During breakfast, Ling Zhiyan came again.
The reason why I say "again" is because he has been here continuously.
Ten days ago, the serial corpse murder case that caused Dali Temple minister Chen Yanfan to lose a third of his hair was finally solved. The principal culprit Bei Mengwen was sentenced to death, and the accomplice Ying Tao was sentenced to exile. The case was submitted to the Ministry of Punishment and Yushitai for review. The method was extremely cruel and the social impact was extremely bad. The Ministry of Punishment and the Dali Temple Special Case Office issued a review opinion within two days and upheld the original verdict.
Five days ago, Bei Mengwen was executed in front of Nanshifangmen. People watching the execution filled the streets and alleys, which was like a grand party. They pulled Bei Mengwen's prison car from Dali Temple Prison, through Luonan City, across Luoshui, and along the From Zhongqu Avenue to Changxiamen, we returned along the original route and arrived at Nanshi. This is a parade route specially designed for the most heinous criminals. Dali Temple officials and jailers escorted the car forward, and there was a gong in front of it to clear the way. The government officials read out the murderous crimes and judicial decisions all the way, in order to popularize the law, deter crime, and educate the people. An additional element has been added to the corpse case to dispel the rumor that "Xiang Liu killed someone".
Although Dali Temple made a plan and set off an hour earlier, due to too many onlookers on the road, traffic was blocked. The prison car team moved very slowly, almost missing the execution time. Finally, the section from Sishunfang to Nanshi, The Dali Temple officials had to shout at the front to clear the way, and they hurriedly and slowly managed to get Bei Mengwen onto the execution platform before noon.
Mu Xia surveyed the terrain early and booked a tea shop in Xishanfang the day before. Sitting on the upper floor, she could see the execution ground without seeing the bloody scenes. It was the best place to watch the execution. The scene that Lin Sui'an expected of throwing rotten vegetables, leaves, and rotten eggs did not happen. It seems that wasting food is not a popular way to vent here. The people of Dongdu are simple and extremely frugal. They use only earthen garbage, a dozen of cigarettes, and cooperate with Swearing in a unique Dongdu accent, it has a unique flavor.
The moment Bei Mengwen's head hit the ground, most of the Eastern Capital City was boiling.
Lin Sui'an saw acquaintances in the crowd, Feng Erniang's parents, Qu Siniang's grandfather, and Zhou Xinghong's two sisters. Instead of cheering, they knelt on the ground and cried loudly, as if they wanted to shed all their grief and anger for a long time. Come out normally.
Hua Yitang faced the sun, his snow-like clothes billowing in the wind, spilled the tea in his hand on the ground, and said quietly:
"The dead are gone, but the living are like this. I hope that in the Tang Dynasty, there will be no more innocent souls."
Following his voice, Lin Sui'an's eyes drifted to the sky above the majestic Dongdu City, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
After that, Ling Zhiyan became a regular customer for breakfast at Hua's Sixty-sixth House.
The day before yesterday, he ate two plates of Biluo, a bowl of buns, and a basket of steamed cakes, and brought news: the recommendation letter for Hua Yitang to participate in the system has been approved, and he and Zhang Huai, the young minister of Dali Temple, are the joint sponsors. , is the only one to be co-sponsored in this examination. In view of this good news, Hua Yitang endured Ling Zhiyan's shameless act of packing four baskets of steamed mutton before leaving.
Yesterday, Ling Zhiyan set her sights on "Brahmin Light Noodles", and she was quite knowledgeable. This noodle was made with "sucrose" made using the latest technology. It was rare and expensive. Ordinary restaurants sold it for ten cents a basket, but Ling Zhiyan was alone. After eating the cage, he also tried to take away the last two cages. Fortunately, Jin Ruo had a big mouth and ate the rest in one bite. Master Ling Sizhi reluctantly picked up two big bags and took them away.
Today, Ling Si arrived in the morning light. Lin Sui'an almost spat out the mutton soup in his mouth when he saw it. He actually carried two large four-layered food boxes, made of mahogany and red paint, and square and square. It seemed that he was going to carry forward the "carrying around when you can't eat" style to the end. Jin Ruo's eyes turned green when she stared at him.
The only one who was happy was Ita. Ling Zhiyan probably felt that it was not kind to come to eat every day, so she was very tolerant of Eta's tea. She would not refuse anyone who came, and she would occasionally praise her, which made her status in Eta's heart quickly rise. It's flush with Fang Ke.
Hua Yitang tapped his fan on his head, "Ling Liulang, do you think that my Hua family is your dining hall in Dali Temple?"
Ling Zhiyan slowly stuffed several plates of steamed cakes on the table into his food box. His movements were calm and measured, quite like everyone else, "Chef Hua's cooking skills are the best in the Tang Dynasty. Zhang Shaoqing loved them very much, and so did Mr. Chen." Full of praise.”
Hua Yitang rolled his eyes and said "Ha", "Come on! Just tell me, what do you want to do?"
Ling Zhiyan ate two Biluo, wiped her mouth, and sat down on her knees, "Zhang Shaoqing and Mr. Chen said, since the fourth son of the Hua family is so filial (Hua Yitang roared: Whoever showed filial piety to them, you took it away shamelessly!") They are not rewarded for their merits. Today there is a banquet at the house of Mr. Lu Yingjie, the minister of the Ministry of Industry. If the Huajia Silang is not busy, he might as well go with Ling and Zhang Shaoqing."
Oooh! Lin Sui'an understood that the people in Dali Temple wanted to help Hua Yitang get involved!
"Lu Yingjie, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, I remember that he has a good relationship with Wen Zhong, the Minister of the Ministry of Etiquette -" Hua Yitang blinked, unfolded his fan with a pop, and leaned against the sofa to pose: "Oh, I understand. Well, I helped your Dali Temple solve the case of corpse burial. You must have great respect and admiration for Hua's gratitude and kindness, but you are too embarrassed to say it, so you thought hard and found a roundabout way to thank me."
Lin Sui'an: "..."
Why do the words change their taste when they come into this guy's mouth?
Ling Zhiyan cleared her throat uncomfortably, "Anyway, I've wasted a lot of Hua Silang's time this month. Please ask Silang to bring the printed letterhead and poems tonight, and Zhang Shaoqing will help you recommend them to Mr. Lu."
Hua Yitang nodded, "The letter can be written now, but the problem is that I never write poetry or composition."
There was a dead silence. The sound of Jin Ruo chewing steamed cakes stopped, and everyone looked at Hua Yitang.
Ling Zhiyan's upright face twitched uncontrollably, "What...did you just say?!"
Hua Yitang shook his fan and smiled, "Hua is the most handsome man in Yangdu. He spends his time on eating, drinking and having fun. As for reciting poems and composing poems, hey, I'm not good at it."
Fang Ke made a "cut" sound, and Jin Ruo rolled his eyes as big as steamed cakes. Ita was still very supportive and shouted "Silang is mighty". Mu Xia smiled and poured a cup of tea for Hua Yitang to soothe his throat.
Lin Sui'an watched with amusement as Ling Zhiyan's face turned green. He stood up and took a long breath, "Hua Yitang!"
Hua Yitang shook his fan happily: "Hey, he's here!"
Ling Zhiyan closed her eyes, suppressed her anger, and handed the two food boxes to Mu Xia, "Please take them to Dali Temple," she turned around and dragged Hua Yitang out, "Now, immediately, go write poetry!"
Hua Yitang was dragged so hard that he staggered, "Hey, hey, hey, Ling Liulang, you can't just drive the water duck up the shelf, and let the old sow climb up the tree, right?!"
"You're worse than a sow!"
"You can't say that. How can there be such a handsome sow like me in the world... No, I'm a male, no, I'm not a pig, ah, ah, it hurts, it hurts - Ling Liulang, please slow down, so-called Haste makes waste, and some things cannot be forced..."
Everyone watched the two of them go away, all asking the sky in silence.
Jin Ruo asked Mu Xia: "Isn't the person named Hua really unprepared for Xingjuan?"
"Of course Silang has already prepared it." Mu Xia smiled and picked up the food box, "I just wanted to tease Ling Si Zhi."
Jin Ruo: "..."
Fang Ke: "Did Hanashiro have a fart?"
Lin Sui'an: "I think today is Ling Sizhi's happiest day."
Everyone was shocked: Which of your eyes was happy when you saw Ling Si?
Very happy, Lin Sui'an took a sip of the mutton soup and thought to himself, look at the bulging veins, big round eyes, and resolute voice of the handsome guy Ling. He is much more energetic than the previous two days. .
Hua Yitang paid a heavy price for his boring behavior. He was locked in the room by Ling Zhiyan and ordered not to go out until he finished twenty poems. Before leaving, Ming Shu and Ming Feng were sent to guard the door. Hua Yitang was there. The house was full of ghosts crying and wolf howling, weeping all over the place, stumbling and stumbling, and finally wrote, um, a song.
The poem is as follows:
Alone, cold and tearful, the setting sun is sad and desolate for all eternity.
My head is empty and the autumn wind has disappeared. Liulang listens to my sad cry at night.
Everyone unanimously commented: sincere love, nonsense.
At the right moment, Ling Zhiyan came. When she saw Hua Yitang's poems, her orifices were filled with smoke and her face was ashen. She struggled for a long time and could only accept her fate. With a dark face, she asked Lin Sui'an and Hua Yitang to get in the car together and prepare to go to Shilang Lu's house.
Lin Sui'an was surprised: "I'm not going to participate in the examination. What can I do if I go?"
Ling Zhiyan: "Shilang Lu has always liked collecting and appreciating weapons. I have heard about Qianjing for a long time. This time, I specially invited Mrs. Lin to attend the banquet with me. I want to see the elegance of ancient famous weapons."
Lin Sui'an didn't want to go. This banquet sounded similar to a modern workplace dinner. It must have involved flattering the leader, toasting, bragging in a fatherly manner, and nonsense without laughing. It was all ineffective social interaction. , the meal may not be as delicious as Huazhai’s, it’s just a waste of time.
But Ling Zhiyan's next words changed her mind.
"There are also several children of aristocratic families in the guest list of Minister Lu, including Su Yiyun of the Su family in Suizhou and Bai Ruyi of the Bai family in Longxi. Madam Lin has not seen them for a long time, so it would be a good idea to catch up with them."
That's all for the others, but Lin Sui'an was quite curious about Su Yiyun. Fang Ke studied the elixir previously seized from Hao Liu's family and returned it to him. Counting the days, he should have taken it for almost half a month. I don’t know if the elixir has any other side effects besides its effects.
Hua Yitang covered his mouth with a fan and smiled maliciously with his eyes, "I think there will be fun tonight."
Lin Sui'an also smiled, "Let's go."
Lu Yingjie, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, lived in Jindefang, which was only one square and one street away from the imperial city. The commute time to the court was no more than two-quarters of an hour, and the transportation was very convenient. The courtyard does not occupy a large area. After all, land in Luobei City is very valuable. Except for wealthy people like the Hua family, whose house occupies half a mile, even the house of the Minister of Industry only has a standard four-in-one courtyard.
In the square of the outer courtyard, several carriages had been parked, all of which were quite simple. Lin Sui'an guessed that this was probably the preference of Minister Lu, so Ling Zhiyan chose Ling's carriage instead of Hua's flamboyant carriage. Zhang Shaoqing was waiting at the door dressed in casual clothes. When he saw the person, he hurriedly greeted him. He glanced at Ling Zhiyan first, and saw that Ling Zhiyan shook her head slightly, her smile was a bit unbearable, and she said seriously, "Hanashiro, you are too big-hearted. !”
Hua Yitang took out the "poetry" that he had worked hard on today from his sleeve and shook it, "Zhang Shaoqing, don't worry, Hua has always had good luck, and this poem is enough for the scroll."
Zhang Shaoqing and Ling Zhiyan sighed together, and their heavy and melancholy expressions reminded Lin Sui'an of Hua Yihuan who was far away in Yangdu. She glanced at the wide sleeves of Yitang's robe. Today he was dressed quite elegantly. There were only five layers of clothes, and there were no bright | coquettish | dark | coquettish embroidery patterns. However, the material was more elegant than usual, and he walked gracefully and gracefully. , very elegant, except that the sleeve on the left side looks heavy. It is probably the "Xingjuan" work that he secretly prepared himself.
The usher boy led the four people into the house. To Lin Sui'an's expectation, the banquet was not in the front hall, but in the back garden. It seemed that Mr. Lu's positioning of this night banquet was relatively private. From another aspect, Those who can come to the banquet tonight are likely to be the most popular candidates for this election.
Lu Shilang was in his prime, with a straight figure, a square face, thick eyebrows and a black beard. He spoke very cheerfully. He first met Zhang Shaoqing and Ling Zhiyan, and patted Hua Yitang's shoulder happily. Dehua Yitang gritted his teeth, then looked at Lin Sui'an happily.
"Ms. Lin, I have admired you for a long time."
Lin Sui'an clasped his fists: "You're welcome, Mr. Lu."
Lu Shilang's eyes fell on Qian Jing at Lin Sui'an's waist. He lingered for a few times and praised repeatedly, "Later, if Madam Lin doesn't mind, can you let me take a closer look at this famous ancient artifact?"
The Minister of Industry, who is responsible for all government-run industries in the country such as civil engineering, water conservancy projects, armaments, machinery, mining and metallurgy, and textiles, must have done a lot of research on weapons and knives, and may have different opinions on the origin of Qianjing.
Lin Sui'an nodded: "Servant Menglu will not give up, I am very lucky."
Minister Lu was overjoyed, patted Lin Sui'an on the shoulder, and happily went to greet the guests behind him. Only then did Lin Sui'an realize why Hua Yitang's facial features had just moved. This big brother had such strong hands. He didn't know who was better than Wan Canjun.
Soon, Lin Sui'an saw Bai Ruyi, who seemed to be thinner than before. Her body was as thin as a piece of paper. She bowed weakly, then found a corner to sit down, staring blankly at the tea cup on the table, as if You can sleep anytime and anywhere.
Hua Yitang came over and said, "Do you think the Bai family is urging marriage again?"
Lin Sui'an: "Looking on the bright side, maybe he is just staying up late and studying hard."
Zhang Shaoqing: "Speaking of which, has Shiro ever heard a joke about Zhiju?"
Hua Yitang: "Could it be that what Zhang Shaoqing said is that the imperial examination is a joke about choosing a concubine for a saint?"
Ling Zhiyan: "Huh?!"
Zhang Shaoqing raised his eyebrows: "So Shiro knows."
Hua Yitang Shi Shiran waved his fan, "Of course Hua took it as a joke," the fan paused, "But someone took it seriously!"
Ling Zhiyan's eyes widened suddenly. Lin Sui'an looked over and said "Wow" in his heart.
Su Yiyun floated in. He was wearing a robe as white as snow, with a cloud-like figure and black satin hair. He wore an emerald green hosta on his head. His skin was so fair that it was almost transparent. His eyebrows and facial features were already handsome. Looking at it today, Especially handsome, like a white crane spreading its wings and ready to fly, it instantly became the focus of the audience.
"He is the one from the Su family in Suizhou - what is his name?" Zhang Huai was surprised, "Why does he seem to have changed?"
Hua Yitang's little fan shook so happily that she even laughed in her throat.
Lin Sui'an suddenly realized: It turns out that Hao Liujia's elixir has the side effect of "whitening, skin lift, and hair growth."
small theater
Chen Fanfan (pricking up his ears): I seem to have heard some secret recipe for hair growth? ? ? :,,
