The young man who suddenly popped out was short and extremely thin. Today's Lu Xin is one meter seventy-five tall, but the young man in front of him is a full head and a half shorter than him. So much so that when the other party appeared, Lu Xin thought he was a lost child.

The dress of the person who came, the standard market gangster. With a short fight, coupled with a bad smile on his face, he is not a reliable person at first glance. In the two years that Lu Xin bought and sold tea, he walked the rivers and lakes, what kind of people have not seen it? Naturally, they will not take care of each other.

But when he saw that Lu Xin was leaving, the gangsters immediately panicked and hurriedly blocked the way.

"Childe, I can't hide it, it's my eldest brother who is invited. If you're gone, the little one won't be able to explain. ”

"Your big brother?"

Lu Xin frowned and looked at the gangster's expression, and found that the other party did seem to be in a hurry. It is difficult to pretend to be the gaze and tone of a person when he encounters an emergency. But Lu Xin was sure that he was in Chang'an City and didn't know any "big brother". I don't even know the diminutive bastard in front of me.

"If Childe doesn't believe it, look up and see."

The thug laughed, turned his head, and pointed to the second floor of a shop not far away, asking Lu Xin to see. I saw that the window on the second floor was open, and a man in linen clothes and a mantle with a disheveled hair was sitting by the window with his legs bent and drinking tea. Seeing Lu Xin's gaze, he immediately grinned and beckoned, looking very happy.

"It turned out to be him!"

Lu Xin nodded in response, but he was very puzzled in his heart. The person who beckoned was Zhao Li, whom he had met twice, and he was not familiar with him, and he couldn't talk about friendship. Moreover, the other party is a ruffian who is mixed in the southern city, how can he appear in the West Market at this time? However, the moment he saw Zhao Li, Lu Xin remembered another identity of this person, and Jingshi Bao inquired. Looking for ambergris by himself, he is struggling to throw himself into the door. The emergence of Zhao Li may be an opportunity.

Under the leadership of the gangsters, Lu Xin soon entered Zhao Li's shop. It's no different from the pharmacy I've visited before, and they sell some herbs that are very common in the market. A little more valuable is a pair of ginseng that is placed on a high place and is regarded as a treasure of the town. The shopkeeper was an old man in his fifties, with a long beard, and he looked very shrewd. But because there were gangsters leading the way, the shopkeeper only glanced at Lu Xin and did not speak.

The layout of the second floor is very rich, with screens, calligraphy and paintings, tables and chairs are all made of sandalwood, and inlaid with gold edges. There are more than a dozen medicine jars in the corner, and with a faint medicinal fragrance in the air, the entire second floor is filled with a solemn and atmospheric atmosphere. It is supposed to be a place where the pharmacy is used to entertain distinguished guests and at the same time make some high-quality medicinal soups

Zhao Li was still sitting by the window, his legs crossed on the table, and the whole person was lying on his back, indescribably casual. Lu Xin didn't care about him, and walked to the window by himself. Looking down, you can see the whole street. Countless merchants and tourists from various state capitals, and even people from the countries of the Western Regions, were all sitting and buying and selling in a hurry.

Although it is only a small West Market, it shows that the Tang Dynasty of Zhenguan for three years has been very stable. Because the imperial court has enough strength to deal with all unexpected things.

"About ten days ago, when you and your master first entered Chang'an, I told you. Chang'an City is mixed, and all forces gather, and there will be great disasters. I told you to go, but you insisted on staying. These days, suffering, right? ”

After being silent for a long time, Zhao Li suddenly spoke, and at the same time stood up from the recliner. There are also mats and tea trays in the room, but both of them are rough people, so naturally they will not sit on the ground and drink and chat. Lu Xin didn't look back at him, his eyes were still on the street.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're from the Nine Stars. This pharmacy belongs to your gang, right? ”

"Smart, I'm Zhao Li, I like to deal with smart people."

"Hehe, I'm no more clever than a prophet. Zhao Li, you came to me, you shouldn't want to catch up with the past, right? There doesn't seem to be much friendship between you and me. And on the day you first entered Chang'an, there were still a lot to hide from what you said to my master. You know, it's not just that. Say, come to me, what do you want to do? ”

"Hey, hey, hey, worthy of being the cousin of the champion. The meticulousness of his mind is admired by him. As for the purpose of coming to you, it is nothing more than to see that you are in trouble and want to do a favor, and there is nothing else to think about. My Nine Star Gang has always been kind to helping others, and I, Zhao Li, also like to make friends in the rivers and lakes. ”

Zhao Li squinted his eyes and smiled, still not telling the truth. Lu Xin couldn't guess his purpose, but was stunned by the sentence "Zhuangyuangong's cousin".

In this world, he only has one cousin, Lu Tingfang. But at this time, Lu Tingfang was still conducting scientific research in the Hongwen Museum. The exam has not yet ended, and the imperial court has not released the list, where did the champion come from?

"Hehe, it's not surprising that you don't know about the things in the exam room. This time, the examination is a jinshi, a total of one day. The three major topics of policy, scripture pasting, and poetry are said to have been proposed by the emperor himself, which is very difficult. According to the practice of the Wude period, no matter how high the talent is, at least wait until dusk to hand in the papers. But your cousin only took an hour to complete all the test questions. By the time he left the Hongwen Pavilion, it was not yet time. ”

When Zhao Li said this, his eyes gradually became solemn, and he put away his cynical look. I saw him frowning, staring at Lu Xin's cheek and taking a deep breath. Seeing that the boy did not respond, he paused for two breaths before continuing to speak.

"In one hour, I completed all the questions. This is an unprecedented thing since the three years of the Great Cause, when Emperor Yang of Sui first established the imperial examination system. I thought that your cousin would submit the papers so hastily, he must be a person who does not learn and has no skills. Unexpectedly, his paper alarmed all the scientific examiners. Even the prince and prince who was over eighty years old, Li Gang saw it, and sighed for a long time. The eldest grandson Wuji even directly sent someone to send the scroll to the palace for the emperor to read. At this time, your cousin should have already entered the palace to face the saint. ”

Zhao Li's voice sounded very complicated. Shocked, with a hint of suspicion. Scholars throughout the ages have become famous at a young age, and there are countless people who are only eight fighters. But there is no one who can treat the world as nothing like Lu Tingfang. One person, in just one hour, shocked the entire court. Zhao Li, as a "bag inquiry" of buying and selling news, asked himself to be well-informed, but he had never heard of such a thing.

What made him even more strange was that after listening to his narration, Lu Xin just nodded "um", and his face did not change at all, as if everything was taken for granted. Seeing this scene, Zhao Li's mouth opened wide.

"Aren't you surprised to hear that?"

"There's nothing surprising that he can do what he says. Compared with Lu Tingfang, his master Yuan Tiangang is a more terrifying character. ”

"Hahahaha, you two brothers, one is really more interesting than the other."

Zhao Li stared at Lu Xin in shock, and seeing that the young man didn't seem to be lying, he immediately laughed and sat down again. But by this time, his gaze had completely changed. He originally thought that he had already seen through Lu Xin, but now, he felt more and more mysterious.

"A few days ago, the emperor transferred Li Jing, the secretary of the Criminal Department, to the Ministry of War and appointed him as the head of the march of the South Jiandao Road. waved 100,000 troops and went to Tubo to help Songtsen Gampo quell the rebellion. The emperor made this the subject of the scientific examination and asked the scholars to write a strategic treatise. Do you know how your cousin answered? He even wrote a decades-long response in one breath, and told Songtsen Gampo's past and present life clearly, as if he himself was the new Tsangpu of Tibet. But in fact, Songtsen Gampo was only twelve years old. If I am in the Tang Dynasty, I am far from the age of the crown ceremony. Before Songtsen Gampo ascended the throne, the imperial court's understanding of him could be said to be blank. Not only that, but your cousin also wrote a treatise on the Turks, which was clearly organized, well-worded, and written like water. And its calligraphy is quite a legacy of Wang Xi. It is said that after the emperor saw it, Long Yan was very happy, and immediately summoned him to the palace to meet him. ”

"How do you know these things, an outsider?"

Lu Xin saw that Zhao Li was getting more and more energetic as he spoke, and the more he talked, the more mysterious he became, so he hurriedly interrupted the topic. Then he closed the window and sat down. Lu Tingfang's matter, he didn't want to hear it anymore. A scholar from modern times, traveling back to the Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago, even if he won the champion, he was only plagiarizing the wisdom of others, which was not glorious. Zhao Li didn't know what Lu Xin was thinking, and when he saw the other party's cold face, he immediately laughed.

"I almost forgot, your cousin almost put you to death outside the Hongwen Pavilion. Don't mention it, don't mention it, hahahahaha. ”

"What the hell are you trying to say? Zhao Li, I still have important things to do, and I don't have time to talk to you. If you don't have anything else, Lu will leave first. ”

"Don't worry, Brother Lu, don't hide it. Even if you don't come to this West Market today, my Nine Star Gang will send someone to the Qian Mansion to invite you. It's not that I, Zhao Li, have something, but that my Nine Star Gang has something to ask you for. However, in order to show sincerity. Some words will be said after Brother Lu finishes the matter at hand. ”

"Ask me? Hehe, your Nine Star Gang has a big business, and you, an omniscient bag, are asking for help from a little person like me? But...... I do have an urgent matter to ask you. In this Chang'an City, where can I buy ambergris? ”

"Ambergris? It is an elixir that is reincarnated once in a thousand years, and it belongs to the flow of heaven and earth treasures. What are you looking for? ”

"Hmph, what to do? Do I need to explain clearly? It doesn't matter if you don't know, I'll find it myself. ”

Lu Xin snorted coldly and stood up abruptly. As soon as the voice fell, he was about to leave, and Zhao Li got up and blocked the way.

"As long as this Jingshi has it, there is nothing that I Zhao Li doesn't know. Let's go, it's just a plant of ambergris, and my Nine Star Gang can still give it away. ”