“By the way, I haven't asked you before, but why did you kill Song Xian?”

Ning Yi hadn't brought up this matter until now, feeling somewhat acquainted enough to ask. Searching: \(¨Complete¨Book¨God¨Station¨) to read high-quality literature for free. Lu Hongti narrowed her eyes slightly. The sky outside the window was gloomy, and the chicken roasting on the charcoal stove in the room was dripping oil with a sizzle. Ning Liheng stood there, blinking innocently. After considering for a moment, Lu Hongti's gaze softened slightly as she looked into the distance.

With a whoosh, it started to rain outside, engulfing the entire Jiangning in an instant.

"My family used to live west of Yanmen Pass, near the Lyuliang Mountains," Lu Hongti said after a long pause.

"Since the loss of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the barbarians have been raiding for grass, going there every year to kill and plunder, leaving no peace. Nine out of ten houses are empty. People live and farm, moving around in the surrounding valleys every year, like wandering ghosts. But the older generation says it's hard to leave their homeland... You might not understand what it's like to be born there..."

Ning Yi was silent for a moment: "Happily on the banks of the Fen River, barely surviving in central Shanxi, crying and weeping in the Lyuliang Mountains, death is only beyond Yanmen Pass..."

"Heh." She nodded and smiled, "Years ago, everyone was already living in the mountains. Actually, we kept moving south, but we couldn't move very far. The young people went into the mountains, becoming the Lyuliang bandits that have existed for hundreds of years. We're all Han Chinese. The Wu Dynasty army doesn't come, and the barbarians come south every year, not treating us like people. We fight the barbarians' troops every year. If we encounter small groups, we swarm them. If we encounter large groups, we quickly hide. We also rob barbarian merchants, robbing all merchants who pass through there. We leave Han Chinese alive sometimes, but we kill all the barbarians..."

"The Wu Dynasty doesn't treat us like our own people either. Sometimes an official comes over, saying they want to offer amnesty. They've offered amnesty a few times, but we still end up fighting the barbarians. They just want us to risk our lives, giving us nothing. Sometimes they turn around and say we're bandits, coming to suppress us..."

Lightning flashed outside the window, and the rain grew heavier. Ning Yi turned the roasting chicken, sprinkling some things on it.

"When I was six, my father was killed by the barbarians. I followed my master to learn martial arts, wandering the Jianghu. When I returned to the Lyuliang Mountains at thirteen, my mother was already dead. So I went into the mountains, fighting every year with my master... Should a Xia act for the country and the people? I never thought about it, everyone lived... inhumanely..."

She paused slightly, "Later... a few years ago, Song Xian led troops into the Lyuliang Mountains, initially saying he wanted to offer amnesty, saying it very nicely. He gathered people from several nearby villages, surrounded them, and killed them all... The Liao Kingdom said the Lyuliang bandits were within the Wu Dynasty's territory, and told the Wu Dynasty to handle it. Song Xian used these heads as his battle achievements, giving them to his superiors! To curry favor with the Liao Kingdom! He didn't leave a single old person or child, and then said they were all ruthless bandits... He was promoted because of it. Some people in the mountains had relatives who died in it, people from the village I knew also died, some people... went out to seek revenge, but were killed, and the blood was shed in vain. Some people wanted to come out. I wouldn't allow it, so I could only do it myself..."

"So I had to kill him. On the Lantern Festival, I missed with one strike. I originally had some confidence. A few days ago, I tried to design to kill him again, but was instead designed by him. At that time, I thought, if this continues, I might not be able to kill him... A person's strength is ultimately limited..."

"You want to learn Kung Fu. I followed my master to learn for so many years, and then fought in battles every year, killing countless people. A few times I crawled out of piles of dead bodies, not knowing if I was already dead or alive. Now, to kill Song Xian, I'm still injured like this. Scholars have ability, capable of defeating ten thousand enemies, better than anything. Why bother being a blood-handed butcher..." She said, pursing her lips and smiling.

Ning Yi thought about it and shook his head, smiling: "I still insist on my curiosity... We'll talk about this later, the chicken is ready."

As he spoke, he took down the roasted chicken, cut it open with a knife, and instantly an even richer aroma filled the entire room. He added the sauce and handed it over.

"How is it?"

"It tastes very good..."

"A new product being prepared for launch, my skills are still amateur, but these ingredients are well matched."

"Isn't your family selling cloth?"

"A friend's... If one day you can eat this flavor of roasted chicken in the Lyuliang Mountains, I will give you some things..."

"Heh, what?"

"Tricks... like summoning wind and rain, scattering beans to form soldiers, things like that..."

"Then it's a deal?"

"Yes."

The casual conversations in the room were drowned out by the roaring thunder and rain. At a restaurant on the other end of Jiangning City, Li Pin was also looking at the rain outside, talking to Shen Miao beside him.

"...Yan Zhen has already started preparing these days, and will probably leave Jiangning within half a month to set off for Raozhou."

"Didn't you say he wouldn't leave until July?"

"There is a distance to travel, so it is probably better to go earlier, in case there are accidents on the road that cause delays... In addition, after arriving in Leping, I am afraid that I have to prepare in advance, so as to smoothly take over the position."

"That's good." Li Pin smiled and nodded.

Shen Miao took a deep breath: "Some time ago, I heard that you had some disagreements with Yan Zhen, so I came to ask, after all, we have always been friends, and there is nothing major, I don't want you to keep things in your hearts."

Li Pin thought for a while: "This matter is not a disagreement or a grudge, Zishan's kindness, I fully understand. But this is not me being angry with him, but he himself has some unresolved thoughts."

Shen Miao frowned and thought: "I see... By the way, what does Dexin think of Yan Zhen as a person?"

"It's not good to say these things behind his back."

"Haha, it doesn't matter, he is about to travel, and I am afraid that I will not see him for many years after that. If he has knots with others, I am not worried, but I have always trusted Dexin's character, and your vision for recognizing people has always been extremely accurate, so I really want to know a thing or two. This matter is just a casual chat, and will never be passed on to a third person."

Li Pin thought for a while and shook his head: "It's not a major matter. Yan Zhen, you and I have known each other for many years. He has knowledge, ability, and vision. If you talk about it, you and I are inferior to him in some ways. But over the years, have you ever seen him truly suffer a loss in anything?"

"Uh, the matter of suffering losses... there are actually a few instances, but Yan Zhen is also a magnanimous person and did not take it to heart..."

"What if I said... he has never suffered a loss?"

"Hmm?"

"Brother Zishan, Gu Hong is... arrogant. Of course, he also has the reasons and talents to possess this arrogance. Over the years, he has been extremely demanding of himself, and many times he is truly admirable. The demeanor of a gentleman should be like this. But sometimes, his views are somewhat too extreme, excessively pursuing his goals, but it's hard to say whether this is good or bad."

Shen Miao smiled and nodded: "Dexin really knows people extremely well, Yan Zhen does have such a bias. He also said to me a few days ago that one should face their true heart. In fact, I think it is reasonable. He also said that in the future, as a county magistrate, what he needs is to solve the problems at hand. In these matters, he should be cold and selfless, only seeking the goal. Compared to virtuous officials who are benevolent in their hearts but actually constrained by many rules, he would rather be a capable official who does not seek superficial good and evil but only seeks to handle matters properly. This idea of his is truly admirable..."

Li Pin looked at him for a moment, then smiled and said, "Indeed, there are many corrupt scholars in the world today, but few who get things done. If Yan Zhen has this idea, it is truly a blessing for the people..."

He actually admired Gu Yan Zhen somewhat. He vaguely realized some things, and it was enough to prevent them here. If he were to bring out unfounded things to make accusations, then that would really be too much. Shen Miao today was actually not here for discussion, but just to be a peacemaker. However, he did not understand that this time, the real problem was on Gu Yan Zhen's side. This problem may not be because of his own concealment, but because of the phrase "I know what kind of person you are." Although Gu Yan Zhen was aggressive that day, he probably really shouldn't have said that sentence.

External kingliness and internal saintliness, is the "king" important or the "saint" important? There have been debates about these two forms and methods for many years. Of course, the Doctrine of the Mean does not take extremes, and the judgments of all things are actually quite complex. Over the years, capable officials have indeed been much more useful than corrupt scholars. In the future, if Gu Yan Zhen proves that he is indeed a capable official, he should also come to the door to apologize for these words... Hopefully that's the case.

After that, the topic naturally followed Shen Miao's lead. At the same time as the two were talking in the restaurant, Gu Yan Zhen was sitting with a servant in the main store of Zhu Ji, a few streets away, quietly tasting various dishes. The servant beside him was tall and had a hideous scar on his face. He was his confidant follower, called Lao Liu, and was actually his bodyguard. For the past three months, this was the first time he had taken the initiative to approach a place related to Nie Yunzhu, certainly not to bring people to smash the store. At this time, he was just quietly waiting for the other party to appear.

Because it was raining outside, business in the store was not very good. The light was not very bright in the heavy rain, so oil lamps were lit, and the flickering lights swayed in the store.

Nie Yunzhu was actually in the store at this time, but as a woman, she didn't need to be so open and magnanimous about these things. In this era, there was actually not much openness and magnanimity between men and women - of course, she used double standards somewhat when it came to Ning Yi's affairs. Thinking of the last time she was forcibly held by the hand by the other party, she didn't want to go out again. It was wrong for him to hold her hand, and it was also wrong for her to hit him back. So she just quietly waited for the time to pass. However, until near dusk, the dishes in front had completely cooled down, Gu Yan Zhen was still sitting there steadily, and she couldn't help it. Finally, she walked out, separated by the table, and saluted: "Young Master Gu."

Gu Yan Zhen looked up at her, revealing a smile. He was always gentle and refined, and the smile at this time was indeed very pleasing, relaxed and magnanimous.

"I will probably be leaving in a few days, going to Raozhou Leping to take office, so I felt that I should come and say goodbye to you."

Nie Yunzhu thought for a while: "Yun Zhu has nothing to give, I only wish the young master a smooth journey and a prosperous career."

"Your words remind me of three years ago..." He lowered his head, smiled easily, then stood up, looked at the other party and took a deep breath: "If I... If I say it sincerely again, I am willing to marry you, Yun Zhu, and let you go to Leping with me, would you be willing to think about it carefully again, or nod your head?"

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