Chapter 479 Leaving the City

"Raccoon slave!" Xiao Tao called again.

The guards pushed open the door and escorted Li Chengqian out.

Xiao Tao was frightened by the mighty guards and stepped back to salute, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince!"

Atang followed suit and saluted, then looked up curiously. Is this the crown prince or the prince?

"No need for formalities!" Li Chengqian said in a deep voice.

"Your kitten?" Li Tai held the kitten, which was not much bigger than a palm.

"Yes, Your Highness the Fourth Prince!" Xiao Tao looked at the cat, "Come here, Servant!"

"Meow!" The raccoon looked at the ground and timidly shrank back into Li Tai's arms.

"I'll give it back to you!" Li Tai reluctantly returned the kitten to Xiao Tao.

"Where's sister going?" Xiao Tao chased after her, holding the cat.

"Sister has something to do and will be out of town soon!" Su Ying moved her two younger sisters' heads.

I promised to take them shopping, but now I am going to break my promise.

Fortunately, Xie Qingyun and a few other girls were brought along, and they took care of the children.

After the spring, I went to the palace to teach the princess how to raise silkworms, but I didn't have time to inform them.

"Sister, come back early!" Xiao Tao said sullenly.

"Do you want to go out of town and play?" Li Tai was observant and could see what the two little girls were thinking.

Xiaotao nodded and said, "Yes!" Atang also nodded.

Li Tai noticed that Atang always followed Xiaotao closely, and couldn't help but be curious, "What's your name?"

"Atang!" Atang blinked his big eyes and looked at the chubby prince.

"What a nice name! Let's go, take my carriage and go out of the city with Lord Su!" Li Tai invited.

Xiaotao and Atang didn't move and looked at Su Ying.

"Let's go!" Su Ying smiled.

Our family only had one horse-drawn carriage, which my father, second uncle, and third uncle used when they went out in the morning.

At this moment, you can only travel in the carriage of the Crown Prince or the Fourth Prince.

Su Ying got on the prince's carriage, Xiao Tao and Atang got on Li Tai's carriage, and first went to the Chang'an County Office in Changshoufang.

"Oh, you didn't see it! Minister Lu's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were thrown out in such a mess!

Her hair was disheveled, and she looked like a mad woman. The men led by Donggong Liu threw her to the ground with a thud.

Miss Su and Little Master Su came out, "Tsk tsk..."

In the Chang'an County Office, those who had the honor of witnessing what happened in front of the Su Mansion were describing the drama they had seen in vivid detail.

Except for the yamen runners guarding the door, everyone came to listen to the big talk.

Li Chengqian brought Li Tai, Su Ying and others in, and they were having a lively conversation here.

"Could it be that Mrs. Lu is mentally ill? Lady Su must have had her brain stuck in the door to marry into the Lu family.

After breaking off the engagement and humiliating her, now she comes back to marry me as her equal wife. Why?" Some people felt sorry for the Su family.

When Magistrate Su was in office, he treated them well. When they were exiled, they did not dare to stand out, but they remembered the kindness of Magistrate Su in their hearts.

"Yes, the Lu family is such a bully! You'd be a fool to marry into their family! With Master Su's talent, it would be easy for him to make a lot of money and achieve political achievements.

The Lu family has a good plan! They think they can give Master Su a co-wife position and get some benefits from him. He cares about the Lu family! "Someone echoed.

After hearing this, Li Chengqian looked at Su Ying silently with sympathy in his eyes.

Such a talent was humiliated by the aristocratic families. No wonder my father hated those aristocratic families.

"It's a good thing that the prince came today. You didn't see it. He led the guards to throw people away. It was so quick and efficient, and it was so refreshing!" The person who was telling the story was still not satisfied.

He suddenly looked up and saw the Crown Prince, the Fourth Prince, Su Ying and others outside the crowd listening with great interest.

"Your Highness!" The man hurriedly stood up and saluted.

"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince!" All the officials stood up and saluted.

They were caught slacking off on duty before the New Year, and they wondered what would happen to them. Everyone was worried.

"Well, no need to be so polite!" Li Chengqian deliberately hesitated for a while before speaking.

The officials stood up straight, puzzled as to why the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince came to the Chang'an County Office today. The two parties had absolutely nothing to do with each other.

Shouldn't the crown prince and the princes study at the Hongwen Academy? Why did they go to Chang'an County to take up an office?

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived at the county office..." the chief clerk stepped forward and asked.

"Are there any unowned barren mountains near Chang'an County?" Li Chengqian asked.

"Uh..." The chief clerk looked up in surprise.

Why are they all asking about the ownerless desolate mountain today? The three Su Shaoyin brothers came this morning to ask, and now the crown prince is here again.

"Is there or not?" Li Chengqian frowned. If there is, then there is. If there isn't, then there isn't. Why should he do that?

"Yes, but Su Shaoyin and others also came to ask this morning. I wonder if they have made a selection yet..." the chief clerk replied.

The magistrate of Chang'an County had gone to Jingzhao Prefecture on business and had not yet returned, so the county magistrate took Su Shaoyin to look at the land.

Li Chengqian looked at Su Ying and asked, "Master Shao Yin, are you here for the sugarcane fields?"

"Yes!" Su Ying nodded.

"Bring the details here, let's go take a look!" Li Chengqian said to the chief clerk.

"Yes!" The chief clerk asked the clerk to make a copy and personally accompanied the prince out of the city.

Xiao Tao lifted the car curtain and looked at the scenery outside curiously. Li Tai didn't find it strange, "You haven't seen it before?"

"Well! My sister often goes out of town to the countryside with my father. This is my first time to the countryside of Chang'an!" Xiao Tao was embarrassed to let down the curtain.

I look like I have never seen the world and I have brought shame to the Su family.

"Me too!" Li Tai found a like-minded person.

I used to live in the Prince of Qin's Palace, and when I could sneak out occasionally, I could only visit Chang'an.

Then I went to Jiucheng Palace and Yuhua Palace with my parents to escape the summer heat, but we were in carriages and couldn't wander around freely.

This was the first time he was on a mission and was able to move around openly.

Xiaotao blinked her big eyes, surprised that the prince was the same as her.

"Is Lingnan fun?" Li Tai was bored and chatted with the two little girls.

Xiaotao nodded and shook her head.

"What do you mean? Is it fun or not?" Li Tai was puzzled.

“It wasn’t fun. It was very poor there, and the road was very long. We walked and walked, and it took us more than two months to get there.

The place was filled with miasma, and many people who went there suffered from acclimatization, diarrhea, and high fever.

There are wastelands everywhere, and without oxen and plows, it is difficult to reclaim the land with just a hoe.

The village is far away from the town and the county seat, so we can only play in the village.

But Lingnan is not as cold as Chang'an, so they grow two crops of rice and rotate winter wheat and beans.

There are mountains everywhere, where you can raise bees and harvest honey, and in autumn, go up to the mountains to pick walnuts, chestnuts, sour dates, and oil-tea fruits…” Xiao Tao talked about it eloquently.

“There should also be walnuts, chestnuts, and sour dates on the mountains here!

"It's a pity that it's the dead of winter now. If you had come back earlier, perhaps we could have gone up the mountain to pick walnuts, chestnuts, and sour dates!" Li Tai said regretfully.

"Next autumn! When our sugarcane plantation is ready, my sister will definitely continue to raise bees. Can you harvest honey?" Xiao Tao asked.

Li Tai shook his head, "I want to learn too."

"Okay, we're also going to raise pigs. My sister's meat dishes are delicious!" Xiao Tao's eyes sparkled. "Have you ever tried braised pork with sand in it?"

Li Tai shook his head. "How is it different from preserved vegetable and pork belly?"

"Mung bean paste is sandwiched between two pieces of meat, with preserved vegetables replaced with glutinous rice, and red dates and wolfberries can also be added.

"After steaming, turn it upside down and sprinkle it with icing sugar. It tastes soft, sticky and sweet." Xiao Tao said with a slurp, craving meat again.