After Huo Guang explained the gold mine matters to Li Xi, Li Xi was completely dumbfounded.
He knew that this was important, but he didn't know it was so important. He used to be very happy playing with the compass, but now he doesn't even dare to play with it. He works diligently every day to guard the account book, especially after hearing that Liu Tan directly cremated Li Guangli's body, he became even more trembling with fear.
As for the robbers who robbed the country's capital, Li Xi didn't take it too seriously. He directly sent people to drive all the robbers over.
They really did drive them here, driving them to the mine like cattle and sheep.
When Liu Tan left, the Yumen Pass soldiers who had come to escort him naturally had to leave with him. A large part of these soldiers were responsible for mining, and someone had to take their place. It just so happened that these captives were directly taken by Li Xi and put to good use.
After Liu Tan learned about this, he felt a little strange, but he couldn't say anything. He simply ignored it and packed up and left.
Through the Li Guangli incident, Liu Tan became very clear that his values were very different from the current values. What he had to do was not to publicize his values, but to hide himself and not show that he was too inconsistent with mainstream thinking. Even if he wanted to express his own views, he had to do so to people who were completely dependent on him.
After Liu Tan said goodbye to Li Xi, he took Li Buyan and Wei Buyi to the place he had agreed to meet with Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan had been camped there for many days waiting for Liu Tan.
Liu Tan felt very embarrassed when he saw Lu Xuan: "I have some things to do. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Lu Xuan came towards them from a distance, smiling and about to say something. However, as he got closer, the smile on his face faded a little, and he couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"
Liu Tan was a little surprised: "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
Lu Xuan's eyes revealed a hint of anxiety: "How come you've lost so much weight in just a few days?"
Liu Tan was a bit amused and helpless after hearing this, so he could only say: "Nothing, I'm leaving now because I have too many things to do and I'm busy."
He didn't tell Lu Xuan about Li Guangli, because talking about it would inevitably bring up the gold mine.
Let’s continue to keep it a secret.
Lu Xuan did not continue to ask, but just pulled Liu Tan to urge him to rest and then kept staring at Liu Tan during dinner. Basically, the food on Liu Tan's table never ran out of food. Not only that, even if it was a little cold, it would be removed and replaced with new ones.
Liu Tan could tolerate it at first, but when he was clearly unable to eat and continued to be fed, he couldn't help but turn to look at Lu Xuan and asked seriously, "Do you think you're feeding pigs?"
Lu Xuan said casually, "No pig is as pretty as you."
Liu Tan: ????
Seeing Liu Tan about to roll up his sleeves, Lu Xuan hurriedly ran away with a smile, and Liu Tan took the opportunity to chase him - he didn't really want to beat Lu Xuan, he just needed to digest his food, otherwise he couldn't just run around the camp for no reason, right?
Amidst the noise and bustle, Liu Tan felt as if he was on a spring outing.
In fact, it was almost the same. After entering the pass, the entire climate became completely different from that outside the pass. The wind was softer and the moisture was greater. Only then did Liu Tan feel much more comfortable.
In fact, it is already approaching late summer in the Central Plains at this time, which is quite hot, but it is also at this time that the scenery along the way is very beautiful.
When Liu Tan first came through and entered Beijing, he was worried about his future and had a vague idea of the time, so he didn't appreciate it at all. Later, when he came out of the customs, it was just the beginning of spring, and the road became more and more desolate, which was not very good.
It was not until now that Liu Tan felt a little appreciative. After all, he was going back to be commended for his merits, and the majority of the troops remained at Yumen Pass. Not many people would follow him back, and if Liu Che urged him to speed up in a hurry, there would still be time.
However, what Liu Tan didn't expect was that he, a native of the Central Plains, was not as familiar with the route as Lu Xuan!
When passing by some famous scenic spots, Lu Xuan can always point out the characteristics of the place and tell the most beautiful places.
As a result, everyone gathered around him to listen to his stories!
Liu Tan was completely confused. It would have been fine if he didn't understand, but after all, he had traveled through time. Why were Li Bushan, Wei Bushi, and even Huo Guang and Jiang Chong listening with such fascination?
He asked curiously, "How do you know so much?"
You have to come here in person to know this. It is impossible to understand so much just by hearsay.
Lu Xuan said, "Last year, when I entered Chang'an, I set off early. It was autumn, and the autumn scenery inside the Great Wall was breathtaking. I couldn't help but wander around, stopping at many places. I thought I had seen all the beautiful scenery in the world, but I didn't expect spring, summer, and autumn to be so different. The beauty of the Central Plains is truly fascinating."
Liu Tan nodded seriously. He admitted this. His favorite season of the year was autumn because the colors of autumn were the most colorful. The color matching of nature was definitely enough to make people intoxicated.
Huo Guang also said with emotion: "I have lived in Chang'an for a long time. Although I have been to many places, I have never traveled this far. If I could have the opportunity to travel around the world, it would be worth my life."
Liu Tan laughed and said, "Isn't that easy? Father goes on tour every year. Next time, just ask him to take you with him, right?"
Liu Che always looked at the Huo family differently. Huo Qubing's youngest son was always with him at the beginning, and Huo Guang was also always by his side later, so he would definitely take the child with him when traveling.
On the contrary, Liu Tan may not be able to go.
The group chatted and laughed, feeling much more relaxed than when they were in the Western Regions.
This relaxation slowed down their progress, causing Liu Ju to write several letters asking where they were. The number of letters became so frequent that Liu Tan would receive a letter every time he visited an inn.
Liu Tan was puzzled: "What's wrong with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Why does he seem more anxious than I am?"
Although there was no urging in Liu Ju's letter, such frequent inquiries were already hinting that Liu Tan should leave quickly.
Huo Guang knew Liu Ju well, and after Liu Tan received three letters in a row, he reminded him, "Your Highness, there may be something important going on in Chang'an. You should speed up your journey."
Liu Tan suddenly asked, "What do you think it will be?"
Huo Guang pondered for a while and said, "Maybe it has something to do with Little Kunmi. In fact, letting Little Kunmi travel around like this is indeed..."
Huo Guang didn't say anything. He was worried that Lu Xuan was also a person like Wei Guan. He looked like he was just having fun along the way. What if he had memorized all the geography along the way?
Liu Tan didn't think of this at first. After Huo Guang reminded him, although he didn't want to doubt Lu Xuan, in order to prevent Lu Xuan from being suspected by Chang'an, he still planned to leave quickly.
His reason was very reasonable: the further south we go, the hotter it will be, and walking slowly like this will easily lead to heatstroke.
Lu Xuan has a very good physique. The Western Regions are actually not much worse than the Central Plains when it is the hottest. It is even hotter because of the lack of water resources and less precipitation.
But he was worried that Liu Tan would not be able to bear it, so he immediately agreed to the proposal to speed up the pace.
Even so, it took them about two months to reach Xianyang.
It was already late when they arrived in Xianyang, so Liu Tan just stayed there and planned to go into the city the next day.
He had already received the news that in order to welcome them, Emperor Liu Che sent the crown prince to pick them up, which could be considered a courtesy.
Although it was the prince who welcomed the envoy, strictly speaking, he was escorting the bride, and the prince's identity was not only the prince but also the bride's brother.
This time, it was because of Liu Tan's merits and Lu Xuan was with him that he came to greet him in person. Because of this, Liu Tan also had to stop and make good preparations, and then put on his full armor to go through the motions.
To be honest, Liu Tan gets a headache every time he sees his dress, especially in the hot summer when he has to wrap himself in so many layers at once. It would be a shame if he didn't get heatstroke.
For this reason, Liu Tan even discussed with Miao Rui whether there could be fewer layers.
This was probably the first time Miao Rui had heard such a request in his life, and he was stunned.
In this palace, when encountering such a formal occasion, everyone would like to wear and carry everything they can, in order to show their status and to show off their dignity in front of others.
Finally, when I got to Liu Tan...
Miao Rui said bitterly, "Your Highness, if people see this, they will laugh at you."
Liu Tan thought for a moment and said, "I'm not afraid."
Between being killed by the heat and being laughed at, he would rather choose the latter, since being laughed at wouldn't hurt him much anyway.
Just as Miao Rui was about to persuade him, Bigo suddenly came over and said solemnly, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince is here."
Liu Tan was shocked when he heard this: "What's going on? Why are you here in the middle of the night? Didn't we agree to come tomorrow? Did something happen?"
He asked this series of questions, but no one could answer them. Not only him, but everyone who knew the answer was puzzled.
Because the Crown Prince forbade it to be made public, Lu Xuan was not informed, but Huo Guang, Li Buyan, and Wei Buyi all came.
Liu Tan led them to the main hall in a hurry. Fortunately, he and Lu Xuan were not in the same courtyard, otherwise he would not be able to hide it.
As soon as Liu Tan saw Liu Ju in his riding clothes, he immediately bowed and said, "Your Highness, I greet the Crown Prince."
Liu Ju quickly stepped forward and said, "My brother, you've had a hard time on the journey. No need to be so polite."
Liu Tan asked bluntly, "Your Highness, why are you here so late? Is it related to tomorrow?"
Liu Ju let out a long sigh: "It is related, then. I won't waste any more words. Let me ask you where Li Guangli's body is."
Liu Tan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and turned to look at Huo Guang.
Huo Guang said something to the person next to him, and soon someone ran out to see what Liu Ju was doing. He was confused and asked, "What is this for?"
Not long after, the man returned with a carved pottery jar and respectfully placed it on the table in front of Liu Ju. Liu Tan raised his chin towards him and said, "Here it is."
Liu Ju looked at him, then lifted the lid of the pottery jar. After seeing the white bones inside, he slammed the lid shut and looked at Liu Tan in shock: "This... is this Li Guangli?"
Liu Tan said casually, "Yeah, how about this jar? I carefully selected it. It looks pretty good, right?"
Liu Ju suddenly gasped: "You...you burned him?"
Liu Tan nodded calmly. "It's hot on the road, and the body might rot. It's better to burn it so it's easier to carry."
Liu Ju couldn't help but put his hand on his forehead and said, "You...you are confused!"
Liu Tanxin said, "Is this really confusing? If you knew I scattered some of his ashes in the mine, wouldn't you jump up and scold me?"
But on the surface, he still showed helplessness and said, "There's no way, it really can't be saved. Your Highness, is this the only reason you came here so late? Is this matter... really that serious? Does the emperor value Li Guangli so much?"
Liu Ju's reaction was so intense that Liu Tan began to suspect whether Madam Li had done something.
But he was not afraid. As long as his surname was Liu, his life would be safe. As for the others, he could always turn the tables.
Liu Ju sighed and said, "It's not that the emperor values Li Guangli, but this matter has reached a point where it cannot be reversed."
Liu Tan said, "But the person is already dead, it's too late to save him."
Of course, Liu Tan was referring to the dozen or so lives lost, but he couldn't say it out loud.
"You don't know." Liu Ju took a deep breath and said, "Half a month ago, the Queen returned to the palace to visit her relatives and was intercepted by Madam Li. The two had an argument..."
Liu Tan seemed to be hesitant to speak when he reached this point, and Liu Tan's face immediately darkened: "What did Madam Li do to my mother?"
Liu Ju's face was filled with utter devastation. "It wasn't Madam Li who did anything to the Queen. It was the Queen... The Queen had her maid push Madam Li into the Cang Pond and drown her! My father was furious and was about to depose her, but because Madam Li provoked him, he decided to put her under house arrest instead!"
After Liu Chuan finished speaking, he couldn't help but say, "You and the Queen are truly... mother and son!"
He was also heartbroken at this time. The son burned his brother, and the mother drowned her sister. How could this mother and son be so cruel?
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