The carriage walked towards Hengting Pavilion. From time to time, the sounds of hawkers could be heard outside. There were many pedestrians on the street, so the carriage did not go too fast.
Xiao Yan sat in the car and chatted with Tang Ning from time to time, about court affairs and interesting stories from outside.
Tang Ning was leaning against the wall of the carriage with a very relaxed posture. Even if she was just chatting a few words, she was always smiling, obviously in a good mood.
After a long time, the carriage stopped.
Jinyun whispered: "Master Governor, Hengting Pavilion has arrived."
The guys from Hengting Pavilion came over with the car stools and set them up. After Xiao Yan got off first, someone among them recognized him and saluted quickly.
Originally, he wanted to lure Xiao Yan in, but he didn't want him to stop beside the carriage. After a moment, the carriage curtain opened again, and a woman wearing a curtain hat and a green skirt got out of the carriage.
When Xiao Yan reached out, Tang Ning subconsciously held his arm and got out of the carriage.
After standing firm, Xiao Yan glanced at the dumbfounded man beside him.
The man was agitated and quickly came back to his senses: "Director Xiao, please come inside."
"Find a private room, something quieter."
The man responded quickly and led Xiao Yan and the others inside.
Hengting Pavilion is the property of King Huan. Unlike King Cheng who was treated coldly because he competed with the emperor for the throne. Although King Huan also competed with Emperor An for the throne and had not dealt with Emperor An since he was a prince, he could not deal with it because of his mother's family. She was born into a noble family, and Princess Huan's natal family also held great power.
Although Emperor An disliked King Huan and rarely allowed him to interfere in government affairs, King Huan still managed Zongzheng Temple and had a high status in the court.
King Huan is not as deep as King Cheng, but he has a violent temper. He will fight with others if he makes the slightest mistake, and he is unreasonable in his behavior. He is a well-known knife-thrower in Beijing, and sometimes he has different opinions. Shi and Emperor An can both fight against each other.
This Hengting Pavilion is the property of Prince Huan. In addition to the top quality food, drinks and entertainment in the capital, the most important thing is that no one dares to cause trouble here, so both the courtiers, dignitaries and literati Qingliu love to come here.
Tang Ning had heard the name of Hengting Pavilion for a long time, but this was the first time she had come here in her previous life. She looked around curiously through the curtains, and missed the people talking loudly in the hall downstairs.
After entering the private room, Xiao Yan had someone bring tea and snacks.
Tang Ning then took off his curtain hat and asked, "Brother, what kind of fun did you want me to see?"
"You'll find out later." Xiao Yan pushed the things on the table and said, "The white jade hibiscus cake from Hengting Pavilion is pretty good. You can try it."
Tang Ning was filled with doubts when she saw him showing off, so she took a piece of pastry and took a bite. Her eyes, which had been a little absent-minded, suddenly brightened up.
"tasty."
This white jade hibiscus cake has a creamy texture in the mouth, but it is not as pure and sweet as other cakes. Instead, it has a fruity aroma inside.
She lowered her head and took a look, only to find that the snack was mixed with some sun-dried nuts, and a layer of sauce was spread in the middle. The faint sour taste just now probably came from this.
Xiao Yan laughed: "Prince Huan is the best at enjoying things. Almost all the chefs in Hengting Pavilion are royal chefs from the palace. He also likes to send people around to collect recipes for eating from various places. There are several dishes here that taste good. , I’ll try it later too.”
Tang Ning bit into the hibiscus cake and said, "Prince Huan seems to be living a very carefree life."
Xiao Yan said: "His mother's family is powerful, and his wife's family is also powerful. He guards Zongzheng Temple without fighting or grabbing, and does not involve himself in the power of the court. Plus he has no shortage of money in his hands, so he naturally does whatever he wants."
If he is ambitious, Emperor An will naturally not tolerate him.
But King Huan had been keeping to himself for many years. He didn't even bother to enter the court, and he never interfered with political affairs. A prince who had no ambition and only cared about eating, drinking and having fun was still a hornet's nest with a tyrannical background.
Emperor An can tolerate being more wanton.
Xiao Yan said a few words to Tang Ning, and suddenly there was a noise outside.
Xiao Yan stood up: "Let's go and watch the fun."
Tang Ning hurriedly followed Xiao Yan out. As soon as the door opened, the noise outside became louder and louder, and someone could faintly be heard yelling.
"Xie Pingjia, what do you mean? Get out of my way!"
Xie Pingjia?
Second prince?
When Tang Ning heard the name of the second prince, she quickly looked towards the side where the voice came from, and saw a crowd of people gathered not far downstairs.
Next to him was a servant, and in the middle were two young men in rich attires confronting each other. The man with his back to this side spoke apologetically towards the man with a ferocious look on his face.
"Fourth brother, don't get me wrong. They were just chatting casually. They didn't mean to offend you..."
The fourth prince interrupted loudly: "Who are they? It's their turn to gossip about my prince's affairs?" He looked at the people standing next to the second prince with a ruthless look: "Talk about the prince in private, it is a crime. Beat them hard and break their mouths!"
The servants following the fourth prince quickly wanted to step forward, but the second prince frowned and said, "Fourth brother, it's just a few words about court matters in private. How can you deserve to be so angry? Besides, this is Prince Huan." In my uncle’s place, it is Uncle Huan Wang’s face that will be hurt if there is a big fuss.”
The second prince tried to persuade him, then turned to the people around him and scolded: "What are you guys doing standing still? You lost control after drinking some wine, and you still don't apologize to the fourth prince?"
The faces of those few people were pale. They were all the sons of officials. They met together, had a few drinks and talked about the recent events in the court. Naturally, they also mentioned Prince Cheng's Mansion and the Lu Family.
They talked about Empress Lu, who had been suddenly ill, and the fourth prince, who had been having troubles lately. In the past, the fourth prince had the support of his family and was at the top of the court. Everyone knew that the position of prince would be in his hands in the future, but now he has no chance. After leaving the Lu family, he will not be as good as before, and I am afraid it will be difficult for him to ascend the throne in the future.
Moreover, although the affairs between the Lu family and the head of Yiyang County had been tried hard to cover up before, there is no airtight wall in the capital. It was revealed that the fourth prince took the dowry of the unmarried daughter of the Lu family and used the "relics" of the Rong family to win over the courtiers. Some of it was still spread.
One of these people happened to be a relative of the family that the fourth prince had given gifts to. When he mentioned this while drunk, he naturally aroused ridicule. Who would have thought that he would be so unlucky to be overheard by the fourth prince.
The man who confided the Fourth Prince's "secret" had already sobered up. He said with a pale face and a trembling voice: "I lost my mind because of my drunken nonsense. I should not talk about His Highness. Please forgive me for this, Your Majesty the Fourth Prince." reply me……"
Snapped--
Before he could finish his words, the fourth prince raised his hand and slapped the man on the face, kicking him so hard that he fell to the ground.
"Forgive me, do you deserve it?!"
He stepped forward and kicked the man hard several times, causing the person who hit him to scream in agony.
The second prince quickly stretched out his hand: "Fourth brother..."
"Get away!"
The fourth prince waved his hand and pushed the second prince to stagger. He looked at the person in front of him with stern eyes: "Xie Pingjia, don't think that you can be equal to me if I don't have the Lu family. Who do you think you are? You don't deserve to stop me." Follow me?"
"Get out of here, or I'll beat you too!"
