Chapter 9 Dayou Mingtang
The young man in front of him made no particularly loud noises whether he was talking or walking, and even his breathing when laughing was almost non-existent.
Shen Muqiu once suspected that his ears were frozen, or that the young man in red robe was not a human at all, but a ghost crawling out of the fog.
was thinking that the young man had already opened the door. He said to Mu Qiu, "Come with me!" Then he turned around and entered the courtyard first.
Shen Muqiu followed and walked in. It was such a big courtyard!
The floor is paved with bluestone tiles, which is surprisingly clean. Four or five servants were cleaning the yard. When they saw the young man in red robe coming in, they all bowed and saluted, but the young man ignored them and walked alone.
The young man pointed to the room to the north as he walked and said: "This is the main hall, where business is discussed. The proprietor and the bishop are talking in the main hall now. Behind is the proprietor's residence. Let's go there after the proprietor is free for a while. !"
looked in the direction the young man pointed. Shen Muqiu didn't see clearly what was going on inside. He only felt that there was a big space there, and a dry and cold air hit his face.
There is an alleyway against the wall on the right side of the main hall, with servants coming in and out.
looked up and looked behind. There was a tall mountain building against the mountain. A servant in purple was sticking his head out of an open window.
This is the true face of the "Mingtang Palace" that is vaguely visible when looking up from the bottom of the mountain! I didn't expect that when I looked up close, it looked like this. I didn't think it was magnificent at all, nor did I feel it was mysterious at all! It was far different from the tall buildings he had seen in his dreams, which made Shen Muqiu's heart sink.
The young man in red robe pointed to the courtyard on the left as he walked and said: "The courtyard over there is where the kitchen and servants stay. They come up from the Ming Palace before dawn and go back after lighting the lamp. One or two people will stay on duty at night."
As he spoke, he led Shen Muqiu towards the alleyway on the right.
At this time, several rows of green bamboos growing under the right wall caught Shen Muqiu's attention. Bamboo is a very common plant in Lu Chuan, but this is the first time I have seen it in Snow Mountain Ming Palace. It is a wonder that it can grow so luxuriantly in such a cold place.
Shen Muqiu's eyes reluctantly left the bamboo and followed the red-robed young man into the alley.
This is an alleyway only five feet wide, with a few gentle steps. After exiting the alleyway, there is another courtyard.
The same blue brick stone paving, and there is also an alleyway in the northeast corner. It's just that this courtyard is not as big as the front one, and the one hall and two rooms are far less spacious than the front hall.
"This is the residence of the proprietor." The young man in red robe said as he walked, "Don't feed the fish in the pond, otherwise the proprietor will be angry."
In the middle of the yard is the pond that the young man in red robe mentioned. There are a few lotus leaves floating on the surface of the square-foot-square pool, which are green and green, and a white lotus is in bud. The water in the pond is clear, and the stones in the water are clearly visible. Several small red fish are playing freely among the lotus leaves and water plants. A cloud of mist rises above the pond water, making the pond look like a fairy island. This is another wonderful sight!
"The small door on the east side leads to the mountain tower at the back, where the classic books and missionary relics of Dong Feng Religion are stored. No one except the proprietor is allowed to go up privately." The young man continued.
Shen Muqiu looked up and saw that the alleyway was a section of very steep stone steps. The mountain tower is built on the mountain, much higher than the north house. Standing below and looking up, it is depressing. It seems that the mountain tower will collapse at any time, which makes people feel worried.
The servant in purple upstairs held open the window and nodded to the young man in red robe. "That's Changsheng. He is responsible for cleaning the mountain building. Apart from the proprietor, he is the only one who goes up there regularly." The young man said as he entered the west courtyard, and Shen Muqiu also followed.
There are many rooms in this courtyard. In addition to the three rooms on the north side, there are also three rooms on the west and south sides, but they are much smaller. There is also a small door in the southwest corner of the yard, I don’t know where it leads.
There is a stone table in the middle of the yard with four stone piers on it.
The young man in red robe entered the yard and sat down on the stone pier, pouring a cup of tea by himself. While drinking tea, he pointed around the houses in the yard and said, "This is where you will live. Take your pick! You can live in whichever house you want to live in."
It was almost midnight, and the whole yard was soaked in sunshine. middle.
Shen Muqiu stood on the corridor in front of the north house. The warm sunshine shone on her body, and her whole body suddenly felt warm. Looking towards the direction of the sun in the sky, the autumn light was just right. His eyes were blurred for a moment, and Shen Muqiu felt like he was still in Lu Chuan.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and Shen Muqiu shuddered and came to his senses. She asked the young man in red robe: "Where do you live?"
The young man in red robe drank tea and said unhurriedly, "Live here!" After saying that, he smiled evilly at Shen Muqiu.
Shen Muqiu ignored him and walked down the steps.
"If you like this room, I will move out and live with you." The young man followed Shen Muqiu with his eyes and smiled maliciously, "It's the same wherever I live!"
Shen Muqiu still ignored him. , walked directly to the west wing, opened the door and went in.
"Really, I moved very quickly!" Seeing Shen Muqiu enter the west wing, the young man in red robe put down the tea cup , got up and followed.
Seeing Shen Muqiu enter the room and keep looking around, the young man introduced quickly: "It's all very clean. Although it has been empty for a while, it is cleaned every day. Don't worry, there are no mice or insects."
The house is indeed very clean. The room at the entrance is only one foot square, with "Three Friends of Suihan" hanging in the middle. Below is a square table with fruits and snacks on it, and a wooden chair on each side. It looks like it is old.
There is only one desk in the north room, with pens, inks, paper and inkstones all available. The table was spotless, and the pen and were filled with clean water.
Shen Muqiu came to the south room again. This room was quite spacious, more than two feet square. The room was warm, and there was a heated kang against the west wall. It was fully equipped with bedding and bedding. There was a tea set on the kang table. Mu Qiu stretched out her hand and touched it. It was very hot.
Shen Muqiu didn't see a single servant when she first entered the courtyard, but it could be seen from these furnishings that it was by no means a temporary arrangement, but the result of daily cleaning. This can be seen from this the serious and cautious style of Mingtang.
Shen Muqiu continued to look at the room carefully, and the western wall above the fire pit attracted her attention. A square piece of animal skin hung in the middle, which looked particularly awkward. This animal skin seems to belong to a fox or a bear. It is incompatible with the furnishings in the house, and it is obviously trying to cover up the appearance.
Shen Muqiu jumped on the fire bed and reached out to open it.
"Oh, don't!"
The young man in red robe at the door yelled and rushed in to stop him.
How could Shen Muqiu pay attention to him? He gently opened the animal skin and wanted to find out! It turns out that there is a window at the back. Shen Muqiu reached out to pull the window latch.
"Don't open it!" The young man in red robe shouted from behind.
Shen Muqiu ignored him and pushed open the window. Immediately afterwards, a cold wind rushed towards me, filling the room instantly.
The square of animal skin was blown up by the wind. The two windows made a loud bang, and the cold wind mixed with fine gravel and broken ice hit his face.
Shen Muqiu was frightened by the sudden cold and pain, and quickly dodged aside.
"I told you not to drive, but you didn't listen." The young man in red robe hid behind the wall, gloating and teasing.
Shen Muqiu just glanced at him and said nothing.
The wind blew for a while and finally died down. Only then did Shen Muqiu have the opportunity to reach out and close the window. I thought that sooner or later I would have to find someone to seal the window. But when she leaned out of the window, she changed her mind.
It turns out that there is a hidden world outside this window!
There is a wall nearby, and a few wisps of smoke are floating on the roof inside the wall. That must be where the kitchen is.
A small road winds northwest along the mountain gap. The pavilion on the cliff in the distance seems to be at the end of the small road. Most of the rocks in the high places are covered with ice and snow. Some are shaped like giant beasts, opening their mouths to pounce on food, and some are shaped like lotus flowers, waiting for a beautiful woman.
The white snow, the pine trees, the cold wind, and the smoke from the cooking pots are all a beautiful scenery of snow-capped mountains, which makes people feel refreshed and fascinated!
"Where does this road lead?" Shen Muqiu asked.
"You don't want to know!" The young man in red robe hiding outside the house said angrily, "Hurry up and close it!"
"That's the kitchen over there?" Shen Muqiu asked again with interest.
"Yes!" the young man urged, "Close the window first, and I will take you to the kitchen later." After that, he walked out of the house.
Shen Muqiu reluctantly closed the window, jumped off the fire kang, unpacked his bags and put them on the kang table, and said, "This is the room."
The young man stood at the door, poked his head into the room, showed a sly smile, and asked, " No more picking? Is there anything else over there?"
Shen Muqiu shook his head.
