Tang riddles

The journey was boring, but fortunately Qianhe was there. She sat on the shaft of the car, crossed her legs, took out the long wind instrument from her waist, stood it upright, and played it by her lips.Except for Zhang Ruohan's master and servant, no one else knew that this blind girl Qianhe could actually play the shakuhachi [Note 1], walking on the vast and vast Xianyang Plain, accompanied by the vicissitudes of the shakuhachi, she actually gave birth to a long journey. Xiu Yuanxi's heroism.

Not long after, the sound of guqin harmony and leisurely music came from the carriage on Shen Sui's side, accompanied by walking away from each other, alleviating everyone's worries about the future.Shen Sui was riding on the horse, with his eyebrows furrowed and thinking about something on his mind, unaware that in the car ahead, the beautiful woman was looking at her through the half-protruded bronze mirror.

As soon as Wu Ya opened the curtain of the car and came in, he saw his wife holding a bronze mirror and frowning and tilting her head to look at it. There was an inexplicable sense of joy in the picture.Wu Ya pursed his lips, suppressed his smile, and said:

"Sanniang, can you see clearly when you're like this?"

"I can't see clearly, this bronze mirror is really blurry." As he spoke, Zhang Ruohan wiped the mirror again with his sleeve.

"San Niang, if you really want to see it, how about we open the felt cloth?" Wu Ya covered his mouth and said.

Zhang Ruohan's cheeks flushed suddenly, her beautiful eyes gave Wu Ya an angry look, and she put away the bronze mirror.Wu Ya stuck out his tongue, but he was very happy in his heart, occasionally he dared to tease Sanniang, and he could see beautiful scenes that he couldn't see in the past.

"What time is it?" Zhang Ruohan asked Wu Ya.

While adding water to Sanniang's teacup, Wu Ya said, "After passing Shen Zheng, in a while, it's time to go to the official post in Hu county."

Zhang Ruohan nodded, picked up the teacup, blew it gently, and brought it to his lips.

Wu Yaxuan sat beside Zhang Ruohan, hesitated for a moment, and asked:

"San Niang, Wu Ya has a question that I have been puzzled for a long time, and I don't know whether to ask it or not."

Zhang Ruohan looked up at her, then lowered his eyes again, put the teacup by his hand, and said:

"Ask anything, don't beat around the bush."

"San Niang... But, have you always had a crush on Shen Si?" Wu Ya lowered his head and asked cautiously.

Zhang Ruohan: "..." The blush that had just faded rose again, she was ashamed, but more annoyed.A nameless anger stuck in her chest, making her speechless for a long while.

Wu Ya kept silent, she could feel that Sanniang was annoyed by asking a single word, she immediately blamed herself, feared and regretted at the same time.

"Third, Sanniang, don't take Wuya's nonsense words to heart."

Zhang Ruohan took a deep breath and said slowly:

"I know you are confused, I was also confused, but now that I think about it, I do have some affection for this person. But Wu Ya, don't get me wrong, you should understand that my feelings will only be given to one person in my life. A person's goodwill comes from her, from his similarity to her. If you understand, don't ask such questions again."

"Here." Wu Ya was sweating profusely, unconsciously bowing down.

Qianzuru outside stopped the sound of shakuhachi, and the sound of the piano in the rear compartment also fell, and the team returned to silence.The setting sun was slowly setting in the sky, and everyone quickened their walking pace in the twilight that gradually enveloped the earth.

Around the second quarter of the unitary lunar new year, the team entered the county seat of Hu County, and soon stopped outside the post house.The postmaster had received the news a long time ago, and when he heard the sound of carriages and horses, he immediately came out to greet him.He prepared sumptuous food and wine, specially for the three of Shen Sui.It's just that he didn't expect that there would be a female official accompanying her, and her identity and purpose of visit were written on her survey and certificate, so she knew she was the third wife of the Zhang family.Hu County is not far from Chang'an City, and it's only a one-day round trip on a fast horse. The post chief has heard of Zhang Ruohan's name, so he couldn't help but respect it.

But Zhang Ruohan seemed to be tired, so he resigned from the banquet and went back to his room to rest early.The postmaster prepared a special dinner for the postmen and sent it to Zhang Ruohan's house.

Shen Sui and Shen Jin were not in the mood to enjoy the banquet either, so they ate a little, then resigned from Liu Yucheng and Pei Yaoqing, and went back to their room to rest.

Silent all night.

On the second day, I got up early in the morning, finished my morning meal, and continued on my way. On this day, I crossed Pubei from Huxian County and arrived at Guangu.Shen Sui and Shen Jin were a little weird in their hearts. After all, it was their own property, but it was a bit strange to ask their companions to pay for board and lodging when they lived in.But there is money from the government, so why not do it, these are Shen Jin's original words, which makes Shen Sui, the elder sister who is an official, a little dumbfounded.

On the third day, the surrounding scene gradually became barren, with scattered houses and few people. Looking around, there are mostly continuous fields.It is the time of spring sowing, and occasionally farmers can be seen busy in the fields.Departing from Guangu, the next stop-Luoguguan is more than 80 miles away. In order not to sleep in the wild, the vehicles and horses were stepped up this day, and the group concentrated on the road without time for others.Already entering the Qinling Mountains, surrounded by undulating green hills, the number of mountain roads has increased, and the road has become more and more difficult.Fortunately, they finally arrived at Luogu Pass before sunset.

Luoguguan is one of the passes in the southwest of Gyeonggi-do, and it is guarded by Zuoweiwei, one of the sixteen guards of the imperial army.When entering the customs, the group received a warm reception from Xuanwei General Dong Yifu, the guard sent by Zuo Weiwei.General Xuanwei was a military official of the fourth rank. This General Dong had [-] defenders under his command, and he was considered the most powerful general in this area outside the circle of Chang'an City.Pei Yaoqing and Liu Yucheng were very polite to him, and Shen Sui also followed behind pretending to be transparent.General Dong was very forthright and invited everyone to stay in the General's Mansion.That night he took the three of them to drink, but Shen Sui couldn't refuse, so he had to accompany the banquet and was downed a lot of wine.Fortunately, he didn't force Shen Jin and Zhang Ruohan, and they escaped unharmed.

Just after the second watch, Pei Yaoqing, Liu Yucheng, and even the general himself were completely drunk, even though Shen Sui had an amazing amount of alcohol, he became dizzy from drinking.She staggered out of the side hall where the banquet was held. The cold wind in the early spring night woke her up a little bit.The wine stored in the General's house was really strong, and she became hot all over after drinking it, so she couldn't help loosening the belt around her waist, untied the skirt of her clothes, and took a walk in the backyard of the General's mansion with the strength of the wine.

It is said to be the backyard, but this General Dong really has no taste for literati, and a huge piece of land has been turned into a martial arts arena.On a piece of loess rammed ground, there is a row of archery targets in the distance, and there are weapon racks all around, including knives, guns, swords, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, bows and arrows.

Shen Sui took a red-tasseled gun and played it a few times before losing interest.Putting the gun back into the weapon rack, she saw a bow and arrow on the side.This is a heavy bow, the bow is heavy in the hand, and it is full, at least two stones [Note 2].Shen Sui suddenly became interested in archery.He took the quiver and hung it on his waist, and stood a hundred paces away with his bow in hand.

At night, torches were lit outside the school grounds, but the light was still insufficient.Shen Suihun didn't care, took out an arrow and wound it.Taking a breath, he suddenly drew the bow fully.With a beautiful full moon bow, Shen Sui's face was neither red nor out of breath, his feet were slightly apart, and he stood firmly in place.A pair of eagle eyes stared keenly at the distant archery target, and the arrow slowly adjusted and finally stopped.He let go of his hand suddenly, only to hear a whistling sound, the arrow feather twisted in the air, piercing the center of the target.

This arrow seemed to arouse Shen Sui's repressed anger in her heart. She drew another arrow and shot it quickly. Just after the bow was released, she took another arrow and shot after the previous one. The third arrow was tight again. Then the second arrow chased out, and the three arrows chased the moon, all of which hit the bull's-eye, and the third arrow even directly split the body of the first arrow.

The corners of Shen Sui's lips were pursed, and he let out a deep breath, his mood calmed down a lot.This venting made her a little bit more drunk.Putting down the bow, she was about to untie the quiver at her waist, when she inadvertently saw someone approaching in the shadows in the distance.Shen Sui's eyesight is very good, not to mention that she is very familiar with that person, so she recognized him at a glance.

It was Zhang Ruohan.

Shen Sui panicked, and was scratched by the belt buckle, "Hiss!", she saw a cut on her right index finger, and blood was gushing out.She frowned, and closed her mouth with her fingers.

"Shen Sizhi is good at archery." With a cold voice, Zhang Ruohan slowly walked from the shadows to the firelight. The light shone on her side face, and the light and dark intertwined, which was a bit mysterious and difficult to understand.

Shen Sui put his injured hand behind his back, pursed his lips, swallowed the bloody smell in his mouth, and said with a smile:

"No, it's just an ordinary level."

"If Shen Sizhi's level is normal, there might not be a single archer in the entire Tang army." Zhang Ruohan smiled slightly, but there was no smile in his tone.

Shen Sui didn't want to discuss this topic, so he said instead:

"Ms. Zhang San, why don't you go to bed so late? You have to go on the road tomorrow. The road is hard. It's better to rest early."

"Did Shen Sizhi not rest?" Zhang Ruohan asked back.

"Sui also had no choice but to be forced to drink, and now he drank until midnight." Shen Sui's tone was helpless.

"Ruohan is also helpless. Although she is tired, she can't fall asleep, so she has to go out for a walk." I don't know if Zhang Ruohan is deliberately imitating Shen Sui's speech, such a way of speaking always makes Shen Sui a little flustered.Zhang Ruohan got closer, about three steps away from Shen Sui, Shen Sui subconsciously walked to the side, turned sideways, and widened the distance.

Shen Sui glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, a black fur cloak with white fur collar was draped over his shoulders, and a light blue cross-neck wide-sleeve skirt was worn underneath, which was still warm, and Shen Sui felt a little relieved.She loosened her head of black hair and tied it loosely at the end with a red rope. Standing under the firelight, her beautiful eyes shone with crystal light, as if reflecting the dancing flames, secretly agitating some kind of emotion.

Shen Sui's throat twitched.

An inexplicable silence spread, Zhang Ruohan stood there, looking at Shen Sui, Shen Sui didn't look at her, but looked up at the stars and moon in the dark sky.For a moment, in order to break the silence, Shen Sui said:

"Miss Zhang San left home, did the family ever object?"

"Ruohan made a vow to become a monk when he was 13 years old. Later, his family struggled to stay with him, so he turned to practice with his hair. Since then, it has become Ruohan's dream to travel all over the world and visit Buddhist temples all over the world. Ruohan is very happy. Fortunately, I have family members who love me and support me." Her voice was like a slowly flowing spring, a little more gentle and a little less cold.

Shen Sui's heart seemed to be filled with bitter water, it was astringent and bitter, she didn't know what to say.No matter what she said at this moment, it seemed a little dry and deliberate, and it was better not to say anything.

Zhang Ruohan stared at her intently, looking at her slightly disheveled clothes, the neckline was open, and her collarbones were casually exposed.Seeing that the back collar of her robe was pulled back by the weight of the quiver, the exposed neck was half covered, and the tattoo pattern could be vaguely seen.

Zhang Ruohan's eyes flickered, and he took a step forward slowly.You can already smell the alcohol smell from her body, it's not unpleasant, but slightly intoxicating.

"Shen Sizhi, Ruohan has a question, I hope Shen Sizhi can answer it from the heart." She said suddenly, the words were still soft and indifferent, but added a bit of undeniable toughness.It's just answering "from the heart" but not "from the truth", which makes such words a little more meaningful.

Shen Sui frowned.

"Shen Sizhi, I know someone. Her baby name is Chishi."

Shen Sui's heart skipped a beat, secretly thinking that Zhang Ruohan would actually strike with a straight fist.After a moment of silence, she turned her head, looked into Zhang Ruohan's eyes and said doubtfully:

"Akashi? Who is it?"

"Shen Sizhi really doesn't know?" Zhang Ruohan stared into her eyes, but what he saw was still deep.

"Sui really doesn't know. Why does Mrs. Zhang San ask such a question?" Shen Sui's doubts seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

Zhang Ruohan looked at her, smiled slightly after a while, and lowered his eyes: "Shen Sizhi forgives Ruohan for being rude, but Shen Sizhi is very similar to this person, which makes Ruohan feel a little hesitant."

"Oh, who is it that would make Mrs. Zhang San feel anxious?" Shen Sui seemed very interested, but at this moment, the hand that was shrunk under the sleeve robe clenched into a fist, and blood flowed from the cracked finger again. out.

Zhang Ruohan was silent for a while, but didn't answer any more.Shen Sui frowned and looked at her, and then saw a sly smile on her face, under the light of the fire, ambiguous feelings were hidden.

She said, "Akashi is my cousin and my lover."

Shen Sui's throat squirmed again, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty.A hotness ignited from her chest and abdomen, and her face and ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, which was uncontrollable.

Cousin...cousin...

The author has something to say: [Note 1] Shakuhachi: Shakuhachi is a wind instrument that originated in Wudi, China, and looks like a flute.It is named for its length of one foot and eight inches.During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the shakuhachi became a court musical instrument and became famous, and later spread to Japan.But it was gradually lost after the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and its status was replaced by Xiao.In the last 30 to [-] years, I have been welcomed back from Japan.Its timbre is vast, ethereal and quiet, sometimes even rough and stern.The ups and downs are the biggest feature of its performance, and the air tone is the biggest feature of its timbre.If you are interested, you can search for shakuhachi music on the Internet.Hearing the sound of the shakuhachi, one can think of two samurai preparing for a duel in a dense bamboo forest.

[Note 2] Bow stone: One stone in the Tang Dynasty was about 59 kg. In conversion, the tension of two stone bows was 118 kg.A few stone bows are used to measure the tension of the bow. The measurement method is to hang the bow at a high place, and then hang a heavy object on the bowstring for measurement.With the strength of a normal person, being able to use a stone bow is already very good. When cavalry fights, they generally use bows that are less than a stone.In the novel, ten stones and twenty stones are often used, that is too scary.

In addition, about the hundred steps to wear Yang.The so-called one step in the ancients is the distance taken by each foot of the left and right feet. Quantitatively speaking, it is 120 centimeters.One hundred steps, that is 120 meters.

PS: There is another chapter later today.