In the Imperial Study, the Yongxing Emperor looked at the memorials presented by the Cabinet. The memorials described various matters regarding donations, including but not limited to how to promote donations, setting standards, and liquidating the assets of officials who claimed to be innocent.
More than a thousand words were written on the memorials.
Reading memorials was not as easy as reading books, because many memorials submitted by the ministers contained "traps".
If the emperor did not want to be fooled by the civil officials, he had to be sensitive to the traps in the memorials.
No one could help him in this regard, because once he sat on the throne, all the civil and military officials would be his enemies.
The Yongxing Emperor promoted donations for disaster relief, so he could not make any mistakes at this critical juncture. Therefore, he read the memorials very carefully.
"Your Majesty!"
At this moment, the eunuch Cho Hyun-jin hurried into the Imperial Study and whispered,
"Taifu is sick."
The Yongxing Emperor looked away from the memorials, pinched his eyebrows, and asked,
"Sick? Sigh, Grand Tutor is already advanced in age, I don't know how to tire myself out. Go to the Imperial Pharmacy and get some elixirs for replenishing Qi and blood, and send them to Taifu. "
Cho Hyun-jin agreed, but did not leave.
He continued, "Taifu said that he wants to resign from his position and not teach the young masters. He asked Your Majesty to find another job.
"He wants to be a teacher in the Xu Mansion and teach Hanlin Academy's concubine, Xu Xinnian's younger sister."
"Huh?" Yong Xing Emperor was shocked and couldn't make heads or tails of it.
The eunuch Cho Hyun-jin said,
"What the Grand Tutor means is that he must wholeheartedly educate that child without any distractions. I hope Your Majesty can understand."
The Yongxing Emperor showed a solemn expression, leaned forward slightly, and asked in surprise,
"That child is so talented and intelligent that Grand Tutor's love for him was piqued?
"Interesting, even Huaiqing was not treated like this by Taifu. Tsk tsk, don't you think that the Xu Clan is full of heroes? Before them, there was Xu Qi 'an, and now there's Xu Ci. I didn't expect a little girl to be so outstanding. "
After that, he saw Cho Hyun-jin's stiff face, as if he did not know how to explain.
"Huh?" The Yongxing Emperor expressed his confusion with a nasal sound.
"Your Majesty, you may not know, but Taifu was angry …"
Cho Hyun-jin told the Yongxing Emperor what happened in the Imperial Study.
Yong Xing Emperor did not speak for a long time, sinking into deep self-blame.
After a while, he said, "Send the girl back to the Xu Mansion. We will write a memorial to appease the Grand Tutor. During this time, do not let the Grand Tutor leave the palace.
Zhao Xuanzhen replied, stammering:
"I can keep it for a while, but not forever."
Yongxing Emperor was silent for a long time and said slowly,
"I will issue a decree to the Xu family to forbid Taifu from visiting."
After sending away Cho Hyun-jin, the Yongxing Emperor took a sip of ginseng tea. He recalled what the eunuch said and clicked his tongue.
"Unbelievable, unbelievable.
"I don't believe there is such an idiot in the world. I have the time to test him."
…
The carriage stopped in front of the Xu family's mansion. The little bean jumped down from the carriage with a cloth bag on her back.
The cloth bag was bulging and seemed to be filled with something.
It was a pastry she got from Huaiqing.
Xu Xinnian jumped down from the carriage and walked into the mansion expressionlessly.
The little bean put her hands on the sides of her waist and rushed into the mansion with her head down. She tripped at the door and fell to the ground.
"Second Brother, I fell."
She raised her head and looked at Xu Xinnian.
Xu Erlang's handsome face twitched. "And?"
She patted her butt and stood up. She protected the pastry in the cloth bag and looked at Xu Erlang cautiously.
？ Xu Erlang looked at her with a frown.
The little bean took a careful look at Second Brother and suddenly ran away in fear.
Xu Erlang was stunned for a long time. He didn't treat Lingyin well along the way. His stupid sister thought he was coveting the pastry.
The proof was that he didn't help her after she fell.
When they entered the inner courtyard, they saw the mother and daughter staring at each other.
The aunt said angrily, "Why is she back? Was she kicked out of the palace again?"
Xu Erlang nodded.
"You …"
The aunt was so angry that her chest was heaving up and down. She gritted her teeth. "What happened?"
Xu Erlang said helplessly.
"Lingyin made Taifu sick. Heh, tomorrow, her name will spread throughout the officialdom and scholars.
"All scholars will know that the Grand Tutor, who is extremely knowledgeable and has one of the best prestige in the Confucian world, was angered by a child to the point of being bedridden."
The aunt's body shook. She thought of many things in an instant. She said with a pale face,
"How can Lingyin get married in the future?"
Xu Erlang was also so angry that he laughed.
"It's all my fault. Lingyin is not the type to study, but you are not satisfied. You want her to read and become a talented woman."
The aunt felt sad and put the blame on Second Uncle.
"Look at her silly look. She takes after your father. If she takes after me, she will be proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy and painting at such a young age."
"I am good at studying."
Lingyin was eating the delicious pastry in the palace and said with grievance.
Xu Erlang pinched his eyebrows. He was worried about another thing. After this matter was spread, Lingyin might become a delicious cake in the eyes of some people who wanted to be famous.
Taifu, as a scholar in the Imperial College, cultivated awe-inspiring righteousness and had a leading position in the literary world.
Even Taifu couldn't enlighten a child. If she was enlightened by someone, wouldn't she become famous in one fell swoop?
Before seeing Lingyin, no one would think that they couldn't even deal with a child. At that time, there would be countless people coming to visit.
"Stupid can also be famous in the capital. What is this …"
Xu Erlang pinched his eyebrows with a headache.
…
The next morning.
Li Lingsu came to knock on the door. The door opened with the sound of the wooden bolt. He looked inside and saw Xu Qi'an standing by the window drinking tea. Mu Nanzi was sitting at the table, controlling the little white fox. She was holding a bristle toothbrush to brush its teeth.
"Woo woo woo …"
The little white fox made a painful sound. Its limbs kicked randomly from time to time.
"Don't move. Brush your teeth, or your mouth will stink."
Mu Nanzi said.
"I don't stink … Woo woo …"
The little white fox habitually resisted. It seemed to be used to this kind of thing, so it didn't resist much.
This was raising it as a daughter … Li Lingsu sighed in his heart and said,
"Senior Xu, the waiter is downstairs preparing breakfast."
The way he addressed him as "Senior Xu" was not as sincere as before.
The little white fox took the opportunity to get rid of Mu Nanzi and cried, "Hungry! Hungry!"
While saying, it spat out foam.
A group of people went downstairs and saw Miao Youfang already sitting at the table, eating his own breakfast.
Each person had a bowl of porridge, three meat buns, two steamed buns, and a stack of pickles.
Shengyi County was not rich. There was a shortage of materials. People were in the state of filling their stomachs.
There was no dock nearby. Trade was not developed. Therefore, even if there was money, the inn could not take out better things.
Everyone took a seat and quietly ate.
Miao Youfang asked, "Senior, where are we going next?"
"After finding the host of Dragon Breath in Jiangzhou, we will go to Jianzhou." Xu Qi 'an said.
Jianzhou … Li Lingsu's face changed. He quickly lowered his head to eat the porridge.
"Sir, do you want to stay or have a meal?"
The Waiter's enthusiastic voice attracted their attention. Miao Youfang turned his head to look. His eyes slightly brightened.
The waiter was greeting a rather good-looking young woman. She was dressed in plain clothes and a pair of leather boots. She had an extremely slim figure.
Her facial features were delicate and pretty, and her gaze was firm and resolute, revealing a cold and unapproachable aura.
"Stay!"
That woman said.
Watching The Waiter take her upstairs, Li Lingsu joked,
"Didn't you say that you have slept with a lot of courtesans? Is that all you've got?"
Miao Youfang reluctantly retracted his gaze and retorted,
"How can courtesans and heroines of the pugilistic world be the same thing? Speaking of which, during my most glorious month, there were also several heroines who hooked up with me.
"It's just that I cruelly rejected them."
The most glorious month referred to the time when he was possessed by Dragon Breath.
Li Lingsu was surprised, "Why?"
Miao Youfang sighed and said helplessly,
"You don't understand. In the pugilistic world, women are always trouble. The more beautiful the woman, the more trouble.
"It's not that there's anything wrong with their character, but that beautiful heroines will always cause trouble. Sometimes, when you meet a master who likes women, you can't refuse if he wants to sleep with you.
"You can't expect every Warrior to be as chivalrous as me.
"Then, as a companion, what should you do? If you stand up for her, you might be killed. If you don't stand up for her, it will be too humiliating. So, you might as well be alone. "
Li Lingsu and Xu Qi 'an wore an expression that said, "You've taught me a lesson."
Whether it was the Sea King of Tenzō or the Sea King of Capital City, they had never encountered such a thing.
Miao Youfang suddenly showed a wretched expression and said, "Brother Li, you claim to have seen countless women, and there are many high-ranked martial artists among them, right? Are there any who are above Rank-6? "
Li Lingsu nodded, "Of course."
Miao Youfang chuckled and said, "I'm very curious. Rank-6 martial artists have copper skin and iron bones. Can your little stick break their flesh?"
This angle was very strange … Xu Qi 'an, who had never slept with a martial artist above Rank-6, also turned to look at Li Lingsu.
"Vulgar!"
Li Lingsu didn't know how to answer.
Xu Qi 'an and Miao Youfang chuckled.
Miao Youfang smiled and said, "Actually, I've thought it through too. Fish Scale Armor is also hard to damage, but an embroidery needle can pierce through the gap."
After saying that, he suddenly slumped on the table, unconscious.
Li Lingsu held a soul in his palm. He squinted and smiled.
"Brother Miao, you're very creative."
At this moment, a yellow-haired dog ran in while The Waiter was not around.
Li Lingsu flicked his finger and pushed the soul into the dog's body.
"Where did this mutt come from? Get lost!"
The Waiter came downstairs, waved his stick and chased the yellow-haired dog away, even hitting it a few times.
The smile on Li Lingsu's face deepened, and he threw a meat bun. "Poor guy, come, this is for you."
"Woof woof woof …"
The yellow-haired dog did not want the meat bun. It barked rhythmically outside the inn.
"He's scolding you!" Xu Qi 'an said.
"Scolding me for what?" Li Lingsu said with a smile.
"He scolded you for not having a son. I'm a top courtesan, and all the women I've slept with have new lovers. I even gave birth to a bunch of children for you, waiting for you to come home and call them father."
Xu Qi 'an said.
Li Lingsu was dumbfounded, and his face stiffened. "How did you know?"
"I can certainly understand the language of beasts." Xu Qi 'an said with a smile, and then added:
"Oh, he just said that your butt is great!"
Li Lingsu was furious. He rolled up his sleeves and stood up. "I'm going to skin it and eat dog meat today …"
Suddenly, he felt someone poke his back, and then his Primordial Spirit and magic power were all sealed.
The Son of God turned his head and looked at Xu Qi 'an with a pale face.
"What, what are you doing?"
Xu Qi 'an said with a smile, "It's fair. Go ahead, let's fight."
Not long after, pedestrians and guests in the inn stopped to watch, or poked their heads out to watch the fierce fight between a man and a dog.
The crowd cheered loudly, sometimes cheering for the man, and sometimes applauding for the dog.
Xu Qi 'an and Mu Nanzi finished their breakfast happily.
…
In a small city in Yuzhou, in a brothel in the morning mist.
Under the horrified gazes of the guests and girls, Ji Xuan took out a small bronze cauldron and put an unconscious man covered in blood into the cauldron.
He glanced at the broken staircase and the cracked ground, threw down an ingot of silver, and turned to leave.
On the street outside the brothel, the one-armed White Tiger, Xu Yuanshuang and her brother, the charming Liu Hongmian, and Qiuhuan Danxiang in a colorful robe were eating breakfast with their heads down.
Ji Xuan sat down and asked the stall owner to bring him a bowl of hot soy milk. He drank half a bowl and exhaled in satisfaction.
"The thirteenth Dragon Breath host."
Liu Hongmian curled her lips. "Unfortunately, they are all broken Dragon Breath."
Ji Xuan smiled.
"Many a little makes a mickle. When the broken Dragon Breath is gathered to a certain extent, it will be more attractive to other Dragon Breath.
"I have to thank Sister Yuan Shuang for her help. Without the help of the Qi Observation Spell, how could I be so fast?"
Xu Yuanshuang said lightly, "You should thank the secret agents of the Tianji Palace. Without them to collect information, you wouldn't have been able to gather all Dragon Breath so quickly."
Ji Xuan was about to speak when he saw Xu Yuanshuang take out a piece of paper from the small bag on her waist.
"The latest information is that a Dragon Breath host has been found in Yuzhou. It is one of the nine vital Dragon Breaths.
"The secret agents in Yuzhou dare not act rashly because Dragon Breath has the ability to avoid danger. They are afraid of alerting the enemy."
Ji Xuan's eyes lit up. "Yuzhou is not far from here."
