Chapter 41
Shi Ye put down the teacup and reminded him, "Brother, you've drunk too much."
Xiao Wen: "Tsk, you don't know how much I can drink. This is just the beginning. Xiaosheng, if you can't drink, don't force yourself. I can drink a lot, so you don't have to drink with me."
Perhaps it had been a while since his old friend had visited Pingyang, but Xiao Wen was particularly happy today, drinking and chatting freely, with the air of a scholar. Wang Sheng didn't have many friends either, so it was a rare opportunity for him to make a new one, so he naturally wanted to accompany him. "Brother Xiao Wen, you're looking down on me. When I used to go from street to street, I drank more wine than water."
"Really? Then I'd like to see who can drink more!"
The speaker didn't mean it, but the listener took it to heart. Shi Ye squeezed the cup for a moment, then let it go again, not stopping them any further.
A few people were chatting here, and someone was whispering something next to them.
"Look, the private room on the second floor is tightly closed, and there are so many people guarding the door. Which master has come to Shidinglou?"
"Keep your voice down! Aren't you afraid of getting arrested for discussing this?" The man looked around, making sure no one was paying attention, before continuing, "I'm telling you, when they arrived, I took a closer look and saw a eunuch."
His companion was genuinely shocked, then tried to calm down, "Really?"
"How could I be wrong about what that eunuch looks like? Absolutely not. Just wait and see."
Where else in the world could there be eunuchs? They were the nobles in the imperial city, the most powerful figures. Although they were of high status in Pingyang, they had never come into contact with such people. From a distance, they could tell that they were the result of the blessing of their ancestors.
After a few cups of tea, the people on the second floor moved. The person in the box came out and was surrounded by many servants. There were guards in front and behind him. Next to him was a man in official clothes who was nodding and bowing. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. It was obvious that he could not withstand this scene.
The two people who had just spoken looked up inadvertently and saw that the nobleman had a heavenly figure. He was dressed in crescent-colored gold brocade, with a belt of the same color around his waist and an emerald fish-patterned pendant on it. He was extremely handsome, and his skin looked particularly white because he had not seen the sun for many years.
After this nobleman came out, he casually raised his eyelids and looked down, as if he was killing himself. There was no desire to see or explore the world in his eyes. Everything was just an inevitable existence.
Besides the official, there was also a man who was even paler than him following closely beside him. This man's movements were feminine, with a smile on his face. He followed his master closely, not as masculine as an ordinary man.
The noise on the second floor aroused the curiosity of the people below, but everyone knew not to make a sound, so they lowered their voices or simply kept silent, which made the voices of the two drunk people here seem even louder.
"Come on, come on, young man, this Yangchun wine is famous for its fragrance. You won't be able to drink it anywhere else outside of Shidinglou."
Wang Sheng took a sip and his eyes lit up. "Indeed, it leaves a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth. It is indeed a good wine."
The nobleman came down the stairs and originally wanted to withdraw his gaze, not wanting to look anymore, but was attracted by the praise of these two people and left.
Wang Sheng was sitting facing the stairs. Perhaps because he had drunk some wine, his usually annoying face now looked a little drunken, his eyes were blurry, his tone was unstable when he spoke, and he felt a little dizzy from holding his head, but he didn't act crazy.
The nobleman looked into Wang Sheng's eyes and suddenly stopped. His face, which had always been world-weary, showed an unprecedented tension.
As soon as he stopped, everyone around him stopped, not knowing why, and waited for his fate. The eunuch followed his gaze and saw that it was just an unremarkable Taoist priest. He approached and asked, "Master, what's going on?"
The nobleman came back to his senses, a self-deprecating smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said casually: "Nothing, let's go."
Seeing Wang Sheng drinking so temptingly, Shi, who had been sipping tea, was also intrigued and poured a little to taste, finding it indeed quite good. Chang Sun Yi, who was drinking milk, saw the three adults drinking this Yangchun wine, so he took a sip from Xiao Wen's glass. The spicy taste made his little face wrinkle, and the three of them all laughed.
This was the only table in the entire building still making a lot of noise. When the eunuch passed by, he glanced at them with a frown and then left.
After the people left, everyone started talking again. The topic was naturally the group of eunuchs. They made all kinds of guesses, even wondering if the emperor had come on his incognito tour. As a result, they were laughed at by others. The current emperor was already so old, and that nobleman looked very young. How could he be the emperor?
It wasn't that Xiao Wen didn't notice this group of people; he just didn't see the need to disrupt his own interest for their sake. Not to mention the time, even if the emperor himself came, he wouldn't bother to see it. As for Wang Sheng, he was drunk.
Xiao Wen saw the carriage outside the door leave from the corner of his eye. He put down his wine glass, curled his lips, and said, "Guess who that person was just now? How about the bet, three glasses of wine?"
Wang Sheng chose to drink three cups directly. How could he, who came from a remote county, know so much?
Xiao Wen smiled and said, "How about you, little brother?"
The person opposite said calmly, "Prince."
Xiao Wen laughed, "I knew you would guess it right. You guessed it before me, so I'll drink three cups as a punishment." He drank three cups without hesitation, not knowing whether it was a punishment or voluntary.
"The war in the northern border is at a stalemate. Although we've received reports of victory, Prince Huaian's Black Feather Army is being steadily depleted by the Atler Stone. The Crown Prince came to Pingyang simply to raise food and military funds. By the way, Junior Brother, did you know that Qianfan went to the northern border?"
Qin Qianfan, Xiao Wen's junior brother and Shi Ye's senior brother, although his talent is not as good as those in Yuntaishan, he works extremely hard and his ghost-controlling skills can be considered top-notch.
Shi Ye had already been down the mountain for half a year and knew very little about these things. "I don't know."
Seeing that he didn't care much, Xiao Wen sighed and said, "Qian Fan went to the northern border to seek refuge with the subordinates of King Huai'an for that thing in the back mountain without telling anyone, and worked for King Huai'an. I don't know whether it was good or bad. The master was furious and ordered him to go back immediately, but he didn't go back. Sigh."
Qin Qianfan, once he's committed to something, will devote all his energy to it. Most importantly, he hates those who are gifted but abuse their talents. In his words, they're just putting on an act, and he's referring to his junior brother Shiye.
Everyone on Yuntai Mountain focused their attention on Shi Ye, praising him. No matter how hard Qin Qianfan tried, he was always outshined by Shi Ye. This time, Shi Ye was sent down the mountain to capture the wronged souls, but he wasn't to be outdone. He chose to interfere with a major cause and effect and headed north, using his ghost-controlling skills to aid the Black Jade Army in their battle, a taboo for them.
Shi Ye has never cared about these people and these things. After all, what others think is their business and has nothing to do with him.
Wang Sheng looked at Xiao Wen, then at Shi Ye, and guessed that Qin Qianfan and Shi Ye were not on good terms, and that Qin Qianfan was unilaterally battling Shi Ye. He smacked his lips in amazement, realizing that even within the sects of masters, there was intrigue and scheming. It was better to be free and unrestrained.
Xiao Wen asked curiously, "But Junior Brother, the prince appreciates you the most. I heard that you also dealt with Chen Nian during your trip down the mountain. Didn't they kidnap you?"
Shi Ye: "This time I am heading north to meet the Prince of Huai'an. Since someone is already there, I am not going."
The war in the north never subsided, and he didn't like the feeling of corpses everywhere.
After dinner, Xiao Wen took them to visit Pingyang. However, no matter how beautiful the scenery was, it was the same. He simply rented two small boats, one for him and Changsun Yi, and one for Shi Ye and Wang Sheng, and they slowly floated down the Pingyang River.
The comfort of autumn lingers in people's hearts, and the riverside is bustling with people and various things.
The boatman was steering the boat from the back. In the boathouse, someone was sitting directly on the straw mat, supporting his head with one hand on the seat. The boat was shaking, and he hummed a song. He missed his flute a little, otherwise he could still play a few songs now.
The aisle was a bit narrow, and after Wang Sheng sat down, Shi Ye had nowhere to put his legs, so he had to sit on the side to make room for him.
He placed his palm on Wang Sheng's forehead from behind, feeling a little hot. His brows drooped slightly as he said, "Wang Sheng, are you feeling unwell?"
Shi Ye's voice had a strange sound. Before Shi Ye could take his hand away, Wang Sheng grabbed it, then leaned in and sniffed it. He smiled and said, "It's not fragrant. It's not the rouge scent of a girl, but it does have a herbal scent. I guess you are a master, right?"
His breath hit his hand, and Shi Ye pulled it back. There was no emotion on his face, but under his cold eyes there was a tenderness that he was not even aware of.
The boatman stopped the boat downstream. The passenger paid him and asked him to stay for a while longer. Then he left, leaving only the sleeping passenger inside.
Soon, the guest came back with a box. The boatman glanced at it but couldn't make out what it was.
There were no patterns on the box, it was very simple. After Shiye opened it, there was a peace locket with a small bunch of flower petals inside. It was not big and was strung with a red rope.
After he put it on Wang Sheng, he held the peace locket for a long time, his long eyelashes lowered, looking at Wang Sheng.
In the village, Wang Sheng deliberately said those words to interrupt him from probing into his identity, breaking the subtle feeling between them. He might have had a premonition, otherwise, given his temperament, he would have driven Wang Sheng away long ago, but he always thought Wang Sheng knew nothing.
Shi Ye suddenly felt that he was also very interesting.
Only after it was warmed up was the peace locket stuffed into Wang Sheng’s collar.
He exhaled, leaned over, and gently touched the forehead of the sleeping person. Without any hesitation, he sat up straight the next moment and woke the person up.
After Wang Sheng woke up, he had a severe headache, but he pretended to be calm and followed Shi Ye off the boat. However, when he passed by the boatman, he saw that he seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if he had just seen something extraordinary. Wang Sheng didn't pay much attention to it and got off the boat.
He looked around and asked, "Master, where is Senior Brother Xiao Wen?"
Shi Ye didn't even turn his head: "There's something going on in the study, so he took Chang Sun Yi back first."
"Oh." After saying that, Wang Sheng suddenly felt nauseous and almost vomited out the food he had eaten. He patted his chest and smoothed it over without any danger, then he felt a hard object under his palm.
He touched it in confusion and took out the peace locket. He was stunned. Where did this jade come from and why was it on him?
This emerald jade is transparent and lustrous, and it is obviously a top-grade product. Among the pile of jades confiscated from Zhang Wei, the prefect of Zhang County, and the pile of things that Cui Ziyao prepared to give them, none of them are as good as the peace locket in his hand now. This is definitely not something he could have picked up somewhere when he was drunk.
Just as he was stunned, a familiar scent of grass and wood came from the peace locket. Wang Sheng paused and was speechless for a long time.
Is this what Shi Ye gave him?
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