When we arrived at the Lin Mansion, our little cousin Lin Daiyu was wearing an emerald green gown and was boxing in the yard.
That's right, the little cousin who once looked sickly has become able to box vigorously after practicing martial arts for many days.
Seeing Song Xuan's arrival, the little cousin's face turned red, she put away her fists in embarrassment, put her hands on her waist and called out to her cousin.
Song Xuan smiled and nodded, "Martial arts training is a constant thing. It's gratifying that you can persevere."
"Then cousin, how far should I practice before I can be considered a master?"
"Master?"
Song Xuan didn't know what he thought of. He looked around the yard and finally pointed at a weeping willow in the corner.
The willow tree is at least several decades old. The trunk is as thick as a person. The emerald green willow leaves sway in the wind and look full of life.
"See that willow tree?"
"Well, I saw it. Is there anything special about this willow tree?" Lin Daiyu asked curiously.
"Go, pull it out!"
"Ah?" Lin Daiyu exclaimed, looking at the willow tree in disbelief and then at her cousin. She always felt that her cousin's gentle smile was a bit narrow.
"When you can uproot that weeping willow tree with just two hands, you will be considered a little master!"
"Hardly, little master?"
Lin Daiyu muttered twice in confusion, and then sighed dejectedly, "Then I'm still far from this goal."
"Don't be in a hurry, there's still time! By the way, did my cousin go to the Yamen or is he at home?"
"Cousin has something to do with my father?"
Song Xuan nodded.
"My father is in the study. My cousin can just go over there. By the way, you haven't eaten yet since you came here so early. I'll go to the kitchen and ask someone to prepare more breakfast."
"good!"
Song Xuan was not polite, nodded and walked towards Lin Ruhai's study.
He had been to this place several times and was very familiar with it. After passing through the corridor with the characteristics of a Jiangnan water town, Song Xuan knocked lightly on the door outside the study.
"Is it Song Xuan who's here?"
"Cousin"
Song Xuan pushed the door open and walked in. Looking at the handsome middle-aged man in front of him who was in a much better state of mind, he asked in surprise: "Cousin, does he know that I'm coming?"
Lin Ruhai put down the book in his hand and said with a smile: "When I heard that you raided the Jiang family last night, I guessed that you would come today. I didn't expect you to come so early. You didn't get much rest last night, right?"
Song Xuan waved his hand, "At my level of cultivation, it won't be a big deal if I don't rest for several nights."
As he said that, he took out the letter from the Hu family seeking refuge in him from his sleeves and said, "Cousin, you know a lot of people. Please help me find out. Is this Hu Hai sincerely seeking refuge or is he deliberately misleading me?"
Lin Ruhai read the letter from beginning to end and said, "The content of his letter is very detailed. If it is true, it means he has completely stated his position and does not look like a lie.
When you can't see the truth of something and don't know how to tell whether others are sincere, don't look at his character and analyze it directly from the perspective of interests.
Among these big families, the Hu family is considered the weakest. The Hu family cannot get involved in most businesses in the Jiangzhe Prefecture.
The Hu family would not get any benefits from siding with the other families, but would instead run the risk of rebellion.
But it's different on your side. If the other families fall, the Hu family will become the leading wealthy family in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The risks are small and the benefits are great. If you were the head of the Hu family, how would you choose? "
Song Xuan thought for a while, and a smile appeared on his face, "When my cousin said this, I felt confident."
Lin Ruhai pointed at the letter and said: "If what Hu Hai said is true, then the first thing you have to face next is the innate-level killer from Qingyi Tower. Can you handle it?
If it doesn’t work, I still have someone available here, and then..."
Before he could finish speaking, Song Xuan shook his head and said, "My cousin, there is no need to worry about this. Unless the Xiao family and others can invite a martial arts master, other killers will be just rubbish in my eyes.
If they really have the ability to hire a martial arts master, then even if they fail this time, I will admit it. "
Lin Ruhai laughed when he heard this, "It's not that exaggerated. What kind of existence is a martial arts master? Even if I don't know much about Jianghu, I also know that it is an existence that even the court needs to be afraid of or even win over.
In the entire Mingzhou, the only known martial arts master is the old god Sanfeng Zhenren. If the eight major families in Yangzhou really had the ability to recruit this master, their sphere of influence would have extended beyond Jiangsu and Zhejiang! "
Song Xuan also laughed, "To be honest, these big families are really decisive in their actions. As soon as I made some moves, they started hiring assassins and even started planning mob riots.
Being able to occupy the boundary between Jiangsu and Zhejiang for so many years is indeed something.
Speaking of which, I really didn't expect that they would really dare to be so unscrupulous! "
Lin Ruhai nodded, "The Great Zhou Dynasty has been established for three hundred years and has not fallen. It was only possible to maintain it for so many years by relying on Taizu's near-invincible martial arts strength to suppress it.
But there are pros and cons to this approach.
When Taizu was around, all conspiracies and conspiracies were a joke, but when Taizu was away, all the conflicts that had been suppressed before would burst out.
Conflicts between scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, conflicts between local governments and the imperial court, conflicts between various ethnic groups, conflicts between the imperial court and the martial arts...
In fact, over the past three hundred years, these conflicts have reached an extremely serious level and have never been resolved. They are suppressed by the Xuanyi Guards and military force established by Taizu. "
As he spoke, Lin Ruhai's expression became serious, "Taizu has not appeared in public for twenty years. For such a long time, various places in Kyushu have actually been ready to move.
On the Mingzhou side, it was actually better. Although it was difficult to collect taxes, at least no one dared to openly rebel. The power was still in the hands of the imperial court.
As for other states, such as Yuanzhou and Tangzhou, the situation is very complicated, and the imperial court has almost lost control there! "
"Is the situation already so serious?" Song Xuan's face became serious.
Although he stayed in the imperial capital all year round, his previous position in Xuanyi Guard was not high, and he really didn't know much about local information.
Lin Ruhai sighed, "The current situation is difficult. Nowadays, the Great Zhou Dynasty still maintains unity on the surface, but basically relies on Taizu's remaining power to scare the entire world.
If Taizu still fails to show up, the situation will only become more serious.
If news of Taizu's death comes one day, it will probably be the day when the Great Zhou Dynasty falls apart. "
Song Xuan frowned, "Isn't my cousin too pessimistic? Although the imperial court is very weak, it is still orthodox after all. Not everyone can compete with the army composed of warriors and the masters in the Xuanyi Guards!"
Lin Ruhai smiled meaningfully, "The rebellion outside is not to be feared, but what you are afraid of is the army of warriors and the masters within the Xuanyi Guard.
Without Taizu's suppression, human nature has never been able to withstand the test! "
