Chapter 52: Spring Feast I shouldn't have asked, please forgive me. ...
Late at night, two dark shadows flew across the tiles.
One of them moves smoothly and gracefully, with each move carrying an ethereal beauty. The person following closely behind him is also agile and follows him like a shadow.
Leaving Pier No. 3, the nearby Peach Blossom Pond is still bustling.
There are water lanes extending in all directions here. Looking around, you can see restaurants connected to teahouses, and casinos of all sizes scattered throughout the street are open day and night.
“What’s the saying that one wrong step will bring disaster upon you? It’s obvious that you have gained a new person and forgotten the old one.” The Chuhuai opera is accompanied by string music and bangzi music, and the singing is melodious.
The stage was filled with the roar of gongs and drums, while the boatman and Guizhier were sitting on the roof.
"Have a drink?" the taciturn man asked as he handed over the wine jug.
"No, I'm afraid that after drinking I won't be able to walk steadily and might fall off the beam and make a fool of myself." Guizhier declined with a smile.
The captain stopped trying to persuade him and took a gulp of the liquor down his throat.
We had originally agreed to go our separate ways after the success, but he followed me all the way. I don't know what he was up to.
Guizhier was a little confused.
The man had a stern and resolute expression on his face, and his coarse clothes were rustling in the river breeze.
Gui Zhier even felt that he did not look like a wandering wanderer since childhood, but rather had a sense of discipline and obedience.
"The heroine has good kung fu. Who is her master?" The captain brought up the topic.
Guizhier no longer had to think when answering similar questions, and always started with "I have a husband..."
If you believe it, it exists; if you don’t believe it, it doesn’t exist.
The captain lowered his eyes and pursed his lips, as if trying to find inspiration. It was truly torture to have such a normally taciturn person initiate the conversation.
Gui Zhi'er felt sorry for him and asked jokingly, "For something as trivial as tonight, we could just send a capable subordinate. Why bother making a trip in person?"
"Oh, lady, you don't know." The captain breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had finally found the right entry point.
"In our line of work, we earn hard-earned money openly, but we also have to deal with some shady dealings behind the scenes," the captain said with a cold face.
"My subordinates don't know the importance of things and can't grasp the boundaries."
Some jobs can be taken, and some jobs cannot be taken.
Since everyone was in the same boat, the captain didn't hide anything and said bluntly: "Years ago, someone fell into the water and died on our boat. If it were an ordinary person, we would have paid some compensation. But what happened was..."
The captain used his rough hands to gesture the shape of an official's black hat.
"Huh!" Gui Zhi'er gasped, "What should I do?"
"Ahem." The captain coughed lightly and pointed to the top of his head. "Ultimately, we have to rely on someone of greater status to come forward and settle the matter."
"That's good, that's good." Guizhier acted as a qualified supporting actor.
As the captain narrated the story, her eyes showed just the right amount of anticipation and surprise.
At the crucial moment, he gave a brief and powerful response: "Yes!" "That's right!" It was the finishing touch.
The captain didn't know for a moment whether she was just being perfunctory, and his expression became even more frozen.
"In your position, sometimes you have no choice. I understand, I understand." Guizhi yawned lazily. "If there's nothing else, I'll go back to sleep first."
Seeing the boat captain waving goodbye, Guizhier tiptoed away.
She muttered to herself: "This is such a clumsy, stiff recitation of lines. Who sent this person to deliver this message? I hate the Riddler!"
I am just a free and easy chef. I don't care about the affairs of the martial arts world or the court.
At the same time, the boatman who stayed on the roof also took a sip of wine.
"To be able to walk on snow without leaving any trace and to have such profound internal strength, if it were to be taught by my husband, I'm afraid he would have to be raised by a child!" He curled his lips.
The person the master wants to win over is really strange.
It was already Yin-hour, and the sparse stars twinkled faintly in the night sky. The light from the small building on the edge of Bailu Island, filtered through the screens woven from fine bamboo, became soft and hazy.
Suddenly, a knock on the door broke the silence.
Xie Yuan slowly opened his eyes, with a hint of drowsiness and confusion.
He lifted the quilt, and the collar of his plain white shirt was slightly open, revealing a bit of his collarbone and fair skin.
He was not wearing any makeup, so his plain facial features looked dull, yet had a unique charm.
"Young Master Xie hasn't gone to bed yet either. That's great."
Xie Yuan rubbed her eyes, her thoughts gradually becoming clearer. She looked at the newcomer with a hint of helplessness. The flickering candlelight illuminated the girl's bright smile.
"How did you get in?" He stood up, put on his coat, and poured water for Guizhier.
"Yes." Guizhier pointed to the half-open window with a cross-shaped crabapple pattern.
"Climbing in through the window is not what a gentleman does." Xie Yuan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
"I'm a woman." Guizhi'er's eyes were clear and full of sincerity. She drank all the water in one breath, and her dry throat felt like a long drought had finally been relieved by the rain.
It is indeed not nice to disturb other people's sleep, but if she doesn't ask clearly, Guizhier's heart will feel like it's being scratched by a kitten's claws.
"I want to ask something," Guizhier whispered, "Sir, do you know who's behind the captain of the boat gang?"
"Just for this?" Xie Yuan sighed with a smile.
He came here in the middle of the night and thought there was something wrong with the action plan.
"During the Tianyou period, some court officials proposed to dig a canal in the Chuhuai area to manage the water systems in all directions and connect Hangzhou and Beijing." He frowned slightly and recalled.
The picture planned at that time was grand and magnificent.
It seems that ships will be able to travel between the north and the south, and the flow of goods will be unimpeded, and military deployments will be able to respond flexibly.
Once, he saw his father shaking his head and sighing in the corridor after leaving court.
"Even when geese pass by, they leave their feathers behind; when meat passes by, they leave their oil behind. The canal project has consumed enormous manpower and material resources. While success may bring benefits, the process has been arduous."
"Father, I heard that the eunuchs are also eyeing this lucrative position?"
The elder brother asked indignantly.
He didn't listen to the rest of the conversation, and soon, it was the Chengshuo period.
"After the new emperor ascended the throne, the canal issue was shelved." Xie Yuan counted on his fingers, "Calculating the time, the captain became famous in Chu Huai during the Tianyou period." That is, it was a matter of the previous dynasty.
Guizhi'er's mind was working rapidly.
"Speaking of the Dog Emperor," she asked curiously, her eyebrows raised. "I just recently learned that the Xie family of Sishui has a strict family tradition and produces many talented people."
"Your father is a veteran of three dynasties in Daliang. How dare that bastard emperor show no mercy and target you just for the trivial matter of not wanting to be a consort?"
I'm afraid it was premeditated and they were just taking advantage of the situation.
Xie Yuan sat quietly beside the bed, his plain robe fluttering in the wind. He placed one hand lightly on the edge of the bed, his fingers long and slender, with distinct joints.
Hearing Gui Zhi'er's question, he smiled and said, "A new emperor appoints new ministers."
"Did your father really not hear anything about this?" Gui Zhier asked.
"Didn't the storyteller say that the eldest son of the Xie family caught a cold and couldn't go down to take the exam?" Xie Yuan's lips were still raised, but with a hint of bitterness.
The drooping hair adds a sense of loneliness.
"Ah." Guizhier suddenly realized.
The dog emperor had just come to power, and he dared not refuse to take the first spring examination of the new dynasty.
However, fearing that their own talented descendants would be targeted, the Xie family could only "sacrifice the chariot to save the king" and let the second son, who was born out of wedlock, cross the river by feeling the stones first.
Unexpectedly, he ended up with the ridiculous ending of "performing for a living under the emperor's order".
"I shouldn't have asked, please forgive me." Guizhier felt a little guilty for revealing someone else's sad story.
I also feel that Young Master Xie is truly the Holy Father.
The Leshan Giant Buddha in Western Sichuan should be moved away and he should sit there.
"That's fine. I'm actually more curious. Miss, you bought so many spring teas. Even if you use them all for cooking, you still won't be able to use them all?"
Xie Yuan tilted her head slightly, her voice clear and elegant.
The value of first spring tea lies in its "newness". If it is old tea, the price will be greatly reduced.
Guizhier naturally would not reveal that she was going to hide some of it in the space.
The main purpose of purchasing tea is——
"My daughter wants to take charge of the spring banquet for the scholars from the literary society." Guizhier answered calmly and confidently.
The Spring Banquet, as the name suggests, is an elegant gathering held in spring.
All the wise men gathered together to make friends through literature.
People gathered together, some burned incense and hung paintings, some recited poems and played the piano, accompanied by stringed instruments and flowing wine cups, which has always been passed down as a good story by the world.
Especially in Chuhuai, the gorgeous and luxurious river water has nurtured a large number of literati and poets.
Before the Spring Examination, this banquet became an important gathering for literary societies in the north and south to exchange what they had. Not only did scholars give lectures and discuss philosophy, but even monks and Taoists came to preach, and businesses exchanged what they had.
It is a veritable feast.
As a rule, the restaurant that contracts the Spring Banquet must provide meals free of charge.
This is a good opportunity to increase the popularity of the restaurant, but unfortunately this year is a bad year and many restaurants are not so wealthy.
"What? Contracting the Spring Banquet?!"
The next day, upon hearing this, Liu Qianjin exclaimed.
"Sir, I'm afraid you are not capable of cooking alone." Wang Pu and the other students were also very surprised.
They trust Guizhier's cooking skills 100%, but how can they organize an event of this scale without help?
"Don't worry, everything is going according to plan!"
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