My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 109 Farewell
Li Xuanba had no idea why his teacher cared so much about Qingzao Village.

However, Liu Xuan had already made up his mind, and Li Xuanba could not persuade him.

He could only ask Zhang Du to spare some men to protect Liu Xuan and go together.

With that, Li Xuanba had nothing else to do. Tian Xiang was helping to look after the people of Changwu, while Liu Xuan went to the mountain stronghold to help them settle down.

Li Yuan left with his men that evening.

Xingyang is not very close to Loufan, and the road is difficult to travel right now, so he has to be quick. The emperor is petty and narrow-minded; he might take back the rewards he received today just because he was a few days late.

Madam Dou then tasked Li Jiancheng with arranging the relocation of the remaining personnel.

The Li family's sons were also saying goodbye to their friends in the area.

The eldest brother has the most friends here, and many people have come to visit him and see him off these past few days.

Li Shimin had many friends, and his banquet had just begun, but now it had to end hastily.

However, he got along quite well with those people; they even held a farewell banquet for Li Shimin.

As for the fourth son, he had no friends in the area. However, because of his poor academic performance, Li Jiancheng sent one of his scholars to tutor him. During this time, the fourth son stayed at home all day to study and found it difficult to go out.

Only the third child was left.

Li Xuanba had few friends here, and Zhang Du and the others were going to leave with him anyway.

The Li family's mansion was quite lively.

Local celebrities would come from time to time. For some of them, Li Jiancheng would personally go out to greet them. These people would present gifts, bow and scrape, and laugh incessantly. Li Jiancheng would then invite these people to his own courtyard, where a large number of people would gather, including local heroes, scholars, and all sorts of people.

Servants bustled about, and the table was laden with all kinds of meat and fruit. Some people were reciting poems, while others were discussing world affairs.

Some people even came from remote counties, hoping to take this opportunity to expand their network. The East Courtyard had never been so lively.

Some people who were not so prominent also came to visit Li Shimin. Li Shimin had a wide network of connections. His friends were not as noble as Li Jiancheng, but they were still quite capable.

The lively atmosphere and the constant stream of guests made everyone in the mansion sigh: the two young men truly have the same style as their father!

Compared to them, Li Xuanba's place was very quiet.

The courtyard was quiet, and no one came to disturb it.

Li Xuanba carried the stone lock, lifting it up and then putting it down again.

Under the scorching sun, he was covered in sweat, but his movements became even more fluid, swift, and powerful.

A little girl was squatting on his left, holding a piece of cloth in her hand and staring at him, while an old man stood on his right, his arms crossed in front of him, nodding with satisfaction.

Li Xuanba, panting, put down the stone lock and laughed again. He looked at Liu Chounu beside him.

"Old man! You lifted it ten more times!"

Liu Chounu nodded, "Your progress is nothing short of rapid."

Even Liu Chounu has started addressing him as "Lord Marquis," but his attitude towards Li Xuanba hasn't changed. The old man used to follow the Duke of the Founding State to become a Pillar of State, so a mere marquis wouldn't frighten him.

San Shi was the same, but she probably didn't know what a marquis was, since the highest official she knew before seemed to be a county magistrate.

While wiping Li Xuanba's sweat, San Shi complained about the situation in the mansion.

"It's really noisy in the manor today. I just went to fetch some water and there were so many people gathered by the well. It gave me quite a fright."

Li Xuanba laughed, "Those people are all here to say goodbye to my brother. My brother is generous and kind, has many friends, and is well-liked. Now that he is leaving, it is normal for the people here to be reluctant to part with him."

As they were talking, a servant suddenly appeared at the door.

"My lord!"

The servant bowed and said, "The guards have arrested several suspicious individuals who claim to be looking for the Lord, and that they are from Meng Village. They are near the west gate."

Li Xuanba immediately became alert.

Could it be that the people from Qingzao Village have been captured?

He hurriedly got up, took Liu Chounu with him, and the two of them walked quickly toward the side gate of the mansion.

When they arrived, the servants inside the mansion had surrounded a group of people and were loudly questioning them. When they saw Li Xuanba arrive, the servants quickly made way, revealing the people inside.

They weren't from Qingzao Village. Li Xuanba recognized the leader; he was the village head of Meng Village at the foot of the mountain.

The village chief stood there uneasily, looking frightened. Seven or eight hunters stood around him, looking bewildered.

"Village Chief Meng!" Li Xuanba greeted him with a smile. The other party saw him and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why are you here?"

Village Chief Meng looked behind him and saw a hunter take out a package and hand it to him. Village Chief Meng carefully opened the package.

“We heard that Sanlangjun was leaving and the villagers killed a fox. I thought the fox's fur was very beautiful, so I made a belt.”

Li Xuanba accepted their gifts, which were indeed very beautiful and fluffy.

This thing looks like a belt. It was probably brought in by the Hu people. Its original purpose was to wipe swords and arrows. Later, it was integrated with the Central Plains culture and became a kind of ornament for warriors.

The people of Changwu also learned from the patrolling local soldiers that Sanlangjun had been promoted.

Although they did not know the specifics, they were very happy to hear that the Third Prince had received a reward and been promoted.

Good man rewarded.

A virtuous person like Sanlangjun should be given a high-ranking official position.

But then they were very sad because Sanlangjun was leaving.

They all knew in their hearts that the reason their lives had changed so much in recent days was because of Sanlangjun. After he left, their lives would definitely return to what they were before, with no one caring about them or bothering to protect them.

Sanlangjun was leaving, and they wanted to see him one last time and present him with gifts.

Village Chief Meng then met with the Township Head, explained the situation, and asked for a pass to enter the city. When Township Head Tian learned that they were going to deliver gifts to Li Xuanba, he let them pass without saying a word.

They traveled a long way to reach the city, inquired along the way, and finally arrived at the Li residence.

The entrance to the mansion was bustling with activity as many lavishly dressed dignitaries arrived in carriages, where they were greeted by gatekeepers.

These country folk had never seen such a grand scene before. They dared not approach and speak, nor did they want to leave. They lingered back and forth.

This was, after all, the prefect's residence. Their loitering here naturally aroused the suspicion of the servants, who then arrested them.

Li Xuanba happily accepted their gifts.

"Thank you."

"How dare I? How dare I?"

Both Chief Meng and the hunters behind him were exceptionally close to Li Xuanba when they were in Meng Village. But once they entered the city, they seemed to be locked up by something, becoming timid, cautious, and afraid to say much.

Li Xuanba said, "You've traveled for so long, you must be tired. Why don't you come with me into my residence? My courtyard is quiet, and you can have something to eat there."

Village Chief Meng's eyes were filled with fear, and he shook his head repeatedly.

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Liu Chounu whispered something in Li Xuanba's ear, and Li Xuanba nodded.

He laughed, "There are indeed many people in the manor today. How about this, I'll take you to another place! Old man, tell them to get you some food, nothing fancy, just something filling."

"let's go!"

Li Xuanba led this group of 'savages' and strode away into the distance.

The servants exchanged glances and looked at each other blankly.

These people who come to see the young master are all local heroes, so why are they a bunch of country bumpkins coming to see the lord?
Li Xuanba led them along the road, generously introducing the city's buildings to them. Villagers could hardly come to the city to wander around; if they were to go, they would go to the market to conduct business. At this time, entering and leaving the city and leaving their own homes required documents, and they could not move around as they pleased.

Li Xuanba led them all the way to his family's orchard in the south of the city.

Instead of leading everyone to the pavilion, he went straight into the orchard, found a spacious spot, and sat down with everyone.

Soon someone brought over the still-warm sesame seed cakes.

Li Xuanba then had Liu Chounu distribute the fruit to everyone, and they sat in the orchard, eating and talking.

Sitting here, Chief Meng and the others were finally less terrified.

He happily ate the warm pancake in his hand. It was just a pancake, but the rich man ate it better than the poor man, with various seasonings sprinkled on top.

Village Chief Meng had never eaten such delicious pancakes in his life. After a few bites, he couldn't help but smile and praise them.

But as he was laughing, he suddenly started crying again.

"From now on, I'm afraid I'll never be able to see my beloved again."

(End of this chapter)