Chapter 3
The moon in the sky faded, and the shadows of the clouds scattered to the side, leaving the rising sun to shine brightly. The lights in Chang'an City were all extinguished, and the morning light welcomed the bustling crowds of the new day.
Chen Yi turned over on the soft couch, continuing to dream the beautiful dream that seemed so easy to him. He was indeed dreaming deeply, and he didn't insist on saying he wasn't drunk. He just kept drinking until there was no more wine in his cup and no more wine at the banquet.
He woke up with unfinished regrets. He opened his eyes and was dazzled by the light coming in from the window. He raised his hand to cover his eyes. His underwear was inevitably stained with alcohol, which naturally had a somewhat unpleasant smell.
Shen Yi put on his outer robe, mounted his horse, and went back to his house to wash up carefully. He then put on his new clothes again. The crimson outer robe was sprinkled with gilded gold, which made his eyes sparkle and look more romantic.
He first grabbed the maid in Shen's room and, after carefully questioning her, he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his mother had probably not yet told her about entering the palace. "You are not allowed to say that I asked about this matter today. If something happens to my sister first, you will be the only ones to ask."
Seeing them all bow and nod, he felt relieved and let the maids continue their work. Shen Yi blew a whistle to call a few white pigeons, looked at them one by one and carefully selected them before reluctantly catching the two that looked the fattest in his hands. "If you can let my sister have a taste, your death will not be in vain."
The white dove flapped its wings. He looked at the falling white feathers and felt a little distressed. He used the words just now to comfort himself.
However, he suppressed Bai Ge's struggle and asked the servant to send the soup to the kitchen to start stewing it now. He estimated that by the time he left the house tonight, the soup would be cooked thoroughly. "Remember to coax sister to eat some, if she refuses to eat," Shen Yi paused for a moment, thinking of a way.
"Just say that I personally caught these pigeons after spending the whole morning crying over them. I plucked their feathers myself. If you refuse to eat them, you'll be wasting my kindness and these two pigeons that could have lived for another three or four years."
The servant who followed him was also considered an old man in the mansion. "Young Marquis, although you are busy, we will definitely coax the young lady to drink it all. This will be considered as our appreciation for the young marquis's busy morning."
After hearing this, Shen Yi felt that something was wrong, but he had other things to do. He waved his hand and asked the familiar servant to go back to work. "As long as Sister drinks it, you will all get a reward."
After saying this, he turned and went out, changing his horse and getting on it. He sent a servant to deliver an invitation to those far away, while those who lived nearby would ride their own horses to gather first. For example, the residences of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs were only three or four streets away.
Of course, we have to wait until after noon. Chen Yi, holding the reins, led the horse out of Chang'an City. The horse under him seemed to be happy to be out in the suburbs. The autumn breeze brought a bit of coolness to his face.
The clatter of horses' hooves and the flutter of clothes. Shen Yi chased after several green leaves that had fallen from the branches, finally catching one in his palm before dismounting and loosening the reins, letting the horse graze on the fresh grass nearby.
He opened his palm to look at the leaf he had just caught, and the slightly yellowed edge on it. He combed his fingers through the horse's hair again and again, and felt that the autumn in Chang'an was far from being so bleak.
The brown horse snorted, diligently lowering its head to find fresh weeds, pulling them up and chewing them. Shen Yi did not rush it, but was immersed in the same leisurely thinking about tonight's banquet.
He did not expect to be among the most dandies who were seeking pleasure like himself, but just wanted to find out the opinions of a few families. Among them, only the eldest son of the Tingwei family had just entered
After the court was over, he took up a sinecure and lived a leisurely life.
There was no way that the elder sister's problem could be resolved tonight. Shen Yi figured this out first. As for the mother, since she was still hiding it from the elder sister, she must have other plans.
He threw away the fallen leaves in his hand, patted the horse's back to stop the greedy brown horse, and rode through the increasingly crowded long street to his friend's house to explain his purpose one by one.
When he arrived at the Supreme Court, he was stopped by a newly replaced servant. Shen Yi didn't bother to argue with the servant. He just told him that he wanted to hold a banquet and asked him to convey the message to the host family. Then he went back to the singing house where he stayed last night.
The madam spotted a familiar figure from afar, a smile on her face, even more eager than last night. "Young Marquis, you came early today. Are you planning a banquet?"
Shen Yi loosened the reins, patted the reluctant horse soothingly, and asked the servant to find a quiet place for it to stay. It had just returned from a run in the suburbs, so it was obvious that it was reluctant to return to the stable.
"Let's change to a bigger room. There are many guests today. Go back to the Marquis' Mansion and ask the steward for the money." The madam followed behind him and bowed, then quickly winked at the waiter next to her.
"Young Marquis, please come this way." Shen Yi was about to go to the wing room when he suddenly thought of something. "Today we are talking about business, not music. Serving less wine. After the banquet, any expenses they incur will be charged to my account."
The servant bowed and led the young marquis to another room in the wing, which happened to be a place facing the street with open windows, so the incense burning in the room would not be too cloying.
Shen Yi sat in the upper seat and watched the maidservant filling the wine cup. Unexpectedly, someone entered the wing room and said, "Young Marquis, you are in a good mood. Why can't you wait until evening?"
The man was wearing a green robe with patches of darker colors at the intersection. His fox eyes were slanted upwards, and his waist belt was hanging loosely, decorated with emerald jade.
"I was waiting for you, Liu Qianshan, to come. I didn't want to drink first, but I didn't expect you to arrive first." Liu Qianshan sat down next to him, raised his hand to pick up the wine cup and tasted half of it.
"The young marquis came here in person to invite me, so of course I have to come to show my support." Shen Yi saw that he was just like usual and planned to ask again after everyone gathered.
Liu Zongzheng had no interest in factional strife, only focusing on amassing wealth for the treasury and cherishing his son, who had come of age in his old age. Shen Yi felt that the other party was even more pampered than he himself. After all, Shen Qian was different from Zongzheng. He still cared about his title and was obedient to being the hungry dog begging for food at his feet.
"I just don't know how many people the young marquis invited here today." Seeing that he didn't respond, Liu Qianshan continued with his own words and teased the other party.
"Just have fun, it won't stop you from having a few jars of wine." Shen Yi finally continued with a smile, accepting Liu Qianshan's pretentious bow.
"Thank you very much, young marquis. Maybe you made a lot of money recently?" Liu Qianshan poured himself another glass of wine, took a sip carefully, and waited for the person who had not yet arrived with Chen Yi.
The hustle and bustle outside the window never stopped for a moment. The singing girls all changed into brightly colored thin clothes, played the sheng and the xiao, and waved to attract the young men and nobles on the street.
As dusk approached, Chen Yi mingled with them and joined in the jokes. The compartment was now full of people, whether they should have come or not, and only the seat next to him was empty.
The maid refilled their glasses with wine and placed a few more jars of wine on the table as instructed. Unexpectedly, Liu Qianshan caught sight of them first and snatched the unopened bottle of wine and placed it at his feet. "This jar is a gift from the young marquis."
There were responses all around, and some even brought him a new jar of wine. Seeing that Shen Yi didn't say much, some people were confused about what they were going to do today, and more of them glanced at Shen Yi's face.
Chen Yi was originally prepared to wait for the last person to arrive. After all, only Wei Chen could bring more useful things. However, seeing the moon rising and setting outside the window, he was about to put down his chopsticks and prepare himself for the possibility of not being able to wait.
A loud laugh came from behind the screen, "I'm sorry to have kept the young marquis waiting for a long time today. Wei Qianyu will punish himself with three cups first." Wei Chen's robe was more solemn. The combination of dark red and black was the standard of court dress of the Later Shang Dynasty. He picked up the wine glass closest to him, drank three cups in a row, and looked at Chen Yi.
Before Shen Yi could even put down his chopsticks, he stared at the belated Wei Chen and the man beside him, who was wearing the same official uniform as him. The man looked more like a scholar, with a somewhat pure air that was out of place in the singing hall, but in the blink of an eye, he put on a smile and quickly blended in with the people around him.
"Oh, this is Xue Heng, a descendant of my father's old teacher. He just entered the court this year and became the Chief Censor." Wei Chen raised his finger and pointed at him, adding, "My father and Brother Xue had something important to discuss just now, so Wei Qianyu is late."
Shen Yi thought about the other party's official position. Although he had never heard Shen Qian mention it, he was related to the Chief Justice, but he had never met him in Chang'an City. He must have a great background - at least he must be related to the affairs of the court.
The man was taller than Wei Chen, and he also loosened his collar before bowing and saying, "My name is Xue Congzhi. I hope I haven't missed the time. If there's anything wrong, please feel free to tell me."
Liu Qianshan stood up and pulled Wei Chen to sit down, yelling that Wei Chen had made him drink a few glasses less. Chen Yi met Xue Heng's gaze, suppressed his confusion, and also formally returned the greeting, "Since we are old acquaintances of the Supreme Court, Brother Xue, please take a seat. There is no need to be so polite in front of me."
Xue Heng found an opportunity to sit next to Shen Yi. Shen Yi lowered his guard when he saw him holding the wine cup, but he didn't look away.
But since everyone was already gathered, he didn't shy away from asking Wei Chen about the latest developments at court. Wei Chen paused for a moment, then put down his wine glass, realizing the recent rumors were likely groundless. "There's basically nothing going on at court. Even if there is, it's not someone like me who's responsible. As for other matters, His Majesty is certainly keeping a close eye on them."
Shen Yi also understood the meaning of his words and wanted to ask more about Shen Qian, but he couldn't find the right words. "Is there any matter of selecting a concubine or marrying a daughter?"
Xue Heng took a sip of the wine, savoring the sweet, warm wine before continuing, "It's only a few sentences in the memorial, but Your Majesty seems to be interested. Is this also what the young marquis is here tonight for?"
Shen Yi continued to look at him, but he could not read anything else from Xue Heng's eyes. He did not intend to explore the purpose of this person's visit. Seeing that it was related to his elder sister, he also answered this question carefully.
"Brother Xue's words clearly explain what happened today. I will not hide it from you. If there are those who are unwilling to enter the palace, do you think you can mediate?"
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