At this time, Zhongli Kuang said, "Yizhi, have you listened to the emperor's teachings? Although you should be sincere and aim for success, you can't do whatever you want. The sage said: 'A gentleman will do everything to the utmost', which also has its purpose. Go back and write an article on this topic and send it to me. After I read it, I will ask the emperor to review it."
After hearing what Zhongli Kuang said, Zheng Rong actually burst out laughing: "Haha, Mr. Zhongli is really good at this. I remember that my sons were most afraid of writing articles. They spent a lot of effort to write one, but they were scolded by Mr. Zhongli and asked to rewrite it. It was really miserable!"
Recalling the days they spent in Prince Youyan's Palace, the three of them smiled at each other in silence, as if the dispute just now had never occurred.
Zheng Rong was already feeling unwell, and he was a little tired after getting angry. He quickly sat down on the table, took a breath, and said to Qiu Yizi, "Yizi, when I was assassinated by the old thief Sun Hao a few days ago, do you know what I was thinking?"
Qiu Yizi shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.
"When I saw the spike dangling in front of my eyes, I suddenly remembered that more than 20 years ago, when I was fighting against the Turks in the north, I was also attacked by a cold arrow." Zheng Rong sighed deeply, "The one who risked his life to block the arrow for me at that time was your father. You and your son have saved me countless times. Just for this reason, I will not make things difficult for you. But you can't be fearless and arrogant, and don't have the idea of giving up. Some things are beyond your control. Do you understand?"
Qiu Yizhi's idea of retiring to the mountains and forests was not shaken at all, but since the emperor had already said this, if he continued to argue on the spot, it would be tantamount to asking for trouble. Therefore, Qiu Yizhi had no choice but to bow his hands and said, "I know..." In his heart, he was thinking about how to evade the matter.
Zheng Rong was indeed very tired. He yawned and said, "We talked about government affairs very well today. The pacification of Lingnan Palace has indeed eliminated a major enemy for the court. All officials who have made contributions must be promoted. Qiu Yi has made the greatest contribution. I have asked your master Zhongli to draft an edict to promote you to the marquisate, and it is just waiting to be announced."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude.
But Zheng Rong continued, "In fact, I have wronged you by conferring you the title of Earl. I just want to leave the title of Duke above Earl to my descendants in the future, so that you won't have no way to improve yourself. Okay, you can leave now. I still have a few words to say to your Master Zhongli."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted. She took a half step back and kowtowed to Zheng Rong, then slowly walked out of the room and gently closed it. She let out a long sigh and looked up at the sun hanging in the sky. She felt as if she was in another world.
Qiu Yizi's brain hadn't reacted yet after today's conversation. He left the "Qingya Temple" as if in a dream, and rode his own Ferghana horse to Lin Shuhan's manor as if in a dream.
He walked for an unknown amount of time, full of thoughts. Suddenly, he looked up and realized that he had taken the wrong road without realizing it, and found himself at the bank of the Qinhuai River.
The banks of the Qinhuai River were the most lively places in Jinling City. However, after the rebellion of King Lingnan and the change of hands of Jinling City twice, this place of entertainment on the banks of the Qinhuai River finally became much more deserted. Only half of the shops, restaurants and brothels on both sides of the river were open for business, and the pedestrians on the road were in groups of two or three, which was much quieter than the original bustling scene.
However, this slightly dilapidated scene gave people a sense of tranquility and escapism from the mundane world, which made Qiu Yizhi, who was in a gloomy and sad mood at the time, feel the same way. He also knew that the court was about to succeed in suppressing the rebellion, and soon the banks of the Qinhuai River would return to the lively scene of tourists and flowers. He didn't know when he would see such a unique scene again.
So Qiu Yizi simply didn't go to Lin Shuhan's manor anymore, but stopped the horse under her crotch, rolled off the saddle, held the reins with one hand, and walked slowly along the road.
After walking for a while, I suddenly looked up and saw three big words "Yuanwailou" written on the lintel of the door of a restaurant next to me!
Qiu Yizhi had visited this Yuanwailou before, and was besieged by a group of heroes led by "Bronze Eyed Arhat", which was quite risky. It was through such risks that the true identity of Wen Honghui, the leader of Tianzun Sect, was revealed, and his hidden identity was exposed, which indirectly accelerated the process of rebellion by the King of Lingnan.
This world is so complicated. The rebellion of King Lingnan, which caused the fall of half of Jiangnan, was, to some extent, actually started from this restaurant on the Qinhuai River. How could Qiu Yi not be filled with emotion
So he simply stopped walking, felt around in his arms and found a few silver bills - a total of over a hundred taels of silver - enough for him to have a good meal in the "Yuanwailou" with its expensive food and wine, so he turned around and walked into the "Yuanwailou".
This restaurant was still open for business. When the waiter saw Qiu Yizhi leading the horse and about to rush in, he quickly stepped in front of Qiu Yizhi and spoke politely: "Sir, are you coming in to eat?"
Qiu Yizi nodded and asked, "Why? What do you mean? Are you going to close or change your business? Can't I come in and eat?"
"No, no..." the waiter said with a smile, "That's not what I meant. Once you enter my 'Yuanwailou', you will be my breadwinner. But this horse... it seems that it cannot come in..."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizhi glanced at the blue horse behind him and thought, "You are not a good waiter. You can't recognize a good horse. This horse is worth as much as I am worth. If I sell it one day, it will be enough to buy a whole restaurant."
Although Qiu Yizi was not convinced, he knew that it was unreasonable to eat with a horse. Besides, he was not the kind of arrogant and unreasonable person, so he could only sigh and said, "Everywhere is a sacrifice to the five internal organs? You guys in the Garden House don't have to eat today. I'll go back and eat."
He turned around and was about to go back when he heard a voice from inside the restaurant: "Sir, please wait a moment!"
When Qiu Yizi turned around and looked in the direction of the voice, he saw a man who looked like a shopkeeper, holding a pen in his hand and calling out to him. He also heard the shopkeeper start to lecture the waiter: "It's a chaotic time right now, business is already slow, and we can't even get enough time to attract customers into the store, why are you chasing them out? It doesn't matter if the guest leads the horse, you can just lead it to the backyard for the guest and measure two liters of green beans to feed the horse. How much is it worth? Can it break your legs?"
After being scolded for a while, the waiter nodded and said "yes", then walked to Qiu Yizi's side and stretched out his hand to take the reins in his hand.
Qiu Yizi refused to let go and said, "My horse is very precious. I'm afraid you might lose it if you don't take good care of it."
The shopkeeper put down the brush he was using to record accounts, walked out from the counter, and said, "Don't worry, sir. Our area is very peaceful. Since the emperor arrived in Jinling City, there are patrolling soldiers everywhere. Not only will your BMW not be lost, even if it is lost, it will be found in no time."
"Is your area peaceful?" Qiu Yizi sneered, "I remember a few years ago, a gang of gangsters killed an important official of the imperial court here, which was a sensation. Just based on this major case, your 'Yuanwailou' can't be called 'peaceful', right?"
Qiu Yizi's words obviously touched upon his weak spot. The muscles on the shopkeeper's face twitched involuntarily, and he smiled again, "This happened many years ago. Those heroes must have been blind to commit crimes here. Not long after, they were captured by General Liu, the governor of Jiangnan Province, who personally led his troops and wiped them out at Yanziji Wharf, right? Speaking of which, the subsequent events were no small commotion!"
After hearing these words, Qiu Yizhi's mind was moved again: the incident of Yanziji Wharf mentioned by the shopkeeper, he himself was the mastermind of the incident. At that time, a big battle killed almost all the heroes and heroes that Tianzun Sect leader Wen Honghui had worked so hard to gather. Wen Honghui himself could only escape by pretending to be dead. After this incident, Qiu Yizhi thought that the Tianzun cult had collapsed, and his confidante, the saint of Tianzun Sect, Wen Lingjiao, finally had no worries and stayed with him in Shanyin County for more than a year. This more than a year was the most comfortable, free and unrestrained time Qiu Yizhi had ever experienced in his life... But I don't know where Wen Lingjiao is now...
When she thought of this, Qiu Yizi actually entered a state of meditation. Her face changed from gloomy to bright, and she even flushed.
The shopkeeper had no idea what Qiu Yizhi was thinking. He thought he was still doubting what he said, so he added: "If you don't believe me, you can go upstairs and take a look. General Liu is drinking upstairs now. If things are not going well here, will he still come here?"
When Qiu Yizhi heard these words, his eyes suddenly brightened and he asked, "Is Liu Qing drinking upstairs now? Who else is accompanying him?"
The shopkeeper was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly said, "General Liu doesn't look too happy, he's drinking alone! I won't provoke him, please don't talk to him... If you anger him, our shop can't afford it..."
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "It's okay. Liu Qing and I are old friends, so it's a good opportunity for me to have a few drinks with him. I'll take my horse down and take good care of it as you said." As he said that, he threw the reins in his hand to the waiter, took out a few coins and handed them to the shopkeeper as a reward, then put his hands behind his back and walked upstairs.
The business of "Yuanwailou" is not very hot. Although it is not deserted, it is no longer crowded with guests as it was a few years ago.
Qiu Yi went upstairs to the second floor and looked around. As expected, she saw a man sitting in a secluded corner, drinking from a wine glass. The dishes in front of him were half eaten by him, and he looked a little messy. This man was Liu Qing, the governor of Jiangnan Road.
So Qiu Yizi walked around behind Liu Qing, approached quietly, stretched out his hand and hit him hard on the shoulder, and shouted: "General Liu is in a good mood!"
Unexpectedly, Qiu Yizi's slap hit Liu Qing's injured part, causing him to drop the wine glass in his hand in pain. He yelled, "Wow, where did you come from, you bastard? It hurts me so much. I'll..."
As Liu Qing spoke, he turned his head and saw Qiu Yizi coming. He swallowed the curse words and instantly changed his face, which was grimacing in pain: "Oh! It turned out to be His Highness Yi! You are not by the emperor's side, protecting him, so how come you have time to come and play tricks on me?"