The sun has passed July, and the early autumn weather has become more and more obvious. On the Chang'an Pier, two huge official ships were docked. The flags of the imperial court were flying on the ships. They were not like the ordinary government ships used for water transportation or sea transportation. And they were so big. Official ships are relatively rare in Chang'an except for extremely noble families who go south for patrols.
The blue waves of the river, the surging ripples, and the red sun that had just risen in the morning, hung upside down between the water and the sky. Looking at the ships passing by on both sides of the river, Meng Xinghe, who was standing on the bow of the ship, shook his head and sighed. He didn't know how to describe his mood at this moment. He originally planned to take the ladies on a tour in the south of the Yangtze River to enjoy the mountains and rivers. Who would have thought that Li Shimin issued an imperial edict while he was not at home and summoned his mother, Xue Shiyu and Lu Ning into the palace. This also stopped Meng Xinghe from taking advantage of the inspection. Jiangnan is doing things on its own terms. I will be back after spending ten and a half months away from home.
"It's cold in the morning. My husband should go back to the cabin." Holding a coat, Mengdie walked gently behind Meng Xinghe. She didn't care about the imperial edict of the King of Heaven. She still disobeyed Li Shimin's order. This is Mengdie. He has a crazy energy when doing things.
Meng Xinghe glanced at Mengdie, who was wearing thinner clothes than him: "Silly girl. If those Imperial Guards hurt you, I won't be heartbroken. Come here quickly and let Mr. Xian take a look. There are bumps there. Already."
He stretched out his hand to take Mengdie into his arms. Mengdie snorted: "I'm not a porcelain vase. It can be easily broken. Just those few soldiers and crab generals from Li Shimin can't stop me, Mengdie."
Meng Xinghe gave a wry smile and thought to himself, Mengdie ran out of the palace. Later, Li Shimin raised an army to investigate, and he had to intervene. However, Meng Xinghe knew Mengdie's temperament better than anyone else. If Li Xing is said to be fierce in doing things. Definitely an apt description. She escaped from the palace recklessly and impulsively. No one else but her had the guts to do it.
Feeling a little touched, Meng Xinghe held Mengdie's hand tightly and held her in his arms. He moved his mouth a little lower and kissed Mengdie's cherry mouth. Mengdie leaned on his chest. It's rare for a little bird. Yiren once and let Meng Xinghe do whatever he wanted. Fortunately, Meng Xinghe had already arranged everyone on the second boat. Otherwise, Mengdie would not have let him take advantage of his boldness and frivolity.
After being gentle for a while, Mengdie pushed Meng Xinghe away and gently wiped her mouth with a silk scarf. She said bitterly: "Okay. Master is still on the boat. Don't let her see it."
"Just watch it. It's not like you haven't seen it before." Meng Xinghe's mouth twisted. Through the exploration just now, it turns out that Lady Mengdie is good at ventriloquism. But I don't know who is better at playing the jade flute with fairies compared to Aunt Yun. .Will the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead?
He thought quite shamelessly in his heart. Aunt Yun, who was placed on the same boat by Meng Xinghe, came over with a blushing face. She must have seen something just now. Her face was as rosy as the morning glow on the horizon.
"Let's eat." Meng Xinghe chuckled. Except for a few sailors rocking the boat, there were only three of them on the boat. The rest of the people were on the big boat behind. This simply became Meng Xinghe's personal independent space. In addition, the boat was big. At night He rolled from the bow to the stern and no one knew about it. His intention was also quite known. Knowing that Aunt Yun must have come to have breakfast, Meng Xinghe wiped his mouth and ran into the cabin.
"Master." Mengdie called out shyly. She actually had the expression of a little girl who was caught stealing candy.
Aunt Yun scolded Meng Xinghe, her enemy, with many indecent words in her heart. She looked at the empty official ship and said, "Meng Xinghe is really brave. He left everyone on the ship behind him. If he met a bandit on the way, I would think so. What should he do?"
She snorted coldly. Aunt Yun probably guessed why the guy arranged this.
Mengdie chuckled: "Isn't there still a master? There is a master here. That bandit dares to murder my husband."
Aunt Yun acquiesced. This also reflects Meng Xinghe’s intelligence.
The official ship went down the river. The scenery along the way no longer had the fireworks scene on both sides of the river in March. Meng Xinghe, who had had breakfast, stood on the deck at the stern of the ship. Behind him was the group of people who had brought him down to Jiangnan this time. He saw them gathering around the deck at the moment. Fortunately, the distance between the two ships was not too far. There was nothing to do. Meng Xinghe raised his voice and shouted: "Second brother, what are you doing?"
Young Master Chai, the leader on the opposite side, heard Meng Xinghe's voice. He danced and said, "I have nothing to do. All the brothers are discussing telling stories on the deck. The third brother wants to come over and listen. Your favorite muddy satin."
Damn, I liked it. Meng Xinghe made a gesture. Master Chai immediately asked someone to prepare a ladder and put it on Meng Xinghe's boat. Meng Xinghe walked along the ladder.
When everyone saw Meng Xinghe coming, they all snickered secretly. Meng Xinghe felt something was wrong. He pulled Luo Feng, who was laughing the most, and asked, "I've found gold. His smile is so bright. It's like the morning glory on the mountain. "
Luo Feng immediately held his stomach to force himself not to laugh out loud.
"Meng. Boss Meng. Just now, Brother Chai was talking about your romantic anecdotes. You are indeed very powerful." The flatterer gave a thumbs up in praise. Luo Feng was already laughing so hard that he almost fell to the ground.
Meng Xinghe's eyes widened. "What did your Brother Chai say?"
Luo Feng patted his chest and said with a smile: "Seduce widows, climb the walls of brothels, be uninhibited and unruly. Unparalleled in the world. Taoyuan is known as Mr. Hualiu. He eats, drinks, whores and gambles, no one can match him."
Well, that's true. The summary is quite accurate. Meng Xinghe does not hide his past. "Second brother is right. I used to be a person in Taoyuan who was just waiting to die and hanging around brothels."
"Ha ha."
Everyone burst out laughing again. Among them were court officials, young men from the Dragon Gang, and some of Meng Xinghe’s close friends who had just met Meng Xinghe recently. They heard that the current Minister of Hubu was actually a notorious person in Taoyuan. Such fresh meat The jokes sound much more interesting than those written in those old yellow books.
Meng Xinghe looked at everyone, sat down cross-legged, and said: "Now we have left Chang'an. When we arrived at the next ferry, we all went out incognito and disembarked from the boat to have some fun. I am waiting to go down to the river to review the tax performance of various states and counties. Everyone. You should be the host of the public. Just let me wait for a tour of Jiangnan."
"Touched. Follow me sincerely." Mr. Chai immediately jumped out and said happily: "The next ferry is Dongcang County. I am familiar with it. Brothers who want to go out for fun later, just follow me."
Hearing this, everyone was speechless. It was widely rumored that Meng Xinghe's two brothers had their own merits. One was humble and a polite gentleman, while the other was a drunkard who wandered around the land of fireworks. Now that I have seen it, he is indeed not as famous as him. When they met, several officials brought by Meng Xinghe from the imperial court immediately became friendly with Mr. Chai. Among them, Wang Guinian, who Meng Xinghe thought was quite decent, was particularly prominent.
"Typical sultry." He cast a look of disdain at Wang Guinian. Unexpectedly, after leaving Chang'an, he would become so coquettish. He was indeed powerful enough.
Meng Xinghe led his brothers to chat happily on the official boat. On the other side, at the ferry in Dongcang County, the county magistrate Mr. Bai had already ordered all the scrap ships near the ferry to be emptied. All fishing boats were left at the dock port. Merchant ships today No one is allowed to dock, because the imperial court has sent a senior official down to inspect the performance. I am afraid he will stay in Dongcang County for one night today. As the magistrate of this county, he naturally treats this matter as if he is facing a formidable enemy.
It is now past noon. A sumptuous banquet has been prepared at the county government office to welcome the official sent by the imperial court. The county magistrate Mr. Bai, who has been waiting at the ferry since the morning, is still eager to lead his subordinates to wait here. .I am afraid that if I neglect the Lord, the hair on his head will inevitably be damaged.
"Dad, why hasn't that grown-up come yet?" Although the early autumn sun was not too strong, the county prince, who was used to a pampered life, had long been impatient. No, he had already asked his men to prepare the iced ones. Bring some fruit to quench your thirst. If you keep waiting like this, if the official doesn't come, you shouldn't wait until dark.
Mr. Bai, who was standing at the ferry and looking into the distance, couldn't help but cursed: "I've only been standing for a few hours and you can't support it. Do you want the hair on your father's head to be removed? You just I will become more normal and know how to repent.”
"Dad, don't be angry. That's just the way my brother is. Leave him here. He might say something wrong later and anger an official sent by the court. In my daughter's opinion, it's better to let him go back to avoid bad things." Mr. Bai was next to him. A well-behaved and lovely woman passed by. She was wearing a plain white floral skirt and had a green hairpin on her head. She was fair and fair, and she looked quite well-behaved. She was the apple of Lord Bai's eye. Her name was Bai Ningshuang.
The son is useless. Fortunately, the daughter is more sensible. Mr. Bai calmed down the anger in his heart and cursed: "Get out as soon as possible, so as not to cause trouble here."
"Thank you, dad. Thank you, sister." Mr. Bai quickly ran away without a trace.
Bai Ningshuang showed a wry smile: "Dad, I heard that this official sent by the imperial court is only going to Jiangnan. I'm afraid he won't stay in our Dongcang County for long. Why should dad be so anxious? I see that this person has disappeared after noon. . Could it be the same as the Minister of Rites last time? That would be difficult to deal with."
Looking at the head of the river, Mr. Bai sighed bitterly: "Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger. Dad is just a small county magistrate. Although he manages Dongcang County fairly well, if the superiors are not satisfied, I will still suffer. I can’t say anything. I just hope that the adults on this inspection can be sent away safely and everything will be fine.”
Mr. Bai remembered that the last time the officials sent by the imperial court to inspect his political performance just barely plundered all his belongings. Now another one came. If it was the same as the previous time, then there was really nothing he could do.
The father and daughter stood at the ferry, carefully waiting for Meng Xinghe's arrival. Not long after, the Yamen sent by Mr. Bai to check ahead hurried over. Out of breath, he pointed into the distance and said, "Sir. .Two official ships came from the other side of the river."
Two huge official ships were visible on the horizon. The flags of the imperial court were hung on them. They were obviously high-ranking officials sent from above. Master Bai gave a loud shout. The originally lazy welcoming team immediately became energetic.
"The inspector is here. Everyone, please be alert."
Mr. Bai has already walked to the ferry in person. He led the officials of the county, the gentry and the gentry to beat the gongs and drums to welcome the arrival of the court officials.
The sound of gongs and drums resounded throughout the world. Two official ships were slowly approaching from the distance.
"The first stop of the southern tour is Dongcang County." From a distance, he saw the warm welcome scene of a sea of people on the opposite shore. Meng Xinghe, standing at the front of the deck, muttered to himself.