When we arrived in Beidu, it was another snowy day.
The snow particles, which were drier and harder than those in Yongdu, were swept up by the strong wind and slapped painfully on the face. Through the last gap in the felt curtain, Jiang Wanyi saw a completely different city.
There are no exquisite cornices, no graceful bridges and flowing water. There are rough stone buildings everywhere, with hard lines and steeply sloping roofs covered with thick snow. The streets are wide but deserted, with pedestrians wrapped in thick furs passing by in a hurry. The air was filled with the strong smell of coal smoke, livestock and some kind of spice.
The Imperial City stands on the high ground in the north of the city, and its dark walls are like a lying giant beast. The carriage did not go through the main entrance, but went around to a remote corner gate on the west side and drove in quietly.
After driving for about a quarter of an hour, the carriage finally stopped.
The felt curtain was completely opened, and the cold and fresh air rushed in. Two women with stereotyped faces, dressed in the attire of court ladies of the Shuo Dynasty, stood outside the car and made a "please" gesture.
Jiang Wanyi dragged the shackles and slowly moved out of the carriage. The feet stepped on the hard frozen soil, making a slight "crunching" sound.
What comes into view is an exquisite Jiangnan garden.
The rockery is exquisite, the winding corridors are winding, and a pool of thinly-frozen water reflects the gray sky. The style of the pavilions and pavilions is clearly the style of the Yong Dynasty, but it is new and a bit deliberate, like the scenery on a stage. The garden is not big, surrounded by high, bare stone walls. The rough black eaves of Shuochao Palace in the distance can be seen on the top of the wall.
