Time goes by, things change and people change. Eight years have passed, and all kinds of people have come and gone, but Cangyang Mansion still looks like what Xu Huaigu saw many years ago, with a majestic vermillion-lacquered red door, two stone lions with teeth and claws, and a A large plaque reads
"Cangyang Mansion" was written in three words, and several guards with swords on their waists stood at the door, majestic. Xu Huaigu and Li Zi walked to the door of the mansion. They stopped for a while and then walked towards the door of the mansion. As expected, they were stopped by one of the guards.
Xu Huaigu was well prepared. He smiled and took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to the person who stopped him. He also put a small silver ingot in his hand and handed it over quietly.
He leaned close to the guard's ear and whispered: "Please, sir, please bring this letter to Princess Cangyang, and tell me that a person named Xu Huaigu is asking for an audience." The guard glanced at him meaningfully, took the envelope in his hand, and said, Xu Huaigu took advantage of the situation and put the silver into his hand.
The man immediately understood, took the envelope with a smile, and said: "It turns out to be Mr. Xu. You don't know, there have been a lot of people looking for the princess recently. The princess has given an order, and all the people are gone. You are like this It makes me a little embarrassed." Xu Huaigu smiled, took out a small gold lock from his sleeve, and handed it over secretly, saying: "How can I be considered a bastard? The princess and I are good friends, please come along. It's convenient. As long as the princess hears my name, she will naturally want to see me and will never make things difficult for you." The guard happily accepted Xu Huaigu's golden lock, nodded slowly, and said: "Let me know I will bring it to you, but whether the princess can see you or not is another matter."
"Okay, I'll bother you, sir." Xu Huaigu stepped back and took Li Zi to the shade of a tree by the door of the mansion. He found a clean place to sit down and waited for a reply.
Li Zi tilted his head and looked at him, and said with a half-smile: "You are quite familiar with doing these things. You do it often, right?" Xu Huaigu also smiled and said: "In today's world, this is how people are. In the world, it is inevitable that you will not encounter it. This kind of Houmen mansion is not like a wealthy merchant. The hierarchy inside is very strict. There are a hundred reasons to keep your letter. If the money is not enough, the guard will turn around and come back to say that the princess is missing. I just sent you away, and there is nothing you can do." Li Zi said: "I thought that with your temperament, you would not be willing to do these things."
"My temper is a bit stubborn, but there is no need to get into trouble in this weak place. Besides, I am here to see Lin Cangyang, so I have to do business." The two chatted for a while under the shade of the tree, and then the guard He hurriedly walked out of the corner door, and then a person who looked like a maid opened the red lacquer door of Cangyang Mansion. He looked around and found Xu Huaigu. He quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying: "It turns out it's Mr. Xu is here for a visit at some time. I haven't seen you for a long time. The princess misses her very much, so please come in." This maid also looks familiar. She was the one who helped Lin Cangyang deliver the letter to Xu Huaigu. Xu Huaigu remembered that her name seemed to be Ling'er.
Xu Huaigu returned the greeting politely and said with a smile: "Miss Ling'er, long time no see. How is the princess lately?" Ling'er smiled and said: "Thanks to Mr. Xu, everything is fine. When the princess heard that you were coming, she was afraid of those people. The rough guy guarding the door was not very polite, so he specially asked me to greet him. It's windy outside, please come in quickly." Xu Huaigu nodded and winked at Li Zi, who then stood up and followed Xu Huaigu's footsteps.
Ling'er curiously glanced at Li Zi a few more times and asked, "Who is this?" Xu Huaigu quickly explained: "This is my friend, whom the princess has met before." Ling'er nodded to indicate that he understood. Standing at the door and making a false invitation, Xu Huaigu and Li Zi stepped into the door first. She closed the door after them, and then walked in front of them to lead the way.
Li Zi whispered in Xu Huaigu's ear: "This Lin Cangyang seems to value you very much." Xu Huaigu smiled a little proudly and said: "I did her a big favor at the beginning, so she treated me like this." The two of them. Following Ling'er's footsteps, he soon entered the depths of the mansion.
There is a spacious main house located in the garden, and a stream flows from the running water of Changyang River into the garden around the main house.
Surrounded by mountains and rivers, with colorful grass, this is Lin Cangyang's usual residence. Ling'er walked to the door, knocked gently, and said to the door: "Princess, Mr. Xu is here."
"Invite him in quickly." Ling'er opened the door and stretched out his hand to ask Xu Huaigu and Li Zi to go in first. As soon as Xu Huaigu stepped into the threshold, he smelled a mild aroma, which was the spices smoked in the incense burner.
There are not many furnishings in this main room, but they are all high-quality products, such as the paintings hanging on the wall, the exquisite porcelain placed on the wall, and even the inkstone on the table are rare pieces used by the ancient poets. It is extremely luxurious, and it looks like the boudoir of Princess Dayu.
Logically speaking, the princess's mansion has its own reception room, and guests are not allowed to enter the princess's embroidered pavilion. However, Xu Huaigu is an exception. Anyway, he has already come here secretly the first time, so he is not restricted.
Besides, Lin Cangyang wanted this meeting to be low-key, so the fewer people saw it, the better. Xu Huaigu and Li Zi walked inside, opened the bead curtain, and saw Lin Cangyang sitting at a sandalwood table.
She said with a smile on her face: "Xu Huaigu, long time no see. I remember it has been many years since you left Xingqing City. Why did you suddenly think of coming to me? And, who is this?" Xu Huaigu said hurriedly: "This is Li Zi, princess, I'm afraid you don't remember. When you took Sun Xiang into the palace under the sycamore tree, the three of us played together on Xingqing Street!" Lin Cangyang seemed to suddenly remember and looked at the two Li Zi looked at her and said with a smile: "It turns out to be her! Her appearance has changed so much that I almost can't recognize her! In this way, this is also an old friend. It's rare to have two old friends come to see me today. I'm so happy. Now. Ling'er, make tea for the guests, brew the Red Square Sparrow, and use the jar on my bookcase to age the rainwater." Ling'er took the order to make tea. Li Zi and Xu Huaigu were invited to sit down next to Lin Cangyang, and the three of them sat down together. Sitting at a table, very close to each other, it looks very friendly.
Lin Cangyang looked at Li Zi with a smile for a long time, and exclaimed: "That little girl back then has become more and more mature now. Look at her appearance, how beautiful she is!" Xu Shi spent most of his time practicing in the mountains, and Li Zi didn't respond to these polite words. Tai Huai echoed, just smiled and said: "Princess is ridiculous." Xu Huaigu smiled and said: "How is the princess lately?" Lin Cangyang frowned slightly, and said in a bitter tone: "What's good? You want to hear from me? I said yes, but it's not very good. I can only laugh when my friends come to see me. You don't know how sad I usually am. If you don't believe me, ask Ling'er." Xu Huaigu asked: "Princess, because What are you worried about?" Lin Cangyang sighed and said, "What else could it be because of? Xu Huaigu, you are a practitioner, and so is Miss Li. You all know it in your hearts. Although the fireworks are gorgeous, they only last for a short time and are gone in the blink of an eye. Now this big The rest of the country is like a big firework. It's almost the last scene. How can I be happy?" Xu Huaigu advised: "Princess, don't think like this. The outcome is still uncertain and no one can predict the outcome. Your father The emperor has great talent and great strategy, so this battle may not be impossible." Lin Cangyang smiled and said: "Thank you for comforting me, I feel much better." Li Zi winked at him, Xu Huaigu paused, and was about to say He and Li Zi came to visit, so Ling'er came in with a teapot.
Lin Cangyang hurriedly asked Ling'er to make tea for them, and then said: "There are very few little birds in Hongfang nowadays. These are all from the imperial tribute. I don't have much, so I'll just drink some." Xu Huaigu was too embarrassed to refuse. , then picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and Li Zi followed suit and lightly touched her lips.
Lin Cangyang took a sip of tea and said with great interest: "By the way, where did you go after you left Xingqing? What fun things did you encounter? Tell me all about it. I am not lucky enough to go out for fun. Since you If you hear it from your mouth, you have seen it with your own eyes." Xu Huaigu looked a little embarrassed and said, "This is a long story. Why don't I tell it to the princess next time? I have more important things to do this time. Things." Lin Cangyang looked calm, as if he had guessed what he was going to say, and said, "You said, I will help you if I can." Xu Huaigu took a breath and said, "There is going to be a war in the south. This is something that everyone knows, and I came back to Xingqing after hearing about it. The last formation in Qingling was also broken a few days ago. I’m afraid the princess also heard about it, right? Li Zi and I came to visit, and only I hope that the princess can introduce the two of us to the battlefield and do our part to defend Dayu."
"You want to go to the battlefield?" Lin Cangyang looked surprised and hurriedly refused.
"No, going to the battlefield is not fun. You will bleed your head. I can't harm you." Xu Huaigu advised: "Li Zi and I have the ability to protect ourselves. When I left Xingqing, I was just an unknown person. Senior, now that I have returned from sword training, I am already a sword cultivator in the Eighth Realm. The same goes for Li Zi. Her talisman skills are also very powerful. She will never be inferior to the ordinary monks in the Eighth Realm. Princess, please feel free to let us go to the battlefield to kill monsters." Li Zi. Ziye nodded, expressing his desire to go to the battlefield.
Lin Cangyang was in trouble. She lowered her head and thought for a long time, then said: "Since you want to go to the battlefield and have certain abilities, if I still stop you, it will seem like I look down on you. You want me to introduce you to the battlefield, and I do have a way. . The gentleman who teaches me now is called Ling Li, who was the previous national counselor. He has good relations with Lu Zijin, the left general of the border army. I can introduce you to Lu Zijin through him. Moreover, Lu Zijin himself is a monk in the Nine Realms. He came from the land and has been guarding the border for many years. He will definitely be happy to see you." Xu Huaigu thanked you hurriedly: "In this way, I would like to thank Her Highness the Princess." Lin Cangyang said seriously: "Thank you for what I have done. I have to thank you all. Your willingness to go to the battlefield and contribute to the defense of Dayu is a blessing to Dayu. With you and the people with lofty ideals who stick to the border day and night, maybe Dayu should not be destroyed." Xu Huaigu He thanked him again, and Lin Cangyang returned the favor. Li Zi was dazzled by the complexity of the two people's etiquette and couldn't cope with it.
Lin Cangyang took the opportunity to say again: "Ling Li will come over to teach me my homework in the evening. Why don't you stay for dinner and meet him before leaving? You can also settle this matter by the way." Xu Huaigu agreed, and Li Zi also As a matter of course, the two of them stayed in Cangyang Mansion.
However, it was not yet past noon, and it was still early before dinner. Lin Cangyang suggested that they go to the garden of his mansion together and listen to Xu Huaigu talk about the interesting things he had experienced outside over the years. Xu Huaigu also agreed.
Lin Cangyang did a good job on the surface, but naturally neither of them saw her true intentions. In fact, she was still thinking carefully about whether to invite the two of them to the banquet where young monks from all sects would come in three days.
However, Xu Huaigu and Li Zi did not represent any sect. Lin Cangyang thought for a while and decided to make a decision after asking Ling Li.
