Yang Ji originally thought that the banquet hosted by Yang Su was just a small banquet. When he arrived near the Duke of Yue's mansion, he realized that his idea was completely wrong.
Early in the morning, all the streets leading to the Duke's Mansion were jammed with horse-drawn carriages, ox-carts, prides, and carriages who came to join in the fun and make connections. The servants of the Duke of Yue and Pingkangfang Ding had to stop the transportation and politely asked the idlers to change their route. Only those who have been formally invited by Yang Su can take the bus directly to the square in front of the house.
The square was even more crowded with people, and the horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts turned around with difficulty, making it look overcrowded.
Prince Wei's Mansion was not far away, so Yang Ji walked with only a few followers. When he saw this scene, he felt lucky for his decision to walk.
"See King Wei!" Yang Ji walked to the door of the mansion through the narrow passage, and Yang Xuangan, who was in charge of reception, came to greet him.
"Brother, no gift." Yang Ji returned the gift and asked, "Are these people invited by Mr. Yang?"
"How can that be impossible?" Yang Xuangan said with a bitter smile: "Perhaps the conversation between His Highness and my father in Dongshang Pavilion yesterday was spread to others, so these people heard about it and came here."
Yang Ji asked curiously: "Where did they all come from?"
Yang Xuangan said helplessly: "Some are children of powerful people, some are reserve officials in Beijing, some are local officials who come to Beijing to report on their duties, and some are big businessmen in the city... Anyway, the purpose is the same, you know..."
"This is also due to Yang Gong's prestige." Yang Ji could understand Yang Xuangan's mood at the moment. This kind of excessive publicity was not a good thing for Yang Su and his family.
"Alas! I can't refuse even if I want to, so I have no choice but to open the door and welcome guests from all directions. Otherwise, everyone will be offended." Yang Xuangan forced a smile and said solemnly: "This place is too chaotic. Your Highness, please come in."
"Brother is busy, I can just go in by myself." Yang Ji stopped Yang Xuangan who was about to welcome him in personally, and followed several maids to go inside.
After walking around the screen wall, my eyes suddenly opened up.
In the middle of the front hall square is an artificial lake larger than that of Prince Wei's Mansion. In the lake, a large colorful platform with brackets facing north and south has been erected. Someone is moving tables, futons, stoves and oil umbrellas up. There are also some strong men who lift up the bonsai such as plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos, etc., and then the gardeners decorate the color table with flowers and green plants.
There were also people preparing to sit down in the east, south and west sides of the stage.
Look at this posture, this sudden event is not the first time for Yang Su, and the servants are all busy with rich experience.
Although the whole scene seemed rushed, everything seemed orderly, busy and not chaotic.
Taking a closer look, Yang Ji found that the pillars, square bars, and boards that made up the color platform were all ready-made parts with a mortise and tenon structure. Once they were moved here and installed, it became a tall color platform.
It is very convenient to build early and demolish later.
As the number of people coming and going gradually decreased, the layout of the color table was slowly coming to an end, and all that was left was some finishing work.
However, Yang Ji also felt a little puzzled. The majestic main hall could fully accommodate the tables placed outside. There was no need to set up a stage outside? Could it be that the literati of this era all liked the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties? But he soon realized that in the final analysis, this was due to the identity of the guests, because among the people giving gifts, there were both officials and low-status businessmen.
Although merchants were rich, their status was only slightly higher than that of slaves. No matter how rich they were, they were still humble. They were not allowed to ride horses, take concubines, be officials, and could only wear black cloth, etc. There are strict restrictions, and once you are registered as a merchant, you will be so inferior for generations. How can you be qualified to enter the palace of the Duke?
However, the princes and ministers are all human beings, and they will naturally not turn away gift-givers. Therefore, whenever there is a banquet attended by these people at home, a color table will be set up outside the main hall, so that the purpose of collecting money can be achieved. It doesn’t reflect the reality of the population.
Those big businessmen did not expect the princes and ministers to do practical things for them, but they still happily gave gifts. If they were remembered and favored by someone, it would be a huge leap to change the fate of the family.
This is also the charm of "quan".
Smart people like Yang Jian, Yang Guang, Yang Su, Yang Xiong, Yang Da, Su Wei, Gao Jiong, Niu Hong, and Yuan Shou have never deliberately pursued money, let alone go to war naked to commit corruption.
In their eyes, power is the most essential thing. As long as you have power, money and beautiful women will fly home by themselves, but once you lose power, even if you have wealth that rivals the country, it is just fish in the eyes of others.
"Uncle Wang!" At this moment, someone suddenly shouted from behind.
Yang Ji turned around and looked around, only to see a very fat young man walking over with difficulty under the protection of several guards. Although he was frighteningly fat, he was dressed like him, wearing a purple gold crown and a purple suit. Robe and jade belt around waist.
This is Yang Zhao, the eldest son of Yang Guang, named Shiming, and he is nineteen years old. He used to be a handsome man with martial arts skills and could draw a strong bow, but then he gained weight for no apparent reason, and martial arts training and dieting were useless.
The elegant young man next to him is Yu Wenshu's second son, Yu Wen Shiji. Different from his uneducated elder brother Yu Wenhuaji and his younger brother Yu Wenzhiji, he has profound knowledge and good character. He married in the 19th year of Kaihuang. Yang Guang's legitimate daughter Nanyang Princess is his wife.
After the meeting, Yang Ji found that one of Yang Zhao's guards was carrying a square basket and said speechlessly: "Shiming, have you prepared your own food?"
Yang Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "Uncle Wang, you don't understand Fatty. When Fatty gets hungry, he sweats profusely, becomes restless, and feels restless. That feeling is worse than death."
"Look at you, you are so fat that you can't walk. If you don't control your appetite, you may become even fatter in the future." It is said that the last three generations of the Yang family and the Xiao family did not have such a fat man. Yang Ji really didn't know about this big nephew. How did you gain weight?
"Uncle Wang, I don't want to either." Yang Zhao said helplessly: "To avoid being hungry and unethical, I always bring food with me when I go out now."
"Didn't I ask you to find a famous doctor?"
"Xu Yinzong, Zhen Quan, Zhen Liyan, Chao Yuanfang, Zhang Baobao and other famous doctors have all seen it. However, all the doctors are at their wits' end. They even took laxatives, but they still can't lose weight. Now I follow Zhen Quan's instructions. The method proposed is to practice health-preserving breathing techniques internally and eat whole grains and whole grains externally. However, I feel that there is little hope."
"I think you can do it, but don't give up on treatment!"
"I hope." Yang Zhao, who could not lose weight, obviously gave up hope. He changed the subject, "Yang Pushe originally invited his father, but he was worried that his presence would spoil the party. After understanding the atmosphere of the banquet, he asked I will take my place." Yang Zhao took out two neatly folded pieces of rice paper from his arms and continued: "This is what my father gave you, saying it can help you."
Yang Ji took it and took a look, and was immediately amused and moved. On the rice paper were Yang Guang's unpublished poems.
The first one reads "Ambition", which reads: "The jackdaws are flying around, and the flowing water is surrounding the isolated village. Where the setting sun is about to set, I feel so gloomy and ecstatic at the sight."
Another one reads "Moonlit Night with Flowers on the Spring River", which reads: "The night dew contains the essence of flowers, and the moonlight shines on the spring pool. When you meet a wandering girl in the Han River, you will be the second concubine in Xiangchuan River."
Apart from these two poems, there were no extra words, but Yang Ji understood that Yang Guang was personally helping him to cheat.
Such a buddy makes people really speechless... I really want to kiss him and become my brother-in-law.
Thinking of this, I suddenly saw Jin Princess Wei Shi and Nanyang Princess Yang Feixu not far away. Next to them were a girl in a lake blue palace dress with bright eyes and white teeth, and three beautiful and dignified women. When beautiful women gather together, it's hard not to attract attention.
