The two led their horses to a short distance in front of the South City Gate, and saw that people coming and going into the city were lining up to be checked, Chu Mofeng casually pulled an old man over and asked, "This old man, why do you have to queue up one by one when you enter the city?"

The old man was walking forward with a basket on his back, when he was suddenly grabbed by someone, and when he turned around, he saw that it was a pair of young people, so he stopped and rubbed his red face with his hand, and said slowly: "Recently, I don't know why, there have been uprisings in various places, and stubble after stubble has popped up, not just a few years ago, there were thieves again, so the four city gates are much stricter than in previous years. After saying that, he slowly walked forward with the team.

Looking at the figure of the old man in the distance, Chu Mofeng turned his head to Shi Hanshuang and said: "Look at it, this is the court that our fathers desperately guarded, now the people are struggling to make a living, the people are miserable, and the emperor is still arrogant and lascivious, regardless of the life and death of the people." ”

Shi Hanshuang looked at the Mingde Gate in front of him, which was built in the second year of Emperor Wen of Sui, the five doorways of the tall Mingde Gate were as dark and deep as five man-eating mouths, and countless people lined up in front of him like streams slowly pouring in. Then Shi Hanshuang turned to Chu Mofeng and said, "Don't be emotional, let's go to the city first." ”

The two led the horses and walked slowly forward with the flow of people, and the guards at the city gate checked very carefully, and even some of the goods had to open the boxes for inspection, and it was their turn to accept the interrogation after walking for a while.

I saw a soldier defending the city step forward and said viciously to Chu Mofeng, "Stop, where did you come from?"

Glancing at the soldiers guarding the city in front of him, Chu Mofeng instantly restrained his breath and replied respectfully: "Official, I am here from Zhangye and I am going to visit friends in the city." ”

As soon as the city defenders heard that Chu Mofeng had answered all the questions he was going to ask next, they couldn't help but feel a little angry in their hearts, and they were about to find some bad luck, when they suddenly saw Shi Hanshuang behind Chu Mofeng, maybe they had seen too much vulgar fans in the past, and when they saw Shi Hanshuang at first glance, they made the city guards feel a sense of shock.

I saw the soldier guarding the city say with a wicked smile on his face: "Yo, the boy doesn't look good, this little lady is quite handsome." Then he stretched out his finger and pointed at Shi Hanshuang and said, "Come on, come on, you have to be interrogated." The soldiers defending the city seemed to have other plans, and deliberately accentuated the tone of the word "check" when they spoke.

Looking at the obscene expression on the face of the soldier guarding the city, Chu Mofeng was a fool and could understand what this person wanted, only to see Chu Mofeng frowning, stretched out his hand to stop Shi Hanshuang behind him, and said with a cold face: "Official, if you finish the inspection, let us in, Neiko is not in good health, and he doesn't dare to be frightened. As he spoke, he put his other hand on the back of his waist.

Behind Chu Mofeng and the others was a luxurious carriage, and the people in the car seemed to explain something to the handlebar through the curtain, and then the handlebar shouted to the city guard: "Wang Xiaoliu, you are almost done, my lord is in a hurry to enter the city, do you still not let it pass? If you don't let it go, be careful that my lord will tell you when he eats and drinks." ”

At this time, when the city guard Ding heard that the handlebar behind him had moved out of his Shangguan, he hurriedly shrank his neck and waved his hand impatiently at Chu Mofeng and the others, saying, "Hurry up, hurry up, don't hinder my uncle's investigation." ”

Hearing what the city guards said, Chu Mofeng withdrew the hand that was put behind his waist, led Shi Hanshuang and walked towards the city gate, feeling that the people behind him had relieved themselves of the siege just now, and after entering the city gate, the two stopped on the side and waited for the carriage to come in.

At this time, the carriage came to a stop in front of the guards guarding the city, only to hear an unusually cold voice from the carriage say: "Wang Xiaoliu, do we need to check our carriage?"

When the soldier guarding the city heard this person's voice, he instantly changed his attitude, and said as if he was trying his best to curry favor: "Boss Song, you are joking, how can we rush to check the carriage of the Wencheng firm at will? Besides, Lord Lang of the city gate has already greeted him, and all the carriages and horses that meet your number will be allowed to pass through. ”

"That's pretty much it, let's take the money and give it to the brothers down there for tea. The people in the car seemed to be very satisfied with Wang Xiaoliu's answer, and stretched out a small cloth bag from the car and handed it to the handlebar, and the handlebar hurriedly took the cloth bag and threw it into Wang Xiaoliu's arms, and then picked up the reins and threw the horsewhip, and the carriage slowly walked towards the city.

Wang Xiaoliu took the cloth bag and opened it to see that there was a bunch of money in it, thinking that he had made a fortune today, so he hurriedly lowered his head and shouted: "Little Xie Song Master Song's reward, Master Song, you go slowly." ”

The handlebar type drove the carriage into the city, and the people in the car lifted the curtain and looked out the window boringly, and suddenly found Chu Mofeng and the others standing on the side of the road, as if they were waiting for themselves, so they let the handlebar stop the car.

Chu Mofeng and the others saw the carriage stop beside them, and hugged their fists at the people in the car and said: "Thank you for speaking up just now, if you hadn't opened your mouth to help, I don't know how long I will be troubled by the soldiers guarding the city, I don't know the noble person's name, if there is a chance, I will definitely bring my inner person to the door to thank you." ”

The person in the car glanced at Chu Mofeng's thin face, smiled and said: "This brother doesn't have to be polite, it's not a trivial matter, the contemptible surname is Song, and the single name is a Xin character, I think the virtuous couple is dressed as a person from the rivers and lakes, I don't know where the two of you come from? ”

"Brother Song Gaoyi, the contemptible surname Chu, the name Mofeng, the surname of the inner son, the name of Hanshuang, my husband and wife came here from Zhangye to visit friends, if you have the opportunity, you must visit Brother Song, but I don't know what Guibao is?"

"Thanks to Brother Chu, I opened a business in the city, the name is Wencheng Firm, if Brother Chu is in need, you can come to me at any time, the younger brother still has some things to do at the moment, leave for the time being, we will meet again." After Song Xin finished speaking, he hugged his fist at Chu Mofeng, and then stomped on the carriage board with his foot, and the handlebar received the order to raise the horsewhip, and the carriage began to move forward.

Chu Mofeng looked at the carriage in the distance, hugged his fist at the back of the carriage, and then turned around to help Shi Hanshuang onto the horse, and said to her gently: "I'm tired, horseback riding is allowed in the city, it's better for you to ride a horse, not only are you not tired, but you can also see the scenery from above." ”

Shi Hanshuang smiled at her when she heard this, the smile in her eyes lasted for a long time, and it clearly implied infinite tenderness that was difficult to describe. Chu Mofeng couldn't help but laugh when he saw Shi Hanshuang smiling at him, and his pure smile seemed to be stained with the fragrance of jasmine, which attracted her gaze for a long time.

The two rode on horses, slowly walked along the root of the city wall to the west, the majestic city wall was on the left, the bustling workshop was on the right, the horse's hooves stepped on the ground and brought up a trace of dust, the two of them passed through Yanzuo Fang, Anle Fang, Da'an Fang, Zhaoxing Fang, Yongyang Fang, came to the southwest corner of Guocheng, followed the southwest corner to the north, and came to the Yanping Gate near the Xian Fang.

In the early days of the Sui Dynasty, the clerk's mansions of all states in the country were in this place, so it was named "Waiting for Xian". The mansion of Shi Wansui, a famous general in the early Sui Dynasty, is here, after the two entered the Waiting Xianfang, they came to the center of the workshop, where there is a house with a closed door, the copper ring on the door has long been rusted, and the word Shifu can be vaguely recognized on the broken plaque. The seal on the gate is long gone, leaving only two imprints proving that the mansion was once seized.

Standing on the mottled steps, Shi Hanshuang looked at the house in front of him, and his thoughts suddenly returned to when he was young, when Shi Hanshuang was still the daughter of the General's Mansion, and he was just three years old when he was told that his father had married the left servant of Shangshu and the tall family.

Because the Gao people at that time still had some say in the court, the marriage of the two families could at least bring benefits to each other politically, and politics aside, the little son of the Gao Mansion is said to have been clear and beautiful since he was a child, and the Gao people were allowed to be martial arts all his life, and his son will also enter the court as an official under the blessing of the Gao people in the future.

So from the day his father came back from the banquet at Gao's house, the ignorant Shi Hanshuang learned from the maid that he had a marriage contract, but at this time, his future husband was still a swaddling baby who could cry or wet the bed.

Later, my father was framed and unjustly killed, and after my mother and brother learned that my father had an accident, they gradually began to settle the wages of their subordinates one by one, and then dispersed in batches. So the house has never been affected.

The following night, my mother and a woman with a dusty hand talked all night in the inner room, and the next morning, my mother gave herself to the woman and set out on the road south in the tears of her mother's reluctance.

Later, I learned that the masters in the guard mansion were all sent by my future father-in-law, Lord Gao Xi, and the woman who took him away was his master Qinglian Shitai, and all of this was a plan arranged by Lord Gao Xi before his father's death.

In the days of Emei, the master never mentioned the family affairs to himself, but I remember that one night, the master suddenly cried in the room, Shi Hanshuang was only ten years old at the time, and pushed the door in to visit under curiosity, Qinglian Shi Tai saw that Shi Hanshuang came in, so he dragged her into his arms and said softly: "Child, don't mention what you see tonight to anyone, you will be eleven years old next year, and the master will tell you about it." ”

Later, under the slow narration of Master Qinglian, Shi Hanshuang knew the cause and effect of everything, and after listening, Shi Hanshuang raised his head and asked childishly: "Master, why are you crying alone." ”

Master Qinglian wiped her tears when she heard this, and said, "Master's best friend, that is, your father-in-law Gao Xi, was also killed by the emperor. ”

When Shi Hanshuang heard Mrs. Qinglian say this, she covered her mouth in surprise and asked, "What about Aunt Heba, and what about the brothers of the Gao family?"

Master Qinglian looked at Shi Hanshuang's immature face and said, "When Emei has an annual competition in winter, I will know the follow-up information when your senior sister comes back." Then Mrs. Qinglian rubbed her sore eyes and said to Shi Hanshuang: "Go and help make half a basin of warm water for the teacher, and you can stay here tonight." ”

Shi Hanshuang nodded, and obediently picked up the basin and went out to fetch water......

At this time, Chu Mofeng saw that Shi Hanshuang was looking at the door without saying a word, and couldn't help but push her, Shi Hanshuang was pushed by him like this, flashed back from his memories in an instant, looked at the gate in front of him again, turned his head to look at Chu Mofeng beside him, and said in a choked voice: "Can you think of a way to let me go in and have a look." ”

Looking at the locked gate, Chu Mofeng turned his gaze to the courtyard wall, walked to the courtyard wall, took a breath and was about to turn over the wall, when he suddenly heard Shi Hanshuang shouting: "Come here, someone is coming this way." ”

When Chu Mofeng heard this, he hurriedly returned to Shi Hanshuang's side, looked in the direction of Shi Hanshuang's finger, and saw two people who looked like servants slowly walking over, and when they arrived at the door of Shi's mansion, one of the servants took out a bunch of keys and opened the lock on the door, and then the two walked in, leaving only half a hidden door.

Seeing this, Chu Mofeng and the two glanced at each other, then tied their horses to the door, and tiptoed in, only to see the two servants take out brooms and dusters from a room after entering, and began to clean the mansion.

Chu Mofeng and the others walked up quietly, and in an instant, one of them controlled a domestic servant, and then asked, "Who are you, and who lives in this mansion now?"

The servant who opened the door before only felt a sharp and cold object against the back of his heart, and said tremblingly: "Hero, don't kill us, this is the original General Shi Wansui's mansion, and now no one lives in it, but the mansion was bought by General Shi Wansui's younger brother, General Shi Wanshou, and we are arranged to come over to clean it every month, there is nothing of value in it, don't kill us." ”

When Shi Hanshuang heard Shi Wanshou's three words, he was suddenly startled before remembering that after his father's death, the two uncles were not implicated and were still officials in the imperial court, so he turned his head and nodded at Chu Mofeng.

After seeing Shi Hanshuang's signal, Chu Mofeng deliberately said viciously: "Don't look back and don't shout if you don't want to die, let's go, clean up the mansion well, bring a message to your master for me, we will visit when we have time." Then the two of them withdrew from the Shi Mansion in a flash, mounted their horses and walked towards the outside of the workshop......