"What Miss Li? Lord Li has said that she takes her mother's surname, which is Jiang!"
This surname made Xiao Yixuan's spirit jolt. He looked at the speaker and squinted his eyes slightly.
The other person didn't notice his scrutiny at all and continued, "We should address her as Miss Jiang."
But the person in front didn't care. "Whether she's surnamed Li or Jiang, she's Lord Li's precious daughter. It's perfectly fine to call her Miss Li."
"Yes, yes, that makes sense."
"I wonder which lord Lord Li will marry Miss Li to. Such a beautiful girl deserves a careful selection of a husband."
"Hahaha, you don't need to worry about this. His Majesty came to Luo Prefecture to congratulate Lord Li on his new marriage and also said he would confer the title of king on Lord Li. Then Miss Li will be a princess. It's even possible for her to enter the palace and become the queen! Our Majesty still hasn't established a queen yet, right?"
"But... the age difference is a bit too big, isn't it?"
Xiao Yixuan couldn't listen anymore. He looked around the place, found a guest sitting alone drinking tea, and went over to share the table with him.
"Sir, do you mind if I sit with you?"
The man saw that Xiao Yixuan had a noble and gentle temperament, clearly from a good family, and there was a kind smile on his face. So he said, "I don't mind. Please sit down, sir."
After Xiao Yixuan sat down, he picked up his teapot and poured tea for the other person. Then he asked, "Are you from Luo Prefecture, sir?"
The man nodded. "Yes. I heard your accent. You seem to be from the north?"
"Yes and no. My ancestral home is in Ji Prefecture. My family is in business. I've been traveling around with my father since I was a child. Now I'm here in Luo Prefecture for the tea business." Xiao Yixuan explained and then immediately got to the point.
"I just arrived in Luo Prefecture and I'm quite unfamiliar with this place. So I thought I'd come to this teahouse for a sit. But I always hear others talking about some Lord Li. May I ask who this Lord Li is?"
As soon as this was mentioned, the other person immediately perked up. "Speaking of Lord Li, he's really an extraordinary man!"
The other person grabbed Xiao Yixuan and first told him about the status of the Li clan in Luo Prefecture and how many life - changing good deeds the Li clan had done for the people of Luo Prefecture. Then he talked about Li Bingjun's virtue and ability, praising Li Bingjun as unparalleled in the world.
When it came to the Li clan, one naturally had to mention the bloodshed and catastrophe personally caused by the King of Chu back then.
"Now Lord Li has reappeared in the world with his wife and daughter, cleaning up the Li Mansion. How could this not excite the people of Luo Prefecture?" the man said with great emotion. "Only the Li clan truly cares about the people of Luo Prefecture. Lord Li's appearance has given the people of Luo Prefecture confidence again."
Suddenly, he leaned closer to Xiao Yixuan and lowered his voice. "You should have heard that His Majesty came to Luo Prefecture to attend Lord Li's wedding. Do you know what the people of Luo Prefecture are spreading now?"
Xiao Yixuan was already impatient, but he had to sit still and ask, "What?"
"Whoever gets Li Bingjun gets the world." the man said. "There are two emperors in the Great Sheng Dynasty now. But as the saying goes, one mountain can't accommodate two tigers. One of them is bound to fail. The emperor in the north has already shown his sincerity, but the one in the south still hasn't made any move. It seems... the situation of the world is already settled."
Xiao Yixuan tightly clenched his fists and tried to steady his breathing. He said calmly, "That may not be the case. Maybe the envoy of the Emperor of South Sheng is already on the way."
"The Emperor of North Sheng came in person. Would the Emperor of South Sheng dare to come in person?" The man clearly didn't believe it and even sneered. "Sending an envoy over, Lord Li won't even bother to pay attention."
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yixuan held back his temper and asked with a smile, "Let's not talk about this. I just heard them say that Lord Li has a daughter?"
"Oh, you mean Miss Jiang?" The man clearly knew everything about the Li Mansion. "Why do you ask about her?"
"I want to know if Miss Jiang's surname is the 'Jiang' in 'The spring river warms first' or the 'Jiang' of Lord Taigong Wang?" Xiao Yixuan stared closely at the man. The man didn't know Xiao Yixuan's hidden intention and said very naturally,
"The former."
Jiang. She was really surnamed Jiang!
Li Bingjun didn't show up earlier or later. Why did he suddenly appear at this time?
A bad premonition suddenly welled up in Xiao Yixuan's heart.
"Do you know Miss Jiang's given name?"
The man said, "Lord Li personally introduced his daughter to others. Her name is Jiang Mian. She takes her mother's surname... Hey, sir, why are you leaving? Don't you want to listen anymore?"
Xiao Yixuan left in a hurry, looking as if there was some urgent matter.
It was really Jiang Mian!
She was Li Bingjun's daughter!
Countless scenes flashed through his mind, all about what had happened in Dongli Town in the past.
He knew that Jiang Mian had become the apprentice of Doctor Wang in Huichuntang. He also knew that Jiang Mian had saved a seriously ill beggar. That beggar later stayed in Huichuntang and became the accountant for her. He had met that man once.
But for some reason, he always couldn't remember that man's appearance. If he guessed correctly, that man should be Li Bingjun.
That was Li Bingjun!
Since Jiang Mian was Li Bingjun's daughter, her fate was naturally different from others. That old bald donkey in Ling'an Temple really didn't miscalculate.
Rather than saying that Jiang Mian had a good fate, it was better to say that she had a good father. Whoever married her would get Li Bingjun's help, thus fulfilling the saying "Whoever gets Li Bingjun gets the world"!
What had he missed all these years!
He had even married a fake who tried to pass herself off as the real one!
If he hadn't come to Luo Prefecture with Ye Ping'an this time, he didn't know how long he would have been kept in the dark!
Xiao Yixuan's chest was filled with an uncontrollable anger and hostility, so much so that the whites of his eyes were blood - shot.
Rushing back to the inn, he kicked open Ye Ping'an's door with a gloomy face.
Ye Ping'an was sitting inside, scheming how to avoid Xiao Yixuan and kill Li Bingjun's family. He didn't expect Xiao Yixuan to break in. He frowned and was about to call out to him when Xiao Yixuan rushed up and grabbed his throat.
"Minister Ye, your Ye family really has a good plan—"
Ye Ping'an's face instantly turned red. He opened his eyes in horror, looking at the crazy - lion - like Xiao Yixuan in front of him. He squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, "Your subject doesn't know... what... Your Highness... is talking about."
"You're still pretending to be stupid with me." Xiao Yixuan's face turned fierce and he tightened his fingers. "Do I still need to remind you what your Ye family has been hiding?"
"Do you really think that in Luo Prefecture, you can still deceive everyone? In your eyes, am I such a stupid fool that I can be played around by your Ye family again and again?"
Ye Ping'an's pupils shrank violently. Under the feeling of suffocation, he instinctively opened his mouth to gasp for breath.
Xiao Yixuan, did he know?