Hibiscus Tent: The Prime Minister’s palm is reborn

Under the shade of the tree, Liang Qian took out the map and thought they should be not far from Yuyang.

The leader took off his straw hat and stretched his neck to look at the road ahead.

The beads of sweat on his forehead sparkled, and he fanned himself as he said, "My lady, it's really hot. There's a town ahead, let's rest there and then continue on our journey."

Liang Qian turned to look at the other people in the team, all of whom had tired looks on their faces.

She untied the purse from her waist and handed it to the leader.

"I'll buy some herbal tea for everyone when we get to town later, and share the rest with them."

The leader was surprised and hesitated: "How...how can we do this?"

Liang Qian smiled and put the purse into his hand: "Take it. Thanks to you for taking care of us along the way. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to travel so smoothly."

The leader thought about it and waved his hand: "You are our boss's distinguished guest, how dare we take your money..."

Liang Qian smiled and said, "Just accept it with peace of mind. There will be absolutely no problem."

Seeing that she insisted, the team leader took the money hesitantly, thanked her respectfully and went to tell others, feeling more sincere and devoted.

Gao Qian walked up from behind Liang Qian, looked up at the glaring sun, then looked at the leader's back, and sneered: "I think this grain store and medicine store are actually opened by you, right?"

If it weren't for what happened on New Year's Eve last year, he wouldn't have noticed anything. The grain store, pharmacy, clothing store, rouge and powder shop... On the surface, they were all named Song's and managed by Song Tan, but she was the one who was planning everything behind the scenes.

Liang Qian was stunned, then smiled and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? The court has always clearly stipulated that officials are strictly prohibited from doing business. I am the queen, how could I break the law knowingly? Moreover, doing business is shameful. How could I possibly do something that lowers my status?"

Is it shameful to do business? Or is it a degradation of one's status?

Gao Qian looked at her with a half-smile. He did not forget to send food and medicinal materials to Tu Yang. Could that be done just by being "the boss's distinguished guest"?

"Who dragged me to set up a stall on New Year's Eve?"

Liang Qian smiled awkwardly and didn't intend to continue arguing with him about this issue. Before he asked the next question, she turned around and went to look for Wang Tingyue.

I still have to tell him a few more things about the appointment with the prefect of Yuyang.

Qingshui Town is not very big. Under the leafy ginkgo tree, there is a tea stall. Passers-by coming and going from the south and the north always sit under the tree to rest their feet and drink a bowl of herbal tea.

This was the time when the sun was at its hottest, and quite a few people were sitting under the tea stall.

Liang Qian sat at the same table with Gao Qian, holding bowls of herbal tea in their hands but keeping an eye on the people around them.

Whether it is the Queen Mother, Prince Guangping, or anyone else, it is best not to reveal their whereabouts until they return safely to Jinye.

Gao Qian glanced at the coarse porcelain bowl. There were some unidentified dregs floating on the dark brown tea soup. He frowned and dropped the bowl with disgust.

"Liang Qian, what do you want to do, or what do you want?"

Liang Qian turned her head and met a pair of dark eyes that were full of inquiry. She couldn't help but feel a little surprised as to why they suddenly asked this question.

She was about to speak when Gao Qian sneered.

"Don't tease me."

Seeing him like this, Liang Qian was silent for a while.

She has asked this question to others and has been asked this question before.

At first, what she wanted was simple, which was revenge, regardless of the cost and by any means, as long as she could get revenge.

The original purpose of running a drug store and a grain store was to save oneself, but later it was seen as a way out.

Liang Qian smiled calmly and said, "I'm afraid of being hungry, I'm afraid of being poor, and I'm even more afraid of being sold."

Gao Qian frowned, feeling mixed emotions.

Liang Qian didn't care about his gaze. She picked up the bowl and drank a sip of herbal tea to moisten her throat. She was heartless.

"People have always asked women to obey their fathers at home, obey their husbands after marriage, and obey their sons after their husbands die." She paused and asked, "I didn't understand why I had to obey. Is it okay not to obey?"

Liang Qian pursed her lips and said, "When I was young, I didn't understand and mistakenly thought I could disobey. Later, I suffered a lot and it was then that I realized that I had to disobey. Until now, I have never disobeyed--"

She stopped talking and continued with the previous question, smiling: "What I want, to put it nicely is the same wind for thousands of miles, the sea feast and the river clear, to put it bluntly, I just want to live a stable life."

Gao Qian looked quietly at the person in front of him. The disguised face looked very unfamiliar, but the eyes remained unchanged. However, the light in these eyes was brighter than the sunlight above his head.

"Liang Qian——"

He moved his lips and just uttered two words when two people suddenly came to his side.

"Is there no one sitting here?"

Gao Qian glanced over and before he could say anything, two people sat down and shouted at the tea stall owner at the top of his voice, asking for two bowls of herbal tea.

Gao Qian's face turned dark and he was about to get angry, but Liang Qian was quick to grab him, looked into his eyes and shook her head gently. They must not have a conflict with anyone now.

What's more, it was obvious from the way they were dressed that these two men were postmen.

Gao Qian looked down at the hand that was holding him, and had to suppress his anger, turning his head to look into the distance.

After the two messengers sat down, they looked at Liang Qian's face brazenly, then looked at Gao Qian again. Seeing that they were just ordinary people, they turned their attention elsewhere and continued talking as if no one was around.

Not long after they sat down, three or five more people came. Although they were sweating profusely, they were dressed elegantly, but their words and actions were not so elegant. They cursed the weather and sat at the next table.

There were all kinds of people in the tea stall, it was hot, the stench of sweat was overwhelming, and now it was getting even noisier.

Gao Qian's face darkened and he could no longer bear it: "Let's go."

Liang Qian did not dare to force him, fearing that if she pushed him too far, he would go crazy the next moment, so she could only nod: "Okay..."

"Tell me, isn't this a hassle?"

As soon as the people at the adjacent table sat down, they started complaining in quite loud voices.

"Oh, don't mention it. I'm so unlucky. When I heard that the Zhou army had reached Lianzhou, I sold my ancestral home and farm overnight. The price was so low that it was like giving it away for free. Now, they've withdrawn their troops. This is harming me!"

Did the Zhou Kingdom withdraw its troops?

Liang Qian and Gao Qian looked at each other in tacit understanding, and the action of standing up turned into a simple pulling of their clothes.

The person sitting at the same table with that person also shook his head and sighed: "I am the same..."

Several people sat around with their heads bowed.

The boss just happened to bring over some herbal tea and put it on the table while shaking his head with emotion.

"Didn't they suddenly withdraw their troops the year before last? They also signed some kind of agreement. We don't understand what's going on. We didn't expect them to come back again just after the Chinese New Year. Even though they haven't fought for now, who knows when they'll come again? It's better to sell the house and land early. No one can predict what will happen tomorrow. What's more important than life these days?"

A few people sighed and thought about it, and they felt better.

As soon as they finished talking, the messenger suddenly took over the conversation: "It shouldn't be a while."

Suddenly, several people looked over and carefully examined the person who was speaking.

"My two officers, are you telling the truth?"

The messenger raised his eyelids and looked around. Seeing that everyone in the tea stall was looking at him curiously, he simply mustered up the courage to speak.

"You don't know that the Zhou Kingdom is in mourning, and the King of Zhou is gone!"

Everyone was surprised.

The messenger said: "The new emperor is busy dealing with domestic affairs after ascending the throne. How can he have time to fight with us?"

Yuwen Yun died? Why did he die?

Liang Qian felt a chill all over her body. Yuwen Jue was in charge of military and political affairs... Wouldn't that mean he would become the Grand Tutor Lu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty?