Xichuan, in the middle of the night, the stars twinkled, and the city was dark. Before moving the capital, it was like a dead city. With the invasion of the Liao Kingdom, the ancient capital of a thousand years ushered in the most prosperous period in history, and it was completely silent one year after the new emperor ascended the throne. , waiting for the next rebirth.
After waking up, Wu Du washed his face by the well, washed his whole body, put on clean clothes, and sat in the courtyard. In the silence, he heard faint snoring from outside the courtyard, so he opened the door and went out, seeing Zheng Yan drunk. He fell outside the courtyard, so he was dragged in and a bucket of water was thrown on his head.
Zheng Yan was shocked and woke up immediately. Seeing that it was Wu Du, he laughed out loud.
The servants in the house brought dinner and put it on the corridor in the courtyard, leaving a note asking him to go to Mu Kuangda when he wakes up, and Wu Du sat down to eat without looking at Zheng Yan.
Zheng Yan yawned, came over and sat in front of the porch, disheveled, looking at the stars in the night sky.
"I thought you would sleep until dawn." Zheng Yan said.
"I dreamed of an old friend, so I woke up." Wu Du general swept away the food on the case and rinsed his mouth with a teacup.
Zheng Yan shook the bottle and wanted to fill Wu Du with wine, but Wu Du took the glass away and said, "It's a matter of personal responsibility, and you can't drink."
"Floating life is like a dream, what's the point of being happy?" Zheng Yan said casually, "Drink some, this evening, when people come and go, it's just a blink of an eye."
That sentence touched Wu Du. He finished his tea and put the empty cup in front of Zheng Yan. Zheng Yan poured him the wine, took the bottle, touched his cup a little, and made a soft sound. .
"Floating life is like a dream, for joy." Wu Du pondered for a moment, shook his head, and smiled bitterly.
Zheng Yan wanted to pour wine for Wu Du, but Wu Du refused to let him pour it again. He dipped the cup and said, "Let's meet in Jiangzhou and drink with you again."
"Who did you dream of?" Zheng Yan asked himself while drinking.
"Zhenshanhe." Wu Du replied, "In one night, everything changed. I still remember that day he said to me, 'In your hands, the sword of light has become a butcher's knife for slaughtering pigs and dogs. To revive the reputation of the White Tiger Hall?'"
"The other day I was woken up by his head-banging." Wu Du pondered, and then said, "I didn't expect him to go like this overnight, the situation is changeable, like a turbulent current, everyone is in this whirlpool, panicking. tomorrow."
Zheng Yan said leisurely: "It's almost the day of the emperor's sacrifice."
"The seventh day of the seventh lunar month." Wu Du sighed, "His Majesty chose to move the capital on the Qixi Festival. I wonder if it was also because of this festival. After the worship, the whole country moved eastward. When he left, he explained it clearly, lest he could not find his way home. the way."
"The way home."
Zheng Yan laughed, looked at the courtyard, and said, "After many years, I didn't expect you to start playing with flowers and plants. Why does it seem that there are other people living in this courtyard?"
"A child." Wu Du said, "I picked it up."
"Where's the person?" Zheng Yan knocked on the threshold with a wine bottle and said, "Call out and meet."
Wu Du said coldly, "Zheng Yan, don't do anything to him, or I will poison your wine."
Zheng Yan got up to go in to look for it, but Wu Du said impatiently, "Drunken! Not here!"
Zheng Yan had no choice but to give up, Wu Du got up and said, "If you want to live here, you can stay here temporarily. I still have something to do, so I'll leave now."
"Where to go?" Zheng Yan said, "The palace is stuffy, why don't you go out for a walk..."
"roll!"
Wu Du threw a word at him and disappeared outside the courtyard.
The light was still on in the study, and as soon as Wu Du arrived at the door, Mu Kuangda's voice came from inside, saying, "You don't have to come in, you come with me into the palace."
Wu Du frowned slightly, not knowing what Mu Kuangda meant. He saw that Lord Changliu escorted Mu Kuangda out and got on the carriage in the backyard. Jun Changliu drove the carriage, and Mu Kuangda motioned for Wu Du to get on the carriage.
"Don't worry." Mu Kuangda said, "One by one, the first thing, this is a letter to Wang Shan."
Mu Kuangda handed Wu Du a letter, saying: "Tongguan, the size of the matter, can be handled as appropriate."
Wu Du's heart fell to the ground, he nodded, Mu Kuangda handed over a volume of sealed and tied Huang Jin, and said, "The second thing, this is an imperial order, appointing Mr. Fei Hongde to temporarily serve as an imperial commissioner, but it can be announced in public, It can also be kept secret. It depends on the actual situation.”
"After you leave tonight, the imperial court will send Zheng Li to Tongguan to take over the position of the new governor of Tongguan, but from here, it will take seven days at the earliest. Quick, before he arrives, you must advance and retreat with Wang Shan and work together to defend Tongguan."
"Understood." Wu Du put away the things that Mu Kuangda had handed over, and was about to get out of the car, but Mu Kuangda pressed him and said, "There is a third thing, we will talk about it in the palace."
At the fifth watch, the palace was brightly lit. Inside the Imperial Horse Prison, a horse officer led out a horse. It was pitch black and its hooves were snow-white. It was like standing in white snow. Wu Du was stunned when he saw this divine horse.
"After the death of the late emperor, no one ever rode this horse again, and Wuluohoumu brought it back. Since then, this fine horse will no longer obey Wuluohoumu's orders. But he doesn't accept him." Mu Kuangda said in a low voice to Wu Du.
"Don't listen to anyone?" Wu Du also replied in a low voice.
Mu Kuangda said: "Your Majesty's words, it listens, Your Majesty| is weak and rarely rides horses,
Wu Du put one hand on Wanli Benxiao's side face, got close to it, Wanli Benxiao turned his head sideways, stared at Wu Du, and Wu Du's face was reflected in his eyes.
Cai Yan hadn't slept all night. He was obviously very tired because of the move to the capital. After arriving at the Imperial Horse Prison, he smiled brightly, barely regained his spirits, and Chao Wu only showed a gentle smile.
"After the father passed away, it became very irritable." Cai Yan said, "In the last days, you were the one who accompanied Dad. Now, when I look at it, I really recognize it."
"The Wusun is famous for his horse." Wu Du replied, "The temperament is arrogant, it will get better slowly."
Cai Yan added: "In order to tame it, it really hurts my brain. The whole Dachen only recognizes the fourth uncle, and everyone else will be thrown off by it, and Wuluohoumu will ride it back, knowing that After Dad died, it would never listen to Wuluohoumu again. The prime minister said, Wu Qing, you have been working hard day and night these days, so I thought I might as well give it to you, or..."
Wu Du was taken aback and hurriedly said: "It's absolutely impossible! The late emperor loves his horse, and only recognizes the Li family..."
Cai Yan waved his hand to stop Wu Du's words, and explained with a smile: "Every horse has to run, the fourth uncle never likes to ride and hunt, so letting him stay in this square inch will humiliate him. You try first. Try it, it's not sure whether it listens to you or not. If it doesn't work, I have other plans, let's talk about it."
After Wu Du hesitated for a moment, Mu Kuangda persuaded: "Since Your Highness has given you a good horse, you can go up and try it."
Wu Du knew that the prince was appreciated, and because he was dedicated to serving Nan Chen, he was worthy of it, so he stepped on the stirrups, and everyone hurriedly backed away. Prince.
Wu Du turned over and climbed up Ben Xiao's back.
Wanli Benxiao was not at all irritable, letting Wu Du ride on his horse and stand quietly.
Wu Du: "..."
The surroundings were silent for a moment.
"It's really strange." Cai Yan said with a smile.
I thought it would take a lot of work for Wu Du to go up, even if he finally tamed the thousands of miles to the sky, but the Maxima didn't resist at all, and just stood silently.
Wu Du's audience had spoken seriously before, and they were always on guard, but at this time, Ben Xiao did not see any resistance.
"Drive!" Wu Du commanded.
Ben Xiao trotted a few steps and ran a small circle on the school field outside the stable.
"Yu!" Wu Du restrained his horse.
Ben Xiao stopped, turned his head sideways, and looked at everyone.
Wu Du wrapped the reins twice on the back of his hand, looked at Mu Kuangda blankly, Mu Kuangda understood, and said to Cai Yan, "Then, I will thank your Highness for Wu Du's favor."
Cai Yan smiled knowingly, but was a little uneasy. No one could ride on it. He forcibly mounted the horse three months ago, and even fell into the mud and was almost kicked to death by Ben Xiao. Can't do it.
Now that it is given to Wu Du, out of sight is pure, it is considered to be a big trouble in his heart, and he has bought his loyalty, which is killing two birds with one stone.
"Wu Du leaves." Wu Du immediately bowed his hands to Cai Yan, and gave Mu Kuangda another look when he left the Imperial Horse Prison.
"Be careful on the road." Mu Kuangda said to Wu Du.
Wu Du nodded and drove Ben Xiao to leave the palace.
"Drive!" Wu Du shouted.
Wanli Benxiao has not left the palace for a year. As soon as he left the palace, he swept across Suzaku Street and rushed out of Xichuan with the wind and the clouds. The normal horse had to run for half an hour. It only took two quarters of an hour.
"Drive!" Wu Du shouted again, feeling better after being led by Wanli Benxiao.
The god horse was like a gust of wind, rolled up the official road, and disappeared at the end of the horizon in an instant. Wu Du leaned down slightly, his robes were carried up by the wind, and the mountains and rivers were all left behind by the thousands of miles away.
A ray of dawn appeared on the horizon, and under the rolling golden clouds, Maxima set foot on the tortuous mountain road, wading through the mountains and water, crossing the Shiyueling like walking on the ground, and heading straight to the northwest.
Tongguan, the sky is bright, and the mountains are filled with fog.
Duan Ling slept on the mountain. After waking up, he washed his face, picked some wild fruits, took out a few eggs to satisfy his hunger, identified the direction, and left the Qinling Mountains. Others may lose their way after walking a few steps in this mountain. They are either eaten by bears or starved to death, but how to survive in the wild is not difficult for Duanling. In the past years, the Xianbei Mountains escaped, and the Qinling Mountains have a warm climate and lush trees, which is simply paradise.
I don't know how Bian Lingbai explained his affairs after he returned, saying that he fell off a cliff? Helianbo will definitely come to find him, and suddenly there is one person missing, so he can't explain it at all, and most likely he won't tell Fei Hongde.
It is very likely that he will tell everyone that he has sent himself to do things. As for what to do, naturally no one dares to ask.
If Duan Ling is Bian Lingbai, this is the only way for him to clean up the aftermath. But this person is completely unreasonable, and he can't trust his own speculation too much, otherwise he will suffer again.
The most urgent task at the moment is to try to notify Wu Du who is about to return, and be careful to make the white dog jump over the wall. Helan Jie is still looking for the assassin outside.
Duan Ling decided to take a risk and go into Tongguan to have a look.
He mingled with the common people entering and leaving Tongguan, entered and passed through the city, avoiding patrolling soldiers so as not to be interrogated. Tongguan is built on the mountain, and there are slate-paved paths everywhere that go up and down, like an intricate labyrinth. Duan Ling was wandering around in the alley and felt his body, secretly knowing that he should bring some gold bars out, but luckily there were still some pieces of silver, so he immediately bought breakfast and devoured it. I saw two people and entered the garment workshop.
That back hurriedly glanced, it was Yao Jing.
Duan Ling hurriedly walked to the alley behind the garment workshop, walked in through the back door, and heard the proprietress talking to Yao Jing in the front shop.
"This blanket is from Dashi. It is very warm when draped over your shoulders in winter."
Yao Jing was picking out the shawl, when the proprietress said, "There is a big mirror at the back, girl might as well try it."
"I'll take a look." Yao Jing said to the housekeeper, and went inside.
As soon as he entered the room, a hand reached out and covered Yao Jing's mouth, blocking her exclamation.
"It's me." Duan Ling whispered.
Yao Jing's eyes were full of surprise, Duan Ling signaled to keep silent and took her aside.