I send others off as the spring sets, and I whip my skinny horse towards the end of the world.
The moon rising over the river makes my heart beat faster, so I hurried to a tavern to stay the night.
After staying at Li Shu's house for only one day, the sparks that had just been ignited between the two of them had not yet blossomed, but Zhu Ping'an set off for the capital. After several urgings from the capital, Zhu Ping'an had no choice but to leave the land of gentleness and return to the capital.
Li Shu helped Zhu Ping'an pack his luggage. His mother Chen put a jar of pickled cucumbers in it and wrapped two smoked rabbits hunted by Zhu's father and some fried pancakes in paper and stuffed them into Zhu Ping'an's luggage.
Zhu Ping'an went back to Beijing alone this time, because the rich man Li missed his daughter too much, and insisted that Li Shu stay at home for a few more days before sending someone to send Li Shu to the marquis's mansion in Beijing. When Li Shu said the word "leave", the rich man Li almost burst into tears. In addition, according to the village custom of "returning home after three days", the woman has to stay in her parents' home for seven days, so Li Shu stayed at home for a few more days before going to Beijing.
Zhu Ping'an returned to Beijing on horseback this time. The last shipping accident made his mother Chen and Li Shu very afraid of ships, and they unanimously opposed Zhu Ping'an to take a ship again.
Of course, it is not advisable to hide one's illness and avoid seeing a doctor.
Zhu Ping'an decided to take a boat down the Yangtze River, and then ride north on horseback when he arrived in Nanjing. Whether in modern or ancient times, the coastal economy is more developed, located in plains, and the roads are relatively flat. However, riding north along the official road is also faster.
His mother Chen and Li Shu were worried that they would encounter bandits and shipwrecks again if they took the sea boat. It was much safer to take a boat in the inland river, and they did not object to Zhu Ping'an taking the boat directly down the Yangtze River.
Zhu Ping'an wanted to take the route from Nanjing and ride north because of time considerations. It only takes a few days to go down the Yangtze River to Nanjing, but it would take a long time to take the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal from Nanjing. Recently, there has been less rainfall along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which has caused the water level of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to drop. The river is shallow and the waterway is limited, but there are many ships, especially grain ships that are transported every day. In addition, there are various official ships and civilian ships, and the river is often congested, which naturally affects the navigation. Some sections of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal are through the original natural rivers and lakes, and some sections are artificially excavated. Most of the water flow of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is the confluence of natural rivers. The water flow varies in size and direction. It is okay to go downstream, but it is slow to sail against the current, especially now that there is less rainfall, which makes the canal shallow. In places where it is upstream, boats are even pulled by trackers, which naturally takes time. In addition, the sections of the canal are regulated by gates, which cut off the water flow and increase the water level. The gates are opened to release water when the ship passes, and the time waiting for the gates to open must be calculated.
Normally, when the canal has a lot of water, many factors are not a problem, but when the water is low recently, they all need to be considered. Weather and wind direction, strong currents, traffic jams in the river, waiting for the gates to open, and many other factors add up. If you take a boat, it will take at least one or two months to get from Yingtianfu to Shuntianfu. In comparison, riding a horse to the north is a good choice.
Li Shu gave his third brother's beloved horse to Zhu Ping'an, which made his third brother feel distressed for a long time.
After packing up his luggage and bidding farewell to his parents, Zhu Ping'an set out on the road back to Beijing. Li Shu took a carriage with Zhu Ping'an to the Ten-Li Pavilion before stopping.
“Does it look good?”
Li Shu broke off a willow branch outside the pavilion and tied it to Zhu Ping'an's horse's head. She even tied a bow at the end, patted the horse's head with satisfaction, looked up at Zhu Ping'an with her pretty face, and asked with her bright red lips pouting.
With bright eyes, white teeth, a little makeup and a sweet smile, she captivated Yangcheng and bewitched Xiacai.
"It looks good." Zhu Ping'an looked at Li Shu and nodded vigorously.
"That's what I'm talking about." Li Shu rolled her eyes cutely, pouted her lips, and stretched out her slender hands to pull the bow-knotted wicker on the horse's head.
"Ahem, it looks good too." Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but cough.
Since the line "When I went away, the willows were swaying with the wind" in the Book of Songs, breaking willow branches to say goodbye has become an indispensable part of farewell.
"fool"
Li Shu uttered a coquettish sound, her face was as charming as the moon, her eyes were bright and charming, and Zhu Pingan couldn't help but take a few more glances at her.
A talented man and a beautiful woman, a ten-mile long pavilion.
However, after sending you thousands of miles away, there will always be a farewell.
In the end, Zhu Ping'an rode his horse alone on the road to the capital. Li Shu stood at the pavilion and watched Zhu Ping'an's figure disappear in the distance.
"Miss, Miss, come back to your senses. Your husband has gone far away." The chubby little maid Huaer covered her mouth and smiled secretly at her mistress.
"If you laugh again, I'll give you away." Li Shu said angrily.
"The young lady is unwilling to do so." The chubby little maid stuck out her pink tongue and then said with a red face, "I am still a maidservant."
"Shameless." Li Shu stretched out her little hand and tapped the forehead of the little maid named Baozi.
"Hehe, the young master is the shameless one. I saw the young lady kissing the young lady." The chubby little maid covered her mouth with her hands, her face blushing, as if she was the one being kissed.
"What are you talking about?" Li Shu said coquettishly.
"I saw it." The little maid nodded affirmatively.
"You're mistaken. That's the stinky toad whispering in my ear." Li Shu's pretty face flushed.
It was a sunny day when they set out. Zhu Ping'an rode for about an hour when he saw dark clouds gathering. In just a few minutes, the sky was covered with dark clouds. Then, raindrops as big as beans began to fall. Suddenly, it began to rain heavily.
Zhu Ping'an dismounted and put on a raincoat, then covered his gift with oilcloth, remounted and continued on his way.
We were already on the official road. There were few people around, no villages in sight, and no place to take shelter from the rain. We could only keep moving forward and find a place with a village to take shelter from the rain.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the wind was getting stronger. The rain was blown sideways into people's clothes. It was okay for Zhu Ping'an to salute, as he wrapped everything 360 degrees with oilcloth, so there was no need to worry about getting wet. However, he was in a bit of a miserable situation, as a lot of rain slipped through the raincoat. After a while, Zhu Ping'an felt his clothes were wet, and he was shivering in the wind.
Fortunately, the horse under him was indeed a good horse, and its speed was much faster than the Shamatte dark horse, and it did not slow down despite the wind and rain.
About half an hour later, Zhu Ping'an saw a village in front of him and a small shop not far from the roadside.
Zhu Ping'an rode his horse to the shop, tied the horse in the stable outside the shop, and entered the shop carrying his luggage.
The inn was not big, but it was crowded with people seeking shelter from the rain. The inn was very rustic, with simple tables, chairs and stools inside. There was a fire pit inside for people to dry their clothes, but at the moment there was no room around the fire pit. It was originally sunny and windy today, and everyone was wearing very thin clothes, but the weather suddenly changed, with strong winds and heavy rain, and the temperature dropped sharply. Although many people had dried their clothes, they were still chatting and laughing around, unwilling to leave, and newcomers could not squeeze through.
"Sir, would you like to stay overnight or have a meal?" The waiter came over to ask, a white towel draped over his shoulder.
"Let's have a break." Zhu Ping'an put down his gift and squeezed the rain water off his clothes with his hand, and it flowed down a large area.
"Okay. What would you like to order, sir?" asked the waiter.
Zhu Pingan looked at the people gathered around the fire pit, curled his lips slightly, and replied: "A bowl of hot soup, one meat dish and one vegetable dish, two steamed buns, and please bring some meat to feed my horse."
The waiter was confused and asked, "Sir, horses don't eat meat?"
"Just go and feed it." Zhu Ping'an waved his hand.
The waiter had no choice but to take some meat and go to the shed outside the store to feed Zhu Ping'an's horse, with a look of curiosity and speechlessness on his face.
Horses eat meat
Damn, did I hear it right? How is this possible? Did this guy get kicked in the head by a donkey? There are actually horses that eat meat
Many people in the store heard the conversation between Zhu Ping'an and the waiter, and pointed at Zhu Ping'an, either looking down on him or mocking him. However, they could not resist their curiosity, and many followed the waiter to watch.
Zhu Pingan ignored everyone's advice and walked towards the fire pit with a calm face. He found an empty place to put down his gift, took off his coat and squeezed out the water with his hands, then roasted his clothes on the fire pit. To be continued. \\ ( )