Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

On the first day of September, Chang'an City entered autumn and the temperature turned cooler. In Guanyin Temple, in the second year of Zhenguan, the sycamore trees planted by Li Shimin himself were dazzling golden.

In the summer, the air in Chang'an is filled with the fragrance of locust trees, while in the autumn, the air is filled with the aroma of chrysanthemums.

Jiang Shangxian is very satisfied with his life recently. As the weather turns cooler, his cousin's ramen stall is doing better and better. He has already returned the capital to Jiang's mother. Who can refuse to eat a mouthful of chewy ramen and drink a sip of refreshing mutton soup on a chilly morning?

Jiang Wangri's braised mutton stall has recently been applying to Jiang's mother for a small clay stove and a small ceramic pot. The young man is very motivated and wants to provide heating services for customers when the weather gets cold.

Not every customer who buys braised mutton in Xishi takes it home to eat. Many people who do business there buy a Hu pancake, cut some braised mutton, and have a meal in their own shop. If there is a heating service, I think his mutton stall will do better business.

He also has a competitive mentality. He started making braised lamb first. How embarrassing would it be if he was surpassed by Xia Zhenying's ramen stall?

The reason why Jiang's mother hesitated was very simple: she was used to being frugal, so she had to think carefully before spending any money other than just filling her stomach, trying not to waste a single penny.

Jiang Shangxian did not participate in their mother-son battle. At most, she would pay for the purchase for her brother. Anyway, she only gave half of her monthly salary to Jiang's mother, and hid the rest secretly. Jiang's mother thought she had paid it all, so she gave her some money from time to time to buy some small items she liked.

The only thing that made Jiang Shangxian a little uncomfortable was that Cui Bianxu had left.

In mid-August, the guards sent by Cui Bianxu to look after Wu Sanniang returned and brought the news of Wu Sanniang's death.

When an exiled prisoner died, it should have been as insignificant as a small ant accidentally being stepped on to death. The yamen runners in charge of escorting him would only curse the bad luck a few times, then wrap the person in a straw mat and throw him into the nearest mass grave.

But Wu Sanniang died silently one night. When they were about to set off on the next day, the bailiffs called all the prisoners, but Wu Sanniang was the only one who remained motionless, her face pale, with only the scar on her face still showing the slightly raised pink flesh from the healed wound.

The yamen runners didn't know how to treat her, nor were they willing to spend money to hire someone to investigate the cause of death. After kicking her a few times, they roughly took away all the valuables from her body, wrapped her in a straw mat and threw her into the mass grave, then continued on their way.

But Wu Sanniang's death was too sudden. She was fine the day before, but died after a sleep. The two guards felt that it was necessary to let Cui Bianxu know about this. They waited until night and went to the mass grave to look for Wu Sanniang, but for some reason, they found nothing. The two guards realized that something was wrong and immediately rushed back to Chang'an to report the news.

Cui Bianxu also felt that the news was abnormal. After weighing the pros and cons, he took leave and rushed to check it out. Calculating the days, he should be back soon.

When Jiang Shangxian entered Lexian Tower on time, Cui Bianxu was riding a horse into Chang'an, exhausted.

At noon, Jiang Shangxian heard the waiter say that Cui Shaoqing wanted to see him. He was a little confused and stunned for a long time. Then Zhou Ying said happily, "You're finally here, Master. Come quickly, we're here!"

They didn't know that Cui Bianxu had left Chang'an, and they thought that he was too busy like before and that was why he hadn't come for so many days. Now that they heard that he had come, the three of them were very excited.

Jiang Shangxian's heart was filled with inexplicable joy. Without Cui Bianxu's food broadcast, her appetite had returned to normal these days, and her increasingly plump figure had slimmed down a bit. "No need, I'll do it. I'll go over after I'm done."

"Come in."

A familiar voice came through the door, and Jiang Shangxian's pounding heart suddenly calmed down. She calmly pushed the door open and walked in: "Shaoqing, how was your journey?"

"not good."

When Cui Bianxu saw her, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up, and his nerves, which had been tense all the way, relaxed. His voice was much gentler than before, with a hint of grievance and complaint: "I haven't had a single meal that suits my taste along the way."

Jiang Shangxian laughed along, tilting his head to look at him. Suddenly, a sense of shame welled up in his heart and then in his throat, making him feel sore and numb. "You look a little thinner and darker."

"What's wrong with men being darker?"

Cui Bianxu touched his chin and pointed nonchalantly at the bowl and chopsticks opposite him: "Sit down and eat with me."

"This..." Jiang Shangxian moved her index finger slightly, and a throbbing sensation passed through her chest. She had never eaten with this man before. She used to watch him eat. Looking at the set of bowls and chopsticks, it seemed that he had planned to invite her to eat together for a long time.

“When I’m on the road, eating alone, I always feel a little lonely after a while.”

The words sounded rather pathetic, and Jiang Shangxian suspected he was playing the victim, but he still sat down and picked up his chopsticks: "When did you come back?"

"An hour ago." Cui Bianxu picked up a piece of lamb chop, swallowed it, and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

Jiang Shangxian paused in picking up the food, and the feeling of heat and the blush that had just faded slowly crept up her cheeks. She couldn't help but feel her heart fluttering. Is it finally my turn to have a sweet love?

"For this bite, I didn't eat anything this morning." Cui Bian said with a hint of pride. Chang'an was the richest place in the world, and the road of exile was needless to say. The conditions became worse and worse along the way, and the food became less and less to his taste.

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Along the way, apart from thinking about Wu Sanniang, he was also thinking about how to persuade Jiang Shangxian to work in his house. Otherwise, if he went out again in the future, wouldn't he suffer again?

Jiang Shangxian rolled his eyes, but still asked the main question: "How is the matter with Wu Sanniang?"

Although they were acquaintances and enemies, the death of this person felt very subtle and unreal. Although Cui Bianxu had said before that Wu Sanniang would die in the place of exile, she always felt in her heart that with Wu Sanniang's temperament, even if she suffered hardships, she should be as tenacious as a wild grass and try her best to survive.

Cui Bianxu's smile instantly vanished, and he shook his head without a word. The originally harmonious atmosphere became solemn. Jiang Shangxian realized that things were not going well, so he stopped asking questions. The two of them sat opposite each other and finished their meal in silence. They asked the waiter to make tea, and after drinking it, Cui Bianxu said, "We haven't found Wu Sanniang's body."

He paused and said, "The journey from Chang'an to Liangzhou isn't far, but it's difficult and dangerous. The people in many places are fierce and unruly. Those yamen runners dumped her in a mass grave in Qinzhou. That place is close to a mountain with abundant wild animals. Locals say that if a body is left there, not only will wild animals in the mountains carry it off and eat it, but even birds of prey like the seagull will swoop down to grab it."