This is an old house with arched windows and unknown green plants placed in front of the windows, with small white flowers blooming and emitting a faint fragrance.
There are many white gauze curtains hanging from the roof in the house. They are formed into a circle by a circular bamboo support in mid-air, so the gauze curtains hang down to the floor in a cylindrical shape.
Some gauze tents are closed, and the fabric is very thick, so the people inside are completely invisible. Only a three-legged low stool is seen outside the gauze tent, which should be for guests to step on when they come out. Some gauze tents are still open.
You can see that inside is a waist-high, round and heavy bathtub with an iron rim. There are two or three layers of thick towels draped around the edge of the barrel.
Xia Xun has been in this era for a long time, and his living conditions have always been very good. He is used to bathing alone, and he is really not used to sitting in a pool with many people.
There was a bathtub just outside the door. The interpreter Jiang Xu chose that bathtub, and Xia Xun was taken to the end. The waiter then indicated that he was the bathtub in front of him.
Xia Xun looked at it and saw a row of hooks against the wall. Knowing that they were for hanging clothes, he took off his clothes and hung them on the wall one by one. During this period, several big men came in carrying water, filled the buckets with water, and
After wiping the water, he nodded to him and stepped back.
Xia Xun stepped into the tub with stirrups. There was a place for sitting halfway along the edge of the tub. Xia Xun first turned around and untied the gauze curtain to close it, then sat in the tub and leaned his head on the edge of the tub.
Relax your body and quietly feel the heat entering your skin.
After a while, a waiter from the bathroom came gently, opened the curtain and asked a few words in a low voice. Xia Xun didn't know what he was talking about, but he guessed that he meant to ask what he needed, so he shook his head. The waiter
Tong then left.
Sure enough, the waiter came to ask him if he needed something to eat. Many people here like to drink red wine or eat a plate of food while taking a bath.
Xia Xun likes to be alone and quietly when taking a bath. He usually has to think about many things. Only then can he completely relax and let his body and mind take a complete rest.
Occasionally, a few words of soft conversation would come from somewhere. Xia Xun's ears were very good and he could hear clearly, but he didn't understand a word of French, so he just ignored it. Suddenly, a few whispers came in.
His ears, that’s Chinese!
Hearing Chinese in this place inevitably made him a little surprised: "Could it be that some of the crew members on my ship also came here to take a bath?"
For this reason, Xia Xun deliberately listened to a few sentences. As a result, the more he listened, the more suspicious he became.
I heard a somewhat neutral voice saying in a low voice: "I heard that there are many Orientals coming to the pier, so I went to check it out."
The voice of the question was a little hoarse: "Orientals? Where do they come from?"
"They came by boat. There were more than 600 people. Judging from their clothes, I think... I was worried, so I went closer to listen to what they were saying..."
He said in a hoarse voice: "How?"
The neutral voice that answered trembled a little, with a strange feeling. I don’t know whether it was excitement or fear: "They... they... I... I heard that they spoke Chinese, yes... yes
The accent from the Jiangnan area..."
"What? Could it be King Yan..."
The hoarse voice suddenly became louder, as if he had also noticed that he had surprised others, and the voice suddenly stopped, and the two people suddenly fell silent.
Xia Xun's closed eyes have been opened, and his eyes are shining brightly. His heart is beating fast, and a name is on his lips, but he can't believe it: "That person..., is it possible? He
Will it be here?"
"Impossible! Impossible! This is impossible! Where did they come from? How could Ming's ship sail here? This is impossible!"
The hoarse voice was a little incoherent, and the neutral voice hurriedly comforted: "Sir, sir! Don't worry, I think they may not be here to find you!"
The hoarse voice trembled: "If not, how could they appear here? I have already hid in the horizon, how could they appear here!"
As he spoke, his voice rose again, with a nervous tremor. Someone in the bathroom was already dissatisfied and coughed heavily in protest.
The two people's voices were lowered again, this time they were whispering in a very low voice, speaking very fast, and Xia Xun could only vaguely hear some words.
After a while, Xia Xun, who was listening attentively, heard the sound of water. He straightened up, moved to the opening of the gauze tent, opened a small gap with his fingers, and gently looked out.
There was a bathtub in front of him. The gauze curtain had been opened. A white-faced and beardless old man helped a man out of the bucket. The man stepped on a wooden stool. The old man leaned over and took a pair of wooden mops and put them on him.
On his feet, he helped him down, and then went to the wall to get some clothes.
From Xia Xun's position, it was impossible to see his face clearly. He was carrying Xia Xun on his side. Xia Xun could only see most of his back and a slight side profile. He seemed to be about the same height, but this man was bloated.
He has a big belly and gray hair. Just looking at his back, he must be at least fifty years old. Could it be him?
Thinking of his hoarse and completely unfamiliar voice, Xia Xun couldn't help but shake his head.
But if it weren't for him, who else could have had such a conversation?
That white-faced, beardless, flabby old man, why should you be so respectful to him? He couldn't walk on a footstool, but there were slippers just a step away, and he actually asked someone to squat down and put one on for him. In such a grand ceremony, except for one already
Who else can be an emperor who is used to this kind of service?
Xia Xun stared at it with squinted eyes. The old man was waiting on the man to put on his clothes and then hurriedly walked outside.
When people turned around, they couldn't see him standing here. Xia Xun hurriedly grabbed a towel to dry himself, and then quickly got dressed.
When he came to Marseille, he had completely forgotten the task assigned to him by Zhu Di, but he never expected that he would encounter such a scene here by accident. Could that person be the tomb of Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yun?
If it were him, should he be captured and taken back to Zhu Di for execution in secret, or should he be executed on the spot and take his body back?
Xia Xun didn't have time to think about this. He just wanted to catch up with him and confirm the identity of this person. Xia Xun hurriedly got dressed and walked to the front lobby. Duck was sitting on the bench waiting for guests in the lobby. When he saw him coming out
, couldn't help but stood up in surprise and asked: "Sir, why do you wash so fast?"
Xia Xun had no time to pay attention to him, and hurriedly darted out the door, looking around. The streets were extremely messy, and the alleys were twists and turns. The two people could no longer be seen. At this time, Duck took his hat, coat and cane and chased them out.
, Xia Xun asked anxiously: "Did you see the two Easterners who came out just now?"
Dak said blankly: "I saw them, sir, do you know them?"
Xia Xun said: "You are familiar with this place, take me to find them quickly!"
Dak immediately turned around and asked the doorman. Xia Xun slapped his forehead. He was really confused. It was a big mess. The two doormen were standing there. The two Orientals had just left. They naturally knew where they were going.
Direction. Dak asked the doorman a few questions, and then said to Xia Xun: "Sir, go this way!"
The two people rushed down the alley and rushed to the end of the alley. Looking left and right, they saw the two people on the road on the right walking forward among many pedestrians. Xia Xun immediately said: "Follow them!"
Duck asked: "Sir, why don't you call your attendant?"
Xia Xun said: "Don't worry about him. If he can't drag me, he will go back to the dock."
From a distance, I saw the old man walking with the fat man with gray hair. Some people walking on the road saw them and raised their hats to say hello. It seemed that they should live nearby.
, knew many people from Zhou Ran.
Dak trotted after Xia Xun, panting: "I asked the doorman just now, and he said that the person who just left was Mr. Ribery and his servant. You don't have to worry. Now that we know his name, we can
You can always find him."
The two people followed the two people through two streets, and when they turned into an alley, they disappeared. Duck asked the children playing in the alley and learned about Mr. Ribery's identity.
Residence. It is a courtyard that is not very big, but very clean. Judging from the living conditions of the house, it should be considered the level of a medium-sized family here.
Xia Xun patted Duck on the shoulder and said in a deep voice: "Wait for me here!" Saitu walked forward without waiting for an answer.
The courtyard door was ajar and not locked, which showed that the two people were walking in a hurry. Xia Xun pushed lightly and walked into the courtyard. The ground was a trimmed lawn with three or four horse chestnut trees scattered in the lawn, which looked very quiet.
.
Xia Xun walked forward slowly along the road in the middle of the lawn. When he reached the door, he stopped. After a moment of silence, he gently pulled the door knocker and slowly opened the door...
In the room, a fat middle-aged man with gray hair was chatting hurriedly in French with a maroon French woman in her thirties, while the old man was packing things hurriedly beside him.
Suddenly, the back door opened, and two children, one large and one small, ran in from the back courtyard. The older one was a girl, and the younger one was a boy. The girl was seven or eight years old, and the little boy was only four or five years old. They looked very good.
cute.
"Daddy!"
They called the obese middle-aged man affectionately, using a Fengyang-accented Chinese.
"My little sweetheart!"
The middle-aged man knelt down, hugged his son and daughter, and said, "Daddy, would you like to take you to the countryside to play for a few days?"
"Why do you want to go to the countryside? It's so dirty there. The last time we went to the countryside, I stepped on cow dung. I don't want to go."
"Good daughter, be obedient and take your brother to get your things first. We will leave in a moment. Don't worry, we will be back soon..."
He patted his daughter on the shoulder to comfort her. He turned his face sideways when he spoke, and Xia Xun immediately saw his appearance. Although his hair was pale, his cheeks were fat, and there were two obvious bags under his eyes, but from his
The contours of his face can still vaguely reveal some of his former glory...
It's him! It's really him! Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty... Zhu Yunzhuang!
From the shadow of the corner, Xia Xun slowly emerged and asked softly: "Isn't the Emperor planning to abandon his family this time?"