During the dinner, the two sons continued to talk loudly. Lu Bo dealt with it while teasing them with words, hoping to get more details from their mouths.
As the sun sets, the aroma of meat wafts out from the big cauldron in the courtyard. The corn in the cauldron under the east corridor is particularly fragrant against the smell of meat. Fruit and vegetable jams, salt, plums and ginger have been prepared and neatly stacked in baskets. ; After a whole day of busy work, a large vat of clear water was finally filtered out of the White Mansion - everything for entertaining guests had been prepared - and the sound of drums could be heard in the distance.
Under Bai Gen's greeting, everyone at the table walked out of the mansion and lined up on both sides. This place is very close to the city. Captain Huayang will be there right after leaving the city. No one dares to ask for help, and would rather wait. Lu Buwei went around and asked some children to go to the edge of the city to inquire.
Not long after, a group of children came running over in a hurry. Almost at the same time as the children shouted "Come on, come on!", the sound of wheels came. Everyone hurriedly adjusted their clothes, and after checking that there was no deviation from the front, back, left, and right, they all stood with their hands folded, bowing their heads and saying nothing.
When I was young, a carriage stopped in the street. A man jumped out of the carriage and ran over and said, "The King of Han is here to visit!"
Led by the second son, everyone gathered in front of the car. The second son greeted them and said, "The king and grandson are here, and the country will shine."
Lieutenant Huayang slowly got out of the car, walked up to him, and said in return, "How dare you bother my two sons to greet you from afar?"
Yang Zi said: "I am a humble citizen, I have been protected by kings and grandsons, and my family is in peace. If I don't want to repay you, I would like to live in the Bai family's mansion in the north of the city, prepare three animals and a small amount of wine, and enjoy the friendship of the landlord."
Wei Huayang said politely: "If you have little virtue and shallow conduct, I am willing to say goodbye!"
Yang Zi said: "It's just a meal. If you don't dare to show your respect, I would like to give you a seat."
Lieutenant Huayang saluted again: "I've been feasting on people from all over the country, and I don't dare to sit down at the table."
Yang Zi said: "I hope the king and grandson will not abandon the wishes of the countryside!"
Wei Huayang said: "I am forced by my hometown. If I refuse, I dare to sit down at the table." After these routine resignations, Wei Huayang walked towards the front of Bai Mansion with a big belly, Bai Gen and others followed behind. . With three bows and three concessions, the host and guest entered the hall together. Someone had already led Captain Huayang's carriage to the side yard so that he could be fed.
While everyone was waiting outside the door, the clan members and other people quickly changed the seats in the hall and arranged them according to the new specifications. After Captain Huayang came to the hall, he naturally sat in the head seat of the teacher, and the driver and driver who followed him sat on the right side of Captain Huayang. Two tables were set up in the East Road. The two sons took one at the top. Er Lu and Xu Bo'an, the main hosts of the guests, set up another table at the bottom. Bai Gen acted as the middle man and acted as the heirloom. Uncle Tang was the butler of the tomb and took a dagger to divide the meat in front of the cauldron.
After Lieutenant Huayang sat down, he looked around and said with a gloomy look on his face: "Where are the guests coming from?"
Er Lu didn't know what he meant, so he could only reply: "I'm sorry for you, Luoyi."
Wei Huayang said: "Luo Nai is where the emperor lives, but the rituals and music have collapsed like this!"
Er Lu was a little flustered and didn't know what to do for a moment. Seeing that Er Lu had not yet understood, Captain Huayang said: "There is a prince and grandson at the table, but I failed to ask for advice. Why don't you give me advice?"
Sub'an knew that he was talking about himself, so he quickly knelt down and crossed his hands and said, "My ancestors, Xu's Sub'an, raised their heads to do this. Therefore, the old ministers of the Jin Dynasty did not dare to ask questions from the king and grandson of Han."
Wei Huayang nodded slightly and said: "The one who guards the Tibetan area with an erect beard is one who has made great contributions to the Marquis of Jin, so he is given the Xu clan. Since he is a minister of the Jin clan, why do he live in Luo?"
Feeling that the lie was going to show up, Xu Bo'an was a little embarrassed and said: "My father serves the king of Wei and ordered me to live in Luo."
Captain Huayang asked: "Is it the senior official in Wei Zhong?"
Seeing Captain Huayang's words, Sub'an didn't dare to hesitate, so he could only lower his head and said: "It's just humiliation."
Wei Huayang said: "I, Han Wei, were also marquises of Jin in the past. Although I am the king now, I am an old friend of the Xu family. Moreover, the middle-ranking official has to serve the king of Wei. How can I despise myself like this?"
Everyone didn't know what was going on, and became silent for a while. Captain Huayang asked again: "The Zhou people in Ningluoyi have fallen to this level, are they inferior to merchants?"
Only then did everyone understand that it turned out that this Han Wangsun was not angry that Xu Bo'an was under Er Lu. When setting off from Daliang, Subo'an was disguised as a day laborer, wearing short brown clothes. Naturally, he could not be juxtaposed with Erlu, who was wearing a long gown, and they were both below him. After leaving the city, due to the mysterious illness of Lieutenant Daliang, Erlu was the one who made the decision all the way. Xu Bo'an was very easy-going and had an attitude of not fighting against the world this time. He did not think about making achievements, so he got used to following him. character of. Yesterday, we were temporarily dispatched to Kaifeng. Before leaving, Lord Xinling made a special statement that Er Lu would be the leader in everything. Therefore, even Lord Xinling's adviser, Mr. Guo, only followed Er Lu's lead, and Sub'an had no other ideas. On the road in the morning, although it was agreed that when dealing with Captain Huayang, Subo'an would negotiate as a merchant of the King of Wei, Subo'an just followed orders and had no consciousness of a leader in his heart. Later, the situation changed, and Bai Gen came forward to invite Captain Huayang. Although Suba'an changed into scholar's clothes as agreed in advance, his mentality did not change. The others didn't pay attention because they had become accustomed to it. Naturally, Er Lu was the leader. Even Uncle Tang sat on top of Mr. Xu and didn't think it was inappropriate. When talking with Erzi, Erzi noticed something unusual, but out of disdain for merchants, he just regarded it as the rude and nonsense of common people, and in the name of a sumptuous dinner, he gently dismissed it. I never thought that Lieutenant Huayang would be so strict about status and dignity, and he would actually shout it out in front of his face. ——Of course, when merchants wear scholar's clothes to meet Captain Huayang, at least Bai Gen doesn't know it happened, otherwise he would have been reminded.
Seeing that Lieutenant Huayang severely investigated the disrespect for seating, Erlu and Suban had no choice but to avoid the banquet and plead guilty, saying that they had been merchants for a long time and had little practice in etiquette, so they behaved awkwardly.
Captain Huayang didn't let go, and said sternly: "The punishment is not worthy of a doctor, and the courtesy is not worthy of a common man. The reason why the ancients held banquets was because they were close and respected. Although the Xu family was a minister, he was a doctor; although a merchant was rich, he was a common man. . It is disrespectful to treat a common man as superior to a gentleman."
Seeing that the banquet was about to be finished, Er Lu and the bearded young man prostrated on the ground and did not dare to reply. Yang and Wei had to come out and mediate: "The king of Han has an insight into the details, and I can't wait. The merchants are good at profit. How strange is it that you forget your righteousness! If you don't pay attention, your superiors and subordinates will be out of order, and your dignity will be lost. This is your crime. I hope that they are sincere and good, and allow them to be taught and change their past mistakes."
Bai Gen also left the table and worshiped: "A humble person who does not know etiquette and has lost his decency is punishable by death!"
Lieutenant Huayang sat on the banquet, looked at Xu Bo'an and said: "Xu's son is still young and is not familiar with etiquette. It is excusable. But there is one thing that a scholar should not keep away from his heart: my ancestors eat blood. , Nothing can be compared with others! Willing to fall to oneself is a blessing to God, and the stakes are not small!"
Sub'an prostrated on the ground and said, "I would like to teach you a lesson from Wang Sun!" Still he did not dare to raise his head.
Wei Huayang said again: "I can't bear the rudeness of the scholars. Don't blame the merchants!"
Er Lu could only reply: "How dare you!"
Wei Huayang said: "Since the second son is the host, how can we do it properly?"
The second son said, "How dare you ask Mr. Xu to be the leader?"
Wei Huayang said: "That's not right. Scholars and common people are seated at different tables. It's etiquette that it's not just about sitting at the same table but being at the head of the table."
The second son said, "Is it okay to invite Mr. Xu to sit with me at the same table?"
Wei Huayang said: "That's not right. The second son is the host, and the Xu family is a foreigner. How can he sit on the east road? I have a message, and the second son listens to it. The Xu family can sit at the west table with us."
