From summer to autumn, at the beginning of August, Suzhou Mansion ushered in a new sub-guard Susong Road. In other words, Lord Yuan Dao Taishi was leaving, and the imperial court allowed him to pay tribute, and still gave him a crown and belt according to the custom, which was considered to be a decent gift to the old minister.

From March at the beginning of the year to August now, Lord Shi Lunshi has been a Taoist for five months and then resigned, which is probably a result that no one expected in advance. A generation of capable ministers defeated Maicheng, which is embarrassing.

After the handover was completed within a few days, Lord Shi had nothing to do, and he didn't want to stay sad for a long time, so he boarded the ship in a low-key manner and wanted to leave for his hometown.

It is said that the west of Suzhou City has recently built the right gate and opened the Li Tang, and the waterways of the new city gate are wider and easier than the Changmen, and they can also lead to the canal. Therefore, if those who were close to the city wanted to go out of the city, they would naturally not go to the gate again, so Lord Shi's ship took this new way.

In the cabin, Lord Shi and Mr. Gao sat opposite each other and talked, "I have nothing to do now, I am afraid that I will delay you, so I want to recommend you to a friend's place to make a scene?" ”

Mr. Gao sighed with emotion: "Dong Weng doesn't have to, I also plan to go home, and in the future, I will write a book about what I have seen and heard over the years, and it will not be in vain to travel all over the place." But Dong Weng, do you really want to leave like this? There wasn't even a farewell ceremony. ”

Lord Shi said sadly: "The luck is not good, what if you don't return?" ”

I didn't say a few words, but I heard the noise of people outside, shouting and screaming one after another.

Mr. Gao pushed the window and looked out, and saw more than 100 people gathered on the shore to run along the river, and someone shouted: "Slow down, adults!" The little ones are grateful for their kindness and are willing to practice with thin wine! I also hope that the adults will not hesitate to appreciate the face, and the little ones will think! ”

Mr. Gao suddenly became excited, turned around and said, "Look, owner, this is the will of the people!" The people's hearts are gratifying! There is a scale on the merits! ”

Lord Shi, who was sitting in a precarious position, couldn't help but glance out a few times, and his heart was mixed, the people of Suzhou Mansion were not all Diao people. A good official like him is a good official after all, and the eyes of the masses are bright.

Lord Shi, who was recognized, got up and went out of the cabin to the deck, feeling even more ashamed, and sighed to speak.

Unexpectedly, someone snatched Lord Shi's lines and said loudly: "Why do fathers need to be like this!" How dare this official be! Please come back! ”

When Lord Shi, who was in tears, was indulging in sentimentality and couldn't extricate himself, he suddenly heard this unfamiliar but absolutely unforgettable voice, and he was so dizzy that he almost spit out a mouthful of old blood, and Mr. Gao behind him couldn't help but look up to the sky and be speechless.

Next to it, there is a big ship with a bow and tail length of more than ten zhang and a side height of six or seven feet.

Lord Shi and Mr. Gao had also noticed this parallel ship just now, but they didn't think much about it, who would have thought that this was Li You's ship? In fact, Li You didn't expect that there was Master Shi who was quietly leaving in the boat next to him.

It can be said that it is not a family that does not get together, and the two happened to meet together again, just like when Lord Shi took office.

It turned out that the group of people on the shore were all here to greet Li You. It's just that they shouted at Lord Shi to walk slowly, and when Lord Shi heard it, he thought it was to see him off, which was very self-inflicted.

Lord Shi is leaving today, but why is Master Li not leaving? The two pairs of heads actually coincidentally left Suzhou Mansion at the same time, and God is sometimes quite good at joking.

For Li You, such an officialdom event as the change of the road in Suzhou Mansion is no longer what he cares about. The imperial court decreed that those who were in prison should enter school in October, and now it is mid-August, so it is impossible to leave.

Fortunately, the water and land project in Xicheng has been completed, so Master Li became the second person to build the new city gate after King Wu built the city and opened the door 2,000 years ago. Since the seventh year of Jinghe, the eight gates of Gusu, a famous city in the world, have an additional right gate, so his mark and name have been firmly engraved in Suzhou Mansion.

Before the funeral of the Zhao family, Li You sold another big favor. He also did not pay attention to auspiciousness or bad luck, so he officially opened the newly built water and land city gate to let the Zhao family's funeral team out of the city, and gave the Zhao family a big face, and got two letters from Zhao Liangyi.

In addition, the pawnshop had instructed Master Huang to take care of it, and the family affairs were entrusted to Zhao Liangli's senior officials to take care of, so he had nothing to worry about.

This time when he entered Beijing, Li You brought five hundred taels of silver, and there were three people waiting around him. Needless to say, the two people who are more than usual are Xiaozhu brothers and sisters.

Xiaozhu's elder brother is strong, his name is Han Zong, and he does heavy work all year round, he has a lot of strength, and he has served in Jingshi, so he has a little knowledge. Li You felt that it was available after seeing it, so he took it by his side and made a long-term follower, a part-time bodyguard thug.

As for Xiaozhu, at the suggestion of Aunt Jin, the whole family collectively decided to stuff it to Li You and take it on the road. Because the master has a lot of inconvenience outside, he always needs someone to take care of him, Xiaozhu from a poor family can endure hardships, his health is good, and he is also smart, so it is most suitable to go out with the master.

What's more, after Aunt Jin has more daughters in her room, there are both nurses and mothers-in-law, and there is no shortage of Xiaozhu and a maid.

When the people of the Li family saw the happy and ill-intentioned Xiaozhu follow the master, they made a bet, the next time the master goes home, Xiaozhu is still not a girl?

Of course, the big boat that Li You was riding was not his, he borrowed it from the Song family. The small building of the ship's name, wide and long, with two floors inside and outside, is comfortably furnished, and is specially built for long-distance travel.

Pulling back the words, Lord Shi inadvertently didn't expect that he was amorous, he saw Li You's big ship slowly passing over his own boat, shook his head and returned to the cabin, he couldn't be angry with that person anymore.

Mr. Gao was afraid that the proprietor would be depressed, so he pretended to be angry and said: "Opportunists can sell their reputation!" People in the world often feel that it is wrong! ”

Li You didn't go ashore over there, he just stood at the bow of the boat and exchanged a few words with the people on the shore and waved away, saying goodbye to Suzhou Mansion with Lord Shi one after another.

Jingshi is more than 2,000 miles away from Suzhou Prefecture, and it takes about a month to take the canal and waterway. After two or three days, he crossed the river and suddenly felt that the scenery on both sides of the strait had changed. Along the canal, there are Yangzhou, Huai'an, Xuzhou, Jining, Linqing and other places along the way, and of course it is also where the big tax customs are.

It's a pity that Li You doesn't have a lot of time, only in a hurry, and he doesn't have the kung fu to travel slowly all the way. It's just that when I arrived in Linqingzhou, Dongchang Prefecture, I got off the boat and wandered around for a while.

Without him, this is where Chen Xundao's hometown is, and one of the stacks of letters Li Youhuai is Chen Xundao's family letter, asking him to take it back to Chen's house along the way.

In addition, Li You also made a small fortune. When he was anchored in Yangzhou, he met a merchant who was familiar with the Song family and was about to sell goods to the north, so he took the opportunity to go with Li You and gave him fifty taels of silver.

Because Master Li has a seven-grade official body, although it is nothing in the world, there is a benefit that it can be tax-free after customs clearance, which saves the merchant countless troubles. It's not for the sake of acquaintances, fifty taels will never be able to buy a seven-grade Master Li as a talisman.

There is nothing to say on the road, in mid-September, I heard the boatman say before dark: "Master Li! It's almost time to Tongzhou Pier! ”

Li You let out a long breath and finally reached the finish line. Even Li You, a southerner who is accustomed to water, has been dangling on the boat for a month, and he can't stand it a little.

Tongzhou is located in the east of Beijing, is the northern terminus of the canal, known as the royal wharf, people and things who want to enter Beijing are here to get off the ship and turn to the land.

Seeing that it was too late, Li You had to stay in Tongzhou for one more night, and he would be able to enter Beijing tomorrow.

(To be continued)