Star Trace Gate

In the tomb passage.

Xu Qingzhao slowly finished telling the beginning of the story. After everyone discussed it for a while, No. 3 Xing Tao continued the story.

Still speaking from the perspective of Princess Anping, he said softly: "After the competition that day, I longed to meet Li Mu.

After sending people to inquire for more than three days, I heard that Li Mu lived in a wine shop in the city, so I disguised myself and went there in person.

That night, when I rushed to the wine shop, several of his friends happened to have just left, and Li Mu was already half drunk. He was sitting on a wooden chair, staring at the peach cakes and broad beans on the table, looking a little stupid.

I had never communicated with him and didn't know how to speak.

After thinking for a long time, I pretended to be a child of the world and asked deliberately: "It is said that Li Mu regards money as dirt. I wonder if I can spend more money on drinks and invite passers-by to drink with me?" '

Li Mu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and waved his hand and said, "The store will serve wine." '

I sat down and tried my best to act like a knight-errant, imitating the image of a taciturn heroine: "It is said that Li Mu is a famous person all over the world, why did he avoid fighting when he arrived in Kyoto?" ? Are you afraid of death? ! '

'Haha, I am indeed afraid of death. Li Muti poured wine from a pot and said slowly: "One day when I was drunk, I made a bet with Mr. Xu Laogou from Qinglian Township." He said that when he was young, he went to Beijing with his father, and while resting at the Chengnan Station, he drank the Yin family's pine sap wine. It was sweet and left an endless aftertaste. It was one of the best wines in the world. However, I feel that the pine liquor produced by the Yin family in Beijing is just as it is called... too sweet and has no alcoholic taste. Neither of us could convince the other, so... I came to Kyoto to buy wine, and let the folks taste it when I went back, so they could judge the quality. '

When I heard this, I was stunned.

Coming from Shu, thousands of miles away, only to argue about the quality of a drink or a joke? !

'Is this the reason why you don't fight with Huang Zi? ' I asked in disbelief.

'No, I also promised to help the orphans of several military households in Qinglian Township to buy some good powder, silk and satin in Kyoto. Li Mu raised his glass and said, "When I left, Old Dog Xu was already very ill and breathless. He probably didn't have much time to live... Don't wait until after death to keep the promise you made during your lifetime." I also have to rush back early. '

After saying this, I felt a sense of shame in my heart. This feeling came from my emphasis on worldly fame and fortune.

In my heart, how come this reputation as the best in the world and the reputation of the Sword Immortal of Shu cannot compare to a joking bet?

But in his heart, a man's promise weighs a thousand pounds.

I knew that my next question might make him look down upon, but I couldn't help but ask again: 'Do you know that if you fail in this competition, how will the world evaluate you? They said that since that day, the backbone of the Shu swordsman collapsed...! '

'Haha, the court is corrupt and corrupt officials are rampant. The emperor doesn't care about the government, but he just wants to find someone's emperor's seal and seek immortality. The barbarians from the north invaded, wars broke out frequently in the south, and various heroes in the country came together to divide the country. The world's spectators don't defend their home and country, but they judge me, a man from Shu, as having no spine? As everyone knows, on the border of central Sichuan, nine out of ten houses are empty, and there are countless orphans from military households. Li Mu shook his head slightly and replied very calmly: "It is the people in the world who call me the Sword Immortal of Shu, not me, Li Mu, who praises me." When they are happy, they are willing to give me this good reputation, and when they are disappointed, they can naturally take it away. It was not mine in the first place, so it would be no shame to lose it. '

The wine was filled, and he and I drank it down in one gulp.

After being relatively speechless for a long time, I asked softly: "Why don't you become an official?" '

Li Mu was already eighty percent drunk and shook his head and said: "Swords and poems cannot save the terminally ill Jingguo." Just like... the best doctor in Qinglian Township couldn't save Xu Laogou. '

'All living beings, ordinary people, may have to live in that land in the middle of Shu surrounded by mountains all their lives. They don't know the way to Beijing, they don't know the world's fine wines, they only know the sweetness of pine sap. Is it a change of dynasty or the destruction of mountains and rivers? What does it have to do with them? Life is only a few decades long, and there is nothing better than eating peach cakes, drinking strong wine, and getting drunk with friends, which is so comfortable. '

I could tell from his words that he already despaired of Jingguo and my father.

This is a crime of great disrespect, this is a pure contempt for the imperial power, but I can't get angry and have no way to refute.

That day, I fully understood that Li Mu didn't care about fame or fortune at all, or that he had never regarded himself as a swordsman.

Perhaps, he once wanted to be a national scholar, wanted to serve the country with passion, and even worked hard for it, but in the end he found that... the collapse of this decadent dynasty was unstoppable, and his hometown in the middle of Shu was bound to be in ruins. Boneyard.

When drinking with a close friend, a thousand cups are too little. I forgot my identity and just chatted with him all over the world for a long time.

I actually said more in one day than I did in the past eighteen years.

I really didn't know who to communicate with in the palace. The women in the harem wish that I would die soon; my father’s status is too high and he can speak, but not say much; the brothers and sisters in the palace, although they are all related by blood, must exercise restraint and distance in private interactions, otherwise a If it is not good, it will be suspected of secretly forming a clique.

Before leaving, Li Mu was very drunk, but he suddenly took out the peach blossom cake wrapped in a handkerchief from his arms and said softly to me: "I...have been traveling for many days and have used up all my money. I have no other choice." As a gift, I can only give the peach cake from my hometown to the princess. Peace... Peace, peace every year, and peace to the world. '

I consciously hid my identity very well, but he still saw through it at a glance.

Yes, I rarely leave the palace. I always think of people very simply. I consciously put on ordinary clothes and say a few quack words to pretend to be a member of this wine shop. Little did they know that the jade pendant tassel on my waist, the maidservants serving behind me, and the imperial guards secretly protecting me outside the wine shop had all "betrayed" me.

I took the peach cake and took a bite in public: "It's so sweet." '

'Peach cake is the best cake in the world. Li Mu stared at my cheeks and the jade hairpin on my crown, and said without hesitation: "She is as beautiful as jade, and she is both talented and beautiful. Anping is also one of the most amazing women in the world." '

I looked at his drunken face and unexpectedly asked, "If I want you to serve as an official, would you be willing?" '

As soon as I said this, I felt my whole face getting hot.

I am the eldest princess of a country, how could I lose my manners, forget my etiquette, and behave like an ordinary woman... expressing my feelings tactfully? !

I don’t remember his response, I just left the wine shop as if running away.

……

On the day we parted, I knew that I had fallen in love with him, and I also knew... what the intentions of his unabashed words that day were.

I didn't think about how far my 'intersection' with him would go, but I admired his talent and felt sorry for the pent-up feeling in his chest.

For the first time in eighteen years, I recommended celebrities to my father.

However, his father, who wanted to live forever, did not appreciate Li Mu. He only said lightly that Li Mu was the son of a merchant and came from a humble background. He came to Kyoto and did not dare to fight. He was really just trying to gain fame.

I didn't dare to refute, I just acted coquettishly and asked the court to use Li Mu.

My father was rather partial to me, so he reluctantly replied: "Go to Shangyu County, Qingzhou, and become a county magistrate." This official position is more than enough with his talents. '