Outside the house, the wind and snow howled. Li Hansheng, dressed in a scholar's robe, sat on a chair. His expression was calm as he looked at the falling snow outside the living room.
Han Sheng, Han Sheng.
The name Li Hansheng struck fear into the hearts of countless Wolf Guards and Jianghu people. However, when his parents gave him this name, it was because they were poor and did not care much about it. Thus, he was named Han Sheng.
While waiting for Xu Buring to come out, Li Hansheng looked at the snowflakes outside and recalled what had happened in the past 40 years.
The first time he saw snow was in a remote village. His family was destitute and he did not have enough to eat. His parents were frugal and sent him to the only private school in the small county. On that snowy day, as he sat in the private school shivering in the cold, he remembered a sentence from the Headmaster.
"The rich do not need to buy fertile land. Books have their own millet. There is no need to build a tall building to live in peace, there is a house of gold in books.
The meaning was simple. As long as he studied hard, he would be able to eat his fill and live in a house that did not leak wind.
Li Hansheng was not considered smart, but he was very hardworking. At a young age, he passed the county and college examinations and became a Xiucai. He was considered a little famous in the surrounding villages. Unfortunately, after a famine, he was only left with the status of a Xiucai. He had nothing else.
The second time it snowed, he arrived at the Sun family's shop in Chang 'an.
At that time, he was not even twenty years old. Again and again, he waited for the next year's Spring Examinations. Then, he failed and had to start all over again.
The money he brought with him was all gone. He could not sell his paintings and was about to starve to death. A middle-aged man carrying two jars of wine passed by and said,
"Go to the shop to warm up?"
At that time, he had the air of a scholar. He replied, "Starving to death, I do not eat food given out of hand. Thirst to death, I do not drink stolen spring water."
The shopkeeper scolded him, "Who gave it to you for free? You have to return the favor you owe."
After that, he became a shop assistant in the Sun family's shop. He sold wine during the day and studied at night. However, he still failed the imperial examinations. Instead, he owed more and more favors. Fortunately, he did not starve to death on the streets.
The days after that passed by quickly. He was accompanied by beautiful women, had fun in the human world, got married, had a daughter, and had a happy family …
Then, for some reason, he arrived at another snowy day. He stood in front of a small grave, and behind him was the ruined village.
He was all alone again. It was just like the first time he set foot on the road to the capital with a bag on his back. The road ahead was misty and without a trace, and behind him was a stretch of desolation.
After that, he could not remember clearly. Perhaps he was unwilling to remember, or perhaps he was already dead. The things he thought and did were just like a walking corpse trying to make up for the past. He did not know how long it would last. Perhaps it would last until the day he closed his eyes …
Ta ta —
The sound of footsteps came from outside the door. Xu Buling appeared at the door. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"You are?"
Li Hansheng collected his thoughts and said calmly, "Crown Prince Xu. We met on the second day of the winter."
Xu Buling was afraid that he was a trusted aide of the King Of Wu. He originally wanted to pretend that he did not know him, but when he heard this, he smiled softly and raised his hand to dismiss the servant girl who was serving tea. He entered the living room alone and sat down on the main seat. He smiled and said,
"You are not Li Hansheng, are you?"
Li Hansheng took out a jade from his sleeve and placed it on the tea table. "I thought you had already seen through me."
Xu Buling had such a guess, but he had no way of confirming it. When he saw that this handsome middle-aged scholar was really Qing Ye's father, his eyes became slightly complicated.
In Xu Buling's impression, Li Hansheng's evaluation was not very good. He abandoned his wife and daughter, was ruthless, and was given the nickname 'Poison Man' by the Department of Investigation. He was completely different from the Sword Sage Zhu Liu. Moreover, Qing Ye hated this father who wanted to become an official but ended up with his family separated. It was obviously not advisable to claim to be a relative on the spot, nor was it appropriate to treat him coldly. For a moment, she did not know how to treat him.
"Tower Master Li, I've heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you."
Li Hansheng did not react to this compliment. He just said softly,
"I came here to advise you not to interfere in the affairs of the King Of Wu. You handed over the jade and eavesdropped outside the observation deck. You must have gotten a lot of information. It's best to stop now and go back to observe the changes. It's not good for you or me to get to the bottom of it. "
Seeing that Li Hansheng was so frank, Xu Buling smiled softly. "My Xu family is full of Loyal Martyr. If I don't get to the bottom of this, I'll be letting down the Song clan … Sir, can you at least give me a hint?"
Li Hansheng shook his head. "There's no benefit for you to enter the game too early. It will only ruin things. You think that jumping out of Chang 'an's chessboard is like a fish in the sea. Little do you know that you've already fallen into another chessboard. That Old Master Yue Lushan only has chess pieces in his hands. He doesn't see people as people. One wrong move and you'll end up worse than Song Ji. If you retreat now and wait for the right time to move, you'll gain more at the end of the game. "
Xu Buling frowned slightly. He pondered for a moment and said softly,
"What game is that old man playing?"
"The world will be united after a long time. He wants to unify the world. It doesn't matter who becomes the Emperor. You're valued now because you have the greatest chance. Just like Song Ji in the past, once he loses power, he'll be abandoned on the spot. Do you think he'll be partial to you if you marry his granddaughter?"
Hearing this, Xu Buling chuckled.
"If you're here to sow discord, please go back."
Li Hansheng smiled faintly. "You walk your own path. It's useless to say more. You're on your own."
With that, he stood up and walked out of the door.
Xu Buling looked at Li Hansheng's back. He thought for a moment and said softly,
"Ning Qing Ye is here with me. Do you not know or do you not want to ask?"
Li Hansheng paused and looked up at the snowflakes outside. Without saying anything, he stepped out of the living room and disappeared into the courtyard in a flash.
Xu Buling didn't see through Li Hansheng's thoughts. He could only shake his head and sigh.
After Li Hansheng left, Xu Buling sat on the armchair and rubbed the teacup with his fingers. He frowned and thought for a moment.
In fact, he could also see that Fu Bao's grandfather had a high standard. He was not in the Three Realms or the Five Elements. His words and actions were not mixed with the slightest emotion. So when he spoke, he felt like he was walking on thin ice.
No matter what Li Hansheng's motive was, there was obviously some truth in his words. If Fu Bao's grandfather only had eyes for the world, then whether it was him or Song Ji, they were all just chess pieces on a chessboard. Some were strong, some were weak. They supported the strong and devoured the weak. It was like rearing venomous insects. In the end, there was only one ruler of the world.
He had a chance of success now, so the resources would be inclined to him. But if one day someone more suitable than him appeared, he was likely to become someone else's stepping stone.
However, Fu Bao's grandfather was obviously not a big villain. It was just that he stood too high and his way of thinking was different from ordinary people. If he had to find an adjective, it would probably be 'those who achieve great things don't care about trifles'.
Since the day Song Ji used the Dragon-locking Insect and raised the butcher's knife, Su Of Gojoseon and Xu You had drawn a clear line from the bottom of their hearts with the Song clan. For the stability of the future and the future generations, sooner or later there would be a day when they would fight.
Xu Buling didn't like fighting very much, but this kind of thing was just like people in Jianghu. It was not something that could be controlled by personal thoughts. If the time was right and he didn't take action, he would be crowned with the emperor. If the time was not right and he didn't take action, all his efforts would be in vain.
So in the face of Fu Bao's grandfather's inquiry, Xu Buling replied,
'Don't be greedy in the face of wealth, and don't avoid trouble.'
After learning these messy news, Xu Buling had a premonition that the world would begin to be chaotic. But before the big waves rose, he couldn't see which wind came from.
Xu Buling looked at the calm Hangzhou city outside the living room. After thinking for a long time, he just sighed softly. In any case, he had to go back to Huainan first and settle down his wives. He couldn't stay in Jiangnan and watch the world fall into chaos. At that time, he couldn't go back …
