Jiankang City, Baiguanfang, and Wang Xun's residence.
As today's minister, there is a lot of traffic at the door. There are endless luxury cars as far as the eye can see. They are lined up from the entrance of this wide alley to the alley. Countless dignitaries are sitting in the car, or getting out of the car and walking around. He looked anxiously at the situation ahead, but outside the gate of the palace, more than a dozen armored sergeants and a larger number of servants and servants were strictly guarding the outside. For a long time, no one could get in, not even a single person could get in. The steward who came over early in the morning to take the invitation card never showed up again.
There were a lot of discussions and people outside the door, but there was silence inside the palace. A quiet and elegant courtyard was the living room of the palace. At this moment, there were only two people sitting across from each other. A few smart and capable personal guards stood in the corridor, headed by One man, fully armed and extraordinarily heroic, was none other than Mao Xiuzhi, an officer of the former Suzhou Guards.
In the large main hall, two people wearing wide robes and long sleeves sat opposite each other. The person sitting at the top was none other than Wang Xun. Today, he was wearing a purple robe, and he looked much more noble. The person sitting below him is dressed in silk clothes. This is the uniform worn by staff and managers. Normally, such a person is not qualified to sit opposite Wang Xun, but many high-ranking officials and dignitaries outside have to Waiting for him shows that his identity is not trivial!
Between Wang Xun and this person, there was a small stove, and a tea cauldron was placed on the stove. The cauldron was already boiling, steaming out, and bubbles like fish bubbles were rising from the bottom of the cauldron toward the surface of the water, and then It turned into a faint aftermath and rippled away. The whole hall was filled with the fragrance of tea, and combined with the faint smell of sandalwood, it revealed an elegant charm, as if two old friends were making tea here, discussing Taoism, and discussing Zen. .
Wang Xun gently took the spoon, scooped up a ladle of tea soup, poured it into the small bowl in front of the guests, and smiled slightly: "This tea ceremony has just become popular in Buddhist temples in Jiangnan. , a necessary thing when studying Buddhist scriptures. I heard that when you were studying hard, Yuanming, you also visited famous mountains and ancient temples in the world, so you should be familiar with this."
The person sitting across from him was Tao Qian, who had a long beard reaching down to his chest. He smiled slightly, gently picked up the tea soup in front of him, put it to his nose and sniffed it, closed his eyes, and started to smell various things. The flavor of the seasoning penetrated his heart. After a long time, he gently put down the tea bowl and sighed: "The tea is good tea, but it's a pity..."
Wang Xun softly said "Oh": "Yuanming thinks this tea soup is not good enough? Could it be that the condiments are not tasty enough? I have added ambergris from Nanyang and pepper from the Western Regions. .”
Tao Qian waved his hand: "The secret of the tea ceremony is that it is bitter first and then sweet. It can refresh the mind and eliminate drowsiness. As you just said, it is mostly consumed by people who practice Buddhism in the Qing Dynasty. The purpose is not to be a celebrity, but to be like a celebrity. It can make you energetic, so it is best to have the original taste without any additions. Now that these spices are added, although it is delicious, it has destroyed the original taste of the tea soup. If you are pursuing that delicious taste, drink alcohol It’s best, why do you need tea?”
As he spoke, he poured the tea soup from the teacup in his hand directly into a small basin on one side. The water in the basin was crystal clear, with rose petals floating on it. There were two fine hand towels beside it. It is used for washing hands and wiping. When the tea soup is poured, it suddenly turns into a muddy color. The floral fragrance is also mixed with various other spices, making it nondescript.
Wang Xun smiled slightly, put down the tea spoon in his hand, turned to the servants in the corridor and said: "Come here, please change a pot of tea. Only put tea cakes in it, and don't add any other spices."
After giving this order, Wang Xun looked at Tao Qian: "Yuan Ming, I think that you and Huan Xuan are together, just like the tea soup with spices added, it seems a bit weird."
Tao Qian looked calm and calm, and glanced in the direction outside the door: "Wang Shangshu left all the dignitaries of the dynasty and the noble family absent, but he specially met me, who was not even a formal official, because I am now a member of Huanxuan's army. , or is it because of the decades-old friendship between our Tao family and your ancestors of the Wang family?"
Wang Xun smiled slightly: "If I want to see Tao Canjun, you should come in through the front door now. Even if you don't have to line up, you will be seen by everyone. But what I see now is you coming in through the side door. Moreover, Mao Xiuzhi, the successor of General Mao (Mao Bao), the beloved general who was personally promoted by your ancestor when he led troops to station in Jingzhou, was personally picked up. Do you know the intention?"
Tao Qian smiled slightly: "I see, then Yuan Ming is grateful to Bai..." When he said this, he stopped and glanced at Mao Xiuzhi and others standing in the corridor.
Wang Xun said to Mao Xiuzhi in a deep voice: "Captain Mao, please step aside first. I have some personal friendship and I want to talk to Mr. Tao."
Mao Xiuzhi bowed and retreated. After he left, there were a few sounds on the walls, on the beams, and in the garden outside. Everything returned to calm. In the originally silent garden, the sound of birds chirping could be heard. , sounded again.
Tao Qian smiled and said: "Master Baihu has even withdrawn all the secret guards, aren't you afraid that I will take the opportunity to assassinate you?"
Wang Xun laughed: "Since you are not here on behalf of Huan Xuan, but to express the century-old friendship between your Tao family and my late eldest father, what reason do you have to stab me? Besides, you can't leave even if you stab me. , Sir, he is famous all over the world. He came out of the mountain this time because he wanted to revive the Tao family's declining fortunes. Why would you risk your life and the future of your Tao family for me, a dying old man?!"
At this point, he put away his smile and looked directly into Tao Qian's eyes: "Besides, now only I can help you one day break away from Huan Xuan and stand on your own, just like the former Prime Minister (Director Wang) and your Lord Jingzhou (Tao Kan) Cooperation is the same.”
Tao Qian gritted his teeth: "Back then, our Tao family followed your secret order. Our great uncle Tao Wuzi killed Huan Wen's father, Huanyi, the governor of Xuancheng, who wanted to come to Jingzhou to take office. Your Wang family said that they would protect our Tao family. And said it was a mafia promise.”
"But later, Huan Wen relied on your mafia's internal guards to massacre more than 200 members of my Tao clan at Tao Wuzi's funeral. As a result, he gained the reputation of avenging his father. The emperor married the princess to He also allowed the Huan family to become powerful in Jingzhou and segregated it for decades. He took pity on our Tao family. Not only did our family members die tragically, but they were also forced to hide incognito and retreat to the mountains. They dared not come out for decades. Even I can’t come out now. I have to force a smile and serve under the son of my enemy. Mr. Baihu, should we settle the old scores we have had for decades? The former Prime Minister broke his promise and caused misery to our Tao family. Shouldn't it be you who is responsible for this? He is the direct grandson of the Wang family and the mafia's successor as guard, can you give us an explanation?"
PS: Historically, the person who killed Huan Yi was Jiang Bo, the magistrate of Jingxian County under the rebel general Han Huang during the Su Jun Rebellion. For the sake of necessity, he is portrayed as Tao Wuzi, Tao Kan’s nephew. Please don’t mess up the official history because of this.
