The sun has set.
But in early August, the summer heat is still intense.
The four Li Chenan who walked out of Wuya Mountain and entered Yuanzhou of Wu State arrived at the first city in the north of Wu State in the evening of this day——
Zhaohua City!
Not a breath of wind.
The leaves of the sweet-scented osmanthus trees lining the streets and alleys in the city have lost their energy.
However, some sweet-scented osmanthus has bloomed.
The fragrance seemed to settle down.
Walking in the alley, what you smell is the faint fragrance of osmanthus.
Perhaps because the heat has not gone away yet, there are not many people on the streets.
Li Chenan and his party stood at the door of an inn.
He looked up and immediately laughed——
Yuelai Inn!
"Let's stay here for the night and get some rest. We'll continue our journey tomorrow."
…
…
Zhaohua City, as the northernmost city in Wu State, plays almost the same role as Yudan City in Ning State.
It is the last supply place for merchants from Wu State to go to Ning State, and it is also the first place for merchants from Ning State to enter Wu State.
There has been no war between Ning and Wu for many years. This city, which was once used to defend against the invasion of Ning, has gradually transformed from a military town into a commercial town due to the establishment of seven surrounding cities.
It was quite large in scale and originally extremely prosperous——
It has the same fate as Yudan City, because the war between Ning and Wu at Wuyaguan has prevented trade from flowing smoothly, so the city has changed from the bustle of the past to a rather deserted appearance now.
As the largest inn in Zhaohua City, the business of Yuelai Inn is much cooler than before.
But because of the name of Yuelai Inn, there are still some people living in the inn.
Such as those businessmen waiting for the end of the Wuyuguan war.
Also like some people from the world who pass through here.
East Park.
Second floor.
Room Tianzi No. 1.
Xia Hua lay comfortably in the bathtub in the room, her hands unintentionally fiddled with the petals floating on the water, and her beautiful eyes looked at the roof.
She had been looking at it for a long time, but her eyes were not focused.
What came to her mind were the poems she got while traveling in Ningguo, and the person who composed those poems.
She really wanted to forget that person, but found that she couldn't forget those poems at all, so she couldn't forget that person!
I saw him from a distance in an unknown wilderness in Shuzhou.
I saw him many times at close range at the Water Mirror Terrace in Chongqing Mansion.
His appearance was etched in her mind.
It cannot be said that he is handsome and flawless.
It cannot be said to be tall and tall.
But there was an air of elegance about him.
Now that I think about it, that is the taste of Shixian.
Three points of ink fragrance.
Three points of bookishness.
And four points... It should be a men's fragrance.
Xia Hua's face suddenly turned red and she sighed:
"The one who messes with my heart...Li Chenan!"
Her hand fell on the edge of the bath, where there was a small throwing knife.
She took the flying knife and looked at it carefully, and the corner of her mouth curled up again:
"You are a man of letters, so why bother with a knife?"
"You are a scholar, why do you need to exercise power!"
"If you are obsessed with poetry and use your pen and ink to write this worldly picture...perhaps on a certain evening of a certain day in a certain year, I can harmonize with the piano and play your words to the world."
She put down the flying knife again, and her eyes fell on the petals rippling in the pool.
She picked up a handful of water.
The water spilled from between the fingers, and what remained in the palm was a bright red petal.
Her face gradually became desolate.
"A famous piano is easy to come by, but a close friend is hard to find."
"God gave birth to you, Li Chenan... Even though you have left, you have already shone on the world for five hundred years!"
"I just feel sorry for Miss Xiao."
"As for me, I will try my best to forget you!"
"It's just sealed in the deepest memory."
She put her hands in the pool, and the petals floated on the water and gradually drifted away.
She stood up from the pool.
All the dust is gone.
The look of decadence and sadness was gone from her face.
She looked at her beautiful body and the water droplets falling from her body. She stepped up to stand on the edge of the pool, and suddenly found a petal on her right shoulder.
Bright red petals.
Snow-white fragrant shoulders.
She looked at it for a moment, stretched out her left hand, twisted off the petals, waved her hand, and the petals fell into the pool.
She put on her clothes and stood in front of the window with her long wet hair on her shoulders.
There is sunset in front of the window.
Under the window is the patio of the inn.
Her eyes suddenly focused——
Two people walked into the patio!
She didn't see the faces of the two people, she saw the backs of the two people!
One tall and one short.
One man and one woman!
Her eyes fell on the man's back!
She was suddenly startled.
She jumped from the window!
The moment she jumped down, Li Chenan's sharp facial features could already feel something strange behind her.
A flying knife fell into his hand.
He held Zhongli Ruoshui with his other hand.
He suddenly turned around and stood behind Zhong Li Ruoshui and in front of Xia Hua, who had just landed!
Li Chenan was startled.
He has seen this girl!
But he was wearing a mask, and his expression was perfectly concealed by the mask.
Xia Hua stared at Li Chenan's face.
I felt instantly disappointed.
"girl……?"
"Ah, I got the wrong person."
"Oh, farewell!"
Before Zhongli Ruoshui could react, Li Chenan had already turned around, holding her hand again and heading towards the west courtyard.
Xia Hua still looked at Li Chenan's back.
Gradually let go.
I could only laugh at myself, but suddenly found that deep down in my heart, I actually cared about him so much.
She did not return to her room on the second floor.
She sat under the pavilion in the courtyard.
She took out a horn comb from her sleeve pocket and combed her long, wet hair.
The sun was setting, and her hair was still dry.
At this moment, second senior brother Lin Zifeng walked in.
"Little junior sister,"
"Second Senior Brother...Eldest Brother, why haven't they come back?"
"That's it. We originally wanted to go to Wanke Lai to book a table, but unexpectedly we met Chen Baiwen, the eldest son of the city lord here in Wan Ke Lai."
Xia Hua's expression was indifferent. She didn't know this person. Even if she did, so what?
Lin Zifeng said again:
"This is Chen Baiwen, who was a prostitute in the autumn of last year. Together with Ai Hedong, Pu Qianmo, and Tai Zhaohua from Wanlin Academy in Dongxu City, they are known as the four great talents of the Wu Kingdom."
Xia Hua's hand combing her hair suddenly stopped, and she raised her eyes to look at Lin Zifeng, "The four great talents? Can their talents be compared with Li Chenan?"
Lin Zifeng choked, "This... Li Chenan is dead after all, but they are alive!"
Xia Hua's complexion suddenly darkened, she lowered her head and continued to comb her hair.
"Junior sister, this Lin Zifeng is not only a talented man, his martial arts are also very good, and he is highly appreciated by the young master of Xuanwu Hall, the Third Young Master of Tianwai Feixian."
Xia Hua frowned slightly: "Third Young Master? Which Third Young Master?"
"That's the third young master of the Qiu family in Dongxucheng City."
"Oh...Qiu Jiulou...then what?"
"Is His Royal Highness the Prince, who has returned to Kyoto, about to ascend the throne as emperor?"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is so talented that he invited Chen Baiwen to Beijing."
"In addition, the date for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's enthronement ceremony has not been set yet, but in order to promote the literary style of Wu State, His Royal Highness decided to hold a huge poetry gathering on Lantern Festival night..."
"Chen Baiwen heard that we were the Seven Swords of Tianshan, so he enthusiastically wanted to entertain us at Wanke."
"Elder brother thinks that since this person is both civil and military, he will either become an official in the court or become a core member of Xuanwu Hall in the future. Since he has this intention, it is not easy to offend him, so let me come back to pick you up. How about going?"
Xia Hua pondered for a moment. With her status, she didn't have to pay attention to such a person.
But she thought about it and nodded, "Then let's go before dark."
"good!"
West wing.
Li Chenan looked at Qin Rigang: "It's been a long journey, so let's find the best restaurant. Let's all have a good meal!"
Qin Rigang bowed his hands and said, "Master, I heard that the best restaurant in Zhaohua City is Wan Ke Lai."
"Then let's take a bath and then go to Wankelai!"
