Chapter 678 A Worthy Respect for Heaven and Earth
This top-down campaign to eliminate opium brought a new direction to Chang'an.
It's impossible to say that everyone in Chang'an knows about the harm of opium, but at least from the high-ranking officials and nobles to the common people, even the beggars in the city, they all know a little about it and can say a few words about it.
Not to mention, as merchants traveled to and from Chang'an, they carried the news out, and people's understanding of the dangers of opium spread throughout the Tang Dynasty at an exponential rate.
Among all this, the fact that Shi Le'an captured the European alien named Edward was a very important matter for Emperor Wu, Du Qinghui, and Li San Niang, who were all transmigrated aliens.
As March approached, which was late February when there was still a bit of chill in the air, Li San Niang handed the dewdrops to her mother after dinner.
Then, Li San Niang and Qiu Xiang boarded the carriage driven by Lao Shi, and before dawn, they headed to a place that Mr. Bu Ke had instructed them to visit.
This was because, in the late afternoon, Li Sanniang, who was still on duty at the clinic, learned from Qiu Xiang that she had an appointment with Mr. Bu Ke that evening. Li Sanniang guessed that this must mean that there had been a lot of progress in the matter of Opioid.
Li San Niang had heard rumors circulating on the street about General Shi capturing a barbarian, and she had also heard more specific details from Mr. Bu Ke.
That foreigner was indeed a European!
As night falls, the lights of countless homes illuminate this great city of a million people, a sight to behold, as beautiful and prosperous as the moon and as dazzling as the Milky Way.
The carriage carrying Li Sanniang stopped, and Li Sanniang got off the carriage with Qiu Xiang's help.
She looked curiously at the door where the carriage was parked. Li San Niang, whose senses were already very sharp, had sensed while inside the carriage that it was heading towards Zhuque Street after leaving the Li family, or rather, towards the imperial city.
On the way, Li Sanniang was still excited to herself, "Could it be that we're going to meet the Great Emperor Wu?"
Like a fangirl meeting her idol, Li San Niang asked Qiu Xiang in the carriage if there was anything wrong with her appearance, and she even regretted not changing into a new outfit and wearing some jewelry before going out.
But now that she's alighted from the carriage, looking at this inconspicuous little door, Li San Niang never imagined that she would be meeting Emperor Wu in such a place.
"Mrs. Li, I'm sorry to offend you."
Li San Niang stared blankly at the black cloth strip in the hand of the person in front of her for a moment before realizing that it was meant to blindfold her.
Li San Niang naturally wouldn't object to having her eyes covered. After all, even with her eyes covered, she could still remember the route using her sense of direction.
Qiu Xiang took the black cloth strip from the man's hand and gently wrapped it around Li San Niang's eyes, tying a knot at the back of her head.
Li San Niang was led through the door step by step, clinging to Qiu Xiang's arm.
After winding and turning for more than a quarter of an hour, they finally stopped. After Qiu Xiang helped Li San Niang remove the black cloth strip, Li San Niang adjusted her eyes to the light in the room before she looked up at the room she was in.
It was just an ordinary-looking main room, with a square table and two chairs at the head, four pairs of chairs at the bottom, and six square tables in the middle.
Apart from the candles, there was no other decoration on the walls inside the room.
Li San Niang chose a chair at the lower end and sat down. She touched the teapot on the square table; it was warm.
"Please wait a moment, Miss Li."
The man who greeted Li San Niang and her two companions at the door was unremarkable in appearance; he was the kind of person you could easily lose in a crowd after just one glance.
After Li San Niang nodded, the man bowed and left.
Over the next half hour, Xing Yu, Chang Siyuan, Bi Qionglan, and others entered the room one after another.
As more people gathered, they began to chat casually.
"I wonder why we were called here tonight?"
This doesn't look like a good thing.
This was Xing Yu's first encounter with the undercover agents of the Bad People. At the time, he was patrolling the shops in the West Market with his eldest son when someone handed him a note. After that, he was terrified, fearing that he would be silenced.
People like Chang Siyuan, Bi Qionglan, and Jiang Yiyun, who work within the system, are much more carefree.
Especially since Jiang Yiyun and Shi Le'an were already a couple, she could learn a lot of inside information from Shi Le'an, so she was even less afraid.
Moreover, Jiang Yiyun was originally one of Emperor Wu's men, so why would he be afraid of the sword in Emperor Wu's hand—the Bad People?
So when Xing Yu saw Li San Niang sitting there, it was as if he had found his pillar of support. He rushed over and sat down next to Li San Niang.
On the other hand, Ding Anbo and Ding Mingxuan, who were like fence-sitters, seemed poised and confident, not at all intimidated.
"Xing Yu, what are you afraid of?"
It's nothing more than this opium thing, isn't it?
Ding Anbo looked up at Jiang Yiyun, who was holding a teacup, and asked, "Didn't you hear the rumors circulating on the street?"
General Shi has caught the mastermind behind it all.
Facing Ding Anbo's probing gaze, Jiang Yiyun did not answer, but kept her eyes fixed on the teacup, as if trying to find a flower in the tea.
Just as Li San Niang was about to say something to comfort Xing Yu, Bi Qionglan spoke up: "Don't worry!"
They'll probably need us. Now that they've caught the person, something must be going on.
"There is no need to worry. We have a clear conscience and have done right by those above and below us. The sage would never harm us."
Even though Bi Qionglan said that, Xing Yu was still somewhat worried.
Before Xing Yu could calm down, there was a sound outside the door.
Still dressed in white, looking every bit the handsome young man, Mr. Bu Ke appeared outside the door, and a hunchbacked servant pushed Mr. Bu Ke's wheelchair through the door.
After Mr. Bu Ke took his seat, he first nodded to Li San Niang below him, and then slowly bowed slightly to everyone, saying, "I have invited you all here tonight because I need your help."
Li San Niang and the others quickly pricked up their ears, wanting to hear what this mysterious commotion was all about.
"...That's all the information we have for now."
That man remained silent, and was currently the only source of information they had captured. Therefore, the Sage's intention was that everyone give it a try; if they could get him to speak, the Sage would reward them handsomely!
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"Looking up, I am not ashamed before Heaven; looking down, I am not ashamed before men" is a couplet. The first line comes from Mencius, Book 7, Part 1: "Looking up, I am not ashamed before Heaven; looking down, I am not ashamed before men."
The second line comes from Fan Ning, a scholar of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, in his preface to the Guliang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, praising the Spring and Autumn Annals: "A single word of praise is more favored than a gift of fine robes; a single word of criticism is more humiliating than a public flogging."
It means that one should be upright and honest, with a clear conscience. People's praise or criticism is only temporary, and future generations will judge one's merits and demerits.
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