Li Qinghuan

Chapter 18

Song Li and Ji Qing traveled very fast, even if they were walking, playing and dealing with things, they arrived in Gusu within a month.

The situation in Yudu has changed, but Jiangnan still has a peaceful appearance. The sky is high and the emperor is far away. The imperial decree that stirred up waves in the imperial city and made people panic is just a topic of chatting among the common people after dinner in Jiangnan. For them, at best, the leader of the local garrison has changed, which has little effect on them.

It was the first time for Song Lichang to go out so far away at such a young age, and he was very surprised to see everything. He began to look around from the moment he entered Gusu City.

Ji Qing rode his horse closer to him, naturally took the rein from Song Li's hand, and held the horse for him.

The two strolled leisurely along the river, the vendors on the street enthusiastically greeted customers, the small bamboo rafts by the river were lined up neatly, and the boatmen gathered in twos and threes to do their daily chores. A school of peace and contentment.

It was inconvenient for Ji Qing to hold the rope for Song Li on the horse, so he got off the horse not long after. Ji Qing led the horse and walked slowly in front, and the two of them arrived in front of a house.

White walls and blue tiles, typical Jiangnan architecture.The name is: Habitat Garden.

Ji Qing stopped in his tracks: "Your Highness, we're here, come down, I'll take you to go boating later."

Song Li got off his horse, looked at the house in front of him in amazement, and asked doubtfully, "Where is this?"

Ji Qing handed the horse over to the servants who came out: "This is my residence in Jiangnan."

Song Li nodded and jokingly said, "Oh, He Ming, do you consider yourself a home in the world?"

Ji Qing smiled, and replied: "I have a family all over the world. It doesn't count as a family."

Song Li raised his eyebrows: "How do you say that?"

Ji Qing explained: "A place with a family is considered a home. I am alone, how can I talk about a family?"

Song Li was a little disappointed when he heard the words, and recalled what Liu Zijian had said, and thought to himself: Why does such a good person like Ji Qing have to suffer so much.

He didn't know how to answer, but just patted Ji Qing on the shoulder.

Ji Qing smiled lightly and said: "Go in, I have something good in my garden, I'll take you to see it."

Gusu is located in a water town, with rivers, ponds, lakes and weirs dotted all over the place. Naturally, Ji Qing's house was built along the water. There is a small stream flowing slowly in the garden, and the water in the pond is running water, which is really clear.No matter how close you get, you can clearly see the fish swimming inside.

The exquisite and exquisite rockery stands quietly by the pond, and the gazebo is also built along the water, which is elegant and elegant. Ji Qing followed Song Li, introducing him to him from time to time.

Song Li leaned on the fence, pointed to an osmanthus tree in the distance and asked, "Heming, that osmanthus tree is so big, how old is it?"

Ji Qing thought for a while: "It's been about 300 years, I don't know the exact time."

Song Li asked curiously: "It was there when you bought this house?"

Ji Qing replied: "I didn't buy this house, it was given to me by a senior, and she also planted this tree."

Song Li nodded, half understanding, the tree more than 300 years ago, at least two generations apart, the predecessor should have passed away long ago, right?How did you give the house to Ji Qing?Although Song Li was puzzled, he didn't bring it up. He just quietly looked at the tree.

Ji Qing didn't know what was going on in Song Li's head, and naturally he didn't realize that there was something wrong with what he said.

Song Li shook his head, put those strange questions to the back of his mind, and asked, "He Ming, didn't you say you have something good to show me?"

Ji Qing nodded: "Follow me."

Ji Qing went to the woodshed to get a shovel and took Song Li to the osmanthus tree.

Ji Qing found a place under the tree, roughly avoiding the roots of the tree, picked up the shovel and started digging.Song Li kept up with Ji Qing, but he didn't get too close, he just watched from a distance, wondering if he should go up to help.

After a while, Ji Qing stopped his movements, turned his head and said, "Your Highness, come here."

Song Li moved closer and asked, "What's wrong?"

Ji Qing picked up a jar of wine, handed it to Song Li, and said, "Han Xin, do you want to drink?"

Song Li was overjoyed, took the wine and nodded: "Drink, why don't you drink it? I've been hungry for days."

Ji Qing thought for a while and said: "Don't drink for now, let's go out to play for a while, come back and ask the servants to cook two appetizers, let's have a good meal. If there is not enough here, dig it now."

While talking, Ji Qing filled back the soil he dug out just now, and then babbled: "You are really a good food. The longer you bury this cold heart, the better it tastes. The jars under the tree are older than you. In the evening You try it."

Song Li was amused and asked, "Older than me? 18 years?"

Ji Qing shook his head, thought for a while and said, "It's not just 18 years, but more than 20 years. It's my fault, it's older than me."

Song Li raised his eyebrows, a little shocked: "Then I have to try it."

As he spoke, he slapped off the sealing mud with his hands, and the aroma of wine overflowed in an instant.

"Good wine!" Song Li exclaimed, and immediately took a sip from the jar.

This altar is not the same as the previous drink, the wine has a stronger aroma, a little spicy in the throat, after the spicy, it has a thick and long-lasting mellow aroma, with endless aftertaste, and a faint sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance.

Ji Qing patted the soil, stood up and leaned against the tree and looked at Song Li with a smile: "Is it good?"

Song Li nodded: "It's delicious."

After thinking for a while, he said, "But the taste seems to be the same as the previous one."

Ji Qing's eyes were full of anticipation, and he asked again: "Which one is better to drink?"

Song Li thought for a moment, and said one word at a time: "The kind I drank before is a bit cooler. It is cold in the mouth, and it reaches the bottom of my heart. It is refreshing, and the aftertaste is not as mellow as this altar. This altar is quite spicy in the throat, and the aftertaste is long. Each has its own advantages. The same kind of wine is probably caused by different ages. Or, the same recipe is made by different people. I am not an expert, so I am not good at judging."

Ji Qing nodded, but still couldn't help asking: "Then... Your Highness, do you like this altar or the ones you drank before?"

Song Li said without hesitation, "The kind before."

Ji Qing's smile deepened: "It's good that His Highness likes it, if you still want to drink it after returning to Yudu, you can send someone to find me, and I'll take care of it."

Song Li smiled and said: "You said that, if I want to drink every day then, don't make me annoyed."

Ji Qing whispered: "I can't ask for it, how can I be bothered."

Song Li: "Huh? What did you say?"

Ji Qing shook his head: "It's nothing, let you drink less. Drink later."

Song Li nodded, and obediently handed the jar to Ji Qing.

Ji Qing smiled helplessly, and said, "I'll take you to see where you live first, and we'll go out to play after you choose it, okay?"

Song Li: "Okay, but Heming, I have to report a letter to my brother personally. I have been escaping for a while, and my brother has almost calmed down. Liu Zijian will help me delay the time, maybe I will return Shut up in a dungeon."

Speaking of this, Song Li still couldn't help laughing.

Ji Qing looked at him both helplessly and amusedly, and scolded with a smile: "You are so happy when he is locked up, at least he is trying to hold Qi Zheng back for you, why is he so heartless."

Song Li laughed so hard, he covered his stomach and waved his hands, "It's okay, he helped me, and I can't do without his benefits. That guy is very greedy, and I can run without him, but it just takes a lot of effort." , there is no way, Qi Zheng is too vigilant, and I don't want to let you wait too long, so I have to admit it."

Hearing his last words, Ji Qing looked up at him in uncontrollable surprise, and found that the other party didn't seem to notice the slightest ambiguity between the words, and was still concentrating on laughing at Liu Zijian.

"Maybe he just said it casually, so don't pay too much attention to it." Ji Qing thought about it, but felt a little unhappy in his heart.His expression also dimmed a lot unconsciously.

But what he didn't know was that Song Li said that sentence without hesitation after careful consideration, not just impulsively and casually.He also didn't know that Song Li was secretly observing his expression while laughing.

Seeing that Ji Qing's smile became a little stiff, Song Li thought that his words had offended him, so he quickly suppressed his smile and changed the subject: "He Ming, don't you want to take me to see where I live?"

Ji Qing came back to his senses, picked up the shovel on the ground, still flustered, he avoided Song Li's eyes, and pretended to be calm: "Then let's go, Your Highness, follow me."

Seeing him like this, Song Li was a little disappointed, and followed behind him step by step, holding the altar still stained with dirt tightly in his hands.

Ji Qing walked in front and warned: "Your Highness, there are many roads in this house. You are new here and you are not familiar with it. If you are confused about the direction, it is easy to get lost. If you get lost, you can call someone in the garden. People can hear it."

Song Li didn't take it seriously, and responded casually: "Okay, but I will follow you, so I won't get lost, right?"

Ji Qing thought for a moment, then jokingly said, "It's impossible for you to be with me all the time, or is it that His Royal Highness Tangtang Yu wants to be my follower of grassroots people?"

Song Li smiled lightly, and replied half solemnly and half jokingly: "It's okay."

After thinking for a moment, he said again: "It's a great honor to be willing."

Ji Qing was shocked when he heard this, but with the previous experience, this small thought quickly disappeared, and he smiled: "I don't dare, if I dare to let His Highness be my little follower, your brother will not Hacked me."

Song Li smiled: "You're joking, I don't dare, my brother will not hack you, but he will hack me. After all, half of Dawei is raised by you."

Ji Qing: "It's all made up by the people outside, I'm not so capable."

Song Li: "Tsk tsk, Heming, don't be modest."

To be honest, Song Li really didn't believe it when he heard Liu Zijian say it before, but after playing with Ji Qing these few days, he really saw how strong Ji Qing was.

A few days ago, the two went to the Nanyang area and found that there were many ragged people in Nanyang City. Song Li went to inquire and found out that there was a flood in Yuzhou. The big river broke its embankment and flooded most of the crops in Yuzhou. I had no choice but to leave my hometown and fled to Nanyang. Tens of thousands of people were displaced. The court saw this kind of situation too much, and didn't pay attention to this scale of disaster at all. Song Li clamored to help, but Ji Qing had no choice but to use his own connections He sent someone to inform Emperor Xuande, saying that the refugees were settled by him.

When the imperial court heard that a businessman offered to resettle the refugees, they completely let go. They only sent some local garrisons to maintain order, and left the rest alone.