Joy of Life: I'm really not a saint

Ye Da is indeed a businessman. He left himself enough room for retreat in his words without appearing to offend others.

Li An waved his hand, smiling and saying warmly, "Don't be so nervous, boss. This is actually a good thing."

Without further ado, Li An got straight to the point and said, "The man behind me is my fifteenth disciple. He is very smart and has a talent for numbers and business. Although I am his teacher, my ability in this area is limited and I have no business experience. Even if I teach him verbatim, it will not be good for his growth. After much thought, I have the audacity to bring my disciple here, hoping that the shopkeeper can accept him as a disciple and teach him the ways of business."

Ye Da felt relieved after hearing this. Although he had never thought about it, the person in front of him was a grandmaster. It was normal that he could not understand the grandmaster's thinking. This matter could be done, but would there be any bad effects after doing it? Ye Da pondered for a while, and after a while, he got a result.

Regardless of all that mess, the words of the Grand Master alone cannot be rejected casually. Not to mention, this is actually a good thing. Teaching his disciples businessmen can also be regarded as a little bit of incense and incense, which can be used in the future when the crisis comes!

After making the decision, Ye Da smiled and said, "What you said is fine. Besides, this disciple is a person with talent that you praised. I think he is a rough gem for business. Then let me teach him."

"That's good!" Li An stood up, laughed, and saluted, saying, "Thank you very much, boss. Chen Xiao, why are you still standing there?"

Chen Xiao quickly walked out from behind Li An, bowed to Ye Da and said, "Disciple Chen Xiao, greetings to Teacher Ye!"

"Not bad, not bad." Ye Da wiped his snow-white beard and smiled until his eyes narrowed. "In fact, I have been under house arrest in Kyoto for so many years, and I really haven't met a good seedling. I have to thank Mr. Li for sending me such a disciple."

"I don't deserve it." Li An showed a curious look and asked Ye Da: "Boss, why don't I see other bosses when I come here today?"

These shopkeepers were left behind by Ye Qingmei to help her run the largest industry in the world. Each of them had extraordinary abilities and keen business sense, and they were Ye Qingmei's capable subordinates. After Ye Qingmei was killed, they were also purged, because they had violated a taboo. However, the royal family considered that they might still need these people after taking over the inner treasury, so they did not kill them all, and still kept more than 20 shopkeepers, but ordered these shopkeepers not to leave the capital.

"Hey, we are all old after all." Ye Da looked sad and said, "Several of them have passed away, and the rest are mostly living in the hospital, so I usually go out to handle affairs."

"I see." Li An nodded. Seeing that the purpose of this trip had been achieved, he planned to leave with his disciples.

"From now on, I will ask my disciples to come and ask for advice every day. I'll take my leave now." The words had been said and there was nothing else to do. Li An and the other person left Qing Yu Tang with the farewell of the chief shopkeeper.

Looking back at the plaque again, Li An sighed: "A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have good fortune."

It's all bullshit!

Chapter 72: Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

After several days of tug-of-war, the negotiations at the Honglu Temple came to a temporary end. The work of redefining the border between the two countries was very difficult to finish, because in the delegation, there were people who were responsible for cursing like shrews, and there were also people who translated and wrote official documents like old scholars.

If not, the record of the negotiation would appear very vulgar. Although the process was indeed just a scene of verbal abuse between the two parties.

Qing was the victorious country, and the official in charge of the specific negotiations at the Honglu Temple was extremely firm in his attitude at the beginning of the negotiations, which made the Northern Qi delegation blush and reluctantly declare that they would talk later.

When the negotiations started again, they got some news and changed their attitude. They kept delaying time shamelessly, and no one knew what they were waiting for.

Fan Xian was also ordered to participate in this negotiation, and was given an official position of neither importance nor rank, with another term added to his title.

However, when the news came back that Yan Bingyun was captured by the royal masters in Shangjing City of Northern Qi, the first thing that Qing Kingdom thought about was how to conceal this matter. Because they had flying birds that could deliver messages at an extremely fast speed, they wanted to use the information gap to quickly win the peace talks and not let this matter become a bargaining chip for the Northern Qi delegation.

But there were people in the upper echelons of Qing State who were in collusion with foreign countries. Within half a day, the note with the three words "Yan Bingyun" was handed to the officials of the other side. Therefore, in the last negotiation, Northern Qi State offered a new price.

Prisoner exchange - exchange Sean and Si Lili for Yan Bingyun.

Even though this two-for-one deal was a loss-making one, Emperor Qing agreed to it.

At this point, officials from both sides exchanged letters of credence and everyone was happy.

Tonight was the day when the Qing royal family would host a banquet for the negotiating officials of the two countries. As night fell, after Li An finished his work during the day, he and Wang Shisanlang headed towards the palace.

At this time, the palace was full of guests, including officials from the country, envoys from Northern Qi, and guests from Dongyi City. The people were talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was harmonious, as if the war had long gone, and they walked inside along the passage of the palace gate.

The banquet was held in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

"Wang Qinian, what is your relationship with this Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests?" Fan Xian asked the greasy fat man beside him while accepting the body search by the imperial guards.

Wang Qinian responded cheerfully: "You are joking, my Lord. I have nothing to do with this Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests."

As they were talking, they saw Li An coming. Fan Xian said nothing more, but just nodded at Li An with an inexplicable look on his face.

Are you asking me to forget what happened last night? Li An thought to himself and nodded in response, indicating that he understood.

"Sir, this is a routine inspection." A soldier came forward and said.

Li An just glanced at him and was about to speak when he was interrupted by a male voice.

"How dare you!" A man with alpaca hair stepped forward. It was the second prince Li Chengze. "Do you know who this is? Mr. Li, the fifth grandmaster in the world and a famous fortune teller in Kyoto. Is he someone you can search?"

The soldier stopped talking after hearing this, clasped his fists and retreated. He also understood His Highness's intention. What difference does it make whether a master carries a weapon or not?

"Greetings, Mr. Li. I'm sorry Chengze hasn't visited me in recent days." The Second Prince also folded his hands in front of his chest and bowed. When Li An smiled and nodded at him, he turned around and greeted Fan Xian: "Fan Xian, you have made great contributions this time. It seems that you will be promoted. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After a few brief greetings, they walked inside together.

But not long after they left, the prince and his entourage also arrived at the palace gate and walked forward in silence.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was already full of people, and maids carrying food trays and fruits were walking back and forth, making the scene extremely lively. Li An casually stopped a palace maid, explained his identity, and then followed the palace maid to his seat.

That was a seat at the back of the second row on the left side of the hall - Li An just stated his identity as a university bachelor.

After sitting down with Wang Shisanlang and listening to the conversation between the court officials on the left and right, Li An realized that not only Chen Pingping would not come, but even the Prime Minister Lin Ruofu was sick at home. The guests on the right were all envoys from Northern Qi and Dongyi City.

Li An looked carefully and saw Yun Zhilan. He looked cold and was also looking at him.

He and Wang Shisanlang behind him were both disciples of Si Gu Jian, so they both carried swords with them, which was also a rule of Si Gu Jian's disciples. As for Li An himself, he was wearing a green shirt and had nothing in his hands. At this time, he was eating grapes on the table to get through the boring opening.

On the high platform, three people were sitting on the left and right sides, namely the eldest princess, the crown prince and the second prince.

As Fan Xian was the deputy envoy of the negotiation team, even though he was only an assistant lawyer, he was sitting in the front middle seat at this time, chatting with the ministers around him.

He was also observing his surroundings silently. After a moment, he sensed something unusual and looked at Yun Zhilan.

Yun Zhilan's martial arts level is quite high. After sensing Fan Xian's gaze, he used his sword intent to look him in the eye. Because Fan Xian had previously been assassinated in Niulan Street and killed two female disciples from Dongyi City, the gaze between the two was full of gunpowder, which made the others present watch all this happen with gloating.

Just when the atmosphere was tense, there was suddenly a burst of music in the palace, with waves of sounds of zithers and harps being played.

The princess's attendant female official walked up to Fan Xian and said, "Sir Fan, the princess wants to see you."

Fan Xian had a strange expression on his face. He stood up and followed, arriving in front of the eldest princess.

"These past few days, I've been waiting for you to come and kill me." The eldest princess said softly with a smile and graceful manner.

Fan Xian frowned and did not reply.

Seeing this, the princess did not feel bored, and continued with a smile, a hint of seriousness in her voice: "If you swear allegiance to me, I can make your wish come true. Wan'er and the inner treasury will be handed over to you."

"If you want to drive the princess out of Kyoto, is that okay?" Fan Xian answered with a smile, but there was murderous intent in his eyes.

The eldest princess chuckled, raised her chin slightly, and said provocatively: "It's so interesting, you must try it."

"I will definitely not let the princess down!" Fan Xian responded loudly.

To outsiders, this scene would only seem like the two people are having a pleasant conversation, but they are unaware of the swordplay involved.

"Mr. Zhuang is here!" the eunuch outside the door shouted.

When this voice was heard, everyone in the hall stood up and watched the old man step into the hall.

The man was dressed in white, holding a scroll in his hand, with white eyebrows and hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a solemn expression as he walked slowly. When he reached the left side of the platform, he stood below the eldest princess and observed Fan Xian.

"The inheritance of literature and art is embodied in one person." Fan Xian pondered, bowed to Zhuang Mohan, and then returned to his seat.

Even Ang Lee looked over and gave her a very high score for her appearance and temperament.

"Your Majesty has arrived, and all officials are here to welcome you." A eunuch's shrill voice came.

"My Emperor, Holy Peace!"

The ministers of Qing State all knelt on cushions and saluted respectfully, while the envoys of other countries stood up and bowed. Only Li An sat aside and said nothing.

At this time, Emperor Qing also came out with the Queen.

The condescending attitude made the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests seem to be filled with a solemn atmosphere.

He sat down on the dragon chair, his majestic eyes swept across the crowd below, and finally stopped at Li An who was sitting in a corner, and said gently:

"Be flat."

Chapter 73 Banquet.

After the formalities, the banquet officially began.

Under the eunuch's loud voice and the sound of stringed instruments, the Northern Qi envoy came out first, bowed to Emperor Qing, and began to sing praises. Then Yun Zhilan from Dongyi City came out, said a few cold words about the two countries being friends, and then returned to the table and sat down.

This scene made the royal family on the stage secretly happy, and they lamented that Yun Zhilan's arrogance was as cold as a sword. The Qing court officials below the stage were discussing the rudeness of the Dongyi City envoy, and that he had no sincerity in coming to apologize.

"If Yun Zhilan, who is armed with a sword, were to assassinate with the sword, who could stop him?" The queen at the top asked the palace maid beside her softly with a worried look on her face.

The maid replied softly, "Eunuch Hong is waiting outside the palace."

After hearing this, the Queen put aside her worries and started chatting and laughing with the Prince.

Outside the hall, Hong Sixiang, wearing a black robe and with a sinister yet domineering face, sat quietly. He did not even look at the side dishes and drinks brought by the guards, and listened carefully to the movements in the hall.

The guard asked quietly, "Eunuch, don't you want to eat something?"

Hong Sixiang shook his head and said, "If it were any other time it would be fine, but there's a great master sitting in the inner room right now, how can he drink? You guys should be smart." After saying that, he ignored the guard.

Inside the palace, the palace maids and eunuchs began to serve dishes, and the smell of various wines spread, but the court officials ate in silence, tasting only a little. This atmosphere made Li An feel uncomfortable.

"If I had known this, I should have eaten dinner before coming here. This is my first time and I'm still inexperienced."

Listening to Li An's words, Shisan Wang chuckled: "This kind of banquet is not really for people to come and eat."

Li An nodded, thinking that it was just a formality, and said softly: "Open your eyes, something interesting will happen later."

"Oh?" Wang Shisanlang was puzzled, but still fully believed in Li Ang's reputation of "foresight".

Unlike everyone else who was eating cautiously, Fan Xian was wolfing down his meat and drinking, and occasionally greeting officials he knew, including Guo Baokun, with whom he had clashed before. This enthusiasm was only met with a look of disdain from Guo Baokun.

Even Lord Xin, the chief envoy of the negotiation team, reminded him, "Lord Fan, don't drink too much and behave inappropriately in front of the palace."

Fan Xian's heart moved slightly, and he chuckled, "Seeing such a big scene makes me a little nervous. Let me drink some wine to relax. Don't worry, but thank you very much for your concern, Lord Xin." After saying that, he used his true Qi, not to eliminate the effect of the alcohol, but to reverse the meridians and let the alcohol spread throughout his body. His cheeks immediately turned red.

Emperor Qing saw the whole scene with a puzzled look on his face and snorted coldly, but most of his attention was focused on Li An standing beside him.

Hearing Emperor Qing's cold snort, everyone put down their chopsticks and looked at Emperor Qing.

"Fan Xielü Lang." A heavy voice came, and Emperor Qing spoke.

At the reminder of Lord Xin, Fan Xian quickly stood up and walked to the center, bowed and said, "Your Majesty."

Emperor Qing said calmly: "You have done a good job this time. I will not say much praise. How about having a drink with me?" After that, he raised the golden cup in his hand, asked the eunuch beside him to fill it, and raised the cup to Fan Xian.

At this time, Fan Xian hurriedly took the wine glass handed to him by Lord Xin and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" and then drank the wine in one gulp.

The atmosphere in the room began to improve, and everyone raised their glasses and drank a glass of wine.

Now that the two countries have exchanged letters, they can no longer regret it. However, the people of Northern Qi were still unhappy. They raised their glasses and walked into the room, saying loudly: "Your Majesty, now that the negotiations have concluded and the two countries have reconciled, Lord Fan has made great contributions. Can the foreign ministers offer a toast to Lord Fan?"

Emperor Qing chuckled, thinking it was interesting, and agreed immediately.

Afterwards, more than a dozen members of the Northern Qi delegation poured wine into Fan Xian to vent their hatred.

"When friends come from afar, as the deputy envoy, I must accompany them well! Come, drink to victory, drink to victory!" Fan Xian laughed, which was exactly what he wanted to say. He immediately raised the wine pot and drank with the people from Northern Qi.

Emperor Qing looked at Li An and said in a sarcastic tone, "Mr. Li is a master, why is he sitting so far away?" He raised his voice slowly to make sure Li An could hear him, then turned to the eunuch Hou beside him and said, "Who arranged the seating arrangement today? Drag him away and have him beaten to death!"

After hearing the Emperor's slightly annoyed voice, the crowd in the audience immediately quieted down. The entire hall was as if the mute button had been pressed. Except for Fan Xian who was still shouting for drinks, everyone else lamented the moodiness of the most powerful man in Qing Kingdom.

The Northern Qi envoys and Dongyi City officials standing by just smiled indifferently and watched coldly.

After Eunuch Hou heard what Emperor Qing said, he waved his hand and the guards came out and pulled the eunuch out of the hall. The eunuch also lowered his head and dared not utter a word.

Oh, who are you showing off to by behaving like this?

Li An sneered and bowed to Emperor Qing.

"Rearrange the seating for Mr. Li. Let him sit next to Mr. Zhuang!" Emperor Qing said softly.

Li An turned around and laughed angrily: "No need, I'm here, it's fine."

As expected, Emperor Qing did not force it, but just nodded and said to the crowd: "On this happy occasion, and at a time when the two countries are reunited, who can write a poem to commemorate this great event?"

The eldest princess on the stage winked at some ministers below the stage, and immediately some ministers responded, praising His Majesty as wise.

The Second Prince came up, knelt down and saluted before Emperor Qing, saying, "Your Majesty, I have heard that Fan Xian is not only extremely brave and eloquent, but also has a great talent for poetry. The poem "Climbing the High Tower" written a few days ago was written by him. After hearing about it, I was amazed at his poetic talent. On this occasion, why not let him compose a poem."

The ministers all knew that His Majesty wanted to use the opportunity of today's banquet for foreign envoys to let Fan Xian stand out and help him become famous. They all agreed and asked Master Fan to sing a song.

Zhuang Mohan, who was chatting happily with the Queen, asked softly, "Is this young man Fan Xian?"

Before the Queen could speak, Emperor Qing answered him: "Mr. Zhuang, as a great literary figure in Northern Qi and even in the world, you should give more support to this young scholar."

"I don't deserve your support." Zhuang Mohan sighed, "I have read his poems."

"Your Majesty!" Fan Xian shook his head and smiled bitterly, "How dare I embarrass myself in front of Mr. Zhuang?"