"I got it, grandma." Xiao Qingxue obediently closed the window and closed the car curtain. Dad said that they arrived in Luzhou in the evening, and General Lu had already prepared a banquet waiting for them.
"Drink quickly, a small bowl for each person to ward off the cold." Xiao Luolan knelt down on the cushions, filled a small bowl of ginger tea with a white porcelain spoon and placed it on the table. The carriage she was traveling in this time was very large, and there was a lot of space inside. It was enough. The long desk and bookshelf outside were all fixed. Xiao Luolan was very convenient to use. He rolled up his sleeves lightly and filled five bowls in a row, which was just enough for each person.
Zhou Xu was sitting on the couch beside him, wearing casual clothes, which made him feel more relaxed, and he was reading the military book.
On the 16th, before the ginger tea could cool down, he picked up a bowl and placed it in front of his uncle with a bright smile: "Uncle, drink ginger tea."
Zhou Xu put down the book of war. He glanced at his wife who was sipping ginger tea with her head lowered, and found that she had already drank it. He took the ginger tea sent on Saturday and took a sip.
Only then did Zhou Liu return to his seat with satisfaction and drink ginger tea with Xiao Qinghe.
Xiao Luolan took two sips and tasted the sweet flavor of brown sugar in the ginger tea. Her cheeks were quickly filled with heat. She poured the remaining half bowl of ginger tea into her daughter's bowl and touched her hand. I found it very warm and felt relieved.
"Auntie, I've had enough." Xiao Qingxue said.
"The remaining bits can't be wasted." Xiao Luolan remembered that her daughter's menstrual period was coming soon, so drinking more brown sugar and ginger tea would not hurt.
"Okay." Xiao Qingxue took a sip of ginger tea and muttered: "I'm still thinking of leaving some room to go to Luzhou to eat Chaohu whitebait. It must be particularly delicious."
"We just arrived in Luzhou at night, so there's no need to rush, little greedy cat." Xiao Luolan smiled softly, looking at her daughter while she lowered her head to drink ginger tea, with gentle eyes.
Zhou Shiliu wanted to ridicule the little girl for eating the movie, but he accidentally saw the look in his aunt's eyes focusing on the little girl's movie. For some reason, he thought of his mother-in-law. Although his mother-in-law often beat him and scolded him, But every time, no matter how late he came back, Aniang would wait for him.
So the original mocking words turned into a soft snort.
Xiao Qinghe watched this scene and drank ginger tea quietly.
"Lord." Jin Ben's voice suddenly sounded.
Xiao Luolan pushed open the window and saw Jin Ben. Zhou Xu walked to his wife and asked, "What's the matter?"
Jin Ben reined in his horse and stopped, raindrops dripping down his helmet, and the cold air hit his face: "A scout from behind came to report that there was a troop of a hundred people escorting a noble girl behind us, who should have come out of Shouzhou City. "
"He came from Shouzhou City." Zhou Xu touched his chin: "Can you tell which family it comes from?"
Linghu Mao of Shouzhou wished he could close the city. At this moment, there was actually a noble family coming out of Shouzhou city. He should not be an unknown person.
"I'm sorry for my incompetence, I can't see it." Jin Ben said. He was not familiar with these aristocratic families in Jiangnan in the Central Plains. This was the first time for him to accompany the princess and his mother to Jiangnan.
"Is there a flag on the car?" Zhou Xu asked. A wealthy family would identify themselves when traveling. Flags, car emblems, etc. all have distinctive marks.
"The bullock cart flag has a figure that looks like a fox." Jin Ben replied.
"That should be the Qionghuazhou Big Fox." Zhou Xu thought for a moment and said, "Make way for them and let me see which one it belongs to?"
After Jin Ben left, Zhou Xu wanted to kiss his wife, but when he saw there were two or three people in the carriage, he had no choice but to give up.
"It's raining so heavily, is there anyone on their way?" Xiao Luolan cleared the table and put the small stove in the corner of the carriage.
"Aunt, I'll just do this." Xiao Qinghe quickly put everyone's tea bowls together, held an umbrella and sent them off the carriage.
"Children of aristocratic families often travel to various places, but it is rare for a noble daughter to travel." Zhou Xu suddenly remembered the night when he met his wife. At that time, the lady was so panicked and pretended to be calm that it was really pitiful.
"Maybe something happened." Xiao Luolan guessed.
Soon, a group of hundreds of people escorted a luxurious ox cart and appeared on the side of the official road.
The attendants in front cleared the way. The ox cart in the middle was wide and stable, huge and luxurious, with complicated decorations. It was covered with a canopy and precious umbrellas. When the drizzle blew, the gems under the canopy were like clear springs hitting stones. The ox cart was wide open on all sides, and the interior was brightly lit with glass lampshades. Light up this evening rainy season.
Several maids could be vaguely seen kneeling on the carpet, holding up the master's belongings, or holding a round fan, Buddha dust, or a lunch box, and a Yaoqin. The atmosphere of women's life was strong.
Xiao Qingxue looked at this scene curiously: "Why do they use oxen to pull the cart?"
"You don't understand this. Cows are gentle and drive more smoothly than horse-drawn carriages. Some aristocratic families in the south like to ride ox-carts. I heard that their children also travel in sheep carts." On Saturday, I finally found a car that could drive a horse. To show off, he looked at the bullock cart with envy. To be honest, he had never ridden in an bullock cart before.
"I wonder who the noble lady inside is? Maybe we can give her away?" Zhou Shiliu said.
Xiao Qingxue rolled her eyes at him: "It's worthless." She wanted to offer it up without anyone seeing it.
"It's the Xiao family of the big fox." Zhou Xu looked at the word "Xiao" on the flag of the incense car opposite and the succinct tribesmen next to him, and narrowed his eyes slightly. The Xiao family of the big fox in Qionghua Prefecture is also an upper-class family, and he is close to people from the same family. The Wei family and Shouzhou are controlled by the faction to which the Wei family belongs. Why are you rushing to leave safety and go with them?
When Xiao Luolan heard the word "Xiao", she lifted the curtain and looked at the bullock cart.
The sound of the piano came, and the maid closed the bead curtain.
The noble girl playing the piano was revealed behind her. She was playing the piano with her slender hands. Her face was covered by the gauze and only her bright eyes were exposed. When she saw the person in the carriage opposite, she was surprised for a moment, then quickly lowered her head, stood up and rolled up her sleeves.
"Xiao Yuniang, Xiao Clan of the Great Fox, would like to thank Zhou Youzhou for giving way."
Zhou Xu nodded coldly. Although he didn't have a good impression of the aristocratic families in Jiangnan, as long as he didn't offend him, Zhou Xu wouldn't attack a female family member for no reason, but...
"It's getting dark soon. I wonder why Madam Xiao came out of Shouzhou and where she is going?" Zhou Xu asked casually.
Yu Nu clenched her hands and became uncontrollably nervous. Across the screen was her master.
The master should have seen Zhou Manzi's appearance. The jade slave was stirring her hands, her mood was ups and downs. Zhou Manzi's appearance could be regarded as Zhou Zheng and resolute. He was an outstanding person in the south of the Yangtze River. In terms of appearance, he surpassed him by a lot, but she was absolutely incomparable. I never expected that Mistress Youzhou, who was jokingly called an old woman by her master, would look like that.
The mature and gentle woman has black hair, a plump and clear face, and a smooth skin. Her makeup and clothing are elegant and light, but her eyes are like amorous spring water, which sways people's hearts without saying a word.
Xiao Luolan found that Xiao Yuniang was looking at her, but soon, she lowered her head again, feeling a little strange.
"The ancestor of my family is about to celebrate his birthday. Because he is too old to go out and enjoy the scenery, I heard that the eight scenic spots in Shouzhou are famous all over the world, so I went to Shouzhou to paint the scenery and dedicate it to my ancestor, as a way of showing my filial piety." Yunu suppressed the resentment and jealousy in his heart and said the excuse he had made up long ago: "Now that the eight scenes have been painted, it is time to return to the city."
"Lord Linghu saw that I missed my family so much that I didn't want to stay any longer. He promised me that he would let me leave as soon as the city gate opens."
"So that's it." Zhou Xu smiled and said, "Mrs. Xiao's filial piety is commendable."
"Zhou Youzhou is a shame." Yu Nu's palms were sweating. Their original plan was to pass each other by each other. They would go to Qionghua Prefecture, while Zhou Manzi and the others would go to Luzhou.
"Didn't Sheriff Linghu send someone to see Madam Xiao off?" Zhou Xuxiao asked.
"Master Linghu is busy and has no time, so I can't trouble him," Yunu replied.
Zhou Youzhou didn't hear any more questions, so they must have passed the test.
Yu Nu's heart was beating fast, but she didn't dare to look towards her master. In the night, the ox cart and horse carriage were driving one behind the other.
Jin Ben rode a horse near the ox cart, and the surrounding cavalry slowly surrounded the ox cart, encircling it and moving forward.
As if frightened by Jin Ben's mask, Xiao Yuniang covered her mouth and exclaimed, and then asked her maid to close the doors and windows of the oxcart.
Behind the screen.
Sun Yan listened to the commotion outside and screamed secretly. He felt a little regretful in his heart. He should never get angry with Wei Shu. If the young prince was discovered, he would lose his head.
Wei Wuji was not nervous. He had been active in the Jinling area. Zhou Manzi might have seen his father, but he had definitely never seen him. Moreover, when he entered the carriage, his face was covered with a mask, which was different from his real appearance. Does not match.
Seeing that Zhou Manzi did not send anyone to search the carriage for the purpose of causing trouble, Wei Wuji was sure that Zhou Manzi had no intention of causing any upheaval when he came to Jiangnan. He could not just kill any aristocratic family he saw.
Now that he met Zhou Manzi, it was actually a bit beyond Wei Wuji's expectations. His own father was an elegant gentleman with an outstanding appearance and a light fur coat. He never expected that Zhou Manzi's appearance was so ordinary.
And his wife, Mistress Youzhou, gave Wei Wuji another kind of surprise.
Should I say it was a secret investment?
Thinking of that startling glimpse, especially the unguarded smile of the stunningly beautiful woman with her own charm, and the pretty and bright girl, Wei Wuji waved to the jade slave who came in.
Sun Yan retreated.
The jade slave knelt beside his master's legs and rested his head on his lap. Wei Wuji caressed the beauty and sighed with regret.
Carriage on the other side.
After Xiao Luolan waited for her daughter and the others to leave, she yawned softly. Perhaps it was because of the ginger tea she drank. Even on a rainy night, her hands and feet were very warm. When she was sitting on the couch soaking her feet, she noticed that Clan Master Zhou was looking at the cow. I don’t know what Che is thinking.
Zhou Xu looked at it for a while and then sat next to his wife.
Xiao Luolan had already soaked for a while, then she removed her feet from the copper basin, stretched out a big hand from her side, picked up her ankle, and placed it on the man's knee.
While Zhou Xu was soaking his feet, he used a cotton handkerchief to wipe off the water drops on his wife.
Xiao Luolan's face was slightly red, she put her hands on the beauty's couch and sat down slowly: "I'll do it myself, your robe is already wet."
After Zhou Xu wiped off the water droplets, he lifted up his robe and tucked the wet areas into the leather belt. He made his casual clothes look nondescript.
Then, he lowered his head and kissed the lady's snow-white instep.
Very loud.
Xiao Luolan's face turned red and she tried to pull her feet back, but failed to break away. She said in embarrassment, "You don't mind being dirty either."
Zhou Xu laughed and held his wife in his arms with a little effort. It hurt a lot: "It's so white and fragrant. How can it be dirty?"
He lowered his head and looked at his wife's feet, which were white, well-proportioned, and smooth.
Xiao Luolan leaned on Sect Master Zhou's arms and listened to his steady and powerful heartbeat: "It will probably be late at night when we arrive in Luzhou."
"I have asked Jin Ben to send cavalry to tell Lu Cong that we will go to Luzhou tomorrow." Zhou Xu said the news abruptly.
Xiao Luolan looked up in shock: "Aren't you going to Luzhou?"
"Anyway, Luzhou and Qionghua Prefecture are very close. It won't be too late for us to send Xiao Yuniang back to Qionghua Prefecture before returning to Luzhou." Zhou Xudao.
Xiao Luolan frowned slightly: "Do they have a problem?"
"Although there is a rebellion in Luzhou, under the special care of Huaiyou Economic and Strategic Envoy Cheng Quanhai, there has been no large-scale war in Qionghua Prefecture in recent years, and the big fox Xiao family has gained a lot of benefits from the Wei family." Zhou Xu touched the stubble of his beard: "The Xiao family traveling with us is unusual. It doesn't look like he was raised by the big fox Xiao family who was immersed in wealth."
It was too easy for Zhou Xu, who had been on the battlefield for decades, to tell whether a team of soldiers had killed or not, whether they had seen blood or whether they were veterans.
The aura of killing must be gained by going to the battlefield, not by protecting people. To say the least, Xiao Yuniang is a great figure in the Xiao family of the big fox. The Xiao family of the big fox uses the elites at the bottom of the box. Buqu escorted her to a neighboring city to paint.
No matter how he thought about it, Zhou Xu thought it was impossible. Of course, there was another possibility. Linghu Mao lent those external songs to Xiao Yuniang, but Xiao Yuniang personally denied this possibility.
Zhou Xu really wants to know now, who are the tribes who are traveling with him?
If you are sneaky and don't dare to see people, there must be something fishy, so you have to check carefully at night.
Soon, Sun Yan felt an unusual atmosphere on the bullock cart.
Yunu looked at Luzhou Road and saw that the ghost slaughter riders wanted to go with them, and looked at his master anxiously.
"What are you afraid of? Is your identity fake?" Wei Wuji stood up and said calmly: "Last year, the big fox Xiao family learned that you were from Qionghuazhou, and recognized you as Xiao's adopted daughter, Yunu, you are When the people of the Xiao family arrive in Qionghua Prefecture, why don't they just let the people of the Xiao family pick them up?"
His plan was perfect and everything was under control. Wei Wuji waved his sleeves and felt an inexplicable sense of relief. Walking with the tiger, he finally made a superior move.
"Bring me some wine, I want to take a swig." Wei Wuji said with a smile.
Yu Nu didn't dare to say anything, but Sun Yan was frightened. He couldn't feel at ease even if he knew Wei Shu was following him.
When the sky is dark and bright.
Zhou Xu wore armor and rode on horseback to look at the looming outline of Qionghua City. He smiled and said to Xiao Yunu, who looked a little pale: "Qionghua City is right in front of you. Congratulations to Madam Xiao for returning home soon. But why don't you see the city gate open?"
The jade slave took out Xiao's jade token and asked the maid to send it to the city gate to make an announcement.
"Thank you Zhou Youzhou for escorting us all the way. The Great Fox Xiao has recorded this." Yu Nu said: "The city gate is right in front of us, let's say goodbye."
