At the end of Xiao Jingrui's line of sight, a young man with a clear face and a white shirt was leaning leisurely on a soft chair, holding a roll of light yellow silk paper in his hand, casually flipping through it, sometimes holding the table He took a sip of the fragrant tea, as if he was not disturbed by the noise in the field at all. After noticing Xiao Jingrui's staring gaze, he raised his eyes and smiled back slightly.
Xiao Jingrui's expression at this time was extremely surprised. Of course he had reason to be surprised, because he knew this man.
The first time we met on Qinling Mountains, we met again at Qingfengguan. On the night of the full moon in Xunyang City, he took his hand and left the desolate street, playing the piano and making tea in the small courtyard.
Early the next morning, he had asked the maid where he was going, and the answer was, "The owner has something to do and has already left Xunyang."
Unexpectedly, what Jiang Zuomeilang was going to do turned out to be in this small county town.
Although he couldn't see clearly at all, Xiao Jingrui used an instinctive intuition to guess what kind of document Mei Changsu was flipping openly in front of everyone at the moment.
"Jing Rui, why are you in a daze?" Yan Yujin impassively scolded the Da Yu embassy for being unreasonable with everyone, and finally turned his attention back to himself, "If you go back to the capital, the embassy will I haven't left yet, I must make some trouble for them, but for now, let's find a place to eat first."
"Okay." As soon as Xiao Jingrui responded, he saw Mei Changsu casually rolled up the silk paper and stuffed it into his sleeves, got up and walked over to them, his white shirt fluttering slightly, and his gait was very leisurely and unrestrained. .
"What are you looking at?" Yan Yujin turned his head and followed his friend's line of sight. At first glance, he only thought it was a young man dressed in plain clothes, but after a few more glances, he was unconsciously dismissed by that The elegant demeanor that is not dazzling and dazzling attracts the mind.
"It's such a coincidence to see Young Master Xiao again." The Sect Master of the Jiang Zuo League greeted humbly.
Xiao Jingrui hesitated for a while before choosing an unattractive title: "Mei... Young Master Mei."
Hearing this title, Yan Yujin was fine, but Xie Bi almost choked on his saliva and looked at Mei Changsu with wide eyes. He didn't know how many sons surnamed Mei his brother knew, he only knew the one who was in Xunyang Mansion not long ago.
"How many of you haven't had lunch yet?" Mei Changsu didn't care about the different expressions of the three, "I am also a landlord here, and I have a very unique place to go. Are you interested?"
"Is that your friend?" Yan Yujin turned around and asked Xiao Jingrui.
"... uh..." Xiao Jingrui didn't know if he was good enough to be a friend, but if he said no at this time, it would be embarrassing. After a while, he nodded, "Yes..."
Yan Yujin immediately gave Mei Changsu a big smile and said excitedly, "I'm hungry, let's go, let's go!"
Mei Changsu couldn't help but smile. He led the way first, and led the three of them out of the teahouse, and turned into an alley not far away.
Because of knowing the identity of this person, Xiao Jingrui and Xie Bi were still a little restrained, but Yan Yujin had already started chatting with others in a familiar way: "Is this friend's surname Mei?"
"Yes, under Mei Changsu."
"Oh... which Su?"
"Awakened Su."
"Oh," took a few steps forward and turned his head, "Have we met before?"
Mei Changsu smiled, "I think I've never met before."
"Oh... I haven't seen it before, but I always feel like I've heard your name somewhere," Yan Yujin chuckled, "I thought we met somewhere."
Xie Bi, who was following behind, groaned, put a palm on his forehead, and muttered, "This kid still says he's from Jianghu... I'm not as good as me..."
"This county is really too small," Yan Yujin continued to chat with others, "I didn't see anything delicious along the way, and I finally saw a decent restaurant, which was smashed again. This place is not Jiang Zuo. The alliance's territory? Isn't the Jiang Zuo alliance very powerful? Why can't it hold the scene... "
Xiao Jingrui had a big head, so he hurriedly stepped forward to hold Yan Yujin, for fear that he would talk nonsense and criticize again, so he intercepted the conversation first, and politely said to Mei Changsu: "Sect Master Mei, you have been bothering me a few days ago. Thank you."
Fortunately, Yan Yujin was quite smart. As soon as he heard the word "Sect Master", he immediately stood still, his eyes widened, he stretched out his palm and bit his mouth, pulled Xie Bi away a few steps, and murmured. He asked the question, and at the same time, he often quietly looked this way, or he thought he was watching quietly.
"There are not many children from aristocratic families in Kyoto who are as straightforward as your friends." Mei Changsu also found it interesting, and he quarreled with a smile.
"He has always lacked roots." Xiao Jingrui sighed, obviously in a helpless tone, but just listening to it makes people feel the deep friendship between them.
Mei Changsu didn't answer, just turned a corner and said, "Here we are."
The three sons of your family came over to take a look... They all tried to control their expressions, not wanting to show disappointment rudely, but unfortunately some succeeded and others failed.
"It's not very conspicuous here," Mei Changsu raised his hand, "please sit down here, I'll call the boss."
Said to sit casually, in fact, there are only two tables. The three picked the one outside and sat down, rolling their eyes to look around. In all fairness, this place is more than unremarkable, and it is almost impossible to see that it is a place to eat. In a dilapidated and earth-shattered house, a piece of linoleum was picked out from the eaves, and the other end was supported by a bamboo pole. It was a shed. There were some coal billets, firewood and other objects piled up under the corners of the walls, but the walls above were cluttered. Some dried bacon, eggplant strips, cowpeas, and other dried vegetables that the nobles did not recognize. To the east of the shed was a large earthen stove, with a steaming cauldron sitting on it. Mei Changsu, who said he was going to call the boss, walked over to the cauldron, took the iron spoon on the side and knocked it hard several times.
"Come here, don't knock, it's a headache!" With this thick voice, it was a dry old man with white hair and beard. His back was a bit hunched, but he was in good spirits. When he came out, he saw Mei Changsu, and he was instantly happy. "Ha, Xiao Su, you haven't been here for a long time, what do you want to eat?"
The three of Xiao Jingrui almost lost their seats. It is estimated that there are not many people in this world who dare to call Jiang Zuo Meilang Xiao Su, who dares to make the giant in the north bow his head.
"Uncle Zheng, give us a braised duck, a mixed ear, a shredded pork with green peppers, but then a steamed mandarin fish and fried cabbage... By the way, I also want a fungus scrambled egg and bacon patties, and the last person will come to a bowl of noodles. ." Mei Changsu ordered the dishes skillfully.
Xiao Jingrui and the other three looked at each other in dismay. Although the suzerain of the Jiang Zuo League must have a good taste, these dishes are... too ordinary...
"He was in that small courtyard, but he entertained us with Zhao Dianhong..." Xie Bi, who was already in a semi-demented state, murmured, but didn't dare to say more, because the host had already walked over and sat down. , Uncle Zheng also quickly came over and placed four empty bowls and chopsticks on the table. After that, he returned to the backyard without a word to say hello. About half an hour later, he reappeared with an oversized food tray and placed the dishes: "Eat it first, and there are two hot dishes that will be ready soon."
Although the appearance is ordinary, the aroma is really tempting. The three hungry people immediately picked up the chopsticks and tried the chopsticks first. The expression on his face, and then he tasted the dishes one after another, and at the end he simply buried his head and ate attentively. Except for a bit of chewing sound, there was no sound on the table, and not even a word of admiration could be heard.
Mei Changsu didn't seem to be hungry, so he didn't grab food from them. After eating his bowl of noodles, he sat beside him gracefully and slowly sipped the mung bean pork ribs soup that Uncle Zheng gave for free.
About half an hour later, the cups and dishes on the table were a mess, and only some soup was left. The three guests wiped their mouths with a towel, let out a long breath together, and spit out two simple words: "Delicious!"
"Are you full?" Mei Changsu smiled like a loving elder brother, "Don't move too much just after eating, it's better to rest here for a while before walking."
"It's alright, we're not in a hurry," Yan Yujin smiled brightly, "Why don't we live in this county today and have dinner later."
"Where are you going?"
"Go to Leishan, Jing Rui's father... is the father of the Zhuo family... After receiving an invitation for Leishan's mother-in-law's hundredth birthday, let's go to celebrate her birthday together."
"Oh?" Mei Changsu raised his eyebrows, "Then you said that you are not in a hurry, I think the time is already very tight, and you will not be able to reach Leishan within three days."
"Three days?" Xiao Jingrui was taken aback, "Isn't it next month?"
"Jiang Zuomeng also received an invitation. It says August 27th. I think I remember correctly."
Xiao Jingrui was shocked, because the post was naturally placed in Jinling and did not carry, and Xie Bi said at the beginning that it was next month, and he did not expect to be wrong at all.
"But, but... When Uncle Zhuo received the post... it was clearly about next month... " Xie Bi also grabbed his head a little busy.
"When did Daddy Zhuo receive the post?"
"It should be... ten days before the Mid-Autumn Festival..." The more Xie Bi said, the more guilty he felt, "I didn't think I was going, and I didn't pay much attention..."
"Haha," Yan Yujin finally seized the opportunity to take revenge, "You keep calling me careless, look at you, isn't this the careful second son Xie from the rumors in the capital? Let's see what you do now, you two I wasted so much time in the mountains and water, and now it's too late to say anything!"
"It doesn't matter," Mei Changsu comforted, "I have already sent someone to go, so I will pass the book to him by flying pigeons, and ask him to prepare an extra gift and give it in the name of Tianquan Villa, and then find another reason. Just apologise and say that the villa owner and the young masters can’t be there in person. At that time, Ding’s family must have guests like clouds, and Ding Ruhai was not a narrow-minded person. As long as he did his best, he wouldn’t care too much.”
"That would be too much trouble for you." Xiao Jingrui knew that this was the only way to do it, so he didn't shy away at the moment, got up and gave a deep salute to thank him.
Mei Changsu got up and went out of the alley, and he didn't know what method to use, so he summoned a man, gave a few orders in a low voice, and the man immediately led the way.
"There's really nothing to do now, where are we going next?" Yan Yujin said listlessly.
"You haven't played enough yet?" Xie Bi said to him, "Of course we are going back to Jinling, you can go shopping by yourself."
"Where's Mr. Mei, are you back in Langzhou?" It is well known that the headquarters of the Jiang Zuo League is in Langzhou, so Xiao Jingrui asked this question.
"Me," Mei Changsu sighed softly as he walked back slowly, "To tell you the truth, I was kicked out of Langzhou by them..."
The three of them were shocked. Xiao Jingrui stood up with his hands on the table, and asked with concern, "How could this happen? Could it be... Could it be... Inside the Jiang Zuo League..." He felt inappropriate at this point, and asked noisily. down.
"Is it a rebellion?" Yan Yujin ignored it and asked loudly, "Is someone trying to take your suzerain's position?"
Mei Changsu shook his head and said slowly, "That's not true... It's just that it's true that I can't go back now..."
Xie Bi has always been out of the house very rarely, and knows little about the fighting within the Jianghu gang, but instead of thinking of going there all of a sudden like the two of them, he slowly asked, "If Young Master Mei is in trouble, my brother will do his best. Xinli, I just don’t know the clue, is it convenient for Young Master Mei to tell the three of me clearly?”
"Is there anything I can't tell you," Mei Changsu said with a smile, "They just like to worry... You can probably see that my health is not good, right?"
The three of them hesitated for a while, then nodded. Although they haven't been together for a long time, everyone is aware of this, especially Xiao Jingrui. When Qinling met by chance that day, he found that this person was too pale, his breath was unstable, and he was obviously weak. Because of this, He has always misunderstood that this person is not from the Jianghu, so he was later laughed at by his eldest brother and second brother for his lack of eyesight. Originally, who would have thought that this sick and weak young man, whose health level was still lower than that of ordinary people, would be the leader of the largest gang in the world.
"I've been in bad health for a long time, but it's not a serious illness, but I've committed a few times a year, and I'll be fine in a few days, and the people around me have long since become accustomed to it. Unexpectedly, last month, Mr. Xun Zhen, a cold doctor, came to Langzhou. As a guest, after checking my pulse, I said a lot of scaremongering things, why should I abandon the worldly worries, the labor is small and the mind is big, in short, only eat, drink and have fun, otherwise it will be short-lived, and the people around me are all scared to death , teamed up and didn't allow me to stay at the headquarters anymore, so I drove out like this, saying that I wouldn't be allowed to go back unless I played for a year and a half..."
"Ah?" Yan Yujin looked at him stupidly for a while, "If you recover from illness, Langzhou can also take care of it. This is the first time I have seen a suzerain who was kicked out by his subordinates."
"That's what I said, but they didn't agree, saying that my temperament is too impatient and unsteady. If I stay in the headquarters, I can't calm down. I must take care of this for a while, and worry about that for a while. It's not good to see it." Mei Changsu's tone was extremely regretful, "I can't blame them. I used to have bad credit in this regard, so it's no wonder they can't believe it..."
"Your temperament is called... too impatient and unsteady?" Xie Bi pointed at Yan Yujin with trembling fingers, "Then what is he like?"
"Hey, why are you talking about me? Am I unsteady?"
"Okay, don't make trouble for the two of you," Xiao Jingrui said, "The noble family that Young Master Mei refers to, but the four elders of 'Happiness, Sadness and Music'?"
"Exactly, I can still struggle with other people. As soon as these four people show up, I can't fight back." Mei Changsu couldn't help laughing as he spoke, "They are too nervous, why? It's so easy to die."
The tone of his jokes is very calm and relaxed, but against the pale complexion and the sometimes weak and chaotic breath, it makes people's heart sink. For some unknown reason, Xiao Jingrui suddenly felt that he understood the feelings of everyone in the Jiang Zuo League, so he could not help but persuade in a low voice, "Mr. Well, we must not let down their wishes."
"I naturally know this. If I didn't want them to worry too much, why would I obediently leave behind so many things?" Mei Changsu's eyes widened, he didn't know what to think, his brows slightly frowned, "Actually, during this period of time, the alliance There are still many troubles that have not been resolved. The locust plague in Huozhou, the sub-rudder has to arrange for donations to open a porridge shed; the two families of Cheng and Lin in Fuzhou have grievances due to in-laws, which have not been resolved to this day; In the case of a giant robbery, the government can’t ignore it when the government comes to the door for help; and…”
Xiao Jingrui and Xie Bi looked at each other and deeply felt that the elders of the Jiangzuo League were really wise decision-makers. This person was kicked out and worried about the affairs of the gang. It would be better to stay at the Langzhou headquarters.
"Hey, now that you're out now, what are you doing?" Yan Yujin didn't like to flirt like the other two, and he said something directly, "I should think about where to go and play easily. In the past few months, I just took a good rest. Why don't we go back to Jinling with us? The weather is good there and there are many interesting places around, so let the three of us entertain you."
Xiao Jingrui actually had this opinion too. Seeing that Yujin had already said it, he hurriedly said, "It's just that Jinling has already left the borders of the fourteen states of Jiangzuo. I wonder if your family members will be relieved?"
"They want me to go as far as possible. It's better not to hear any news from Jiang Zuo at all. It's just that I can't reveal my identity, and I have to bring the person designated by them."
These few conditions are nothing. Mei Changsu has always kept a low profile. Not to mention Jinling, not many people in the Jiangzuo realm recognize him. It is very easy to conceal his identity, as long as he does not take the initiative to introduce himself. , that is more reasonable, so Xiao Jingrui immediately said: "These are all things that should be done. I hope Young Master Mei will not dislike Jinling's glitz and give us a chance to be a host." Mei Changsu smiled and said, "You are like this again. You are very welcome. Of course, I have no reason to refuse your kind invitation, but my guard is arrogant and does not like to talk. If you have offended you along the way, please don't care. "
"Don't worry," Yan Yujin said with a big laugh, "Xie Bi will be careful with us, and we won't care about it. But where is this guard? Why haven't we seen it?"
"I don't know where he is, but as soon as we cross the Fenjiang River and leave the Jiangzuo boundary, he will immediately appear by my side, and there is no way to escape."
"Wow, that must be the legendary Jianghu expert, right?" Xie Bi showed a fascinated expression, "I don't know much, so I don't have the chance to really get in touch with Jianghu. Brother Zhuo and Jing Rui sometimes talk about it, but they both It’s not an expert, and the things I encounter are very low-level, and it’s not enjoyable to listen to.”
Yan Yujin was instantly overjoyed, and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, they are famous people in the arena, but they have never encountered any wonderful things, unlike Mr. Mei, whoever said anything is a legend, such as How did you do that when you ordered Shu Zhongtian to bow down to you in Heling?"
Mei Changsu smiled lightly and said, "It's nothing, just tell him some truths, and a lot of ramblings will annoy him away."
"How is this possible!" Yan Yujin wanted to ask, but was carefully stopped by Xiao Jingrui. Since people say this, it is obvious that some things are inconvenient to talk about, and it is not good to ask carefully.
"By the way, since you have to walk all the way and you have to hide your identity, you can't always talk about the three words 'Mei Gongzi'," Xie Bi also understood Xiao Jingrui's intention to block Yan Yujin, so he hurriedly changed the subject and said, " It's better for everyone to think of another name."
"This is easy. I used the pseudonym 'Su Zhe' when I went out before, and I'm a few years older than you. If you call me 'Brother Su', I'm afraid I can still afford it." Mei Changsu replied with a smile. .
"Then please don't be polite to Brother Su, just call the three of us by name." Xiao Jingrui said.
Everyone looked at each other and smiled, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. That night, of course, I stayed in the city and enjoyed a meal from Uncle Zheng. The next day, we packed up together and headed to Jinling in the opposite direction. Along the way, in order to match Mei Changsu's body, he hired a carriage. He sometimes rode in the carriage, and sometimes came out to walk slowly with everyone. It was extremely relaxed and happy, and he never committed any illness.