Chapter 53 Banquet

When Han Jie's words came out, everyone was shocked and excited.

"What story?"

"Is this true? It can't be some weird story made up to fool people."

"Yes, words are not reliable. Who is the murderer and who is not the murderer depends entirely on the narrator's preference. If the information is deliberately concealed, how can we guess it?"

"That's right." Han Jie didn't care about the doubts below, and still said with a smile, "So this time, we will let someone reenact the scene, and I won't say a word. After the performance, you will find the murderer."

This was an interesting way to play, and everyone's attention was aroused. Even Xie Jichuan did not sleep anymore, and lazily leaned on the table. He yawned, threw the pen back to Ming Huazhang, and said, "Let me see your notes."

"Go ask the Master yourself."

"It's a waste of time." Xie Jichuan said, "I can learn it in a quarter of an hour by myself, why spend an hour or two listening to him nagging? Give me your book, and I will return it to you before the end of class today, so that you can teach your sister."

Ming Huazhang seemed to smile, turned around, and looked at Xie Jichuan with clear eyes: "You are trying to do two things at once, and you are so confident in yourself?"

"How difficult can a made-up story be?" Xie Jichuan said casually, "You don't even need to use your brain. Just look at who is acting unnaturally and you'll know who the murderer is. If you look at it more, you'll know I was the one who lifted it."

Ming Huazhang just smiled and threw the book out: "It's up to you."

Xie Jichuan propped his chin with his left hand, raised his right arm, and lightly grabbed the hidden weapon thrown by Ming Huazhang in the air. He listened to Han Jie recruiting actors in the classroom while scanning Ming Huazhang's notes.

Ming Huazhang was a boring man, as if a saint was standing behind him. He always acted like a gentleman, read books and reflected on himself every day, and kept his word and wrote carefully. Xie Jichuan especially hated trouble. He often joked that Ming Huazhang was more like a Xie family member than he was. He did not feel ashamed of the red tape, but rather took it as an honor.

Xie Jichuan was venomous in his words, but he was honest in his body. After all, Ming Huazhang had good logical thinking. He extracted the contents of the book and organized them into text. Xie Jichuan saved time and effort when reading it again, and it was much faster than reading by himself.

Xie Jichuan was thus harming others while stealing the fruits of Ming Huazhang's labor. Xie Jichuan glanced at it roughly and thought that it would not take a whole class. He could finish it in a moment at most. He could spend another moment to finish the content of this class and then sleep in the rest of the time. Perfect.

Xie Jichuan was too lazy to even lift his head, as Han Jie was rehearsing a play. The room was filled with people and the atmosphere was very lively. It didn't feel like a classroom at all, but more like a theater.

Han Jie pointed at the people and said, "The story takes place at a banquet. You will play the guests, and your names will be... well, Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Wu. It seems that we should recruit more women next time. There are not enough actors. Forget it, all of you come up and play the singing girls and maids."

Although there were many people in the classroom, the gender gap was so great that the number of girls could be counted on one hand. Ming Huashang was forced to step on stage and play the role of a singing girl playing the pipa.

The last class was a secret language class. There were enough musical instruments in the room. Ming Huashang was a little panicked when she picked up a real pipa: "General, I can't play the pipa."

"Ah?" Han Jie was surprised. This was very rare among the nobles of Luoyang, where everyone knew how to play a musical instrument. Han Jie asked, "You've never learned it before?"

"I have learned it." Ming Huashang said honestly, "but I haven't mastered it."

Han Jie was stunned. Ming Huashang blinked her eyes and looked at him shyly but frankly, which made Han Jie speechless.

Although he was not the one being talked about, Ming Huazhang felt a subtle sense of shame. Xie Jichuan approached fearlessly and said with a smile, "Hey, you keep saying that a gentleman should be cautious when alone, but you are so indulgent towards your sister?"

Ming Huazhang said with his teeth pointed: "Shut up."

If it were normal, Ming Huazhang would go out to replace Ming Huashang, but Han Jie wanted a girl, and Ming Huazhang was helpless. When Ming Huazhang was in a dilemma, Su Yuji took the initiative and said, "General, let me do it."

Han Jie sighed: "Then you two should switch roles. Shuangbi will serve wine, and Ruoshui will be the courtesan."

Ming Huashang put down her pipa as if relieved, and thanked Su Yuji softly, but Su Yuji ignored her. Ming Huashang didn't care, and ran to the other side with a smile, pouring wine for Jiang Ling, who was playing the role of the host: "Master, drink."

Jiang Ling got goosebumps from the disgust: "Hey, you're talking so nicely, so disgusting."

Ren Yao, who was also a maid standing on the other side, was very dissatisfied: "Why should he be the master?"

When Jiang Ling heard this, he immediately puffed up his chest and said proudly, "Of course it's because I have a handsome appearance and am naturally noble."

Ren Yao sneered, "You? The best-looking person is sitting down there, how come it's your turn to be the protagonist?"

The noisy crowd paused, and all eyes turned to the audience. It was also a coincidence that the handsome men Xie Jichuan, Ming Huazhang, and Su Xingzhi, who were widely known to the public, were all sitting in the audience. So, who was the best-looking person?

Xie Jichuan chuckled, and still thought it wasn't chaotic enough, so he said with a smile: "Don't look at me. Although I think I look okay, but if you ask me about the best, I don't dare to take the title."

Xie Jichuan took the initiative to withdraw, and everyone's attention could not help but linger between Ming Huazhang and Su Xingzhi. Ming Huazhang felt that this meaningless dispute was really boring, and he was about to withdraw, when suddenly Ming Huashang said, "If we talk about the best-looking one, it must be my Shuangbi brother."

The classroom fell silent again. Although everyone present was wary of each other and had only a superficial relationship, they were all young people after all, and could not help but get excited when this topic was brought up. Everyone whispered to each other: "Why is he also called Shuangbi?"

"Two beauties, they are naturally a pair."

"What is their relationship? Are they a couple?"

These discussions were not deliberately suppressed, and Ming Huazhang heard them clearly. He was a little embarrassed, and said to Ming Huashang with a sullen face: "Don't make a fuss."

"I'm not wrong!" Ming Huashang said seriously and confidently, "The most handsome man here is you."

Xie Jichuan covered his chest and said, "Although I know myself well, it is still very sad that Shuangbi chose him without thinking."

However, Su Xingzhi also said: "No matter in talent or appearance, I am far inferior to Brother Shuangbi. I admit defeat."

Su Xingzhi didn't know why Nan Dou changed his name. He guessed that Nan Dou's identity was exposed, so he brought a woman to cover up his identity. Su Xingzhi pretended not to know and took it over.

If it were anyone else, Su Xingzhi would not have helped others to improve their morale and destroyed his own prestige in front of Su Yuji. But that was Nan Dou, who had been famous and accomplished since he entered the industry. No matter how difficult the task was, he never failed.

Su Xingzhi had always thought that Nan Dou was a sophisticated and cautious middle-aged man, but he did not expect that the real person was so young and handsome, and looked even younger than Su Xingzhi.

No matter how high Su Xingzhi's self-esteem is, he has to admit that he is not as good as Nan Dou. Moreover, appearance is not something that can deceive people. Su Xingzhi also thinks Ming Huazhang is good-looking.

Jiang Ling was very calm when he saw that he lost to Ming Huazhang. He waved his hand and said, "I would still say something about other people, but if it's him, I admit it. It's not shameful to be behind him."

Ming Huashang hummed with pride and said happily, "Of course."

Ming Hua Zhang was used to being stared at, so this was not the first time someone praised her for her good looks in person, but it was the first time he felt embarrassed.

Ming Huazhang's ears felt a little hot. He coughed softly and said to Ming Huashang, "Stop making trouble."

Xie Jichuan looked at Ming Huazhang with a half-smile. He just said, "Stop making trouble," but he didn't deny it. How did Xie Jichuan feel that Ming Huazhang was actually very happy about it?

Han Jie promptly brought the topic back to the topic, saying, "My choice of Taurus has nothing to do with appearance, but mainly because it suits me. The host of the banquet is a generous and unrestrained person. He likes to make friends, and his family is often visited by people from all walks of life. The guests at this banquet are also very large. No matter Shuangbi, Wei Yue or Qianshan, they all look like them when they dress up."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Ming Huashang discovered that Han Jie was not simply telling a story. He was very picky about the details and kept finding fault with the students' acting.

"You are playing a Yangzhou scholar who is arrogant because of his talent. At the very least, your accent should become that of Yangzhou."

The actor who played the talented scholar Li Si was very impatient: "It's just a sentence, is it necessary to make such a fuss?"

"Why not?" Han Jie asked, "When you are on a mission outside, if you don't say a word and your identity is exposed, will the other party let you go?"

The trainee was speechless and could only obey. Ming Huashang was watching the excitement, and the anger suddenly burned her: "You too, you hold your head high, do you look like a drinking companion? A drinking prostitute is not a maid, you should hold your head up, but your shoulders should be lowered, and your back should not be straightened. You should be humble, submissive, and good at dancing with long sleeves."

This is a custom. Where there are men and wine, there must be women. However, once the banquet begins, don't expect them to behave properly. The wives of officials are basically noble ladies of equal status. It is not decent to let ladies of noble families hang out with a bunch of men at a banquet.

Therefore, it was tacitly agreed that brothel girls would be invited to entertain banquets. These girls were well-informed, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and could both smooth things over and warm up the atmosphere at banquets. They were not afraid of being touched and often stayed overnight after the banquet, which was a great success.

The ladies in the backyard are well aware of this and often turn a blind eye. If their husbands attend banquets and stay overnight at their house, it is basically equivalent to cheating.

This is one of the reasons why Ming Huashang is unwilling to get married. The children of officials in Chang'an and Luoyang have grown up in this environment since childhood. Their fathers, uncles, and friends are all like this. Even if the family rules are strict, after entering the officialdom, official social events are often held in romantic places. If they don't go, they will be considered unsociable. After staying in this environment for a long time, how can we expect them to be clean?

Ming Huachang used to despise this kind of atmosphere, but now that she has become a hostess, she realizes how lucky she is that she was not born into a poor family.

Ming Huashang found that Han Jie not only wanted them to rehearse the story, but also taught them how to disguise their identities and pretend to be different people. Ming Huashang suppressed her contempt and carefully recalled the banquets she had seen before, trying to figure out how to be a wine prostitute who used her beauty to serve people.

Jiang Ling saw Han Jie making everyone run around in circles, and asked expectantly: "What about me? What should I do?"

Han Jie glanced at him calmly and said, "You don't need to do anything. Because you are dead."

Jiang Ling's breathing stagnated: "..."

He knew that this would not be the case.

Ren Yao sneered and felt relieved. She said, why should she pretend to be a submissive maid, while Jiang Ling can enjoy it. It turned out that he was the dead.

Ming Huashang, who was sitting beside the host as a wine prostitute, said to Jiang Ling earnestly, "This is a unique opportunity. There are so many of us here, and our hearts are all on you. You must enjoy it."

"......" Jiang Ling said, "Should I thank you?"

"You're welcome." Ming Huashang said with a smile, "After you die, just tell me what you were thinking about when you died."

Han Jie finally trained the actors to a satisfactory level and signaled to start. Ming Huazhang initially treated it as a farce, but gradually he became serious. Ming Huazhang glanced back casually and found that Xie Jichuan was no longer looking at his notes. He had been staring at the stage intently.

Ming Huazhang whispered, "Are you not in a hurry to go to bed?"

Xie Jichuan shook his head: "The game above is more interesting. Do you want to bet?"

Ming Huazhang looked at Ming Huachang leaning against Jiang Ling, his eyebrows slightly wrinkled, and his tone unconsciously became cold: "What?"

"Let's bet on who can find the murderer first." Xie Jichuan said, "The loser will copy books for the winner for ten days."

Ming Huazhang glanced at Xie Jichuan lightly, his voice like the wind blowing through the trees, the sound of ice and jade colliding: "Are you so confident that you can win?"

"Just tell me whether you want to bet or not."

"Okay." Ming Huazhang responded calmly, "After I win, I don't need you to copy books for me. Just give me a copy of the files of the major cases in the Southern Dynasties that your family has collected."

Xie Jichuan hissed, "You really are talking nonsense. Do you know how long the history of the Southern Dynasties is and how many words are in the files? You are not going to the Dali Temple, so why are you reading these?"

The Xie family prospered for a hundred years, and they divided the territory of Jiangdong equally during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The emperors of the Southern Dynasties changed every year, but the Wang and Xie clan remained standing. At its peak, more than half of the officials in the court, from the prime minister to the powerful generals, were surnamed Xie. The Xie family's collection may be far more detailed than the history of the Southern Dynasties compiled by the court.

Ming Huazhang did not reply. Xie Jichuan paused and understood: "Oh, for her to see. Weren't you very opposed to her joining at first? How come she said in public that you were the best, and you were conquered so quickly?"

Ming Huazhang frowned and said, "We are brother and sister, don't talk nonsense."

Xie Jichuan smiled at him, his eyes meaningful. Ming Huazhang looked at Ming Huashang, who had already entered the role, cautious but charming, and whispered: "My repeated obstructions have made her shine, and pushed her into Xuanxiaowei in disguise. Maybe this is fate. Since it is irreversible, I can only do my best to protect her, at least keep her safe."

Ming Huachang's talent is unique, and Ming Huazhang realized it when they were in Feihong Villa. At that time, he strictly asked her to hide her talent and tried to hide her in the crowd, but unfortunately it did not go as planned.

Her abilities have already entered the sight of the Black Owl Guards, and further delay would only waste her talent and increase the risk of the mission. It would be better to train her well and let her gradually change from relying on intuition to relying on experience and skills, and reasoning in a systematic way.

No one can rely on talent all their life, and he didn't want her talent to be wasted and die prematurely.

On the stage, the banquet has begun. Guests are toasting and talking loudly, while maids are walking among the crowd, not daring to stop for a moment. Beautiful women are leaning against the talented men, chatting and laughing. In the center of the field of vision, a noble and arrogant woman is sitting with a pipa in her arms. Her fingertips quickly pass over the strings, and the music pours out, with a murderous aura hidden in the excitement.

Ming Huashang was surprised that Su Yuji could actually play the pipa. She thought Su Yuji was just showing off.

Ming Huachang felt ashamed when comparing the two. Su Yuji, who was raised in the countryside, was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and music theory. She was worthy of being Ming Huazhang's sister, and was born with the blood of a talented woman. In comparison, Ming Huachang was really a waste.

But Su Xingzhi also looked very talented. The Creator was too partial, a family of talented men and women, but suddenly she was out of touch?

Ming Huashang was melancholy for a while. At this time, someone came to toast the host. Ming Huashang quickly calmed down and tried her best to play the role of a drinking prostitute.

The great scholar named Li Si praised the master's talent with great eloquence. Zhang San, who was sitting opposite the Hu bed, also laughed and joined in the fun. The master was flattered and found that the wine glass was empty when he picked it up. Ming Huashang hurriedly picked up the wine pot, filled it up, and handed it to Jiang Ling in a soft voice.

Jiang Ling was full of pride and drank the whole thing in one gulp, as if he were really at a banquet. The students spoke in broken Yangzhou dialect, racking their brains to find flattering words. Han Jie was watching coldly from the outside and suddenly said, "Okay, Jinniu can die now."

Everyone was stunned. Han Jie clapped his hands and said, "The story ends. Let's start guessing, who is the murderer?"

At this moment, Jiang Ling was still immersed in his bold words, and was very confused: "I'm dead? How did I die?"

Ming Huashang immediately looked at the wine glass and said, "Poisoned. Was the poison in the wine?"

"Ah?" Jiang Ling was getting more confused. "Everyone was drinking, why did I die alone?"

Han Jie stood by and watched without saying a word. Ming Huashang held Jiang Ling down and said, "Don't let the corpse talk. Don't disturb us from catching the real murderer."

The other actors stood up one after another. They looked at each other and said, "If the poison is in the wine, then you are the only one who has touched the wine. Are you the murderer?"

Ming Huashang was startled. She had just laughed at Jiang Ling, but she had not expected that he would get her into trouble so quickly. Ming Huashang frowned, and instinctively felt a sense of rejection: "No. The poison may not only be in the cup, but also in the wine pot. I remember that this wine pot was just served. The butler who served the wine, the guests who toasted, and of course, me, all touched the wine pot. These people could be the murderer."