Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 16 Liu Jianjun is really something.

Liu Jianjun is indeed a little devil.

As soon as he finished speaking, he began to mutter again: "On the third day of the eleventh month of the second year of Yongchun, Li Xian made a promise..."

Heaven knows how many more such promises he will make to Liu Jianjun before he returns to Chang'an.

Li Xian thought to himself as he watched Liu Jianjun's departing figure.

But Li Xian enjoyed the way Liu Jianjun treated him.

This was something he had never felt in Chang'an, something that could be called sincerity.

The people of Chang'an are like having two faces; they have one during the day and another at night.

Some people don't even have two faces; they're like people wearing countless masks. One second they might be all smiles and loyalty in front of you, but the next they turn into cunning white faces, stabbing you in the heart with a dagger.

Li Xian suddenly wondered what kind of face Liu Jianjun should have.
He looked down at the cart left behind by Liu Jianjun, on which sat the basket containing the winter melon.

Liu Jianjun just pulled the winter melon right to his doorstep, saying he'd leave it at home so he wouldn't have to keep an eye on it every day, and he sounded like he was finding it too much trouble.

But Li Xian knew that Liu Jianjun just wanted to put his mind at ease.

This winter melon is crucial to my return to Chang'an and my chance to see my father, so having it in front of me is the most reassuring thing for me.

Therefore, Li Xian thought that no matter what kind of face Liu Jianjun had, he was always very good to him.

"Tuk-tuk-tuk."

Li Xian knocked on the door, and a maid's voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

The voice was light and cheerful, no longer showing the previous wariness and fear.

These were all brought by Liu Jianjun.

Li Xian replied softly, "It's me, Xiu Niang."

……

Li Xian rarely came home this late, but because he had told Xiu Niang that he was going out with Liu Jianjun, his family wasn't too worried.

On the contrary, the second brother, Li Guangren, saw the cart behind Li Xian, exclaimed in surprise, and came over, about to reach his hand into the bamboo basket.

He had never seen such large "furniture" in his home.

Li Xian was startled and quickly grabbed Li Guangren, scolding him in an extremely stern tone: "You are not allowed to touch this thing!"

Li Guangren was startled by Li Xian and withdrew his hand, looking aggrieved.

The embroiderer clearly sensed something was wrong, pulled Li Guangren into her arms, and asked softly, "Husband, what is this...?"

"This is our family's hope to return to Chang'an."

There seemed to be light in Li Xian's eyes.

……

Li Mingshi had already agreed to send the news of the auspicious omen to Chang'an, but the Shu region was treacherous, and the round trip would take nearly twenty days. All Li Xian could do was wait.

They waited for the angel from Chang'an to deliver the message that he should bring auspicious omens to the capital.

Li Xian was a little worried that the winter melon would spoil, but Liu Jianjun said that the melon was freshly picked. The winters in Shu are cold, and even if it is left for a month, it will look good on the outside, but it will definitely be rotten inside. It is inedible, but it can still look good. It is fine to present it to the emperor as an auspicious omen for his amusement.

Li Xian was somewhat dissatisfied with Liu Jianjun's indifferent attitude, but the thought of having to let such a large winter melon rot away inexplicably made him feel lost.

This winter melon must have taken Liu Jianjun a lot of effort to find, but instead of being served as a dish, it became an ornamental object for the emperor to admire.

Shouldn't the meaning of auspicious omens be that they can fill a person's stomach?

When Li Xian said this to Liu Jianjun, Liu Jianjun said: "You're just being nosy. Your own life is hanging by a thread, why are you worrying about a winter melon?"

"Don't forget, although we dealt with that group of thugs last time, Qiu Shenji might send another group of lackeys at any time. They'll chop you into pieces and completely destroy your hopes of returning to Chang'an!" Li Xian was instantly filled with lingering fear. He dug a cellar overnight and hid the winter melon inside.

But Liu Jianjun later said: "If rulers could all think about practical things for the people like you do, and do less fancy formalism, that would be great."

Liu Jianjun's expression was very strange when he said this, which Li Xian couldn't quite describe.

He also didn't quite understand what Liu Jianjun meant by formalism, thinking it was probably some kind of slang from Bazhou.

Nine days have passed since the two went to find Li Mingshi.

According to the distance of the post station, Li Mingshi's memorial should have been delivered to the emperor by now, right?

Li Xian thought to himself.

But the next moment, Liu Jianjun's shout came from outside the door: "Xianzi! Let's go hiking!"

Li Xian walked out of the courtyard gate with no other choice.

These days, Liu Jianjun often asks him to go hiking.

He himself was unwilling to waste his energy on such a meaningless thing, but he couldn't resist Liu Jianjun saying that his body was too weak and he needed to exercise more.

Li Xian thought to himself that Liu Jianjun was as tough as a monkey, so of course he had inexhaustible energy. But looking at Liu Jianjun's encouraging eyes, Li Xian swallowed his words in the end.

Let's climb it then; consider it a chance to appreciate the scenery before leaving Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture.

Li Xian followed Liu Jianjun all the way.

When Liu Jianjun talked about climbing mountains, he meant climbing mountains in the real sense. He would go wherever the path was difficult. Because of this, Li Xian had to spend a lot of money to buy a set of hemp clothes. Otherwise, if his scholar's robe were torn, the embroiderer would be heartbroken.

Li Xian didn't know what kind of mountain they were climbing. They had to go around several bends from Liu Jianjun's mountain to get there. It took them almost half an hour to reach the top of the mountain.

Upon reaching the mountaintop, Li Xian collapsed to the ground, rubbing his aching calves, not wanting to move even a finger.

But Liu Jianjun seemed to have inexhaustible energy, standing on the mountaintop, howling and wailing down the mountainside.

Li Xian didn't want to talk to him, but Liu Jianjun said, "Xianzi, how about I write you a poem?"

Li Xian chuckled and said, "Fine, go ahead and act like this."

Liu Jianjun coughed twice in a mock manner, looked down at the mountains below, and sighed loudly, "Alas!"

Li Xian chuckled.

I had indeed overestimated Liu Jianjun. How could a man from the mountains have any literary talent to write poetry?
What kind of poetry is like this?

The two lines he recited earlier were probably just something written by an official from Chang'an who had been demoted to Bazhou and was reminiscing about Chang'an; he just copied them over.

This explains why there is only half a section.

But Liu Jianjun spoke again, with the same exaggerated expression and the same astonished tone: "How perilous and lofty!"

Li Xian smiled again, just about to interrupt Liu Jianjun's remark.

But Liu Jianjun's speech suddenly quickened, and his tone became increasingly louder: "The road to Shu is more difficult than ascending to heaven!"

Li Xian was stunned for a moment, but in that short time, Liu Jianjun seemed to have found inspiration, and his speech became faster and faster, and his emotions became more and more intense.

"Cancong and Yufu, how vague their founding of the state! Forty-eight thousand years have passed since then, and they have not been connected with the Qin region by human habitation! To the west, there is a bird path on Mount Taibai, which can traverse the summit of Mount Emei. The earth collapsed and the mountains crumbled, and brave men died. Only then were the heavenly ladders and stone walkways linked together!"

Li Xian was stunned.

Liu Jianjun... he's got some skills!

……

(End of this chapter)