Tibet

Li Ye took a comfortable bath, put on soft and clean underwear, and wore a blue satin gown. Several strong women came in to clean up the bathtub. Xiaohong came in with a comb and said, "I will comb the young master's hair!"

"Wait a minute, my hair isn't dry yet!"

Li Ye compared her height and said with a smile: "She is a bit taller than last year."

"I am twelve years old, I must grow taller!"

Xiaohong pouted and asked, "I heard from Madam, did you find another maid over there?"

Li Ye nodded. At this time, a maid shouted in the yard: "Master, the lady said, come over and have dinner when you are ready."

"knew!"

Li Ye sat down and said, "Okay, my mother is impatient. Before it dries, you can comb your hair!"

Xiaohong felt a little aggrieved, but she didn't dare to say it. She was born so low, how could the young master like her?

In fact, every little lady has a prince charming in her heart, who is tall, handsome, either gentle and affectionate, or strong and powerful.

Xiaohong is in love for the first time, and the prince charming in her heart is Li Ye.

Of course, it was just her dream. She was only twelve years old, and Li Ye would not have any thoughts about her anyway.

After dinner, Pei Sanniang called Li Ye to her husband's study. There were only a family of three in the room.

Li Ye opened a small gold box. Inside was thirty pieces of top-grade lapis lazuli, totaling more than fifty pieces. He divided part of it among officials and generals, and kept thirty pieces of top-grade materials for himself.

"This is lapis lazuli!"

Pei Sanniang picked up a piece of lapis lazuli and marveled. She has been paying close attention to jewelry in the past six months and has a good understanding of the jewelry market.

The Tang Dynasty believed in Buddhism, and the rich and powerful were very obsessed with the Buddhist treasure lapis lazuli, and the price was quite high. Pei Sanniang said: "I saw a lapis lazuli pendant inlaid with gold at Baoji Jewelry Shop. It was only the size of a fingernail, and the quality was far inferior to this one." The asking price for a pure piece is two thousand guan, so this piece must be at least 2 taels heavy! That shouldn’t cost tens of thousands of guan.”

Li Dai looked at it carefully and couldn't help but marvel in his heart. The lapis lazuli collected by his father in Lancui Pavilion did not have such quality.

"Ye'er, have you found the lapis lazuli vein?"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "Even if you find a mineral vein, you won't be able to produce such a piece. This is the most famous place in the world for producing lapis lazuli. Bushi Kingdom. This is the accumulation of hundreds of years by the kings of Bushi Kingdom. It was devoured by the Eastern Army." After robbing the palace, I later destroyed the opponent, and these treasures fell into my hands again."

Li Ye took out the flat gold box again and opened it gently. Suddenly there was a dazzling green light. Even though Pei Sanniang had seen many precious gems, she was still dazzled by these twenty top-quality emeralds.

"I'm lucky!"

Pei Sanniang was amazed, "This is an emerald. I've never seen such a good one. The treasure of Baoji Jewelry Shop is also an emerald, but it's not this green. It's simply... completely different!"

Li Dai said solemnly: "Ye'er, these things are spoils of war and should belong to the Governor's Mansion in Hezhong. Is it appropriate for you to keep them to yourself?"

"You damn old man, why do you care so much?" Pei Sanniang was unhappy.

Li Ye explained with a smile: "Father, don't worry, these are the personal property of the other coach, and so are the 20,000 gold coins. According to the military rules, the private property of the other coach belongs to me. Everyone has no objection. As for the Hezhong Dudu Mansion , it also has an income of millions of gold coins, and the child can distinguish between public and private affairs and will not take advantage."

"If you say that, I feel relieved!"

Li Dai thought for a while and asked again: "Ye'er, is this the gift you mentioned for the Dugu family?"

Li Ye nodded, "An emerald gem and a piece of lapis lazuli. The old lady of lapis lazuli will definitely like it. The emerald can be passed down to the family."

Li Ye smiled again and said: "There is one more for Mrs. Guo Guo. I promised her. Otherwise, how could my father not be interfered by the Yang family? This is the agreement I reached with her."

Li Dai suddenly smiled and said: "What's going on? There was a mistake in the imperial examination this time. The officials of the Ministry of Rites were negligent and admitted three more people. Yang Guozhong didn't impeach me for dereliction of duty. It turned out to be Mrs. Guo Guo who was covering me from behind? Then what? Aren’t you going to fall out as soon as the gems are given to you?”

Li Ye smiled and shook his head, "People are greedy. If they get green, they want red. If they get red, they want yellow. As long as she wants gems, she has to continue to abide by the agreement. I have seen through it a long time ago." , Mrs. Guo’s biggest destiny is greed.”

Pei Sanniang sighed and said, "Ye'er, although I don't like you to be so scheming, I would rather you be like this than to kill people cruelly. Having the reputation of being a Ksitigarbha demon makes me feel very worried."

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "One day, people will call me Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva!"

"Stop talking about this, let's talk about important things!"

Li Dai interrupted the conversation between mother and son, "Ah Ye, tomorrow is a holiday. You have to go to Dugu's house early in the morning. You were not there when you were supposed to come to the door. You have to make up for this etiquette."

"Okay! I'll go tomorrow."

Li Ye also happened to have a talk with Dugu Lie.

Early the next morning, Li Ye rode a carriage to Dugu Mansion. Last night, before the gate was closed, Li Dai sent his family to deliver a message to Dugu Mansion.

The uncle-in-law is coming to the door, which alarms the entire Dugu Mansion. The Dugu Mansion even hangs a lantern in front of the gate, which is a sign to welcome distinguished guests.

The eldest brother Dugu Jinyang was already waiting in front of the gate. When Li Ye came out of the carriage, Dugu Jinyang quickly stepped forward and saluted, "When did you come back, dear brother?"

Li Ye smiled back and said, "I just came back yesterday. Brother, I'm resting at home today?"

"We have nothing to do. We have nothing to do all day long. We envy our good brother for being able to fight."

"Brother, it's not easy to fight a war. Follow me to break the leaves. There may be a war when spring starts tomorrow."

Dugu Jinyang smiled bitterly and said, "I can't help myself!"

Li Ye knew that he was just talking. He was the eldest son, how could he go to Suiye? The two went up the steps and walked all the way to the back house.

The back hall is already full of people from the Dugu family. In the middle sits the old lady Dugu, who is the head of the family. On the left are several daughters-in-law and granddaughters. On the left are Dugu Lie and several sons. The consort Dugu Ming happens to be there too. Dugu Xin Yue Ye was sitting behind her grandmother, looking shyly at her future husband walking in. She looked at the dark and thin Li Ye, and felt really distressed in her heart.

Li Ye quickly walked into the back hall, knelt down and paid homage, "Junior Li Ye, please say hello to my grandmother, and wish her good health and a long life!"

"Good boy, get up!"

The old lady greeted Li Ye with a smile, "I just said that we are destined! In the end, we became a family."

She turned back to her granddaughter Dugu Xinyue and said, "Why don't you hurry up and bring a soft couch for your future husband?" Dugu Xinyue agreed and quickly asked the maid to bring the soft couch.

Li Ye also presented gifts to Dugu Lie and his wife Wang. He took out a brocade box from the bag he carried with him and presented it to the old lady, "This is a gift I brought to my grandmother from the Western Regions. I hope my grandmother likes it!"

"Let me see what it is?"

The old lady took the brocade box and opened it with a smile. Her eyes lit up when she saw a piece of top-grade lapis lazuli that appeared in front of her. The lapis lazuli weighed about half a catty and was cut into a rectangular shape. The color was extremely rich and clean.

There are two large pieces of lapis lazuli that Li Ye brought back this time, one for Aunt Mu and one for Old Mrs. Dugu. The lapis lazuli has many cracks, is so big, so pure, and of such high quality. I'm afraid there are only two pieces in the world. .

The old lady knew the goods and praised them repeatedly, "What a good thing! This is the best lapis lazuli I have ever seen in my life. It can be used to carve a small Buddha statue."

The female relatives gathered around to admire it, and they were all full of praise, especially Dugu Hui. She knew that lapis lazuli of this kind was rare in the world. It might be found in the palace, but not in the market. Her mother-in-law, the old lady of the Dou family, was also a Buddhist believer. , if you can get a piece for your mother-in-law to please her, she will definitely favor you more.

Dugu Hui knew that Li Ye must still have some, so of course she wouldn't ask Li Ye for it, she would just ask her niece.

She held Xinyue's hand and whispered a few words. Xinyue smiled and nodded: "I'll tell him later!"

Dugu Hui was overjoyed, "Thank you very much!"

There were many people in the back hall, so Li Ye did not take out the emerald. This kind of treasure should be kept secret as much as possible. Once the news got out, there would be endless troubles.