Chapter 168 Double Ninth Festival, Bayberry Wine
"Captain Li!" Xu Shiming suppressed his anger, "Our trip concerns the lives of many people in Long'an. What should we do if it rains again!?"
Li Yan raised his eyebrows and squinted his eyes, looking up at the gloomy sky, sneering: "You said it would rain, and it rained. Are you the reincarnation of the Dragon King?"
"Human life is at stake, how can this be treated as a joke!?"
"Oh, you two have been riding in cars all the way, but we brothers have been walking or riding horses, and we are almost exhausted." Li Yan said lazily, "Anyway, you guys have to walk by yourself, we have to eat and drink enough, so that we have the strength to set off."
"Okay." Xu Shiming nodded and said, "There is still some dry food in the car. Let everyone rest for half an incense stick of time and eat some dry food to fill their stomachs. Then we will set off immediately."
"That won't work. It will be very choking if I only eat dry food." Li Yan deliberately lengthened the tone.
Then he asked his men to cook some meat porridge for them to drink.
Xu Shiming suddenly clenched his fists, realizing that Li Yan did it on purpose.
It takes at least an hour to cook raw rice into porridge.
The sky is becoming increasingly gloomy. It seems that heavy rain may suddenly come at any time. We cannot waste even a moment!
Eunuch Zhao was also a little anxious and wanted to persuade Li Yan, but Li Yan just said that he and his brothers were hungry and wanted to eat.
"Are you really not leaving?" Xu Shiming asked, staring at Li Yan's back.
Li Yan responded with a contemptuous sneer.
Unexpected events happen, and it rained heavily on the way. There was nothing anyone could do about it. Even if he returned to the East Palace, the prince would not punish him for it.
Since no one has done anything wrong, Xu Shiming will have no chance of promotion, but his cousin will have a chance.
Xu Shiming understood that there was no hope for Li Yan. He thought for a moment and asked Eunuch Zhao how many of the convoy he could command.
"There are a total of 35 people coming this time. The guards led by Li Yan have a total of 20 people. Excluding the two of us, the remaining 13 people are the palace servants of the East Palace. Our words are still of some use."
"Please ask Eunuch Zhao to gather the palace servants. We will move forward with the important supplies." Xu Shiming deliberately raised his voice a few notches so that Li Yan could hear it. "Once Captain Li has rested, please lead everyone to catch up with the team immediately."
Li Yan pretended not to hear and just curled the corners of his mouth with a look of contempt.
Eunuch Zhao nodded, then counted the other thirteen people and gathered them together, and drove the ten carriages carrying supplies forward.
Li Yan's deputy walked up to him and asked him in a low voice if he still wanted to cook the meat porridge.
If Eunuch Zhao and others go far away, it will be difficult to catch up later.
Li Yan sneered: "The ground in Jiangzhou has been soaked and softened, and the things on the carriage are so heavy. How many times has the carriage sunk into the ground on our way here?
Without our help in pulling the car out, how far do you think Zhao's useless men could have gotten?"
After that, he urged, "Hurry up and cook the porridge. It's not fair to not let people eat in the middle of the day!"
…
The kitchen at the Xiao Mansion was busy preparing the lunch banquet, and the aroma of food wafted from far away.
"Wan'er, have you packed everything?" Madam Xiao's voice sounded outside Xiao Wan's room, "Lord Yang and his men will be here soon."
Xiao Wan looked at herself in the bronze mirror and silently put down the comb in her hand.
I don’t know how Sicheng and the others are doing in Long’an County.
She sighed softly, opened the door and walked out. Today is the Double Ninth Festival, and it is also the day when Mr. Xiao will host a banquet for Yang Yao's family at home.
When Mrs. Xiao saw her come out, she was not only wearing a brand new spring green printed jade brocade, but her hair was also neatly tied up. It was obvious that she was carefully dressed up, and a smile of relief and satisfaction immediately appeared on her face.
This kid finally figured it out.
She smiled and was about to hold her daughter's hand, but Xiao Wan avoided her without leaving a trace.
"Mother, I will go to the kitchen to see how the banquet is prepared, and then I will go to greet Uncle Yang."
Xiao Wan said softly, bowed slightly, and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
Soon, a luxurious carriage stopped at the gate of the Xiao Mansion. Yang Yao got out of the carriage with a smile on his face, followed by Yang Yao's wife and Yang Xin, who also had a happy face.
Mr. and Mrs. Xiao, who had been waiting at the door, hurried forward to greet them.
"Uncle Xiao, Auntie." Yang Xin first greeted the two of them, then glanced inside the door.
Xiao Wan just came out at this moment.
"Wan'er greets Uncle Yang and Aunt Yang." Xiao Wan smiled, but didn't even look at Yang Xin. After she finished speaking, she stood back next to her parents.
Mr. Xiao led Yang Yao and his son into the inner courtyard, and today's dinner was held in the courtyard.
A huge round table was placed in the inner courtyard. The two younger generations, Xiao Wan and Yang Xin, naturally sat at the last seat, next to each other.
The two parents exchanged greetings for a while, and finally it was the turn of the younger generation to speak.
Yang Xin picked up the wine glass, first toasted Mr. and Mrs. Xiao, then looked at Xiao Wan.
"Miss Xiao, I remember that we first met at a banquet like this. We became friends because of poetry and prose, so how about we come up with a couplet for fun?"
Before Xiao Wan opened her mouth, Master Xiao clapped his hands and laughed, "Xin'er, this is a great idea. I remember that Xin'er was the first to come up with a pair last time, so how about we switch and let Wan'er come up with a pair first this time?"
"Of course." Yang Xin looked at Xiao Wan.
Xiao Wan originally had an indifferent expression and was about to refuse, but suddenly she had an idea and revealed a faint smile.
"Mr. Yang, please ask the question first. If Wan'er can't answer it, she will drink a glass of wine as punishment. How do you think?"
"Haha, since Miss Xiao said so, then Yang will not be polite."
Yang Xin pondered, "Since Jiangzhou has had a lot of rain recently, I will use water as the topic. Miss Xiao, please listen -
If there are worms in the water, it will become turbid. If there are fish in the water, you can fish. Water, water, water. The rivers, lakes and tributaries are full of water. "
Xiao Wan thought for a moment and chanted slowly: "A tree without roots will wither; a tree without branches will be lonely. Wood, wood, wood, pine, cypress, camphor, and nanmu."
"Great!" Yang Yao clapped his hands and laughed, "Brother Xiao's beloved daughter is indeed worthy of her reputation!"
"Since they match, then Young Master Yang loses."
Xiao Wan stood up and smiled appropriately, "It's rare for Young Master Yang to come today, why not try the bayberry wine that Wan'er has just brewed."
Xiao Wan stood up and walked to the side hall. After a while, she brought out a tray. On the dark brown tray were a wine jug and two glasses filled with wine.
Xiao Wan put the tray on the table, poured wine for the elders first, then picked up the two glasses of wine that had been filled earlier and handed one to Yang Xin.
Yang Xin exchanged glances with Chunlan, who was standing behind Mrs. Xiao, and Chunlan nodded slightly to him.
Yang Xin took the wine glass that Xiao Wan handed over, "Miss Xiao, can you drink with me?"
Xiao Wan hesitated for a moment, then raised her glass and said, "Okay, then Wan'er toasts to Young Master Yang."
Yang Xin watched her drink the whole glass in one gulp. The smile on his face deepened, with a hint of success in the curve of his mouth. He also drank the glass of wine in his hand.
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