Chapter 276: Le's Declaration of Emperorship (3)
Just like there was no Lezhou before Dayin.
There was no Qingpingfang in Lezhou city.
When the Le family prospered, they had Lezhou, and then Lezhou City. Le Wu was a general in Gaojing, and the elders of the Le family who were in charge of all matters related to the fiefdom invited some literati from somewhere, and in Lezhou City, there were "Qingping Mountain", "Qingping Lake", and then Qingpingfang.
The huge private garden built by the Yue family in Qingpingfang was given an elegant name - Qingpingle.
"The clear Huai River is turbid, while the Bian River is muddy. It is even on the west bank of the Yangtze River. When the red flags arrive, the yellow leaves are in disarray. Frost enters the old garden of King Liang.
Where can I bring the pot in Qiuyuan? I stopped my horse and visited the ancient sites. The legacy of Shuangmiao is still there, and there should be no arrogant officials in the lacquer garden.
(Su Shi, Qingpingle·Autumn Lyrics)
Lu Yi walked on the overly busy streets of Lezhou City, muttering to himself as he walked.
When walking across a bridge, he looked at the river below the bridge, then at the scenery on both sides of the river, and then gazed into the distance at Qingping Mountain, which rose from the ground like a green screen, and sighed softly.
"The lyrics are good, the meaning is good, but it doesn't fit the scene." Lu Yi touched Da Huang's head a little dejectedly: "The scene in front of me is not the scene in the lyrics. What a pity! What a pity."
Qingpingfang covers a very large area, after all, there is such a large Qingping Leyuan inside.
Just at the southwest gate of this forest garden, less than three miles away from the majestic Yuefu, which has the atmosphere of an imperial city, there is a street lined with Davidia involucrata trees.
It was October, and the Davidia involucrata trees were full of fruits.
Standing at the door of a large house, absentmindedly waving goodbye to the original owner of the house, Lu Yi looked at a row of Davidia involucrata trees as thick as water tanks on the street, looking forward to the beautiful sight of the trees blooming with dove-shaped flowers next spring.
"A duck knows first when the river water warms in spring... There are smart people in Lezhou City!"
Lu Yi stood with his hands behind his back, watching the carriage going away with a smile.
This house, of course, cannot be compared with his mansion in Gaojing City, but it is also a hundred acres in size, with six entrances and exits, four courtyards on the left and right, and a back garden. In Lezhou City, it is also considered a first-class mansion.
The owner of this mansion was originally in the grain business, with business covering Lezhou and the two surrounding states. In Lezhou City, he was considered one of the top 30 grain traders.
But Le Wu had just returned to Lezhou City with his family yesterday. The owner of the house immediately listed the house in a pawnshop. The whole family packed their luggage and prepared to leave Lezhou, saying that they were going back to their hometown.
"Smart man, you're walking really fast... But if you don't walk faster, you really won't be able to walk!"
Lu Yi looked at the smiling broker standing beside him and threw a large gold ingot to him. "This deal is a good one. However, a house alone is a bit too meagre."
"You have to equip me with servants, maids, craftsmen, and guards to protect the house, right?"
Lu Yu stroked his chin, thought for a while, and nodded: "Well, let's go around and see if there are any good restaurants nearby. If there are any owners who want to sell, quickly buy some for me. Seven or eight restaurants are not too few, and ten or twenty restaurants are not too many."
Lu Yi patted the shoulder of Ya Xing Jingji, whose eyes were shining with gold, and said with a smile: "My lord, although my family has suffered a disaster and lost most of my belongings, I still have this wealth, and I can still hold up my reputation!"
The Yahang Economy left in a hurry, taking Lu Yi's earnest appeal with him.
Before leaving, he made a lot of promises to Lu Yi - and it was a coincidence that just this morning, in Qingpingfang, there was a very famous Xinhuanglou, a time-honored brand that opened 18 large restaurants. The owner suddenly said that he was losing money and wanted to sell all the restaurants.
The eighteen new Huanglou are all located in the most prosperous and bustling area of Qingpingfang. The shortest one has six floors and the tallest one has eighteen floors. They are always packed with guests. The speed at which these eighteen new Huanglou make money cannot be described as making a fortune every day.
The yahang economics happily told Lu Yi that as long as he had enough financial resources, he could take over all the 18 new bamboo towers. He could live a comfortable life in this life and for his future generations.
Lu Yi stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the Yahang Economics who got on the carriage and sped away, and shook his head slightly.
"There are masters among the people in the market."
"The rice merchant of this house ran away. The big boss of Xinhuanglou also ran away. Hey, they are all powerful people with connections."
"Still lying in your luxurious nest and enjoying yourself? This Lezhou City might be a bloody slaughterhouse, a hell of Asuras... The common people in this city, haha!"
Lu Yu's face twitched violently.
He remembered the solemn instructions given by the two old monks Shenzui and Langyue before he left.
The sects of Yuanlingtian invaded. They did not come to visit relatives or have a banquet. They came to plunder the fortune and the luck of the entire Jishengtian... This is a fight to the death on the path of Taoism.
In such a struggle for the path, not to mention ordinary mortals, even powerful monks with cultivation are like straw dogs and may become sacrifices in the world of great struggle at any time.
Faced with a terrifying enemy of unpredictable strength, even Shenzui, Langyue and others had to plan carefully and prepare seriously. Lu Yi... after all, was just an intermediate cultivator who had just planted lotus seeds?
A group of dandy young men in fine clothes and riding fine horses were chasing each other and laughing as they ran through the street. Behind their team of horses, from a row of exquisite carriages, the tender and sweet laughter of young women could be heard continuously.
Lu Yi stood with his hands behind his back, watching these people rushing past him, and shook his head with a smile.
"I'll try my best."
Clenching his fists tightly, Lu Yi said softly, "I will try my best... to reduce the number of deaths in this city and allow more people to survive. But I can only do my best."
"I am not a holy immortal, nor am I the legendary savior... I am just an ordinary monk who changed his life goal from living to 1,000 years old to living to 10,000 years old."
"I haven't been a big shot since my last life."
"I am just a lonely wild goose in the world, an ant struggling to survive in this world... I can only say that I tried my best and I just want to have a clear conscience, that's all!"
In Lezhou City, as long as you have enough money, you can do almost anything.
Less than half an hour after the Yahang economy arrived, the huge convoy arrived at Lu Yi's door.
A group of craftsmen took down the door plaque that was originally hanging at the door. After some knocking, a brand new gilded plaque was hung upright above the door, with the word "Le Zhai" written neatly on it.
Teams of servants, maids, craftsmen, etc. were brought to Lu Yi by the brokers.
Lu Yu was not picky. He just took out the money and bought dozens of servants recommended by the pawnbroker, a hundred maids, a number of grooms, gardeners, doormen, handymen, all kinds of cooks, maids, servants, and even a housekeeper and accountant.
All the indentures and documents of each person were carefully kept by Lu Yi.
The two women in their thirties who were highly recommended by the brokerage were the housekeepers of Lu Qi's inner house. The two men in their fifties who were smart and capable were also the housekeepers of the outer house.
The four internal and external stewards quickly divided their respective spheres of authority and immediately began to issue orders, commanding a group of servants, maids, etc. around.
Lu Yi left hundreds of thousands of strings of cash in the account office. When the four managers saw the money, they straightened their backs and gave orders more efficiently. They directly sent purchasers to various shops in Qingpingfang to select various home furnishings and began to redecorate this "Happy House".
Busy from noon to evening, Lu Yi was sitting in the lobby, enjoying the service of two maids rubbing his shoulders and tapping his legs, while watching with interest the servants busying about like butterflies.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang outside the courtyard wall. Amid the shouts of the gatekeeper, several guards in silk shirts rushed in, surrounding a young man who was about fourteen or fifteen years old and dressed in brocade robes. He had a green face, sunken eyes, and trembling steps. It was obvious that he had lost his strength due to excessive drinking and sex.
The two doormen and several newly hired warriors were beaten black and blue by the guards around the boy. They rushed in after the boy and opened their arms in vain to stop him, but how could they stop him?
"Hey, this is clearly the Qian family's house, how come it has become Le's house?"
The young man walked in with his head held high. Just then, two maids passed by holding a pair of plum vases with flowers. The young man smiled and whistled at the two maids: "Girl, will you accompany me to the riverside later? The weather is bright and clear in autumn. There is a green meadow by the river. We can have a good time there."
The two maids were so scared that they ran away as fast as they could, while the young man burst into laughter: "Look at your behavior... Bah, with your insignificant appearance, how could I, Young Master Le De, be interested in you?"
Lu Yi stood up, strode to the lobby door, stood on the steps, with his hands behind his back, looking at the young man who called himself Le De.
"Sir, who are you looking for? It seems a bit too much to come in uninvited."
The young man raised his eyebrows and raised his chin towards Lu Yi: "Whose crotch is not locked tightly and you are exposed? I'm looking for Qian Youyi. We made an appointment a few days ago. Today we will go to Jingoufang to play some big games. He promised to lend me a thousand strings of money as capital."
"Where are the people? Where are the people with money? How did this Qian's house become a Le's house?"
Lu Yu blinked his eyes and bowed to Le De: "I see, haha, I just bought this house today. I'm Le Huo, from Jizhou. I just arrived in Lezhou City today. By chance, I wanted to buy a house to settle down, and I happened to run into Mr. Qian who wanted to sell this house."
Le De was stunned, then he jumped up and down and cursed: "What? Qian Youyi ran away? Oh, no, their Qian family, the entire Qian family, ran away? What is this? What is this? Hey, hey!"
Lu Yu smiled and bowed to Le De: "If Master Le is interested in going to Jingoufang to have fun, Master Qian is gone, but don't we still have me, Le Huo?"
Lu Yi smiled very brightly: "My last name is also Le, my family is in Jizhou City, but Jizhou City suffered a disaster a few days ago, and the whole city was in ruins. I managed to escape with my family property..."
"You can't write two characters for 'le' with one stroke. It's fate that I can meet Master Le today."
"I have no relatives in Lezhou City, no one to turn to... From Master Le's demeanor, I know that he is of noble birth and has an extraordinary family background. I will have a lot to rely on in the future."
Le De was stunned for a moment, then he laughed out loud: "That's right, that's right, you can't write two characters for "le" with one stroke. We can be considered a family...hahaha."
