Chapter 2: The Eighteenth Year of Kaihuang (Part 2)

  In the middle of the fleet, in a magnificent carriage, there was a small stove.

  On the compartment wall hung tapestries, and inside the compartment was spread a white tiger skin. Compared to Xu Ma's carriage, the decorations in this carriage were obviously much more luxurious. The stout old man and the man in his thirties were both inside the compartment, with an elderly man wearing a fur-lined gown sitting in the center, his grey hair styled in a bun, wearing a four-cornered hat, looking refined and slender, with a long beard tucked into his belt.

  Li Jianguo had heard that ancient people attached great importance to beards, with the saying "the body's hair and skin are gifts from one's parents", having a beautiful beard is not easy. In The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Gong didn't have a mustache pouch to protect his beard?

  "Is this the child of the Shi family?"

  The old man asked Xu's mother to put Li Jianguo down and then indicated that she could leave.

  The white tiger's fur is warm and cozy.

  Previously he was struggling with hunger and cold, now his belly is full, and lying on the white tiger skin, Li Jianguo felt a wave of drowsiness.

  But he couldn't fall asleep because he knew this was a critical moment.

  Maybe he'll be taken away, maybe he'll be abandoned in the wilderness again. In his heart, there is still a lot of conflict, which choice is better after all? Of course, this right to choose is not in his hands, but in the hands of the old man in front of him. No matter what decision the old man makes, he will not have any room for resistance. So he plucked up his courage and listened carefully.

  The old man picked up Li Jianguo and looked him up and down.

  Looking at his delicate and refined appearance, I couldn't help but feel a little fond of him, yet my face showed hesitation.

  "This child's clothing is not ordinary, it doesn't seem like they're from a poor family."

  As he spoke, he placed Li Jianguo in front of him, opened his clothes, and took out a longevity lock made of Han white jade from the small quilt wrapped around Li Jianguo. Li Jianguo always felt that there was something stuck to his body, which made him very uncomfortable. But he never thought it would be this small longevity lock, only the size of his palm, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

  It was during this brief moment of his distraction that the old man picked up the Longevity Lock.

  Not to mention the quality of the longevity lock, but just the exquisite qilin pattern on it can be seen as coming from a skilled craftsman.

  The front is Qilin, and there are four ancient seals: Danye Liner.

  The back of the longevity lock is a Qilin pattern, with a line of small seal script on either side: "Words and deeds are auspicious, celebrating the good fortune of the phoenix."

  Li Jianguo saw it, and the old man's eyebrows suddenly froze.

  "Dad, what's wrong?"

  "This child's origin is probably not simple... If it weren't for some disaster at home, they wouldn't have been abandoned in the wilderness."

  "Huh?"

  Shi An and Ren Ji both couldn't help but pause, "Sir, what do you mean by this?"

  "If it were just his clothes, that would be fine, at most proving he came from a wealthy family. But this long-life lock..."

  The old man said, handing the longevity lock to Renji, and then explained to Shian: "Qingyun Xiangfeng is still easy to say, it's a auspicious sign, can be understood as his family blessing him; but that sentence comes from 'Li Ji - Wen Wang Shi Zi'."

  I recall that the whole sentence should be: When speaking of those in the suburbs, one must choose the virtuous and gather talent. Some advance through virtue, some are promoted through affairs, and some are elevated through words.

  It means: "Xian Liang should be heavy in virtue and fame."

  At this point, the old man paused for a moment. "Among these two lines of text, the words 'Yan' and 'Qing' are particularly prominent. I think they must be the child's name. An ordinary family wouldn't come up with such a name. If it were a wealthy family that gave him this name, it would obviously be with high hopes, so how could they abandon him in the wilderness? Therefore, I conclude that there must be some calamity in his household."

  What's the celebration?

  Li Jianguo thought to himself: Could this be his own name?

  Ren Ji said: "Father's meaning is to put this child back in its original place?"

  The old man did not answer immediately, but after a moment of contemplation, he said to the fat old man: "Shi An, do you want to adopt him?"

  Obviously, when Li Jianguo was drinking milk just now, the fat old man said something.

  "The old slave thought that if he put the child back in its original place, it would be hard to preserve its life. In this desolate wilderness, even if it wasn't frozen or starved to death, it would probably be eaten by wild beasts... The old slave felt that no matter what kind of trouble the child's parents had gotten into, abandoning the child in the wilderness was a bad omen. Since that's the case, why not adopt him? It could also be considered a good deed. If Master agrees, Shi An indeed wants to keep him and have someone to care for him in his old age."

  The fat old man said, looking at Li Jianguo with a loving gaze.

  Sometimes, this fate thing is really interesting. When Shi An found Li Jian Guo, Li Jian Guo didn't cry or make a fuss because crying and making a fuss was a waste of energy, since the goal had been achieved, there was no need to continue crying and making a fuss.

  But in Shi An's eyes, it had become a kind of fate.

  Otherwise, why does he stop crying and smile at me when I hold him in my arms?

  The old man remained silent, while Renji nodded slightly beside him.

  "Father, what the steward said also makes sense. Steward Zheng is now over fifty years old and has no children of his own, having a child would be a good thing. Besides, if we bring the child back home, we can just say that old Steward Zheng bought it in Luoyang, who would know?"

  Moreover, Hong Yi is also going to be one year old soon and will need someone to take care of him in the future.

  The old steward has served our Zheng family for five generations. Now there is the sixth generation, and it's a beautiful story to pass on, don't you think?

  It seems that Renji really respects Seian.

  Se-an looked at Ren-ji with a grateful gaze, nodded slightly, and a hint of expectation flashed across his pale face.

  The old man thought for a moment and finally made up his mind.

  "I'm well aware of this compassionate intention? It's just that our Zheng family is no longer what it used to be."

  The current sage is a man with his own views, and has always had an antagonistic attitude towards the Guandong aristocracy... The head of the clan also made some contributions back then, but in the end, he still had to be cautious, as if walking on thin ice. In those days, the seven houses of Zheng were so glorious. But now only three houses and my six houses are left, I also have to be more cautious. This time, the eldest son of Tang Guogong, Jiancheng, has settled a marriage with the third house, which has alleviated the sage's hostility towards my Zheng family, but still needs caution...

  Moreover, the current situation seems unstable. After King Jin returned from Jiangdu, the emperor became increasingly dissatisfied with the crown prince.

  At this time, if we get involved in it, we can't guarantee that we won't suffer the same fate as the fish in the pond...

  Shi An's face changed color.

  Just as he was about to speak, the old man smiled and waved his hand. "Shi An, you have served my Zheng family for five generations and have long been a part of our family. In those years, you severed your blood ties for me, and I, Zheng Da Shi, will never forget this kindness."

  "This way, after arriving at the Zhen Water Pass, Renji you send someone to investigate and see if there is any family that has lost a child. If not found, this child will be raised by Shian... In the future, Hongyi will have his own people serving him, I can also rest assured."

  One sentence shattered your thoughts, and another sentence made you feel grateful again, that's a tactic.

  Zheng Dashan's idea was simple: to go back to Xishui Pass and search again, so that no one would suspect Li Jianguo's origins anymore. After all, Li Jianguo is now a baby, what can he remember? It would win over Shi An and solve the problem at the same time!

  Zheng Renji nodded repeatedly, indicating his agreement.

  Shi An was even more grateful and tearfully knelt before Zheng Da Shi, "Master treats me with such kindness, I am willing to die for the Zheng family!"

  At this time, Li Jianguo's mind was a mess.

  As soon as Zheng Da Shi mentioned 'Tang Guo Gong' and 'Jian Cheng', he vaguely thought of some things.

  When Zheng Dasu later mentioned words like 'Jin Wang' and 'Jiangdu', Li Jianguo couldn't help but take a sharp breath.

  Before his rebirth, he was actually quite interested in history.

  And when he connected the words 'Tang Guo Gong', 'Jian Cheng', 'Jin Wang' and 'Jiang Du' together, his doubts were suddenly cleared up: If this is Sui Tang, then isn't Tang Guo Gong Li Yuan?

  Jiancheng = Li Jiancheng

  'King of Jin'= Emperor Yang of Sui

  My goodness, isn't this the Sui and Tang dynasties? I've actually been reborn at the intersection of the Sui and Tang?

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  The third update is presented, today's update ends.

  Starting from tomorrow, one update at noon and two updates at night, with a daily word count of 7,000 to 8,000 words. Please give me more support!