When the coldest time of winter comes, then spring is not far away, sure enough, as the thick ice on the Panlong River begins to slowly thaw and break, when the first grass on Crouching Tiger Mountain reveals sharp shoots, spring comes; And when the beautiful flowers bloom in the warm spring breeze, the snakes and scorpions hidden in the dark depths also slowly crawl out of the burrows......

Since the opening of the "Worry-free House" in the Crouching Tiger Pavilion, business has been booming, and with this shareholder wind, the entire "Crouching Tiger Pavilion" has undergone great changes.

With the increasing number of merchants who come to buy wine from 'Wushouju', vendors from all walks of life have gathered here, and a sizable trading market has been formed outside the east gate of the town. There are more people, there are more opportunities to make money, inns, restaurants, foot shops and a series of chain industries have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, as long as the hands and feet are diligent, can bear hardships and stand hard work, all the people of Crouching Tiger Pavilion can almost find a job.

At the end of last year, everyone had a fat year, put on new clothes that had not been seen for a long time, there was wine and meat on the dinner table, and there were smiles on the faces of adults and children; During the Chinese New Year, the people of the Crouching Tiger Pavilion collectively came to the small Taoist temple on the mountain, and gave the Taishang Laojun three sacrifices and a big tribute, saying that they were grateful for the protection of the gods, but all the grateful eyes were all on the little Taoist priest Xiao Yi, everyone knows, this is the person who brought earth-shaking changes to their lives.

……………………

In the Panlong Pavilion on the south bank of the river, Zimu Gongzi is now sitting in the lobby very unhappily, drinking wine cup after cup, without worrying about wine! Gold and silver wealth are moving! In order to find a way to deal with the Crouching Tiger Pavilion, in line with the principle of knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, he sent his most trusted 'large intestine housekeeper' out to inquire about the news.

At dusk, the "large intestine housekeeper" who had been out for a day came back, his fat body was full of sweat, and he ran to Zimu Gongzi with a sigh of panting, of course, this does not exclude the elements of his deliberate performance, and he never let go of the opportunity to show his merit in front of the master.

"Son, the little one has come back from the Crouching Tiger Pavilion, I have inquired about the details of 'No Worries House', the owner of the restaurant is surnamed Liang, called Xiaoyu; is the ninth young master of the Liang family in Jixian County, he has been running a tavern for several years, and the business is bleak; Before the pig's large intestine gas was evenly distributed, he began to introduce the results of his day's investigation.

"Can you get the secret recipe? Or let someone surnamed Liang cooperate with us Panlong Pavilion? "Hearing the words 'Jixian Liang Family', Zimu Gongzi's eyes flickered, and he obviously had deep scruples.

"Back to the prince, I'm afraid it's difficult, the little one also wants to try to get the secret recipe, but the 'worry-free residence' is strictly guarded, all the production processes are carried out in the backyard, the surrounding courtyard walls are high, and there are special guards at the door day and night, outsiders can't enter at all, and the guys can't buy it, they are all locals of the Crouching Tiger Pavilion, and the five people protect each other and monitor each other, so there is no way to start.

As for cooperation...... It's also hard to do! Now the business of 'worry-free residence' is thriving, and the surname Liang has the Liang family of Jixian County as a backer, the Liang family is a well-known hero in Jixian County, and the business is dense all over Youzhou, with deep roots and deep roots, and it is easy to recruit it.

But no! …… The small one heard from a few foreign merchants that in addition to Liang Xiaoyu, there was also a boss; It's just that this boss almost never shows up, but there is a grapevine that the secret recipe for Wuxian wine is taken out by this person. ”

"Can you find the whereabouts of this behind-the-scenes boss?" Hearing this, Zimu Gongzi's peach blossom eyes widened suddenly, and he seemed to have found the key to the problem.

"I don't have any clues, I just heard that he is a little Taoist priest, and he has no worries about living outside, 'three bowls are not the river!' The wine guise is this person's handwriting, and the young master, you can take a look at this again", said the 'large intestine butler' took out a small axe from his arms, handed it to Zimu Gongzi with both hands, and deliberately pointed to the handle of the axe.

Zimu Gongzi took the axe and looked at it, there was a clear bull's head sign at the bottom of the handle, and then looked at the axe blade, the cold light was shining, obviously sharp; He took out from his bosom the 'Broken Army' short knife, which he loved so much that he almost never left his body, and at the handle of the knife was also a clear bull's head mark, exactly the same as the one on the axe, and it was obvious that the two were made by the same craftsman.

"Where did you get it?" For this unexpected discovery, Prince Zimu was also surprised.

"Back to Gongzi, it's in the Crouching Tiger Pavilion; It is the craftsmanship of the Niu family blacksmith shop, the blacksmith is called Niu Hong, who moved here a few years ago, with a son and a nephew, has been making iron for a living, the skill of the Niu blacksmith is superb, and the iron tools made are unanimously praised by the neighbors; However, I heard that in recent months, his son and nephew have been very close to a small Taoist priest on Crouching Tiger Mountain. ”

"It's a Taoist priest again! Could it be that there is a connection between the two? Purple Wood said to himself thoughtfully.

I don't know about this little one, I heard that there is a small Taoist temple on Crouching Tiger Mountain, there is only one old Taoist cultivator in it, and he often treats and sends medicine to the poor ghosts around him. The pig's large intestine bowed and said.

"Okay, good job, send more people to the Crouching Tiger Pavilion, inquire carefully, if there is any trouble, report to me immediately; Alright, go down and rest! Purple Wood waved his hand casually.

"Yes, Childe, the little one is leaving!" The pig's large intestine also exited the lobby.

After thinking about it carefully and rationalizing his thoughts, Zimu Gongzi always felt that there was a connection between the two, but he couldn't get in; After taking the last sip of his glass, he stood up and walked towards the inner house.

In the main house at the back of the inner house, there lived the father of Zimu Gongzi, the nominal head of the family, who had been sick and sick all day long, bedridden all day long, and dozens of steps away from the main house, he could smell a strong smell of decoction; It can be seen that the old man is almost soaked in a medicine jar.

Entering the room, the smell of the decoction was stronger, and on the richly decorated bed lay an old man in his early fifties, his hair had long been gray, his forehead was tightly wrapped with strips of cloth, and his face was pale without a trace of blood.

There were two more people standing beside the bed, a young woman and a little girl of seven or eight years old; The woman was very beautiful, as she said; The eyebrows are like willow leaves in early spring, the face is like a peach blossom in March, the posture of a clear water hibiscus, and the unique charm of a young woman make people reverie again and again; At least every time Zimu Gongzi sees it, he will feel that his blood is surging ......, and the little girl snuggling next to her looks like a pink carved jade, with a double hair comb and a long-lived jade pendant around her neck, which is obviously worth a lot of money, although she is still young, but it can be expected that she will definitely be a beauty who will fall into the city and the country when she grows up.

This woman is not an outsider, it is the niece of the old family owner, the cousin of Zimu Gongzi, one year younger than him, married to the wealthy Guo family in Jingzhou eight years ago, and her husband Guo Yong is now an official in Jingzhou Nanjun Taishou, and this year he specially returned to Panlongting to save his relatives.

Mrs. Guo took her daughter to greet her seriously ill uncle today, so she met Zimu Gongzi, and a few people chatted for a while, knowing that Zimu Gongzi must have something to discuss, Mrs. Guo retired very politely.

Coming to his father's bed, Gongsun Zimu said a few important things about what happened in the Zhuangzi recently, and then stood by the bed with his hands respectfully and listened to his father's admonition.

"Looking for a child! (Zimu Gongzi's name: Gongsun Xun, the word Zimu.) You are very intelligent, both civil and military, Panlong Pavilion is handed over to you to take care of, I am very relieved to be my father, but your mind is too big and too wild! Now the world is chaotic, and there is smoke everywhere, the Gongsun family is a strong place, it is good to be able to barely protect itself, don't get involved in the game of those big forces, otherwise if you are not careful, you will be broken! Speaking of this, the old man coughed again and again......

Zimu hurriedly helped the maid to give his father a good breath, and nodded respectfully: "The child remembers!" ”

Ay! Knowing his son Mo Ruo's father, knowing that his son is a very ambitious person who is unwilling to live a mediocre life, it is useless to say more by himself, and when he finally gets better, the old family owner continued, "Looking for a son!" Although you have 17 concubines, you don't have any children, you have three unfilial pieties, and no queen is the greatest! If you can't see the follow-up cigarettes of the family, your father will die and you won't have the face to see the spirits of your ancestors in the sky! ”

Speaking of these, Zimu Gongzi suddenly felt a little embarrassed, he has been obsessed with women over the years, and he has accepted 17 concubines in a row, but not only did he not give birth to children, but he made his body weak, and even had to resort to the medicine of the tiger and wolf.

"It's dark at night, father, please rest assured, the child has retired!" After saying that, Zimu Gongzi hurriedly turned around and left this embarrassing place for him, his own family knows his own affairs, and the wine is like a drug, once he is obsessed, how can he easily get rid of it!

"Why don't you spend the night at that concubine's place tonight? Or maybe call a few more ......"

Thinking of his group of flower-like concubines, Prince Zimu hesitantly walked towards his bedroom, where warm bath water was waiting for him, and there was a huge warm bed......