Chapter 2121 Celebration
Zhao Liulang sat cross-legged on a chair, too lazy to put on his shoes. "Ma Run and the others aren't in the hall, and they don't like playing with us, so we didn't invite them. We'll eat by ourselves."
Those were the prince's confidants. They said they came to Chongwenguan to accompany him in his studies, but in fact they came to help the prince. They only came when the prince really came to study, and usually they were busy in the Zhanshi Mansion in front.
So they said they were classmates, but in fact they were just senior students. Yin Huo was not familiar with them either, so he nodded and looked at the eunuch.
The eunuch went out and opened the door, and the young eunuchs and palace maids serving outside brought the pot in and placed it in the middle of the table.
There is a charcoal stove under the middle of the table.
The palace maids took out the prepared ingredients from the food boxes one by one and put them away. Soon the table was full, and the extra ones had to be placed on the wooden shelf next to it.
Manbao looked very excited and said to Yin Huo, "You are so generous."
Yin Huo couldn't help but laugh, "If you like it, eat more."
Bai Shan took a look and felt that it was almost time. He turned to the eunuch and said, "Go out and leave the courtyard gate ajar. Everyone, please keep quiet so as not to attract the gentlemen in front and the officials from the Zhanshi Mansion."
Everyone said they understood and happily took their seats. Zhao Liulang lamented, "But there's no wine."
Lu Yue immediately said: "I have it, please wait a moment."
So he turned around and ran back to his room. After a while, he brought back a small jar and opened a hole for them to smell.
Zhao Liulang and others who knew about wine were amazed, while Bai Shan and others who didn't know about wine just sat quietly and watched them marvel.
"Okay, how did you sneak this thing into the palace?"
"What do you mean by 'sneaked into the palace'? This is from the palace," he said. "It's not easy to take things from outside the palace, but isn't it easy to buy things from the palace? As long as you have money, you can buy anything."
He said, "I only have this one jar, and I was planning to drink it secretly. Since today is Yin Huo's happy occasion, I'll take it out to celebrate."
Yin He, who also didn't know much about wine, said, "Thank you?"
Anyway, everyone happily opened the wine.
Yin Huo couldn't drink alcohol, and Manbao and the others didn't like to drink either, so they filled bowls with soup and used it instead of wine to celebrate.
Liu Huan was both envious and puzzled. "The Western Regions are so far away. I heard it's so desolate that you can walk for three or five days without seeing any human habitation. How dare you go there?"
Yin Huo was so happy that he got what he wanted, so he started talking more. "It's a rare opportunity to come to this world and see all these different customs. Even if I don't see people for three or five days, even if I don't see people for three or five months, it's nothing."
Manbao almost vomited her soup. She said, "That won't do. If we don't see human habitation for three to five months, we'll definitely end up in a place where no one can survive."
Liu Huan was curious, "What is a place where people can't survive?"
"It's a place that humans can't reach," Bai Shan said. "Some places have no people because humans have never been there, but some places have no people because humans can't reach them. It's very dangerous there, there might be ferocious beasts we've never seen, the weather might be terrible, and even breathing might become difficult. These are places that humans can't reach."
Liu Huan couldn't understand, "Is there a place in this world where you can't breathe?"
Bai Shan thought about what was written in the book and said, "It's lonely up there."
Even Zhao Liulang couldn't help but become curious, "Are you going to a place like this this time?"
Bai Shan shook his head. "It's a little dangerous to cross the grasslands and desert, but we have guides at the Honglu Temple, so it shouldn't be a big problem."
Zhao Liulang poured another glass of wine, raised his glass and said with a smile: "Come, let us wish you a triumphant return."
Bai Shan also picked up the bowl, smiled slightly, and clinked it with his.
Everyone ate and drank happily.
Even someone as stingy as Lu Yue couldn't help but say to his classmates, "No wonder Zhou Manguaner got promoted so quickly. We can't match her ability to risk her life."
"Are you praising her or mocking her?"
"I'm telling the truth. Don't think so badly of me. However, only families like Zhou Man and Bai Shan need to do this. People like us have plenty of opportunities to achieve success and there's no need to spend so much effort."
Zhao Liulang, who was standing by, heard this and couldn't help but roll his eyes, then quietly distanced himself from Lu Yue.
When he was out of the palace on his next leave, he was hanging out with Bai Erlang. Bringing up this matter, he said, "Although it's easier for people like us to rise to prominence than you cousins, why don't we have to put in the effort? Look at Tang Zhihe and Yang Changbo. Not only are they from the capital, they're also top-tier families. Even they put so much effort into building their careers, let alone us?"
Bai Erlang also didn't like Lu Yue, "Who cares? I don't know him well anyway."
After saying that, he glanced at Zhao Liulang, his eyes speaking volumes.
Lu Yue is Zhao Liulang's follower and has been following him since he entered Chongwenguan.
Zhao Liulang was a little depressed. He had no idea that he was like that. He didn't seem so stingy before.
Speaking of stinginess, he remembered, "You are not in the capital, so I will continue to owe you the money?"
Bai Erlang: "Even if I ask you to pay it back now, you can't."
Bai Erlang couldn't help but complain, "Why are you spending so much? If I don't give a gift every month, there's no one to celebrate my birthday. Two taels of silver is the most I can give. Your monthly salary is twenty taels, right?"
Zhao Liulang still had some objections. "Two taels of silver! My sisters at home spend more than that on cosmetics. I'm still a grown man, don't I have to attend social events every month? A meal of wine at Zhuangyuanlou costs more than two taels of silver."
Zhao Liulang sighed, "That's why people outside always think we're so glamorous, but they don't know how hard it is for us."
Not to mention Bai Erlang, even Bai Shan and Man Bao, who were busy sorting books, found time to curl their lips. "People outside are still worried about their three meals a day. They certainly can't understand the difficulties you face in making a pot of wine for two taels of silver or ten taels of silver."
"They can't understand, but you can." Zhao Liulang immediately gave up on Bai Erlang and said to the two of them, "We've been classmates for many years, and everyone should know what's going on. You see, we're the children of noble families, and we're incredibly wealthy, but honestly, do I have as much pocket money as you do?"
All three of them were stumped by the question.
Zhao Liulang continued, "Let's not talk about Zhou Man. You've already been granted an official title, with a salary and a stipend, as well as official land. Just compare Bai Shan and Bai Er. We're both students at the Chongwen Academy, both tutors to the Crown Prince. How much difference is there between the money we can control?"
Zhao Liulang made a big circle and said, "That's a huge difference."
Bai Shan figured something out. He said, why didn't he go anywhere after taking a break from the palace? Instead, he rode a horse and followed them around to visit their house.
Bai Shan raised his chin and motioned him to continue.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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