Jinling is located in the south bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with the Yangtze River in the north, Taihu Lake in the south, the rivers are vertical and horizontal, the lakes are dense, and it is the waterway artery that connects the "three Wu" to Jingkou and Jinling, the business and travel are prosperous, chestnut, wine, needle, sugar, onion, cloth, utensils, books, but all the people are within their daily reach, there is nothing to cover, nothing is not included, so the water gate that surprises the autumn equinox is not only three, but a whole seven, plus other city gates, a total of twelve.

Wait for the city, it is an eye-opener, more than ten miles from east to west of Jinling City, seven or eight miles from north to south, from the main street and Zhufang Lane, the size of the mat, even the door is, there is no empty house. The streets are crowded with people, most of them are brightly dressed, the ox cart moves forward for a quarter of an hour not ten meters, and the autumn equinox says blankly: "This is much more lively than our Yixing......

Yixing is the county of the Xu family, focusing on raising soldiers, and naturally there is no way to compare with Jin Ling in business. Xu You smiled and said: "Sit down quickly, if Jinling has dazzled your eyes, when we get to Qiantang, do you still want to live?" ”

The autumn equinox was busy sitting upright, looking at the nose and the nose and heart, posing well-behaved, but thinking in his heart: Qiantang, will it really be better than here, wouldn't it be where the immortals live? ”

The ox cart walked for an unknown amount of time, stopped in front of a grand courtyard, Xu You walked down the ox cart, looked up, and saw two tall jet-black stone pillars standing outside the door, the left is "valve", and the right is "reading". And "gate valve" is the joint name of the door and the valve reading, this "valve reading" refers to the two stone pillars in front of the family gate, used to mark meritorious deeds. In ordinary houses, even if the family has a lot of money, it is not allowed to build a valve, and can only open the door on the wall.

"Xiaolang, is this the Yuan Mansion?" After all, the autumn equinox is also a girl who grew up in the Xu family, and she was not intimidated by the lintel here, so she asked curiously.

Xu You's face was calm and said, "It should be." ”

It was not the first time he came to Yuan's mansion, and after meeting Yuan Qingqi in the city, he wrote a letter of worship asking to see Yuan Jie, but Yuan Jie's official busyness declined. Later, after the elders of the family made peace, they finally got their wish and married the Yuan family, and then the two sides gradually became closer, but they never saw Yuan Qingqi again.

"Xu Lang, please come with me!"

Feng Tong respectfully led the way, compared to the domineering posture when he was in Yixing and on the ship, he was like two people. Xu You is well versed in people's hearts, and naturally understands the mentality of people like him, which is nothing more than bullying and flattering, and being humble and polite in front of the master, but once he turns his back and goes, he immediately becomes hideous and terrifying.

However, such a person is not on Xu You's heart, he gestured with his jaw and walked Xu Xing, although he is not a peerless beautiful man like He Lang, but his eyebrows are clear, his wide sleeves are fluttering, and he has a calmness that is difficult for others to reach.

Walk into the house, the eyes suddenly brighten, the deep stream caves, the stream is coiled, there are earth mountains, fishing platforms, curved marshes, flying beams, with a variety of unique and exquisite pavilions and pavilions, the terrain has both ups and downs, and attracts the living water in the city to form the water system in the park, the river can be boated, the shore can also fish, the willows are green, the high platform is cloudy, the heavy building is foggy, the flower forest is curved and the pond is really a good dazzling scenery.

After passing through more than a dozen garden gates, I came to the front of an elegant house. At this time, the architectural style of the Chu State had broken away from the ancient, serious, and straight line Han style, and evolved to a fluent, bold, vigorous and lively curve aesthetics. In the case of this house, the whole wooden structure, the roof of the mountain style, the eaves are slightly curved, the two ends of the ridge are equipped with the tail of the owl, there is a phoenix in the middle, and the others have the ornaments in the shape of flames, flowers and plants, birds and beasts, as well as some architectural styles that are full of distinctive characteristics of Nanchu, such as the arch of the roll, the double frieze, the octagonal column, the lotus seat, etc., which are delicate and flexible, giving people the ultimate visual enjoyment.

"Xu Lang later, let me go in and say hello."

Xu You nodded, stood with his hands in his hands, but looked at a plum blossom a few steps away. The autumn equinox, who had been following behind, looked at his Xiaolang with a side face, and suddenly his heart jumped, because no matter what, there was no trace of joy and excitement in his face, and the coldness made people a little scared.

It is said that Xiaolang loves the Yuan family girl so much, I remember that when I learned that the marriage with her was decided, I happily rewarded many people with thousands of dollars, but this will be so depressed, why?

Although she is smart, she is innocent after all, how could she think that what Xu You is thinking about in her heart is how to bargain with Yuan Jie later, so as to maximize the benefits of the only chip in her hand?

After a while, Feng Tong walked out quickly and said with a smile: "Lord Lang is invited." ”

Xu You straightened his clothes, turned his head to the autumn equinox and said, "You wait here, don't walk around, I'll come out in a while." ”

Then, under the earnest gaze of the autumn equinox, he disappeared into the two vermilion doors that slowly closed.

Stepping into the house, Xu You took a look at it, although the furnishings in the room were not luxurious, but they also saw the ingenuity. The bucket-shaped ceiling has been detached from the rigidity and sluggishness of the Han and Wei dynasties, outlining a deeper height than the original area, coupled with the surrounding Zhu Zhu Su wall and white-topped Dan Ying, which makes people feel in it and wander outside the object. And the first thing that catches your eye is the three screen couches on the east side with beautiful shapes, sitting one foot two inches high, one foot three inches high, seven feet long, one foot five inches wide, surrounded by wooden lattices, all of which are made of Wucheng ink bamboo, which is famous all over the world, and is carved with various cumbersome ornaments.

However, compared with this couch, what attracts Xu You more is the bronze ban placed in front of the couch.

Forbidden, the vessel of respect, which means the case where the wine utensils are placed, is called "forbidden", and there is also the meaning of the exhortation to quit drinking and drinking less. The bronze forbidden in front of him, with different thickness of copper stems to support multiple layers of hollow moire, twelve dragon-shaped beasts climb around the ban, and the other twelve squat under the ban for foot, although it is imitated in accordance with the bronze of the pre-Qin period, but the technique is more exquisite, the overall streamline is also more vivid, and the workmanship is of the highest quality.

Xu You was secretly observing, heard footsteps in his ears, turned his head to look, and saw a person wearing a praising shirt and a folded scarf, walking through the small door on the other side.

"Xu You has seen Yuan Gong!"

The person who came was Yuan Jie, he was no more than forty years old, with a long figure, a face as white as jade, a short beard under his chin, a concise gaze, a restrained bearing, and he was very enthusiastic about Xu You, and said: "Qilang doesn't need to be polite, this journey is tiring, and his health is good?" ”

"Lao Yuan Gong is worried, and there is no big problem."

"Okay, come, sit!"

In this era, the seat is mainly east, the west is respected, the north is long, and the south is secondary, Yuan stepped up to the three screen couches on the east side, and took a three-legged bent wood from the corner of the couch to hug the waist with a few, leaned on the waist to do support, and then sat comfortably on the edge of the couch, free and natural, a celebrity style. Xu You walked to the south side, where there was an armchair painted with class paint, carved incense, and curled with silver feet, which was also first-class and exquisite.

He sat down sideways, looked at Yuan Jie, and said, "I haven't seen Yuan Gong for many days, and I suddenly feel that my complexion is better than before." ”

Yuan Jie stroked his beard and smiled: "Recently, I have been drinking less and sleeping early, and I feel much healthier than before." But Shichiro's complexion is not as good as the last time I saw you. ”

"I'm ashamed, I'm out of nature by nature, and my self-cultivation work is a little worse, which makes Yuan Gongjian smile."

Yuan Jie deliberately introduced the topic to the change of Yixing, but Xu You did not accept the invitation, and pushed it away lightly. In general, Yuan Jie, regardless of his identity and status, is countless times stronger than Xu You at this time, but from a small point of view, Yuan Jie wants to achieve his goal, but he must go through Xu You's nod, so the offensive and defensive momentum has changed.

Then he exchanged a few more pleasantries, and seeing that Xu You still refused to take the bait, Yuan Jie lost the interest of going around in circles with the juniors, and said: "Qilang, since you are here, you should also know what I am looking for you for, I don't know if I have a plan in my heart?" ”

Xu You was surprised: "Where did Gong Yuan start with this, Steward Feng only mentioned that Gong Yuan had something important to discuss with me, but he never told the specific details. ”

Yuan Jie's eyes were stunned, and he turned around on Xu You's face, as if he was thinking about whether his words were true or false, and then frowned slightly, and said: "These subordinates, they can't do a little thing well, they really deserve to be punished!" ”

"Gong Yuan's words are serious, Steward Feng has been diligent all the way, if it weren't for his care, I'm afraid it would be difficult for me to reach Jinling safely."

Yuan Jie leaned forward slightly, and said, "I was about to ask you, listening to Feng Tong's report, did you meet an assassin on the waterway?" ”

Xu You's expression became solemn, and he stood up and said: "There are two Jianghu guests who are desperate to take risks, but relying on the hard work of the left army of your mansion, General Deng Bai and other soldiers, the thief has already been ambushed and awarded the head." I was about to ask Yuan Gong for his life, and I was ready to pay good attention to the families of the soldiers who died in the war. ”

"There's no rush here, it's not too late to talk about it later." Yuan Jie pressed his hand down, motioned for Xu You to sit down, and said, "Do you know the identity of the assassin?" By whom? ”

Xu You probably talked about the origin of the four arrows, and said, "...... As for who instructed me, I think Yuan Gong should already have the answer in his belly......"

Yuan Jie sighed: "Is Shen Shiheng really so decisive? ”

Hearing this name, Xu You's expression was calm, and he said, "It's just cutting the grass and eradicating the roots, it's nothing unusual." What kind of person Shen Shizhong is, when he starts to do things, he naturally won't look at the end of the day. ”