Zhengyi, a wine shop.
The more people there are, the more likely it is to confuse others. Therefore, this kind of place is the best place to harbor dirt and evil.
"Haha, it seems you miscalculated after all this time."
The warrior who held the sword on his chest with both hands before still looked like this, standing next to the vertical bull, with no trace of emotion on his face. There was a hint of teasing and ridicule in his tone, without any regard to the fact that the other party was the eldest son of the dignified Ji family.
"Ji Sun Yiru is right. This person is extremely cunning and can often find clues from clues. It is not unfair to lose to him this time."
Shu Niu stopped looking down on Li Ran, and now he frankly admitted that he had lost.
This was somewhat beyond the warrior's expectation. After hearing the sound, his cold face that had remained unchanged for thousands of years suddenly showed a hint of surprise.
"I didn't expect that Mencius, the dignified family sacrificer, would actually admit that he lost. It's strange, hehe, it's really strange..."
Apparently, he had known Shu Niu for many years. The previous impression Shu Niu had given him was that he was stubborn and ruthless. It is extremely rare to admit defeat so calmly and confidently like now.
"The facts are right in front of us. If we don't admit them, what can we do?"
"However, even if he loses this time, it doesn't mean that Li Ran can leave Zheng Yi alive!"
As soon as the conversation changed, Zhu Niu's face immediately returned to its former ruthless determination.
"Everything cleaned up?"
He picked up the cup and was about to put it into his mouth when he suddenly asked.
The warrior nodded to him and said:
"Don't worry, everything has been cleaned up and no one will be able to figure out the clues."
Of course, none of the laborers who went out of the city with him to contract Jishi's grain truck could be left alive.
The sacrifice family has been secretly investigating this matter, and has already targeted the group of Qi merchants.
And those merchants from Qi State were not vegetarians. After hearing the news, they left Zheng Yi early.
"As long as the old man doesn't see the clues, then Li Ran will never enter my family's house!"
"I heard that this matter was arranged by the old sect master. You are just a bastard, so what can you do to stop it?"
Wu Ren was obviously not very optimistic about Shu Niu. At least in terms of Li Ran and Ji Le's marriage, he felt that Shu Niu's role was minimal.
Although Ji Xian had handed over Ji's business affairs to the three brothers, Ji Xian was still his father at home and still the head of the clan. What he said could never be shaken.
Therefore, if you want to prevent Li Ran from marrying Ji Le, it is not as simple as just talking casually.
"The news from Weiguo should be coming soon. Let's wait and see."
"I want to see how capable this Li Ran is."
Zhu Niu drank all the wine in the cup with a sinister smile on his face.
Hearing this, the warrior nodded thoughtfully.
However, after a moment, the warrior warned again:
"Li Ran is a resourceful and eloquent person. This time he convinced Qi Wei of the Wei Kingdom with just one word. If you marry your family in the future, your position in the family may be at stake."
"Although I don't know what your specific arrangements are, I hope you won't let the small things make the big mistakes and remember your mission."
"Talk too much!"
Zhu Niu glanced back, his eyes filled with sternness.
"Haha, I kept talking too much because you miscalculated first."
"I don't want the fate talisman I receive to have your name written on it one day. It's fate for us to meet each other, isn't it?"
The warrior rarely smiled, but it was only a superficial smile, giving people a very false feeling.
As he finished speaking, his figure flashed on the spot and disappeared, leaving only the swaying curtain on the door frame.
Zhu Niu raised his head and looked at the crowd on the street below, and saw a fast horse galloping past.
…
Li Ran is preparing for his wedding to Ji Le.
In fact, he doesn't like to do these things, mainly because he feels that these etiquette are too cumbersome and too troublesome.
Furthermore, in this era when material life is not very rich, a wedding for a wealthy family like Jijia does not know how much money it will cost.
This also made Li Ran, who had always acted according to Zhou etiquette, very uncomfortable.
There is a saying in "Yi": A gentleman uses the system to measure and discuss virtue. (A gentleman should use etiquette to regulate his use and use it as a code of conduct.)
Therefore, in Li Ran's view, this extravagant behavior itself is not in line with the spirit of Zhou Rites.
Moreover, what if weddings in later generations were held by the man out of respect for the woman, using a very representative ceremony to replace the vow of "holding his son's hand and growing old together with him"? So the wedding at this time is probably just a matter of two families trying to save their own dignity.
What's more, in this era where women are inherently inferior to men, if you say this is out of respect for women, it is a bit misleading.
However, what Li Ran didn't know was that his ideas were actually only half right.
Because, although he is proficient in Zhou etiquette, he also understands some post-modern concepts of marriage between men and women. However, he still knows very little about some of the special situations in various vassal states today.
Take the country of Zheng, for example, although it is still in such an environment where men are superior to women. However, because the commercial elements of Zheng State are extremely developed, the "marriage concept" that was born with it also vaguely reflects the shadow of post-modern society.
Wherever there is a strong commercial element, there will always be a more tolerant mind. And this is the fundamental reason why Li Ran can still become a son-in-law in this era.
What Li Ran doesn't know is that if you want to put it in the state of Lu, a vassal state with strict hierarchies like the state of Jin, or any other vassal state in the Central Plains except Zheng state, something like "bringing into a wealthy family" can be done. , even going to a barbarian country, I am afraid it is impossible to achieve easily.
Only in Zheng State, this possibility still exists. As for Li Ran, he picked up a super wallet and didn't even know it.
Of course, hypocrisy is hypocrisy. Betrothal gifts are naturally indispensable. Even though it started from the sacrificial family and then returned to the sacrificial family, this form is naturally unavoidable.
Fortunately, Ji Xian had already thought carefully about it and gave him several properties in Zheng Yi a few days ago. So now, he can be regarded as a petty bourgeoisie.
But he, Li Ran, had no intention of taking care of it, so he just left it to Owl Wing to take care of it for him first. And now that he has finally begun to have some use in his hands, it will naturally become much more convenient for him to exchange gifts.
This scene is like when the monarch of a vassal state ascends the throne and goes to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices. Although he may not really get much blessing from his ancestors, the form must be indispensable, and it must be done solemnly. Otherwise, you will inevitably be asked to gossip behind your back.
So, after going through a series of tedious etiquette such as asking for names, asking for names, accepting gifts, and accepting taxes, the date for his wedding to Ji Le was finally decided. According to the date obtained by the official divination, the wedding date was decided. On the third day of the third grade of junior high school next month.
On this day, after Li Ran came back from offering sacrifices to his family, he sat in the yard and touched his forehead, feeling a headache.
He thought that getting married would be troublesome, but he didn't expect it to be so troublesome that he almost didn't have time to investigate the matter of raising a cow.
However, fortunately, Sun Wu was able to help him share his worries, so he didn't have to go in person.
"All the merchants from Qi have evacuated, and all the laborers who followed Shu Niu out of the city that night were also killed, and the scene was dressed up to look like they had walked out of the water."
"According to the news from within the Ji family, the old patriarch of the Ji family once tested Shu Niu, but Shu Niu denied it. He also said that those people committed suicide out of fear of crime. It seems that he should have made complete preparations. !”
Sun Wu had been busy investigating and visiting these days, but in the end he still failed to find the person hiding behind the vertical cow, and he couldn't help but feel a little discouraged for a while.
If Li Ran hadn't discovered the clues about the grain truck, Zheng Guo and Wei Guo would have been at odds with each other by now. Ji Xian did not delve into the matter in detail, and made it clear that he intended to protect Shu Niu.
To him, it was simply unbelievable that Ji Xian would protect such a rebellious person.
"Actually, it doesn't matter. After all, as far as the old patriarch is concerned, it doesn't matter whether Zheng and Wei are at odds with each other. In the end, even if Zheng's officials pursue the case, the most they can do is pay more food."
"But as long as the Sacrifice family can continue to control the world's trade routes, compared with this money, it is a small matter after all. On the contrary, it is a big tree with deep roots in the Sacrifice family. If he is touched, the Sacrifice family will definitely have great vitality. Injured? Therefore, it is reasonable to adopt a policy of appeasement in order to honor the old sect leader."
"Appeasement?"
Sun Wu didn't understand it for a while.
Li Ran smiled, waved his hand and said:
"It means temporary comfort."
"To say that the Sacrifice family is really in the same spirit as Zheng Guo. Even the policies adopted internally are so similar. In the final analysis, for them, internal stability is a top priority. As long as Shu Niu can retreat from the difficulties in the future and stop, then as for who is behind Shu Niu, in their eyes, I'm afraid it's not that important."
As soon as he finished speaking, Owl Wing hurried in from outside.
