"Are you still there?"
In the backyard of the Jades Courtyard, Fang was squatting on a stone. He hadn't heard any sound for a long time, so he asked.
After a while, he heard light footsteps again. The girl said apologetically, "I don't know what happened today, but there are a lot of guests in the courtyard. I'm very busy, so I can't talk to you here."
Fang smiled and said, "It's okay, you can go. I have to go back."
"Then tomorrow … I'll wait for you here tomorrow." The girl said quickly, and the footsteps gradually went away.
Fang stood up, patted the dirt on his butt, and went back to the street. When he passed by the butcher's shop, he remembered that his wife liked to eat high quality pork belly. She had been talking about it for several days. He walked to the front of the shop and asked the butcher, "Is this meat fresh?"
The butcher was also a man with a fierce face. He patted his chest and said, "Customer, don't worry. This meat was just killed this morning. It can't be any fresher."
Fang nodded, "Give me three catties of pork belly."
"Okay!"
The butcher grunted in acknowledgment. He used a boning knife to cut the meat a couple of times, and then wrapped the meat with a lotus leaf and tied a rope. He said with a smile, "Three catties six taels. Dear customer, please take it. I'll take a small change and count it as a silver coin."
Naturally, Old Fang was not short of money. In fact, although it was difficult to buy a big house in the capital, he had saved a lot of money during this period of time. He could marry ten wives and still have a lot of money left. He could be considered a wealthy family. However, when he touched his waist, he realized that he had left in a hurry this morning and did not bring a single coin with him.
The butcher saw this and guessed that he didn't bring money. He smiled and said, "Customer, did you forget to bring money? It's okay. You can take the meat first. You can pay for it next time. "
Fang smiled and asked, "Aren't you afraid that I'll go back on my words?"
The butcher laughed and said, "That won't do. You come here every day, and I don't think you're that kind of person. Besides, I'm in a good mood today. If you really want to renege on your debt, I'll give this meat to you!"
"You're just a butcher. What's there to be happy about? Is your wife pregnant?" Old Fang took the meat and didn't refuse. He casually asked.
"Alas, I still haven't gotten my wife …" The butcher sighed, and then thought of something else. Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face, and he said, "But if you want to talk about this happy event, the whole capital is talking about it, and you don't even know about it. I'll have to tell you about it …"
"Moreover, the people of the Qi Kingdom are extremely arrogant. They've been looking for trouble everywhere in the Capital City. This time, they've even gone so far as to cause a ruckus in the imperial court …"
…
…
A moment later, Fang was shocked. Isn't Li Xianzi referring to my son-in-law?
In the morning, I saw my son-in-law go to the imperial palace, but I didn't expect him to do such a big thing. Even the butcher on the street knows about my son-in-law's deeds?
After taking the meat and leaving, Fang didn't go home directly. There was a brothel nearby, and he planned to borrow some money from an acquaintance to pay for the meat.
"Master, please slow down …"
Outside a brothel somewhere in the Capital City, a pale-faced, frail middle-aged man was supported by a servant into the brothel.
"Master, let's go back. Those people, those people …" The servant opened his mouth with a troubled expression, but was interrupted by the middle-aged man with a wave of his hand.
"Don't worry. I can still bear this little curse." The middle-aged man's voice was a little hoarse, but his tone was unusually firm.
Behind them, a man carrying meat walked into the brothel. He looked back and said, "Your body is so weak. Why did you come to the brothel instead of resting at home …"
The servant in green was about to say something, but the man turned around and left after saying that.
The master and the servant walked into the brothel and found a secluded place to sit down. As soon as they sat down, they heard several people talking around them.
"This Li Xianzi has really made our Jing Kingdom proud!"
"Yes, this time, let's see how arrogant the people of the Qi Kingdom can be!"
"Say, if Deputy Ma won yesterday, we won't have to play anymore. It's all that Ma guy's fault. He's not good at chess, but he insisted on being a hero …"
…
Hearing these comments, the servant in green was indignant. The middle-aged man's face was a little gloomy, but he didn't say anything.
At this moment, there was a sudden uproar in the crowd. The master and the servant looked up and saw an old man sitting on the table in front of them.
"Hey, Old Zheng, let's not talk about anything else today. Tell us how Li Xianzi won against the people of the Qi Kingdom!"
"Yes, yes, that's it!"
The storytellers in the brothel not only told stories, but also talked about current affairs and court politics. After all, people in Jianghu and among the common people were all the people of the Jing Kingdom, so they also had to care about the affairs of the court. In addition to gossip, there were many things that were closely related to them.
The old man on the table smiled and pressed his hand down. Immediately, the noise below disappeared. Then he said, "I believe everyone is very interested in the story of Li Xianzi's victory against the people of the Qi Kingdom. Naturally, I'd like to talk about it. But before that, I'd like to talk about the match yesterday."
The pale-faced middle-aged man raised his head slightly. After a moment of silence, the audience immediately became noisy.
"A loss is a loss. There's nothing to say."
"Just talk about Li Xianzi. Why did you mention that Ma guy?"
"That's right. Tell us about the match this morning. We can't wait …"
…
The middle-aged man involuntarily clenched his fists and his face became even paler.
The old man on the table raised his hand again to stop the crowd. He said, "Of course, we have to talk about the incident of Li Xianzi. But there's a hidden story about yesterday's incident. Lord Ma was wronged for no reason and was reviled by the people of the Capital City. I won't be happy if I don't talk about it."
Hearing this, the servant in green was stunned. The middle-aged man suddenly raised his head and looked at the old man on the table.
"Hidden story?"
Hearing this, the crowd was also surprised. Obviously, it was the first time they had heard of it.
"What hidden story? Did the people of the Qi Kingdom play tricks in yesterday's match?"
"Tell us, tell us …"
Amidst the urging of the crowd, the old man slowly said, "Everyone thinks that Deputy Ma lost to the nameless old man of the Qi Kingdom, but they don't know that the nameless old man is known as the 'Chess Soul'. He's the true number one chess player of the Qi Kingdom. This time, he hid his name to deal a heavy blow to the morale of the Jing Kingdom. Even the Chess Saint, Bai Yu, was defeated by him. Who else could win?"
"But since the people of the Qi Kingdom have issued a challenge, if no one steps forward, doesn't it mean that the Jing Kingdom has no one capable? Deputy Ma knew that he might not be able to win, but he still stepped forward at this time. Doesn't he know what kind of infamy he'll have to bear if he loses? "
"But he still stepped forward. Because if even he cowers at the back, there's really no hope of winning this match. It's not terrible to lose. We'll win it back eventually. But if no one in the entire Capital City takes up the challenge, how will the people of the Qi Kingdom mock our Jing Kingdom?"
The old man spoke with fervor and assurance. The brothel was extremely quiet.
The green-clothed servant's face was filled with joy. The middle-aged man's face was abnormally rosy, and his hands were trembling slightly. Everyone's expressions changed from doubt to astonishment, and then to anger. Many of them even had expressions of deep shame on their faces.
"What? Is that true?"
"That old man is actually so powerful?"
"Pfft, I thought he was just an ordinary old man!"
"Yeah, if no one steps forward, I'm afraid we'll be even more ridiculed …"
"We've wronged Deputy Ma!"
"Damn it, the people of the Qi Kingdom are so shameless. If that's the case, Deputy Ma … Sigh, I shouldn't have scolded him!"
…
No one doubted the authenticity of the old man's words. After all, although the brothel had opened not long ago, not only did it have exciting stories and plays, it had never made a big fuss about important matters. It was unlike other brothels that relied on making money by flaunting all kinds of untrue information. It could be considered a brothel with a conscience.
After that, thinking about how they had scolded Deputy Ma for the past two days, the crowd naturally felt apologetic towards him.
When this matter began to spread throughout the Capital City, the crowd also learned of the truth of this matter through countless channels. The people of the Capital City gathered in groups in front of the Ma Mansion to apologize. The winds in the streets changed abruptly. Within a day, Deputy Ma turned from a national sinner to a national hero. The legendary story of Deputy Ma's fearless attitude towards power and admonishing the people to death was also widely spread in various brothels. Countless young imperial censors began to view Deputy Ma as their life idol …
Of course, this was all a story for another time.
At this moment, on a spacious street somewhere in the Capital City, a middle-aged man's face was flushed with excitement. He rejected the servant's support and listened to the idle chatter of a few people on the street. The smile on his face grew wider.
"Justice is in the hearts of the people. What a good 'justice is in the hearts of the people'!" Recalling the words of the old man in the brothel, the middle-aged man stroked his chest and laughed heartily.
"Even the lowly actors are worried about the suffering of the country. The imperial censors in the court should often come to these places. This way, they can absorb the public's opinion …"
As the imperial censor muttered these things in a low voice, in a brothel, a few storytellers sat on two sides of a long table. At the head of the table, Old Sun slowly said, "Storytelling is not only about telling stories. We need to live up to our conscience. We can't follow the crowd and be influenced by rumors. The more it is at this time, the more we need to spread the truth. This way, we can gain the trust of the customers …"
…
…
"Your Highness, I don't know why, but within half a day, the winds in the marketplace have suddenly changed. I'm afraid our plan will have to be put on hold."
In a luxurious courtyard in the Capital City, a middle-aged man in a blue robe spoke respectfully to a young man standing in a pavilion with his hands behind his back.
"It's fine. That matter was just a chess piece I made in my spare time. I don't know when it will be used. If it fails, then it fails. It doesn't matter." The handsome young man turned his head and sighed. "However, I have to admit that they have greatly exceeded I's expectations. This is indeed the Capital City of the Jing Kingdom. The wisdom of its people is far beyond that of other places."
A look of regret appeared on the middle-aged man's face. At this moment, the young man spoke again. "How is the investigation on that matter going?"
The middle-aged man's face turned solemn. "Your Highness, everything has been investigated. That Chang 'an County Magistrate, Li Yi, is the one who created Tianfa. He is also the person that the Young Prince of the Jing Kingdom mentioned. First, Tianfa caught us off guard and caused us to lose two cities. The General Who Supports the State almost died in front of His Majesty as an apology. Today, he defeated Zhao Xiuwen, causing our plan to be put on hold … this Li Yi is the bane of the Qi Kingdom!"
It was undoubtedly difficult for the people of Qi to obtain information in the Capital City of the Jing Kingdom. However, seeing that the Third Prince valued that person, the middle-aged man even used a spy that had not been used in the Capital City of the Jing Kingdom for many years. At this moment, he revealed everything he knew.
The young man nodded and said, "I originally thought that he had only created Tianfa. I didn't expect that this Li Yi would be so talented. No wonder Emperor Jing values him so much."
A cold light flashed across the middle-aged man's face. In a low voice, he said, "Your Highness, with this person around, he will always be a great threat to us. Should we …"
The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom waved his hand and said, "Don't always think of solving problems in this way. Even Xiuwen has praised him. I have never seen him praise someone so much in poetry. Tianfa has also caused us great trouble. Poetry, writing, medical skills, Tianfa … such a genius, why was he not born in the Qi Kingdom?"
"You just said that he has enmity with the eldest grandson of Prime Minister Qin of the Jing Kingdom and the King of Shu?" The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom looked at him and suddenly asked.
The middle-aged man nodded and said, "Yes, this Li Yi has deep enmity with the eldest grandson of Marquess Qin and the King of Shu. Just a few days ago, in the Imperial Palace, he beat the King of Shu into a coma in front of all the civil and military officials. However, the strange thing is that Emperor Jing only grounded him for half a month and didn't punish him too much."
The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom smiled and said, "If I were Emperor Jing, I wouldn't punish him too heavily."
He walked out of the pavilion and paced slowly in the courtyard as he murmured, "Although the King of Shu has no talent, he is the one who is most likely to inherit the throne among all the princes. Obviously, he can't let go of this enmity easily. Prime Minister Qin is a powerful person and wholeheartedly supports the King of Shu to ascend the throne. In the future, the Qin family will become the backbone of the new dynasty. At that time, Li Yi's position in the imperial court will be somewhat subtle … However, this is not necessarily bad news for us."
As soon as the young man finished speaking, his face suddenly changed slightly. With a shake of his body, he immediately moved a few feet to the side.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At the place where he had been standing, three arrows were deeply inserted into the soil.
The middle-aged man's face changed greatly. He immediately stood in front of the young man and shouted, "Protect the Third Prince!"
Several figures suddenly appeared in the courtyard and surrounded the young man. Then, several people separated and climbed up to the roof with a few leaps. In an instant, they disappeared before their eyes.
Not long after, the people who had left jumped over the wall of the courtyard and threw a corpse on the ground. One of them said, "Your Highness, when we rushed over, the man had already committed suicide by taking poison."
The middle-aged man said angrily, "Damn the Jing Kingdom. How could they do such a despicable thing? Your Highness, I will write a letter to His Majesty now …"
The young man waved his hand and squatted down. He pulled off the mask of the man in black. After looking at him for a moment, he took out an arrow from the quiver on his back. Seeing the blue light on the tip of the arrow, the middle-aged man's face changed greatly and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
The young man threw the arrow on the ground and clapped his hands. He looked into the distance and murmured, "Brother, are you so afraid of me?"
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