The white clouds drifting in the wind gently blocked the blazing afternoon sun, and on the flat grass by the Jiuqu River, small white and beige tents bloomed in concentric circles. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The boys untied the lassoed horses and asked the girls to take them to the lower reaches of the Jiuqu River to be washed. Tall Bactrian camels chewed fodder and huddled together in the shade cast by the grove at the edge of the camp. Han Chinese traders from the city carried rice, flour, oil, salt and other necessities of daily life, and traded with the Hu people and uncles on the periphery of the newly designated camp. Cashmere carpets, Persian spices, rose essential oil, animal skins, and other goods unloaded from wagons and camels filled the camp.

"It's almost summer, can you really sell furs for a good price at this time?" Lu Shaoyun and Lin Xiran, who helped pack the goods, looked at the truckload after car of fox skins, wolf skins, tiger skins, deer skins and other furs, and they were a little puzzled in their hearts.

"It's not ordinary people who can afford to buy furs, rich families have spare money in their hands, as long as the things are good, they don't care if the goods they buy are out of season." Agil, who jumped out of the carriage with a buck's antlers and a box of wolf teeth, looked at Lu Shaoyun with some obvious disbelief, turned around and walked away.

"I said, both in fact and formally, Xia Shuanghan should be counted as your fiancée, right? Then how dare he, a rival in love, use such blatant eyes to be hostile to you? Dude, I really don't understand what the Rong people think. Lin Xiran whispered and patted Lu Shaoyun's shoulder, turned his head and continued to help carry the fur. Hey, strange, how did this wolf get there? There are no arrow holes in this fur! Do they not hunt with bows and arrows? ”

"Yes, why don't you use it." Lu Shaoyun took the wolf skin in Lin Xiran's hand and said: "The reason why there are no holes in this skin is because they used the 'eye-to-eye' method when hunting. That is to say, the bow and arrow pass through the wolf's eye, and when it enters and exits, there will naturally be no arrow holes after peeling. This kind of fur that is complete and has no holes can be sold for a better price. ”

"Tsk, although it sounds a little cruel, I have to admit that the technology is very clever!"

In the busyness, the afternoon passed quickly, and the blood-red afterglow of the sunset splashed on the shallow water stalls by the Jiuqu River, and the round pebbles gently bumped under the horse's hooves with the residual warmth of the sun.

The girls who brushed the horses are back.

The skirt and hair fluttered in the wind, the shoes and socks taken off were hung on both sides of the horse's hips with straps, and the horse sat on the back of the horse with the saddle removed, and a pair of snow-white calves gently shook in the rhythm of the summer frost, and sang melodious folk songs in the Rong language: the celadon-like moonlight illuminated the journey, but the rocks on the high hill were ghostly; The wind whimpered and cracked, but I would not be afraid or confused; Raise the rippling silver cup and drink it, pouring the strength of progress in the bottom of your heart; The mottled image in the cup is the distance that my heart yearns for.

The tactful singing accompanied by the breeze gently brushed Lu Shaoyun's ears, looking at the girl who was slightly glowing red under the sunset, Lu Shaoyun couldn't help but think: Fortunately, I understand the Rong language, otherwise, it is estimated that I can only appreciate the scenery in front of me.

"Frost, you're back!" Aguirre, who was cooking dinner by the river, took a step towards Xia Shuanghan before Lu Shaoyun, his smile was pure and unadulterated, like the afterglow of the sunset, which made people feel warm. "You've been busy all afternoon, you must be tired, dinner will be ready soon, you can wait a little longer."

"Brother, can't you see me?" On a red brown horse beside Xia Shuanghan, Bariya, who also had a pair of bare legs, complained dissatisfiedly: "I've also been busy all afternoon, I'm also very tired, I'm also hungry, okay!" ”

"Frost, you're back!" Not to be outdone, Lu Shaoyun, who also came forward, couldn't wait to swear his sovereignty with words: "I've been in the sun for so long, does my face hurt?" I'll buy you a jar of plaster and wipe it on the way back, okay? ”

"No, I've been standing with my backlight and haven't been exposed to the sun." Xia Shuanghan, who was slightly stunned by Lu Shaoyun's sincere and natural care, quickly adjusted, she glanced at Aguirre, who was instantly eclipsed by her side, and thought of what she was going to say to Uncle Hazluber tonight, so she resigned herself to jumping off the horse with stockings and galoshes, took Lu Shaoyun's hand and said, "You are, you have done all afternoon work with your head down, and you haven't sunburned the back of your neck, right?" ”

"No, I'm a man, with rough skin and thick flesh, don't tight."

The redness of the setting sun faded from the western sky, and the night fell against the soft outer walls of the tents.

"This Dingguo Mansion is too unreasonable!" In the tent, the four members of the Hazru family, who had been busy all day, were filled with indignation after hearing that "Dingguo Gong forcibly came to the door to propose marriage despite Xia Shuanghan's wishes". "Shuang Han is not a Han Chinese, why should he follow their Han tradition to listen to their parents and marry someone they don't like? It's ridiculous! ”

"So, Uncle Hazrub, you must help me." Xia Shuanghan took Lu Shaoyun's hand, with obvious sadness and stubbornness on his face, "My father has agreed, he completely approves of me and Shixuan going to live outside the Guan, but I and Shixuan still have a relationship, we are all people who have never been to the northwest, and this time, we have to trouble Hazrub to take care of it." ”

"Don't worry, Sister Shuanghan," after listening to Xia Shuanghan's plan of "Lin Xiran will set off first, and she and Lu Shaoyun will catch up later", Baliya was the first to stand up and said: "Leave it to me to help purchase goods and take care of travel matters!" I'm going to get everything right! ”

"Thank you so much, Balia, I just ...... I just don't know what to say. ”

"Sister Shuanghan doesn't have to be polite, we Rong people have always helped each other and are like a family."

So just like that, the specific preparations for the fake elopement were finally on the right track.

On April 17, accompanied by Baliya and Aguirre, Xia Shuanghan, who wore Rong men's clothes, and Lu Shaoyun and Lin Xiran, who maintained a state of disguise, stepped into the east of the capital.

According to the customs of the Han people in Bactria , a woman who has passed the third ceremony "Najib" is considered to be a bride to be married after the family has been negotiated. As a bride-to-be, the girls are not allowed to go out for a few months before they get married, because they need to stay at home obediently to embroider the dowry.

As a member of the Rong tribe, on the surface, he has passed the summer frost of "Najib", but in fact, he can ignore the rules of the Han people and go out on his own. However, since she wants to go out quietly and quietly to do things in a low-key and unassuming manner, the safest way is actually to disguise herself as a man.

"The day before yesterday, when you went out to sell paintings, are you also dressed like this?" Facing the heroic Xia Shuanghan in front of him, the corners of Lu Shaoyun's mouth twitched slightly: You are a woman, why can you be so suave and suave as a man? !

"How can I go out without pretending to be like this? Our silver is not enough to spend, I don't go out to sell paintings, how should we live in the future? Obviously, what Xia Shuanghan said was obviously false, and all the expenses for carrying out the hidden mission could be reported to the crown prince Ouyang Han, so going out to sell paintings to make money was just to make "preparing to elope" look more real. Of course, if you can continue to make money to fill your small treasury, Xia Shuanghan is also very happy.

"What are we going to buy today?" Taking advantage of the night of April 12, Lin Xiran, who had basically established a partnership with Baliya, asked, "If you don't help with business in the camp outside the city, can Uncle Hazru and the Taluk brothers be busy?" ”

"It's busy, it's the fifth day since the market opened, and the busiest time has passed. In previous years, we were like this, and after the busiest days, we had to go into the city as soon as possible to buy the goods that we were going to take back to the customs with us. Otherwise, wait until mid to late May to buy again, because the time is urgent, and there is little room for you to choose and carefully check the goods, and you can't buy good things at that time, and it is not cost-effective to drive back to the customs outside the customs empty. ”

"And what do you usually bring back with you?"

"Tea, porcelain, silk and Chinese patent medicine are the most scarce commodities outside the Guanxi." Baliya said and turned her head to Xia Shuanghan and said, "Sister Shuanghan-no, Brother Shuanghan, you tell Brother Shixuan and Brother Qiran, my Chinese is not very good, and speaking Chinese for a long time is simply killing me." ”