The canopy boat docked quietly by the river, and the cool river water hit the side of the boat from time to time, making a "dingdong" sound, and occasionally a few birds chirped around.

"Yo!" On the deck, Wang Bin shouted, and when Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look, he saw a crucian carp hanging on the fishing rod and being lifted out of the water.

The firewood in the ship's tandoor stove was burning vigorously, and white steam was bubbling from the pot. Wang Bin grabbed the crucian carp, knocked it twice on the side of the boat, then took out a knife and began to break the belly of the fish.

Du Qianrui, who was wearing an old dress and carrying a bamboo basket, also came to the side of the boat, Zhu Gaochu stretched out his palm to her, Du Qianrui's eyes wandered, and she still put her little hand in Zhu Gaoxu's palm. Zhu Gaoxu dragged her up.

"What leaves, not poisonous?" Wang Bin turned his head and glanced at the bamboo basket.

Du Qianrui's voice was crisp and said: "This young leaf is called spring, it can be eaten, Brother Wang can rest assured." ”

She seems to be in good spirits, quick to do things, and her movements are light and lively.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I know you can use it to fry eggs, but I haven't eaten it when I cook it in fish soup." ”

"Childe is very knowledgeable, and the young leaves in spring are fried eggs, and the smell is big. Cooking is about one thing with one thing, but the things on the ship are not all in order! The river fish does not have a fishy smell as the seasoning, so it may be a little useful to put some spring. Du Qianrui said softly.

She said that she was busy preparing fish soup.

Zhu Gaoxu looked back and said: "If you go north along the Xin River, you can reach the capital city of Raozhou. When we meet the town, we have to try to buy a mount or a carriage and take the overland post road. Boating is just too slow. ”

Zheng He and Wei Da both nodded yes. In the past two days, Zheng He seemed to have something to say, and he wanted to speak many times, and then he finally asked, "Young Master Zhong, is this Du girl reliable?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded immediately. The few people on the boat all stopped, and suddenly no one said anything more.

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look at Du Qianrui again, "Miss Du knows, the Yan Palace's mansion and the imperial court are at war. We are very dangerous in Jiangnan, I will leave you a sum of money and arrange a place for you to stay for a while. When we come back, we'll pick up Miss Du; In case she can't come back, Miss Du has to find another way out. ”

Unexpectedly, Du Qianrui immediately shook her head vigorously and said, "If there is no king...... Zhong Gongzi, all I have left is a boring and bitter life, what's the point of living in the world? Since Zhong Gongzi doesn't care about the danger, I can't help much, all I can do is live and die with Gongzi. ”

She spoke calmly, but there was only determination in her big beautiful eyes.

Zhu Gaoxu generally doesn't believe that others want to die or live at every turn, but for some reason, when he heard Du Qianrui's words at this time, he had no doubt. Maybe she's just stating a fact.

"It's fine." Zhu Gaoxu didn't say those useless words anymore, and immediately nodded and said, "Miss Du will follow us, and we will pretend to be husband and wife." My surname is Zhong, and I am a person from Tianfu; Miss Du's name is Du, a native of Raozhou, Jiangxi. ”

He turned his head to look at Zheng He and the others, "You are all the family members and long-term workers of the Zhong family, Wang Bin is called Wang Youcai, Zheng Gonggong is called Zheng Zhong, and Wei Da is called Wade." Remembered? ”

Several people nodded in response.

After a while, when the fish soup was ready, Wang Bin took out the dry food buns from the baggage, and everyone had lunch with the fish soup.

…… The group reached Raozhou by water. Fucheng is more prosperous than Yugan County, and there are still many people living outside the city, with streets and markets. They did not enter the city gates, and could not find horses outside the city that could be used as mounts, so they bought two carriages, clothing, dry food, and other things.

At present, the south of the river is relatively peaceful, and the group did not encounter interrogation in Raozhou Mansion, and drove the carriage to the post road very smoothly.

But the next day at the border of the state capital, he was stopped by a team of people. Zhu Gaoxu opened the straw curtain and saw that the person on horseback was wearing a green robe with a team of armored soldiers behind him, and immediately judged that these people were patrolling.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at it, and his heart immediately calmed down. Because this kind of local inspection is mainly to check for illegal salt.

"What for?" The green-robed officer asked.

Zhu Gaoxu stepped down from the carriage first, hugged his fists and said: "If you go back to your lordship, the grass people are from Tianfu to visit relatives in Jiangxi and see your father-in-law and mother-in-law." ”

When the junior official heard Zhu Gaoxu call him an adult, he looked very useful, and looked Zhu Gaoxu up and down. Zhu Gaoxu was wearing a high-quality cotton green robe, with a jade pendant hanging around his waist, and he was dressed as a person from a wealthy family...... Petty officials generally do not guard against the rich, and in their eyes, the bad guys who commit adultery are desperate outcasts.

"Got a way?" The inspector asked.

Zhu Gaoxu immediately took out a forged copy of the official mansion of Yingtianfu and handed it over with both hands. The inspector took it out of the envelope, looked at it, and handed it back.

Although this Ying Tianfu Road Guide is a forgery, it can be completely confused with the real one, and it is impossible to distinguish it at all...... The only way to find out the forgery is to go to the Yingtianfu government to check.

Zhu Gaoxu was fearless, and immediately asked: "On the cheap inner car, do you want the grass people to tell her to come down and let the military men check the carriage?" ”

The inspector glanced at him, "That's it! Be careful on the road. ”

Zhu Gaoxu thanked him, re-entered the carriage, patted the wooden plank of the carriage, and Wang Bin in front of him threw a whip in the air, and the carriage continued to move forward.

It is less than a thousand miles to Beijing here, and the group of people take the post road by car is really fast, and they rush every day, and they will arrive at the ground of Yingtianfu in six or seven days.

…… Outside the Jiangdong Gate, they first found an inn to settle in.

Zhu Gaoxu claimed to be husband and wife with Du Qianrui, so he lived in the same room with her. After Fang settled down, he called Zheng He and the others to the room to discuss matters.

When a few people came in, they bolted the door first. Zhu Gaoxu was standing next to the back window, and from here he happened to see the towering Jiangdong Gate Tower, as long as he entered the city gate, it was the capital...... At this time, the situation was tense, and he was somewhat worried.

Zhu Gaoxu turned around, closed the window, and said in a deep voice: "In my experience in Beijing, entering and exiting the city gate has never been checked, and the officers and soldiers guarding the gate generally only check suspicious people. It stands to reason that there will be no mistake in entering Beijing this time, but at this time, the north is fighting, and the Beijing division will guard against traitorous spies. We can't be careless, we must prepare well in advance ...... 'Zheng Zhong'? ”

Wang Bin and the others all looked sideways at Zheng He. Zheng He said in a low voice: "The person who answered us is a monk from Xuanzang Temple, whose legal name is Qingyuan. Qingyuan has a house in Jilong Mountain, not far from Xuanzang Temple, the owner of the title deed is called Zhong Bin, in fact, there is no such person in the world, Qingyuan just claims that the owner of the house is doing business on the side of the political envoy in Zhejiang.

If you are interrogated, let's say you live in Jilong Mountain. The forged Ying Tianfu Road Guide cannot be taken out, and it is easy to be recognized in Beijing, and Zhong Bin's name and address can withstand checking. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "In this way, our identity can stand up to scrutiny a little." If you don't enter the city today, you should bathe and change your clothes in the inn first, so as not to be suspicious of your appearance. ”

The person who answered was a monk, and Zhu Gaoxu guessed that it might be Yao Guangxiao's person. But this matter is very important, and there is no contradiction between Zhu Gaoxu and Yao Guangxiao in dealing with the imperial court...... In addition, the concubine Wang Ning has been found guilty of adultery and spy by the imperial court, and now in prison, Zhu Gaoxu does not dare to find Wang Ning's son Wang Zhenliang; If you need someone to answer, you can only find the traitorous spy Qingyuan monk arranged by King Yan.

After discussion, Zheng He and the other three took their leave and returned to the room.

For the sake of prudence, Zhu Gaoxu tried not to show up outside, and only asked Zheng He to buy it for dinner. Zheng He almost never came to Jingshi, and no one knew him here, but he learned an official dialect in the Yanwang Mansion, and he was more stable in his activities.

At dusk, another servant of the inn knocked on the door with hot water, and the guest officer bathed and changed his clothes.

Zhu Gaoxu stood by the window outside, first observing the Jiangdong Gate Tower through the crack in the window, and soon became a little flustered...... There is a warm pavilion in this room, which is blocked by a partition door. Originally, I couldn't see anything outside the warm pavilion, but it was different when a lamp was lit inside, and Du Qianrui's shadow was reflected on the cloth. She could also see clearly the action of holding the scoop of watering inside.

Along the way, the two pretended to be husband and wife, and they were covered in sweat and dust on the road, not to mention that Zhu Gaoxu was worried about things and very tired, so he didn't do anything to Du Qianrui. At this time, he couldn't help but keep glancing at the partition door.

After a long time, Du Qianrui put on her clothes, and when she came out of the partition, she was slightly surprised when she saw Zhu Gaoxu's face flushing, and when she was about to speak, she followed Zhu Gaoxu's gaze and glanced back.

Du Qianrui's face immediately turned crimson, and her eyes didn't dare to look at Zhu Gaoxu.

"I didn't see anything...... Zhu Gaoxu blurted out, and immediately realized that he wanted to cover up, so he pretended to be indifferent, "I only saw a shadow." ”

His tone was calm, and he thought that his emotions were properly controlled, but the body of this teenager was beyond his control. Du Qianrui glanced at him quietly, her face was even redder, and she couldn't even speak.

After a long while, Du Qianrui said inarticulately: "The people at the inn said that they only fetched water once, and I asked Zhong Gongzi to bathe first, but Gongzi refused to ...... anything."

Zhu Gaoxu heard the gentle and nervous voice, and the shadow on the door just now appeared in his mind, and his brain was dizzy for a while. But the partition wall of this inn is relatively thin, and the rooms on both sides live Wang Bin, Wei Da, and Zheng He, so I am afraid that a slightly louder voice will be heard. What's more, not far away is the Jingshi City Gate, and the situation is no longer tolerable for the slightest negligence, Zhu Gaoxu realized that the timing was inappropriate, and finally restrained his impulse.

He took a deep breath and whispered, "It's okay with the water that Miss Du used, it's good...... That, you don't have to worry too much about the details when you're away from home. ”

"Childe......" Du Qianrui bit her lip and looked up at him, "The concubine will serve you to bathe and change clothes." ”

Zhu Gaoxu reached out and touched the bulging blood vessels above his temples, and suddenly felt that his nose was slightly itchy, so he reached out and touched it, took it down and took a look, his fingers were stained with blood, and he immediately blurted out: "I'm Cao!" ”

"Does it matter?" Du Qianrui's face changed slightly, and she hurriedly took a handkerchief and came forward to wipe it for Zhu Gaoxu. He smelled a faint and good-smelling fragrance on the handkerchief, and hurriedly said: "You ignore me a little farther away, let me calm down, and I will be fine soon." ”