Chapter 72 Angel

  Arriving at the provincial government office, there were already attendants from Wang Ling's side waiting there. Seeing Wang Kuang arrive, they hurriedly came forward to help carry the food box: "Young Master Dong, let me do it, let me do it."

  Just then a young military officer came out of the provincial government office, saw the situation and frowned. The nearby official approached him and whispered two sentences in his ear. The officer's brow relaxed and he walked over to Wang Kuang, clasped his fists and asked: "May I ask if you are Wang Erlang? I am Li Yexi from Chang'an."

  Li Yexu? This name is very unfamiliar, Wang Kuang rummaged through his own poor historical knowledge and had no impression. It must be the guardian of the angel. However, since he has the surname Li, it's still better to be careful, who knows if he might have a relationship with one of the big shots? Although Wang Kuang's historical knowledge is scarce, he does know about several big shots surnamed Li under Lao Er, such as Li Jing and Li Guang.

  "It was General Li. I'm ashamed, due to having matters to attend to, I just returned today, keeping the general and the heavenly messenger waiting for a long time, my fault, my fault."

  "Some are just gatekeepers, not worthy of being called generals." Li Yexu hastily corrected. He looked up and down at Wang Kuang again: "No wonder, no wonder." After finishing speaking, he went out the door.

  Wang Kuang didn't know what the position of "Jianmen Xiaowei" was, but judging from the name, it should still be a mid-to-low-ranking military officer. From the later generations' military ranks, one can also guess a thing or two, but later generations may have made clearer distinctions, separating "Xiao" and "Wei", making things much clearer. He didn't have the mind to think about these things now, but was instead confused by Li Yexi's words. What are you doing, striking up a conversation for no reason? I'm not a monk.

  Seeing Wang Kuang standing there in a daze, the yamen runner who was helping Wang Kuang carry his food box said: "I heard that Li Xiao Wei's grandfather was General Li, the Minister of War."

  "General Li? Which General Li?" Wang Kuang was startled in his heart, it was indeed a big fish, but he didn't know if it was Li Jing or Li Guang.

  "General Li Jing, doesn't even General Li know about this little Dong family?" The officials were all shocked and said that this little Dong family was well-versed in the world, how could they not even know about the famous General Li?

  Mars, King Kuang didn't even remember hearing that Li Jing had been the Minister of War, only knowing that later on there was a very famous villainous character named Hou Junji who held this position. It has to be said that King Kuang's history is simply a blank slate, comparable to the little white dog raised in the inn.

  As they entered the hall, Huang Liang and Lin Ming were chatting with a young man wearing a blue robe with a large lapel. This should be the Tian Shi. Unlike what Wang Kuang had imagined, Huang Liang was sitting in the upper seat, while the young man sat in the lower seat, completely overturning Wang Kuang's understanding of etiquette. According to Wang Kuang's understanding, since he was the Tian Shi, he should definitely sit in the upper seat. But thinking carefully, it seemed that people had misread many things. Even in later generations and during the Tang Dynasty, when officials were sent from above to a province, they wouldn't dare put on airs in front of the provincial governor.

  "Second Brother is here. As expected, Second Brother has come with a food box, right? Ha! Master Zan, you lost again." Huang Liang happened to be facing the outside of the hall and saw Wang Kuang coming in clearly.

  Wang Kuang rolled his eyes and it seemed that this old man had made a bet with Lin Ming using himself.

  "Come, come, Second Brother, quickly pay your respects to the angel." Huang Liang ignored Wang Kuang's white-eyed stare and got up from his seat to pull Wang Kuang in front of the young man: "Angel, this is Wang Erlang. He just arrived today, and I've called him over for you."

  "Good, indeed you are young and clever. The Empress has obtained that comfortable chair, she's delighted. Oh, right, almost forgot to introduce myself, I'm Xu Guoxu, serving in the palace as a small eunuch. This time it's a self-imposed mission, luckily I received the Empress' instructions to help thank Wang Erlang, otherwise this task wouldn't have fallen on me."

  As Huang Liang's entourage left, they not only had reclining chairs and armchairs but also a large package of roasted melon seeds, which were gifts for the emperor and empress. Moreover, the postal soldiers brought with them a savory dish that was sent all the way to Chang'an, where there was still some left over. It turned out that they had intentionally saved some for their return journey, thinking they could eat it along the way. Whenever they stopped to rest, they would take out the dish and steam it, afraid that it would spoil. When they arrived in Chang'an and settled down, they took it out again to steam, but were discovered by a general who was also staying at the post house and asked for some. The next day, visitors came one after another, all of whom had come from distant Jian'an and didn't dare offend anyone, so they gave some to whoever came. In just one day, everything was completely gone, taken away by the constant stream of visitors.

  But since it's inevitable to send people, then, if there are lively ones inside, every time they send one person, they would say: "This is the delicious food made by Jian'an Fu's little Dongjia with his own hands." He thought that far, I'll help Little Dongjia make a name for himself here, and when he goes back to find Little Dongjia again, wouldn't he be able to eat as much as he wants?

  In just a few days, the news spread among the officials in Chang'an that there was a small town called Jian'an in Jiangnan East Road, where there was a rich inn with a young master who made delicious dishes. The sauce meat (they thought it was sauce meat) was better than the famous Xianrenju's sauce meat in Chang'an, and it was like one was from heaven and the other was from earth. They said that Xianrenju should change its name to Fanrenju, and that rich inn deserved to be called Xianrenju. This rumor eventually reached the palace, and Xu Guoxiao, who served as an attendant of Empress Longsun, naturally heard about it and also tasted a few melon seeds sent by Wang Kuang to the empress. He then became obsessed with it. Later, when he heard that the emperor wanted to summon Wang Kuang for questioning, he ran to Empress Longsun and begged her to let him take on this task.

  After receiving the imperial decree, he rushed to Jian'an without stopping, which was rare. The accompanying Yu Lin army thought they had met a diligent and responsible master, not knowing that in the past, those who came out of the palace would often linger outside for a couple of days, traveling only 40 or 50 miles a day. They didn't know that this envoy wanted to save time on the road so he could stay in Jian'an for a couple more days.

  Li Yexu, who had met Wang Kuang before, of course knew the reason why Tian Shi was in such a hurry. Seeing Wang Kuang again and smelling the fragrance coming from the food box in his hand, he said something like that.

  Xu Guoxu was in a hurry to find Wang Kuang on the first day, also for food. Later, after eating the food sent by Fuli Inn, the purpose had been achieved, so he slowed down. Just now when Wang Kuang hadn't arrived, Huang Liang and Lin Ming made a bet again, making him expect more from Wang Kuang. So when he saw Wang Kuang, his smile was even brighter.

  Wang Kuang naturally didn't know these things, and he came back without seeing Wang Ling yet was called over. He met the angel, saw his smiling face, and the little tension he had originally had also went away. After listening to Xu Guoxiao's words, he cupped his hands and bowed: "Thank you, Angel, for your praise. It's just a small trifle, not worth mentioning, I'm afraid it's laughable." But in his heart, he was puzzled - this eunuch, wasn't he just a castrated man? How could he speak with a voice that was only slightly softer, and yet be completely indistinguishable from ordinary people on the surface? It was worlds apart from the effeminate tone of eunuchs in later generations' films and TV shows. If all eunuchs were like this, then the directors of later generations should all jump off a building - it's not right to deceive people like this!

  Hmm, not bad, it seems that he is indeed a unique individual, far from the ordinary person's fear and trepidation when seeing an angel. Although I am just a small eunuch in the imperial palace, a tiny figure like an ant, my current identity is that of an angel, if it were an ordinary person, wouldn't they be trembling with fear? Some would even lose control on the spot. Xu Guoxiao couldn't help but elevate Wang Kuang to another level in his mind, it seems that the rumors about the Star Lord descending into the mortal world in Jian'an City do have some truth to them.

  The warm conversation came to an end, and naturally it was time for wine and dishes. During the meal, the host and guest chatted happily. Wang Kuang also understood that Xu Guoxu's visit this time was mainly because Li Lao'er had read Huang Liang's memorial, and surprisingly, he had cured a person who had been bedridden with illness just by eating food. He also said that the general cabinet sent last time and the reclining chair this time were both made by Wang Kuang's hands. In addition, for the past two years, the chili sauce presented by Jian'an County every year was said to have Wang Erlang's shadow, so he came with some interest. He wanted to summon Wang Kuang to the capital to ask him questions. After all, it wouldn't be possible for the emperor to come to Jian'an to find him, would it? However, Xu Guoxu only brought the emperor's oral message, without any imperial edicts or sacred decrees. This made Wang Kuang, who had originally wanted to see what an imperial edict looked like at this time, a little disappointed.

  After tasting the three steamed buns and three braised dishes brought by Wang Kuang, Xu Guoxiao was overjoyed to receive several jars of chili sauce from him. The food was eaten in no time, but the chili sauce was a great thing, and giving it away as a gift would be much more impressive than giving gold or silver. Then he heard that Wang Kuang still needed to wait for a few days before heading to the capital, so Xu Guoxiao readily agreed: "No rush, no rush, Second Brother can take care of any urgent matters first before leaving." Ha! I rushed here as fast as I could just to spend a couple more days in Jian'an. If you were to receive your orders and leave immediately, wouldn't all my previous efforts be for nothing?

  Division

  I've been searching for information all morning, but my knowledge of history is too shallow. Just looking up a single military rank has taken me a long time, and now I'm dizzy and my eyes are blurry. That's all for today.

  Still seeking collection and recommendation, your support is the motivation for Grey Sparrow.

  ;