Chapter 59: Trip to Yi Town (Part 2) Update
The town is not big, so such a group of people naturally attracted a lot of attention.
An elder in the family recognized the Marquis of Xiguan and stopped what he was saying. He walked out onto the street and looked in the direction the group was heading. Seeing that they were actually going to Xiao Si'er's house, they exchanged greetings and followed them without hesitation until they reached Xiao Si'er's courtyard wall.
Liu Ziye and others had already dismounted, tied their horses to two elm and locust trees planted at the gate, and entered Jin Jie's yard.
The courtyard was only about three or five meters in size, but so many people came at once, and the courtyard wall was crowded with old people and children who were watching the fun.
In the courtyard, Jin Jie pointed to a sixty-year-old man whose hands were stained with wiring scraps and said, "Grandpa, I'm home. These are the distinguished guests and friends who are coming to visit our home."
The old man had a dark face with wrinkles all over his face, and his hair was tied into tangles from years of hard work. He looked like he had been working and exposed to the sun for many years.
Liu Ziye didn't expect Jin Jiejia to be so simple, so he greeted him, "Hello, old man."
The old man opened his gray eyes and looked at Liu Ziye: "Are you the young marquis of Xiguan?"
Without waiting for Liu Ziye's reply, he turned around and pulled Jin Jie again: "The young Marquis of Xiguan wants to visit our house?"
Jin Jie nodded in confirmation.
The old man seemed to have finally confirmed the fact, and his expression was flustered for a moment.
He circled in place, taking in his shabby yard. Finally, he looked toward the wall where several rows of onlookers were standing and called out, "What are you all just lying there watching? The young Marquis of Xiguan is coming to visit. Come on, lend a hand! Take whatever you have at home and clean up this shabby yard of mine!"
When the people outside the courtyard heard this, they immediately rushed forward.
Then they realized that if they all crowded into the yard in such a disorderly manner, it would be no use. Someone else shouted, "Where is Master Jin Qi? Call him over. Let him take charge and take charge of the situation."
For a moment, the people outside the courtyard wall separated into different groups, some asked for help, and some went home to check what food and supplies they had, all of them were busy and happy.
Even the group of children who were originally playing were ordered around like the wind by the elderly people who stayed at home in the town, running errands on the gravel roads in the town.
Liu Ziye looked at this scene with some surprise.
Unexpectedly, when she came back last time, these people still feared and hated her. They all wanted to send her away like a plague god.
This time it has become a hot commodity!
These days, although she occasionally heard the system broadcasting the points of the Emperor's morality, those quantified numbers were nothing compared to the immersive scene before her.
Liu Ziye finally had a deep experience of what "morality" and "human heart" are.
Being so admired by the crowd, the grandfather of Jin Ji's family acted like a bodhisattva, ordering Jin Ji and Jin Si'er at home, moving chairs for her, setting up a table for her, bringing her fried beans, steamed date cakes, and freshly brewed egg tea.
Every time she was respectful and solemn. If Liu Ziye showed the slightest courtesy or gratitude, the old lady would want to kneel down immediately, bury her head in the ground and kowtow to her in return.
After this, Liu Ziye didn't dare to move easily!
She treated herself like a giant panda, protecting herself deeply, only occasionally touching the egg tea and pastry beans on the table.
Once again, Jin Jie was asked by his grandfather to take out a brand new cotton pad from the house. When he was about to put it on the stool for Liu Ziye, Liu Ziye couldn't help but grab Jin Jie who was approaching.
She pulled Jin Jie in front of her and made him bend deeply towards her.
I whispered to him, "Why didn't you tell me earlier that your family is like this? Isn't this too grand?"
Before coming, she had thought that this group of people would definitely disturb and trouble Jin Jie's family.
But I didn't expect that the whole town would be mobilized, and I would be treated like a rare animal and worshipped like a panda!
Jin Jie was tall and had long legs. When Liu Ziye pulled him down from his seat, his whole body bent too much, so he simply bent his knees and squatted down with the force of Liu Ziye.
In this way, his eyes were level with Liu Ziye, who came over and whispered to him.
Seeing Liu Ziye's rare restlessness and bewilderment, he let out a faint smile: "Young Marquis, if you had come to any of the thirteen towns in Xiguan instead of Yi Town today, I'm afraid things would have been the same as they are now."
After listening to this, Liu Ziye took a breath and looked at Jin Jie with sudden realization.
"So, I shouldn't go anywhere. I shouldn't come to Yi Town, and I shouldn't go to other towns either."
Her two dark eyebrows furrowed, and she couldn't help but think, what should she do?
With such a big commotion going on in Yi Town, if she stood up and left, it would be very bad. If she stayed, how many days should she stay here?
Jin Jie seemed to see through her thoughts and said, "Young Marquis, we border people are warm and open-minded, and so are our guests. Even if our families are poor, we always try to keep our guests as long as possible, even giving away our best things to our guests. This is common practice. You don't have to feel burdened by this."
Liu Ziye listened to him and looked back again: "Really?"
"Exactly."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ziye's brows relaxed slightly.
Then Jin Jie continued, "In my opinion, if you, young marquis, can get used to living here, then you can stay for five to seven days. If not, two or three days will be enough to comfort the townspeople."
Hearing this, Liu Ziye let out a breath.
Their group had been traveling through vast, uninhabited areas for so long, braving wind and rain, that they had become almost savages. It wouldn't be a bad idea to rest in Yi Town for a few days and reconnect with the people.
"Okay, then let's do as you say and set it for five days."
Jin Jie twitched the corners of his lips once again, revealing a faint smile: "Okay, I'll go and make the arrangements."
Seeing Liu Ziye nodded in agreement, he straightened his legs and turned around to continue cleaning and arranging Liu Ziye's bedroom for the evening.
·
One day in the Liang Palace of the secondary capital, after the court meeting was over, the ceremonial officer sang the ceremony to dismiss the court.
Liu Jian returned to the back hall with a mask-like smile on his face, and sat down gravely and silently.
Inside the hall, a wisp of fragrant aroma rose from the hollow golden incense burner. Liu Jian leaned back on the couch, gently turning two night-shining pearls in his palm, silently observing the faint white mist in the void.
The chief eunuch Yuan Qi, along with a group of eunuchs and palace maids who served in the imperial court, held their breath and dared not even to breathe.
However, they had a duty to serve, so how could they dare to just stare at their master and wait for him to calm down? Even if they failed to straighten out the dragon's tendons and let their master use them as a punching bag, it was their due.
The young eunuch prepared the clear tea with great trepidation, brought it over with steps lighter than a cat, and placed it silently on the dragon table next to the emperor.
Yuan Qi bent his body, trying to make his tone as similar as possible to the curl of incense in the hall.
"His Majesty."
"It's very hot right now, you should have some iced grape drink from the Western Regions."
The climate of the cool palace they came to was excellent. Even during the hottest time of the year, as long as people were under the shade of trees or the eaves, they could enjoy the coolness.
Moreover, the palace was designed for the royal family to escape the summer heat, and there was a cool breeze that was constantly sent into the palace.
After Yuan Qi finished speaking, Liu Jian, who had been leaning his head motionlessly, raised one eyelid and looked at him.
Yuan Qi quickly gave a well-placed, concerned and flattering smile, but the muscles in his back tensed to the extreme in an instant.
With years of experience as a driver, Yuan Qi often felt fortunate to have managed to survive. He also knew that every day when he woke up, he would have to concentrate again on walking on a tightrope.
Liu Jian said nothing, and made no move to touch the bowl of grape drink he often drank.
At this point, Yuan Qi, knowing his own fate, knew his fate. He knelt quietly on the ground and said, "Master, please punish me. As long as you are happy, I will obey your orders."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the palace maids and eunuchs knelt silently. They were incredibly skilled and obedient.
I don’t know when the knife of fate will strike down on my head.
After a moment, the clinking of glass ice cups could be heard. Liu Jian took a sip of the grape drink and asked, "Where is the prince?"
Yuan Qi's tense muscles suddenly relaxed, but he didn't dare to show it in his reply, "Your Highness, as soon as the court is over, I will return to the Crown Prince's Palace."
“Crack—”
The sound of ice being crushed by teeth suddenly rang out, and Yuan Qi's heart skipped a beat.
Liu Jian chewed the ice cube soaked in grape drink and swallowed it, then placed the glass cup on the table. "Go to the Crown Prince's Palace."
"yes."
As one of the emperor's residences, the Liang Palace was relatively small in scale compared to the palaces in the imperial city of Yanjing. The Crown Prince's Palace was not far from the emperor's palace. When Liu Jian arrived, Crown Prince Liu Ziling had already received the news and brought a group of officials from the Eastern Palace to greet him at the corridor at the palace gate.
The cool palace was built with great care, and even the corridors of the main palace rooms were often planted with tall paulownia trees to provide shade.
Liu Ziling and his group did not dare to savour the coolness at all. They picked the only open space in the corridor where sunlight poured in and knelt respectfully to welcome the guests.
As soon as he saw Liu Jian's sedan chair, he immediately kowtowed and said, "Your son respectfully welcomes your father."
Liu Jian's chariot took two steps in front of the prince before stopping. He glanced at the prince lying on the ground from the chariot. After a moment's silence, he said, "It's scorching hot here. The prince is a responsible leader of the country. You must take good care of yourself."
After hearing this, Liu Ziling immediately kowtowed again, "How dare I? Father, as the supreme emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, can still brave the scorching heat and attend to government affairs. How dare I, your son, talk about cherishing your body?"
"Um."
Liu Jian hesitated for a moment before saying, "Everyone, get up."
The group entered the main hall of the Prince's Palace, and Liu Jian sat down in the middle.
Liu Ziling asked him about his health, and the royal father and son chatted for a while.
Speaking of the Empress Dowager, they had already reached a tacit understanding and never mentioned Liu Ziling's biological mother, Empress Shengci.
Liu Ziye looked at Liu Jian's expression and it seemed that he was not really angry about what happened in the court today.
At today's court meeting, Chi Zhan and Feng Yibo held different opinions and took diametrically opposed positions on whether the military forces of various prefectures should be reduced in number, and whether the central army stationed in various routes should have its power reduced, with part of the military power of the governors handed over to the kings.
The two of them refused to give in in front of all the officials, and neither could convince the other.
In the end, Liu Jian walked away with a sneer, causing the court meeting to end in an unpleasant manner.
At this time, his father suddenly came to the Prince's Palace, and how could Liu Ziling not be terrified.
However, the emperor seemed to be just chatting with him in a calm manner, without any anger or impatience on his face.
But Liu Ziling was very clear that the more the emperor acted like this, the more furious he was brewing in his heart.
He seized the opportunity to sort out the family affairs between father and son. He stood up from his seat and bowed to Liu Jian, saying, "Your Majesty. Today in the court, although General Chi and Prime Minister Feng each held a point of view that was equally strong, Prime Minister Feng is experienced and prudent, while General Chi is a former subordinate of the Holy Ancestor and the backbone of the nation. Their dispute is for the benefit of the long-term future of the Great Zhou! Your Majesty, please do not let this matter become a source of resentment and harm your health. The Prime Minister, General Chi, and the countless people of the Great Zhou Dynasty would not be able to bear to hear it!"
Liu Ziling and Liu Jian had been father and son for many years, so naturally he knew his father's temper as well as eunuchs like Yuan Qi.
He had no doubt that the emperor came to him today just to relieve his anger.
He grasped the opportunity perfectly, took the initiative to bring up the dispute in the court today, and offered this step so that Liu Jian could take it.
It didn't matter that he was punished by the emperor for his rash advice to establish his authority. In any case, it was better than the emperor holding this anger in his heart and then finding another way to take it out on General Chi who had offended the emperor today!
The emperor looked at the respectful and dignified prince in front of him, and after listening to the prince's speech, he laughed out loud "hahahaha".
Liu Ziling raised his head slightly and asked him, "Father? Did I say something wrong?"
Liu Jian stopped laughing, looked at him and said, "You said it very well! Very good! The Crown Prince of our Great Zhou Dynasty is indeed as the rumors spread among the court and the people, a Confucian and filial person with a pure heart, devoted to the country, and daring to be the first!"
"Your Majesty, you flatter me! How could I, a dull-witted subject, have such a reputation? The people of the court and the country have always praised the unparalleled achievements of our ancestors in founding the nation, and the great cause you, Your Majesty, aspire to forge for generations to come!"
"Yeah?"
Liu Jian's tone was noncommittal, and it was unclear whether he believed it or not.
"Of course it's true." Liu Ziling said.
After he finished speaking, Liu Jian seemed to be thinking about something, and had no intention of asking the prince who was kneeling in the hall to stand up.
After a while, he raised one hand slightly and touched the edge of the ebony table on his body: "The ebony incense table here, Prince, is already gray and peeling."
Liu Ziling couldn't see clearly where Liu Jian was pointing at, but he concentrated and thought for a moment, and didn't remember anything wrong with this incense table.
Just now, under the summer sun outside the hall, Liu Ziling's skin was sunburned and turned red. Even after entering the cool main hall, he couldn't get any relief because he was so nervous.
Liu Jian then continued, "Also, I hadn't noticed the pillars and beams in this hall were painted so dark. I'm sorry, Your Highness."
Liu Ziling suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and the increasingly loud alarm bells, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I do not feel wronged in front of you."
"But I feel wronged."
Liu Jian's face darkened.
After hearing this, Liu Ziling suddenly thought of something. He suppressed his surprise and said, "Father..."
Liu Jian had been playing coy with the prince and his son for a while, and was no longer prepared to waste his energy here.
In a calm yet unquestionable tone, he said, "I have set my sights on rebuilding a palace on Dongwang Mountain in the secondary capital, one comparable in scale to the Imperial City of Yanjing. I'll leave this matter to you, Crown Prince."
Liu Ziling suddenly raised his head, and the hot blood in his body instantly ran cold.
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