Chapter 53 Banquet

Xie Yunyu, holding Old Master Xie's arm, said:

"It's good that you think that way. I was worried that you would be stubborn and continue to treat the Crown Prince harshly."

Grandpa Xie glared at her: "Who are you calling an old stubborn person? You have no respect for elders."

Xie Yunyu laughed and hid to the side.

Then he asked, "Grandfather, what about Vice Minister Du of the Court of Judicial Review?"

"Send someone to inform them that I have entered the palace and that the time has been changed to the afternoon after I finish my official duties, when I will go to Tianxing Tower."

Then inform Zongcheng to accompany him tonight.

Xie Yunyu nodded: "Okay, then I'll reserve room number one in the top tier."

Grandpa Xie shook his head and said, "Room No. 1 in the Heavenly Class is too conspicuous, Room No. 5 in the Heavenly Class will do."

Xie Yunyu smiled and said, "Okay, no problem, please go into the palace first. I'll take care of the rest for you, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Grandpa Xie shook his head and chuckled upon hearing her words: "You're getting more and more mischievous these days."

After Old Master Xie left, Xie Yunyu sent people to Dali Temple and Tianxing Tower.

After being busy for several days, Xie Yunyu finally had some free time today, so she relaxed on a recliner under a tree in her yard.

I'm prepared to lie here forever today.

A moment later, Gu Yu came in from outside and said:

"Miss, Ye Jing was sent to the northwest border by Marquis Guangping early this morning."

Xie Yunyu covered her face with a book to block out the light, and lazily asked:

"What about the Chen family?"

"There's still no news. I heard Chen Jiatao has been imprisoned in the ancestral hall."

"Oh, I have news from Chen Jiatao. Let me know as soon as possible."

"OK."

When it was lunchtime, Old Master Xie had not yet returned, presumably he had been kept in the palace for lunch.

It wasn't until late afternoon that Grandpa Xie finally staggered back home.

At dusk, Old Master Xie took Xie Yunyu and Xie Yunyu to Tianxing Tower.

As soon as I entered, I saw that Zongcheng was already there.

"I've met you, teacher."

Zongcheng stood up and bowed to Old Master Xie.

"Cheng'er is here, please have a seat."

Zong Cheng has wheat-colored skin, regular features, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and two mustaches that look like eyebrows.

He looks very robust.

Xie Yunyu bowed to Zong Cheng and said, "Greetings, Uncle Zong."

Zongcheng said with a smile, "I haven't seen Yu'er for two years. She's grown into a beautiful young lady."

"Grandmaster Uncle is still as dashing as ever."

Xie Yunyu praised her with a smile.

Zongcheng was delighted to hear this: "Yu'er's words are as sweet as ever, and she's getting better and better at talking."

Grandpa Xie laughed and replied, "He lived with me in the mountains for a year, and then spent more than half a year in Jiangnan. His nature has become more and more adventurous."

While he hasn't improved in other areas, his ability to cause trouble has certainly grown considerably.

Zong Cheng smiled as he looked at Xie Yunyu, and sat down next to Old Master Xie while still laughing.

“Yu’er has been lovely and intelligent since she was a child. If she were not a girl, she would definitely have made a name for herself in the court.”

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Xie laughed and said, "Just because she spends all her time lounging in her recliner reading storybooks?"

Or will you still sleep until noon every day?

Xie Yunyu, displeased, pouted and protested:

"grandfather……"

Seeing Xie Yunyu pouting unhappily, Old Master Xie changed the subject:

"Okay, okay, I won't talk about you anymore."

After saying that, he turned to Zong Cheng and asked, "I heard that your Ministry of Justice has been quite busy lately?"

Zongcheng poured the old man a cup of tea and nodded: "Yes, His Majesty has ordered an investigation into backlog cases and old cases. The Ministry of Justice has a lot of cases backlogged."

"Since His Majesty is determined to eliminate long-standing abuses, then your Ministry of Justice should cooperate fully."

"In matters of criminal justice, human life is at stake, and one must not be careless," said Old Master Xie.

Zongcheng nodded in acceptance.

"I heard that the teacher went to the palace today?"

"Yes, the Crown Prince summoned me to the palace to reminisce," said Old Master Xie.

Zongcheng nodded and said, "The Crown Prince is kind-hearted and sentimental."

As the two were talking, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Du Zhengming, dressed in black with a serious expression, appeared in the doorway.

Zongcheng looked at him with disdain the first time he saw him and said:

"Can't you change your clothes? Wearing all black every day is enough to scare you."

Du Zhengming ignored him and simply bowed respectfully to Old Master Xie, saying:

"Greetings, Grand Tutor."

Grandpa Xie also stood up and said with a smile, "Young Master Du, you're too kind."

After bowing, Du Zhengming glanced sideways at Zong Cheng and said:

"It's my clothes, I can wear whatever I want, it's none of your business."

Zong Cheng was in his early thirties, four or five years older than Du Zhengming. When the two of them argued, they acted like elementary school students.

Xie Yunyu looked at the two of them and felt that they had a strong sense of being a couple.

Because the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review often communicated about cases, there were also many frictions.

The two men held similar positions and often clashed over ownership of cases.

These past two days, the two sides have been arguing over a case involving the murder of an official.

In principle, cases involving the murder of officials should fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of Judicial Review, but this case was closed by the local authorities in Qingzhou and sent to the Ministry of Justice.

When the Ministry of Justice reviewed the case, they found problems and transferred it to the Court of Judicial Review.

The Dali Temple found that the case was not initially investigated by the Dali Temple, but by the local authorities in Qingzhou, and was eventually submitted directly to the Ministry of Justice.

Why was this case sent back to the Dali Temple for re-investigation? This doesn't follow the proper procedures.

So the two sides started arguing about it.

Therefore, when the two met, they were completely at odds.

Who is Grand Tutor Xie? One look and you'll know why.

He smiled and said, "Please sit down and let's talk."

"Cheng'er, today I've specially prepared this banquet to thank Du Shaoqing. You're here to keep me company, so don't offend my guest."

Zong Cheng's face darkened as he sat down opposite Du Zhengming without saying a word.

Xie Yunyu stood to the side, brewing tea and pouring water for the three of them, and calling the servants outside to serve the dishes.

Today's feast is a banquet for heroes, and these are the dishes that Zong Cheng ordered.

Seeing that the food and wine had been served, Xie Yunyu introduced the names of the dishes to the three of them.

Zongcheng asked with a smile, "My dear niece, I heard that the names of these dishes are summaries from the novels of the Three Kingdoms and the Legend of the Condor Heroes?"

Xie Yunyu nodded.

"Yu'er has a clever mind," Zong Cheng praised.

Xie Yunyu smiled and said, "Uncle, you're mistaken. This was my second brother's idea."

Zong Cheng shook his head and said, "You're being modest. Didn't you write those two storybooks? They're the same."

Du Zhengming, who was standing next to Zong Cheng, was quite surprised to hear Zong Cheng say that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Legend of the Condor Heroes were written by Xie Yunyu.

He turned his head and looked Xie Yunyu up and down.

It's hard to believe that Xie San Niangzi is the kind of person who could write such heroic and exciting stories as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Seeing Du Zhengming scrutinizing her, Xie Yunyu quickly explained:

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is adapted from the Records of the Three Kingdoms, not my original work."

The Legend of the Condor Heroes is adapted from a short story.

None of these are my original works; they're not worth mentioning.

Du Zhengming laughed and said, "To be able to adapt it into such a storybook shows that Xie San Niangzi is very knowledgeable and quick-witted."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yunyu turned to Du Zhengming and said, "Du Shaoqing, you flatter me. This is but a trivial matter, not worth mentioning."

Grand Tutor Xie raised his wine cup and said, "Come, let's toast Du Shaoqing to thank you for helping Yu'er out of that predicament last time."

Xie Yunyu quickly raised her wine glass and toasted Du Zhengming.

After a few rounds of drinks, Zong Cheng and Du Zhengming started arguing again about who should be responsible for the murder case in Qingzhou.

The two argued until their faces were red and their necks were thick.

After listening for a long time, Xie Yunyu and Grandpa Xie finally understood.

Seeing this, Grandpa Xie asked, "Yu'er, what do you think we should do about this?"

The two people who were arguing turned to look at Xie Yunyu after hearing what Old Master Xie said.

Xie Yunyu laughed and said, "Is Grandfather testing me?"

This case is so simple. With the intelligence of Du Shaoqing and his uncle, how could they not have thought of what to do about it?

The two of them are arguing here simply because neither of them can make a decision on this matter.

Old Master Xie laughed upon hearing this: "Why do you say that?"