Since the banquet in the Zhuohua Courtyard of the Langya Palace, the children of the Jingshi family and the literati all know that there is a peerless beauty who has good piano skills in Yalu.

After more than a year of operation, Yi Xue has become quite prestigious among the pianists in the capital, and has been invited to various families from time to time to participate in elegant gatherings and conversations.

On this day, Mu Yixue sat in the courtyard and stroked the piano, Zhou Rong practiced swords, only to see Zhou Rong soft and strong, and the red heart sword danced vigorously in her hands. Although Zhou Rong is not beautiful, she has studied art in the Jade Immortal Palace with Mu Yixue in the past few years, and she has a chivalrous spirit.

After the song, Zhou Rong was already sweating slightly, picked up the tea on the stone table, and drank it all, Mu Yixue looked at this girl who had not learned to taste tea for several years, and smiled and handed over a handkerchief embroidered with plum blossoms.

Zhou Rong wiped her sweat and said, "Girl, I haven't seen Uncle Zheng for a long time, why hasn't he come over this time?" ”

"Uncle Zheng has been following Li Zhao for this time, and it is estimated that there will be news in the near future."

"Uncle Zheng shouldn't have been to Hewan Village for a while, I really want to go back to Hewan Village to see Grandpa and Auntie." Zhou Rong frowned and said.

"Yes, I really want to get married, now I have the appearance of a big child" Yi Xue sighed softly.

The two were chatting, and the servant in the lower room walked in to report: "Little lady, there is a girl at the door, saying that it is Fengling from Zhaofengtai." ”

When Yi Xue heard this, she and Zhou Rong came to the gate of the courtyard, only to see Feng Ling standing outside the door in a light cyan Luo skirt, followed by a small sedan chair for two people.

Feng Ling stepped forward to give Yi Xue a salute, Yi Xue returned the salute, Feng Ling lowered her eyebrows and smiled lightly: "I haven't seen Miss Yi Xue for some days, and I have nothing to do today, so I came here to ask the girl for piano skills, and asked the girl not to give up." ”

Although Feng Ling was born in a theater, Yi Xue didn't hate her, and even liked some of them. Seeing that Feng Ling was so polite, Yi Xue replied with a smile: "Miss Feng Ling is famous in the capital, you don't have to be too modest, the girl please come in." ”

Feng Ling followed Yi Xue to the courtyard, and saw that there was a plum tree in the courtyard, surrounded by early garden bamboo, although Luoyang peony is famous all over the world, but there is no one in this courtyard, so he smiled and said: "This elegant house is really elegant, in line with the girl's temperament, and the king of Langya also has a heart." ”

"Yes, thanks to King Langya's care, Yi Xue is grateful."

Seeing the Red Heart Sword on the stone table, Feng Ling asked, "It seems that Miss Zhou Rong has also learned a good swordsmanship. ”

At this time, Zhou Rong came up with tea, and when she saw Feng Ling asking about her martial arts, she smiled and covered up: "Where, it's just a little self-defense." ”

Feng Ling smiled slightly and didn't ask again.

Mu Yixue and Feng Ling first drank tea and chatted for a while, and then began to play the tune, exchanging their own experiences.

Zhou Rong brought some tea fruits over, and Yi Xue ordered tea again.

At this time, Zhou Rong looked at Feng Ling carefully and found that she was a little different, so she said quickly: "Miss Feng Ling, looking at you, you have the appearance of a bearded girl, and I feel that your eyebrows and eyes look very similar to a person." ”

"Miss Zhou Rong has good eyesight, I have the blood of the Hu people, and the eyebrows and eyes of the Hu people are very similar." Feng Ling replied briskly.

Hearing Feng Ling's answer, Yi Xue couldn't help but look at Feng Ling, and then said with a smile: "Since Dong Zhuo, the Hu people in the north have come to live in the Central Plains one after another, and it is not a strange thing to intermarry with the Han people. ”

Feng Ling smiled and didn't answer, but picked up the teacup, took a sip gently, looked at Yi Xue and then at Zhou Rong, and suddenly the topic changed: "Speaking of Hu people, I heard a strange thing in Zhaofengtai recently. ”

"Oh, what a miracle, tell me about it"

Seeing the anticipation on Zhou Rong's face, she continued with a smile: "Girl, have you heard of Fang Jun? ”

Yi Xue thought for a while and said, "It seems that we have met once, once Shi Chong had a banquet in the Golden Valley Villa, there seems to be such a person, I remember that it should be a businessman." ”

"Yes, that's right. This Fang Jun specializes in border business, and has a good relationship with the Hu people, I heard that the Di people, the Qiang people, and some royal courts and tribes in the Western Regions have business dealings with him, horses, ironware, porcelain, pearls and jade, skins, cloths, and daily groceries. Sometimes, in order to please the gate lord, this Fang Jun will bring some exotic beauties from the Western Regions. ”

"In this way, this Fang Jun is also a capable person." Zhou Rong echoed, while Yi Xue on the side smiled and said nothing.

"Every time Fang Jun returns to Luoyang City, he will come to Zhaofengtai, although he is not a child of the family, because he is generous, he agrees to be accompanied by me every time. When he came back a few days ago, I asked him what good things he was selling, probably because he had eaten too much wine, and he told me that it was food. ”

"This is a strange thing, the Hu people in the north are nomadic, and there have been natural disasters in Guanzhong since last year, how can there be food?" Yi Xue said with a noncommittal smile.

Zhou Rong said bluntly: "Xu is drinking too much, let's talk drunk!" ”

"Yes, I said the same thing about him, Hugh wanted to tease me, but he said that it was grain, and it was a whole 20,000 stone of grain."

"Twenty thousand stones? Not to mention 20,000 stones, it is two truckloads of grain, from Guanzhong to Luoyang City, this road checkpoints, displaced people, it is also difficult to transport them smoothly, how did he get it as a businessman? Yi Xue looked incredulous.

"I asked him the same way, he said that cats have cat paths, dogs have dog paths, he has his ways, don't underestimate him."

"It seems that this Fang Jun is really a capable person." Yi Xue sighed.

Feng Ling chatted with Yi Xue for a while before getting up to say goodbye.

It was night, the second watch drum sounded, a black shadow flew into the courtyard of Yalu, flashed to Yi Xue's study, knocked on the door three times, Zhou Rong opened the door, the black shadow walked into the house, and the person who came was Yang Zheng.

"Yang Zheng has seen the girl"

"Uncle Zheng, have you gained anything from investigating Li Zhao these days?" Yi Xue asked.

"Today, I followed Li Zhao to Shi Chong's Mansion, but it was inconvenient for me to follow them in the room, so I guarded outside, and when Li Zhao left, I saw a businessman-like person also come out with them, I'm afraid it was Shi Chong's Mansion that went before Li Zhao."

"Today, Feng Ling from Zhaofengtai suddenly came to visit me to learn piano skills, and during the chat, she mentioned a businessman named Fang Jun, who sold a batch of grain from Guanzhong, as if this Fang Jun I had seen in Jingu Villa before."

"That's right, this businessman's name is Fang Jun. When they left Shi Chong's mansion, I heard the merchant call himself Fang Jun, and then Shi Chong went to Jia Mi's Guogong Mansion. ”

Yang Zheng remembered that when the merchant left, he said something like "The townsman stays, and Fang Jun leaves".

"A businessman who does border business can sell grain to Luoyang City, there must be an article here." Yi Xue said in a very affirmative tone.

"But girl, at the moment of the catastrophe in Guanzhong, there is no food to collect, the rogue is in chaos, and the Hu people also go deep into the inner realm from time to time to plunder, and many rich families are difficult to protect themselves, where did they get the food?" Yang Zheng looked puzzled.

"If my guess is correct, this grain should be the batch of military rations that King Langya was ordered to send to Chang'an again two months ago." Yi Xue groaned.

"Military rations? Do they dare to touch military rations? ”

"Where is there food but military rations?"

"But now that the war is tight, General Zhou has been killed, and General Xie is fighting hard with the Di people, these people are so bold that they don't care about the safety of the imperial court?" Yang Zheng was a little incredulous.

"Now that the emperor is in a daze, the dictatorship of Empress Jia, and the collusion between the gate lords, the powerful and the profiteers, what else can't be done. At present, the only thing that can connect Li Zhao, Fang Jun, and Jia Mi is the grain that Fang Jun transported to Luoyang. ”

"Since there is no grain in Guanzhong, why don't these people sell it on the spot in Chang'an, but they travel thousands of miles back to Luoyang?" Zhou Rong asked puzzled.

"The people of Guanzhong fled, the people of Chang'an are now living in poverty, most of them have no money to buy grain, and they are eating rough chaff, and Taicang has successively transferred grain to Beijun, and the price of rice and noodles in the Luoyang grain market has skyrocketed. Yi Xue analyzed.

"These people are too hateful, and when the price of food rises again, the people of Luoyang City will also suffer." Zhou Rong was a little resentful.

"Where are the people in their hearts? This military ration was smuggled out, presumably they would definitely find a reason to requisition and transfer it again in an attempt to replenish it, but they could not afford the crime of causing a mutiny in the army because there was no food in the army, so they also calculated the time and quantity of military rations. Yi Xue said with a wry smile.

"Where do you think the girl will go to collect food?" Yang Zheng asked.

"There will be no grain under the feet of the Son of Heaven, and Taicang has already transferred 100,000 stones, so it will not be transferred again. Now there are only Bashu and Jiangnan areas where grain can be collected, Shu Road is too difficult, far inferior to Jiangnan, and Shi Chong's brother Shi Li is now in Yangzhou as an assassin, I judge that the land of grain collection must be Jiangnan. Since they dare to use military rations, they will certainly not let go of this opportunity to requisition and transport grain, and they have an excuse to be greedy, so we just need to wait for the opportunity to wipe out all these people. ”

"If it is really as the girl expected, Yang Zheng believes that the opportunity will come soon."

"Sima Ling, the king of Langya, has made many military exploits in the Pingwu War, and was worshiped as General Anton, and Sima Jingwen attacked the prince as the eldest grandson, and succeeded General Anton at the same time, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, and Xuzhou are in the places under his supervision, and this matter must be the king of Langya." Thinking of this, Mu Yixue had an idea in his heart at the moment.

"Uncle Zheng, no matter what happens in the future, you just need to follow Li Zhao, and I have my own arrangements for the rest." Mu Yixue instructed.

"Yes, girl, Yang Zheng understands!"

After Yang Zheng left, Mu Yixue opened the dark room of the room, there was a tablet without words in the dark room, Mu Yixue gave the tablet three worships: "Grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, Yun'er has begun, please father, mother and the spirit of the Yang clan in the sky, bless Yun'er......."

Then Mu Yixue picked up the jade sword on the wall, walked out of the dark room, and came to the courtyard to dance......

For Mu Yixue, in this ostensibly prosperous imperial capital, there are always undercurrents surging from all sides, and all she needs is an opportunity.

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