"Tap, tap, tap …" The carriage slowly came to a stop.
"Who goes there?" On the high wall, a middle-aged man with a black eyepatch over his right eye asked in a loud voice.
"Can I trouble you to inform General Chen Xicheng of the Chang 'an Garrison that he wishes to see the ranch owner?" Sei Itō got out of the carriage and stood on the edge of the carriage. He looked up at the man with a kind smile.
"Hiss …" The man immediately sucked in a breath of cold air. He was shocked by Sei Itō's identity.
"Please wait a moment," the man hurriedly said politely. He then turned his head and shouted, "Open the door!"
"Creak, creak, creak …" As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of the wooden axle suddenly rang out. The gate that had been tightly closed all this time slowly opened to both sides, revealing the beautiful scenery behind the gate, with long grass and eagles flying in the sky.
"Lord Chen, please come in," the one-eyed man who ran down from the wall said politely as the gate opened.
"Thank you very much." Ito Mori also saluted politely and urged the horse to move into the ranch.
"Good horses!" The man didn't notice it earlier, but when he got closer, he finally noticed the difference between the two horses pulling the carriage. His single eye lit up as he exclaimed in admiration. It could be seen how much he liked the two black horses.
"Later, I must have the ranch owner talk to Lord Chen and buy these two black horses for breeding purposes," the one-eyed man thought to himself as he watched Sei Itō's carriage enter the ranch.
"If such a good horse is used only to pull a carriage, it would be such a waste."
"Close the gate." The one-eyed man retracted his gaze and ordered loudly. He then quickly walked to a horse tied to the side and mounted it. He urged the horse to catch up to Sei Itō's carriage and followed beside Sei Itō to show him the way into the ranch. He also introduced some of the scenery of the ranch.
"So beautiful," Wei Zhenzhen praised after being called out by Sei Itō.
Hearing Wei Zhenzhen's praise, the one-eyed man's smile widened, and he enthusiastically introduced Sei Itō to the situation at the ranch. Of course, it was just simple information that anyone could know. As a manager, the one-eyed man wouldn't be so stupid as to say it out loud just because of one or two compliments.
Just like that, under the one-eyed man's introduction, the group of people passed through the vast plains and arrived in front of a house with a cluster of buildings.
"Lord Chen, please follow me," said the one-eyed man as he dismounted and handed the horse to the coachman.
Sei Itō didn't argue when he heard this. He led Wei Zhenzhen and Fu Junzhuo, who was wearing the strange silver mask again, out of the carriage. He handed the carriage over to the coachman to take care of it and followed the one-eyed man into the house.
After a while, they arrived at a more formal meeting room.
The meeting room wasn't large, only about thirty square meters in size. It was rectangular, with a round table in the middle and a few short round chairs. A pile of wooden shelves and some white vases lined the walls on both sides. On the innermost wall, a large painting of galloping horses was hung on the wall, taking up the entire wall.
"Lord Chen, please sit. Our ranch master will be here soon," said the one-eyed man as he led Sei Itō and the others to the round table.
At this time, two maids in plain clothes walked into the meeting room with a wooden tray. They placed two porcelain cups on the tray in front of Sei Itō and the one-eyed man. For them to enjoy. As for Wei Zhenzhen and Fu Junzhuo, one knew the etiquette and didn't honor the agreement, while the other knew her status and didn't act rashly. They stood behind Sei Itō like a maid and a guard.
"I wonder why Lord Chen is here this time …" After a few words of greeting, the one-eyed man asked.
"To buy a horse," Sei Itō answered straightforwardly.
"Does Lord Chen need a horse too?" The one-eyed man asked reservedly.
"Why not?" Sei Itō smiled and asked the same question.
"Uh … I'm sorry for being presumptuous," The one-eyed man smiled awkwardly and threw the topic of why he wanted to buy a horse aside.
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Lord Chen this time." Then, the one-eyed man shook his head and sighed.
"Oh?" Ito Sei raised his eyebrows and showed a look of interest on his face.
"Because …" The one-eyed man opened his mouth and said. But before he could finish, he was interrupted by a clear voice. "Uncle Zhen."
Then, a tall, bronze-skinned woman in a Hu suit walked in. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall, and her eyes were pitch black. A woman in her twenties with thick eyelashes, exuding a fiery and heroic spirit, giving off the feeling of a modern career woman, walked into the room, followed by a petite maid.
"Greetings, Farm Master," the one-eyed man stood up and greeted.
"What a handsome and heroic beauty," Sei Itō said as he looked at Shang Xiuxun with interest.
Shang Xiuxun frowned and looked sharply at Sei Itō, who was still sitting on the round chair. There was a trace of displeasure on her face. Obviously, Sei Itō didn't give Shang Xiuxun a mixed impression.
"Farm Master, this is Lord Chen Xicheng, the Commander of the Chang 'an Garrison, Lord Chen Xicheng," the one-eyed man quickly introduced as he felt the change in the atmosphere.
"Greetings, Lord Chen." Shang Xiuxun's attitude couldn't be considered respectful. At most, it could be considered polite. "I didn't expect the head of a city to come all the way to the Flying Horse Ranch instead of staying in his territory. It's really surprising."
In the world of Great Tang, except for people like Du Fuwei, which faction's head didn't follow the creed that the son of a rich family shouldn't be in the hall? Therefore, Shang Xiuxun was surprised that Sei Itō, who had been promoted to the head of a faction after Yang Guang's death, didn't stay in his hometown to protect his life and instead traveled all over the place.
"The Flying Horse Ranch is very popular now. If I don't come personally to show my sincerity, why would Farm Master consider selling the horses to a nobody like me?" Sei Itō looked at Shang Xiuxun, who was sitting across from him, and said with a smile.
"Xiuxun thanks Lord Chen for valuing the Flying Horse Ranch. However, I'm sorry that I still can't sell the horses to you," Shang Xiuxun said politely. Then, under Sei Itō's gaze, she slowly explained, "Because Xiuxun has decided to keep all the horses bred in the next three years to raise the quality of the horses in the ranch. Therefore, I can't agree to a deal with Lord Chen. I'm sorry."
"Is that so?" Sei Itō frowned and said indifferently.
"Yes." Shang Xiuxun's expression didn't change as she said with certainty.
For a moment, the atmosphere between the two became stagnant again.
However, at this moment, another set of footsteps came from outside the house. Then, the door was pushed open in an impolite manner and walked in. Then, a handsome man with fair skin and a scholar's hairstyle appeared. He was dressed in tight clothes and had a scholarly temperament. He had a pretty face, red lips, white teeth, and deep eyes. Sei Itō and Shang Xiuxun saw a black-robed woman. She was also dressed in tight clothes that allowed her to move freely. She had a pretty face, red lips, white teeth, and deep eyes. She seemed to contain powerful wisdom.
Seeing the two people walk into the house, Shang Xiuxun's expression changed. At the same time, a trace of anger flashed in her eyes.
"Xiuxun, you have guests. Why didn't you introduce them to your younger sister?" The woman who walked into the house ignored the look in Shang Xiuxun's eyes. She smiled sweetly and quickly walked over to sit beside Shang Xiuxun. Then, she looked at Sei Itō intimately and asked.
"What a handsome young master." The woman laughed softly.
"Younger Sister Ning, don't be rude." The man said softly. Then, ignoring Shang Xiuxun's existence, he cupped his fists at Sei Itō and said, "I am Chai Shao. May I know who you are?"
"Chai Shao?" Sei Itō sized him up and said. Then, when the other party revealed a proud expression, he turned to look at the woman beside him and continued, "So, you are Li Xiuning?"
"Young Master knows me?" Li Xiuning asked in surprise.
"Of course, I know Li Xiuning, the third princess of the Li family. It's a pity that she is matched with an idiot who only knows how to call himself a romantic. It's really regrettable." Sei Itō glanced at Chai Shao and sighed.
"You!" Chai Shao's face turned red as he glared at Sei Itō.
"Enough! Do you still have me, Shang Xiuxun, in your eyes? " Shang Xiuxun, who had been suppressing her anger, suddenly slammed the table in front of her, leaving a deep palm print on it. Then, she stood up and said angrily, "This is the Flying Horse Ranch, not Chang 'an or Taiyuan. You all better behave yourselves. Otherwise, please leave. Our Flying Horse Ranch does not welcome guests like you who do not know etiquette!"
"My apologies, Xiuxun. It was Younger Sister Xiuning who was rude." Seeing that Shang Xiuxun was angry, Li Xiuning quickly stood up and apologized. "So, as a compensation, I will send my favorite Thousand Layer Cake over as a gift. What do you think?"
Li Xiuning knew that Shang Xiuxun was a foodie and took the opportunity to cater to her taste.
"Hmph," Shang Xiuxun, whose mouth was slightly moved, snorted coldly, accepting Li Xiuning's gift.
"I have heard that you are fond of beautiful things. Although I am not talented, I also have some skills. So, let me do a table of beautiful things for you as an apology." Sei Itō, who was still sitting in his original position, also said with a smile.
"Hmph." Shang Xiuxun, whose eyes were full of curiosity and suspicion, looked at the smiling Sei Itō and snorted coldly, accepting the gift.
"I still don't know who Young Master is …" Li Xiuning recalled that Shang Xiuxun had mentioned Chang 'an when she was angry, and her eyes flashed. She looked at Sei Itō and asked again.
"Chen Xicheng." Sei Itō calmly looked back at Li Xiuning and said faintly.
Li Xiuning, who knew Sei Itō's name, narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Chai Shao. They never would have thought that since the other party had taken the position, they had always wanted to establish a relationship with him in order to rope him in to help the Li Tang. However, they had not been able to do so. Instead, he had met them under such circumstances and left a bad impression. This made their hearts sink at the same time. They felt that Second Brother Shimin's plan to enter Chang 'an to plot the Central Plains might be in trouble.
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