In the Zhao Mansion in the north of the inner city, a strong man walked into the gate, followed the corridor into a courtyard, and saw Zhao San riding on a horse, shooting at a target with a soft bow.
"I pay my respects to the young master," the strong man called out.
Zhao San looked back and immediately threw the bow and arrow in his hand to the ground, asking the servants beside him to pick it up. He then climbed down from his horse and walked towards the pavilion near the open space without saying a word. But Zhao San's skin color was not as white as before after more than a year, and his face and neck were tanned a lot. If it was darker, he would look more and more like his second brother. However, his cheeks were still rosy and he looked very healthy.
Seeing this, the sturdy man followed. When Zhao San sat down and looked up at him, the sturdy man whispered: "The young master asked me to stay near Li Chuyun's house for a few days and I didn't expect to find a lot of interesting things."
Zhao Sandao: Tell me quickly.
The man whispered: Not long after the yamenier left that day, he saw Guo Shao go to the door of Li Chuyun's house, and later he had a secret meeting with Li's wife in the teahouse at the intersection.
You read it right. Zhao San almost stood up after hearing this, and a dark aura rose on his face.
The man said: I dare not be wrong.
Zhao San cursed: This little bitch, hypocritical, if she falls into my hands one day He stopped talking here, turned his head to look around, asked with a frown, and said, "Go on, continue. It's just a private meeting."
The man said in a deep voice: I'm afraid it's more than one secret meeting. Another day later, I saw the maidservant beside Madam Li sneaking out. This time I was prepared and asked my brother to follow. Guess what happened, Young Master
Guess what, Zhao San cursed in a low voice. Although there was no one else around, he still spoke in a low voice.
The man said: "The servant arrived at Daxiangguo Temple and waited on the street in front of Guo Shao's house, and then invited Guo Shao to the teahouse. I don't know what she was doing. She was probably bringing a letter or delivering a message, but Guo Shao and the Li family lady had not made any movement in the past two days."
But I finally figured out the secret. This morning, several people from Li Chuyun's mansion left the city and headed west along the post road. They booked several large rooms near Datong Temple east of Taishi Mountain.
Zhao San immediately said: Most of the Li family members want to go out for an outing while the spring weather is good. These women go to the temple to worship the gods, but they actually want to go out for fun. The maid brought a letter, which is probably a secret appointment with Guo Shao.
I think so too.
Zhao San looked at the man and said: Li Xiaer, you are an old member of our Zhao family. If I hadn't spoken well of you, you wouldn't be where you are now.
The man named Li Xiaer said: I have always followed the orders of the young master.
Don't tell anyone about this for now, Zhao San warned.
Li Xiaer said: I understand.
Zhao San paced back and forth in the pavilion, without saying anything else, and waved his hand to tell Li Xiaer to go down. Just then, he heard that his father and brother had returned from the guard duty, so he went in to meet them.
The father and his two sons talked for a while, and then the father talked about official business with Zhao Kuangyin. They asked the servants to leave, but not the brothers. But Zhao San had no military position and didn't know much about military affairs, so he couldn't join in the conversation and just listened.
But there were three big and strong men sitting on the chairs in the room, young and old, but all of them had broad faces, small eyes, and double chins, which made them look similar. The three of them sitting together looked funny. However, they were serious, as if they were used to it and didn't think this scene was strange.
Zhao Hongyin coughed a little, but still had a smile on his face: Maybe you two brothers can do it together. The Wang family in Hebei and the Yin family in Huainan have both agreed to the marriage.
Zhao San had no objection and just said: It's up to my father and brother to decide.
The dark and strong Zhao Kuangyin said: The Yin family is in Huainan, we must remind them not to get too close to Li Chongjin.
Zhao Hongyin nodded and said: The second brother is right. It doesn't look like a good thing that Li Chongjin is appointed as a military officer of the imperial guards but is sent to a local area.
Zhao Kuangyin said calmly: Not only that, Li Chongjin has offended too many people, especially the grudge with the imperial guard Sima Bu Du Yu Hou Guo Shao, which is known to the world. Now Guo Shao took advantage of his absence from Tokyo to quietly clean up the imperial guards. The people in the Southern Court of the Imperial Guards pretended to be deaf and dumb, and even the Privy Council ignored it. I heard from a good friend in the court that Guo Shao kicked dozens of Li Chongjin's generals to the Huaide Army at once; I'm afraid this matter is not over yet. In less than half a year, Li Chongjin's power in the Imperial Guards will be cleared.
As expected, when a person leaves, the tea gets cold. Zhao Hongyin sighed, thinking that although Li Chongjin had some flaws, he was also a veteran general and a good man.
"Father, you still need to take care of your health. Why don't you take a leave and rest at home for a while?" Zhao Kuangyin said hurriedly.
Zhao San also hurriedly advised: Second brother is right, with second brother in the Palace Front Department, father can rest assured.
Zhao Hongyin waved his hand and said: It doesn’t matter.
Just then, the servants came to invite them to dinner, and three strong and fat men stood up from their chairs one after another.
Guo Shao returned home after a busy day. He walked for a while by the mirror-like lake, took out a letter written in beautiful handwriting from his bosom and read it. He could meet her by chance in the weaving shop or in the inn outside the Datong Temple in Taishi Mountain. The handwriting was so beautiful that just looking at the handwriting gave him a wonderful feeling. Such beautiful handwriting was obviously written by a young lady.
He then took out an exquisite silk scarf, and the following scene emerged in his mind: Fu Ermei walked to the stairs with a blushing face, turned back with a coquettish look and threw the silk scarf at him, and it fell to the ground.
Guo Shao held the beautifully written letter in one hand and the silk scarf in the other, frowning and thinking hard.
At this moment, Jingniang and Qingxu came over. Guo Shao hurriedly put the two things together, folded them carefully, wrapped the letter with a silk scarf, and put them in his arms.
As soon as Qingxu saw them, he shouted: The food in the palace is still the best, no wonder everyone wants to be the emperor.
Guo Shaodao: You can say whatever you want in general, but if everyone wants to be the emperor, it’s better to keep it to yourself.
Jingniang said: The Queen said she would pay for the reconstruction of Yuzhen Temple for me, and change its name, and told us not to receive ordinary pilgrims anymore. She would send people to donate money every month.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said, "This is a good thing. The Queen has really thought it through. You continue to hold the title of the temple master, and Qingxu can also be in the Taoist temple. In this way, you and Qingxu will be Taoist priests in the Taoist temple funded by the Queen, not my family members. At least there is a piece of cloth to cover it up, so that I don't look like a family general of the Queen, and I don't have too close contact with her."
Qingxu immediately said: You are trying to drive me away
Guo Shao said: This is not called driving you away. If you are willing to practice in this garden, no one will drive you away. But your identity is a Taoist priest living in Yuzhen Temple. When the queen wants to invite you to the palace, she only needs to send someone to Yuzhen Temple.
Jingniang agreed and wanted to leave. But Qingxu didn't go with her and stayed, whispering: If I leave, whoever touches my
Guo Shao felt embarrassed for a moment, and said in a deep voice: Appearance is determined by nature and cannot be felt, so don't believe it.
Qingxu opened his single-lidded eyes wide: But today, Queen Sister said that if I continue touching it, it will get bigger.
Continue Guo Shao, I just touched her that day, didn't I stop in time? Didn't you tell the queen that you should keep it a secret
Qingxu had a pure and innocent face. She said: "It seems that I said not to tell the master, but I didn't say not to tell anyone. What does it matter if I tell the Queen? She taught me."
Forget it. Guo Shao said helplessly. Qingxu pestered him: Are you going to help me or not? Guo Shao said: Ask Jingniang for help, she has a way. Qingxu looked at him doubtfully. Guo Shao smiled and said: Look at how tall Jingniang is. Qingxu suddenly understood. Guo Shao saw this and reminded him: Don't say I told you.
Watching Qingxu's thin figure passing between the willow branches, Guo Shao wondered again why the Queen was teasing this young girl. He really couldn't understand what she was thinking, but it didn't seem to be a big deal and was not a big deal.
Guo Shao thought of Li's wife's invitation again, and he decided to keep the appointment. Li's wife probably only went out once a year, and this time she went out for an outing, probably just in anticipation of meeting him; he felt a little reluctant to disappoint her, and if he broke the appointment this time, he was afraid that she would be sad for a long time.
It was the end of February, and it was a holiday, but it was only one day, so Guo Shao made some preparations.
The next day, he asked Han for a day off, because Datong Temple was still a long way from Tokyo, and it would take a day to go back and forth, and he might be in a hurry when he got there. Then he selected his entourage. Guo Shao asked Luo Mengzi and several other personal soldiers to accompany him; he also asked Jingniang and one of her subordinates to go with him, just in time for a trip. The Jingji area on the south bank of the Yellow River has good public security, and there are no mountain bandits. Those who had been there were wiped out by the soldiers. Guo Shao and others are quite skilled, so there shouldn't be any problems.
Jingniang suggested: Send someone to the inn to book accommodation first, otherwise there may be a lot of people traveling from Tokyo to various places in Taishi Mountain, and they won’t be able to find accommodation by then.
Guo Shao agreed, and sent his personal soldiers with money to go to the inn near Datong Temple to book three rooms. He would stay in one room, Jingniang and her female subordinates would stay in one room, and Luo Mengzi and others would stay in the other room.
At the end of the month, Guo Shao and his entourage dressed in cloth robes and futou and set out on horseback.
The weather has completely warmed up, and it is sunny now, so the scenery in the suburbs of Zhongyuan is very pleasant. It rained for several days a while ago, and it has been sunny recently. As expected, there are many tourists along the way, many people bring their families to go outing, and the post road is busy, which is a special scene.