At the fifteenth hour of October in the 9th year of Zhenguan, Li Kuan traveled southeast from Chang'an to Lantian County, Jingzhao County, Guannei Road. It was already Haishi. He had to rest at the Lantian County Station for one night and set off again tomorrow. That night, Li Kuan called the four people into his room, and the four came with suspicion.
"Thank you four for changing your uniforms into casual clothes!"
Li Kuan did not have the arrogance of a prince, and he was very kind and respectful. This shocked the four of them. They had seen a lot of imperial relatives and nobles, and he had never met such a lord. Not only did he treat them very much. Respect, and the words were all pleasant, the four naturally obediently changed their uniforms and dressed them as ordinary people.
As for the carriage prepared by Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, it was also replaced by Li Kuan at the inn. This inn was set up by the government and was also designed to facilitate the transmission of news. Li Kuan came by a carriage, and the yaman in the post saw the style of the carriage and guessed that his identity was unusual, and he was very respectful to Li Kuan.
"King Chu, why do you want to dress like this?"
Zhang Chong hesitated again and again, plucking up the courage to speak out his doubts. He felt that the prince in front of him was different from the one he had been in contact with before. As ordinary people dress, even Li Kuan's own clothes are changed into very simple clothes.
"The tree attracts the wind, it's better to be low-key!" Li Kuan answered with a smile. He didn't have the slightest blame. Instead, Zhang Chong answered all the questions: "Think about us going to Jingzhou to take up office, but I, the chief governor, is a famous and unauthorised person. Lord, even if I am the King of Chu, I have only a false title and no real power. Apart from the four of you, I can't command anyone."
"Let’s go to Jingzhou with great fanfare, isn’t that making trouble for ourselves? Even though it’s an official way, no one can say anything will happen, the clothes are too gorgeous, the carriage is too luxurious, that’s not just an excuse for making trouble for others ."
"If we encounter a gangster halfway, how can we make up for the five of us? Besides, all my wealth is in these two boxes. If you lose me, go to Jingzhou to drink northwest wind!"
Li Kuan replied truthfully, just like ordinary people who care about money very much. This made the four of them feel more cordial. They did not have the precautions before, and they sat down and chatted with Li Kuan. Apart from their names, the four of them were Li Kuan. He didn't know anything about it, and even if he sat down, the somewhat awkward Leng Feng caught his attention: "If you are not used to it, you can just hold the weapon!"
Leng Feng was shocked when he heard the words, and he was dumbfounded for a long time. His original awkward expression disappeared. The other three people looked sideways, all looking at Leng Feng curiously. In their eyes, Leng Feng was the most lonely person, and he was the taciturn person. Pronouns, but the research and use of weapons seems to have changed individuals.
Li Kuan smiled and did not explain. This is one of the reasons why he chose Leng Feng. This person's obsession with weapons has reached a level of obsession. From the calluses on his palm, he is definitely the best at weapons Leng Feng, but his He was somewhat withdrawn and insecure in temper, as if only weapons could give him a sense of security, so he was like two people without weapons and weapons in his hands.
"From now on, you have to remember one thing. I am not the king of Chu or the chief governor, but a son of ordinary people, and I am not a young master." Li Kuan continued, "As for the four of you. In order of age: Zhang Da, Liao Er, Leng San, Fei Si. In addition, the four of you are brothers of the opposite sex!"
The four of you, look at me and I look at you, all nodded and said yes, and they had no objection to this. They were originally soldiers in the right and left Xiaowei Mansion, and they were similar in age, so naturally they would not have any opinions. Li Kuan was not arbitrary and gave them the opportunity to express their opinions. None of the four said anything.
"King Chu, why do you keep wearing a mask and not showing your true colors?"
When Liao Fan saw Zhang Chong’s question and Li Kuan didn’t say anything, he gave an answer. Then he came to ask more, knowing that almost all the officials in the capital knew that Li Kuan, the king of Chu, was wearing a golden mask, and he never showed his true colors, except for a few people. No one has ever seen him before, and there are even rumors that he was disfigured or his face was extremely ugly before being covered by a mask.
"Each of us wears a mask, don't we?" Li Kuan asked rhetorically with a smile, and continued: "Even if it is true to show others, it is not necessarily the true self. Whether it is covered by this mask or not is up to him. "
"Of course my mask was bestowed by the emperor, and the emperor ordered that I have to follow it!"
The four heard that it was the order of the first emperor Li Yuan, and then they understood why the current emperor never mentioned that Li Kuan should take off the mask, but instead let him do it. At this time, the golden mask had been replaced by Li Kuan with a silver mask, and the true appearance was still not visible.
"If you want to see it, it's okay, but remember not to mention my appearance to anyone!" Li Kuan was very curious when he saw Liao Fan. He wanted to continue to ask questions after hearing the grandfather's order. Having said this, the four of them were indeed curious about how King Chu looked after the mask, and whether the rumors were true.
The four of them did not speak, and Li Kuan took off the silver mask. When he revealed his true face, everyone was astonished for an instant, and his words and deeds were very similar, as if they were carved out of the same shape. It was unbelievable. .
Li Kuan guessed the reaction of the four, and the reason why he did so was to take their hearts back little by little, let them stand in line with themselves and become their own people. After all, it was the first time he met the four of them, and even if he was their superior, it was limited to the friendship between official business and not private.
After treating each other frankly, these four people were all smart people who naturally understood Li Kuan's mind. After waking up from the shock, no one spoke again. They had not fully digested the matter yet. After that, Li Kuan asked the four of them to go back to rest and set off tomorrow.
The four of them withdrew from Li Kuan's room, instead of going back to their rooms individually, they gathered together. They wanted to digest what they knew today.
"Zhang Chong, why do you think King Chu is like this?" Liao Fan asked in a low voice. Zhang Chong shook his head thoughtfully but nodded. In short, he felt a little different. The conversation between the two attracted Fei Lian's attention. , Quietly said: "Does the Chu King want to win over us?"
"Draw us?" Liao Fan and Zhang Chong were startled, they thought of this possibility, and then quickly denied them, "As King of Chu, we can't be compared, even if we draw us in, we won't let us know such a secret. ."
"Perhaps it's not to win, but to treat us as brothers!" The taciturn Leng Feng rarely said once. Holding a weapon in his hand, he coldly whispered: "If it's not a brother, how can you treat each other frankly? Now King Chu is Give us a chance to consider!"
Leng Feng's words shocked the other three people. As Li Kuan, he didn't need to do so. Since this is done, there must be his intention. As the people who control Xiaowei Mansion, they are by no means the general generation, they are all hesitating how to choose! (End of this chapter)