The large and small restaurants in Chaoge are well-known far and wide, and there are countless of them. But among them, only Shuoyue Building is the most special.
Because this restaurant does not accept civilians, no matter how rich they are, people without official positions in their families are still not eligible to enter.
Unless someone brings it, like Wen Yantong.
She stood at the door and acted like a ghost, Fu Zixian couldn't help becoming nervous, and whispered, "What's the matter? Why don't you go in?"
Wen Yantong turned his head and said, "I don't know the people inside."
Fu Zixian said, "Perhaps he is a friend of the young master..."
"What are you doing standing at the door?" Mu Yang greeted the two whispering at the door, "Come in."
Wen Yantong bit the bullet and entered the room, glanced roughly, and saw five strange men sitting on the seat, all of them were dressed in brocade clothes and looked handsome.
Cheng Xin was also among them, and said with a smile, "Why did Jingxi bring them here?"
Wen Yantong sat down with his back to the door under Mu Yang's guidance, with Chi Jingxi on the left and Fu Zixian on the right. She said with a dry smile, "Just now I met the young master on the side of the road, and I was saved by the young master. I wanted to treat him to a meal as a thank you, but I didn't think that the young master had already made an appointment."
As she spoke, she swept the table, and found that there were scattered snacks, and it seemed that she hadn't started eating yet. However, there was only a carved porcelain pot on a large table of gentlemen, and it was hard to say whether it was filled with wine.
Are these personal gatherings without alcohol
The man sitting at the top smiled gently, and cast a helpless glance at Chi Jingxi, "Xiaoxi brought this to you on purpose, it's okay, let's sit and eat together."
Chi Jingxi said, "They are all classmates of the academy."
Several people suddenly laughed, and one of them said, "I really didn't expect that one day, the little duke would bring his classmates here."
The superior man said, "Student, are you from a school?"
Wen Yantong glanced sideways at Fu Zixian, and wanted him to answer, but he didn't expect this person to be blushing, extremely nervous, and the two hands hidden under the table curtain were twisted together, probably knocking when he opened his mouth bar.
She grinned in embarrassment, "Young master is in Jiayi, we are in Dingliu."
A top class, a crane tail.
There was a moment of silence on the table, and several people seemed to be stuck at this moment, not knowing what to say. Cheng Xin made a relief and said, "Although these two people are not good at literature, they are still quite good at martial arts."
Mu Yang chewed the peanuts and followed suit, "Yes, yes, Fu Zixian's archery skills are very good, and Brother Xi is better than him in the academy."
Several people breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, and said one after another that they really couldn't see it.
Fu Zixian was even more ashamed and wanted to get under the table, and he didn't even dare to say the words of self-effacing. Seeing that something was wrong with him, Wen Yantong secretly pinched him. Fu Zixian's thighs trembled in shock, and he hurriedly said, "I'm overwhelmed by the prize, but it's just a little too high. There are still many powerful people in the academy..."
The superior man said, "Are you from the Fu family? The son of Prime Minister Fu?"
Fu Zixian quickly said, "Yes."
"I have dealt with Prime Minister Fu several times, but I never thought that the majestic Prime Minister would have such a shy son." He laughed.
Fu Zixian didn't even dare to show his anger, he lowered his head and didn't speak.
Wen Yantong raised his eyes and saw that the man had a gentle face, a small black mole on the tip of his nose, and very beautiful eyebrows and eyes. She was startled inwardly, just when she was wondering, she heard Cheng Xin say, "Second brother, Fu Zixian is shy, don't scare him anymore, otherwise Yang Er won't want to."
"That's right, brother Shezhao, he's timid, don't scare him." Mu Yang followed.
Wen Yantong now understood why Fu Zixian was so nervous and scared. Because the gentle man sitting first on the opposite side is the present prince.
Cheng Xin's biological brother. Cheng Yanchuan, courtesy name Shezhao.
Wen Yantong suddenly realized that this might not be an ordinary party, since the crown prince was already sitting at the table, the identities of the few remaining people must be unusual.
Cheng Yanchuan had a very good temper, he laughed at the moment, said hello a few times, then turned to Wen Yantong and asked, "Where is this young master? No one introduced him to me."
"This is Wen Yantong. There is no official position in his family. He is the son of a wealthy merchant in Chang'an." Chi Jingxi briefly introduced her.
Confused expressions appeared on the faces of several people, obviously they did not know Wen Yantong.
Chi Jingxi added, "It's the one who was hit and limped by the Fu family's carriage a few days ago."
"Oh, that's how it is." Cheng Yanchuan understood.
Wait, has this thing become her exclusive label
Cheng Yanchuan said, "Since Xiaoxi brought you here, we are all friends, so don't be cautious."
Wen Yantong nodded repeatedly. Can you not be restrained? Look at Fu Zixian, his limbs are almost constricted.
"Yu Lin, why is Xiaoxi so unhappy today? Is there something on your mind?" Cheng Yanchuan turned to ask the people around him.
Wen Yantong also cast his gaze immediately, and saw that this person's eyes were somewhat similar to Chi Jingxi's, and when he smiled, his eyes narrowed into a slit, "I don't know, I don't know what this kid is thinking all day long, anyway Keeping up with bad ideas."
This is Chi Jingxi's half-brother, Chi Zhongjian, named Yulin.
It is clearly stated in the book that there are quite a few children in the Hou family, but Chi Jingxi is the only one who was born as a descendant. Chi Zhongjian's mother died early and was brought up by Mrs. Hou, so Chi Jingxi has a very good relationship with this second child.
Wen Yantong only recognized two people, and already knew the purpose of this banquet. This bastard is a party of the prince, and they are holding a private meeting!
It is estimated that there is something to discuss, but Chi Jingxi did not know why he brought the two outsiders, which completely ruined the party. With the two of them around, these individuals could only gossip and talk about trivial matters.
Wen Yantong couldn't help but glanced at Chi Jingxi: Such a ruthless method, do you have to deal with it like this
Chi Jingxi smiled slightly after hearing Chi Zhongjian's words, but did not refute.
There were two people left on the table that she didn't know, but she vaguely remembered that among the few people who had a close relationship with Cheng Yanchuan, one with a relatively high official position was named Du Yuan, who was born as Zhuangyuan Lang and was appointed by the emperor as the Minister of Zhongshu.
There is also Jiang Musheng, whose style name is Xuwen. He was Cheng Yanchuan's playmate when he was young, and his father was Zhongshu Shangshu, who shared power with the prime minister, and was the only high-ranking official among the civil servants who had the same weight as Fu Cheng.
If I guessed correctly, the remaining two should be these two. These are Cheng Yanchuan's right-hand men.
But it was useless, because Cheng Yanchuan died early, and he didn't even have a chance to participate in the subsequent throne war.
According to the plot trend in the book, Cheng Xin will also sacrifice after the struggle for the throne begins, and these people will become Chi Jingxi's accomplices in the future, and will be killed one by one in the war.
But at this moment, these unaware people are all gathered at a table talking and laughing. Wen Yantong, who knew everyone's ending, had a very strange feeling.
Several people chatted for a while, Cheng Yanchuan saw that the atmosphere on the table was a bit awkward, so he proposed to play a small game to adjust the atmosphere.
Wen Yantong instinctively felt something was wrong. When a group of high school masters propose to play a game, don't expect it to be a simple game of match-ups. At this time, the low-level students should be very wise to choose to quit.
So she said, "I'm not good at playing games, or I'd still..."
Cheng Yanchuan persuaded, "They are all simple games. Since you are sitting at the table, how can there be any reason not to participate?"
"That's right, before you say what kind of game it is, you back off." Du Yuan, who was sitting on the side, provocatively said, "You are the person brought by the young master, so you can't disgrace the young master."
Wen Yantong said in his heart that you don't understand at all, and that I've offended Chi Jingxi by participating.
She turned to look at Chi Jingxi, and said in a low voice, "Master, will this game be very difficult?"
Chi Jingxi turned his face sideways, "For you, which game is not too difficult?"
As a typical Internet brawler of contemporary young people, Wen Yantong replied, "I'm pretty good at bragging."
Chi Jingxi cast a glance at her, not arguing with her.
Cheng Yanchuan poured a glass of wine and said with a smile, "Today the three people from Ding Liutang are here, so let's play a simpler game, so as not to spread rumors that we are bullying others."
He put the wine glass on the table, "I'm going to say something, you guys guess, the wine glass extends from the right, and whoever hands it, will describe the thing in a vague way, and if the person can't describe it, tell the guessed answer. If you are right, forget it, if you are wrong, drink up this glass of wine and continue to pass the glass."
Wen Yantong was a little apprehensive, this is not an easy game!
Cheng Yanchuan said again, "You can't spill the wine during the passing of the cup. Whoever spills it should drink it all up, and then fill it up."
Jiang Musheng grinned, "Success, this game is good, it sounds interesting."
The top students seemed eager to try, but Wen Yantong was trembling. She turned her head and glanced at Mu Yang, seeing that Mu Yang was calm and composed, and she was a little excited.
Wen Yantong seemed to be holding his shoulders and shaking wildly: Aren't you worried? Aren't you also from Ding Liutang? !
Cheng Yanchuan started first and said, "It's as light as a feather, but as heavy as Mount Tai." Then he gave the cup to Chi Zhongjian who was sitting on the right.
Wen Yantong looked confused, could it be that Cheng Yanchuan was talking about a kind of spirit
Humans are inherently mortal, or is it heavier than Mount Tai, or lighter than a feather?
Chi Zhongjian took the cup and said with a smile, "There are four in one, and one in four."
Wait wait, what is this
The cup was passed to Du Yuan's hands, he thought for a while and said, "Sometimes it is tangible, sometimes it is invisible."
The more Wen Yantong heard it, the more he felt that it looked like some kind of spirit, but he couldn't figure out what kind of spirit it was.
When he arrived at Chi Jingxi, he said, "When the rain pours down the mountains, there are heaven and earth."
As soon as these words came out, several people sighed for a while, and Chi Zhong said simply, "Xiaoxi is too sloppy, it is so obvious."
Wen Yantong: "???" Is this obvious
Can be ruled out, not spiritual.
The cup was handed over by Chi Jingxi, but Wen Yantong still had no idea, so he reached out and pressed Chi Jingxi's wrist.
Chi Jingxi looked at her.
Wen Yantong said cheekily, "I didn't hear what you said just now."
"When the rain pours down the mountains, there are heaven and earth." Chi Jingxi repeated slowly, and handed the cup to her, "Take the cup."
Everyone at the table was staring at her, so she had no choice but to reach out to catch the wine glass. When she was about to touch it, she suddenly groaned and shouted, "My fingers and fingers are cramped, and I can't catch it. You can pass it to Fu Zixian directly."
Sorry bro.
Chi Jingxi frowned in surprise. Everyone at the table laughed at the same time, and they all knew that this was Wen Yantong's cheating for not taking the wine glass.
Mu Yang said from the side, "Your fingers are twitching really well."
Wen Yantong made a strange look with his fingers, "It's true, look, it's all turned into chicken feet!"
Chi Jingxi laughed angrily, and said, "Then why don't you guess, just drink this glass of wine, and you'll pass."
Wen Yantong took the wine glass honestly, thought for a while, and said casually, "It's something I don't have."
Cheng Yanchuan and the others immediately laughed and leaned forward. Wen Yantong was not sure, and asked Fu Zixian, "Did I guess right?"
Fu Zixian blushed and hesitated, "I don't know whether you are right or wrong."
Wen Yantong passed the wine glass to him, hinting, "Surely you won't say it's that difficult, right?"
Fu Zixian took the wine glass, "When the sun rises, it melts, and when the moon dews, it freezes."
After giving it to Mu Yang, Mu Yang said, "The cleanest is the dirtiest."
Wen Yantong scolded secretly, how could even Mu Yang, an idiot, seem to have guessed it.
Cheng Xin took the cup, "Gentle and violent, with an unstable temperament."
The last one is Jiang Musheng, he said, "There are different poses and different styles."
The cup fell into Cheng Yanchuan's hands again, and he smiled, "Then I'll ask someone to explain, if I guess wrong, I'll drink this glass of wine, if I'm right, then I'll drink it."
After Cheng Yanchuan finished speaking, he tapped Wen Yantong's dick, "You tell me."
Wen Yantong was dumbfounded, and held back for a long time before he could say, "Anyway, it's something I don't have."
"What is it, you said it." Mu Yang urged.
Chi Jingxi interjected slowly at this time, "Why are you in such a hurry? Could it be that you are also guessing wildly, and are eager to find someone to take the blame?"
Mu Yang was completely unaware of the trap Chi Jingxi had dug, and jumped into the pit unprepared, and said anxiously, "I guessed it, wasn't it snow? It was the cleanest when it came down, and it fell on the ground and was caught by someone." Wouldn't it be the dirtiest if you stepped on it? Brother Xi, don't talk nonsense."
Wen Yantong immediately took the case, "It's snow, it's snow, I guess it's snow."
Only then did Mu Yang realize that he had been duped, and glared, "Brother Xi, you are going too far, how can you be so partial?"
Chi Jingxi bent his eyes and smiled, and his beautiful smiling eyes instantly brightened, "You said it yourself, and I didn't force you to ask."
"You provoked me on purpose!" Mu Yang said.
Cheng Yanchuan passed the wine glass to Mu Yang, "You broke the rules, this glass belongs to you."
In the end, it was Jiang Musheng who thought about Mu Yang's young age and strict discipline at home, so he drank for him.
Wen Yantong breathed a sigh of relief, at least he was fooled.
Just when a few people were about to start the next round, someone knocked on the door suddenly, and there was a report from outside, "Master, Prime Minister Fu and Shangshu Zhongshu are asking to see you."
Wen Yantong was startled, and when he looked up, the expressions of several people on the table changed at the same time, obviously they didn't expect that at this time, the Prime Minister and Shang Shu would come.
Cheng Yanchuan smiled warmly, "Please come in quickly."
As soon as the door opened, everyone stood up and faced the door.
Several people walked into the private room one after another, the leader was Fu Zixian's father, Fu Sheng. He led a few people and gave a simple salute to Cheng Yanchuan, "I have seen His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Cheng Yanchuan smiled like a spring breeze, "My lords, you don't have to be polite, I didn't expect to see a few of you here."
Fu Sheng also said, "It's really a coincidence. When I just entered the door, I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince was also there, so I came here to greet you."
Jiang Musheng and Fu Zixian bowed their heads, and the rushing person shouted, "Father."
Zhongshu Shangshu Jiang Wu is Jiang Musheng's father. After seeing Jiang Musheng, his face was very ugly, and he said in a deep voice, "What are you doing with His Royal Highness here at this time?"
Cheng Yanchuan replied, "Emperor Brother, Xiao Xi and Yang Er will have a rest tomorrow, so I want to call them out for a meal and play together."
Fu Sheng said, "There are many places to have fun in Chaoge, but Shuoyue Building is too deserted and not lively enough. Isn't His Royal Highness afraid that you won't have fun?"
He didn't look at Fu Zixian at all, and Fu Zixian tactfully stood aside.
Cheng Yanchuan replied, "It just so happens that we have a lot of people, so it's lively enough. The classmate Xiaoxi brought today is a very interesting person, who made us laugh out loud."
He waved at Wen Yantong, "Come, let's meet all the adults."
Wen Yantong understood, limped forward and said, "I've seen all of you adults, it's really a blessing for me to see all of you pillars of the imperial court today, I'm going back tonight and I'm so happy that I can't sleep all night."
When several senior officials heard that she called herself a grassroots citizen, they also knew her identity. Jiang Wu breathed a sigh of relief, his expression softened a lot, and he said with a smile, "Young Master, this classmate is a sweet-mouthed child."
Fu Sheng's face was very stinky, so he didn't say any more, exchanged casual greetings with Cheng Yanchuan, and then left. Jiang Wu patted Jiang Musheng's shoulder before leaving, "Go home early, don't play too late."
After a few people left, the rest of the people laughed and said nothing, and slowly returned to their seats.
The appearance of Fu Sheng and Jiang Wu made everyone at the table understand the intention of Chi Jingxi bringing them today.
Originally, Wen Yantong thought that he was simply trying to mess up the secret meeting, but Chi Jingxi was Chi Jingxi after all, and he would not do such boring things.
Perhaps he had known about it in advance, or had noticed Fu Sheng's movements, so he brought Wen Yantong and Fu Zixian over on the way to the party. Let the party go on normally, and then attract Fu Sheng and others, but after entering the door, there is still a commoner inside, so the lawsuit of the prince forming a party for personal gain will not be settled.
Fu Sheng's trip was also in vain, and he also called Jiang Wu and others. He thought that with these people as testimonies, Cheng Yanchuan would be irrefutable, but he didn't expect that it was a bamboo basket to fetch water.
The intrigue above the court, just opened a corner under this understatement of calm, allowing Wen Yantong to peep.
It was also because of the presence of Wen Yantong and Fu Zixian that it was difficult for them to chat openly, so they chatted a little and then broke up the banquet.
After leaving Shuoyue Tower, Wen Yantong tremblingly saluted and said goodbye to the prince and others, and finally got into Chi Jingxi's carriage and went back to the academy.
Early the next morning, Wen Yantong went to find Zhao Yu and told him that Cook Feng was the chicken killer. As soon as Zhao Yu heard it, he felt that it made sense, so he immediately informed Sun Yu, and then sent someone to investigate.
It turned out that it was a coincidence that Lao Feng slept in the soft jade and warm fragrance of the Qinmo Building last night and did not return to the academy, missing something. After Sun Yu found out the clues, he sent someone to search out a box of white silver ingots from his room, and then preliminarily convicted Cook Feng.
This box of silver ingots was hidden by Wen Yantong.
Cook Feng was arrested as soon as he returned to the academy. After being tortured, they were all recruited. He admitted that he had killed the chicken, so all his property was confiscated and sent to the government.
But Cook Feng didn't confess Wu Yutian. He is not a fool, even if he was sent to the government, he would only be charged with killing a chicken, at most he would be expelled from the academy, and at worst he would spend ten and a half months in a cell. But if Wu Yutian was confessed, even a mere seventh-rank official would be enough to kill him in prison.
Wen Yantong didn't tell his master about Wu Yutian either. It is impossible for Wu Yutian to be completely brought down by the crime of killing a chicken. At most, he will be severely punished by the academy. But what Wen Yantong wanted was to drive him out of the academy completely, so that he wouldn't have to be framed secretly again.
She put the bank note away, and began to think about what crime would make the son of a seventh-rank official kicked out of the academy and be cast aside by others.
After the truth about Wulaoji came to light, no one in the academy discussed Wen Yantong's right and wrong anymore. Literature class in the morning and martial arts in the afternoon, classes will be suspended when it snows. After about ten days like this, new news suddenly came from the academy.
Wen Yantong felt very lively early in the morning, as if everyone was very excited, talking about something constantly. But she couldn't hear clearly what was being discussed.
She sat and waited for a while, and after the morning class, Fu Zixian and Mu Yang stepped into the school at the same time, and she couldn't wait to ask, "Do you think the academy is particularly lively today?"
Fu Zixian rubbed his frozen red hands, heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Maybe it's because the snow-sweeping festival is coming."
"Snow Sweeping Festival?" Wen Yantong was surprised, "Is it so fast?"
The Snow Sweeping Festival is a unique festival of Songhai Academy. Every winter, just before the new year, the students of Songhai Academy will be assigned to the temple outside Chaoge City to clear the snow, remove the old and welcome the new, and pray for the arrival of the new year.
There are four main roads outside Chaoge City, which are in the four directions of Zhengdong, Zhengxi, Zhengnan, and Zhengbei. There is a temple dedicated to Buddha beside each road, which is called "Four Seas Shengping".
Fu Zixian said, "Each time the snow-sweeping day is assigned by the officials of the Ministry of Rites. It is said that after the addition of female students this time, everyone will use lottery to decide which temple to sweep the snow. I really hope not to go. Nian'an Temple."
The Nian'an Temple he was talking about was the "four" among the four temples. This temple was the least popular among the four temples, and there were very few incense sticks on weekdays. It is said that it was because a pregnant woman once went to the temple to beg that her husband could return safely when he was out doing business.
The woman may have lost her mind after being stimulated, and thought it was all the fault of the gods and Buddhas in the temple, so she hanged herself in front of the god statue in a dark night for revenge.
After the news spread, many people were afraid to go to that temple again. I don't know if someone deliberately wanted to tarnish the reputation of that temple. Later, three people also committed suicide in the temple. How they slipped in is still a mystery.
Since then, few people go to Nian'an Temple, and it is also rumored that there are women and children crying at night, so it is also called the ghost temple.
The emperor wanted to demolish that temple and build it again, but the national teacher refused to let it go, saying that it would be better if the temple was defeated, as long as the incense burns continuously, it can be placed there to suppress Chaoge's Feng Shui, so even if the reputation of Nian'an Temple is so bad At this point, incense is still offered.
Wen Yantong didn't care about those things, what she cared about was that this snow sweeping was a point of advancement, and several important characters in the book would be drawn for Nian'an Temple.
The relationship between Chi Jingxi and the heroine Fu Tanghuan in the book also sprouted after this incident.