"It's Pei Yaoqing. Brother Yi, you don't have to care about him. Go and see what he's up to." Li Chengqi returned and said a name.
Li Yi wasn't as calm as him.
Pei Yaoqing? The future Prime Minister Pei Yaoqing?
Now he's the Chang 'an Magistrate?
Thus, Li Yi came out happily and sized up the future Prime Minister.
He looked to be in his thirties, had two eyes and a mouth, and was wearing an official's robe.
"The Ming Residence has come in person, but I didn't welcome you properly. It's my fault." Li Yi cupped his fists and bowed with a smile.
Pei Yaoqing was also sizing up Li Yi. This young man sold soy sauce at such an expensive price. He couldn't even afford to cook a chicken or duck egg.
The other people in the yamen didn't dare to open their mouths. Who was the one who just came out? Even the Chang 'an Magistrate was afraid of him.
More importantly, why were there two eunuchs behind Li Yi?
There were indeed two eunuchs. The palace maids were serving the empress inside.
"Everyone has worked hard. Men, bring the seven county officials to bathe and prepare their meals." Li Yi ordered. Pine Tree expressionlessly raised his hand.
The seven people who came with Pei Yaoqing looked at the Shangguan.
Pei Yaoqing nodded. Only then did the seven people leave with Pine Tree.
"The Ming Residence must have something big to do. I hope that the Ming Residence can inform us." Li Yi stood outside and said. There were sisters-in-law inside, so it wasn't convenient to invite outsiders in.
Pei Yaoqing didn't intend to enter either. Why did King Song come to Zhuangzi? From the looks of it, he seemed to be on good terms with Li Yi.
"Li Dongzhu, someone said that there are many crabs in your village, and that it's an omen. What's your explanation?" Pei Yaoqing asked.
"Impossible. If the Ming Residence doesn't believe it, you can bring some back to taste. With the seasoning mixed with the soy sauce in Zhuangzi, you'll know with a single taste." Li Yi said with a serious expression.
Pei Yaoqing secretly swallowed his saliva. He carefully looked at Li Yi again.
He thought to himself, 'This young man, Dongzhu, is really something. He can talk about bribery so openly and honorably, and has a bright future.'
He took a deep breath and asked again, "There's another story. You hired workers with a generous sum of money, but you didn't pay them when they finished. Is this true?"
"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the Ming residence. When I, Zhuangzi, was born, I was so poor that I only had money left. Right now, there are many other people working. There are three meals a day, and each meal has meat. Why would I care about money?"
Li Yi shook his head.
Following that, he continued, "Speaking of hiring more people, it's more lively. With the arrival of winter, why don't the Ming Residence place the village's drinking ceremony on my Zhuangzi?"
"Hometown drinking ceremony?" Pei Yaoqing repeated. He suddenly remembered that it was winter and he had work to do.
As the Magistrate of Chang 'an, he wanted to bring warmth to the students who came to Chang' an. Alright, we'll hold a banquet and have a poetry recital.
For those who were not knowledgeable, they could just send some rice. There was really no place to entertain them.
However, he had to spend money and find a place.
Where is the most spacious place in Chang'an? The Forbidden Garden. However, that was obviously not possible.
The Zhuangzi in front of him was not bad. Should he hold the event …
"Follow me, Ming residence." Li Yi observed Pei Yaoqing's expression. Seeing that he was tempted, he invited him to take a look at the venue.
As the two walked, Li Yi took half a step back and introduced, "Zhuangzi has a dedicated place for students to meet friends and write poems. Last time, the willows and flowers bloomed. More than a thousand people guarded one place, and the winding water flowed."
"Hmm?" Pei Yaoqing was interested, "Li Dongzhu's place is filled with winding water?"
"I cultivated it in my spare time to enjoy it," Li Yi answered.
"I heard that the Three Character Classic was written by you?" Pei Yaoqing asked casually.
"Instead of diligently studying, it's better to add to the fun. Reading the Three Character Classic will naturally lead to a romantic gathering, "Li Yi said with a smile.
Pei Yaoqing was in a good mood. He felt that talking to Li Yi was a matter between scholars.
He felt a strong sense of agreement.
The two chatted as they walked.
Pei Yaoqing looked at the situation in Zhuangzi. Everyone he saw had smiles on their faces. Every construction site they passed was a boiling cauldron of voices.
His heart was moved. What a flourishing Xiang Rong manor.
Even though there was still light snow falling from the sky, it could not hide the joy.
As he was thinking, the two of them arrived at the place Li Yi had specially built.
"Ming residence, take a look. Because the land is small, we had to put in some effort.
This road twists and turns thousands of times to become intestines. This tree is dense and complemented by the fine sun. This water is as clear as a mirror. This mountain is rugged and firm.
Every step brings a bridge to the shore, a flower and a grass pavilion to the corridor. Each person and a bottle can look to the moon, and a group of people can flow together. "
Li Yi explained the purpose and techniques of the design to Pei Yaoqing. Suzhou's gardens!
Pei Yaoqing stood outside and had not yet entered. As he listened to Li Yi, his heart flew away.
Beautiful, good scenery, good land, good literary talent.
With this sort of appearance, how could Li Dongzhu hire people without paying?
Of course, his goal in coming here was not to eat crabs or hire people. He would talk about that later. First, he would go in and take a look.
Li Yi and Pei Yaoqing entered and began to quote from many sources, borrowing from the past and present, working very hard to display their talent.
He wanted to leave a deep impression on Pei Yaoqing.
In the snowy weather, Pei Yaoqing was sweating incessantly. As long as he mentioned an allusion, Li Yi was guaranteed to pick it up.
And sometimes, when Li Yi said something, he could only smile and listen.
Pei Yaoqing was frightened. He had taken the imperial examination and passed the boy examination. When he passed, he was not even ten years old.
At the age of twenty, he was a clerk in the Ministry of Secretaries and a pawnbroker in the Prince of Xiang's estate.
In terms of talent and learning, he did not concede to anyone, but why was there such a youth? Just what have you not remembered?
The two eunuchs were also sweating. They each took a small notebook and used the charcoal brush that Li Yi had invented to take notes.
For some words that they did not know how to write, they used wrong words to replace them.
After walking for less than an hour, Pei Yaoqing's underwear was soaked.
Li Yi was still talking and laughing. If you say something, I will follow your topic. If you don't say anything, I will come up with a topic. You can't be embarrassed, right?
In fact, Pei Yaoqing was not embarrassed. He was afraid.
He stopped, gritted his teeth, and finally said the purpose of this trip.
"Brother Li, winter is coming. There are many people in Chang 'an who do not have enough clothes to cover their bodies and food to fill their stomachs. I ordered people to go to other rich families to persuade them. Knowing that you, Zhuangzi, have a lot of money, I came personally."
Pei Yaoqing said and looked at Li Yi.
That was his purpose. He had thought that Li Yi was an uneducated rich man who had pretended to be a scholar from somewhere.
He wanted Li Yi to be a scholar and donate money so that he could use it to support others.
But now he knew that this youth, Dongzhu, was not only rich, but also talented.
Would such a person still need to be called a scholar?
Li Yi was relieved. So it was just a donation. He thought that it would be troublesome.
Li Yi heaved a sigh of relief and asked, "How much do you need?"
Pei Yaoqing stretched out three fingers, "Fifty liang …"
After a moment of depression, he retracted another finger, "Four …"
"Four hundred liang. Brother Pei, I will accept this number." Li Yi continued. If he wanted fifty liang, he would give more. Otherwise, he would not have such a deep impression of him.
"Brother Yi, you …" Pei Yaoqing did not believe that Li Yi did not understand. But why …
"Brother Pei, you call me brother. If a brother has worries, a brother will share them. I am so poor that I only have money left. Finally, I have met an opportunity to help others. No wonder I have been having nightmares for the past few days. Brother Pei, you have helped me out. "
Li Yi's expression was on point and his words were sincere.
Pei Yaoqing: "…"
He finally understood why King Song would protect Li Yi on Zhuangzi.
It was too comfortable to interact with a Dongzhu like Li Yi.
"Brother Yi, to think that you would be here. Big Brother told me that you came out to meet the Chang 'an. Your sister-in-law was worried about you and looked for you everywhere."
Pei Yaoqing thought that it was already good enough that King Song would protect Li Yi. Li Yi.
Then, he suddenly heard a voice and saw five figures.
There were two men and three women. Two of the women were palace maids and they were holding umbrellas.
The other man was King Song. As for the other man and woman …
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