The next day, Xu Zhi saw that the disciples who had been arrested in the spear gate had all taken refuge in Yang Xingmi with Lu Yongzhi, changed the courtyard, and there were still some entanglements in the spear door around him, so he simply bought a new dress and prepared to have a big meal in the famous Fuchun Restaurant in Yangzhou City.

Xu Zhi entered the restaurant, and as soon as he sat down, he heard a few guests next to him whispering: Lord Gao Gao recently got a like-minded staff, so he asked for immortals. This new staff member is clever, and he successfully predicted that a big strange thing happened in the town marshal's mansion last night, which also made the tall man even more crazy and ignored the political affairs of our Huainan.

It turned out that Yang Xingmi recommended Lu Yongzhi to Gao Biao the next day. Gao Biao saw that Lu Yongzhi's appearance was extraordinary, immortal wind and bones, and he looked a little tired of seeing each other, so in front of Yang Xingmi, he sealed him to join the army in the inner room, specializing in giving advice.

Lu Yongzhi saw that Gao Yu's eyes were dizzy, the vocal music was endless, and the beauty was not relieved, and the things he asked were all illusory and ethereal things, which were in his arms. Lu Yongzhi said casually: "The subordinate was originally the little fairy child of the Heavenly Court Taishang Laojun, because the Jade Emperor in the sky was grateful for the sincerity of the high man to ask the immortal to visit the Tao, so he let the little fairy go down to the earth to help the adult become an immortal." ”

Gao Biao glanced at Yang Xingmi, saw that he was also staring at him, and said with a smile: "Lord Yang, the old man is old and desolate in political affairs, and he only wants to ascend to the Tao, and from now on, all the mundane things in Huainan will be handed over to the general to deal with!"

Yang Xingmi saw the tiredness on Gao Biao's face, and said: "General Gao has Lu to join the army to help, and this ascension to immortality will inevitably get twice the result with half the effort." The subordinates have the heart to share the general's worries and take care of Huainan's political affairs for the time being, but they are afraid that the imperial court will not allow it!"

Gao Biao smiled and said, "General Yang doesn't have to worry! The old man made a twist and turn, long live Ming, and let the general act in charge of all government and military affairs in Huainan. ”

Yang Xingmi listened, and when he saw that his goal had been achieved, he gave Lu Yongzhi an approving look behind him, and then left.

Xu Zhi saw the guests and continued to narrate: After Gao Biao sent Yang Xingmi away, he asked Lu Yongzhi to sit down beside him, and asked respectfully: "Since Mr. is a mortal immortal in the heavens and the earth, can you know when the old man will fly to the sky?"

Lu Yongzhi pinched his fingers and calculated, and replied: "Lord Gao, this immortal cultivation is sincere, sincerity is spiritual, when the adult becomes an immortal is a heavenly opportunity, and the heavenly opportunity does not dare to leak it." If it is leaked, then the gods in the heavens will inevitably doubt the sincerity of the adult's immortal cultivation, and once the heavenly god is angry, then the adult's flying immortal event will fall short!"

Gao Biao saw that Lu Yongzhi's voice was fierce, and hurriedly apologized to him: "Sir, don't be surprised, please ask Mr. to go to the court tomorrow, the old man will no longer dare to take shortcuts greedily, and please take pity on the old man's pure heart!"

Lu Yongzhi said with a smile: "Although I am a messenger from heaven, I am already a subordinate of an adult, so I will naturally try my best for the general, and please wait patiently for the will of heaven!"

Gao Yu nodded suspiciously, and asked: "Recently, the old man has always been restless, and he has nightmares at night, and I ask Shangxian to help the old man calculate, is there any ominous disaster for the old man at present?"

It turned out that Gao Biao's encirclement and suppression of the Huangchao rebels was unfavorable, and he was at odds with Zheng Jin, the prime minister of the DPRK and China, and the military power in Huainan fell into the hands of Yang Xingmi, so he had to pretend to be sick in Huainan and delay, and never talked about political affairs with his staff, but only about some illusory and ethereal things. He also understood that Yang Xingmi's recommendation of Lu Yongzhi to himself was just to plant a nail eyeliner beside him.

Lu Yongzhi also understood his role by Gao Biao's side, and Yang Xingmi repeatedly explained to himself before leaving, trying to find out whether Gao Biao was pretending to be sick, and monitoring Gao Biao's every move. Lu Yongzhi was by Gao Biao's side, and he couldn't help but act on the spot and cater to Gao Biao, so he deliberately stretched out his fingers, pinched his fingers, and asked with a surprised face: "Does Lord Gao have a gap with the prime minister of the DPRK and China?"

Gao Biao asked in surprise, "How does Mr. know?"

Lu Yongzhi replied: "Have you forgotten the identity of your subordinates? This is a major event in the world, only the subordinates want to know, and there is nothing that the subordinates don't know! The subordinates calculated for the adults and found that the adults have a sword disaster tonight!"

When Gao Yu heard this, he was startled, and hurriedly asked, "What kind of disaster star is it?"

Lu Yongzhi replied: "The prime minister of the DPRK and China has sent assassins Qianli to assassinate the lord, and he will be in Yangzhou tonight!"

When Gao Yu heard this, he was very frightened, pulled Lu Yongzhi's sleeve, and begged: "How is this good?

Lu Yongzhi smiled slightly and said: "Your Excellency doesn't have to worry, your subordinates have learned swordsmanship from Yuan Shi Tianzun, and you can fend off assassins for your lords! If your subordinates receive a sword from the assassin for your lord, your adult's calamity will pass forever, and in the future, the stars will shine brightly, and there is hope for flying!"

Gao Biao saw what Lu Yongzhi said, and held the idea that he would rather believe what he had than what he didn't, and repeatedly thanked Lu Yongzhi. Lu Yongzhi also hurriedly returned the salute, thinking: Why not take advantage of this opportunity to completely dispel Gao Yu's doubts about himself, so that he can rely on himself more in the future.

That night, Lü used it to sleep on the bed instead of Gao Yu, wrapped jade around his head and neck, and then threw a copper basin on the steps, making a thumping sound, and secretly filled a bag with pig's blood and spilled it in the room, the furniture in the room was broken, and the ground was mottled with blood, just like the Assassins.

At dawn the next day, Lu Yongzhi described to Gao Biao with a smile: "In the middle of the night, the assassin jumped down from the beam of the house, and without waiting for his subordinates to react, he waved a sword and hit his subordinates in the head and neck. Later, when the assassin saw that he had not stabbed his subordinate to death, he drew his sword and fought with his subordinates, but he was injured by his subordinate's sword qi and bled all over the ground, so he jumped on the roof beam and fled. Alas, the subordinates were also concerned about the safety of the adults at that time, and they didn't dare to leave the house one step, otherwise the assassin would have been captured by his subordinates a long time ago!"

Gao Biao saw that the jade on Lu Yongzhi's head and neck really had dagger scratches, the scratches were several inches deep, and there were also a little red blood stains on the floor of the room, he was suspicious, shed tears, and sighed: "Mr. has a great grace to save his life for the old man, I don't know how to thank him!", after speaking, he hurriedly instructed the housekeeper to take out hundreds of taels of gold and give it away.

Lu Yong's heart was overjoyed, and he deliberately excused himself with both hands, but when he saw that Gao Yu didn't allow it, he had to accept it cheekily.

While drinking and eating, Xu Zhi listened to the guests of the restaurant, and thought: This Gao Yu is really old and confused, Lu Yongzhi has such a stupid arrangement, even a three-year-old child can't deceive it, but he is convinced and can't help laughing. Xu Zhi's smile immediately aroused the alarm of several tea guests next to him, and they immediately stopped talking about Gao Yu's scandal and turned to talk about the Mid-Autumn Festival Lantern Festival in Yaochi, Yangzhou this year.

Xu Zhi suddenly remembered that before Qi Shanxing was captured, he asked himself not to forget the Mid-Autumn Festival appointment between the Spear Gate and the Yellow Nest Messenger in Yaochi. Xu Zhi was afraid that he would miss the Mid-Autumn Festival, so he asked the guy in the restaurant: "Little second brother, what time is the beginning of August today?"

Xiao Er answered while serving food to the other guests: "The guest officer can't wait, right? Today is August 13, and in two days, it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival." ”

A guest took over the topic and said: "Since Lord Gao Biao guards Yangzhou, we have a lantern festival here every Mid-Autumn Festival, the lantern festival in the west of the city is the most lively, the lights are bright, the night is like day, the visitors are weaving, especially there is a five-pavilion bridge in the water, there are fifteen bridge holes, each with a moon, 15 full moons are hanging upside down in the water, competing to shine, boating through the holes, you can feel the wonderful environment of 'the face of the clear waves and the moon shadow, the head is hollow over the clouds, and the night listens to the jade flute'. ”

Another guest listened and said with a smile: "On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, everyone and their families will go there to have a look!", which immediately attracted a burst of echo.

Xu Zhi asked again: "Little second brother, I would like to ask you for directions, how to get to Yaochi?"

Before the shopkeeper could answer, a guest turned around and said with a smile: "This little brother, you don't even know about the famous Yaochi in Yangzhou?"

When the shopkeeper saw a guest talking about Yaochi in Yangzhou, he immediately became interested: "This guest officer, just listen to your accent and know that you are from other places." This Yao Chi used to be the palace of the former Sui Dynasty in our Yangzhou, and I heard that the former Sui Emperor Yang had been drunk and dreamed of death there, and he was happy every night. However, things are not people, the palace in this Yao Pond has now become the most luxurious restaurant in our Yangzhou City, I heard that it costs dozens of taels of silver to eat a meal there, only officials above the fifth grade, and the wealthy merchants dare to eat and stay there. This Yao Pond is just west of Yangzhou City, close to the canal. ”

Seeing Xu Zhi's face with a surprised expression, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "Guest officer, I see that you are also a dignitary, do you go to Yaochi for dinner, accommodation, or friends?"

Xu Zhi said with a smile: "Where is that blessing in the next place, just curious, just ask!"

Xu Zhi finished eating, out of Fuchun Building, along the bluestone path, bypassing the bustling market, to the canal in the west of the city, only to see the willows on both sides of the canal, the small bridge and flowing water. Xu Zhi walked along the canal and came to the shore of Yaochi Lake, where he saw the green waves rippling on the lake, and the lake was full of reeds, lotus leaves, water chestnuts and other products. Xu Zhi took a few steps forward, saw that the lake was gradually opening up, and the number of tourists gradually increased, knowing that the lake water was clear and flawless, like a piece of beautiful jade, so it was given by Emperor Yang of Sui as the heavenly Yao Pond. There is a small island in the center of Yaochi, and the willows on the small island are still there, with Qionghua and jade leaves, red walls and green tiles, and the palace is towering. Xu Zhi knew that it was the palace of the former Sui Dynasty, where the restaurant was now.

Xu Zhi boarded a ferry boat with the tourists and sailed to the small island in the middle of the lake. Xu went to the shore and saw a smoke willow pavilion among the weeping willows nearby, which was unique, and the whole pavilion was completely built under pressure water, which allowed visitors to see the full moon in the sky and the moon shadow in the water at the same time. The restaurant in this Yao Pond was originally the palace of Emperor Yang of Sui stationed in Yangzhou, the eaves are warped and the walls are warped, the pavilion is scattered, now this high palace wall has long been demolished, and the various palaces in the Yao Pond have also been opened up as the restaurants of the official family, only entertaining the imperial history of the imperial court, the local salt and iron giants. Xu Zhi was inconvenient to enter the restaurant, so he had to rest in an ancient stage far away from the restaurant.

Two days later, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xu Zhi finished lunch early, seeing that the hour was still early, as the tourists walked along the lake embankment, they saw a few disheveled fishermen rowing small boats, shuttling in the withered yellow residual lotus, salvaging some water lotus root fish and shrimp up, waving their hands and throwing them to a few women wearing peasant clothes on the shore to sell. Some tourists saw that the food was fresh and bought some to carry in their hands. Xu Zhi saw those women barefoot, kneeling on the ground, struggling to sell, very hard, but also moved by compassion, wanting to buy some water chestnut root as a snack.

At this time, a boss dressed in silk and satin, with a few men, pushed Xu Zhi away, and shouted to the women who were kneeling on the ground: "Listen, tonight is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and our senior adults in Yangzhou are going to have a banquet for the local gentry of Huainan in the Yaotai Restaurant, and each of you needs to hand over 20 more golden carp and 20 catties of water lotus root! Twenty hemp ducks and 20 quails!"

The women whispered, "Lord Gao, didn't you just accept ten carp, ten catties of water chestnut roots, and five water ducks from us in previous years?

Lord Gao shouted: "That is the rule of previous years, there are many people who come to eat in our Yaochi this year, of course we must prepare more." You must prepare for Lord Ben, and I will take it at dusk! If you fail to complete the tribute, I will send you to prison!" At this time, a woman begged: "My lord, my husband was sick a few days ago and has not recovered, and now he is fishing with illness, and he has not been able to get together even ten carp and ten catties of water chestnut roots, can you be more lenient?"

When Lord Gao heard this, he looked at her viciously, kicked the water lotus root in her hand, and scolded: "I really don't know what to do, you occupy the territory of the official family, and you should double your filial piety to the master." What's the matter, you dare to bargain with Lord Ben?"

The woman didn't keep kowtowing and apologized: "Please have mercy on our husband and wife!"

Lord Gao scolded: "Tonight, Lord Gao is going to have a banquet in this Yaotai for an important official gentry from Huainan! You can't get the ingredients, damn it!", after speaking, he raised the whip in his hand and slapped the woman's body fiercely, and her thin clothes had already been torn out, oozing red blood. The men also got up and kicked the woman with their feet.

Xu Zhi was about to stop it, only to see a guy say to Lord Gao: "Lord Gao, please look, Lord Gao's boat is coming!", Lord Gao quickly stopped his hand and shouted: "Boys, quickly follow Lord Ben to the Yanliu Pavilion to pick up the driver!", before leaving, he said to the woman viciously: "Wait for tonight, and then cure your sins!"

Xu Zhi waited for the group of people to walk away, and saw the woman slumped on the ground sobbing, she couldn't bear it, she bent down to pick up the water lotus root on the ground, put it back in the basket next to her, and asked softly: "Why is this Lord Gao so arrogant and unreasonable?", the woman smiled faintly at Xu Zhi and thanked her, but she didn't dare to answer.

At this time, a local tourist walked up to Xu Zhi and whispered to him: "This guest officer is not a local, right? So you don't understand why! This Gao An is just the shopkeeper of this Yaotai restaurant. Master Gao didn't expect that this shopkeeper Gao would have such great ability in such a short period of time, and he was very happy, so he let Gao An accompany him. When Mr. Gao was leaving, he learned that the shopkeeper was also surnamed Gao, so he recognized him as a righteous son, and since then the shopkeeper Gao has been a fox and a fake tiger, and he has called himself a man, bullying men and women in Yangzhou City, doing all kinds of evil, and on every festival day, he is in the name of banqueting Gao Biao and Huainan gentry, and extorting property everywhere. ”

Xu Zhi sighed: "It's really as black as a crow in the world, a small hotel shopkeeper can also take advantage of people's power and extort people." This world is like the sunset in the sky is obscured by layers of dark clouds, and the people don't know when they will see the light of day again!"

Seeing that Xu Zhi was unhappy, the tourist waved his hand at him and said, "Little brother, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, don't say these bad words." Look! The tall man's official ship is coming!"