Xia Pingan had someone convert all the property and silver from Long Cloud Manor into silk bolts, and according to the rules of tribute, all of them were distributed to those poor families whose children had been robbed over the years. Each family had fifty bolts of silk bolts.
In just a few days, it was as if a great play was being played out inside and outside Daozhou City. First, countless children who had been kidnapped to Long Cloud Manor were reunited with their parents. Then, the Provincial Governor's compensation was distributed. Countless people in Daozhou rushed to spread the news. In front of the Provincial Governor's Manor, the people of Daozhou sent chickens, ducks, and fish to the Provincial Governor's Manor almost every day out of gratitude.
Xia Pingan had people accept the gifts sent by the people. Then, he had the chefs of the Provincial Governor's Manor make meat soup and share it with the officials of the Provincial Governor's Manor.
After Xia Pingan finished writing the memorial to the imperial court, he sent it out. Three days after the memorial was sent out, a group of travel-worn people came from afar. After entering Daozhou City, they went directly to the Provincial Governor's Manor.
…
"Yang Cheng, how dare you! The midgets that Daozhou City offered as tribute to His Majesty are clever and interesting. His Majesty likes them the most. The concubines and nobles in the palace also like them. When foreign envoys come to Chang 'an, His Majesty often has the midget figurines of Daozhou City perform in public. Daozhou City has offered tribute for a hundred years, and you stop just like that? Do you have any respect for the imperial court and His Majesty?"
In the main hall of the Provincial Governor's Manor, Xia Pingan sat at the head of the table. A white-faced eunuch wearing the uniform of a eunuch was sitting beside Xia Pingan. He spoke in a sharp voice and raised his orchid fingers, severely criticizing Xia Pingan.
This eunuch was Tang Dezong's tributary envoy. He was the eunuch in charge of supervising and inspecting the tributes sent to the imperial court. Although his position was not high, because he worked for the Emperor, he could be considered the Emperor's special envoy. His prestige far exceeded that of ordinary officials.
This tributary had been overseeing Heng Province, supervising the tributes from all over Heng Province. His days had been quite leisurely, but when he heard about what Yang City had done in Daozhou City, he hurriedly brought a group of people to Daozhou City, looking like he was going to punish them.
Xia Pingan sipped his tea unhurriedly. Until the tribute envoy finished speaking, he said calmly, "Eunuch Chen, you're wrong. According to the Law of the Tang Dynasty, the tribute can only be provided with something, not without something. In Daozhou, there are only dwarves and no dwarf slaves. There is no reason for the tribute to the common people. This is the first reason. Secondly, Daozhou is short of people. If the tribute is given, who can provide it? Since eunuch has just arrived in Dao Continent City, why don't you take a good look around Dao Continent City and see if there are any specialties of our Dao Continent that can be offered as tributes. If there are any, I will definitely offer them … "
Xia Pingan also wrote these two reasons in the memorial to Tang Dezong, which was reasonable.
The translation of these words meant that according to the laws of the imperial court, local tributes could only be offered with things that were local. They could not be offered with things that were not local. There were only short commoners in Daozhou, and there were no short slaves. They could not be treated as tributes. In addition, the common people in Daozhou were poor, and there were no local specialties. Therefore, the tributes could not be offered.
The eunuch was choked by Xia Pingan's words. He was so angry that he trembled all over. He pointed at Xia Pingan and said, "Fine … fine … fine. Everyone knows that your Yangkang Sect is proficient in legal classics. I can't outtalk you. If you dare to refuse to offer tributes, don't regret it …"
"I still have official documents to deal with. Eunuch Chen, if there's nothing else, please go back …" Xia Pingan directly sent him off with a cup of tea.
Outside the hall, a group of officials from the Provincial Governor's Manor watched in fear as Xia Pingan withstood the pressure and angered the tribute envoy by the Emperor's side to leave. When Eunuch Chen angrily left with his entourage, the group of officials carefully walked into the hall.
"Sir, Eunuch Chen will definitely return to Heng Province and complain to the Observation Room about you. The Observation Room will definitely send someone here …" An official reminded.
"I know. Everyone, do your own thing!" Xia Pingan said calmly. Xia Pingan had expected that the Observation Room would send someone here. He had already prepared for it.
However, although Magistrate Cui's name was not recorded in the history books, he was also a man of righteousness and integrity. Xia Pingan was not worried.
…
As expected, a few days later, Magistrate Cui from Heng Province brought his men and horses to Daozhou City in the name of urging the examination.
Urging the examination was to supervise the local officials to hand over the money and taxes to the local government. Magistrates had the responsibility to supervise. If they encountered any illegal officials, they could directly arrest them.
The officials of the Provincial Governor's Mansion all came out of the city to welcome them.
The Magistrate who came to urge the examination was a man in his forties. He had a square face and two thick eyebrows. He had a strong physique and rode on a tall horse. Beside him were dozens of subordinates wearing official robes. They were all equipped with swords and bows. They looked ferocious as if they were here for war.
The Magistrate's sharp eyes swept across the officials in Daozhou City. He discovered that they were all familiar faces. However, he did not see Yang Cheng. His face darkened. "Why don't I see Provincial Governor Yang?"
"Reporting to Sir Cui, Provincial Governor Yang is in prison!" An official from the Provincial Governor's Mansion stepped forward and reported in a low voice.
"Provincial Governor Yang is in prison? What's going on?" Magistrate Cui was shocked. He hadn't even made a move yet, so how could Yang Cheng be in prison?
"Cough cough, I heard that Sir Cui was coming to urge the examination. Sir Yang felt that he was not doing enough to urge the examination, so he went to prison and locked himself in. He said that he was waiting for Sir Cui to come …"
"Take me to see …"
"Yes!"
The official from the Provincial Governor's Mansion led Magistrate Cui and his subordinates into the city.
Upon entering the city, Magistrate Cui sensed that the atmosphere in the city was not right. In the past, whenever he went to a place, the common people he encountered would not dare to look directly at him. Even if they did, they would be incomparably respectful. But today, when he entered Yang City, the common people on both sides of the street, from eighty old men to yellow-haired children, regardless of gender or age, all looked at them with hatred.
Everywhere they went, other than the sound of horse hooves, the streets were completely silent. Everyone stared at them with piercing eyes. This feeling was simply like entering an enemy country. How was this like Daozhou City of the Great Tang's Heng Province?
Magistrate Cui and his subordinates felt like there was a blade on their backs. Cold sweat dripped down their backs.
Magistrate Cui came to the prison of Daozhou City and saw Xia Pingan. He saw Xia Pingan in a prison uniform, sitting upright in his cell and writing on the table. Magistrate Cui came to Xia Pingan's side and saw that Xia Pingan had only written eight words on the table. "Urging the examination of political clumsiness, stroking the writing of words exhausting the mind."
Xia Pingan put down his brush and calmly looked at Magistrate Cui. "Sir Cui is here. Yang City is incompetent. If you want to kill or torture me, please do as you wish …"
Magistrate Cui sighed. At this time, if he said anything about urging the examination, it would be an insult to the intelligence of both sides. He bowed to Xia Pingan and left the prison without saying a word. He brought his subordinates and left Yang City, returning to Heng Province to report to the Observer.
The Observer was furious. He once again ordered Magistrate Cui to capture Yang City and bring him to Heng Province.
Magistrate Cui returned to his court and said to his subordinates, "Daozhou's Yang City is truly a sincere gentleman. He is the parent of the people. If I capture him, won't I become a despicable person like Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen? I won't be able to rest easy. I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep peacefully for the rest of my life. I can't do this job. Everyone, please do as you wish …" With that, Magistrate Cui took out his magistrate's seal and hung it in the hall. Then he left the hall. That night, he left Heng Province with his wife and son, disappearing without a trace.
The Heng Province Observer knew that his subordinate, Magistrate Cui, had actually hung up his seal and left. He also fell silent.
"Eunuch Liu, Yang City is unmoved by force or persuasion. I can't do anything about it. If we continue to cause trouble, I'm afraid it will incite a rebellion in Daozhou. I think we should let His Majesty decide on the matter of Daozhou's tribute …" the Observer said helplessly to Eunuch Liu.
"Okay, okay, okay. I'll go back to Chang 'an and ask for the imperial edict. That Yang City dares to refuse to pay tribute. I'll see how long they can jump around. I don't believe His Majesty will allow them to do as they please." Eunuch Liu left angrily again.
…
More than a month later, in Chang 'an City's Daming Palace …
After reading the memorial sent by Yang City from Daozhou, Li Shi's heart was in turmoil. He left Zichen Palace and strolled leisurely. Before he knew it, he had arrived at the altar and the ancestral hall.
Seeing Li Shi's arrival, the eunuchs guarding the ancestral hall hurriedly knelt on the ground.
Walking into the ancestral hall and looking at the memorial tablet of "Empress Dowager Rui Zhen", Li Shi's deep gaze softened.
This was the memorial tablet of his birth mother, Lady Shen. The honorific "Empress Dowager Rui Zhen" had been bestowed by Li Shi himself after he had ascended the throne.
"Forget it …" Li Shi sighed softly and shook his head.
…
In Chang 'an City, the moment Li Shi said "forget it", Xia Pingan, who was in the study of the Provincial Governor's Mansion in Daozhou City, was caught off guard. The entire world of the realm pearl shattered into a rain of light.
…
The surging divine power began to wash Xia Pingan's body over and over again.
By the time the feeling in his body disappeared, Xia Pingan's consciousness had already appeared in the divine hall of the secret mandala.
The divine power in the vault of heaven in the mandala had increased by a full 100 points.
This divine power seemed to have exceeded the upper limit of the perfect fusion of the realm pearl.
Zheng Qiao had not died and Xue Yue had not been banished. The changes in their fates had indeed changed the result of the fusion of the realm pearl.
Xia Pingan was somewhat excited. At this moment, his consciousness in the secret mandala and his experiences in the realm pearl had become like a dream after waking up. They were hazy and did not seem so real.
Only the changes in the secret mandala were real.
In the divine hall, there was another golden statue. The content of this golden statue was that of Yang Cheng, dressed in the auspicious robes of an immortal official, holding a jade ruyi in his hand. Then there was a boy with two cute braids and wearing a red dudou. He was laughing and lying at Yang Cheng's feet, charmingly naive as he clutched Yang Cheng's official robes.
The Yang Cheng in the statue was no longer an official of the Great Tang, but the image of the god of fortune.
The boy was vivid and lifelike. It was a summoning position and could be summoned.
In addition to this statue, the statue of Bian Que, which had been fused previously, was also in the divine hall.
The statue of the god of fortune lit up the word "bo" on the golden text mountain in the divine hall, and the statue of Bian Que lit up the word "yu".
Xia Pingan thought for a moment and began to pour divine power into the statue of the god of fortune, preparing to summon the illusory boy out to take a look.
As the divine power poured in, Xia Pingan became more and more surprised. As far as he knew, summoning this boy seemed to only require 60 points of divine power. However, he continued to pour in divine power, but the illusory boy never appeared. In the blink of an eye, he had poured in more than 100 points of divine power. When he had poured in 180 points of divine power, the boy in the statue flashed and walked out of the statue.
As the boy was summoned, a piece of information suddenly appeared in Xia Pingan's mind. This was not the illusory boy, but the boy of fortune.
The cute boy who had been summoned had the word "fortune" written on his bellyband, and he was exceptionally naughty. However, as soon as he appeared, the boy of fortune flashed and disappeared from his original spot. His body shrank by half, and he climbed onto the head of Suiren's sculpture to touch Suiren's face and grab the ball of fire beside Suiren. In the next second, the boy of fortune expanded again and appeared on the golden text mountain. He stepped on the activated text and jumped around happily …
Seeing that Cang Jie was writing something in the distance, the boy of fortune flashed to Cang Jie's side and returned to his original size. He reached out to grab Cang Jie's beard.
Cang Jie smiled as he touched the center of the boy of fortune's eyebrows with the jade pen in his hand. Instantly, a round red cinnabar flower appeared between the boy's eyebrows, making him look more adorable.
After touching the flower between the eyebrows, the boy of fortune disappeared from the hall in a split second and came to the real world from the secret mandala.
Xia Pingan was startled. He opened his eyes and saw the boy of fortune grabbing his ears and stepping on his shoulders to climb onto his head.
Seeing Xia Pingan open his eyes, the boy of fortune kissed Xia Pingan's cheek and giggled, "Papa, papa …" He called twice before disappearing from the underground cultivation room in a split second …
Xia Pingan touched his face and felt like he was dreaming.
'Did the boy of fortune call me papa? What's going on? '
He looked at his secret mandala and found that the boy of fortune was not there. He searched the basement but found no trace of the boy of fortune.
'Did the boy of fortune run away on his own?'
Xia Pingan felt that all of this was too unimaginable.
'That boy of fortune better not make any trouble!'
Xia Pingan took out the pocket watch on his body and looked at it. It only took a little more than two hours to fuse with the realm pearl of the boy of fortune.
Xia Pingan came out of the underground cultivation room. It was already dark outside. The two moons in the sky were like mirrors and the stars were shining brightly. It was the beginning of the nightlife in the capital.
Xia Pingan looked around the newly rented courtyard but found no trace of the boy of fortune.
'This boy of fortune is too naughty. Where did he run off to?'
Just when Xia Pingan had given up looking for the boy of fortune, a scene suddenly appeared in Xia Pingan's mind.
The Great Wan Guild Hall appeared in Xia Pingan's sea of consciousness. The boy of fortune who disappeared was sitting on the entrance of the Great Wan Guild Hall. He looked like a ginseng baby and was less than a foot tall. He swung his two chubby little feet and leisurely looked around at this interesting world.
The street outside the Great Wan Guild Hall was bustling with people and carriages. At the entrance of the Great Wan Guild Hall stood four children of the Great Wan City's Tang Family. However, no one on the street seemed to be able to see a cute boy wearing a red dudou sitting on the entrance of the Great Wan Guild Hall.
A gorgeous four-wheeled carriage stopped at the entrance of the Great Wan Guild Hall. Xia Pingan saw the gloomy Tang Family Elder and Tang Long get off the carriage. Then, the boy of fortune, who was swinging his feet on the entrance of the Great Wan Guild Hall, directly jumped off the entrance and onto the Tang Family Elder's head.
Xia Pingan almost cried out when he saw this scene.
However, the Tang Family Elder didn't notice this at all. The Hall Master hurriedly walked out of the Great Wan Guild Hall to welcome him. As he walked into the Great Wan Guild Hall, he didn't know that a boy of fortune had appeared on his head.
Xia Pingan was inwardly shocked. However, what happened next made Xia Pingan even more speechless. He saw the boy of fortune hatefully kick the Tang Family Elder's head twice. Then, he stood on the Tang Family Elder's head, lifted his dudou, and revealed a small bird. He stuck out his belly and directly peed on the Tang Family Elder's head.
That pee completely drenched the Tang Family Elder's head. A layer of black gas suddenly appeared on the Tang Family Elder's head. This didn't seem to be a good omen.
From beginning to end, the Tang Family Elder and the people around him didn't notice this at all …
'F * ck, this boy of fortune is too strong. How could he do this!'
Xia Pingan was already dumbfounded and speechless.
"You can leave now. Don't wait on me. I'm a bit tired today. I'm going to take a rest …" The elder of Tang Clan waved his hand as he told the people beside him. After that, he returned to his room with the Boy of Bliss on his head.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
