Li Guang was very cautious. Before leaving, he packed up all his belongings so that even if the eldest prince came to the farm, he would not find anything.
"Since Li Guang has gone to Jiangnan, I won't disturb him any longer. I'll come back when he returns."
After saying this, the landlord turned and left.
The next morning, after the eldest prince got up, he went downstairs, where Zhao Xian was already waiting in the lobby of the inn, with ten guards standing behind him.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Zhao Xian stepped forward and bowed.
"Young Master Zhao, there's no need for such formalities," Li Hui said, glancing at the family soldiers beside him.
"What are they doing?" Li Hui didn't know what Zhao Xian meant by bringing ten personal guards.
"The Crown Prince will be staying in Narcissus Village for several days. For his safety, we have arranged for them to protect him."
Upon hearing this, Li Hui burst into laughter:
"Young Master Zhao is overthinking it. The six guards around me are all top-notch experts in the palace. With them by my side, why would I need you to arrange for someone to protect me?"
Get them out of here quickly; their presence makes me uncomfortable.
Zhao Xian thought about it and realized that even if all ten of his personal guards were combined, they wouldn't be a match for Li Hui's single bodyguard. Having them follow Li Hui was indeed a bit redundant.
The eldest prince is naturally suspicious; he might even think that I've arranged for someone to spy on him. What's the point?
Thinking of this, Zhao Xian waved to the ten men, signaling them to disperse. The soldiers immediately understood and turned to leave.
"Your Highness, breakfast is ready. I will take you there."
"Okay, thank you, Young Master Zhao." After saying that, Li Hui followed Zhao Xian to the restaurant.
During the meal, Li Hui asked Zhao Xian if there were any fun places to visit in Shuixian Village.
"Shuixian Village is a poor and remote place. Apart from the village market which has some activity, there is nothing worth seeing."
Outside the village are farmlands, and further on, rolling mountains; that's about it.
"It's pretty much what I expected. My father arranged for me to come out and gain experience, not to go sightseeing. It's normal that there's nowhere to play here."
I'm not interested in hunting, otherwise I'd go hunting in the mountains to kill time.
When Li Hui mentioned hunting, Zhao Xian dared not respond, and was even less inclined to go hunting with him, since the depths of the mountains were too dangerous.
"Oh, by the way, Zhao Shaofu, you said you'd contact the hunters in the village to see if they've caught any wild game."
"I contacted them early this morning. They had a good harvest yesterday, and their chef started preparing it early this morning. We'll be able to enjoy some delicious wild game by noon."
"Haha, that's great! Do you have any wild game like bear paws?" Li Hui asked.
Zhao Xian was startled. This eldest prince was too ambitious. He even wanted to eat bear paws. There was no way he could get bear paws.
“We don’t have any bears here, so of course we can’t get bear paws. It is said that there are mountain bears in the depths of the mountains. When they stand upright, they are more than ten feet tall. Their skin is thick and their flesh is tough, so they are impervious to knives and arrows.”
However, no one had ever seen a mountain bear, and hunters dared not venture deep into the mountains for fear of encountering one.
As Zhao Xian said these words, he couldn't help but worry. If Li Hui saw Xiao Hei, it would be a big problem. It seemed that he had to find a way to hide Xiao Hei and make sure Li Hui didn't find out.
"Forget it, I was just saying. I've eaten bear paws in the palace; they were all gifts from foreign envoys."
I've never tried local bear paw before; I definitely want to try fresh local bear paw sometime.
"Young Master Zhao, I'll go to the market after breakfast, so you don't need to come with me. We'll have some wild game for lunch."
"Very well, Your Highness, then I shall take my leave." Zhao Xian said and then departed.
Back home, Zhao Xian immediately arranged for someone to go to the farm and hide Xiao Hei no matter what. If Li Hui found Xiao Hei, he would definitely have to eat bear paws, and he couldn't stop him.
If anything were to happen to Xiao Hei, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Li Xue and Li Guang.
He thought for a moment and felt that this was not enough. He had to warn everyone in the family not to mention Xiao Hei in front of the eldest prince, especially the three children.
Zhao Xian felt he might have to spend the next few days in anxiety, wondering if this would constitute the crime of deceiving the emperor.
After having breakfast, Li Hui led a few people around the village, starting with the market.
The place was indeed quite popular, but it couldn't compare to the bustling markets in Beijing. Li Hui had absolutely no interest in such a small market.
The villagers already knew that the eldest prince from the capital had arrived; he might be the future emperor.
Seeing the eldest prince strolling around the village, the villagers watched him from a distance, not daring to approach him at all.
Because Wang Lizheng had notified every household beforehand that they should stay at home as much as possible when they had nothing to do and not wander around the village, as offending the Crown Prince would be punishable by death.
Li Hui looked around but found it uninteresting, so he went to Zhao Xian's house. He knew that Zhao Xian had several businesses and wanted to see how the workshop was producing.
At this moment, Zhao Xian was extremely anxious. The person he sent to the farm returned and told him that Xiao Hei was missing.
Chen Xiaoxiao had fed Xiao Hei in the morning, but then she didn't know where it went.
What's puzzling is that Yu Hong has also disappeared. You see, these two little guys rarely go out unless Li Guang takes them out for a stroll.
Where did those two little guys go? We absolutely can't let Li Hui see Xiao Hei.
Zhao Xian ordered his men to continue searching the vicinity, and to hide it immediately once it was found.
After arranging these things, Li Hui came over. He wanted to see the production situation in the workshop, so Zhao Xian had to put down what he was doing and take Li Hui on a tour of the workshop, explaining as they went.
Unexpectedly, Li Hui was quite interested in the production in the workshop, especially the production of baijiu (Chinese liquor), with the distilled baijiu flowing continuously into a large vat.
Is this liquid alcohol? Is it safe to drink?
"Yes, this large vat is full of freshly produced baijiu. However, the alcohol content is relatively high at this stage. It is usually blended before being sold on the market."
Freshly distilled liquor is perfectly safe to drink, but it's easy to get drunk on it.
Li Hui had heard of a very expensive type of liquor on the market, but he was surprised to learn that it was produced by Zhao Xian, so he decided to try it.
"There is some blended liquor in the wine cellar. I will take the Crown Prince there to taste it."
"The baijiu just came out has a pure and fragrant aroma, so I'll try this one," Li Hui said.
Zhao Xian had no choice but to have someone bring him a wine cup, fill it with a little white wine, and let him taste it.
After taking a sip, Li Hui's face lit up immediately; he hadn't expected this baijiu to be so to his liking.
"The wine has a pure taste and leaves a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth. It's a good wine. When I eat wild game at noon, I must drink this kind of wine. I don't want any blended wine."
Zhao Xian didn't expect Li Hui to like drinking such strong liquor. He decided to let him drink it, as long as he didn't drink too much.
That's good too. Providing him with some liquor at each meal will probably keep him from wandering around outside, and that way Xiao Hei will be safe.
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