Chapter 142 Accepting the Invitation

Before daybreak, Xiao Xia rode his horse with a bow and arrow on his back and arrived at the northeast corner of the Imperial Academy's martial arts field.

This is the archery range of the Imperial Academy. Many people come here to practice archery during the day, but not at night.

Xiao Xia lit five incense sticks and galloped on his horse. It was indeed more enjoyable and refreshing than riding a horse in the backyard.

He was running fast and was in a state of breaking obstacles. He could see everything very clearly. He drew his bow and arrow from eighty steps away, turned around and shot an arrow at the incense burner in the middle, which broke and fell to the ground.

Xiao Xia was not very satisfied. The arrow shot through the incense instead of hitting the fire at the tip.

Xiao Xia continued running, trying to find the feeling of shooting an arrow. He drew his bow and arrow again, and shot an arrow at the incense burner on the far left, which suddenly went out.

"Good archery!" Someone applauded.

Xiao Xia reined in his horse and saw a man walking out of the darkness. It was Chang Sun Sheng.

Xiao Xia quickly dismounted and bowed, "I am sorry for disturbing your rest!"

Chang Sun Sheng smiled and waved his hands, "I have to go on a long journey the day after tomorrow, so I came here today to pick up some things. I happened to see you practicing archery, shooting incense at night, and even riding a horse, you are amazing!"

Xiao Xia smiled and asked, "Senior, are you going to Turkestan?"

"No, this time we are going to Tuyuhun. Are you interested in going with us?"

"Can I go?" Xiao Xia asked with a smile.

"Why not? It depends on whether you have the courage."

Xiao Xia actually didn't want to study at the Imperial Academy, but he entered it only because of his elder brother's face. Of course he would be willing to go out if he had the chance.

"I'm looking forward to asking the general for advice on archery on the way!"

Chang Sun Sheng nodded and said with a smile: "Tomorrow morning at 1:15 AM, gather in front of the Suzaku Gate. You still have one day, so hurry up and make arrangements!"

"Junior must be on time!"

As the sky gradually brightened, Xiao Xia packed up his bow and arrows and urged his horse to head towards Chongrenfang.

Since he decided to go to Tuyuhun with Changsun Sheng, he had to deal with some things today.

One is the matter of the hotel, which requires signing a contract with the Dou family, and the other is the three mother and daughter, who must be moved to their own house.

Soon, Xiao Xia arrived at the restaurant and led the horse to the backyard, only to see the backyard full of clothes hanging out to dry.

"The young master is here!" Chen came up to greet him with a smile.

"I'm going on a long trip tomorrow. You should pack your things and come with me to my house. I'll arrange some things for you to do."

Chen quickly asked her two daughters to help collect the clothes. Xiao Xia smiled and said, "You can take back any daily necessities here. Just find a bullock cart and go to my house. I have told Mr. and Mrs. Tian, and he will arrange a dormitory for you."

Xiao Xia took out another twenty taels of silver and gave it to Chen, saying, "You may need to buy some things. You can buy them on your own. The rest will be your salary for two months."

"The master just gave me an advance on my wages yesterday. I can't ask for more."

"Take it first. I'm going on a long trip and won't be back for a month or two. This is your living expenses. You can't use it to pay off your debts."

Chen quickly shook her head, "I don't owe anyone money anymore."

"You can go to my house by yourselves, and Old Tian will tell you what you need to do."

"I see!"

Xiao Xia waved to the two young ladies, turned his horse around and rushed to Taipingfang.

Xiao Xia arrived at her eldest brother's house and happened to meet her eldest brother Yang Zhao who was about to go out.

Yang Zhao saw Xiao Xia and asked happily, "Third brother, why are you here?"

"I have something important to tell you, brother!"

"Go inside and tell me. Your spear is ready. Come and have a look."

"Isn't Big Brother going out?"

"No hurry! No hurry! It doesn't matter if we go at night."

Xiao Xia entered his eldest brother's house and sat down in the study. Yang Zhao asked the tea boy to serve tea.

Xiao Xia hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother, I plan to go out for a while."

"Going out for fun?"

Xiao Xia shook her head. "I plan to follow Changsun Sheng to Tuyuhun and set off early tomorrow morning." "Have you made an appointment with General Changsun?"

Xiao Xia nodded and asked, "Is Chang Sun Sheng a member of the King of Han's army?"

"No! He is the emperor's grandfather's man. There is no problem going out with him. You just need to be careful. In addition, Wei Shaolin, the logistics director of the Imperial College, was found to have embezzled 13,000 strings of cash. He is an absolute court pest. The crisis of the Dou family is now resolved."

"What about the Dali Temple Minister?"

"The evidence against Dali Temple Minister Zhang Guo has been found. Father will impeach him in two days. Father plans to let Shaoqing Wang Qiu take over as Dali Temple Minister. The evidence against Zhang Guo was provided by Wang Qiu."

Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said, "Brother, please advise father to check Wang Qiu's background. Who does he belong to? Who promoted him to the position of Junior Official of Dali Temple? I am worried that his background is related to the Crown Prince. He will become the second Xiao Mo Ke and stab father in the back at a critical moment."

"We have investigated and found that he is Yang Su's man. Yang Su also supported my father before, but he has not expressed his position in recent years. Everyone thinks that he is the emperor's man."

"But we still can't be careless. The Crown Prince is unwilling to lose the Dali Temple. He is likely to secretly win over Wang Qiu and tell my father to keep Wang Qiu under control and to get a handle on him so that he dares not think of betraying me."

Yang Zhao nodded repeatedly, "Third brother is absolutely right, I will definitely report it to father!"

Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said, "Also, there are too few people available under father's command. Let father ask eldest aunt for help. She has many warriors with strong martial arts skills. It would be best if father could find a very powerful staff member who can give advice to father. Big brother will be in charge of running errands. Li Min and Chai Shao are both good. They can be used to form a staff group."

Yang Zhao gave a thumbs up, "Third brother, you are very thoughtful. I will give my father some advice!"

Xiao Xia took out another file bag and handed it to Yang Zhao, "This is the title deed of Chongrenfang. I will sell the land to the Dou family for 10,000 strings of cash. I will use it as a share of the restaurant. The Dou family and I will each own 50% of the share. The Dou family will be responsible for the operation. The 10,000 strings of cash from the land will be given to my eldest brother."

Yang Zhao waved his hands quickly, "I don't want the money, keep it for yourself!"

"Brother, don't be polite to me. You don't have much money. You have to spend money to treat people to a meal. Otherwise, how can you make connections? I have money, don't worry, brother!"

Yang Zhao was touched. It was great to have a brother who could help him.

"Okay! I'll take your word for it. Don't worry about the restaurant. I'll take care of it for you."

Yang Zhao smiled and said, "Let's go see your weapons!"

Yang Zhao ordered his servants to bring Xiao Xia's long spear. Yang Zhao smiled and said, "This is the spear that Xie Fang, the best craftsman in the Military Equipment Bureau, personally assembled for you. He was very excited because this broken tree spear was made by his father, and his father Xie Hong was also the best military equipment craftsman in the Southern Dynasty."

Xiao Xia couldn't stop smiling. This spear was three meters long, which was the standard length of one zhang and eight inches. This was the length of the Zhangba Snake Spear. The key was that the pole was solid, so the weight increased.

Xiao Xia picked up the spear and weighed it. It weighed more than 100 kilograms.

"Brother, how heavy is this spear?"

"It weighs 120 jin, and the lance is also made of iron. I didn't spend any money on it. Xie Fang saved up the iron himself. His only request was to have his name engraved on the lance head, and I agreed."

It didn't matter if he engraved a name on it. Xiao Xia danced for a while and then asked, "Brother, how heavy is the Yuwen Chengdu Phoenix Wing Gilded Boring Stone?"

"Two hundred and forty kilograms. His weapon is a heavy weapon. Yours is not the same as his weapon."

Xiao Xia nodded. In fact, he also needed a heavy weapon to deal with armor. He thought for a moment and said, "Brother, does father have a collection of weapons?"

Yang Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Put down your spear and follow me!"

"Brother, do you have a collection of weapons too?"

"Men like to collect weapons. Do you know where my money went? I spent it all on weapons."

Yang Zhao brought Xiao Xia to his inner study and went up to the second floor. Xiao Xia's eyes lit up, as the whole room was filled with weapons.

"Some were given to me by my father, some were given to me by my royal grandfather, and the short weapons here are all my own collection."

Xiao Xia came to a rack where short weapons were placed, including swords, knives, hammers, whips, and maces.

Xiao Xia took a fancy to a steel whip, which was made of one piece of fine steel. He picked it up and tried it out. It weighed about twenty pounds and came with a scabbard, which could be hung on the armor on his back.

This is a heavy weapon. The enemy is wearing armor and it is difficult for swords to pierce them, but if they are whipped, they will vomit blood.

Xiao Xia took off his Wuchen sword and placed it on the table, and said with a smile: "Use this sword to exchange for the steel whip."

When Yang Zhao drew out his sword, he felt an overwhelming chill and sharpness that made his eyes pop out.

But he muttered, "How can I take your sword? Take it back quickly. I'll give you the steel whip."

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "This sword is called the Dustless Sword. It was the personal sword of Emperor Gao of Qi, Xiao Daocheng. It was once known as the best sword of the Southern Dynasty and ranked first among the nine famous swords of Emperor Wu of Liang. It is just a decoration for me and not practical. I have the Frost Sword and the Straight Knife, which are enough. I'll give this sword to my brother for his collection!"

Yang Zhao was overjoyed. It turned out to be Xiao Daocheng's personal sword, and also the best sword in the Southern Dynasty. His collection was missing a famous sword.

Green Bean's eyes became smaller as he smiled, "Then I won't be polite. Thank you, Third Brother!"

(End of this chapter)

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