Xie Ming

Chapter 249: Skinny Horse

Let’s go back in time, nine days ago, to the third day of May!

Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Ni Yuanlu, led a group of three people including Hanlin editor and Eastern Palace lecturer Lin Zengzhi and Li Shichun, set out from the northwest of Yi County on April 7th, and in nearly a month they traveled two thousand miles through mountains and rivers to arrive in Nanjing with an important mission!
By the third day of May, the group had just reached the border of Fengyang in the northwest of Nanzhili!
The entire Fengyang area is the sphere of influence of Gao Jie's garrison troops among the four towns in northern Jiangsu.

To the northeast of this city is Wuhe County, which is still three hundred miles away from Nanjing.

It is said that at noon that day, Ni Yuanlu, Lin Zengzhi and Li Shichun, three elders, rode in a horse-drawn carriage and traveled all the way until they arrived at the bank of the Huai River southwest of Wuhe County!

Because they had been traveling for several days, they were exhausted and had no strength to continue, so at the suggestion of Ni Yuanlu, several soldiers sent by Qiu Zhizhong to protect them stopped their horses and rested.

The young man driving the carriage was even more polite. After jumping off the carriage, he showed great respect for the three old ministers by helping them get off the carriage so that they could stretch their muscles, eat, drink and rest.

However, just as Ni Yuanlu got off the car, he happened to find a woman who had fallen into the water and attempted suicide beside the reeds!

Ni, Lin and others are eager to save people!

Immediately order the guards to rescue!

After the rescued person was brought up, they found out that this girl was the new concubine who ran away from the home of Mr. Liu, a wealthy man in the nearby Wuhe County!

Because he was unfamiliar with the place, he didn't know where to go. He was also terrified that he would be caught and abused by his relatives, so he had no choice but to jump into the river.

Tick ​​tock!Tick ​​tock!
The lotus emerging from the water, such a beautiful face that makes me feel pity for it!

She cried in the rain, looking timid, petite, pure and pitiful!
Don’t look down on these three old people. They are all over fifty years old, but when it comes to the love of beauty, there is no distinction between the young and the old.
Therefore, the three ministers suddenly felt sympathy for this beautiful woman. Without further discussion, they all agreed that they should take this girl away immediately and go to Nanjing together!
In order to avoid the master from coming to look for him, he did something quite ridiculous, even without taking a break, and ordered the soldiers to harness the horses and flee immediately!
In front of the three of them, there were five guards sent by Zhizhong to follow closely. They were quite diligent and sober. They tried their best to stop them, fearing that any unnecessary trouble would arise in this desolate wilderness!
After all, we have no roots in this place, and once the head of the Liu family really gathers people to surround and attack us, it will be difficult to wash ourselves clean even if we jump into the Yellow River!
But what can I do!

The three elders, Ni, Lin and Li, pretended to be ignorant but insisted on having their own way. They acted like they were righteous, but all they said was nonsense like "save the person to the end" and "see the Buddha to the west". When they saw the beauty, they even threw the heavy responsibilities behind their shoulders and just hoped for luck, refusing to depend on her!
No way!

The group of people did this and that, and had no choice but to walk forward with the girl for another half a day.

On the way, the carriage passed by the Huai River. I don’t know if it was because of homesickness by the water or something else, but suddenly, the tune of Qinhuai songs came from the carriage!

Ten miles of mist and rain are heavy, and the lantern flowers follow the flowing water.

The grand banquet remains the same!

The sound of the pipa is melodious, and the scented fan is embroidered with peach blossoms.

I'll play a new poem for you!

The beauty looks forward to the curtain hook under the green pavilion.

Colorful clothes, long sleeves and beautiful singing voice!
The green mountains and white clouds are quiet, and the song of lovesickness never stops.

Having seen through the worldly world today, I hurriedly climb up to Jinling Tower again!
It is hard to keep the love in a dream, dancing on the bank of Qinhuai River, making the princes drunk!
Drunken prince!
It was at this time that Ni Yuanlu and others realized that this woman was actually the "Yangzhou Skinny Horse" from Huainan!

No wonder her appearance and figure are so alluring, and her Qinhuai tunes are also so beautiful!
Without noticing for a moment, these three elders were actually addicted to this decadent music and could no longer extricate themselves!

The accompanying guards were worried about this and had given advice and warnings many times over the past half day, fearing that this woman's affairs would attract attention and make it difficult for her to continue her important mission!
But even though they explained the pros and cons in a bitter way, the three elders in the car still didn't listen at all!

Not long after that, it turned out to be true!

Something unexpected happened!

The carriage and horses were heading southwest, following the Qinhuai River. Suddenly, smoke and dust rose. Behind the gentle hill, a large group of people dressed as villagers suddenly rushed towards them!

From a distance, there were about 40 to 50 people in the group, dressed as farmers and servants, holding weapons in their hands, and they looked like they had bad intentions!
In a flash, they came closer, and the leading man was shouting something in dialect towards the ferry ahead.

After hearing this, the fishermen in front of the ferry seemed to be on alert!

You know, from here, it is the closest to crossing the Huai River and reaching the border of Chuzhou. If you go further south from Chuzhou, you will reach Nanjing!

But at this very moment, the end of the journey was only two days' walk away, and at this very moment, because of such a terrible thing, he got into trouble!
That's really wrong!

That's not right!

Seeing the disaster was imminent, Ni, Lin and Li were all very frightened.

Seeing the situation take a sudden turn, he no longer cared about saving his old face. He shouted in a hurry and gave up crossing the river in a hurry, and drove away eastward along the water!
But things have come to this, it’s too late now!

So they rushed westward, and suddenly a large number of people came. They relied on their numerical advantage to chase and intercept them, surrounding them from the front, back, left and right, and formed a siege and blocking the road!

Ni and his companions in the carriages and horses were unable to escape more than a hundred steps and were barely forced to stop!

Come to think of it, it’s no wonder that others don’t give me a chance!
These three old men are really good at making trouble!

Saving people would be fine, but the key is that at this inappropriate time, you have to listen to some erotic tune!

When that "Skinny Horse and Beautiful Lady" opened her mouth in the soft Wu dialect, her voice drifted far away and captivated the souls of many people, not just the three old men in your car.
Now, he's in such a miserable and panic situation, he deserves it!
Right now, the head of the Liu family has sent people to chase after us, shouting and killing. How can you have the chance to say anything?
As soon as the two sides came into contact, they started fighting!
Fortunately, Zhizhong had arranged for some useful guards, who fought with all their might and knocked down more than ten of them in a row, before he was able to stabilize the situation.

On the other hand, the three old men who were hiding in the car were cowards, pedantic and decrepit. At a time like this, they were of no use!
Stalemate!

After a brief fight, the two sides fell into a temporary stalemate!
A full quarter of an hour!
The leader of the armed servants of the Liu family on the opposite side finally stopped cursing and calmed down.

Afterwards, after some negotiations, they finally decided to return the girl to the car and let her go for the time being!
But, just when the woman was about to get off the car with all her might!

unexpectedly!

To the northwest, the gentle hill was filled with smoke and dust again!

Suddenly!
Additional complications arise, and terrible events strike again!
Looking from afar, amidst the smoke and dust, there were endless sounds of shouting, yelling and cursing, and a group of soldiers suddenly came galloping towards us!

It's really like one wave of complaints has not yet subsided when another wave comes!
[Yangzhou skinny horse:]

[Another name for prostitutes in Yangzhou. In ancient times, Yangzhou was a gathering place for salt merchants from the Huainan and Huaibei regions. The salt merchants were very wealthy and lived a life as extravagant as the royal family! As a result of their wealth, they supported a large number of side businesses, one of which was the saying "raising skinny horses".]

(End of this chapter)