Two bowls of eel noodles were steaming hot on the humble wooden table, and Ji Jiu and I lowered our heads to make ourselves as inconspicuous as possible.

What my ears catch is the topic of gossip from the people around me!

The eel noodles are served in large bowls, and the soup is full of ingredients and fragrant.

After filling the teahouse with tea and snacks, Ji Jiu and I just symbolically took a few sips with chopsticks, and then stopped.

No matter how good the noodles are, the stomach can't fill much.

As everyone knows, the proprietress is thick and fine, and when she saw the two of us looking at her family, she couldn't help but come over and ask, "Two sons, but the taste is wrong?" ”

"Ah," I shuddered as I lowered my head and listened to the table next to me.

The hand holding the noodle bowl stiffened, and I quickly raised my head and said to the proprietress: "The taste is really excellent, it's just that we ate dim sum before we came out, right now"

After swallowing half of the words, seeing the face of the proprietress sinking, I remembered that I am now a vulnerable group, so I quickly grabbed the chopsticks and picked up a few mouthfuls one after another and put them in my mouth.

The noodles are good noodles, the soup is delicious, and the noodles are extremely chewy.

The proprietress smiled before continuing to chat.

Ji Jiu sat opposite and played with the noodles with chopsticks but didn't put them in his mouth, just looked at me and smiled, I glared at him, it was my bad luck, otherwise it would be his turn to do the noodle stuffing.

Thinking about it, he is much smarter at dealing with women, why didn't he help me just now, whether he understood my mood at the moment or not, I frowned at him a little unhappily.

Fortunately, the conversation at the next table was not affected by our episode here, and it continued uninterrupted.

Ji Jiu and I came with a clear purpose. If you can't hear the truth, you will really go home, but fortunately it didn't disappoint us.

"I came back this morning from collecting rent from the nearby countryside, and there have been more people coming to the city gate than before in the past few days. The patrol team sent by the government has also increased a group of personnel. ”

A middle-aged woman in a stone blue embroidered shirt at the table next to her lowered her voice.

"My third sister went to register yesterday, and when she came back, she also said that there were a lot of people, and there were some fresh faces, and it seemed that the accent didn't look like the people here."

"It's from the nearby countryside?"

"I don't know."

Sitting next to her, a woman two years younger than her looked at her and talked to her one after another. "This time, the empress did not limit the number of men and women who signed up for the army. The day before yesterday, I went in and out of the city gate and saw that many children from people in Yuzhou City also came out to apply. "Don't you know, since the empress succeeded to the throne, the decrees issued were more relaxed than those of the previous emperors, and the men went to the army and said good things on the front line. There is no shortage of possibilities for promotion. "If this continues, Sealand will change the pattern after many years."

The woman in the stone blue embroidered shirt frowned and shook her head: "It's best not to change, Sealand is different from other places, if it becomes the same as those places that don't flow."

Her words were interrupted by the woman beside her: "But have you thought about it, the rules will not change, and there will be no political reform, if it is a daughter who is born and raised, it is fine." The opposite is true."

Hearing this, Ji Jiu and I both put down the bowl and glanced at the woman who was talking with subtle eyes. became interested in her topic. "My two elder brothers have left for another country, and there has been no news so far, and I don't know if they are dead or alive."

She let out a long sigh: "Alas, I always feel that it is a dilemma, change it, and if it hurts my muscles and bones, I will not change it." In the long run, I am afraid that I will not be able to suppress the resentment of some people. "It's not easy for the empress, it's not easy to be a worrying girl. And the heights are not cold. "It's not easy."

At this moment, one of them may have realized that it was not appropriate to directly mention the empress in a noisy snack bar. She looked around and then changed the subject. "Who has been working on your family's ranch in Yubei lately?"

Another person replied: "It has always been my third sister who is taking care of it, and the Yuzhou government sent someone to visit a few days ago, and all the ranches in Yubei have come to pick it up, and it will come to my house in turn." "The result?" "My family has chosen five."

As soon as the words related to the government were touched, Ji Jiu's ears and I were pricked up. "That's a lot."

"Why! The breeds of horses bred in this batch are very good, and five horses is actually not too much. ”

It sounded like she wasn't happy with the results of the government's selection of horses. "The people sent by the government are too picky, according to my own choice, I can pick at least three horses." "Who's to say it isn't?! But they are also embarrassed, and the people who come from the national capital must be more picky than them. “

When I heard the word "national capital", Huo Ran raised his head and looked at Ji Jiu, and in an instant, I was enlightened and saw the truth, I really didn't come to the noodle shop in vain!

Hurriedly stood up and paid, and Ji Jiu and I walked on the way home.

As we turned into a sparsely populated alley, I felt a little more at ease away from the crowds and the pedestrians who walked down the street with an inquiring glance at the hooded man from time to time. "In the teahouse just now, I saw that guy stumbling, and he talked about a bunch of simple things, and some of them still didn't explain clearly."

"Sure enough, in the territory of Sealand, the woman still speaks straightforwardly and happily." "Hey, why don't you keep quiet," I pushed Ji Jiu's arm and said, "You have been in the palace in the capital of Sealand for several years, haven't you heard of Yuzhou?!" "That's outrageous, isn't it?"

I turned my head and saw Ji Jiu slowly following up, and couldn't help but ask him, "Just now, I heard what those two women said clearly, right?" "If you want to confirm the news again, ask a local person when you enter the inn later."

I stood on the side of the street with my hands in my hands and whispered, "You can also ask Sister Li, why didn't she mention anything when she was along the road." "I would have known that Yuzhou North is such a place, where would there be so many questions." "No wonder the people in Yuzhou City, the news is even faster than ours." "The empress has plans to start a war in the northwest, and the first thing she does is to prepare for war."

A few words were spoken one after another. Ji Jiu beside him was still as silent as a stuffy gourd, and I owed him a sentence and said: "I just remembered that you are a busy person, and you are very busy in the Sealand Palace, and you definitely don't have time to take care of a place that produces war horses." “

"It's too late for the wind and snow, the moon, the poetry, the wine, and the tea." The corners of my mouth twitched.

Ji Jiu finally spoke: "Xiaolin." You're right, I really haven't paid attention. ”

"I have a rough impression of Yuzhou, and the terrain in the north is indeed a good place to raise horses now."

Ji Jiu recalled: "It has been a long time since I stayed in the Sealand Palace, and at that time, the Northwest Territory was already under the jurisdiction of her sister, but it never showed the slightest intention of going to war. ”

"That's because the contradiction hasn't gotten worse yet. I'll make a bold guess, probably, I mean very likely, that your role in the middle should not be underestimated. "The ancients had clouds and red faces and troubled water, and you replaced them here. It's a man's face and trouble! I said with emotion, and Ji Jiu's gaze came over like a sword again.

I quickly stopped.

I glanced at him with a smile and said, "This is your taboo, I won't mention it." "I heard Sister Li say that she wants to stay in Yuzhou for two days and three nights," I paused and snapped my fingers to continue, "Counting today, there is still a whole day." ”

"You said we should leave tomorrow to take a trip to Yuzhou North to have a look."

I proposed a new build yì. "See what?" Ji Jiu asked as he looked at me sideways. "The woman who is riding a horse is mighty and majestic, and of course I want to see it with my own eyes."

I raised an eyebrow and said, "Sealand is a different place. I'll have to see how good they are on horseback, and I've rarely seen a girl who is a good rider. ”

"It's good that I have a preconceived impression of the big war in the Northwest." "I may not have the opportunity to be there in person on that battlefield, will I?" "You'd love to see it?" Ji Jiu looked at me with deep eyes and said. "You're even interested in this?" "It's terrible!"

I shook my head: "No, I'm sorry for my life, so it's better not to go, it's enough to listen to the news." "The main thing is that the scenery of Yubei should be good!" I looked sideways at him.

In order to avoid the crowded streets in Yuzhou City, Ji Jiu and I deliberately chose some secluded paths, and his function was officially reflected. Going around in the alleys with seven turns and eight turns, I didn't even get lost.

Walk through the streets. Towards evening, we finally arrived in the alley near the inn where we lived.

From a distance, I saw Sister Li anxiously waiting for us at the mouth of the alley. I opened my eyes wide and saw that there was a girl in the dart game beside her, the one I knew well in the morning, and was waiting with her. "Xiaolinzi."

She shouted at me loudly, obviously her eyes were fixed on Ji Jiu's body, and she called me to be a shield.

I waved at Sister Li. "Why did you come back so late?" Sister Li ran to us and stood still, relieved, "If I don't see you again, I'm going to go out to look for it." "I'll be back before sunset," I said with a smile on my face, "You talk to Big Brother slowly, I'll go first." “

Hurry up and avoid it, laugh with the girl in the dart bureau and go first, looking back at Ji Jiu's helpless eyes, Sister Li's happy expression, I am happy in my heart

Walking through the clean bluestone paved road, before entering the inn, the innkeeper who greeted a group of people yesterday stood at the door, and seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

When she saw me coming back with the girl from the dart board, she greeted me and said a few words, and when she saw that I was wearing a hat, her eyes wandered on my face.

I took it off generously and simply ordered her to see me for real.

Can you still tell from my face that a flower can't be?

Now, she was embarrassed, and after a few words, she found an excuse for the cook to prepare dinner for us, and hurriedly walked away.

The girl from the dart game looked at her back, approached me and said, "Did you notice?" This man looked a little strange. ”

"I noticed it when I came yesterday." (To be continued)