Chapter 8 Night Talk
After everyone ate half a plate of roasted venison, Li Jiancheng poured the amber wine into the jade bowl himself. Then everyone smiled at each other and said, "Dry white wine!"

Ganbai means cheers. Other acceptable names include Cai, Wannianwuqi, Duju, Jubai, etc. Nowadays, scholars prefer to use Yang or Qiansui when they get together.

The wine tastes mellow in the mouth, not spicy but a little sweet. This is the wine nowadays, and it is a good wine.

If the wine is from an ordinary wine shop, it will be light green in color. It is not only turbid, but also has a layer of fine white floating objects like ants on the surface. It is called green ant wine or turbid wine.

Putting down the wine glass was a signal, and dozens of young ladies in cool clothes appeared in front of the hall. Drum music and erhu strings sounded from behind the screen, and a beautiful woman with a nine-horse fairy bun, a peacock green dress, and a seven-treasure necklace appeared with a pipa in her arms and knelt down to bow.

Her face is as white as snow, her lips are as red as pearls, her delicate hands stroke the strings of the zither, her eyes are as beautiful as water, and her voice fills her ears with joy when her lips are slightly opened.

The dancers behind him dragged their skirts sideways, looking like flowers and clouds. There was wine, music, singing and dancing.

When the song ended, Li Jiancheng and others stood up and clapped their hands, and the beauty smiled and saluted. According to the current custom, there would be extra rewards for satisfactory singing and dancing.

Li Jiancheng waved his hand, and a servant took out a gilded eight-petal silver cup with a hunting pattern of ladies from a brocade box and brought it to the lead dancer. The other people also gave some gifts, either silver or silk, but they were very tactful and did not overshadow Li Jiancheng. This was the etiquette for guests.

The reward was taken away by a young lady, and the leading dancer went up to the hall to personally pour wine to express her gratitude. After drinking a few cups, she stood up and sat behind a screen with a painting of mountains and flowing water on the side of the hall, and a piece of "Eighteen Beats of the Hujia" was played.

After a few more drinks, the lamb that I had personally selected was served. There was pepper for seasoning on the side of the plate, and it tasted really delicious.

Later there were rabbit meat, wild boar meat, bear meat, snake meat, and civet cat meat, but the cooking methods were all exactly the same, so they didn't taste very delicious.

Fortunately, it is served with garlic juice and garlic paste. You can mince your favorite meat, pour garlic juice and garlic paste on it and add a little sauce, wrap it with a golden Hu pancake sprinkled with sesame seeds, and it is very enjoyable to take a big bite.

After having a good meal and a few drinks, we watched the Hu Ji dance for a while. It is a rare and wonderful thing to see the blonde and blue-eyed Hu Ji dancing in this era.

Several people loosened their belt buckles, left the hall and went to the railings of the flying bridge to enjoy the view. Dozens of maids hurriedly cleared the table and opened the window, moved the dining table away, and replaced it with a high round rosewood couch. The beautiful lead dancer took off her shoes and was helped to sit on the couch by the maids. She began to make tea with her bare hands, waiting for the noble relatives to come back and continue to sit and discuss.

Looking down from the balcony, I saw many acquaintances reciting poems and composing essays. I watched the excitement with great interest for a while.

When it was almost time, they went back to the hall, took off their shoes and sat on the couch. Since there were no outsiders and they were all of the same generation, they all sat in a relaxed manner, either cross-legged or sitting on the edge of the couch with their feet dangling.

Li Jiancheng said to the beauty, "Sorry for the trouble. Please go down and have a rest."

"I wish my husband a thousand years of happiness." The beauty was kneeling opposite Li Jiancheng, and when she bowed her head, her collar was exposed.

The other people looked at Li Jiancheng with smiles on their faces. Unexpectedly, he looked so calm and didn't even raise an eyebrow.

The man had gone, leaving the fragrance in the room. Yuan Shibin asked in confusion, "Da Lang, have you been to Pingkangfang secretly? Or has the wife of Duke Tang granted you a concubine?"

"Jiancheng, you are not honest. Tell me, did you go to see a foreign girl for fun?" Yang Jishan joined in the fun.

Li Jiancheng shook his head and said, "Of course not. This is the way of a gentleman. Don't look sideways or look at anything inappropriate."

Yuan Shibin smiled and said, "I can see that you didn't look sideways, but only you know whether you didn't look at anything inappropriate."

If it were normal, they would of course be willing to keep a few beauties to chat together, but Li Jiancheng had added the Qianniu Guards, so today they would definitely talk about topics in the palace, which would not be good for outsiders to hear.

Dou Dan leaned against the table and said, "Jiancheng is still young and his marriage is not settled yet. He can't go to that kind of place to have fun. Don't say anything when you go out." After a few people laughed and laughed, they became more serious. Yang Jishan whispered, "You asked for this job at the wrong time. We can't even hide for a while."

The other people also looked unhappy, especially Dugu Kaiyuan, who said in a rough voice: "Your Majesty, if you have this intention, you should have taken concubines earlier. Now you are so old, why bother?"

Dou Dan asked Li Jiancheng, "I wonder if you have heard anything outside the palace?"

Li Jiancheng nodded and said, "I have heard a little bit about it, but I don't know whether it is true or not."

Yuan Shibin sighed, "It's true. Although we can't usually accompany His Majesty into the harem, we are always by his side. He did have a concubine, and she was the daughter of the criminal general Yuchi Hui."

Several people were silent for a while. They couldn't tell what impact this incident would have on them, but no one liked such a big change suddenly. The Queen Mother really had too much power. If the Emperor and the Queen were to fight head-on, there would be turmoil in the court.

Yuan Shibin took a sip of tea and shook his head, "I think it's best not to get involved. Kaiyuan, you too, the queen is not an ordinary woman, she will definitely make His Majesty change his mind."

Dugu Kaiyuan said sadly: "The queen and I are not very close, I can't interfere even if I want to. I know that the queen is extraordinary, and no matter how big the matter is, it is difficult to move her mind. But this matter is probably bigger than the sky in the queen's heart."

Dou Dan changed the subject: "Jiancheng, you don't have to go to the East Palace to pay respects after entering the palace. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not in a good condition right now, don't get dragged into this."

Yang Jishan asked with great interest: "Hey, who do you think will take this position in the end?"

"We should be the ones asking you this." Yuan Shibin looked at Yang Jishan and said, "Apart from Duke Qi, Duke Yue is the most powerful person in the court. Your Majesty will definitely discuss this matter with your father."

Yang Jishan said, "This is a big matter. Even if my father wants to discuss it with the family, he will discuss it with my uncle and elder brother. I can't hear it. If there is any news, how could he not tell you."

"You are so dishonest. I drank for nothing tonight." Yuan Shibin nodded at Yang Jishan and said, "Jiancheng, you don't need to invite him to drink next time. I will ask Gao Rui to come next time. He is always willing to tell us everything he knows."

Dugu Kaiyuan was also dissatisfied and said: "There are only a few of us here, and you are still unwilling to tell the truth."

Seeing that he had angered everyone, Yang Jishan could only kneel down and raise his hands reluctantly: "Okay, okay, I was wrong, Prince Jin. My family privately supports Prince Jin as the crown prince, but we haven't contacted him yet. After all, this kind of thing cannot be easily interfered with."

"Hmph, you should host the banquet next time."

"no problem."

Dugu Kaiyuan said: "Prince Jin is smart and wise, and he is known for his courtesy and respect for others. Your Majesty is more interested in him."

Dou Dan said, "Prince Jin is virtuous and simple, but Your Majesty seems to love Prince Han more. Your Majesty must be a little hesitant, after all, Prince Han is the youngest son."

Dugu Kaiyuan nodded: "The reputation of the King of Han is not as good as that of the King of Jin in the court and the country, but his temperament is more like your majesty when he was young, and the emperor and empress both love him very much. As for the King of Shu, there is not much hope."

Although these people were of low age and rank, they followed the emperor when they went out, and when they returned home, their fathers and brothers were also high-ranking officials in the court. They heard and saw a lot, so naturally they understood a lot.

…………

(End of this chapter)