Bully

Xu Chengyu called the clerk to bring up a set of tea sets, thought for a while, and borrowed a pack of tea from Mr. Li downstairs.

Xu Chengyu's movements of making tea are smooth and smooth, which is the standard method of making tea used by court nobles. After three breaths, the water will be smooth and smooth, and the tea soup will be tender and smooth, with a fragrant nose.

He served the tea in front of Ming Chuan, stretched out his hand to untie the paper bag, separated the salted duck and placed it in front of Ming Chuan.

The salted duck is smoked and roasted, with charcoal fire on it, and a faint fruity aroma.This roast duck tastes extremely spicy, very salty, and it is irresistible.

Xu Chengyu signaled Ming Chuan to drink tea, and with his mouth full of meaty smell, he took a sip of hot tea. The aroma of the tea relieved the greasiness, and he felt the spiciness in his mouth bursting out even more.

When he was almost done eating, Ming Chuan vaguely remembered Rong Shang's ban. He put down his chopsticks and took another sip of tea.When I came back to my senses, I just thought it was funny, that tea was served with meat, and anyone who saw it would say it was rude.

Xu Chengyu on the other side was not ashamed, and ate up his salted duck.In the end, he cleaned up the leftovers and picked up a cup of tea. He was a handsome young man again.

He took a sip of his tea and said: "Baiweiju's salted duck is the best seller. If you go late, you will have to queue for a long time. I waited for an hour this morning. If it wasn't for this, I wouldn't have come to Zhuquelou late. "

Ming Chuan said with a smile: "Then this salted duck is the fate of the two of us."

While talking, Yan Ke came back with a plate of fruit in his hand. When he came in and saw Xu Chengyu, he also showed surprise, bowed and stood behind Mingchuan.

"How did it take so long?"

"I went to the back kitchen to ask for some fresh fruit, which wasted some time."

Ming Chuan nodded, and said: "Fortunately, I met Mr. Xu. He has already told me about the tea fighting meeting."

Yan Ke said: "Young Master Xu naturally knows more details than I have."

Xu Chengyu suddenly said: "It seems that the winner of this tea fight meeting has been decided."

Mingchuan was attracted by him and looked downstairs, only to see Mr. Li stopped in front of Zhang Xinyuan's desk.Zhang Xinyuan sat on the chair with a tall and straight posture. From washing tea, boiling water, pouring tea, decocting, dispensing, and drinking, his movements were standardized and rigorous.He got up, served the first cup of tea to Mr. Li, and distributed the rest to his colleagues.

Everyone tasted it, communicated with each other, and looked at the appearance, and they were extremely satisfied with the tea.

After tasting it, Mr. Li asked, "What kind of water is used to make tea?"

Zhang Xinyuan cupped his hands and bowed, and said: "It's the snow water on the plum blossoms in the old year. Zhang traveled far to the capital and has nothing else. He carries a can of snow water with him. He should think of his hometown."

Mr. Li nodded, looking extremely satisfied.

Seeing it, Xu Chengyu couldn't help sighing: "People like Brother Zhang are the real tea lovers."

“How come you see?”

Xu Chengyu said with a smile: "Brother Zhang's family is poor, his parents died young, and there is no one else in the family. If he wants this snow water, he must collect it himself before the snow has melted. To be able to work hard for it, he must be very fond of it." After thinking for a while, he said, "If I want these things, I will probably order my servants to do it."

Ming Chuan was puzzled: "Are you familiar with him?"

Xu Chengyu smiled and said: "We both compete for the first prize and the first prize. We are so destined, how can I not get to know him?"

Ming Chuan said: "He deliberately created rumors to frame you in order to win the meeting, and you still know him?"

Hearing this, Xu Chengyu suddenly stopped laughing, and said seriously: "I don't know why the young master is so sure, but Xu can guarantee that the previous rumors were definitely not the work of Brother Zhang!"

Ming Chuan couldn't help but widen his eyes: "It's not him?"

Xu Chengyu said: "I have met Brother Zhang before, and I have also read his poems and essays. He is upright, sincere, unique and far-sighted. He will never behave like a villain."

Ming Chuan asked: "But he has really benefited."

Xu Chengyu shook his head, disapproving: "What good is this? If you win the prize, but lose the top prize, I'm afraid someone didn't deliberately harm him."

Ming Chuan thought it was funny: "Do you think your No. [-] Scholar came from a wrong path?"

Xu Chengyu thought for a while, and pointed out: "My father praised him a lot before the national teacher entered the court. Over the years, the two of them have a very close personal relationship."

"You are not afraid to say this in front of me."

Xu Chengyu smiled: "I was also a little scared, but my father said that Your Majesty is a benevolent king."

Ming Chuan smiled, skipped the topic, turned his gaze to the person downstairs, and suddenly asked, "Do you know if this Xin Yuan is married?"

Xu Chengyu was surprised, but still replied according to his words: "Brother Zhang has no wife, and there is only one nurse who raised him."

Ming Chuan nodded, and told Yan Ke: "Go, invite the leader of this tea fighting meeting to have a talk."

When Zhang Xinyuan saw Yan Ke downstairs, he was surprised, Yan Ke turned sideways, accepted Zhang Xinyuan's half-respect, and invited him up.

When Zhang Xinyuan came in, Xu Chengyu got up and saluted him, then cupped his hands and faced Ming Chuan: "I don't know that His Majesty is here, if you are negligent, please make atonement."

Ming Chuan waved his hand: "No problem, sit down."

Zhang Xinyuan opened his clothes and sat down, Ming Chuan said: "We were still talking about you just now, saying that you really love tea, it is very valuable."

Zhang Xinyuan was much more restrained than last time, and said: "Don't dare, Your Majesty...you are laughing at me."

Ming Chuan put down his teacup: "Actually, I came out of the palace today to find you."

Zhang Xinyuan showed surprise: "I don't know what the young master has ordered?"

Ming Chuan said with a smile: "I just remembered that Mr. Zhang said that he wanted to honor the lintel of the family. Now that he is named on the gold list, it can be regarded as an explanation to the ancestors."

Zhang Xinyuan cupped his hands: "Young Master Gein loves you."

Ming Chuan said again: "This business has already been established, Mr. Zhang, has he thought about starting a family?"

Seeing that Zhang Xinyuan was silent for a long time on the opposite side, he cupped his hands and confessed: "If Your Majesty is a matchmaker for the Duke of Anguo's mansion today, please forgive me for being difficult to obey."

Ming Chuan and Yan Ke looked at each other, seeing surprise in each other's eyes.Mingchuan said calmly: "The lady of the Duke's Mansion has humiliated you?"

"I don't dare." Zhang Xinyuan said.

Ming Chuan thought for a while and asked, "It's because you have a marriage contract, so you can't bear it?"

Zhang Xinyuan shook his head.

Ming Chuan asked again: "But do you have your own heart?"

Zhang Xinyuan shook his head, raised his hand and bowed, a plain white handkerchief that he kept in his sleeve pocket fell out, it looked like a woman's.

Ming Chuan saw it, shook his head and said, "He also said that he doesn't belong to him."

Zhang Xinyuan said: "I know that my status is low, so I dare not climb up to the government."

Ming Chuan stared at him for a long time, and said along the way: "Forget it, since you don't mean it, I'll just go back for you."

Both Xu Chengyu and Zhang Xinyuan let out a sigh of relief, Ming Chuan stood up and said, "It's getting late, I'll be leaving first, you two can do whatever you want."

"Respectfully send off the young master." Xu Chengyu and Zhang Xinyuan got up and saw each other off.

After Ming Chuan left, Xu Chengyu sat down again, and said with a smile, "It really scared me to death. If you really have something to belong to, with the generosity of our Majesty, we will never make things difficult for you."

"It's nothing." Zhang Xinyuan folded the handkerchief carefully. It floated on him the day he was parading in the street. He wanted to throw it away, but he couldn't find it later, so he thought it was lost. He never thought it was here I kept it in this piece of clothing for many days, and now I just got rid of the urgent need.

Sitting in the carriage, Ming Chuan leaned on the small pillow, puzzled: "Mr. An wants to marry the girl to Zhang Xinyuan?"

Yan Ke thought for a while and said: "Among the Jinshi this spring, Zhang Xinyuan is indeed a rare person with both talent and appearance."

"Then why not choose Xu Chengyu? At least the Xu family and Duke An's family are in the same family."

Yan Ke poured a cup of tea and said: "Your Majesty forgot, An Guogong and the state teacher have a bad relationship, how could he marry the Xu family?"

Only then did Ming Chuan understand, and said, "Hurry up and go back to the palace, I'll go ask the national teacher."

Yan Ke felt a little funny, and said: "Why are you so anxious, are you afraid that Mr. Zhang will be snatched away by Duke Anguo's government?"

Ming Chuan shook his head, and said seriously: "It's like you read a story book, but there is no more text, and you feel uncomfortable. You have to read it quickly, and you can't wait for a moment."

Back in the palace, Mingchuan didn't even change his clothes, and went straight to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This place was the place he didn't want to come to at first, and now he doesn't care much about it.

Ming Chuan was the emperor, and no one stopped him, so he drove straight into the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Because he was in a hurry, he seemed a little imposing.

The national teacher heard the sound and looked over. There were several ministers beside him, and they looked at him in unison. Ming Chuan stopped, and the atmosphere was a little awkward for a while.

The ministers looked at the little emperor who seemed to be aggressive, and their eyes wandered between the national teacher above and the little emperor below his highness.

Are you going to tear your face apart?

The national teacher broke the silence and asked, "What is your Majesty doing here?"

Ming Chuan wrinkled his nose: "It's not a big deal, the national teacher should be busy first."

Said that Ming Chuan was about to leave, the national teacher said: "Wait."

Ming Chuan's heart skipped a beat, and he saw that Rong Shang above had no expression on his face, and his eyes were calm: "If your majesty is free, just come to listen to government affairs."

Ming Chuan could only purse his mouth, and walked to the front of the desk step by step.The national teacher glanced at him and continued to discuss state affairs with the ministers. He didn't really mean to ask Ming Chuan to participate, but he was not allowed to leave.

He just didn't want to make me feel better, Ming Chuan thought to himself, when I come back from the palace, his nose is not his nose, his face is not his face.

"Your Majesty, do you want to practice big characters?" Yan Ke asked.

Ming Chuan shook his head, and said, "Change some fresh paper that is suitable for painting."

"Yes."

In fact, Ming Chuan is quite good at painting. He learned from everyone in the palace before, and he is good at painting Danqing. It's just that he has been delayed for the past two years, and he never paints seriously again.

Ming Chuan raised his hand to paint, and roughly outlined a figure with a few strokes.

The position of the national teacher is not among the three lords and six ministers, it is just an honor, so Rong Shang does not have any special court clothes. The clothes he wears on weekdays are imitation of the emperor's clothes, without the dragon pattern.

Rong Shang likes to wear all white, but he is not plain, with gold thread and silver patterns, he only looks noble and handsome, with an imposing manner.

Ming Chuan slowly sketched the patterns on the corners of his clothes, only drawing the complicated patterns exactly.He never raised his head to look at the national teacher, but his brush strokes were very fluent, the fingers on his hand, the white jade pendant on his waist, everything was drawn out.It's just that the eyebrows and eyes of the painting are always blank.

Yan Ke looked and saw that Ming Chuan was holding the pen, but he didn't put it down for a long time. After a long while, he put down the pen and said, "Put it away."

Ming Chuan took out a book, and his eyelids became heavier the more he looked at it.Rong Shang arranged the affairs over there, and several ministers left separately.He turned his head to look at Ming Chuan, only to see the little emperor lying on the table, sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed.

Rong Shang looked at him, his brows and eyes softened slowly, he took the cloak from Yan Ke's hand, wrapped it around the little emperor, and hugged him up.Ming Chuan is a small ball nestled in Rong Shang's arms, like a child.

He opened his eyes, bleary-eyed.

"Are you still sleepy?"

Mingchuan yawned a little, and Rongshang smiled a bit: "Sleep a little longer when you're sleepy."

Ming Chuan closed his eyes again.

When I woke up, it was already dark.Ming Chuan took Yan Ke's tea to moisten his throat, and said quietly, "If I knew it, I wouldn't have gone to the national teacher." It was a waste of my time listening to the story.

Yan Ke took the cup and comforted him, "It's not all benefit."

"Then what benefits do you say?"

Yan Ke might as well get to the bottom of it, but said helplessly: "At least the servant knows, Your Majesty really likes to read story books."