It was getting dark and it was time to leave for the banquet.
Before leaving the house, He Nan was still thinking about the scene when he paid homage to his master yesterday.
Penglai Pavilion sits in the center of Shanhe Mansion. It is the meeting place of Shanhe Mansion and the residence of Li Zhanchun. Penglai is an overseas fairyland, and the structure of Penglai Pavilion is also extraordinary. The tall building stands like a mountain of ten thousand feet, and a circle of pools is dug outside the building. Whenever the rainy weather passes, the water vapor rises and covers the sky and the sun, giving the impression of clouds and mist. Taking the word "Penglai" as the name of the pavilion also implies that this place is the intersection of mountains and rivers, and the central authority controls the overall situation. It is very different from the majesty and solemnity of Wuyue Pavilion and the vitality of Kunlun Pavilion.
He Nan stated the whole story of Jiang Chen's incident to Li Mastiff Chun, but Li Mastiff Chun just looked at He Nan quietly and pondered for a long time, and then said, "Do you know why I gave you the responsibility for this case?"
From beginning to end, Li Zhanchun only said one sentence to He Nan.
Shanhe Mansion has many scholars from all over the world, ranging from nobles to poor families. As long as they pass the examination, they can enter the mansion to study. These students are called students of the mansion. If students in the government succeed in their studies, they will have the opportunity to enter the imperial court and earn fame, and the outstanding ones will be selected by Li Zhanchun to truly enter the judicial office, which is the best in the world.
Above the imperial court and in the temples, there were factional disputes, and it was not uncommon for the same parties to oppose those with different factions. The children of wealthy families can stay under the shadow of their fathers, so ordinary people from poor families have to find ways to rely on these famous families. Shanhe Prefecture was the first to open schools for children from poor families, with the original intention of paving a broad road for ordinary people to seek fame. However, now Li Zhanchun has declined in old age, and his next son is still young and insignificant. Although he is still in a high position and controls the government, once Li Zhanchun is in power, When Mastiff Chunxian is gone, the Shanhe Mansion faction will inevitably be suppressed by others. Therefore, in recent years, after entering the officialdom, many of the disciples of Shanhe Mansion wanted to attach themselves to officials such as General Zuo and Prime Minister Zuo, who were in high power. On the contrary, they became somewhat alienated from Shanhe Mansion.
Although there are many students in Shanhe Mansion, there are only very few disciples taught by Li Zhanchun. He Nan is considered to be the most talented and outstanding person in the mansion in recent years. He is a number one figure in the mouths of many students and teachers in the mansion, and he is only half a direct disciple.
These personal disciples are the mainstay of Shanhe Mansion, which Li Zhanchun has high hopes for, and they are also the backers who will support and protect his young son in the future.
Thinking of this, He Nan only belatedly thought about why the master would hand this case into his own hands - firstly, he was from a humble background and had no one to rely on. Shanhe Mansion and Li Zhanchun were his only choices to become a member of the Vanity Fair. ; Secondly, I am one of the few people in Shanhe Mansion who has no contact with various factions, and I am also the best among them; Thirdly, my ability is obvious to all, and the master believes that he can handle this matter properly. ; Fourth, it is easy to offend others...
Yes, trying cases is a job that can easily offend people, but I simply have an extraordinary talent for offending people...
Are you using this matter to let me suppress the Jiang family? He Nan's face twitched when he thought of this, Master, you really think too highly of me...
Not to mention whether He Nan's frail body could withstand Jiang Wenbing's slap, even his proud intelligence pales in comparison to Qi Dan, whose knowledge and talent are far superior to his.
At You time, the General's Mansion was brightly lit.
He Nan asked his servant to inform him. After a while, the servant came back and led him in through the side door. He Nan knew that Jiang Wenbing was giving him a warning, implying that his identity was not worthy of entering through the front door, but he didn't really care, so he smiled bitterly and followed.
He Nan followed the servants through the courtyard, looking at the carved beams, painted pillars, ponds, rockeries and the guards wearing swords and armor in the courtyard, which were no less impressive than Shanhe Mansion. He thought to himself that it was really majestic, and he didn't know when he would be able to be like this.
After walking for about half a stick of incense, they stopped in front of a main hall. He Nan raised his head and looked at it, and then slandered: "Although Jiang Wenbing looks down on me and won't let me go through the front door, when Qi Dan held a banquet at his house, he provided a main hall." It can't be said that Jiang Wenbing is looking down on others. Cai Dian, after all, Qi is single, is the fifth prince, and is a close friend, so of course he must be treated with the highest courtesy and respect. In his eyes, He Nan is just a loser, so naturally he is not worthy of taking the right path. If there were such servants asking for an audience, Jiang Wenbing would ignore them.
"Coming?" Qi Dan saw Jiang Mansion's servants ushering He Nan into the palace, and pointed to a place, "Give me a seat."
He Nan quickly looked around the room. The person hosting the banquet, Qi Dangui, was the fifth prince, so he should be sitting at the head of the table. Jiang Wenbing was next, sitting first on the right seat, and sitting opposite Jiang Wenbing was Zhu Zhaoer. When He Nan's eyes met Zhu Zhao'er, she secretly made a face, but He Nan's heart sank - what is this girl doing? The two young men sitting nearby are also familiar people - Zhang Siming and Du Liang, two senior brothers, were also born in Shanhe Mansion. They are now officials in the court, and they also took care of him when they were studying in the manor. The two senior brothers I saw here today are probably also lobbyists for Qi Dan.
Looking at Jiang Wenbing's face, he knew that this meal was not that delicious. It's a pity that he came alone. Zhu Zhao'er can barely be regarded as his Zhang Liang. If Jiang Wenbing comes to perform a "Xiangzhuang sword dance" later, there will be no Fan Kuai to save his life - Pei Gong once used the toilet to escape, so it is better to do it by himself Will you also have a urine escape? As soon as he stepped through the door, He Nan was already planning his escape.
"I'm not feeling well today and I'm a little late. Please don't blame me, Fifth Prince, Zuo Fengyi and everyone else." He Nan said with a smile on his face and cupped his hands.
Qi Dan waved his hand to show him that he didn't care. He just raised the wine glass in his hand - "Since you are late, how about punishing yourself with three glasses of wine to show your sincerity?"
"Okay!" He Nan responded. He has always been addicted to alcohol, so being fined with alcohol is not a heavy punishment for him at all. Now, giving both sides a separate step is what he wishes for. He quickly filled the glass and drank it all in one gulp, repeating this process three times. Qi Dan saw that He Nan was not sloppy in drinking at all, and praised him: "Sure enough, he has extraordinary temperament."
"The food is good, but the wine... isn't very tasty." After drinking, He Nan said to himself.
Qi Dan couldn't help but become interested when he heard what he said. This wine is by no means a defective product. It is Baiyu Jingzhong's famous wine "Ronghua Fugui". How could He Nan not know that? So he asked: "Then tell me, why does this wine taste so bad?"
Unexpectedly, He Nan's words were so shocking that he kept saying, "If you hadn't said it was wine, I would have thought this cup was filled with urine!"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the audience was shocked. When the two senior brothers heard He Nan's rude words, they couldn't help but shook their heads secretly, and kept spying on His Highness's face from the corner of his eye. Zhu Zhaoer covered her mouth and laughed secretly, but she also felt that He Nan's words were a bit too indecent. As the boss, Jiang Wenbing was of course displeased. He slapped the table and said angrily: "His Highness is giving you a banquet to give you face. He will entertain you with good wine. Don't overdo it!"
"Hey," Qi Dan saw his right-hand man getting angry, so he opened his mouth to stop him. But he was offended by He Nan and became a little angry: "What if I say that there is really urine in your cup?"
"Urine?" He Nan raised his head and looked at the fifth prince, "Even if it is really urine...is there any room for me not to drink today?"
After he finished speaking, he laughed loudly, and then the fifth prince also laughed. The other four people at the table were all confused at this time. Monk Zhang Er was confused - why did the host and the guest, the superior and the inferior, start laughing in unison after talking about pickled things?
They laughed because the two of them used wine and food as a metaphor for the present, and they both heard each other's hidden meanings. The good dish He Nan mentioned was of course the fifth prince's attitude towards him. Both of them knew very well that Qi Dangan's appearance today was an olive branch to him. "Good wine" and "bad wine" are the two people's different views on He Nan's choice. In his opinion, the fifth prince's invitation with good wine is a good intention, and following him is He Nan's best choice; but He Nan said this The wine is "unpalatable", which means that glory and wealth are not easy to possess, and being attached to the fifth prince may not lead to good results. If you really take this "glory and wealth", you may become as disgusting as urine in the future.
However, he seemed to have no choice.
After three drinks, the atmosphere was no longer as awkward as before. Even Jiang Wenbing stopped blowing his beard and staring at He Nan. Of course, this was just for Qi Dan's sake.
Qi Dan held his chin with one hand and played with the wine glass with the other hand, watching with interest the various expressions of the people in the hall: Jiang Wenbing was obviously not interested in the dancers dancing in front of the hall, but was drinking alone, glancing at Qi Dan from time to time. , seems to be speculating on the meaning. Zhang Siming and Du Liang were named by themselves to accompany them. They thought they were officials from Shanhe Mansion who were more familiar with He Nan and could help him. However, one of them was obedient and did not say a word, and the other It was obvious that he was not drinking well, and he had been a little carried away. He might as well have been able to talk to He Nan.
Du Liang was drunk and groggy. He staggered and sat next to He Nan and shouted loudly: "Junior brother... Senior brother, I... although I am not an official in Shanhe Mansion, but... but... I have always been... Pay attention to...you. You...you...the...that...Jiang Chen case you recently handled..."
As soon as Jiang Chen's name came out of his mouth, He Nan was so shocked that he took his eyes away from Wu Ji and looked at his confused senior brother. Zhang Siming on the side quickly reminded Du Liang to shut up. Du Liang suddenly woke up from his drunken state when he saw the nervous expressions of the two people beside him, and his face turned pale. He crawled to the ground and knelt down in front of the fifth prince, and said: "The villain...the villain made a mistake while drunk..."
Qi Dan didn't take it seriously. In fact, he felt that Du Liang's unintentional words while drunk had brought the banquet back on track, so he took advantage of the situation and said, "Since Mr. Du mentioned Jiang Chen's case, why don't you tell us how it went?" ?”
