In the afternoon of May, the fields were filled with the rich fragrance of flowers. Wild flowers of all colors were in bloom, red, pink, and blue, decorating both sides of the official road with extraordinary splendor. In the scorching sun, butterflies and bees danced in the grass dotted with wild flowers.
The discordant chirping of cicadas, screaming in the bushes and trees...
The rice has entered the grain filling stage before maturity. Old farmers carrying baskets and farm tools walked in groups of three or five, humming wild songs and talking about the harvest, along the wide official road to the farmland. When they were almost at the farmland, the sound of horse hooves came from behind, attracting the attention of the old farmers, and they all turned around to look.
In the distance, I could hear the rumbling of carts and the neighing of horses, and smoke and dust were rolling up on the wide official road.
"Who is this?" The old farmers looked at each other. They couldn't see clearly from a distance and could only vaguely see the carriage and horses.
But they didn't wonder for long. Soon, the huge carriage was less than 30 meters away from everyone and could be seen clearly. After seeing it more clearly, the old farmers crawled to the sides of the official road and got out of the way in time.
Although common people can walk on the official road, they have to give way to officials when they are on the road, otherwise they will be breaking the law. In general, even if officials are passing by, common people have to give way to the sides of the official road and wait for them to pass.
None of the common people felt that there was anything wrong. It was an official road, and it was built by officials, so they had to let people go first.
Ten war horses came roaring in two rows, and when they got close to the old farmer, they pulled the reins, slowed down the horses, and galloped forward slowly. The fully armed soldiers on the war horses looked at the old farmers crawling on both sides with expressionless faces, their eyes as sharp as hawks, and only withdrew their gazes when they saw that the old farmers did not carry any sharp blades or other objects, and there was no safety hazard.
When the war horses passed by, the old farmers took a quick glance and breathed carefully. It was hot in May, but the soldiers who had just passed by were fully armed from head to toe, with helmets, earmuffs, neck guards, shoulder armor, body armor, breastplate, leg armor... ...
It was obvious at first glance that they were completely different from those sloppy soldiers in the garrison. The look in their eyes was that of those who had experienced life-and-death battles.
After the leading ten war horses, a huge motorcade followed. The motorcade was very long, with seven or eight carriages in total, each with a triangular red flag with the Chinese character "Li" on it. Guards in uniform were in front and behind the motorcade, riding their horses to patrol.
The carriage in the middle of the convoy was larger than the ones in front and behind. It had four windows, like a moving house, and was more exquisitely crafted. The outside of the spacious carriage was carved with flowers, and three brightly-coated horses pulled the carriage. Two flags were planted on the eaves of the roof. In addition to the triangular red flag with the word "Li", there was also a red flag with the word "Zhu".
"Three horses pulling a carriage..."
"It's so grand. Which high-ranking official is traveling with his family? When will we be able to sit in that carriage?"
After the convoy went far away, the people who were crawling on the roadside stood up, panting, brushed off the dust on their bodies, and looked at the traces of the carriages and horses from afar, filled with envy.
"What are you dreaming about in broad daylight? The most important thing is to cultivate your land well."
An old farmer slapped his young son who was standing stupidly nearby, waking everyone up. Then the old farmers glanced at him from afar with envy, then took their farm tools and walked towards the fields.
The huge convoy in front moved along the official road for a while, and then when the road turned a corner, it changed to another straighter road and continued to move north.
Changed lanes several times and headed north.
I don’t know how long I had been walking, but the horses and carriages, which had not stopped for a long time, slowly came to a stop.
"We're almost in the capital, why don't you leave?"
A girl's voice was heard asking questions from the largest carriage in the middle. A small hand pushed open a window from the inside, and then a chubby-faced girl with baby fat stuck her head out from inside, pouting her little mouth to ask the guard outside the carriage, urging it to move forward.
"I'm sorry, Miss Hua'er, please report to the young lady that we can't go forward for the time being. The wooden bridge in front is broken. Although the river is not wide, the water is quite shallow and we can't wade across the river." The guard who came rushing over after hearing the noise, rode over and replied, pointing at the river in front.
"What should we do then?" The chubby-faced girl frowned.
"I sent people to the village to ask for directions, and there are no other bridges nearby. The nearest one is ten miles downstream. However, because there are mountains on the other side of the river downstream, we have to take a detour of more than twenty miles after crossing the river..." the guard replied.
"Ah... It's already this late. It will be evening in another hour. If we cross the river and then take such a long detour, we will have to walk another day..." Upon hearing this, the chubby-faced girl pouted and frowned.
"Miss, this is terrible... I found out clearly that the bridge ahead is broken. There is another bridge ten miles downstream, but you have to take a detour of more than twenty miles after crossing the bridge..." The chubby-faced girl retracted her head from outside and replied to the girl sitting in the middle, feeling very anxious.
The interior of the carriage was comfortably furnished, with curtains hanging on all four sides, a rosewood coffee table with a built-in fruit plate and tea, and a Ru kiln flower bag filled with freshly picked wild flowers; there was also a small stove in front of the coffee table, which was fixed with an ingenious rack carefully designed by the craftsmen to prevent bumps; there was a shelf near the window, on which was placed a dressing box and a copper-inlaid glass mirror.
Behind the coffee table was a soft couch covered with silk of moderate thickness, on which was leaning a pretty girl.
The girl had a pretty face, fair skin, eyes as black as ink, a little makeup on, lips like cherry petals, and was indescribably beautiful.
Her long black hair was tied into a bridal bun. The hair ornaments on the bun were clearly layered and exquisite. They were made of gold threads and stamens, decorated with red gems, and golden butterflies were hanging down. As the carriage shook, the golden butterflies also swayed. The gold hairpins on both sides of the bun and the pendants on the earlobes were also a set with the step-shaking ornaments, dotted with red gems and hanging with red pearls.
The graceful Qianban was wearing a red long skirt with a gold-threaded edge and peony and cloud patterns.
Gorgeous and luxurious.
Her face is as beautiful as a fairy and her temperament is as elegant as a princess.
"We can't take a detour, otherwise we won't be able to catch up with the stinky clam... It's my husband's birthday..."
The pretty girl held a volume of "The Book of Songs" in her hand, but her mind was not on it. After hearing the question from the maid, she shook her head slightly and turned her gaze to the window.
Seeing this, the maid Baozi opened the window obediently so that her lady could see the scene in front clearly.
The pretty girl looked forward through the window. After a moment, her ink-black eyes lit up. She called the dumpling girl to her side and gave her a few instructions.
After a while, the car door opened, and the maid Baozi walked out and walked towards the river. Accompanied by the security guard, she covered her nose and knocked on the door of a house by the river.
This yard is a bit shabby and doesn't smell very good.
"Hey, old man, how much do you want for this shabby house of yours?" The maid Baozi covered her nose and asked, pointing at a wooden house in the old man's yard.
"Ah, why?" The old man who opened the door was shocked.
"Are you willing?" The maid urged, covering her nose.
"Give me ten taels of silver, and I..." The old man who opened the door thought for a moment. He still had two houses, and this shabby house had not been lived in for several years and it was leaking...
Upon hearing this, the maid took out a ten-liang silver note from the sachet on her waist without thinking, handed it to the old man, and then said, "If you take down a few long wooden strips from this shabby house and repair the bridge in front of your door within two quarters of an hour, I will return your shabby house to you."
"Really?" The old man's eyes lit up.
"Hurry up, from now on, I won't return it to you if the time is up." Baozi's maid urged.
Money can motivate people, so the old man called a few neighbors and quickly removed a few beams from the dilapidated house. The bridge was repaired within two quarters of an hour.
The convoy crossed the wooden bridge without stopping for a moment and continued to move forward.