Shao Xi and Mei Ruoyan were also chatting about their own affairs at this time.
Seeing Mei Ruoyan's beautiful appearance with the wreath, Shao Xi felt a lot of reluctance in his heart. After all, it would take at least a few months for him to come back after leaving.
"After I leave, you have nothing to worry about except Mingfengfang. If you have time, go back to Shuangxue Tower with Miss Liu to accompany Ning'er. This child has been helpless since he was a child. He finally recognized his grandfather, Old Wu, and With me as a brother, this child may not be able to accept it when the two of us leave this time. You and Miss Liu will chat with her more and make her happy, so that she will not have random thoughts all day long. "
Mei Ruoyan looked at Shao Xi affectionately, and said with some complaints in her tone: "Not to mention Ning'er, even I want to go with you, but I also know that you are going out to do business, and following you may get in the way and make it unnecessary. Trouble. Don’t worry! That child Ning’er is quite sensible. I will visit her more when I have time. You and Senior Wu should also take care of yourselves along the way. Don’t let us worry at home. We will wait with peace of mind. Come back."
"With your words, I feel relieved. You, too, take care of yourself. If Mingfengfang encounters any difficulties, you can go to Taihe Trading Company to find Shopkeeper Cao. He knows that it is my business and will try his best to help you; If you encounter any trouble, send someone to Dali Temple to find Long Chitai, and he will help you deal with the trouble; if there is something going on at the school, or if you encounter something that cannot be solved personally, go to Bailu Academy to find it. My husbands, Mr. Bai Dinggong and Mr. Liu Xingzhai, will also help you."
"Okay, okay! I already know all this if you don't tell me. Anyway, just go about your business with peace of mind and leave it to me at home. Don't worry! I will take care of it and everything will be fine."
Shao Xi smiled awkwardly.
"I'm the one who's nagging. I believe you will take care of everything at home. I will also arrange for Fu Biao to visit the workshop from time to time. If you have anything to tell him, just leave it to him."
"Shao Xi, come back soon! I will wait for you at home, no matter how long it takes!"
"Um!"
In this way, a good spring outing suddenly turned into a mobilization meeting and farewell ceremony.
The worst thing was Zheng Yuanxiu, whose good face was rubbed by Hu Yushan and Han Shaoguang until it looked like a bruised bun.
After returning home from the spring outing, Shao Xi and Lao Wu began to pack their bags and prepare some things needed for the road. After all, there is no way to return from this trip in a short time. Just traveling to Jiangnan will take a month, and you might encounter something.
That girl Ning'er is still angry with Lao Wu, complaining that Lao Wu refuses to take her with him. This can't be blamed on her, after all, she has just found her own home and relatives, and suddenly they are separated again. For this little girl who has been lonely and helpless since she was a child, it is really difficult to accept it for a while.
Shao Xi brought everything he could with him when he went out, especially, and the Cuiyu Sword, because he heard from Lao Wu that he would pass by Wulong Mountain and Lingyu Mountain on this trip, and his knowledge of mental skills and swordsmanship were very good. I have learned it, and now I have learned and obtained the Liuyun Sword. I have owed him ten years of debt. Should I pay it back?
Shao Xi had this idea ten years ago. After all, it is someone's treasure. You can use it to learn or use it. It would be really unjustifiable if you never return it.
Guan Yucheng and Shen Linyue's weapons and martial arts secrets will not be returned unless they are returned. After all, it is a waste just to leave them there as funerary objects. You can't open the graves and put them back again. But it’s not like there are no survivors in Wulong Mountain and Lingyu Mountain. Isn’t it a bit too much to make them unable to practice normally for ten years?
So Shao Xi planned to take this opportunity of traveling south to return all the belongings of these two families, and also apologize to them at the door. This was originally done by him in a very unethical manner.
After hearing Shao Xi's idea, Old Wu shrank his neck with a look of reluctance. No wonder, he stole everything, and now he comes to apologize. How can he, the culprit, let him go so easily?
It seems that we still need to prepare some heavy gifts to save this old guy's life.
On the fifth day of March, the day of spring was approaching. Bai Jinqing and others had stayed behind closed doors since they returned from the spring outing and concentrated on preparing for the exam, so Shao Xi, who set off on this day, could not see them.
Early in the morning, Shao Xi entered the palace to bid farewell to the Holy Emperor. After some official etiquette, Xiao Changyi pulled him close and whispered instructions.
"The outcome of what you are going to do as an envoy to Nanzhao this time is uncertain. You just need to act with caution and don't force it. Once you leave Jingyuan's border, everything has to be on your own. If you encounter danger, you can throw it away. All that matters is that the person comes back. If things go well, I will reward him heavily when he comes back."
Oh ho! This pie is really big and round, and it’s not you who’s going there anyway.
Shao Xi muttered all kinds of complaints in his heart, but now that these shitty things have been pushed to himself, complaining can't change the result, so he has no choice but to rush to the shelves and bite the bullet.
Putting aside all the red tape, the envoy to Southern Zhao came out of the south gate of Daliang City in great force. The people in the city were all watching along the way. They all heard that the Jingyuan Dynasty had sent a young envoy out this time. The mission to Nanzhao was to strengthen exchanges with friendly countries.
The common people were wondering, how could two countries that had not interacted with each other for more than a hundred years become friendly and good neighbors inexplicably?
In addition to officials at all levels in the court and central government, Eunuch Cao, who was personally appointed by Xiao Changyi, also followed him out of the city. Also seeing them off from the city were Ning'er, led by Mei Ruoyan and Liu Ling, and a group of guards led by Fu Biao. Although they could not go with Shao Xi, they had to come to see them off.
As for the two old masters Bai Dinggong and Liu Xingzhai, Shao Xi had told them not to come to see them off early in the morning. Firstly, because they were too old, it was very hard to see them off all the way. Secondly, the papermaking workshop and printing room were inseparable from these two old masters. gentlemen.
The procession stopped temporarily outside the city, where the missionaries said their final farewells to everyone who was seeing them off. The officials of the missions and their entourage also said goodbye to their relatives and friends who came to see them off.
Eunuch Cao called Shao Xi aside and looked to see if there was no one disturbing him. He took out two volumes of silk books from his sleeve and handed them to Shao Xi.
"This is what the Holy One ordered me to give to Mr. Shao. One of these volumes is the imperial edict for Mr. Shao's mission this time. According to this edict, Mr. Shao, during this mission, all local and state officials in Jingyuan Kingdom Everyone must cooperate with Master Shao unconditionally, but this edict is limited to this mission. When the mission returns to Kyoto to complete the mission, this edict will be taken back by the Holy Emperor, so I ask Master Shao to keep it safe."
Shao Xixin said, isn't this just a temporary privilege certificate? Eunuch Cao might not know that he also has a long-term privilege certificate issued to him by the emperor. That one is much more useful than this one.
But think about it, that imperial edict was only a personal privilege given to him by the emperor, and this one is the real public official document. In a sense, this edict truly represents the emperor's face and the effect of public use. better.
At this time, Eunuch Cao went on to say: "This second volume, the Holy One specifically told Mr. Shao to keep it secret carefully and not to be seen by others. The Holy One said that Mr. Shao knew what this volume was, and the old slave just conveyed the Holy One's intention. Mr. Shao."
Shao Xi didn't need to think about it to know that this volume was a secret agreement to negotiate terms with Emperor Nan Zhao. Everything written in it was what he and Xiao Changyi had discussed together, so after the sealing wax was added to this volume, everything in the world would be sealed. No third party knows its contents.
Shao Xi stuffed the two volumes of silk books into his shoulder bag, took out two pieces of silver, and secretly stuffed them into Eunuch Cao's hands.
"Eunuch Cao is so old, it is very hard to go all the way from the palace to the outside of the city. I went back to buy two pots of tea to relieve fatigue. This junior is going on a far journey, and I have limited things to bring with me. I will honor Eunuch Cao after I return from my mission. .”
Eunuch Cao pinched the two pieces of silver in his hand and looked embarrassed. The young man in front of him was really good at being a good person. He had stuffed himself with two hundred taels of banknotes before, but now that he was about to go on a long journey, he still didn't forget to take care of this old guy. For a moment, he was deeply moved.
"Master Shao, I will always remember your care for me! Although I am just a slave beside the Holy Master, please rest assured, Master Shao. If there are any difficulties at home when Master Shao is away, I will do my best." Use all your strength to eliminate Master Shao's worries. This old slave will go back to the Holy One to return his life! Master Shao, please take care of yourself along the way!"
After the matter was explained, both parties bowed and said goodbye. Eunuch Cao returned to the palace with his eunuchs to return to Xiao Changyi.
Shao Xi watched Eunuch Cao walk away, and when he turned to look at Lao Wu, he saw Ning'er holding Lao Wu's neck and wiping her tears. This showed the deep love between his ancestors and his grandchildren, and made Shao Xi feel that he was redundant.
Mei Ruoyan walked up to Shao Xi and thrust a small package into Shao Xi's hand.
"This is a little thought put together by Yang's mother and the sisters in the workshop. Although it's not much, and we all know that you are not short of money, we still think that there should be some expression, so just accept it!"
Shao Xi took the package and touched it. It contained copper coins, silver collars, and banknotes. It was obvious that everyone had scraped it together bit by bit. It is difficult for the girls in the band to save some money, so to be able to come up with so much for him shows how much they care.
"Take good care of Mama Yang and the girls in the village. When I'm not around, the family will be completely dependent on you. You should also take good care of yourself."
Although Mei Ruoyan had a look of reluctance on her face, she comforted Shao Xi: "I said what I needed to say two days ago. Just go ahead and go, but don't forget to come back as soon as possible. Don't do unnecessary things on the way. You should know that there are people waiting for you at home."
"I know that although I have to deal with a lot of things when I go out this time, I will rush back as soon as the things are over. You can just wait for our return at home with peace of mind."
Mei Ruoyan held Shao Xi's hand unnoticed by others, and then said openly: "It's getting late, hurry up and get on your way! Don't miss your trip. If you go early, you can come back early!"
Shao Xi saw the flash of tears in Mei Ruoyan's eyes and understood that she was pretending to be strong, so he called Lao Wu, got on his horse without hesitation, and ordered the team to set off.
After walking far away, Shao Xi looked back and could still vaguely see the red color.
"Wait for me to come back."
