Nanhuai, Sioux City.
"Yi Xiaodao, it's time to eat~~~!" Xiang Lian'er took off her apron, walked out of the kitchen, and shouted at the top of her lungs.
There was no movement in Yi Xiaodao's room, but Li Dingxing walked out of the room holding a book: "It's not like there are no servants in the house, why do you always cook by yourself?"
Xiang Lian'er handed the apron to the maid on the side and said, "Of course I know. Aren't you afraid that Yi Xiaodao won't be used to it? Besides, I also want to learn Nanhuai cuisine!" After saying that, she said with a smile. Nodding at the dining table, the delicious dishes on the table are all Nanhuai delicacies.
"Of course, I made a slight improvement. Nanhuai's dishes are too sweet and I can't get used to it, so I didn't put any sugar in it this time. Can you try it first?" Xiang Lian'er handed over the chopsticks with an expectant look on her face. Looking at Li Dingxing.
Li Dingxing just took the chopsticks, and when he heard that there was no sugar, his face immediately fell: "I finally came back and want to try Nanhuai cuisine, why don't you put sugar in it?"
"Just tell me whether you want to eat it or not!" Xiang Lian'er's almond-shaped eyes widened and she stepped on the bench. She was so full of aura that Li Dingxing was so frightened that he quickly picked up the vegetables and stuffed them into his mouth, praising how delicious they were.
Xiang Lian'er was too lazy to look at Li Dingxing's cowardly look and looked at Yi Xiaodao's room: "Oh, Sister Yue'er actually got married again..."
"People change, and she is not as proficient in martial arts as you. She can always be by my side no matter where I go. Every time Yi Xiaodao leaves, she will inevitably be frightened at home. Maybe marrying an ordinary family to provide husband and raise children, even more Is it suitable for her? Don't think too much." Li Dingxing advised while eating.
Xiang Lian'er recalled the days when the three of them escaped together. At that time, the three of them depended on each other for life. Now, less than a year later, they have gone their separate ways...
Yi Xiaodao's door slowly opened, and the man slowly walked out of the room. Unlike in the past, when Yi Xiaodao smiled before anyone was seen, Yi Xiaodao now walked slowly and nodded lightly to greet his servants. However, at the age of twenty-something, he actually had the calmness of a middle-aged man.
"Yi Xiaodao, hurry up, I've called you eight hundred times!" Xiang Lian'er shouted with her hands on her hips.
When Yi Xiaodao saw Li Dingxing and Xiang Lian'er, the smile on his face deepened and he walked over quickly: "Hey, after leaving Donglu, I suddenly relaxed and I always want to sleep. It's really I didn’t hear it, sorry.”
Xiang Lian'er tilted her head and pretended to listen: "Sorry? Did I hear you correctly? Can you Yi Xiaodao also say 'sorry'?"
Yi Xiaodao gave her a pale look, picked up his chopsticks and was about to eat when suddenly the concierge outside the door came to report: "My lord, there is someone outside the door to report, claiming to be an envoy from the imperial court and asking to see my lord."
Li Dingxing had just stuffed a lion's head into his mouth, and when he heard the announcement, he was so frightened that he almost swallowed the whole lion's head. Xianglianer slapped him repeatedly before spitting it out.
"Envoy from the imperial court? Are you outside the door? Why didn't anyone come to report this early?" Li Dingxing asked as he went out. Although the Li family is no longer the king of Nanhuai, it is only the taxation of various cities in Nanhuai. Household administration and other matters are directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. In Su City, the Li family is still the most powerful.
"There are not many envoys, only three of them. They are dressed in ordinary clothes and have not notified the city gate first, so they don't know when they enter the city." The concierge replied.
Xiang Lian'er looked at Yi Xiaodao, and Yi Xiaodao shook his head, indicating that he didn't know about this. Li Dingxing said: "It's okay, I'll go take a look."
"I'll go with you!" Xiang Lian'er said quickly, grabbing Yi Xiaodao who was about to pick up vegetables, and ran out of the door.
After the three of them went out, people came and went outside. Li Dingxing and the other three looked around for someone. A person turned around at the bottom of the steps and trotted up the steps. He was not very young. He knelt down on one knee in front of Li Dingxing and said, "Sitian Supervisor and Secretary Rong Lan is here to see Duke Zhongyi!"
Li Dingxing was startled and helped him up: "Si Tianjian? Isn't that the yamen that controls astrology and destiny? Why do you come to me?"
After Rong Lan stood up, without answering, he took out a piece of yellow silk from his arms and shook it out. There was a big seal on it. Li Dingxing stared at it and saw that it was indeed the imperial seal.
"Weak minister Li Dingxing..." Li Dingxing was about to kneel down as he sang the lyrics, but Rong Lan grabbed him and said, "Please wait for your loyalty. Your Majesty's intention is not to make any noise during this trip. Please take the opportunity to speak." Ordinary envoys must maintain their loyalty. Seal the letter, lead the troops, parade through the city, and be worshiped by all who see it. This time Zhao Yizhi didn't want to make any noise, so he gave him a piece of yellow silk as a seal. There is no need to worry about envoys falsely conveying the decree. The local government has to send people to report back to the court to confirm the decree.
"Okay, please." Li Dingxing extended his hand to the house and said, "The concierge just announced that there were three people, why did he only see..."
Before Li Dingxing finished speaking, two figures descended from the sky and headed straight for the door of the mansion. Xiang Lian'er grabbed Li Dingxing and pulled him behind her, becoming alert.
Two people landed on the ground, one was majestic and well-dressed; the other was handsome, delicate and elegant. Both of them were wearing Taoist robes and carrying Taoist swords. They were Guan Chenzi and Tongweizi. The two of them had nothing to do in Beijing. They heard that an envoy was coming to Nanhuai. Guan Chenzi did not find Yi Xiaodao in Yi Mansion in the capital, so he guessed that it was here and found Zhao Yizhi to ask for an order to follow him. Zhao Yizhi considered Rong Lan alone and was afraid that he would be in danger, so he risked his life to escort him.
"Yi Xiaodao, Xiang Lian'er, we meet again." Guan Chenzi took the initiative to say hello when he saw an old acquaintance.
Xiang Lian'er saw the person coming clearly, and then she put down her guard and asked happily: "Sister Fairy, why are you here!?"
"Why can't I come? I'm here to see you. Hey, what's wrong with Yi Xiaodao?" Guan Chenzi noticed something strange about Yi Xiaodao and asked.
Xiang Lian'er glanced sideways, wrinkled her nose and said, "He, my wife ran away with someone."
"Hey, hey, hey, you can't hit someone in the face, I tell you!" Yi Xiaodao shouted.
Li Dingxing wouldn't have dared to expose Yi Xiaodao's shortcomings so bluntly, but Xiang Lian'er was someone else, and Yi Xiaodao wouldn't really blame her for being so blunt.
"Oh? How could that happen to Yi Xiaodao, the hero who conquered Donglu? Then I would like to hear about it. Come on, sister Lian'er, tell me in detail." Guan Chenzi smiled brightly, but He didn't really get close to Karen, he was just joking.
Yi Xiaodao sighed lightly, looked at Guan Chenzi and said, "It's great to see old friends again."
Guan Chenzi smiled softly and nodded. The two of them also had a life-and-death relationship when they were in Donglu. They knew it was a joke, so neither party cared.
Everyone entered the house and sat down separately. After knowing each other's names, Li Dingxing asked: "I wonder why your Majesty ordered Mr. Rong to come here?"
Rong Lan stood up and replied: "Back to Duke Zhongyi, the imperial court and Chu Xiang are currently at a stalemate in Wancheng, and there is a shortage of money and food. I have specially ordered my officials to come here to collect food."
"The tax and household administration in various cities and towns in Nanhuai have been handed over to the imperial court. The Li Mansion has no favors from the country, and His Majesty just showed mercy by exempting Nanhuai from taxes for a year. Now he still wants to levy grain? Li Mansion's grain is being levied. ?" Xiang Lian'er couldn't help asking from the side.
"It is true that Nanhuai has returned to the imperial court, and it is true that Nanhuai will be exempted from taxes for one year. But now that the two armies are at a stalemate and the soldiers are short of food, it is really a last resort." Rong Lan replied.
"I know it's difficult for the court and it's difficult for us too. May I ask, Mr. Rong, where do we collect this food from? From the common people or from our Li Mansion?" Xiang Lian'er and Li Dingxing already had an understanding. When Xiang Lian'er saw Li Dingxing, she smiled slightly. If you frown, you will know that he is unhappy, and the evil person will do it himself.
"Your Majesty has not said it clearly, as long as you have food." Rong Lan said lightly.
Yi Xiaodao, who was sitting quietly at the side, couldn't help but said: "Sui Gong was just handed over to the court during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year. I wonder where Sui Gong is?"
"Master Yi, that is not the matter of the lower official, and the lower official does not know about it." Rong Lan also recognized Yi Xiaodao. It was this man who had brought back two vassals with one person, and he was also more polite to Yi Xiaodao. .
Xiang Lian'er sneered and said, "Oh, the imperial court is really polite. It's obvious that it can be robbed, but it still sends you to be a lobbyist."
Rong Lan couldn't help but said: "The whole world knows about Chu Xiang's rebellion. Now the imperial court uses heavenly soldiers to attack Xiaoxiao and uses orthodoxy to control the barbarians. This is not for the private interests of the imperial court, but for the concerns of cities everywhere. It is okay for the capital to defend itself. Why are you blocking Chu Xiang from outside the country? To protect the ears of the people! I also ask Lord Zhongyi to put the overall situation first. Furthermore, Chu Xiang and Nanhuai also have some feuds, right?"
Rong Lan didn't want to mention this matter at first, but when he came, he realized that he couldn't bring it up. These people didn't care about justice and only cared about the present.
"It is true that Nanhuai has a grudge against Chu Xiang, but Nanhuai has returned to the imperial court. Is this grudge against Nanhuai or against the imperial court? Taxes belong to the court, but feuds belong to Nanhuai? Does Mr. Rong specialize in celestial phenomena in the capital? Yes. Why don't you just do abacus calculations when you're bored?" Xiang Lian'er spoke sharply, without even thinking about what she said, and spoke it out bluntly.
Rong Lan glared at Xiang Lian'er, and it took him a while to calm down his anger. He raised his hands to Li Dingxing and said, "My lord, Your Majesty has sent me here this time for this matter. Whether it succeeds or not, it is up to my lord to decide." If you are too talkative, please remind me to take my concubine as soon as possible. My wife is not likely to have an heir, so if I don’t accept her at this time, I’m afraid the Li family will not have any heirs!”
As soon as Rong Lan finished speaking, someone grabbed his throat and pushed him from the hall to the door. He pressed against the door with his feet off the ground.
Yi Xiaodao looked at Rong Lan with no expression on his face, but what he said was so frightening that Rong Lan almost forgot to breathe: "If you can't see people right, I'll dig out your eyes. If you can't speak, I'll kill you." If your tongue is pulled out and you don't know how to behave, it will be a waste of food to be an envoy. If you kill a few more bastards like you, the court will have enough food and grass. Now get out of here, say one more word, and I will take you back to the capital. , I will kill you with my own hands in front of His Majesty."
The incident happened suddenly and everyone was shocked. Guan Chenzi frowned and was unhappy, whether it was because of Yi Xiaodao or Rong Lan, he sat still and didn't move. Tong Weizi was shocked by the speed of Yi Xiaodao's movements. Although he took advantage of others' unpreparedness, it was too fast. He had just turned around and was already at the door.
Rong Lan nodded with difficulty. Yi Xiaodao let go and let him fall: "Now get out of the Li Mansion and reply to Your Majesty. The Li Mansion will do its best with regard to food and grass. Also, I advise you to die in Si Tianjian and never come out again." ”
Rong Lan didn't dare to say another word and left Li's Mansion on his knees and crawling without even saying hello to Guan Chenzi and Tong Weizi.
Seeing him leaving, Yi Xiaodao walked up to Tong Weizi and said with a smile, "This young man has a very bad temper. If you don't scare him, it will be difficult for him to succeed in the future. Please ask the Taoist priest to take care of him to avoid accidents."
Tong Weizi was completely shocked. Who is this person? Just now he was going to kill someone, but suddenly his attitude changed so quickly? Without saying anything, he stood up and returned the greeting, looking at Guan Chenzi.
Guan Chenzi also stood up and said: "I didn't expect that we would have to say goodbye just after we met, but Yi Xiaodao, you didn't disappoint me. Well done! My father-in-law and sister Lian'er will work hard and bring a big fat boy to the capital next year." Things are getting better in Tianjian!"
Li Dingxing looked at Xiang Lian'er worriedly. Xiang Lian'er's pretty face turned pale at this moment. Si Tianjian was in charge of astrology and numerology investigation. He said that he had no children. He didn't know whether he was telling the truth or out of anger. If it was true...
Li Dingxing held Xiang Lian'er's hand: "Having you here is more important than anything else!"
Yi Xiaodao looked at Xiang Lian'er's appearance, scratched his head, and said to himself: "Why didn't I pull out his tongue just now?"
