Chapter 287: Death without surprising words
Zhao Yushu, no, Bai Jintang became famous with one battle, one fight, one glass of wine, he fought to show the demeanor of a Tang Dynasty man and drank to show the elegance of a Chang'an scholar.
Even though he is from Dongdu.
Zhao Yushu's goal was to find an opportunity to remove the thorn of Siyue Pavilion. However, the current plan was only half successful. The most important chess piece of Siyue Pavilion and the Liao Kingdom would no longer be able to trust each other, and even rifts and suspicions would arise.
They don't have enough manpower and energy to do anything in a short period of time.
However, the fact that the Hu princess was thrown out was itself suspected of attracting attention. Their original plan should have been to use this clue to hook the spies in Chang'an and prevent them from suspecting Li Jian. Now they really lost both the wife and the army.
Zhao Yushu was in a good mood and gladly accepted the invitation from Master Xue. However, he did not go for a drink but to sit at Xue's house.
Zheng Pan followed all the way and felt extremely uncomfortable.
One reason why Zhao Yushu was chosen as the prince's vanguard was that he was stupid, and another more important reason was that he had no backing. This way, when the prince ascended the throne in the future, he could throw him to the loser to vent his anger, thus highlighting the king's care for his old ministers.
And Zhao Yushu's series of moves made his reputation even more famous than his own. If he were allowed to enter the Xue Mansion and was appreciated by General Xue, he would not be without a backer.
"Well, Brother Bai, I think this is not appropriate."
Zhao Yushu stopped and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's not appropriate to go to Xue's house now."
Before Zhao Yushu could react, Young Master Xue jumped up and said, "What's the matter, Old Zheng? There are no wolves or tigers in my family. I just want my father to know that there are heroes among my friends. How can this be inappropriate?"
Zheng Pan forcibly pried open the hand that Master Xue had on his neck. "It's already the afternoon. How can you come to visit someone in the afternoon? Besides, Master Chen is hosting a banquet tonight. What if Uncle and Brother Bai have a good chat and want to invite Brother Bai to dinner? How can you ask Brother Bai to refuse?"
Young Master Xue was suddenly speechless.
Zheng Pan won a victory and hurriedly said, "When I am done with this period and Brother Bai is well-known in Chang'an, I will send a visiting card and select some items that the old general likes. I will pay a formal visit to him. Wouldn't it make Brother Xue look good?"
Young Master Xue was convinced and nodded, then he rolled his eyes and said, "Old Zheng, take me with you to the banquet tonight."
Zheng Pan was overwhelmed, but the Xue family was neutral and Young Master Xue was notoriously unruly, so it didn't seem to matter if he was brought along, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
The three of them arrived at Qiyun Tower early.
Although it was Mr. Chen who hosted the banquet, the host should have arrived first to wait for the guests, but the three of them were juniors and there was no reason to make the elders wait.
It was still early, so the three of them, led by the servant, found a place to sit. Mr. Chen was quite wealthy, so he had booked an entire floor of the hall.
More people arrived one after another. Young Master Xue did not have much contact with the literary circle, so Zheng Pan was responsible for the main reception.
Just as Zheng Pan stood up to greet an elder, Young Master Xue raised his glass and clinked it with Zhao Yushu with a smile: "My grandfather and my father both said that you should stay out of the royal family's affairs."
After saying this, he drank it all in one gulp, as if the words he had just said had never been said at all.
Zhao Yushu was slightly stunned, and also drank a full cup: "Young Master Xue is a good friend."
The two smiled at each other knowingly and continued chatting.
In a world where monks exist, how could there be a true hereditary playboy?
The younger generations have basically arrived, and Mr. Chen has also appeared early. The remaining few are retired officials like him, so it is not appropriate to let the guests wait for him.
Mr. Chen was a little surprised to see Young Master Xue. Zheng Pan hurriedly explained a few words. Mr. Chen looked at Zhao Yushu with even more surprise. Then he whispered something to Zheng Pan, then smiled at Zhao Yushu and Young Master Xue and walked away.
It seems that Lao Chen needs to seriously discuss with Zheng Pan how to completely control this outsider with a very unconventional style of behavior.
Not long after, everyone arrived. As the host, Mr. Chen said a few polite opening remarks, and then everyone started chatting and eating. Zhao Yushu also took the time to eat a few more bites of the delicious food. After all, it wouldn't be long before Mr. Chen would have to get down to business.
As expected, according to convention, an old man sighed again and put down his chopsticks, and then several people hurriedly asked why he sighed. The old man had a sad face and said that the red lotus was rampant, the late emperor died in his prime, and the prince should have successfully inherited the throne to bring peace to the world, but a group of scoundrels jumped out to cause trouble at this critical moment, and even made trouble during the ancestor worship. It really shows that the world is going downhill and people's hearts are no longer as they used to be.
After the elders finished talking to each other, Zheng Pan, the little agent, immediately turned the conversation to himself and asked him what he thought of this shameless behavior.
You little cuties, you were really born in the wrong era. Look at that old man, he's even crying. With such acting skills, he would have won many Oscars in his previous life. He must be a national treasure actor.
Zhao Yushu hurriedly swallowed the meat in his mouth, wiped the oil stains from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand, and stood up with a dry cough: "The crown prince's ascension to the throne is reasonable and legal. Forgive my short-sightedness, I really can't think of any reason these villains can come up with to interfere."
The old man who brought up the topic sighed again: "You youngsters, you only know how to read books, how can you know that people are treacherous? I heard that they want to use the salt tax in the southeast as an excuse!"
If I were in your place, I would also bring up the salt tax. The prince went to the south of the Yangtze River with great pride, but he came back after being slapped in the face by his own father, who almost disowned him. Not to mention the salt tax, he didn't even bring back a single hair. The only thing he gained was forcing Zhao Yushu to Chang'an, and then his father set up a trick on the academy.
"I feel that the Crown Prince's trip to the southeast is not only faultless, but also a great achievement!"
When these words were spoken, even the old men felt their faces flushed. How could this young man be even more shameless than themselves?
"Hey, this, Jintang, don't talk nonsense." Mr. Chen wiped his sweat. Was this young man he hired a little too stupid?
"Gentlemen, listen to me. Think about it. Before the Crown Prince went to the southeast, who could have imagined that they were so ambitious and had set up such a vicious plan so early? If they had not intended to rebel, why would they do this?"
The old man opened his mouth and said, "But, having said that, where does this skill come from?"
"You are all masters, and you must know that on the battlefield, the greatest achievement is to keep the enemy out of the country. Among doctors, the best is to cure diseases before they get sick. Think about it, if the prince had not gone to the south of the Yangtze River, forcing them to expose their plans in advance, if they had waited until the world was corrupt, with internal and external troubles, and then suddenly erupted, wouldn't the world be in chaos! In this way, the prince entered the game, regarded personal honor and disgrace as dirt, and devoted himself to the country. Isn't this a great achievement!"
Zhao Yushu felt like a hero, and that a spotlight should be shining on his head at this moment. He almost boiled over with all his extremely nonsense words.
What’s outrageous is that a group of people present actually believed it.
There was thunderous applause. Several old men looked at each other. There was a hint of sparkle in their eyes despite their surprise. The corners of their mouths could not be suppressed. Old Chen stroked his beard and smiled so hard that he could not open his eyes. This man was recruited at the right time.