He lifted the car curtain and went in.
Next to the lady sat the beautiful Orchid, who was wearing a cloak to cover her clothes.
Seeing him come in, Hu Ji immediately knelt on the ground.
Zhou Xu sat next to Madam and kissed her: "What are Madam going to do with this Hu Ji and stay with her as a maid?"
"She has a brother and a family. She was fainted and abducted by a passing Hu businessman." Xiao Luolan paused and said, "She said she wanted to go home."
"After so much time, Madam isn't worried that her brother and her family will sell her?" Zhou Xu said.
After hearing this, Xiao Luolan looked out the window. Hu Ji was the most in Hu Shang's team, and she frowned slightly.
"My brother and the others are very good." Hu Ji on the ground suddenly said in a strange and jerky Chinese dialect: "They won't sell me."
"Thank you, Master." Hu Ji kowtowed to the noble man in front of her: "Thank you, Master, for letting me go home."
"Then you go back, Madam didn't stop you." Zhou Xu said, "But if you want money, one hundred taels should be enough."
Hu Ji's beauty suddenly turned pale. She took a few steps and climbed up to the master: "Sir, it's a long way home. I don't dare to go alone."
"So we need an escort?" Zhou Xu stroked his beard and asked, "Where will I stay during the escort? In order to repay Madam for saving my life, I can only serve as a maid for Madam."
"When you arrive at your destination, what will you do if your hometown is gone?"
"Continue to follow us?"
When Xiao Luolan heard this, she could tell that something was wrong. She looked at Hu Ji, still weak and pitiful.
Was she being taken advantage of?
Hu Ji was trembling all over and was extremely pitiful: "I don't dare to trouble you, I just want to go home."
"Stop the car," Zhou Xu said.
After the carriage stopped.
Zhou Xu's eyebrows showed impatience: "Go down."
After Hu Ji left, Xiao Luolan looked at Sect Leader Zhou and found that he was not in a good mood.
"Dongxue, follow her." Zhou Xu ordered.
"yes."
The carriage drove slowly through the busy streets, Zhou Xu closed his eyes, as if taking a rest.
Xiao Luolan remembered that this man got up very early in the morning, so she pushed him.
Zhou Xu didn't even open his eyes.
Seeing that there was no pillow in the carriage, Xiao Luolan knelt down and let Sect Leader Zhou sleep on her lap.
"I'm sorry, I seem to have caused you trouble." Xiao Luolan hesitated for a while but decided to apologize. If Hu Ji was a spy or an assassin, they would be in danger at the moment. She should have thought more deeply at the time, but Before Hu Ji got on the carriage, Mrs. Zheng gave her a full body check. She was probably not an assassin, but a spy seemed more qualified.
Zhou Xu smelled the fragrant fragrance, opened his eyes, and said with a smile: "Kiss me, madam, and I will forgive you, madam."
Xiao Luolan looked at Sect Master Zhou and saw that he was not joking. She lowered her head and kissed him gently.
After the kiss, Xiao Luolan looked away uncomfortably.
Zhou Xu looked at his wife's blushing face, his heart was moved, he sat up, held his wife's face and kissed her fiercely.
"Not counting just now, I taught Madam how to kiss."
Chapter 62
Xiao Luolan's cheeks were red and the tip of her tongue was a little numb. She wondered if her lips were swollen, so she picked up the curtain hat and put it on her head. As soon as the fluttering green gauze covered her sight, Sect Leader Zhou removed it. Take it down.
Zhou Xu hugged his wife and kissed her deeply with satisfaction: "Wearing a curtain hat in summer is boring, so please stop wearing it, madam."
Xiao Luolan looked at him and told the truth: "I feel warm only when you hold me."
Zhou Xu pretended not to hear this. He pushed open the window of the carriage and looked at the business road outside.
It was easy to distinguish among the bustling crowd whether they were businessmen from the Central Plains, Hu businessmen, or foreigners.
"I'm going to check Wang An's smuggled bow/crossbow later to see if I can find any clues. Madam, would you like to go with me?" Zhou Xu played with his madam's hand: "It's still early now, Liu Family Courtyard It’s not much fun, I’m worried that Madam will get bored there.”
"Madam, you should go out for a walk more often."
Taking a carriage was a last resort when he was on the road. When he got there, he naturally wanted his wife to be more free. Of course, only freedom within his scope.
"Then let's go and have a look." Xiao Luolan thought of people taking Hu Ji out of the Yao Mansion. In fact, she still didn't understand whether Hu Ji was a spy or just an innocent person.
She looked behind her, and saw that Hu Ji had long since disappeared. She felt a little depressed and panicked about the world. What would have happened to her and Qingxue if she had not met Sect Master Zhou?
Talking about human rights and laws is like a fantasy to the ancients. Zongzhu Zhou and the others don't understand. Everyone here doesn't understand. The only daughter who understands is in Langge, safe and sound. Every time she thinks of this, Xiao Luolan feels like You can survive in this world.
"Okay, let's go together." Zhou Xu felt happy when he saw his wife accepted his proposal.
"Is that Hu Ji a spy?" Xiao Luolan couldn't help but ask.
Zhou Xu hugged his wife, squeezing his hands and touching her waist. Seeing that his wife was still worried about Hu Ji, he said: "The Wang family has been lying in wait in Youzhou for several years. The beauty they sent can be held by someone like Yao Nandao." People with real power are interested in her, so don’t underestimate her, madam.”
"This kind of trained Hu Ji is very good at reading. She has stayed in Yao Mansion for five years and is safe and sound. Her ability to survive is much better than Madam. As for whether she is a spy, I have asked Dong Xue to follow up and investigate. ”
"Madam, tell me how you found out about her and took her out of the house again?" Zhou Xu poured a cup of plum juice to Madam.
Xiao Luolan recalled: "Dongxue and I were standing under the sycamore tree outside the nave. Her clothes were almost torn off by Captain Yao's wife. Others also beat her and scolded her. During the pushing, she fell to the ground. Not far in front of me..."
Xiao Luolan only remembered that Hu Ji looked at her with a pleading and helpless look, with a little despair in her eyes, which was so similar to when she first came to this world.
When leaving, Hu Ji kept looking at her. Xiao Luolan hesitated for a while and finally took her out.
So were all the things she said to her false?
Zhou Xu smiled and said: "Under the guard of so many servants, that Hu Ji could still fall in front of Madam."
Xiao Luolan was shocked by what Sect Leader Zhou said about her. If she thought about it carefully, it seemed to be quite a coincidence. But what if she really needed help?
Xiao Luolan stared blankly at the men and women being traded as slaves, and various different languages reached her ears.
What can she do in this world?
The carriage stopped in front of a small courtyard.
"Madam, get off the car." Zhou Xu stretched out his hand to ask Madam to get off.
Xiao Luolan came back to her senses and got out of the carriage under Zhou Zongzhu's men. She found that the small courtyard was surrounded by Youzhou cavalry and servants, making the courtyard airtight. Cui Shizi opened the door and let the lord and princess in.
The monk in white and Zheng Yuxin were sitting on the threshold. They knew what was right. Sometimes it was best not to look around and not know. Knowing everything was not a good thing.
The old hunchback and the swordsman originally followed, but after the carriage had traveled half way, the lord asked them to go investigate the Orchid with Dongxue.
Zheng Yuxin held her cheek, feeling that the lord was really kind to his mistress. It didn't matter whether Hu Ji was a spy or not, it was a fact that she took the initiative to approach the mistress, but the lord disliked people approaching the mistress with ulterior motives.
The small courtyard was filled with dismantled carriage frames. Cui Shizi stood next to a young man. The two brothers Tuoba Agu, Zhou Xuan, Zhou Lingzhi, and General Shi, who led the Youzhou cavalry this time, were all in the small courtyard.
When Xue Si saw Master Jiedushi and a plump, mature and beautiful woman coming, he bowed hurriedly and said, "I pay my respects to Master Jiedushi and his wife."
"No need to be polite." Zhou Xu patted Xue Si on the shoulder, asked him to stand up, and then pushed the door open with his wife.
Xiao Luolan only saw three boxes in the room filled with bow/crossbow parts.
Zhou Xu looked at those things, took out the crossbow/bow/crossbow/machine crossbow arms from the box, assembled them, then picked up an arrow and placed it on the arrow path, hung the string back on the hook, and the bow string was like a half moon. , the arrows flashed with cold light.
General Shi stroked his beard and said, "My lord, please don't be slippery. The maximum range of this short crossbow is a hundred paces."
Xiao Luolan remembered that the Youzhou crossbows carried by each of the Youzhou cavalry were invented by the Gongsun family and should be more powerful than this short crossbow.
Zhou Xu disassembled the crossbow/crossbow and put it on the table.
"The people who made these bows/crossbows were very careful and did not leave any marks. The standard is the crossbow/crossbow used in the previous dynasty. It has a range of a hundred steps and is generally the standard equipment for infantry to defeat cavalry." Zhou Xuan said: "I I suspect that Wang An must have also given the Ke cavalry's hook and sickle spear, iron caltrops, and kerosene, but this time they were not discovered."
General Shi said: "What Erlang said is absolutely true. It is not an exaggeration to say that Wang An was cut into pieces by a thousand swords for what he did."
"How many crossbows can be put together from these boxes?" Zhou Xu looked at General Shi.
"Twenty." Old General Shi replied. Wang An was not stupid. He was still in the spice business. With too many bows and crossbows, no matter how heavy the vehicle was, it would be impossible to disguise the weight of the carriage, so he would smuggle a small amount every time. , having said that, if you gather the sand into a tower, you can send hundreds of crossbows into it in five years.
"A Gu, please bring over the records of the Gu Chang pass that the Wang family's caravan has passed in the past seven years." Zhou Xudao.
"Wei." Tuoba Agu took the order and left.
Zhou Xu picked up the crossbow/bow and looked at it carefully. It was shaped like a shoulder pole, also called a crossbow pole. The body of the crossbow was jujube red with an oily luster. He touched it and said, "It's a very new crossbow. The body of the crossbow is made of red duck." It's made of wood, and the smell of paint hasn't dissipated yet."
Zhou Xu strummed the bow string: "The crossbow string is not made of raw cowhide and beef tendon, so it lacks flexibility."
He squinted at the constantly vibrating bowstring, not believing that a crossbow could be made without leaving any traces. Crossbows are common, but not everyone can make them. The blueprints, craftsmen, and required materials, After making it, it is secretly sent to Hui Yi. He has his own workshop in Youzhou that can complete a complete set of processes. How much strength do other people need to be able to send bows/crossbows to others on a small scale for several years?
Zhou Xu already had several candidates in mind. The imperial military department, King Jingnan of the opposite sex, and Taiyuan Jiedushi Wei Yanshan all had this capability.
Zhou Xu rubbed the bow/string with his hand.
"It's ramie." Xue Si sniffed his sleeves and said, "The ramie is the bone of the crossbow string, wrapped with goose feathers and coated with huquor wax."
Zhou Xu looked at him: "Huperzia wax." He remembered that the last step of a silk and hemp crossbow string like this was to apply yellow wax.
Xue Si was a little nervous when he saw everyone in the room looking at him: "Yellow wax and huperzia wax have the same appearance, but huperzia wax has a stronger aroma and is darker than yellow wax."
"Where is huperzia wax produced?" Cui Shizi coughed and asked his friend.
"Huperzia wax is only produced in the Zhishan area of Jinxi. I also accidentally learned from my father's travel notes that there is also huperzia wax that is so similar to yellow wax." Xue Si replied.
The warriors present immediately thought of Jinxi's location.
"Datong Jinxi?" Cui Shizi coughed.
"Yes." Xue Sida said.
Zhou Lingzhi glanced at his uncle.
Tuoba Agu brought Liu Ren over. Liu Ren immediately started counting when he got there. When he saw those bows/crossbows, cold sweat dropped from his forehead.
Xiao Luolan listened to their discussion, but she didn't really understand much. She didn't know much about ancient weapons. She only knew that the huperzia wax should be a clue to a breakthrough. Thinking of this, she felt slightly relaxed.
At noon, everyone in the house went to eat separately.
Xiao Luolan was sitting on the bench. There were three meals on the table. On the other side of the table was Liu Ren who was still working.
"Ma'am, enjoy your meal."
