Xia Houshu did not wait for a definite reply, but only heard rumors in the palace that Xia Houyuan was very fond of a new imperial examination candidate named Shang Mingchuan. He often praised him for his wealth of pearls and quick thinking. Although he was not among the top three, he was elegant in manners.
If you have a good attitude and practice, you will not have to worry about not being able to achieve great success in your official career in the future.
Ever since he heard the rumors in the mansion, Xia Houshu had firmly remembered the name Shang Mingchuan, and then made repeated inquiries about this man's character and knowledge in secret and overtly, and also learned about his family background and background.
Shang Mingchuan came from a scholarly family, and his ancestors all worked as insignificant local officials. He had a simple background and was not considered rich, but he was well-off. There were five brothers and sisters in Shang Mingchuan's generation, including three boys and two girls. He was the eldest in the family.
Fourth, the two elder brothers and one elder sister have already married and started a business, and there is another younger sister who is waiting for marriage. He is the most promising child among the brothers and sisters. He won the Jinshi in one fell swoop and was in charge of alleys in Kyoto under the Ministry of Industry.
, gardens, mountains and rivers, vegetation and hundreds of officials, farmers and guests were provided with seasonal vegetables and firewood, and Yubu Secretary, who was responsible for hunting matters, found a position in charge, and the salary was not high.
After mastering this basic information, Xia Houshu began her exploration.
After Xia Houshu's long-term observation, she found that her father was indeed paying special attention to the new imperial examination candidate named Shang Mingchuan. Not only did he praise him many times at the poetry meeting, but he even spoke well of Shang Mingchuan in front of his boss. Therefore, Shang Mingchuan
Mingchuan quickly became famous in Beijing, and he was also at home in the officialdom.
In the next few banquets, Xia Houyuan specially invited Shang Mingchuan, and Shang Mingchuan did not refuse and attended the appointment on time every time.
At the banquet, Shang Mingchuan was polite and generous. He neither liked to be in the limelight nor willing to be inferior to others. Whether he was reciting poems, composing poems or expressing political opinions, he always had the right measure, so everyone in the same party had a good relationship with him.
Even though his fellow travelers heard rumors that Xia Houyuan was going to betroth his only daughter to him, they did not envy him. Instead, they envied his good luck and generously said that a talented man matches a beautiful woman!
Shang Mingchuan neither agreed nor defended, nor did he deliberately show off his talents and abilities. Instead, he was calm and steady, as if waiting for Xia Houyuan to express his attitude.
Even if the matter has not become an established fact, Xia Houshu can't stand such rumors lingering in his ears all day long. Moreover, people's words are terrible. If more people say it, the people who listen will think it is true.
When Xia Houyuan once again held a banquet in his mansion to entertain the literati, Xia Houshu saw the opportunity and slipped in dressed as a maid.
When Xia Houyuan hosted a banquet, everyone focused on the banquet hall in the front yard. No one noticed what Xia Houshu was thinking about, so she easily blended into the team of maids delivering dishes and drinks to the banquet hall. She happened to meet a drinker
Shang Mingchuan is more breathable after drinking too much wine.
Seeing Shang Mingchuan walking quickly into the small front garden from a distance, Xia Houshu deliberately slowed down, took the opportunity to break away from the team passing the dishes, and followed him with a bottle of wine.
Shang Mingchuan was persuaded to drink too much wine at the banquet, and his stomach burned uncomfortably. He went to the garden to find a place to induce vomiting. After vomiting, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth, and his face returned to a calm and warm expression.
smile.
Shang Mingchuan left and came back, and the two soon bumped into each other.
Xia Houshu was unable to dodge, and in a hurry, Xia Houshu quickly pretended to have accidentally fallen. The wine bottle in the tray fell to the ground and broke into pieces. The wine spilled all over the floor, and the fragrance overflowed.
Shang Mingchuan calmed down and looked at the woman who fell on the ground in front of him, then at the drinks on the ground, and then at the exotic flowers and plants everywhere, and couldn't help but be more vigilant. He had no intention of helping her up.
Instead, he stood quietly and watched indifferently.
Xia Houshu thought something was wrong. If someone saw this, he would come to help her and ask her if she was hurt, right? But Shang Mingchuan had no sympathy, let alone pity.
Shang Mingchuan stood motionless on the spot, his expression indifferent, as if he was just a pillar.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward, so Xia Houshu had to try hard to think of something unhappy, hoping that she could be moved by her emotions and squeeze out a tear. However, she has generally had a smooth life in the past few years, and there have been very few unsatisfactory things.
The things that made her feel unwilling didn't make her sad enough to make her want to cry.
She thought about it and couldn't find anything that could make her burst into tears just thinking about it. Finally she gave up and immediately adjusted her expression to look weak and unable to take care of herself. She looked at Shang Mingchuan with clear eyes and begged.
He said: "Sir, I seem to have fallen on my leg. Please help me."
Shang Mingchuan remained unmoved, as if thinking about something.
For a while, he probably couldn't see Xia Houshu sitting on the ground, so he came closer, half-crouched and stretched out an arm to her.
He didn't take the initiative to help her up, but stretched out an arm.
Xia Houshu raised his head and looked at him in surprise: "Master, what do you mean?"
This time Shang Mingchuan finally opened his mouth, but what he said was: "Men and women are not intimate with each other. This is the residence of the Duke of Yue. It is crowded with people. I and other foreign men dare not make any mistakes, so as not to cause misunderstandings."
.If it is convenient for the girl, she can hold my hand and stand up. If not, I can only ask others to help."
If she really calls someone, won't her identity be exposed?
Xia Houshu quickly grabbed his arm and stood up pretending to be struggling. She didn't know what to say for a moment. Then she looked at the wine spilled on the ground and said, "This is the Huadiao wine that the Duke has collected for many years."
, I brought it out for the banquet today, but I accidentally spilled the pot. What should I do?" She glanced at Shang Mingchuan and continued to plead, "Looking at the young master's dress, it should be
Is he also the scribe invited by my father-in-law? Please show mercy and save me!"
Shang Mingchuan glanced at her warily, frowned slightly, and asked, "How do you want me to save you?"
Xia Houshu thought for a while and said: "Please tell the prince that you accidentally spilled the wine. The prince cherishes talents and will definitely not embarrass the prince."
Shang Mingchuan's frown deepened.
Xia Houshu looked hopeful.
Shang Mingchuan tried his best to suppress his shock and not reveal any clues. Then he looked at her and said in a cold tone: "What if I don't agree?"
No... don't agree? This person doesn't follow the rules at all!
Xia Houshu cursed while thinking about how to proceed with these words.
"If the young master refuses to save me, I will be kicked out of the house." Xia Houshu lowered his head and his tone became more pitiful.
Shang Mingchuan looked at her, then at the broken wine bottles on the ground and the wine scattered on the ground, and said, "You just said that this pot of wine was intended by the Duke of Yue to entertain guests?"
Xia Houshu didn't know his intention and nodded quickly.
Shang Mingchuan curled his lips, then pointed to the location of the banquet hall and said: "But the banquet hall is clearly over there, why do you want to go here? Isn't this the opposite?"
Xia Houshu was choked by this question. She came here with him, and she really didn't know how to explain it.
Shang Mingchuan saw that she was silent for a long time and could not explain the reason, and became more and more convinced of his guess. His eyes involuntarily fell back to the fragrant wine on the ground, and hesitantly said: "You are not trying to find a place to hide.
Get up and secretly poison the wine?"
this……
Xia Houshu looked at Shang Mingchuan's handsome and serious face in surprise, wishing to crack his head open to see what was inside. Poison? Why did she poison her? Just for these few characters whose future was unclear.
A talented person? Is it worth it?
Xiahou smiled and said: "Young Master must have too much imagination. I just felt uncomfortable in my stomach. I was thinking that there were not many people here, so I came here to rest for a while. I didn't expect that I met the Young Master and even knocked him over.
After drinking, forget it if you don't want to help me, why would you frame me like this?"
Shang Mingchuan said, "It's hard to say whether it's a false accusation or not. I think I'd better call someone to take a look."
Seeing that Shang Mingchuan was really about to raise his arms and shout, Xia Houshu was so frightened that he quickly grabbed his arm and said nervously: "Master, we have something to discuss, why are you so aggressive?"
Shang Mingchuan suddenly threw away Xia Houshu's hand on his arm in disgust, and sneered: "The Duke of Yue is upright and aboveboard, and has unparalleled benevolence and righteousness. I didn't expect that my family would raise a person like you, who is always following people's influence, flattering people, and having evil thoughts.
You don’t have to pretend. If you don’t learn well at a young age, you will suffer a lot in the future.”
Have his eyes been soaked in Hedinghong? They are so poisonous!
However, he said that she was a follower of others, flattering and treacherous, and had evil thoughts. She couldn't bear this!
Xia Houshu was so angry at Shang Mingchuan's accusation that his eyes were red. He simply took this opportunity to cry and said: "I don't know what the young master is talking about. I just broke my leg and spilled the wine. I want to ask the young master for help."
.Even if you don’t help, you still falsely accuse me, and now you insult me without regard for face. Is this what you call a gentleman’s way of conducting himself in the world?”
Shang Mingchuan didn't buy it and said coldly: "To be honest, I've been used to your little tricks for a long time. Don't smear the reputation of Duke Yue, and don't smear my ears and eyes."
.”
Xia Houshu was exposed so mercilessly that instead of getting angry, she began to reflect on whether her acting skills were too poor. She had obviously put her best effort into it, and the fall was a real fall, and her calves and palms still hurt slightly.
How did he know that she fell on purpose?
"You can take care of yourself!" Shang Mingchuan finished what he had to say and didn't want to continue to quarrel with Xia Houshu, so he went to the banquet hall.
Xia Houshu opened his hands to block his way and said provocatively: "Since you saw that I fell on purpose, tell me, what else did you see? Let me see how smart you are!
"
Shang Mingchuan curled up his lips and said: "I advise you not to pester anymore. If someone sees you later, I can't guarantee that you will just be kicked out of the house."
Xia Houshu sneered and said mockingly: "I thought you were really smart. If you shout, just call all the people over, and then I will say that you brought me here with evil intentions! There are so many people at the banquet
Everyone saw that you left the venue alone, I wonder how you can make it clear!"
"You..." Shang Mingchuan's expression was very angry, "You are simply shameless!"
"Shame?" Xia Houshu smiled, and then showed him his palms that were slightly bruised when he fell just now, "I am the host now, and you are the guest. You and I have no enmity in the past and have no enmity in recent days. I can't hurt you.
Right? If everyone sees us together and I have injuries on my hands, who will they think is more shameless?"