A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuling was overjoyed and clapped his hands. The clerks of the Shanglin Bureau once again raised their wine cups to congratulate Li Shande.

Seeing that Li Shande was already drunk, Liu Shuling then took out the pardon, his mouth practically stretched to his ears with a grin.

"All that's left is your signature. Come on, and immense wealth is just around the corner."

With a smile on his lips, Li Shande accepted the pardon and the brush, dipped it in ink, and solemnly signed his name.

Everyone else also showed very genuine smiles.

On the way back, Li Shande extravagantly rented a donkey, held the pardon in his arms, and imagined his future rise to prominence.

But he was already completely drunk, and he usually rode on his own and never rode on livestock.

Even though the donkey was extremely docile, he still fell off it, and the imperial pardon also fell to the ground, flipping right over.

Under the influence of alcohol, Li Shande felt no pain at all and instead burst into laughter.

The children on the roadside laughed along, as if everything was full of beauty.

However, as he turned his head, his smile gradually faded.

His gaze fell on the torn-open pardon, and he recalled the task that Liu Shuling had mentioned.

Ten pounds of lychees boiled?!

Li Shande suddenly remembered the lychee fritters he had bought for his child. This kind of thing was sold in Luoyang, so why did he need to transport it all the way from Luoyang?

His drunkenness was instantly jolted away. Looking at the pardon on the ground, the character "煎" (jian, meaning fried) seemed to float up slightly.

He was startled, rubbed his eyes hard, widened his eyes, and crawled to the side of the pardon to examine it carefully.

Sure enough, it wasn't his imagination.

His hands trembled as he picked up the pardon, his right hand fingers trembling as he reached for the character "煎" (jian, meaning fried), his face quivering involuntarily.

He was able to peel off the character for "fry," which turned out to be just a yellow paste.

His face was full of astonishment and surprise, because the character for "fry" was actually followed by the character for "fresh".

Lychee fritters, fresh lychees.

A single word makes all the difference, and it can mean the difference between life and death for him.

His bad premonition came true!

He closed the pardon with trembling hands, mounted his donkey, and sped off towards the Imperial Forestry Bureau.

"It must be Commander Liu, it must be him who did it, it must be him who framed me."

"Damn it!"

"No, only he can save me now, only he can save me."

"Lychee fritters, it must be lychee fritters."

"As long as you put the yellow sticker back on, it will still be lychee omelet."

Li Shande was extremely anxious and spurred his donkey to gallop at full speed.

He no longer cared about etiquette and pounced on Liu Shuling, repeatedly shouting for help.

His colleagues quickly pulled him up, and Liu Shuling, who had been all smiles, suddenly launched into a tirade of abuse.

But Li Shande still had a smile on his face. He knew that Liu Shuling was plotting against him, but now only Liu Shuling could save him.

"Lord Liu, the original word 'fresh lychee' on the amnesty decree has been changed to 'fried lychee,' and the sticker has fallen off. It needs to be reattached."

"Ambassador Li's descriptions are always so fresh and juicy. What's with the lychee omelet? Did you just add that yourself?"

Liu Shuling naturally denied it to the death.

"How could I possibly stick it on myself? The difference between 'fresh' and 'fried' is just one word, but it's a matter of life and death for a villain like me!"

Li Shande was so anxious he was almost in tears. "As everyone knows, lychees change color in one day, fragrance in two days, and taste in three days."

"Lingnan is a full 7600 li (approximately 330 kilometers) from Luoyang; it's simply impossible to transport fresh lychees back!"

"Are you implying that the sage is absurd?"

Liu Shuling immediately pinned a heavy label on him.

"How could I possibly blame the saint for being absurd? But before signing, you clearly said it was lychee omelet!"

Li Shande's voice was already trembling with tears, and his eyes were filled with red.

"Lychee omelet, are you getting senile! Lychee omelets are available in Dongshi, why are you coming all the way to Lingnan?!"

"Didn't you hear me say lychee omelet?"

Liu Shuling asked the surrounding Shanglin officials.

No, no.

Everyone shook their heads, and some who still had a conscience lowered their heads, not daring to look at Li Shande.

But if this task didn't fall to Li Shande, it might have fallen to them.

They had no choice but to let Li Shande die.

Li Shande now understood that everything that had happened today was a setup.

It was Liu Shuling who, together with these so-called colleagues, set up this scheme for him, with the aim of making him sign the pardon in a daze.

"The news that you are now the Lychee Envoy has reached the palace, and the Emperor is waiting."

Liu Shuling patted Li Shande on the shoulder and led the group away.

The imperial edict has been received, and there is no room for reversal.

Li Shande understood that he was already doomed.

He was already on the verge of death, so he no longer cared that Liu Daqiang was his superior.

"What did I do to offend you, Liu Daqiang?"

He roared at Liu Shuling.

Liu Shuling paused slightly, without turning around, and his calm voice sent a chill down Li Shande's spine.

"We are both serving the imperial court, doing our best in our duties."

Li Shande dared not go home, so he climbed onto the roof of the Shanglin Office and sat there for an entire night.

The next morning, Du Fu was awakened by a knock on his door. Over the years, with Li Bai's help, he had also settled in Luoyang.

When Du Fu opened the door, he saw that it was Li Shande's wife, with whom he had some acquaintance.

Du Fu learned from Li Shande's wife that Li Shande had not returned home all night.

"I would like to trouble Lord Du to deliver a gift for me."

Li Shande's wife said.

Du Fu nodded, but seeing that her hands were empty, he couldn't help but ask in surprise, "What gift is it?"

"A slap."

Li Shande's wife said calmly.

Du Fu: "..."

"May I repeat that, sister-in-law? I didn't hear you clearly."

Du Fu asked.

"A slap."

Du Fu fell silent. It turned out that he hadn't misheard; it really had been a slap.

"I understand."

Du Fu got up, changed his clothes, and then took the gifts from Li Shande's wife to the Ministry of Revenue's Shanglin Office.

Li Shan sat on the roof of the Shanglin Office, watching the rising sun, his heart filled with gloom.

Some of his colleagues downstairs complained that he didn't jump, while others drew his portrait for his funeral.

When his friend Du Fu came looking for him and learned of the matter from his colleagues, Du Fu remained unusually calm.

He had long known that an unlucky fellow would take on this task at the Ministry of Revenue, but he never expected that the person would be his friend, the honest Li Shande.

He climbed up to the roof step by step. Li Shande thought he was there to persuade him, but unexpectedly he brought a gift from his wife.

"My sister-in-law asked me to give this to you."

Du Fu raised his right hand and slapped Li Shande across the face.

This slap was a wake-up call for Li Shande. He realized that his life did not only belong to himself, but also to his family, his wife, and his daughter.

As expected of his wife, this gift is really impressive!