Now I really have to marry the princess.

Chapter 115 The knife has been prepared for Li Er

Yang Zhengdao had originally planned to work a full day today, but unexpectedly, around noon, Li Tai's servant came to the county office looking for him.

Li Tai invited him to a banquet at his private residence.

The messenger said that if he was free at noon, he should go at noon; if he was not free at noon, he should go after his shift.

So eager!?

Yang Zhengdao had already vaguely guessed the reason. Considering that he had already assigned the tasks that morning, he agreed to go at noon.

At this time, Li Tai's private residence was in Buzhengfang, not yet the Wei Prince's Mansion that later occupied about a quarter of Yankangfang.

The county office was not far from the prefectural office, and we arrived quickly.

Li Tai's private residence was clearly more impressive than Li Yuanjia's, with a vermilion gate and a black plaque bearing the inscription written by Li Er.

The inscription above reads "Cheng Guan Tang".

He really is Li Er's precious son.

After his initial envy, Yang Zhengdao entered the mansion.

The servants led him directly through the front yard and into the middle yard, where Li Tai had already come out to greet him.

The person following Li Tai was Li Jingren, the second son of Li Daozong, the Prince of Jiangxia.

As expected, it seems that Dilireba has completed her mission.

After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, the host and guests took their seats, and then maids filed in one by one to serve the food.

Four side dishes: a dish of pickled plum and ginger, a dish of peppered broad beans, a dish of honey-preserved green plums, and a dish of thinly sliced ​​venison.

The four main dishes are: a plate of finely sliced ​​shredded chicken, a plate of braised mutton, a plate of steamed pigeon, and a plate of braised white fish.

The staple food is steamed wheat rice made from new wheat, mixed with pine nuts.

There are also bamboo shoot soup and almond milk to cut through the richness.

As expected of King Tai of Yue, who loved elegance and delicacies, this lunch was even more sumptuous than that of the Liangyi Palace.

What's most infuriating is that this chubby guy actually looked apologetic and said, "I was not well prepared, please forgive me, Master Sanshang."

Yang Zhengdao thought of Chen Ergeng's anxiety over a few dozen coins, and of Huang Yanshi's passionate delivery of a couple of strings of cash. He couldn't help but twitch his lips.

The lunch was naturally a pleasant one for both host and guests.

During the conversation, when the topic turned to Yang Zhengdao's appointment as the county magistrate of Chang'an, Li Jingren jokingly said, "From now on, when the Prince of Yue comes to stay at this private residence, he will be a subject under Magistrate Yang's jurisdiction."

Li Tai also bowed respectfully and said, "I hope the county magistrate will take good care of me in the future."

Yang Zhengdao briefly mentioned his sewage treatment renovation plan.

Li Tai, naturally, patted his chest and, on behalf of the people of Buzhengfang, fully supported the county magistrate's actions.

Yang Zhengdao then talked about the Yijing Project and the saying "Don't forget the well-digger when you drink the water," and Li Tai's eyes lit up.

He readily agreed, and said he would take care of the Yijing well in Buzhengfang.

In addition, he also took over the yijing (well-dwellings) in other wards of Chang'an County if no one offered to invest.

Yang Zhengdao suddenly discovered a little trick.

In the future, whenever Li Er and Empress Zhangsun try to take advantage of him again, he will make up for it by taking advantage of their precious son.

After lunch, Li Tai said mysteriously, "The other day, Ah Ren and I bought an ancient artifact from a merchant in the West Market. Today, we have specially invited the Hermit of the Three Realms to take a look."

Yang Zhengdao feigned surprise: "I am not a connoisseur of antiquities. To me, such artifacts are like uncut jade from Mount Jing, whose true value is beyond my comprehension."

O

Li Tai waved his hands repeatedly: "No! No! This object has runes on it, which the Hermit of the Three Realms should be able to recognize."

"Oh? Why is Your Highness so certain?"

Li Tai said somewhat embarrassedly, "Before the Double Fifth Festival, I deposited another hundred strings of cash at the hot spring bathhouse and received a copper buckle with the character 'An' on it. This is the kind of rune on the back of the buckle."

Wow! Gambling is truly irresistible.

Yang Zhengdao really wanted to ask Li Tai if he was trying to sabotage him, since his odds of winning weren't that low.

One hundred strings of cash, that's one hundred copper buttons! And you're saying you only won a third prize?!

The use of oracle bone script in the production of copper buckles was not only to prevent counterfeiting, but also for the sake of today.

It makes people naturally realize that he has some knowledge of this ancient script.

Upon entering Li Tai's study, Yang Zhengdao indeed saw the tortoise shell that had been soaked in horse urine for ten days in his backyard.

This method was actually learned by Yang Zhengdao from watching short videos in later generations.

From the moment he saw the tortoise shell, he entered a state of intense acting.

He had rehearsed this scene in his mind many times.

His eyes first lit up, then his face flushed, and then his hands trembled as he picked up the tortoise shell and examined it carefully.

Finally, after repeatedly confirming, his voice trembled as he said, "This—this—is a divination object from the ancient Shang Dynasty."

Li Jingren immediately clenched his fist excitedly: "It's really true! The Records of the Grand Historian, in the section on tortoise shells and yarrow stalks, says that those who wanted to divine in the Xia and Shang dynasties would take tortoise shells and yarrow stalks, and then discard them, because they believed that tortoise shells would lose their power if stored away, and yarrow stalks would lose their magic if stored for too long."

"Absolutely!" Li Tai rubbed his hands excitedly. "The Book of Rites also records that the Yin people revered the gods and led the people to serve them, prioritizing spirits over rituals. This can corroborate that."

Both of them are top students!

Yang Zhengdao only regretted that the original owner of the body had not read enough books; he didn't even know that there was a "Biographies of Divination by Tortoise Shells" in the Records of the Grand Historian.

Since that's the case, let me tell you about a book that you'll never see in your lifetime.

He coughed lightly and brought out the "Complete Treatise on Agricultural Administration".

"Gentlemen, I am not yet certain, but the text on this is indeed consistent with the oracle bone inscriptions recorded in a miscellaneous book from the Later Han Dynasty."

Both Li Tai and Li Jingren were beaming, and exclaimed in unison, "You really do recognize Shang Wen!"

Yang Zhengdao quickly replied modestly, "I only remember a few things, after all, a long time has passed, and besides, a single piece of evidence is not enough. I still need to ask the scholars of the Hongwen Academy to conduct a detailed investigation. Moreover—"

Li Tai's expression hardened: "Master San Shang, please speak freely."

Yang Zhengdao picked up the tortoise shell again, suppressed his nausea, sniffed it, and then shook his head.

"It doesn't look like it! It doesn't look like it!"

Li Jingren was anxious; he had spent a hundred strings of cash to buy this.

His brows furrowed immediately: "Could it be a fake ancient artifact?"

Yang Zhengdao smiled and said, "No, no! I don't think it's a fake or forged item!"

Li Jingren breathed a sigh of relief. "That really scared me to death!"

Li Tai's expression relaxed, and he exclaimed in surprise, "The Hermit of the Three Realms, you even know how to distinguish the ancients?"

Yang Zhengdao shook his head and began to deceive: "I've heard that some people counterfeit it by soaking it in horse urine, but this thing has no strange smell."

There can be no odor.

After the tortoise shell was taken out of the horse urine, it was first soaked in wood ash, then boiled in water with cypress branches, and finally placed in activated charcoal for several days.

Upon hearing this, both Li Tai and Li Jingren picked up the tortoise shell, held it to their noses, and smelled it. Li Jingren even licked it.

Yang Zhengdao couldn't bear to watch any longer. He coughed and continued his analysis: "Look at this tortoise shell, there are drill holes, burn marks, and cracks. This is precisely for divination. Moreover, the format of the divination inscription is correct."

As he spoke, he spread out the paper on the table.

Li Jingren, being very perceptive, quickly prepared the ink.

A moment later, Yang Zhengdao translated the text on the tortoise shell.

Divination on the day of Guihai, with the circled inscription:

Within three circles, do not take a woman? Within three circles, if you take a woman, do not circle her?

Wang Zhan said: "It is inauspicious for a woman to marry a close relative, either inside or outside the three circles."

The circle of close relatives is taken, and the circle has no circle.

Yang Zhengdao put down his pen and began to explain: "The miscellaneous books of the Later Han Dynasty say that the merchants used a pair of divinations, one positive and one negative. Although I don't recognize the five characters in it, the format is obviously a pair of questions, and the style is regular."

Upon hearing this, Li Jingren immediately beamed with joy, realizing that the hundred guan had not been wasted.

But Li Tai's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the words "marrying a daughter to a close relative is inauspicious," but then he burst into laughter.

"I am relieved to hear what you say, Mr. Mikami! Presenting this to my father will surely be a great achievement."

Yang Zhengdao did not notice the subtle changes in Li Tai's expression.

He couldn't avoid suspicion in doing this, but with Li Er around, more suspicion would only be directed at Li Er.

After all, the tortoise shell was presented by Li Er's beloved son.

As for whether Li Tai will refuse to present the tortoise shell, there's absolutely no need to worry about that.

Because Li Tai wanted Li Er's approval more than Li Chengqian.

Even if Li Er knew that the tortoise shell was a forgery by Yang Zhengdao, he would do everything he could to prove that the tortoise shell was real.

The knife has been prepared for Li Er.

If he didn't even dare to be the one wielding the knife, then he wouldn't be Li Er.

Looking back at history and comparing Li Er and Yang Guang, Li Er was completely following Yang Guang's strategy.

He established the imperial examination system, revitalized the eastern capital, and launched a campaign against Goguryeo.

However, Li Er was more patient, more adept at forbearance, and better at acting.

Yang Guang always thought he could achieve success overnight, but the Tang Dynasty took two generations.

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