In the third year of Song Yuanfu, Song Emperor Zhao Xu ascended the throne at the age of nine, and by this time he had reigned for fifteen years. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the Mamingxi ferry on the west bank of the Bianhe River was already in a disturbance, with the donkeys singing and the horses neighing, and the sound of people and cars, bustling, it was extremely lively.

Just after the day, there are more and more businessmen and travelers in the past, and there are also some people from all walks of life who have entered Beijing to take the exam. At this time, most of the lifters had already entered Kaifeng Mansion to prepare for the three-year ritual examination of Song Yuanfu, but there were also some lifters who gathered at the Zhifu Inn at the Mamingxi Ferry. Zhifu Inn is only more than 20 miles away from Kaifeng Mansion.

Song's provincial examination of the Ministry of Rites was set on the ninth day of the first month, and it was only four days before the introduction of the test.

On the fifth day of the first month, Kaifeng Mansion is still snowing heavily, and the north wind is raging, dyeing the entire Kaifeng Mansion into a piece of white, wrapped in silver, which is extraordinarily enchanting.

The snow scene is so beautiful, but it also brings a serious problem, that is, the Bianhe River is frozen, the Bianhe River can not be sailed at this time, and the ice can not be driven, many merchants, travelers, and lifters who entered Beijing were blocked at the Mamingxi ferry, and the merchants and travelers were better, but the lifters were anxious in their hearts, looking forward to the early thaw of the Bianhe River, otherwise they would miss the triennial tribute of the imperial court.

According to the Song system, those who rush to take the exam must submit documents, such as certificates of guarantee, and other documents to prove their identity to the Ministry of Rites through the bookstore more than three days in advance, otherwise they will lose the qualification for the Ministry of Rites examination.

Located on the west bank of the Bianhe River, the business of the Zhifu Inn is unusually good at this time, it is overcrowded within half a day, the rooms are all full, and the later guests have nowhere to stay, so they have to crowd in the lobby, light a fire to keep warm, warm wine and chat, wait for the Bianhe River to thaw, and continue to hurry.

At this time, the sound of horses' hooves outside the door of the Zhifu Inn sounded, a healthy horse galloped to the door, a guest wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a coat turned over and dismounted, tied the horse to the tethered post outside the door, then pushed open the wooden door of the inn, and walked in.

The north was cold, and after the door was opened, the cold wind poured into the inn, making the guests in the inn frown, and they had the intention to scold them.

The person who entered the inn wore a wide-brimmed hat, a stump on his head, a cotton coat wrapped in the robe, a girdle and a wrist, and a pair of bast shoes with exposed toes at his feet, and his dress was ordinary, but he was tall, his face was heroic, his face was scruffy, and his beard was covered with snow, and the most surprising thing was that this person had a long sword wrapped in rags around his waist, and his tall figure was matched with a long sword at his waist, which made this person unusually strong.

You must know that the imperial court's management of weapons is extremely strict, prohibiting private collection and private manufacturing of weapons, but the weapons prohibited by the imperial court do not include ordinary weapons such as "bows, swords, knives, guns, and short spears", but strictly manage the manufacturing and trading process of this type of weapons.

The imperial court mainly forbade spears, sharp blades, strong armor, crossbows and other weapons of mass destruction.

But even so, the person who entered the inn was also different, and who was there to eat and have nothing to do, running around with a long sword?

Maybe this person is a hero... The guests speculated in their hearts.

However, after this person entered the lobby of the inn, he was also gentle, and found an unmanned wooden table in the middle of the lobby and sat down, the long sword was too long, so he untied the long sword and put it on the table, and then said to the innkeeper: "The shopkeeper, prepare a guest room, large and small." ”

"Guest officer, I'm really sorry, it's full, there is no room anymore, and the guest officer is here to deal with a night? There's also a hut next to the stables, or why don't the guests stay there for the time being? Hearing this, the innkeeper hurriedly said.

"Haoxia" frowned when he heard this, and said: "Since this is the case, then I will bother with the arrangement of the shopkeeper, thank you." ”

The hut next to the stable must be extremely simple, and you must still be able to smell the smell of the stable and hear the movement of the horses when you rest at night. No matter how difficult things are, I have experienced them, and I have long been accustomed to them, and I am not surprised when I see them, and at the same time I am used to them.

"Hurry up and move the officer's luggage over." "Hero" is more polite, and the innkeeper suddenly has a good impression of "hero", and repeatedly instructed the little servants in the store.

"No need, I'll come by myself in a while, bring some wine and food, I've been on the road for so long, I'm really hungry, and I'm tired of feeding the horses some forage." Seeing this, "Haoxia" said to the innkeeper.

"Don't worry, please wait, the wine and food will come up." The shopkeeper's answer.

"Haoxia" nodded, drank a few sips of the hot water handed over by the shopkeeper, and then took out a book from the baggage, spread it on the wooden table, and looked at it as if no one was around by the dim light.

When the customers in the store saw this, they were all secretly surprised, when did the heroes also like to gnaw books? Still so focused?

However, there are all kinds of strange people in the world, and people are willing to hold a sword in one hand and a book in the other, just like Guan Yunchang, what does it have to do with them? So the crowd began to gossip again.

The sky is getting darker, the north wind is getting stronger and stronger, and the closed wooden windows are crackling, and everyone is secretly worried, so bad weather, it seems that it will be impossible to travel tomorrow.

A moment later, there was another hurried sound of horses' hooves outside the shop, and the sound was getting closer and closer, and soon came to the door. Book 8

"Another guest is here." An old man in the store spoke.

Sure enough, a moment later, the door of the store was pushed open, two women and a man broke in, and the north wind mixed with rain and snow suddenly blew in, blowing the fire in the store flickering brightly and darkly, and the indoor temperature suddenly seemed to be a few degrees lower, making people feel unusually cold.

There was a burst of annoyance in everyone's hearts, and the heat that had finally gathered was blown by the door opened, and it was gone. Just go back to the bed and sleep, of course, provided that there is a place to sleep.

Everyone in the store wanted to open their mouths to scold, but after seeing these three people, they held back the words they were about to say.

Among the three, the man is thinner, and not tall, black and thin, with a hooked nose, some do not look like a Central Plains person, and his expression is more gloomy.

Two women, after everyone saw it, their eyes lit up in vain, a woman was about 20 years old, with apricot eyes and peach cheeks, and she looked extremely charming, so that after taking a look, she lowered her head, did not dare to look directly, and her heart was pounding. This woman's eyes seem to be able to discharge, and wherever her gaze sweeps, there will be a commotion, except for the "hero" who is concentrating on reading. . .

The woman wore an apricot brocade leather jacket, a pair of black cotton trousers, and a pair of black boots on her feet. Generally speaking, cotton pants are relatively fat, and they look extremely bloated when worn on people, but the cotton pants on the legs of the woman in yellow fit very well, which sets off the tall figure of the woman in yellow, which makes people wonder if this cotton pants can keep warm?

Another woman's appearance of fifteen or sixteen years old, also born with picturesque eyebrows, but it is very different from the charming appearance of the woman in yellow, above the childish face is clear and bright pupils, curved willow eyebrows, long eyelashes trembling slightly, white and flawless skin reveals a faint red, thin lips look a little pale, it should be due to the cold...

The innocent girl wore a dark blue short-necked blouse, embroidered with colorful and delicate patterns on the neck, cuffs, and placket, and tied around her waist with an apron of several peacocks embroidered with five-colored silk threads, and blue trousers.

The innocent girl doesn't seem to be from the Central Plains, and she looks like the Yi people in the southwest area, and everyone is secretly guessing.

Sure enough, the innocent girl walked by, in addition to bringing a burst of girlish fragrance, everyone also heard a jingling sound, it turned out that the girl had a pair of ankle rings on her ankles, and she made a pleasant sound when she walked.

Everyone looked at the two women in a daze, and no one spoke for a long time, but the black and thin man spoke first: "The shopkeeper, prepare two upper rooms." ”

"I'm really sorry, not to mention going to the house, even the stable is gone... Why don't you deal with the guest officer here for a night? The small shop must be delicious and drinkable, and tomorrow the ice may be frozen, and the guest officials will be able to cross the river. The innkeeper nodded and said.

"Old shopkeeper, you can't say that, can you?" The black thin man said with a gloomy face when he heard this: "I can deal with it, but you have also seen that my two masters are little ladies like flowers, how do they deal with it?" Let them stay here with these rude men? ”

"That's right, but... The inn has long been full, where is there any extra room? Little Lao'er really can't help it. The innkeeper replied embarrassedly.

"Nonsense, if you don't have a room, what else do you open? You go and ask if anyone is willing to give up two rooms? The thin black man said after glancing at everyone in the room.

"This..." The innkeeper looked around, his face was embarrassed.

On such a cold day, who is willing to give up the guest room? If you don't sleep with the bed, will you be frozen in the lobby?

"What, that? Why don't you go soon? The thin black man said impatiently.

The innkeeper was extremely embarrassed, at this time the voice of the black and thin man was getting louder and louder, fierce, and it had already been heard by the people in the house, if someone wanted to, someone would have spoken.

Seeing this, the black thin man became more and more anxious, stepped forward and grabbed the innkeeper's collar, lifted him up, and swung his fist to hit the shopkeeper in the face.

Although the innkeeper is old, he is half a head taller than the black and thin man, and carrying the innkeeper at this time is like lifting a baby, and it takes no effort to carry it.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this thin black man has kung fu.

The people around suddenly let out an exclamation, and the little guy in the store wanted to be rescued, but he was frightened by the black and thin man and didn't dare to step forward.

"Brother Huang, stop!" At this moment, the woman in yellow spoke.

The voice of the woman in yellow was extremely sweet, although she was scolding the black and thin man, it made everyone red-faced.