Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 194: Outdoor Teahouse
"What, you're going to the state capital now?"

Li Yuan was startled when he heard Lu Zheng coming to say goodbye to him.

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "The schedule has already been set, so I came here to tell the county magistrate."

Li Yuan couldn't help but say, "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? I could have prepared for it and put it into practice for you!"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "The county magistrate is very busy with his official duties. I just want to go out for a walk. Why should I bother you so much..."

Lu Zheng paused, took out a stack of papers and handed them to Li Yuan. "These are some policy plans I've come up with these days. They've been improved. County Magistrate, please take a look."

Li Yuan quickly took it and sighed, "You are so thoughtful."

He felt ashamed, thinking that as a county official, he did not care as much about the people as Lu Zheng did.

Lu Zhengdao said, "The county magistrate still needs to take the trouble to implement these matters that will benefit the people."

Li Yuan patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, this is my responsibility. I... Li will implement these orders even if it costs my life!"

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and whispered, "If the county magistrate encounters any difficulties, you can ask someone to come find me."

Li Yuan blinked when he heard this. In terms of family background and interpersonal relationships, he was much better than Lu Zheng. As a result, Lu Zheng's words contained a lot of information.

Li Yuan whispered, "I heard that you have established a relationship with the Fengcheng County Lord? But she is in Fengzhou. Even if I encounter any problems here, she will not be able to help me..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's not her, it's the eldest princess."

"Who?"

Li Yuan shuddered, thinking he had misheard, and quickly scratched his ears.

Lu Zheng remained calm and said, "Princess An Jing."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan leaned back and stared at Lu Zheng in disbelief.

Lu Zheng said slowly, "If you do well, I might be able to say a few words to the Princess."

In order to make Li Yuan work hard, Lu Zheng wanted to give him a bowl of chicken blood before leaving.

"Ah, you...I..."

Li Yuan was confused for a moment and didn't understand when Lu Zheng got involved with that person.

He knew that Lu Zheng would never joke with him about such a thing, and he just thought that when Lu Zheng met the Princess of Fengcheng before, he also met the eldest princess.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan's expression brightened, his eyes narrowed in a smile. "Hey, why didn't you tell us about this earlier? We're not outsiders... You can go study abroad. I'm here to help Kaiyang County, so there won't be any trouble! I promise that before next spring's planting, all the policies that can benefit the people will be implemented!"

Li Yuan patted his chest and joked that if he could get the attention of the princess, his future career would be smooth sailing.

For an official, if there is an opportunity to climb up, who wouldn’t want to move to a higher level?
Li Yuan was in an excited mood and thought that he had some pretty good connections in the state capital, but he didn't expect that Lu Zheng was even better than him.

Lu Zhengdao said, "I won't disturb the county magistrate any longer. Goodbye."

"I'll see you off!" Li Yuan said hurriedly.

"There's no need to do that. It'll attract too much attention." Lu Zhengdao said.

Lu Zheng originally wanted to leave quietly. If someone did something to him, it would definitely become known to everyone and affect others.

After hearing this, Li Yuan still insisted on sending Lu Zheng out of the county government office.

Only when Lu Zheng disappeared did Li Yuan go back silently, feeling uneasy.

Seeing Li Yuan's expression, the officers nearby looked at him intently, feeling that the county magistrate's attitude towards Lu Zheng was no longer the same as before towards the younger generation, but instead showed a hint of respect?
Li Yuan put his hands behind his back and said in a low voice, "Everyone has been busy in the past few months. If I see anyone idle, please pack up and go home. We in Kaiyang County are not short of people... If you do a good job, you will be rewarded!"

Li Yuan's voice was not loud, but it spread throughout the county government office.

The officers who heard the sound were startled and even moved their hands and feet faster.

……

Lu Zheng walked briskly and quickly left the county town.

I met many passers-by along the way and felt that the atmosphere in the city was much better than before.

Suddenly, Lu Zheng felt something and looked back, only to see Xiao Shan standing at the city gate, looking at him from afar.

Lu Zheng smiled slightly, waved goodbye, and walked away gracefully.

We arrived at a deserted, secluded place.

Lu Zheng took out the painting of a white crane and summoned the white crane from the painting.

The white crane was about ten feet tall, similar to the crane in the painting that Lu Zheng had ridden before, but it exuded a more spiritual aura.

Lu Zheng took a step and jumped onto the crane's back, saying, "Go north."

The white crane let out a low cry, flapped its wings, kicked up a cloud of dust, and suddenly flew up, dragging Lu Zheng steadily into the sky.

Lu Zheng sat cross-legged on the crane's back, with a righteous spirit surrounding him, resisting the wind.

When he was riding on the white crane before, Lu Zheng had not yet fully appreciated the beauty of the mountains and rivers.

Now looking down at the land below, there is a different kind of beauty.

It's so small... Lu Zheng sighed in his heart, feeling that everything in the world has become tiny.

Qing Wan poked her head out and looked down at the ground, eyes full of wonder. She couldn't help but exclaim, "It's so high!"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's only a few hundred meters high, how can it be considered high? It would be considered high only if it could reach ten thousand feet."

However, Lu Zheng had no intention of controlling the white crane to fly to that height.

The higher it is, the stronger the strong wind will be, which will accelerate the consumption of the White Crane's spiritual energy.

Moreover, even if it was a real crane, it would not dare to fly to such a height without some cultivation.

Qing Wan worriedly whispered, "We're flying so high, will we fall to death?" Children's words are always so fearless and true.

The comfortable expression on Lu Zheng's face faded, and he said, "It's okay. I have a magic talisman with me at this height, so there's no danger."

"oh oh……"

Qing Wan felt relieved and even jumped onto the white crane's back, leaning her little body out to look.

Seeing Qing Wan being blown by the wind and swaying, Lu Zheng couldn't help but twitch his eyelids.

This little guy is very small when he is timid, but too big when he is brave.

Lu Zhengdao said, "Those who know their destiny don't stand under a rock wall. Don't stand so far off to the edge..."

Qing Wan swayed and replied, "I'm standing firm."

Qingwan pointed to her short legs, where thin grass tendrils were entwined with the white crane's feathers.

Lu Zheng thought to himself, your safety rope might not be very safe...

"Hey, we've been here before, that village..."

Qingwan looked at the scenery below and chattered.

At a glance, Lu Zheng could even clearly see someone repairing a road in the mountains.

Qing Wan staggered around in the breeze, satisfied her curiosity, and then snuggled back into Lu Zheng's arms.

The white crane flapped its wings and flew north. Not long after, it left Kaiyang County and arrived in Tong County.

Tong County is named after a kind of white paulownia tree that grows in the county. The paper made from this paulownia tree is of high quality and is mostly used for writing cultural relics.

Even government officials would use Lingyun white paper produced in Tongxian when writing certain special documents.

In the entire Hongzhou, Tong County is considered to be one of the most prosperous counties.

In comparison, the nearby Kaiyang County can only be ranked at the end.

After flying for a while, Lu Zheng saw a teahouse at a fork in the mountain road not far away.

Looking at the nearby mountains and fields from afar, there are no villages or towns in sight.

There are many wild animals in the mountains, and you may even encounter ghosts and monsters. Not everyone dares to open a shop in the wild.

At least Lu Zheng traveled around Kaiyang County and didn't see any shops located in the wild.

Seeing this teahouse, Lu Zheng couldn't help but feel curious.

He ordered the white crane to land in an open space, then included the white crane in the painting and moved it along the county road in the mountains.

After walking for a while, we arrived outside the teahouse.

The teahouse is ordinary and looks like it has been open for some time.

It is laid out like a small inn, with a loess wall and a wide-open main entrance. There are some tables and chairs in the yard, as well as several bungalows for people coming and going to rest or stay overnight.

However, there were no customers at this time. There was only a dark and strong man in a short coat sitting in the open tea stall. He was the owner of the teahouse.

The earth wall was not built high, so the man saw Lu Zheng coming at a glance.

He looked at Lu Zheng for a few times and saw that Lu Zheng had an extraordinary appearance and fair skin, but his dress did not look like that of a rich boy. He guessed that he was a scholar from an ordinary family.

Over the years, he has met all kinds of people, and the strong man rarely makes a mistake in his judgment.

Lu Zheng walked into the yard, looked at the clean tables and chairs, and found a place to sit down.

Seeing this, the strong man said calmly: "Ten coins for a rest, and another ten coins for tea."

"Ten cents?"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but open his mouth and repeat it.

It costs ten cents to sit for a while, which is not cheap.

The strong man was used to it and grinned, "Don't say this is a black shop. There's no village in front and no shop behind here. Ten cents for you to rest your feet is already very cheap."

"If you're not afraid, go rest in the mountains. If you run into a ferocious beast or demon and get killed, you can't blame anyone!"

Lu Zheng asked curiously, "Are there many ferocious beasts and demons in the mountains nearby?"

The burly man smacked his lips and said with a smile, "Who can say for sure? It depends on one's luck. Anyway, I have seen it."

Lu Zhengdao: "Then how dare you open a store here?"

The burly man pointed to the road outside and said, "This fork in the road connects three counties. People always pass by here. I can build a tea shop here and make a lot of money! I practice martial arts, so I dare to eat this bowl of rice!"

"I see."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly, thinking that this man was good at doing business.

He put out twenty copper coins and said, "Give me a bowl of hot tea."

The strong man slowly stood up, picked up a pot of hot tea, poured a bowl of tea for Lu Zheng, picked up the copper coins, and went back to lie down.

"Young man, is this your first time here? Where are you from? People who often walk this road know me, Wang Wu."

Lu Zheng took a sip of the hot tea and said slowly, "A scholar from Kaiyang County."

Wang Wu heard this and said, "That's quite close. How come I haven't seen you before? Have you never traveled far before?"

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "I've never been to Tong County. I'm planning to go to the state capital to take a look."

Wang Wu couldn't help but say, "Hongzhou City? It's a long way to go. You'd better be careful as a young man. Don't be deceived by any evil spirits... We have been running a shop here for many years, and I have heard many stories about scholars suffering. This world is not peaceful."

(End of this chapter)