The prince is more stable

Chapter 289 It’s hard to predict good or bad fortune
Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly decided to meet Niao Niao today, and he had originally intended to test her.

Yes, drinking is a temptation, and getting drunk is also a temptation.

Mentioning the suppression of bandits in Xiangzhou was a test, and mentioning the power of firearms was also a test.

This is like a fisherman making a nest, scattering bait everywhere and seeing which one the fish is willing to bite.

In fact, it was a psychological game between Zhao Xiaoqian and Niao Niao.

Sure enough, people's subconscious reactions betrayed her thoughts.

Zhao Xiaoqian is a powerful official who knows many secrets of the court, but the most important secrets at present are the Imperial City Bureau's investigation into the mastermind of the ambush in the canyon and the firearms he invented himself.

The only reason why Niao Niao deliberately approached him was to spy on the secrets he knew.

So when Zhao Xiaoqian got drunk, he deliberately talked about suppressing bandits and firearms. However, Niao Niao was not concerned about suppressing bandits, but was very interested in firearms.

Behind the suppression of bandits is the continuation of the canyon ambush. Niao Niao doesn't care about it, and it is very likely that she is not the mysterious instigator of the canyon ambush.

The fact that she cares so much about firearms shows that the person behind Niao Niao is more complicated.

If we continue to infer, the people who care most about the secrets of firearms are probably the Liao Dynasty or the Western Xia.

After all, firearms played a vital role in the Song-Xia War, and the two neighboring countries of the Song Dynasty were very aware of this. They had felt threatened, and in order to break the unbalanced war situation that was about to form, they had to obtain the secrets of firearms.

If the three kingdoms all mastered firearms, then a strategic balance among the three kingdoms would be re-established on this vast land.

After this inference, Zhao Xiaoqian had a rough idea of ​​Niao Niao's origins.

A spy from Liao or Xixia?

Oh, why not tie her up and bring her to Xiao Guangjing, and let this little girl learn from Xiao's father and son how to be a good spy.

This silly girl is too confident in herself. She really thinks that she can get what she wants by making men infatuated with her personal charm.

too naive.

Even if it was a beauty trap, it would only work after sleeping with her. Zhao Xiaoqian only got a little advantage. Why?

After testing Niao Niao today, Zhao Xiaoqian was basically certain that there was something wrong with her.

So what's next?

Don't worry, Niao Niao can't exist alone. If there is an entire spy network behind her, the next step will naturally be to use her to uproot the entire spy network.

It’s time for the Imperial City Bureau to show its face in front of the emperor and his ministers. Otherwise, people always say that the Imperial City Bureau only harms the court officials of the Song Dynasty. Now it’s time to let the court officials know that the Imperial City Bureau’s business scope is very broad. It not only harms the court officials, but also harms outsiders.

…………

The sensation caused by Su Shi's return to Beijing is still continuing.

The city of Bianjing seemed to be going crazy these days. Not only did scholars and literati come to visit Master Su, but even the common people in the market were talking about Su Shi.

Then people from all walks of life vied to invite Su Shi to various banquets, poetry gatherings and cocktail parties held by various literati.

It can be said that the business of the Song Dynasty was indeed developed, and the merchants had a very keen sense of smell. After the topic of Su Shi's return to Beijing spread, all the brothels with some fame in Bianliang City hung plaques outside their gates.

The courtesan of this building, Miss So-and-so, has long admired the elegance of Scholar Su. I respectfully request that he condescend to give me the opportunity to listen to his teachings in person. I am willing to offer myself to him...

Some brothels were relatively reserved, and the plaques they hung there were not so shameless, simply saying that they were willing to pay ten thousand gold coins for a poem from Mr. Su.

In short, because of Su Shi's return to the capital, the entire city of Bianjing seemed to be crazy about him, and the degree of his enthusiasm was no less than that of a superstar holding a concert in later generations.

What’s interesting is that while Su Shi was busy attending various banquets, Zhao Xiaoqian also received many invitations in the past few days, which were also banquets for literati.

Only then did Zhao Xiaoqian realize that he seemed to have quite a reputation in the literary and poetry circles. Although he was called "Zhao Banque", his poems were actually no less valuable than other people's complete poems.

After all, the half verses that Zhao Xiaoqian recited at the time were all classic masterpieces handed down from generation to generation. Any sentence picked out at random can beat most of the literati today.

Faced with invitations from various literati, Zhao Xiaoqian politely declined.

He knew very well that others invited him to the banquet just to serve as a guest, and the real protagonist of the banquet was Su Shi.

But Zhao Xiaoqian didn't like to be a guest.

Especially when accompanying someone who eats salty tofu pudding.

My sweet party will never be a slave!

During the days when Su Shi was busy with social events, Zhao Xiaoqian had been diligently attending the Imperial City Office every day. He couldn't be too idle; he had to show some diligence occasionally. Otherwise, if his boss, Zhao Xu, suddenly felt the urge to check his attendance, Zhao Xiaoqian might even be demoted.

The Imperial City Bureau is very busy with its daily duties. It is the aggregation center for intelligence from all over the world, and countless pieces of intelligence pass through the hands of the escort officers and the bailiffs every day.

Most of them are about the movements of Bianliang and local officials, as well as rumors among the people, and military and political affairs from the Liao, Western Xia, Tubo, Uighur and other countries.

After multiple rounds of screening by the investigating officers and the bailiffs, the valuable information was summarized and submitted to Wei Jie, who was in charge of official affairs.

The information that Wei Jie thought was very important finally fell into the hands of Zhao Xiaoqian.

This shows how... leisurely Zhao Xiaoqian's official duties were.

It doesn’t matter. In the Huangchengsi government office, Zhao Xiaoqian is the boss. The boss doesn’t have to do the work himself. He just supervises the work of the cattle and horses below.

When Cai You arrived at the Imperial City Administration, his subordinates respectfully led him to the backyard. Cai You found a barbecue oven in the middle of the yard. Zhao Xiaoqian was grilling...lamb skewers in the yard under the scorching sun of early summer?

Cai You sniffed hard and said, "What a nice smell! The Duke's cooking is excellent."

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't even raise his head. He was busy brushing oil and sprinkling cumin on the lamb skewers with a brush in his hand.

The aroma of barbecue in the yard became stronger, and even Cai You, such a respectable student of the Imperial College, couldn't help but move his throat a few times.

At this time, Zhao Xiaoqian finally raised his head and saw Cai You. He was stunned for a moment and blurted out, "Brother Cai, are you here to surrender yourself?"

Cai You was startled: "Did my foolish brother commit a crime?"

"I don't know, but seeing you holding your head high and looking ready to die, I thought you were here to increase the performance of the Imperial City Division..."

Cai You was speechless and looked at himself with his head down.

So, how did you see that I was ready to die?
"Brother Zi'an, don't scare me. I'm a clean family, how could I possibly have committed any crime?"

"Why are you in the Imperial City if you haven't done anything wrong? What kind of good person would come to this place?"

Cai You smiled and said, "I haven't seen Brother Zi'an for a long time. I miss him very much..."

"Get to the point, otherwise I'll invite you to visit Bingjingwu." Zhao Xiaoqian said without even raising his eyelids.

Cai You hurriedly took out an exquisite invitation from his arms and presented it respectfully with both hands.

"By my father's order, I will host a banquet at my humble abode tomorrow. My father cordially invites Brother Zi'an to attend."

Zhao Xiaoqian did not accept the invitation; his attention was still on the lamb skewers on the grill.

"Your family has come to join in the fun, and the main character of the banquet won't also be Scholar Su, right?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

Cai You felt a little embarrassed when he saw Zhao Xiaoqian not accept the invitation, but he still said, "Yes, my father has long admired the elegance of Scholar Su. Brother Zi'an, nicknamed 'Zhao Banque', is the only one in the world today who is as famous as Scholar Su. My father sincerely implore Brother Zi'an to condescend to join us at this grand banquet. If so, it would be a great honor for our Cai family."

Although it is a bit exaggerated, flattery does make people feel comfortable both physically and mentally.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "Do you know how many banquets Su Xueshi has attended since he returned to Beijing?"

Cai You was stunned and shook his head blankly.

Zhao Xiaoqian was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "If I were your father, I would definitely cancel tomorrow's banquet."

A short sentence contains a lot of information.

Cai You seemed to have sensed something and was startled. He didn't even bother to care about Zhao Xiaoqian taking advantage of him. "Brother Zi'an, what you mean is..."

"Haha, I was just joking. Don't take it seriously. After all, I'm not your father." Zhao Xiaoqian immediately changed the subject.

Cai You became more and more confused and uncertain, but seeing that Zhao Xiaoqian was unwilling to say anything more, Cai You had no choice but to use his imagination. After a long time, he nodded thoughtfully.

"Brother Zi'an, I think I understand what you mean. I will persuade my father to withdraw the invitation and cancel tomorrow's banquet."

Zhao Xiaoqian said indifferently, "It's up to you to decide whether to cancel it or not. Anyway, I won't be attending any banquets in the near future."

Cai You nodded, becoming more certain of Zhao Xiaoqian's meaning.

Although he was only a student at the Imperial College, his father was a veteran in officialdom. Through the influence of his father, Cai You had some understanding of the court.

Some disasters come unexpectedly. An unintentional word or action may become a handle or weapon for others.

The Cai family must never make this mistake.

(End of this chapter)