In the suburbs of Chang'an, the sun shines on the Bahe River, and the banks are lined with willow trees.

After walking along the river for a long time, Xue Bai was exhausted.

He stopped, propped up his knees and looked down. He saw that Qing Lan was still wearing the same pair of ill-fitting boots, and asked, "Are you tired?"

Qing Lan had something on her mind that she had been hiding all night, but when he showed her concern, her eyes turned red.

"What's so tiring for me as a slave? I just feel aggrieved. I said last night that we would keep our names anonymous, but it seemed that I was ruthless to the master's family because I wanted you to be handsome. But it's not easy for you to say 'go back to Chang'an to reverse the situation' What kind of people are we two? Those people carried us in a carriage for most of the day, and we couldn’t even get back to Chang’an, and we didn’t even know where we were..."

As she said this, she turned away and wiped away her tears.

Xue Bai pointed to the river and said: "Everything has to be done little by little. There must be a home along the river. Let's find that home first. Okay?"

"Um."

Xue Bai was very patient and asked again: "How about we find the family, find out the way back to Chang'an, go back and pawn this fox fur coat, settle down, collect ourselves, and then talk about the next step?"

"good."

Since the accident, Qing Lan had only complained a moment ago. After hearing this, he nodded, stepped forward to support Xue Bai, and whispered: "It's good to have you."

Xue Bai nodded.

The two of them walked upstream for a long time, supporting each other, and finally saw the bridge in front of them.

"Look!" Qinglan was overjoyed and pointed ahead: "There is a small market!"

"Do we have money?"

"Yes, I have twenty-six dollars left in my wallet."

Although she only had some change, Qinglan was still very happy thinking about having something to eat.

Xue Bai smiled and watched as he walked.

There was a small market next to the official road, and porters for hire were squatting with their arms folded next to a stall selling biscuits to keep warm. Next to them was a tea stall, and opposite was a carriage and horse stall, which smelled of horse manure.

An old man with a dark face had hitched up his donkey cart early and was trying hard to induce his stubborn donkey to turn around with straw.

Several children around were laughing and laughing, running around the donkey cart and shouting: "The stupid donkey of Lao Zhuangtou won't turn around!"

The coachman, Lao Zhuang, had a sharp eye. When he saw someone coming, he immediately shouted: "The handsome man and the pretty lady, you can tell at a glance that they are noble people going to Chang'an. Why don't you hire a carriage? A carriage is too expensive, but a donkey carriage is just right!"

Children around him shouted: "A donkey cart that doesn't turn around is not good!"

"Go, go, don't make trouble here, little old man."

The old village head dismissed the naughty boys and hurried to talk to Xue Bai, saying: "Master, are you going to Chang'an? It's a long way from here. If you walk thirty miles, it will take you a day. It's night." It's so cold...Hey, my girl's shoes don't fit her feet either."

“May I ask how much it costs to go to Chang’an East Market?”

"Mr. Lang is so polite." Old Zhuangtou stretched out his hand and said with a smile, "Three hundred dollars."

"So expensive?" Qing Lan took out her purse and quickly covered it again.

"How can I say it's expensive? It takes a whole day for me to go back and forth, and the price is the same even if I bring a cart full of luggage."

Xue Bai asked: "This is the cost of chartering a car. Are there any cheap vehicles?"

The old village head smiled and said: "Yes, sir, you can wait for other merchants to share the travel expenses. It costs sixty yuan per person to take the big carriage."

"Thank you, fellow man. Let's go on foot." Xue Bai said, "May I ask where I can find shoes?"

"Mr. Sir, you're too polite. Just call me Lao Zhuangtou." Lao Zhuangtou was still cheerful and pointed: "If you want to buy shoes, you have to go to the big market ahead, which is about three to five miles away..."

"Old Zhuangtou!"

An old woman came running from the south of the official road and shouted: "I have a big customer going from Lantian County to Chang'an. A car on the road has a broken wheel. I have to divide half of the books into another load. Can a stupid donkey pull it?!"

"How can I not pull it? I will be fed every day! Is the price determined?"

"Go quickly, there's a reward for you."

The old man was so happy that he didn't want the stubborn donkey to turn around again, so he hurried away.

Xue Bai and Qing Lan went to buy Hu cakes.

Hu cakes in Chang'an city cost two yuan each, but here they cost three yuan.

The two hoped to buy six of them with sixteen yuan, so that they could have some money left to buy shoes. The old woman selling Hu biscuits was kind-hearted and gave them one more.

From being buried alive to finally holding the warm biscuits, Xue Bai took a deep breath before taking a hard bite.

He walked on the snowy official road and looked back several times until he could no longer see the old woman...

~~

"Xiao Langjun, we meet again!"

When the old village leader saw Xue Bai and Qing Lan who were hiding by the official road, he quickly grabbed the donkey cart and said hello with a smile.

"Hello, fellow countryman."

"Young gentleman, wait a minute." The old man got off the carriage hurriedly, bowed his hands to a rider behind him, and said, "Young gentleman, can you give them a ride?"

It was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a beautiful beard, a slender face, an indifferent expression, and eyes as calm as ancient wells. He was wearing a plain robe and a scarf on his head. He held a rein in one hand and a hand in the other.

A string of Buddhist beads. Although the decoration is not luxurious, he is very elegant. He is obviously from a famous family.

Xue Bai looked at this person, but before he could say anything, a child came forward on horseback and said: "The donkey cart is filled with my master's rare books..."

"Wuchen." The middle-aged man stopped the boy, nodded to Xue Bai, and said, "If you don't mind, young man, how about we go together?"

"Thank you very much, sir." Xue Bai followed suit and made a cross-hand salute, and said, "Xue Bai, may I ask you your surname and honorable name, sir? So that I can repay you later."

He thought carefully that although Dong Gong wanted to bury him alive, he was not a fugitive and was not afraid of people knowing his name. He even planned to let more people know his name.

"There is no need to talk about repayment." The middle-aged man refused to give his name and said, "It is inconvenient to go out, so we should help each other."

"What the gentleman said is true."

Only today did Xue Bai feel the many inconveniences of living in this era, and he could more and more understand the meaning of the four words "mutual support", and also understood the reason why people at that time lived together with their families and neighbors.

The middle-aged man nodded with a smile and urged the horse away.

His eyes were still indifferent, and his smile did not show joy, but seemed a little compassionate.

Seeing that this big customer didn't like to talk, even the old boss didn't dare to talk too much on the way to Chang'an.

Fortunately, this section of the road was smooth and easy to walk, and we arrived in Chang'an after half a day.

~~

There are three gates in the east of Chang'an City: Tonghua Gate, Chunming Gate, and Yanxing Gate, collectively called "Qingmen".

The Qingmen area is densely populated with wine shops, making it a good place to have a drink. Therefore, there is a poem that says, "Before drinking Qingmen wine, I feel like I am drunk and dreaming."

The motorcade entered Chunming Gate.

Xue Bai looked around and saw numerous restaurants, with flagpoles waving, curtains hanging high, and red curtains fluttering. There were performances in each restaurant, including kaikos playing flutes, musicians playing pots, acrobatics sumo wrestling, and drinkers could be seen.

Tossing pots, performing drinking orders, and playing various games.

What is more eye-catching is the Hu Ji who is soliciting customers in front of the door. Most of them have blue eyes, slightly curly hair, rouged lips, thin clothes, exposing their white muscles, twisting their waists,

Frequently waving hands to invite people into the store.

Half the city's high-rollers were drunk and singing.

"Mojie!"

Suddenly a shout was heard, and several people from the Kang family wine shop ran out and rushed towards the middle-aged man in plain robes who had taken Xue Bai with him.

"Mojie! Hahaha, I said that Mojie has been transferred to the Treasury Department Yuanwailang. He should return to Chang'an to take up his post in the next two days."

"Brother Yuan?! I haven't seen you for many years."

"Have you sorted out your business in Wangchuan?"

"I started sorting it out a little at the beginning of the year, and even wrote a few poems about it."

"Mojie has a new poem?! Haha, read it quickly."

"It takes less than a year to go eastward to the mountains, and it's time to plant spring fields after returning. The grass is green and dyed in the rain, and the peach blossoms on the water are red."

"Okay! What a beautiful peach blossom on the water."

"..."

Xue Bai looked at the middle-aged man in plain robes. He was surprised for a moment, and then couldn't help but smile with some sudden realization.

This person was called Mojie, and he was probably the same person - Wang Wei and Wang Mojie.

Listening to their conversation, it turned out that Wang Wei had a Wangchuan villa in Lantian County, so he moved from Lantian County to Chang'an to serve as an official.

Xue Bai first thought it was a coincidence, but then he thought it might not be a coincidence. With the brilliance of the poetry world in the prosperous Tang Dynasty today, who knows how many great poets who have stayed in Qingmen Restaurant today?

He suddenly raised the corners of his mouth and smiled to himself.

The prince sent people to take him out of the city and bury him alive, but the poet Wang Wei sent him back to Chang'an City.

This journey allowed him to finally begin to understand this era.

It has the darkness of arrogance, luxury, and struggle for power, as well as the abundance of warehouses and the brilliance of articles. They are intertwined with each other to form the heyday of the Tang Dynasty before our eyes.
To be continued...