school days in ancient times

Several people went to hand in the prey, registered it in the register, and ordered the rewards to be exchanged one after another. Ye Mian teased the brocade raccoon in the cage in his hand. Clever, if it wasn't for his mother's happiness, he would definitely bring him back to Baofengyuan to raise him.

Ye Mian handed Jinli out with eyes full of reluctance, and several people laughed at his appearance.

Qin Ao said: "In addition to this kind of forest garden, there are two other hills outside. I have seen them before, and I will take you to catch them in the future!"

Several people went back to the yard to freshen up, and hurried out to the imperial banquet.

Although they came from famous families, they were all students. Compared with the princes and the civil and military officials who came to accompany them, they naturally sat at the end of the banquet.

A few people didn't care, they were not Kunzi students who were about to become officials and needed to pay, so they were more comfortable, and Wei Angyuan was secretly happy because he didn't have to have a feast under the nose of Wei Cheng who came to accompany him.

Ye Mian poked his neck and looked forward. The bright yellow dragon robe sitting on it must be the emperor. The young man on the lower left side of the emperor has five dragons embroidered on his body. He should be the prince. It should be the guests from the two countries who came from the court ceremony, but Wei Cheng and his brother Ye Jing were sitting on the other side. They were talking about something, and Wei Cheng frequently stroked his beard and smiled.

Thinking about how they usually joked that his brother was the biggest celebrity in front of the emperor, Ye Mian gave two "tsk tsk" in his heart, which was not false.

In the other place, the empress dowager in luxurious clothes is leading a woman dressed as a palace concubine to sit at the top, and on the other side is the king of Rongnan County in a frost-colored algae-patterned cloud-sleeved costume. Touching his hand lovingly and saying something, the princes and civil and military officials sat on both sides of the table according to their ranks.

Seeing Ye Mian looking over there all the time, Wei Angyuan asked him, "Is this the first time we've met?"

Ye Mian nodded.

Wei Angyuan explained to him in a low voice, "The one next to the Queen Mother is Concubine Jia, the most holy and enduring old concubine in the palace. The second prince who was named King Rong, the fifth prince and the seventh prince are all descended from her."

Ye Mian not only clicked his tongue when he heard this.

Wei Angyuan went on to say: "The empress has been in poor health for these years, and the imperial concubine Jia is taking care of the harem. It is said..." Wei Angyuan whispered in his ear: "Concubine Jia and the Holy One were childhood sweethearts before entering the palace. The relationship is much better than that of the empress."

Ye Mian not only glanced at the prince, but Wei Angyuan said cautiously: "Listen to my father, the noble concubine and the second prince Rong Wang have such thoughts, but the sage is now in his prime, and they dare not show it on their faces. "

Ye Mian was amused to hear Wei Angyuan gossip with him, "Why does your father tell you everything?"

Wei Angyuan glanced at him, "After becoming an official, don't you know what to do? Your father won't tell you?"

Ye Mian shook his head, thought for a while and said, "He didn't expect anything from me, did he?"

Wei Angyuan choked, coughed, and said, "Then let me tell you." Wei Angyuan lifted his chin to the other side, and continued, "The one in the purple robe is the fifth prince who has a green pearl on his head, and the most honorable one of the Holy Majesty." The beloved son, it is said that in order to keep him in the palace for a period of time before he went out to open the mansion, he delayed the marriage of the sixth prince who was the same age as him and was married for a year, and the mother and concubine of the sixth prince became ill because of this incident for a long time."

Ye Mian was stunned, and asked in a low voice: "Then the prince will hide from the fifth prince?"

Wei Angyuan shook his head, "No, the Holy Majesty still recognizes the crown prince, and he has been with him since he was a child to teach him the way of being a prince. He has never seen any other ideas, and the queen's natal family and the crown prince's concubine should not be underestimated. otherwise......"

Wei Angyuan didn't continue, but Ye Mian nodded in understanding, otherwise how could Chaoshang be so calm now, I'm afraid the sky would have turned upside down long ago.

Ye Mian looked at the prince, and saw that the fifth prince had already got up, and went to the prince to pay the rewards to those foreign leaders.

However, it seems that only the people in Beiju are quite enthusiastic about the fifth prince, while the two princes of Zhaonan Kingdom frequently raise their glasses to King Rongnan who is some distance away.

Ye Mian was not only surprised, but turned to look at Wei Angyuan.

Wei Angyuan said: "The fifth prince's uncle is the Minister of Honghe Temple, so he has some friendship with these foreign barbarians. Beizhen has just conquered the tribes of the northern barbarians by relying on barbarism and bloodthirsty. Now he is trying to appease the subjects. When we were begging for money and food, we had no choice but to give up some for the safety of the northern border, and the Zhaonan Kingdom is very interesting."

Wei Angyuan smiled.

"Why?" Ye Mian asked with great interest, "They seem to be at odds with the King of Rongnan County, why do they treat him more earnestly than the Crown Prince?"

"Although Zhaonan Kingdom is a small country, it is not as barbaric as Beiju. It has some exotic products and mines. Most of the Beijing copper we use to mint coins is supplied by them. But the ancient copper transportation road has always been dangerous. It's dangerous and very difficult, and I don't know how many people will be lost every year."

Ye Mian frowned, "What does this have to do with Zhuang Jue?"

"Listen to me," Wei Angyuan said, "The bankers in Jinling not only control the salt industry in the south, but are also very good at water transportation. More than half of the copper transported to Beijing has been used for Jiangdao, and there will never be a situation where "Zhao copper arrives late, and the price of copper in Beijing is high", and it is this opportunity that Zhao Nan has established friendship with the banker."

"So what, as for being so careful?" Ye Mian muttered.

Wei Angyuan took a sip of tea, looked at Ye Mian and said, "The banker earns a lot of money in the Jiangnan shipping market every year. Last year, Dawen just released the two outer ports in Lingnan, but Lingnan is full of miasma. With no experience in building large-scale maritime merchant ships, the dealer took the opportunity to sneak in with the method of removing miasma from foreign countries and skilled craftsmen in shipbuilding, and Zhaonan has no outer port. , Returning to the ship every day is a huge profit, how can you not be jealous and cry and beg for a share of the land."

Ye Mian was dumbfounded when he heard this, and muttered: "I said, how can the Princess Mansion make such a big deal? It will be a few years of treasury income. Dare to love your husband's family. It's a lucrative business. Are you afraid of sending them as hostages?"

"As for being a hostage, you have read too many wild books." Wei Angyuan smiled and said, "The eldest princess and today are the same mother and compatriot, and their relationship has been very good since they were young. Zhuang Jue is the nephew of the Holy One."

"However," Wei Angyuan changed the subject, "the place you think is not bad, if the eldest princess has not married to Jinling, how dare the Zhuang family let go and participate in all good things, I am afraid they will be dismantled and swallowed. Now, now that you are sitting on this monstrous wealth, it is a last resort for Zhuang Sui to come to Beijing."

Ye Mian rolled his eyes, and said in a low voice, "Do you know where the eldest princess and Zhuang Jue are facing each other..." Ye Mian looked towards the crown prince and concubine Jia.

Wei Angyuan sighed: "My father said that the most brilliant palace of the eldest princess is here. Since arranging Zhuang Jue to come to Beijing, everything he has done has been sacred."

"How to say?" Ye Mian asked curiously.

"Concubine Jia's cousin was promoted to the Lianghuai Salt Transport Envoy last year, and sent to the south, but he was a little impatient in this fat mouth, and he took a lot of bribes. The salt tax that was supposed to be handed over to the national treasury was picked up by the eldest princess and reported directly to the imperial court, the Holy Majesty was furious, Concubine Jia and the three princes begged for a long time, so that the imperial concubine’s natal family was not burdened.”

Ye Mian was stunned, "No wonder I heard you say that the Fifth Prince and Zhuang Jue had such a fight last time, so they came from here." Ye Mian thought for a while and then asked in a low voice, "Then Zhuang Jue is on the side of the prince?"

"No," Wei Angyuan shook his head and said, "The crown prince wins him overtly and secretly, but Zhuang Jue just shakes his head and doesn't win him over."

Ye Mian was startled, then took a deep breath suddenly, and said clearly: "The eldest princess and Zhuang Jue only stand on the other side of the Holy One!"

"You are more enlightened than me. When my father told me that, I didn't expect it to be so." Wei Angyuan looked at him and smiled white teeth, and then said: "The Holy Majesty is in his prime, no matter how much he loves the prince, I also don’t want the servants below to make a choice early on, but the eldest princess immediately submitted the account of the light and dark income and expenditure of the southern salt industry together with the banker, so that the Holy One will not worry about sending down the salt shipments in the future.”

Ye Mian gave a thumbs up, thinking, the emperor's first eldest sister transformed into his best card in the south.

"More than that," Wei Angyuan continued: "Zhuang Jue came to Beijing and promised on behalf of the eldest princess to the Holy Majesty. From now on, the Zhuang family will share [-]% more with the royal family in addition to the serious taxation in the maritime trade and salt industry in the outer port every year. I have a large amount of money in the treasury."

Wei Angyuan and Ye Mian murmured for a long time with their heads together. Li Zhao and the others were already impatient, and poked them to signal the two to look forward. Ye Mian looked up and saw that the "award presentation" had already begun.

The rewards on Heshen's altar are being rewarded one by one according to the registration in the pre-banquet book.

Ye Mian grinned and rubbed his hands together, just waiting for the ceremonial officer in front to read his name, but at the end, two emerald pearl hairpins were rewarded to the seventh prince, and the seventh prince inserted them into the garland with his own hands. On the concubine's bun.

The emperor laughed and praised the seventh prince who was small but capable and filial. Concubine Jia looked at the kindness of the seventh prince with a smile on his face, and all the courtiers echoed him.

Ye Mian bit his lip and looked over there with a dazed expression, obviously when he went to log in the prey, he was only a brocade raccoon, and the officer in charge praised him, could it be that the seventh prince was also caught?

Li Zhao and Ruan Yunsheng were so angry that even Qin Ao who was sitting on the other side changed his expression. Wei Angyuan even got up and went to the ceremony officer's side. Ye Mian got up to chase, but Li Zhao pressed him down.

"Let him go!" Li Zhao said angrily, "We tossed and tossed us in the forest for almost two hours, and finally almost fell off the tree. If it doesn't work, let's ask?"

Ruan Yunsheng also said angrily: "If you can't afford the bounty, don't take it out. It's not embarrassing for my brother to take it out and put it on my own mother's head!"

Ye Mian grinned and pulled the corners of his lower lips, smiling indifferently on his face, but he was quite disappointed in his heart, and knew that no matter what Wei Angyuan asked from the ceremony officer, the golden hairpin that had already been inserted on Concubine Jia's head He will not be rewarded again.

Sure enough, after a while, Wei Angyuan came back with a dark face, and said to them resentfully, "It is true that the Seventh Prince also sent a golden raccoon later. I went to see it just now, and there are indeed two of them."

Li Zhao said indignantly: "Then what's the matter, our brother Mian was the first to be caught and registered in the register, isn't there a rule of first come first served?"

Wen Xun also put on a grimace, "Even if each person has a brocade raccoon dog, each person should have a pearl hairpin. What is he?"

Seeing that all of them were sullen, Ye Mian was afraid that they would lose their minds because of this, so she pretended to be relaxed with a smile and said, "Forget it, let my elder brother go out and find one later."

The banquet here has already started, Ye Mian adjusted his mood, joked and laughed with them, and the faces of the few people got better.

When the banquet was in the middle, I saw a few foreign servants carrying a ten-foot-high sandalwood Guanyin statue and walked up. It turned out that it was presented by the Zhaonan Kingdom to the Empress Dowager who worshiped Buddha all the year round as a birthday gift for the Qianqiu Festival next month. The Empress Dowager looked very Overjoyed, Prince Zhaonan of the Rongnan County Dynasty who was sitting next to the Queen Mother nodded to express his gratitude, and then gave a few instructions to Inspector Xia standing behind him.

Xia Neijian bent down to receive the order, then turned around and went down.

After a while, Xia Neijian came back with the four maids of King Rongnan holding two paintings, and returned the gift to Prince Zhaonan.

The maids slowly unfolded the two paintings, which are the painting of a galloping horse by a famous writer and the painting of peonies at night.

It's just that no one at the table over there praised the rare and famous painting. They all looked at the four maids with strange expressions, and secretly glanced at the faces of King Rongnan and Concubine Jia.

There was a moment of silence at the banquet.

The King of Rongnan County was scrutinized by others, and he only sipped his tea slowly. On the other side, Concubine Jia was sullen, and her lips trembled twice. The two pearl hairpins were pulled out and fell on the table.

The queen mother's complexion changed, she patted Zhuang Jue's arm lightly, and said angrily, "Naughty!" But she grabbed Zhuang Jue's hand tightly, with a look of protection on her face.

The emperor also looked at Zhuang Jue helplessly and shook his head, but he didn't say anything, he just turned his head and ordered the eunuch behind him to reward a lot of jewels and concubines.

The fifth prince slapped the table with a livid face, but was stared back by King Rong who was sitting in front, sitting there gasping for breath, staring fiercely at Zhuang Jue.

Ye Mian sat at the end of the banquet and couldn't figure out what lawsuit the gods in front were fighting. They looked at each other curiously, and had to wait until Rongnan County King's maid left to observe intently to see if there was anything wrong. .

The four pretty maids were wearing lotus purple long skirts, and they walked over with light lotus steps. When the lotus pink embroidered shoes came out of the skirts, the emerald green pearls on the toes of the shoes were exposed.

Four maids and eight pearls shone brightly under the bright candlelight.

When Ye Mian saw it, he stared and almost spit out the tea in his mouth. After swallowing it anxiously, he coughed. Zhao even pinched his thigh hard to stop laughing.

Hitting people without slapping faces, the "rare" jewels presented by the seventh prince, and very rare, to be worn on the head of the noble concubine, are only worthy of being dropped on the shoes of the servant girls of Rongnan County. Tomorrow, it will be all the noble ladies in Beijing We are all going to have dinner with this matter.

After Ye Mian regained his breath, he shook his head and looked at Zhuang Jue on the other side.

What else did he check? The incident in the Zuiyue Tower a few days ago must have been done by Zhuang Jue, and the viciousness of this method was exactly the same as that night.

It's so insidious!

After a while, the banquet became lively again, but Xia Neijian quietly walked to Ye Mian's side, handed him a palm-sized wooden box with a smile, and turned away.

Ye Mian was stunned, and under the curiosity of several people, he opened the plain agarwood box, and was stunned again, only to see two emerald pearls the size of copper coins lying inside.

Several people looked at each other suspiciously, and Li Zhao scratched his head: "Given it to you by King Rongnan County?"

Ye Mian thought for a while, then pursed her lips and said in distaste, "Let's not talk about his things, I don't dare to accept them, but I don't want the things for his maidservant's shoes!"

Ruan Yunsheng took one out and looked at it carefully, then turned his back and looked at it in the dark for a while, then turned around and said with a strange expression: "It's different, this one glows in the dark, I'm afraid it's what they call the night hawk under the sea. Beads, even a single one is priceless."

Ye Mian trembled, did Zhuang Jue want to buy his life?