29.
"You mean, the prince of Beihong actually already has his own wife, and he doesn't want to marry us?"
"Yes." Hailian raised her eyebrows, "At least that's what I heard."
"Since they have chosen the daughter of an official from Dongzhou, why did they kindly invite us to travel thousands of miles to come over as guests?" Not only a baron from Hailian came with Long Rong, but also four other envoys who were in charge of discussing the matter. The ultimate benefit of marriage to each other. One of them obviously didn't believe what Hailian said. He spread his hands and continued, "Do they think our country can be teased?"
"Or do they still want to marry two women? Like their ancient side concubines in Dongzhou?" Another envoy interjected, "This is absolutely impossible. What age is it? How can Her Royal Highness share her concubine with others?" husband?"
"Uh, I mean..." Helian opened his mouth.
"If the prince sends someone over tomorrow, we can confront them." Another person said, "By the way, we can also look up the details of that Dongzhou woman's family."
"If Bei Hong has a disagreement over the conditions of the marriage, it's best to make it clear now, otherwise we won't have the initiative when we get married."
"I don't think there is any need to investigate the details." The last envoy also cleared his throat and expressed his opinion, "You also know that there will always be that kind of little girl who thinks she is the destined princess, Madame, princess... Aren’t there many girls who call themselves Mrs. Flo in Jiumeng City?”
"I think they're trying to push us to get engaged quickly, so they let this conversation go on purpose?"…
After a round of chatter, the target turned back to Hai Lian, "Your Excellency, are you sure you haven't missed any word Dongzhou?"
Hai Lian looked at these eight pairs of eyes, dumbfounded, and didn't understand why the direction of the discussion of these people was still spinning around this rubbish marriage. He was really not used to being the focus of such a situation, so he could only look for help to Her Royal Highness who was sitting in the middle.
Long Rong is actually not good at drinking. Today, she was persuaded by Beihong's monarchs and ministers to have a few more drinks. She was still a little dizzy. Just now, she never expressed her opinion while listening to the debate. After a while, she held on He asked softly on his forehead, "... During this period of time, has there been a letter from Tisu?"
"Last month His Majesty the King sent you a letter of greetings," replied the envoy.
Long Rong sighed: "I mean, Faluko's letter."
"No." Hai Lian said, "The latest letter was written by him on September 12th, and we only received it in late November."
"What did he say in that letter?"
"I just said three things. One is that His Majesty the King has sealed off the Anwana District. He doesn't agree with it, but Simona said that it is convenient to control the epidemic," Hailian replied truthfully. "The second is that His Majesty the King still I am trying to find a way to transfer Simona away from Jiumeng City, and even plan to distribute the old royal city Dansai to him; the third thing is that his intelligence network was cut off because of the blockade of Anwana District."
"It's nothing good." Long Rong muttered, she took off the torus from her temples, and pressed her temples that were tense due to her hairstyle, "There's no need to confront Bei Hong, we just pretend we don't know anything."
"But Your Highness..." An envoy wanted to speak, but was interrupted by Long Rong. She continued, "Hailian will go to Taiyan City tomorrow to see if there is any caravan that just came back from Tisu. Let's find out what's going on in the country. As for the marriage, let's continue to delay until the situation is confirmed."
Hai Lian agreed, and asked again: "What if something really happens?"
Long Rong stood up, her face was still dizzy with two drunken red clouds, but her eyes were clear: "Then do everything possible to go back to China."
30.
Hailian got up at dawn the next day. Since he wanted to inquire privately, he didn't want to disturb the Beihong guards guarding the embassy gate. The young man went around to the backyard of the embassy, estimated the height of the wall, took a few steps back, and then made a running run. The figure flew over the wall like a swallow, and landed lightly and soundlessly on the ground. He patted the dust off his hands and headed straight towards the canal pier. On the first day after the New Year's Eve, the city of Taiyan was already bustling with people. The fragrance of breakfast wafted from the streets and alleys. There was also an endless stream of horse-drawn carriages rushing to various mansions on the road to pay New Year's greetings. The dignitaries inside uttered a curse—apparently tea was spilled on their clothes; the long carriages carrying passengers were entangled at the intersection like long snakes, and the drivers shouted that this was the last train to the pier this morning, and the twelve people There were four more people crammed into the carriage, Hailian glanced at the crowded situation in the carriage, and decided to walk over by himself.
When he arrived at the Yanjing Wharf, the riverside was already full of cargo ships of various colors. It didn't take much for Hailian to see a group of Bolang merchants who were smiling and heading to the tavern. He followed the group of people and entered the gate together. After beckoning to the buddy for a jug of wine, he sat down beside the group of people as if nothing had happened.
The other party looked at each other, not understanding why there was suddenly another person on the table. "Little brother, are you sitting in the wrong seat?" One of them asked in substandard Dongzhou dialect.
"I have something I want to ask you. As a reward, I just ordered a jar of red wheat brew for you. It is the most expensive wine here." Hai Lian had already switched to Shiliudao dialect, and he looked around the crowd with a smile. "Which country are you from?"
For Bolangshang, the friendship of a jar of wine is definitely more useful than a few coins. Although the other party didn't understand what was going on, but seeing the jar of red wheat brewed on the table, they still replied obediently, "We come from Moyi."
"Oh," Hailian looked regretful, "That's such a pity."
"What a pity?"
"I was originally a sailor from Shiliudao. At the beginning of the year, I came to Taiyan because I wanted to attend my sister's wedding. Now that the wedding is over, I want to find a caravan to take me back to Tisu to meet my lover," this set of rhetoric is I had already thought about it when we were on the road, and Hailian spoke very fluently, "My girlfriend lives in the Anwana District of Jiumeng. She hasn't written to me recently. I'm afraid she will be seduced by some bad boy." Now... do you know any caravans from Tisu?"
"Anwana District..." A person on the table smacked the word and looked at Hailian, "Uh, if your girlfriend lives there, I don't think you need to go find her anymore."
"why?"
"You left early, I don't think you know. I met a sailor who escaped from the Anwana area at the corner of Metalli before. He said that it is like a purgatory on earth. Even if he is not infected, he can't survive at all." The man picked up the wine glass and took a sip. The brewed red wheat tasted really good, "Your friend may have already... tsk!"
The news was the same as what Faluco delivered, and Hailian frowned. But in the eyes of others, it seems that this beautiful young man is worried about his lover: "Then, what should I do, is there no one to care about?"
"Hey, those nobles above don't care about our life or death," the man patted Hailian on the shoulder, "You might as well stay in Taiyan and let your sister find you another good friend."
"However, I heard that there are still kind-hearted people." The other person also poured a glass of wine and continued.
"Good-hearted man?" Hailian frowned, and finally heard something that was not in the letter from Faluco.
"I don't know the specific situation, but when I left the port, I saw several ships transporting a lot of supplies to Hongliu, saying that it was to support the lives of the people in Anwana District." The man couldn't drink enough, and He ordered cold dishes and cold dishes, "What is this, a good person?"
Hai Lian faintly felt that something was wrong, but before he had time to recall it, he suddenly felt a line of sight fall on him, and he turned his head suddenly, only to see a young man in the crowd of the tavern suddenly short and hurried towards him. go outside. Helen didn't feel well, and quickly got up and backed away, "I suddenly remembered something, so I'm leaving first."
The merchants from Mo Yilai even called out to him: "Then do you want us to help contact the boat back to Tisu?"
"No! I decided to find a good friend in Dongzhou!" Hai Lian replied without turning his head.
The Yanjing Wharf was at the height of cargo unloading, and the young man was pushing and shoving away in the crowded crowd, but before he had run more than ten steps, he felt his arms tighten, and then his joints were forced to bend back, and the sudden severe pain caused him to fall forward in an instant , but the man behind him grabbed the back collar with his other hand.
"I've always been the only one who followed other people. You are one of the rare people who dare to watch me." The voice behind him laughed softly and arrogantly.
"I, I..." The young man was so painful that his facial features were twisted, and the word "I" was stuck in his throat for a long time and he couldn't say it.
The voice was still asking, "Do you want to find a place to chat with me? Or should I find a place to break the neck bone of your little mouse?"
"Talk! I'll chat!" The boy quickly replied. As soon as he finished speaking, Hai Lian pushed him forward and threw him into an alley not far away against his back.
The young man staggered two steps forward gasping for air, and finally supported his arms to stand firmly on the spot. He turned his head and looked at the other party. The young man's face was against the morning light, and only the white knife mark at the corner of his eye was particularly conspicuous.
Hailian cut to the chase: "Who sent you here?"
"It's our boss." The young man murmured.
"Which owner?"
"The owner of Congfang Silk Village." The young man replied.
"Where is Congfang Silk Village?"
The young man was extremely wronged: "It's the silk shop that made your clothes! The piping on your sleeves was made by my aunt!"
"..." Hailian was silent - this is the disadvantage of not knowing Dongzhou characters. He stared at the boy's face that was about to cry for a while, then clicked his tongue and continued to ask, "Okay, then why are you staring at me?"
"I don't know..." The young man shook his head, "It's the owner who said that if he finds a brother with a knife mark on the corner of his eye, let's see where he will go."
"..." Hailian fell silent again. After a while, he asked, "Your boss...isn't Fang Tinglan?"
"Who is Fang Tinglan?" The boy tilted his head, "You have seen our boss, last time she went with the shopkeeper to give you clothes!"
that old woman? Helian was even more puzzled. There are too many things that have made him confused in the past few days, like a mess in his heart, and he is the person who hates troubles the most. After thinking about it, the young man simply took another step forward: "It doesn't matter what your boss is. For what purpose, sending a brat like you to follow me is courting death. Tell her not to do this, I don't want to see blood in Dongzhou New Year's Eve." He waved his hand, "You go."
The young man hummed in a low voice, and he took a few steps forward. When he passed by Hailian, he mustered up the courage to raise his face, and said in a low voice, "Well... Our boss also said that if you want anything Anyone who helps can come to Buzhuang."
Hai Lian nodded, indicating that he remembered it.
31.
After letting the "little mouse" go, Hai Lian continued to inquire about the news at the Yanjing Wharf, but what he learned was the same as those of the businessmen from Mo Yilai—it was impossible, the caravan The action has always been slow. Generally, it would take three to four months for Bolang merchants to travel from the southern border to Dongzhou, and the news must be delayed for such a long time.
On the way back to the embassy, Hai Lian suddenly remembered that he and Fang Tinglan had talked about the speed of intelligence on the island four years ago. The other party once said that as long as you grasp the opportunity, you can control everything - if it is that person, with his eyeliner all over the four wastelands, it is estimated that he will always know everything that happened in the four wastelands at the first time...
etc.
Helian stopped in his tracks.
He suddenly realized that in the past few months in Taiyan City, he had never seen any goods with the Fang family pattern, nor had he seen any wandering merchants from Nanhong. Of course, Hailian knew that the relationship between the north and the south of Dongzhou had always been tense, but when he walked all the way from the Yanjing Canal and stopped at Youji, Wan'an Mountain, Shenling and other places, he could still see the clues left by the Haigong of Nanhong Town. Only Taiyan City.
This thousand-year-old city, the heart of Dongzhou, rejected anything about "Fang Tinglan" like an iron bucket.
Surrounded by red paper and vermilion lanterns, Hailian felt a chill rising from his back, as if a pair of invisible eyes were watching him indifferently and silently in the boundless sky. The young man swallowed and quickened his pace.
Regardless of whether something really happened to Tisu, he couldn't stay in this city any longer.