Chapter 52: Wine and Banquet
Li Si was in a complicated mood. He investigated the people around the king, wanting to know who was the talented person who made such a suggestion. He never thought that person was the queen mother.
Although he was a little disappointed, he felt relieved.
Although the Queen Mother is wise, she is now just a woman who has completely lost her power and will not have any influence on his current court in Qin.
Even these Legalist students surrounding him would only be officials under his command in the future. The people who could truly threaten his position were neither in Xianyang nor in the State of Qin.
Li Si's eyes were dim and uncertain, and he thought of Han Fei, who had been praised many times by the king.
It’s a pity that Han Fei is loyal to Han State and will never come to Qin State to serve as an official, Li Si sneered.
Seeing that they were enjoying their conversation, Zhao Yuanxi stopped interrupting them. He turned to look at the Confucian scholar in the other room and said with a smile, "Regarding the matter of phonetic notation, we will follow Li Tingwei's advice. Everything will be based on the pronunciation of Qin Mandarin."
The intonation of the Qin language is different from that of modern language, and Zhao Yuanxi can't help much, so he can only let these Confucian scholars handle it themselves.
Fortunately, there is a Confucian master here, Chunyu Yue, watching over us, so nothing will go wrong.
Chunyu Yue taught Fusu the entire morning. When the time came, he knocked on the desk. Ziying, who was dozing on the desk, rubbed his eyes, yawned, and mumbled, "Brother, is get out of class over?"
"Master Ziying, if you really don't want to stay with me, you should go to the Queen Mother."
Ziying pouted, "Grandmother is very busy today and has no time to accompany me! I came here to see my elder brother, not you, sir."
Chunyu Yue had already lost his temper because of Ziying. In comparison, he realized how easy it was to discipline Fusu.
Just then, Zhang Cang came over to remind him, "Sir, Li Tingwei is here. The Queen Mother said it's a rare occasion for the two great schools of Confucianism and Legalism to gather together, and she wants to invite you to dine together in the Lanting Courtyard."
When Chunyu Yue heard the name Li Si, his face suddenly darkened. If there was anyone other than the King of Qin who was the most ruthless in suppressing Confucianism, it would be Li Si!
Chunyu Yue had criticized Li Si's strict laws on many occasions in public, and the relationship between the two was like water and fire!
The Queen Mother asked him to dine with Li Si, and Chunyu Yue couldn't help but suspect that the Queen Mother was planning to watch him have fun.
Zhao Yuanxi knew that the relationship between Confucianism and Legalism was not harmonious, but it was precisely because of this disharmony that she wanted the two sides to communicate more.
As for people, we should not be too extreme in our thinking. We should learn from each other's strengths and make up for each other's weaknesses in order to achieve balanced development. The same is true for countries.
The meal has been prepared in the Lanting Courtyard.
Food tables were neatly placed in the pavilion by the pond and in the open space outside, waiting for everyone to sit down.
Zhao Yuanxi sat at the top, Fusu and Ziying sat below her, Li Si sat on her right, Chunyu Yue sat on her left, and the other students sat outside the pavilion.
When Li Si saw Chunyu Yue, the wrinkles on his forehead deepened and his face became terribly gloomy.
Every time this man saw him, he would criticize him harshly. Li Si really didn't have a good impression of him.
If he had not been assigned to Prince Fusu by the King of Qin early on, Li Si might have killed him that day.
Li Si was waiting for Chunyu Yue to say something harsh to him, but until he sat down, the Confucian scholar did not look at him coldly, but bowed respectfully instead.
"Li Tingwei, long time no see." Chunyu Yue smiled modestly, which contrasted with Li Si's cold face, which seemed a bit harsh and rude.
Li Si had no choice but to bow in return, and the atmosphere between the two seemed harmonious.
The undercurrent in the pavilion did not affect the students outside.
They had been here for so long, but this was the first time they had lunch with the Empress Dowager, which was quite exciting.
Each person has a pot on the table, in which a herring is stewed with tofu, and other side dishes such as meat slices and vegetables.
The fish rolls up and down in the milky white soup. The fresh fragrance of the fish mixed with the faint fragrance of perilla leaves makes people's appetite increase.
Chunyu Yue suddenly remembered the fish he had eaten on the day he first arrived in Yongcheng. He had never seen how the fish was prepared before and wondered who had cooked it.
Zhao Yuanxi noticed that he was in a daze and asked curiously, "What is Mr. Chunyu thinking about?"
Chunyu Yue: "I just remembered the fish the Queen Mother sent me that day. It tasted delicious. I am a little curious about what the fish today will be like."
"The previous one was braised, so the sauce was richer. This time it's boiled, so you can taste the freshness of the fish better. The soup is even better, with fresh tofu in it, so the taste is richer." Zhao Yuanxi explained with a smile.
Only then did everyone realize that there was not only fish in the soup, but also a white lump.
I scooped a spoonful with a spoon and put it in my mouth. The unique texture and sweet taste were so eye-catching.
After tasting it carefully, Chunyu Yue looked puzzled, "Empress Dowager, is this made from beans?"
Zhao Yuanxi raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect that this guy had such a clever tongue.
If you eat this tofu alone, you can indeed taste the bean flavor, but after stewing it in the fish soup for a long time, the bean flavor is gone, and only the fish flavor in the soup remains.
"It is indeed made from beans. If Mr. Chunyu likes it, I can have it added to your daily meals."
Chunyu Yue hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
Zhao Yuanxi smiled faintly, "Mr. Chunyu has to teach Fusu and is also responsible for writing books. It's just a dish. This is what you deserve."
Ling Yin raised his hand impatiently, "Your Majesty, we are helping too, so can we have more dishes?"
Although the others didn't dare to speak, they all looked at Zhao Yuanxi.
Zhao Yuanxi was amused. Although these people claimed to be extraordinary, they were actually quite easy to coax.
"Could it be that the kitchen is short of a few of you?"
Ling Yin touched the back of his head and said with a smile, "The Queen Mother is naturally generous, but I am worried too much."
Everyone laughed.
Li Si looked at this harmonious scene and felt somewhat familiar and somewhat strange.
The Queen Mother's behavior of being courteous and humble is somewhat similar to that of the King. When the King entertains his guests and is in high spirits, everyone is laughing and talking happily, but the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects comes first, and no one dares to joke with the King.
Li Si picked up a glass of wine, covered his face with it, and took a big sip.
"Cough cough——" Li Si coughed violently because of choking. The spicy wine went down his throat and made his face red.
Zhao Yuanxi looked over and said with a smile, "I forgot to remind Li Qing that the wine here is much stronger. People who just drink it may not be used to it. Li Qing, drink it slowly."
This drink has been modified by her.
The wine of the Qin State was often a sweet wine fermented in a short time. The wine was turbid and sweet, with a very light flavor. Even after being brewed many times and filtered, the wine still did not reach the concentration of modern liquor.
Zhao Yuanxi doesn't like drinking, but she knows the importance of alcohol.
Ever since the last assassination attempt, she had people find a way to make high-concentration alcohol so that when Doctor Yu wanted to disinfect the wound, he wouldn't have to boil medicine, and the risk of wound infection would be reduced.
However, what was taken out today was not highly purified liquor, but only a semi-finished product.
Even so, it was enough to make Li Si suffer.
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