The rich aroma of tea wafted through the courtyard. The yamen runners seemed to have shed all their fatigue and started chatting and laughing with the Ling family.
Seeing that they did not use violence and their words even revealed some of Lord Yu's intentions, the Ling family was completely relieved and entertained them even more warmly.
Song Lizheng's tense nerves relaxed and his whole body became as soft as noodles. He had to be supported by Cao Dashan before he could move.
But he did not forget to entertain these distinguished guests, and called a few strong young men to go to the mountains to catch crabs and shrimps.
He still has a deep impression of the meal he had at Ling's house yesterday.
Although he was not sure whether the Ling family could still make spicy hot pot, as the village head, he had to prepare enough ingredients to avoid being caught off guard when the time came.
When the old lady found out, she quickly thanked them and gave them some cakes to fill their stomachs.
The city officials were quite puzzled. What kind of crab was it? They had never heard of it before. And what about shrimp? Was it something edible?
Afraid that the Ling family would laugh at them for being ignorant, they scratched their noses and didn't dare to ask.
The old man knew that the other party was not here to cause trouble, so he hurriedly called Shunzi and Qizi to clean up the empty rooms in Tinglan Courtyard, Zhegui Courtyard and the backyard to accommodate the guests.
In Qingfeng Courtyard, Ling Jiheng and Zhou Chengyu faced each other, and neither of them spoke first.
Ling Jiheng held the kettle and poured tea for Zhou Chengyu, but Zhou Chengyu was attracted by the folding flower stand in the house, his eyes fixed on the small red fruit.
Suddenly, I smelled the fragrance of tea and drew my attention back.
He opened his mouth and said, "Mr. Ling, may I ask how you learned that Youzhou City is about to experience a severe cold snap?"
Ling Jiheng quickly stood up and saluted: "Your Excellency, please just call me by my name. Do not treat me as 'Sir'. I am unworthy of this title."
He introduced himself: "I am Ling Jiheng, the eldest son of the second branch of the Ling family, and my courtesy name is Yanqing."
Zhou Chengyu raised his hand and asked the other person to sit down, but did not introduce himself, only saying his surname was Zhou.
Ling Jiheng raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Zhou, my family and I traveled from Jiangning Prefecture to Youzhou, enduring droughts, locust plagues, wildfires, rainstorms, floods, plagues, and earthquakes along the way. It's natural to be afraid of the coming extreme cold. I didn't expect this to cause such a misunderstanding. I'm deeply sorry!"
Ling Jiheng spoke sincerely, but Zhou Chengyu saw through his intention to conceal something and couldn't help laughing.
"I'm afraid Yan Qing didn't tell the truth."
Ling Jiheng nodded and said bluntly: "Words can only be said to those who should know."
"Then who is the one who should know?"
"General Zhou, Zhou family!"
Zhou Chengyu's brows furrowed, and he looked at the other man with a wary look. After a moment, he laughed, "Master Ling, you're joking."
Ling Jiheng said nothing, sipping his tea with a calm expression.
Zhou Chengyu casually asked about the vegetables on the flower racks: "What made you think of growing vegetables indoors? Are you worried about the extreme cold coming and not having enough to eat? What are those red fruits?"
"That's chili pepper, a seasoning. It tastes similar to dogwood. Mr. Zhou can try it later."
Zhou Chengyu nodded: "Okay!"
There was silence again. The pot of tea was almost empty, but Ling Jiheng didn't say a word.
Zhou Chengyu was getting a little impatient and asked, "What if I insist on getting an answer today?"
Ling Jiheng looked up at the other person and bowed again: "This matter is of great importance. I dare not reveal a single detail!"
He absolutely refused to admit that he had guessed Zhou Chengyu's identity.
Zhou Chengyu was silent for a few seconds, then took out a token.
The word "Zhou" on it was extremely eye-catching, and he introduced himself solemnly: "I am the eldest son of the Zhou family army, Zhou Chengyu."
After taking it, Ling Jiheng examined it carefully and asked a few questions. After basically confirming the other party's identity, he said "wait a moment" and went out.
Under the other party's puzzled gaze, he came to Rongsiyuan and whispered to Chi Xingyue, leaning very close.
Chi Xingyue took the opportunity to take out a secret letter from the third prince to the leader of Black Wind Village from the space and stuffed it into his sleeve.
Also told him to be careful.
Ling Jiheng rubbed Chi Xingyue's long hair and went straight back to Qingfeng Courtyard.
After handing the letter to the other party, it only took a few seconds for him to see Zhou Chengyu's face change drastically.
"Where did this letter come from?"
"Hejian Prefecture, Black Wind Village!"
"The village chief..."
Ling Jiheng did not hide it: "At that time, the people from the Black Wind Village came down the mountain to rob the refugees. We had no choice but to rise up and resist.
In a panic, he accidentally injured the robber and followed the robber into the village.
I happened to see them fighting among themselves, and accidentally found a few letters. I felt that the matter was a bit serious, so I left quietly.
Before we even reached the foot of the mountain, Black Wind Village caught fire. The flames were so intense that we didn't know if anyone had survived.
Ling Jiheng completely denied all responsibility on his side, but Zhou Chengyu could hear it, but he just didn't expose it.
After all, the Great Yong Dynasty had laws that allowed the killing of bandits without punishment. In other words, the Ling family had eliminated a potential threat to the Zhou army.
But, how many? It seems that the other party doesn't trust me very much!
Zhou Chengyu couldn't help but laugh and felt it necessary to take him back to the military camp.
He folded the letter and tucked it into his arms. One thing remained unclear to him: "Brother Ling, do you know how the Third Prince learned of the impending extreme cold?"
Ling Jiheng frowned, not wanting to tell the other party anything about rebirth or something like that, fearing that his thoughts would wander and he would start to suspect himself and Chi Xingyue.
Thinking of what Chi Xingyue had said about the cause of the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he asked, "Has there been a volcanic eruption in the Yong Dynasty this year?"
"Volcanic eruption? That's a novel term!"
Ling Jiheng suddenly realized that there seemed to be very few signs of volcanic eruptions in this era.
He then quoted a description from the "Bianjiao Jiwen": "Smoke and fire shot up into the sky, and the sound was like thunder, continuing day and night. The flying objects were all black rocks and sulfur. After years of continuous flying, they formed a mountain that reached all the way to the city walls. The only smell was sulfur."
Zhou Chengyu instantly understood what Ling Jiheng was talking about and looked at him in surprise: "How did you know that there were strange phenomena in the sky in Bei Liao this year?"
How could Ling Jiheng know? He just guessed! Who would have thought that he would be right!
I could only bite the bullet and say, "Volcanic eruptions can cause large amounts of smoke to float in the air and not fall. Over time, this will block sunlight, causing temperatures to drop and crop yields to decrease.
Of course, this is just my speculation based on the few words in the letter."
This was the first time Zhou Chengyu heard this statement, but after thinking about it, it seemed to make sense.
Regardless of whether the extreme cold will come, it is an indisputable fact that the third prince is determined to bring down the Zhou family army.
He could no longer sit still and prepared to return to the barracks to discuss countermeasures with his father and grandfather.
He turned around and warned the other party: "This matter is confidential. You know the seriousness of it."
Ling Jiheng nodded: "Yes!"
Zhou Chengyu left in the same hurry as he came.
Without even tasting the chili peppers he was quite curious about, he left Qingshan Village with his men.
He rushed to the military camp overnight and handed the letter to General Zhou and General Zhou at dawn.
The two looked at the contents of the letter in disbelief and were horrified.
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