Gu Yang stayed in Lingnan City for five days. When leaving, Qi Rusong escorted all the way to the Lingnan border.

In the three months that followed, the south became orderly and peaceful under the new ruler's rule.

In the fourth month, the sky began to fall with fine snow, and a handwritten letter from the Great Xia Emperor made Qi Rusong's heart feel like a boulder. Emperor Daxia invited him to go to Zhongzhou City to participate in the [Five Kings Meeting].

Among all the rooms in the Lingnan City Palace, Su Yu's bedroom was the most stuffy, so that there was rarely a need to make a fire to keep warm at that time.

Su Yu likes to make the bath water hot and steamy, and the walls around the living room she chose are always warm to the touch. Maybe it's her Snow Demon power that makes her dislike the cold.

But Qi Rusong prefers the taste of ice and snow. This allowed him to recall his days in the Underworld.

Therefore, when they were done, Qi Rusong turned over, got up from her bed, walked through the room as before, opened the heavy brocade curtains, and pushed open the narrow windows one by one, letting the night chill pour into the bedroom.

"How about I reject the Great Xia Emperor?" He said as he turned to face her.

Su Yu sat up from the bed: "No, you can't refuse." ”

"My responsibility is here, in the south, and I have no intention of participating in the dispute over the rights of the Great Xia Kingdom."

"The Great Xia Emperor doesn't care about this, he is the emperor, but he can't be treated as an ordinary person. The letter made it clear that if you refuse, he will question you why, and sooner or later he will wonder if you are harboring two intentions.

Don't you see the dangers that rejection can bring to us? ”

"Just by rejecting the Five Kings, he will do something that is not good for me or my family? How can such a person become the Great Xia Emperor! ”

"If all the other four kings attend the meeting, you will be the only one absent." Su Yu said, "Husband, you are also a man, and self-esteem is everything to you." You haven't been the king of the South for a long time, and you can't categorically refuse anything! ”

"Self-esteem... Man! ”

Su Yu is right, the Great Xia Emperor is also a man, if he rashly refuses, how can he save face!

Qi Rusong turned around again and returned to the dark night. He stood still looking out into the darkness outside the house, perhaps gazing at the moonlight and stars, perhaps at the sentry in the lookout city.

She got up and walked over to him, "Husband, you should leave now!"

"I see!" Qi Rusong kissed her lightly on the forehead, then turned around and ordered, "Come on, beckon the stone snake, Mr. Yin is coming to the palace hall to discuss important matters!" ”

With that, Qi Rusong walked to the closet, put on a heavy robe, and then left the bedroom.

Dressed in a loose silk robe, the stone snake walked through the door humming an out-of-tune song, smelling of alcohol. He saw Yin Lin sitting by the fire, was taken aback, and suddenly stopped. "Lord Yin," he said sharply, giggling nervously.

"The prince also recruited you?"

"That's right! I don't know what's going on, and I don't let people rest well in the middle of the night. He said as he stood by the brazier and baked his hands. Do you know something? ”

"It is said to be a letter from the Great Xia Emperor!" Yin Lin replied to him. "Exactly what, I don't know."

"It's not going to be a good thing!"

During the conversation, Qi Rusong was late.

As soon as he saw him, the stone snake didn't greet him and asked directly. "What does that letter say? It can't be that the eldest prince is also coming to visit, right? ”

"It's more of a headache than that." Qi Rusong slowly walked to the chair and sat down, his face full of sadness.

"What the hell is going on, tell me quickly!" The stone snake looked a little impatient.

"Hey, the Great Xia Emperor asked me to leave for Zhongzhou City immediately!" Qi Rusong's brows furrowed.

The stone snake hurriedly took the letter from Qi Rusong's hand, and when he read the contents of the letter, he suddenly had the same expression as Qi Rusong. "Must go, what does that mean?"

"The king of the Five Realms of the Great Xia Kingdom can go to Zhongzhou at the end of the year to gather, this rule has been passed down from the ancestors," Yin Lin explained, "but if you have important business, you don't have to go." ”

"The problem is, the letter says that it is necessary to go and not to be excused for any reason!" Stone Snake Road.

"That's abnormal!" Yin Lin touched his beard, "Maybe the Great Xia Emperor has something important to discuss." ”

"What is the mention in the letter?"

"Not a word." Qi Rusong announced.

"It's a real headache!" The stone snake rubbed his eyes, "The royal family summons, it will definitely not be that simple!" ”

"No matter what, I'm going to have to leave today!" He said, "Mr. Yin, you arrange it." You will manage the southern border, and the stone snake will assist you. The master of the Marven Sect is also about to recover, so there is no need to worry too much about the matter of the Demon Hunting Gate. ”

"Obey, I'll go and gather the ministers to announce this!"

After speaking, Yin Lin bowed and retreated.

"This time you must be small!" The stone snake said meaningfully.

"The Great Xia Emperor will never harm me!"

"You don't know anything about Game of Thrones."

"You'll learn it slowly!" Qi Rusong said, "Brother, Su Yu will be taken care of by you." ”

"Don't worry, don't worry about your wife."

"Draft!" The King of the South smiled again.

~~~~~ dividing line ~~~~

After leaving Lingnan City, the weather became very strange. Qi Rusong remembered that it was a sunny day when he left, and the weather was warm. However, after walking for less than three days, it began to rain. The rain came and went, and the sky was overcast.

On the fifth day, the sky finally cleared. The food they were carrying was already damp and they had to eat the moldy food.

The good news is that the team has left the South and entered Middle-earth territory.

The sunrise in Middle-earth dyes the eastern sky with roses and gold. Qi Rusong rode on horseback, staring at the gradually diffusing light. Dawn crawls over fields and forests, and the world turns from pitch black to indigo and then to verdant green.

The different scenery made him almost forget the purpose of his trip.

Suddenly, his retinue in front of him hurried on horseback.

"Say, what's the bad news?" Qi Rusong asked.

"There's a team of men ahead!" The visitor replied, "About a dozen people, fully armed!" ”

This place is in Middle-earth, and it can't be an enemy! Qi Rusong thought to himself.

So he clamped the horse's belly and walked to the front of the line.

When the other party saw Qi Rusong and others, he immediately stepped forward.

Eight-clawed Golden Dragon Banner! Lion Badge!

This is a soldier of the Great Xia Emperor Gu family.

"Lord Qi," the royal soldiers led by him saluted, "We are here to greet you on the orders of Your Majesty." ”

There are still three days to ride from Zhongzhou City, and the Great Xia Emperor actually sent someone to greet him again... I'm here to spy on it! He thought to himself.

Although Qi Rusong was displeased, he had to thank him. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

On the third day, they finally arrived at their destination: Middle-earth City.

Zhongzhou City, approximately square, spreads for more than ten miles and is protected by high walls. There are a total of eight gates to enter the city, two on the east, two on the south, and two on the west, and the largest and most crowded is the Suzaku Gate on the east.

Within the city walls, the city was dotted with dwellings, trees, barns, stone warehouses, wooden inns, commercial clubs, taverns and brothels.

To the east of the city, there is a large fish market. There are hundreds of marinas that can be found in the port. Between the buildings are wide roads, streets, and sectional alleys lined with trees. Each section of the city wall has a giant trebuchet, which is an additional defense of the city.

The city occupies the north bank of the Yangtze River and covers three hills, the palace is built at the top of the high hill of Middle-earth, the royal castle in the southeast corner of the city, overlooking the entire river bay, the marble-walled royal palace, the walls of the royal palace are painted in gold.

Qi Rusong and the others entered from the Canglong Gate in the south, and like the deserted village in the sealed land in the south, there were also statues of the ancestors of the five major families here. The only difference is that the statues here are repaired every day and look like they were newly made.

Zhongzhou City is quite densely populated, but compared to Lingnan City, it is a dirty and messy place. The population is about one million, and this number fluctuates during the winter months as people take refuge behind the city walls.

But not more than 1.2 million at most.

As soon as he entered the city, Qi Rusong saw the capital guards covered in golden armor, helmets, and cloaks. They numbered about 3,000 and were the main armament force in Middle-earth, guarding and maintaining law and order in and around the city.

Soon after the ride, they passed a place separated by a high wall.

The east side of the high wall is resplendent with gold, and at a glance you can tell that it is a place where rich people live. On the west side of the high wall, the stench of garbage can be smelled two miles away.

The subordinates who had been to Zhongzhou City told Qi Rusong that the west side was called "Mouse Nest". It was the poorest inhabitants of Middle-earth who lived in the slums, where the narrow streets and alleys were like a labyrinth, crowded with beggars and the poorest part of the city's population;

The reason why it is called "rat's nest" is that the people who live here sometimes rely on "secret soup", a mysterious stew that is most likely made of rat meat.

What surprised Qi Rusong the most was that the headquarters of the famous Demon Hunting Gate in the Great Xia Kingdom was set up in the "rat's nest".

His subordinates told him that Ye Chouhe, the head of the Demon Hunting Gate, was a well-known [ascetic] in Zhongzhou City. When he heard this, he was not surprised.

That's when he thought. He used to be a demon hunter, and Marven was his own teacher, so he would need to visit the head of the demon hunter in the future.

Then, Qi Rusong was taken to a more central residential area in the city. It is on the other side of the "rat's nest" and belongs to the upper district of Middle-earth City.

The residence of the King of the South was much larger than that of the other princes, with bedrooms, study, hall, garden, and so on. The Great Xia Emperor even arranged for him more than 20 maids and servants to serve him in food, clothing, shelter and transportation.

A middle-aged man who claimed to be a butler even told him that the maid here could provide him with [everything].

Qi Rusong scoffed at this, (Driving indiscriminately is going to be blocked, but don't dare to mess around!) ）

After the king of the southern realm settled down, the royal guards who greeted him specially reminded him: "There are still a few days left for the five kings to deliberate, if you want to go out, you must inform them that the night in Zhongzhou City is not peaceful!" ”

These words made Qi Rusong extremely annoyed, and he wanted to spy on me and say it directly, such a far-fetched reason for a three-year-old child not to believe it. The powerhouses of my five major families will be afraid of the little thief!

However, he forced himself to thank him, and then went back to his bedroom early to rest.