Li's Mansion is located next to the old locust tree in Lane 6 of West Street, a long distance from the government office.
When two government officials carried Li Youbin, who was covered in blood, as he passed through the main street of the city, the people on the street couldn't help but look at him.
When they saw that the person lying on the wooden board was actually the young master of the Li family who had done many evil deeds, the faces of the people watching showed expressions of disbelief. They started talking about each other:
"It's terrible, God, did my old man get up too hard this morning? Otherwise, how could I have seen that bully beaten like this?"
"It's impossible that Mr. Jia suddenly realized his conscience and decided to make decisions for the people and punish the bullies?"
"Isn't it? Mr. Jia, that corrupt official really wants to change his mind? Doesn't he want to protect Li Youbin anymore?"
"It's time to deal with that bully Li Youbin a long time ago! As a parent official, Mr. Jia should go back to his hometown to farm if he doesn't make decisions for the people!"
"What parent officer?"
A man dressed as a scholar shook the folding fan in his hand and said in a sarcastic tone: "In my opinion, Mr. Jia will suddenly punish Li Youbin. Maybe it is because Li Youbin endangers his interests. Why do you still expect it?" It’s really unimaginable that a corrupt official will change!”
Another purple-shirted scholar standing nearby echoed: "That's right! Brother Liu makes sense! Why don't we follow him and take a look?"
After saying this, many people immediately wanted to join in the fun. They pushed one by one and followed the government officials at a short distance.
Wei Jianqing, who came out of Zhao Wuqian's house, was standing in the crowd.
Seeing the Yamen servant's retreating figure, Wei Jianqing frowned and looked unhappy.
Isn’t Mr. Jia always the most protective of Li Youbin?
Why did Mr. Jia let Li Youbin be tortured with a cane this time?
Doubts filled his mind, and Wei Jianqing had an inexplicable feeling that things were out of his control.
Wei Jianqing suddenly thought that now that Li Youbin was injured due to torture, could the marriage between Li Youbin and Lian'er be held as scheduled?
Will Li Qiqi and Shi Weian come to Suzhou again?
Thinking of this, Wei Jianqing's face instantly darkened.
He had made so many preparations to take revenge on Shi Weian. If Shi Weian didn't come, wouldn't he be in vain?
no!
Absolutely not!
Wei Jianqing raised his feet and followed quickly with long strides.
The news that the young master of the Li family, Li Youbin, was beaten with a cane in the government office spread throughout the city in an instant.
The servants of the Li family who were shopping outside naturally heard the news. They immediately ignored the shopping and hurried back to the mansion to report the matter to the master of the mansion.
When two government servants carried Li Youbin to the main entrance of Li's mansion, the old lady of the Li family just walked out of the mansion.
Mrs. Li was leaning on crutches, and regardless of the maid's support, she tremblingly threw herself on Li Youbin. She cried out: "My dear grandson, Bin'er, what's wrong with you?"
After saying that, Mrs. Li raised her head and looked at the two government officials standing in front of her, her eyes seemed to be filled with poison, "Bin'er, who beat you? Who is so cruel? Bin'er, open your eyes quickly. , tell grandma quickly, she will definitely not be able to spare him!"
Ever since Li Qiqi became the outer chamber of Governor Jiangnan, holding the banner of Governor Jiangnan, the Li family began to gain prestige.
In the city of Suzhou, Mr. Jia never dared to be disrespectful to the Li family in the past. Instead, he always cleaned up Bin'er's mess. Mrs. Li had long regarded Mr. Jia as their Li family's dog.
But now, the dog wants to bite its owner?
The moment Mrs. Li heard the news, she almost thought she was hallucinating and hearing things wrong.
After leaving the house and seeing her sweet grandson lying on the wooden board, covered in blood and unconscious, Mrs. Li had no choice but to believe it.
The two government servants who were stared at by Mrs. Li said: "..."
If the master is willing to respect the Li family, then they, the government servants, will naturally not dare to offend Mrs. Li. But now that the master has ordered the young master of the Li family to be beaten with a cane, it must be that he does not want to favor the Li family anymore.
They don't have to worry about offending the Li family.
Among them, Qiu Yamen, the older one, sneered and said calmly: "Mrs. Li, you heard clearly, Li Youbin was riding a horse in the street wantonly and hurting people, and Master Jia gave him thirty strokes of cane. Mr. Jia is extremely gracious. Madam, please don’t push yourself too far and criticize Huaihuai.”
Another Zhang Yamen then spoke: "Mrs. Li, we have already delivered the young master of the Li family, so we will go back first."
Many people had gathered in front of the Li Mansion to watch the excitement. In front of so many people, being humiliated by two government officials made Mrs. Li even more angry.
Madam Li knew very well what kind of character her grandson had. He was just riding a horse on the street and hurting people. In the past, Bin'er raped people's daughters, killed people and set fires. In the end, Master Jia settled all of them. ?
Why can't Master Jia settle things for Bin'er this time?
Mrs. Li hated Mr. Jia so much in her heart that she gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, very good! It's rare that Mr. Jia handles things so fairly. I'll remember it!"
"Someone, carry Bin'er in!"
"Go and invite the doctor from Renshan Hall!"
After giving the instructions, Mrs. Li slowly stood up, holding a cane in one hand. She glanced sharply at the people watching the excitement and said coldly: "Housekeeper Qi, go and deliver a message to Miss Jiangning."
The Li family relied on the Governor of Jiangnan, so the news of Bin'er being tortured by Mr. Jia naturally had to reach the ears of the Governor of Jiangnan.
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the two government servants who had not yet left suddenly changed slightly.
The two looked at each other quickly, then turned and left quickly.
There were many scholars in the crowd watching the excitement. After hearing this, they all shook their heads and sighed secretly. The Li family has been doing evil in the city for a long time, and they are supported by the Governor of Jiangnan who lives in Jiangning. Master Jia is afraid that he will touch the young master of the Li family this time. It's Mr. Jia who's in trouble.
Liu Qi put away the folding fan and pulled the scholar in purple shirt away from the crowd and walked in another direction.
Until the two of them walked into the backyard of Luoyang Inn.
Sitting in the pavilion in the backyard was Xie Xi.
Guard Mu Qing was holding his sword and guarding the gate of the backyard.
Liu Qi and Liu An walked into the pavilion, and they bowed their heads at the same time, "Liu Qi/Liu An have met the master."
Liu Qi and Liu An are brothers. When they were in trouble, their master saved them and allowed them to stay at Luoyang Inn, where they had a place to stay and no worries about food and clothing.
However, the two of them were only responsible for doing chores in the backyard and rarely appeared among the crowd. They would only leave the inn unless there was a task assigned to them by their master.
They are not scholars, but it is more convenient for them to pretend to be scholars outside.
Xie Xi raised his right hand slightly: "Sit down and talk."
Liu Qi and Liu An both looked embarrassed. Liu Qi was the first to speak: "How can a subordinate sit at the same table as the master?"
Xie Xi said in a gentle tone: "There is no need to pay too much attention to things outside."
After hearing this, the two of them stopped refusing and sat down.
Liu Qi was the first to speak: "Master, the old lady of the Li family wants to send someone to deliver a message to Jiang Ning, but does she want her subordinates to go and intercept the letter?"
Liu An took over: "Based on today's situation, the Li family and Mr. Jia are probably going to fall out. I just don't know what Mr. Jia will do after he hears the news that Mrs. Li wants to send a message to Jiang Ning."
"No need to intercept letters."
Xie Xi picked up the tea cup and took a sip: "Maybe Shi Weian will come to Suzhou in advance because of the complaint from the old lady of the Li family."
“This will only benefit our program even more.”
How could Shi Weian allow others to provoke his face?
"Master, there is one more thing."
Liu An said: "One of the two people the master asked his subordinates to follow was extremely cautious. As for the discussion between the two of them..."
Liu An paused and lowered his head in frustration: "My subordinates only heard that they are going to use the daughter of the Li family to assassinate the Governor of Jiangnan. As for the specific details of how to do it, I still can't hear clearly. Please punish me, master!"
Before he finished speaking, Liu An stood up and knelt in front of Xie Xi: "My subordinate failed in his mission, please punish me, master!"
Xie Xi did not speak.
I had long guessed that Wei was cautious, but I didn't expect that even the people he sent there would not be able to overhear their plans...
Xie Xi stared at the tea cup on the table thoughtfully, tapping the table with his fingers, once and for all. After a while, he said: "Get up, that person is cautious, I can't blame you if you can't hear clearly."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Liu An stood up and said.
Xie Xi flicked his sleeves at the two of them and said, "If you have nothing else to report, please leave first."
Liu Qi and Liu An bowed their heads and retreated.
Seeing the two people leaving, Mu Qing walked in from the courtyard door and said, "Master, Madam has been in the kitchen for half an hour. Master, would you like to go over and take a look?"
Mu Qing didn't want to remind His Highness, but he was afraid that Lu Fengyi's poor cooking skills would offend His Highness's stomach.
But don't think that what Lu Fengyi said about rewarding His Highness with cakes would end up murdering His Highness's stomach.
After mentioning this, Xie Xi became interested in Lu Xiaoxiao cooking.
Just because he used his fourth brother's jade pendant to blackmail Master Jia, causing Li Youbin to be tortured, Lu Xiaoxiao thought of returning to Luoyang Inn, borrowing the small kitchen in the backyard of the inn, and making some pastries to reward him.
It is precisely because of this that Xie Xi can stay in the backyard to meet the Liu brothers.
Xie Xi stood up with a smile in his eyes: "Okay, let's go over and have a look."
Guard Mu Qing followed His Highness and couldn't help but wonder: His Highness seems to have true feelings for Lu Fengyi?
But as soon as this thought flashed through his mind, Mu Qing felt a little unsure...
The kitchen in the backyard is located in a more remote corner.
Lu Xiaoxiao was the only one in the kitchen at this time.
The ingredients were all bought from the big kitchen. In addition to making pastries, Lu Xiaoxiao thought that it would be noon soon and planned to make a few more side dishes.
When guards Xie Xi and Mu Qing came over, Lu Xiaoxiao was just putting the prepared plum blossom cake into the pot to steam, adding firewood and preparing ingredients, and was a little too busy.
Xie Xi stood at the door of the kitchen and looked at it for a moment, then walked in, "Xiao Xiao."
"Um?"
Hearing His Highness's voice, Lu Xiaoxiao turned around subconsciously. Seeing that it was really His Highness, she suddenly showed a surprised look: "Why did your husband come in?"
"It's rare for a lady to cook, so her husband has to come and help."
Without Lu Xiaoxiao opening his mouth, Xie Xi had already taken over the task of adding firewood to the stove.
Under Lu Xiaoxiao's shocked eyes, Xie Xi smiled slightly and said unhurriedly: "My husband is dull and not good at cooking. I can only help my wife with some simple tasks."
[Ah ah ah ah, how can your highness be so good! 】
[As expected of His Highness as I recognize him to be, meeting such His Highness must be a blessing from my past life? 】
The smile in Xie Xi's eyes grew stronger.
Mu Qing's guard standing outside the kitchen: "..."
Even Mu Qing's usually expressionless face couldn't help showing a hint of surprise.
Has he ever seen His Highness so approachable?
In the past, in the Prince's Mansion, His Highness had never even set foot in the kitchen.
It seems that His Highness is really interested in Lu Fengyi.
Mu Qing retreated silently.
With His Highness's help, Lu Xiaoxiao felt much more relaxed.
Half an hour later, Lu Xiaoxiao and Xie Xi brought the plum blossom cake, three dishes and one soup to the pavilion in the backyard.
Mu Qing stayed outside the pavilion, leaning against the pillar with his eyes closed, pretending that he had never smelled the aroma of meat coming from the pavilion.
Looking at His Highness sitting opposite, Lu Xiaoxiao said: "Husband, why don't you let Guard Mu Qing sit down and eat together?"
[Today Guard Mu Qing also made a contribution, allowing Li Youbin to be punished. Guard Mu Qing performed very well in front of Mr. Jia, so he should be rewarded, right? 】
[I just don’t know if His Highness will agree. 】
[But His Highness has always been gentle to others, so he should agree, right? 】
Lu Xiaoxiao blinked and stared straight at Xie Xi.
Xie Xi had no choice but to obey her: "Mu Qing, come and sit down."
Although Mu Qing is his personal guard, in Xie Xi's view, Mu Qing is not only his subordinate, but also his brother.
However, Mu Qing refused: "Master, no."
Xie Xi pretended to be cold, "Mu Qing, you don't like being rejected, do you understand?"
Mu Qing: "..."
But Mu Qing has always been persistent. His Highness has a noble status. As a subordinate, how can he have dinner at the same table with His Highness?
This is against the rules.
Hearing His Highness reveal his identity, Mu Qing had no choice but to make an excuse: "Master, I suddenly remembered that there is one more thing that has not been done. I will come back as soon as I go down."
[Shouldn’t I invite Guard Mu Qing to come over and eat together? 】
[Since Guard Mu Qing still has something to be busy with, it’s better not to delay Guard Mu Qing’s important matters. 】
Just as Lu Xiaoxiao was about to speak, he heard Xie Xi say: "Okay."
Guard Mu Qing turned around and left.
Lu Xiaoxiao looked thoughtfully at the pace of guard Mu Qing that was gradually accelerating.
After a moment, Lu Xiaoxiao withdrew his gaze, turned to Xie Xi, and said, "Husband, how long will we stay in Suzhou?"
[I don’t know if Mr. Huaijun persuaded Mrs. Jiang to cooperate with His Highness when he stayed in Chang’an Temple. If he had not won over Mrs. Jiang, His Highness would not have left Suzhou, right? 】
[There is also the matter of Mrs. Jiang being deceived by Governor Jiangning. Should I use these things as bargaining chips and inform Mrs. Jiang...]
