"General, do you still remember the other thing that Concubine Li told you before you left?"
Pei Xiyuan's face darkened when he heard this, "Any clues?"
"What a coincidence." Suo Wenzheng told him the whole story of meeting Meixiang and the tooth pendant that Meixiang had worn around her neck since she was a child.
"So she is most likely my niece, and my half-brother is still alive and living in the capital of Dayan Kingdom?"
"If nothing goes wrong, it should be."
Pei Xiyuan has been looked down upon by other princes of pure Dayue blood since he was a child. Similarly, he also looks down on people from Dayan Kingdom. This is human nature determined by the wolf-like struggle and utilitarian relationship in society.
It is just like the disadvantaged groups that are discriminated against will also discriminate against other disadvantaged groups.
But Pei Xiyuan selectively avoided his mother, Concubine Li, and this was his second time to come to the Central Plains to look for Prime Minister Nan. Before leaving, his mother told him about her past and asked him to find out as much as possible whether his brother was still alive.
"Since she's my niece and she's not doing well, I have to go visit her. I'll also ask about my brother's recent situation, which will also be a way to explain to my mother."
Pei Xiyuan said lightly.
After the wine and food were served, the waiter removed the cloth covering the jar. Suo Wenzhen leaned over and sniffed, "Yes, this is the wine." He picked up the jar and, without asking the waiter to pour more wine, he poured a glass for Pei Xiyuan first, then for himself, and finally handed the jar to the waiter.
After the waiter filled Xiong Er and another man's glasses with wine, he said, "The food and drinks are ready, everyone, enjoy yourselves," but he stood by and made no move to leave. Pei Xiyuan gave Xiong Er a look, and Xiong Er pulled out a small ingot of silver from his pocket and tossed it to the waiter.
"Thank you for the reward, sir." The waiter smiled happily, bowed to Pei Xiyuan, put the reward in his pocket, and left happily.
"These southern barbarians." Xiong Er shook his head. "They're nothing like us Dayue people who are straightforward and say whatever we think. They have to hang around here, waiting for your reward. They're really cunning."
Pei Xiyuan took a quick sniff of the wine, then let out a faint smile. Although he looked down on the people of Dayan, he couldn't deny that they were more particular about food, clothing, and daily expenses than the people of Dayue. Furthermore, when it came to marching and fighting, relying solely on bravery wouldn't cut it against the people of Dayan.
The southern barbarians have always been cunning and full of tricks. He has heard from some veteran generals that in order to fight against the southern barbarians, one must be good at using strategies.
In reality, strategy wasn't just for marching and fighting. He knew the Southern Barbarians had a saying about winning without bloodshed. He wanted to replace the Crown Prince, but he lacked a good strategy. Besides numerous skilled generals, the Crown Prince also recruited many advisors from the Great Banquet Kingdom. Now that they were determined to eliminate him, he feared he would be unable to defend himself. This was why, while he looked down on the people of the Great Banquet Kingdom, he also sought out the Southern Prime Minister.
"Well, this wine is good." He took a sip and drank the wine in the glass.
Suo Wenzheng was a great wine lover. He nodded repeatedly, deeply agreeing, "The Southern Barbarians are vast and rich in resources. Some of their products are indeed several times better than those in our Dayue Kingdom."
"Since she owns a winery, there's no reason for her to turn people away. I'm a little tired today, so you can lead the way tomorrow to see her. If she can brew such fine wine, there's no reason why we Dayue people can't."
The Moon Emperor also loved wine very much. Pei Xiyuan decided to order more than a thousand kilograms of wine to be shipped back to the Dayue Kingdom, firstly to honor his father, the Emperor, and secondly to have someone develop a recipe for the wine yeast.
Winemaking only requires grain and water. He didn't believe that the people of Dayan could make such fine wine that they, the people of Dayue, couldn't.
That night, they drank two jars of wine at Zhang Mazi's house, and then found an inn to rest. The next day, they were drunk and had a strong aftereffect, so they got up late. They went to Zhang Mazi's house for lunch near noon before setting off for Dingxian Village.
After arriving, they found out Meixiang's residence and went to the clan school first. As soon as they found the ancestral hall, they heard screams and cries, and then saw Meixiang running towards them with disheveled hair.
"Help! Help!" Meixiang ran over and saw them. She was stunned for a moment, then recognized Suo Wenzheng and ran behind him, crying, "He's going to hit me again! Help me, help me..."
The big, stupid Chen Lei chased after them, holding a wooden stick. Seeing Meixiang hiding behind Suo Wenzheng, he tilted his head and pointed the stick at Suo Wenzheng, then pointed it in front of them. "Okay, okay, you little shrew, you carried me behind my back to find so many wild men. I'll beat you to death!"
He rushed over with the wooden stick raised high in both hands. Before he could get close, Yuji kicked him and sent him flying out, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
His butt was almost broken in two, and he kicked his legs in pain and burst into tears, crying, "Come and see, look, a wild man is beating a domestic man! Wuuwuwu..."
"Who are you? Why are you bullying a fool?" Ma Xiaomai came running over, and Da Niu and Ma Xiaodou also ran over. They came to school and happened to see this scene.
"It was a fool who wanted to hit me, so stay out of my business." Meixiang poked her head out from behind Suo Wenzheng. "You didn't care about him hitting me, and now you're trying to meddle in other people's business. Go to hell!"
Meixiang had a cut on her forehead and a black eye. In the middle of the day, the idiot wanted to pounce on her and do something to her, but she refused and fought back desperately for a few times, and was finally beaten by the idiot.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She stomped her feet and started crying.
"You can't hit a fool. You're such a grown-up, how shameless of you to bully a fool?" The big girl pointed at Xiong Er and cursed.
"If I hadn't taken action, would I still be alive if he hit me on the forehead with the stick? Little girl, you can't be unreasonable." Xiong Er initially thought that Chen Lei was a stupid and reckless man, but he didn't expect that he was really a big fool. He felt that he was in the wrong, and was scolded by a little girl. Although he was defending himself, his old face turned slightly red.
"Brother Xiaomai, beat him up!" Chen Lei shouted, then raised his voice to howl, "Dad, your son is almost beaten to death! Old Chen, the Chen family is going to be extinct!"
The clan leader and Master Chen rushed over after hearing the noise. "What's going on?" The clan leader glanced at Pei Xiyuan and the others. "Where are you from? What brings you to Dingxian Village?"
Pei Xiyuan put his hands behind his back and glanced at Meixiang expressionlessly. He then said coldly to the clan leader, "We have come to find this young lady. We have something to verify. May I ask who you are?"
"Hmph, this is outrageous. You are so arrogant in front of the elders and have no respect for them. You must not be from my Central Plains clan. Who are you? Why did you hurt my son?" Master Chen spoke before the clan leader could speak.
Pei Xiyuan saw that he was wearing a long gown and Ma Xiaomai and others were carrying schoolbags, so he guessed that he was a teacher in the local school. Because he disdained to argue with a poor teacher, he turned his nose up and ignored Master Chen.
Xiong Er, Suo Wen Zheng and the other two started arguing with Master Chen. At this time, more and more students from the school and villagers came, and both sides started arguing. Bai Mei, who came with Da Niu and the others, watched silently for a while, spread his wings and flew back to report to Jian Ning.
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