Chapter 131: Delicious Food and Drinking
Shen Qian was half asleep and half awake when he felt a strange pain in his body. He woke up with a scream. He didn't know when the light in the room was on. In front of him was an enlarged face, which was so familiar that it couldn't be more familiar. It was hitting his stomach meticulously.
“ Ahhh…Achen…”
The servants outside were alarmed, and soon someone knocked on the door: "My Lord!"
Shen Qian reacted quickly at this moment: "Everyone, please leave. I'm having a nightmare."
He rubbed his stomach and climbed up, still a little incredulous: "Achen, aren't you... already dead?" He glanced behind him vaguely. He heard that ghosts have no shadows, but the person in front of him had a shadow.
"Achen, you are really alive?!" Shen Qian was happy again, not caring that he was woken up from his sleep, and rushed over to hang on Fu Chen, even ignoring his disgusted eyes: "Achen, how did you escape from that vicious girl? It must have been difficult, right?"
Fu Chen pulled the claws off his shoulders and looked at him coldly: "Is the vicious girl you are talking about Yingying?"
Unfortunately, Lord Shen hadn't heard the dissatisfaction in Fa Xiao's tone, and he even said as if to take credit: "I was blind before and misjudged her. I didn't expect this girl to be so ambitious that she would step on you to climb up. You don't know that she is very powerful now, in charge of the Forbidden Cavalry Department, and is highly valued by His Majesty. Tsk tsk, even Jing Liulang is trying to get close to her like a dog..." He became more and more angry as he spoke: "It's a pity that you liked her before..."
Fu Chen: “Haha.”
Shen Qian sensed something ominous in his laughter: "Achen, what do you mean by this?"
Fu Chen: "It's not you who is blind, it's Yingying."
"What's the meaning?"
"What it means is that you are blind, have no brains, and have no brains." He rushed here day and night, was it just to see Lord Shen mock his beloved girl?
Not satisfied after scolding him, he kicked him again.
Shen Qian: “…” Inexplicably, he felt like he had done something wrong.
He fought back unwillingly: "Haha, you are not blind, but I think Jingfeng has a good eye. Who knows, one day... Hey, don't do anything Can't I just stop talking?"
Lord Shen felt very depressed.
It's all in vain.
※※※
Jing Feng really did what he said and won the position of presiding judge of Tang Song's case.
For this reason, after leaving the court, Shangshu Zhang made a special effort to show his goodwill to Jing Huai.
Jing Huai was a seasoned man, and he greeted Shangshu Zhang based on the principle of not offending anyone. When he heard him mention the murder of his nephew, he called Jing Feng over and told him, "Mr. Zhang's nephew was murdered, you must seek justice for the victim."
Jing Feng didn't give his father any face at all: "Father, Mr. Zhang's case is still in the trial stage. Please forgive me for not being biased towards either side. If the Dali Temple uses connections to seek favors, what is the use of the law?"
Jing Huai couldn't hold back his expression and flew into a rage: "Rebellious son, is there anything suspicious about this matter? Master Zhang is a human life, and it is only natural that a life should be paid for a life. What is there to delay?"
Zhang Wenhua has been favored by the emperor for more than a year. Although he has not been appointed as prime minister, it is rumored that he will be appointed as prime minister soon. As to whether he will replace Weng Xianhe or Jing Huai, there are different opinions and no consensus.
Weng Xianhe is ambitious and has a somewhat fierce and serious personality. Ever since Zhang Wenhua introduced Taoist Xuanzhen to the Emperor of Southern Qi, causing the fatal emperor to become addicted to Qingxiu Dan, he initially impeached Zhang Wenhua, but the Emperor of Southern Qi remained unmoved and instead encouraged Zhang Wenhua's arrogance. He could not bear this and recently he has cursed Zhang Wenhua as a "flatterer" in many public occasions, and the two have completely fallen out.
Jing Huai, however, was a man who tried to smooth things over. He maintained superficial friendship with Zhang Wenhua. After leaving court, he openly scolded his own son for the death of Zhang Shangshu's nephew, which made all the court officials look at him with suspicion and consider the possibility of Zhang Wenhua taking the position.
Jing Feng, however, seemed to not care about his father's career crisis, nor did he intend to cling to Zhang Wenhua. Instead, he said, "The cause of Mr. Zhang's death has not yet been determined, so why should father be so excited? The murderer cannot escape, but innocent people cannot be wrongly accused!"
The court had just been dismissed and the ministers were leaving the palace in twos and threes. They encountered Jing Huai and his son arguing, especially since it was about the cause of death of Zhang Wenhua's nephew. Everyone passed by them while eavesdropping with their ears perked up - hey, it turned out that Jing Feng and his father were on completely different paths.
Father and son are in the same court, but their political views are different...it's going to be a good show to watch.
Zhang Wenhua said quietly, "I heard that Master Xiao Jing has been going to the Tang Mansion quite frequently recently?"
Jing Feng: "What does Master Zhang mean?"
Zhang Wenhua: "Since the Dali Temple is a place where the law is taught, I hope that Master Xiaojing will not be partial to you out of personal likes and dislikes."
He flicked his sleeves and strode away. Jing Huai quickly chased after him: "Master Zhang, wait for me. I will go back and deal with this rebellious son. Don't be angry. He has had a weird ..."
The two walked farther and farther away. Jing Feng turned around and ran into Tang Ying, who was leaving the palace after finishing her shift with a complicated expression.
"Lord Xiao Jing, please don't offend Minister Zhang in person in the future, so as not to bring trouble upon yourself." What she didn't say was that it was hard to guard against offending a villain like Zhang Wenhua who climbed up the social ladder by flattering others, so it was better to maintain superficial politeness and avoid a falling out.
Jing Feng seemed quite surprised: "Master Tang, are you concerned about me?"
Tang Ying: “…” Brain stuff is a disease and needs to be treated.
The two separated at the palace gate. Jingfeng went to the Dali Temple to try a case. Tang Ying had not slept all night and was ready to go home to catch up on some sleep. She rode her horse slowly home. She always felt someone peeping at her from behind, so she asked the two guards who followed her, "Did you feel anyone?"
The two guards shook their heads together, and one of them even laughed and said, "Are you too sleepy, sir, and have hallucinations?"
After returning home, the person sent by Princess Qing was already waiting in the flower hall, bringing a letter from Princess Qing and some local specialties of Qingzhou.
Tang Ying asked the palace steward: "Uncle Yang, have all the gifts from your palace been delivered to the East Palace?"
Manager Yang was in his forties, strong and capable. He was an old servant of the Yang Mansion. He was married to Princess Qing and ran errands for her. Tang Ying had seen him in the Yang Mansion before, and spoke with a sense of intimacy: "The prince has instructed us to send him over as soon as we arrived in Beijing and packed up. We also received the reward from the Crown Prince before leaving."
Tang Ying tore open Yang Huniu's letter and scanned it quickly. She didn't see any hints in the letter, so she asked tentatively, "Did Princess Qing send me a message?"
Manager Yang smiled and said, "The princess said that everything has been written in the letter. She didn't have any special instructions, just asked me to look at the girl a few more times to see if she is in good spirits so that she can give her a reply." He watched Yang Yinjun and Tang Ying grow up, and his eyes were unconsciously filled with kindness .
Tang Ying said helplessly, "Your princess has grown up a lot since she became a mother." She hesitated and asked, "Who are the people who came with you to Beijing to give gifts this time?"
Manager Yang seemed to be unaware of the person she was asking about, and answered honestly, "They are all good fighters in the camp. I was just worried that the way here was not safe. If we run into a petty thief on the way, it would be a waste of time to deliver the gift to the East Palace."
Tang Ying questioned him repeatedly, and seeing that Manager Yang showed no strange expression, she laughed at herself for being suspicious and asked the servants to take him to dinner.
Zhang Qing couldn't help but wonder when he saw this: "But is there something wrong with the people in Prince Qing's Mansion?" Anyone who is worthy of the head mansion wasting his sleep time to interrogate must have doubts.
"No." Tang Ying still looked like she was troubled.
※※※
After some time, the Tang Song case came to a conclusion.
Zhang Wenhua's nephew acted wildly. Although he had a dispute with Tang Song on that day, there was no physical conflict. The people who were traveling with his nephew on that day, as well as his long-time servants and others, were arrested and interrogated. It turned out that Zhang Yu had suffered from a strange disease a few years ago. He was often frightened and spitting. He sought medical treatment everywhere but to no avail. So he went to Taoist Xuanzhen for treatment. After taking large doses of gold and stone medicine, his symptoms became lighter and gradually he recovered. However, Zhang Yu became addicted to taking gold and stone medicine from then on.
That day, he swallowed a large amount of gold and stone medicine outside, and his whole body was hot and excited. He flirted with the singing girl in the restaurant. After arguing with Tang Song, his face was red and his steps were light. It seemed that he wanted to rush over to hit Tang Song, but unfortunately he fell at Tang Song's feet, twitched a few times and never woke up again. Everyone in the restaurant saw it.
"Kyoto is not as good as Bingzhou. Young Master Tang should be more cautious in the future so as not to cause trouble for Manager Tang. It's not easy for her either." After Jing Feng investigated thoroughly, he declared Tang Song not guilty and released him on the spot.
Tang Song thanked him and came out of the Dali Temple, where he saw Tang Feng and his servants waiting for him. He had stayed in the dark cell for a few days, and when he came out and saw the sun, he found it quite dazzling. He raised his hands to block the sunlight and went to meet it, but was scolded by Tang Feng.
"...If it weren't for my little cousin finding someone, you would still be in the cell. If you cause trouble again, go back to Bingzhou quickly to avoid getting my little cousin into trouble."
Tang Song kept bowing: "It's all my fault. I won't cause trouble next time. Please don't tell my mother about this, otherwise she will keep me at home to study again." He shuddered at the thought - losing his freedom and going to jail, plus having a crying old mother, was too terrible.
Tang Feng: "Then you have to listen to me from now on."
"Listen! Listen!" Tang Song assured again and again.
The two brothers specially went to Tang's house with generous gifts to express their gratitude, but they came back empty-handed. They heard that the Queen Mother had held a palace banquet, so Tang Ying went to the palace to attend the banquet.
The two returned disappointed.
※※※
After the Queen lost her son, she was in low spirits for a long time. Fortunately, the Crown Prince was intelligent and studious, and he became the heir to the throne. He often brought his wife to pay his respects to her, which gradually eased her pain of losing her son.
Ever since the Crown Prince had a son, the position of the heir apparent was secure. The Emperor of Southern Qi was now very indifferent to women and seldom visited the Imperial Noble Consort. Instead, she was in high spirits and was determined to find a consort for the Thirteenth Princess.
However, when choosing a prince consort for the princess, it is not a good idea to only summon unmarried men into the palace and have them line up for the Thirteenth Princess to see. Of course, a group of unmarried daughters of officials must also be invited to accompany her, and Tang Ying is an exception among them.
In terms of age, Tang Ying is not young, and in terms of status, she is qualified. She is a princess personally conferred by His Majesty. The difference is that the other daughters of officials who attended the banquet were all raised in the boudoir, and she was the only one who had an official position, and a not low one.
At that time, she mentioned that she wanted to choose a consort for the Thirteenth Princess, and the Crown Prince also said, "Master Tang is not young anymore, is he?"
Since Tang Ying took charge of the Imperial Cavalry Department, she has not been close to the Second Prince and the Wan family. The Crown Prince even thinks that she is deliberately distancing herself from them. On the contrary, she is very close to the Empress's family and is dedicated to the affairs of the Eastern Palace. He cannot help but sigh at the loyalty of the Tang family and wants to win her over to be loyal to him. If he can solve her lifelong affair, it will be a gift from him as the master.
The Queen smiled and ordered her personal servant, "Remember to invite Tang, too. She was once a young lady, but unfortunately she is busy with official duties all day long. It seems that her life is going to be delayed. The Crown Prince is really thoughtful."
When the day of the palace banquet arrived, many daughters of officials carefully dressed up before entering the palace. However, after they sat down, they discovered that among the many beautiful young girls, only Princess Changning was wearing men's clothes and no makeup.
The Queen was sitting in the first seat. She was amused when she saw him. She pointed at Tang Ying and said with a smile, "Where did this handsome boy come from? Even if men and women are sitting at the same table, you should sit opposite them, right?"
The seating order had already been arranged, with men on the left and women on the right, according to family background and the official position of their father. The hall was filled with young unmarried men and women, who took the opportunity to look at each other.
The Thirteenth and Twelfth Princesses sat at the top of the female seats. Tang Ying was not comparable to the other ladies in the boudoir in terms of status or official position, so she was led by the palace servants to sit in the third seat. Shen Qian sat in the first seat for the male guests, followed by Jing Feng, and then the unmarried young man in the capital.
Tang Ying stood up and replied with a smile: "I heard that the seats opposite are all filled with aged tribute wine, and the seats for the ladies are all filled with sweet fruit wine. I like fruit wine the most, so I sat here shamelessly." This made the Queen laugh.
"I thought you were very capable, but it turns out you are also a heavy drinker?"
This one sentence broke the awkwardness at the table.
Jing Feng also joined in the fun: "Your Majesty, please save some face for us male guests. If Manager Tang comes to sit here, I'm afraid we will be outshined by her."
The queen couldn't help laughing: "That makes sense."
Shen Qian snorted quietly - you indecisive girl, you don't know that Achen risked his life to sneak into the capital for you, and you even dared to come to the Queen's blind date banquet and flirt with Jing Liulang.
He has many concubines in his family, but he has never officially married, so he is still an unmarried man.
The palace banquet officially began, and people kept showing off their talents. There were men and women at the banquet who wrote poems and painted, some played the piano and danced, some practiced archery and threw pots... It was quite lively, but Tang Ying was the only one who, as she said, kept drinking alone.
The queen's eyes swept across the faces of the young men in the palace. The title of Marquis Weibei sounded good but he was too romantic. It was said that he had always been involved with the Ninth Prince Consort. Even though the Thirteenth Princess was not her biological daughter, she did not want to ruin her daughter's lifelong happiness, so she did not consider him.
Jingfeng is young and capable, with a good family background and good looks, and a bright future. However, during the banquet, his eyes kept glancing towards the female guests' seats, and that direction seemed to be... Princess Changning Tang Ying?
The Queen raised her eyebrows - the Prime Minister's youngest son fell in love with Princess Changning. The two were of similar age and both had steady personalities, so they looked like a good match. What a pity, otherwise he could have been the Thirteenth Princess's consort.
