"The little man has a family tree at home. In order to make it easier to identify it in the future, he specially rubbed the pattern of the jade pendant on the family tree. If the Marquis doesn't believe it, please ask the little man to call his son over and bring him with him."
Li Mu immediately ordered: "Call this old man's son. Today, this matter must be brought to light, clearly!"
After a while, Li Siwen brought a middle-aged man with a baggage on his back. He opened the baggage and found a family tree with curled edges and yellowing inside. He opened the last page of the family tree and found a jade pendant pattern printed on it.
I took off the jade pendant on Xun's body and compared it. It was indeed exactly the same!
"There are such coincidences in the world!" Li Mu said in shock: "Old man, how did you discover it?"
The old man smiled honestly and said: "Young man is not talented. Mengzu has accumulated some money. He relies on this as a capital to travel between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions, and he makes a lot of profits. Zhangjiaji is the designated mutual market of the Tang Dynasty, and he does business there.
Of course, time is indispensable. The little old man doesn't move around very often, but once he saw the king, he recognized him at a glance. But he didn't dare to recognize him at that time. Knowing that the Marquis had killed the unpopular Ju family, the little old man thought that the time had come.
That’s why I risked my life to tell the truth.”
The old man added: "I don't know, Mr. Marquis, but the Ju family has always been unpopular. It's just that they have been operating for many years and the people have nothing to do. Most of the territory in Gaochang today was conquered by the Zhang family back then. Many people's genealogies have it in their memory."
The Zhang family is good, and the king manages Zhangjiaji and has dealings with businessmen in the Twenty-Two Cities of Gaochang. The king acts fairly and wins the hearts of the people, so the little old man can lobby so smoothly——" The old man pulled
He knelt down with his son and shouted: "Please do it for the sake of the people of Gaochang, Lord Marquis, and allow us to welcome a new king. The people of Gaochang are so grateful that they will never forget it for the rest of their lives!"
Many people in the audience cheered together, and the situation was touching. Nishu took the opportunity to say: "Master Hou, the people's will cannot be violated if there is a way. The Tang Dynasty has always convinced people with virtue, and it is not to plunder the land of Gaochang. The people of Gaochang
Since you have this wish, it should still be fulfilled. As for the worries you mentioned, this Khan and the envoys from the Western Regions will naturally testify for you."
Li Mu hesitated for a long time, and finally nodded, saying: "This is God's will, and I cannot disobey it. Then I will ask the Khan to write a memorial, and the envoys from various countries will sign it, together with the Ten Thousand People's Umbrella and the petition, and they will be sent by horse eight hundred miles away."
To Chang'an, I hope your Majesty will not be angry with me after seeing it."
At that moment, Ni Shu wrote a memorial, and the envoys from the thirty-two countries and the twenty-two city lords of Gaochang signed their names and stamped their fingerprints. Li Mu called the messenger and asked him to travel to Chang'an at night, and then said: "Your Majesty, please make a decision.
Let’s talk about it later.”
The twenty-two city lords of Gaochang couldn't afford to kneel down, and they all asked for a new king to be established immediately. Li Mu refused, and the situation was stalemate for a while. Until the sun was getting west, and everyone had been hungry for a day, Li Mu really had no choice, so he said, "That's all."
"I don't care," and he got off the high platform. The twenty-two city lords of Gaochang swarmed up. They found the clothes of the King of Gaochang from nowhere, and they took off Zhang Xun's clothes and put them on him.
With the yellow robe on his body, the mountain is a thousand years old. Zhang Xun became the king of Gaochang in a daze. The city lords happily surrounded Zhang Xun out of Dingxiang City and rushed to Gaochang under the stars and the moon. The palace had been burned down and they didn't know how to resettle it. Li Mu didn't know how to resettle it.
After asking, he went to greet Nishe and have a banquet with the envoys. The lights inside and outside Dingxiang City were brightly lit, as if he had returned to the scene of the Lantern Festival. The haze of war had dissipated, and everyone's face showed a smile from the heart.
.
"Everyone, have a good meal and drink. I'm drunk, let's go first -" Li Mu mumbled, holding a wine bottle in one hand and dried meat in the other, and walked out of the Yamen in a daze. He looked up and saw that the city gate was very dark.
Gao, he walked over, sat at the pass, leaned against the city wall, looked outside the city, took a sip of dried meat, a sip of wine, and exhaled a long breath.
Zhang Xun "inexplicably" became the king of Gaochang, and Zhang Tianai naturally became the princess and followed Zhang Xun to Gaochang to prepare for the ceremony. Li Mu had to wait for her for a few more days, and he could arrange some things during these few days.
It is already early spring, and the grassland is already green, and it looks lively. Li Mu thought of the potatoes he brought. Before he traveled, he heard that the potatoes grown in sandy soil were huge, and they were grown near Dingxiang.
There is a lot of sandy land, and I don’t know if it will be successful.
Looking back on this 'Homecoming' trip, Li Mu was also confused. When he came, he thought he had planned everything, but actually nothing went according to his plan. This made him very uncomfortable. As a game planner
A person born in a family is accustomed to and likes to design everything well, so that subsequent events will happen according to his own design. If an accident occurs, it is a BUG and is something that cannot be tolerated.
But now he has gradually understood that life is not a game, it is destined to be the accumulation of bugs. He can only passively accept it, and there is no way. When he returns to Chang'an this time, he doesn't know what situation he will face. The reason why he was able to be so unscrupulous before
There is nothing to worry about. After all, it is not relying on Li Shimin's protection. If Li Shimin is determined to kill him and others add insult to injury, how can he survive?
Although he now possesses advanced martial arts, he may be able to escape by himself, but what will happen to Bai Qiaoqiao, Li Zhien, and the mother-in-law at home? If Li Shimin detains them, even if Li Mu can escape by himself? In the end, what will happen to them?
Didn’t he have to come back obediently? How could he abandon his wife, concubines, and mother, and run away with his unborn child?
The more I thought about it, the more depressed I felt. This feeling that all fate depended on others was really uncomfortable. After drinking, he became even more depressed. Li Mu had already drank a lot, and after drinking this pot, he gradually became more and more depressed.
Then he got drunk.
After the banquet started, Li Chongyi occupied a seat in the corner alone. Everyone who wanted to sit next to him was dissuaded by his eyes. All the food and drinks on the table went into his stomach. After many days, he finally
After eating a full meal. After finishing the meal, he burped and patted his belly. Li Chongyi subconsciously looked for traces of Li Mu. When he looked up, he didn't see Li Mu. He only saw him talking with envoys from various countries.
Li Siwen was very happy. Li Chongyi didn't like Li Siwen's look. He snorted and walked out of the government office. The soldiers standing guard at the door told him that Li Mu had gone to the city wall, so he strode over.
When he arrived at the base of the city wall, Li Chongyi was about to step up the steps when he suddenly saw a woman coming down the steps. He stood tall and could see clearly. He recognized this woman as none other than Li Mu's third wife, Wang Ou.
Li Chongyi returned to the Tang Dynasty from Zhenla and kept walking to the Western Regions. After meeting Li Mu, he was busy with these things about the Turks. He didn't know anything about the relationship between Li Mu and Wang Ou. When he saw Wang Ou, Li Chongyi was stunned.
After a moment, he said: "Sister-in-law."
Wang Ou lowered his head. When he heard this, his sister-in-law looked up and saw Li Chongyi. She was standing on the fifth floor of the stairs, and she was eye level with Li Chongyi. Wang Ou was a little panicked, but seeing Li Chongyi's clear eyes, he guessed that he might not know the details, so he
He also calmed down, forced out a smile, and said: "You're here, long time no see."
"When did my sister-in-law come? Have you met your eldest brother? The soldiers at the door said that your eldest brother is on the city wall."
"I... have been here for a few days. Your elder brother is busy with business, so I can't disturb him." Wang Ou's smile became more forced and he said, "I just met him. He... said he wanted to be quiet for a while. You
Just stay down below and don't go up yet."
"Oh." Li Chongyi did not doubt that he was there, and stood sideways. Wang Ou came down the steps. Li Chongyi lowered his head and looked at her. Seeing that there seemed to be tears in the corners of her eyes, he asked, "Why are you crying, sister-in-law?"
"No," Wang Ou raised his hand to wipe it, and hurriedly covered it up, saying: "Don't you know that your eldest brother can say those touching words and make people look embarrassed? Alas, I went back to my residence first, you are here
Wait for him. Don’t go up there yet, he said you need to be quiet."
"oh."
Li Chongyi responded dully and stood upright. Wang Ou raised his head and glanced at the city wall, then turned around and walked away, tears falling uncontrollably.
Li Chongyi watched Wang Ou walk away and suddenly frowned. He just reacted a little slowly and was not stupid. Wang Ou's behavior was a little abnormal, but he could still detect it. Li Chongyi thought about it for a while and felt that he couldn't wait here.
, he wanted to see and understand for himself what was going on.
Li Chongyi went up to the city wall and looked up. He saw Li Mu leaning against the city wall more than 20 meters away. He seemed to be drunk. This was nothing. What was strange was that besides Li Mu, there was another person next to Li Mu, like
He was stealing something. When he saw Li Chongyi coming, he stood up hurriedly and ran down the city wall from the other end with staggering steps.
Li Chongyi didn't know how to do light kung fu. He was so far away that he couldn't catch up. He was worried about Li Mu's safety and didn't care about the thief. He ran to Li Mu in three steps to check on him. He saw that Li Mu smelled of alcohol.
, sleeping soundly, and there seemed to be no external injuries. When he lowered his head and looked again, he was shocked to see that he was disheveled! Li Chongyi glanced in the direction where the thief was escaping, and his teeth itched with hatred. The damn thief dared to take advantage of someone's danger.
, I saw my elder brother was drunk and wanted to steal his clothes! Don't let me catch you, if I do, I will tear you apart!
Li Chongyi hurriedly took off his cloak, wrapped Li Mu up, carried it on his shoulders and carried it back to the Yamen's back house. He had people bring a brazier to keep Li Mu warm. He was worried that the thief would come back, so he personally stayed by Li Mu's side all night long.
Close your eyes.
…
Li Mu had a strange dream. He dreamed that he was drunk and fell asleep lying on the ground. The cold wind was blowing, and he had no place to hide from the cold, so he had to curl up. Suddenly a woman appeared in front of him, and she said
There were a bunch of words, but he didn’t hear what they were. There seemed to be a woman in the distance, sobbing, and then he couldn’t remember clearly——
Suddenly, the woman turned into a bearded man. Li Mu was startled and sat up suddenly.
"Ouch!"
Li Mu got up too hard and hit Li Chongyi's forehead. Li Chongyi didn't care, but he knocked Li Mu so hard that he covered his forehead, stared at Li Chongyi, and cursed: "Big man, there's something wrong with you."
Ah, why did you come to my room so early in the morning?"
"Brother, I will protect you!"
"I need you to protect -" Li Mu suddenly felt something was wrong. He looked down and saw that his clothes were disheveled. He looked at Li Chongyi again and was shocked. He covered his chest with his hands and said in a trembling voice: "You, are you right?"
What did I do?"
Li Chongyi said blankly: "Eldest brother passed out drunk on the city wall yesterday. I brought him back."
"Ah," Li Mu was stunned for a moment, as if he remembered something, but then quickly said: "That's not right, why did you bring me back and take off my clothes?"
"I didn't take off your clothes, brother. There was a thief who wanted to steal your clothes, but I scared him away. It's a pity that I was far away and I didn't bring an axe, otherwise I would have cut off the thief's head!" Li Chongyi was indignant.
, his eyes were about to turn red again, Li Mu quickly comforted him and said: "Forget it, didn't you steal it..." He looked outside, the sun was shining brightly, and while arranging his clothes, he asked: "What time is it?"
"It's almost noon."
"Oh..." Li Mu was about to speak when he suddenly felt a little pain in his left shoulder. He raised his hand and touched it, and found a trace of blood. He turned his shoulder and saw a tooth mark. Li Mu was suddenly confused and looked at Li Chongyi again.
Said: "Big man, why do I have teeth marks on my shoulder?"
"I don't know." Li Chongyi shook his head blankly, and suddenly became furious: "It must have been bitten by the thief. Brother, I will lead people to catch him right now!"
"Okay!" Li Mu grabbed Li Chongyi and said, "The thief is out of his mind. He just stole clothes, but he can bite me? Let me ask you, when you were looking for me yesterday, who else did you see?"
"Ah! I remembered it!" Li Chongyi said with a sudden look, "I saw my sister-in-law!"
"You fart!" Li Mu said angrily: "Your sister-in-law is pregnant and is raising a baby in the valley - oh, forget, you don't know about this. No, even if you don't know, your sister-in-law can't come.
Yeah." Li Mu thought to himself, if Bai Qiaoqiao really comes, I will immediately run away with my wife and concubines and never return to Chang'an. Wouldn't it be wonderful?
"It's not the elder sister-in-law, it's the third sister-in-law." After Li Chongyi said this, he was stunned for a moment and felt something was wrong. He said anxiously: "That's right, it's the sister-in-law who sells cloth!"
"Ou?" Li Mu frowned and asked, "Wang Ou? Did you see her yesterday?"
Li Chongyi nodded fiercely and said: "I met her at the base of the city wall. She also told me that you should be quiet by yourself and not let me disturb you. I waited for a while and felt something was wrong, so I went up to look for you. Ah,
By the way, I saw my sister-in-law crying!"
"cry?"
Li Mu touched the tooth mark on his shoulder, and then thinking about his disheveled clothes, he suddenly thought that the tooth mark might have been given by Wang Ou. But Li Chongyi said that after waiting for a while, he went up to the city wall and found a thief.
That's wrong again. If it was Wang Ou's tooth mark, how could there be anyone else?
Thinking back again, Wang Ou cried when he asked Li Chongyi to wait until he went up the city wall... If he said this, there was only one possibility. There must have been another woman there at the time, and she was the one who made the tooth mark, and Wang Ou happened to go there.