Boyunguan is located on Wangcang Peak, more than a hundred miles away from the capital. Compared with the towering majesty of Huguo Temple, Boyunguan is very inconspicuous. Zhong Yuqing believed in Buddhism, but after listening to the advice of the warlock, she saved Xia Houshu.
I was sent to Boyunguan, firstly because Buddhism does not accept female disciples, and Master Qu Bai, the host of Boyunguan, happened to be an old friend of Master Zhikong, so she introduced him; secondly, it was also because the terrain of Wangcang Peak was steep and deep.
It is secluded, easy to defend and difficult to attack. There is only a bluestone-paved path into the mountain. Even carriages are difficult to pass. It is relatively safe to keep Xia Houshu there. Of course, Xia Houshu lived in Boyunguan for eight years and failed.
She fled down the mountain because the terrain of Wangcang Peak was dangerous and the only entrance was tightly guarded. She had no chance and no way to escape.
This time when they went to Boyunguan, Zhong Yuqing asked Yunxi, Yuhu and Qiaoling to follow them. At the same time, he also selected ten masters from Xia Houyuan's personal guard to escort them on horseback. In addition, Dong Xiao who was driving the car and several other transporters were
The coachman carrying gifts and supplies, a team of nearly twenty people, was very eye-catching.
When she said goodbye to her parents and brothers at home in the morning, Xia Houshu still managed to maintain a smile. But since leaving the capital, she seemed to have lost her vitality. She lay quietly in the carriage, thinking about Boyun carefully in her mind alone.
I went over the human relations aspect.
There is a saying that people are timid when they are close to home. For Xia Houshu now, the closer she gets to Boyun Temple, the more timid she becomes, as if something is tightly strangling her throat, helpless and powerless.
I don't know how long it took, but she suddenly let out a long sigh. She used to deliberately not think about it and thought she had forgotten it, but now she realized that she actually remembered things about Boyunguan so clearly.
Yun Xi held it in for a long time, and finally heard her make a little noise, and immediately said happily: "Girl, you haven't eaten much today, are you hungry?" After saying that, he went to dig through the food box, "The princess is afraid that the girl is on the way.
I'm hungry, so I specially prepared a lot of pastries, and I left a few boxes on our carriage, and a few big boxes in Yuhu's carriage behind me. Why don't you first see if there's anything you like to eat here?"
Xia Houshu frowned and glanced at the food box, shook his head and said seriously: "Yunxi, not everyone only cares about food like you."
Yunxi had followed Xia Houshu for so many years, and of course she knew why she suddenly became worried. However, Bo Yunguan's memories were one of Xia Houshu's negative feelings, and she did not dare to mention or expose them easily, so she could only smile awkwardly.
Then he pretended not to understand and asked: "Girl, are you thirsty?"
Either eating or drinking, Xia Houshu looked at her but hesitated to speak.
Yun Xi immediately shut his mouth knowingly, and the previous silence returned to the carriage.
In the carriage behind the team, Yu Hu held an account book as usual and tried to concentrate on reading through it. Next to her, Qiao Ling, who had gotten out of the car and vomited several times due to the bumpy road, was as energetic as a thread at the moment.
He was half leaning on a large square pillow, but couldn't fall asleep completely.
It was quiet in the carriage, and could only hear the rutting sound outside and the sound of Yuhu turning the pages of books from time to time. Qiaoling was bored and secretly glanced at Yuhu and whispered: "Sister Yuhu, our girl today
Something is wrong. We have been walking for most of the day, and every time she pauses to rest, she refuses to get out of the car, and she doesn’t eat or drink much. If this were normal, how would she want to stay in the carriage? "
Yuhu's eyes slowly moved away from the account book, and finally fell on Qiaoling. He said coldly: "Master Qubai is too sick. The girl has been worried all night. She got up before dawn this morning. She must not have slept well.
.And you can’t bear the bumps along the way, do you still expect the girl to be alive and kicking?”
Qiao Ling had just been assigned to serve Xia Houshu not long ago. She didn't know anything about Xia Houshu's past, nor her complicated emotions towards Boyunguan. Naturally, she couldn't tell whether Yuhu's words were true or false. She only heard what she said.
There was a mockery of a gun and a stick in her words. She pursed her lips angrily, not daring to speak anymore, but silently complained in her heart that she was so unlucky to ride in the same carriage as Yuhu.
Xia Houshu lay in the leader's carriage for a while longer. Listening to the wheels of the carriage turning, she became more and more irritable and asked, "Where are we now? How long will it take?"
Yun Xi quickly raised the curtain to look outside, and murmured a few words to Dong Xiao before turning back and reporting: "Girl, we have arrived at Hong County, and we estimate that we can arrive at Liuxing Village in the evening. Guard Liao said that in the evening
We'll stay there and go up the mountain early tomorrow morning."
Wangcang Peak is located at the junction of Hong County and Yu County. From the capital to Boyunguan, you need to pass through Hong County. The carriage moves slowly, and with so many people and materials, the carriage will go faster.
They couldn't get up, so they couldn't make it in one day. But when they arrived at Hong County, they had walked half the distance. And Liuxing Village was the last village to go up to Wangcang Peak. According to their current speed, they could make it before sunset.
The safest way is to go to Liuxing Village and stay there for one night.
Xia Houshu continued to lie down and let the carriage take her to the long-lost place.
The group of people drove quickly and slowly until the sunset almost completely sank into the other side of the mountain before they finally arrived at Liuxing Village. Xia Houshu, who had been lying down all day, also lazily got off the carriage at Yunxi's greeting.
It is the autumn harvest season, and there are golden rice fields along the way. The autumn wind blows, causing waves to rise, and the fragrance of rice fills the nose. At sunset, the village after a busy day finally calms down, and the roofs of every house rise.
From the wisps of cooking smoke, the aroma of food gradually wafted out. It was warm and quiet, but the arrival of their group seemed a bit unexpected.
In the only inn in the village, due to the bleak business, the middle-aged male shopkeeper was lying on the table and almost fell asleep. Suddenly he heard footsteps and there seemed to be a lot of people. He was so frightened that he woke up instantly and almost stopped sitting.
Steady. He quickly stretched out his hand to rub his eyes, and after taking a closer look, he felt so happy that he almost flew up with joy. He greeted him with a smile: "How many guests are there? How many rooms do you need?"
The leader of the escort team was named Liao. He stepped forward to negotiate first. When he learned that there were three other guests living in the inn, the two parties quickly reached an agreement. Guard Liao pulled off the money bag from his waist and took out a few pieces of silver and threw it to
The shopkeeper waved his hand and directly occupied a side courtyard at the back.
The shopkeeper's surname was Sun. He put away the money with a smile on his face, and then led them to the guest room in the side courtyard to rest.
The inn in Liuxing Village is different from the capital city where land is at a premium. Because of the vast area and sparse population, there are no two or three-story high-rise buildings. The inn has complete functions such as food and accommodation, warehouses, and stables.
Entering from the storefront of the inn, you will find a large courtyard. Directly in front is a large, elevated house where guests live. There are moon cave doors on the left and right sides, which are regarded as the left and right side courtyards.
Xia Houshu and the others rented the side yard on the left. Several wooden houses with only one floor were neatly built in the yard, and the distance between the buildings was also very wide. According to Liao Huwei's arrangement, Xia Houshu and Sanming's maid lived there.
In the house in the middle, the coachmen had to go on their way, and after settling their horses and supplies, they slept in the house on the right. The remaining ten guards were divided into two shifts and were on duty in shifts.
As soon as they were settled, the proprietress of the inn led someone to bring hot water in a wooden bucket to wash their hands. Seeing that they were very grand and elegant, and looked either rich or noble, she thought about it secretly and asked: "
Our inn is small and has few manpower. I wonder if the guest would like to prepare more hot water for bathing at night? If necessary, I will have to order the stove to boil more water in advance so as not to delay the guest."
Xia Houshu lay in the carriage for a whole day and didn't sweat much. However, the road was not smooth along the way. Even if she put a thick cushion in the carriage, she was still shaken by the bumps. If this
It would be great to take a bath to soothe the muscles and bones every now and then. Yunxi and the others, although they are not as pampered as she is, rarely travel far and have not been bumpy in the carriage for so long, they must all hope that they can
Take a good bath.
She nodded.
The landlady agreed with a smile and went out to make arrangements.
Afterwards, the group had a meal and the hot water for bathing was boiled. Several maids quickly prepared things for her to use for bathing.
Xia Houshu took a walk in the yard to eat, and took a look at the positions of several guards. They seemed to be well-trained.
Liao Huwei probably saw her intention, walked over, coughed lightly, and said: "The people we brought out this time were all personally selected by the Duke, and they can stand the test of vigilance and skill.
"Girl, you can stay here peacefully at night."
Xia Houshu smiled and said: "Liao Guard is a person whom my father values highly. I can rest assured when you do things. I'm just strolling around with nothing to do. You don't have to keep an eye on me. Go and do your work."
Guard Liao had no doubt that he was there, so he resigned.
Xia Houshu walked around the yard a few more times, and the bathing supplies in the house were ready. She was not used to having people around all the time, so she sent them to go back and take a bath so that they could sleep well at night.
The maids were extremely happy and hurried to their rooms to wash up.
Xia Houshu soaked in the hot water contentedly, and then she felt that the muscles and veins in her body were slowly activating, and she slowly let down her guard. As the soaking time became longer and longer, she began to feel drowsy again.
Amidst the mist of water vapor, there was a sudden soft sound, which was extremely unexpected in this silent night. Xia Houshu woke up immediately, opened his eyes and looked around warily. Apart from her, there was no one else in the room.
She didn't know how long she had been sleeping like this. She thought that Yunxi and the others had finished washing and were going to come in and call her. So she lazily said to the door: "Come in."
But after waiting for a while, no one came in.
"Yunxi?" Xia Houshu called again.
Still no one answered outside.
Xia Houshu was confused for a while, then immediately became suspicious. He quickly got out of the tub, grabbed the clothes on the hanger, and wrapped himself in them without thinking about drying himself first.
After putting on her clothes, she picked up the dagger she carried with her and walked out slowly and cautiously. The oil lamp in the room was still burning, giving the whole room a layer of warm yellow, and it seemed that no one came in.
Maybe it was a wild cat somewhere, Xia Houshu comforted himself.
She just breathed a sigh of relief when she turned around and saw a familiar figure standing behind her. She was so frightened that the hairs on her body stood up. She quickly drew out her dagger and greeted him. The other person was also worried that she would attract others by screaming.
Being well prepared, he not only stretched out one hand to cover her mouth, but also used the other hand to hold the dagger in her hand tightly and restrain her in his arms.
What is going on?
In the flash of lightning, many doubts suddenly emerged in Xia Houshu's heart. Why did someone sneak into his room at this time? Where is Guard Liao? Didn't it mean that the guards brought out were all masters? Where have they gone? What happened outside again?