Chapter 206: Zuixianlou
"I originally wanted to come here by myself, but my mother insisted on sending a visiting card, saying that she wanted to pay a formal visit to thank you for your care along the way." Brother Shen said helplessly.
Gu Mingda immediately understood the whole story: "Is your mother the eldest princess?"
Brother Shen nodded. Along the way, he also knew the character of the Gu family very well. He explained: "It's not that I concealed it on purpose, but my family has always reminded me that when I go out, I must not easily reveal my identity. If I don't listen, my mother will really beat me."
No one in the Gu family bothered with him about this. After all, no one wanted to gain anything from him in the beginning. They just wanted to thank him for his help at the dock and the seasickness pills.
Now the Gu family is troubled by how to entertain the eldest princess.
"Don't worry, my mother is very easy to talk to. She only has two children, me and my sister. She can't thank you enough and will definitely not embarrass you." Brother Shen said confidently.
Even though he said so, the Gu family was still not relieved. After all, when the eldest princess entered the mansion, they couldn't just serve tea and snacks casually. This was different from the Xianguo Mansion's visit. After all, the Xianguo Mansion came to apologize, so the Gu family was in the right.
"I'll go to the Sun family and ask Brother Sun how to arrange this matter." Gu Mingda's attitude was frank, and he did not hide the blind spots he touched upon.
Brother Shen also shouted at the side: “Why bother so much, can’t you just ask me?”
But when everyone thought of Brother Shen's unreliability, no one was willing to pick up the conversation.
Niuniu was kind enough to give him two pieces of pork jerky from her purse: “Brother Shen, I’ll treat you to delicious food. It’s adults’ business, and we kids won’t make trouble.”
Brother Shen was already seventeen years old, and he didn't think anything was wrong when he heard this. Instead, he happily accepted his identity as a child. After tasting the pork jerky, his eyes lit up.
"Where did this fresh food come from, Niuniu? Why didn't you taste it on the boat before?" Brother Shen kept asking.
Niu Niu was very proud to see that her snacks were loved by her friends. She was about to blurt out Shuying, but then she remembered that her mother forbade her to mention Shuying in other people's places.
"It's a secret! I can't tell you where it came from." Niuniu said seriously.
Brother Shen quickly finished two pieces of pork jerky, but he still felt unsatisfied and said, "Can you give me some more? I'll buy it with my own money. I'm going home. I'm very rich now."
Niuniu is always very kind to her friends. When she heard this, she said, "If you really like it so much, I'll give you all mine."
Niuniu handed a bag of pork jerky to Brother Shen with a look of pain on her face.
After taking the pork jerky, Brother Shen said carelessly: "I won't take advantage of you for nothing. I'll treat you to dinner at Zuixianlou tonight. In two days, I'll take you on a tour of the capital."
Niu Niu had been listening to him talking about "Zuixianlou" on the boat, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
Now it was Brother Shen's turn to be proud, and he said: "In the future, I will take you to taste all kinds of food in Beijing. There are many delicious and fun things in Beijing."
Zuixianlou is indeed very grand. It is located on the most prosperous street in the capital and is six stories high. Brother Shen directly booked a private room on the top floor. Standing there, he can overlook the scenery of the entire capital.
It's only early spring now, but it's still extremely cold. The cold wind blows on people's faces, causing pain. The sixth floor is high and windy, so no matter how beautiful the scenery is, I dare not open the window to look at it.
Brother Shen looked at this situation and couldn’t help but regret in his heart: “If I had known this, I should have chosen a lower floor.”
Although there is no such scenery on the lower floors, there is no such strong wind and you can see the bustling street scene. It is not like now, where the voices of people are far away and it seems too quiet.
Brother Shen was not a very reliable person to begin with, and everyone was very used to what he did, and no one was so low in EQ as to say that this private room was not good.
However, Gu Zhao and Niu Niu were not afraid of the cold wind at all. They stood in the wind vent and looked outside, their eyes full of curiosity.
"There's a taller building over there!" Gu Zhao suddenly shouted, pointing at the towering building in the east.
Brother Shen casually explained: “That’s the Yinfeng Tower in the palace.”
The two children had their eyes wide open, and seemed very curious about that place.
Brother Shen then explained a few more words and said, “Many years ago, His Majesty dreamed of a phoenix entering his arms. After he ascended the throne, he dreamed of it twice more, so he built this phoenix-attracting tower.”
Seeing that the two children were staring at him seriously and were in high spirits, he added a few more words, "People in the palace say that although this building is for attracting phoenixes, it is actually for praying for children. His Majesty has long said that whoever can give birth to an heir will be made queen."
Gu Mingda, who was standing by, frowned slightly after hearing this. Brother Shen happened to say such things about the emperor behind his back. After returning, he would have to remind the two children not to talk nonsense outside.
Niuniu asked curiously, "After the building was built, was there a royal heir born?"
Brother Shen shook his head and said, "The women in the harem are almost eating medicine as food, and they haven't given birth to any children."
The emperor is nearly 45 years old this year. He has not had any children for many years and has basically given up the idea of having children. Now the focus of the entire capital is on which royal family member the emperor will adopt as his heir.
"Then this building was built in vain? I don't know how much money it cost." Niu Niu sighed casually.
When Gu Mingda heard this, he was so scared that he almost covered his daughter's mouth on the spot.
"My dear, don't say such things casually." Gu Mingda warned.
Niuniu immediately said obediently: "Okay, Niuniu won't say it."
Brother Shen still looked heartless and said, “Uncle Gu, we are all family here, so it doesn’t matter even if we say a few words.”
Gu Mingda was not as optimistic as him. After all, the others were not the emperor's nephews. Brother Shen said this in front of the emperor, and the emperor probably wouldn't bother with him.
The dishes at Zuixianlou are indeed exquisite.
But Gu Zhao smacked his lips and said, "This braised food platter isn't as good as ours."
Gu Mingda glared at him and thought to himself that this silly boy was really straightforward. When others invite you to dinner, they always praise you, so there is no reason for him to find fault.
"So many delicious foods can't keep you hungry?" Zhang Yunniang asked her son expressionlessly, and reached out to knock him hard on the head.
Gu Zhao covered his head with his hands, looking aggrieved, and said, "It's not allowed for people to tell the truth."
They just met Brother Shen. If it were someone else, they would have been unhappy. But Brother Shen was not only not displeased, but his eyes lit up and he kept asking, "Do you still have braised food? I didn't taste it on the boat. Is it really that delicious? You must let me try it too."
Brother Shen thought of the pork jerky that Niuniu had given him to try, and the Gu family’s braised food must be especially delicious!
He thought to himself that he must persuade his mother to have dinner at Gu's house tomorrow so that he could also taste the good food of Gu's house!
Second update
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