After Liu Xiangzhi made the move, he folded the Buddhist beads in his hand and replied without any particular emotion: "Brother first, then filial piety, this is the fate of the Liu family."
The emperor placed his eyes on the beads in his palm and said for a long time: "You are still wearing it."
Liu Xiangzhi lowered his head and looked down, "I'm used to it. If the emperor doesn't like it, I'll do it tomorrow..."
"Forget it." The emperor waved his hand and said without distinguishing happiness or anger: "I never said I wasn't happy. It's just a dead thing."
Liu Xiangzhi lowered his eyelids, with all kinds of emotions floating in his heart, and said another thing, "I heard that Master Dongyue has made great progress in divination day and night."
"Well." The emperor took a tea bowl and drank tea, "In just a few days, it will be clear whether it is good or bad for the great cause."
"God bless the cause."
"I sent Qi Shang and Prince Yun to Xinanping County together. What do you think, Ai Qing?"
Liu Xiangzhi looked at the chessboard with his eyes and considered: "With Nanping County as the center, gangsters are everywhere in several nearby counties. Prices have skyrocketed, and the people are miserable. The Holy One has made this clear decision, which should be a blessing to the people."
The emperor chuckled twice: "A hundred taels of silver note that keeps me from sleeping after the New Year is nothing but a blessing."
Liu Xiangzhi put his hands in his sleeves and said nothing. He knew best when to say something and when not to say it.
When talking about this topic, the emperor seemed to have lost interest in playing chess and threw a few chess pieces in his hand into the chess jar. "The prince went to Diqiu for a while. Yesterday, he presented a memorial. He captured a few gangsters and checked a few." A corrupt official."
"The prince is becoming more and more capable. Although he is young and inexperienced, he still shows some of the spirit of the emperor." Liu Xiangzhi picked up the chess pieces one by one.
The emperor stood with his hands behind his hands, his face had sharp edges, his eyes were sunken and his eyes were deep, his upper lip was thin, and there was a coolness to him whether he was smiling or not, "I think he is unconvinced."
Liu Xiangzhi saluted and said: "It is not necessarily bad to be young and energetic. The prince is the crown prince and will take on great responsibilities in the world in the future. The emperor should be worried if he does not have the means and strategies."
The emperor's face was obscured by the pillars and his expression could not be seen. His aura gradually softened under the warm sun. "What do you mean, Ai Qing, let him continue the investigation?"
Liu Xiangzhi lowered his eyes and said: "The area around Diqiu has been in chaos for a long time. It is not a good time for the prince to take the initiative to go there this time. But because of this recklessness, he was caught off guard, which may be a good thing."
"The pirates were driven away in the east, rogues appeared in the southwest, bandits were rampant in the south, and..." The emperor paused, turned to look at the northern sky, "Northern Territory."
Liu Xiangzhi raised his eyebrows and said: "Compared to the previous dynasties, the people were living in poverty. Under the emperor's rule, the world was peaceful and prosperous. However, the great cause has a vast territory, so how can it be the capital of the king everywhere?"
"I understand what Aiqing said, but the northern border has always been a serious concern for me."
Liu Xiangzhitong looked to the north. No matter how chaotic the other areas were, they could be suppressed, it just took a long time. Only the northern border had never been truly conquered from the previous dynasty to the present.
Wang Qie came over with a plate, knelt down and raised it above his head, "Your Majesty, the time has come to take the elixir."
Before coming out of the palace, Liu Xiangzhi called out to Wang Qie, "My lord, is the emperor still taking the elixir?"
"Back to Prime Minister Liu, it has not stopped since Master Dongyue offered the elixir."
"The elixir is poisonous, so using it more often may not be beneficial."
The king wondered: "I don't dare to say this, old slave, but please relax, Mr. Liu. Master Dongyue's method of refining alchemy is unique. It is extracted from immortal grass and immortal beasts. It is expected to be like a tonic."
Liu Xiangzhi nodded slightly: "Based on Master Dongyue's character, I can trust him."
"Isn't it true that Dongyue Zhenren is an immortal with some Taoism?" Wang Qie said with a smile.
—
Qi Shang left the Tixing Division, rode around the moat, and walked all the way towards the north gate.
The emperor gave him the task of suppressing the invaders, and also allocated troops - he could choose a thousand people from the Langshan camp.
Qi Shang shook his hand and won the token. After days of pent-up frustration, he retreated. He felt the wind blowing all over his body. He tightened his grip on the horse's belly and couldn't help but whip his whip back to urge the horse to run quickly.
He is a warrior, not a reckless man. He has already seen the emperor's regard for him when he was a captain at a young age. He is aware of the emperor's anger towards him, but he has no complaints. A true man does what he does and what he does not do, and a gentleman is magnanimous.
Afterwards, the emperor realized that Qi Shang was a talented person and didn't mind giving him the opportunity to make meritorious deeds.
Only now he was asked to lead the troops and personally mobilize the troops to quell the invaders in the southwest.
He was in high spirits all the way, but when he saw someone blocking the way in front of him, he hurriedly reined in the reins, dispersed the dust, and said to the woman on the ground, "Zhu Xin?"
Qi Shang couldn't remember too many women's faces, but Zhu Xin was Su Xiangxiang's personal maid and he had always met her several times.
Zhu Xin gave a polite gift: "Miss heard that the leader will be traveling far away in the near future, so she invited the leader to a gathering and sent each other with a small amount of wine."
Qi Shang squeezed his brows in the middle, and quickly replied: "Thank you very much, Miss, for the invitation. I will definitely go to the appointment."
After Zhu Xin told the time and place, he stepped aside and watched Qi Shang ride away.
Until he returned to the city from Langshan Camp and handed the horse to the waiter at the restaurant, Qi Shang was still a little puzzled by this unclear invitation.
Su Xiangxiang is well-known in the capital, and Qi Shang is also young and promising. Both parents are sincerely happy for this marriage.
Qi Shang never thought about what he wanted from his future wife. In his opinion, if they get married and work together to support each other, their children will be filial, their family will be harmonious, and the most important thing is their character and temperament. It would be better if they have everything else externally. Not force.
Qi Shang stepped onto the wooden steps step by step, making a creaking sound.
But he knew that Su Xiangxiang was not happy about this marriage. His fiancée was talented and elegant, which could be seen from the naming of the maid.
One is the Bamboo Heart - Bamboo is my teacher when it comes to resolving the deficiency of the heart.
One is the fragrance - there is a unique charm in the fragrance.
It’s an elegant and enjoyable read.
In comparison, Qi Shang is incomprehensible.
Therefore, it was not his wish to get married or become enemies, so when he went to the appointment today, he wanted to ask the other party clearly about his feelings.
The door was pushed open as soon as the back of his hand touched it. Qi Shang still knocked twice before entering.
A table of wine and food was indeed prepared on the round table in the middle, but Su Xiangxiang, who was supposed to be there, was nowhere to be seen, but there was a faint fragrance lingering in his nose.
Even though there was no one around, Qi Shang still looked intently, "Is Miss Su here?"
There was a hollow echo, but no one answered.
Qi Shang didn't like the taste, so he walked to the window and opened it. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly felt a black shadow coming from behind him. He immediately dodged quickly and made a move to grab his hand.
However, to his surprise, what he held in his hand was a piece of white wrist, with skin as soft as snow and as soft as clouds, as if he could break it with just a little more force.
The woman hummed softly, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she was very soft and charming that made people pity her.
"Shen Ling, you hurt me."
Qi Shang quickly shook it off, "Xiangyun? Where is your lady?"
Xiangyun Qingqing, who was captured by Qi Shang as a gangster, smiled slightly: "My lady asked me to serve you well. This banquet is given to us by my lady."
"Nonsense." Qi Shang's face turned a little dark, "Since there is nothing else, I'm leaving."
"Shen Ling, you can't explain it even if you leave this room now." After saying that, he stretched out his hand at the collar and pulled open his clothes. "Before we got married, I coveted the maid next to my fiancée. Spread the word, and I will pay attention to Shen Ling." Reputation gets in the way.”
Qi Shang turned around fiercely, shocked and disbelieving. It took him a while to find his voice, "If the Su family doesn't want to get married, they can just cancel the engagement. There's no need to use such tricks!"
He didn't see any infatuation or desire in Xiang Yun's eyes, only ruthlessness to fight for it. This made Qi Shang instantly understand that this invitation did not exist in the first place, but was a simple threat.
"This matter has nothing to do with Miss." Xiangyun exposed half of her breasts and stood there and said, "It's just that I and Zhu Xin don't want to see Miss being wronged."
Qi Shang clenched his fists angrily. He was so ambitious half an hour ago, but now he only felt suffocated from beginning to end. And this frustration was different from what the emperor had brought to him. It was like a burst of energy rushing through his body, but he couldn't do anything about it, so he had to carry it hard.
When the atmosphere in the room was stagnant, a silver bell suddenly sounded outside and chuckled.
Xiangyun was stunned, and subconsciously grabbed the torn clothes to cover her.
"Wow, it's such a big ball of white snow." The girl's voice was light and crisp, "Hehe, it looks like a snow-white rabbit."
Xiangyun bit her right lip, followed the sound, and found that it was coming from outside the window, but this was the third floor, and there was no way anyone was standing outside.
"Looking for me? Ulala, I'm here." As soon as the sky darkened, a head squeezed into the half-open window.
That's not all. She moved and squeezed in. The scene was extremely weird.
Perhaps the girl's appearance was so sudden that neither Qi Shang nor Xiang Yun could react. She kicked off her legs and landed firmly on the floor in the room.
"Miss, you are so white." The girl's round eyes rolled and she floated in front of Xiangyun. Just as her claws were about to go up, Xiangyun clutched her chest.
The girl's face dropped with a bit of regret, "Look, little sister, you've shown yourself to this stinky man, show me what's wrong?"
Xiangyun looked so embarrassed that she couldn't help herself.
Qi Shang regained his composure and recognized who the girl was. It was not that the girl's appearance made him unforgettable, but the girl's nasty moves towards her, which was not easy for him to forget.
"Smelly man!" The girl made a face at him and jumped on the chair to pick vegetables to eat. "What game are you playing? I think it's quite fun. Can you take one with me?"
"Who are you?" Xiangyun became angry, "How can you break into other people's rooms without permission!"
Lu Taotao tilted his head and blinked his eyes innocently: "I've always been like this, and you didn't close the window."
The problem is, who is going to go through the door instead of jumping out of the window.
"How much did you hear?"
Lu Taotao bit her chopsticks and thought for a while, then opened her mouth with a haha, grabbed her throat and imitated: "Ah, Master, come on, ow, ow, Master, don't want it, eh eh eh eh -" shrugged: "That's it, it seems. many."
Xiangyun's face flushed: "You are talking nonsense!"
Lu Taotao grinned: "Yes, I learned it from you. How is it? Does it look similar?"
Xiangyun didn't know whether she was pretending to be stupid or trying to hide herself. She glared at her bitterly, covered her chest with her clothes and ran out crying.
Without looking, Lu Taotao held up her chopsticks to compete with a round taro ball. Just as she caught it, a strong gust of wind came over. She dropped her chopsticks and the taro ball fell back onto the plate again.
His feet were hooked on the beam, swaying back and forth like fallen leaves, and he wrinkled his nose and said, "It would be intolerable for heaven and earth to disturb people's eating."
Qi Shang remained silent and took action again.
The space in the room is smaller than the outside. No matter how many tricks Lu Taotao has, it will be difficult to implement them because they are restrained by Qi Shang.
"What are you doing?"
"Catch you and bring you to justice."
Lu Taotao opened his eyes wide: "Ah ah ah ah - are you sick?"
