272, drinking and socializing

272, drinking and socializing

When the sun sets, all the government offices are off duty.

After finishing a day's work, Lu Mingfei walked out of the Hanlin Academy, said goodbye to his colleagues, and got on the carriage that came to pick him up. After getting on the carriage, he said to the horse guard in front of him: "Let's go to Yipinxuan."

"Sir, how do we get to Yipinxuan?" The horse guard grabbed the reins and whipped the horse's butt, then turned around to look at the sir sitting behind him and asked.

"The second prince invited me to dinner there." Lu Mingfei replied.

Guard Ma said "Oh" and drove the cart seriously, thinking in his heart that he would ask his brothers to deliver a letter to their young master.

Lu Mingfei lowered the curtains and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to rest. He was exhausted after yesterday's incident and had to go back to work today. He also had to deal with the Second Prince soon.

Come to think of it, being an official isn't such an easy job after all. He realized that since arriving at the Hanlin Academy, his life had entered a new phase. Lately, he felt unsure of his future path. Should he continue to serve as a Hanlin scholar, or, like Zhang Lingxuan envisioned, apply for a provincial government position?

During the years he stayed in Kyoto, he was bound to be caught up in the struggles among the princes. However, following the emperor was no easy task. One misstep could ruin his future, and possibly even his own life and the lives of his entire clan.

He didn't want to sacrifice the lives of his family and clan members just because he was an official. That would be too unfair to his family and clan members.

After a while, their carriage stopped at the door of Yipinxuan.

"Lord Lu, His Highness is waiting for you upstairs. Let me lead you upstairs."

"Trouble."

When he got out of the carriage, the second prince's men were waiting for him at the door of the restaurant and led him to the private room upstairs.

Entering the box, Lu Mingfei saw the Second Prince sitting there waiting for him. He stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your humble servant greets His Highness."

"Lord Lu, please don't be so polite." The second prince stood up and reached out to hold Lu Mingfei's hand.

Before the Second Prince could touch his hand, Lu Mingfei subconsciously took a half step back, avoiding the Second Prince's hand. Seeing the Second Prince's hand hanging awkwardly in the air, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. Thanks to Your Highness's help last night, I was able to avoid losing my manners in front of His Majesty and everyone else."

"This is the third time you have thanked me." The second prince withdrew his hand, looked at Lu Mingfei and said.

"It's all my fault that I'm so useless. I always need Your Highness to rescue me." Lu Mingfei thanked the Second Prince, but in his heart he was cursing the First Prince who had harmed him.

If the eldest prince hadn't always been against him, he wouldn't have needed others to help him out and rescue him, and he even owed the second prince several favors because of this!

"If you, Lord Lu, are still useless, then what kind of person can be useful?" The Second Prince looked at Lu Mingfei's handsome face, his eyes filled with love and admiration for him. "Lord Lu, don't underestimate yourself. You are very good."

The eighteen-year-old champion was a top scholar, and he had even won the third place. If he hadn't come in second place once, he would have won the sixth place. It could be said that there was no other person like him in the entire Great Yan.

If young talents like this are useless, then only waste like Zhao Qi is useful?

"Master Lu, please take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After the two of them exchanged a few polite words, the second prince asked Lu Mingfei to take a seat, and he himself sat back to the place where he had just stood up.

Apart from the two of them, there was a standing waiter in the box, and no other guests.

The table was filled with fine wine and delicious food. The Second Prince picked up the wine glass in front of him and said, "This first glass is for Lord Lu."

Seeing this, Lu Mingfei also hurriedly picked up the wine glass and bowed his head and said, "Cheers, Your Highness."

The two men clinked their glasses and drank the first cup of wine together. The waiter standing nearby saw that their glasses were empty and came forward to refill them.

This time, the Second Prince did not rush to drink, but instead talked about the policy essay that Lu Mingfei wrote during the palace examination. "I had the honor of reading the policy essay that Lord Lu wrote during the palace examination."

"Lord Lu mentioned in his policy paper that if we want to ensure that the people have enough to eat, we must first select and cultivate higher-yielding grains, and second, diversify the variety of grains. Regarding the former, could you tell me in detail how to cultivate higher-yielding grains?"

It turns out that the second prince invited him out for dinner today because he wanted to talk to him about farming?

Although Lu Mingfei didn't quite believe this possibility, he still responded, "The matter of selecting and breeding grain varieties is a bit complicated, but if Your Highness wants to hear it, I can also talk to Your Highness."

"Okay, Master Lu, you say."

"For example, if a couple is tall and their child is born, will they also be tall?"

"The same principle can be applied to crop cultivation. Take rice for example. If we keep selecting rice plants with tall heights and cultivating the seeds produced, then is it possible that the offspring of rice plants grown will be tall?" Lu Mingfei then shared his knowledge about seed selection and cultivation with the second prince who was interested in farming.

The Second Prince had never worked in the fields or farmed before, but the methods Lu Mingfei explained were so easy to understand that he actually understood them. Whenever he heard something interesting, he would ask a question and seek answers from Lord Lu.

Just when the two were chatting happily, they heard someone talking outside, followed by a knock on the door.

The guards outside came in and asked their master: "Master, Master Xiao Fu and the Ningyuan Marquis's son are also having dinner in the building. They heard that Your Highness was here and wanted to come and see you."

"Please let them in." The second prince glanced at Lu Mingfei when he said this, and he knew that Fu Lianxin came for Lu Mingfei.

Before talking with Lu Mingfei today, he thought that Lu Mingfei was a scholar who could write articles. But after talking with Lu Mingfei just now, he realized that Lu Mingfei was not only good at reading, but also a person who could get things done.

If he could use such a person, it would be a good thing for himself, the court, and the people in the future.

"Yes." The guard responded and went out to invite someone.

After a while, Fu Lianxin brought in the Ningyuan Marquis's son. After the two of them paid their respects to the Second Prince, they were also invited to take a seat by the Second Prince.

Fu Lianxin sat down, toasted the Second Prince and Lu Mingfei, and then asked with a smile, "I wonder what Your Highness was talking about with Lord Lu just now? You two seemed so happy chatting."

"Oh, we were talking about the essay that Lord Lu wrote in the palace examination. It's a good thing that you two are here too, so let's chat about it together." The second prince glanced at Fu Lianxin. Old Taifu Fu was their father's man, and he had never seen Fu Lianxin, the grandson of Old Taifu Fu, get close to any of his brothers.

He had offered an olive branch to Old Master Fu before, hoping to win him over to his side, but the old man pretended not to understand his words and remained unmoved. If the old man hadn't been close to his father, he would have found an opportunity to punish him long ago.

Seeing Fu Lianxin coming to him, the Second Prince wondered, if he could pull Fu Lianxin over to his side, wouldn't he be worried that Old Master Fu and the Fu family wouldn't side with him? If the Fu family could side with him, he would be one step closer to becoming the Crown Prince.

"That's great. I've also read the essay that Lord Lu wrote in the palace examination. I wanted to talk to Lord Lu about his essay twice before, but I didn't have the chance." When Lu Mingfei's essay was mentioned, Fu Lianxin immediately became interested and joined in the conversation.

"..." Ningyuan Hou's son looked at Fu Lianxin, the Second Prince, and Lord Lu, whom he had just met, chatting happily. Have you three ever thought about the feelings of me, an uneducated and dissolute young man?

Oh, forget it, I'd better drink.

I’m here to drink with you today! Ningyuan Hou’s son picked up the wine glass and poured himself another one.

The dinner that evening was a real treat for both the host and the guests.

The second prince never mentioned recruiting from beginning to end, as if he was just going out for a drink with two friends.

Seeing Fu Lianxin was about to leave, Lu Mingfei also stood up and said goodbye to the Second Prince, "Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness. It's getting late, so I'll take my leave first."

"Your Highness lent me the clothes yesterday. I've already worn them, so I won't be returning them." Since it was something someone else had lent him, he had to let him know if he wasn't going to return it. He knew that as the Second Prince, he would definitely not wear clothes that had been worn by others.

It was more like giving the suit to him than lending it to him.

However, when he got up this morning, he didn't see the clothes. He didn't know whether someone had taken them to be washed or Zhao Lang had them thrown away. He felt that the latter was more likely.

"It's just a set of clothes, there's no need to return it." The second prince said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Lu Mingfei bowed to the Second Prince, then left with Fu Lianxin and the Prince of Ningyuan.

When he arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, he bowed to Fu Lianxin and the Ningyuan Marquis's son, said goodbye, and got on the carriage that came to pick him up.

Lu Mingfei was not surprised at all to see Zhao Lang waiting for him in his carriage. He asked the man, "Have you had dinner?"

"Lord Lu is now only concerned with drinking with others and doesn't care about my life or death." Zhao Lang grabbed Lord Lu's hand, pulled him into his arms, leaned in and smelled Lord Lu's face, and smelled a strong smell of alcohol.

"...You're not a three-year-old kid. Do you need someone to accompany you to eat?" Lu Mingfei reached out and pushed Zhao Lang's chin, pushing him away a little, increasing the distance between them. However, he was in Zhao Lang's arms, so no matter how much he pulled, the distance was still very close.

"Sir Lu, aren't you the one who knows best whether I am a three-year-old child or not?" Zhao Lang grabbed both of Sir Lu's hands with one hand, leaned over and kissed his Sir Lu.

"..." Lu Mingfei, why do I feel like someone is teasing me?

At this time, they were sitting in the carriage and leaving, unaware that there was a pair of eyes upstairs staring at their carriage.

Only after their carriage left did His Royal Highness the Second Prince, who was standing in front of the window, turn around and go into the house.