Great Tang Idyll

The sunset glow followed the wind, and the red sun set in the west. There was no accompanying chorus of tree insects, there was only the withered grass on the roadside, sitting at the foot of the mountain....

Wang Juan hummed ‘Grandmother's Penghu Bay' while she cooked. Zhang Xiao'bao randomly changed the lyrics into gibberish and sang along on the side. Li Xun sat there and waited until the food was ready so that they could eat together. He felt that the tune Wang Juan hummed was nice, but as for Zhang Xiao'bao's lyrics, he had no comment.

"Prince Li, Juan'juan and I are planning to return home tomorrow. We're pretty much done with the things here. We will be able to enjoy at least a short period of peacefulness. You should finish that important task first, lest others lose confidence and fail to keep up."

Zhang Xiao'bao found out that his lyrics were not appreciated, so he had no choice but to stop. He spoke with Li Xun. The purpose of him and Wang Juan coming here was to frighten Yuan Xing'yi and Han Yong'yao, and to get them to settle down for some time. Now it seemed that the effect was not bad. He had already finished talking with Li Xun about building restaurants in that place in the afternoon.

Song Jing'gong also sent someone over and they received some useful information. The person in that house was surnamed Zheng, and his family didn't seem to have much power. His father was relatively ordinary, but he had a mother whose surname was Hua, and two maternal uncles.

He came here because he was entrusted by someone else to see what the Zhang and Wang manors were like. The other purpose was to learn from the wharf at Little Luo'shui and build a similar wharf at the Zheng'qu River located not too far from the Capital. That place also had mountains, but there were more trees on it. However, given his family's capability, it was worthwhile to try.

At the same time, Master Zheng also had a bit of wealth in his family, and this amount could be even more than Zhang Xiao'bao's money. It wouldn't be a problem for them to spend ten times the amount of money. They couldn't find out who they were entrusted by though.

Li Xun was a little confused when he heard this surname. He didn't know which family this was until he thought about how that person's mother's surname was Hua and he had two maternal uncles. He smiled and said to Zhang Xiao'bao, "If you want to fight with others, your family's foundation is far from being strong enough. Your family has a manor, manage it well. The new magistrate hasn't arrived yet, don't worry."

Li Xun replied in this way, "County Magistrate Jia has some skills, but for political affairs, he's okay. He strives to do things steadily and he usually doesn't make mistakes. He's a little bit greedy. Don't worry about what the affairs you and my family are working on, I will take care of it.

As for Little Luo'shui, I don't have a place there, so you can only think of something by yourself. There is one thing you don't need to worry about. He still doesn't dare to fight to earn taxes in San'shui County, and he doesn't dare to randomly allocate work to the people. That means he will only pry from the hands of some merchants. How about this, I will pay 10,000 taels to buy a fifth of the shops at Little Luo'shui. Go back and talk to your family about this. "

"No need. My family will find a solution by ourselves. It is enough for you to take care of the place at Between The Water and Clouds. Young Prince, you must not invest too much, otherwise don't blame my family if you make less money." Zhang Xiao'bao replied quickly, deliberately emphasizing the words ‘Young Prince'.

Li Xun was not angered. Others were afraid of him. Even if others pretended to be not afraid, they still acted very respectful. Only Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan were different. Perhaps they were too young to understand status and authority, but at the same time, he felt like this might not be the case. When they spoke to him, they sounded like children that were the same age as himself. He really couldn't figure it out.

"Time for dinner. Tonight is the last meal. I used almost all of the ingredients." Wang Juan greeted Zhang Xiao'bao and Li Xun while she poured the bokchoy and shrimp out of the wok and into the bowl. She took the initiative to cook, saying that she was an expert at making this dish.

Li Xun smelled the scent of the food. He looked at Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan, who were always so happy looking, and then he thought about how they were going to leave tomorrow. He felt a little reluctant to let them leave. He always felt that when he was with Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan, there was nothing to be afraid of when encountering difficulties since they were able to handle it.

Picking up his rice bowl, Li Xun scooped two small spoons of braised pork sauce and mixed it into his rice. Then he tore off a strip of eggplant cooked with garlic. After a few bites, half a bowl of rice was in his stomach. He said to Zhang Xiao'bao, "According to the rules, if you two quit halfway, it is necessary for you to be punished. I thought about it and decided to save the punishment until later, what do you think?"

"Nothing. If you say it like that, then Juan'juan and I will keep going. I want to see how you will give the two of us a Xiang'gong title." Zhang Xiao'bao replied without acting polite.

Li Xun was really dumbfounded. The two children were too young. Others were at least ten years old. When the time comes, others will come back after having a look at the Capital. He had no hopes that they would actually pass the examination. It was no big deal if ten year olds pass the exam, but if Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan were sent over there, then the moment they enter the examination room, their young age will be enough to cause chaos.

Li Xun already knew what Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan were here for--- they wanted to mess with Han Yong'yao and Yuan Xing'yi. It also seemed like their families had made their moves already too. Those two people have been so terrified that they have not been causing any troubles in the recent few days, So it turns out that boiled croton water can harm other peoples' livestock, and Sky Jumping Monkey can burn quite a bit of straw. From this, it seems that if the Sky Jumping Monkey was made to be bigger, it could be used to burn rations and horse feed.

He already knew that it was impossible to punish Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan by beating them with wooden boards, but after hearing Zhang Xiao'bao's words, Li Xun felt that he had a weak stance, so he could only say, "You have eaten almost everything that you have brought. Could it be possible that you plan to eat only one type of food from now on? You ran out of salt too, didn't you?"

Wang Juan said with disdain. As long as she and Zhang Xiao'bao cooperates well, it was not hard for them to survive in a desolate area as long as the mission was not too difficult. They would be fine as long as they do not encounter wolves on the grassland.

Li Xun froze for a moment. He didn't believe her words, but then they had a mastermind behind them. However, if he chose to believe her, he felt that what she said was too unrealistic. He chose to ignore this topic and said, "Should we start digging soon?"

"The timing does not matter. Don't dig too much. Actually, dig up as many as you can. Although they are small, once you collect a lot, it would be enough to last for a day." Zhang Xiao'bao gesticulated as he explained.

Li Xun nodded. He ate another big bowl of rice and then he wiped his mouth with his sleeve boldly. He said to the other people who were enviously watching the three of them eat, "Let me tell you about a good thing."

After speaking, Li Xun went up to a tree and tilted his head up to look at the branches. Then he started digging under the tree with a small shovel. As he dug, he said, "During the summer, there are a lot of cicadas here. Right now, there should be a lot of small cicadas at the bottom of the tree. They would fall off the tree and then dig their way into the soil. When there's nothing to eat, we could dig these things up to eat. Don't complain that I didn't tell you. Whoever quits because they can't find food will still receive a beating."

The children around here lived a decent life at home. When did they ever have to eat this kind of food? Those people who asked questions earlier understood now. No wonder the Young Prince brought vegetarian oil along --- it was to fry this food and eat it.

With Li Xun's demonstration, other people quickly finished the food they brought along and also began to dig. In particular, those who persisted through the grassland didn't feel that eating bugs was disgusting at all. They were able to eat silkworm pupae and even grasshoppers, so of course they were able to eat cicadas.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan did not join in. In fact, the two of them would be able to eat tree bark too. Grass roots was also a good option. However, these children did not have to experience that kind of suffering.

At night, Han Yong'yao and Yuan Xing'yi were still tired, but they were not afraid anymore. They no longer listened to Zhang Xiao'bao and did not sleep on top of green grass like fools.

Before Li Xun went to bed, he specifically asked someone to write down what happened today. After he finishes sorting it out later, he would present it to his father to earn credit.

On the other side, Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan covered their bodies with blankets and only left a small opening so that they could breathe. When day broke, they were not bitten by any mosquitoes.

After getting up, they made breakfast and used up all the ingredients they brought along. They allowed the people they had a good relationship with to eat the food together with them. They climbed into the carriage and Li Xun watched them leave with an unwilling gaze. At this time, the other children were very smart and didn't ask Li Xun why he didn't punish the two people.

*

"Young Master, Young Miss. The arrangements have been made here according to what you two said. The day before yesterday, someone came over here. His guards were superior compared to the Seedling Team on the manor and his guards all called him as ‘lord'. They stayed here until night time and then left in a hurry. It seems like he knows our Master and Madam."

Housekeeper Zhang helped Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan to open the carriage door, and immediately report to them what had happened the day before yesterday.

"Lord? How old was he? Do you know his last name?" Zhang Xiao'bao felt that things were not that simple when he heard this, and asked.

Housekeeper Zhang shook his head, "I don't know, I couldn't get any answers. It seems that he won't do anything disadvantageous to the manor. Before leaving, he said that he would help our Master. The old man did not look like a bad person."

"He did not look like it. People who have the word ‘villain' written on their face will definitely not be a villain. Did you send people to follow him?" Wang Juan never believed in judging a person by their looks. She had a living example right next to her right now.

The housekeeper nodded at this moment, "People were sent. We sent four members from the Seedling Team to follow him."

"Oh, then those four people should be returning soon. If they come back, then it means that that person does not want to fight with us, or that he has a much more evil plan. If they don't come back, then they better not let me find out who they are. I will definitely seek revenge. "

Zhang Xiao'bao was a little worried when he heard what kind of people the housekeeper sent. Members of the Seedling Team were just residents. If they wanted to follow him, they would be better off sending the residents who were once hunters. Of course, it would be best if him and Wang Juan went over there themselves. Their hiding and tracking abilities were much better than the residents.

"Young Master, are you saying that they will be in danger?" The housekeeper thought for a while and felt that he did not plan this out properly at the beginning.

"There's no danger. They're back. Go ask them if they lost track of the person near the Jing'shui River." Zhang Xiao'bao looked in the direction of Little Bridge, and the four came back on horseback.