The morning sun in Chang'an penetrated the thin mist and shone on the eaves of the Jinguangmen gate tower. A group of Hu merchants led their camels close to both sides of the street to avoid the ceremonial guards of the Jiedushi who entered the city.
Li Siye led a few people to follow the team. He looked up and looked left and right. Generally speaking, Chang'an had not changed much, but the Street Drum Tower standing in front of the square gate was different from before. There were lights made of wooden squares arranged side by side on the roof.
The color arrangement changes, I don’t know what it is used for.
The procession stopped for a while in front of the imperial city. The envoys from Ba Khanna, Tuqi Shidumo branch, Xiao Bolu and other countries stopped in front of the Hanguang Gate of the imperial city and said goodbye to Fumeng Lingcha and others.
They are foreign envoys. When they come to Chang'an, they naturally have to contact Honglu Temple first, stay at the Honglu Hall, and enjoy the treatment of foreign guests.
The troops of the Anxi Jiedushi must first unload their weapons, bows and crossbows in Tonghuafang and store them in the warehouse. In Chang'an City, except for the Sixteenth Guards of Nanya, the Longwu Army of Beiya, and the Yulin Army, no guards of the vassal town are allowed to carry weapons on the streets.
The soldiers who had taken off their claws became relaxed and seemed to quickly integrate into the rush but festive atmosphere of the twelfth lunar month. The number of people I saw in Qixi in the past few years was not as many as the people I saw in Chang'an in one day. Every time I came back
Every time is a new surprise.
They were uniformly dressed in soap-colored clothes and wore red forehead wipes. They entered Pingkangfang along the side street and got into the backyard of the Anxi Protectorate.
Returning to Anxiliu's backyard is like returning to your own territory. Those incompatible habits in Chang'an City can also be unrestrained here.
Fu Meng Zhongcheng immediately took Cheng Qianli and Li Siye to pay a visit to Li Linfu's house. Only by visiting the right minister's house first could he rest assured to operate elsewhere.
But after entering the courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion, the steward of the Right Prime Minister crossed his hands and said to several people: "Mr. Meng Zhongcheng, what a coincidence. My Alang has gone to the palace to meet the Holy Spirit."
"Then I'll come to visit you tomorrow."
"Oh, that's not necessary." The housekeeper put his hands on his stomach and smiled: "Alang gave instructions before leaving the house, saying that when my husband Meng Zhongcheng returns to Chang'an today, he must come to visit him first. Let me tell you, in four days
The saint will meet with Xiao Bolu, Ba Khanna, and the envoys of Tuqishi at the Huacalyx Tower. When you are introduced, you can just go directly to the palace to meet the saint."
Fumeng Lingcha quickly thanked him and said, "Your Majesty, you are thoughtful. Let's leave."
Just as everyone was about to turn around and retreat, the housekeeper spoke again: "Mr. Meng Zhongcheng, please take a moment to speak."
Fumeng turned around, and at the invitation of the steward, he walked under a green cypress in the front yard. The steward whispered: "Alang said, Zhongcheng did a great job in pacifying the Tuqi Shi Huang this year.
Compared with the mediocrity of the other military governors, Anxi's position as the military governor of the two towns in Hexi is a sure shot. However, the officialdom should take multiple aspects into account, and it must be comprehensive."
When the housekeeper said this, he folded his hands in front of his belly and remained silent.
Fumeng nodded in realization: "Thank you, right minister, and thank you, the steward."
…
When Fumeng Lingcha walked out of the Youxiang Mansion in Pingkangfang, he frowned. Cheng Qianli and Li Siye were inconvenient to ask each other, guessing that the matter of the Hexi Jiedu Envoy was in vain?
They returned to the courtyard, and the three of them took their seats in the inner hall of the mansion. Fumeng Lingcha then said to the two of them: "The right minister used the housekeeper to give me some advice, asking me to take care of many things and cover everything. I understand this. After all,
The most important part of Hexi is that it is the hometown of Ganliang and the throat of trade routes. Once you get on it, you will know how many people will be jealous behind your back, so you need to pave many roads in advance."
"Of course I have to go to the gatekeeper, General Gao Lishi, for a walk. I have already prepared the gift. But there is another person. I really don't have the connections and it's not convenient to go in person."
Li Siye lowered his head and pretended to be confused, but Cheng Qianli took the initiative and asked: "Zhongcheng, who is the other person? Maybe the two of us can share Zhongcheng's worries and find a way out."
Fumeng Lingcha was waiting for him to ask this question.
"There is a Kundao girl in the Xingqing Palace who is Yang Taizhen. She is favored by the saint and no one can match her. I have prepared a batch of Tianzhu Dipterocarps specifically to give to Yang Taizhen. However, there is no way to report it. Thousands of miles away, there is no inheritance.
Do you have such a way?"
Although he said this to the two of them, he looked at Li Siye eagerly.
Siye secretly thought that running errands would be indispensable. He originally wanted to leave Yang Yuhuan's route for himself in the future, but when Meng Lingcha mentioned it on his own initiative, he could never refuse, nor could he shirk the responsibility by saying that he had no way out.
.Everyone knows that your wife is a disciple of Aunt Gongsun. How could someone as famous as Aunt Gongsun fail to meet Yang Taizhen?
If subordinates do not help their superiors, it means they are narrowing the path. It is better to contribute if you have the strength to do so.
Fortunately, the fact that he had rescued Yang Yuhuan was not known to this husband, Meng Lingcha, otherwise he would not know how much high hopes would be placed on him.
He silently complained to his husband, Meng Lingcha, that you owe me so much. Only by ranking Gao Xianzhi behind me can you compensate me.
"Well, Zhongcheng, my wife's master Gongsun Auntie should know Yang Taizhen. Why don't I go find her and see if I can find a way."
Fumeng Lingzha took two steps forward, held Li Siye's hand with both hands, and said excitedly and emotionally: "I am deeply grateful to Siye for such generous help. From now on, you and I will be called colleagues, but in fact we should treat each other as brothers.
"
Cheng Qianli looked on in a daze, wondering if he should treat himself like a brother?
Li Siye smiled sincerely on the surface, but in fact he didn't have any good feelings in his heart. He only gave him such superficial affectionate politeness and didn't benefit him, so how could he impress him.
He has decided that he can help Fumeng Lingcha take Yang Taizhen's route, but he must not let him find the way. He must not let others go their own way, leaving him with no way to go.
"Zhongcheng's words are serious. The success of Siye today is inseparable from Zhongcheng's support and help. Siye should do its best to ensure that Zhongcheng's official career is smooth."
"Okay, okay, okay." Fumeng Lingcha seemed to be deeply moved. He let go of Li Siye's hand and said, "The deadline is in four days. Without further delay, how about we split up."
"Here."
Li Siye and Fumeng Lingcha left from the front of the hall respectively, leaving Cheng Qianli sitting there with his mouth half open. It turned out that I was so useless, and he ignored me like this.
…
After leaving the back yard of Pingkangfang, Li Siye decided to go to the East Market to buy a handful of croakers as a meeting gift for Aunt Gongsun. When asking for help, you always have to put in some of your own blood.
If there was another way to see Yang Taizhen, he would never ask Gongsun. He knew that this former sword dancer, now Taoist Gongsun, had no good impressions of him, because he had snatched her apprentice, or he had taken away her apprentice.
There was no essential difference between the two points of losing her apprentice's heart, which made her resentful but helpless.
Li Siye still resolutely set out on the road, heading to Taizhen Temple in Xiudefang. Yang Yuhuan once became a monk here before being named Yang Taizhen. Now she no longer lives here, but she must still have contact with here.
path.
He stood at the gate and looked inside. He could see the tassel tree in front of the Sanqing Palace on the earthen platform. When it blooms in summer, the tree will be covered with silver, making it look like a sky full of stars. But now in the middle of winter, everything is chilling, and the tassel tree is so beautiful.
The trees also turned into dry branches, and the fallen leaves were swept away and piled under the trees.
Kundao, the gatekeeper, seemed to have seen this strong man before, but he couldn't remember clearly. Hearing that he was going to visit Taoist Gongsun, he held a whisk in his hand and clasped his hands together and said: "Foreigners, please wait a moment, I will ask the master."
Li Siye smiled and nodded, waiting patiently outside.
A moment later, Kun Dao came over with a flurry of dust whisks in his hand, turned sideways and saluted Li Siye and said, "My master invites you in."
After Li Siye returned the gift, he quickly walked towards the Hall of Sanqing. He walked up to the earth platform, walked around the tree, stepped into the threshold and saw Taoist Gongsun kneeling in front of the statue of Sanqing in the hall. From the back, his appearance seemed to have not changed much.
.
He didn't know how to call his wife's master for a while, so it seemed inappropriate to call him "master". It was a bit pretentious to call him "mother-in-law". Wouldn't it be a mess if he called her "master"?
He had no choice but to address him respectfully as an old man and said with a smile: "Li Siye came here specially to see you, old man."
Aunt Gongsun lowered her head and chanted sutras without paying any attention to her. Li Siye felt so embarrassed that he had to stand aside and wait with his hands tied.
After a long while, the Taoist priest turned around with a lotus crown on his head, glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, reached for the tea cup on the table to drink, and asked: "You came all the way here to ask me to help you.
work?"
Li Siye said with a smile on his face: "I really can't hide anything from you, old man. I really want to..."