Dong Yu Shen Jiang's mansion is very quiet. In and out of the hall, apart from the slight sound of footsteps and the rubbing of clothes, there is no sound, not even coughing, which is probably the so-called family tradition.
The stones paved on the road are like this, and so are the trees in the courtyard, thick, long and straight, far apart, but there are not many green leaves between the branches, silent, chilling and indifferent.
Sitting at the table, Chen Changsheng looked at the aged porcelain tableware in front of him, and didn't know what to say—since he entered the mansion until now, there hasn't been any meaningful conversations yet.
Xu Shiji and his wife sat at the top, he sat in the guest seat, and Granny Hua waited on her quietly, but it was Shuang'er, an extremely arrogant girl, who served the dishes.
There were only five people in the hall, but there were quite a few serving people outside the hall. Several women in charge stared at the surroundings with stern faces. The maids kept coming in and out with their case trays. .
There are green orange juice, hot and cold wet towels, ivory chopsticks and mahogany carved tiger squatting for holding chopsticks on the table trays at the maid's side. In comparison, the table trays for holding vegetables are much less.
Tonight's dinner at the East Imperial General's Mansion is relatively simple. There are smoked square meat, fresh river fish steamed with green onion and ginger, and green bean sprouts in soup. The dishes are delicious, but they are very ordinary. There is no rare sea fish that is often seen in the banquets of rich and powerful mansions in Kyoto. , and there is no soup made of monster marrow juice, and there are not even a few dishes.
Saying it was a family banquet was really an ordinary family banquet.
Chen Changsheng roughly understood the purpose of the Xu Mansion's gesture, so he could only treat it in silence and eat with his head down. However, he noticed that apart from the rare birds, the banquet in the Xu Mansion didn't even have the most common chicken. The most common duck gizzard sauce is not included in Shiyuwei seasoning sauce.
He was a little curious, but didn't ask.
After the dishes were served, Mrs. Xu began to talk to him, just like this family banquet, all the words were neither salty nor bland, and they didn't even talk about the old oil and salt.
The meal came to an end without any taste, and the mansion of the Eastern Imperial God General was still as quiet as before.
Mrs. Xu glanced at Xu Shiji, picked up the jug, and filled Chen Changsheng's glass with wine.
This was Chen Changsheng's second glass of wine tonight.
He said thanks.
Xu Shiji raised his wine glass, looked at him, and drank it down.
Chen Changsheng drank it all.
Mrs. Xu poured wine.
Xu Shiji drank again.
Chen Changsheng accompanied him for a drink.
Mrs. Xu poured another drink.
Holding the wine glass, Xu Shiji looked at him expressionlessly and said, "I admit that I have never had any kindness towards you from the beginning to the end."
Chen Changsheng remained silent.
Xu Shiji said indifferently: "But everyone must admit that I have no ill intentions towards you, otherwise, it is impossible for you to live in the capital until now and still sit across from me."
Chen Changsheng still didn't speak, he stood up, took out a paper envelope from his pocket, and put it on the table.
The paper seal was a bit thick, and it was obviously new. Although they couldn't see what was inside, everyone knew that the things inside must be old.
Mrs. Xu's expression changed suddenly, Granny Hua also showed a little anxiety, only Shuang'er's eyes lit up.
"what do you mean?"
Xu Shiji squinted his eyes and looked at him, his face getting colder. The wine glass in his hand fell slowly. Although the speed was slow, the moment the bottom of the glass touched the table, there was a very dull crashing sound.
"I have no other intentions, I just want to finish this matter. This matter should have been completed a year ago, but because of some misunderstandings, it has not been done..."
Chen Changsheng looked at Mrs. Xu, Granny Hua, and Shuang'er, and said seriously, "I didn't lie at the beginning. I came to Beijing to divorce the engagement, but you guys never believed it."
Hearing these words and looking at the heavy paper seal on the table, Mrs. Xu's face suddenly became extremely ugly, Granny Hua's brows became more and more anxious, and Shuang'er was obviously very shocked.
"Misunderstanding?" Xu Shiji stared into Chen Changsheng's eyes, his complexion frosty, and said, "For a whole year, the capital was full of wind and rain, and the mainland was constantly in turmoil. Could it be because of a misunderstanding?"
Chen Changsheng did not answer his question, but looked at Mrs. Xu, bowed before saying, "Madam, you once said something, I didn't come here a year later to prove your words are wrong, I just want to , Now you probably don’t think that I am a young country Taoist priest who changed his life by clinging to the general, then, maybe it’s time for me to finish this thing.”
The hall was quiet, the green and orange water reflected the light, like strong wine, just like the atmosphere of the time, no one spoke, the night wind was blowing outside the threshold, but it was so tense.
I don't know how long it took, Xu Shiji looked at Chen Changsheng with a slight mockery and said: "You have done all these things, and you are not afraid to plunge yourself into the turmoil that you have no right to touch. It turns out that it is only for my wife. Words, because of that poor and ridiculous self-esteem?"
Chen Changsheng spent some time thinking about it carefully, and confirmed that there were not too many problems with what he did, and replied: "Pride is indeed the reason, but I don't think it's ridiculous, let alone pitiful."
Xu Shiji stood up slowly, put his hands behind his back, his burly body leaned forward slightly, with an extremely unbearable pressure, stared into Chen Changsheng's eyes, and said word by word: "I won the first place in the Dachao Examination. In the eyes of His Majesty the Pope, do you think... this can prove that you are better than Mr. Qiushan? Can you pretend to be a victor and withdraw gracefully?"
Chen Changsheng was slightly stunned, thinking that he had never thought about it this way before, and wanted to explain a few words, but found that he didn't know how to explain this kind of too personal matter. Just as he was thinking, Xu Shiji turned and left the banquet, and came back with a Dao file after a while , and threw it directly in front of him.
"See for yourself."
Xu Shiji looked at him expressionlessly and said, "It's no secret. Tomorrow the whole continent will know why Qiu Shanjun didn't participate in this year's imperial examination."
Granny Hua and Shuang'er have quietly retreated.
After thinking for a while, Chen Changsheng picked up the file from the table and opened it. As he read, his expression gradually changed and became somewhat complicated, and he understood why Xu Shiji said that.
This year's imperial examination was the most lively in the past ten years, and it was an undisputed year. If there is any regret, it is probably that Qiu Shanjun and Xu Yourong did not show up.
With the talent and potential of Qiu Shanjun and Xu Yourong's bloodline, of course they can directly obtain the qualification to watch Tianshu Mausoleum without passing the Great Court Examination, but people always want to see them in the Great Court Examination.
Many people thought that Mr. Qiushan would take part in the imperial examination this year, but the reason why he didn't show up, or because Xu Yourong didn't participate, was more likely because of Xu Yourong's engagement with Chen Changsheng.
Now that he had read the dossier that had just been sorted out, Chen Changsheng knew the real reason why Mr. Qiu Shan didn't take part in the imperial examination. After thinking about it silently, he found that he had to say admiration.
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