"After the city in front, is it Qingchuan Pass?"
"There is a wide Yueyong River behind this city, and behind the Yueyong River there is the Xingchui Forest. If everything goes well, maybe we can reach Qingchuan Pass by this time tomorrow."
"I heard from my mother that the scenery of Qingchuan Pass Canyon is amazing. Then I have agreed with brother Mu Qing in advance that I will rest at Qingchuan Pass for half a day tomorrow, so I won't disturb you."
Mutual suspicion did not ferment into any conspiracy and assassination. On the contrary, in the past few days, Mu Qing and Wang Yeqing, mother and daughter, got along with each other more politely and restrainedly. The group of people had arrived at the border of Qingchuan Prefecture peacefully.
Hearing the other party's offer to rest at Qingchuan Pass for half a day, Mu Qing had originally intended to do so. He suppressed the doubts that had arisen in his heart at the right time, looked up at the sky in the direction of Qingchuan Pass, nodded and smiled and said: "The next few days should be It’s a sunny day, and I hope the scenery at Qingchuan Pass won’t disappoint Sister Xiuwei and Mrs. Wang.”
"Thank you very much." Wang Xiuwei tilted her head slightly on the horse and quietly looked at the profile of the polite man next to her. With his sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, he looked like a god descending to earth. It was really difficult for her to look at Wang Yeqing. The "danger" and "hiddenness" of evaluation are placed on the other person.
After quickly losing his youthfulness, Mu Qing looked much more mature. Wang Xiuwei looked at him from the side.
"It seems like you still have a vivid memory of the scenery at Qingchuan Pass. Can you tell me a little bit about it?"
After a dream in the thatched cottage, Mu Qing quickly lost her youthfulness, and her whole person seemed much more mature and steady. When he heard Wang Xiuwei's question, he immediately recalled how Liu Weirui introduced it at that time, but he shook his head and said with a smile: "It's just shocking at first glance. I'm short of words. I can't explain how it looks so good."
The two of them were riding horses side by side. Looking closely, Wang Xiu's slightly exposed eyebrows were missing a lot of makeup. The heavy makeup was finally lightly applied, and they were beautiful and refined. I don't know how many times they looked better than when they first met.
"It's better to keep some distance." Mu Qing thought in his heart that everyone loves beauty, but how could he see a playboy who likes someone else?
What's more, the faces that appeared in his dream were enough to make him feel at a loss. He really didn't want to get involved in any more scandals.
Wang Xiuwei felt the slight change in Mu Qing's attitude, and couldn't help but smile slightly in her heart. She was naturally natural in her dealings with others, but occasionally some unintentional tone of voice still left a hint of temptation that was seen in Xiaohonglou. However, this Mu Qing was so cautious, and she felt about Mu Qing in her heart. The image of being a playboy when buying rouge has faded a bit.
A team of nearly thirty people slowly approached the city gate, and Sun Ren was at the front negotiating with the sergeant who stopped the team.
Knowing that he no longer had to eat hard and dry food today, Wang Xiuwei felt a little lighter. His eyes were shining as he looked left and right, carefully looking at the scenery around him with curiosity, but he couldn't help but frown deeply.
I didn't pay attention just now, but now I was getting closer to the city called "Shu Le", and I realized that there were actually many people gathered at the base of the city gate wall.
Most of these people were in ragged clothes and had colorful faces. Some of them were walking like bones, huddled at the base of the wall, twitching and letting out intermittent groans of pain.
Wang Xiuwei only left the carriage yesterday and rode on horseback. Along the road, he saw some fields where young crops had not been taken care of for a long time. He did not expect that there would be so many refugees at the border.
Mu Qing raised his head and squinted his eyes. The caravan had passed through this city before without stopping, but Mu Qing still remembered that there were not so many refugees at the city gate. It was obvious that they had only gathered here in recent days.
He noticed that Sun Ren's face was flushed, and it seemed that his entry into the city was not going smoothly. He shouted to the side: "Xiao Wuling, go and see what's going on. Don't cause trouble for the time being."
Xiao Wuling came forward and listened for a long time without saying a word. After half a cup of tea, he ran back with an angry look on his face, "Young master, they are blackmailing. They are saying that the fugitives from Jinguan City are here. They are new." The city lord who took office has issued an order that anyone who wants to go to Qingchuan Pass through Shule City, regardless of their identity, must not only verify their identity, but also have to calculate it on a per-person basis, and each person must hand over ten taels of silver to ensure sufficient guarantee."
"Ten taels of silver per person? So dark-hearted."
Before Mu Qing could say anything, Wang Xiuwei raised his eyebrows.
Mu Qing now has a lot of property. He got more than forty taels of gold from Lu Fei. If you include the box of dozens of gold leaves that Liu Weirui gave him, converted into official gold, the total must be at least five hundred. Two gold.
Mu Qing calculated in his mind and asked Wang Xiuwei: "Ten taels of silver per person, doesn't it cost one gold per person to enter the city? It is indeed a bit expensive."
Wang Xiuwei shook his head quickly, "Now gold is expensive and silver is cheap. If they are all cast by officials, one tael of gold should be exchanged for fourteen taels of silver."
She thought of Mu Qing's generosity when he bought Rouge, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Even if it's not enough for one person and one gold, you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are. I sold you so many things a few days ago, and they were all the best." The good ones only cost a few gold, so I finally know why there are so many refugees gathering at the gate of the city."
Mu Qing asked Wu Ling, "You said they have a new city lord?"
Xiao Wuling nodded and said: "Yes, I heard the people around me scolding, it seems that this city lord also ransacked the house of the previous city lord, and the crime was for harboring fugitives."
Mu Qing asked calmly: "Has the fugitive been caught?"
Xiao Wuling wondered: "Those people are all common people who were blocked at the city gate and couldn't get in. They just heard some rumors. How about I go and ask again."
Mu Qing understood that he was a little distracted, shook his head and said: "Forget it, let's go in first and then talk about it. Everyone has been eating and sleeping out in the open these days, so go in and eat something hot first."
Xiao Wuling's eyes widened and he said: "But you need ten taels of silver to get in. I have saved all my wealth for so long and only have four taels of silver. It's not enough at all."
Mu Qing shook his head and smiled: "You should leave the little money you have to your sister to buy new clothes. I will help you out."
Mu Qing counted the number of people in his mind, and then, with Xiao Wuling's eyes widening, he took out twenty-seven pieces of gold from the bag tied to the saddle in front of him.
Wang Xiuwei was also stunned, "Are you really going to give it?"
Mu Qing nodded, but first handed the gold to Wang Xiuwei and said, "Just exchange it for silver at a ratio of ten to one and give it to them. You should have brought this much silver with you when you return home."
Wang Xiuwei carefully looked at Mu Qing's face. He didn't know why the other party was so eager to enter the city. He shook his head and said: "Brothers Wu Ling and Sun are also responsible for escorting me and my mother. Even if they want to be paid, you can't come."
In the end, Wang Xiuwei only took away ten taels of gold. Mu Qing and she handed the silver to Xiao Wuling from behind, then rode their horses and slowly crossed to Sun Ren's side.
A fat man who was still arguing with Sun Ren saw Mu Qing and the others coming up. He signaled his subordinates with his eyes and immediately gathered around them.
This fat man was obviously a leader, and his armor was much thicker and brighter. However, his fat body didn't even have a hint of mightiness when he was wearing the armor. All that was left was the funny feeling of his limbs making a "squeaking" sound when he walked around.
He is also one of the first things a new official has done since he took office. As the top general of the city gate in the past few days, he has taken the lead and led his men to fish for side gates. He is more of a bandit than the bandits who block the road and shout to keep the money to buy the road.
A dozen people surrounded Mu Qing and the others in just a moment. He looked up at the horse in front of him with a slight breath. The midday sun was setting, and he narrowed his eyes to a slit before he could see the few people clearly. The ground roared: "Who are you? Don't you know that you have to dismount when you reach the city gate?"
He spoke sternly, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He had already planned to ask his subordinates to drag these people down and beat them up for no reason, but as his eyes wandered, he was deeply impressed by Wang Xiuwei's fairy-like temperament that even though she was covered with a veil, she still didn't look like an ordinary fairy. Fascinated.
Seeing the fat man in front of the horse, Mu Qing didn't know how to restrain himself. His eyes kept wandering on the graceful curves of the woman beside him. He didn't hide the lustful and evil thoughts in his eyes. He patted the horse's belly lightly and took a few steps forward, forcing the fat man to avoid it. , and he just blocked Wang Xiuwei behind him.
"I told you to dismount. Do you dare to be so impudent? Do you want to die?"
The minions behind the fat man all blushed and drew their swords out of their scabbards. They suddenly felt the humiliation of being humiliated and dead. It seemed that as long as the fat man gave the order, they would jump up and chop wood with a green sword.
Mu Qing was dressed in white and looked graceful. He didn't care anymore about the fierce and fierce sword flashes. He looked condescendingly at the fat man in the heavy armor who kept retreating. He suddenly felt that it was boring to scare such a person, so he asked coldly: "No. Ten taels of silver per person? We’ll give you money, but you don’t want it?”
The fat man's eyes were hidden in the slits of his eyes that were almost closed together. For a moment just now, he felt that he was just a few seconds away from death. His plump lips were still trembling to this day, waiting for someone to help him. Looking at him, he cowardly said: "If you want it, why don't you want it?"
He had long seen that Sun Ren and Mu Qing were in the same group. He had been wrangling for so long just because he wanted to kill people like Mu Qing. Unfortunately, he had a good eye for making money, but he was not as sensitive to life and death as Sun Ren. Mu Qing Then he withdrew the energy that locked him, and shouted loudly: "But now it's not ten taels of silver, but one tael of gold per person."
He spoke faster and faster, and his tone became higher and higher, as if this way he could vent his embarrassment and depression and set off his own momentum, "In addition, you people don't look like good people at first glance. I suspect that you are that Shanwo There are bandits in the den, so they have to be searched here before they can pass."
He realized that he couldn't see the fairy just now, so he stretched his neck greedily to look behind Mu Qing, and said with a strange smile: "The men can strip off and search themselves here, and the women can be in the shed next to it. You have to take off your clothes too. Well, let me do it."
At this point, the sergeants surrounding the fat man all smiled knowingly, and invariably burst into obscene laughter.
Mu Qingjian raised his eyebrows. He was not very angry when he heard this. Instead, he was a little confused. Why didn't the fat man in front of him not care about Sun Ren's death threats?
He thought of the woman behind him, shook his head speechlessly, and said coldly: "Forget it, you wantonly collect money, and your words are frivolous. Do you, the city lord, know?"
When those people saw Mu Qing shaking his head, they thought he would curse something angrily, but they didn't expect that he would say such light words for a long time. After being stunned for a while, they all burst into sarcastic laughter.
"Young Spearhead boy, do you know that our Lord's daughter is the city lord's concubine?"
"It's really funny that you want to use the city lord to oppress others."
Mu Qing's sword-shaped eyebrows slowly stretched, and he also smiled slightly, asking: "Is it really that funny?"
The fat man looked proud after hearing the compliments from his subordinates. He turned around and looked around, but he only saw those decent-looking refugees pointing in this direction. He looked at Mu Qing, who was still sitting upright on the horse, and his face became even more expressionless. Displeased, he shouted loudly: "If you don't do what I say, you will never enter Shule City."
"And you kid, if you don't kneel down in front of me, you can't even think of entering Shule City."
