Seeing the guards bowing their heads and remaining silent, Zhao Xian spoke up to ease the tension:
"I bought this inn last year and renovated it to use as a dormitory for my family. It has never been open to the public."
"The Crown Prince will be staying in the village for a few days. I've prepared several rooms, better than those at home, for his rest. This shouldn't be considered staying at an inn, right?"
"This is certainly not staying at an inn. It's Zhao Shaofu's dormitory. Even if Father Emperor knows that I'm staying there, it doesn't matter."
It was lunchtime, so Zhao Xian arranged for Li Hui and the others to have lunch at the restaurant. Although he hadn't known Li Hui for long, he had basically figured out his personality.
So he arranged for Li Hui and the others to eat in one room, separating them from their families.
Li Xue ate very casually. Everyone sat in the same restaurant, the food was the same, and the atmosphere was very harmonious and pleasant.
When entertaining Li Hui, Zhao Xian dared not be casual and had to be very careful, knowing that this man was not easy to please.
However, Zhao Xian remembered what Li Xue said: special seasonings should not be used when cooking. So the chef had put the seasonings away long ago, and the family had not been able to eat any delicious food for several days.
Not only that, but even at the farm, Chen Xiaoxiao didn't use any seasonings when cooking.
The food prepared by the chef at this time could not compare with the food in the palace, but a few dishes still caught Li Hui's attention because these were dishes that could not be eaten in the palace.
"What are these dishes? They taste pretty good," Li Hui asked.
"These are some wild game, including pheasants, wild ducks, venison, and wild boar meat, all hunted by hunters in the village."
I dried the wild game, which preserves it for a long time. Since the Crown Prince is a distinguished guest, I specially cooked some for him to enjoy.
"No wonder I've never eaten this in the palace. It turns out it's dried wild game. It tastes really good," the eldest prince said excitedly.
"Dried wild game is somewhat inferior and cannot be compared with fresh wild game."
In our remote and impoverished area, although conditions are poor, we can still afford to eat wild game.
"I'll go find some hunters in the village later and have them bring over the game they've caught these past few days, so the Crown Prince can enjoy some fresh game."
"That's great, then thank you for your trouble, Young Master Zhao." The eldest prince became excited again.
Actually, we've had some wild game at home lately, all sent by Xiao Hei's parents. Today, the chef didn't cook fresh wild game, but only some dried wild game for the eldest prince to try.
After the meal, Zhao Xian led the eldest prince and his companions to the inn. The room had been prepared, and the eldest prince's room was very spacious and exquisitely decorated. The eldest prince liked it as soon as he entered the room.
These past few days, the eldest prince has been traveling with the imperial messenger and has worked very hard. He needs to rest now.
In the afternoon, at Wufang Academy, three elderly gentlemen took a break between classes and came to the courtyard to chat.
When the old gatekeeper saw the three old gentlemen arrive, he asked:
"Zhao Lushi made great contributions during his trip to Yuanxi. The imperial edict arrived this morning, and the court promoted him three ranks to Shaofu. What kind of official is Shaofu?"
“An imperial edict arrived in the village this morning, how come the three of us didn’t know? No wonder we heard the sound of gongs and drums in the village this morning,” said Mr. Fang.
"The position of Shaofu is at least a sixth-rank official. A sixth-rank official is not high in the imperial court, but it is quite good in the local area."
"Because it was bestowed by the Emperor, this official position is even more prestigious than a fifth-rank local official, and is on par with a prefect," the landlord replied.
"To be able to sit on equal footing with the Prefect, he must indeed be a high-ranking official. No wonder the Crown Prince is here as well."
"What? The First Prince is here too?" The landlord was shocked and jumped up from his chair.
The landlord's reaction startled the group, who were puzzled as to why he reacted that way.
"Yes, it is indeed the First Prince who has arrived. The messenger has already left. I heard that the First Prince will stay in the village for a few days, saying that he wants to understand the people's conditions. He will be eating and staying at Zhao Shaofu's house," the old gatekeeper said.
At this point, the landlord started to tremble a little, and fine sweat appeared on his forehead.
Wu Hao was somewhat surprised by the change in the landlord's demeanor. He asked, "Mr. Fang, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
The landlord tried hard to compose himself and began to speak:
"It's alright, I have something to do and need to leave for a bit." After saying that, the landlord Liu walked out of the academy and quickly headed towards the village entrance.
"Is Mr. Fang alright? I feel like something's not right with him," Mr. Fang asked.
"It should be fine. Mr. Fang used to teach in the palace and was a guest of honor of the Emperor. Perhaps the First Prince is his disciple, so it's possible that he'll go and take a look," Wu Hao replied.
“Very likely, no wonder Mr. Fang was so agitated just now.” Mr. Fang suddenly realized.
After leaving the village, the landlord ran all the way to the farm. He leaned against the door, panting heavily. It took him a long time to catch his breath before his breathing calmed down.
At this moment, Xiao Hei and Yu Hong stood on the lawn in the yard, quietly watching the landlord Liu. The landlord Liu had been to the farm several times, and the two little ones knew him.
Everything in the courtyard was as usual, and the landlord felt much more at ease. He walked towards Li Guang's room.
Li Guang was not there. The room was spotless. The books and writing implements on the table were gone, and even the painting on the wall was nowhere to be found.
Something was clearly wrong. The landlord was shocked again. Where had Li Guang gone? Had he been...?
The landlord's forehead started sweating again.
He quickly came out of the room and just then saw Chen Xiaoxiao walk in.
"Isn't this Mr. Fang? What brings you here?"
Seeing that Chen Xiaoxiao was the same as usual, nothing must have happened at the farm.
"Where is Li Guang? I haven't seen him. Where did he go?" the landlord asked.
"Li Guang went to Jiangnan, and it's been two days already."
Chen Xiaoxiao's answer completely calmed the landlord's mind, but he was still a little confused as to why Li Guang was going to the south of the Yangtze River at this time.
Seeing the landlord's puzzled expression, Chen Xiaoxiao explained:
"A few days ago, the princess came from the capital, saying she wanted to go to Jiangnan for a visit."
Li Guang was knowledgeable and understood the local customs and traditions of various places. He was a living map, so the princess took him along as a guide.
"This trip to the south of the Yangtze River will take more than twenty days to return. Zhao Xiaosheng has already been assigned to take care of the farming here, so Li Guang's trip will not affect the farming."
The landlord breathed a long sigh of relief; he understood everything.
Princess Li Xue must have learned that the First Prince was coming to Shuixian Village, so she rushed over beforehand, took Li Guang away, and returned twenty days later, only to find that the First Prince had already left.
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