(Counting the afterword, there are two more chapters, that is, the day after tomorrow, the second volume is over...... ）

This is in a small county town in Ruizhou, not far from Hongji, which is the capital, although it is not comparable with those very wealthy areas, but in the current Daiguo, there is no place to be considered poor, to sum up, it is a very ordinary town. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

At the edge of the town, near the woods, there is a small wooden house, because there is only one person living here, so there is enough space for everything, even if there are a few guests visiting as it is today.

The owner of this hut is a man who has been here for almost thirty years, and in the fourth year of Hongshi, he lived here as a forest keeper, and every month the county government paid a certain amount of remuneration and subsidies, which was more than enough to maintain an upper-average life.

There are immortals in this world, but except for the flying immortals, most of them are not small officials, and the rest of the ordinary people have to experience birth, old age, sickness and death after all, just like this forest keeper, the once strong and burly body also seems a little rickety, fortunately, the arms and ankles are still full of strength, which can be regarded as old and strong.

However, the life of this forest keeper is not convenient, even if it is not difficult, but with only one arm and one leg, and counting the other two wooden prostheses, it will still be very troublesome in some things, of course, the forest keeper will not be stumped by such a little predicament, this is not enough to shake his will.

In fact, the work of the forest keeper is very idle, in this kind of spring season, it is not so much the forest guard, but the quiet pension in the sea of white flowers that has already become the symbol of Dai Guo, but the forest keeper does not have many friends, but today, it happens that someone came to visit.

In the center of the wooden house, a square table, which was not very ornamented, but very clean and simple, was in the center, and the woodman, who looked a little old, sat on the side of the wooden table, and the white-haired man who was a visitor sat opposite him, and on the table between the two was a small pot of wine warmed with hot water.

"Ah Xuan, your wine here is getting more and more mellow, and it tastes much better than when I came last time."

Xiao Zong showed a smile on his face, and said jokingly to the man who was sitting opposite him who looked much older than himself, and at the same time, he raised his hand, picked up the warm wine, and poured a glass for himself and his friend, and the whole person seemed much calmer than before.

"It's not that my wine is better, but that you've changed, and that's not right, because wine is indeed better, after all, the spring water and crops used to make wine are much better than before."

Ah Xuan's expression hasn't changed much, and his former appearance has not changed, it seems to be a little wooden, but in fact, he just doesn't like to talk much, he's not stupid, on the contrary, he is very good in any aspect of Xiaozong, who was once called "Shuangbi".

"It's also said that the current Dai country is very different from before, in the past, in this season, all kinds of grains were still very scarce, right? Who would have thought that now, not only these grains, but also the crops of the Southern Lian Kingdom and the Shun Kingdom are not rare? ”

Putting down the wine glass in his hand, Xiao Zong said in a tone like an exclamation on his face, his red eyes showed some vicissitudes, which made Ah Xuan also surprised, as an old friend for many years, he knew the personality of this man very well, in his impression, Xiao Zong should be the kind of person who maintains a sharp temperament like a blade all the time.

"You've really changed." Nodding, as if confirming again, Ah Xuan said calmly to Xiao Zong, his expression did not change much, he was still drinking warm wine in small sips, and a few drops of liquid were splashed on his white beard, with some solidified brilliance.

"Hehe~ How can it be unchanged? In other words, in these short thirty years, it is really difficult to keep the same, but you, compared to me, have not changed at all, except for more white hair and a little older. ”

Xiao Zong chuckled and responded to Ah Xuan, picking up his wine glass without pretentiousness, sending the slightly shiny wine into his mouth, closing his eyes, as if he was enjoying it, it was so pleasant.

"However, I do think that you are much better now than you used to be, and you used to be really scary, although at the same time convincing."

"That means I'm not as reliable as I used to be?"

Ah Xuan commented on Xiaozong in a very objective tone, but after Xiaozong heard it, he didn't care much, but made a joke.

"No, it's much more reliable than it used to be, and if you were the way you are now, maybe it would be very different."

Ah Xuan's answer was very loyal and objective, and his tone made Xiao Zong a little abrupt, but the warmth and clarity in his eyes never changed, and he didn't say anything immediately, just smiled and shook his head.

"It won't be much different, because I am indeed inferior to the Lord, at least I don't think I can govern Dai in the current situation, and besides, according to my temperament at that time, what kind of radical things I would do, I can imagine, or rather, in that kind of attachment, and continue to fall into the path of losing the way."

"I was really surprised to hear you say that, I remember that at that time, you told me about your agreement with the king, and now, are you admitting defeat with this gesture?" Ah Xuan asked Xiao Zong a little strangely, he knew a lot of things, and he was a little surprised that Xiao Zong would say such a thing.

"No, I will never admit defeat at Chaxiaozong, even if I am facing such an excellent king, and there is no winning or losing in the agreement, only promises, when I stood by and told you what the situation was, even after discovering the situation of Zhenglai, I didn't pay attention to it, and everything was already doomed."

Xiao Zong raised his head, his eyes revealing much sharper but more restrained eyes than before, and replied to Ah Xuan, and his expression became serious from this moment on.

Dai Guo is actually very similar to the situation of Qing Guo, if you want to govern a country well, there is a necessary thing in the early stage, that is, to eliminate some old ministers, so as to make the subsequent governance smoother.

And because of the difference in national style, it is easy for Dai to break out like the kind of palace change that Sakura once experienced, and all this outbreak needs is some impetus, as long as there is a signal to send out, then it will soon be able to brew a strong enough storm.

The palace change back then was actually the beginning of Sakura's governance, and it was also the biggest problem that was reduced to the most superficial and direct situation, because only when there was such an emptiness could the greatest hindrance force appear, but at the same time, it was also the best opportunity to eradicate it, which can be described as a battle.

And the final result was indeed shocking enough, the situation that was originally regarded as a dead game by Ah Xuan and Xiao Zong would be solved in that rough way, which surprised them for a long time, but when they thought about it carefully, they would come to the same conclusion as Ah Xuan back then, and the king knew all this.

In the end, it is enough for Sakura to quietly let Ah Xuan go, and it is enough to say that he will cut off his limbs, probably from the authority of the king, after all, at that time, Ah Xuan did have the idea of killing the king, because the king who can't save Dai might as well die early......

……

The two people in the room fell silent, and they couldn't help but start recalling the past decades ago, but it could be seen that they did not regret everything that happened in the past, and they were also very satisfied with everything now, and in the end, it was Xiaozong who took the lead in speaking.

"Okay, Ah Xuan, let's stop here for the time being, in fact, I will come to you today, it's not because I haven't seen you for so many years, so come and see, I have official business and came to find you!"

Xiao Zong pushed the cup that had been drunk in his hand to the side, then stood up and said to Ah Xuan, and after Ah Xuan heard it, he was first a little surprised, and then, he was puzzled, and at the same time, the movement of his hand was not slow, he put aside the remaining half glass of wine, and sat up.

"This is the will of the Lord, in detail, I will not read it, you can see it yourself......"

Took out a book scroll decorated with brocade cloth from the wide sleeve, I couldn't hear what Xiaozong's specific mood was, but it was definitely not any happiness or frustration, if I really wanted to describe it, it was serious and strict, and Ah Xuan knelt on the ground first, and after respectfully accepting the letter, he slowly opened it, and his expression changed suddenly.

"This is?! What the hell is she trying to do?! ”

After a while, the calm on Ah Xuan's face disappeared completely, some of the old faces were full of consternation, and the tightly frowning brows revealed his deep worry, and when he looked at Xiao Zong, Xiao Zong also shook his head with a somewhat powerless expression, which made him sigh deeply.

"Actually, if you really want to talk about it, the origin of the Lord, and the past about her are not all in a fog, and no one knows the truth or falsehood except herself, so it is not surprising that there will be such a day, and it may be a good thing for her, isn't it?"

"She is the king of Dai! That's enough! If she's mediocre, that's fine, but ......"

Xiao Zong looked out the window, the white flowers densely covered in the mountains and forests, and said in a voice without ups and downs, while Ah Xuan sighed again and looked at Xiao Zong.

"What we can do is the duty of a courtier, and it is precisely because we are such an admirable king, so this is especially important, I think, the Lord will tell you that the two of us are also a kind of trust!"

“…… I understand, I'll leave as soon as possible, no, I'd better leave immediately! After a few minutes of silence, Ah Xuan took a deep breath and responded in his usual calm tone.

"Ah Xuan, be careful all the way! Ruizhou has me, and Wenzhou, which is now a lifeline, will be handed over to you, I have already said hello over there, but remember, you don't have much time! It's only less than half a year! ”

"I see!"

After answering, the slightly old but still sturdy figure left the place without looking back......