Chapter 348: Drinking wine as punishment
"Zhao Duan!"
Li Lang was stunned for a moment, as if he was struck by the teasing meaning in Zhao's words, or the word "mother" revealed a not so good memory.
The eldest princess's heir's face was visibly red, and she was angry: "Say it again!"
He had a deep hatred for Zhao Duan, not only because he had humiliated him in public at Lihuatang.
What's more, after Princess Yunyang was banned, he, a nobleman who used to be praised by others, suddenly became the laughing stock of the entire capital.
In the past six months, he had heard others secretly talking about him countless times, and the entire Prince Consort's residence was low-key and depressed.
It wasn't until Xu Zudi's arrival that Li Lang's waist straightened up again.
He feels like he can do it again!
"Ha," Zhao Duan smiled. In his eyes, saying "say it again" itself showed cowardice.
"Cousin."
At this time, the prince in the main seat, whose head was resting on the maid's lap, slowly sat up and scolded Li Lang gently.
The latter glanced at his cousin before reluctantly closing his mouth.
Xu Zudi looked at Zhao Duan with a condescending posture, marveled at it, and said with a smile:
"When I was in Qingzhou, my prince heard the name of Zhao Envoy in the capital. When I saw him today, he turned out to be a good man. No wonder he was able to please the imperial sister."
After saying that, he glanced at the door and saw the servants coming from the courtyard, waved his hand and said calmly:
"Didn't you see any guests coming? Why don't you pass a chair to Ambassador Zhao? It's easy for people to say that I don't know how to treat guests."
As soon as he finished speaking, a waiter brought a mahogany chair over, and the dancer on the carpet in the center of the hall quietly retreated and walked out of the room with several musicians.
Zhao Duan accepted it happily, handed the sword on his waist to Hou Renmeng, then sat down and said:
"When I was in the capital, I had heard for a long time that Prince Heng was very elegant. When I saw him today, it turned out to be true."
This is just nonsense, but I really like to enjoy listening to music and watching dances at home in broad daylight.
Xu Zudi laughed loudly, but his posture was casual. He sat on the bed, and the maid silently squeezed his shoulders, then narrowed his eyes and said:
"Fangcai, there seems to be some movement outside?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"The person guarding the gate of the Crown Prince refused to report it, but insisted on asking me to get the badge. My brother was a bit irritable. He didn't want to see me being humiliated, so he used fists and kicks. Speaking of which, he wanted to make amends to His Highness the Crown Prince."
The smile on Xu Zudi's face disappeared and he said without saltiness:
"Master Zhao is really as domineering as rumored."
Zhao Duan shook his head and said:
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is joking. I am a small military attache in this official department, but he is not as domineering as the Crown Prince. He is seizing an official job at the foot of the capital city without any hesitation. I, the superior, have to redeem him."
Xu Zudi raised his eyelids and expressed displeasure:
"Mr. Zhao, don't overdo it. I only know that the drunkards at the Fireworks Willow are causing trouble. At that time, they were not dressed in fine clothes, and they were not on duty.
Besides, he used force to rob women and beat my cousin's relatives. This matter is not justified in the Jinluan Palace, right? Or is this the subordinate trained by Mr. Zhao? I have long heard that the imperial edict officials were acting tyrannically, and today I saw it. "
beside.
Li Lang, who was holding back his anger, also sneered:
"Cousin, you are not in the capital, so of course you don't know. This Zhao Duan is nicknamed the 'Little King of Hell' in the official circles. As the saying goes, if the people below are domineering and violate the law, what does it matter? Maybe it's him. Conniving.”
Hou Ren's face twitched fiercely, he couldn't stand it anymore and said angrily:
"Li Lang, don't be so cruel and slanderous!"
Zhao Duan raised his hand to indicate not to argue. He did not get entangled in this matter and said calmly:
"Where are my people?"
Xu Zudi glanced at the open door and raised his voice slightly: "Bring the person here."
"yes."
The palace servants outside the door responded and walked towards the woodshed.
After a while, three officials, who were bound with cowhide ropes, had rags gagged in their mouths, and had bruises and swollen faces, were brought over and dumped at the door, kneeling neatly on the ground.
The three of them had not slept a wink all night, and they had already woken up from alcohol. When they saw Zhao Duan, their eyes lit up and they began to struggle.
Xu Zudi smiled and said, "Master Zhao, you might as well ask, is what this prince said true or false?"
Zhao Duan turned his head, looked at the three subordinates at the door, and said calmly:
"The prince said, did you...do anything like this last night?"
He recounted what the other party had said.
The three subordinates knelt on the ground, lowered their heads silently, and stopped struggling, as if they acquiesced.
This kind of thing is too easy to investigate, and they don't dare to lie in front of the Inspector.
Hou Renmeng, his immediate superior, blushed and cursed: "Useless things, they only know how to cause trouble for adults!"
The three of them cowered and did not dare to raise their heads.
Zhao Duan sighed, turned back, looked at Xu Zudi, and said seriously:
"If your Majesty is not strict, I will have to trouble the prince to discipline you on my behalf."
Xu Zudi smiled and said generously that he was happy to help.
Zhao Duan changed the subject and said:
"But there are state laws and court rules. My subordinates did something wrong and they asked for the beatings. I won't say anything, but there is no reason for others to detain them."
Xu Zudi waited patiently for the next part: "So?"
After saying that, he frowned and scolded: "You're so strong."
The beautiful maid behind her trembled, like a frightened little animal, and kept apologizing, her technique much gentler.
Zhao Du settled down and said:
"When I come here today, I will naturally take the person away. When he is brought back to the Yamen, he will be severely punished and will not be tolerated.
They beat people and caused a lot of damage, including soup and medicine expenses, etc., I personally compensated them for it. As the chief official, I should also bear part of the blame, and I can apologize to the injured on their behalf. "
After saying that, Zhao Duan stood up again.
In full view of everyone, he walked to the long table filled with fine wine and food, picked up the wine flask, and brought over a large wine bottle. He filled a large glass with it, and when he put down the sterling silver wine flask, he said:
"As for alarming the Crown Prince, I will fine you a drink. What do you think, His Highness?" Fine drink!
Upon hearing this, Hou Renmeng and the three captains kneeling on the ground were stunned, and then became anxious.
In normal times, being punished with alcohol is nothing, and no one cares about the jokes made by friends. However, depending on the occasion, many things have different meanings.
In the upper class circles, face is much more important than money. Today, Zhao Duan is willing to drink wine as a fine for his subordinates and bow to the prince.
It doesn't take tomorrow for this matter to spread throughout the officialdom, and everyone will know that Qingzhou Crown Prince has suppressed Zhao Duan.
This is a matter of face.
"Sir!" Hou Ren was very anxious and stepped forward to fight for the wine glass. "My subordinates are their direct leader. I will drink this wine!"
The three people tied down in the hall also had their eyes widened, with shame on their faces and red eyes.
Xu Zudi said nothing, seeming to be thinking.
Li Lang, who was next to him, jumped up first, pointed at Hou Ren and cursed:
"Who do you think you are? Are you worthy of talking to my cousin?"
He stared at Zhao Duan again with a gloomy face and vented his anger:
"Forget about being fined with alcohol? You think so well. If you are really sincere, how about you kneel down and let me break one of your legs?!"
"Li Lang!" The Qingzhou Crown Prince said in a deep voice unhappily. This time he directly called his name and glared at his incompetent cousin.
A folding fan in his hand blocked Zhao Duan's hand from grabbing the wine bottle with a snap.
Xu Zudi leaned forward slightly, looked at Zhao Duan in military uniform across a long desk, and said with a smile:
"Mr. Zhao, you are so polite. Now that you have said this, how can I, the prince, be unreasonable and unforgiving? You can take the person away and pay compensation. It doesn't matter how much. I, the prince, will not blackmail people for money." That kind of thing, as for this fine wine..."
He paused briefly and smiled:
"That's not necessary. I have a game. If Mr. Zhao nods, the matter will be revealed. How about that?"
"Game?" Zhao Duan slowly retracted his hand and walked back to his previous seat, wondering.
I'm a little unsure of the other party's intentions.
Xu Zudi stood up and got off the bed. He bent down, stretched out his hand, and picked up a red apple from the luxurious fruit plate on the table.
"When I was in Qingzhou, I heard that Mr. Zhao is good at throwing knives. It just so happens that when I'm at home, my favorite thing is to watch acrobats perform flying knives. It's much more exciting than the dancing girl Wen Tun."
Xu Zudi took steps, paced on the carpet, and walked towards the woman behind the Yaoqin beside him.
He patted his head and said with a smile:
"Looking at my brain, I actually forgot to introduce you. This person is the female head of the Xiao family in East Lake, a famous family in Qingzhou."
When Zhao Duan entered the room, he noticed this woman's temperament and demeanor, which was very different from the others.
Especially when the musicians and dancers left, she never moved or participated in the conversation. She was as quiet as a large vase decorated in the room.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be the legendary female head of the family.
The head of the dignified Xiao family in East Lake is actually here, playing the piano for the eldest son?
Even though King Heng is powerful, generally speaking, he wouldn't humiliate the head of a wealthy family like this, right?
"Xiao Dong'er, I have met Ambassador Zhao."
She had dark temples, a round and majestic face, and good looks. The woman in a dark horse-faced skirt stood up slowly and saluted him.
There is quite a bit of low eyebrows and a small posture.
Zhao Duan nodded, his expression unchanged: "It turns out to be Mrs. Xiao, whom I have admired for a long time."
Xu Zudi didn't give the two people any room to chat, so he smiled and said: "The game is pretty simple."
He handed the apple in his hand to Mrs. Xiao. The thirty-year-old woman opened her mouth and bit the apple.
Xu Zudi smiled and said: "Master Zhao, just stand there and use the flying knife..."
He gently tapped the apple in Mrs. Xiao's mouth with his finger: "Shoot it in."
He smiled and added:
"As long as it penetrates, but does not hurt Mrs. Xiao. Even if you win, let's forget about it today, how about that?"
At this moment, Hou Renmeng and others were obviously stunned. They did not expect that the other party would make such a strange request.
"Okay! This game is great! By the way, you are not allowed to use your cultivation!"
Li Lang stood up and clapped his hands, this playboy's eyes flashed with an almost perverted light.
The words "I want to see blood flowing into a river" were almost written on his face.
Zhao Duan met the gazes in silence, looking at Mrs. Xiao who was standing in the distance with an apple in her mouth and her eyebrows lowered, and suddenly the corner of his mouth curled up and he said quietly:
"It's interesting."
He raised his right hand and flipped it, and a simple and exquisite Golden Crow flying knife appeared out of thin air in his palm.
Zhao Duan held the flying knife and aimed it, and the surroundings became quiet.
Everyone held their breath and concentrated. With the perception of Shenzhang Realm, he could clearly find that Mrs. Xiao looked slightly nervous, with a layer of fine goose bumps on her slender neck, and her breathing was slightly rapid.
In full view of everyone, Zhao Duan made a gesture of charging up and trying to throw.
one two three……
Just when everyone thought he was about to throw the flying knife, Zhao Duan suddenly tightened his grip on the handle of the knife, smiled, shook his head at the prince and said:
"Interesting game, but unfortunately, I am not in the habit of performing juggles for others."
The moment he finished speaking, he turned his wrist, and the vigorous and violent Qi flowed into the Golden Crow Flying Knife.
The next second.
The dark golden flying knife turned into a bright thin line, and shot toward Xu Zudi's face among the lightning and flint!
(End of chapter)