So I just thought about going. An agreement was reached with the shopkeeper: in addition to Nangong Wuji's old horse, he would be given another six silver coins. Fan Xiaoqi and Nangong Wuxian rode the horses of Xiao Zhao and Xiao Wang respectively, and the two attendants walked with a saddle on their heads.

Although the two friends rode two crappy horses, they overtook the two henchmen in a moment and arrived at Sad Town. From afar, they saw Aramis leaning gloomily against the window, looking at the horizon with expectant eyes.

"Hey, Zhao Yu!" the two friends shouted, "What the hell are you doing standing there?"

"Ah, it's you, Fan Xiaoqi! It's you, Nangong Wuxi!" Zhao Yu said, "I'm wondering how the good things in this world are lost so quickly." My English horse is gone, and has just disappeared in the dust. This is a living example that makes me deeply feel the impermanence of the human world, and life itself can be summed up in two words, emptiness!

"What do you mean by that?" Fan Xiaoqi asked, a mystery rising in his heart.

"I mean, I just made a foolish deal: a horse sells for sixty louis, and the horse can run five miles in an hour, judging by the way it runs. Zhao Yu spread his hands and said.

Fan Xiaoqi and Nangong Wuxian laughed.

"Dear Fan Xiaoqi," Zhao Yu said, "please don't complain about me too much. I really had to do it. Besides, I was the first to be punished, because that shameless horse dealer had cheated me out of at least fifty louis. You two are really good at calculating! You ride your horse, and let them lead your two beautiful horses, and follow them slowly, walking a short distance every day. ”

As he was talking, a covered van that appeared faintly on the main road of Amiens drove up to the front and stopped, only to see Xiao Li and Xiao Zhao getting out of the car with a saddle on their heads. It was a truck returning to Paris after it was empty, and the two attendants asked the owner to pick them up, and asked him for a drink as a reward along the way.

"What's going on," Zhao Yu asked when he saw this, "only two pairs of saddles?"

"Now you understand, right?" Nangong Wuxian said.

"Friends, you are exactly like me. I left the saddle out of instinct. Hey, little grandson, bring my new saddle next to the saddle of these two gentlemen. Zhao Yu instructed Xiao Sun.

"What about the two priests, how did you end up with them?" asked Fan Xiaoqi.

"My dear, I'll invite them to dinner the next day," Zhao Yu said with a smile: "By the way, there is good wine here, and I tried my best to get them drunk." The parish priest forbade me to take off my musketeer uniform, and the Jesuit president begged me to take him in as a musketeer. ”

"No need to do a thesis!" Fan Xiaoqi shouted, "No need to do a thesis! I ask for the paper to be cancelled!"

"Since then," Zhao Yu continued, "I have lived happily and started to write a poem with one syllable per line." It's difficult, but the value of everything lies in the difficulty. The content of the poem is about love, when will I recite the first stanza to you, there are 400 lines in total, and I will recite it for one minute. ”

"Seriously, dear Zhao Yu," Fan Xiaoqi said, hating poetry almost as much as he hated Latin, "in addition to the value of difficulty, add the value of brevity." At the very least, you should be sure that your poem has two aspects of value. ”

"Also," Zhao Yu added, "you will see that the poem is full of sincere enthusiasm." Ah, by the way, friends, are you going back to Paris? Great, I'm ready. We're about to meet the kind-hearted Potos, and it couldn't be better. Don't you believe that I miss that big fool, and he won't sell his horse, even if he gives a kingdom in exchange. How I wanted to see him on that horse and that saddle. I'm sure he's like a big guy. ”

Everyone rested for an hour to let the horses gasp. Zhao Yu paid the bill and let Xiao Sun and his two companions sit in the wagon. So everyone went on the road to find Chen Tie not far away.

They saw that Chen Tie was no longer bedridden, and his face was not as pale as Fan Xiaoqi had seen it for the first time. He sat at a table where a dinner for four was set out, though he was alone, with delicately bundled meats, fine wines, and delicious fruits.

"Ouch! great!" he said, standing up, "what a coincidence you guys have arrived, I've just started drinking soup, so come and have dinner with me." ”

"Aha!" said Fan Xiaoqi, "such a good wine, and lo and behold, and this veal fillet with lard and this beef tenderloin, it wasn't that Muskton came back with a lasso." ”

"I'm recovering my strength," Chen Tie said, "I'm recovering my strength." This unfortunate sprain is more damaging to the body than anything else. Have you ever sprained, Nangong without a trace?"

"Never. I just remember that in the fight on Ferro Street, I was stabbed, and after half a month or eighteen days, I felt exactly the same as you do now. Nangong said with a smile.

"This dinner isn't for you alone, is it, dear Chen Tie?" asked Nangong Wuxian as he pointed to the food on the table.

"No," replied Chen Tie, "I was going to wait for a few nearby squires to come for dinner, but they informed me that I was not coming." Now you take their place, change people, and I have nothing to lose. Hey, Xiao Zhao, move a few more chairs, and ask someone to bring more wine!" he turned his head with a smile as he spoke, and made a gesture to Xiao Zhao.

Xiao Zhao quickly did as he wanted. Several people randomly sat at Chen Tie's dining table and ate and drank.

After ten minutes, Nangong Wuxian said with a pleasant smile, "Do you know what we're eating now?"

"I don't need to ask!" Fan Xiaoqi replied, "I eat veal stewed with leaves and vegetable juice." ”

"I eat lamb tenderloin. Chen Tie said.

"I eat chicken breast. Zhao Yu said.

"You're all mistaken, gentlemen," Nangong Wuxian said, "You're eating horse meat." ”

"You're all nonsense!" Fan Xiaoqi said.

"Horse meat!" Zhao Yu said with a strange look of disgust.

Only Chen Tie didn't say a word, just eating and drinking on the table.

"Yes, horse meat. Isn't it, Chen Tie, we don't eat horse meat?

"No, gentlemen, I left the saddle. Chen Tie said.

"Seriously, we're a few of each other," Zhao Yu said, "it's like a pre-appointment." ”

"What can you tell me to do," said Potos, "that horse will make my guests look shabby, and I do not want to embarrass them." ”

"Besides, your duchess stayed at the hot springs and never came back, right?" said d'Artagnan.

"It's always there. Chen Tie replied, "And, to tell you the truth, the governor of this province, a gentleman whom I am waiting for to-morrow to-day, seems to be eager to get the horse, so I gave it to him." ”

"Give it to him!" Fan Xiaoqi cried.

"Oh, my God, yes, it was given to him, so to speak," said Chen Tie, "because the horse must be worth a hundred and fifty louis, but the miser gave only eighty louis." ”

"Don't bring a saddle?" Zhao Yu asked.

"Yes, without a saddle. ”

"You see, gentlemen," Nangong Wuxian said, "and of us, it is Potos who has made the most good deal. ”

So, everyone shouted and laughed, making poor Chen Tie confused. After everyone explained the reason to him, he also shouted and laughed with everyone. That's exactly what he's used to.

"So we all have money?" Mr. Fan said.

"I don't have it," Nangong Wuxian said, "I thought the Spanish wine in Zhao Yu's store was delicious, so I bought about sixty bottles and put them in the cars of my attendants, which cost me a lot of money." ”

"What about me," said Zhao Yu, "imagine that I have given all the money to the church, and I don't have a single child left, and I have made a wish to do several Masses, which must be done, both for myself and for the sake of you, gentlemen." Everyone says that, and I have no doubt that it will be of great benefit to a few of us. ”

"And I," said Chen Tie, "do you think that my sprain didn't cost anything? In order to heal his wounds, I had to ask the surgeon to come twice a day, and the surgeon asked me to pay double the fee, under the pretext that the place where the stupid man was shot was usually only shown to the pharmacist, so I told Muskdon not to get hurt in that place in the future. ”

"Alright, alright," Nangong Wuxian exchanged glances with Fan Xiaoqi and Zhao Yu and said, "You are very good to that poor young man, you really deserve to be a good master." ”

"In short," Chen Tie said, "in addition to what I spent, I have thirty or so of Eju left." ”

"I have about ten bistols left. Zhao Yu said.

"Okay, okay," Nangong Wuxian said, "It seems that we have all become rich in society." Fan Xiaoqi, how much do you have left of your hundred silver coins?"

"My hundred silver coins? First of all, I gave you fifty. Fan Xiaoqi touched his head and thought about it, and said.

"Really?" asked Nangong Wuxian in disbelief.

"Of course!"

"Oh, it's true, I remember. Nangong Wuxian frowned and thought about it, and then suddenly his face suddenly brightened, and said.

"After that, I paid the shop six bistols. ”

"That shopkeeper is such a brute! Why are you giving him six bistol?"

"You told me to give it to him. ”

"Seriously, I'm so good-hearted, how much is left in a nutshell?"

"Twenty-five Bistol. Fan Xiaoqi replied.

"Me," Nangong Wuxian took out a few small coins from his pocket, and then said, "I ......"

"You, there's nothing left. ”

"Really, it's pitiful, it's not worth taking it out to make up the numbers. ”

"Now let's count how many we have: Potos?"

"Thirty ecu. ”

"Zhao Yu?"

"Ten silver coins. ”

"What about you, Fan Xiaoqi?"

"Twenty-five. ”

"How much does it add up in total?" said Nangong Wuji.

"Four hundred and seventy-five copper coins!" d'Artagnan counted as fast as Archimedes.

"But, our team doesn't ride horses anymore?" Zhao Yu asked.

"yes. Of the four horses of the attendants, two of them were taken out for the master to ride. The four of us drew lots to determine who would ride the two horses, and the four hundred livres would be divided into two halves, and the two who would not ride would be halved. Then, we give the change that is left in our pockets to d'Artagnan. He has good luck, and when he sees gambling money on the road, he asks him to gamble. This is a plan I have thought about. ”

"Let's eat," Chen Tie said, "it's cold." ”

The four friends no longer worried about the future, and they ate and drank. The leftovers they ate were given to Xiao Wang, Xiao Zhao, Xiao Li, and Xiao Sun.

Although this dinner was as sumptuous and refreshing as in the 'Blackwater Island Air Prison' before, after all, there was temporary freedom now, so the faces of several people were still full of smiles.

After a while, Fan Xiaoqi remembered the necessary preparations for this mission, so he asked with a worried face: "How much do you think these equipment cost?"

"Alas, there's nothing to say," Zhao Yu said, "A few of us just made a careful calculation, picked and searched and calculated, and each of us would have to pay fifteen hundred livres if we said the least." ”

"Four times fifteen equals sixty, which is six thousand livres. Nangong Wuxian said.

"I think a thousand per person is enough. Fan Xiaoqi said: "To be honest, I don't think like a Spartan, but like an agent ad litem. ”

The word agent ad litem seemed to remind Chen Tie.

"Look, I've got an idea!" he said.

"That's already a bit of an eyebrow, I don't even have a shadow yet. Nangong Wuxian said coldly, "As for Fan Xiaoqi, gentlemen, he became our man, and he was crazy with joy: one thousand silver coins! To be honest, I will get two thousand alone." ”

"Twenty-four gets eight," Zhao Yu said, "This means that we need eight thousand livres for our equipment." Of course, we already have the saddle in it. ”

"Also," Nangong Wuxian waited for Fan Xiaoqi to take the door behind him, walked outside, and said, "And the beautiful diamond ring that sparkles on our friend's finger." Fan Xiaoqi is a good buddy, he wears a priceless ring on his middle finger, and he will never embarrass his brothers. ”

Among the four friends, the most worried is undoubtedly Fan Xiaoqi. Although he was a forbidden army, his equipment was easier to organize than the musketeers, because the musketeers were gentlemen at the same time. However, we know the personality of this young man. He is always thoughtful in everything, and almost stingy, but in turn, he is almost more vain than Nangong Wuxi. In addition to vanity considerations, Fan Xiaoqi at this time also had a less selfish anxiety. He tried every possible way to inquire about the noble lady, but he did not get any news. But even the queen did not know the whereabouts of the young lady of the clothing store, and only promised to send someone to find her. However, this promise has not been implemented, and it is difficult to reassure Fan Xiaoqi.