Xianhailou is the largest restaurant in Suicheng.
Xianhai Tower occupies an area of about ten acres and has two sections, front and back. The front building has three floors, and the main hall on the first floor is packed with people at lunchtime, which is the liveliest time of day. However, it is much quieter on the second floor. There are far fewer tables on the second floor than on the first floor, and those seated there are all richly dressed and wealthy people.
The third floor became even quieter. The spacious hall contained only a dozen or so tables, with ornate screens separating them so that the view behind the screens was not visible from the outside, creating a sense of privacy for the guests at each table.
At a table by the window, enclosed by a screen, Liuli sat and was enjoying her meal. Ahua, now a swarming cat, curled up in her arms after her feast. Li Molin sat opposite Liuli, showing little interest in the food and whispering to Yu Ke. Ji Jue sat next to Liuli, eagerly trying to grab food from her, earning him a series of eye-rolls from her.
"...That's the current situation." Yu Ke said in a low voice, "I've investigated. Liang Yihan was originally the youngest son of the current prime minister. Before he began his cultivation, he was the Jade King's tutor. Moreover, the Jade King's mother is the prime minister's youngest sister. Their relationship is extraordinary. Liang Yihan's appearance by the Jade King's side at this time suggests that he intends to support the Jade King and achieve the goal of revitalizing the Daoist sect."
“That’s right.” Li Molin nodded and pondered, “But Taoism transcends the mortal world, and those who cultivate Taoism are inherently defying the heavens. If he uses Taoist supernatural powers to help the Jade King succeed, isn’t he afraid of incurring divine punishment?”
Yu Ke shook his head and said, "Liang Yihan is no simple man. He may not need supernatural powers, but only his wisdom to help King Yu."
"How powerful is the Jade King?" Li Molin continued to ask.
Yu Ke shook his head and said, "Prince Yu is an honest and upright prince. The number of private soldiers he keeps in his mansion strictly follows the regulations of the imperial court. Now that we are in a peaceful and prosperous era, as a prince in peacetime, he naturally has no military power at all."
After a moment's thought, Li Molin asked, "What about his uncle, the Prime Minister?"
Yu Ke responded in a low voice, "Liang Shen repeatedly remonstrated with the Emperor Rui because he disapproved of his words and actions. As a result, the Emperor Rui grew increasingly annoyed with Liang Shen and handed over all power to Grand Commandant Zhang Chao. Zhang Chao has been installing his cronies in the court and forming cliques for personal gain. Liang Shen, on the other hand, has no cronies or factions in the court. He is only on good terms with a few senior officials, but even they have been largely sidelined by Zhang Chao. Although the position of Prime Minister is high and powerful, the Emperor Rui and Zhang Chao have almost completely sidelined Liang Shen. In addition, the Prime Minister is a civil official and has no military power. In reality, the Prime Minister is not of much help to Prince Yu."
Li Molin shook his head and said, "Then what does Liang Yihan have to scheme with? This Jade King has clearly become a piece of meat on Emperor Rui's chopping board, at the mercy of others."
“That’s right.” Yu Ke sighed, “If Emperor Rui were not afraid of the people’s opinions and the evaluation of future generations, he would only need an excuse to summon Prince Yu back to Yingyang City, and then just arbitrarily accuse Prince Yu of a crime.”
“He’s not afraid,” Li Molin said sarcastically. “If he were afraid, he wouldn’t have killed his brothers one after another.”
"Flap flap..." Suddenly, the sound of wings flapping came. Liuli looked up with her mouth full of food and saw a black bird nimbly flying in through the wide-open window. The bird flew straight to Li Molin's shoulder and chirped crisply.
Li Molin and Yu Ke listened intently to the birdsong, while Liuli chewed her food and listened curiously as well. However, she soon frowned in displeasure because she couldn't understand a word. With a snort, she focused all her attention back on the food on the table.
The birds chirped and twittered for a long time, Yu Ke's expression gradually became serious, while Li Molin's expression grew increasingly strange.
After a long while, the birds stopped chirping. Li Molin sneered, "No wonder, no wonder. I thought Liang Yihan helped the Jade King for two reasons: one was because of our old friendship, and the other was because he wanted the Jade King to restore the Taoist tradition in the secular world. But it turns out he had other schemes."
"Young Master, what should we do now?" Yu Ke asked in a low voice.
"Let's go to Yingyang City," Li Molin said with a boastful smile, "to pay a visit to Grand Commandant Zhang Chao!"
Upon hearing this, Liuli was overjoyed. While chewing her mouthful of food, she mumbled, "Are we going to Yingyang City? I've heard hunters mention Yingyang City. They say it's the imperial city, and it's so prosperous and lively!"
Li Molin turned to look at her and saw that her face was chubby from eating too much, and there were still soup and rice grains stuck to the corners of her mouth. She didn't look ladylike at all. He shook his head and smiled, poured her a cup of warm tea, and wiped the soup and rice grains from the corners of her mouth.
He lowered his eyes, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his hands, and said with a teasing smile, "Why are you eating so fast? No one's going to take it from you. You're eating so rudely!"
"Why isn't anyone trying to take it from me?" Liuli glared at Ji Jue, who was still eating and drinking heartily. Then she turned to look at Li Molin. With her sharp eyes, she quickly noticed something was wrong. Her eyes widened, and she suddenly reached out to snatch the handkerchief from Li Molin's hand. However, Li Molin reacted quickly, dodging the attack and casually putting the handkerchief back into his pocket.
Liuli angrily withdrew her hand and shouted, "That's my handkerchief! Li Molin, why do you have my handkerchief there?!"
Li Molin smiled faintly, crossed his arms leisurely, and said slowly, "What makes you think this handkerchief is yours? Is your name on it? Will it respond if you call it?"
"You!" Liuli roared in fury, "That handkerchief has fox spirit energy on it, so it's naturally mine. Are you blind?!"
Li Molin chuckled and whistled at the black bird on his shoulder. The bird took flight and was about to fly out of the wide-open window when a slender hand suddenly grabbed it. The bird, suddenly losing its freedom, instinctively struggled and cried out.
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