Chapter 415 An old friend returns
Chapter 415 An old friend returns
Xiao Xia's army entered Shu via the ancient Yinping Road. After many hardships, they finally arrived in Chengdu County after more than a month.
The army camped outside the city to rest. Xiao Xia rushed to the dock to inquire about the ship arrangements.
Of course, not everyone took the boat. Mainly family members took the boat, and food, supplies and property needed to be transported by water. The rest of the army traveled on land on horseback.
As soon as Xiao Xia arrived at the dock, Shu County Governor Cui Hongjun also hurried over.
Cui Hongjun is the third son of the Cui family. He has been serving as an official outside. After Yang Guang ascended the throne, the Cui family gained power and Cui Hongjun was promoted to the governor of Shu County. Shu County was a senior county and the governor was a third-rank official. Xiao Xia asked him to arrange a ship for him.
"Uncle San, long time no see!"
Cui Hongjun attended Xiao Xia's wedding and was also there when Xiao Xia brought his wife home.
"Your Highness, I am not worthy of this position. I wonder how Ayu is doing now?"
"She is doing well, in good spirits, and her pregnancy is stable. Uncle San will go see her when he has time."
"Let her rest more! I'll ask my wife and Yinghong to go see her later. She managed to survive the difficult Shu Road. It's not easy. She needs to rest well on the boat next time."
Cui Yinghong is the daughter of Cui Hongjun. Her husband has passed away, and she currently lives with her parents with her son and one daughter.
"How's the ship?" Xiao Xia asked with concern.
Cui Hongjun nodded and said, "We have raised 500 ships, including five 3,000-shi ships, and the rest are 1,000-2,000-shi ships. I have already told Jiangling that when you arrive in Jiangling, you can switch to 10,000-shi ships, which will be more comfortable."
“Is it safe over there in the Three Gorges?”
"Your Highness, rest assured. The water level in the Three Gorges has been stable in recent years and it is relatively safe. There have been no shipwrecks for two consecutive years. I will arrange for an experienced boatman and we will be safe."
Xiao Xia went to check the ship again. The marching Sima Zhang Liang had already taken over and was preparing to load supplies and valuables onto the ship.
After inspecting the dock, Xiao Xia returned to the military camp.
As soon as he entered the barracks, a personal soldier came up to him and said, "A female guest is here to visit the princess!"
Xiao Xia thought they were Cui Hongjun's wife and daughter, so she nodded, "It must be mother and daughter!"
"No, she is a very young female Taoist priest."
Xiao Xia was startled. Could it be that the young female Taoist priest was...
He hurried back to the big tent, and when he reached the door, he saw his wife Cui Yu sitting on a thick blanket, holding a teacup, with a smile on her face. Opposite her sat a young female Taoist priest, who was indeed his junior sister Zhang Qiao. She was also holding a teacup with a sweet smile on her face.
At this moment, Cui Yu saw her husband and said with a smile, "My husband is back!"
Zhang Qiao stood up quickly, her pretty face slightly red, looking a little embarrassed. She bowed to Xiao Xia and said, "Master knows that you are coming, and she told you not to go to Qingcheng Mountain, but to go directly to Jiangdu!"
Xiao Xia had written a letter to her mother before and asked Cui Hongjun to forward it. It seemed that her mother had received it.
"Is it inconvenient to meet?"
Zhang Qiao sighed and said, "Young Master, you don't know that Master has reached a critical moment in her cultivation. She said that she would visit you in the future, but not now. This is the most important stage in her cultivation, and she cannot come out of it."
"Is she practicing in seclusion?" Xiao Xia asked.
Zhang Qiao nodded, "She has been in seclusion for three months. I and a few of my junior sisters send her some water and rice every three days."
At this time, Cui Yu smiled and said, "Husband, A Qiao will go to Jiangdu with us."
Xiao Xia's eyes lit up, "Really?"
Zhang Qiao was a little embarrassed and said, "Master said that my earthly ties have not yet been resolved, and that even if I practiced hard for a hundred years, I would never achieve enlightenment. He asked me to go with you to Jiangdu to practice."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "That's great. Let's rest for three days and then take a boat to Jiangdu!"
Three days later, the fleet set off. The army marched on shore with two horses. The team left Chengdu and headed south along the Minjiang River.
Xiao Xia and his family boarded a 3,000-stone passenger ship with two floors. Xiao Xia's family lived on the upper floor, several female guards lived on the lower floor, and several boatmen slept on the deck. There were only four rooms on the upper floor, the largest of which was the living room. Xiao Xia and his wife had an inner and outer cabin. Cui Yu lived in the inner room with two personal maids, and Xiao Xia lived in the outer room.
Cui Mei and A Chu lived in one room, Xiao Qing and Zhang Qiao lived in another. They all stayed in the large living cabin during the day and went back to their rooms to rest at night.
Before dawn that day, Xiao Xia quietly came out of the cabin, afraid to wake his wife. It was already late June, the weather was very hot, and the cabin was rather stuffy. No one could rest well at night, and Xiao Xia was particularly worried about his wife's health.
They have just entered Jianwei County and are still ten days away from Jiangling.
Xiao Xia suddenly noticed a person sitting cross-legged on the bow of the second deck. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was Zhang Qiao.
Xiao Xia walked forward, sat cross-legged beside her, and asked softly, "Is it too hot?"
Zhang Qiao shook his head. "We will arrive in Qianwei County soon. The ship will need to stop to replenish fresh water. I will get off the ship and go to the cargo ship behind."
"Okay, what are you doing on the cargo ship behind?"
"It's a bit crowded. My lord, you have to consider the princess's feelings. She is six months pregnant and must stay in a single room. I will leave, and you can stay in Sister Xiaoqing's cabin. The princess's two maids can stay in the outer room, and the princess will be much more comfortable."
"No! You can't leave."
Xiao Xia rejected it outright. He would never let Zhang Qiao go to the cargo ship behind. There were soldiers escorting the ship and boatmen on the cargo ship. How could a young woman like her mix with them?
"I can sleep in the living room. There is no doctor on board, so I am counting on you."
Zhang Qiao was silent for a moment and said, "Then I'll go downstairs and live with Sister Li! She sent me back to Shu that year, and we've lived together ever since."
"Everything is fine except leaving."
They were both silent, and Xiao Xia smiled again and said, "I know where Master Yuan is."
Zhang Qiao was surprised and asked, "Is Master still in the world? We all thought he had ascended to heaven."
"He went to the Kunlun Peak in Khotan to practice, where he broke through the barrier of Taoism that had been stagnant for decades. After attaining the Tao, he returned to Khotan and later went west, perhaps to the nine kingdoms of Sogdia."
"Will he come back?"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Probably!"
After a pause, Xiao Xia asked again: "Any news about your second uncle?"
Zhang Qiao shook his head. "I never saw him again after we parted at Qinglong Temple, but I learned to let it go!"
"What to put down?" Xiao Xia asked a little nervously.
"Let go of the hatred. I can't kill Yuwen Shu, and you don't want to help me kill him. Instead of being tortured by hatred all day, it's better to let it go temporarily. Master said that I can't practice Taoism because I have too much hatred in my heart and it's hard to break the relationship. She...she drove me down the mountain."
When Xiao Xia heard the words "love is hard to break", his heart was moved, so he gently hugged her shoulders and asked softly, "My mother is not in seclusion, right?"
Zhang Qiao was hugged by the shoulders, feeling a little shy, but she did not break free and nodded gently, "She has completely let it go, but I can't. When I heard you were coming, I secretly sewed a pair of socks for you, and my master saw it, so she reported it to my master and forced me to return to secular life."
Zhang Qiao returned to secular life, and Xiao Xia was overjoyed. He then asked, "But you are still wearing a Taoist robe!"
Zhang Qiao said quietly, "My body has returned to secular life, but my heart has not. Please don't force me to do anything, and don't chase me away, okay?"
Xiao Xia laughed, "I will build a Taoist temple for you in the palace. When you return to secular life one day, I will definitely marry you."
Zhang Qiao nodded slightly, with a hint of shyness on her pretty face.
At this time, the outline of a city appeared in the distance, and Jianwei County had arrived.
(End of this chapter)