Things turned out as Wang Rong feared. As the first day of March got closer and closer, more and more children were sent.
Fortunately, the hundred and ten children sent earlier were all the children of nearby villagers who lived not far away. Li Chongrun and Wang Rong brought the literate people in the house to the battle, but they hurriedly screened them, and fortunately they were sent.
I always left my name and address, so there was no such tragedy as not being able to find a home.
Except for a few orphans sent from the Taoist temple who couldn't refuse, most of the dolls were sent back. It was explained clearly that there were not enough teachers and they really couldn't teach so many students, so they sent some rice grains. This prevented any trouble.
What a big commotion.
After a few days of busy work, Li Chongrun was completely disgraced, and it was already March before he knew it.
On the first day of March, Li Chongrun was leading people to preside over the admissions examination at the gate of the newly built school in Xiejia Village Workshop.
Perhaps the promotion of opera singing has not spread to remote villages, and the people who come are mainly children from a few counties. There are not many real children from farm families.
Fortunately, the number of people was not as high as Wang Rong feared. All the children from 200,000 households in Yangzhou were recruited, but there were still thousands of people including children and their parents, and the whole place was filled with people.
After excluding those who are obviously a little older, those who appear to have obvious flaws, and those who have too much of a gangster vibe, there are still hundreds of people who can be selected by Li Chongrun.
Until the afternoon, Li Chongrun, who was thirsty after asking questions, didn't even have time to drink water, when news came that the head wife of the Song family had gone out.
The news came from the cousin's personal entourage, and then Ruiniang's people also sent the news, confirming the correctness of the news.
With the help of Wu Qi, Li Chongrun transformed into the appearance of the little Taoist priest before. However, the whisk on his back was replaced by an iron rod made from scraps when he helped Gongsun Lan make swords.
When it was time to go out, Li Chongrun, who still felt a little strange, went to his secret room again, took out a small package, and secretly put it in his arms.
Following the instructions in the message, Li Chongrun quietly touched the side of the small temple next to the grain number.
The small temple is a bit dilapidated, and the vermilion paint on the door has peeled off a lot, revealing the rafters made of dark tallow wood covered with paint.
As if to prove his innocence, the dilapidated door of the small temple was opened, and several novice monks in gray clothes were sweeping inside, but they stared at the door from time to time with a somewhat forbidding look.
In the backyard of the small temple stands a pagoda with seven floors of bricks and stones. There are many iron horses hanging on the eaves. When the breeze blows, there are melodious sounds.
Li Chongrun was naturally not allowed to walk in with such arrogance. For a Taoist boy to go to the monk temple in such a swagger was a bit provocative. After wandering outside the temple gate for a while, he never found a chance to go through.
A mother and son happened to be walking past the temple gate. The child pointed at the novice monk who was sweeping the courtyard and said unintentionally: "Mom, is this the bad monk who suppressed White Snake?"
Several novice monks sweeping the floor angrily rushed forward to argue with the mother and son, but they were soon blocked by the crowd that gradually gathered around them. With the roar of people, the situation got out of hand.
Li Chongrun saw that everyone's attention was attracted, so he found an opportunity and entered the small temple.
The backyard of the small temple is a very neat bluestone flat. A large felt is being spread on the bluestone flat, and a very handsome-looking monk is arranging tea sets on the felt.
"Your Majesty, he came faster than I thought."
The monk heard the movement of Li Chongrun approaching, raised his head and took a look, and found that it was Li Chongrun. His eyebrows that were originally tight relaxed a lot, and he showed a nice smile.
"The water hasn't boiled yet, please wait a moment, Your Majesty. The young monk's tea art was inherited from the Yan family, which can be regarded as a true inheritance. Today, when the prince is visiting, please be sure to taste the young monk's craftsmanship."
The monk with the double moles on his eyebrows smiled very sincerely.
"No wonder I, the king, have been feeling awkward since I found out about your date with the Song family aunt. It turns out that the master has been waiting for me here for a long time, but I have been kept in the dark."
Only then did Li Chongrun realize where he had been feeling awkward. The news came so smoothly that he didn't discover it in time. Moreover, he originally just wanted to check out the news and confirm the monk's existence, so he didn't bring any guards with him.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be such a king versus king situation.
But now that he's here, this monk dares to wait for him here alone, and he doesn't know how many people have been arranged around him. Just when Li Chongrun is still thinking about whether he should find an opportunity to run away while he is still far away, then
The monk said something, which attracted Li Chongrun's attention.
"The tea is Wujin Yangxian tea, the water is Chongming River water, and the stove is Xunyang red clay stove. They are the most exquisite scenes in the tea ceremony. They are also very suitable for the identity of the prince."
Wujin, Chongming, Xunyang.
Wu Chongxun.
When did this monk arrest his cousin?
Knowing that he had a hostage in his hands, Li Chongrun was a little anxious, but he had no choice but to sit in front of the monk and quietly watch him pretend.
"The young monk originally wanted to pay a visit, but there are indeed some capable people around the prince. The young monk came to the door rashly, and was afraid that it would be difficult to escape unscathed. That's why he came up with this strategy. I hope the prince will show his kindness."
The monk's fingers were very white and slender. He carefully held a bamboo tea spoon with three fingers and carefully poured the tea powder into the obsidian cup.
"Don't you think it's a little rude that you've been talking to yourself for so long without introducing yourself?"
Li Chongrun couldn't stand the guy's pretentiousness, so he interrupted him rudely.
"This is really presumptuous of the young monk. The young monk thought that the prince had already found out the identity of the young monk. It seems that the young monk thought too highly of the prince."
The monk shook his beautiful eyebrows in surprise, looked at Li Chongrun in disbelief, put down the tea set in his hand, clasped his hands together and performed a Buddhist salute, and solemnly introduced himself to Li Chongrun: "Little monk Wuchen
, I studied under the monk Bianji, and my master was Master Xuanzang.”
"Your master, is that Princess Gaoyang's mistress? The one who cuckolded Fang Er?"
There is no way, this monk teacher who gave himself a workshop name is not much younger than his ancestor.
"There are many fallacies in the rumors. Fang Er and the princess are not actually husband and wife. Although the master is at fault, it is just that even I, the Buddha, cannot see clearly, let alone the world."
The small red clay stove made a slight sound of water. Monk Wuchen Xin picked up the kettle and brewed it into two teacups.
"The young monk didn't expect that the King of Linzi, who is famous all over the world, would be like a talkative woman who is obsessed with market rumors. It is really disappointing."
A stream of water poured down from the kettle, quietly dispersing the extremely finely ground tea and turning the black tea cup into a fresh color.
"I have always been a businessman. As a businessman, I am naturally a bit vulgar." Li Chongrun took the tea cup offered by monk Wuchen with both hands, but did not dare to drink it. Firstly, he did not know if it was poisonous, and secondly,
It's really a bit hot.
"Since the prince calls himself a businessman, I have a business here. I wonder if the prince is interested in doing it?"
Wuchen picked up the tea cup in front of him, blew it gently, took a sip, and signaled to Li Chongrun that he could drink.
But when he heard about business, Li Chongrun simply put down the tea cup in his hand and stared at the monk: "I know you monks are rich, what do you want to buy? In addition to some aristocratic entertainment, I only have
A brewing workshop. Is it possible that instead of doing business with hundreds of thousands of dollars of loan sharking every year, you are interested in making a few jars of rice wine for such a small amount of money?"
"Why do you pretend to be confused, Your Majesty?" Wuchen's smile remained unchanged, as if he didn't hear Li Chongrun's secret sarcasm about his less than glamorous means of making money.
"This king is really confused."
"Then, young monk, please speak more openly. I wonder, Your Majesty, do you want this world?"