The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 168 Beauty is like a demon and time is like a knife

"Keep the promise, Guazhou City is ahead." The faint voice coming from the car window woke up the sleepy Liuli.

She could never mishear it, it was Qu Chongyu’s voice.

Qu Chongyu has a handsome appearance, but is somewhat feminine, but has a voice that is a little more mellow and deep than Pei Xingjian. Together they have a strange charm, but since Pei Xingjian told Liuli about the glorious deeds of Brother Yulang , every time she hears this voice pronouncing the word "keep the promise" rhythmically, she just wants to snort two words - "Monster!"

 Isn’t he a monster? Because of his good looks, since Qu Chongyu was sixteen years old, quite a few ladies favored him regardless of his status. He actually ignored him and focused on coveting those noble young men with status, and finally married a beautiful wife. , he got a son in one fell swoop, and everyone thought he had restrained himself, but he went around claiming, "Blessed by my ancestors, I don't have to face women anymore"... Such a person is not vulgar at all, but he is elegant, intelligent, and elegant in conversation, my God How blinding!

It is said that he only likes beautiful boys, but Liuli is a little worried: for a guy who dared to molest Sun Yan after drinking, so that he was driven back to Xizhou to eat sand, there is nothing he dare not do of? What's more, Pei Xingjian also said, "This person is by no means simple, and I can't even see through him." In case...

Liuli couldn't help but stretched out her hand to lift the corner of the carriage curtain and looked out, only to see a majestic city rising from the ground in the vast Gobi desert. A little closer was a meandering camel team, and in front of the carriage, two tall men wearing fur robes The figures are walking side by side, and at a glance, they look like a perfectly composed picture.

 She sighed.

Xiao Tan came over to take a look and sighed, "This Guazhou City is not that small!"

The city in the distance is somewhat similar to Dunhuang in size and scale, except that the city wall is obviously higher than Dunhuang City, and the surrounding corner piers are six feet tall. It looks like four majestic towers - from here to the northwest Fifty miles away is Yumen Pass. The purpose of coming to this city is different from Dunhuang, which is more than two hundred miles away. The first priority is to defend against enemies. No wonder the city walls are so tall and solid. But for Liuli, there was no overlap between the strange city in front of her and the Guazhou in her memory. As for the city of Suoyang that impressed her most, judging from the map, it seemed that it had never appeared at this time!

Liuli was lost in thought when the carriage bumped twice. Her and Xiaotan's heads touched each other. They both rubbed their foreheads and laughed. Ayan frowned and said with a smile, "Xiaotan has not sat down yet. Do you think this is the way before? It’s not fun to hurt my wife!”

Since leaving Dunhuang, the road has become increasingly uneven. Fortunately, the carriage Liuli was riding in was also replaced by a special carriage brought by Qu Chongyu from Xizhou. I didn't feel anything when I first got on it, but once I started walking, I realized that it was much smoother than an ordinary carriage. When getting out of the car, Liuli discovered that the two wheels of the carriage were cleverly wrapped with a layer of leather. Agu was also circling the carriage. He only thought that the stability of the carriage was more than just the wheels covered with leather. He just wanted to take it apart and see what was going on... After taking a look at the figure in front of him, Liuli lowered the curtain and was lost in thought for a long time. Yue is right, the monster Qu Chongyu is indeed not simple!

More than a quarter of an hour later, this team of camels, horses, and carts entered Guazhou City. They saw that the city gate was divided into two parts: the inner and outer walls. The outer city was where the troops were stationed, and the small inner city was where the residents lived. Also divided according to market square, Hu Shang's wine shops can still be seen everywhere, but they are far less prosperous than Dunhuang.

The Qu family's villa is located in the northwest corner of the inner city. Although it is not too big, it is still very refined and comfortable. Seeing that it was still early, Liuli wanted to go out for a walk, but Feng Piaopiao gave up the idea by saying, "Madam, do you want to use some hot water? After leaving Guazhou, you are no longer allowed to bathe along the way."

 A thousand miles without a bath? Liuli immediately wanted to soak in the hot water and never come out again.

By the time Pei Xingjian returned to the room, Liuli's hair was just half dry and had not yet been pulled up. Seeing him coming back, Ayan and Xiaotan both bowed and left. Pei Xingjian reached out and picked up the comb. While combing Liuli's hair, he smiled and asked, "Why did you take a bath so early today? You didn't even wait for me."

 Waiting for him? Liuli glanced at him in the bronze mirror, "You are so busy now, how do I know when you will be back?"

Pei Xingjian paused his hand and said softly, "Liu Li..."

Liuli smiled and said, "I know! It's just that I'm a little bored in the car alone." Before arriving in Dunhuang, even when sitting in the car, Pei Xingjian would often talk to her through the car window, but these days, Bai Xingjian The two of them probably didn't say ten words in total during the day.

Pei Xingjian breathed out softly, his voice somewhat apologetic, "It will be better once you settle down in Xizhou."

Liuli smiled and said, "Okay. In fact, if you want to ask Mrs. Feng what happened on the way, it's normal. She knows more than you." Pei Xingjian's plan was certainly right. The situation in Xizhou is unclear now, and Qu Chongyu is extremely thoughtful. But he was picky, but he didn't know what his plans were. The more Pei Xingjian treated her like an ordinary official couple, the more stable she would naturally be. Just as the less sharp he behaved, the easier it would be for him to maneuver in the future.

Seeing that her hair had been combed, Liuli made a simple bun by herself, "Where will you have dinner today?"

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "Hurry up and change your clothes. Today, the long history of Guazhou hosted a banquet for Qu Yulang. I refused to go. Just before I entered the door, I saw a wine shop in the shop that seemed good. Why don't we go and try it together?" "

Liuli's eyes suddenly lit up, and then she said curiously, "You're not afraid..."

Pei Xingjian smiled and held her face, lowered his head and kissed her on the forehead, "Don't worry, I know what's going on."

Also, they were newly married for less than a year, and they were not grudges. It would be unjustifiable for Pei Xingjian to be too cold to him! Liuli happily put on the red big-haired Zhaojun suit, and the two of them walked out from the backyard. They didn't go too far outside the door. As expected, there was a huge wine shop facing the street. Except for the tables and benches, the interior decoration was higher than that in Chang'an. Not bad.

Pei Xingjian asked for a private room upstairs, but it also had a high desk and high stools. The waiter asked the two of them with a smile in half-authentic Heluo dialect what food and drinks they wanted. After asking a few questions, Pei Xingjian casually ordered a few of the signature dishes here. Regarding food and wine, the waiter smiled and asked, "Sir, would you like to try our Cynomorium porridge? It's quite delicious at this time of year."

Pei Xingjian raised his head and asked, "What kind of porridge?"

The waiter suddenly beamed, "Is this your first time back to Guazhou? You don't know anything. This Cynomorium ginseng is originally a sand sea ginseng, also known as elixir. Wherever there is Cynomorium, snow cannot accumulate. In winter, Eating some is the most nourishing and repelling the cold. Our city of Guazhou is famous for its Cynomorium cynomorium. There will never be such a good one anywhere else. If you don’t have a bowl of Cynomorium porridge, wouldn’t your visit be in vain? "

Nourishing and repelling cold? Pei Xingjian's heart was moved, and he glanced at Liuli. He saw Liuli looking at the clerk blankly, with an almost dazed expression. Pei Xingjian asked curiously, "What? Have you heard of this thing?" Liuli turned around and asked the clerk, "Except Where else in Guazhou is there such a place as Suoyang City?"

The waiter smiled proudly, "Of course there are other places, but there is no place like Guazhou where there are so many and good places!" After thinking for a while, he said, "I have never heard of Suoyang City, maybe there are people there. Are you joking about Guazhou? There is no place in the northwest that is famous for its Cynomorium. "Would you like to try it?"

Liuli nodded blankly, and the waiter smiled and left. Pei Xingjian put his hand on the back of her cold hand and called softly, "Liuli?"

Liuli looked up and smiled, "As promised, I want to go outside and have a look."

Pei Xingjian looked at her in confusion, but just nodded and said, "Okay."

Standing on the steps of the wine shop, I looked up and looked around. In the darkening sky, the outlines of the three city walls and two turrets in the distance became clearer. Most of the pedestrians on the street were in a hurry, but some were walking leisurely towards the wine shop. Restaurant. The wind had stopped at some point, and several households across the street had lit red lanterns at the door. Everywhere, dark green smoke could be seen floating straight into the sky in the dusk.

And after more than a thousand years, there will be only four tall mounds of earth left here that have been completely eroded by weathering, a corner tower with half of it collapsed, and countless high and low earth pits. Full of green camel thorns. The instructor said that this is a relic left after human civilization has been eroded by time, and it has the most simple and tragic incomplete beauty.

More than a thousand years later, she was walking around this land with a picture folder on her back, trying to find a perspective that best reflected this incomplete beauty. Perhaps she sat down where she was now, because this was the closest place to the only place. The remaining northwest corner tower. But at that time, these mounds of earth in her eyes were no different from the weathered sand and rock cliffs elsewhere. She looked at them for a long time, but she couldn't find the feeling of vicissitudes of time... Now, this feeling filled her chest, almost swollen. It's going to overflow!

An arm hugged her shoulders tightly. Liuli came back to her senses and turned around to see a pair of worried eyes. Liuli smiled at him and said, "I'm sure." But her eyes were unsatisfactory. , quickly lowered his head.

Without saying a word, Pei Xingjian hugged Liuli's shoulders tightly and walked up to the door. After closing the door of the private room, he turned her body and looked down at her. His voice was a little hoarse, "Liuli!" At that moment, he suddenly There was a feeling that she was still standing next to him, but she seemed to be far away from him, as if she would suddenly disappear into the night at any time. This feeling was really terrible!

Liuli took half a step forward, buried her head in Pei Xingjian's chest, and hugged him tightly.

Pei Xingjian took a long breath and reached out to stroke Liuli's long hair. The uneasiness in his chest dissipated a lot, "What did you remember?"

Liuli was silent for a while, then raised her head and looked at him with a smile, "Shou, I have dreamed about this place, but in the dream it was called Suoyang City, so I want to take another look to see if it is the same place."

Pei Xingjian raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Is this really this place?"

Liuli nodded affirmatively, "Yes, it's this city."

Pei Xingjian stared at her for a long time and nodded, but his expression was still a little confused, "When did you dream about it?"

Liuli sighed, "A long time ago, I dreamed of Dunhuang and the Mingsha Mountain there. I dreamed of this Gobi desert. Therefore, just now I was thinking that maybe I was destined to come here."

Pei Xingjian was startled for a moment, then suddenly smiled, his chest felt hot, and he lowered his head to touch Liuli's forehead, "Silly Liuli!" Her uncles had been coming here all year round, and she probably just came here because they had heard about it. He thinks about her every day and dreams at night, but he would rather believe her silly statement, that is, God sent her to him because he felt sorry for him being lonely for half his life.

There were two gentle knocks on the door, and the waiter's voice was a little hesitant, "Is the guest officer here named Pei? Someone is looking for him."

　　Today’s exam went surprisingly well, and my character is outstanding! Thank you everyone. There will be another update around 12 o'clock, so you can watch it tomorrow morning.

Well, I will update before 8 o'clock tomorrow night, and try to get more updates.

The ruins of Suoyang City are really beautiful...

That Cynomorium cynomorium, it looks really gangster...

 (End of this chapter)