Chapter 192: Xu Qi’an’s Seven Letters (Added for ally “Falling Star”)

In the night, the cold wind blowing, the pool full of red lotus swaying, like a sea of fire surging, very beautiful.

Xu Qi’an wordlessly took a deep breath and smelled the fragrant fragrance.

“Yunzhou is mountainous, but it’s not as forested and miasma-ridden as the southern border. The mountains are rich in herbs and are rich in produce.” Ziyang Jushi looked at the pool full of red lotuses and continued:

“Yunzhou is also blessed with fertile fields and abundant water, and although the annual production of rice and grain is not as good as the two regions of Yuzhou and Zhangzhou, which are known as the granaries of the Dafeng, Yunzhou’s annual production of rice and grain is more than enough to feed the people of the two states.”

…It sounds like Yunzhou should have hilly terrain. Xu Qi’an nodded indistinctly.

Of the five basic land terrains, the hills are the most fertile and productive. In my previous life, the so-called land of fish and rice was in the hills of Jiangnan.

Yuzhou and Zhangzhou, the two granaries of Dafeng, belonged to the plains, while the southern border was a mountainous terrain, with high mountains all over and very little good land.

Ziyang Jushi said in a deep voice, ”Yunzhou has another geographical advantage, it is close to the South China Sea, so there’s no need to worry about being attacked from the back. Taking a step back, if it’s not possible, you can also sail.

“The friction between the Witch God Cult and the Da Feng on the border is getting worse by the day, and if they want to create civil unrest and leave the Da Feng to fend for themselves, choosing Yunzhou would be a wise move.”

By your words, why do I feel that this trip to Yunzhou is a reunion trip? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, child’s words, child’s words ….

“Don’t worry,” as if seeing through Xu Qi’an’s worries, Ziyang Jushi laughed, “Although the Dabong has serious problems, it’s still generally calm, and the majesty of the imperial court is still in place.

“Even if the Witch God Cult is plotting its body in Yunzhou, it only dares to hide in the dark and won’t come openly. This time I have nothing to do, boiled a few eagles, turn around and send you one, if there is an unexpected situation in Yunzhou, you can use the eagle to send a message. It’s faster than taking the stagecoach.”

But even if it is faster, it will take some days to go back and forth….. Sure enough, a world without cell phones just doesn’t feel safe, if only there was a fragment of a ground book in each hand… Xu Qi’an gratefully said, “Thank you, teacher, for your generosity.”

After a pause, he asked, “What should I do when I go to Yunzhou?”

“To investigate the case properly is to protect Zhang Xingying, as for the official intercourse, you don’t have to care.” Ziyang Jushi smiled and said:

“Since Wei Yuan appointed Zhang Xingying as the governor, this person naturally will not be a generalized person.”

Xu Qi’an nodded.

After the business was finished, Ziyang Jushi pondered for a moment and said, ”I have often exchanged letters with respectfully, and I have mentioned you from time to time in my letters. You are also counted as half of the Yunlu Academy students …. I heard that the academy’s Qing Qi surged to the sky a few months ago?”

Who’s Honorable Zhang Shen? Oh oh, it’s Er Lang’s teacher, the great Confucian Zhang Shen …. Because she wasn’t accustomed to the name, it took Xu Qi’an a few seconds to realize which person “Honorable Yan” was.

What does Ziyang Jushi mean by this …. Cloud Deer Academy didn’t tell him the truth? Or did he know that I did it and said this to give me a hint, but there was no need for a hint …. Is it that correspondence can’t be kept secret, so the great scholars of the Cloud Deer Academy just mentioned it in their letters but didn’t tell the truth?

He deliberated, “This matter seems to have been classified as top secret by the academy, and the Yasheng Academy Palace is still sealed off and no one is allowed to enter.”

Speaking of this, Xu Qi’an couldn’t help but think of the Yashin who pointed at the deer as a horse, truly a great man, for he always stood behind his wife.

Ziyang Jushi nodded slightly and did not ask again.

Xu Qi’an instead had some things he wanted to ask this great scholar, and after some thought, he planned to ask the first question first:

“Teacher, some time ago, because of the Sangpo case, I challenged the night reading, looking through the history books, and found that at the time when our lineage of the first minister before the destruction of the Buddha, shouted out the slogan of “If the Buddhist sect is not destroyed, the world is all Buddha”.

“Subsequently, that First Counselor was promoted to the Life Establishment Realm. The student thought that even though the Buddhist Sect has all sorts of drawbacks, it is always a prestigious orthodoxy. If the Buddha Sect is not extinguished, all the world is Buddha …. Is it too radical?”

Xu Qi’an didn’t know what the difference was between the Buddhist sect in this world and the Buddhist sect in his previous life; there was no Buddha in this world, only one Buddha.

But in any case, Buddhism is not so much a cult.

“This matter is about secrecy, and I do not know.” Ziyang Jushi said.

You don’t know, then how do you know about the hidden secrets? Xu Qi’an this mouth groove forcibly endured.

Ziyang Jushi let out a “heh”, “The dean knows.”

Xu Qi’an’s second question was why there was a stone sculpture of a Confucian saint in the Southern Border’s Extreme Abyss, but he dismissed the idea of inquiring again.

Xu Qi’an, who was in the capital, should not have known that there was a sculpture of a Confucian saint underneath the extreme abyss, not even under the pretext of “I have a friend”.

It’s something that even the night watchman’s office couldn’t possibly know about.

…..

Returning to the post, Xu Qi’an took a cold shower before returning to his room to sit and exhale, observing the Thought Phase Diagram.

Qingzhou is adjacent to Yunzhou, and from here, if you start fast, you can get to Yunzhou in three or five days, and even considering Governor Zhang’s weak body and bones, you can get to the border of Qingzhou in a week or so.

“It’s just that I can use this time to impact the God Refining Realm. It’s just not sleeping for ten days, when I was still an ordinary person, I reached the achievement of bursting my liver for 72 hours in an internet cafe ….”

The next day, Yang Gong, the Minister of Prefecture, summoned stonemasons to carve the four verses of the poem warning all officials on the precepts in the front yards of the various government offices in Qingzhou.

From the governor of Qingzhou down to ordinary officials, they could see these four verses when they entered and left the government office every day.

“What does it say?”

“You eat your pay, the people’s fat. The people below are easy to abuse, but heaven is hard to deceive.”

“Good poem, I’ve never read a book, I can only say, “Damn, it’s really well written. It’s written by Mr. Buzhengzhi, isn’t it? He’s really a great Qing official.”

“It’s not Lord Bu Zheng Envoy, it’s someone named Xu Qi An, well, there’s small writing on the side: Shi Yang Gong. Ohhh, a student of our Lord Buzheng Minister.”

This poem is Xu Qi’an, then he made, but Ziyang Jushi has a tawdry operation, he let people in Xu Qi’an’s big name on the left side, engraved three small words: teacher Yang Gong.

If the three great scholars of the Cloud Deer Academy were present, they would have spat out blood while roaring: shameless old thief, this can rub off?

Many officials who were clean and honest slapped their hands together because of this poem. Silently, they made a note of the figure Xu Qi’an.

Xu Qi’an’s great name spread rapidly in the official circles of Qingzhou, and then many scholars and officials suddenly realized that the character who mentioned the poem in the tablet was the great genius who wrote those poems that were called the light of poetry in the literary world of Dafeng two hundred years ago.

And the most eye-opening part is that he is not a reader, but a night watchman.

However, no matter whether they were Qingzhou officials or scholars, they were convinced by Xu Qi’an, admiring his poetic talent, and even more admiring the spirit expressed in his poems.

And when the girls of the Department of Education learned of this news, excitement and thrill filled their chests. One by one, they could not wait to burn incense and worship Buddha, praying that Great Talent Xu would honor them and leave behind a poem or two.

They’d give anything to be a part of it.

….

Outside the city of Qingzhou.

Ziyang Jushi, along with a group of high-ranking officials from Qingzhou, personally sent the governor’s team out of the city.

“After this parting, I don’t know how long it will be before we can meet again, take care, teacher.” Xu Qi’an saluted as a disciple.

Ziyang Jushi nodded slightly, some sighs, just recognized a student, put in the arms have not warmed up, will be gone.

“This time, when you go to Yunzhou, do a good job on the case, and always remember to serve the court and the people of the world.” Yang Gong said in a deep voice.

For the people of the world …. Xu Qi’an silently repeated it in his mind.

…..

A few days later, at the border of Qingzhou, the post station.

At two o’clock in the morning, after finishing his vomiting and visualization, Xu Qi’an, who hadn’t slept for seven days, walked out of the room carrying a candle.

It was late at night and the interior of the stagecoach was quiet as he followed the corridor to the end and then down the stairs.

An oil lamp burned silently by the counter in the hall, and the stagecoachman lay sound asleep on the table, crystalline liquid oozing from the corner of his mouth.

Official post stations were open twenty-four hours a day, and some officials would travel all night on urgent business, and could not tell when they would be pitching in at the post.

Knock knock…

Xu Qi’an lightly snapped the counter twice, making a dull sound.

The stagecoachman awoke with a start, wiping the corners of his mouth as he rose, “What is your order, my lord?”

“Give me a few envelopes and letter paper, this official wants to write a letter.” Xu Qi’an made his request.

The stagehand immediately drew out a sheet of letter paper and envelope from the cabinet, and Xu Qi’an shook his head, “Not enough.”

“How much do you want?”

“Seven envelopes, the more letterhead the better.”

The postman, seeing for the first time someone writing seven letters in one breath, muttered something wordlessly and obediently handed over seven envelopes and letterheads.

Receiving the envelope and letterhead, Xu Qi’an turned around and went upstairs to his room.

He set the envelopes on the desk, took out the red lotus petals from the small jade mirror, pressed the five petals onto the five envelopes, then spread out the paper, pressed on the paperweight, and ground the letter.

First letter.

“Princess Huaiqing:

“At the time of writing this letter, I have arrived at the border of Qingzhou and am about to enter Yunzhou. When I left the capital, I wanted to confer with Your Highness and listen to your high opinion.

“But I don’t want my humble servant to not know where he offended His Highness, causing His Highness to be so cruel and close the door.

“Via Yuzhou, my humble servant has investigated a corruption case …. From this case, we can see that the Witch God Cult has been encroaching on the imperial court for a long time and has secretly cultivated many spies. As the saying goes, a thousand miles can be destroyed by an ant hole, so we have to take precautions. I hope that Your Highness can advise His Majesty to be diligent and revitalize the dynasty.

“By the way, Qingzhou has a kind of flower, the name red lotus, winter season bloom. The red lotus of the bones, out of the mud without dyeing, Maundy League and not demon, in the straight outside without branches, the fragrance far benefit Qing Pavilion Pure Plant, can be viewed from afar and can not be blasphemous play.

“This reminds me of Your Highness… I am sorry, I know that this statement is a great disrespect to Your Highness. However, Your Highness’s splendor is the only thing I have ever seen in my life. You and the red lotus in general, out of the mud but not stained, Maundy clear ripples but not demon.

“My humble servant picked a petal of lotus and sent it to Your Highness along with the letter as a token of my appreciation.”

Second letter.

“Princess Lingan:

“The long night is long, there is no intention to sleep, your highness’s voice is like in front of your eyes, ringing in your ears, half a month without seeing, I miss it very much.

“Yunzhou trip is not lonely, on the way to happen a lot of interesting and strange things, the original canal is a water ghost, on the way to a Huben guards board the deck at night, suddenly heard the late mother called, so the ghost jumped into the water.

“The water ghost tugged at his ankles and tried to drag him to the bottom of the river. Fortunately, my humble servant noticed it in time, and jumped into the river without hesitation, and fought with the water ghost for three hundred rounds, beating the turbid waves, before saving the poor Hubenwei.

“On the way from Qingzhou to Yunzhou, we passed by a village where a strange thing happened. The daughter-in-law of a certain family turned into a corpse after her death and wandered around the room all day and all night, sprouting white teeth and greenish-black fingernails, biting people when she saw them ….

“Fortunately, I was passing by, a glance at the woman’s corpse must have a reason, after a rigorous investigation of the truth. It turned out that the husband of the family and the village widow cheating, want to repudiate the wife to marry another, the wife does not want, then brutally killed.

“The wife died with a grudge, and her ghost is still there, which is why the corpse changed.

“By the way, there is a flower in Qingzhou called the Red Lotus, demonic as fire, always reminding my humble servant of Your Highness’s stunning beauty in a red dress.

“It’s just as bitchy as the princess (scratched out) it is so bright as the wind is light like an arrow, then a gust of wind blew when it shyly bowed its head, my heart came up with a sentence: most of all that bowed its head tenderly, like a water lotus does not win the cool wind of shyness.

“My humble servant has been abrupt and has no intention of offending the princess, it is just that the beauty of the princess is the only thing my humble servant has seen in his life.”

Third letter.

“Caiwei girl:

“One day’s absence is like three autumns, counting on our fingers, we haven’t seen each other for half a month. How’s the chicken essence refining going? Have you been successfully promoted to Alchemist?

“There is a delicacy in Yuzhou called yellow sprouts radish ham, and ham is a delicacy unique to the south and hard to find in the north.

“The practice is also very simple, with a good ham cut off the skin, remove the oil stored meat. First simmer the skin with chicken soup, and then simmer the meat, put the yellow sprouts heart, with the root cut section, about two inches long; add honey, wine and water, even simmer for half a day. On the mouth sweet and fresh, meat and vegetables are melted, and the root and the heart of the vegetable is not scattered at all. The soup is also very beautiful.

“There are several cuisines in Qingzhou, and let me tell you all about them. ….

“By the way, there is a flower in Qingzhou called the Red Lotus. This flower is bright and lively, blooming in the wind, and when it sways with the wind, it seems like a bright smiling face. It can’t help but remind me of Miss Caiwei.

“You’re such a heartless (scratch that) you’re such a girl who brings joy, carefree and innocent, with big clear bright eyes that are forgettable to see.”

Fourth letter.

“Miss Fuuka:

“I haven’t seen you in half a month and I miss you. Missed your laugh, missed your jacket, missed your white socks and the smell of you (scratch that)

“I have not seen you for half a month, I miss you, at this time I have already arrived at the border of Qingzhou, tomorrow I will be in Yunzhou. Along the way, my fellow officers have also invited me to go to the Teaching Department, but I refused, because the Teaching Department without you is that boring.

“I can’t help but remember that you and I were entwined in the past, and those were the good times we had.

“The trip to Yunzhou was even more time-consuming and labor-intensive than I had imagined, and the date for us to meet is very far away; I know that you miss me like crazy, so please remember to trim your nails when you’re pining for me.

“By the way, there is a flower in Qingzhou called the Red Lotus. This flower burns like fire, as passionate as you are, making people linger.”

Xu Qi’an finished writing the letter to the spares, blew the ink dry, and sighed helplessly as she looked at the scribbled letterhead.

That’s the way it is with handwriting, you write and misspell words or write something you shouldn’t. He had already made such mistakes when he was a young writer.

It didn’t matter, these were women who knew him well and wouldn’t dislike his handwriting because it was hard to read.

The content is still satisfying, writing different content for the different personalities of the spares. For example, Huaiqing likes current affairs, he writes about cases.

Advent loves stories, so he writes about the oddities and curiosities along the way.

Chu Caiwei is a foodie, so he talked to her about food.

As for floating incense, writing letters is more like flirting, enough said.

The next step was to write a letter to his family, Xu Qi’an left it to the end, and after repeated deliberation, he dipped his ink and lifted his pen.

Fifth letter.

“Sister Ling Yue:

“I’m fine outside, I just miss you a little bit, since I was a child, I’ve never left you for more than three days. Of course, I haven’t left my second uncle and aunt either.

“Can you still adapt to life in the inner city? The inner city is expensive, not as expensive as the outer city, but don’t compromise yourself, go out more, go to the silk store and jewelry store.

“When I left, I left three hundred taels of silver for my aunt, enough for the family to spend for a while. Well, big brother is not at home, and Erlang is at the academy, so remember to make up your own mind about some things, and don’t listen to that stupid mother of yours about everything.

“If Auntie proposes that you marry again, you let her return the three hundred taels of silver to me, and let her return the damask. Big Brother doesn’t want to come home and find you betrothed.

“By the way, there is a kind of flower in Qingzhou, named Red Lotus, as clear and gentle and beautiful as you are.”

Sixth letter.

“Auntie:

“Please take care of Suzaku, over!”

Seventh letter.

“Uncle Two:

“I’m fine out there; at the time of writing this letter, I’ve just arrived at the border of Qingzhou, and what will happen in Yunzhou is unknown for the time being.

“Don’t worry, men, always have to go through some ups and downs. You and my father are not the battlefield to fight out of it.

“I’ve recently been impacting the God Refining Realm, and I hope that when I return to the capital, you, Second Uncle, will have successfully advanced to the God Refining Realm as well. At that time, my Xu family will have two Gods in one family, which sounds very grand.

“Oh, also, I suddenly remembered that you can’t read a few words, it’s not possible that you didn’t write a letter to Caixu, right? I have always thought that you, as a father, naturally remembered your son in your heart, so you didn’t write to him to tell him that we had moved…….just, anyway, half a month has passed, and Rhetoric should know where the family has moved to by now.

“I hope I’m being paranoid.”

After writing the letter, Xu Qi’an folded the letter paper, along with the petals of the red lotus, and put them into the envelope one by one.

…..

PS: I’m begging for a monthly vote, this chapter is almost 5,000 words long, and I’m begging for it with my back plugged in, justifiably so.