There are spacious official roads from Yuzhou to the north, and the weather has been fine for several days. On the afternoon of the fifth day, Qin's carriage drove to the outskirts of Lin'an City.
It is now the end of the twelfth lunar month, and only ten days away from New Year's Eve. Although Lin'an City has not yet entered, the majestic momentum of the imperial capital is already full. The spacious official road can accommodate dozens of horses. Although it is the twelfth lunar month of winter, there are towering greenery on both sides of the road The trees are shady, and when I look up, I can see that there are many cars and horses on the road ahead, either going to the imperial capital or going out of the city, all of which are either rich or expensive.
And looking further away, under the light gray sky, a majestic and tall city stands like a giant beast. The city wall built of blue-gray bricks and stones is as high as ten feet high. , faintly visible armored soldiers standing upright, and Qin Shuang, who lifted the curtain to watch, unconsciously held her breath, only to feel that there was an invisible force in the majestic tower, which only forced her to stop. Dare to talk too much like in the past, she slightly pursed her lips, and subconsciously became nervous and introverted.
The carriage moved slowly, and the further you went, the more crowded people could be seen in front of the city gate.
Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried hooves behind the carriage. Before Qin Shuang could turn around, he saw several young men in fox furs speeding past the carriage. The whip fell in high spirits, and Qin Shuang's heart was inexplicably moved by the fluttering black hair and the bulging clothes.
Qin Shuang took a deep breath, her black and white eyes sparkling.
This is the imperial capital, and this is the imperial capital that fascinates all the people of Great Zhou!
In the carriage in front, Qin Xiang was also looking out. The look in her eyes was more excited than Qin Shuang's. She stared closely at the handsome backs who were going further and further away, and there was a firmness in her eyes that was inevitable. Mingguang.
Fu Ling was also looking outside, her eyes were even slightly red, "We're back, miss, we're finally back."
Qin Wan leaned against the wall of the car. Although she didn't look out deliberately, she could see the very familiar scenery outside from the corner of her eyes. The capital, this is the capital she had been away for four months—
Qin Wan clenched her pink fists hanging by her side slightly. Looking at the city gate that was getting closer and closer, she felt as if she was losing strength all over her body, and she didn't know how to react. Her eyes were heavy and deep, and the blood rocket that night In an instant, the rain seemed to break through the barrier of time and space and nailed to her body, causing a slow dull pain in all limbs and bones, and even the spirit became erratic.
"Miss, look, is that the person from the Hou Mansion who came to pick us up?"
Fu Ling's sudden soft drink brought Qin Wan back to his senses. She straightened her back and forcefully pulled herself away to look not far away. Sure enough, there were a few people standing by the road, looking in their direction from afar. .
Qin Wan pursed her lips and sat upright like a soldier in armor.
Going back to the capital again would be painful, but entering the Hou's mansion right now is something that cannot be ignored. Miss Jiu has lived in the Hou's mansion for more than five years, and these five years are enough for the people in the Hou's mansion to know a lot about Miss Jiu. Make people find themselves suspicious.
Seeing Qin Wan's serious complexion and stiff body, Fu Ling couldn't help but feel sad.
"Miss, we're back, it's good to be back."
Qin Wan nodded. Miss Jiu's parents also died, and it was a last resort to leave the capital. Now that she returns to the capital, it fits her state of mind somewhat, so it doesn't seem that she is too abnormal.
"My lord, the villain pays respects to my lord—"
After a while, Qin Yan's carriage at the front had already arrived in front of those people, and a middle-aged man in a navy blue round-neck robe stepped forward and bowed his hands to salute. The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Qin Yan said from the window, "Butler Wu."
Wu Chao's face is square and his complexion is dark, he is not tall, and at first glance he looks a little stocky, but he has a pair of small but bright eyes, and he always has a bright smile when he speaks, which is similar to Zhou Huaixiang. Compared with him, he is much more cordial and hearty. People who don’t know his identity may think that he is just an ordinary steward of the Marquis Mansion, but Fu Ling said earlier that there are two major stewards in the Marquis Mansion, one is Zhou Huai, and the other is this Wu. Zhao, Zhou Huai often followed Qin Yan, so Wu Chao was naturally the one who followed Qin Shu.
Such a sharp and shrewd person is the butler next to Zhongyonghou. It is conceivable that his inner character is not as simple as it appears on the surface. When Wu Chao saw Qin Yan lift the curtain of the car, he bowed again, and then He smiled and said, "Master Hou knew that the son was coming back today, so he ordered the villain to wait here early in the morning. It will be January after this trip. The son has worked hard."
As he spoke, he glanced at Zhou Huai who was riding beside the carriage, "Old Zhou has worked hard too."
Zhou Huai held his lips and said nothing, Qin Yan glanced at the direction of the city gate and said, "It's not too late now, why did you come to pick me up?"
Wu Chao has never been away from Qin Shu's side, not to mention that the three Qin Wan sisters are not big people, it is good to have him take care of them, there is no need to send someone so far to pick them up, and Wu Chao came here early in the morning to wait, there must be a reason.
Wu Chao glanced at the carriage convoy behind, and said in a low voice, "The gate of the city has been strictly inspected these past few days, we have a lot of carriages, Lord Hou specially asked the villain to pick up the prince, fearing that there will be some inconvenience when entering the gate. "
"Huh?" Qin Yan frowned slightly, "What happened?"
The corners of Wu Chao's lips twitched slightly, "It has nothing to do with the Hou's Mansion, after we go back, I will let the villain report to the Eldest Son in detail."
Qin Yan nodded, "Okay, then let's go, I'm going away for a few days, I miss home too."
Speaking of which, Qin Yan put down the curtain of the carriage, and when Wu Chao came out with several servants, they were all riding horses, and now they all turned up and walked in front, and after a while, the carriage team approached the gate of the city.
Before arriving at the city gate, the majestic and majestic Lin'an city tower became more and more oppressive. The tall tower cast a large shadow, and only the people waiting inside and outside the city gate were out of breath. Qin Yan lifted the curtain of the car and went out. At first glance, there was a long queue outside the city gate, and soon, their carriage stopped—
As soon as the carriage stopped, Qin Wan and the others at the back felt something was wrong. They opened the curtains and saw that something was unusual. Although the imperial capital must be more heavily guarded than other cities, the sun has not set yet, and it is far from the curfew time. However, why is the gate of the city checked so strictly? Qin Shuang looked around, but couldn't see the young men who had just passed by on horseback.
"I'm afraid it will take a long time to wait like this." Qin Yan frowned.
Wu Chao hurriedly said, "This is why the villain came to pick you up. Master Hou gave the villain his token."
Qin Yan said "hmm", and Wu Chao got off his horse and went forward. He walked to the gate of the city, walked up to the captain of the city gate guard, and whispered a few words, and the captain looked behind in Qin Yan's direction. After a glance, he quickly nodded.
Wu Chao thanked him repeatedly with a smile, and then returned to Qin Yan's carriage.
"His Royal Highness, everything is fine, let's go."
The words settled down, the carriage moved slowly, and soon, the convoy of the Hou Mansion slowly walked to the front from the side of the long queue. Qin Shuang in the carriage was surprised when she saw this, and she only opened the curtain a little. I watched as the long queue was overtaken by their latecomers. Among the queues were ordinary people in plain clothes, and some rich and noble families with gorgeous clothes, and even more luxurious and luxurious. Carriage, but all these people can only obediently wait in line.
Qin Shuang felt a little angry in her chest, which immediately made her understand that the status of the Hou Mansion in the capital is not low.
Although she was not from the Hou's Mansion, she could still walk out later, but she also had the name of the Hou's Mansion behind her. Thinking of this, Qin Shuang raised her chin. She is the niece of Zhongyong Hou, so what if she is from Jinzhou? The status is not low!
Thinking of this, Qin's carriage walked up to the guards guarding the city. Because Qin's carriages were too many, Wu Chao was going forward to make peace with the guards guarding the city, but suddenly, there was a burst of panic behind them. And the sound of hooves!
The sound of hoofbeats is different from that of the previous group of young men. Although those men were not slow to drive their horses, they were far less fast than this group of flying riders, and this group of flying riders reached the crowded place at the gate of the city without reining in their horses. Slowing down, the domineering rampage became more and more obvious. Almost at the same time, Qin Yan frowned when he heard the voice.
"Get out of the way, the son of the Duke's Mansion is going back to the city, don't get in the way!"
Although there was a rough sound of hoofbeats, Wu Chao looked back, and his face suddenly sank slightly.
I saw more than a dozen black-clothed light riders coming on fast horses, and they were about to knock down the people who were passing and queuing up. The children were startled and restless.
The person in charge is in his twenties, with a tough and upright appearance, a pair of sword-shaped eyebrows slanted into his temples, and a pair of slender eyes that are about to fly into the sky. He is dressed in white tight-fitting clothes, and he doesn't care when he sees the servants rushing wildly. Full of pride and complacency, a longbow was hung around the neck of his dismounted horse. Next to the longbow was an arrow basket filled with bloody arrows. Large and small bamboo baskets were also tied, and the bloody livestock and poultry could be faintly seen inside.
Wu Chao narrowed his eyes, the friendly smile on his face disappeared, and he was slightly on guard.
"Hey, whose carriage dares to block the way of the master—"
More than a dozen fast horses completely disrupted the queue in front of the city gate, and the common people scattered around, their eyes were clearly dissatisfied, but they dared not speak out, seeing that the person in charge seemed to provoke the Qin family, their eyes were even more optimistic The pleasure of playing.
The Qin family has a high position and authority, and can be ahead of them. Although these people are more extreme than the Qin family, in the end, the Qin family and these people are superior, and the ordinary people below dare not offend any of them, but the two of them confront each other It seems that it can dispel the hatred in their hearts, Qin's coachman tightened the reins and reined in, and the dozen or so riders stopped beside Qin's carriage under the leadership of the leader, and the speaker's eyes were contemptuous After sweeping through the convoy, they finally stopped on the leading carriage.
Qin Yan lifted the curtain of the car and nodded with a smile to the outside, "Brother Feng, long time no see."
"Oh, it's Brother Qin—" Duke Zhong's son Feng Zhang said with a surprised expression, and then his smile became a bit playful, "I heard that Brother Qin went to the south to pick up his relatives? Finally came back today?"
Qin Yan smiled gently, "Exactly."
As he spoke, he glanced at the arrow basket on Feng Zhang's horse's neck, "Brother Feng went hunting today? Seems like a good harvest—"
Feng Zhang smiled, "Not bad." As he spoke, he glanced at the carriage behind Qin Yan, "Brother Qin has been away for so long this time, which elder did he pick up to enter the capital? Want to live in the capital for a long time?"
Qin Yan said without changing his expression, "Brother Feng doesn't need to worry about this. Brother Feng is full of blood, so he should go to the city and go back to the house to freshen up. Now that the city is under martial law, Brother Feng's behavior is suspicious. "
Feng Zhang glanced at the carriage behind Qin Yan with a half-smile. Suddenly, he saw the curtain of the carriage moving behind Qin Yan with sharp eyes. The curtain raised and fell, and Feng Zhang saw nothing else. But when he saw a pair of slender hands, Feng Zhang's eyes lit up, and his smile suddenly deepened, "It turns out that Brother Qin is going to pick up a beautiful woman to Beijing."
"Of course they are family members, and they will never pick up outsiders."
Qin Yan replied in a nonchalant manner, Feng Zhang smiled lightly, and glanced at the three carriages behind Qin Yan with interest, "I picked up three carriages as soon as I picked them up, the Hou's mansion is going to be lively this time."
As he spoke, he raised the whip in his hand, "It seems that I have to change places for hunting."
Qin Yan's eyes turned cold, and so did his smile, "Brother Feng is not going into the city? If you are not in a hurry, then I will go ahead."
Feng Zhang naturally saw Qin Yan's displeasure, and he was more sure that he guessed right, so he smiled lazily, "I hunted a top-quality white mink today, and I'm planning to send it to my aunt to the palace later. Brother Qin, you have to let me give way."
Qin Yan raised his jaw slightly, "How dare you fight with Brother Feng? Please—"
Feng Zhang was very satisfied, he laughed twice and dropped his whip. Qin's carriage entered the city and asked Wu Chao to explain to the soldiers guarding the city, but Feng Zhang entered the city with a dozen flying cavalry full of blood, The soldiers in the city didn't dare to stop them. Qin Shuang only dared to lift the curtains and look out when the sound of the horse's hooves had gone far. Privileges are already among the nobles, but she never expected that just another random person would be able to talk to her third elder brother Yin Yang, and even stepped into the city ahead of them—
Qin Shuang didn't dare to look outside, and sat down obediently after the car curtain was raised and lowered. She firmly remembered Qin Yan's "Brother Feng" just now, and then thought in a daze... So above the Qin mansion, there is still There is a von.
After Feng Zhang left, Wu Chao walked up to the soldiers guarding the city with a gentle smile. The soldiers guarding the city were a little bit afraid of Feng Zhang's appearance. Seeing Wu Chao's friendly attitude at this moment, they immediately became terrified. , Qin Shuang and his party entered the city gate without even looking at the carriage carrying boxes and cages behind. As soon as they entered the city gate, Qin Shuang's slightly depressed mind suddenly became active again.
Not for any other reason, but because the sudden lively sound reminded her again that she has arrived in the most prosperous capital city in Dazhou!
The sun was slanting to the west, and the golden afterglow cast a golden halo on the whole capital. The Qin family's carriage was driving slowly on the spacious main road of the capital. Outside the carriage, there were bustling crowds and noisy excitement. Qin Shuang couldn't bear it. I opened the curtain of the car to look, and saw that as soon as I entered the city gate, there were tall buildings connected one after another. These buildings were neatly distributed with carved beams and painted buildings. Starting from the south of the city, they continued towards the north as if there was no end. Qin Shuang I have known that the capital is huge, but I was still shocked when I saw this formation. The main street of the imperial capital is straight, but she can't see the end when she looks around, and the buildings to the north are more exquisite and magnificent. , Qin Shuang thought again that there was an imperial city within this imperial capital, and suddenly felt that he could not imagine how rich it was.
Qin Shuang's heart was agitated, and she felt that she had glimpsed the prosperity and prosperity of the Great Zhou Empire. Her mind was full of surprise and excitement, and the nervousness and fear that had arisen because of Feng Zhang just now were immediately forgotten. At this moment, she I wish I didn't sit with Qin Wan, so that she could introduce her to her, Qin Shuang regretted secretly, but his eyes fell on the more and more bustling markets, restaurants and teahouses, Every treasure shop in the inn is more grand and luxurious than what she has seen before...
Qin Shuang was dazzled by watching, and Qin Xiang also lifted the curtain of the car. Although her expression was not as revealing as Qin Shuang's, the brilliance in those eyes was bright and compelling. Compared with her earlier self, why did she think about going to the Bai family in Yizhou? The capital, this bustling, rich and unparalleled capital is the place she should come to!
Wu Chao and Zhou Huai both rode in front, and they both looked back at this moment. It turned out that only Qin Wan's carriage curtain hadn't been raised. Wu Chao's eyes were slightly surprised, and Zhou Huai smiled knowingly, "Let's You're surprised, it's still behind."
Wu Chao raised his eyebrows, and looked at Qin Wan's carriage thoughtfully. Qin Wan grew up in the Hou's mansion. Although he didn't focus on the affairs of the inner courtyard, he still remembered the appearance of Miss Ninth Clearly, although it is said that she is raised in the uncle's house, and the wife treats her badly because of affection and reason, but how can a child who is too young to have the guts of his parents have any demeanor to raise
Thinking this way, he turned his eyes and met Zhou Huai's interested eyes again.
Wu Chao let out a "Huh" in his heart, could it be that Miss Nine has grown up in Jinzhou
When the Qin family's motorcade entered the city, it naturally went straight to Zhongyonghou's mansion. The motorcade first walked along the main road of the imperial capital for two cups of tea, and then headed northeast in a short time. Shuang and Qin Xiang naturally feasted their eyes again. When the carriage arrived at Xinglefang, the two of them saw the surrounding mansions with large courtyards, and their hearts tightened. The prosperity and wealth they saw along the way made them yearn for excitement In addition, they felt a bit ashamed. They were born in Sanfang and their family was in Jinzhou. They seemed out of tune with the wealth and honor of the capital. The two girls from Qin, who had high self-esteem in Jinzhou City, became nervous.
Compared with Qin Shuang and Qin Xiang, Qin Wan was so calm that he hardly had any emotional turmoil. The only thing he could feel was that Qin Wan's mood had dropped since he arrived outside Lin'an City. Knowing that Qin Wan thought of her deceased parents and the past time, she became quiet, and Fu Ling tried to hold back several times when she wanted to open the curtains to see the excitement after a long absence.
After another cup of tea, the speed of the carriage suddenly slowed down by five points.
Wu Chao's voice suddenly sounded outside, "It's here, Shizi, Madam came out to meet the three young ladies in person."
Qin Yan opened the curtain of the car, and sure enough, there were dozens of people standing in front of the Zhongyonghou Mansion more than ten feet away. He raised his eyebrows and smiled gently. He was away for more than a month. He was a grown man, and he was inevitably homesick, so much so that he jumped off the carriage before it came to a complete stop.
"Mother, my child greets mother."
Qin Yan stepped forward a few steps, and respectfully saluted Mrs. Hu, Mrs. Zhongyonghou.
Hu Shi, who was dressed in dark purple and gorgeous, supported Qin Yan, his eyes flushed slightly, "Good boy, good boy, I'm finally back, I've been worrying about my mother for more than a month, afraid that something might happen to you outside. "
As he spoke, he looked Qin Yan up and down, and Qin Yan held Hu's arm with a smile, "Mother, don't worry, the child is not a child anymore." Turning around as he spoke, he saw that the three cars in the back had stopped carriage, "Mother, the three younger sisters have brought them back."
Hu's eyes moved away from Qin Yan's body reluctantly, and looked at the three carriages with a smile on his face. Almost at the same time, the curtains of the three carriages were lifted, and several beautiful figures walked out from under the curtains. The last one to come out is the real master.
Hu's eyes became more and more loving. First, she saw Qin Xiang in a pink dress. Her expression remained unchanged, and her smile even deepened. Then she turned her eyes and saw Qin Shuang in a light purple cloak. Hu's smile It got deeper and deeper, and I turned to look at the end... I saw a snow-colored figure coming out from under the high-raised car curtain. In an instant, Hu's smile froze.