"Don't worry. The miss's letter this time is much more detailed. We have already finished it in the fiefdom before. If the miss had not repeatedly warned against long-distance transportation, we would have just brought the finished product over this time."
At this time, a guard brought them dry food and water bags, and the two stopped talking. After eating some food and resting for half an hour, Li Xiuer set off again with a few people.
Li Xiuer and his entourage did not dare to delay and walked quickly. Finally on the night of the third day, everyone arrived exhausted at Laozhangzhuang in the mountains south of Luoyang City.
Uncle Zhang, who had received the news in advance, and his people had been waiting at the entrance of the village and kept looking around. When they saw Li Xiuer, they hurriedly greeted her.
"Miss Li has worked hard all the way. Come to the village quickly, I have ordered people to prepare meals."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhang. Uncle Zhou, take them to dinner quickly."
Li Xiuer pulled Uncle Zhang aside and muttered about making detailed arrangements.
The village chief kept nodding. Then he took out a letter from his arms.
"Miss Li, this was delivered two days ago. It seems to be in a hurry."
Li Xiuer took the letter and checked the paint without leaving any trace before opening it.
By the light of the torch, Li Xiuer carefully checked the contents of the letter. She pinched her eyebrows with a headache.
"Uncle Zhang, are there any skilled kiln workers in the village?"
Uncle Zhang thought for a moment.
"Fang Guitian is a kiln worker in the village. He is originally from Jiangnan and has worked in kilns in Jiangnan for generations. It is said that his craftsmanship is also famous in Jiangnan. It is a pity that he offended the kiln manager and was framed by the whole family.
They were all killed, and only Fang Guitian and his youngest son escaped. They later drifted here. The dishes used in every household in the village are now made by this person."
"Uncle Zhang, ask this man to prepare himself tonight and bring everything he needs. He will need to go on a long journey tomorrow."
"I'll make arrangements later."
The whole night was silent. At dawn, people gathered early in the village ancestral hall. Li Xiuer sat on a chair with a tired look on her face, her fair chin propped up on her right hand, her eyes closed and she was still dozing.
"Miss Li, everyone is here."
"Well..."
Li Xiuer tried her best to raise her eyelids, looked up at the person in front of her, covered her mouth with her hands and yawned softly.
"Miss Li, everyone you asked for is here."
"Thank you, village chief. Everyone else can go down first."
"Okay. Let's go first."
"Yes. Also, various materials have been delivered in the past few days. Village chief, please arrange for someone to receive them. Store them in a dry place, and be sure to pay attention to fire prevention."
After other unrelated people exited the ancestral hall, Li Xiuer carefully looked at the four people standing in front of her. All four of them were in their thirties and looked honest and courteous. They were all a little nervous when they saw the girl in front of them looking at themselves.
"Haha, don't be nervous."
Seeing the nervousness of the four of them, Li Xiuer smiled and comforted them softly. Then she took the initiative to bring up the topic and chatted with them for a while, and then the four of them slowly relaxed.
"I came here to ask you to help me make something."
Several people looked at each other, and one of them stood up and replied: "Girl, what do you want us to do?"
"Uncle Zhou."
Li Xiuer shouted outside the ancestral hall.
Zhou Lu, who was leaning against the door of the ancestral hall, swayed into the ancestral hall with a piece of grass in his mouth and his arms on his shoulders. He raised his eyes and looked at Li Xiuer, spat out the piece of grass in his mouth, and then put down his hands.
Only then did the four of them see that Zhou Lu had a small cloth bag in his hand.
Zhou Lu took out something from his bag.
First, he took out a round ball, about the size of a fist, wrapped in tissue paper. Then he took out a handful of small balls of different sizes.
"The raw materials will be delivered in the next two days, and you have to make these things. I will tell you how to do it in detail. However, you will need to stay in the mountains for a while, and you cannot carry copper, iron and other metal utensils. Also
This matter must be kept secret and no one can tell."
The four of them deliberated for a moment and then all stood up.
"Girl, a few of us have taken over this matter. I just ask the girl to take care of the family matters."
Li Xiuer chuckled.
"Don't worry, everyone. Uncle Zhang will make arrangements for your family matters. I will also go into the mountains with you."
"Thank you very much, girl."
"Okay, you go back and make arrangements first."
After a few people left, Li Xiuer said to Zhou Lu again: "Uncle Zhou, I have to rely on you for another thing. Take good care of Fang Guitian and the others along the way. Don't delay the young lady's affairs."
Zhou Lu smiled.
"Don't worry, I'll leave right away."
At the entrance of the village, two guards were arranging the horses. Two people, one in middle school and one in youth, were standing next to the carriage. Zhou Lu had already habitually sat on the shaft of the carriage. He raised his hand and put a new piece of grass into his mouth and looked to see him off.
Li Xiuer.
"Lao Hou took the people away for half a year, but there was no news. Now that I have left, the manpower around you is somewhat insufficient. Miss arranged that things are coming to make more and more things happen. Those guys who are with me, let them fight
I'm good at killing, but I'm not that good at presiding over anything, so I can only take care of things in the Marquis' fiefdom."
"Well, I will talk to the lady about this."
Li Xiuer turned her attention to the two people next to the car and bowed.
"Mr. Fang, I've probably made it clear to you what to do. I'll leave it to you two."
Fang Guitian quickly stepped aside, not daring to accept this gift.
"You're welcome, Miss. If it hadn't been for Miss taking us in, we, father and son, wouldn't know what would have happened to us. Being able to do things for Miss this time gives us an opportunity to repay our kindness, and I, father and son, will definitely not disappoint Miss.
"
"Then it all depends on you two. Time is very tight and there is no time to delay."
Sensing Li Xiuer's solemnity, the two of them bowed solemnly.
"I will live up to my trust."
"Okay, let's go."
Uncle Zhou, who was on the car's shaft, took over the conversation, turned to Fang Guitian and his son and said, "Get in the car."
On this day, Zhanglaozhuang was extremely busy. From time to time, cars and horses would bring carts of things. You could see charcoal and straw paper, and you could smell sulfur. Everything else was covered tightly.
Don't know what it is.
In the secluded courtyard arranged by the village chief Zhang Bo, Li Xiuer directed the villagers to finely grind everything they brought to them into powder.
Then Li Xiuer locked herself in the room alone, walked out as soon as the sun turned west, locked the door, and arranged for someone to guard the courtyard.
The next day it was bright and clear before we continued.
After struggling like this for two more days, someone carefully lifted two large wooden barrels out of the house.
Without further delay, Li Xiuer took the guards and the four selected people and carried the barrel into the mountain. She gave instructions to ensure that the four people could make the projectiles safely as instructed. There were arrangements for her subordinates to keep an eye on them.
Just in case something happens.
When Li Xiuer returned to the village, Blacksmith Feng, who had been waiting for many days, came to the door carrying a gun tip.
"Miss Li, I have already prepared what you told me last time. Come and take a look."
Then he handed the gun tip to Li Xiuer.
The head of this gun is about one foot long, and there is nothing outstanding in its shape. It is just an ordinary double-edged duck neck style. The spine of the gun is thick, the tip is sharp, and the blade is sharp. The layers of cloud patterns on the blade are eye-catching.
The sharpened gun blade reflected a bright silver light.
"This gun head is made of real refined steel by my own hands and forged repeatedly. The dimensions are strictly in accordance with the dimensions marked on the drawing the girl gave me, and they are exactly the same."
Tiejiang Feng squinted his eyes with a proud look on his face.
Li Xiuer looked at the gun head in her hand with bright eyes and carefully touched the gun blade.
"Tiejiang Feng, can you build another one for me?"
"Don't worry, girl. The iron material is ready, I'll start now."
In Luojing City, the streets have become more and more lively in the past few days. The servants have posted imperial notices all over the city. Almost everyone is setting up memorial arches and colorful sheds.
As Mu Jianming expected, every merchant in Luojing City responded positively. Each archway was more luxurious and larger than the other.
At this time, Shen Xiyao had already returned to the Marquis Mansion. The wine distilling in the village was not only managed by the manager of the village, but also people sent by the court to supervise it, whether Shen Xiyao was present or not.
Yunxiang, who had not appeared for several days, quietly returned to the house, and made some hidden probings in her words. After confirming that it was really her young lady in front of her and not Mu Jianming, she took out a few things from her sleeves and handed them to Shen.
Xiyao.
"Miss, I have been visiting various temples and nunneries in the city in the past few days and got these things from several experts."
As he spoke, he took out a string of rosary beads.
"This is what I asked for from an eminent monk in the White Horse Temple. It is something that the eminent monk carries with him. It can eliminate disasters, ward off karma, and seek good fortune and avoid misfortune."
After saying that, he put it on Shen Xiyao's wrist and took out another charm.
"This object was a gift from the temple owner of Ziyun Temple outside the city. It can drive away evil spirits and eliminate evil spirits, and ward off changes caused by gods and ghosts."
Then he put it around Shen Xiyao's neck. Then he took out a Buddha jade pendant and tied it on Shen Xiyao's belt.
"Miss, I spent a lot of money to get this. It is said that it came from the Western Regions, and it has been blessed by several generations of eminent monks. It has been tainted with Buddha nature, and it is most efficacious. And..."
Then he took out a magic pestle.
Shen Xiyao looked at Yunxiang with a dark look.
"Are these...all useful?"
Yunxiang shook her head.
"I don't know either. Miss, please give it a try and see if it works, but it doesn't work... Miss, please bring them all."
Shen Xiyao rolled her eyes at Yun Xiang, took off the talisman from her neck, put it in her purse, put on the magic pestle, and adjusted the rosary and jade pendant on her wrist and belt.
"Is there any more?"
Yunxiang smiled coquettishly.
"There are still a few larger objects, which will take a few days. There is a temple in the south of the city. The eminent monk there said that it is best to perform a ritual, and the young lady's wish will definitely be fulfilled."
Yunxiang's voice became lower and lower as she spoke, and the more she spoke, the less confident she became. Finally, she smiled sheepishly.
"It had better be useful, otherwise..."
"Hey, miss, what else?"
Yunxiang tried her best to force out a smile and asked.
"Isn't that person planning to arrange for you to go out? Okay! I will also arrange for you to go out. I will arrange for you to go to a nunnery to practice."
Yunxiang was so frightened that she knelt on the ground.
"Miss, please don't. I made a mistake, and I know I was wrong."