The past without wine sounds a bit dry. Li Sui said: "The Li family has been engaged in business for generations. My father was ordered by the court to mine salt and iron mines in Jincheng. At that time, he collected 2 cents from the tax, 5 cents from the government, and 3 cents from his own sales. It was considered a good profit. The Wanren Palace today and the gold mine under the underground palace were all discovered by him at that time."
Salt and iron mines are big business, related to people's livelihood and military equipment. Those who can take over this job from the court are not ordinary people. Zhu Yanyin thinks that according to this trend, the Li family should raise a stupid son of a landlord, but how come he suddenly becomes a big devil that everyone fears
Li Sui continued, "When I was five years old, a mine outside the city collapsed. My parents were both underground at the time. When they were dug out, my father was already dead, and my mother was also on the verge of death. She was delirious and talking nonsense, and she didn't last more than ten days."
Although Zhu Yanyin knew that his parents died young, he never thought that it was in such a tragic way. The Li family lost its head overnight, and now they have to run a mine that makes countless people jealous. I am afraid they will not have peace in the future.
"My father has several cousins. They didn't ignore me. They even remembered to give me food, clothes, and servants. But most of the rest of the time, they were arguing about the division of the family property."
Later, the government sent people to take away the mine and turned it into a government-run mine. The most valuable gold of the Li family was gone, and those who fought for it scattered like birds and beasts. The entrance of the Li Mansion, which was once bustling with people, was now covered with dust three inches thick. It was at that time that Pan Shihou came. He saw that Li Sui was seriously ill and no one cared about him. He sighed repeatedly, braved the snow and took his five-year-old nephew to see a doctor. He also decided to sell the few remaining properties of the Li Mansion, saying that he would take the child back to Baitou City to raise him personally.
Zhu Yanyin said: "Now that I hear that, it's a good thing that Hall Master Pan is here."
"He's not bad, but he's not good either." Li Sui lowered his eyes. "Back then, the Sky Spider Hall hadn't gained much momentum, and life was very tight. The first thing he did after returning to Whitehead City was to use the money from selling the Li Mansion to build a mansion."
Zhu Yanyin roughly sorted out the relationship between them. The skinny camel in the Li Mansion is bigger than the horse, and Pan Shihou could only get this skinny camel legitimately if he adopted Li Sui. Of course, there must be a sincere desire to take care of the son for his old friend. In the end, they are just ordinary people with both selfishness and humanity.
Li Sui said: "I have been a loner since I was young, with a bad temper. None of my relatives like me. It is worth it to throw me away with a legitimate reason, even if I have to pay with a mansion. Anyway, they don't care about that little money."
Zhu Yanyin thought, that's true, you have a bad temper now. He continued to ask obediently: "So you went to Tianzhu Hall?"
Li Sui nodded: "I only stayed there for a year before my master came to the Sky Spider Hall and took me away."
"I heard that Senior Tianmenzi's martial arts skills are unfathomable and he is the best hermit in the world." Zhu Yanyin said, "Why would he come to you in person?"
"At first, I thought Pan Shihou wanted to send me away. Later I learned that my master had seen me in Jincheng when I was three years old. He was overjoyed at the time and said that I was extremely talented and a martial arts prodigy that only appears once in a century."
But at that time, the Li family was doing well, flourishing and rich, how could the Li couple be willing to send their only son away, and send him thousands of miles away? Tianmenzi pestered for three months but failed to achieve his goal, so he had to leave a letter, hoping that there would be another chance in the future.
"I guess it's because after my father got into trouble, my mother knew that none of the relatives in the family could be trusted. Rather than letting me live under someone else's roof, she decided to give me to a master who seemed to be sincere. So, before she died, she sent someone to deliver a message to Snow City."
Zhu Yanyin asked again tentatively: "At the beginning, why did you think that it was Master Pan who wanted to send you away? Didn't he treat you well?"
"He treated me well. I was fed, clothed and provided the same as his only son. We even had the same martial arts master."
But the problem was that everything was the same. Pan Jinhua was already somewhat dull, and when compared to Li Suiyi, he was even more unbearable. Pan Shihou was overly eager for his son to become a successful person. Every time he supervised the two of them practicing martial arts, he would be so angry that his face turned pale, his hands and feet trembled, and once he even cried.
Zhu Yanyin: “…”
What a pitiful and tragic old father!
Li Sui said: "After Master took me away, Pan Shihou would send people to give me gifts during festivals and holidays. He also wrote to me frequently. Two years ago, he came to the Northeast to see me in person and told me that if I was not doing well, I could go back with him."
Zhu Yanyin said: "Then he can be considered a good elder."
"Maybe." Li Sui seemed to be talking about someone else's past, "I don't have any other elders."
Zhu Yanyin looked at him and thought of his relatives in Jiangnan. Although he still couldn't remember who was who because of his brain injury, he still remembered the "grand occasion" of people coming to visit him when he first woke up. By the end, he was annoyed by the number of relatives he had, wondering why he had so many.
Comparing the two, he felt that Li Sui was more pitiful—although Palace Master Li himself might not feel pitiful, there is a kind of pity, called the Jiangnan rich man feels pity for you. So Zhu Yanyin vowed: "After the matter in the Northeast is resolved in the future, you can come to my house as a guest. My house has many elders and it is lively."
Li Sui smiled and said nothing else. He just took off the wine bag and took a sip.
The second son Zhu was relatively gentle, and did not scold the big devil so much that he dared not go out. He asked, "What kind of wine is it?"
"It doesn't have a name. I passed by a wine shop last time and thought it was good, so I bought a few jars." Li Sui handed it over, "Would you like to drink it?"
Zhu Yanyin took a little from the cup. The wine was a very light red color, smelled light, and tasted sweet. The remaining floral fragrance between the teeth reminded people of the ripples of the West Lake created by the drizzle, which was also hazy and indistinguishable.
Zhu Yanyin drank it all in one gulp and asked for a second cup.
Li Sui reminded: "Your butler is just outside the door."
"I know." Zhu Yanyin said, "This wine is very good."
"This is the last glass. Drink it and go back to rest." Li Sui poured him a second glass.
Zhu Yanyin agreed, feeling a little regretful in his heart, because he still wanted to drink like the heroes in the books and pass out.
After three cups, Li Sui ruthlessly dragged the second young master Zhu, who was still reluctant to leave, out of the room.
The housekeeper was relieved and hurried over to greet him: "Thank you, Palace Master Li."
Zhu Yanyin: “… Humph.”
Left angrily.
Li Sui smiled and shook his head, then turned back to his room.
The cousin who was standing at the window and watching the whole process said: My silly brother is finally tired of the world? This is a good sign!
…
The three glasses of wine had a strong aftereffect, enough to make the young man from Jiangnan fall into a drugged sleep and not wake up until noon the next day.
"Sir." Zhu Xiaosui helped him up, "Are you still dizzy?"
Zhu Yanyin asked for a cup of warm water, drank it in one gulp, then lay back in bed and asked lazily, "Have you found Pan Jinhua?"
"Not yet. Miss Lan is still looking. Palace Master Li and Hall Master Pan went out early in the morning." Zhu Xiaosui said, "Divine Doctor Jiang is studying Zhang Shen's body. The Wulin League is also in chaos. We might as well stay at home and eat."
Zhu Yanyin asked: "Where is Liu Xiyang?"
"People in Liujiazhuang have been saying that he is sick. I don't know if it is real or fake." Zhu Xiaosui said, "He stays in the carriage all day long. He only comes out to bask in the sun when the weather is good."
Zhu Yanyin looked out the window and asked, "Is the weather good today?"
"It's fine, not too cold or too hot." Zhu Xiaosui stood by the bed holding clothes, "I'll help you change clothes."
"Go change." Zhu Yanyin yawned, pulled the quilt over his head, and hummed, "Pick the most expensive one."
Zhu Xiaosui: “…Oh.”
It must be water-embroidered crepe. It takes more than ten embroiderers from the south of the Yangtze River to embroider one piece of material. It is embedded with golden silk thinner than a hair, and it will emit a faint light under the sun. When worn by a dashing nobleman, it will be soft and stretchy, doubling his wealth.
The cousin who was walking in the courtyard saw his dear cousin and was stunned: "Whose house are you going to for a banquet?"
Zhu Yanyin replied, No, no, I am going to Liujiazhuang.
Zhu Xinxin did not raise any objection to the three words "Liujiazhuang" because in his opinion, the martial arts sects were just so rustic. He only had an objection to "why do you have to act like you're going to the palace to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival when you go to Liujiazhuang?"
As a result, my cousin had no intention of explaining and turned around and floated away like a cloud.
The neglected cousin: tears come before words can be spoken.
Outside the city, a disciple of Wanren Palace found an outer robe from a tree, which was exactly the same as the one Pan Jinhua wore that day.
It's a clue, but not good news.
After all, normal people have to wear clothes, especially in the deep mountains in late autumn and early winter. Taking off clothes and throwing them away seems like evidence that the mind is becoming increasingly unclear.
Pan Shihou: "This..."
Lan Yan thought about what it would be like if Pan Jinhua took off all his clothes and ran around in the wild woods, and she was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a long time. Since she still had to continue looking for people, in order to avoid being embarrassed, she decided to speed up and divide the Wanren Palace disciples into three groups to take turns to rest.
Pan Shihou expressed his gratitude repeatedly: "Thank you very much, thank you Miss Lan."
Li Sui asked: "Did you follow me all the way here?"
"Yes, I had a hard time chasing him all the way." Pan Shihou said, "At the beginning, his speed was not so fast, and he always left traces along the way. Who knew that he would become more and more weird later. If I hadn't met my nephew here, I really don't know what I would do."
Li Sui nodded: "I've been looking for you for a whole day, let me take you back to rest first."
Although Pan Shihou was worried about his son, he also knew that his health could not be weakened, so he gave Lan Yan some instructions before leaving the forest.
It's time for dinner.
Wan Zhuyun had been waiting for Pan Shihou, wanting to ask him about Zhang Can and Shangru Mountain Villa. Li Sui returned to his residence alone, and his disciple reported: "It seems that the second master Zhu went to find Liu Xiyang."
Li Sui frowned: "Liu Xiyang?"
The disciple added that they had gone there at noon and had not left Liujiazhuang until now.
Li Sui picked up the Xiangjun Sword, turned around and walked out.
Zhu Yanyin was sitting in the courtyard, talking to Liu Xiyang. Her water-embroidered crepe dress glowed warm golden in the sunset, making her look extraordinary. Her black hair was tied up with a headband of the same material. When she lowered her head, a section of her fair and slender neck was exposed.
Li Sui stood silently at the gate of the courtyard, his whole body like a piece of hard ice.
So Liu Xiyang immediately urinated on the spot, or maybe he really wanted to pee.
Zhu Yanyin turned back calmly: "Why did you come back just now? I was waiting for you to have dinner and I was almost starving to death."
He deliberately added some Jiangnan soft-spoken tones to the end of his words, a little lazy and a little complaining, as if he had really been waiting for a long time.
Li Sui had a blank expression on his face: "It's useless, I still need to explain."
Explain why you are dressed like this and come to find Liu Xiyang.
Zhu Yanyin: “…”
Boring, let’s go!