Fortunate Young Gentleman

Li Tianlan walked to the street and said to the old lady selling noodles: "Grandma, two bowls of noodles."

"One bowl is fine." Tang Ning turned around and said to the old lady, sitting opposite Li Tianlan and explaining: "I'm not hungry."

At the noodle stall, the old lady looked at him with the same unfriendly expression as last time. She might add some ingredients to the noodles. To be cautious, he just watched her eat.

After Li Tianlan sat down, he looked at him and said, "The south has been in turmoil these days, and you can't leave for a while."

Tang Ning nodded and said, "We will set off after the court suppresses the rebellion."

After a while, the old woman had brought the noodles. Li Tianlan took the chopsticks and said, "The court is already preparing for the redress. The King of Zhou can only occupy the five states and cannot make a difference. When the time comes, you can set off with the army."

Following the redress army of Chu, safety can naturally be guaranteed. Tang Ning nodded without much hesitation and said, "Okay."

He watched Li Tianlan eat noodles in small bites, and the fragrance filled his face. He swallowed unconsciously.

Li Tianlan looked at him, took an empty bowl, and gave him half of the bowl, saying, "Too much, I can't eat it."

Every meal should be appreciated as it is hard-earned. It is shameful to waste food. Since she can't eat it, it's okay to help her share a little.

Tang Ning didn't care that she had already eaten two bites. He had eaten her leftovers before. He had to admit that the noodles cooked by this old woman were really delicious. He wanted to spend a lot of money to buy the secret recipe before going back, so that Xiaoyi and Xiaoru could have a taste, but according to the current situation, she probably wouldn't sell it.

Under the unfriendly gaze of the old woman, Tang Ning ate a mouthful of noodles, looked at Li Tianlan, and asked: "Now that the crown prince has been abolished and Prince Xin has succeeded to the throne, there is nothing to worry about. What do you plan to do in the future?"

Li Tianlan thought for a while and said: "Stay in the court to assist my father, or lead the army to the north. The grassland is always a big threat, and there will be a war sooner or later."

"Cough!" The old woman coughed heavily and said: "You are a girl, why do you care about the court and the war? Girls should embroider and find a good family to marry themselves..."

Although as an old woman selling noodles on the street, she shouldn't interfere in the princess's affairs, but Tang Ning's point of view coincided with hers this time.

As a woman, she doesn't think about herself, but always thinks about the court and the country, which is really hard to understand.

However, it is because she is Li Tianlan, not Zhao Man or Wan Yanyan, that these thoughts appear in her, which is normal.

If her interests and ambitions were only embroidery and finding a good man to marry, she would not have met Master Li, and the two of them would not be sitting in a noodle shop in the capital of Chu to eat a bowl of noodles together like today.

After Tang Ning finished eating the noodles, he took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and his wrist was suddenly held by the old woman.

She looked at Tang Ning and asked, "Where did you get this handkerchief?"

With her wrist held by her, Tang Ning subconsciously wanted to break free, but her skinny palm was like an iron clamp, and no matter how hard he tried, it didn't move.

Li Tianlan looked at the old woman and said, "Grandma, it's okay."

This handkerchief was handed to him by Li Tianlan last time, and he had been carrying it with him. Before he could explain, the old woman let go of his wrist again.

The old woman glared at him, packed up the bowl and walked out. Tang Ning rubbed her wrist, looked back and said, "The old lady is very strong."

Li Tianlan looked at him and said, "My martial arts were taught by the old woman."

Tang Ning looked back again, with a look of surprise on her face.

He was afraid that he would never be able to catch up with Li Tianlan's martial arts in this lifetime. It was really hard to imagine how powerful her master was.

The saying that masters are among the people is absolutely true. The old beggar who sells pornographic books is a master, the butcher who kills pigs is a master, and now even the old woman who sells noodles is a hidden master.

The old beggar once said that the famous masters in the world are actually just that, but there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers among the people, and there are often masters who are rare in the world.

I don't know how she compares to Lao Zheng. Seeing that she is also old, I guess she can't withstand a few cuts from Lao Zheng.

But no matter what, with what she did just now, I can't afford to offend her.

After finishing the noodles and walking out of the shop, Li Tianlan looked at him and said, "Go back and have your delegation start preparing. The army will set off soon, probably in the next few days."

Tang Ning said, "It's been prepared a few days ago."

Li Tianlan nodded and said, "I'm going back to the palace."

Tang Ning walked beside her and said, "I'll take you there."

The noodle stall was not far from the palace. The two chatted casually along the way. When they walked to the palace gate, they suddenly heard a sound of rapid horse hooves behind them.

In Kyoto, it is forbidden to ride horses unless in an emergency. Tang Ning turned around and heard a "whoosh".

After the horse stopped, it collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth, obviously exhausted to the extreme.

A knight fell off his horse, looking equally exhausted. He struggled to crawl on the ground twice, took out an envelope from his arms, and said in a hoarse voice: "King Zhou, King Zhou's secret letter..."

Li Tianlan walked over quickly, took the envelope from him, and ordered the guards who came over: "Help him go in and rest."

She opened the envelope, and Tang Ning stood beside her and glanced at it. She saw that the white paper was empty, without a single word.

"You go back first." Li Tianlan looked at him and said, then hurried back to the palace.

Tang Ning watched her enter the palace, then shook his head and turned to leave.

Secret letter from King Zhou. King Zhou rebelled, but he actually sent a secret letter to Kyoto... It seems that there is something else behind this rebellion.

However, this should be a secret of the Chu State. He just needs to go back to Jinxiu Palace and wait for news.

In the palace, in the imperial study.

The new Minister of Revenue walked out slowly and said with a fist: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has prepared the food and silver for the 100,000-strong army, and we can set off tomorrow."

The Minister of War followed and bowed: "All weapons, vehicles, and carriages have been prepared by the Ministry of War."

It has been several days since the news of King Zhou's rebellion reached Kyoto. As soon as the news was received, the court attached great importance to it and urgently mobilized troops and food to go to Cangzhou to suppress it.

This was the first battle after the new emperor ascended the throne, and it was also a great opportunity for deterrence. If the court could wipe out the rebels with thunder and lightning, then those snakes, insects, rats and ants hiding in the dark would not dare to act rashly.

A general knelt on one knee and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I am willing to accept your order and lead 100,000 soldiers to fight against the rebels!"

Prince Xin looked at him and nodded: "In this case, I will order you..."

"Father." Before he finished speaking, Li Tianlan walked into the hall quickly, walked forward, put a letter on the table, and said: "Someone brought it from Cangzhou, saying it was a secret letter from King Zhou."

"King Zhou?" King Xin paused, took out a piece of paper from the envelope, looked behind him, and said: "Bring a candle."

Soon an eunuch brought a candle and lit it.

Prince Xin placed the white paper on the candle, kept a certain distance from the flame, and gently roasted it. Soon, words appeared on the paper.

After reading it, Prince Xin put it down and stood up and said, "It's those people on the grassland again..."

He looked at him and said, "They controlled the King of Zhou, and in the name of the King of Zhou, they summoned the generals of the five states and killed those who were unwilling to cooperate. They just wanted to cause trouble for us?"

Li Tianlan looked at him and said, "They want my Chu soldiers to kill each other."

Prince Xin looked at the paper again and said, "However, this is only one-sided and cannot be fully trusted."

Li Tianlan thought for a while and said, "If what is said in this letter is true, as long as those people can be dealt with, there is no need to mobilize troops and use swords. It is better to order the army to stay put and send people to investigate the news..."

Prince Xin waved his hand and said, "Since the troops have been summoned, they must go, but the lives of the soldiers cannot be sacrificed in vain. I will send secret agents to Cangzhou to find out the truth..."

Li Tianlan thought for a while, looked at him, and said, "I'll go."