Chapter 325

After sending Cheng Ze away, Zhuge Liang sat back in his seat.

However, after only a while, he stood up again.

He was now full of worries and eagerly awaited Ying Su’s return.

Because Ying Su was not there, he could not make the final decision on many things.

Just as Zhuge Liang was hoping for Ying Su’s early return, Ying Su, who was thousands of miles away, was not in a hurry at all.

The weather today was good, the sky was clear, and it wasn't too hot; sitting in the carriage and enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way was a very pleasant thing.

"Let everyone slow down; there's no rush." Ying Su said to Lu Lu Zhishen, who was following beside the carriage.

"Good!" Lu Lu Zhishen responded and immediately went to convey the order.

Just like that, the entire team slowed down.

And Ying Su enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way at a leisurely pace.

"Eh, this pavilion ahead is not bad; let's stop there." Ying Su ordered his subordinates as if he had discovered a new continent.

The carriage stopped by the side of the road, and Ying Su came out of the carriage and walked to the pavilion by the roadside.

This pavilion was not big and looked very new.

Densely packed characters were carved on the pillars of the pavilion.

In the middle of the pavilion was a stone table, and there were four stone stools around the table.

The table and stools were very new; they should have been made not long ago.

What attracted Ying Su was the design of the pavilion, the design of the table and stools, and the characters on the pillars.

This pavilion, whether viewed as a whole or in parts, had reached a very high artistic standard.

So much so that when Ying Su saw it, he couldn't help but have a thought: he wanted to move it into the imperial palace!

However, this thought only flashed by.

He didn't want to do such a thing that wasted money and manpower.

Wouldn't he be a muddled emperor if he did that?

"I will rest here. You go and find out who made this pavilion; once you find out, come back and tell me immediately." Ying Su said to his attendants.

As he spoke, he walked into the pavilion and sat in front of the stone table.

"Your Majesty, this pavilion is so exquisite; it shouldn't have been made by commoners." Qiao Feng said.

"Hmm, you are right, and it doesn't look like it was made by craftsmen; ordinary craftsmen couldn't make such exquisite items." Ying Su said.

Then, Ying Su carefully examined the table in front of him.

Others saw that Ying Su attached such importance to the pavilion and were all puzzled.

Isn't this just a better-looking pavilion?

But no one dared to ask.

Qiao Feng and Lu Lu Zhishen, as close guards, could talk to Ying Su, but these two were both rough men; besides saying the pavilion looked good, they couldn't say anything else.

Time passed bit by bit; after the time it took to burn a stick of incense, a guard hurried over with an old farmer.

"Your Majesty, he knows the origin of this pavilion." The guard bowed to Ying Su and pointed to the old farmer.

"This commoner pays respects to Your Majesty!" The old farmer knelt on the ground, his body trembling slightly.

"You don't need to be afraid; sit down and talk." Ying Su smiled.

"This commoner is not afraid, but excited; I have lived for decades and this is the first time I have seen Your Majesty!" The old farmer said.

"You, bring him a chair and let him sit." Ying Su said.

"This commoner doesn't dare; I will just stand and answer." The old farmer said hurriedly.

"If His Majesty tells you to sit, then sit; are you not even going to listen to His Majesty’s words?" Lu Lu Zhishen brought a chair and placed it behind the old farmer.

Seeing Lu Lu Zhishen’s burly figure, the old farmer was startled, and then thinking that the consequences of not listening to His Majesty would be even more terrifying, he sat down.

However, he only sat shallowly on the edge of the chair, not daring to sit fully.

"Who built this pavilion?" Ying Su asked.

176. Great Philanthropist

"Replying to Your Majesty, this pavilion was paid for and made by Li Li Wenxi from this township; at that time, he also invited me to help, and these pillars were erected by me and Er Gou and the others." The old farmer said.

"Oh, so you also participated in building this pavilion. Then who carved the characters on the pillars? And who designed these stone tables and stone stools?" Ying Su asked.

"The characters on the pillars were carved by Master Li Li Wenxi himself; as for who designed the table and stools, I don't know, but I think it was also done by Master Li Li Wenxi, because Master Li Li Wenxi just likes to carve characters and make some objects." The old farmer said.

"You call Li Li Wenxi 'Master'; is he an official?" Ying Su asked.

"He is not an official; he is a noble. Most of the land within a radius of dozens of miles here belongs to him." The old farmer said.

"He is a noble? Then he must have hired quite a few people to farm all that land of his, right?" Ying Su asked.

"He hired many people; I am one of those who farm for his family." The old farmer said.

"No wonder he has the leisure to do these things; it turns out he is a noble and doesn't have to do the work himself." Ying Su said indifferently.

"Yes, Master Li Li Wenxi never does any work; he doesn't even know how to sow seeds." The old farmer said.

"Then do you have any complaints about him?" Ying Su asked.

"Complaints? Why would I have complaints about him?" The old farmer felt puzzled.

"He doesn't farm, but you have to farm, and as a result, most of the grain grown in the fields goes to him; don't you have any complaints in your heart?" Ying Su asked.

"Your Majesty, the land belongs to Master Li Li Wenxi; he gives it to us to farm, so it is only right that we give the grain to him."

"Besides, we are hoping that Master Li Li Wenxi doesn't farm."

The old farmer said.

"Oh, why is that? Is it disadvantageous to you if he farms himself?" Ying Su felt curious.

"If Master Li Li Wenxi farms himself, then the land available for us to farm would be less, and wouldn't the grain we get be even less?" The old farmer said.

His answer amused Ying Su.

It seems the subjects of Great Qin are still honest.

They believe that it is only natural for nobles to possess land.

Nobles giving them land to cultivate is a kind of reward.

"By the way, can you get enough to eat now?" Ying Su asked again.

"We can get enough to eat this year; last year when there was a disaster, we couldn't get enough, but we didn't starve either. Master Li distributed some grain to us, and that’s how we survived." The old farmer showed a look of gratitude when he said this.

"There was a disaster last year? Was it very serious?" Ying Su asked.

"Very serious, basically a total crop failure! Everyone had no food to eat, so Master Li let us go to his place to eat. Although we could only eat one meal a day, the portion was large, so one meal was enough!" The old farmer said.

"I didn't expect this Li Li Wenxi to be a great philanthropist." Ying Su nodded and then said to his attendants: "Take ten coins for this uncle... ahem, for this old man as a running fee; we will go with him to find that great philanthropist Li!"

He didn't pay attention for a moment and said it smoothly, saying the word "uncle".

One must know that his status was Emperor; calling him an old man was already giving the other party immense face.

Led by the old farmer, Ying Su and his guards arrived at a large manor.

Before even entering the gate, Ying Su felt the manor’s thick artistic atmosphere!

His own residence in the Xianyang Palace couldn't compare to this place at all.

If one were to talk about grandeur, of course the imperial palace was grand, but if one were to talk about living a life, the imperial palace was far worse than this place!

Soon, Li Li Wenxi, who learned that the Emperor had come, hurried out to welcome him.

His whole body was trembling; he didn't even dare to look at Ying Su and knelt on the ground, shaking non-stop.

"Why are you so afraid of me?" Ying Su asked.

"It is not fear, but respect! Your Majesty’s might shakes all directions, and you naturally have an aura that makes people revere you, so when I saw you, I couldn't help but... shake!" Li Li Wenxi explained, biting the bullet.

Actually, he was afraid, afraid to death!

Who didn't know that Ying Su killed people like hemp?

A while ago, because of disagreements with the nobles, many people died again.

And he was one of the nobles!

Now that the Emperor had come to his door personally, was he preparing to take a knife to him?

"Li Li Wenxi, was that pavilion on the road made by you?" Ying Su asked.

"I don't know which direction’s pavilion Your Majesty is talking about?" Li Li Wenxi said.

"How come, there is more than one pavilion here?" Ying Su asked.

"There are eight; seven of them were made by me, and I haven't had time to renovate the other one." Li Li Wenxi said.

"What are you doing making so many pavilions?" Ying Su asked.