Jin Deqiang led his men straight forward. Through the wind and rain, they could see from afar that the Taoist temple was in a very dilapidated state. The walls had collapsed long ago, leaving only four ruins that were only about knee-high.
However, the flickering light of the fire, the faintly discernible sounds of drinking and playing finger-guessing games, and the mouth-watering aroma of barbecue all diffused faintly and reached Jin Deqiang's five senses.
The eunuch leading the charity department was starving and cold, and his hands and feet were no longer under his control. Without thinking, he led everyone to dismount and cross the low wall into the Taoist temple. When they entered, they saw that the inside of the Taoist temple was even more dilapidated than the outside. The side halls around it had collapsed and only the ruins were left. Only the main hall was still barely holding up.
The officials of the Ministry of Persuasion were used to being arrogant and rude. Although they knew that the main hall had been occupied, they did not say hello and kicked open the door of the Taoist temple. The main hall of the Taoist temple had been abandoned for a long time. The statues and incense burners on the altar had long disappeared. The blue bricks on the ground were broken and the red paint on the surrounding pillars had long been unrecognizable.
However, in this lifeless hall, there were more than a dozen middle-aged men grilling mutton around a bonfire, drinking and chatting, which was in stark contrast to the cold and damp environment of the hall.
However, the minds of this group of soldiers from the Persuasion Bureau, including their leader Jin Deqiang, were filled with the aroma of mutton and wine, and they had no leisure to think carefully about the strangeness of this matter.
When the group of people sitting around the fire saw someone coming in, they all stopped drinking and eating, and turned their heads to look at the people from the Persuasion Department. One of them, a handsome man, stood up and stepped forward, bowed to Jin Deqiang and said, "Judging from your clothes, you must be soldiers of the imperial court. I am honored to meet you!"
Although Jin Deqiang was arrogant, he was not completely unreasonable. He saw that the man who came to greet him was only about 20 years old, dressed like a scholar, and called himself a "student". He thought that he must have a reputation, so he did not dare to underestimate him. He bowed and said, "I dare not. I am a soldier of the Imperial Guard. I am sorry for disturbing you when I passed by here." After all, he was responsible for escorting Dai Luanxiang to Beijing, so he did not dare to be arrogant and just lied.
The young scholar saw that Jin Deqiang and his foster father were all soaked by the rain, so he said, "Those people have worked so hard! Come on, since we can meet here, it must be our fate in the previous life. Why don't you sit with us and warm your clothes?"
Jin Deqiang was reminded by the scholar's words and asked, "I see that this young gentleman is also a scholar, so why would he drink and have fun with these people in this dilapidated temple in the midst of wind and rain?"
The young man laughed and said with great joy: "My name is Quan Budong. I dare not call you 'sir'. I just passed the examination two years ago and became a scholar. Now, I have chosen an auspicious day to go to Zhaojiazhuang over there and ask for marriage from old man Zhao!"
At this point, "Quan Budong"'s face was already beaming with joy, and he continued, "Grandpa Zhao's daughter and I are childhood sweethearts, but I made no progress in my studies since I was young. After I passed the examination to become a scholar, I also wanted to pass the examination to become a juren, so that I could then welcome Miss Zhao into my home with great fanfare." As he spoke, he forcibly took Jin Deqiang's hand and pulled him to the side of the campfire.
As Jin Deqiang was warmed by the fire, the coldness that had accumulated for the whole day was completely dispelled, and he felt indescribably comfortable all over. He couldn't help but feel a liking for this "Quan Budong" and asked with a smile: "The provincial exam should be next year, right? This Mr. Maocai, why are you proposing marriage now?"
This "Quan Budong" was a joking name that Princess Bohai gave to Qiu Yizi when she was in Beijing. Qiu Yizi found it interesting and decided to use it.
I saw that this "Quan Budong" seemed to have a shy expression on his face. He scratched his head and said, "It's because Mr. Zhao saw that I was sincere to Miss Zhao and that I was really studying hard. He asked me to come to his house to propose marriage first, and then get married after I pass the high school entrance examination next year. It's a double happiness!"
Jin Deqiang listened to "Quan Budong's" explanation, and he also felt that it made sense. He relaxed his vigilance a little and said with a smile: "Then I have to congratulate Mr. Maocai first!"
"Congratulations, congratulations." Qiu Yi, who was pretending to be "Quan Budong", said, "I was too impatient, but God didn't give me face. It rained all day, and it was really difficult to move. That's why I rested here for a while."
"It's the same for us. We've been walking in the rain for a whole day. It's really unbearable, but we have an important responsibility for the court, so we just have to try our best to persevere." Jin Deqiang replied.
Quan Budong nodded solemnly and said, "The world is not at peace right now. I heard that King Youyan has rebelled against the court. It all depends on you soldiers to protect the Han Dynasty!" After that, he took out a piece of roasted mutton and handed it to Jin Deqiang.
Jin Deqiang couldn't resist the temptation, so he took a careful bite and found the lamb so tender and fragrant that he couldn't help but stuff the whole piece of lamb into his mouth.
Qiu Yizhi learned the skill of roasting mutton from Yelu himself, and he was very good at it, so he was naturally different from others. Seeing Jin Deqiang eating with great relish, he deliberately asked, "I wonder if this superior officer can get used to eating such rough food?"
While chewing vigorously, Jin Deqiang replied vaguely: "Mm, delicious! Delicious! I have never eaten anything as delicious as this!"
After hearing this, Quan Budong smiled and said, "Since it's delicious, please eat a few more bites, Shangguan. And the brothers standing over there, come over too, let's roast fire, drink wine, and eat meat together, isn't it wonderful?"
The soldiers from the Charity Persuasion Department had long been envious of Jin Deqiang for eating the delicious roasted mutton. After hearing what Qiu Yizi said, they also walked forward, said "sorry for disturbing you", and then grabbed the roasted mutton one by one and put it in their mouths to chew.
This aroused the excitement of the people who had just gathered around the campfire. One of them cursed, "What are you doing? Do you think you are so great as soldiers? We have only a small amount of mutton and you have eaten it all. What will we eat?" It was Yuchi Lianghong who was pretending to be a servant.
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi glared at Yuchi Lianghong and said in a feigned anger, "Why are you making such a fuss? It's just a few pieces of mutton. Why are you so stingy?"
Yuchi Lianghong, who was pretending to be a servant, was not convinced and retorted, "Master, a few pieces of mutton is a small matter. It's just that these people don't know etiquette!" He pointed at Jin Deqiang and said, "And this guy, with a white face and no beard, and a weird look, he looks like a eunuch, not a good person!"
"Shut up!" Qiu Yizi became more and more angry and interrupted the "house servant". "Are there no good people among the eunuchs? I think this superior official is willing to work for the court in the rain. His loyalty to the country is no less than that of any other minister! What do you know? How dare you speak nonsense in front of me! Go out in the rain and calm down."
When Yuchi Lianghong heard the order from his "young master", he looked angry but could not say anything, and stared at Jin Deqiang with his wide eyes.
"What? Don't you understand what I say? Get out of here!" Qiu Yizi scolded again.
Only then did Yuchi Lianghong reluctantly walk out of the Taoist temple hall and go outside to get wet in the rain.
Jin Deqiang was watching from the side and felt embarrassed, so he said to "Quan Budong": "Mr. Maocai, I am indeed an uninvited guest, and my subordinates were also rude. No wonder that gentleman was angry just now!"
Qiu Yizi smiled bitterly and said, "This is the 'eunuch', right? You don't know the inside story! The man just now was a capable servant of my father. My father never treated him as a servant. But who knew that he would bully his master and often occupy the magpie's nest. I will take this opportunity to teach him a lesson!" He took a breath and said, "As for those few people, they are elite soldiers who have survived hundreds of battles in the army. It is normal for them to be rude. Otherwise, how can they have the murderous aura to intimidate the enemy!"
In fact, the soldiers of the Persuasion Department were all good at bullying the people, but they had never fought in battle. However, as the saying goes, "flattery never wears out a thousand holes", they were all proud of Qiu Yizhi's compliments and said, "Young Master is indeed a scholar, and you can see his knowledge at a glance!"
Qiu Yizi held back his laughter, bowed to the group of people and said: "Please eat and drink to your heart's content! I have brought double the amount of fat sheep and fine wine, as a reward for the troops!" After that, he ordered his servants to slaughter the sheep and bring the wine.
After hearing what "Quan Budong" said, Jin Deqiang finally sat down beside the campfire with peace of mind. He picked up a piece of mutton and roasted it on the fire. He took the initiative and invited "Quan Budong" to sit over and said, "Since Mr. Maocai has such a good intention, it would be disrespectful for me to refuse it!"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Okay, okay, you are serving the emperor. Although I have this wish, I cannot fulfill it, so I can only express my gratitude." He suddenly sighed and said, "If you want to blame someone, blame Prince Youyan. It is said that the prince is the first pillar of the court, so why did he provoke a rebellion? Don't you know that the emperor is the emperor after all, and thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from heaven. As a minister, we can only accept it."
After being persuaded by Qiu Yizhi, Jin Deqiang, the head eunuch of the Persuasion Department, completely believed him and said, "This is all the business of the higher-ups. We servants just need to serve well. How can we expect so much? But I see that Lord Maocai has an extraordinary appearance and far-sightedness, so I think he must be well-educated. I am not afraid that Lord Maocai will dislike me for boasting. I am now a person who has a say in front of His Majesty. If Lord Maocai is willing to serve His Majesty, I will speak a few good words for him!"
"Quan Budong" was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly stood up and saluted, saying, "So you are a favorite of the emperor! I was really disrespectful just now, I hope you will forgive me!" He seemed to remember something and hurriedly said, "You must have an important mission on this trip, so don't miss your trip here!"
Jin Deqiang had already let down his guard and said, "I am just a vanguard, and there are a large group of people behind me. It's not a big deal if we take a short rest here."
"How many brothers are there behind you, sir? I see that although this hall is dilapidated, it is also very spacious. Why not just tear down the doors and windows here, light a few bonfires, slaughter a few fat sheep, have a good rest, and then it won't be too late to set off again?" Qiu Yi said.
Jin Deqiang replied with a smile: "I appreciate Lord Maocai's kindness. But I have two hundred brothers behind me. Why don't we eat and drink all the fat sheep and good wine that Lord Maocai brought? Although I am a useless person, I know that this marriage proposal is a big deal for Lord Maocai. If it is delayed, that old master Zhao will blame him, and Lord Maocai will be in trouble!"
When Qiu Yizi heard that he had inadvertently revealed the number of people accompanying him, he winked at Yuchi Lianghong who was standing under the eaves of the Taoist temple, and said to Jin Deqiang: "It's okay. If Old Master Zhao knew that he had done such a good thing, he would be very happy and would not blame me." After that, without waiting for Jin Deqiang's consent, he ordered his "servants" to light a fire and slaughter the sheep.
Jin Deqiang was a eunuch after all, and he had no idea that even if the groom died, there was no reason to postpone the wedding. He said, "That's a bother." He ordered one of his men to send a message to the large group of people escorting Dai Luanxiang to come here. (To be continued)