No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 605: The guest watering the orchid [asking for a monthly ticket! ]

Taoshouzhai ship, inside the hall.

After bringing the two guests from afar in, Yu Nianyuan quickly grabbed Li Shu by the back of her collar before the senior sister Xue Zhongzhu got angry, and carried her out the door as she waved her short legs, pitiful and helpless.

The master and his disciple left the hall to Xue Zhongzhu and the two guests.

In a small room at the back of the hall, Yu Nianyuan came back with a bowl of fish soup to comfort Li Shu.

Yu Nianyuan turned and left, called the proprietress of Tao Shouzhai and gave her some instructions.

Soon, the defense on the merchant ship became increasingly tight, and the Vietnamese women coming and going were in a hurry.

After feeling the river wind and rain for a while at the bow, Yu Nianyuan counted the time, turned around, and stepped into the hall again with his bare feet tied with a red rope...

Participate in secret meetings.

About two quarters of an hour later.

Yu Nianyuan left the secret meeting hall again.

Holding a bowl of delicious milky white sturgeon soup in one hand, she walked into the small room at the back of the hall where her good disciples were accommodated.

"Master! Did I make Master Uncle angry again? Her eyes were so scary just now..."

Li Shu rushed over, hugged Yu Nianyuan's thighs, buried her face in her thighs, with a look of reluctance on her face.

Yu Nianyuan lowered his head and touched the little head of the little girl with a pigtail, and at the same time handed out a handkerchief, signaling Li Shu not to wipe her snot on her thigh.

"Master..." Li Shu looked a little embarrassed and lowered her head to wipe her nose.

Yu Nianyuan's face was calm. He poured the bowl of fish soup in his hand into the empty bowl in front of Li Shu, evenly dividing it in half.

"Although your master uncle was busy with important matters, he still remembered to ask me to serve you another bowl."

"Master Bo Rang sent it?"

Li Shu held up the fish soup bowl with both hands and asked curiously:
"Master, why is Master Uncle trying to please you when there is nothing to do? Isn't he the traitor or the thief as you said?"

Yu Nianyuan: ...

The gentle lady in white suddenly felt that not letting her disciple stay in the hall for too long was the right thing to do.

At this time, some gurgling sounds of drinking soup were heard.

Yu Nianyuan lowered his head and glanced at his obedient disciple.

Li Shu was seen holding a bowl bigger than her face in both hands. She tilted her head back and drank a large bowl of white sturgeon soup in one breath: "Slurp, slurp~"

She put down the empty bowl, breathing slightly, the edges of her mouth were covered with milky white soup stains, and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Yu Nianyuan took back the handkerchief, wiped Li Shu's nose, and said:

"You've been very lucky today. You've eaten more than the other guests."

The little girl with a pigtail held the empty bowl in her hand, licked her lips, and asked eagerly:
"Master, there is one left. When will we put it in the pot?"

Yu Nianyuan asked back, "This morning, when I caught one from the tank, you looked unhappy, didn't you?"

Li Shu sniffed her nose, tapped her chin with her index finger, and whispered:
"I was afraid that Dabai and Xiaobai would be separated before. Master, let me tell you, they have a very good relationship. On weekdays, they circle around in the water tank together every day, which makes me dizzy. With such a good relationship, do you think we can separate them? I can't bear to do that."

The little girl sighed and paused. She took the bowl of fish soup handed to her by her master. She lowered her head and took a sip from the edge of the bowl. The corners of her mouth were white. She waved her little hand and made a decision:

"Forget it. Xiaobai is gone, so how can Dabai live alone? If they go together, they will have someone to take care of them on the road. To use the words in the book taught by Master, it is... it is... to live together and retire from the world."

"Shut up, I didn't teach you to use it like this. This isn't about flying together, this is about getting into the belly together."

"It's all the same, all the same..." Li Shu grabbed the hem of the gentle lady in white and shook it: "Dear Dabai, when will the master take action? I can be prepared."

"Preparation for food?"

"No, it's preparation for sadness."

"Ah."

Yu Nianyuan shook his head, was silent for a while, and said softly:
"You have to wait for your seventh uncle to come home. This is what your master specially left for her to replenish her body."

"When will the seventh uncle come home? Does she like the blindfolded older sister?" Li Shu asked innocently.

Yu Nianyuan remained silent.

She walked over, opened the window, and looked towards Jiangzhou.

The room was silent for a while.

Yu Nianyuan heard Li Shu's weak voice coming from behind him.

"Master, I'm sorry, I won't rush for the fish soup. It doesn't matter how long you wait..."

"Do not."

Yu Nianyuan suddenly interrupted:
"We can take your Seventh Uncle home right away." After a pause, he said, "We will definitely take her home."

Seeing Li Shu's eyes light up, Yu Nianyuan turned his head and glanced in the direction of the hall where the secret meeting was taking place.

……

"Mr. Wei has come all the way from the southwest, avoiding many obstacles. You must have worked hard on your journey."

"It's not hard work, it's the eldest lady who's hard work. The previous incident with the Xingzi Lake Buddha was also thanks to the eldest lady's help, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."

Xue Zhongzhu had a cold expression on his face and didn't respond.

In the hall, after Master Yu Nianyuan and his apprentice left, only Xue Zhongzhu and two men in straw raincoats and hats were left.

The latter two had already taken off their straw hats and raincoats, shook off the rain on their bodies, and sat down together opposite the candle in the snow.

In front of each of the three people, there was a bowl of delicious and milky sturgeon soup.

However, the white sturgeon soup in front of Xue Zhongzhu did not move at all.

The other two men in straw raincoats and straw hats lowered their heads silently and drank the soup to warm themselves.

Xue Zhongzhu looked at the two of them with a pair of green eyes and a cold gaze.

In other words, he was just looking at one of them, the middle-aged man named Mr. Wei who was leading the group.

She ignored another man who looked like his deputy based on the seating order.

Mr. Wei was wearing a washed-out shirt. His face was thin and his lips were pale and bloodless, as if he had caught a cold. He would take out a white handkerchief from time to time and cover his mouth with it when he coughed.

The deputy following behind him was younger, plain-looking, a bit taciturn, and also wore a scholar's shirt, but had a strong build. He did not look like a scholar, but more like a military officer of the frontier army.

The taciturn man was carrying a cylindrical cloth bag on his back, which seemed to be wrapped around a scroll.

If Ouyang Rong were here at this moment, he would definitely recognize the two of them.

Wei Shaoqi and Du Shuqing.

The two followed Li Zhengyan in raising the flag of rebellion.

Wei Shaoqi was privately called "Sir" by Li Zhengyan.

As for Du Shuqing, if what Hu Fu and Ouyang Rong described was correct, he was secretly involved in the rebellion of Cai Qin and the other 1,500 garrison soldiers...

Wei Shaoqi took the full bowl of fish soup that Du Shuqing handed over sullenly and took a sip. He raised his head and looked at the indifferent Xue Zhongzhu with bright eyes:

"I heard that on that day, the eldest princess and the master of your clan, the hidden prince, turned the tide and intercepted the Buddha's head in the street, thwarting the conspiracy of the violent Zhou false emperor..."

Xue Zhongzhu seemed not to want to mention that incident at all, and interrupted with a wave of his sleeves:
"The collapse of the Xingzifang Buddha statue and the destruction of the thieves have nothing to do with this seat or this sect, or it has no direct connection... I will not mention this today."

Wei Shaoqi immediately revealed a strange smile that said "I understand". Seeing this scene, a snow-white long sword with a girl's name next to the cushion of Xue Zhongzhu made a "clucking" sound and trembled.

Wei Shaoqi and Du Shuqing couldn't help but look sideways. Xue Zhongzhu first closed his eyes, took a deep breath, opened his blue eyes, and tried to calm down in a very respectful tone:

"Mr. Wei, it took a little longer than the secret letter expected to arrive."

"We were delayed on the way."

Wei Shaoqi smiled and said lightly:
"The Xuanwu Camp of Qin Jingzhen is indeed annoying. We passed by them several times on the road. Fortunately, I have been to Jiangzhou with Shuqing before. Shuqing, in particular, has a photographic memory, is proficient in terrain, and is good at making maps. He is a natural military talent... He is very familiar with this area, so we were able to travel safely."

"That's good."

Xue Zhongzhu then took a look at the taciturn young man who was praised so highly by Mr. Wei.

Du Shuqing sat upright, took off a cylindrical cloth bag from his back, placed it horizontally on his knees, and looked straight ahead.

Wei Shaoqi remembered something, put down the soup bowl, and said casually:

"In fact, we could have arrived a day earlier, but Shu Qing loves orchids, so when we passed by an old place, we stopped for a while and stayed overnight to take care of a pot of old orchids..."

"You two are in Jiangzhou, under the eyes of the imperial court, and you still have the leisure time to do this?"

"Isn't it the same for the eldest lady? Isn't this ship sailing on the river in broad daylight under the nose of the pseudo-Zhou court?"

"Hmm." Xue Zhongzhu did not comment.

After a while, she glanced at Wei Shaoqi, who was drinking soup with a gentle face and a smile, and nodded with a serious face:

"Regarding the Buddha, it is indeed thanks to Mr. Wei and Mr. Li that they first reminded us of this."

"Easy to do."

Wei Shaoqi shook his head and said seriously:
“However, in the Tiannan Jianghu area, the construction of this giant Buddha did destroy the tacit understanding between the Liqian royal family and the Yuan monarch of that generation when Daqian was first established.

“Tiannan Jianghu is originally the farthest away from Guanzhong. Yuan Jun and your clan have made great efforts to stabilize Tiannan Jianghu over the years.

"Mr. Li also meant the same thing. We, the Kuangfu Mansion and the Duke of Yingguo Mansion, respect the existence of Yuan Jun. Unlike the violent Zhou, we have no intention of offending him."

Xue Zhongzhu's expression eased slightly:
"It's rare that you have this understanding. We Jianze have been following the rules for too long, so many people now think that we Jianze are not obedient to the court's discipline. But who is crossing the line? Does Zhou Ting dare to admit it?"

Wei Shaoqi smiled slightly.

Xuezhongzhu suddenly said:

"I have always been curious about why Mr. Wei rebelled. I heard that when you were in the Imperial Censorate, Master Di thought highly of you and even trained you as his successor..."

Wei Shaoqi's expression remained unchanged, and he said softly:

"Master, it is indeed difficult to repay your kindness, but... we cannot work together if we do not share the same ideals."

"Why are the paths different?"

Xue Zhongzhu raised his eyebrows and asked.

Wei Shaoqi's expression was visibly disappointed. He stared at the steaming white sturgeon soup in his hand. He didn't know what he was thinking about. He said softly:
"Master, you are planning for what happens after death. I understand you, but I don't agree with you. For some things, doing them even a moment later is a mistake."

Xue Zhongzhu did not ask further questions, and said with a disinterested look:
"I thought he was loyal to the Zhou Dynasty and was an accomplice of the Empress of the Wei Family."

Wei Shaoqi was silent for a while, and suddenly asked back:
"If the Master is an accomplice to the evil, why doesn't he come here in person to deal with our southwest rebellion? And to deal with our Kuangfu Army?"

"Isn't it to avoid suspicion?"

The candle in the snow curled its lips:
"Can the Queen of the Wei family trust him and let him leave her sight to quell the rebellion?"

Wei Shaoqi shook his head:
"Even if you can't come, Master, you still have a hundred ways. As long as Master intervenes in the southwest war with all his strength, Lord Li and I would have lost long ago, and there would be no chance now."

"You are not afraid of death, you say it so lightly."

Xue Zhongzhu's blue eyes narrowed slightly:
"Why do I feel like you guys don't have any confidence in winning? Am I wrong? Then what exactly are you fighting for?"

Du Shuqing lowered his head to drink the hot soup and glanced at Jiang Yu outside the window.

Wei Shaoqi smiled and said, "Eliminate the tyrannical Wei and restore Li Qian."

Hearing this standard slogan of rebellion, Xue Zhongzhu frowned slightly.

"The Xunyang Palace you want to support does not support this, nor is it on the same page with you." She sneered.

Wei Shaoqi didn't look annoyed and drank the soup gently.

At this time, Du Shuqing had finished his meal, so he walked aside and strolled around the hall.

Passing by a desk with books and poems, he seemed to have discovered something. He picked up a poem and looked through it.

"What is Shuqing doing?"

Without waiting for Xue Zhongzhu to frown, Wei Shaoqi asked curiously, but Du Shuqing remained silent.

"Put your things down." Xue Zhongzhu said coldly.

Du Shuqing walked back, ignored the candle in the snow, and said in a muffled voice:
"That poem, 'Qingyu'an', was written by Ouyang Lianghan on the Lantern Festival not long ago. Mr. Wei praised it on the way."

Wei Shaoqi was stunned, then looked at Xue Zhongzhu with a smile:
"Does the lady like this too?"

Xue Zhongzhu suppressed his anger and said:
"I didn't look at it privately. Second Junior Sister likes this kind of stuff, and she has to teach the new disciple on weekdays. You are guests, so how can you touch the host's things without permission?"

"I'm sorry, Shuqing is just like that. Whenever he arrives at a place, he likes to observe the details of the surrounding terrain and think about ways to escape in advance..."

Wei Shaoqi turned around and asked Du Shuqing to apologize.

The latter bowed his head slightly, "Your Excellency, calm down."

Xue Zhongzhu snorted coldly: "Observing the retreat route? Are you worried about me? Do you think I will sell you out?"

"No. It's just Shuqing's habit of leading troops. It's hard to change it for the time being. I hope the lady won't blame me."

Wei Shaoqi shook his head, turned to look at the manuscript that Du Shuqing had just put down, and sighed:
"My Lady, please do not be deceived by his poetic talent alone. He is not only proficient in poetry."

Xue Zhongzhu frowned:
"What do you mean?"

After a pause, she saw Wei Shaoqi sighing and nodded again:

"Second Junior Sister seems to have said the same thing. She said that this person should be the leader of the Xunyang Grottoes Buddha this time, similar to Lin Cheng back then."

"Lin Cheng is far inferior to him." Du Shuqing suddenly spoke.

Wei Shaoqi also nodded slightly:

“If the person who presided over the Xingzi Lake Buddha was not Lin Cheng, but Ouyang Lianghan, and he had not been marginalized by those idiots in the court, it would not be so easy for the Queen to succeed. We can’t say anything, and it’s too late.

"But fortunately, the court is like this. There is always a lack of self-righteous people, and laymen guide experts. It has been like this before and it will be like this in the future."

Upon hearing this, Xue Zhongzhu couldn't help but glance sideways and take another look at the Lantern Festival poem which she had previously thought was "pretty good".

Du Shuqing spoke again in a sullen tone:
"Mr. Wei had suggested that you not kill Lin Cheng and the Wei family, but you didn't listen. Although the Buddha's fall has been temporarily delayed, it has helped Ouyang Lianghan regain power and eliminated his political enemies. This is not a good thing for us."

The candle in the snow looked at him coldly:
"First, Lin Cheng and the others were not killed by my men. Second, are you teaching me how to do things? Do you think that our Yunmeng Jianze is a sword in the hands of your Kuangfu Army, and you can use it as if it were your arm?"

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

"Well, now that things have come to this, let's not talk about the past. I came here today to discuss important matters with you, the eldest lady, so don't disturb my mood."

Du Shuqing said softly: "I am telling the truth."

Xue Zhongzhu sneered: "It's the truth, but it's a bit nonsense."

Wei Shaoqi had no choice but to take the initiative to ease the atmosphere.

Xue Zhongzhu's expression quickly subsided, and he glanced at the long cloth bag on Du Shuqing's knees...

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(End of this chapter)