"Sanlang!" Li Xian came over again. This half-grown child was obviously not very interested in the acrobatics he was performing: "Where were you when Da Feichuan was defeated?"
"During the defeat of Dafeichuan?" Wang Wenzuo frowned: "I should be in Chengdu, no, it should be Songzhou. Why does Your Highness ask this?"
"Then what would you do if you were Xue Rengui?" Li Xian asked: "I heard that you also won several battles against the Tubo people. If you replaced Xue Rengui, you shouldn't lose in Dafeichuan, right?"
"Those are completely different things!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I defeated the Tubo twice, but it was just an outpost battle. Neither I nor the Tubo used their full strength to fight against the Dafeichuan. Completely two different things!"
"Really?" Li Xian rolled his eyes: "Then why don't you try your best?"
"Because the road from Songzhou to the hinterland of Tubo is too dangerous. If I lose, Songzhou will be lost, the local Qiang people will turn to the Tibetan side, and Chengdu will be unstable; and if I win, , and it’s impossible to go deep into the hinterland of Tubo! No matter what, I can’t afford it!”
After hearing Wang Wenzuo's answer, Li Xian smiled and said: "Sanlang, why are you so petty and stingy? None of the warriors I knew before are like you. It's not worth it even if you haven't fought yet!"
"Yeah!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "So I survived. I fought in Baekje, Japan, and Goguryeo for almost ten years, and I can still sit here with my beard and tail intact, eating meat, drinking wine, and watching tricks. If it were those guys , the tree at the tomb is probably seven or eight feet tall!"
Li Xian was speechless and speechless for a moment. Wang Wenzuo felt a little regretful: I guess no one had spoken to him so rudely before, right? It seems that he drank a little too fast and forgot to close the door on his mouth, but it is also a good thing to let this child know the ugly reality of war early. After all, he is the second in line to inherit the empire.
Night has shrouded the high windows, and the jugglers in the hall are playing more and more vigorously. Haven't they noticed that most of the guests are no longer watching the show? Wang Wenzuo picked up the wine glass and took another sip. The wine was mellow and sweet. It seemed that the Yang family had spent a lot of money on tonight's banquet. When the jugglers stopped performing, many of the guests were already drunk and starting to have fun. Twelve Hu Ji dressed in cool silk robes came to the hall and danced the Hu Xuan dance quickly, but the official of Shangshu Province on Wang Wenzuo's right had already fallen asleep at his desk. When the dish of venison stuffed with ripe chestnuts was served, the two women beside Wu Minzhi were already quarreling with each other. Both women tried to grab each other's hair and scratched each other's face with their sharp nails. Yang Sijian hurriedly called over Several strong women separated the two and pulled them out of the hall.
Wang Wenzuo looked at these episodes casually. He picked up a piece of roasted venison with a knife and put it into his mouth to chew. Wu Minzhi stood up from behind his desk and walked to Wang Wenzuo: "You asked Li Jingye to send it to you. Those two hunting falcons are rare—" He raised his glass to Wang Wenzuo, his voice full of alcohol.
This guy drinks more than me. It seems that dealing with those women is not easy! Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but feel gloating in his heart, and he also picked up the wine glass: "It's a small thing, as long as you like it!"
"It seems that you got a lot of good things from Songzhou!" Wu Minzhi sat down cross-legged in front of Wang Wenzuo: "Where did you get this hunting falcon?"
Wang Wenzuo nodded noncommittally. He was too lazy to explain the origin of Haidongqing in detail to the drunk man in front of him. After all, if he guessed correctly, the other party's death was not far away.
"You are a smart man!" Wu Minzhi pointed to Wang Wenzuo's nose: "You used some gadgets to please my cousin! But don't think that you can do whatever you want in Chang'an with this? Lu Zhaolin can't do it. , Impossible—" At this point, his voice stopped abruptly, and he suddenly fell to the ground and fell asleep.
"Duke Zhou is drunk!" Wang Wenzuo said to the servant on the side: "Help him down and take good care of him!"
Wu Minzhi was helped down, and Wang Wenzuo frowned slightly. It was not easy for this guy to be so handsome yet still so annoying.
"Lu Zhaolin? Is this the Lu Zhaolin who wrote "Liu Sheng", "Purple Horse", and "Battle City South"?" Li Xian came over again.
"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo suddenly became a little tired of this young man. Everyone was rolling in the mud, but he stayed on the shore without a speck of mud on his body. He bowed his hand to Li Xian: "Your Highness, please forgive me, I am a bit confused." I have to report the matter to His Highness the Crown Prince, so excuse me!" After saying that, he stood up and walked towards His Highness the Crown Prince's position.
"Sanlang, you, you are here!" Li Hong's cheeks were already flushed, and his speech was a little unclear: "Come, let me introduce to you, this is Si Wei Shaoqing Yang Sijian, and this is his love female!"
"Your Majesty, Wang Wenzuo, leads the right guard of the East Palace! I have seen Mr. Yang and the young lady!" Wang Wenzuo lifted up the front of his official robe and bowed to Yang Sijian and his daughter.
"No courtesy, no courtesy!" Yang Sijian said with a smile: "Yang has long heard of General Wang's reputation. Yueniang, why don't you pay tribute to General Wang?"
Wang Wenzuo quickly turned his body to avoid the future crown princess’s salute: “I don’t dare to do this!”
"General Wang, sit down and talk!" Yang Sijian waved his hand and signaled Wang Wenzuo to sit down: "I have heard His Royal Highness the Crown Prince talk about you several times. He regards you as a subordinate minister. There is some chaos on the table tonight, which makes the general laugh. Got it!"
"What did Mr. Yang say?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have dreamed of it. If the table was messy, it would be a joy for everyone to celebrate, and I would just be a little carried away!"
"Okay, okay!" Yang Sijian was immediately overjoyed when he heard Wang Wenzuo say, "It's a great joy that the whole world is celebrating." He stroked his beard: "General Wang is right, this is indeed a great joy that the whole world is celebrating. Yue Niang, can you I want to have two more drinks with His Highness the Crown Prince!"
While talking, the maid on the side presented a large gold cup inlaid with countless gems. The wine overflowed the edge and was delivered to Li Hong first. Wang Wenzuo frowned and drank such a large glass of wine. Li Hongfei was drunk at the moment. Not so. Just as he was about to speak out to dissuade him, Li Hong already held the golden cup in both hands and began to drink heavily. When the wine liquid was reduced to only about one-third, Li Hong put the golden cup down. His face was drunk and his eyes were groggy.
"Yue Niang, it's your turn!" Yang Sijian smiled and turned his eyes to his daughter. But the future Crown Princess did not immediately go to get the gold cup. Yang Sijian frowned upon seeing this and urged: "Daughter, His Royal Highness has finished drinking, it's your turn!"
Faced with her father's urging, the future princess finally picked up the golden cup and started drinking. But soon she started coughing violently, and the spilled wine soaked into her silk robe, showing a dark red color, like blood stains.
"Your Highness, please forgive me! I am too drunk!" The girl apologized to Li Hong. Li Hong quickly waved his hand and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, since you can't drink it, just don't drink it!"
Surrounded by the maids, the girl from the Yang family left the hall to change into new clothes. Without the presence of the girl, the prince's attention was somewhat distracted. Fatigue and drunkenness gradually took control of the young man. He yawned subconsciously, and his body began to Lean to the side.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must be tired!" Wang Wenzuo whispered: "It's getting late, so why not come here tonight, otherwise it will be a bit troublesome to leave the palace gate after the hour!"
"That's fine!" Yang Sijian looked at the sky outside and nodded: "Then let's come here!" He stood up and said, "I'll call Yueniang here right away to see off His Highness the Crown Prince!" After that, he waved to greet him. Maid, but after a while, the maid came back and whispered a few words in Yang Sijian's ear. Yang Sijian's face suddenly turned ugly: "Why don't you have such etiquette? No, let her come here immediately!"
"What's wrong?" Li Hong was also awakened by Yang Sijian's angry shouts. He hit him and said, "What happened!"
"Report to Your Highness!" Yang Sijian said hurriedly: "I asked Yueniang to see off His Highness, but the little girl said she was changing and couldn't come at the moment! This is simply lawless!"
"Mr. Yang, there is no need to worry!" Li Hong quickly comforted him: "My lady did soil her clothes just now. It does take time for my daughter's family to change her clothes. Just wait for a while!"
But the three of them waited at the table for a long time, but the future princess never showed up. Yang Sijian's face became increasingly ugly. He wanted to stand up several times and urge him in person. Li Hong was right in front of him, and it would be rude for him to leave. . When his patience almost reached its limit, he saw the girl from the Yang family hurrying over, her face bright red and her clothes a little messy.
"What happened!" Yang Sijian said angrily: "Why do you keep His Royal Highness waiting for you for so long?"
"Hey!" Li Hong hurriedly defended his fiancée: "You don't have to blame Mr. Yang. Changing clothes at my daughter's house is already very troublesome. Besides, Yueniang is exceptionally beautiful. I didn't wait in vain!" At this point, he held his hand to himself. The fiancée’s right hand: “It’s getting late, I’ll take my leave now and rest early!”
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The girl bowed to the Crown Prince, and people on both sides stood up one after another. The Yang family sent His Highness the Crown Prince out of the gate and got into the car. Wang Wenzuo got on his horse and followed the car, and the guards on both sides surrounded the prince and headed towards the East Palace.
Wang Wenzuo rode on his horse and walked "dede" along Zhuque Street. Hearing the sound of neat footsteps, a few ghostly figures hurriedly ran into the corner. The guards ignored these guys. They were the envoys of the Wuhous. According to the law, after the dusk drum was sounded, who would stay on the street? , a whipping is indispensable. When passing through the Western Market, they encountered a group of Wuhou on night watch. When they realized the identity of the visitor, they quickly retreated to the roadside and knelt down to salute. Wang Wenzuo waved to him, motioned him to get up, and then continued moving forward.
"Sanlang!" The prince's voice came from the carriage, and Wang Wenzuo hurriedly approached: "Your Highness, what's the matter?"
"My goldfish bag seems to have been left in Yang's house!" The prince's voice was a little anxious.
"Is there anything important inside?"
"There's nothing else, there's a personal seal inside!"
"Then I will go back and get it myself!" Wang Wenzuo replied quickly. As a prince, of course Li Hong has more than one seal. The more formal ones are guarded by special personnel in the East Palace, but he also has a personal seal in his goldfish bag. It is used to draft edicts and edicts temporarily when going out. Naturally, such important items cannot be left overnight in the Yang Mansion. After that, he summoned the captain on duty and ordered him to continue leading the troops to escort the prince back to the palace. He took more than ten guards and headed back to the Yang Mansion.
When they arrived at the Yang Mansion, Wang Wenzuo opened the door and explained his intention. After hearing this, Yang Sijian was about to call someone to find the prince's goldfish bag, but Wang Wenzuo said: "The goldfish bag is the prince's personal belongings. It's better not to let others touch it. Let people control the inside and outside first, and let me personally Just go find it!”
"Not bad!" Yang Sijian thought about it. Who knows what is in the prince's personal goldfish bag? If anyone else takes a second look, it will be troublesome. It is best to let the people around the prince look for it themselves and take it away if they find it. He hurriedly asked the servants to guard the entrance and exit of the hall. Wang Wenzuo walked around the prince's banquet room above the hall, and found it under an incense burner behind the big pillar next to it. It must have been that the prince had drank too much just now, so he casually took off the censer. I put the goldfish bag in the back and forgot to take it when I left. Wang Wenzuo picked up the goldfish bag, opened it and saw that the Prince's Seal was still there. He couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. He tied the goldfish bag around his waist, bowed his hand to Yang Sijian when he went out, and said with a smile: "Mr. Yang, I found it. !”
"That's good, that's good!" Yang Sijian also breathed a sigh of relief and forced a smile: "Originally, if it were a normal day, I would have invited General Wang to sit down and have two bowls of tea, but I won't force him to stay tonight!"
"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I have official duties at the end, so I'll take my leave first!"
Just as Wang Wenzuo turned around, he suddenly heard a shrill cry for help coming from the house, followed immediately by a second cry, and then the third cry stopped abruptly, like a rooster with its neck cut off. He knew that the victim's neck was suddenly cut off. He held the handle of the knife and said to Yang Sijian: "Mr. Yang, I'm offended!" After saying that, he shouted to the guards accompanying him: "Quick, go and see what happened. thing?"
Those who came back with Wang Wenzuo were all warriors who had experienced hundreds of battles. They all responded in unison. Some drew their swords and held shields, and some stretched out their bows and arrows. They divided into two groups and ran towards the place where the sound came from. Wang Wenzuo followed with his sword in hand. Yang Sijian hurriedly followed behind. The group passed through the two courtyards and saw a maid lying on the ground. An arrow had pierced her throat and her arteries were severed. The blood spurted out had already dyed the pink and white walls red. It's a big piece, and it has already been vented but not taken in.
"Oops, this is Huan'er! She's Yueniang's personal maid!" Yang Sijian paused and said, "Why is she here?"
"Quick, look around, make sure the princess is safe!" Wang Wenzuo felt something bad when he heard this. In ancient times, in a family like the Yang family, the personal maid and the young lady could be said to be inseparable. The personal maid died here, and that Yang Yueniang's situation is not much better.
(End of chapter)
