Painter

Chapter 176 25: Receiving the Wind
As Gyeonggi Tourist Ambassador, Li Chan has been in office for nearly a month.He is no longer a commoner, but his life is not much different from that of a commoner.The monthly salary that was supposed to be given was changed to a quarterly payment due to a court meeting after the beginning of autumn, and it has not been seen until now. More than 20 days have passed, and apart from repairing the abandoned garden, I have only occasionally visited the secret office in Bixiang Lane twice, and I have met the officials of the office. I have never met.

Now being invited by Shen Zhasi to welcome the wind banquet, and hearing the news of Mo Immortal, Li Chan went back to the house, put on a sheepskin fur, and led a black donkey.Just about to leave, Tu Shanxi brought an empty gourd, and the wine in the house was gone.He hung the gourd on the side of the black donkey's saddle and went out.

It was the time when the weather was cold, and the snow in the low-lying streets and alleys was as deep as a foot. When they climbed to the heights of the flying buildings, the new wind was like a knife, and even the jackdaws that occasionally folded their wings and perched on the eaves stood on tiptoe. .However, walking through the corridors, you can occasionally see a few pavilions. The windows are pasted with windproof charms and opened carelessly.

The two left Guangzhaifang and headed south all the way. When they passed the West Market, there were peddlers selling wine.When Li Chan asked, the slightly stronger Pear Blossom White had already risen to half a catty of usual money. After thinking about it for a while, he only sold half a gourd wine in the end.

He raised his head and took a sip of wine, as if drinking into a ball of fire, the heat dissipated, and the winter wind wrapped in a frost knife was nothing but leisure.After drinking, he threw the gourd to Chen Haochu, and rode forward slowly on the donkey.Chen Haochu sniffed the gourd's mouth, and it was genuine.In these disaster-prone years, it is really rare to be able to buy undiluted wine.He took half a sip of it very cherishedly, clamped the horse's belly with his legs, caught up with Li Chan, and returned the gourd.

He sighed: "This pear blossom usually costs more than a hundred yuan per catty, but now it is unaffordable. But Yujing can still buy wine anyway, and I am afraid it is difficult to buy rice elsewhere."

Li Chan's body rose and fell with the donkey's back, looking at the street.Before the beginning of winter, beggars playing wooden figurines and singing flower music were often seen in Qiaotou Lane. In the current weather, beggars have disappeared.Some of the beggars in Yujing City are secretly engaged in human trafficking, they run brothels, and they live very well. They are probably lying in the warm pavilion right now, not to suffer from the cold.As for those who were really in dire straits, some survived thanks to the donations from the government and temples of the two religions.

"It seems that Yujing has a lot of food in the warehouse?"

"Indeed, it's quite a lot. Before the sage went west, there were [-] million catties of grain stored in the Hanjia warehouse in Yujing, which was enough for a year's rations for millions of troops. But who knows when the disaster will subside?

"I heard that His Majesty has passed through Longwu Pass and will be able to return to Beijing in less than two months."

The two rode horses and donkeys, passing by the vendors in the West Market.

"That's true, but after the saint returns to Beijing, the disaster may not be stopped immediately. In previous years, there were droughts and floods, and a sacrifice was held to ask the gods to cast spells. It is rare that there is any catastrophe. This year, it is a combination of natural and man-made disasters. It is said that the saint did not ask for God's will before he went to the west of the country. Martial arts conquer the world, and it is not difficult to put down man-made disasters. But natural disasters..."

"Oh, the gods in the sky are dissatisfied this time?" Li Chan raised her eyes, facing the snow and looking at the sky.

"You can't say that..."

Two figures walked into the snow talking.

……

The two rode a donkey and a horse, crossed Zhuque Avenue to the west, crossed alleys, crossed streets, went up stairs and down bridges, and after a while, they arrived at Hebi Lane, south of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau.But he didn't enter the office hidden behind the inconspicuous facade in the east of the alley, and went to the Hebi Building across the street.

It is said that this Hebi Lane was originally called Datong Lane, but it is rumored that there was a pair of childhood sweethearts who received a piece of jade from a fairy when they were young, and each held half of it.The two childhood sweethearts had gone through ups and downs, separated thousands of miles, and finally met in this alley.The jade and bi were combined, round and flawless, and turned into a well, which was called "Hebi Well". The childhood sweethearts also got married and opened a restaurant here, which is "Hebi Building".

This legend may be true or false, the childhood sweetheart is indeed someone, and the story of the combination of a well and a well is purely fabricated.The couple who run the Hebi Building are members of Shenzha Siyou's forbidden family. There is also a tunnel in this restaurant, which leads to the secret department across the street.Therefore, this Hebi building is also the site of Shen Zha Si Youjin's own family.

The shop assistant led the black donkey and the brown horse into the stable, and Li Chan and Chen Haochu went upstairs.

On the second floor, at a wine table separated by a bamboo screen, General Chen Zhonggong and Chief Shi Lu Qingxia were seated and waiting.

Chen Zhonggong was born in the army, he is past his age, he is Chen Haochu's uncle, he left Yujing a few days ago, passed through Yanzhou, chased the "Grass Clothes Man" master for two thousand miles, beheaded him and returned.As soon as he returned to Yujing, he heard the news about the Yuyi envoy in Gyeonggi, and also learned that Li Chan had saved his nephew's life. He didn't rest for a moment, so he met Li Chan in the Hebi Building.

That Lu Changshi is one of the few people with a literary name in Shenzha Si Youjin. He once studied with Yang Yuanzhang, the great scholar of the dynasty, was a Jinshi in the [-]th middle school, and became the county magistrate of three counties. outstanding.But because of his uprightness, he accused the right minister of Xitai for rejecting dissidents and swallowing up the military pay, so he was relegated.After retiring to his hometown for three years, he was promoted by Yuan Shajun himself, and entered the post of long history, the god who has always been despised by scholars.

The three people present except Li Chan all know Li Chan's true identity.This new Gyeonggi Youyi envoy killed the people of Xiyi Mountain in Xuandu, and escaped with the help of Qingque Palace, with extraordinary means.On his way to Beijing, he seemed to be inseparable from the matter of the ghost master in Qingling County.

Based on these deeds alone, we can only see that this Gyeonggi Youyi envoy is a capable person, but I don't know if he is easy to get along with.And after he entered the capital, even though he was entrusted by the sage and had a lot of power in his hands, he did not interfere with the affairs of Shen Zha, which undoubtedly made Lu Qingxia heave a sigh of relief.

With sauced meat, mutton's feet, vinegared celery and other dishes, the two drank a few cups together, and Chen Zhonggong invited Li Chan to choose a day to go to Chen's house for a family banquet, and did not stop until Li Chan agreed.Immediately afterwards, Li Chan heard the news of Immortal Mo from the mouth of the long history Lu Qingxia.

"At the end of autumn, when Pan Gu collected Yunye from Huliang Mountain, he got a piece of purple pine as a gift from Huliang Lord. That Huliang Lord is a ten thousand-year-old purple pine on Huliang Mountain. Pan Guruo used this purple pine to make a pine tree. Yan Mo must not be ordinary. After he entered Beijing, he lived in seclusion in the Daxiangguo Temple and seldom moved around. However, he accepted the invitation of Tang Prince Consort and went to Xinyuan Yaji the day after tomorrow. Li Lang sought him because he wanted Mo?"

"Not bad." Li Chan nodded and took a sip of wine.

"You also go to the Xinyuan Yaji, and you will be able to meet him. This time, the people Tang Xian invited to the Xinyuan Yaji are not famous people who have been famous for a long time, but most of them are juniors who have recently made a name for themselves in Yujing. But , Li Lang doesn't seem to have gone out for a walk recently?"

"It's not a coincidence." Li Chan held the wine glass and frowned slightly.

"Li Lang's painting skills are superb, and the reputation of the owner of Ximoju has even been heard in Yujing. If you report the name of the owner of Ximoju, Tang Xian will definitely invite you. Unfortunately, Li Lang married Xiyishan After getting off Liangzi, this name cannot be exposed to others." Lu Qingxia pondered for a while, "Ms. Tang has invited me to dinner several times, but I think this person is extravagant and lustful, so I have nothing to do with him. But since he intends to make friends with me, if I If you recommend a junior to him, he probably won't shirk."

(End of this chapter)