Chapter 161 Imperial Banquet

Listening to this, Cao Youning's expression changed suddenly.

Moving a table home, although it will look a bit weird no matter how you pack it and send it to the Grand Secretary's Mansion, it is a unique thing in the world, but it can be used as a rubbing... As long as there is ink and paper, you can use it. Hundreds and thousands of them come. If you really take Zhang TuoBen back, how should you explain to your brother-in-law?

He looked at the slightly dark face of the uninvited little maid and said with a dark face: "Who are you?"

Miss Shuizhuer glanced at him and knew what he wanted to do. She smiled helplessly and introduced: "The table you are going to buy is written by that... Master Yan Se, but it is Ning Que's original work. This one The girl is Ning Que's personal maid. To be honest, I'm afraid she can be most of Ning Que's home. If you really want to take something to go home, it's better to be polite."

Cao Youning was shocked when he heard this, quickly became good and bowed to Sangsang politely, and sincerely expressed his intention: "Miss, although rubbing will naturally be precious in the future, what I want to buy is unique. thing."

Sangsang thought that this was the first guest after the young master became famous, and he always had some preferential treatment. After thinking for a while, he calmly replied: "I will add a print to you. If it doesn't work, my young master asked Master Yan Se to sign this rubbing personally. ."

After saying this, she took out a seal from her arms for a long time.

Cao Youning looked at the seal in her hand with his eyes lit up and asked, "Is this... Ning's private seal?"

Sang Sang was very unaccustomed to the young master being called Ning Jia. He always felt that this was too similar to the names of Jian Jia and frowned slightly.

Cao Youning was silent for a moment and put forward his own conditions: "Can you guarantee that you will only print my rubbings?"

Sangsang nodded.

Cao Youning raised his head, looked into her eyes, and said, "Please offer."

Sangsang said, "Three hundred taels."

...

...

Cao Youning exchanged three silver notes for a piece of paper and a bright red seal, and left the courtyard with some joy and disappointment. Shui Zhuer and Sangsang watched his back disappear at the door before retracting their gaze and looking at each other.

Xiaocao smiled and hugged Shui Zhuer's plump arm, shaking it while saying, "Sister Shui Zhuer, just apply some ink and use a cotton cloth to hammer it twice, and you can exchange it for three hundred taels of silver notes. You're so big now. It's wealthy."

Shui Zhuer responded with a smile: "It's the first one, and it's worth the price if Ning Que's private print is added."

"But you can print it casually." Xiaocao calculated with his fingers: "This deal is much more cost-effective than dancing and singing."

Shui Zhuer smiled, and didn't answer anything else. She picked up the teacup on the table and sipped it gently, then continued to look at Sangsang.

During this period, Sangsang did nothing, just looked at Shuizhuer quietly.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became a little weird.

Shui Zhuer slowly put down the teacup, looked up at Sangsang and said with a smile, "Qi San, you are seven and I are three."

Sangsang rushed to Hongxiuzhao today because Ning Que specifically told her to find the chicken soup post, but he didn't expect that she was still a lot late after all, not to mention that the original post had been led by Master Yan Se. Let's go, even the handwriting left on this table has begun to be regarded as a way to make money by Shuizhuer.

Before, she had been quietly watching Miss Shuizhuer, just to see how the other party planned to deal with this matter. At this time, listening to the words "You, I, I, I," Sangsang felt very satisfied and nodded to the other party with a smile.

Shui Zhuer raised her sleeves and covered her lips and smiled brightly, saying softly: "With an old table, I can easily surpass Lu Xue. When did you bring Ning Que here? I was punished by everyone in Jian. Make him happy."

Sangsang smiled, but did not take on the topic, and walked to the table and looked over curiously.

After entering the yard, she just took a rough look. It was the first time she saw the original text of the chicken soup post. This is what she wrote when the young master was attracted by the talisman master and was already famous. .

"Mr. Sangsang, I'm drunk today and won't come back to sleep. Remember to drink the leftover chicken soup on the pot."

Looking at the two words in front of the scribbled handwriting on the desktop, the name that belonged to him, Sangsang was silent for a long time, and then laughed, his slightly dark cheeks full of pride and happiness.

After Sangsang left the courtyard with Xiaocao, Shuizhuer's close maid walked in, her eyes rolled, and she whispered: "Girl, although the notes were indeed written by Ning Que, the table is ours. Yes, and Master Yan Se was also in a good mood when you stay overnight. It should be a bonus for him, but the ratio of Qi San is really a disadvantage."

Shui Zhuer smiled, gently poked the forehead of the loyal maid, and said, "You, it's always so shallow. Not to mention that the two first two are Sangsang's name, just If I take the big head, and if any senior official in the court wants to ask for it in the future, how should I refuse? Now that the big head has returned to Ning Que's master and servant, I am just a steward. If anyone really dares to come If you force this small table, you won't come to me. They will first pass Ning Que's threshold."

The maid was slightly stunned and understood what the girl said, bit her lower lip gently, and said, "But girl... aren't you very good relationship with Master Ning Que? In private, she occasionally gets to know her siblings, so she makes him like this. Is it a bit... "

Looking at the maid who wanted to speak but stopped, Shui Zhuer smiled and said angrily, "I think I am not kind to do things in a good way, girl? I really don't know if you are my maid or Ning Que's maid. He hasn't been here for several months. , he is still thinking of him like this. You don't have to worry about these things. Ning Que is now appreciated by His Majesty and has become the descendant of the Divine Talisman. Not to mention that he can bully people in Chang'an City, but at least no one dares to do so. Bullying him."

...

...

On the table next to the window of the second floor of Hongxiuzhao, there are a few refreshing snacks and two pots of fruit wine. A girl sat by the window, looking at Sangsang who was sent out of the building by Xiaocao, and smiled at the middle-aged guest beside her and said, "Did you see that little girl? That's Master Ning Que's little maid, our building The girls inside all thought that she would definitely be the one in Ning Que's room in the future. If she hadn't had such an identity, how could everyone's personal maid be so close to her?"

The middle-aged guest had slightly white eyebrows and his skin color was as iron as iron, which looked quite vicissitudes. He followed the girl's guide and looked out the window. After a moment of silence, he asked curiously: "This young man named Ning Que is really moving to Chang'an for a day, but he just doesn't understand why you all called him Master Ning Que. It's so easy? He was not as famous as he is today a few days ago."

The girl covered her sleeves and smiled and explained softly: "Mr. Ning Que is not an ordinary person... Although the girls in the building didn't know anything unusual about him before, she could make Miss Shui Zhuer feel sorry for her younger brother. The person who calls her younger brother, who can make Miss Lu Xue take a vacation and have to come to dance a song of Hu Xuan, must always be a bit different from others."

The middle-aged guest raised his eyebrows slightly and said in surprise: "Why is this?"

The girl thought for a while and found that the girls in the building really like Ning Que very much, but it would be very difficult to summarize what Ning Que deserves to like, so she had to shake her head and smile and said, "From him first, first." The next time I entered the building, everyone in Jian looked at him differently. Maybe Shui Zhuer knew some other benefits? But just based on everyone's attitude, it is worthy of our respectful call of him as a young master."

The middle-aged guest smiled and stopped talking about this. He drank some fruit wine with the girl and talked some gossip, then said goodbye.

After taking the Hongxiu stroke, the middle-aged man got into a carriage and instructed the coachman to walk casually in Chang'an City, took a few turns, and finally stopped somewhere in the north city. After he got off the car, he passed through two alleys and came to the back of a complex surrounded by green trees and a serious atmosphere. He knocked on the back door and walked in.

In the study room behind Chang'an Mansion.

Shangguan Yangyu looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and asked expressionlessly: "It took three months to narrow the suspect to seven people. Ning Que ranked last among these seven names. Why are you? Will you doubt him? But what evidence is there?"

The middle-aged man's surname is Tie Mingying, and he is the head of the criminal troupe of Chang'an Prefecture. He has been in charge of the Ministry of Justice for more than ten years and is very experienced in investigating the case. At this time, hesitated for a moment and said after listening to his boss' question. : "When Zhang Yiqi died, Ning Que was in the red sleeves."

Shangguan Yangyu's face suddenly turned cold and scolded: "At that time, there were hundreds of people in Hongxiuzhao. Is it all suspicious?"

Tieying lowered her head and clasped her fists, and said in a deep voice: "But I feel that this person has a problem."

Shangguan Yangyu frowned slightly and said unhappily: "How can you act based on your feelings when the investigation is done?"

"Zhang Yiqi died outside the Hongxiuzhao side door. He was not dealt with as a murder case at that time, so no inspection was conducted on the spot. The people in the building were not detained for interrogation. It was really difficult to find evidence."

Tieying continued to say quickly: "But if you believe my intuition about the case, please let me continue to investigate. My subordinates have been dealing with murder cases all their lives. Even if they smell it from their nose, they can smell some problems."

Shangguan Yangyu seemed very interested and asked, "What questions did you smell?"

"Ning Que was not well-off before, and he could even be said to be a little short of money. How could such a boy have fun with Hongxiuzhao? Why do everyone appreciate him? Why do girls like him? What exactly does he want to do when he enters Hongxiuzhao? I think The problem is that there should not be any relationship between him and Hongxiuzhao, but it just happened to be related."

Tieying looked at the prefect's disapproval of the look, and his expression became serious, and began to state another thing he had investigated: "Just shortly after the death of the censor Zhang Yiqi, Huiyuantong Money House exchanged a few silver notes, which was huge and sufficient. Two thousand taels of silver."

"The person who exchanged the votes signed the name Sangsang, who was Ning Que's little maid. He was not famous at that time and his books were sold at a very low price. How could he have so much money? Who gave him these money? What do people want him to do if they give him so much money?"

Listening to this information, Shangguan Yangyu frowned tightly, and after a long silence, he said, "Don't move anything else first, check the silver bill first. If there is indeed a problem, you can continue to check it."

...

...

The dusk shines into Chang'an Palace.

Standing under the green trees in the courtyard, Lord Shangguan Yangyu, who was supposed to be blushed by the sunset, had a face full of blue color that was inconsistent with the surrounding environment. He looked at the enemy in front of him like he was watching his father-killing enemy. Tieying, a cold voice oozed out from the cracks of her teeth, making her look a little sharper: "The silver notes were deposited by Yulong Gang into Huiyuantong, that is to say, the two thousand taels of silver were given to Ning Que by Chao Xiaoshu. As for why, if you haven't forgotten the corpses all over the streets that fell next to Chunfeng Pavilion one night, you might be able to guess a little bit."

"I will not forget that night." Shangguan Yangyu said coldly: "Because it was because of that night that countless big bosses fell in the court that I could take the position of Chang'an Prefecture. As for Chao Xiaoshu's identity, I I don't think I need to remind you again. Ning Que took two thousand taels of silver, which is equivalent to working for the palace. Could it be that you still have to keep investigating it?"

Tieying forced himself to suppress the shock in his heart, clasped his fists and said, "Sir, there are many doubts in this matter. There is indeed a masked man next to Xiaoshu that night in Chunfeng Pavilion, but I heard that he was a young master from Yuelun Country. Whether those two thousand taels of silver notes are the matter of paying the Chunfeng Pavilion or another source, they should be carefully checked."

Shangguan Yangyu roared angrily and said, "How else do you need to check? Do you know who Ning Que is? Even if you didn't know before, who else wouldn't know the name in Chang'an City after today? Evidence! If you have Evidence, I will share the worries of Your Majesty and do things for the people of the court. Even if you lose the black gauze on your head, you will still check it. But if you have no evidence, you will only have that damn intuition and smell like a rotten dog. This person, don't blame me for stripping down your official uniform first!"

Tieying lowered her head and remained silent because of the silence of the adults.

Shangguan Yangyu calmed down a little, looked at him and asked lightly: "Have you notified the military headquarters about this matter?"

Tieying raised his head and argued nervously: "Sir, since he ordered this matter to be investigated secretly, of course, his subordinates dare not disclose it. I can guarantee that except for his subordinates, there is absolutely no third person who knows that Chang'an Mansion once suspected Ning. lack."

"That's good." Shangguan Yangyu gently grabbed the sparse beard under his jaw and said, "Erase Ning Que's name and check the other six people first."

Tieying took the order and left. Shangguan Yangyu returned to the back house. After dinner, he began to sit in front of the oil lamp in a daze. Suddenly, he frowned, stared at the oil lamp in front of the bookshelf, and asked unhappily: "Why did you light three more! Hurry up and destroy it. "

The wife of the prefect was sitting on the other end of the study and biting the ropes and putting shoes on her shoes. Suddenly, she heard her master scolding her. She raised her head in confusion and asked, "Master, you are also a senior official in the court now. Why are you still like this? Is it because of the business today? What's wrong? "

Shangguan Yangyu is not good-looking, and can even be said to be a little ugly, and his temperament is extremely cunning, insidious and despicable, but it is quite good at family affairs. He married a wife who was also not good-looking at her. After becoming famous, he treated her wife as love as yesterday. He never thought of taking a concubine. He got along well and intimately, and even did not hide many secret matters from the other party.

After Mrs. Yu learned about what she heard during the day, Shangguan Yangyu frowned and said to himself: "I was in Chang'an Mansion, and my first action was to dig Tieying from the Ministry of Justice. Come here, because I know that this person is experienced and even as he said, he has a natural intuition about the clues of murder. If... Ning Que is really related to Zhang Yiqi's death, I really don't know how to deal with this matter."

Mrs. Shangguan frowned slightly, put down the needlework in her hand, poured a cup of hot tea for the master, and said whispering: "Since the master is in charge of the security of Chang'an City and receives the salary of the court, the case that should be investigated must be investigated. "

"But there is no evidence, and..."

Shangguan Yangyu looked at his wife and sighed and said sadly: "I really don't dare to investigate. Your Majesty likes him. I heard that he has entered the second floor of the academy and has become the successor of the divine talisman master, and there is no one in the palace. How dare I check such a person?"

Mrs. Shangguan was stunned and confused and explained: "If such a person is, how could he be involved in the murder case?"

Shangguan Yangyu listened to this, and two lights suddenly flashed in his ugly triangle eyes. He patted the desk and said in a deep voice: "What the lady said is reasonable. How could such a person do such a thing?"

"Your Majesty can't listen to the nonsense of us women."

Mrs. Shangguan was frightened by his reaction and quickly dissuaded: "What if it's him?"

Shangguan Yangyu looked at the hot tea in front of him, gritted his teeth and said, "No, it must be not, even if it is... not."

...

...

Golden silk seaweed, Sixi small box, marinated fragrant roe, Huadiao Zuizhao, medicinal and clear soup chicken... Listening to the name of the dish reported by the eunuch, looking at the dishes on the plate that were extremely exquisitely placed, Ning Que couldn't help but look up at the carved beams and pillars in the hall. His eyes were shaken by the bright palace lanterns raised by the copper pillars in front of him, and then he realized where he was and what he was doing.

In the imperial study room, His Majesty the Emperor asked him for a letter to appreciate it, but he was blocked by his words to sell it for money. Ning Que thought this would inevitably make the emperor angry and unlucky. However, he did not expect that even though the emperor was angry, he did not drive him out of the palace. Instead, he took him away from the imperial study room, walked around the garden for several turns, and came to a quiet palace, facing the rich dishes.

What kind of treatment would be like to stay in the palace and have dinner with the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty? The gentle and quiet queen even served a bowl of soup for herself. What kind of treatment would she be? Even Ning Que, who was accustomed to life and death and might not blink before the collapse of Minshan Mountain, finally couldn't help but become excited and nervous.

The Empress picked up an iced bamboo shoot and put it into His Majesty's lips. She smiled and said, "Since it's a meal, I'll tell you how many times I've seen the flowers bloom on the other side of the sky. Otherwise, this child would have to thank you and be ashamed. Where can I do this? Is there still time for a few bites of food in An'ansheng?"

His Majesty the Emperor was in a good mood. He chewed the bamboo shoots with the tip of the queen's chopsticks, and smiled vaguely, "Then let's have a meal."

As soon as the golden mouth was released, the imperial edict was issued. Ning Que held the golden red paint bowl in his hand and started eating. But at this moment he didn't have time to taste the quality of the food. He kept thinking about everything he saw. Today he finally knew that the relationship between His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress was indeed as close as the rumors, but the opposite side was empty. Whose position is in?

A light sound of the ringing and the faint fragrance came from afar. Li Yu, the fourth princess of the Tang Dynasty, came with a handsome dress, accompanied by the palace maid and nanny. Ning Que was stunned for a moment, his eyes subconsciously fell on her face. He noticed that his usual pretty eyebrows and eyes looked very beautiful today against the backdrop of gorgeous palace makeup and gorgeous skirts, and he couldn't help but look surprised.

Li Yuze, who saw him appear in the hall, was even more surprised. He couldn't help but cover his lips with his hands and asked in surprise: "Why are you here?"

After returning to the palace from the academy, she slept for a whole day to make up for her energy. She was still a little tired at this time. She didn't know the rumored things outside the palace, nor did she know that Ning Que had entered the palace.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at the two of them and asked in confusion: "Little Yuer, do you recognize him?"

Li Yu quickly recovered his calmness and explained with a smile: "Father, when he came back from the grassland last year, he was escorted by Ning Que all the way. He met at that time. Last night, I went to the academy to watch the opening ceremony of the second floor, and he was the one who saw him."

The journey back from the grassland was from the Jinzhang tribe. He passed by Weicheng and killed Beishankou before he arrived in Chang'an City with difficulty. His Majesty the Emperor knew very well about the difficulties his daughter had suffered, but he did not know that during this journey, There is a border army soldier named Ning Que who once saved his daughter's life to this day.

Listening to Li Yu telling about his journey last year in the shortest language, the look of His Majesty the Emperor's eyes at Ning Que was different from before. It was no longer a simple appreciation, but a little more sincere love.

Li Yu asked with a smile, "Why is my father interested in seeing Ning Que today? I think it shouldn't be because the second floor is opened."

"I once mentioned to you that there is an extra wonderful word in the imperial study." His Majesty the Emperor looked at his daughter and smiled happily, "Do you know that the five words "The flowers bloom on the other side of the sky are written by Ning Que. Chaoye They all admire your art of observing people very much, but since you know him, you don't know that he has such skills. It seems that those words can't be done in real life."

"My daughter just doesn't want to have talent, so she searches for materials for her father and the court, and she has no real vision."

Li Yu gently lifted his skirt under the court maid's service and sat down slowly next to the desk. She looked at Ning Que opposite her with a smile and said, "As for Ning Que's writing well, I know, but I don't know that it is so good. But what this guy is best at is to hide it or not Lu, pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, I don't know where I learned such a boring style from."

There is a deep meaning between the language, Ning Que doesn't know how to answer, so he naturally put his head on eating vegetables and pretends not to hear it. Since you want to play a pig, of course you have to play a competent pig. Just listen to the emperor and the queen laughing and watching Li Yu wafting from time to time, you always feel that this imperial banquet does not look solemn as an imperial banquet, and it looks more like An ordinary family's supper? More importantly, although it is impossible for green onions and pancakes to appear above this imperial banquet, these seemingly exquisite dishes are not very delicious even for pigs.

After tying the chopsticks, Ning Que began to miss the leftovers in the old Bizhai in Linshishiqiu, after questioning whether the imperial chef had a fake certificate. I even began to miss the sour chicken soup in the pot.