The moment he grabbed her hand, her teeth started to tremble, her stomach started to churn, and she almost vomited.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the two gatekeepers rushed forward and grabbed Jiang Shaoxiong's shoulders, pulling him back violently and restraining him. Then they asked Shen Que, "Sir, what should we do with this man?"
How to deal with it?
Shen wished he would die, and disappear from this world without leaving any trace.
However, Jiang Shaoxiong was a scoundrel, but he was still an honest citizen. If he was beaten to death for no reason, he would be sued. Being sued was secondary, but Shen did not want to bring shame to the palace because of this scum.
If his dirty blood was allowed to splatter on the gate of the palace, it would be a disgrace to the clean brick and stone ground in front of the gate.
As if he had guessed what he was thinking, Jiang Shaoxiong's triangular eyes immediately revealed a greedy light: "Jiang Guaner, you are rich now, but don't forget, no matter what, I am still your father. If you dare to let them do something to me, I will not let you off easily!"
He dared to be sure, but Shen did not dare to deny him.
This mute has now become an official. Although Jiang Shaoxiong can't read a single word, he knows that officials like them have to save face. Not only did he refuse to acknowledge his father, but he also sent his biological father to the government. Either of these is enough for the imperial censors to report him.
Even just for this, he would never do anything to himself in public.
Shen's face turned pale, and after a long while, he raised his hand and gestured something.
Outside, Yuanzhi was his mouthpiece, and he immediately said to the two gatekeepers, "My master said to let him go."
The two men looked at each other, and although they were a little unhappy, they still let go of each other's hands.
Jiang Shaoxiong relaxed his shoulders, with a triumphant smile on his face, and said to the two gatekeepers in a haughty manner: "Why are you still standing here? Can't you see that your master has already recognized me as your father? Why don't you invite me in to eat and drink well and serve me comfortably to make amends?"
The guests who came and went in the palace were all well-mannered scholars and officials. The two gatekeepers had never seen such a daring and despicable person before, and they rolled their eyes to the sky. However, since this man was Chen Que's biological father, they could not say much.
I just couldn't help but spit at him: "We are serving masters and nobles, who do you think you are?"
"I'm a clean and honest citizen," Jiang Shaoxiong straightened the joystick, pointed at the gatekeeper's nose, and cursed with his neck stiff, "All the food and things I use are grown in the fields, and you are just guard dogs and pigs, lowly embryos worse than pigs and dogs. My mother's vagina was stabbed to pieces by a dog, and she gave birth to you rotten things..."
The more he cursed, the harsher it became, and the two gatekeepers were getting angry and were about to raise their sticks.
Shen hurriedly stood between the two, with his tiger's mouth on his lips, and glared at him fiercely.
Jiang Shaoxiong didn't think he was wrong at all, and rushed to him angrily: "What? Your father was insulted and scolded, but you still turned your elbow outward. You forgot the moral principles when you became rich, you disobedient and unfilial bastard."
He cursed everyone with his dirty mouth, and no one could escape once he opened his mouth. Even Shen Que was puzzled, why had he not been beaten to death in all these years?
However, Shen asked Yuanzhi to give some silver to the two gatekeepers, saying that he would treat them to a drink. When the two men saw the silver, their faces looked better.
But he still felt embarrassed to leave like that, so he cursed in a low voice, "Don't let me run into you next time," and then turned back into the mansion.
Jiang Shaoxiong intended to chase them and scold them again, but was stopped by Shen, who moved his hands with disgust on his face and threatened him boldly.
"If you keep making trouble, the master will be so angry that he will kick me out, and then you won't get a penny!"
He knew Jiang Shaoxiong very well. His coming to recognize his relationship with him was fake. He just thought that Jiang Shaoxiong had become rich and came to ask him for money to buy wine.
As expected, upon hearing Yuan Zhiyi's words, Jiang Shaoxiong stared and said in a low voice: "I am your dear, how can I harm you? What are you talking about?"
Chen Que moved his hands again, and Yuan Zhi hurriedly relayed for him: "The master said that he wants to invite you to Zuixiao Tower to talk."
Zuixiaolou is the largest restaurant in Kyoto. Every day the restaurant is packed with diners and every seat is occupied. During the Spring Festival, it is even harder to get a seat. Unless you are a person of high status and position, you cannot get a seat even if you bring a lot of money with you.
Jiang Shaoxiong was not a stranger, so he had naturally heard about what a great place Zuixiaolou was. Therefore, he nodded and agreed without hesitation: "Okay."
After he responded, he laughed cheerfully, and patted Chen Que's shoulder without any hesitation: "I didn't raise you in vain for those years. I still knew to treat you to a good meal. I don't know what the wine in Zuixiaolou tastes like. Let me have a taste today."
As soon as the hand came up, Shen Que subconsciously wanted to hide. He tilted his head and saw the black mud between his fingernails. Then, the dried smell of alcohol on his body floated to his nose, stinking like sour tofu. Shen Que almost bit his tongue to avoid spitting it out in front of him.
He pulled Jiang Shaoxiong's hand away and frowned, "Don't touch me!"
This time it was lip reading, so Jiang Shaoxiong could understand it without Yuanzhi explaining it.
He looked a little embarrassed, and said "huh" coldly, still repeating those two sentences over and over again: "Oh, you are so great just because you are an official, but you dare to yell at me? Don't forget your roots, you are just an egg laid in a grass nest, and others call you sir, but you really think you are the boss, how picky!"
But Shen ignored him. He cursed a few words and then stopped.
When they walked onto the road, Shen Que realized that he actually brought someone with him. When Jiang Shaoxiong was making a fuss in front of the door just now, she was hiding in a nearby alley.
The woman looked to be around thirty or forty years old. She wore a dark blue headscarf on her head, had no makeup on her face, and had a few tiny cracks on her dark lips.
When Jiang Shaoxiong dragged her over, she was still timid, and only dared to glance at Shen Que. He pushed her forward with rough hands and feet and introduced her, "Guan'er, this is the second wife that Grandpa married, and she is also your stepmother."
Shen refused to even look at them, so Jiang Shaoxiong reached out to push the woman: "Are you dumb? This is my Jiang Shaoxiong's own son, don't you know to call me?"
After being scolded by him, the woman timidly took a step forward and called him softly, "Official, Official."
After the woman finished calling him, he pulled Chen Que's sleeve again: "Your mother is calling you, do you know the rules? You can't speak, and you don't even know how to answer? You've been an official for a few years, and you don't even know how to call your parents when you see them?"
Shen, however, pretended not to hear and let him point at his nose and curse. Finally, they recognized each other. Jiang Shaoxiong was a little afraid of his current identity, so he only cursed a few words and then stopped.
Zuixiaolou is just next door, just a few steps away.
After entering the door, Shen asked Yuanzhi to ask the shopkeeper for a private room upstairs. The restaurant was noisy with the sounds of dancing, music and gongs and drums everywhere, so naturally no one would notice them.
Jiang Shaoxiong had never been to such a nice place in his life. After entering the restaurant, it was not enough for him to look around, but from time to time he also touched the decorations he saw along the way, and kept exclaiming "tsk tsk tsk".
As soon as the four of them sat down, Jiang Shaoxiong ignored the woman beside him and said to the waiter who led them with the menu, "Hey, give me two buckets of the best wine in your restaurant first!"
The servant looked at him, sizing up his tattered paper fur coat, which was torn at the cuffs, dirty and short, and then looked at Chen Que, who remained silent, and reminded him weakly, "My dear guest, the best wine in our building costs ten thousand coins per bucket."
Jiang Shaoxiong was slightly stunned at first, as if he was shocked by the price, but he glanced at Chen Que, and then he slapped the table with his hand: "Ten thousand coins, so what? You little bastard, you look down on others, do you see the gentleman sitting opposite me? This is my own son, an official in Prince Yan's mansion, the person the prince values the most. If you dare to make him unhappy, your restaurant will have to close tomorrow!"
The young man looked embarrassed. Anyone who heard this would probably feel uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Yuanzhi was also smart. He didn't need to hesitate and gesture. He took the lead to pull the boy outside the room, pointed at his forehead, and whispered: "He has a problem here. He was bitten by a dog before he went out. Just treat it as a dog barking. Go ahead. My master can afford the wine."
After hearing this, the servant left in a depressed mood.
At the same time, in the side room.
Seeing that the man had left, Jiang Shaoxiong suddenly leaned forward, leaned in front of Chen Que with a smile, and whispered to him: "This is a big restaurant in Kyoto. The price of two buckets of wine is enough for your grandfather to buy wine for half a year. Is this wine brewed with gold bricks and silver ingots? How dare you ask for this price? Tsk tsk tsk tsk."
But when Shen heard his voice, he felt extremely disgusted, and without raising his head, he just gestured to him in a low voice.
Yuanzhi: "My Lord, how did you find it?"
He had been in the palace for more than ten years, but he never came to look for him. How come now that he had escaped from slavery and became a minor official, he rushed here upon hearing the news? How could such a coincidence happen in the world?
As he was speaking, the servant came back again, holding a food tray in his hand, followed by a serving maid. He first served two cups of wine and a few side dishes. The maid wanted to stay and serve the wine, but Shen dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
"Why chase her away?" Jiang Shaoxiong couldn't help smacking his lips as he drank the wine. He praised the wine for being so well brewed, and then said, "That young lady is so pretty, with white hands, and the rabbit in her collar must be white and tender too."
At this point he glanced at Chen Que and said impatiently: "Tsk, you've spent all the money and you haven't even touched the person. What a pity! Even a fool is not as stupid as you."
He kept talking about this and that and refused to answer, but Chen was patient and had to ask Yuanzhi to ask him again.
Jiang Shaoxiong drank half a cup of wine slowly, then answered slowly: "You and I are connected by heart, isn't it difficult to find you? Look, it's just after the New Year, thinking that you have been away from home for many years, your grandfather misses you during the day and in his dreams, so I came here with your mother."
"The capital is so small. If there is a mute servant in any mansion, he can just open his mouth and ask, and then he will know the answer, right?"
He spoke incoherently, saying that father and son were connected by heart, and that he had asked someone for information. However, Shen held his breath and asked again, "What do you want to ask me for?"
"If you really loved me, you shouldn't have sold me out fourteen years ago. You've taken the money, but I'm no longer named Jiang, and I don't have you as my grandfather."
His hands moved very quickly and he was out of breath. Some of the sentences were not what he usually used, so Yuanzhi had a hard time translating them and could only convey the approximate meaning.
Jiang Shaoxiong held the wine glass, not in a hurry, and asked him: "Filial piety comes first among all virtues. After so many years, I only gave birth to you as my son. Don't you know why I came to you?"
"I am now past the prime of my life, and my hair is mostly white," he said, glancing at the woman beside him, "This bitch has been with me for almost ten years, and she can't even give birth to a girl."
Seeing her timid look, Jiang Shaoxiong got angry. He raised his leg and kicked her on the waist. The woman lost her balance and fell to the ground.
Jiang Shaoxiong seemed to be used to doing this. He pulled off her dark headscarf and grabbed her hair. The woman screamed in pain, followed by Jiang Shaoxiong's insults: "Why are you glaring at me, you lowly creature? The hens I raise at home all lay eggs, but you ate so much of my food and didn't even lay an egg. I still let bygones be bygones and brought you out to enjoy the good life with me, and you still dare to glare at me..."
At this moment, Shen, who had been looking cold all the time, suddenly slammed the table, took a few steps forward, and grabbed his collar angrily.
Jiang Shaoxiong was caught off guard and was hurt by him. He shouted, "Are you crazy?!"
Shen Que's eyes were bloodshot, and he glared at him almost with gnashing teeth.
This woman was not his mother, but he couldn't help but think of her.
He seemed to have broken through the thin ice on the lake and fell into the abyss of quagmire-like memories. The woman's suppressed cries were like thousands of thin and sharp knives, slicing his flesh inch by inch.
He was just a child, and begging and pleading for mercy often only resulted in heavier beatings. He could not escape, so he could only endure it.
But now he has grown up, even an inch taller than the man in front of him. After more than ten years of hard training, he can easily knock the man to the ground with just one move.
He shouldn't be afraid anymore, Shen told himself.
Seeing the murderous intent in his eyes, Jiang Shaoxiong couldn't help but feel weak in the knees. However, seeing that the fist hadn't hit him in the face, he suddenly felt more confident: "You are quite courageous. I am your father, and you dare to hit me? Hit me to death if you dare. As long as I am still alive, I will crawl to the government to sue you!"
Shen, however, remained indifferent and just looked at him coldly.
Jiang Shaoxiong seemed to suddenly remember something, and his face once again showed a bit of ferocity: "Oh, by the way, how could I forget, Jiang Guaner, do they know that you are actually a monster that is neither male nor female?"
He spoke in a low voice, and only Shen, who was close to him, could hear it clearly.
Shen was slightly startled, his eyes became dazed.
"You are a demon, born inauspicious," Jiang Shaoxiong saw him in a daze, and knew that he could still control him, so he straightened his back and said, "If your master knew what kind of monster you were, do you think he would tie you to the gallows, or soak you in lamp oil and light you as a sky lantern?"
He smiled coldly and gave Shen Que a few moments to think.
"If your mother hadn't insisted on keeping you and hiding you from the villagers, you would have let them offer sacrifices to the River God. You have to thank me, your grandfather, for being kind enough to keep you alive and sell you to the palace. Otherwise, how could you be here today?"
Hearing this, Shen finally let go, but Jiang Shaoxiong kicked him in the lower abdomen just as he was freed.
Shen Quejin was already in poor spirits today, and he was unable to dodge for a moment, and was hit hard by the kick. He held his stomach and began to retch. From this morning until now, he had not taken a drop of water, and after vomiting for a long time, he only vomited out some sour water.
Yuanzhi had never seen such a scene before, so he hurried forward and used his handkerchief to wipe the corners of Shen Que's lips.
Shen's eyes turned white and he could hardly feel his movements, but he saw Jiang Shaoxiong return to the table again, directly picked up the wine cup and drank, drinking the cup of wine in hearty gulps. After satisfying his craving for alcohol, Jiang Shaoxiong sighed.
The moment Shen Que grabbed his collar just now, he was really panicked. In the past, he was the only one who slapped him in the face, but now he dared to climb over his head.
He is the father and he is the son. He gave him a life. No matter whether he was beaten or scolded, it was what Jiang Guaner deserved. How dare he resist him?
But the facts prove that Jiang Shaoxiong is still Jiang Guaner's father. He holds the handle on him, so even if he doesn't want to admit it, he has no choice but to admit it!
"I just want money," he slammed the empty cup of wine on the table with a clang, "as long as you give me enough money, I promise I won't bother you again in the future."
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