Chapter 36 The Ancient Scholar Used as Cannon Fodder (Side Story) Twelve...

The twelve-year-old Emperor Li Yi sat upright on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace, his back ramrod straight, already possessing his own imperial majesty.

But today, he simply couldn't muster any authority.

Watching his two trusted ministers arguing again over a trivial matter in the imperial court, Li Yi felt an unbearable headache.

He patiently persuaded both sides until his saliva was almost dry, before Xie Zian and Shen Tianqi finally stopped fighting.

One was a brilliant strategist who conquered the Qiang people's stronghold, but upon returning, he promptly relinquished his military power and only held the sinecure of a general.

One is Xie Zi'an, an all-around assistant who goes wherever there's a problem, capable of handling both big and small matters. He's extremely useful and we have a very close relationship.

Both were trusted ministers, and the young emperor had to treat them equally; he couldn't show favoritism to either of them.

But these two are like incompatible, they can fight anywhere, even in the imperial court, they argue two or three times a month, and the ministers have gotten used to it.

After the court session, Li Yi specifically instructed people to keep an eye on the two to prevent them from turning around and fighting again before returning to his palace.

After sitting down and drinking three cups of tea, Li Yi finally recovered and summoned the commander of the secret guards left to him by his father to inquire about what had happened.

"Tell me, what did they quarrel about this time? It can't be because they saw a good horse somewhere, or because they're arguing over some good weapon."

The two arguments this month were over a prized horse and a precious sword from the Western Regions. In the end, he had to bestow the fine horse and sword, which were tributes from the foreign land, as a reward to appease the two of them.

He had instructed his secret guards to pay special attention to these two people, not because he was afraid of them.

The main reason was that the two of them had been arguing at the city gate, and their tempers flared up so much that they started fighting. Their fighting skills were roughly equal, and they fought for a long time without a clear winner. In the end, they both fell into the moat.

Unfortunately, neither of them could swim, and they wouldn't stop splashing around in the water, pulling each other's legs and thrashing about for a long time, but neither of them could climb out.

It was only when one of the guards, a young man who was a good swimmer, saw that the two men were finally too exhausted to fight and were about to sink that he dared to go down and pull them out.

This matter is still a topic of conversation among the people of the capital. When the Prime Minister of Chu heard about it, he made the two of them learn to swim for a month.

After that incident, the young emperor had people keep an eye on the two of them, fearing that one day they might start fighting in the wilderness and encounter an accident on a cliff or other steep slope, leaving him with nowhere to find their bodies.

The two had been arguing in court for so long that their secret guards had probably already reported the reason. No one knew what it was about this time, but they could only hope that what they were after was something worthless.

Every time the two of them argued, it was ultimately his private treasury, the emperor's, that was affected. If Li Yi didn't know their personalities, he would have thought they were deliberately putting on an act to trick him.

The commander of the secret guards appeared silently in the hall and respectfully replied:

"Your Majesty, the wine that Prime Minister Chu brewed two years ago has been opened. Yesterday, General Shen happened to arrive and took a whole jar with him."

This thing is indeed worthless, but he would rather it be some other rare treasure! The teacher only brewed a few jars of wine in total!

"Why should he drink first?!" The young emperor suddenly stood up and slammed his hand on the table. "This is outrageous! Shen Tianqi didn't do anything back then. I even helped wash the fruit for brewing the wine. I should have been the first to drink it!"

The commander of the secret guards showed no panic and replied calmly, "Young Master Xie thinks so too. He and General Shen have already gone to the Chu residence."

Just as Li Yi was about to leave, he suddenly turned back and asked, "Are the rest of the Chu family at home?"

"Miss Chu did not go out today." The commander of the secret guards knew his master quite well and answered very frankly.

Li Yi glared at him with a tense expression, but his ears turned red instantly. "I was asking about Old Madam Chu. If she were home, I should at least go and pay my respects to her."

"The old lady has gone out to meet some friends. Don't worry, she didn't take Miss Chu with her." The words of the commander of the secret guards successfully made Li Yi's face turn red.

Seeing that he didn't ask any more questions, the commander of the secret guards bowed respectfully again and disappeared silently from the main hall.

He watched this young master grow up, and now he's reached the age to get married and have children. It's a pity, though, that he's taken a fancy to the Chu family's precious little sister.

Other people's daughters might be brought into the palace with just an imperial decree, but this one is having a bit of a hard time. The Prime Minister of Chu had already announced his sister's criteria for choosing a husband, the first of which was: no concubines allowed, not even maids allowed.

After Xie Zian finished court, he rushed to the Chu residence. Since Chu Nanfeng later became prime minister, he was too lazy to move, and the current Chu residence was just an expansion on the basis of the original house.

The house, which was originally acquired for a bargain price of two hundred taels of silver, has now expanded nearly tenfold. It has two more courtyards, a much larger garden, and a separate area for raising horses, making it the size of a mansion.

The land was bestowed by the young emperor, who also specially ordered the Ministry of Works to build it with great care. The plaque hanging at the main gate was even written by the retired emperor himself.

Xie Zian arrived at the Chu residence without needing to announce his arrival. He ran in familiarly, but unexpectedly, he was still a step too late.

That bastard Shen Tianqi was already sitting in the courtyard, with a wine pot beside him, happily pouring himself a drink. Judging from the smell of the wine, it was clearly brewed by Chu Nanfeng.

We left the court together, so why is this guy running so fast!

"Shen Tianqi, are you riding your horse recklessly in the middle of the city?! Do you believe I'll arrest you and take you to the Dali Temple?!" Xie Zian shouted aggressively upon seeing this.

Shen Tianqi glanced at him sideways, poured himself a glass of wine, and then downed it in one gulp. "Young Master Xie, how can you, with your stupidity, possibly perform your duties for His Majesty?"

"I've been in Beijing for so many years, and I've already taken the shortest route! How could you possibly be so much faster than me!"

Xie Zian unceremoniously poured himself a glass of wine and downed it in one gulp, just like the other person. Then, he choked and coughed repeatedly.

"Is this really the batch Brother Chu brewed?! How can it be so strong!"

"Of course, it was specially brewed for me by Brother Chu." Shen Tianqi said with great smugness.

"As for how I got here so quickly, I entered through the east gate of the Prince of Yue's residence, passed through the garden and covered walkways, then came out through the small door in the southwest corner, went to the back gate of Minister Zhao's residence, and then crossed the bridge over his pond..."

Not only was Xie Zian stunned by his actions, but even the young emperor who had just entered was dumbfounded. Even he wouldn't break into the residences of four officials just to save a quarter of an hour.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I gave prior notice and did not pass through the backyard, so I will not disturb the women," Shen Tianqi said earnestly, bowing to the emperor.

The young emperor looked blank. So, you, a general, insisted on taking over the job of an imperial censor, arguing with everyone in court every day, and these four are the only ones you haven't argued with? Is that why?

Chu Nanfeng, dressed in a pine-colored long robe, came out carrying two wine jars. He was still thin, and his wide sleeves were somewhat loose, making his wrists look particularly thin. The jars were large and heavy, as if they would break his arms.

Seeing his swaying figure, Xie Zian and the young emperor hurriedly stepped forward, each taking one and placing it on the table.

“If the teacher has any heavy work, just let Anqi do it. He can’t just be a freeloader following you around.” Li Yi frowned as he saw that Anqi’s hands were red from being tied with the rope used to bind the wine jars.

"Brother Chu, if you ever need anything, just call me. I'll do the work for you; I'm very strong!" Xie Zi'an patted his chest and assured him.

Shen Tianqi couldn't help but secretly roll his eyes at the two of them, who acted as if all the servants in the Chu household were dead.

Chu Nanfeng smiled gently, "It's not that bad. I'm not so weak that I can't even lift a wine jar."

He then pointed to the two jars, "They're both sixteen catties of wine. I'll give you each a jar, so don't say I'm being unfair."

Li Yi and Xie Zi'an exchanged a glance, then suddenly said in unison, "Teacher/Brother Chu, please keep this for me!"

Both of their fathers are avid drinkers. If they bring the wine jar back, they'll be lucky if they can even get a cup!

The seal on the wine jar bore the three characters "Donglixia," written in a lively and unrestrained style, clearly the work of Chu Nanfeng.

"That's a nice name," Xie Zian praised, then hurriedly opened the wine jar. "It's chrysanthemum wine. We didn't put chrysanthemums in it when we brewed the wine before, did we?"

"I added it the following year, so the flavor is a bit milder, which is just right for you two." Chu Nanfeng poured a jar for each of them and then resealed the rest.

"Your Majesty, you are still young. This jar of wine has some fruit added, so it tastes sweeter and the flavor is milder."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi couldn't help but smile. He poured himself a glass, and sure enough, it only had a light taste of wine, with a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste. The fragrance of chrysanthemum blended perfectly with the wine.

Xie Zian stopped arguing with Shen Tianqi and found a seat close to Chu Nanfeng. He drank wine and pestered Chu Nanfeng to show him his new paintings.

When Xu Wuchen arrived, covered in dust, he overheard Xie Zian's nagging and couldn't help but chime in, "Aren't your two study rooms, which are dedicated to storing paintings, already full?"

Xie Zian proudly stated that he had just built a small building at home specifically for storing paintings. It is fireproof and moisture-proof, and is managed and maintained by a professional, ensuring that his treasures will never be left without a place to be stored.

Xu Wuchen ignored him and respectfully bowed to the Emperor. Before he could even kneel down, Li Yi helped him up. "Minister Xu, there's no need for such formalities. Did your trip go smoothly? I thought you wouldn't be back for another half month."

"Before leaving, Prime Minister Chu gave me some advice, and things were indeed handled much more efficiently." After Xu Wuchen finished speaking, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Chu Nanfeng.

An Qi, who had been sent by the young emperor to secretly protect Chu Nanfeng, had already cleverly gone to the wine cellar and brought out Xu Wuchen's wine jar.

Looking at the still enormous jar placed beside Xu Wuchen, Xie Zian couldn't help but ask, "Brother Chu, we didn't brew this much wine back then, did we?"

"I added more ingredients the following year and brewed it again. Everyone got a share, which was distributed in advance, so you don't have to worry about General Shen taking your share."

Hearing Chu Nanfeng's words, Xie Zian smiled awkwardly and then secretly glared at Shen Tianqi. This guy must have complained to Brother Chu!

Shen Tianqi didn't even bother to look at him. There were probably countless people in the capital watching their squabble; why would he need to come and complain?!

Qian Youcai, who had already opened three shops in the capital and whose business had spread throughout the country, and who had settled in the capital, was both happy and apprehensive after receiving the invitation.

When he first met Chu Nanfeng, Chu was just a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations. Now he was a man of high rank and great power, while Chu was still just an ordinary merchant. Yet Chu treated him the same as before.

The newest pattern that's been selling best on his family's fabrics lately was designed with the help of Prime Minister Chu. However, apart from Prince Xie who had guessed a little about it, no one else knew about it.

Otherwise, this cloth could probably have sold for even more.

When the Prime Minister of Chu had any gatherings, he would often send him an invitation. At first, he thought the invitation was just a formality.

Fortunately, he came a few times because of his thick skin. Each time he only managed to get a corner seat, but Prime Minister Chu never ignored him. He also got to know many important people because of this, and even met the Emperor many times.

Therefore, as the Qian family's business grew bigger and bigger, many people were envious, but no one dared to make a move against them. Even those arrogant and powerful people who were once arrogant and powerful treated them with great respect.

The servants of the Chu family also recognized him. Upon seeing him arrive, they immediately smiled and led him into the courtyard. Qian Youcai was caught off guard and met a bunch of stares.

Everyone: Another one trying to steal the wine!

Qian Youcai's legs went weak under the emperor's gaze, and he knelt down with a thud, bowing deeply to the emperor: "This humble subject, Qian Youcai, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

He was invited to try the wine brewed by the Prime Minister of Chu, so why are all these big shots here? Did he come at the wrong time?

"Get up!" Li Yi waved his hand. This Boss Qian had seen him more than ten times, so why did he still look so frightened?

After getting up, Boss Qian bowed to everyone before quietly standing behind Chu Nanfeng.

An Qi rushed to the wine cellar again, grabbed his wine jar, and Qian Youcai hurriedly took it with both hands, saying, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Chu Nanfeng casually poured Qian Youcai a pot of wine, advised Xie Zian not to drink too much, and gave Li Yi some snacks to tide him over. The snacks were specially made by him that morning.

As Xu Wuchen quietly recounted the events and troubles he had encountered on this trip, Chu Nanfeng analyzed the situation while restraining Xie Zian, who was arguing with Shen Tianqi again, to prevent the two from fighting and tearing down his newly repaired garden.

Li Yi ate two pastries, then picked up the wine jug and returned to the palace. After all, he was now the emperor, and he had many things to do every day.

I was able to steal half a day of leisure this time, thanks to Xie Zian and Shen Tianqi who had argued in court. Because of them, many less important memorials were not submitted today.

Before leaving, Li Yi deliberately took a detour past the back gate, but unfortunately the Chu mansion was now very large, and there was a screen wall at the entrance to the back gate, so he couldn't see the girl he longed for at all.

Looking at the design on the screen wall, which he had personally chosen, Li Yi always felt like he had shot himself in the foot.

After the young emperor left, Xie Zian insisted on having a drinking contest with Shen Tianqi, and soon got drunk. He raised his arms, wanting to sing a song for Brother Chu, but unfortunately, his voice was too shrill, and Xu Wuchen carried him back to the Xie family.

Seeing that Shen Tianqi was still drinking by himself and showed no intention of getting up, Qian Youcai tactfully took his leave. Before leaving, Chu Nanfeng stuffed a small wine jar into his hand, saying it was a flower wine for his little apprentice, Qian Duoduo.

"Brother Shen, you can stop now." Chu Nanfeng looked at Shen Tianqi and sighed slightly.

Shen Tianqi poured himself another glass of wine, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. "These little squabbles won't get them punished too severely."

Chu Nanfeng picked up the wine pot, poured him a cup himself, and advised, "Life is unpredictable. Don't let it really escalate into a murder case. It will be difficult to back down then."

After a long silence, Shen Tianqi finally replied, "Alright!"

Although he had drunk more than half a jin of strong liquor, his eyes remained bright and his mind was very clear.

He was stabbed in the back by a fellow scholar from the same clan because of his poor performance in the provincial examination, and almost lost his life. But when the authorities came to arrest him, several people in charge of the clan found him instead.

He said that the clan had been kind to him in educating him, and if he insisted on suing, it would damage the clan's reputation and make him ungrateful.

His parents died early, leaving behind some family property. However, he did receive care from the clan and was able to study with their support, which enabled him to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar.

Helpless, Shen Tianqi gave up the pursuit, but unwilling to stay in the clan, he joined the army with the officials who came to recruit soldiers.

After the General Who Conquers the West rebelled, Prince Cheng was also captured. Taking advantage of the situation, the Qiang people rebelled, and war in the northwest was imminent.

Shen Tianqi was brave and resourceful, and soon rose to prominence. In one risky move, he went alone into enemy territory, destroyed the Qiang tribe's stronghold, and killed the ambitious Qiang king.

The young prince of the Qiang tribe is not old, his uncle is eyeing him covetously, and the empress wants to interfere in politics. The entire Qiang tribe is in turmoil, and the border will be stable for at least twenty years.

Under the guidance of his savior Chu Nanfeng, Shen Tianqi readily relinquished his military power, was granted the title of Duke by the Emperor, and settled down in the capital.

The Shen family came to demand repayment of their kindness, but Shen Tianqi neither accepted nor refused, letting these people run amok in his name, intending to catch them all in one fell swoop once they committed a crime.

It's time to stop now. If the Shen family members who haven't done anything wrong are willing to behave themselves, he will naturally take care of them. As for those who have committed crimes, they will naturally face imprisonment.

The next day, Chu Nanfeng received a bunch of return gifts. The young emperor sent two imperial chefs, Xie Zian packed a table of delicacies, Xu Wuchen sent various mountain delicacies, and Qian Youcai also sent a bunch of seafood.

Even Shen Tianqi, who was busy sending his clansmen who had committed crimes to prison, took the time to bring over a bunch of game, including a huge wild boar.

Over the years, 80% of the things these people have given him have been food; their insistence on fattening him up has almost become an obsession.

Chu Nanfeng was quite helpless about the side effects of the weight loss pills. He knew that he was very healthy and had a good appetite, eating three meals a day without missing a meal.

Unfortunately, the diet pills only have a limited effect, and he won't gain weight no matter what he eats for the next ten years.

After Chu Nanfeng and the others left, he brought a pot of sweet chrysanthemum wine and placed it next to his desk, specifically for Lin You to offer before her memorial tablet.

As always, I told her some interesting stories and anecdotes from the streets.

"...Sister, I'm doing well now, and Mother and my little sister are doing well too. I've used up almost half of the paint you left me. Xie Zi'an took a lot of my paintings, but he paid me a lot of money."

"We agreed that you'd get a share of the money from the paintings. Your old money box was almost full, so I got you a bigger one. You'll definitely be able to buy lots of good food..."

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A note from the author:

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-12-02 21:07:09 and 2023-12-03 22:18:38!

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