instantly spread out.
Han Changmu had endless curiosity about this wine and smiled slightly: "Okay."
Although the name of this wine is elegant, the wine taste is not strong, but full of aroma, but the stamina is stronger than usual.
Yao Yao had already drank a jar at first, and now she had a few more drinks with Han Changmu. The smell of alcohol made her emboldened, and she began to act unscrupulously.
After she left the palace today, she went back to the public room of Jingzhao Mansion to take a bath and change her clothes.
This dress was given to her by Xie Mengxia as a reward. It was made of excellent material and was the most comfortable to wear at this time of year. Unfortunately, the sleeves were a little too wide, making it a bit cumbersome to fight with.
She usually didn't wear much, so she put it on thinking that there would be nothing to fight about today.
After drinking a few more sips of wine, she began to dislike the inconvenience of the wide sleeves. She stretched out her hands to push up the sleeves and tied them with cloth strips, revealing two strips that were not very white. Arms, pouring wine and picking up food, very relaxed.
Han Changmu had a very good capacity for drinking, and he kept sipping the wine cup in small sips, not even the slightest bit drunk.
He saw Yao Yaohao drinking and eating meat in high spirits. He was about to step on the bed and stand on the dining table. He sneered and reached out to pull her: "Come down quickly. Be careful."
