Chapter 340 Truly a Person of Unparalleled Talent (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Although Old Master Xiao did not believe Liu Hong's nonsense, the matter involved the Xiao family's internal affairs, and he had to find out the truth.
To prevent him from making a wrong judgment later.
Just then, Old Master Xiao's earlobe twitched slightly, and a familiar voice came from outside the front door.
"Go and inform him immediately, and tell that old scoundrel Xiao Yuan to prepare some good wine and food. I've been craving it all this way."
"Lord Duke? Quickly, please come inside. I will inform the master right away."
"Please? The main gate won't open, and that old bastard Xiao won't come to greet me. What kind of manners are we to be allowed to enter like this?"
"I've come here to get your master out of a predicament. Why don't you have him come and greet me personally?"
"Yes, yes..."
Lu Guan, who was guarding the door, dared not delay and rushed over in a hurry.
Old Master Xiao listened to the shameless words of Duke Zhang Xuan, and his face was full of smiles, dispelling the troubles caused by the Emperor's punishment.
Before Lu Guan could run over, he walked out of the quiet house with his cane and gave instructions to the guards along the way.
Prepare wine and dishes; bring out the finest wines and delicacies.
Lu Guan saw him from afar, stopped and bowed, and only after he approached did he whisper:
"Master, the Duke of Gan is here, accompanied by two others..."
Old Master Xiao grunted in agreement, then strode briskly to the gate of the mansion, leaning on his cane, and saw Zhang Xuan standing with his hands behind his back.
"Old man, what do you see when you look up at the sky?"
Will it be windy or rainy tomorrow?
Hearing Old Master Xiao's teasing, Zhang Xuan turned his head and said, "It'll hail, and kill you, you old bastard."
"I've traveled a long way to personally deliver grain and money to you, and this is how you treat your benefactor?"
Old Master Xiao looked him over and saw that he looked a little haggard. While he felt gratified and grateful, he couldn't help but criticize him:
"In that great battle five years ago, when Left King Muhag charged into the fray, you almost died under his heavy mace. Who shielded you from it?"
"And twenty years ago, who led three thousand Xuanjia soldiers to your rescue?"
Seeing that he was bringing up old grievances again, Zhang Xuan waved his hands repeatedly: "Alright, alright, it happened so many years ago, why bring it up again?"
He pointed to the gate of the Marquis's mansion and said, "Is this your way of treating guests?"
Seeing that he was acting like a rogue, Old Master Xiao knew that he had found a way to back down, so he waved to signal Lu Guan to open the middle gate.
"Let's go have a drink."
"That's more like it."
As Zhang Xuan craned his neck to pass Old Master Xiao, he didn't forget to give instructions to the two people behind him:
"You all wait outside the city. I will send someone to inform you later where that batch of grain has been sent."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Two middle-aged men dressed in blue robes and with long swords at their waists bowed and then rode away on horseback.
Old Master Xiao glanced at the two of them and said to Zhang Xuan, "Those two are quite powerful."
Zhang Xuan still held his head high, saying smugly, "The expert my son found is certainly not weak. Do you think everyone is like you, guarding against martial arts practitioners like you would against thieves?"
Ignoring his teasing, Old Master Xiao asked thoughtfully, "You weren't this cautious when you came last time... Did something happen?"
Zhang Xuan paused, his chin tucked in, and his face darkened. "Those people have become increasingly rampant lately."
"Who are they? Those thieves from the eastern sea?"
"Who else but them dares to plunder my Guangyue Prefecture?"
"If it weren't for the traitor within the manor tipping them off, I would have led my men to wipe them out long ago!"
Old Master Xiao frowned slightly, "Treason and collusion with the enemy?"
Zhang Xuan snorted, "They're just a bunch of opportunistic scoundrels, utterly worthless."
"If they're really not up to par, why did you bring two experts with you?"
"You... My son is so filial, can't you be worried about something happening to his father?"
Seeing that Zhang Xuan was stubborn, Old Master Xiao shook his head. "Internal traitors are more dangerous than external traitors, so it's good to be on guard."
Zhang Xuan waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about those unpleasant things."
He then asked, "I heard that you killed Liu Gongmo and were punished by the Emperor?"
"Tell me, what despicable things did Liu Gongmo really do?"
Grandpa Xiao nodded slightly: "Not only that, he has deep ties with both the barbarians and the Vajrasattva Kingdom."
After a pause, Old Master Xiao said with a wistful expression, "Fengchun's whereabouts were discovered by the barbarians because he secretly tipped them off."
"he?!"
Zhang Xuan immediately cursed, "You bastard! Feng Chun once saved his life, how dare he repay kindness with enmity?"
"That bastard, that scoundrel, that ingrate... Old Xiao, you really shouldn't have let him die so easily back then. This kind of person deserves to be torn to pieces!"
"Why did you kill him so soon, only to get yourself punished by the Emperor? That was too easy on that bastard!"
Old Master Xiao shook his head with a wry smile, offering no response.
If Liu Hong hadn't insisted on bringing up Fu Wanqing's matter, he wouldn't have killed Liu Hong no matter how angry he was.
But now that I think about it, it might have been better to kill him.
If Liu Hong had survived to reach the capital and then revealed that Fu Wanqing was among the barbarians, the outcome would have been even more unacceptable.
Old Master Xiao dared not imagine how Xiao Jinghong would react if he knew about this.
Zhang Xuan was unaware of these things. After grumbling for a while, he pulled Zhang Xuan aside and said that they would not leave until they were drunk that night.
Old Master Xiao has no objection.
As soon as he sat down, Zhang Xuan glanced at him, his angry expression freezing on his face, and pointed at him, asking:
"Wait, Lao Xiao, you, your body... is healed?"
As he had wine and dishes brought over, Old Master Xiao nodded with a smile, "I'm feeling much better."
"It's more than just a little better! Judging from your physique, your old injuries have probably healed completely, haven't they?"
Seeing him smile without saying a word, Zhang Xuan's face darkened: "Why are you hiding things from me? Tell me, who has such great abilities?"
"yes……"
Old Master Xiao thought of Chen Yu and Liu Wu, and then the image of Chen Yi flashed through his mind. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, and only shook his head, saying:
"A highly skilled person, appearing only briefly and never quite."
Zhang Xuan could tell he was unwilling to talk much, so he mumbled a few words, then picked up the wine jar and poured wine for the two of them, saying, "Since that's the case, I'll show you what I'm capable of today."
Old Master Xiao smiled again, said no more, picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
After several rounds of drinks...
The two then began to talk about their respective experiences during this period.
Zhang Xuan knew roughly what the Xiao family's situation was like in Shuzhou, especially the burning of summer grain in three towns, rising grain prices, disaster victims, and epidemics.
He just didn't know the details.
After listening to Old Master Xiao's account, he couldn't help but curse Liu Hong a few more times, saying that he had killed him too early.
The old man smiled and let it go, then thought of something and asked, "How is the second son doing now that he's arrived in Guangyue Prefecture?"
Because of Xiao Dongchen's affair, the second branch of the Xiao family was "ashamed" to stay in Shuzhou and all went to Guangyue Prefecture to seek refuge with Xiao Qiuyun.
When Zhang Xuan heard him mention Xiao Wang, a hint of displeasure appeared on his face. "Don't you know what kind of brother you have?"
"Hmph, before he even arrived in Guangyue Prefecture, Qiuyun had already arranged a house for him and even begged Ying'er to find her father a job."
"At first things were fine, and Xiao Wang was relatively calm."
"But the good times didn't last long. Less than half a month later, he approached Qiuyun and said he wanted to start a pharmacy business. He invested a lot of money, but nothing came of it."
"besides……"
Zhang Xuan poured out his grievances, and finally said, "No wonder you wanted to drive him out of Shu Prefecture. If it were me, I wouldn't have hesitated either."
After listening, Old Master Xiao was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "Two Xiaos can't be written with the same stroke; in the end, we're all members of the Xiao family."
He immediately followed up by saying, "I will return to you later all the money Qiu Yun took from Zhang Ying and how many connections she used."
Zhang Xuan snorted and said rudely, "You still owe me money?"
"Money is nothing; I have plenty of ways to deal with that."
"You're so boastful, aren't you afraid of losing a few of your teeth?"
The reason why Old Master Xiao was confident in repaying the money was because of the Wushan Trade Market and Baicaotang.
The former is about to be completed, and mountain tribes and merchants from neighboring prefectures have already come to sign contracts with the Xiao family, so there will certainly be no shortage of money in the future.
The same applies to the latter.
Baicaotang's shop in Guangyuan County is doing very well. Last night, the Fu family there even wrote a letter, full of gratitude for the Xiao family's help.
After getting the gist of it, Zhang Xuan thought with a hint of jealousy, "You bastard, you're lucky..."
"good?"
Thinking of the hardships the Xiao family had endured for the past five years, Old Master Xiao sighed, picked up his bowl, and said:
"Enough talk, let's drink."
"Fine, I'll drink it..."
The arrival of Zhang Xuan slightly dispelled the gloom at the Central Court, and the soldiers and servants busied themselves with their tasks.
Xiao Wan'er, who was in the backyard, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news.
"With Lord Zhang here, Grandpa should be fine."
She knew perfectly well that the old master didn't have many close friends, especially in Shuzhou.
At this time, the only people who could speak a few words with the old master, besides her, Xiao Jinghong, Xiao Wuge, and the Duke of Gan, Zhang Xuan, and Sun Fu who was going to Jinling, were the only others.
Thinking about all this, Xiao Wan'er glanced in the direction of Chunhe Garden, knowing that Chen Yi had left the Marquis's residence, and then instructed Cui'er:
"Tonight, have the kitchen prepare more light dishes and a few snacks for the son-in-law to take with him during his annual exams."
"yes……"
...
Chen Yi was unaware of the bustling activity inside the Marquis's residence. He led Pei Guanli around the Provincial Administration Office and the Prefectural Government Office, all the way to the East Market.
During that time, I naturally heard and saw some things.
For example, on the notice board in front of the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office, the names of Liu Hong and others had been covered with red cinnabar by busybodies.
For example, people were constantly being interrogated at the prefectural government office, mostly Zhu Lingchuan, Ye Jingxiao, and others.
Many people gathered in front, clapping and cheering, shouting that they all deserved to die.
For example, some martial arts practitioners who have just arrived in Shu Prefecture will ask people in taverns about the current situation here.
Has anyone seen the White Immortal, or who is "Dragon Tiger" Liu Wu, or who is some rising star who has also come to Shuzhou, etc.?
Chen Yi was mostly uninterested, the only place he stopped to glance at was Xinglinzhai, which was not far from the East Market.
Because the Liu family of Jingzhou was exterminated by imperial decree, some people in Xinglinzhai were not spared either.
Apart from Liu Zhaoxue, all other members of the Liu family have been arrested and imprisoned by the authorities and will soon be escorted to the capital.
As a result, Xinglinzhai was also shut down by the government.
Even the plaque with the inscription by Xiao Chengshu was taken down and its whereabouts are unknown.
Pei Guanli followed his gaze, her smile vanished instantly, and she snorted, saying:
"My third uncle and my brother came to seek revenge against the Five Poisons Sect without telling me, which made me miss the excitement."
Chen Yi chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Why would you go on something so dangerous?"
"Brother-in-law, even you say that... Just wait, I'll go into seclusion to cultivate for the next few days, and I'll break through to the seventh rank soon, right, little flower?"
Pei Guanli's happiness or unhappiness was written all over her face, and it came and went quickly.
After taking a couple of steps, she forgot her earlier unpleasantness and dragged Chen Yi to join the artisans in their fun.
I watched them break large stones on their chests, perform iron flower fireworks, and acrobatics.
She took half an hour to cover a distance of only a hundred feet.
Chen Yi wasn't in a hurry. He watched the excitement while listening to the sounds around him.
"...Hua Huiyang of Wudang Mountain is said to have arrived in Shuzhou and is currently in Guang'an County."
"Even he came?"
"It seems something truly significant is about to happen in the martial arts world of Shu Prefecture..."
"Several grain stores have been shut down by the government, and grain is still in short supply. Fortunately, someone has filled the gap, and grain prices have also dropped a bit."
"With Governor Yang of the Provincial Administration Commission keeping an eye on things, who would dare to act recklessly?"
"Of course, Lord Yang is not a villain like Liu Hong..."
Chen Yi looked at the people and felt a pang of emotion.
Some time ago, when grain prices rose, these people complained and didn't have a smile on their faces.
Now that things have calmed down, the atmosphere is definitely different.
No wonder the sages of this world said: "The way to govern a country is to first enrich the people. It is easy to govern a rich people, but difficult to govern a poor people."
Only when these people have money can they live in peace and security, respect their superiors and fear punishment, and thus become easier to govern.
Not long after.
Chen Yi brought Pei Guanli to Jishi Pharmacy. Seeing the bustling scene inside, he asked Liu Quan about his recent situation.
"Manager, things have improved a lot since the old Marquis killed Liu Hong and the yamen shut down Xinglinzhai."
"Dr. Ma and Old Li are so busy every day, but the supply of medicinal herbs is a bit lacking..."
Chen Yi, recalling his earlier request for Wang Ji to send people to find the mountain tribes, nodded and said:
"Let's hold on for now; the medicine should arrive in a few days."
With Xinglinzhai gone, the original medicine merchants naturally had to find a way out, and people from the Xiao family, the Wan family, and Baicaotang all came to their door.
I reckon that in a few more days, none of the pharmacies will run out of medicinal herbs.
However, Chen Yi did not intend to continue cooperating with those pharmaceutical merchants in Shuzhou.
As Baicaotang expands into Shuzhou and even other parts of the Nine Provinces and Three Prefectures, it will require a large number of medicinal herbs. He cannot possibly entrust the supply of medicinal herbs to those opportunistic merchants.
As Chen Yi spoke, he looked at Pei Guanli, who was slurping her tea, and said:
"Write a letter to your brother later, and tell him that someone wants to buy some medicinal herbs from the mountain tribe in a few days, and ask him to take good care of them."
Upon hearing this, Pei Guanli chuckled and said, "Brother-in-law, don't worry, my brother will definitely handle it well for you. If he doesn't, I won't let him off the hook."
"Many medicinal herbs are needed; please mention a few words about it when you write your letter."
"many?"
Pei Guanli put down her tea, thought for a moment, and said, "Then I'll go to Grandma. Everyone in the clan listens to Grandma. My brother-in-law can have as many medicinal herbs as he wants."
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow, about to refuse, when Pei Guanli continued, "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll take care of it. If Grandma knew it was about my brother-in-law's pharmacy, she would definitely agree."
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
"hey-hey……"
Chen Yi then consulted Liu Quan and learned more, before focusing his attention on the doctors.
To be precise, it was Yuan Liuer who followed Ma Liangcai.
Despite having only recently begun learning medicine, Yuan Liuer is already able to assist Ma Liangcai in diagnosing and treating patients.
He was already quite skilled at taking pulses, asking questions, and observing appearances, and even the prescriptions he wrote were quite accurate.
"As expected of someone with unparalleled talent, the speed of their progress is astounding..."
"It seems it's time to teach her martial arts."
(End of this chapter)
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