Once the carriage started moving again, two more people boarded. One was a young master dressed in brocade, holding a folding fan and looking most dashing. The other was a plump young man with tiny eyes that darted about restlessly. The two clearly did not know each other either, and each found a place to sit.
Perhaps birds of a feather flocked together. Not long after the carriage set off, the young scholar Li Jinfeng and the brocade-clad young master were chatting away as though they had met an old friend. The others soon learned that the young master's name was Shangguan Yun and that he came from Xu Town. Yet since they were not close, he did not say why he was going to Pingyang City. Shangguan Yun seemed quite haughty. He spoke only with Li Jinfeng and paid no attention to Zhang Xiaohua and the others. Sometimes, when he looked at Zhang Xiaohua, he even frowned. Zhang Xiaohu seemed to be deep in thought and did not notice, but Zhang Xiaohua saw it clearly. He found it strange himself. He even lowered his head to examine his own clothes, then looked over Zhang Xiaohu's. There was nothing wrong with them—they were all new clothes their mother had made for them before they left. It left Zhang Xiaohua utterly baffled.
In truth, Zhang Xiaohua did not understand. From the brothers' clothing and bearing, anyone with even a little worldly experience could tell at a glance that they had come from the countryside and were likely on their first long journey. The earlier passengers were merely from ordinary households themselves. Though they looked down on the brothers somewhat, they did not show it on their faces. Li Jinfeng, meanwhile, was a scholar; scholars prized cultivation and restraint, so naturally he