Lin Xiangzhi couldn't help but laugh and said, "These are all tonics. These are all dried medicinal herbs. You should recognize some of them."
“Forged dragon bone, Morinda officinalis, seahorse, and you should recognize this tiger stick.” Lin Xiangzhi picked up a long, dry stick-like object.
What is a tiger stick?
Xiao Jingzhao was puzzled. Why was this guy bringing him tonics? He was perfectly fine and didn't need any tonics at all.
“Master, I recognize this. It’s tiger penis, a powerful aphrodisiac and very hard to find.”
Xiao Jingzhao, as if his hand had been burned, loosened his grip and closed the wooden box.
Xiang Yang suppressed a laugh and said with great tact, "These are all precious medicinal herbs. I will put them in the storeroom."
Xiang Yang raised a dagger in his hand and waved it. "Thank you, Young Master Lin. This dagger is very sharp. I like it very much."
“We’re family, no need to be polite. If you like it, that’s fine. You and Xiang Song can each have one; it’s perfect for self-defense.” Lin Xiangzhi waved his hand with a smile.
Xiao Jingzhao turned to Lin Xiangzhi and said, "Do you think I'm seventy or eighty years old? You've even brought me tonics."
Seeing Xiangyang carrying the wooden box out, Lin Xiangzhi said in a serious tone, "Jingzhao, you are the heir apparent, and it is inevitable that you will have three wives and four concubines in the future. As for that matter, I can't help you with that. I can only send you some supplements so that you can try to have your favors spread evenly in the backyard."
Xiao Jingzhao: "..." Thank you.
Xiao Jingzhao couldn't blame his friend for bringing him something from so far away.
His handsome face turned red then black, then black then red again.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became strange.
Fortunately, the servants and several maids brought food in time, breaking the strange atmosphere.
After drinking a cup of peach blossom wine, Lin Xiangzhi started talking non-stop.
What are the customs and traditions of the Nanzhao Kingdom? What are its specialties? What are some of the rumors surrounding its royal family?
Lin Xiangzhi was truly starving. After drinking a cup of wine with Xiao Jingzhao, he began to eat heartily.
"Eat slowly, so your stomach won't feel uncomfortable again later."
Every time Lin Xiangzhi returned from his trip, he would say that he couldn't eat on time while he was away. Sometimes, he would find himself in the middle of nowhere and have to eat dry food to stave off hunger.
Xiao Jingzhao served him a bowl of white jade black chicken soup.
He noticed that his best friend's handsome face was a few shades darker than before.
Xiao Jingzhao picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and said, "After you come back from Liang this time, don't keep running around. Come with me to the capital. You're quite well-read and good at managing money. As long as I can get that position, you can manage the national treasury for me."
Lin Xiangzhi took the soup and drank it all in one gulp. “Look at the empty promises you’re making. The prince is still young. That position probably won’t be yours yet.”
"Father said Mother would definitely not let him sit in that position, and he doesn't want to bother with it. My elder brother has no interest in this, so I'll have to do it myself."
Lin Xiangzhi understood.
The prince promised the princess that he would never take a concubine. If he were to ascend to that position, he would inevitably have three thousand beauties in his harem. This heavy responsibility would truly fall to the heir.
Lin Xiangzhi took a bite of rice and mumbled, "Looks like I didn't send the wrong thing."
"I'm glad you think it's good. I was worried you wouldn't come to the capital with me." Xiao Jingzhao didn't understand what Lin Xiangzhi was saying and thought he was happy to go to the capital.
Lin Xiangzhi ate until he was half full. At this moment, Xiangyang returned and picked up the wine jar to fill a cup with wine for his master and young master Lin.
"Jing Zhao, do you know that the most favored concubine of the Liang royal family is a princess of the Nanzhao Kingdom?"
Xiao Jingzhao's gaze was indifferent. He picked up his wine glass and raised it slightly, gesturing for Lin Xiangzhi to raise his glass as well.
"The marriage alliance between the two countries was not limited to Liang and Nanzhao. During the reign of Emperor Renzong, after Liang suffered a defeat, it also sent a princess to Wanling Kingdom for a marriage alliance."
Lin Xiangzhi raised his cup and took a sip of peach blossom wine, saying with a gossipy look, "That's different. I heard that the princess of Nanzhao is quite formidable. She actually killed the legitimate prince born to the Empress of Liang."
"The Emperor of Liang didn't punish her?" This was the first time Xiao Jingzhao had ever heard of such a shocking palace intrigue story.
Lin Xiangzhi shrugged. "The Liang Emperor has no evidence. Some say the young prince has wandered into Wanling Kingdom, while others say the Nanzhao princess sent people to kidnap the prince during the chaos. In short, there are all sorts of rumors."
Xiao Jingzhao smiled and said, "You're almost as good as a storyteller. How can the crown prince of a country be so easily lost?"
"I only heard about it from a tavern on the border of Nanzhao. As for whether it is true, I will find out more when I go to Liang to buy grain this time."
Seeing Lin Xiangzhi gossiping like a woman, Xiao Jingzhao couldn't help but tease him, saying, "If the Liang prince is really in Wanling, I'll search the ground three feet deep to find him."
"Your Highness has great foresight, which I admire. If the legitimate prince of Liang has indeed wandered to Wanling, and we have found him, the relationship between Liang and Wanling will be extraordinary. In the future, the two countries will be on good terms and will be spared the suffering of war."
Seeing Lin Xiangzhi's serious expression, Xiao Jingzhao couldn't say that it was just a joke.
After a hearty meal, the two chatted for a while longer until night fell and a light drizzle began to fall. Only then did Lin Xiangzhi get up to take his leave.
Xiao Jingzhao personally saw him off from the palace. Before he got into the carriage, Xiao Jingzhao instructed him, "You can rest at home for a few more days before setting off."
"Your Highness, rest assured, I will be ready to depart in three days at most."
Lin Xiangzhi stepped onto the carriage shaft, turned back, and waved, "Take care, see you later."
After seeing Lin Xiangzhi off, Xiao Jingzhao quickly returned to his study to take stock of the things that had been swept away by the wind.
This cleaning revealed a problem: one portrait was missing, the one of Sui Sui smiling the happiest of all.
He ordered Xiangyang to summon his bodyguards, and the group searched the entire courtyard, inside and out, even the treetops, but they still couldn't find the portrait.
Three days later, Lin Xiangzhi led a group of men and quietly left Laiyang City for the Liang Kingdom.
Xiao Jingzhao received news that several counties in Wanling Kingdom had been hit by a once-in-a-century flood.
Thanks to the preventative notices issued by Yannan, when the heavy rains struck, the people evacuated to higher ground. Farmland was destroyed and poultry was drowned, but fortunately, the casualties were not serious.
It only rained lightly in Yannan, and the people were not affected by the rainstorm.
After arranging for the guards to protect the palace, Xiao Jingzhao took Xiangyang and Xiangsong to the military camp to plan the next step.
Inside the Prince's Mansion.
Xiao Yun stared blankly at a portrait.
She pouted and muttered to herself, "How strange, how did this painting fall from the sky? Is this what I looked like when I was little? Why do I look like a boy?"
Xiao Yun's personal maid, Jing'er, tilted her head, looked at it, and shook her head, saying, "This servant thinks it's a portrait of the young master when he was a child."
“That makes sense. This portrait must have floated out of my second brother’s courtyard.”
Three days ago, Xiao Yun was craving flower cakes, so she took her maid to the garden to pick flowers. Suddenly, a piece of paper fell from the sky and landed right on her head.
On the other side of the garden is my second brother's Qinghui Courtyard.
"Miss, the Princess has asked you to practice painting. I think it's easier to paint portraits of children than to copy the young master's landscape paintings. Why don't you try copying this painting?"
Xiao Yun gave Jing'er a thumbs up, "Good idea. I'll show it to Mother Consort after I've drawn it properly."
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