Chapter Twenty-Three: The Nine-Storey White Tower

The courtyard in the peach blossom forest is called the square garden, the square is just like its name, the courtyard is not big, the wall of ten zhang wide is four three-storey attics in the north and south, the north attic is slightly different, and there is more than half a floor of pavilion. There is a nine-story tower standing quietly in the garden, and there is not much arrangement in the garden, except for a wide stream of water passing from north to south. The interior of the garden is spacious and tidy, and with the white jade statues of eight divine beasts in all directions, it gives people a solemn and majestic feeling.

Fu Bo was already discussing with the steward and the chief of the guard who were in charge of guarding the Sifang Court about staying for the next few days. Jiang Ge took a closer look around the nine-story tower that was more than two zhang wide in the middle.

The steward of the Sifang Court was a lean old man, about the same age as Fu Bo, except that he looked older than Fu Bo, with white hair and beard, a hunched back than Fu Bo, and the skin on his face and hands was darker and more wrinkled. But a pair of sunken eyes are extremely inspiring.

The chief of the guard of Sifang Yuan is a sturdy man in his thirties, tall and burly, the green tendons on his hands and neck that are about to burst give people a feeling of fear, and a horizontal knife into the sheath is diagonally straddled around his waist, and the handle of the knife is engraved with the word "Ancient Seal Lianshan".

Jiang Ge didn't know anyone here, in fact, even the existence of the other three surnames only knew about it after returning to Linyuan City. Jiang Ge, who has always lived in the north, doesn't know much about Jingzhou Wuling. In Jiang Ge's impression, this is a place where ordinary clansmen gather. In fact, it is the same as the town manor under the jurisdiction of many clan princes in the north.

When Jiang Ge entered the door with Fu Bo, he only symbolically nodded with the chief of the guard, and did not greet politely, Fu Bo knew that Jiang Ge had a cold temperament and was not very willing to communicate with people too much, not to mention that he had lived a lonely life since he was a child, Fu Bo would always arrange everything, and the future head of the family also needed to be colder, otherwise there were so many family servants up and down, no majesty, how could he become the head of the family.

However, the steward and the chief guard will take a few more glances at this young man in green shirts from time to time, the inheritance of the head of the Jiang family has never been bad, and the worst can also organize the family properly when he is alive, and there has never been a son of a loser. And the bloodline of the heads of the other three clans is the same, and there are few mediocre talents.

Soon after Jiang Ge successfully returned south, in fact, some things about Jiang Ge spread among the clan, most people were very curious about what this young man was like, and many peers would admire him, but some people would not be convinced, thinking that they were all exaggerated by false rumors. With the strength of the Jiang family, it is not difficult to escort one or two people across the river to the south.

After Fu Bo discussed with the chief of the guard, the two of them made their own arrangements, and Fu Bo watched Jiang Ge around the White Tower and did not disturb, so he stood quietly aside.

After about a stick of incense, the steward walked up to Faber and said that the room had been cleaned up, and lunch had been prepared, so he asked the young master to rest for the time being.

Fu Bo and Jiang Ge followed the steward to the top half floor of the north attic, more than three zhang from the ground, the view is excellent, the scenery of the peach forest is unobstructed, if it is in the flowering period to make tea here to watch the scenery is wonderful. Looking to the west, you can see the traffic of Taohuawu, and when you look south, you can see the boulder platform by the river, which is more than enough for Jiang Ge's eyesight, and if you look carefully, you can vaguely see the ancient characters engraved on the two boulders, but you can't see the details clearly.

The low table in the room has been prepared with food, which is not sumptuous, but it looks a little elegant. After the steward exited the door, Jiang Ge and Fu Bo each used chopsticks, Jiang Ge did not drink, but Fu Bo was not happy without alcohol, and a bottle of peach blossom brew on the table was tumbling over the Fu Bo wine worm that had already been hooked.

Fu Bojing poured himself wine, tasted it carefully, the clear soup just passed his throat, and a long 'ah~' came out immediately, and then the slurp continued. Fauber's face was full of enjoyment, stroking his beard and shaking his head.

It's the first time Jiang Ge has seen Fu Bo drink a glass of wine like this, and there is no shortage of good wine in Luoyang Chang'an. So he asked curiously: "Fu Bo enjoys it so much, what is there about this wine?" ”

Fu Bo smashed it and said: "This peach blossom brewing is not ordinary, this peach forest within a radius of two miles only blooms and does not bear fruit, the annual harvest of peach blossom liquor is only more than ten jars, although the aroma of the wine is not rich, its taste is also extremely clear, the steward here buries the wine deep in the ground, and when it is taken out, it is cold and refreshing, not as mellow and fragrant as the grain wine in the north, and the taste is different from each other, and it is extremely preferred by the old slave, such as the fairy wine. Last time I came here with the head of the family, I had the pleasure of drinking a few glasses, and the feeling of being cool and smooth, and the fragrance of my lips and teeth will never be forgotten. Today, I tasted the blessing of the young master again, I have no regrets in this life, hahaha, the young master never drinks, do you want to taste a drink? The old slave enjoys it exclusively, and he feels ashamed, hahaha. ”

Seeing that Fu Bo was about to pour it for himself, Jiang Ge hurriedly refused: "If you haven't reached the crown yet, you can't drink, and the rules explained by your father can't be violated." Anyway, this wine can't run away from it in the cellar, and I will have the opportunity to taste it in the future. Although I don't have the right to tamper with the goods and things at home, a few jars of wine should be fine, and my father will not blame him. ”

"The young master is generous, the old slave is not welcome, but the old slave doesn't dare to drink more of this wine, and he is full of stamina, and ordinary people are drunk and hazy after two or three lamps, and the old slave can't drink it anymore if he drinks five lamps, so good wine needs to be savored carefully, and the booze still has to be burned with sorghum in the Central Plains to be refreshing." After speaking, Fu Bo started to pick up the vegetables and drank by himself, looking like an old man at home.

Jiang Ge looked at Fu Bo's comfortable appearance and felt warm in his heart, in addition to his father, the white-haired old man in the early stage was the most important person in his heart, and his health was a blessing, Jiang Ge hoped that Fu Bo would always be like this, and his longevity would be the same.

After resting after the meal, Fu Bo was already a little drunk, and gently closed his eyes and fell asleep against the wooden pillow. During the banquet, Fu Bo said that Jiang Ge of the White Tower could go by himself at any time, and others did not dare to enter the tower. After resting, Jiang Ge leisurely went down the attic and walked to the gate of the first floor of the White Tower.

Looking up, the tower towers into the clouds, more than ten zhang high, and there is a majesty that pierces the sky. The plaque above the tower gate is engraved with the word white tower, which is concise and clear, and the tower gate is also very plain, and there are not too many secular gold and silver embellishments.

Gently push the door and enter, the tower is clear at a glance, the ground paved with blue bricks, the tower structure is all wooden, the outside of the tower is vermilion lacquer, but the tower is exposed with natural wood texture, slightly polished, coated with a layer of transparent peach gum, the fragrance is overflowing.

There is a small white jade stone platform in the north direction of the tower, there is a white jade carved divine beast 'Kui' on the stone platform, this white jade Kui in front of you, the shape is like a green ox, the body is pale and there are no horns, only one foot, it is roaring. Jiang Ge has seen Kui's portraits in many ancient books, all of which are roughly drawn, and the stone carving in front of him is lifelike, with muscle lines, expression and temperament, and the subtleties are even more delicate.

Jiang Ge stretched out his hand to touch the stone carving, and gently slid across the surface, as if there was a feeling of smooth flowing water, which was refreshing.

The first floor has the largest space, it seems very empty, Jiang Ge, who has seen Kui, went up the stairs to the second floor, the wooden staircase is not broken, I don't know how many years, there is still no corrosive place, but once a year, the three heads of the Kui family will come to clean up and paint new peach tree paint.

The second floor to the eighth floor are generally the same, and the entire floor is as empty as the first floor, with nothing but a divine beast carved from white jade. However, the stone carvings of the divine beasts on each floor are carved lifelike, as if they are alive, and Jiang Ge is not in a hurry, and only after carefully appreciating each layer does he go to the next layer.

An hour later, Jiang Ge walked to the ninth floor, that is, the top of the tower, the space is really not spacious enough, the space that can accommodate five or six people at most, the summer is hot, the windows in the tower are closed, and the temperature is extremely high. Jiang Ge was wearing a green shirt that was already half drenched in sweat, but he didn't realize it.

As soon as he went from the staircase to the ninth floor, Jiang Ge saw two stone sculptures in the middle direction, placed opposite each other in the east and west directions, and then looked closely and saw that there was a jade bead in each of the two phoenixes' mouths, white on the left and black on the right. Seeing this scene, Jiang Ge sneered, how could there be such a divine thing that Fu Bo said, how could there be a jade bead hanging in the air, it was clearly a jade bead with a phoenix mouth.

When Jiang Ge arrived at the top of the building, he felt that the temperature in the tower was extremely high, and it was noon, so he opened the wooden windows on all sides at one time, and the river breeze blowing from the river was a little cool, but fortunately it was just a breeze, in a place nine floors and ten zhang high, even if it was just a breeze, it was still some strength to blow into the tower through the window, and the dust that originally fell in the sky was blown out of the window with the wind.

After Jiang Ge fixed the window, he turned his head and carefully observed the two phoenix stone sculptures, the wings and tails, each feather was depicted vividly, the eyes were smart, and the posture was rotated and intertwined. There are black and white beads in their mouths, and they look at each other in the east and west directions.

After carefully looking at the statue, Jiang Ge was very satisfied, the mythical beasts in the ancient books were very lucky to see such exquisite stone carvings today, and at the same time, he also sighed that these precious stone carvings existed in the south instead of the north. If it is damaged, it will be a loss for the people of the world. The stone carvings of Luoyang Palace and Chang'an Palace Jiang Ge have been seen, and the carvings are all the top in the world, but compared with what you see today, there is a difference of thousands of miles. can make the work natural, without a trace of knife work, and its skills are really not like all in the world.

Jiang Ge stood by the window due south, holding the windowsill with both hands and looking at the stone platform by the river that looked like an altar.

The scenery is picturesque, the breeze is blowing, Jiang Ge's heart is as quiet as a pool of water, without any waves.

Idle, Jiang Ge sat down on the ground and sat south, silently reciting in his heart, and the breath in his body began to speed up.

The two breaths in Jiang Ge's body cycled over and over again, gradually getting better.

In meditation, a living beast either gallops or enters the water or soars into the air.

Alternating between virtual and real, colorful.

In the landscape painting in the void, the sky in the area of Wuling is full of light, auspicious clouds are surging, in addition to the golden dragon, there are faintly dozens of divine beasts following the golden dragon to play around.