Liangzhou, Hanchuan County, Nanzhi Province.

The "Tabo" carrying the two flags of "Cao" and "Yong" passed unimpeded on the Canglan River, and no checkpoint dared to stop it, and only seven or eight days later, the ship arrived at the Nanzhifu wharf.

Because of the advance notice of carrier pigeons, the Zhao family knew early on the date when the "Tabo" would arrive, so they sent someone to meet them at the dock in advance.

The crowd stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the dock that was getting closer and closer, and above the pier, there were more than a dozen people, two of whom were in the lead.

At the bow of the boat, Cao Zheng introduced the two leading ones to Zhao Dongli and Lin Zhengfang's brothers and sisters.

On the left is a middle-aged man, eight feet tall, with a broad forehead, a scar on his face, a slightly fierce appearance, he is wearing a blue shirt, black trousers, slender arms, and his hands naturally hang down to the knees. This is the current number three person in the Zhao family, the cousin of the current patriarch, called Zhao Tianxiong.

The Zhao family is rooted in Liangzhou, and the patriarch Zhao Tianyan is the assassin of Liangzhou, and he is powerful, but he is not the number one person in the Zhao family. Of course, the number one person in the Zhao family can only be the only grandmaster of the family, Zhao Xingsheng.

If there is only Cao Zheng, the young gang leader of the Cao Gang, there is no need for Zhao Tianxiong to come out to greet him, but if he adds the lord of Huaying, this will be different, so Zhao Tianxiong personally came out to greet him.

And next to Zhao Tianxiong stood a twenty-seven or eighteen-year-old boy, slightly lower than Zhao Tianxiong, half a foot lower than Zhao Tianxiong, thick eyebrows and big eyes, a beard at the corner of his mouth, wearing a brocade robe, embroidered with a snake, his skin was fair, and he grew up in brocade clothes and jade food at a glance, but in this, there is another spirit of surrender, this outline is the temperament of the royal family. Because he is the eldest brother of the lord of Huaying, the eldest son of Prince Yong, and the king of Lanjun who wants to succeed the prince.

Zhao Dongli looked carefully, and the Lord of Huaying County was a little similar to Wang Guo of Lanjun. But without this commanding temperament, the smile and smile of the lord of Huaying are all from her heart, and there is no interference from external objects, which makes people very comfortable to get along with.

Behind Zhao Tianxiong and King Lanjun stood some servants, all of whom came to help.

After everyone exchanged pleasantries, they sat on the dock and went straight to Zhao's mansion.

When they arrived at the gate of the inner courtyard of the Zhao Mansion, everyone got out of the carriage, and Zhao Dongli knew that there was a residence in the main house to participate in the assessment of the Yanwutang, but it was not in the Zhao Mansion, so he took the lead and said: "Lord Commander, where is the residence of the branch?"

At this time, Zhao Tianxiong also knew the identities of Zhao Dongli and Lin Zhengfang's brother and sister, but before he could answer, Cao Zheng said: "Brother Zhao and I hit it off at first sight, so let him live with us." ”

At this time, the lord of Huaying also spoke: "Lin Yuanyuan and I also want to have a good conversation, they were going to come to Zhao Mansion to find their cousin, so they also let them live with us." ”

Zhao Tianxiong didn't expect that there was anyone in his family who could be appreciated by Cao Zheng, but he knew three years ago how much the young gang leader of this Cao Gang was, and at that time, the people in his family who were of the same generation as Cao Zheng were all taught by him.

At that time, he also came by boat, and there were many young talents on the ship, each with a good background, I remember that Cao Zhengcai was only at the fifth order of the opening realm, but he didn't expect that now he has entered the sixth order, and has an aura, and has become a first-class master. Maybe three years ago, Cao Zheng could still be regarded as a junior, but when he stepped into the status of a first-class master, he was already qualified to communicate with Zhao Tianxiong on an equal footing.

As for the young man behind the lord of Huaying, Zhao Tianxiong has also heard of it, since he can let a person in a high position hear about it, of course, he is also a young talent, and for a moment Zhao Tianxiong really felt that his time was about to pass, and the next generation was about to rise.

However, the cultivation of future generations is placed in an extremely important position by the family gang, and the Zhao family is of course no exception, so there are regulations for this martial arts hall. Compared with the two of them, there are several people in the Zhao family, who are not inferior, including Zhao Xueqing, the daughter of the patriarch, who is not only a first-class master, but also one of the top ten beauties in Great Xia. At that time, Cao Zheng came with a group of people shouting to see the top ten beauties of Great Xia.

Old, I really love to recall, Zhao Tianxiong flashed this thought, he came back to his senses, and nodded and said: "This is a trivial matter." With that, he ordered the servants behind him to go and do it.

After speaking, he turned back to the crowd and said, "You go to rest first, and tomorrow when the patriarch returns, he will set up a banquet to welcome the county lord and the young gang master to visit." ”

Zhao Tianxiong paused again and said: "Although you can only join after passing the assessment of Yanwutang, as long as you meet the assessment requirements, you can usually audit, if you have time, you can listen more." ”

Cao Zheng smiled and said: "It is said that the king of Lanjun often stays in the Yanwu Hall, and occasionally teaches and lectures to his disciples, but he is leisurely. ”

King Lanjun raised his eyebrows and said: "The young gang master might as well come to do the teaching, and by the way, I heard that you were very majestic here." ”

Cao Zheng smiled dumbly, daring to love the king of Lanjun is going to stand up for his goddess, if it was before, who would he be afraid of. But now, after all, he wants to pursue his sister, and he can't stand up to King Lanjun.

The county lord of Huaying said: "Don't be afraid, boy Cao, I support you." ”

Hearing this, Zhao Tianxiong heard the jokes of these juniors, and people of his age couldn't bear it, so he took his leave first. As for everyone, naturally the Zhao family's housekeeper will lead the way.

As the main residence of the Zhao family, the Zhao Mansion covers an area of 1,000 acres, and is divided into two places, the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard, and the inner and outer courtyards are also separated by city walls, and the area is comparable to some small towns. Because it was a distinguished guest, and the gate of the inner courtyard was stopped, and under the leadership of the steward, everyone went to the west side of the inner court, and the guards and sergeants who came with the ship were brought to the outer courtyard by stewards.

Along the way, the city wall is red bricks and green tiles, pavilions, pavilions, ponds and pavilions are innumerable, there are many precious flowers and trees planted in the garden, and there are also cherished ornamental fish swimming in the pool. There are corridors connecting the buildings between the buildings, and in the process of walking, I constantly meet many servants, maids, old mothers, etc. who walk around.

Zhao Dong had been to the Forbidden City in his previous life, and it was only of such a scale, but the area of Daxia was much larger than that of the dynasties in his previous life, and it was normal to have a family compound of this size.

Although the inner courtyard is smaller than the outer courtyard, everyone still walked for a quarter of an hour to reach the destination, there are more than 30 independent courtyards, far away from the hustle and bustle, and there are many precious trees planted around the courtyard, all of which have hundreds of years of time, which looks lush and green, and the style of the front courtyard has changed abruptly.

These courtyards are not arranged in front of back or side, but in the middle of the woods, staggered and orderly, the courtyards are connected by bluestone slabs, and there is even a small stream to bypass, and there is a rockery behind these courtyards.

Of course, these courtyards also have grades, with heaven and earth Xuanhuang divided into four levels, the highest is the sky, the second is yellow, the housekeeper will tell everyone, what are the differences between these four levels of courtyards.

After the housekeeper finished speaking, Lord Huaying asked, "Then it seems that what level of guests can live in what level of courtyard?"

The butler nodded.

Lord Huaying pointed to his nose and said, "Then what level do you think I can live in?"

The housekeeper bowed and said, "Of course, the county lord lives in a heaven-level courtyard. After speaking, he turned his head to Cao Zheng and said, "The young gang master can also live in the heaven level this time." ”

King Lanjun pointed to a heaven-level courtyard and said, "I just live in Tianyi. ”

The lord of Huaying immediately shouted: "Then I will live in Tianer." ”

Cao Zheng shook the iron fan and said with a smile: "Three years ago, although he was the leader of the Cao Gang, he was not strong enough in the end, so he could only live in a prefecture-level courtyard. I don't know when I can live in the east yard. ”

The lord of Huaying said: "What is so rare about the courtyard in the east? I think this place is quite quiet, much better than the courtyard of my house full of precious antiques. ”

Cao Zhengdao: "The county lord should know that Great Xia is respected in the east, and the Zhao family stipulates that only the first, second and third leaders of the grandmaster or family are qualified to live in the east. ”

Lord Huaying suddenly pointed to Qi in the distance and said, "Why is there such a big tree in the city, and you can see it from so far away?"

At this time, the housekeeper explained: "When the family was established, there were precious trees planted by the first generation of patriarchs, which are said to be produced in the south, and under the canopy is also where the ancestors lived. It is one of the forbidden places of the Zhao family. ”

Lord Huaying blurted out: "It's that Xing Sheng!"

The butler nodded.

The grandmaster of the Zhao family shook Great Xia with the name of the wind and rain sword, known as Xing Sheng, and was a warrior who walked the rivers and lakes, a name known to everyone.

Lord Huaying turned his head to look at King Lanjun and said, "Big brother, have you ever seen Xing Sheng?"

King Lanjun smiled bitterly: "No." ”

The housekeeper said again: "My ancestor hasn't seen a guest for five years, and even the Zhao family has few people who can be summoned. ”

Cao Zheng said regretfully: "The beauty is good, but it is even more difficult to see the grandmaster." ”

The crowd agreed.

At this time, Cao Zheng remembered that it was his turn to choose, so he said, "I'll live in Tiansan." ”

The housekeeper turned to Tang Chop again and said, "Tang Gongzi, you can choose the prefecture level." ”

Tang Chu shook his head and said, "I live with my subordinates, and I don't bother."

Zhao Dongli and Lin Zhengfang, brother and sister, chose a yellow-level courtyard to live in under the guidance of the housekeeper.

When everyone was about to return to their respective courtyards after choosing, the lord of Huaying suddenly shouted, "Let's go to the Yanwu Hall together tomorrow." ”

At this time, even Zhao Dongli knew that Huaying County was going to find that Zhao Xueqing, and when he raised his eyes, Lord Lan really looked embarrassed, and wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

But Lin Zhengfang spoke: "Thanks to Gongzi Cao and the county lord for saving their lives, my sister and I are grateful." But the two of us are here to find our cousin, and when we find our cousin, we will take refuge in my cousin, and it is a great honor to be able to enter this inner courtyard, and we dare not disturb the county lord. ”

His sister Lin Yuanyuan also nodded.

Lord Huaying thought for a while and said, "It's okay, but I'm very close to Lin Yuanyuan, and I'm going to come to you to play when I come back." After speaking, she stepped forward, took out a jade pendant from her pocket, handed it to Lin Yuanyuan, and said: "Although this is not a precious jade, but it is also through the hands of the skilled craftsmen of my house, take a peaceful meaning, and give it to my sister." ”

Lin Yuanyuan wanted to refuse, but Lord Huaying turned around and left.

Zhao Dongli also said goodbye to the courtyard he chose, and behind him, Lin Yuanyuan watched silently for a while, and then went to the courtyard with Lin Zhengfang.