This portly man was none other than Cheng Yaojin, the historically renowned Duke of Lu.
Cheng Qi is Cheng Yaojin's nephew, his own son.
Today, it's not just Cheng Yaojin who's here for the feast at Ling Yi's place; basically, all the important ministers who are highly regarded by Li Shimin in the imperial court have come.
As for the reason, just as Ling Yi had guessed, Li Shimin and the others had already guessed and confirmed that Ling Yi was the person from the Wei River.
Although Ling Yi possesses Personal Space and has made various passive settings to Personal Space, he is invincible.
But he was, after all, just an "ordinary person".
His speech was unconventional and often surprising, his accent was extremely unique, and his temperament was unlike that of ordinary people, so it would be strange if he didn't attract attention.
Li Shimin had just finished the Xuanwu Gate Incident last year, killing his brother, imprisoning his father, and ascending the throne.
Li Jiancheng and Li Yuan still had many Follower outside the city. Chang'an City seemed peaceful, but in reality, it had experienced countless undercurrents.
Ling Yi, a person with no traceable background and a unique demeanor, suddenly appeared in Chang'an City, naturally attracting close scrutiny.
Ling Yi was unaware that from the moment he entered Chang'an City and bought the manor, he had been constantly being watched.
Ling Yi Invisibility transformed into "mist" to steal money from various aristocratic families; some people witnessed this firsthand.
Ling Yi effortlessly stored his manor in his Personal Space, and then proceeded to manipulate the houses within the manor in various ways, all of which was witnessed by others.
The bizarre scene of Ling Yi rushing to the Cui Family and instantly taking away all the houses and buildings in the Cui Family manor was still witnessed by people...
It can be said that Ling Yi's every move was being watched, and Li Shimin had a record of all the methods Ling Yi used.
Ling Yi thought he was hiding it well, but in reality, it wasn't much different from being broadcast live every day.
This is also why Li Shimin and his men were so lenient and polite to Ling Yi.
In the eyes of Li Shimin and others, Ling Yi was a sage who killed hundreds of thousands of Göktürks on the banks of the Wei River and saved the Great Tang from Shui Huo.
If Ling Yi hadn't appeared, the Great Tang would have been completely unable to stop the hundreds of thousands of Göktürks, and the banks of the Wei River would likely have become their burial ground.
Of course, they didn't know the true course of history, nor did they know that Ling Yi's appearance was purely accidental.
Li Shimin had actually wanted to see Ling Yi for a long time, but he didn't know what excuse or identity to use.
However, Li Shimin was wise; he did not rashly disturb Ling Yi, otherwise, if he angered this powerful being, it might backfire.
As long as Ling Yi stays in Chang'an, stays in his Great Tang, that's enough.
"Did you remember everything?" Cheng Yaojin tapped Cheng Qi on the head and asked.
"I'll remember, but who exactly is this Ling Yi?" Cheng Qi had many questions in her mind.
In Cheng Qi's eyes, Ling Yi was an extremely intelligent and unconventional person.
But even with all that considerable achievement, is it really worthy of His Majesty's personal audience?
"On the banks of the Wei River!" Cheng Yaojin murmured four words.
Cheng Qi was taken aback at first, then realized something, and her chubby face turned pale.
"Holy crap, I've actually become brothers with an immortal?"
Cheng Yaojin struck him hard again, causing Cheng Qi to wince in pain.
"Don't ruin His Majesty's plans, or not only your head, but the entire Old Cheng family's heads will probably be enough for His Majesty to chop off."
Just do what you always do.
"Hehe, I understand, Uncle, you can rest assured."
When Cheng Qi entered his restaurant, he saw Ling Yi and Li Shimin sitting opposite each other, drinking and chatting.
Meanwhile, other important officials, such as Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Li Jing, and Yuchi Gong, sat at a nearby table drinking.
Cheng Yaojin naturally ended up sitting at the table with Li Jing and the others.
After much hesitation, Cheng Qi ultimately didn't dare to sit at the table and went to the kitchen instead.
He genuinely didn't dare sit down to eat with those people; the pressure was immense, and if he said the wrong thing, he could lose his head.
Ling Yi naturally guessed Li Shimin's identity at this moment, and knew even more that his own identity had probably already been exposed.
But since everyone was pretending to be ignorant, he didn't bring it up.
Now I can be more confident and bold in doing things in the future.
"Sir, judging from your accent, you must be from out of town. May I ask where your hometown is? Do you still have relatives?"
Li Shimin asked tentatively.
Li Shimin knew that Ling Yi knew his identity, just as Ling Yi knew that Li Shimin knew his identity.
This so-called test was not to find out Ling Yi's background, but to find out Ling Yi's attitude.
Ultimately, for Li Shimin, the origins of Ling Yi, this powerful figure, were not truly important.
At worst, it just comes from the sky.
"My hometown... I'm afraid I can't go back." Ling Yi sighed.
Before Li Shimin could ask any further questions, Ling Yi shook his head and sighed, "Your place is truly far too backward."
Li Shimin, with a curious expression, poured Ling Yi A Cup of Wine and asked, "Then your hometown must be incredibly wealthy, sir."
"Hehe, the entire population of the Great Tang combined doesn't even equal the population of a single first- or second-tier city in my hometown. Although there are still many shortcomings, everyone can eat their fill and eat well..."
"There are cars, airplanes, high-speed trains, and ships for transportation; you can travel around the world in a single day..."
"You two still use ancient letters to communicate, while we use mobile phones and Computer. Even if we are thousands of miles apart, we can talk anytime, anywhere, and even video chat to see each other directly."
"In my hometown, any crop that yields less than 1,000 jin per mu is considered a failure. Crops like Potato and sweet potatoes, on the other hand, can yield 4,000 to 5,000 jin per mu."
Ling Yi's speech left everyone around him completely bewildered.
Those cars and airplanes must be magical treasures, otherwise how could they travel a thousand miles a day?
Those cell phones and Computer must be the Thousand-Li Voice Transmission artifacts that immortals use to communicate across vast distances!
A thousand catties of grain per mu is considered low? Potato and sweet potatoes, four or five thousand catties per mu? If our Great Tang had these, wouldn't everyone be able to eat their fill?
"It's a pity I can't go back now," Ling Yi said after rambling on for a while, taking a sip of his drink.
"Sir, I wonder if you can Forging the cars, airplanes, and other such items you mentioned?" Li Shimin swallowed hard and asked cautiously again.
"My technical skills aren't great, but I do know the basic theory, so I can give it a try. It's just that many of the materials are under royal control, sigh!"
Ling Yi sighed deliberately at this point, as if to say, "I've already laid out the message for you, Li Shimin, aren't you going to show some sincerity?"
Li Shimin, of course, understood the meaning behind Ling Yi's words. After a moment of silence, he asked, "If you have everything you need, sir, to what extent can you provide it? Could you make this Great Tang as comfortable as your hometown?"
"I will do my best. I dare not say anything else, but at least making the Great Tang a hundred times stronger than it is now should not be a problem."
Was it a hundred times more powerful than the Great Tang today? What would the Great Tang have been like then?
Li Shimin was momentarily unable to comprehend it.
At this moment, Cheng Yaojin suddenly spoke up and asked, "Sir, have you heard of the incident involving the immortal on the banks of the Wei River six months ago?"
"Of course I've heard of it!" Ling Yi nodded.
He already guessed what Cheng Yaojin was going to ask next. Goodness, was this considered an open and honest conversation?
"That immortal is so powerful; what if he were to seize control of the Great Tang through cunning means?"
Ling Yi scoffed disdainfully, "Why would they want to occupy your Great Tang? Are they just bored and have nothing better to do?"
"Or is it that the immortal gave up a carefree life to seize the emperor's throne and bring trouble upon himself?"
"Is the Great Tang so big and powerful?" Ling Yi said bluntly.
Cheng Yaojin, displeased, retorted, "Our great Great Tang Dynasty boasts a vast territory, unifying the Sihai, and is currently the strongest nation in the World's Finest."
"Like a frog in a well, looking at the sky from the bottom of a well!" Ling Yi said disdainfully.
" The Great Tang may seem vast to you, but in my eyes, it is nothing more than a Great Tang, insignificant place."
Before Cheng Yaojin could retort, Ling Yi continued, "Do you even know how big this world really is?"
"Or do you think the world is only the size of the Great Tang Dynasty's territory?"
"Let me tell you, the current territory of the Great Tang First Capital than one-hundredth the size of this world."
Li Shimin frowned and asked, "Is that really so?"
"I'll have Cheng Qi send you a world Map later, and then you'll realize that what you call the Great Tang isn't actually that big."
"Thank you very much, sir," Li Shimin said earnestly, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
He believed Ling Yi's words; after all, this person was an immortal.
At the same time, his mind began to stir. Every emperor was an ambitious man, and Li Shimin was no exception.
Unfortunately, with the Great Tang just beginning and everything in ruins, this ambition had to be put on hold for the time being.
Li Shimin knew that he had achieved his purpose in testing the waters today, and that saying anything more would only provoke resentment.
There are only two reasons why I came to see Ling Yi today.
One reason was simply to meet Ling Yi and make an acquaintance.
Another reason was to test Ling Yi's attitude.
Perhaps, in many people's eyes, Ling Yi, an uncontrollable and powerful being, being left in the Great Tang is a ticking time bomb.
But Li Shimin knew very well that having such a powerful figure in the Great Tang Great Tang only bring benefits, not harm.
Li Shimin was also well aware that if Ling Yi truly intended to seize the dragon, ordinary people like them would be no match for him.
Especially after today's probing, although the conversation wasn't entirely pleasant, both sides have made their attitudes clear, and that's enough.
Li Shimin skillfully changed the subject, and Cheng Yaojin and the others were also shrewd, so the slightly awkward atmosphere quickly returned to normal.
After a round of toasts and conversation, everyone went their separate ways.
"This is so damn embarrassing!"
One was exaggerating, the other was praising; they clearly knew each other's identities, yet they insisted on testing each other and doing all sorts of pointless things.
Okay, if you guys like playing this game, then keep going. Let's see how long these guys can keep up this act.
"Let's build the villa first."
Over the next month, the villa gradually took shape.
The villa has four floors.
Although, it was ultimately not quite the villa I had imagined.
For example, the exterior walls are gray cement walls, and the glass in the doors and windows is not transparent enough.
Although it looks quite large, it feels like living in a bare-bones apartment.
But Ling Yi couldn't do anything about it; this was the Limit he could currently achieve.
How are ceramic tiles made again?