After rebirth, I made the princes cry

Li Dong had been waiting outside the gate of Shangchen Mansion early in the morning, and watched as a woman was helped down from her mount by a man in pleated hakama and a crotchless jacket. The woman had a very simple bun on her head, and wore a goldfinch crown. She had her hair hanging down, and the rest of her hair was tied up with a silk ribbon and hung around her waist. Her crimson dress had patterns embroidered with gold thread only at the collar. Although it was not decorated in a complicated way, it made people unable to take their eyes off her. They always felt that some detail had been overlooked, and wondered why this seemingly simple outfit could bring out the woman's outstanding charm. Li Dong was so fascinated by her that he almost forgot to greet her.

Today, Daisho-sama still wears a mask.

The guests naturally did not come just for dinner time. Da Shangchen accompanied the two princes, but there was no hostess in Shangchen Mansion to accompany Dianjun and Yingshu, so Li Dong took the two guests to the flower garden.

She was just a maid, a guide at most, and could not take the initiative to talk to anyone for the time being. She just had to do her job as a maid obediently. Li Dong used to work in the official slave office, where she was responsible for blending perfumes. She soon tasted the fragrance on the clothes of the Lord of Shenyuan Palace and the Left Deputy Envoy. It was a nameless fragrance that she could not describe, strong but not garish. There was no wind in the corridor, but it seemed as if a slowly rising and falling fragrant breeze was blowing. She felt inexplicably relaxed both physically and mentally.

Chengxie in Shangchen Mansion has the best view.

Here, you can enjoy the lotus flowers growing in the clear water and lotus heart tea is served.

Of course, Yingshu couldn't have any confidential conversations with the Lord in Shangchen Mansion. She had long felt the constant attention of the maids in Shangchen Mansion. After sitting down in the waterside pavilion, she took the initiative to talk to the maids who were full of curiosity about her: "What's your name, maid?"

"My maid's name is Li Dong."

Li Dong? I heard Bai Meng mention him before. What a coincidence.

"Today, the maid recommended such a nice waterside pavilion. Not only can we enjoy the lotuses, but it is also cool in such a hot summer."

"These are all my lord's instructions. I dare not compete for the credit."

"The maid shouldn't be a Qiang, right?"

"I am a remnant of the people."

"How did the maid think of using lotus heart tea to entertain us? Don't say it was the Grand Minister's order. If the Grand Minister had to be distracted by such a small matter, he probably wouldn't have asked the maids to bring us to the garden. Today, the Grand Minister is hosting a banquet to talk about leisure, not state affairs. But the Grand Minister really doesn't know what leisure time my Lord and I have to talk about, so in order to prevent us from feeling bored, he made other arrangements."

"I think lotus seeds are in season, and I've heard from my mother before that lotus seeds can clear the heart and remove heat, so they are suitable for drinking in summer."

"The maid is thoughtful, but it is not suitable to drink too much lotus heart tea, especially for someone like you who has a cold constitution. It is not suitable for you to drink lotus heart tea."

Li Dong's face suddenly showed a look of panic.

"That's fine. Just prepare some white sparrow tongue."

Li Dong became even more frightened.

"It's the Merika tea."

Li Dong suddenly realized, but Shangchen Mansion did not have any Moli flower tea, but he could make up for it by sending someone to buy it immediately.

"I need time to prepare. I wonder if...osmanthus water is suitable for you, my Lord?"

"It is appropriate."

Yingshu smiled. White Queshe is a common tea in summer. It cannot be called precious, but there is no such thing as noble or humble tea. So it is clear that Jiang Gaofan does not understand tea. This is not surprising, as it fits with his rather rough life experience. However, if Jiang Gaofan had really lived in Jiangzhou for several years, he would not be unfamiliar with White Queshe.

That is the most common tea in Jiangzhou.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon.

A banquet for leisurely conversation was held directly in the garden, or even in Chengxie. The white sparrow tongue was already served. The prince still didn't drink, but Yingshu was tasting the wine of the day. Was it Fenzhou apricot? The most "fashionable" wine nowadays was Yubei bamboo, and the third prince was a loyal drinker of Yubei bamboo. As for Nanci, no one except her knew what kind of wine he liked to drink. Logically, Jiang Gaofan invited the guests, and it was certain that the third prince liked to drink Yubei bamboo, so why did he prepare Fenzhou apricot?

The only explanation was that he was not careful, and he always liked Fenzhou apricots, so he used the best quality Fenzhou apricots in his home to treat his guests.

Wang family of Linyi never liked to drink Jin wine, and often used kiln treasures to reward their followers, but only rewarded Lanlingyou. Jiang Gaofan said that he was once a follower of Wang family of Linyi, but was later executed for the king and moved to Jiangzhou and other places. He had never been to Jin, but loved to drink Jin wine.

"I wonder if Prince Wang is doing well after returning to Jiankang?"

Suddenly hearing Jiang Gaofan mention his brother, Yingshu put down the wine cup steadily and raised her eyes: "My brother is well."

"Speaking of Linyi Wangmen, he was once my old master." Jiang Gaofan was wearing a mask today, which only covered most of his face, leaving his nostrils and mouth exposed, so the smile on the corners of his lips could still be seen clearly.

Yingshu's eyelashes curled up high: "I have also heard my brother talk about this. Da Shangchen should have lived in Jiangzhou for many years."

"That's all in the past. I never foresaw that I would have the honor of meeting the lady from the Wang family in Linyi."

"The experience of the Great Shangchen is quite legendary."

Yingshu was obviously a bit lazy, and it was obvious that she was just doing her job perfunctorily.

Influenced by her parents since she was young, she doesn't judge people by their clothes. However, Jiang Gaofan definitely has ill will towards her, although the malice comes out of nowhere... Yingshu doesn't think she needs to be hypocritical with him.

Being on guard against them will make the other party act more cautiously, and if you are regarded as a fool by the other party, your situation will become even more worrying.

"Today, I should apologize to the Lord and the Left Deputy Envoy on behalf of Princess Xiping."

Jiang Gaofan raised the wine cup and lowered his head slightly, making the outline of his thin lips become sharper.

"Even Duke Xiping has never apologized on behalf of the princess, so how can Da Shangchen represent the duke?"

"Duke Xiping is now the regent, and I am the regent prime minister of the Han Empire."

"Princess Xiping is not involved in politics. She cannot represent the court of Northern Han. What she did was private. The prince and the ministers will not care."

The Third Prince even sneered: "Although Princess Xiping is of noble status in Northern Han, she has never been involved in politics. Her unruly and domineering behavior is not enough to pose a threat."

"That's why I won't accept this penalty drink from the Grand Minister." Ying Shu raised her chin. "If the Princess of Xiping really wanted to massacre the Baoguang Palace, it wouldn't be something that could be ignored with just one or two glasses of penalty wine. Today, in front of the Grand Minister, I won't say those nice words. If the Princess' evil deeds hadn't been stopped, she would have been beheaded before the Baoguang Palace was massacred."

As we were drinking and chatting, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"Left Deputy Envoy, just treat it as a superfluous act on my part." Jiang Gaofan drank a glass of wine.

The banquet went on unpleasantly. Yingshu's attitude was quite cold. Li Dong looked worried and shut his mouth completely.

This great minister of the Northern Han Dynasty was not good at socializing. Yingshu added another thing to her judgment about Jiang Gaofan - this enemy of unknown origin lied that she was born in a group of subordinates of Wang Zhi, and was reborn by chance under the guidance of Master Yin. However, her rank was unknown and her appearance had not been seen. She said that she had lived in Jiangzhou for many years, but she preferred Jinyang dishes and Jinzhou wine. She was not from an aristocratic family. Yingshu was sure that she had never made enemies with the poor. In her previous life, she intended to suppress the aristocratic families and promoted many talents from the poor families. Although many poor people who joined the aristocratic families did not benefit from the reforms she led, these poor people did not pose much threat to the imperial power and were not within her scope of suppression.

Who is Jiang Gaofan?

The face under the mask should not be hidden because of her, so why is it so mysterious?

Yingshu had not touched the wine cup in front of her for a long time, and was in low spirits. The Third Prince was still out of tacit understanding, and was quite puzzled as to why Yingshu made the atmosphere of today's banquet so dull. He was confident that he had the "talent" to liven up the atmosphere, but he was not sure whether he should liven up the atmosphere at this time. He drank the wine and couldn't help coughing. Nanci actually didn't know Jiang Gaofan's ill will towards Yingshu. He thought that the spy sent by Sikong Beichen to Northern Han was dead and could not die again. Now there was no need to worry that Jiang Gaofan would listen to his instigation and attack him. Yingshu should not intentionally offend this powerful official of Northern Han.

Then he took advantage of the Third Prince's dry cough and said, "It's so boring to just drink like this. Wouldn't it be a waste of the delicious food that the Grand Minister has carefully prepared? Why don't we play a drinking game?"

"Your Highness has a low alcohol tolerance, so it would be inappropriate to use tea instead of wine when we play drinking games. I wonder how much the maid Li Dong can drink, would you be willing to drink on my behalf?" Ying Shu smiled towards Li Dong.

"I have never drunk alcohol, but I can try it." Li Dong did not dare to refuse.

Jiang Gaofan didn't care how his servants could drink. At the table today, the person he paid the most attention to was Yingshu. However, he didn't notice anything strange about Yingshu's attitude towards him - Wang Lan and Wang Zhi had already turned against each other. Wang Zhi raised an army, and Wang Lan reported him, which led to Wang Zhi's defeat and death. He claimed to be Wang Zhi's old subordinate. From Wang Yingshu's point of view, on the one hand, he was regarded as Wang Zhi's accomplice and the culprit who caused the Linyi Wang family to lose power. On the other hand, these women from aristocratic families never took subordinates and servants seriously.

Even though Wang Yingshu once helped Sikong Beichen suppress the gentry and vigorously promoted people from humble backgrounds, and she always claimed that people should not be judged by their clothing and family background, that was just a high-sounding statement. She relied on such a nice-sounding statement only to gild herself and win the support of public opinion when fighting for power with those gentry who opposed the imperial power.

A mere woman is qualified to stand in a powerful position only by using her beauty to seduce men.

He originally didn't need to care too much about such a woman, but this woman was the source of disaster like Bao Si and Daji!

"What Guisujun said is true. Since it was Guisujun who proposed the order, why not let Guisujun decide what order to issue?" The corners of Jiang Gaofan's lips revealed under the mask rose again.

Yingshu also looked at Nanci, smiled slightly, and gently waved the round fan.

Nanci understood immediately: Yingshu has always been casual about the game of drinking, just trying to join in the fun, never minding winning or losing, and certainly not taking the initiative to limit the order. But today she gently waved her round fan to give me a hint that she wanted to play the "table-creating order".

Although Nanci did not know Yingshu's true intention, he followed her hint without hesitation: "In the hot summer, it is hard to get a cool breeze. Why don't we make some breeze on the table? Everything on the table, whether it is wine or food, or cups, can be used as a winning word. The person making the winning word needs to compose four lines of poetry according to the winning word he chooses."

The Xishang Shengfengling was originally a drinking game commonly played by the scholars of Dayu during banquets. Even the Lord of Shenyuan Palace had never participated in such a drinking party, but in his spare time, he had been led by Yingshu and the female officials to play it two or three times. Although the poems he composed when playing the game were not very good, he was confident in dealing with the drinking game, and he immediately expressed his agreement.

The one who was in trouble was the owner Jiang Gaofan.

"Please don't blame me for spoiling your fun, my dear guest. I am indeed... not good at poetry."

Nanci only needed to look at Yingshu's smile to understand, "I also heard from Brother Duanzhi that Da Shangchen once met a lucky person and was taught classics and history by a famous teacher. How could it be difficult for Da Shangchen to be stumped just by playing for fun?"

"That's a misunderstanding, Master Wang. Although my teacher is well-versed in classics, I have limited talent and have not been blessed with long-term instruction from him. I have only studied the classics and history, and have focused more on learning military tactics. As for poetry... I have never had the opportunity to learn it."

It seems that the hidden master that Jiang Gaofan mentioned may not be the person he met after his rebirth.

"Then let Da Shangchen give the order." Yingshu put the fan back on the seat.

But when she raised her eyes, she saw a government official in black robes hurriedly walking into the water. She thought: This banquet should be stopped now. Princess Ran is really decisive. She decided to take action only yesterday, but she has already taken action today.

Princess Xiping was assassinated!!!

When the official reported this major event, Jiang Gaofan immediately directed his eyes at Yingshu. Yingshu was not shocked by this sudden accident at all and accepted Jiang Gaofan's gaze calmly.

"Left Deputy Envoy, although the eldest princess did offend me, she is still a princess of the royal family of the Han Dynasty. If the Left Deputy Envoy dares to assassinate the eldest princess because of personal grudges..."

"I cannot admit this crime." Ying Shu raised her eyebrows slightly. "The Grand Minister saw that I did not express sympathy for the princess's shock, so he insisted that I was the murderer? Excuse me for being frank. Not to mention that I just heard from your mansion's official that the murderer did not succeed. Even if the princess really died, I have no friendship with him. I even bear the princess's inexplicable malice. I am not a person who is good at pretending, so I must act like I am not concerned about it."

"Deputy Envoy Zuo spoke frankly, but when he heard that the princess had been assassinated, he didn't even show the slightest bit of surprise. Isn't it because he had foreseen it?"

"To say that I foresaw it was true. For a princess as domineering as she is, with so many enemies, it is not surprising for her to be assassinated."

The Third Prince was shocked by this unexpected change. He was puzzled, but of course he had to help his own people. He said with a cold face: "If the Grand Minister doubts us, he must show real evidence. Today, the four of us are all in the Shangchen Mansion, at the banquet hosted by the Grand Minister. Even our guards, except for those who escorted us to the Shangchen Mansion, are in the envoy's post. We don't know the art of splitting, so how can we avoid the supervision of the Shangchen Mansion and the envoy's post to kill the eldest princess?"

"There must be spies from Dongyu in our country's Shangjing."

"What the Grand Minister is implying is that I mobilized spies to assassinate your country's eldest princess in order to avenge a personal grudge. Then I dare to ask the Grand Minister, why is the eldest princess still alive?"

Nan Ci also snorted coldly, "Let alone spies, if we really want to kill Princess Xiping, can the guards of the Princess's Mansion stop the swords of our envoys? I just heard that the Princess was unharmed and just got scared. If the Grand Minister insists that the assassin was sent by our envoys, he is underestimating our dynasty, isn't he?"

The Lord of the Palace of Divine Yuan and Ying Shu both stood up and bowed to Jiang Gaofan. The Lord of the Palace said calmly, "In any case, I would like to thank the Grand Minister for his hospitality today. The Grand Minister will be responsible for investigating the assassination of Princess Xiping, so we will not bother you any more."

After a slight hesitation, Li Dong followed Dianjun and Yingshu and respectfully escorted the person out of Shangchen Mansion.