"Mr. Ji, there are ghosts over there..."
Hu Yun spoke carefully to Ji Yuan, and then quickly rushed in front of Ji Yuan, as if Ji Yuan was blocking the ghosts and gods behind him so that they would not be able to see him.
"Yeah, I know, go ahead."
Ji Yuan just replied with this, then took Hu Yun out of Miaosifang and headed towards Yongning Street.
Ghosts and gods are neither blind nor stupid. Although Ji Yuan's aura is difficult to detect, the ghost messengers patrolling in front of the door coming and going must have seen him. They just didn't show up to disturb him because they were under scrutiny.
Of course, when Ji Yuan was about to leave, he had to make his presence felt, which led to the scene where Hu Yun discovered the ghosts.
There are three streets close to the imperial city in Gyeonggi Prefecture. The middle one is Yongning Street, and the two on the left and right are Shuntian Street and Rong'an Street. The residence of Shangshu Ling Yin Zhaoxian, a well-known assistant minister in the court and the people, is on Rong'an Street.
Ji Yuan brought Hu Yun along the way. When they reached the streets, there were obviously more wealthy mansions on both sides. However, Hu Yun was walking very slowly at this time, so Ji Yuan didn't walk fast either.
It's quite funny to see this red fox walking on two legs, holding the mask with one paw and pulling its own hair here and there with the other paw.
But Hu Yun was doing serious work. He picked out some of the red fox's fur from suitable parts of his body and put it on the mask. The fox mask, which originally had some fur but it was actually quite sparse, began to grow fuller and fuller, all of which was Hu Yun's self-contribution along the way.
"Be careful not to pluck yourself bald."
Ji Yuan said with a smile, and Hu Yun replied without even raising his head.
"It's okay. I'm not just picking hair from one place. It's impossible for me to do it like Lu Shanjun did before."
"Hey."
Ji Yuan smiled. The work Hu Yun was currently doing would not be completed in a short time, so the gift would probably have to be delayed for a while, but they would not choose another day to visit Yin's Mansion.
Although I had never asked for the exact location of the mansion, I only had to look for the righteous white light in the sky and I would have no trouble finding Yin Zhaoxian's residence.
At about 3:15 in the afternoon, Ji Yuan and Hu Yun arrived at a mansion near Rong'an Street. Ji Yuan looked up at the plaque on the mansion. The characters were large enough, and given the special surname, he could also see clearly that it was "Yin Mansion".
There was a faint white light gathering above the mansion, and a mighty aura swept away all the turbidity around it. The only person in Dazhen who could have such a righteous spirit could be Yin Zhaoxian.
There were four guards holding long sticks and wearing swords on their waists standing in front of the door. They obviously noticed Ji Yuan who was standing in front of Yin Mansion. However, seeing Ji Yuan's elegant dress, it was not surprising. After all, their master was Yin Gong, who was praised as the incarnation of Wenquxing, and every educated person would admire him.
Ji Yuan took a few steps forward and was about to go directly up the stairs, but at this time the guard in front of the door on the right spoke.
"Stop! This is Lord Yin's residence, the Prime Minister's residence, no outsiders allowed to approach!"
Prime Minister is not an exact official title, but a description of the duties of an official who has reached a certain level. The heads of three of the three provinces and six ministries in the Dazhen period can all be called prime ministers. Although Yin Zhaoxian is not the most powerful prime minister, he is definitely the most famous one in the court and the country today.
Ji Yuan stopped and bowed slightly.
"My name is Ji, which means "strategy". I am from Ning'an County, Jizhou. I am a neighbor of Master Yin. I came to visit you today. I hope you will let me know."
"From Ning'an County?"
"Exactly!"
The guard frowned and looked at Ji Yuan. It seemed that this man had some composure and did not seem to be lying. It was just that it was a little strange for him to visit before the New Year. At this juncture, he should at least come after New Year's Eve.
"Wait a moment, I'll go in and report."
"Thank you for your help!"
The guard handed the wooden stick to his colleague, then quickly left and hurried into the mansion to the backyard. In one of the study rooms, Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing were checking official documents.
It’s not that even though New Year’s Eve is coming soon, the father and son are still too busy to rest, but recently there are some things that need to be discussed frequently with the Ministry of Rites.
One of them sat at a large desk, and the other sat at a small desk.
The charcoal stove in the room kept the temperature in the study very comfortable. Yin Qing took a pen, pointed at the contents of the memorial in his hand, and said to his father.
"Dad, as expected, the order of following the book that you promoted before is still criticized by people."
"Haha, I expected this. This doesn't need to be done all at once. Just take it slow and steady."
Hearing his father say this, Yin Qing smiled with relief.
"With what Dad said, plus your prestige in the scholar and literary circles, I believe things will get better slowly."
At this moment, the guard hurried to the study door, deliberately made his footsteps louder, and then knocked on the door.
“Boom boom boom…”
"Prime Minister, Minister, there is a visitor outside. He said he is from Ning'an County. His surname is Ji. He..."
Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing in the room were obviously stunned for a moment after hearing "Ning'an County" and "surname Ji", and then stood up almost at the same time.
As the guard was still speaking, the door in front of him was suddenly opened from the inside, and a warm current came out.
"Where is the person? Where is he? Was he brought to that reception room?"
Yin Zhaoxian spoke quickly. There was no other person with the surname Ji in the entire Ning'an County, so it was obvious who was coming.
The guard immediately realized that the visitor must be someone very important to the Prime Minister, and immediately replied.
"I came in a hurry and haven't taken him to the reception room yet. He should still be waiting outside the door."
"Oh, how can we let Mr. Ji wait? Well, it's not your fault, it's our duty. Come on, take us there!"
Yin Zhaoxian said this and hurried out, and Yin Qing did the same.
The guard did not dare to delay and hurried forward to lead the way for the two adults. During this process, the steward and servants from the study also accompanied them.
A moment later, in front of the Yin Mansion, Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing hurried here and saw Ji Yuan standing outside the steps. His appearance perfectly matched the Mr. Ji in their memory, and he looked the same as before.
"Mr. Ji!?"
The father and son spoke in unison, with a bit of excitement and disbelief. Over the years, no matter whether they wrote letters or inquired, all the news they got fell on deaf ears. They never expected that Ji Yuan would visit them at the end of this year.
Seeing that the two were so excited that they forgot to greet each other, Ji Yuan bowed and smiled with a hint of guilt.
"Master Yin, Yin Qing, long time no see. Are you two doing well?"
"Okay, okay! Everything is fine!" "We are all fine!"
The two men spoke excitedly and bowed repeatedly in response, their hands shaking. The guards nearby were a little bit unbelievable when seeing this scene. Facing high-ranking officials in the court and even the emperor, these two gentlemen wanted to be calm.
"Yin Qing!"
A light and slightly sharp voice sounded behind Ji Yuan, and then Hu Yun came out and stared at Yin Qing and Yin Zhaoxian in a daze.
As for Yin Zhaoxian, Hu Yun just glanced at him and his gaze stayed on Yin Qing for a long time.
He was wearing a thick velvet cloak, a square crown on his head, some wrinkles on his face, and a palm-long beard on his chin. He was very different from the Yin Qing in his memory, but Hu Yun still recognized his good friend at a glance.
Yin Qing was stunned by the voice, and then he was filled with ecstasy.
"Little fox?"
Then Yin Qing realized that there were other people around, so he immediately stopped talking and winked at Hu Yun.
"Mr. Ji, you must have come all the way here. Please come in quickly, please come in quickly!"
Yin Zhaoxian just smiled at Hu Yun, then quickly and warmly invited Ji Yuan to come in, and said to others.
"Go and ask the kitchen to prepare a banquet. We are going to entertain Mr. Ji tonight. Oh, and don't forget to inform the lady and bring the young master back!"
"yes!"
The manager quickly agreed.
After Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing brought Ji Yuan into the mansion, the guards outside looked at each other in surprise.
"My goodness, this person is so important? Why are the Prime Minister and the Minister so excited?"
"Could it be a relative from Ning'an County?" "Maybe..."
…
In the reception room of the Yin Mansion, after serving tea and setting up the charcoal brazier, Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing dismissed all the servants, leaving only three people and the fox in the room. At this time, Hu Yun had already jumped directly onto Yin Qing's legs.
"Mr. Ji, we wrote many letters back to Ning'an County, but the people in the county said that you never went back. We have not heard from you for all these years, and we are really worried about you!"
"Yes, Mr. Ji, but we also know that you are not ordinary, you must be fine, and the little fox..."
Yin Qing looked at the red fox sitting on his knees, furry and warm.
"I haven't been back for a long time. I always wanted to finish my busy work, but I never finished it. I missed you, the big bluefish, and the old turtle..."
"It's also my fault. Qing'er is my right-hand man. I rely on him too much."
Ji Yuan just sipped his tea, agreed with something from time to time, and watched Hu Yun and Yin Qing laughing and chatting. It was quite similar to the atmosphere in Ju'an Pavilion back then.
Of course, Master Yin and Hu Yun had very little interaction before, but now, with the bearing of a great scholar, he treated the fox with the same attitude as he would treat his son or nephew.
Ji Yuan took out the cured chicken, cured duck and other items he had brought with him. They were all pickled by the people of Ning'an County and could not be found in the capital. Yin Zhaoxian immediately ordered them to be taken to the kitchen as if they were treasures. Hu Yun told Yin Qing that he also had something good to give him, but it was not finished yet and was kept secret for the time being.