Day by day.
Before the imperial city was closed, Su Xian left the palace and returned to the Hou Mansion.
Looking back on the half-day stay at the Princess Mansion, he not only acted wantonly and rubbed Princess Lanling hard, but also chatted with Lanling on many topics.
In addition to the three major events of Ping'an City, Kaifengguan, and trade with Nanchen, there are many smaller events.
Such as the business they cooperated with, the construction of Taiwei's mansion, and the plan to build ships and go to sea, etc.
When talking about the business cooperation, Lanling once said with a meaningful smile: "Your wife is a good helper..."
Su Xian understood what she meant.
Since Tang Shuwan took charge of the affairs of the Hou Mansion, the style of dealing with matters in the Hou Mansion has changed. It seems to have become a little fussy and not so generous.
Su Xian didn't want to delve into this topic, lest it become more embarrassing, so he grabbed Lan Ling and rubbed it for a while.
After a while of fussing, they moved on to the next topic.
They kept chatting until it got dark and Su Xian left the princess mansion.
…
In the next few days, Su Xian's life gradually became quieter.
Every morning, he had to sleep until three o'clock in the morning. Unless Tang Shuwan, Liu Huixiang and other women worked together to lift him off the bed, he would not get up.
After finally getting up and having fun with the ladies for a while, he went out and ran around in the palace, the Taiwei's Mansion, the Internal Guard's Yamen, the Prison Department's Yamen and other places.
Handle some minor errands.
Before dusk in the afternoon, he returned to the Hou Mansion early...
During this period, many princes and ministers came to invite Su Xian, either to visit the government or have a drink in a teahouse, but Su Xian declined all of them without exception and never accepted the invitation.
He is now in a high position, and being a first-rank Taiwei is the limit of his official career. He cannot be promoted, not to mention that he is still powerful.
His situation has been rare throughout history.
Even the "Shang Shu Ling" held by Princess Lanling is only the second rank. In terms of official rank, it is not as good as Su Xian's first rank. Of course, the title of Princess Lanling is the first rank.
There are also those prime ministers who can influence the pattern and direction of the Liang Dynasty, but they are only in the third rank.
Once Su Xian comes out, he can crush them all!
In his current situation, he must avoid suspicion and cannot make friends with any ministers.
Otherwise, even if the Queen is not suspicious, some hostile forces will use the topic to deliberately smear her, and Su Xian doesn't want to be criticized.
Even the meeting with Princess Lanling was much more low-key, and the number of meetings became less and less...
But on this day, Su Xian was preparing to leave the house for a banquet.
This banquet was not a private banquet for a certain prince or minister, but a banquet for the execution of the Thousand-Faced Fox, the second prison officer.
Thousand-faced Fox is about to leave for Nanchu and secretly sneak into the Chu Palace to carry out a top-secret mission.
He invited Su Xian, Lin Chuan, as well as Nangong Kui, the third arrester of the prison department, and Jiang Hanwen, the fourth arrester, to have a drink in a restaurant in a market town twenty miles south of the city.
Before leaving, Tang Shuwan personally changed his clothes.
"My husband, you must pay attention to your safety when you go here. I and others are waiting for your safe return in the house." Tang Shuwan carefully smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes.
"It's only twenty miles south of the city, and we're not going far away. Are you worrying too much, madam?" Su Xian felt warm in his heart when he saw the worry on her pretty face.
"Although the road is not far, it can still be considered as leaving the city. Besides, there are... and..."
"What else?" Su Xian unconsciously held her little hand with his hand.
"Beside my husband... Lin Chuan, and the second arrester of the Prison Department, the two of them... Nangong Kui and Jiang Hanwen are doing better, I..."
Tang Shuwan raised her eyes and looked at Su Xian, but hesitated to speak.
Su Xian held the big hand of the other person's small hand and was about to rub it carefully, but after hearing Tang Shuwan's words, he was stunned for a moment, and the movement of rubbing the small hand stopped.
"What are you talking about, ma'am?"
Su Xian understood what she was thinking.
After working on it for a long time, it turned out that I was worried that Lin Chuan and Qianmianhu, two perverts, would take Su Xian around and maybe bring back a few women...
"Madam, you are too worried."
Su Xian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He held Tang Shuwan's delicate body in his arms, gently patted her knife-like back with his hand, and said with a smile:
"It's just a small market town. It's great to have one or two restaurants. We don't have such conditions at all. How about, madam, why don't you go with my husband?"
"Really?" Tang Shuwan seemed to be moving.
Su Xian was stunned for a while, but he just said it casually. If he really took Tang Shuwan to the banquet, he would still be reluctant to part with it.
Fortunately, Tang Shuwan shook her head in an instant and said: "I trust my husband, so there is no need to follow me. It's already getting late. My husband should go and come back early."
"good."
"..."
Twenty miles is not a long journey.
Su Xian galloped and arrived in the blink of an eye.
This place was originally called "Ten Mile Pavilion" and was a place to say goodbye to relatives and friends.
At first, there was only a pavilion here. Later, as more and more people came to see off their friends, there was an endless stream of people here every day, and gradually it formed a small market town.
There are four or five streets, three or five restaurants, as well as some inns, restaurants, teahouses, grocery stores, etc.
After Su Xian dismounted, he took Yang Zhilan and a few guards and went straight to the largest restaurant.
"Brother Su, why did you come here?"
As soon as he stepped into the door of the restaurant, Lin Chuan's voice came from the stairs, and he was waving. It turned out that Lin Chuan had arrived a step earlier.
Behind Lin Chuan was the Thousand-faced Fox, the master of the banquet. He was dressed very casually, with a few strands of unruly hair floating in front of his forehead. When he saw Su Xian, he smiled heartily: "Brother Su, I'm waiting for you."
Behind the Thousand-faced Fox is Jiang Hanwen, the leader of the Four Catchers. He is very thin, wearing casual clothes, and has a smile on his face. He ran with Lin Chuan to greet Su Xian, bowed and said, "I have met Mr. Hou."
The one at the back was the expressionless and cold Nangong Kui.
Among all the people, he was the only one who was still wearing the official uniform of the Yamen. He was tall and held the official uniform very "upright", giving people a strong sense of oppression. He stepped forward and saluted: "Greetings, Taiwei!"
"Everyone, I've been waiting for a long time."
Su Xian saluted, apologized first, and then greeted everyone.
Then, everyone went upstairs. Qianmian Hu asked for a box in advance. Everyone took their seats and the food began to be served. One glass of wine followed another, and the atmosphere was very lively.
Thousand-faced Fox likes wine, Lin Chuan is loyal, Jiang Hanwen loves to join in the fun, and Su Xian hopes that Thousand-faced Fox can find some bright spots in Nanchu, so they drink the most.
Nangong Kui was an exception. He sat there calmly and boringly, neither drinking nor talking to anyone. He only had a small taste of Su Xian's toast.
"Damn it...damn it!"
After drinking several large pots of fine wine, Thousand-faced Fox was already slightly tipsy. He kept his tongue open and complained with the strength of the wine.
"What the hell?" Lin Chuan and Jiang Hanwen looked curious.
Thousand-faced Fox said drunkenly:
"What else could it be? I was living well in Shendu... But... hiccup, Your Majesty, I don't know which... bastard's slander you listened to, and actually sent me to Nanchu as an undercover agent!"
"You said you were looking for something...the autobiography of the late Emperor of Southern Chu? What a ghost autobiography! Can you find the former prince just by relying on an autobiography? Whose bad idea was this?"
"I'm so angry!"
Thousand-faced Fox directly picked up a whole jug of wine and drank it.
To vent the sadness in my heart.
Su Xian was nearby. Hearing this, he couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth. He was slightly embarrassed and coughed several times.
"Brother Su, what's wrong with you? Is your throat sore from the wine?" Lin Chuan asked with a smile.
"Master Marquis, have a cup of tea to moisten your skin." Jiang Hanwen handed over a cup of tea.
Su Xian waved his hands to them, looked at the Thousand-faced Fox, and said, "Second Catcher, I have something to say to you."
"Brother Su, please tell me."
"Actually, the bastard that the second catcher just scolded was me. It was I who proposed to the Queen to send the second catcher to Nanchu as an undercover agent!" Su Xian said slowly.
After he finished speaking, the entire box fell into an eerie silence.
Lin Chuan and Jiang Hanwen's expressions changed slightly; Thousand-faced Fox was stunned for a while and fell into a daze; even the unsociable Nangong Kui next to him frowned and sat there quietly watching the changes.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
After a while, the Thousand-faced Fox laughed heartily, patted Su Xian's shoulder heavily with his hand, and said with a smile:
"Let me tell you, what kind of talent can come up with such a clever plan? It turns out to be Brother Su, hahahahaha, that's not surprising."
"Brother Su, this is a good idea. It can give full play to my strengths. To be honest, I have wanted to spend some time in Southern Chu for a long time. I heard that Emperor Chu has a huge harem?"
Lin Chuan and Jiang Hanwen immediately came to their senses and echoed: "Yes, what the Second Captor is good at is disguising and sneaking in. Your Majesty sends the Second Captor to go undercover in Nanchu, so naturally it is the best."
Seeing this, Su Xian slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
He had never expected that the two-headed Thousand-faced Fox, who had always been bohemian, had such a "cute" side.
He had even thought of something to "bribe" Thousand-faced Fox to let him go to Nanchu as an undercover agent.
Unexpectedly, the Thousand-faced Fox was so knowledgeable, which saved him a lot of trouble.
However, just when everyone thought the matter had ended, Nangong Kui on the other side suddenly said: "Second senior brother, that's not what you said just now."
Everyone's expressions changed, and they all looked at Nangong Kui.
Nangong Kui's expression remained calm, and the straight official uniform on his body made him look very "upright." Coupled with his cold and unsmiling face, it made people feel inexplicably scary.
"Third Senior Brother!"
Seeing that the situation was about to end, Jiang Hanwen hurriedly stood up, grabbed Nangong Kui's arm, and said with a serious face:
"Third Senior Brother, regarding the abolition of torture, I suddenly thought of a way, which may be enough to convince Shao Si Kou and Your Majesty to abolish all your instruments of torture!"
Nangong Kui slowly turned her head to look at him, her face expressionless, her voice a little cold, and she scolded: "How dare you!"
"What am I afraid of? Do you want me to tell you the method?"
"..."
Just like that, Jiang Hanwen took Nangong Kui away with a frosty face.
They left the banquet and ran to a corner of the box to quarrel.
Everyone saw this and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
…
In the blink of an eye, it was already an hour later.
The practice banquet has long ended.
Lin Chuan and Jiang Hanwen had been drunk and were carried to the side room to rest by the waiter.
Su Xian and Nangong Kui are still awake.
As the rightful owner, Thousand-faced Fox was also extremely drunk. If he drank two more drinks, he would probably sleep to death like Lin Chuan and the others.
"Second Captor, you're so drunk. I'm afraid you won't be able to go on the road today. Why don't you just rest here for the night, and it won't be too late to go on the road again tomorrow."
Su Xian advised.
Thousand-faced Fox struggled to stand up, shook his head, and said with a smile: "Brother Su, you don't know... you know, hiccup... you are drunk before you can go on the road, come on!"
"Sir." An old man in his late sixties pushed open the door and bowed to the swaying Thousand-Faced Fox.
"It's getting late, let's... set off!" Thousand-faced Fox ordered.
"yes."
"..."
after a little while.
On the official road outside the market town.
A dilapidated donkey cart was parked in the middle of the road.
The cart was stuffed with straw, and there were several large jars of fine wine on it. Thousand-faced Fox climbed up and walked up to the straw. He held a wine jar with his left and right hands respectively, looked at Su Xian and Nangong Kui and said with a smile:
"Brother Su... Third Junior Brother, I'm leaving. You all... go back. I'll... set off soon!"
Su Xian looked past the donkey cart and looked forward——
The donkey responsible for pulling the cart was an old and stubborn donkey that almost lost its teeth, and the old man who was nearly sixty years old was actually leading the donkey in front!
This "luxury" configuration...
Su Xian couldn't help but put his hand on his forehead.
According to Thousand Faced Fox's slow speed, how long will it take to reach Nanchu?
He couldn't help but think deeply, was there any use in sending Thousand Faced Fox to Nanchu as an undercover agent?
Finally, the Thousand-Faced Fox set off slowly.
Su Xian and Nangong Kui stood there, watching his donkey cart go away... and then they stood there for a full quarter of an hour!
After the Qian-faced Fox's donkey cart was completely gone, Su Xian shook his head, wiped his face with his hands, and said to Nangong Kui, "Let's go, it's time for us to go back."
…
Time flies.
In the blink of an eye, it was two days later.
Nothing happened in the court, the world was at peace, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and Su Xian was still at ease.
This morning, as usual, Su Xian was too lazy to sit on Tang Shuwan's perfume and didn't want to get up.
"Husband, there is a big event in the house today. Husband, you'd better get up early, otherwise you won't be able to catch up." Tang Shuwan, Liu Huixiang, Luo Xiu Niang and some concubines, etc., Ulala gathered a large group of women around Su Xian's bed.
"Now that the world is peaceful, what big thing can happen in the house? Madam, how many times have you used this excuse? Let's use a fresh one." Su Xian still didn't want to get up.
He hugged Tang Shuwan's quilt, which was soft and fragrant. He smiled sideways and looked at the girls who were helpless against him, feeling very comfortable.
He just liked the feeling of girls surrounding him.
Tang Shuwan smiled and shook her head, feeling very helpless.
Su Xian was not at home, and she missed her terribly, but when Su Xian came home, he tormented them so much. Hey, he was such a torturous husband!
She smiled bitterly and continued to persuade: "Are you sure about your husband? There is really a big event today. If you miss your husband, you will regret it."
"Oh? Let me tell you, madam, what is so important?"
"You must have forgotten, husband. Today is the day to sow kapok. Don't you, husband, value kapok very much?" Tang Shuwan said.
"Kapok!"
Su Xian's eyes suddenly lit up, and he sat up directly from the bed, muttering to himself: "I forgot this, madams, hurry up, help my husband get up, he wants to plant kapok himself!"
"Okay." The ladies finally breathed a sigh of relief and gathered around.
Kapok, also known as cotton in later generations, was a seed obtained from the Western Regions a few months ago.
This is an artifact. With this object, it can not only help open up wasteland, but also benefit people all over the world, so that people will not freeze to death in winter!
