The carriage drove on the winding road up the mountain. After walking for more than an hour, there was still no inn ahead. Shen Jie pulled the curtain and saw a few shabby inns in the valley on the right side of the road in the distance. It has been seven or eight hours since we entered this continuous mountain group, and this is almost the only trace of human beings.
The environment of those shabby thatched huts is not good. They seem to be very close to here, but they have to pass through a rapid mudslide and several miles of dense forest. Moreover, there are likely to be pursuers behind them, so they might as well just walk along. Keep going this way.
At a sharp angle that rotated upward, Lu Jianxing and Yichuan pushed the carriage almost against the cliff. Zhuo'er walked towards the outside. The valley next to it was so lush that the bottom was not visible, and there were many trees and weeds growing diagonally on the cliff.
After walking for such a long time, Zhang Yan, like everyone in the car, had her clothes soaked by the rain. She had been practicing medicine and saving people in her hometown in Beijing since she was a child. The farthest place she went to was the Shuntianfu Center, and Every time she went there, she felt tired and felt it was so far away. Now that she was nearly two days away from the capital, she felt more and more homesick. Her master was dead. She still had many childhood playmates there. Although it was a bit far to get together with neighbors, But she also travels frequently during the New Year and holidays. She still remembers the lively scene of family visiting for dinner during the Chinese New Year last year.
Now she felt that she might have to live this kind of life of escape, just like the gloomy sky outside the window, it seemed like the end of the world was coming.
She looked a little lonely. Zhou Miaotong had experienced family changes since she was a child, and later lived a more comfortable life in Jiaofangsi. She had thought that the carriage was about to fall off the cliff a few times, but these men had to force her through the difficulties again and again. , she has been trapped there since she was a child, and it is rare to get out now, but she did not expect that she can't go back. Now she wants to go back to the past, and she feels extremely uncomfortable being shaken by the car.
A loud banging sound came from behind. Lu Jianxing and Yichuan quickly jumped on the carriage and drove the carriage diagonally up the mountain. The speed was not very fast. Lu Jianxing's whip on the horse could only increase a little speed. He estimated that the three horses pulling the carriage The horse was almost exhausted.
He looked back at the road blocked by mud and rocks behind him, and after going around a curve, he saw a three-story building located on the flat land in the mountains. The whole body was made of bluestone, and each block The joints between the bluestones are almost airtight and look extremely strong.
There are a dozen low tile-roofed houses next to the bluestone building, which just fills the open space in the mountain forest.
"There are people ahead." Lu Jianxing shouted into the car.
He saw that Shen Jie, who had been sitting silently on the window sill in the car, opened his eyes. When Lu Jianxing looked at him, he felt stabbed and his brain felt a little dizzy.
"Go to the bluestone building, we will rest there today."
Lu Jianxing nodded. A building of this size is not simple at first glance. If one of them fails to do it well, it is very likely to get into trouble. None of them are in very good condition now, but Shen Jie said this. , he felt that maybe he was worrying too much. The carriage bypassed the tile-roofed house and drove directly to the bluestone building.
Someone in the bluestone building heard the horses neighing outside. Two women in red came out and looked at the carriage parked outside the corridor. Even though the roof of the carriage was in tatters, it was definitely not something ordinary people could ride on.
She looked at the people coming down from the carriage one after another and asked, "How many of them are officials?"
Lu Jianxing also saw five strong men following the two women, with sabers around their waists. They were looking at Shen Jie and others who were getting out of the car with vigilance. One of them was obviously seriously injured. Walking outside in this weather has to be suspicious.
Jin Yichuan took out his badge from his arms and said, "I am the Commander-in-Chief of Jinyiwei, and this is the Master of our Hundred Households." He pointed in the direction of Lu Jianxing and said.
"It turns out it's the adults of Jinyiwei, please come in quickly." The leader, a rather attractive woman in red, walked up to Lu Jianxing and led the way.
Lu Jianxing also knew who he was, but he didn't just leave. Instead, he looked in the direction of Shen Jie and Zhuo'er. "This is Mr. Shen, you follow his arrangements."
The woman in red was a little surprised, but she still walked towards the young man in blue who looked to be only twenty years old. His hair was hanging on his head, and there was rain dripping from his hair on his face. It was hard to tell that he was a young man. , but this hundred households were actually headed by him, which made her have to think about it.
"Prepare your room and food immediately." Shen Jie's expression didn't change much, but he walked straight inside. The decoration in this hall was the same as outside, very warm and clean. The seven of them came in and made the ground dirty. What a mess.
"Okay, sir, please follow me." She led a few people towards the marble steps in the center of the hall. The stone steps were divided into two equal directions between the first and second floors, and were paved with sapphire-like carpets. .
"Where is your place and why does it look so nice?" Shen Jie asked the woman in red next to him who was almost as tall as him.
"Sir, this is Fengshan Xingyuan, a place specially provided for officials who come and go here. Of course, there are also businessmen who spend a lot of money to live here."
"I have never seen such a good source of business in so many years outside." Lu Jianxing said, don't lie to me.
"Sir, we never dare to lie." The woman in red explained immediately.
"Keep talking." Shen Jie smiled.
Seeing this, the woman in red immediately looked at Shen Jie with a smile and said: "Sir, the road in front of Xingyuan is the only shortcut to Jiayuguan other than Daguan Road. This place is better than Daguan Road." The official road is nearly thirty miles long. Due to the dangerous mountains, the road is not spacious. Generally, only small-scale caravans heading to the Western Regions will pass through this place, but there are also a lot of them every year. The buildings and decorations here are all made through traffic. The merchants' taxes were built, and some merchants came back from the Western Regions without much cash, so we also accepted the exchange of goods, which is how the decoration here came about."
"Yes." Shen Jie nodded with satisfaction.
Walking to the spacious corridor on the second floor, there were several rooms in the middle decorated with pictures of ladies dancing in front of their doors. They looked so lifelike, as if they were real. The pictures were beautiful. They were surprised at first, but they didn't put much thought into them.
The woman in red pushed open the middle room and said to Shen Jie: "This is the best room here. Sir, how about you live here?"
Shen Jie walked in. The bed was very big and the quilt was made of silk. The whole room looked new and very warm. If Shen Jie hadn't known it was midsummer, he would have thought it was early spring. Through the window, A large amount of rain splashed down on a green rocky mountain. "Very good, you can take them there. The food will be ready as soon as possible." Shen Jie said, closing the door after Zhuo'er came in.
