Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 133 Luoyang Flowers

The moment Li Xian saw Taiping leading the horse, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

It's hard to describe.

It's as if these past few days in Chang'an and Luoyang have been in a kind of ethereal and empty world, where the people and things I see seem to pass by like fleeting glimpses of flowers.

Liu Jianjun crammed these people into his brain like a duck being forced to eat...

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but Li Xian suddenly realized that he had lost the desire to observe these people.

Liu Jianjun took me to see those people, and I went to see those people too.

That's it.

But I wasn't like this before.

Just like at this moment, Taiping put on a Hu (non-Han) riding and archery outfit, which reminded Li Xian of the things that the siblings liked to do most when their elder brother Li Hong was still alive. One of them was to pretend to be Hu people, ride horses, sing loudly, and drink mare's milk wine with a sour smell, and they talked about it with great relish.

The Emperor and Empress Dowager did not approve of this behavior.

But... so what?
Li Xian didn't know what he had figured out at this moment, but he looked at Liu Jianjun and asked, "Liu Jianjun, you said... we are safe for the time being, right?"

Liu Jianjun looked at Li Xian in surprise and nodded: "What's wrong?"

“Then… let me show you around Luoyang!” Li Xian said.

Then, as Taiping turned around, revealing a surprised expression, she squatted down, tightened her trouser legs, took off her long robe, and threw off her belt. Finally, she removed the jade crown that was pressing down on her head and casually tossed it aside, as if she had thrown away something unimportant.

Taiping's eyes showed obvious surprise.

Li Xian laughed, he just laughed.

He strode forward without any decorum or etiquette, took the reins from Taiping, and in one swift motion mounted the horse. He then bowed his head and asked Taiping, "Has the horse eaten its night grazing?"

"Yes!" Taiping nodded heavily, his eyes seeming to shine.

"That's good! Liu Jianjun, keep up!"

After saying this, Li Xian grabbed the reins and yanked them hard.

"drive!"

Who cares where we go, who cares how we get there!
The Ferghana horse beneath him and Li Xian were of one mind. Its hooves moved swiftly, as if galloping across a vast grassland. Li Xian could even feel the breeze emanating from the grassland.

From this day forward, your name is Jinghong!

This is the name of the horse that my father bestowed upon me, but today, it belongs to the horse I ride.

Jinghong flew past the eunuchs who were still pruning the flowerbeds, passed through the low moon gate, and rushed towards the outside of the State Guest House.

Liu Jianjun's exclamation came from behind: "Xianzi... has he gone mad?"

He heard Taiping chuckle, the neighing of another horse, and Liu Jianjun's cries of "Ouch, ouch!" as he climbed onto the horse.

Li Xian no longer paid attention to what was behind him.

Before them lay the main street of Shangshanfang. It was afternoon, and the well-dressed "high-ranking officials" were hiding in their courtyards, cooking and feasting. The streets of Shangshanfang were only occupied by patrolling Jinwuwei soldiers and ordinary people living in fear.

Some soldiers from the Imperial Guards attempted to rush forward to intercept Li Xian, but Taiping's rebuke rang out from behind: "You blind bastard! Get back!"

Li Xian smiled.

Taiping's face was indeed more effective than his own in Luoyang.

He stopped his horse and waited for Taiping to catch up. Taiping was also a very skilled horsewoman; when she came up to him, she even tugged on the reins, causing her horse to rear up and neigh loudly.

A little further behind her was Liu Jianjun, who was obediently using the "traveling" method of riding his horse, catching up with a bouncy gait.

Taiping, as expected, understood him well and exclaimed with delight, "Brother Wang!"

Li Xian laughed heartily: "Where did you come from, you barbarian girl! Come home with me and be my wife!"

Then, Liu Jianjun caught up, dumbfounded: "Xianzi...you've lost your mind?"

But Li Xian turned his head solemnly and said, "Liu Jianjun, didn't you want to experience the beauty of Chang'an, where hundreds of houses resemble a chessboard, twelve streets are like vegetable plots, and one can ride a horse with swift hooves in the spring breeze and see all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day?"

Liu Jianjun's eyes flickered, as if he understood something.

"Today, let us admire the flowers of Luoyang!"

Li Xian shouted boldly, and without needing a whip, he only needed to pull the reins and yell "Giddy up!" and Jinghong would be in perfect harmony, shooting out like a sharp arrow.

The evening breeze on both sides felt like it was blowing against my cheeks, carrying with it the aroma of taverns on both sides of the street, the smoke from firewood, and the sounds of men and women arguing. Luoyang and Chang'an were no different; they were just places where my mother and father had once rested.

Even more absurdly, the reason for the rest was that if the most elite power structure of the entire Tang Dynasty stayed in Chang'an for too long, they would eat up all the food there.

Luoyang, on the other hand, had well-developed waterways, enabling it to absorb grains transported from all over the Tang Dynasty.

Jinghong is an animal; it doesn't sniff out the human world, but simply runs on the road according to its nature. However, it can smell where the freshest wild grass is and where the cleanest water source is. It carries Li Xian and runs towards the Luo River.

Li Xian didn't care where Jinghong had taken him; the old horse knew the way back.

Jinghong finally stopped, slowing its horse's hooves. Occasionally, it exhaled a puff of white breath from its nostrils, then stuck out its long tongue, covered in white saliva, and twirled the withered grass by the roadside. Before it was the Luo River, but Li Xian did not recognize where he was.

Taiping quickly followed, riding her horse with a dashing and spirited air, like a young girl from the Central Plains. She laughed heartily, "King of the Han people! Is this your palace!"

Li Xian nodded, pointed to the Longmen Mountains in the distance that seemed to be piercing into the clouds, and said in a heroic tone, "This is my palace! It has the Luo River, towering mountains, high skies, and vast earth! How magnificent and beautiful!"

"And there's a servant who's almost worked to death..."

Liu Jianjun followed behind, his face pale.

It's clear he must have made his horse gallop past, otherwise it wouldn't have been possible for him to arrive so quickly.

"Yes, and there's also a dark-faced general! He'll conquer this land for me!" Li Xian laughed heartily.

There was a glint in Taiping's eyes, the reflection of the distant sunset. The sunset was beautiful, but it couldn't compare to even a fraction of what was in her eyes.

Taiping chuckled and nodded: "Then today, I will be the King's Queen!"

Then he dismounted, took the reins, waved his hand, and strode to the Luo River. He took off his leather boots, held them in his hands, rolled up his trousers to reveal his delicate toes, and stepped into the shallow water.

The evening breeze was as free as peace, gently brushing against Li Xian's cheek.

Liu Jianjun leaned closer to Li Xian and whispered, "Have you figured it out?"

Li Xian didn't know what Liu Jianjun meant by "figured it out," but he knew he must have figured something out.

So he nodded and said, "Yes."

Seeing Liu Jianjun suddenly smile with relief, Li Xian then resumed his carefree demeanor, looked at Taiping playing in the water in the distance, and said, "Your sister's feet are so white."

……

(End of this chapter)