Golden branches and jade leaves

Chapter 26 The Prince of Qi
There are many restaurants and tea houses on Zhuque Street in the north of the capital city of Daqi, and one of the most famous restaurants is Donglailou.Although the scale of Donglai Building is not very large, the decoration is elegant and tasteful.It is the place where the scholars of Qi State gather together.

It was also the foothold of Ge Chengming and others in Qijing.At this moment, Ge Chengming and Xiang Ju walked into the building side by side, and the young man at the door saw the boss and his friend coming in and greeted them skillfully, then went to work on their own.

Already accustomed to the scene in front of him, Xiang Ju couldn't help complaining to Ge Chengming as he walked forward: "Don't you really want to be a tavern owner for the rest of your life and give all your talents and knowledge to these wine jars?" crock pot."

"Haha," Ge Chengming laughed, "If I told others that Xiang Ju, who has always boasted of being unruly and famous in Qijing, would be so serious in persuading others to consider their future and plan their future, I'm afraid that the people in the capital Everyone thinks I'm just talking in my sleep."

"Hehe," Xiang Ju also laughed. He has always acted freely and freely, but the education of being born in a noble family made him naturally hope to serve the country and achieve a career that will last forever.

Ge Chengming came to Qijing last year. He often came here to drink and discuss tea. When the two had a conversation by chance, he was surprised to find that the middle-aged man who he had always thought was an ordinary restaurant owner had insight that was not inferior to his own. knowledge.Xiang Ju didn't care about his family background at first, but after a few times, the two became close friends.

He admired his friend's literary talent and knowledge very much. Although he knew that he was unwilling to join the officialdom, he couldn't help recommending him to Qi Long.

Knowing the meaning of Ge Chengming's words, he still blamed himself for recommending him to Qi Long without his consent.He smiled cheerfully and said: "Since that's the case, we don't need to bring up this matter again. When the emperor asks about it again, I'll just decline for you."

"Quickly ask the boy to bring out your treasured apricot blossom wine. I ran for you anyway. Although I did something bad with good intentions, it was a lot of hard work after all, wasn't it?" Xiang Ju laughed heartily. He is also a person who can afford to let things go, and seeing that Ge Chengming really has no plans to be born, he immediately put the matter aside.

Ge Chengming secretly gave a wry smile. Although Xiang Ju had a close relationship with him, as a minister of the Qi State, of course he didn't know his identity as a spy. He didn't even know his real name, Ge Chengming. He only knew that he was a spy. Ge Hong, an ordinary scholar who came to Qijing from Kunzhou in the south to inherit his ancestral business.

This person acts upright, and I sincerely treat him as a close friend. This awkward and secretive identity always makes him feel ashamed of being a friend.

The two walked into the inner room, one behind the other, and a young servant had already set up the bowls, chopsticks, and wine glasses, and the two of them sat down at the table and drank freely.

Before he had had a few sips, there were two knocks on the door, and Ge Chengming raised his head and responded casually, "Come in."

The door opened, but what came in was not the servant serving tea as he had expected, but a guard in a samurai uniform.

Ge Chengming looked up at the visitor in surprise.

The guard bowed and saluted, and said: "My master is drinking in the teahouse, just now he saw Mr. Xiang and Mr. Ge entering, so he specially ordered the villain to invite the two to move over. Why don't we have a few drinks together."

"You..." Ge Chengming hadn't realized who the master he was talking about was.Xiang Ju over there clapped his hands and applauded, "I heard that Prince Yu is also an elegant person, and he doesn't care about trifles. I didn't expect that the prince's mansion is not here. He came to this tavern building. If that's the case, let's go there." gone."

Only then did Ge Chengming realize that the owner of this bodyguard was actually Prince Yu Qi Hao.When the first emperor was alive, although the prince was the eldest son of the emperor, he was not valued. He had no influence in the court. It was even said that the first emperor hated the eldest son so much that he had not established a mansion even when he was an adult.It wasn't until Qi Long succeeded to the throne that he treated this brother well, and Prince Yu's strength began to improve. A few days ago, the assassination of Qi Long shocked the capital, and Prince Yu made a great contribution to making him Everyone in the capital admired this prince who had always kept a low profile.All of a sudden, he became a hot figure in the capital.

Hearing that it was Prince Yu who summoned him, Xiang Ju didn't speak respectfully. Knowing that his friend had always been like this, Ge Chengming wasn't surprised at all, but when he turned his head to look at the guard, he didn't feel annoyed when he heard that his master was not taken seriously. , still respectful and polite, Ge Chengming couldn't help but secretly said, although he didn't know his bearing, just looking at the men he trained was not bad.

Following the guards, the two came to a private room by the window on the second floor of the restaurant.

As the owner of the restaurant, Ge Chengming certainly knows that this is the place with the best scenery in the whole restaurant.

From the open window, you can see the Furong Pond in the distance, but it is a pity that it is winter now. If it is spring, the weeping willows on the bank are lightly swaying, and the wind is warming up, creating a swaying and leisurely scenery. Next to it is Daqi's imperial palace. The northern part of the capital where Donglailou is located is an extension of the mountainous terrain. From this height, you can almost overlook the entire palace.The endless stretches of magnificent buildings have a panoramic view, which makes people feel refreshed.

At this moment, a man in white clothes was standing leisurely by the window, and when he heard the sound of two people going upstairs, he turned around and saw that he was Prince Yu Qi Hao.

Several people have seen etiquette. Although Qi Hao is a prince, he behaves elegantly and modestly, with a noble and free and easy demeanor.Heartbreaking.

The attendant stepped forward to set the cups, and the three sat down calmly, talking and laughing.

After a few words, Ge Chengming has already noticed that from the way Xiang Ju and Qi Hao talked, Xiang Ju and Qi Hao are obviously very familiar, and they talk without any scruples about their status, just like ordinary friends.Qi Hao didn't have the slightest pretensions of being an heir to a nobleman.

Xiang Ju is a well-known talent in Daqi, with witty words like pearls, and extensive knowledge. Ge Chengming claims to be a contemporary wise man, and he is even more insightful.Unexpectedly, the seemingly young rich prince in front of him was no less knowledgeable and knowledgeable than the two of them, with elegant and humorous conversation and quotations from classics.

After several conversations, Ge Chengming was secretly startled. He knew the details of the assassin's night far better than anyone else. From Wen Xian's mouth, he naturally understood that this prince was definitely not just a prince who looked like this in front of him. A gentle and elegant scholar, but a rare top martial arts master.Since this person is both civil and military, Nan Chen had never paid attention to such a person before he was operating here for many years.It wasn't until this time that he was forced to step forward and saved Qi Taki's life that he began to know about this usually unknown prince.

There are many dignitaries and rich families in Qijing, but Qi Haogui is a royal family with such outstanding talent, why has he not made any achievements?Ge Chengming became puzzled. He looked at Qi Hao's appearance, and couldn't help but fix his eyes on his pair of amber eyes that couldn't be concealed. Could it be because he was of barbarian blood?

Hundreds of years ago, due to the political chaos in the Central Plains, the Hu people invaded and their lives were devastated. After hundreds of years of fighting and killing, many of the Hu people who invaded that year intermarried with the Han people and were assimilated by the Han people.A hundred years ago, the Kingdom of Liang rose. Emperor Wu of Liang was a rare and wise monarch in troubled times. When he succeeded to the throne, the Kingdom of Liang was only a medium-sized country. After decades of fighting, he not only unified the northern The war-torn countries also overthrew the Liao Kingdom established by the Hu people, the largest regime in the north at that time, and forced the Liao Kingdom to move northward and escape outside the Great Wall.

Emperor Wu of Liang claimed to be orthodox of the Han people, and he inherited the mandate of heaven. At that time, he almost unified the Central Plains. Unfortunately, he fell short. Emperor Wu of Liang was injured by an arrow during a battle. Because of the lack of rescue, he died within a month.Except for this first emperor who was a domineering and excellent monarch, the rest of them were mediocre monarchs, with more than success and insufficient development. As a result, after a hundred years, the national strength became weaker and weaker, and was finally replaced by the rising Qi.

If the Qi State is traced from its ancestors, it actually has Hu people's blood.However, after Qi State replaced Liang State and had the power to dominate the world, it began to promote the orthodox Han people, with pure blood, imitating the Han rituals, holding the Zen ceremony, worshiping Confucius and Confucianism, and vigorously promoting the legitimacy of the imperial throne. The Liao Kingdom even put on a look of disdain, denouncing them as barbarians.It is even more secretive about the fact that the royal family once had barbarian blood.

Perhaps, it was under such circumstances that the emperor's eldest son Qi Hao's sudden pair of light-colored eyes disgusted the royal family so much. Those eyes clearly told everyone that he had the Hu blood in him.

"Sir, sir," seeing that Ge Chengming was in a trance, Qi Hao whispered a few times, and Ge Chengming came back to his senses.

"I heard that Mr. enters the palace today to meet His Majesty. I wonder if you have the willingness to serve me?" Qi Hao asked in a gentle and refined way: "Although this king is not talented, he has long admired Mr.'s name."

"I also admire his knowledge. It's a pity that this person has no interest in official career and economics at all. I'm afraid he is a bit more detached than me. He is almost a god. It's just a waste of a good self." Ge Chengming responded with words, but Xiang Ju who was beside him had already spoken on his behalf.

"I don't dare to talk about detachment, but I'm so free, I really can't take on important affairs, I'm afraid it will delay the government affairs, ruin the big event, and I will lose the love of the emperor." Ge Chengming smiled politely.

"I used to hear that Xiang Ju said that I admired my husband very much. I used to think that I had a high talent and didn't take it seriously. Now I really talked about current affairs with my husband and I saw his great talent. If I can have more time to listen to my teacher's teachings in the future, it is really great Sansheng is lucky." Qi Taki said with a smile: "There is still a vacancy in the seat of the king's seat in my palace, I would like to ask sir for advice, I don't know if I would be honored."

"Thanks to the love of the prince, I am really lazy and ignorant, I don't want to leave the restaurant, as long as I sing the wind and moon every day, drinking and poetry, I feel that the joy of life is enough." Ge Chengming evaded.

"Since my husband doesn't want to leave the restaurant, then Hao can only come here to ask for advice from time to time," Qi Hao said with a candid smile. Seeing Ge Chengming's resoluteness, he readily stopped persuading him, "I just hope that my husband will not dislike Qi Hao's stupidity when the time comes." Unbearable."

"My lord speaks elegantly and has a wide range of knowledge. I'm afraid I can't match it. How dare I take it as a word of enlightenment. I'm afraid I will ask my lord to teach me." Ge Chengming said this sentence from the heart, Qi Hao The conversation is elegant, kind and natural, especially there is a kind of sincerity from the heart in the manner, which makes it difficult to evade.

After this conversation, Ge Chengming even felt that if he hadn't had a special status, he might really have to devote himself to his mansion and become the teacher's staff.

The three of them continued talking and laughing while drinking, and after knowing that Ge Chengming had no intention of becoming an official, Qi Hao began to change the topic to the beautiful scenery and wine. What I saw and heard when I entered the palace.

"In the past, Concubine Yun was the one who stood in that seat, but today she suddenly saw a different person, but she was really surprised. But this newly favored Concubine Lian is also a rare beauty in the world." This kind of Openly talking about the beauty of the emperor's concubines in public, only Xiang Ju dared to say it so brazenly.

"Speaking of the beauty of the world, who can compare to the five beauties drawn by Mr. Dong Qianguang before?" Qi Haochang said with a smile: "It is said that the late emperor was also fascinated by the beauties in the picture, and vowed to collect all five pictures and find them all. The beauty in the painting." While speaking, Ge Chengming happened to glance at Qi Hao's eyes, only to find that when Qi Hao mentioned his father, there was a faint hostility in his eyes.He was a little surprised, and then thought that the prince who was deeply disgusted by his father probably also hated his father in the same way.

Throughout his life, Xiang Ju admired Dong Qianguang, a great talent who was unruly and unruly in the old Liang Dynasty.Hearing that the topic fell on him, he immediately became excited, "It's a pity that Master Dong passed away too early, so that people in the world don't even know who the beauties drawn in the five beauties are." Dong Qianguang is good at drawing beauties. The price of a picture is sky-high, which also makes the beauty in the painting worth a hundred times. If there is a woman from a good family who becomes the protagonist in his painting, the suitors will flock to it.However, those five works that he was most proud of in his life used flowers to describe people, so that no one knew who the beauties in the paintings were.

"Whether you can find the beauties in the painting is the next thing. It has been more than 20 years now, and the beauties in the picture are peerless. I'm afraid they have already aged at this time. It's just a pity that the five beauties are superbly written, but none of them It is a pity that it was lost during the war." Ge Chengming sighed.

"I heard that there is a pair living in Weiguo," Qi Hao talked about the rumors he heard recently: "It's just that I don't know if it's true or not."

"If it's Weiguo, I believe it," Xiang Ju put down the cup in his hand and said, "Isn't General Gu's wife said to be a rare beauty? The Yaochi fairy product in the book was specially made for her. It's a pity that we are all lucky. I can't be lucky enough to witness it."

"It's a pity that there was chaos when the Wei Palace was broken down. I'm afraid that even in the Wei Palace, I don't know where I went to. I'm afraid that it will fall into the hands of ordinary people and tarnish the handwriting of famous artists." Ge Chengming said.

"Although the predecessors have passed away, the lingering fragrance and charm still make us think about it." Qi Hao laughed.

"General Gu's generation was loyal and good, but it's a pity that he ended up with a family full of redemption. Alas, he is also a hero that we can't stop thinking about." Xiang Ju sighed with fascination: "It is said that Mrs. Gu committed suicide when the city was broken. He died, but his family was also slaughtered by that martial artist Ni Yuan, it's a pity that the three ladies are full of loyalty."

"Eh? Three ladies, doesn't General Gu only have two daughters?" Qi Hao asked suddenly.

"Are you two?" Xiang Ju reacted, and said hesitantly: "I don't know who said it recently, and there is another lady who was adopted by others when she was young. It seems that she didn't suffer any trouble." He recalled it, but he also forgot Where did I hear it from.

The originally cheerful atmosphere during the banquet suddenly stagnated, and Ge Chengming's expression almost changed. Even in Weiguo, few people knew about Su Mi's matter, no matter in the military palace, and the members of the Gu family were breaking the law. He was killed by Ni Yuan when he was in the city, how could the news leak out?In case such news spreads...

"Oh, where did you hear the news?" Qi Hao asked with great interest.

"This..." Xiang Ju scratched his head, "I don't seem to remember it clearly, it seems that I heard a surrendered minister of the Wei State mention it unintentionally before, but he is not sure, it is just hearsay."

"Where can such a thing happen?" Ge Chengming chuckled: "I'm afraid it's a country talk. After all, after Zhongliang, the world talks about it. After all, they don't want to see loyal ministers without heirs, so they made it up and talked about it. It’s just comfort. It’s human nature.”

"That's right. Although General Gu is our Daqi's enemy, I still admire his strength of character. It would be great if he really has a future." Xiang Ju said smoothly.

"En." Qi Hao also nodded, no longer dwelling on this topic.

It's just that he was praised by the visionary master Dong as a fairy in the fairyland!What kind of beauty should this be?When Qi Hao thought of this, a slender and unsteady figure suddenly came into mind naturally.Qi Hao was startled, and at the same time, it seemed that some thoughts flashed past his eyes quickly, but it was so fleeting that he couldn't see clearly.

At this time, Xiang Ju continued to talk loudly.

Unable to grasp any clues in his head, Qi Hao shook his head, shook off the inexplicable melancholy that had arisen for no reason, and chatted and laughed with everyone.

(End of this chapter)