Joy of Life: I'm really not a saint

"Oh?" Li An heard the word 'Four Wonders' and asked curiously, "What does Four Wonders mean? Why do you call me that?"

"It seems that the gentleman is still unaware."

Shen Zhong walked to the table, wiped a few stools clean with his sleeves, and motioned for everyone to sit down.

After everyone was seated, he explained: "Sir, no one can match you in poetry, calligraphy, painting, and martial arts. These are all well-known in Qi State. Everyone calls you Sir and respects you very much!"

"Even our country's literary master Zhuang Mohan praised you highly. He said that no one could compare to you in poetry, calligraphy and painting! This made the scholars in Northern Qi hate that they could not see your true face and secretly feel sad."

"Plus, the heroic deeds of the four of you outside the capital of Qing Nation a few days ago. I ask, who in this world can refuse to accept this title?"

This series of explanations, or it might be more appropriate to call it flattery, actually answered Ang Lee's questions.

Li An smiled slightly and said meaningfully: "The commander is well-informed! What happened a few days ago, thousands of miles away in Northern Qi, is known to him as if he was there in person. This is really impressive!"

"No, no, sir, thank you for your compliment!"

Li An changed his tone and said, "There is just one thing I don't understand. Poetry, calligraphy, and martial arts are fine, but how do you even begin to talk about painting?"

"Hahaha, sir, you are joking. Are you testing me?"

"The painting 'Strange Beasts' that you painted at Luming Academy has now been circulated throughout the court of Qing, and was finally collected by the Emperor of Qing and hung in his own study, showing how much he loves your paintings! I heard that the one who discovered this painting was the newly appointed chief priest of Luming Academy. According to the servants, the chief priest was initially frightened by the strange beast in the painting and had to go home to recuperate!"

"What a pity! I have no chance to see it. It is a pity, a pity!"

Shen Zhong's expression was so sincere that people would believe him immediately after listening to him, and there seemed to be magic in his words.

If Li An didn't know that Shen Zhong didn't care about these things at all and was only focused on his career, perhaps he would have regarded Shen Zhong as a friend.

"Now that I am in front of you, what kind of paintings can't I see in the future?"

Li An continued speaking along with his words.

Shen Zhong slapped his forehead and said, "Sir, you are absolutely right. I have given up the near and sought the far!"

Seeing his men coughing outside the hall, he thought they must have finished their work. Shen Zhong didn't want to delay and wanted to speed up the interrogation after returning to the capital to get the information he wanted before the Qing Kingdom delegation arrived to exchange prisoners.

He bowed again and asked about the matter: "I wonder if you will settle down in Qi State in the future?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I planned!"

Shen nodded and said, "This is a blessing for the State of Qi."

"But sir, you are from Qing, right?" He stared into Li An's eyes, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed as soon as he said this!

"presumptuous!"

Hong Kaijia shouted.

Wang Shisanlang next to him took direct action. In a flash, he grabbed Shenzhong's neck with one hand and pressed his head forcefully on the table!

The Jinyiwei outside the door heard the noise inside the house and rushed in with their swords drawn. Seeing their master being coerced, they stepped forward and surrounded Li An and others.

"Put away your swords, put away your swords! Put down your weapons! It's just a misunderstanding!"

The Jinyiwei looked at each other, hesitating whether they should obey the adults' orders.

"Why, you don't even listen to what I say?"

"But my Lord..."

"Put away your sword and get out!"

The men then sheathed their swords and slowly left the house.

"I'm not good at controlling my subordinates, I'm sorry to make you laugh!" Shen Zhong was still smiling and amiable even though he was so humiliated. "But could you please ask Brother Wang to let me go first? I didn't mean any harm in what I said just now. I just had an occupational disease and was just asking a routine question."

When Wang Shisanlang saw Li An nod, he loosened his hand and retreated behind Li An without sitting down.

"Brother Wang, you have a good way!" He glanced at Wang Shisanlang with an inexplicable look, then turned to Li An and asked, "Sir, can you answer my question just now?"

"You know, you usually have to pay to ask me questions!"

Li An's smile became a little dangerous: "I still want to settle down in Qi State and don't want to cause trouble. If you are not the commander of the Jinyiwei, you would be dead now for your questioning just now!"

He stood up. No matter if the other party did it unintentionally or intentionally, explaining it clearly now would also reassure him, and even more so the people behind him.

"All joking aside, I can answer your questions."

"I am not from Qing Country, and never have been. Are you satisfied with this answer?"

Shen Zhong touched his neck and laughed out loud: "It was my fault just now. If you have time, you may go with me. When we arrive in the capital, I will host a welcome party for you!"

Li An nodded and agreed to Shen Zhong's invitation. Yan Xiaoyi and the other person also stood up.

There was a gleam of light in Shen Zhong's eyes. He didn't expect that Li An would agree to go with him and didn't refuse his invitation to host a banquet. He was overjoyed!

You know, Li Ang went to Shangjing with me, and if someone was thinking about it, there was actually a lot of room for maneuver!

It’s no less than a great achievement!

He raised his arm and asked Li An and others to go first, and he quickly followed. Then everyone left the courtyard.

"I know your rules, sir. I just asked you a question. Once we enter Shangjing City, the reward will be delivered to you!"

"Please don't refuse, sir. After all, once you enter Shangjing, you will need to spend money everywhere."

Li An smiled, showing no intention of refusing.

Shen Zhong asked his men to pack up a carriage and pointed to the carriage road: "Sir, please take this carriage. This trip is in a hurry and there is no better one. Please don't blame me."

"The carriage is small, and it's troublesome for Brother Yan and Brother Wang to ride on horseback." After saying this, he bowed to the two of them in a formal manner.

The group then headed for Shangjing in a mighty procession.

The Jinyiwei and his men came quickly, but left slowly. However, after being told by their master, they knew who was in the carriage, so naturally no one dared to act rashly. The cavalry was very quiet along the way.

When Li An and others arrived in Shangjing City, it was more than ten days later.

There was no trace of Yan Bingyun along the way. I guess Shen Zhong had arranged for someone to send him back to Shangjing in advance.

Under the city, many common people and scholars were lined up in two rows.

When they saw Li Ang's carriage entering the city, the crowd burst into huge cheers!

Chapter 107: The Emperor of Northern Qi. (Subscribe!)

"The territory of Northern Qi is really huge!"

Hong Kaijia, who was driving the carriage outside, was inspired.

During these ten days, the convoy was traveling on the official road. Although the speed was not very fast, it was smooth and there were no delays. Even so, it took so long to reach Shangjing City.

"Teacher, you are so famous!"

Seeing the carriage stopped at the city gate, the people of the whole city excitedly surrounded it, shouting "Mr. Sijue!"

This is two extremes compared to what happened to the delegation that Fan Xian was in later.

It turned out that Shen Zhong had arranged for someone to bring back the news of Li An's arrival in Beijing in advance, which led to the current situation.

The people lined the streets to welcome them, and it is hard to say that there was no involvement of Northern Qi officials behind this.

After getting out of the carriage, Li An looked around.

Sure enough, there were not only common people in the crowd, but also some officials in court robes waiting. The fact that the carriage was not moving at this time was the best proof that the team was waiting for someone.

A person in charge.

"Although Qing Kingdom took a large piece of land from Northern Qi before, in terms of territory and population, Northern Qi is still the largest country in the world."

Li An answered for his disciples.

This is indeed the case.

The Northern Qi regime was unstable, with civil unrest all year round, and the people were not united, so they were no match for the Qing Kingdom. If the people of the country could be inspired and there was a firm decision-maker to lead, it would be hard to predict who would win or lose in the war with the Qing Kingdom.

The people of Northern Qi were actually confident in their hearts. Although the results of the war between the two countries were concealed by the top leaders, they also knew that the military strength of Qing was strong, but deep down they still looked down on the people of Qing. They thought they were a group of barbarians, uncivilized barbarians!

Li An was different. Although he came from Qing, his poems and essays were known all over the world and read by everyone. Even Emperor Wenzong Zhuang Mohan praised his calligraphy and painting skills, admitting that he was not as good as them.

This made the people of Qi respect Li An even more.

They proudly believed that even someone like Li An, who had gathered the literary fortune of Qing Kingdom for a hundred years, came to join Qi Kingdom. Their Qi Kingdom was indeed worthy of being the orthodox one in the world!

After the crowd's noise died down, the protagonist gradually appeared on the stage.

Everyone looked over and saw that the person who came was an elderly eunuch. He looked at Li An in the car seriously, then shook the whisk in his hand and said in a sharp voice like a drake being strangled: "The emperor has arrived!"

His Majesty the Emperor of Northern Qi has arrived!

She has a name that few people know but can make people laugh - Zhan Doudou!

A team of palace guards, different from other soldiers, arrived first, separated the crowd, and stood aside with solemn expressions.

Li An narrowed his eyes and looked carefully at the handwriting of the Northern Qi emperor. These guards with resolute faces were all at the seventh level, and none of them were mediocre!

A luxurious carriage drove onto the empty street very steadily, and after a moment it stopped in front of the carriage where Li Ang was.

A clear, pleasant and melodious voice sounded, and the crowd fell silent in an instant.

"Mr. Sijue, when he arrived in Qi, it was like returning home."

The voice of the Emperor of Northern Qi was like the sound of an orchid in a valley, with a sense of both strength and tenderness. When the people in the crowd heard the voice, they finally reacted, as if a switch had been turned on, and they all knelt down, shouting, "Your Majesty, rest in peace!"

"Everyone, stand up!" A hand was stretched out from the imperial carriage and slightly raised towards the people, and the crowd then stood up.

Li An got off the carriage, bowed and said in a clear voice: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

At this time, the curtain of the imperial carriage was drawn open, and the Emperor of Northern Qi walked down.

A figure who was too young appeared in front of everyone.

Although she was only seventeen or eighteen years old, she looked very young, with a smile always on her lips, and her bright eyes and white teeth made people feel happy.

Li An knew that she was a woman, but he saw a hint of heroism in her eyes.

Even though Li An had been baptized by many Internet "beauties" in his previous life, he was still slightly stunned at this moment! After a moment, he woke up and thought to himself that he had lost his manners.

It’s no wonder that I was shocked at the moment. It was really because this appearance was too moving.

Did people in ancient times really not know the difference between a woman dressed as a man? Or were they unwilling to break the ice?

Anyway, he saw it at a glance. It was not a preconceived judgment based on prior knowledge. Li Ang was sure of it!

"There is no need to be polite, sir."

Zhan Doudou walked to the field and was about to stretch but stopped abruptly. The action was indescribably funny and cute.

As soon as she relaxed, she laughed again, not caring that her action had almost scared the eunuch next to her to death.

She took a closer look at Li An's appearance and found him to be extremely handsome. She was slightly surprised and thought to herself, how could a man be so handsome?

I couldn't help but become more curious about Li Ang.

Li An felt a little uncomfortable under this gaze, and took a step back and reminded: "Your Majesty?"

Zhan Doudou waved her hand, as if to cut off all the gazes, and called softly, "Sir, you are younger than the rumors say. Can I call you Mr. Li?"

this.

"His Majesty."

The minister at the side coughed, reminding the emperor not to go too far and thus lose the etiquette of Qi!

"Of course I can. I'm not that old, and I don't even mind when people call me old," Li An replied.

The young emperor's temperament is surprisingly lively, as if he has left the empress dowager's side in the deep palace?

She smiled and said, "I am very happy that Master Li can come to my Qi State to settle down. In fact, Master Li doesn't know that I often read Master Li's poetry collection, and even Master Li praises Master Li highly. In the future, when you are free, please come to the palace more often, so that I can ask Master Li for advice more often."

The corner of Li Ang's mouth twitched, and he almost believed the evil of this studious face!

Zhan Doudou learned from the two sons of Zhuang Mo and Han, and was also taught martial arts by the Northern Qi grandmaster Ku He, so his teaching staff is extremely strong.

As the saying goes, a good teacher produces good students. Look, Zhan Doudou has achieved a level where he is neither good at literature nor martial arts.

She had a childish temperament, was kind but playful, and treated court officials with mostly rewards and rarely punished them. Outsiders knew that she was not interested in women and was very afraid of the Queen Mother.

In short, no matter what, she has nothing to do with studious.

"Your Majesty summons me, of course I will do it."

After hearing Li Ang's answer, Zhan Doudou was very satisfied.

"You and your group have come from afar, so you should have rested for a few days. But the Queen Mother in the palace invited you to come with me to the palace, so that I can prepare a feast for you."