Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 572 Returning Home
On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, at the end of the Xinsi year of Suolin, Li Du, who had been living alone as prime minister for ten years, left the Xuanzheng Hall after the court meeting. This was the last time in his life that he came to this highest hall of the Tang Dynasty's political affairs. As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, many people in blue and purple clothes surrounded him.

Since he stepped into this imperial city at the age of twenty, Li Du has been a famous and romantic figure in the capital. He is eloquent in poetry and handsome in appearance. He has both fame and family background. After entering the political arena, he has had a smooth journey. He has always done jobs that are easy to achieve political achievements. He has never encountered any setbacks and has never been stuck in a menial job.

After touring the six ministries, he worked as a secretary in front of the emperor's desk, and was considered a veteran of two dynasties. Later, he entered the Secretariat and gradually became a very influential person in the Southern Court. After Prime Minister Xu, he was appointed as the Right Prime Minister, in charge of the affairs of the Secretariat and the three provinces. It has been ten years now.

Thanks to the Tang Dynasty's solid ruling system and wise rulers, and the fact that the most difficult times had passed, the Tang Dynasty's national strength had grown over the past ten years. Li Du had been without fault or error during his tenure, and the court atmosphere was relaxed. He had spent the ten years as prime minister steadily. Now that he was approaching the end of his career, he would give up his throne to a wise man, and thus could put an end to his official career.

However, although Li Du is gone, the roots of the Li family are still there. In addition to those who are truly familiar with and admire him, many of the farewells are also to show goodwill.

The handover of power in the Southern Court had already begun two days ago and would be completed today. Of course, it would not be handed over to Yuanzhao. Li Du was able to dominate the Southern Court not because of a position of Pushe, but because "Li Du" had been in this position for ten years. The huge power in his hands would be dispersed to the Southern Court. If Yuanzhao wanted it, he would have to work hard to pick it up again.

There were dozens or even hundreds of people gathered around, and the elderly Prime Minister Li naturally did not have the energy to talk to them one by one. Even when he was the prime minister for the previous ten years, he still needed his fame and family background to be able to have a conversation with this old man.

As the ministers stood and watched, Prime Minister Li boarded the black carriage with Buddha paintings, lifted the curtain and smiled at everyone, then drove away from the Daming Palace and gradually disappeared from the Suzaku Avenue.

On the wide and flat street of Dongbafang, one hundred and forty-nine famous carriages were lined up on the side of the road. They were all black and made of heavy wood. Each one was big enough to chariot nine ministers, but here they were just loaded with carriages.

Even among the East Eight Districts where many nobles gathered, Li Xiang's residence was one of the most majestic and grand ones, with scattered buildings, books, eggs, carved firewood, and countless famous treasures. When returning from Shenjing to Xilong, the convoy was like a long black dragon for two thousand miles.

In fact, some rumors have begun to spread in the capital over the past few days, saying that the prime minister is really going to be changed. However, it is a court secret after all, and the officials are somewhat caught off guard. Naturally, the people in the market can only make speculations.

But at dusk today, people watched this astonishing long line of carriages slowly driving out of Dongbafang, almost endless, and all those who saw it went from being surprised and stunned to standing in shock and then to silence, until the whole street fell into an eerie silence, with only the sound of carriages and horses.

Finally, the rumor that General Li would retire and return home was confirmed.

"One hundred and four, one hundred and five... one hundred and seven... Oh my God, why is there still no end in sight?" Chang Sun Jue stood by the road, a dazed look under his hood, and pointed with a finger extending from his thick sleeves.

Maybe it was due to the years of being accompanied by books, the girl's eyesight was actually a little poor. It was not very obvious on weekdays, but it became blurry when she looked far away. She frowned and looked at the end of the street. The black carriages were arranged in an orderly manner as if they were copied. Her eyes were dazed and she could not see clearly.

Cui Zhaoye held her hand and said, "Let's go. Don't count. They have been running the business for ten years. What they have taken away is just the tip of the iceberg. Your Changsun family has a long history in Beijing. Have they also amassed a mountain of gold and silver?"

Chang Sunjue's eyes widened: "We don't have that in our family."

Jiang Yin'er tilted her head and looked curiously: "What important position does Miss Changsun hold in her family?"

Chang Sun Jue was led forward by Cui Zhaoye and said seriously, "My grandfather was the Minister of Rites, my father also worked in the Rites Temple, and my elder brother is in the Northwest Army... My family has been officials in charge of poetry, books and etiquette for generations. We usually just edit books for sacrifices and only deal with old books. How could we come across gold and silver?"

This is true. The highly prestigious Minister of the Ministry of Rites is known to be aloof and old-fashioned, and his family tradition is also very strict. The Changsun family has only a small old house in Shenjing, which is just enough for three generations of the family to live together.

Cui Zhaoye said: "Your family has taken advantage of your position to collect many good and ancient books, and even has a special 'Iron Lute Building'."

"How can the book matter be counted?" Chang Sun Jue argued, "Besides, father said that no one wanted them, so he picked them up."

Chang Sun Jue did not argue with her, but took two steps forward and put his arm around Jiang Yin'er, "Master Jiang, when I have time in a few days, I will take you back home to read. There happen to be many rare Taoist books, which I cannot understand either."

"Okay."

The three of them had just come from the Imperial College. Cui Zhaoye hadn't seen the young man who had been cultivating himself in seclusion for the past two days, but the Taoist girl who stood in front of Tian Linyi at the Winter Sword Gathering was also a young swordsman who was now gaining fame. In the past few days, Cui Zhaoye had taken her to wander around the capital and talk about sword matters in the martial arts world. Both of them had deep knowledge of the way of the sword and had a very pleasant conversation.

Today, all classes in the Imperial College were over. There was a nearly ten-day spring break, so the two of them went to pick up their eldest grandson and went to the Sword Training Academy together.

After all, several days had passed, and the boy should have recovered a lot of energy. Cui Zhaoye wanted to talk to him about the sword state and the sword in the snow, Jiang Yiner wanted to ask the boy where he spent the New Year, and Changsun Jue didn't know what to ask Pei, but she was willing to sit next to him and listen.

Going south from the Imperial College is the quiet single street of the Sword Academy. The bamboo forest never withers in winter, and on weekdays, the only people on the whole street are those related to the Sword Academy, such as sword students and a few Daoqi who like to go out.

However, when the three of them arrived at the door today, they saw a rather unfamiliar figure standing still and looking up to confirm the plaque. She was not wearing a sword suit, and obviously did not look like Daoqi - she was just a girl who looked like she was of the same generation.

She was wearing a plain grey dress, with her slightly messy black hair tied behind her head. When she turned her head, she had a pretty face, but her expression was dull and a bit pale, as if she hadn't seen much sunlight.

Her eyes moved and settled on Jiang Yin'er who was wearing a sword suit: "Hello."

"...Hello." Jiang Yin'er held the sword and bowed, "What can I do for you, sir?"

"My name is Qu Xin. I want to find a man named Pei Ye. I heard that he is practicing swordsmanship in there. Can you please pass the message to him?" The girl said, "Bowangzhou has a letter for him."

"..." The three of them were stunned at the same time. Qu Xin looked at them calmly, like a poplar tree in winter.

Cui Zhaoye took two steps forward, held her hand, and said with a smile: "Pei Ye is my friend, I'll take you in - who gave him the letter?"

Qu Xin looked down, pulled his hand out, wiped it with a handkerchief, and said calmly, "Thank you."

"..."

"I have to sort out the newly picked herbs in a while. I don't know what you have touched, so it's not convenient for me to shake your hand."

Cui Zhaoye frowned: "What could I have touched?" "I don't know."

"..."

Jiang Yin'er's eyes lit up: "So it's [Xiao Yaojun] in person? I'm Shenxiao Jiang Yin'er, nice to meet you."

Chang Sun Jue stood behind Cui Zhaoye and looked at the strange girl curiously. He also raised his hand and said, "Why don't we go in first - it's so cold."

The sword-cultivating courtyard was not too big, and the four of them soon arrived outside the famous "Tang Sanjian" courtyard. However, what they saw after knocking on the door was not what they expected.

In the quiet courtyard, even in the bitter winter, Yan Feiqing was still wearing a Taoist robe, reading silently under a tree with a book in his hand. However, the recliner was gone, and on the shelf beside him were many washed bamboo strips hanging to dry. Yang Zhenbing had a light sweat on his face, and the unsheathed sword was ringed in his arms. He looked at the four girls in front of the door in silence, and after a while he said, "What are you doing?"

"Let's look for Pei Ye."

"Pei Ye is not here." Yang Zhenbing said, "He was gone yesterday, and he said he would not be back tonight."

"Ah? Isn't it true that Brother Shi hasn't recovered yet?"

Yang Zhenbing then remembered something and added, "Oh, but he told me to say he's here, and he's here tonight too."

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He looked at them and said, "Don't tell anyone."

"..."

……

……

The stars fell at night, and the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month came to an end.

Not every winter night is so cold and clear. There will be times when the stars disappear and the moonlight is dim, especially when it has been several days since the heavy snow, and a new round of thick clouds seems to be brewing above the clear sky.

The street stall selling candy strings also packed up and left. Pei Ye bought his last string and stood under the wall to share it with the kitten. In fact, the stall could make two strings, but Pei Ye and the kitten said that eating too much candy would damage their teeth, so they only ordered one string.

He was wearing a newly bought dark warm coat, and his clothes were very ordinary and simple. He was clean and had nothing conspicuous on him. It was just as Jiang Yin'er said, he had not fully recovered, and his face was still a little pale.

This is the first long street after coming out of the East Eight Blocks. It can hardly be said to be adjacent to the East Eight Blocks, nor is it in the Shengqian Block. There is a very old locust tree planted on the street, and there are households on both sides. For decades, this has been the old street for attending court in the morning from the East Block. Or if you want to leave the block and go out of Chang'an from the west gate, you have to take this road.

The Li family's long procession of carriages and horses had already driven out of the street. Pei Ye looked over there and said, "Does this mean that they want to send food and fodder first? I heard that Prime Minister Li had just left Beijing early in the morning, so why is the convoy leaving the city today?"

"They said it would be tonight or tomorrow morning, but how many hours are left?" The dull-colored man in blue sighed softly, his body still stained with ink from the government office. "The procession is so large, so of course we should go out of the city first and wait. Once Prime Minister Li... Prime Minister Li leaves tomorrow, the team can move."

Pei Ye nodded: "I see."

He looked again at the man in blue who stood up. His feet were obviously numb from squatting and his body was cold. He was an unknown official who followed the carriage after the court session. So-called unknown official meant that even when Pei Ye asked him about his official title, he didn't understand the words. He wanted to try his luck here to see if he could run into the carriage of Prime Minister Li who was away on business, leave his name and say goodbye.

There was obviously no chance now, so the man sighed and walked away with his head down.

Seeing him leaving, Pei Ye asked, "This... Brother Zhao, you said you are a scholar from a poor family, why do you want to get close to Prime Minister Li? I heard that Prime Minister Yuan is gaining power in the court right now? I heard that he is a good official who speaks up for poor scholars."

The man glared at him and said, "This is all nonsense from the common people. The Five Families have been noble for ten dynasties and several generations. There are so many talented people and famous scholars. This is the backbone of our Tang Dynasty. Have you read Li Xiang's article?"

"...I don't read much."

"Yes, you will know after reading it. Some things can only be cultivated after a hundred years of being in a superior position. Yuan You was born in the mirror mud land, with a rat-like face and a nouveau riche, and he wants to be the prime minister. It really damages the reputation of our Tang Dynasty."

Pei Ye couldn't help but say, "You actually admire the Five Surnames. They look down on people like you the most."

"That's true, but there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, there are always superiors and inferiors in the world. Those who should be superior should be superior, and those who should be inferior should be inferior. Isn't this the way to govern the world?" Qingyi sighed and looked at him. "You are not an official, so you naturally don't understand. Although the Five Surnames are superior, they are despised. Relying on the past, you can always have a mouth to feed. As long as you don't offend them, disturb them less, and listen to their orders, you will naturally have a stable life. These are my ambitions. Now that Yuan Xiang has come to power, he said that those who are capable and capable will be promoted, and those who are incompetent will be demoted. But what is capable and capable, and who has the final say? What if you accidentally make a mistake? In addition, since the Five Surnames are gone, factional attacks are inevitable among the scholars. From now on, everyone in the court will be worried about what to do, which is really frightening."

Pei Ye was slightly startled: "...I see, then it makes sense for you to chase after me."

"Even among the poor scholars, there are many who are reluctant to let Li Xiang go." Qing Yi sighed, "I won't talk to you anymore, go back to sleep - don't you want to go back? It's so late, are you standing here freezing?"

Pei Ye sucked on the candy string: "I'm waiting for someone too, let's not go."

“…Okay, let’s go.” Qingyi wrapped his clothes and walked away.

The night wind was howling, and there was indeed only one figure, the young man, on the long street. He was wrapped in clothes and leaning against the eaves, and was indeed too inconspicuous.

(End of this chapter)