In the late autumn of October, the wind blows tightly and intermittently, bringing drizzle and pattering on the awning boat.
Counting it, it has been an hour and a half since I left Zhencheng.
It was raining at night on the boat, and the man standing at the bow of the boat was standing with a long sword in white clothes, his sword eyebrows were slightly frowned, and he was playing the flute, and his clothes were like billowing clouds in the wind. It was already late at night, the river below was surging, the boat had already left the city along the canal, and there was no sound in all directions, only the sound of the flute with a bit of sadness and anger, and the sound of the boatman swaying the oar along with the sound of the wind and rain.
"Mr. Yan, it's raining, let's go to the cabin and rest." The old boatman put on a bamboo hat and coir raincoat, and shouted to the people at the bow. However, the man in white didn't listen, he was still playing the flute in the rain, and the agitation in the sound of the flute was even stronger.
The old boatman sighed slightly - maybe this little brother encountered something unpleasant in Zhencheng? A few days ago, this Mr. Yan rented his boat in Shangzhou and went straight down the river, saying that he was going to Zhencheng for an urgent matter. When he arrived at Jinsha Port, he ordered the boatman to tie up his boat and wait for him for a few days before going ashore.
However, this pause lasted for nearly half a month, and on the seventeenth day, Mr. Yan returned with a box of things. The anxious look on his face eased a lot, and he presumably finished his work.
However, for some reason, from the moment I got on the boat, I was always very bored.
The boatman didn't dare to ask, but according to his instructions, he hurriedly rowed the boat out of Zhencheng overnight, and went back to Shangzhou on the north of the river.
The boat was sailing through the waves at night, the old boatman was rowing the oars, while listening to Mr. Yan playing the flute, after listening for a long while, he suddenly asked, "Young master is from the country of Li."
The sound of the flute stopped for a moment, and the young man in white looked sharply at the old boatman with gray temples. The old boatman's face remained unchanged, he shook the scull, and sighed softly: "Is the son playing "Iron Clothes Cold"?"
After a pause, the old man looked into the depths of the dark night, and said calmly: "Yan Feizheng, the founding emperor of the country back then, was accomplished in both civil and military affairs, and his meritorious deeds are unmatched. Unexpectedly, it has not been passed down for three generations. The empire created by himself has already suffered from civil strife, and it is close to disintegration."
"You are—" Somewhat wary, the white-clothed man clasped the flute in his hand. Along the way, the boatman seldom spoke, but when he spoke at this moment, everyone couldn't help but look at him with admiration.
The old boatman smiled indifferently: "The old man has lived away from the country for several years, and he only fled to the country of Xi when the civil war broke out eight years ago."
The young man in white's eyes darkened, and he sighed softly with his hands behind his back: "Eight years... yes, it's been eight years since Liguo was in turmoil."
Eight years ago, Emperor Lixi passed away, and the fourth emperor's uncle, King Yonglin, joined forces to rebel, unveiling the turbulent times of Liguo. Afterwards, several other royal relatives of the Li country rebelled one after another, and the political situation became even more turbulent. Later, neighbors gradually spied on them, and by supporting all parties in the civil strife, forces infiltrated into Liguo.
There is no wilderness in the bones, and the flames of war are all over the four borders. In the blink of an eye, eight years have passed, and it is unknown how many people died in this war.
"Did His Majesty the Seventh Prince come to Xi Country this time, did he achieve the expected purpose?" Seeing the young man in white frowning and pondering, the boatman asked abruptly, and then, as expected, he saw the young man in white looking up in shock. In the night rain, I saw the white clothes move, and the man at the bow suddenly moved to the stern, and the cold sharp blade approached the old man's throat.
"Are you sent by Uncle Four?" The dagger hidden in the flute popped out and pressed against the boatman's loose skin.
The old boatman raised his gray eyebrows, but his face remained unchanged, and he sneered. After laughing for a while, he said with emotion: "It is said that the Seventh Prince Xueya is the best among all the princes. Over the years, because of his efforts to assist Prince Chengde, the Yan family's authenticity has been preserved in the troubled times—it's a pity...it doesn't look like this today, It seems that Yan's Zhengzong is really at the end of his life."
The rain wet the hair on the temples of the prince surnamed Yan. Prince Xueya stared at the unpredictable old man in front of him without blinking his clear eyes. After a long time, he finally lowered his hand, stepped back, and bowed respectfully: "I am indeed Li Xi." Seventh son of the emperor, Feng Baiwang, named Xueya—may I ask what this senior is called, and how did he know it?"
The old boatman saw that the young master was advancing and retreating at a certain pace, he nodded slightly at first, but continued to shake the oar. After a long time, he said in a deep voice: "The name of the old man is not well known to outsiders... As for the identity of the seventh prince - it cannot be said that you are not cautious... you The scent left on the clothes, is it the Cymbidium spinosa incense that was secretly made in the country?"
Yan Bai was shocked again: The spinosa spinach fragrance was originally a secret recipe of the Li Kingdom's imperial palace, and it was rarely even bestowed on close officials. From this, it can be seen that this ordinary old man in front of him must have a prominent past status.
"The prince's army is now being besieged by various rebels. It has been trapped in Ye City on the Longshou Plain for nearly a year, right?" However, before he could ask any further questions, the old boatman shook his oar indifferently and began to chat about the world. The general situation, "If Ye City is lost, Longshouyuan has no danger to defend, and will be defeated for thousands of miles. Ye City has been trapped for a hundred days, with financial resources and material resources exhausted, and the severe winter is approaching in a blink of an eye. , Chengde Prince's Army is doomed."
The prince in white looked respectful, saluted again, and asked: "The snow cliff is ugly, please show me, senior."
But the boatman didn't answer, and after a while, he asked instead: "The Seventh Prince refitted and infiltrated into Xi Kingdom this time, what kind of gesture is Xi Kingdom doing?"
Yan Bai hesitated to speak, his face was a little gloomy, and he sighed after a long time: "Senior must know the answer in his heart, so why do you have to admit it yourself?"
"There is no one in Xi who agrees to help Prince Chengde again, right?" the old boatman asked indifferently.
The Seventh Prince nodded: "There are always very few people who send charcoal in the snow."
The old boatman nodded and did not speak for a long time, before asking again: "However, when the old man saw the Seventh Prince's return this time, he had mixed expressions of joy and sorrow, and the things he brought back were beyond words—what?"
Yan Bai was stunned, and was surprised by the sharp eyes of the old man again and again, but his heroic face was filled with a faint embarrassment and helplessness because of this question, his eyes, which were as bright as a bright star, dimmed for a while, and he squeezed his fingers a little harder. Playing the flute, he said slowly: "I, I... I have entered the Jin family of Yutang."
The old boatman raised his head from under his bamboo hat, braved the rain and took a look at the noble son in white clothes like snow—the seventh prince of Li Kingdom is handsome and handsome, and his strategy and martial arts are all praised in the world. If it weren't for the Chengde prince who has been trying his best to assist his mother and compatriots since he was weak, the prince's army would not be able to support the competition until now—
However, until now, even the prince Xueya is already desperate, so he has no choice but to make such a bad move
While the old man was pondering, Prince Xueya's expression changed. Looking upstream, he couldn't help blurting out: "Ah, is she chasing you?"
The old boatman followed the eyes of the Seventh Prince with some surprise, and saw a fast boat with bright lights approaching on the pitch-black river, obviously using all his strength to paddle, it came quickly.
The strangest thing is that a woman standing on the bow was still covered in a wedding dress. The maidservant next to her was holding an umbrella for her, but she was pushed away by a stagger. The tall woman wiped off the beaded crown , standing on the bow of the boat and pointing at the boat in front of him, shouting angrily: "Yan Bai! Stop! Are you trying to escape?"
The old boatman's eyes, which had read the world and people's hearts, couldn't hide his astonishment: the etiquette and laws of the Xi Kingdom have always been so strict that they are almost harsh. After the women are married, they can't see men other than their father and brother, and stay at home until they get married. However, this woman's figure is still far away, and her pungent and flying aura is already coming towards her, without any scruples.
"My God! She is—" the old boatman murmured, and the young man in white next to him knew that he couldn't get away, but couldn't help smiling wryly, with a complicated expression on his face, and said in a low voice: "That's my new wife, the only daughter of the Jin family. Bihui."
The old boatman suddenly smiled wryly, and blurted out: "It's almost the glory of the golden wall... It turns out that the one you married is the famous 'Jin Wu' from Xi State?"