Volume 1: Painting Hall Spring Chapter 43: The Drunken Commander's Mansion
Xiao Yizheng was quite surprised when he received Qingxi's letter. He had just joined the Southwest Army a few days ago and before he could report back to Shangdu, he actually received her letter home first.
This letter from home was included in the briefing from the imperial court and was sent 800 miles away in a hurry.
He shook off the paper neatly and saw the familiar Liu Feng running script in his hand. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised and his eyebrows were relaxed. The letter was very short. After he read it, the corners of his mouth that were slightly raised naturally drooped and his eyebrows were slightly relaxed.
A frown.
What exactly does Li Han want to do?
He read the letter again. Qingxi's narrative was very rational and calm, and not a single word could tell her attitude on this matter.
She didn't have the slightest doubt or misunderstanding? Didn't she feel the slightest bit of discomfort or offense?
It stands to reason that when a strange woman comes to the house and shows off her relationship with her husband, the wife should not be so generous to welcome her for any reason, right? He has traveled all over the country and has seen many fights because of this, and almost no shaking hands. Even if
They were in a cooperative relationship, and he felt uncomfortable when she acted so calmly.
He received the letter, called Zhao Xin, and asked in a deep voice: "Yesterday you said that there were foreign guests in Xu Yongsheng's house, right?"
Xin Zhao nodded: "The news from our people has been confirmed to be from Shang Du. But Deputy Commander Xu has been in the main camp in the south of the city recently, and it seems that he has not returned home yet."
He smiled and said: "I'm here, how dare he relax at all? It's understandable that he keeps an eye on the camp all day. This guy from the Changfeng Escort Bureau is just different. He has fast feet and seems to be working non-stop all the way."
"Huh?" Xin Zhao looked questioning.
He briefly and concisely stated what Qingxi mentioned in his letter.
"Ah? The young master has moved into the palace?" Zhao Xin exclaimed, with a look of sympathy for Xiao Yizheng on his face.
Xiao Yizheng stared at him angrily, as if to say: Is this a discussion now? Can you focus on the key points!
Xin Zhao immediately bowed his head respectfully and coughed twice: "Your Highness, what should we do next?"
Xiao Yizheng stretched, swayed slowly, and said casually: "Continue to meet friends."
"Ah?" Zhao Xin was surprised again: "Your Highness, Prince Guang has already made a move? We have been here for four or five days. In addition to going to the main camp once and meeting the generals of the Southwest Army, they are all...
Make friends."
They had stayed in the Southwest for a long time before and made many friends, including people from the government and the military, as well as ordinary people. Although Xiao Yizheng has been keeping in touch with friends these days, his most important task is to reconfirm his understanding of the Southwest Army with some people.
According to the real situation, some tasks were also assigned to the members of the group. In order to hide from others, the scope of the members was wide, but we couldn't keep in touch with each other like this all the time. After all, they came with tasks.
Xiao Yizheng filled a cup of tea for himself, put it to the tip of his nose, smelled it, and clicked his tongue: "Well, good Pu'er."
Zhao Xin looked a little anxious. Maybe it was because of Xiao Yizheng's reputation as Prince Xiaoyao of Jianghu, and because he had been busy eating, drinking and having fun these days, there was already some military affairs surrounding him outside.
But there was no news. "Your Highness, in the past few days, we have also met the friends we should see, we have learned all the information we should inquire about, and all the spies we should report have been informed. Is there something we need to do?" he asked.
.
Xiao Yizheng glanced at him and put down the tea cup in his hand: "Be patient. The more important the matter, the more urgent it is. You have to wait for the opportunity. Uncle Jiu has already made a move, hasn't he?" He touched the edge of the tea cup,
He continued: "Tonight, go to Xu Yongsheng's house and exchange the letter from Uncle Jiu."
Xin Zhao said seriously.
"Xu Yongsheng should return home tomorrow. Let's go and have a drink with him."
Xin Zhao nodded.
Xiao Yizheng looked at the letter on the desk again and asked, "Why do you think Li Han must live in the palace?"
Xin Zhao kept his eyes open, thinking about what to say. After a long while, he still said bluntly: "Your Highness, does Miss Li like you?"
Xiao Yizheng's expression did not change at all, as if he had not heard this sentence.
Xin Zhao had no choice but to ask tentatively: "Is it possible that it is still related to the jade pendant that His Highness is looking for?"
"Why is she so concerned about the whereabouts of that jade pendant? Even more active than me?" Xiao Yizheng paused, looked directly at Xin Zhao, and confirmed: "Before coming out, there were no loopholes in your arrangements for the princess's protection, right?"
Xin Zhao immediately said respectfully and firmly.
He hummed and said nothing. After a while, he walked to the desk, spread out the paper and prepared to write a letter.
Xin Zhao immediately asked: "Do you want 800 miles to be sent to the princess as soon as possible?"
Xiao Yizheng frowned and looked at him, as if he was surprised that he was still standing in the room, and immediately glanced at him, "If you don't go out, I won't be able to calm down. This letter written in imitation of Uncle Jiu's handwriting will definitely be exposed. That's really terrible."
It’s a big delay.”
Zhao Xin was startled, and quickly said yes, and quickly retreated, standing straight at the door of the room, waiting for a call at any time.
Their prince's travels in the world were not free and happy, and he met many capable people and strangers. For example, he learned the technique of imitating handwriting from Wu, a bookworm from Shandong. Zhao Xin sighed with emotion, these people are like
It's different. Why didn't he learn this trick even though he followed His Highness every day? He stretched out his hand and looked at it. As the saying goes, these fingers have different lengths and are normal.
The next day, after Xu Yongsheng returned home, he read the letter written by Prince Guang and was filled with doubts. He read the letter no less than ten times, and also studied the handwriting carefully, especially at the top of the head.
Is there something after the three characters of Xu Yongsheng written by the old prince? This is Prince Guang’s habit of writing top-secret letters. But this letter really does!
What do you mean by this, Your Majesty? It is said that after careful consideration, you want to enjoy your old age in Shangdu. All the affairs of the Southwest Army are entrusted to you, so you can take matters into your own hands?
He asked the visitor: "Did the prince personally deliver this letter to you?"
The other party nodded: "The prince said that using personal guards to send messages is too eye-catching. The villain has always attracted no attention, the more ordinary, the better. I got this letter and set off. Until I saw the general, this letter was not received by others.
hand."
"Have you had a smooth journey?"
"Nothing special happened."
Xu Yongsheng thought for a while and said: "Oh, thank you for your trouble. You stayed at the house for two days. I also bothered you to go back and deliver the letter."
After the visitor stepped back, Xu Yongsheng shook his wrist, his strong back relaxed slightly, and he opened the letter again, with every wrinkle on his face beating.
Is the prince really letting go or is he testing himself?
He is a soldier who worked his way up in the military camp. He has no backing in the court. To reach this position today, he feels proud of his ancestors and is content. Now, he is over fifty years old. To be honest, he doesn’t want to
Tossing. But the prince and he have worked together for many years, and they trust each other. Whether it is reasonable or in the eyes of outsiders, he and the prince must share weal and woe. Based on his understanding of the prince, he is not someone who will let go so easily.
He was the person who lost the military power of the Southwest Army, but this letter was really strange. He habitually touched the sword at his waist, only to find that he had already changed into casual clothes. He looked at the empty sword in his hand and sighed: "I'm used to holding it.
If you put down your sword for a moment, how can you get used to it?"
When his thoughts were agitated, the servant came to report that His Royal Highness Prince Heng had arrived at the mansion. He hurriedly collected the letter, calmed down and went to the front hall to greet him.
Xiao Yizheng walked into the hall refreshed, followed by Zhao Xin holding a jar of wine.
Xu Yongsheng bowed to see him, and Xiao Yizheng stepped forward to help him up. "Shuai Xu does not need to be polite. I saw that Shuai Xu has been working hard for many days. I accidentally heard that you have returned to your home today, so I came to see you."
Xu Yongsheng hurriedly handed over his hand and resigned humbly. He was really upset. Even though King Heng had not done anything serious since he came to the southwest, he seemed to be paying a lot of attention to the movements of his handsome manor.
"The day before yesterday, I drank his home-brewed Ten Days Drunk at Zuixinlou. It has a rich aroma and a long aftertaste. If I didn't take a jar, I'll get drunk with Xu Shuai today." Xiao Yizheng pulled him with a smile and disappeared.
As if to show off, he said to the attendant: "Go, let your handsome man's kitchen quickly prepare some delicious dishes. I am a very tricky person."
Xu Yongsheng looked at the more than a month old willow tree outside. Who is eating meat and drinking wine at this time? It can be seen that Xiao Yizheng personally took the wine jar from Zhao Xin's arms and placed it on the table. He was already minding his own business and opened the jar, and said: "Why don't you go quickly?
."
When Xiao Yizheng drank with him, he never mentioned military affairs, only talking about insignificant things he had seen in the world.
But the nerves in Xu Yongsheng's brain were always tense. He didn't dare to drink more and was cautious about everything he said.
"Xu Shuai, do you know why this wine is named Ten Days Drunk?" Xiao Yizheng's tone was leisurely and slow, already looking tipsy.
"I don't know."
Xiao Yizheng drank another full glass and then said with a smile: "The lady boss of the wine shop said that her wine can last ten days to be savored, drunk for ten days, and fragrant for ten days." After saying that, he laughed loudly: "Drunk for ten days?
People who are really drunk for ten days are afraid that they want to be drunk." He looked at Xu Yongsheng meaningfully and asked with a low smile: "Whether it lasts ten days or a hundred days, there will always be a moment of sobriety. Don't get drunk when you should be sober.
Confusion is what matters. What do you think?"
Xu Yongsheng paused while holding the wine glass, and the pure wine in the glass swayed slightly.
Xiao Yizheng laughed heartily again, took another drink, and said loudly: "I really want to get drunk with Xu Shuai for ten days. The soldiers of the Southwest Army are all good. In the future, I will definitely invite the whole army to drink enough."
Ten days of drunkenness.”
Xu Yongsheng whispered respectfully: "Quit drinking in the army."
"Oh, yes, yes, I am wrong." Xiao Yizheng said as he stood up, walked unsteadily into the courtyard, and shouted: "If drinking is not enough, then compose poetry." As he said this, he really started to argue loudly.
The poems, one after another, are still partly drunk and partly emotional, which makes them quite pleasant to listen to.
Xu Yongsheng stood with his hands behind his back, feeling that he might be really drunk. As he looked around, the attendants were all peeping their heads. In the middle of the night, the people in the handsome mansion were probably all sleepy because of the prince who was drunk and singing poems under the moonlight.
"Commander Zhao, is the prince drunk? Do you want the prince to take a rest first?" he asked Xin Zhao cautiously.
Just as Zhao Xin was about to speak, he saw Xiao Yizheng step forward and put his hand on Xu Yongsheng's shoulder: "Shuai Xu, this is to discuss important matters in the army with you. What a good thing, I am indeed a little drunk."
Xu Yongsheng cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, your health is urgent."
Xiao Yizheng smiled and nodded: "Xin Zhao, come back."
Early the next morning, Xiao Yizheng had a splitting headache. After Zhao Xin entered the room and saluted, he said calmly: "Your Highness's drinking capacity is not good at all."
Xiao Yizheng sighed: "Just right! Fortunately, I let you mix it with water."
"But the scene of Your Highness unintentionally composing poems drunkenly under the moon last night has already spread."