After leaving the palace, the sun was shining brightly and the streets were almost deserted.
Firstly, the battle outside the city in the morning caused a bit of panic among the people in the city. Chang'an City at this time was definitely not as lively as before; secondly, it was lunch time, and the people generally went home to eat, and there were very few people. Will wander the streets.
Li Zexuan walked in front, and Du'e led Dabai behind. When he was holding Dabai at the stable outside the imperial city, Du'e had already changed into a gray monk's robe under Li Zexuan's instruction. Although he was in Dali Temple Prison He was imprisoned for a day, but after changing his clothes, he looked no different from ordinary people. The main reason was that the monk had no hair. Otherwise, because of the ancient habit of growing long hair, his hair would have become sticky after one night in prison!
A master, a servant, and a horse were walking slowly on Zhuque Street. No one said anything. Although Du'e walked forward silently with his head lowered, he was wondering why Li Zexuan walked instead of riding a horse.
But the questions in his heart will soon be solved!
The two turned out of Zhuque Street and came to an old ginkgo tree west of Pingkangfang. Li Zexuan suddenly stopped. Fortunately, Du'e reacted quickly, otherwise he would have bumped into Li Zexuan directly.
"Master Hou..."
Du'e opened his mouth and was about to say something, but who knew...
"Keng~!"
Li Zexuan turned around directly, then drew out the Wind Chasing Sword from his waist and pointed it directly at Du'e!
The air suddenly became stagnant. Du'e's heart tightened and his hairs instantly stood on end. He clenched his fist subconsciously, but that was all. He made no further moves.
All these details naturally fell into Li Zexuan's eyes. He nodded secretly, and then Zhuifeng Sword held a sword flower in his hand. The tip of the sword that was originally facing Du'e suddenly turned into the hilt!
"Master Hou, what does this mean?"
Du'e was surprised and doubtful.
"Ha~! You take it first~!"
Li Zexuan smiled inexplicably, moved the hand holding the sword hilt to Du'e again, and said.
Du'e looked at the Wind Chasing Sword in Li Zexuan's hand, a strange look flashed in his eyes, but after hesitating for a long time, he still did not reach out to pick it up, but shook his head and said: "This is the sword for the Marquis. The poor monk is now the Marquis's sword." Domestic slaves cannot be picked up!"
"If I ask you to take it, you can do it~!"
Li Zexuan's face darkened and he said without comment.
After that, he took two steps forward and put the hilt of the Wind Chasing Sword into Du'e's hand. Then he took two steps back and said:
"Before yesterday, you were the most respected person in Tianlong Sect, but because of me, you became a prisoner, and now you have become a slave in the prince's house. I know that you have resentment in your heart. So I will give you another chance for revenge. Now as long as you can defeat me, I will give you your freedom immediately. If you fail, you can just be my slave! And you also need to swear to the Buddha, Never betray!"
Hearing this, Du'e couldn't help but was completely stunned!
He never expected that Li Zexuan would come out like this and give himself a chance to "turn around" when he was in a desperate situation. , on one side is the freedom at your fingertips, on the other side is the incomparably powerful Li Zexuan, when you are in trouble, you are in trouble, and you don't know how to choose!
Seeing Du'e's hesitation, Li Zexuan then added: "I have been honest and upright in my life, and I like to keep my grudges in the open. Today I will give you a chance to take revenge. Even if you kill me with the sword in your hand, I will never say anything, and I will only blame myself for my poor academic skills. But if you don’t seize today’s opportunity for revenge, and choose to play dirty tricks on me in the future, then don’t blame me for being ruthless! So, take Pick up the sword in your hand and come here to take revenge~!"
Du E glanced at Li Zexuan with complicated eyes, and then turned his attention to the slender, cold sword of Zhui Feng Sword. To take it or not to take it, to fight or not to fight. At this moment, Du E's heart was really engaged in a battle between heaven and man. !
After a long time, Du'e let out a long sigh. Holding the Buddha's gift in his hand, he bowed slightly and said: "Amitabha! Lord Marquis, the poor monk is not a person who doesn't know good and evil. The Tianlong Sect has already exhausted its strength. Before the poor monk was arrested, , the imperial court has cracked all the arrangements of the Tianlong Sect in Chang'an City. Therefore, even if the poor monk is not arrested, the defeat of the Tianlong Sect will be a matter of time. If it were not for the Marquis' willingness to take the poor monk in today, I am afraid that the poor monk should be captured by His Majesty the Emperor. Order to kill!
It is said that when he was first arrested, the poor monk did resent the Marquis in his heart, but today the generosity of His Highness the Crown Prince and the kindness and innocence of Princess Changle make the poor monk feel ashamed. The poor monk can come out of Dali Temple alive now, which is a blessing. How can we continue to resent the Marquis after receiving the great favor from him
Furthermore, as a monk, the poor monk cannot see through life and death, and has no face to return to Tantric Buddhism. How could a person as greedy for life and afraid of death as a poor monk be qualified to duel with the Marquis? Please also ask the Marquis to take back the sword! The poor monk is willing to swear loyalty to Buddha forever! If there is any betrayal, you will fall into Avici Hell forever! Amitabha~! "
"As a monk, you can't see through life and death." To be able to express greed for life and fear of death in such a fresh and refined way, it is unique to overcome adversity! Of course, Du E can now openly say that he is a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death, which shows that he has very clearly understood himself. Today's Du E is very different from the past! It does seem like a great enlightenment!
"Okay! Have you thought about it? Once such an opportunity is missed, it will never happen again!"
Li Zexuan glanced at Du'e in surprise, and then said in a slightly bewitching tone.
"Amitabha~! The poor monk has made up his mind. He also asks the Marquis to take back the sword. The poor monk is willing to be the slave of the Marquis!"
Du'e held a sword in one hand and a Buddhist ritual in the other hand, and bowed.
Li Zexuan looked at Du'e intently for a moment, then stretched out his hand to take back the Wind Chasing Sword, and then said solemnly: "Since you chose to be a slave, then you can live as a slave in the Hou Mansion! Most of the slaves in other places are My status is low, but you don't have to worry about the Marquis's family. My family never makes it difficult for servants.
If you work hard for me, I will free you after three years. If you want to return to Tianzhu at that time, I will give you a generous package to help you go back; if you want to stay in Datang , I will also give you a decent identity so that you can continue to live in Datang!
But in the future, if you still remember the grudges of the past and use dirty tricks behind your back, then don’t blame me for being rude. When the time comes, I will really make your life worse than death! Understand? "
"Understood! Poor monk understands!"
Du'e nodded excitedly and said.
It is possible to regain freedom in three years. When Li Zexuan said this, Du'e immediately felt that choosing to be a domestic slave was not that bad. After all, he had committed a capital crime before, but now he not only saved his life, but also had the possibility of getting Freedom, how could Du'e not be excited about this
In fact, Li Zexuan was only worried that Du'e was playing dirty tricks behind his back, and was not worried that Du'e would escape secretly, because domestic slaves are slaves. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, there have been four household registration systems: noble registration, good registration, low status, and slave registration. Among them, the one with the lowest status and the most miserable fate is the slave status. Once you sell yourself, you may be a slave for life, unless the master is merciful and is willing to pay the government a large sum of money to redeem you, but this situation generally does not exist.
People who are classified as slaves become completely accessories to the master's family. Not only can they be given away at will, but the master can also kill them at will. They are basically equivalent to private property, just like livestock, and their legal status is the same as that of cattle, horses, pigs and sheep. It's almost the same. As for slaves escaping, that is a serious crime.
In this era of strict household registration, it is generally easy for slaves to be caught escaping. First of all, transportation is underdeveloped in this era, and the scope of activities of the people is very limited. Generally, if a foreigner comes to a village, the villagers will quickly Everyone knows that; secondly, if people want to go to other places, they must go to the government to apply for road guidance based on their household registration in advance. If there is no road guidance, it is very likely that they will be arrested by officers and soldiers at various important intersections!
Once the escaped private slave is caught, the end will be so miserable!
Therefore, Du E, who was thrown into slavery by Li Er, would be unable to move forward in the Tang Dynasty without Li Zexuan. The only thing Li Zexuan has to worry about is whether Du E will betray him!
Through some testing just now, Li Zexuan has temporarily believed that Du E has given up his determination to take revenge. Of course, it is impossible for Li Zexuan to completely let go of his wariness against Du E just by relying on this test. As they get along with each other in the future, Li Zexuan will definitely I will slowly investigate the journey through the disaster!
As for the three-year agreement, he did not deceive Du'e. Sometimes a slap in the face and a sweet date can enhance the loyalty of his subordinates, right
"Okay! I believe in your loyalty for now, let's go back home~!"
Li Zexuan put away the Wind Chasing Sword and nodded with a smile.
"Yes! Mr. Hou!"
Du'e responded, and quickly turned around and led Dabai to Li Zexuan. Li Zexuan got on his horse, and the master and the servants speeded up and walked towards the south gate.
… … … … … … …
"Yu Xi, I said you were nowhere to be seen after dinner, but you are here!"
At the entrance of the mountain pass at the top of Yunshan Mountain, a woman in white with a woman's hair in a bun stood in the wind. At this time, a middle-aged woman came over and said.
"Mom! Why did you come out?"
The woman in white quickly turned around when she heard the noise, stepped forward and took the woman's arm, saying softly.
"Alas! Aren't you worried about me? Yu Xi, are you waiting for Xuan'er to come back?"
The woman patted the woman's hand and said with a sad face.
Yes, these two people are Ye Yuzhu and Han Yuxi.
Han Yuxi nodded lightly, and then said: "Mom! Uncle Niu came to the other courtyard this morning and said that Chang'an City was surrounded by Tianlong Sect rebels. I have been worried about my husband, and I don't know what's going on with him over there!"
The Tianlong army besieged Chang'an City. It was impossible for Lantian County, which was only more than 20 miles away from Chang'an City, not to hear about such a major event. In the morning, some villagers from Hanjiazhuang who wanted to go shopping in Chang'an City saw Chang'an City being surrounded by rebels outside Chang'an City. They quickly came to Yunshan to report to Han Yuxi. Han Yuxi was worried about her husband, so she ate some food at noon and came This mountain crossing is waiting for Li Zexuan to come back.
"Silly boy! Didn't Taoist Master Xuanqing say that the rebels outside Chang'an City have been defeated by the imperial court? Xuan'er should be back soon. I see you didn't eat much at noon. It's so hot outside now. Please follow me quickly. Mom, go back! Don’t get yourself hurt!"
Mrs. Li patted the back of Han Yuxi's hand lovingly and persuaded.
When they learned that Chang'an City was under siege, Han Yuxi, Li Jingmo, and Mrs. Li almost fainted and wanted to go to Chang'an City to find out what was going on. Fortunately, Xuan Qing finally stepped forward and took the initiative to take over the task. When he saw that all the rebels outside Chang'an City were defeated by Li Zexuan and the enemy general Luo Cheng committed suicide, Xuanqing rushed back to Yunshan to report the news, so Mrs. Li and Li Jingmo felt a little relieved.
"Mom, according to what Taoist Master Xuanqing said, the rebels outside Chang'an City were wiped out at early noon, but it's already past midnight, why hasn't my husband come back yet? My daughter is really worried!"
Han Yuxi frowned and said worriedly.
Since marrying into the Li family, Mrs. Li has treated her as her own daughter. Han Yuxi, who lost her mother since childhood, also regards Mrs. Li as her biological mother in her heart, and basically calls herself her daughter on weekdays.
"...Alas! Silly boy, Xuan'er is in the court and working for you, but you have suffered a lot!"
Mrs. Li looked at the haggard Han Yuxi and couldn't help but sigh.
Han Yuxi shook her head and said:
"Mom, my daughter is not suffering! My husband is suffering! Eh? Mom! Look! My husband is back!"
But at this moment, she suddenly saw a person riding a white horse at the foot of the mountain, walking towards the mountain road. Who else could it be if it wasn't Li Zexuan
… … … … … …