Chapter 414 Hu Shanxiang 5
"Why, do you know each other?"
"It's just a chance encounter!"
"I've never seen him before..." Hu Shanxiang raised her head in surprise, seemingly not understanding where Zhu Zhanji's "mere acquaintance" came from. She subconsciously finished the second half of the sentence, "Just that he looks familiar."
Yao Guangxiao's smile deepened as he stood up and said, "It would be inappropriate to keep the emperor waiting for too long. I'll excuse myself for now."
After saying this, he left with his hands behind his back, leaving the two people in the pavilion looking at each other in bewilderment.
"My name is Zhu Zhanji. May I ask... what is your name, sir?"
Zhu Zhanji saw that she was dressed as a man and thought that she was the old monk's guest. Although he could tell at a glance that she was not very old, he still did not dare to treat her with disrespect.
The man was wearing a moon-white straight-collared gown today, with only a fish-shaped jade pendant and a plain fan bag hanging from his waist. He turned slightly when he heard the question, and the jade pendant on his waist swayed slightly: "No need to worry about your surname being Hu, it is auspicious and kind."
"Hu... Shanxiang, what an auspicious name."
Zhu Zhanji thought about it. If it was someone else, he would have laughed at it and called it a vulgar name, but when it was applied to her, it really seemed appropriate.
He secretly laughed at himself for judging people by their appearance, but he still made a very honest gesture of invitation: "Since you are the old monk's guest, please come in, Brother Hu."
"How dare I, please go in first, my prince."
Hu Shanxiang spoke respectfully, but the look in her eyes when she looked at him was very calm. If it weren't for her words, Zhu Zhanji would have thought he was just an ordinary citizen.
The man smiled with interest and didn't refuse. He just moved a little closer and said, "I'll take you out to play later. Miss Hu, you should call me Brother Huang."
The good saint grandson who had scared Sun Ruowei with the same method looked at those beautiful peach blossom eyes with great anticipation.
Shanxiang raised his head slightly and smiled: "Of course, of course. Brother Huang, please don't destroy my stage later."
The two men looked at each other and stopped talking. They both put on a hypocritical face and walked out of the gate of Jiming Temple politely.
Yingtian is indeed the capital. Hu Shanxiang, who had just left in a hurry last time, now looked at the bustling crowd with a genuine smile on her face.
Seeing this, Zhu Zhanji smiled and asked, "Brother Hu, this is your first time in Yingtian. How do you feel?"
"I've never seen such a bustling and bustling scene before. It's truly the Emperor's home. The atmosphere is truly different from anywhere else."
Shanxiang walked with him all the way. Zhu Zhanji's sharp tongue was indeed extraordinary. He knew all the stories about eating, drinking and having fun wherever he saw them. His eloquence was even better than those of storytellers.
As luck would have it, they came across a small restaurant on the bank of the Qinhuai River. Zhu Zhanji guessed she must be hungry after all the walking, so he led Shanxiang inside and said with a smile, "This is a husband-and-wife shop. They make excellent steamed buns filled with syrup. I'm really hungry this morning, so I had to ask Brother Hu to eat with me."
"Brother Huang, you're too polite. I'm also feeling hungry. I feel bad for asking you to accompany me for so long. How about I treat you to dinner?"
Zhu Zhanji just smiled. The two of them went in and found an empty table to sit down. Since Shanxiang didn't know what the restaurant had in common, he followed the host's wishes and ordered two baskets of steamed buns with fresh meat in soup and two bowls of plain noodles.
After eating and drinking, Hu Shanxiang paid the bill and the two of them went shopping again.
Before I knew it, I came to a small stall. The seller was a young woman who was neatly dressed and pretty. She had a madder flower on her hair, which made her look particularly beautiful.
Shanxiang took a look at the stall and found that they were selling wrapped flowers. The craftsmanship was very good and the colors were vivid. There were all kinds of patterns that could be found in real life, such as peach blossoms, chrysanthemums, peonies, etc., as well as some patterns that he had conceived himself. However, looking at the people coming and going, the business was average, and most people bought one or two common patterns.
She walked forward and picked out one of the blue ones at a glance: "Girl, how much is this one?"
The woman didn't notice it at first, but when she saw that Shanxiang was holding the design she had imagined, she was surprised, then a little embarrassed: "This one is only 13 cents."
The price is indeed not expensive. In fact, if you calculate it this way, the girl is sold almost at cost price.
Before Shanxiang could take out the money from her bosom, a pair of bony hands had already piled the copper coins on the stall. She looked over with the hairpin in her hand and heard Zhu Zhanji say with a smile: "You spent a lot of money to treat me to dinner. Brother Hu must accept this hairpin."
Shanxiang finally understood what was going on. She asked the girl to wrap the hairpin properly and turned to him and nodded, "Okay, it's just this hairpin, I won't accept anything else."
Zhu Zhanji sighed with some regret: "If I had known this, I should have taken you to the Gold and Jade Pavilion first. The hairpins and rings there are always the latest. If you think gold and silver are too vulgar, there are also jade, agate and various colored gemstones and beads."
Shanxiang took the cloth bag from the girl and shook it gently. "I don't mind those things being vulgar, but they're too heavy. This one is better. I chose it myself and it suits my taste. Thank you, Brother Huang."
"Okay, as long as Brother Hu likes it."
Zhu Zhanji readily accepted the advice. As they left the stall, they heard the man whisper, "One day, Brother Hu changes..."
Shanxiang, who had just returned from strolling outside for most of the day, watched Zhu Zhanji leave. As soon as she stepped into the temple gate, she saw Xiao Bisi standing not far away waiting for her.
After being escorted into the house, Shanxiang was carrying cakes in one hand and snacks in the other, with a cloth bag containing a hairpin hanging around her waist. Zhu Di looked up and said, "You're back. How was your fun? It seems you had a lot of fun today."
"Thanks to the Emperor and the Crown Prince, I didn't starve."
Shanxiang first put these things on the table, then turned around and bowed to the emperor.
Zhu Di waved his hand: "Okay, let's talk about business, what do you think?"
"I don't feel anything. I don't know if it really can prolong life, but at least it's not poisonous."
"Humph, the crime of deceiving the emperor is no worse than assassinating the king and killing his driver. It is also punishable by death."
Having said that, the old man who was used to scaring people was obviously just a little disappointed, but he was also skeptical about such supernatural things.
To be honest, if the girl had not had the old monk as a guarantor, he would have thought that she was an orphan of the Jingnan Rebellion and was trying to poison him.
"Your Majesty is right, but the man who deceived him is already dead. I was just a messenger."
With such a face, he admitted his mistake quickly. Zhu Di, who was originally just a little disappointed, now felt a little upset.
"Then does the emperor still need this medicine?"
Yao Guangxiao on the side smiled and tried to smooth things over.
Zhu Di rolled his eyes at the old monk's legitimate partiality and picked up the jade box on the table.
He had summoned all the trusted doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau to find out about the red pill on the night Hu Shanxiang took it. No one could explain it, but they could tell by smell that most of the herbs in it were indeed used to regulate the body.
Later, he personally scraped some powder and fed it to a rabbit, but indeed he didn't see any changes. He didn't know whether the medicine was ineffective or because it had to be taken in its entirety.
However, just as Yao Guangxiao had advised him before, these things were unexpected, and Zhu Di would not be so timid and worried about such a thing.
Thinking of this, Zhu Di swallowed the pill in one gulp.
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