Dianxia Qingcheng

Zhao Litang and Wu Quan went upstairs anyway.

The shop waiter brought a few people to a private room to sit down, Shen Huan and Shen Jiujiu had already taken their seats, while Yue Nu stood obediently by the side.

Shen Jiujiu pulled him over to sit, but he refused, he is a servant, how could he be qualified to sit with the masters.

Seeing Zhao Litang also entered the room, Shen Jiujiu glanced at Zhao Litang, and then at Yuenu.

Zhao Litang followed his gaze, and saw Yuenu standing beside him alone, like a pitiful little boy who had been bullied.

And judging from what Shen Jiujiu meant, the person who bullied Yue Nu was himself.

"Stop standing on the side, come and sit together."

Shen Jiujiu happily pulled Yue Nu to want him to sit next to him, but Yue Nu hesitated and seemed to be afraid to sit down.

"Shen, Mr. Shen... I don't need to sit, I just stand on the side..."

"sit down!"

Zhao Litang's voice was a little louder, I really don't know what the kid was afraid of, and he refused to sit down and eat together.

Yue Nu seemed to be startled by Zhao Litang, shook her body, and sat down beside Shen Jiu obediently.

Shen Jiujiu whispered to him, "Ah Yue, you don't have to be afraid, General Zhao is kind and just wants you to have dinner with us, but I don't know why he is still so fierce."

Yue Nu nodded to him, but his heart was still a little nervous. He had never eaten at the table. When he was at the previous master's house, he always had to stand by and serve.

After a while, Yu Shi Zhen Qing was brought to the table one by one.

Chen Huan began to eat and drink unceremoniously, anyway, she didn't need to spend money.

Shen Jiujiu also stuffed his mouth full of food, and he didn't forget to bring food to Yue Nu all the time.

"Ah Yue, try this, this one is delicious, and that one, that one is also delicious... In short, they are all delicious, you should eat more."

Yue Nu agreed, while eating the dishes that Shen Jiujiu had packed to the brim, no one had ever treated him so kindly, giving him food and asking him to eat more.As he ate, his eye sockets became hot, and big tears fell into the bowl with a "click".

Yue Nu quickly lowered her head and wiped her tears with her cuff, not wanting others to see her crying.

The others really didn't notice his small movements, but Zhao Litang, who hadn't moved his chopsticks much, did.

After eating almost, Zhao Litang raised his wine glass and said to Shen Huan, "Master Shen, I still want to thank you for your help, otherwise I'm afraid I would have died of poisoning. This glass of wine is toast to you."

After Zhao Litang finished speaking, he drank the wine in the cup in one gulp.

Shen Huan also raised his glass to him, "General Zhao, you are welcome, it's just a little effort, no need to thank you."

Then Zhao Litang poured another glass of wine, this time for Shen Nineteen, "Mr. Shen, thank you."

After speaking, he drank the wine again.

Shen Jiujiu also imitated Shen Huan, but just as he was about to drink the glass, Shen Huan snatched the glass away.

"What wine do children drink, you drink soup!"

As he spoke, he brought Shen Jiujiu a bowl of soup.

Shen Jiu obediently picked up the soup, but muttered softly, "I'm not a child anymore, I've grown up."

"What did you say?" Shen Huan asked loudly.

Shen Jiu blinked his innocent eyes, "I didn't say anything, Master."

Then he raised his head, drank the bowl of soup as if he was drinking, and turned the bowl over to signal that he had finished it.

Shen Huan couldn't hold back, and burst out laughing at his actions.

Yue Nu also lowered her head, her shoulders trembled, as if she was crying.

Zhao Litang was originally looking at Shen Jiujiu all the time, but his eyes shifted slightly, and then he saw the child with his head bowed beside him. Seeing his shaking shoulders, he frowned slightly.

Then Yue Nu, who lowered his head, suddenly raised his head, his brows and eyes were clearly smiling, and it was the first time he saw such a happy smile on his normally tense little face, without timidity and caution, even with that All the crescent birthmarks are shining like light.

Yue Nu had been looking at Shen Jiujiu with a smile, and suddenly turned his eyes to Zhao Litang's direction, and met him across the table, the smile disappeared immediately, and he lowered his head in a panic.

Zhao Litang then withdrew his gaze.

When the atmosphere in the room was so relaxed and pleasant, there was a lot of noise coming from outside the door, and the noise didn't stop for a long time, which was really disturbing.

Zhao Litang ordered Wu Quan to go out to have a look, but Wu Quan didn't come back for a long time, so Zhao Litang went out to check it himself.

A lot of people gathered in the lobby of the restaurant, divided into two factions, both sides were still quarreling, Wu Quan stood in the crowd, preventing the two groups from fighting directly.

One group of people was headed by the shopkeeper of the restaurant, while the other group, Zhao Litang recognized, were ministers of the court, and they were all cronies of the queen's family, and their power should not be underestimated.

"Several adults are willing to eat at your Yipinxiang to save your face, why don't you hurry up and clear the private room upstairs and let the adults take their seats!"

"Today's private room is gone, only the lobby is left. If adults don't want to sit, feel free to go to another house. Why do you have to condescend in my small place?"

The shopkeeper was neither humble nor overbearing, and was not intimidated by the power of the people opposite.

"Do you dare to let the adults sit in the lobby? I think you Yipinxiang don't want to hang out in the imperial capital anymore! Even Lord Qian and Lord Wei dare to neglect you! How courageous you are!"

"Lord Qian, Lord Wei, it's not been a day or two since our restaurant has been open in the Imperial Capital City. Other dignitaries in this city will send people to make reservations in advance when they come to eat here. They never come to drive other guests away without saying anything. reason."

That Lord Qian pushed aside his attendant, walked to the front and smiled, "Well, it's really well-founded, it is indeed the largest and most prosperous restaurant in the imperial city, but..."

Lord Qian's expression changed, and he showed a contemptuous smile, "...the more this is the case, the more I want to eat here."

He waved his hand, and suddenly some attendants rushed in from the door, it seemed that they had made up their minds to make trouble here today.

Zhao Litang is not familiar with these two adults, but he has heard a lot of their names recently.

Due to Pei Zheng's resignation, the undercurrent in the court gradually surged.

The Queen's sphere of influence is growing crazily, and it is becoming more and more arrogant, especially led by the two downstairs, who are becoming more and more reckless in the imperial capital.

And I don't know if there is any power behind the shopkeeper of this restaurant, so if he confronts those two adults like this, he will definitely suffer a loss.

Zhao Litang glanced downstairs, seeing that the attendants were about to drive away the guests and smash the store, he planned to go downstairs to intercede.

Unexpectedly, before Zhao Litang took the steps to go downstairs, the noise downstairs suddenly quieted down.

I saw a person walking in from the gate of the restaurant. It was Cheng Feng, who was dressed in black with a cold sword in his hand, and he walked directly to Mr. Qian, with the scabbard in his hand on Mr. Qian's chest.

Seeing Chengfeng, the shopkeeper of the restaurant was almost so excited that he didn't cry out. If he doesn't come to the scene, he will be smashed.

Sure enough, another person walked in from outside the door, wearing a black embroidered robe, holding a folding fan in his hands, and walked to the center of the hall without haste.

"My lord! They, they bully people!"

The shopkeeper of the restaurant lost the aura of confronting people just now, and he was crying, as if he had been greatly wronged.

The corners of Pei Zheng's lips twitched, and he raised the end of his eyes to glance at Master Qian and Master Wei standing opposite.

These two people had argued with Pei Zheng in court before, but unfortunately they lost miserably. After that, they never dared to confront Pei Zheng again, and even detoured when they saw Pei Zheng.

Although Pei Zheng is still staying at his job, these two people are still a little afraid of him.

"I think someone is here, isn't this Mr. Pei?"

Master Qian smiled and wanted to take a step forward, but Cheng Feng's scabbard was against him and he couldn't move.

The attendant of Mr. Qian next to him saw him and wanted to knock off the sword in Chengfeng's hand angrily, but Mr. Qian stretched out his hand to stop him.

Chengfeng just glanced at those attendants coldly, but didn't pay attention to them.

Master Qian said, "Master Pei, today's matter has nothing to do with you. If you come here for dinner, Mr. Qian will kindly persuade you. This restaurant is too eye-catching and there are no rules. It must be due to the backing After Qian arrests the boss, he will have a good interrogation to find out who dares to bully others in the imperial capital!"

The shopkeeper of the restaurant was furious when he heard this, and anyone present with eyes could tell who was bullying others today.

Pei Zhengshou's folding fan closed with a "snap", he put away his smile, and looked a little gloomy.

The purchase of the next product of incense was not publicized, so outsiders did not know that the owner of the restaurant had changed hands long ago.

"Lord Qian, you really have a lot of authority." Pei Zheng said in a cold tone, "Do you want to arrest the owner of this restaurant?"

Mr. Qian could hear that something was wrong with Pei Zheng's tone, and he only thought that he might have some friendship with the boss.

"Lord Pei, you haven't been in court for a while, and you don't know about some orders issued by the emperor recently, do you? This imperial capital city should be properly rectified."

As he spoke, he exchanged glances with his fellow party, Mr. Wei, who nodded approvingly, "That's right, it's understandable that Mr. Pei didn't know."

The shopkeeper of the restaurant moved his mouth a step faster and yelled, "My lord! They actually want to arrest you! Can the laws of our Great Heavenly Dynasty allow them to do this?" As soon as the words came out, the people around began to whisper, and Qian The complexion of the adults and Wei adults also changed.

"What do you mean by that?"

The shopkeeper looked disgusted, "You two well-educated adults, don't you even understand this? The boss of our Yipinxiang is Mr. Pei."

The surrounding discussions became louder.

Zhao Litang, who had been watching the farce on the second floor, now understood why the people in the restaurant had a different attitude towards Shen's master and apprentice and the general's mansion.

"This... Mr. Pei, I'm really sorry, I think, I think it's all a misunderstanding, misunderstanding..."

"Yes, yes, it's all a misunderstanding. Since there is no private room here, let's, let's find another place to eat..."

Lord Qian and Lord Wei had colorful expressions on their faces. They wanted to show off their authority, but they didn't expect to show it to Pei Zheng.

A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Even if Pei Zheng is an idle prime minister, they can't just provoke him. What's more, Pei Zheng's power in the dynasty is still strong enough to compete with the queen's family.

All the attendants withdrew immediately, and the crowded lobby was quite empty.

The shopkeeper of the restaurant hurriedly greeted the guests in the lobby, and went to apologize to them.

Lord Qian and Lord Wei smiled awkwardly at Pei Zheng for a while, "Master Pei, I won't bother you, let's go first."

As they said that, the two wanted to go out directly.

As a result, Cheng Feng was one step faster than them, and when he reached the door, the sword was raised horizontally, blocking the two people's way.

"Don't you two adults want to go to the private room on the second floor?" Pei Zheng sneered, "Please."

After speaking, Pei Zheng walked up the stairs.

Those two adults were silently threatened by Chengfeng's eyes, they didn't dare to leave, they turned around and followed up the stairs.

Zhao Litang was still standing at the door of the room, seeing Pei Zheng approaching, his face darkened.

Unexpectedly, when Pei Zheng met Zhao Litang, he was not surprised and greeted him with a smile.

"General Zhao, is the food okay?"

Zhao Litang snorted coldly and didn't answer, looking past him to the two adults following behind.

"Master Qian, Master Wei." Zhao Litang greeted the two of them.

"Why is General Zhao here?"

Master Qian was obviously taken aback, "Could it be, could it be that you have an appointment with Master Pei?"

But isn't Zhao Litang and Pei Zheng's discord known to everyone in the court?

It is precisely because of this that the power of the queen's family has often secretly wooed Zhao Litang, but Zhao Litang has no choice but to refuse to enter, and has not agreed to have any contact with the queen's family so far.Then today is a good opportunity, not only can I take this opportunity to observe the relationship between Zhao Litang and Pei Zheng, maybe I can also take this opportunity to win Zhao Litang over.

"There is no appointment, I just came to dinner with a few friends, today is really a coincidence."

But Pei Zheng was not because of any coincidence, he just found out that Zhao Litang had brought Shen Jiujiu for a taste of incense, so he left behind a lot of unfinished books in the mansion.

Son, rushed over directly.

Regardless of the three people behind him still pretending to greet each other, Pei Zheng pushed the door open and walked into the private room.

In fact, this private room was specially ordered by Pei Zheng to be reserved, but it was reserved for the little guy, who knew that he would receive so many people who were in the way by accident today.

However, Mr. Qian and Mr. Wei, Pei Zheng called them up on purpose and let them get in touch with Zhao Litang.

Pei Zheng also took this opportunity to see what Zhao Litang's attitude was.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw four people sitting inside.

Shen Jiujiu sat by the door with his back facing the door. When he heard someone coming in, he turned his head and looked. He thought it was Zhao Litang who had come back.

"Will... my lord!"

Shen Jiujiu stood up directly from the stool, and ran to Pei Zheng's side in three or two steps, his eyes were shining brightly, "My lord! Why are you here!"

Pei Zheng saw that his red lips were still smeared with oil, standing beside him with his head up, he was really obedient.

When Wu Quan and Yue Nu saw Pei Zheng, they also stood up from their seats to salute, and then silently retreated to the side to stand.

Only Shen Huan, after finishing the soup slowly, got up and saluted Pei Zheng in a mess.

Pei Zheng didn't see the movements of the other three people at all. He stretched out his hand to the little man in front of him, moved it to his lips, and wiped his fingertips lightly.

Her lips, which were already pink and tender, turned even redder after being wiped.

Pei Zheng looked away, Chengfeng handed him a handkerchief and asked him to wipe off the grease on his fingertips.

Shen Huan had seen Pei Zheng's meticulous care of the young apprentice, and he thought it was nothing.

But Wu Quan and Yue Nu had never seen it before, and they both raised their sleeves to wipe their mouths.

"Are you full?"

"En!" Shen Nineteen nodded.

"Then go out and play for a while, and wait for me, okay?"

"En!" Shen Jiu nodded again.

Pei Zheng glanced at Shen Huan, who expressed his understanding.

Then Shen Huan took his little apprentice out of the private room, and brought Yue Nu along with him, bypassing the people outside the door, and went downstairs, intending to take a stroll in the street.

The shop waiter came in quickly with several helpers, quickly removed the leftovers from the table, and replaced them with a table full of delicacies from mountains and seas.

Pei Zheng sat down at the table, and then Zhao Litang, Mr. Qian and Mr. Wei entered the door.

— Zhuo Zhen was ashamed, the four of them didn't move their chopsticks with different thoughts, but drank a lot of wine.

Zhao Litang drank less because of his healthy body.

Pei Zheng drank the most, as long as the two adults respected him, he would raise his glass and drink up, and the two had no choice but to drink up.

But Pei Zheng drank well and was not drunk.

The two adults drank so much that they didn't remember what they said or did.

Pei Zheng sent someone to send them back, leaving only Zhao Litang and Pei Zheng in the room.

"General Zhao heard it too, those two adults invited us to go to the lake together tomorrow." Pei Zheng shook his wine glass, "General Zhao going?"

"That's not an invitation, but you forced them to agree."

Pei Zheng smiled, "So what? Several important court officials gathered in private, who knows, are they secretly plotting some treasonous thing?"

"Immortal things?" Zhao Litang looked at Pei Zheng, "Isn't this what you are best at?"

"Why did General Zhao say that?"

Pei Zheng was still smiling, tapping the fan on the table with his fan in his hand, looking slutty.

"Pei Zheng!"

Zhao Litang's long-held emotions surged up, "You are really forgetful. I think you don't care about the past! If I knew this, I should have killed you that night!"

Pei Zheng raised his eyes, "How do you know I forgot?"

"If you remember, you shouldn't be so indifferent now!" Zhao Litang pointed at the door, "Do you dare to tell me clearly, who is that little apprentice who knows medical skills?"

Pei Zheng suppressed his smile, his eyes were cold, and he looked at Zhao Litang without saying a word.

Zhao Litang became even more angry, "Okay, don't tell me, let me tell you, do you have ulterior motives for him? Or are you already in love with each other? I admit that they are somewhat alike... But, Is it so easy for you to empathize with someone else, and your feelings are so cheap? Is it so easy for your guilt and remorse to disappear? "

Pei Zhengshou's folding fan broke with a "snap", and he let go, and the broken fan fell to the ground.

Although Zhao Litang questioned Pei Zheng so sharply because he didn't know the truth of the matter, Pei Zheng still felt deeply hurt.

Those pasts were the last thing he wanted to think about, but they reminded him like needle pricks all the time:

You owe him too much, you can't forget it, you have to keep being kind to him to make up for it, but even if you spend your whole life, you can't make it up, so you have to live with guilt and remorse for the rest of your life...

Pei Zheng pinched his fingers and felt a warm and sticky touch in his palm. It turned out that he broke the folding fan just now, and his palm was scratched by a wooden thorn and bled a little.

But he didn't feel any pain at all, because his heart was empty.

Zhao Litang had already flung his sleeves away, and the door was closed forcefully with a "d Peng".

Cheng Feng came over and said, "Master, your wound needs to be bandaged."

"It's okay."

Pei Zheng stood up, dizzy for a while, the wine still had some stamina.

He stabilized his body, walked out the door, slowly went downstairs, walked out of the restaurant, and stood on the street.

After being blown by the cold wind, he became more conscious.

The weather has been very cold these past few days, as if it was going to snow, but it hasn't fallen yet.

The blood from Pei Zheng's palm dripped down, and a few drops fell onto the stone slab, where blood blossomed.

"Why is it bleeding again? Does it hurt?"

— A voice came from behind.

When Pei Zheng turned around, he saw Shen Jiujiu standing in front of him, looking down at his bleeding hand.

Shen Jiujiu stretched out his hand, carefully took Pei Zheng's hand up, and asked him to open his palm to show him the wound.

Although the wound was not deep, if it bled, it would definitely hurt.

When Shen Jiu looked at it, the tip of his nose became sour, and his heart ached.

"Brother Pei"

He called softly.

Both Shen Huan and Yue Nu had already returned to the General's Mansion, and only Shen Jiujiu was waiting outside Yipinxiang.

Pei Zheng didn't answer, but suddenly withdrew his hand.

Shen Jiujiu looked up at him, pursed his mouth, obviously holding back tears.

Pei Zheng opened his arms, leaned slightly, took half a step forward, and hugged the little man in front of him firmly.

—His hands were behind his head, the other was tightened around his waist, tightly seamed, embedded in his chest, and then his head was buried in the hollow of his shoulder and neck and did not move.

There are people coming and going on the street, noisy and bustling.

There was silence in Pei Zheng's ears, and he couldn't hear anything, only Huai Ren'er's breathing was light and shallow, soft and warm.Now he felt that the emptiness in his heart had only been filled somewhat.

"Brother Pei, let me go first... I want to stop the bleeding from your wound and bandage you..."

Pei Zheng turned a deaf ear.

Shen Jiujiu patted him, a little anxious, "Brother Pei...can you let me go first..."

"Don't let it go."

"But with you like this, I can't help you to deal with the wound..."

"Do not deal with it."

Shen Jiujiu was speechless for a moment, why did he feel that the grown-up was just like a child, hugging him tightly, as if he was acting like a spoiled child.

However, it seemed that there was something sad.

Shen Jiuxiu stroked Pei Zheng's hair very gently, with a low voice.

"Brother Pei, don't be sad. I'll hug you, and you just listen to me obediently, okay?"