Chapter 96 Cutting off the Fantasy (First Order)

"Xiao'e, everything is fine. Shall we disguise ourselves and leave the palace?"

"Master, how could you forget His Majesty's instructions? You cannot leave the palace at will after you reach the age of 15."

Seeing Li E lowering her head in embarrassment, he thought that the princess was becoming more and more stunningly beautiful, and it would be easy to cause trouble if she disguised herself and left the palace, so the imperial guards would have to be mobilized every time.

Zhao Fujin helplessly raised his hands and sighed, "Forget it, growing up is really troublesome, let's wait until this year's Lantern Festival."

"Master, once His Majesty has found a consort for you, you can walk freely."

"Born in an imperial family, how can there be any freedom? By the way, I want to go out of the palace on Lantern Festival to try some steamed buns, see if Pan Jinlian has improved, and listen to some street stories. There are only a few months left, so I can make arrangements in advance."

"Slaves save it."

Li E took advantage of Zhao Fujin's lunch break to disguise herself and leave the palace and come to Yang Jian's villa in the west of the city. Pan Jinlian was taken from Yanggu to Tokyo, and after several twists and turns, she finally found this place to stay.

I saw the prosperity of the capital city and the clothes worn by the noble ladies in Bianliang.

At that moment, she was like a fish swimming into the sea, with vastness all around her.

I feel like I have lived in vain in the first half of my life. What is the point of being a wealthy family in Qinghe County? What is the point of being an official in Yanggu County? Living in the imperial city is not in vain. It seems that the air in Tokyo is sweeter than that in a small town.

Not long after arriving in Beijing, Pan Jinlian was taken to a house by the people who picked her up to make dumplings, which were called Yanggu County Wuji dumplings.

Without Wu Da present, she had to mix the dough and the filling based on her memory, and after trying a few times she managed to make it barely edible.

A few days later, a nobleman came. Although he was dressed like a rich young man, Pan Jinlian was no rookie and she could tell at a glance that he was a woman dressed as a man.

The nobleman bluntly said that the buns tasted bad and were far from what she had imagined. She clenched her fists and scolded Xiao Bisan, saying that he only had brute force.

Her angry look and movements made her look just like an innocent little girl.

Xiao Pan somehow guessed that the Xiao Bi San mentioned by the nobleman was Yang Chang, so he started the conversation and told some stories about Yang Chang. Unexpectedly, the nobleman became interested and left a word before leaving.

"The buns weren't very good, so I'll use my snacks to remember them, but the story was quite interesting. I'll come back next time when I have time."

Because of the nobleman's words, Pan Jinlian was moved to a larger residence and was rewarded with a piece of fine silk, which Wu Da could not afford even after selling pancakes for half a year. This made her more determined to stay.

Being able to hold onto the toes of the powerful is better than struggling for decades.

Since then, Pan Jinlian has been practicing her bun-making skills, waiting for the next visit from the noble man.

However, the noble person is as hard to come by as a rainbow. He only comes once or twice a year and still says that the buns taste average.

In order to please the noble, Pan Jinlian had to work hard on the story. She grafted the tiger-killing incident on Jingyang Ridge and other anecdotes from the market onto Yang Chang, which made the noble marvel at the story.

Food, clothing and other daily necessities are provided, and occasionally you can relieve stress by talking to the guards, and there are also noble people who reward you with money and property.

She put expensive rouge and powder on her face, wore high-quality clothes, and transformed herself into a noble lady in Bianliang. She lived an easy and comfortable life. Even Zhai Qian, the housekeeper of the Grand Tutor's Mansion, knocked on her door because of her reputation.

In mid-October, there is warm sunshine in winter.

In the Tokyo Grand Tutor's Mansion, there is a pot of Eighteen Scholars on the flower stand outside the study window.

Cai Jing bent over with his back to the sun, holding scissors in his hand and looking down at the branches and leaves to confirm whether to use pruning shears to shape them.

Good flowers are like good calligraphy. If you want them to present beauty to you, it takes a lot of effort.

I was watching intently when I was suddenly interrupted.

"Master."

"You're back so soon, have you figured things out?"

"We figured it out. It was a common woman who made dumplings. She told the princess a lot of stories about the underworld. The princess was very interested and gave her many rewards."

"Oh?" Cai Jing paused after hearing this, still turning his back to continue fiddling with the things in front of him, and murmured, "I wish Yang Jian wasn't in the way. This guy is too favored by Your Majesty, and he's too good at making money for Your Majesty."

"That woman is from Yanggu County. She has some connection with me. If you need her, I can use her for your benefit."

"Since Yang Jian brought her back to Tokyo, why should I take someone else's love away? I am not interested in asking for help from a common woman. The princess is just young and curious. I just need to cut off her fantasy."

"What the Grand Master meant."

When Cai Jing saw a long crooked fork, a cold light flashed in his eyes. He immediately clamped the fork and held the handle of the scissors and pressed it, just like the scissors were chopping someone's neck.

With a crisp click, the scissors were covered with liquid.

Cai Jing held the broken branch in his hand and said meaningfully: "If you want flowers and plants to be shaped as you want, the easiest way is to prune them. The rumors among the people are mostly exaggerated. Let Gao Qiu open the princess's eyes, wipe out Liangshan and bring the main culprit back to Beijing for execution. By then, the fabricated fantasy will be destroyed."

"Didn't you say that the treasury is tight and His Majesty is unwilling to raise troops now?"

"Favors must be repaid. Besides, why do we need to mobilize a large army to eliminate a small puddle? Selecting elite soldiers and brave generals will be enough."

Cai Jing looked up at the sky, threw away the branch in his hand, and told Zhai Qian, "It's still early. Go and prepare the carriage. I want to go to the palace to see the emperor."

"Yes."

"By the way, send someone to Suzhou to urge Zhu Yan to expand the scope of his collection. Wansui Mountain needs more flowers and stones."

"understood."

Under the operation of Cai Jing and Gao Qiu, the emperor ordered Hu Yanzhuo, the commander-in-chief of Runing County, to be the chief general, Han Tao, the commander of Chenzhou militia, to be the main vanguard, and Peng Qi of Yingzhou to be the deputy vanguard. They raised a total of 8,000 elite cavalry and infantry from the three states, with all the armor, horses, weapons, artillery, and food supplies, and marched towards Liangshan in a mighty force.

Dai Zong could not find anyone in Nanjing, so he returned to Liangshan in November to report.

Everyone guessed that the dwarf tiger was in danger, but no one was willing to say it out loud, making the atmosphere on the mountain like winter weather, with long periods of fog and no sunlight.

Dozens of leaders spent the winter in their respective residences and seldom gathered together for eating, drinking and having fun. It was not until the scouts outside the water brought back military intelligence that Chao Gai gathered everyone together to discuss countermeasures.

Upon hearing that the coming general is Hu Yanzhuo, the resourceful Wu Yong took the lead in speaking up and suggested trying to defeat the enemy first and then capture him with wisdom.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Kui was the first to volunteer, patting his chest and shouting: "How can the military advisor give others the upper hand? I'm going to catch this guy!"

"You are everywhere! I have my own arrangements."

Song Jiang glared at Li Kui, and without caring whether Chao Gai agreed or not, he stood up and looked at the crowd and selected the generals: "Qin Ming, the Thunderbolt Fire, will lead the first group, Leopard Head Lin Chong will lead the second group, Little Li Guang Hua Rong will lead the third group, Yi Zhang Qing Hu Sanniang will lead the fourth group, and Sick Wei Chi Sun Li will lead the fifth group."

"Yes."

"Yes."

When the leaders who were called came out to respond, Hu Sanniang turned her head to look at Yang Chang beside her, and after getting a nod from her husband, she also came out to receive the order.

Watching Song Jiang giving orders, Chao Gai, feeling guilty, said nothing and sat there like a Buddha without moving.

After Song Jiang completed the allocation, the leaders who received the tasks left one after another, and Yang Chang also accompanied Hu Sanniang to prepare.

As soon as the couple arrived outside the Juyi Hall, Song Jiang actually followed them.

"Sister, don't be in a hurry to go down the mountain. Qin Ming, who is in the first formation, is in the front. You can go down the mountain with me tomorrow. You must gain more military merits by then so that we can reward you after the battle."

"And me?"

"You were badly injured by Gao Lian, so you should stay in the mountains to recuperate. I will take good care of my sister, so you can rest assured. If you need any weapons or armor, Sanniang will help bring them back."

"OK then"

"By the way, father hasn't seen you for a long time. It's best to stop by and see you before returning to the village. We are all family."

(End of this chapter)