Chapter 245 Peacock Terrace
The next morning, the wind and snow were still there.
Zhu Pingan got up early and practiced calligraphy on the table near the window with a black wooden board hanging from his wrist. After everyone else in the inn gradually got up, Zhu Pingan put away the black wooden board and put the brushes and other objects in order. He put it in his school bag, packed his bed and his things, and went downstairs with two pieces of fried cake made by Chen.
In the inn lobby, Zhu Pingan ordered a bowl of mutton soup like last night and finished it with fried pancakes.
“Thank you, shopkeeper, which direction is the official road to the north?”
Zhu Pingan had breakfast and asked the shopkeeper for directions when paying the bill.
“Don’t dare, don’t dare, there are two official roads to the north in this town, where are you going?” The shopkeeper said in a friendly tone.
"Go to the capital." Zhu Pingan replied.
"If you want to go to the capital, then go in this direction. After passing the Peacock Terrace, there is an official road leading directly to Luzhou Prefecture. There are more roads to the capital over there." The shopkeeper led Zhu Ping'an there. At the door, he pointed in a direction and gave Zhu Pingan the route.
Luzhou Prefecture, also known as modern Hefei, has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei and Soochow fought in Hefei for decades. In the Song Dynasty, this place was called Luzhou. In the Southern Song Dynasty, this place was the frontier of the anti-Jin Dynasty. It’s not a bad idea to pass through Hefei and then head to the capital, just in time to see what this battleground for military strategists was like in ancient times.
"Thank you so much, shopkeeper." Zhu Ping'an cupped his hands and thanked the shopkeeper.
After asking for directions, Zhu Pingan informed the store clerk to check out and packed his things. The store clerk helped him take the things to the backyard and put them on the back of the well-fed and drunk Shamat black horse. Before he got on the horse, Ping An took out a rabbit fur cloak with a long collar from his bag and put it on.
This cloak was specially made for me by my mother, Chen, to keep out the cold and wind on the road. The rabbit fur was made from rabbit skins that my eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan made on the mountain.
"It's snowing today. Guests may wish to stay a while and wait until the snow stops before leaving." At the door, a group of kind shopkeepers advised.
"Thank you, shopkeeper. It's snowing and it's not cold, so it's a good time to go on the road." Zhu Ping'an got on his horse and slightly cupped his hands to thank the shopkeeper. Then he drove his horse along the route pointed out by the shopkeeper just now.
The town is not big, and after riding on horseback for about ten minutes, we saw what the shopkeeper called the Peacock Terrace.
This town is so small. Zhu Pingan originally thought that the Peacock Terrace mentioned by the shopkeeper was just the name of a small hill. Unexpectedly, the Peacock Terrace in front of him was a group of antique buildings. The Peacock Terrace occupies a quite large area, with two floors, and there are corridors and several stone monuments around it. The architecture of Peacock Terrace is grand and exquisite. The upper floor is a platform and a palace-style roof, and the gorgeous corridor extends to the lower floor.
"The Peacock flies to the southeast, lingering for five miles"
On the stone wall window in the corridor in front of the Peacock Stage, there is such a piece of "Peacock Flying to the Southeast", the handwriting is good and full. A feeling of pathos.
Uh, I remembered.
In the small town of Huaining County, the peacock flies southeast, yes. This is the birthplace of "The Peacock Flying Southeast", which together with the Northern Dynasty's "Mulan Poems" is known as the "Twin Jewels of Yuefu", and it is also where Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi are buried together.
I have been in Huaining County for so long that I have forgotten such a place. Fortunately, I passed by here in time for the exam, otherwise I would have missed a sad historical site. It is really better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books.
The Peacock Flying Southeast is an article that modern school education attaches great importance to. It tells the touching love story of Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi during the Jian'an annual inspection in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Jiao Zhongqing is a grassroots civil servant who is quite capable. Liu Lanzhi is beautiful and talented. However, Jiao Zhongqing's mother was very dissatisfied with Liu Lanzhi. She used all kinds of unfounded reasons and excuses to make things difficult for Liu Lanzhi, and finally drove Liu Lanzhi back to her parents' home.
Liu Lanzhi was beautiful and talented. After returning to her natal family, many wealthy people and dignitaries came to propose marriage. One of the important proposers was the prefect. However, Liu Lanzhi loved Jiao Zhongqing deeply and rejected all these. Liu Lanzhi's brother often scolded her for being ignorant. Under the pressure of her brother, Liu Lanzhi had to accept the marriage from the prefect's family. Jiao Zhongqing also loved Liu Lanzhi deeply. When he found out, he came to look for Liu Lanzhi. Unable to resist the cruel reality, the two of them rushed to hell together.
The tragic love story of the two has also been passed down.
Regarding this, Zhu Pingan both regretted and sighed. If he were like himself, he would never let such a tragedy happen.
We paid our respects at the Peacock Terrace for a long time. Zhu Ping'an sighed with emotion, then drove his horse away from the Peacock Terrace and headed north along the official road.
The snowy official road is much easier to walk than the rainy official road. The dark horse seems to ignore the wind and cold, holding its head high in the wind and snow and moving forward happily. Maybe this guy feels Maybe it's because the official road is easier to walk than the mountain road.
Walking along the official road north, you can see the shadows of villages from time to time on both sides of the official road. It’s not like yesterday when you walked for a long time without seeing a single house.
It was almost noon when Zhu Pingan vaguely saw a small village. After walking for a while, Zhu Pingan got off the official road and went to this small village close to the official road.
Because the terrain of the small village is at the bell mouth of the valley, the originally tight wind became more intense due to the terrain. The strong north wind swept the snow from the ground, like a white tornado, covering the sky and the sun, and even the vision was blurred.
Zhu Ping'an led the black horse of Shama, and walked toward the village in the white snow. The snow at the entrance of the village had reached his ankles, and the snow under the walls was almost piled up. It's half a meter high.
Although the snow is heavy, the village is full of life. A group of chickens in the village, led by a few roosters, gathered under a firewood and straw pile, slowly looking for food. A few bored roosters flapped their wings and pecked each other for the right to own a certain little hen, causing the snow to fly around.
On a flat ground at the entrance of the village, there were a few urchins who set up a basket on the snow, scattered some grains under it, and lay on the side with their buttocks stuck out, waiting to catch the sparrows.
Seeing Zhu Pingan coming on horseback, the sparrows were frightened. Several urchins sniffed and looked at Zhu Pingan with unkind expressions.
"I built this mountain, I planted this tree; if you want to go this way, leave money to buy the road."
A little kid with a snot-filled nose stuck his waist in front of Zhu Ping'an's horse In front of him, he raised his head and made a fuss. Then several other brats stood behind the brat who stood out as backup, and they all looked at Zhu Ping'an with unkind expressions.
Looking at the naughty children with snot bubbles hanging from their noses, Zhu Pingan raised the corners of his lips slightly.
“I am a bird demon under the Snow Demon. I have great abilities. I heard that you were plotting to kill my men here, so I turned into a human and came here to find out. I didn’t expect that I would see you right in front of me. Tsk tsk, I heard that children’s meat is the best.”
Zhu Ping’an rode on the horse, took a deep breath in the direction of the children, and then licked his tongue as if he was intoxicated.
"Monster."
After hearing this, several naughty children looked at Zhu Ping'an who looked like he wanted to eat meat, screamed, and ran away.
"Uh, I'm kidding you."
Looking at the naughty children running around, Zhu Ping'an couldn't laugh or cry. These naughty children were too innocent.
“I won’t be fooled by you!”
"Don't come after me, we have child urine."
Hearing this, several naughty children made faces at Zhu Ping'an, ran more happily, and disappeared in the blink of an eye. (End of this chapter)