The wind and snow were flying unbridled in the small town of Bazhou, hitting people who walked out of the warm houses and onto the streets.
Xue Rengui and Zhang Jianzhi walked at the front with Wang Bo between them. A black fur was draped on Wang Bo's thin body, and the shoes on his feet were replaced with warm and dry high-quality leather boots.
Hei Te Changzhi led the governor of Bazhou, surrounded by the personal guards and two carriages, followed the three of them, and walked hurriedly to Li Xian's house.
The snow under their feet made a crunching sound, as if it was stepping on the hearts of the Governor of Bazhou and Wang Bo, but at this moment, their moods were very different.
One sees hope in despair, and the other sees despair in comfort.
Zhang Jianzhi looked at the "mansion" covered by the wind and snow. He said it was a mansion, but it was just two rows more than the houses of ordinary settled people. The courtyard walls made of adobe were all white, and there were a few lonely trees standing in the courtyard. They were also The branches are crowded with snow.
At the door of the dilapidated house, the original color of the door could no longer be seen, and the two huge door knockers were already covered with snow. Wang Bo stretched out his newly warmed hand, and with a skillful twist and push, he opened the door and stretched out his hand. Xu Rengui and others were invited to enter.
The sound of scratching could be heard from the courtyard instantly. Xue Rengui and Zhang Jianzhi looked curiously at Wang Bo who hurriedly followed.
"King Pei's servants, in order not to get frozen in the cold weather, so they simply swept the yard to keep warm." When Wang Bo faced Zhang Jianzhi back then, he gradually relieved the entanglement in his heart along the way and gradually accepted it emotionally. Nowadays, the situation of each other is very different.
"Is King Pei here?" Zhang Jianzhi frowned and moved his bones by sweeping the snow to keep warm? You have to be so cold to come up with this solution!
"In the backyard." Wang Bo said as he led Xue Rengui and Zhang Jianzhi forward.
When passing by the servants of more than ten or twenty people, the sound of sweeping the snow stopped instantly. In the past few years, no one has ever been to King Pei's mansion. Even the governor of Bazhou just stopped King Pei at the door. Call out and say something casually at the door. No official has ever entered this courtyard.
But today, through the wind and snow in front of them, they could see that the governor of Naba was also among them, and even several people they knew well in Chang'an were also among them.
Looking at Xue Rengui, Zhang Jianzhi, and Hei Te Changzhi with solemn expressions, more than twenty slaves held brooms tied with branches, motionless as if they were frozen in the snow.
"Could it be that King Pei's time has come? Is His Highness the Crown Prince trying to get rid of future troubles?"
The dozens of soldiers in helmets behind them made these servants feel as if they were falling into an ice cave. They watched numbly as they hurried to the backyard where King Pei lived.
"It's right here." Everyone crossed the front yard and came to the small backyard. The soldiers behind them were still standing in the front yard with their tails on. It was enough to imagine how small this so-called mansion was.
Wang Bo looked at the closed door, standing twenty steps away from Xue Rengui and others, quietly looking at the closed door blurred by the wind and snow. Through the wind and snow, he could even vaguely see the paper window gap. Every now and then, an eye would look towards them secretly.
Black Teeth Changzhi grabbed the governor of Bazhou by his collar and stepped forward, standing in a row with Zhang Jianzhi, Xue Rengui and Wang Bo, and continued to look at the wooden door silently.
All the soldiers who could come in behind him were also holding their breath and concentrating without making any noise. There were only silent snowflakes in the entire courtyard, and the snow fell quietly on everyone.
Time seemed to have frozen. Zhang Jianzhi had been gritting his teeth, staring at the wooden door, watching the snowflakes falling in front of his eyes, and suddenly said loudly: "The Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the last general Xue Rengui, Hei Te Changzhi asks to see King Pei!"
With a bang, a muffled sound suddenly came from the originally silent room, but after the muffled sound, it still fell into endless silence.
Zhang Jianzhi looked at the unresponsive wooden door and then at Wang Bo. Wang Bo just wanted to take a step forward and knock on the door, but was stopped by Zhang Jianzhi.
Xue Rengui and Hei Te Changzhi looked at each other, then they saluted to the wooden door and said loudly: "General Xue Rengui and Hei Te Changzhi would like to see His Highness King Pei."
Just like before, the voice seemed to be lost in the sea, without even a slight response.
"Your Majesty Zhang Jianzhi..."
"What is supposed to come will always come. I have been waiting for this day for a long time, but I didn't expect that Lao Wu would choose such a good day for me." The voice finally came from the room.
Then, under the gazes of Zhang Jianzhi and others, the wooden doors were opened one by one, and immediately, King Pei Li Xian appeared in everyone's sight.
The wind and snow at the door took the opportunity to break into the house behind Li Xian in a whirlwind. Li Xian was seen standing still at the door, letting the wind and snow hit his face, with only his empty and thin left sleeve following him. The wind and snow are shaking.
"General Xue, how about you please move the things in the carriage immediately?" Zhang Jianzhi and others said after saluting Li Xian, still standing in the wind and snow.
Xue Rengui nodded silently, and then there were rapid footsteps behind him. After a while, boxes of items were carried to the door and were blocked by Li Xian.
The soldiers did not dare to go in at will, not to mention that King Pei was blocking the door, so they had to carry the boxes in groups of three to five people, two people in one box, or seven or eight people in one box, and stood silently in the wind and snow, waiting. Follow the order.
"His Royal Highness King Pei, these are gifts given to you by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for the winter. I would also like to ask your subordinates." Zhang Jianzhi took two steps forward and saluted.
At this time, neither Xue Rengui nor Hei Te Changzhi could act too friendly with Li Xian. As Zhang Jianzhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was a civil official but not a military general, so he could naturally let him do it in full view of the public. Come talk to Li Xian.
Li Xian's eyes were numbed by the wind and snow, and he glanced at the wooden box blankly, and then murmured: "Will Lao Wu still think of me? Isn't he here to kill me?"
"No." Zhang Jianzhi looked at Li Xian's blank eyes and tried not to let his eyes fall on the empty sleeves fluttering in the wind and snow.
Li Xian sighed in the face of the wind and snow, then turned sideways and said: "Come in, the humble house is too small, I'm afraid it won't be able to entertain all the distinguished guests..."
"Go down and bring all the other things over." Xue Rengui looked at Zhang Jianzhi looking at him, then turned to order the guards.
A burst of footsteps passed by, and the small courtyard that was originally crowded with people suddenly became empty. Only the messy footprints under the feet proved that many people had just visited the residence of Pei Wang Li Xian.
The room was not warm. Li Xian asked Xue Rengui and Hei Te Changzhi to sit on the upper seat, but they refused, so the upper seat became empty. Wang Bo stood behind Li Xian as usual.
The governor of Bazhou was just about to sit down, but after hearing a cold snort from Hei Te Chang, he was so frightened that he quickly stood up, retreated behind the two of them, and stood still uneasily.
Zhang Jianzhi looked at Li Xian apologetically and said, "King Pei, I have offended you. I hope King Pei will not take offense."
After finishing speaking, Zhang Jianzhi walked to the corner and to the stove closest to the inner room. When he opened it, he saw that only a small piece of carbon was burning inside, which could not even illuminate the entire furnace wall.
And around that small piece of carbon, some clods of soil were squeezed together, not even yellowed or blackened.
"Bring some carbon in." Zhang Jianzhi shouted at the door, and then heard the sound of the two guards at the door leaving quickly.
"Your Highness..." Zhang Jianzhi sat down under Li Xian and tightened his clothes unconsciously.
"Mu Qing, come out to meet the distinguished guests from Chang'an." Li Xian is much older. He even has white hair on his temples, wrinkles and rough skin, making him look like a weather-beaten old man who has long lost his beauty. The style of the past.
There were faint sounds inside, as well as the buzzing of children, but before Zhang Jianzhi and others could wait for a long time, a woman wearing coarse pudding clothes came out with her head lowered.
"Ms. Li, the daughter of the people, has met all of you, sir." Fang Muqing saluted and then stood behind Li Xian.
Compared to Li Xian, Fang Muqing has not changed much. Apart from wearing a coarse shirt and skirt, her graceful and intellectual appearance is still the same as before, but now she looks more like an ordinary person because of her simple shirt and skirt. Like a woman at home.
Knowledgeable, sensible and generous have always been the hallmarks of Fang Muqing. Being exiled here with Li Xian over the years has not erased her temperament in the difficult environment.
"Feel free to bring some clothes for the children to keep out the cold. Don't let them freeze anymore." After Fang Muqing came out, Li Xian kept his eyes on those soft clothes that looked warm.
After hearing Li Xian's words, Fang Muqing was startled and then bowed and thanked Zhang Jianzhi and others again. Then he slowly walked to the place where the box was placed. After selecting a few pieces of clothing, he went inside. OK.
"Don't bother with the child. I'll bring you two items in." Li Xian, who had only one arm left, blocked Mu Qing's return in front of everyone and said softly.
"King Pei, you are saying that now..."
"Yes, he was just born and is still in his infancy. Otherwise... he wouldn't have sent Wang Bo to ask for more charcoal for heating." Li Xian lowered his head and looked at the warm fur on his body.
"But he said that it will be distributed to the people of Bazhou on a per-capita basis. Your Highness, you cannot lie to your ministers..."
"All the carbons are there. There are a total of thirty-two heads in the house, which is thirty-two carbons. It snowed heavily for three days, and a total of fourteen carbons were used. The rest are all there." Li Xian thought in his heart. It's indescribable bitterness. When did I start to argue with others over pieces of carbon
Zhang Jianzhi stood up slowly. He believed that the current King Pei would never lie. In this case, it was the governor of Bazhou who secretly oppressed King Pei because of the imperial court's exile!
(End of chapter)