On the eastern foot of Douchen Ridge, several horse-drawn carriages were swaying forward on the muddy road.
A closer look at the carriage reveals that it is very simple and quaint. The carvings are not complicated but elegant. The old wood of the shaft has been painted countless times, and the beautiful wood grain has been stained with oil. The roof is specially covered with oilcloth. The solid bronze figures hanging from the four corners of the oilcloth gleam in the rain, and the eyeballs are carved to look lifelike.
The leading carriage was wider, with an oil lamp hanging from its front. Made of unknown material, it burned brightly despite the harsh wind and rain. The two old horses pulling the carriage had thinning manes, but their footing was remarkably steady, knowing to avoid deep ruts and muddy puddles.
In this simple and ancient painting of a hike in the mountains on a rainy night, only the coachman looks particularly awkward. He's dressed in white, his face powdered. His right hand, holding the reins, has two little fingers raised, while his other hand holds a fan, tightly closed, apparently to prevent it from getting wet.
The wheels creaked a few more times before finally turning out of the bumpy road.
Hao Bai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, turning the fan in his hand a few times, revealing a sense of leisure.
It rains a lot in the Yu'an area, but heavy rain like today is rare.
The damp weather was a common ailment for the elderly, and he'd been delayed for several days to recuperate his great-grandfather's back and legs, and it looked like he was going to miss the trip to the city today. With delay after delay, his fragile heart trembled with timidity whenever he thought of that man's half-smile.
After all, he is just the youngest in the family, but it is always him who has to bear such worries and fears.
After some thought, he decided to take a risk and take a shortcut.
In the early years of the Qu family, each head of the family would travel the world, practicing medicine. The flow of every mountain and river they passed by would be recorded and passed down from generation to generation. He was a bit lazy as a child, and only read one-tenth or twelve-tenths of the book, which was barely enough.
There are seven or eight official roads near Quecheng, but not many mountain roads. This is because they are worried that if the mountain roads are too numerous and wide, it would be difficult to detect if the enemy infiltrates through them. Therefore, this road in Douchenling is not maintained by the government year-round, and few people use it.
But fortunately, so far, apart from some bumpy rides, there have been no other problems.
If you calculate it, he would have just entered the city when the emperor's spring hunting team would be back. The timing was perfect.
He was thinking leisurely when suddenly a black shadow jumped out in front of him.
He was startled and quickly tightened the reins.
They say the road becomes smoother the longer you travel. Mountain roads rarely traveled are inevitably bumpy, and with them being bumpy, mountain animals tend to be more aggressive. It's said that Douchen Ridge was once a specialty of wild boars. Could this be such an unfortunate coincidence...
Hao Bai nervously pinched the fan in his hand, poking the oil lamp in front of the carriage with half of the fan tip, hoping to borrow some light. Before he could figure out how to use the lamp, the black shadow rushed towards him and bit his sleeve.
The poor doctor in white let out a scream and shook his arms desperately.
After shaking it twice, he realized something was wrong. He slowly stopped, opened his eyes and looked at the shadow that "attacked" him.
The shadow had a long face with his mane covering his eyes. Only a row of neat teeth and two nostrils were particularly eye-catching.
It turned out to be a horse.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little resentful.
These days, even animals can bully him.
He angrily pulled off his sleeves and snorted coldly.
"Whose mount is this? You are so ignorant of etiquette."
As if to prove his assertion, the next moment the mixed-haired beast snorted angrily through its nostrils and splashed mud and water all over his face.
A stream of mud flowed slowly down the center of his forehead. Hao Bai was furious, his nostrils flared with anger, and even the hand holding the fan began to tremble.
"You bold beast! How dare you, how dare you..."
He has never been good at swearing, and has never sworn off an argument with a beast, so he was at a loss for words for a moment.
At this moment, the door behind him was finally opened, and a man with a brown face and beautiful beard stuck his head out.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Hao Bai shook off the mud and water on his body in a panic and pretended to be calm.
"Nothing, nothing. Perhaps someone's horse got lost and ran into the road."
The man with beautiful beard looked at the horse beside him and looked around.
"Is there any mark on the saddle? Perhaps we can return it to its owner once we reach the city."
Hao Bai curled his lips.
"Look at how unruly it is, and how unchecked it is. I don't think it belongs to any wealthy family."
Having said that, he still grabbed the horse's bridle and looked around.
The horse's saddle was of the most primitive style, with the pommel polished to a shine. The left stirrup seemed to have been broken once and then randomly connected, making it look a little too short. There were some messy bags slung on both sides of the saddle, and there was not even a trace of embroidery on the saddle and saddle wing ornaments, let alone any family crest.
Hao Bai was about to withdraw his hand, but he felt the mud and water from the beast's body on his palm. He wiped it twice on the horse's butt with some disgust.
The horse suddenly neighed and raised its hind legs. The mud on its buttocks slid off, revealing an arrow wound deep enough to see the bone.
Hao Bai paused, his eyes falling on the familiar gray and white hair on the horse's butt. After a long time, he suddenly remembered something and his expression became a little incredible.
"I was wondering, how could an ordinary family's horse have such a bad temper?"
It was unclear whether the horse understood his muttering or not, as it still lay across the front of the cart in an angry manner, digging the puddles on the ground with its hooves, making the already muddy road even more of a mess.
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