Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 84 Stealing the Sound of the World (3)

Wang Bing and Fan An chased from Daxiangguo Temple all the way out of Yongkang Street. They were out of breath, and finally stopped holding their stomachs. The wild scholar who came here, stinky bitch, cough, cough, cough!"

Zhao Xing dragged Li Ruoxue to flee for his life, not daring to look back, when there was no more shouting and chasing from Tolerance behind him, he had already reached Junyi Bridge Street, he dared not stop to rest.

Whether it's outing and climbing, or cuju swing, the other women's family members are sweating and heavy clothes, but their faces are slightly sweating, and their faces are as usual with a little makeup.But Li Ruoxue was the opposite, her body was cool and sweatless, but her head and face were dripping with sweat.Her skin was originally as white as snow, but now it was even more rosy, and the beads of sweat reflected the sun, making it crystal clear.Zhao Xingde only thinks that beauty is beyond measure.

Noticing the strangeness in Zhao Xingde's gaze, Li Ruoxue felt a little shy, took the catkin out of his hand, took out a handkerchief from his bosom to wipe off the sweat, and said in a low voice: "It's really annoying, my face sweats a lot, and I can't put makeup on. "She wiped her own sweat, and seeing that Xingde was also dripping with sweat, she wiped his sweat gently again.The beauty's fine wrists and creamy skin touched her face slightly, and she smelled a faint fragrance from her nose, Zhao Xingde was already a little dazzled.Li Ruoxue also felt embarrassed, and after wiping off her sweat, she folded the handkerchief and put it away.

To the north of this street is the Zoroastrian Temple, which is filled with the smell of fireworks all year round. People of all colors are bustling with each other. The two of them walked south and walked slowly, and then reached the bank of the Bian River.

The two looked at each other and smiled, Zhao Xingde found a stone step under the shade of a weeping willow tree on the bank of the river, Li Ruoxue was not too dirty, and sat side by side on the ground, the two Confucian scholars watched the crowds on both sides of the Bian River, and the boats slowly passed by.The flowing Bian River under the feet of the two of them is a river that truly runs through the water system of the world.

At this time, the water system in northern China was still very developed, with rivers and lakes everywhere.Only in the city of Bianjing, from south to north, there are four rivers, Cai River, Bian River, Wuzhang River and Jinshui River, all of which can be sailed by boat, collectively known as the four water canals.On both sides of the Caoyun River, there are countless hydraulic mills.There are millions of people who make a living on rivers and lakes, and the word rivers and lakes comes from this.Among the four canals, the Bianhe River is the most important, because it connects the water transportation of the Sixth Road in the Southeast.The Bianhe River is the Tongji Canal in the Tang Dynasty, and it is a section of the Grand Canal dug by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty.The water of the Yellow River and Luoshui is diverted to the west, and it is connected with the Luoyang and Guanzhong water systems, and the Huaihe River system and even the Yangtze River water system are connected to the south.Relying on such a well-connected water transportation system, each state alone has more than 3000 new ships every year, nearly 800 million stones of grain, millions of scales of coal, and rare spices worth hundreds of millions of tons.

After a long silence, Li Ruoxue suddenly said, "I'm sorry, I caused you trouble." There was a lot of apology in her tone.

Zhao Xingde was stunned for a moment, a warm feeling gushed out of the softest part of his heart, he took a deep breath, and said lightly: "It's okay, I like trouble."

"Really?"

"real."

"Me too." Li Ruoxue and Zhao Xingde got closer, feeling the warmth radiating from him.

"What?" Zhao Xingde was taken aback again.

Li Ruoxue smiled lightly, straightened the lacquered gauze hat, with a trace of sadness floating on her face, and said slowly: "My mother passed away not long after I was born, and my father was demoted and exiled, and the family has to farm and weave to subsidize the family. Although my mother is very kind to my eldest brother and me, sometimes I worry that my mother will not like me after having a younger brother, and sometimes I worry that my father will be framed by a 'traitor' again. "

Zhao Xingde felt pity in his heart, and while listening, he put his hand on her shoulder and patted it lightly. Li Ruoxue felt the generosity and warmth of his palm.

"Once, my father wrote a book describing Luoyang gardens, and in the postscript he criticized the government. I was worried that he would offend the 'traitor' again. After thinking about it for two days, I finally plucked up the courage and persuaded my father to write the book in the postscript. Those inappropriate comments are deleted."

Zhao Xingde said with a smile: "Your worry is not unreasonable, but with Mr. Yue Zhang's disposition, you definitely won't listen to it."

Li Ruoxue's red cheeks were slightly burning, and she rolled her eyes at him, but she didn't correct his speech, and continued: "Father didn't reprimand him, he only talked about worldly affairs, and he must do what he doesn't do. Scholar-bureaucrats shoulder the responsibilities of the world. I can no longer care about my honor, disgrace, life, or even the safety of my family. Later, I read a lot of poetry and books, and my thoughts are not so heavy, and I gradually become like an ordinary girl. But I have always been curious, what is it like to take on the responsibility of the world? That's why I must come with you."

She turned her head sideways, looked at Zhao Xingde, and said seriously: "You will always have to take on a lot of important things in the future, and I won't be so willful and cause trouble for you."

Moved in his heart, Zhao Xingde hugged her waist, let Li Ruoxue lean on him, and said in a deep voice, "It's okay, I'm not afraid of trouble."

Li Ruoxue's pretty face was flushed, and the two of them connected with each other, facing the Bian River flowing day and night, quietly enjoying the rare intimacy.

The two banks of the Bian River are the most prosperous places in the capital. The opposite bank of the stone steps where the two of them sat is Huixian Tower.Some of these boatmen on the river do not even have a single tile to live in. They are born, old, sick, and dead, married and funeral, and stay on the boat all year round.In the boats coming and going on the Bianhe River, there are brawny naked-chested men supporting their long gauntlets, and charming boat ladies shaking oars. Sometimes there are whispers of talented scholars and beautiful ladies in the painting boats, and sometimes there are babies crying in the fishermen's boats. , the Bianhe River, which flows all year round, is like a stage that constantly performs various forms of the world. Sitting quietly beside the river, you can feel the scene and feel emotional. Everyone thinks differently.

In the river, the boat lady was holding the baby, and she was urinating shit on the bow of the boat. The child saw the two people dressed as Confucian scholars sitting on the bank, babbling, and the boat lady looked up. She just smiled, and the boat lady was startled, and hurriedly carried the baby into the cabin.

Only then did Li Ruoxue remember that she was dressed as a Confucian scholar, and she smiled unconsciously, leaning on Zhao Xingde's body, looking at the fireworks in the world, feeling peaceful and happy in her heart, and thought to herself: "Do you want to have children for him in the future? Brother Xia and I left. The women in our family are thin and difficult to bear. If he has no heirs, what will he do if he wants to take a concubine? Is it impossible to choose a woman for him? The concubines, concubines and maidservants of mine often bully the courtiers, alas." After counting the time, I felt sad again.

Xiao Shiniang, the boatman, was molested by the Confucian scholar who looked like a boy and a girl, and hurriedly carried the child to hide in the cabin. This world is full of disciples, and girls from poor families, even if their innocence is polluted, they can only endure humiliation. There is nowhere to ask for justice.In the cabin, my sister-in-law was preparing lunch, but my brother Xiao Qi was watching with a stack of papers.Xiao Sanniang admired her seventh brother the most. After picking up charcoal since childhood, he would lie under the teacher's window and eavesdrop when other children were playing.With this ability to write and count, Xiao Qi made a living on the river, and he was superior in speech and deeds. When he was in his 30s, he earned off his own boat, married a daughter-in-law, and secretly had sex with Xiao Shiniang. He said that when she gets married, she will be given a generous dowry.

"what is this?"

"Young Master Zhang asked us to take Gongjie to Huainan, and we can hang out if we meet acquaintances along the way." Xiao Qi raised his head and grinned. His younger sister is the most sensible and well-behaved, and many young men on the river are greedy. .One year in the cold winter, when parents were gone, more than a dozen brothers and sisters either died young or were separated.Now that his elder brother has started a family and started a business, he will definitely marry off his only younger sister in a splendid manner.

"What public announcement?" Xiao Shiniang asked in confusion.

"Well, the government refused to accept the pleadings for exposing the villain, so the big guys spread the word and wanted to punish him with justice."

"How big a villain?"

"People in dozens of counties and states in more than a dozen states were framed by him, and hundreds of thousands of people died. Do you think this villain is serious?"

"Phew," Xiao Shiniang gasped, "Why didn't the government accept the paper for such a vicious thief?"

"Because there are associates of wicked people in the government."

"That's it, no wonder," Xiao Shiniang pouted, as if children who picked up charcoal when they were young were chased away by the officials' boats, but at night, their accomplices rowed boats and packed the coals one by one. Moving down is normal.She became interested, "Seventh brother, how can we punish him with the justice of the world?"

"Wang Wuye of the Cao Gang said, look at the movements of the capital and the southeast. If the city is full of wind and rain, the water boat may have to stop."

"Really?" Xiao Shiniang's eyes widened. The food and clothing of the millions of people in Bianjing City all depended on water transportation.

"I hope not." Xiao Qi sighed, the tank boats were out of service, and the boatmen on the river had no choice but to sit and eat, but he also knew that there were some masters behind Wang Wuye.

There was loud thunder outside, lightning struck down one after another, and a heavy rain came unexpectedly, splashing like pouring outside.

The child was so frightened that it cried and cried. Xiao Shiniang opened the window of the cabin a little, and saw the two immoral Confucian scholars stand up in a hurry and ran westward in a hurry. She smiled and clapped her hands. Said: "God really has eyes, thunder, lightning and rain to cure this wicked person, that's great."

"Why are you gloating?" Xiao Qiqi asked.

Xiao Shiniang pointed at the small Confucian scholar, and said contemptuously, "Just now these two men were leaning against each other as if they were friends. It was really disgusting. That man and woman was still smiling at me."

"Really?" Xiao Qi didn't bother to get up to look at it, and scolded, "If these ignorant and incompetent anointed children had [-]% loyalty and courage from Mr. Zhao Yuanzhi, this world wouldn't be so decadent." Xiao Shi Niang asked: "Who is Mr. Zhao Yuanzhi?" "He is the one who wrote this petition for Song."

Mixed with thunder and lightning, the sky was pouring rain as if leaking, Zhao Xing took Li Ruoxue's hand and ran towards Li's house quickly, both of them's clothes were already soaked, and the water splashed all the way, the hem of the robe was full of Mud ideas.Fortunately, passers-by on the road were in a hurry to avoid the rain, and no one paid attention to Li Ruoxue's looming figure under her robe.

The two ran along the bank of the Bian River, past Li Qi's main store, and then Cai Xiang's house and Jinliang Bridge, which they had passed by when they came out. Seeing that they were approaching Li's mansion, Zhao Xingde was about to run to the usual convenient door , but felt a tightness in his hand, "This way, this way," Li Ruoxue pulled him and ran out in the other direction.Zhao Xingde followed behind her and came to a small door on the west side of the mansion. Li Ruoxue slapped the door knocker vigorously, while turning her head, Zhao Xingde explained: "I specially asked the roller shutter to pay attention to the one who opened the door for us."

There were drops of water on her face, and a few strands of black hair were exposed from under the crooked lacquer hat, she looked at Zhao Xingde with a strange gaze, and said strangely: "Yuanzhi, what's wrong with you? Looking at me like this? "Zhao Xingde couldn't restrain himself anymore, he pulled the beautiful woman into his arms, firmly held her waist with his left hand, gently supported the back of her head with his right hand, stared at Li Ruoxue's eyes that were wide open because of surprise, lowered his head slowly Slowly, but without hesitation, he kissed deeply.Li Ruoxue felt a scorching heat emanating from Zhao Xingde's body, her lips were sucked by him forcefully, and she was gradually addicted to it.The heavy rain was pouring down beside the two of them, lightning flashed and thunder followed one after another, and the occasional passers-by only cast a hasty glance at the two Confucian scholars who behaved strangely.

It seemed like tens of millions of years had passed at this moment. With a creak, the small door was opened a crack. After a while, the roller shutter was like a frightened cat, timidly looking at the two hugging tightly in the rain. personal.