On the outskirts of Chang'an, the sun shines on the Bahe River, and the banks are full of willow trees.

After walking along the river for a long time, Xue Bai's physical strength was exhausted.

He stopped, brackered his knees and looked down, saw that Qinglan was still wearing the pair of misfitting boots, and asked, "Are you tired?" ”

Qinglan hid some things all night, and when he cared about them, her eyes turned red.

"How tired am I a slave? That is, I just feel wronged. I said last night that we were incognito, but it seems that I am ruthless and unrighteous to the Lord's family, and I want you to be handsome. But how easy is it for you to say 'go back to Chang'an to turn the situation around'? What kind of people are we? Those people carried us in a carriage for most of the day, and it was difficult for us to even go back to Chang'an, and we didn't even know where we were......

As she spoke, she turned her back and wiped her tears.

Xue Bai pointed to the river and said, "Things are always done little by little, there must be people along the river, let's find someone first." Luckily? ”

"Hmm."

Xue Bai was very patient, and asked again: "I found someone, asked Ming the way back to Chang'an, went back and pawned this fox fur, settled down, cleaned up my mood, and then said the next step, okay?" ”

"Okay."

Since the accident, Qing Lan has only complained a word, and when she heard this, she nodded, but stepped forward to help Xue Bai and said in a low voice: "Fortunately, there is you." ”

Xue Bai nodded.

The two of them helped each other up for a long time, and finally saw the bridge ahead.

"Look!" Qinglan was overjoyed, pointed to the front and said, "There is a small market!" ”

"Do we have the money?"

"Yes, I have twenty-six dollars left in my purse."

Although she only had some change, Qinglan was still very happy to think that she could have something to eat.

Xue Bai smiled and looked at it as he walked.

There is a small market on the side of the official road, and the porters to be hired squatted with their arms crossed by the stalls selling hu cakes to keep warm. Next to them was a tea stall, and across from them was a carriage and horse shop, which smelled of horse manure.

An old man with a swarthy face had set up his donkey cart early, and was holding the straw and trying to lure his donkey around.

A few children around laughed at the jokes, running around the donkey cart and shouting, "The stupid donkey of the old village head does not turn around!" ”

The coachman's old Zhuang was sharp-eyed, and when he saw someone coming, he immediately shouted: "The handsome gentleman and the pretty female envoy, at a glance, you can see that it is a noble person who is going to Chang'an, can you hire a car?" The carriage is too expensive, the donkey cart is just right! ”

The children around shouted, "A donkey cart that doesn't turn around is not good!" ”

"Go, go, don't make trouble with the little old man."

The old Zhuang head waved away the urchins, hurriedly rushed to Xue Bai to talk, and said, "Lang Jun is going to Chang'an, right?" It is far from here, and if you use it to walk thirty miles, you have to walk for a day, and it is cold at night...... Hey, the maid's shoes don't fit either. ”

"Dare to ask how much money is in Chang'an East City?"

"Lang Jun spoke too politely." The old Zhuang head stretched out his hand and said with a smile: "Three hundred dollars." ”

"So expensive?" Qinglan took out her purse and hurriedly covered it again.

"How can you say it's expensive? It takes a whole day for the little old man to go back and forth, and even a cart full of luggage is also the price. ”

Xue Bai asked: "This is the cost of chartering a car, is there a cheap vehicle?" ”

The old Zhuang said with a smile: "Yes, Lang Jun can wait for other merchants to share the road expenses, and take the big carriage for sixty yuan per person." ”

"Thank you, fellow, let's go." Xue Bai said: "Dare to ask where there are shoes to sell?" ”

"Lang Jun is too polite, just call me the head of the old village." The old Zhuang Tou was still happy, and pointed out: "Buy shoes, you can get the big set ahead, and there are three or five miles to go......"

"Old Zhuangtou!"

An old woman ran from the south of the official road and shouted: "There is a big customer from Lantian County to Chang'an, there is a car on the road that breaks down, and he wants to divide half of the books and carry them separately, can the stupid donkey pull it?!" ”

"How can you not pull it? Feed yourself every day! Is the price decided? ”

"Go quickly, there's a reward."

The old Zhuang was overjoyed, and he didn't want the donkey to turn around again, and he left in a hurry.

Xue Bai and Qinglan went to buy Hu cakes.

The Hu cakes in Chang'an City are two dollars each, and here they are three dollars.

The two hoped to buy six for sixteen dollars, so that they could have some money left over to buy shoes. The old woman who sold the bread was a kind woman, and gave them one more.

From being buried alive to finally holding the warm Hu cake, Xue Bai took a deep breath before taking a hard bite.

He walked on the snowy official road, looked back several times, until he could no longer see the old woman......

~~

"Xiao Langjun, meet again!"

The old Zhuang saw Xue Bai and Qinglan who had avoided the official road, and hurriedly pulled the donkey cart and greeted him with a smile.

"Hello fellow."

"Xiao Langjun wait a minute." The old Zhuang head hurriedly got out of the carriage, bowed to a horse rider behind, and said, "Da Langjun, can the little old man give them a ride?" ”

It was a middle-aged man over forty years old, with a beautiful beard, a clear face, an indifferent expression, his eyes were like ancient wells, wearing a plain robe, wearing a scarf, holding a rein in one hand, and holding a string of Buddhist beads in the other.

Xue Bai glanced at this person, and before he could speak, a child immediately stepped forward and said, "The donkey cart is full of rare books from my master......

"Dust-free." The middle-aged man stopped the boy, nodded to Xue Bai, and said, "If Xiao Langzi doesn't mind, how about walking together?" ”

"Thank you, sir." Xue Bai learned to make a forked hand salute and said, "Under Xue Bai, dare to ask Mr. Gao's surname?" It's good to repay later. ”

He thought about it carefully, although Donggong wanted to bury him alive, he was not a fugitive, and he was not afraid that people would know his name, and he even planned to let more people know his name.

"You don't have to talk about reciprocation." The middle-aged man refused to sign up, and said: "It's inconvenient to go out, help each other, you should." ”

"What the gentleman said is very true."

Xue Bai only felt the inconvenience of living in this era today, and he was more and more able to understand the meaning of the words "mutual support", and also understood the reason why people and family and neighbors got along together.

The middle-aged man nodded with a smile and urged the horse away.

His eyes were still indifferent, and this smile was not joyful, but rather a little compassionate.

Seeing that this big customer didn't like to talk, even the old village didn't dare to talk too much on the way to Chang'an.

Fortunately, this section of the road was smooth and easy to walk, and I arrived in Chang'an after half a day.

~~

In the east of Chang'an City, there are three city gates: Tonghua Gate, Chunming Gate and Yanxing Gate, which are collectively called "Spring Gate".

The wine shops in the Chunmen area are dense, and it is a good place to open and drink, so there is a poem "If you don't drink Qingmen wine, you will be drunk in a dream."

The convoy entered the Chunming Gate.

Xue Bai looked around, and saw a forest of restaurants, flagpoles swaggering, curtains hanging high, and red curtains fluttering. There are performances in each restaurant, such as kaki flute, musicians playing ou, acrobatic sumo, and drinking customers throwing pots or performing drinking orders, and doing various games.

Even more eye-catching is the orchid who picks up customers in front of the goal. Most of them have blue eyes, slightly curly hair, rouge lips, thin clothes, revealing snow-white muscles, twisting their waists, and frequently waving their plain hands to invite people into the store.

Half-city high-rollers drunken and singing.

"Maha!"

Suddenly, a shout was heard, and several people from the Kang family's wine shop ran out and rushed to the middle-aged man in plain robe who had taken Xue Bai with him.

"Maha! Hahaha, I said that Maha was relocated to the treasury department, and it was time to return to Chang'an in the next two days. ”

"Second Brother Yuan?! I haven't seen it in years. ”

"Can you pick up your rim and other business?"

"At the beginning of the year, I started to pick up a little bit, and I also gave a few poems for this."

"There's a new poem in Mahara?! Haha, read it quickly. ”

"Less than a year later, I didn't have time to plant spring fields when I returned. In the rain, the grass is green, and the peach blossoms on the water are red. ”

"Good! What a peach blossom on the water. ”

“……”

Xue Bai looked at the middle-aged man in plain robe again, and was surprised for a moment, and then couldn't help but show some sudden smiles.

This person is called Maha, and it is very likely that there is a person - Wang Wei Wang Maha.

Listening to their conversation, it turned out that Wang Wei had a Gongchuan business in Lantian County, so he moved from Lantian County to Chang'an as an official.

Xue Bai first thought it was a coincidence, and then thought about it and felt that maybe it wasn't because of the coincidence, with the brilliance of the Tang Dynasty poetry today, who knows how many great poets are still in history in this Qingmen restaurant today?

He flickered the corners of his mouth and smiled to himself.

The crown prince sent people to send him out of the city to be buried alive, but Wang Wei sent him back to Chang'an City.

Along the way, he was finally able to begin to understand the times.

It has the darkness of arrogance and extravagance and power struggle, as well as the richness of the warehouse and the brilliant brilliance of the articles, which are intertwined with each other and constitute the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty in front of us.

This kind of Sheng Tang will not waste Xue Bai's fighting spirit, but only makes him more and more excited.

~~

On the street, the conversation between Wang Wei and his friends continued.

"By the way, why isn't Brother Chu here?"

"It's not because of Eunuch He's poem, can Maha know that something happened to Chang'an?"

"What?"

"The Wei Jian case was repeated, and the prince reconciled and separated again...... He Jian died of illness the year before last, but Gonu spread his poems everywhere, and deliberately distorted the poetry, a poem that regained the scenery of his hometown and was delighted, and was said to be the prince's dissatisfaction. But who doesn't know that Wei Jian's case was written at the beginning of the year, and He Jian's poem was written the year before last, and the time was wrong......"

"Silence, don't mention state affairs on the street."

The drinker, known as Yuan Er, was a little drunk, but said loudly, "Why don't you dare to mention it?!" Haha, others are afraid of brother slaves, but I'm not afraid! ”

"Silence...... Dustless, you bring your luggage home, and I will have a small gathering with your fathers. ”

"Whoa."

Xue Bai got up, saluted again, and said, "Thank you, sir." ”

"It's a trivial matter, but it's not enough to worry about."

"Not only did Mr. Xie give me a ride, but Mr. Xie's poems inspired me."

"Oh? Which verse? ”

"Death still smells the smell of chivalrous bones."

Wang Wei was stunned when he heard this, and a little melancholy suddenly appeared in his eyes that were innocent.

Even if you die, you still smell the fragrance of chivalrous bones, and even you forget that you used to be such a poetic style.

When he looked back, he saw that the young man had gone with the donkey cart.

……

The convoy passed through the Daozheng Square.

Ahead I heard children singing again.

"Jasper is made up of a tree high, and ten thousand green silk threads hang down. I don't know who cut out the thin leaves, and the spring breeze in February is like scissors. ”

Xue Bai had heard it once in Xingningfang, and after pondering the conversation he had just heard, his views on the current situation became clearer.

Once this poem is subjectively felt, it sounds like the first two lines can be understood as the image of the prince in the hearts of the courtiers. As for the last two sentences, it is like complaining about the sage who is better than Yao Shun cutting his branches and leaves?

~~

"Phew!"

When he arrived at the east gate of the East City, Lao Zhuangtou pulled the donkey cart and said with a smile: "Little Lao'er still has to run a car, Xiao Langjun will go to the east of the city next time, remember to take care of Xiao Lao'er's business!" ”

"Okay." Xue Bai smiled and said, "Fellow countryman, goodbye." ”

"Xiao Langjun is too polite, I'll see you later...... Boom, boom. ”

Xue Bai and Qing Lan saw the donkey cart and walked into the east gate.

In front of me is a bustling and lively scene.

There is no end to the wide and straight long street, and you can only see neat shops on both sides, eaves, terraces, wine bottles, lanterns, pedestrians on the street, and a dazzling array of goods.

"Let's go, buy shoes first."

Qing Lan glanced at Xue Bai quickly and said, "This way." ”

The two walked for a while, heard the sound of drums, and when they got closer, they saw a platform in front of them, and more than ten beautiful girls were dancing on it, which was very beautiful.

Xue Bai looked around, but he didn't see anyone collecting money, so he couldn't help asking, "What is this?" ”

Qinglan pulled him away and said, "The one who sells the Silla maid." ”

Xue Bai looked back again, thinking that all the beauties in the world were sending them to Chang'an, no wonder he had encountered so many recently.

Further south, the pawnshop was not in sight, but turned into a street selling food.

A burst of aroma hits the face.

All kinds of steamed food shops have steaming drawers, raising cloud-like vapor to disperse the fragrance; The oil pan in the fried food shop crackled, and the mixed meatballs were all golden; There are also a variety of pastries; Roast lamb sprinkled with spices, grilled hump.

"Are you hungry?" Qinglan now knew that Xue Bai had a lot of food, so she said, "We still have ten yuan, so we are not in a hurry to buy shoes." Eat something first, and then buy something when you become a fox...... By the way, do you know that the word 'buying' comes from the east and west markets of Chang'an. ”

"I know."

"What do you want to eat?"

"How much does a bowl of lamb in a basin cost?"

"Lamb noodle soup? It's exactly ten dollars, I'll buy it. ”

Xue Bai grabbed her and said, "Then what do you want to eat?" Let's start with a belly pad. ”

"Well, I'll see." Qinglan looked around, and finally pointed to a stall and said, "Horseshoe crisp." ”

"Then eat this first, and then eat mutton noodle soup when you have money later."

"Good!"

Qinglan nodded vigorously, and said: "When the lady made winter clothes for Wulang, it cost 20,000 yuan for just a high-quality fox skin, and she found the best master in Chang'an, plus the materials on the side, it was worth 30,000 yuan!" ”

Having said that, after the two of them put on the horseshoe cake and visited several pawnshops in a row, they only paid less than 5,000 yuan after all.

If this amount is all converted into copper coins, it will be nearly twenty catties, but fortunately, the pawnshop is very thoughtful in doing business, so Xue Bai made a list of the things to be bought, hired someone to run, and asked all the shops to send them over.

When the two of them left the pawnshop, they had already changed into jackets and robes, wore hoods on their heads, stepped on soft-soled loafers, and each carried a small baggage, which contained everything they needed, including daggers and wound medicine.

The rest of the money was exchanged for a piece of silver and some good copper coins.

Qinglan finally cheered up, pulled Xue Bai and said: "It's a lot more convenient to change into this men's clothes, and I'm not so scared, otherwise I'm always afraid of being recognized." ”

"Don't be afraid, if Donggong has such a force in Chang'an, it won't bury us alive......"

The mutton noodle soup in Chongjiadian in Dongshi is said to be a craft from Weinan and is quite famous in Chang'an. In the afternoon of that day, the two of them each ordered a bowl and drank it cleanly with a large bowl.

Qinglan put down the bowl and looked at Xue Bai, a bright smile appeared on her face, and said, "It's delicious, right?" ”

"Hmm."

"Where are we going now?"

Xue Bai didn't think about it, and said straightly: "Ten Princes' Mansion." ”