Fate really made fools of people. Li Yi remembered that the first time he got involved with the King of Shu was also in the King of Shu Residence.
It was the same invitation and the same King's Mansion. The only difference was that the first time was in the Capital City, and this time it was in Shuzhou.
After going around in circles, everything seemed to be back to square one, but in fact, the route had already gone astray.
At least the King of Shu had gone astray. He was a noble prince with a powerful background. Instead of being a prince in the Capital City and waiting to inherit the throne, he had to go to such a remote and desolate place. Why bother?
Li Yi walked downstairs with the Taoist Nun. A middle-aged man came out of a room. Seeing him, he was stunned and asked, "Aunt, who is this?"
"An important guest."
The Taoist nun seemed unwilling to explain too much, so she just said one sentence.
The young man looked at Li Yi suspiciously, but did not say anything. He walked to the other side of the Taoist nun.
Li Yi touched his cheek. It was stuck quite tightly, so it should not fall out suddenly.
Otherwise, he was not sure whether the King of Shu would be scared to the point of having a heart attack or something like that if he "showed his true self" in front of the King of Shu.
Even if he did not, he had to be careful.
Li Yi weighed in his heart whether to be taken to the Qi Kingdom by the Taoist nun or to show his true self in the King of Shu's territory. He felt that the former was less dangerous.
Fortunately, the King of Shu did not know that the reason why he was banished to Shuzhou was that he spared no effort to help him for free. Otherwise, even if the Taoist nun was a grandmaster, she might not be able to stop him.
Yong County was not large, and the King's Mansion was located in the most prosperous part of the county. Before entering the mansion, the first impression Li Yi had was that it was shabby.
It was too shabby.
He had been to two mansions, Prince Ning's Mansion in Qing 'an Prefecture and the King of Shu's Mansion in the Capital City. He had been to countless palaces in the imperial palace, but the King of Shu's Mansion in Yong County was indeed the shabbiest one he had ever seen.
Based on this, it could be inferred that the King of Shu's life here should not be very comfortable.
Li Yi's guess was right. The King of Shu was indeed not living a comfortable life. Anyone who was banished from the capital, the center of power, to this place would not be in a good mood.
Not only was it remote, it was also impoverished. Even though he was known as the 'King of Shu', he had never thought that he would one day come to this place.
"Why are you dilly-dallying? Have you not eaten yet?" The King of Shu walked out of a spacious room and pointed at the maids and servants who were in a hurry. He frowned and said, "I's banquet is about to begin. If you delay, be careful of your heads!"
There was nothing good about Shu. The place was not good, and the people were not good. Even the servants in the manor were not as easy to order around as they were in Jingdou.
The King of Shu had never hated the word "Shu" as much as he did now.
A figure walked over from afar with a face full of smiles. He first cupped his hands and bowed to the King of Shu before saying, "Your Highness, there's good news from the capital!"
A look of joy appeared on the King of Shu's face. He immediately asked, "What news? Did Father summon me back to the capital?"
The man revealed an awkward expression and said, "No, Your Highness."
The King of Shu's expression became a little ugly. He asked, "What's the good news?"
The man said embarrassedly, "Your Highness, Li Yi, the County Earl of Chang 'an, has been missing for nearly a month. I'm afraid he's dead."
Hearing a certain name, the King of Shu's spirit was lifted. He asked, "Who are you talking about?"
The man immediately said, "Li Yi, the County Earl of Chang 'an, Li Yi."
"Li Yi is missing?" The King of Shu asked in surprise.
"Yes, this news just came from the imperial court. It should be true." The man was the Chief Clerk of the King of Shu's Mansion. At this moment, as soon as he received the letter from the imperial court, he immediately came to report.
"Is he dead?" The King of Shu asked expectantly.
"…"
The man was stunned and said, "There's no specific news yet. The imperial court said that County Earl Li was kidnapped by bandits. He went all the way to the west and may pass by Shu State. They asked the local officials to pay attention to this matter. If they find any trace of County Earl Li, they must find a way to rescue him."
"Rescue him? County Earl Li is the pillar of our Jing Kingdom. We must find a way to rescue him!" The King of Shu sneered and said, "Send someone to the Provincial Governor's Mansion and then to the government offices of all counties. If there's any news of Li Yi, they must report to I immediately!"
"Yes!"
The man bowed and quickly retreated.
"Li Yi …" A cold smile appeared on the King of Shu's face. He said, "You'd better pray to God that he won't fall into my hands this time!"
It was getting late, and guests began to arrive gradually.
Although Shuzhou was the King of Shu's fief, it was the local gentry and aristocrats who held firm control over Shuzhou. Even though the Cui family had been operating here for a long time, they were not legitimate. After the King of Shu arrived in Shuzhou, he frequently held such banquets. Most of the guests were the local gentry. If he could gain the support of these people, he would be able to firmly control Shuzhou and have nothing to worry about in the future.
"Greetings, Your Highness!"
"Greetings, Your Highness!"
…
Tonight, there were local officials, but most of them were young talents who were somewhat famous in Shu State. They represented the various forces behind them. The King of Shu glanced at them and estimated the number of people. He was generally satisfied.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
A voice came from not far away. The King of Shu turned his head and smiled. He walked over and said, "Why are you so late? I have been waiting for you for a long time."
The King of Shu was very grateful to this man surnamed Fang.
On one of his trips, he happened to encounter a group of bandits in the city. If not for the young man in front of him, he would have been dead.
Of course, the reason why the King of Shu was so polite to him was because other than saving his life, the other party also held a mysterious power. Although he had not seen the whole picture, the tip of the iceberg that was revealed made him very fearful.
However, if this power could be of help to him in the future, it would be an extremely good thing.
The King of Shu looked at the Taoist nun beside the man surnamed Fang and was surprised for a moment. He immediately asked, "This Taoist priest, is she the one you often mention …"
"Yes," the man surnamed Fang said with a smile.
The King of Shu's expression turned serious. He cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Taoist priest."
"You're welcome, Your Highness." Taoist Nun nodded slightly.
"Please take a seat." The King of Shu smiled and pointed to a seat that was very close to the front.
"Let's go over." The man surnamed Fang led Li Yi and Taoist Nun over.
"Wait a minute."
Li Yi turned around. He had just taken two steps when the King of Shu's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Your Highness, is there anything else?"
When the King of Shu saw the young man beside the Taoist nun turn around, a trace of suspicion appeared on his face. He asked, "You look very familiar. Have we met before?"
The young man smiled and said, "When I was in the capital, I only saw Your Highness from afar a few times. I'm afraid Your Highness has mistaken me for someone else."
The King of Shu frowned slightly. The voice was unfamiliar, and so was the appearance. But why did he feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity?
What was even more strange was that he felt an inexplicable sense of disgust just by looking at this face …
"Forget it, it's fine. I mistook you for someone else." A moment later, a trace of doubt appeared on the King of Shu's face. He shook his head and turned to leave.
The middle-aged Taoist nun glanced at Li Yi and sat down on the seat of honor.
Li Yi sighed in his heart. How did the saying go again? The ones who know you best are not your friends, but your enemies … This saying was really f * cking reasonable!
Soon, singers and dancers walked out from the surroundings. They performed to their heart's content accompanied by the night lights. Li Yi picked up his wine glass and took a sip. However, he was not in the mood to appreciate it. He leaned back in his chair and put his arm behind his head as a pillow. He looked at the night sky filled with stars.
At the same time, in Shuzhou City, a day of performances had ended. In a brothel that had just closed, a few men stood in a row and bowed. "Greetings, Alliance Master!"
A hundred miles away, under the night sky, an old man leaned against a tree trunk. He took out a small porcelain bottle, took out a pill, and threw it into his mouth.
"Bah, it's so bitter!"
After a moment, he mumbled to himself and took out a cloth bag from his bosom. He carefully took out a milky white square object that was about the size of a fingernail and threw it into his mouth. He mumbled, "That damned Taoist nun, she sure runs fast …"
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