This merchant caravan was transporting a batch of new tea from the south of the Yangtze River. It consisted of two carriages and three freight wagons. The leader was a middle - aged man in his forties, who was actually Ye Ping'an in disguise.
In the carriage behind, Xiao Yixuan was dressed in brocade robes with his face also disguised, looking like a wealthy young merchant.
When they reached the city gate of Luo Prefecture, the guards stopped the caravan for interrogation. Ye Ping'an explained their purpose while quietly slipping a few silver ingots under his sleeve.
However, the guards of Luo Prefecture expressionlessly pushed the silver back. They carefully inspected the entire caravan, even opening the tea cans. After confirming there were no problems, they finally let the caravan pass.
Although the carriage entered the city smoothly, Xiao Yixuan's complexion was not very good, simply because the two guards had searched his body.
If it weren't for the fear of exposing his identity and causing unnecessary trouble, he would have chopped them down with his sword long ago.
"Your Majesty, shall we go directly to the Li Mansion?" Ye Ping'an asked.
Xiao Yixuan looked at him and said coolly, "What do you think, Minister Ye? Do we still need to wander around Luo Prefecture for another two or three days before paying a visit?"
"Didn't you hear those people yesterday? The traitor Mu himself attended Li Bingjun's wedding and intended to confer the title of prince on Li Bingjun and appoint him as the Minister of the Central Secretariat of North Sheng. We're already one step late. If we don't take action while Li Bingjun hasn't agreed to the traitor Mu, what are you hesitating about? Do you want to stay and serve the traitor Mu?"
Ye Ping'an paused for a moment, then had to instruct the coachman to drive the carriage to the Li Mansion. After that, he sat aside, closing his eyes without saying a word, looking like an old monk in meditation.
He was also angry inside.
Since Ye Wanxing's life - swapping plan was exposed, Xiao Yixuan's attitude towards him had become increasingly bad. On this journey of disguising as tea merchants to Luo Prefecture, Xiao Yixuan had given him a hard time. He didn't treat him as a national minister or a father - in - law at all.
Yesterday, when they heard in a post - station on the way that Xiao Tianchi had personally come to Luo Prefecture to meet Li Bingjun, Xiao Yixuan became even more anxious.
If they couldn't bring Li Bingjun back to South Sheng, His Majesty would only be more disappointed in them.
Well, just endure it for a while longer.
The carriage soon arrived at the Li Mansion. Xiao Yixuan lifted the curtain and looked forward.
Red lanterns and red silk were still hanging on the main gate of the Li Mansion. Red double - happiness characters and red mandarin ducks were pasted on the gate, looking extremely festive. The plaque of the Li Mansion was also brand - new, indicating that a wedding had been held recently.
"Your Highness, please wait in the carriage for a while. I'll go ahead and check the situation first."
Ye Ping'an jumped off the carriage first and stepped forward to knock on the door.
After knocking for a while, a side door opened a crack, and the figure of the gatekeeper appeared behind the door. "Who's knocking?" he asked.
Ye Ping'an smiled and said, "We're tea merchants from Chen Prefecture doing business in Luo Prefecture. Our master made a deep friendship with Master Li many years ago. After hearing the news that Master Li is still alive, he specifically told us to pay a visit with gifts after arriving in Luo Prefecture. Please inform him so that we can meet Master Li and give him our wedding gifts."
The gatekeeper sized Ye Ping'an up again and said, "Please wait a moment, honored guest. I'll go back and report to the steward and then give you an answer."
"Thank you so much." Ye Ping'an let out a sigh of relief.
After waiting outside for about half a cup of tea, the side door opened again. There was an extra person behind the gatekeeper who had answered the door just now.
Ye Ping'an immediately looked at the person and secretly sized him up.
This look made him a little disappointed.
As an official who had served in both the Chu State and the Sheng State, Ye Ping'an had naturally met Li Bingjun.
However, the person in front of him looked and behaved completely different from the Li Bingjun in his memory, and his clothes were rather rough. Presumably, he was just a steward of the Li Mansion.
Sure enough, the man said, "I'm the steward of the Li Mansion. I heard that honored guests have come. Do you want to meet our master?"
Ye Ping'an smiled and said, "Yes."
Steward Yin smiled and said, "It's a pity that you've come at a bad time. Our master and his wife are newlyweds and deeply in love. Just after the wedding, he took his wife and daughter to the Li family's villa in Dengwen County for a trip."
Ye Ping'an immediately frowned, but then he relaxed and said with a smile, "I see. It's really a pity."
"Honored guests can go about your own business first. I'll quickly inform our master of your visit. When our master, his wife, and daughter come back, they'll surely let you know."
Ye Ping'an glanced at the screen wall behind the door, casually replied a couple of times, then turned around and got back into the carriage.
Xiao Yixuan had been waiting impatiently in the carriage for a long time. When he saw Ye Ping'an getting back into the carriage and instructing the coachman to continue driving, he immediately frowned. "Why didn't we enter the Li Mansion? Is Li Bingjun trying to shut us out?"
Ye Ping'an said, "The steward said that Li Bingjun took his wife and daughter to the Li family's villa in Dengwen County for a trip, and the return date is undetermined."
Xiao Yixuan clearly didn't believe this excuse.
"How did you talk to them?"
Ye Ping'an told Xiao Yixuan about his intention of the visit again, and Xiao Yixuan fell into deep thought.
This reason seemed to have no major problems. The steward coming out personally to explain to the guests also showed that the Li Mansion was well - mannered and didn't neglect the guests. But Xiao Yixuan still felt something was off.
It was as if...
They had come at a really bad time.
He was a very meticulous person. Since he had doubts in his heart, he wouldn't let it go. He said, "Is it because the guests aren't important enough, so Li Bingjun doesn't want to come out and meet us?"
Ye Ping'an said, "It's indeed possible. Li Bingjun is such a remarkable person. Once he emerges, there will surely be an endless stream of people coming to visit. If he wants to avoid the hustle and bustle and deliberately uses such an excuse to decline, it's not surprising."
The more Xiao Yixuan thought about it, the more he felt it should be so.
"This is actually good news. It means that he hasn't chosen the traitor Mu. We still have a chance. Maybe they're actually in the mansion right now and haven't gone to that villa in Dengwen County at all."
"Tomorrow I'll come up with a different reason and pay another visit. The steward hasn't seen me. Let's see if their statements are consistent."
The two reached an agreement and soon arrived at the largest inn in Luo Prefecture.
After settling down in the inn, Xiao Yixuan didn't idle around. He called Meng Zhao, randomly found a teahouse, ordered a table and some tea snacks, and sat there listening to the conversations of the people in Luo Prefecture.
Teahouses and taverns have always been the best places to gather information, and the hottest topics in Luo Prefecture now were all related to the Li family - or rather, Li Bingjun.
Some people said that Mrs. Li was the little maid in the Li Mansion who was forced to death by the legitimate daughter of the Zhang family back then. Recalling this, people all sighed about the missed opportunities of the two back then and were happy that they finally got married after so many years.
Xiao Yixuan wasn't interested in these old stories. Suddenly, he heard someone say:
"I went to the Li Mansion to join in the fun on the day of Master Li's wedding. I even saw Miss Li. She's really as beautiful as a fairy. One can imagine how beautiful Mrs. Li must be. No wonder Master Li has been thinking about her for so many years!"
"What Miss Li? Master Li said that she takes her mother's surname and is called Jiang!"