A middle-aged man with a refined appearance appeared outside the Demawei Post House. The Post House Officer looked at this man who gave him a strange feeling. He heard that he called himself Wu Qi and said that he could enter as long as he reported his arrival to the King of Beiliang. The Post House Officer saw his outstanding bearing and did not dare to slight him. However, when the Post House Officer did not see the Prince, he was stopped by the man surnamed Xu, who was acting as a coachman. The two of them walked back to the Post House together. Xu Yanbing and Wu Qi stood separately outside the Post House Officer's door. The latter smiled and said, "Long time no see."
Xu Yanbing had no intention of letting him pass. His eyes were cold as he said, "Since you did not show your face in Beimang, isn't it too late for you to come now? What, do you think that being a general in Western Shu is not satisfying enough? "
Wu Qi laughed loudly and said, "Liu Yanbing … Oh, that's not right, I heard that you bestowed the surname Xu to my brother-in-law, so I should call you Xu Yanbing now. Regardless of whether I am in Northern Mang or Western Shu, when an uncle comes to visit his nephew, you are going to stop him?"
Xu Yanbing laughed coldly and said, "If you want to die, I won't stop you."
Wu Qi sniffled and said, "What a temper. No wonder you are a martial arts grandmaster who is on par with the King of Shu. You don't have to beat me to death. I'm scared to death."
Suddenly, the man who called himself the King of Beiliang's uncle shouted, "Nephew …"
There was a loud bang.
Wu Qi slid back dozens of feet from the Demawei Post House Officer's door.
Xu Yanbing slowly retracted his foot. He even rubbed the soles of his feet on the door sill as if he was afraid of dirtying his boots.
Wu Qi, who had leaned back but didn't fall to the ground, stood up straight and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He didn't get angry and continued to walk to the door. At this time, Xu Fengnian, who had changed into clean clothes, was already at the door. Xu Yanbing moved aside.
Wu Qi put away his frivolous expression and no longer had any thoughts of barging into the Post House. He stood outside the door and said, "I, Wu Qi, have never thought of four things in my life. My sister married Xu Xiao, Xu Xiao did not rebel against Li Yang, and you protected Beiliang and left the Imperial Astronomer alive."
Xu Fengnian's expression was complicated. "Why don't you come in and have a cup of tea?"
Wu Qi shook his head and said, "No. Regardless of whether I'm right or wrong, I don't regret my actions. Since I didn't show myself to meet my nephew in Northern Mang back then, I don't have the right to enter today.
Hsu Fengnian asked, "So you have something to say?"
Wu Qi still shook his head. "I just came to tell you that your trip to Beimang was not in vain. Li Yishan has already begun to make some moves. But let me remind you that even so, don't expect them to help you in your hour of need. It's best if you don't even think about adding flowers to the brocade. Beimang's Peace Order might be alerted to this. Be careful of the oriole behind you."
Hsu Fengnian nodded. "I know."
Wu Qi grinned. "If there really comes a day when we fight on the battlefield, Chen Zhibao will not show mercy. I will do the same. I hope you can do the same. "
Hsu Fengnian said, "No problem."
Wu Qi was just about to speak when he heard his nephew "considerately" remind him, "If you want to vomit blood, vomit it for a while."
Wu Qi's face immediately darkened. He coldly harrumphed, clutching his chest as he turned around and left.
Xu Yanbing glanced at his departing figure. He held back his laughter and said softly, "That kick of mine was not heavy."
Hsu Fengnian grunted. "That's why I said that."
Xu Yanbing was speechless.
That sentence seemed to have been much heavier than his kick.
Xu Yanbing suddenly turned his head. Hsu Fengnian helplessly said, "Forget it."
The red-robed woman and a certain young girl not far away, who had been itching to give it a try, finally gave up.
Xu Yanbing laughed. "Then I'll go find some wine to drink. The posthouse doesn't even have a bottle of Green Ant Wine. That's too unreasonable."
After saying this, Xu Yanbing walked towards a restaurant on the street.
Unlike yesterday's Demawei posthouse, where the majority of the guests were men, the seats of today's restaurants, inns, and teahouses were all filled with women! There were young women, plump women, and even many young girls who were in the prime of their lives!
When Hsu Fengnian appeared at the entrance to see Wu Qi, almost at the same time, flower-hairpin women poked their heads out of the windows, their eyes shining brightly.
There were those who were full of affection, those who were bold enough to cast amorous glances at him, and those who were shy and wanted to say something.
There were also bold and unrestrained women who were shamelessly shouting the name of the King of Beiliang.
Xu Yanbing had not even entered the restaurant when countless handkerchiefs, round fans, scented sachets floated above his head … a large shower of fragrant incense.
These women were all saying things like "I'll have to trouble this Beiliang warrior to give this fan to His Highness." There were even more women who ran out of their rooms. They did not dare to approach Xu Yanbing. In any case, they threw the letters in their hands at him and turned to flee.
Even the half-step Martial Saint Xu Yanbing could not withstand this terrifying array.
On both sides of the street, soft whispers could be heard from upstairs and downstairs.
"See, see, I told you a long time ago that my Young Master Xu is the most handsome man in the world, but you didn't believe me! Now you've gone crazy! "
"Aiya, my eyes are about to get pregnant. If His Highness can walk out of the posthouse and get a little closer to hear him say a few words, even if I die, it will be worth it."
"All the handsome young masters of our Great Peace City added together can't compare to my Big Brother Xu. I can't, I can't, he's really too handsome. Just looking at him from afar makes me drunk!"
"It's a pity that I couldn't sneak out yesterday. Otherwise, I would have been able to see His Highness's heroic figure. Lend me your shoulder, I want to cry for a while …"
"I've decided. In this life, I will only marry Young Master Xu. Mm, if that doesn't work, I'll just be a maidservant."
Xu Yanbing patted a scented sachet off his shoulder and decisively turned to walk back to the posthouse. He wondered if he should have His Highness leave Great Peace City as soon as possible.
Weren't the women of the capital a little too formidable?
Hsu Fengnian had already brought Jia Jiajia and Xu Ying back to the courtyard.
He was dressed in purple and had come uninvited to lie down on a rattan chair under the eaves, resting with his eyes closed.
Hsu Fengnian had also brought over a rattan chair. The woman in red who had taken off her veil crouched down next to Hsu Fengnian. The chuckling girl sat on the steps and had pulled out a scallion pancake from somewhere and was nibbling on it.
Hsu Fengnian lay down on the chair and softly asked, "Why haven't you returned to Mount Hui yet?"
Xuanyuan Qingfeng did not speak.
Hsu Fengnian opened his eyes and looked at the eaves.
That year when he had entered the capital, it had also been at the posthouse in Great Peace City, on a rattan chair in this courtyard.
Hsu Fengnian had talked to this crazy woman about snowmen and ideals.
It was also at that time that the idiot with the wooden sword had left the jianghu.
Xuanyuan Qingfeng did not open his eyes. He coldly asked, "After all these years, have you pitied me or yourself?"
Hsu Fengnian smiled. "Both."
Xuanyuan Qingfeng fell silent.
Hsu Fengnian said, "Thank you for helping me suppress Qi Jiajie's sword aura yesterday."
Xuanyuan Qingfeng coldly said, "You owe me the title of number one in the world."
Hsu Fengnian snickered. "I know, I know. As long as it's business, I guarantee that I'll be honest with everyone."
Xuanyuan Qingfeng started working and muttered to himself, "Business, huh?"
In the next moment, there was only a light breeze under the eaves.
Hsu Fengnian turned his head and looked at the rattan chair without purple clothes. He stood up and sat next to the chuckling girl. She took out another scallion pancake and placed it in front of Hsu Fengnian without turning her head.
Hsu Fengnian took the slightly hard pancake and ate it in big bites.
The red-robed Xu Ying stood in the middle of the courtyard. Xu Fengnian mumbled, "Turn around!"
The red pancake spun nonstop, pleasing to the eye.
Hsu Fengnian smiled brightly.
— —
After the Head of the Secretariat, Qi Yanglong, left the Imperial Astronomer, the old man was personally led by the Head Eunuch of the Ceremony Directorate, Song Tanglu, to a small hall located between the inner and outer court of Liyang, the Hall of Immortality.
The newly built Hall of Immortality was located in the inner court, but it was closely connected to the outer court. In addition, there were a total of twelve scholars who handled government affairs near the Hall of Immortality. This made the Hall of Immortality, which had been abandoned for many years, into a veritable central location. The Hall of Immortality did not take up much space. It was in the shape of an I-shape, a typical front hall and back bedroom. In the hall hung a large plaque with the words "Fair and Peaceful" written by the late Emperor Zhao Dun. Recently, the small court meetings that the young Emperor personally hosted had all been moved here. The introductions of important officials were also carried out here. A number of newly appointed officials, such as Tian Zong, Dong Gong, and Huang Weidong, the leader of the old Green Party of the previous dynasty, Hong Lingshu, the general of Nanjiang who had replaced Lu Baijie as the Minister of War, and the head of the Peng family of Liaodong who had succeeded Han Lin as the Assistant Minister of Justice, had all come here to meet the Emperor.
When Qi Yanglong stepped into the Hall of Immortality, Huan Wen, the head of the province, and Chen Wang, the assistant of the Scattered Left Cavalry, were already present. Zhao Youling, who was in charge of the Secretariat, and Yin Maochun, the Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Personnel, who had different political views, were also present. However, the two of them stood far apart. Not only did they not have a harmonious atmosphere, but they also seemed to be estranged from each other. Of the six Grand Scholars, only Wen Shouren, the Grand Scholar of the Hall of Wuying, and Yan Jiexi, the Grand Scholar of the Dongyuan Pavilion, were present. None of the newly established Grand Scholar of the Guange Pavilion showed up.
Other than that, there was also Zhao Yang, the Commandery Prince of Changshan, Gao Shizhi, the Duke of Yan, and Song Daoning, the Marquis of Huaiyang. For ordinary officials of Liyang, these three were low-key people who had long heard of their names but never met.
Compared to these important people who either held the power of the court or had a thunderous reputation, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, Tang Tieshuang, was still a junior even though he had a lot of power. Therefore, his position was at the back, and he stood right next to Wen Taiyi, the leader of the Green Party in Great 'an City. Wen Taiyi was a legendary figure in the Great' an City officialdom. He sat on the seat of the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and hadn't moved from his seat for more than ten years. He had worked for three Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, so there was always a joke in the Ministry of Personnel that "the Minister of Flowing Water, the Assistant Minister of Iron". Even Tantanon often used Old Assistant Minister of Wen to tease Wen Taiyi. Therefore, almost everyone forgot that this old Assistant Minister was not yet 50 years old!
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