As they were talking, Chen Xiaoxiao walked over.
Li Guang then stepped forward and introduced, "This is Mr. Fang from Wufang Academy. He came to the countryside to sketch today, so I invited him to come and sit down."
"Hello, Mr. Fang. I've heard from the villagers that there's a gentleman from the capital. So it's you." After saying that, Chen Xiaoxiao gave the landlord a deep bow.
Li Guang was a little disappointed. Everyone in the village knew about Mr. Fang from the capital, but he was the only one who didn't know.
That's understandable. If there's nothing going on at home, he'll stay at the farm, so he's not aware of some things happening in the village.
"Li Guang, I came to see if you needed any cooking. I didn't expect Mr. Fang to be here too. Please wait a moment while I go and cook," Chen Xiaoxiao said.
"Thank you, Sister Xiaoxiao. The weather has been quite warm these past few days. Shanxiong brought over some more game last night. I'll cook a lot more later and have a drink with Mr. Fang."
"But the farm only has rice wine. If you want to drink baijiu (Chinese liquor), I'll bring some over later."
Li Guang knew the landlord Liu very well and knew that he didn't drink any alcohol, at most just a little rice wine, so he said:
"Mr. Fang doesn't drink baijiu (Chinese liquor), rice wine is fine with him."
"Okay, I understand. I'll go prepare the game now. Cooking the game will take a while, so you'll have to wait a bit."
After Chen Xiaoxiao finished speaking, she began to prepare the wild game and cook.
The landlord, Liu, was delighted to find wild game at the farm and asked:
"You just said that a bear brought wild game over at night. What's going on?"
Li Guang smiled and said:
"The black bear you just saw was a cub a few months ago. Princess Li Xue went hunting in the mountains and mistook it for a little black dog, so she brought it back and has been raising it at the farm ever since."
Later, two large mountain bears came looking for us. They were the parents of the bear cubs, and to repay us for raising their children, they would often bring us some wild game.
It's getting cold, and the bears are much less active. They haven't brought any game over for a while, but I didn't expect them to bring some again last night, as if they knew you were coming today.
"Haha, this is really interesting. I never thought animals would repay kindness."
The landlord stopped abruptly halfway through his story, looked around, and softly asked Li Guang:
"What did you say? Princess Li Xue knows you're here."
"A few months ago, the princess came to Narcissus Village and asked Brother Zhao to help her make a crossbow. She also came to walk in the fields and that's when we met."
Later, the princess went hunting in the mountains and found a bear cub, which she brought back. Now it has grown quite a bit, and in another year, it will become a giant.
"Oh, so that's how it is. I've known for a long time that you and the princess have a deep sibling relationship. Does your mother, Consort Yao, know that you're here?"
“My mother doesn’t know I’m here, and the princess doesn’t dare tell her either, for fear that she might let it slip in her excitement, which would be terrible.”
Landlord Liu nodded and said, "I know Princess Li Xue is bold and meticulous. For your safety, she will not mention this to anyone, not even the Fourth Prince."
From this moment on, as long as you are here, I will not leave Narcissus Village. Unless I die and am carried away, I will never reveal this secret.
Li Guang nodded helplessly. He knew the landlord Liu's character. After nearly ten years of getting along, their relationship had long surpassed that of a typical teacher and student.
"Sir, please come to the farm for a visit whenever you have some free time. We have everything you need, and you can even enjoy some rare wild game."
"Okay, I'll come often in the future."
The two chatted for quite a while before Chen Xiaoxiao finished preparing the meal, and the two could finally enjoy the delicious food.
Good times always pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it's the Lantern Festival. According to local customs, once the Lantern Festival is over, the New Year is considered over, and people can go about their business as usual.
Every year at this time, farmers begin to work in the fields, children carry their schoolbags to school, merchants go out to do business, and everyone gets busy.
The workers in the workshop started their shifts, and Zhao Xian also got busy.
To ensure that the products produced could meet market demand to the greatest extent possible, he began renovating the inn and moved the dormitory from the workshop there.
This frees up many rooms that can be converted into workshops.
Everything is proceeding smoothly, and the village market has not become deserted after the New Year; instead, it continues to thrive and remains bustling.
That afternoon, Zhao Xian was resting when a servant came to report that Princess Li Xue had arrived. Zhao Xian was taken aback and quickly got up from his rattan chair to go out and greet her.
This time, Li Xue brought not only four female guards but also two soldiers. These two men were imposing and strong, and it was clear at a glance that their martial arts skills were excellent.
Upon seeing Li Xue, Zhao Xian went to greet her.
"Greetings, Princess."
"Sir, please don't stand on ceremony. I apologize for bothering you again."
Several guards had been here a few times already, and they were habitually unloading luggage from the carriage. It seemed that Princess Li Xue would be staying here again for a while.
"Wait," Zhao Xian stopped the guards from carrying the luggage. Everyone looked at him, not understanding his meaning.
"Your Highness, you may not know this, but a market has been built in the village, along with restaurants and inns. I have already bought the inn and it has been renovated."
I knew the princess would be a frequent visitor, so I specially decorated a superior guest room for her, much better than what we have at home. I'll take you there to see it now.”
Li Xue was delighted. The superior rooms in the inn must be nice, much more comfortable than the dormitory in the workshop.
"Great! Take us to see it!" Li Xue said eagerly.
The inn is located next to the market and has three floors, making it the tallest building in the village.
It's a guesthouse in the village, so it doesn't look very luxurious from the outside, but the interior is quite nicely decorated.
As Zhao Xian said, there is a large suite on the third floor of the inn, which is decorated in a more refined manner, equivalent to a modern presidential suite.
Li Xue and her guards can all stay in this suite, which not only serves to protect the princess, but also provides each person with their own space so that they will not disturb each other.
The layout of this suite was personally designed by Zhao Xian. There were no such guest rooms at that time, and Li Xue immediately fell in love with it.
Li Xue walked around the guest rooms, experiencing each one. Finally, she stood by the window of the master bedroom, where she could see half the village and a vast field.
To her even greater surprise, she could vaguely see the farm where Li Guang lived.
That's great! From now on, if we live here, we can see the farm. Because it's too far away, we can't see the people on the other side of the farm.
However, this is better than nothing. If we could actually see the people over there clearly, it might not be a good thing.
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