At that time, people used incense to show their virtues, from sacrificing to the gods, and down to bathing in fragrant soup. In the daily life of the scholars, various spices are indispensable. Childe knows that I like incense, but any spice he can collect, he will always send a copy to the general's mansion. Jiang Li, Mulan, Xin Yi, Du Ruo, Fang Zhi, Huicao, from Chu to Jin, from Wu to Wei, I am afraid that there are more spices from various countries in my hands than in the Qin Palace. But I don't have a clue what kind of spice the strange twigs I got yesterday were. This realization makes me happy and sad at the same time.

Happily, this spice is so rare that if I could know its name and origin, I would have found clues related to the beast-faced man. Sadly, even the incense seller himself doesn't know what the spice is, so how can I?

And the only thing I can do now is to find the noble man with a vision on his face and a red cloud on his eyebrows. And this person may be the strategist of the Jin Kingdom that I just met - Zhang Mengtan!

Zhang Meng's talk about a high nose and deep eyes is not like an ordinary person from the Central Plains, so the incense seller will feel that his face is different, and the red birthmark on his eyebrows is likely to be the red cloud in the mouth of the incense seller.

It's been three days since I came back from the Prince's Mansion, and if Zhang Mengtan really wants to leave the Qin State, then it's today.

When I took the beam pot and ran out, the servant had prepared the carriage and waited at the door.

Hurrying all the way, when we arrived at the pavilion where the Jin envoy stayed, we heard that the convoy of the Zhao family of the Jin State had just set off and had left Yong from the east gate.

"Servant, quick, go to the east gate!" I ran out of the inn and got into the carriage in two steps.

Knowing that I was in a hurry, the servant whipped several times in a row, and the horse neighed, and galloped towards the east gate of Yongcheng.

I heard that Zhao Wuxian brought a lot of gifts for Uncle Qin when he entered Qin. In order to show his sincerity, Qin Bo must have given a lot of gifts in return when they left. In winter, when Weishui freezes, they can't walk the waterway, so they can only choose to return to Jin by land, and the ox cart must not be able to go fast when pulling heavy objects, so as long as our carriage runs fast enough, we will definitely be able to intercept them halfway.

Sure enough, less than two miles east of the city gate, I saw a slow-moving convoy in the distance.

"Great, finally caught up! Go to the front of the convoy! ”

"No!"

Wu Fengsheng ** horses, the horses used to pull the cart in the house are all purchased from the Western Regions, so we rushed to the head of the team in a short time.

"Dare to ask, this is the convoy of the Zhao clan of the Jin Kingdom?" You Yu stood on the car and shouted.

"Exactly, who's coming?" A swordsman on horseback and a crown at the head of the team asked.

"Little girl, please see the strategist Meng Tan!"

"Who is talking to Meng?" As soon as I finished speaking, a human head poked out of the black-covered carriage on the side, and I fixed my eyes on Zhao Wuxian, who I saw in the prince's mansion.

"Little girl, please see the strategist Zhang Mengtan.".

"It's you!" Zhao Wuxian looked at me with a smile, and raised his hand to signal the soldiers in front of him to stop the convoy, "The girl is in such a hurry, but she came to talk to Meng about something else?" ”

I nodded and stepped out of the carriage. Zhao Wuxian laughed loudly: "Good, great goodness, Adi, take this girl to see Mr. Zhang!" ”

"No!" A fourteen or fifteen-year-old soldier ran out of the carriage and said to me, "Girl, please come with me!" ”

I bowed to Zhao Wuxian and followed the soldier to the center of the convoy. After only taking two steps, Zhao Wuxian's joking voice suddenly sounded in his ears: "The scenery here is very good, Zhao is not in a hurry, and the girl does not need to be in a hurry." If he changed his mind and wanted to return to Jin with my family Meng Tan, Zhao was very happy. ”

My face stiffened, and I said in my heart, this Zhao Wuxian must have thought that I had a personal affair with Zhang Mengtan, so he drove to chase after him reluctantly. But I won't see you again anyway, and it's even more troublesome to explain.

"Girl, look, Mr. Zhang has gotten out of the car and is waiting for you!" The creep's voice was crisp and loud.

I looked in the direction of his finger, and saw Zhang Mengtan dressed in azure clothes, leaning on the carriage with his sword, looking at me with a smile.

"I'll see you off!" When I came, I didn't care about it, and I only thought about asking about spices, but now standing in front of him, I suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"Have you changed your mind and are going to return with me?" He looked at me with a smile, and there was an emotion in his deep eyes that I couldn't understand.

"Which one wants to return with you?" I lowered my head and handed over the handle pot in my hand, "You helped me out of the siege in the prince's mansion, this is a new peach blossom brew made this spring, which is a thank you gift." ”

"Is this the wine you made?" Zhang Mengtan stretched out his hand to take it, opened the lid of the pot and took a deep breath, "It's so fragrant, how did you make it?" ”

"Take the peach blossoms washed by the light rain in early spring and March, soak them in the wine by the night breeze and dry them, and then burn incense and hide them at the bottom of the peach blossom tree when the wine flag star is in the sky, and it will be made in June. I've only made three pots this spring, and this is the last one. ”

"The wine is crisp and sweet, and it smells drunk, very good!" Zhang Mengtan raised his eyebrows slightly, suddenly put his face over, and whispered in my ear, "I like wine, but the heart of a beautiful woman is especially rare." ”

I hurriedly took a step back, bowed my head and said, "The little girl's wine is not so delicious, and the gentleman still needs to answer me a question today." ”

"What's the doubt?" Zhang Mengtan looked down at my hot ears and asked with a smile.

"More than a month ago, did Mr. enter Qin?"

"A month ago, I came to Qin to deliver a prayer post for the head of the family, how did the girl know?" Zhang Mengtan seemed to be surprised, but then smiled with relief and said, "Let me guess, the girl met that fragrant wood seller?" ”

"How do you know?" I asked.

"You have the scent of sandalwood on you, and I happened to meet that person a month ago, so it's not hard to guess. But if you come to ask for incense today, I don't have anything here to give you. ”

"I don't ask you for spices, I just want to ask where they come from."

"Then tell me first, how much did you spend on that handful of incense?"

"Five coins."

"That handful of spices can be sold for at least two gold! To put it so clearly, that fool still sold at a loss. Zhang Mengtan sighed and shook his head, as if he felt sorry for the incense seller.

"It's better not to be a strategist with such a good eyesight as Sir, and it is the right way to make profits for the head of your family." I laughed and teased.

"I can't do a profit-making business. The incense you asked about is called white sandalwood, which is only produced in the wasteland of the Western Regions, and the leaves and bark are tasteless, only the core has a slight sweet fragrance. If it is placed on charcoal, the aroma is strong and can remove evil pollution, clear eyes. In the early years, people from the Western Regions entered the Jin Dynasty, and they used this incense to offer the monarch, and the monarch later transferred it to the Zhi clan master. Now, the Zhifu has to send a caravan to the Western Regions every three months, spending a lot of money to buy white sandalwood for the use of Zhi Yao, the new sect leader of the Zhi clan. ”

"Zhiyao?" As soon as Zhang Mengtan mentioned the Jin Guo Zhi clan, my heart immediately tightened, "The little girl once heard that the Jin Guo Zhi clan and the Zhao clan have always been at odds, and Brother Meng Tan is a retainer of the Zhao family, how can he still know the spices that Zhi Yao likes to use?" ”

Zhang Mengtan's eyes were stunned, and he was silent for a long time before he said slowly: "My brother and I were originally retainers of the Zhi family. Two years ago, Zhishizi Zhiyao killed my brother for no reason, and I defected to the Zhao family in desperation. ”

"I see." A year ago, the suzerain of the Zhi clan, Zhi Shen, died, and his son Zhi Yao succeeded to the position of suzerain.

"Meng Tan turned his back on the old master, and he was really desperate. Girl, don't think of me as an unfaithful and unrighteous person. Zhang Mengtan saw that I was silent and silent, and added another sentence.

"Clever birds know how to find their roots in a safe branch when singing, let alone a man. In my opinion, this has nothing to do with loyalty, if others criticize, Mr. should only be the wind of the forest, no need to mind. I raised my head and smiled and gave a light salute, "Thank you Mr. today for solving the doubts in my heart, Ah Shi is here to thank you, I wish Mr. a good journey!" ”

"Are you leaving?"

"Well, I've delayed the convoy for quite some time, and even the best-tempered master is probably going to be angry." I turned my head to look at the convoy in front of me, and found that Zhao Wuxian had actually gotten out of the carriage, standing in the wild grass with his back hand, watching me and Zhang Mengtan from a distance.

"If you are free, you can come to the Jin Kingdom to find me, and I will entertain you."

"A Shiyi woman, how can you go to the Jin Kingdom? However, if Mr. has the opportunity to come to Yongdu again, you and I can have a good drink! ”

"Well, maybe we'll see each other again soon." Zhang Mengtan smiled loudly and jumped into the carriage lightly.

"By the way, don't drink too much peach blossom stuffing, it's easy to get drunk."

Zhang Mengtan glanced down at the handle pot in his hand, and shouted at the people in front of the convoy: "Let's go!" ”

I took a few steps back and stood in the gray-yellow grass as the convoy moved forward.

Suddenly, I heard someone singing softly:

"The peach is dying, scorching its bloom; The son is home, and it is appropriate for him to live in his room

The peach is dying, and there is a fact. The son is home, and his family room is appropriate.

The peach is dying, and its leaves are blooming. The son is home, and it is suitable for his family. ”（1）