In the banquet in the upper hall of the Third Prince Li Shen's Mansion, Xie An knelt at the head of the left side of the hall, which was an extremely distinguished guest.

And among the seats under Xie An's head and across from them, there was another wave of guests, the number was not much, that is, there were about twenty people, among which several were officials of the DPRK and China that Xie An felt more familiar, at least the one who sat under Xie An's head, he recognized, that was the squire of the Ministry of Works, Lord Wang Youwang.

Does this Wang You have anything to do with the third prince Li Shen?

Why did you come back to this feast?

With all the suspicions in his heart, Xie An drank the wine silently.

During this period, Li Shen, who was sitting on the main seat, spared no effort to exaggerate Xie An's exploits, which made all the guests in the hall marvel and toast Xie An incessantly.

What exactly does this guy want to do?

Glancing at Li Shen, who couldn't see any different colors, Xie An placed the empty wine glass on the small table in front of him.

Immediately, Jin Ling'er, who was kneeling on Xie An's right hand, picked up the wine jug and helped Xie An fill the wine, looking at her well-behaved and obedient appearance, who would have thought that this woman was a famous female assassin in the Jiangnan underworld, [Ghost Ji] Jin Ling'er?

It is worth mentioning that at first, when Xie An sat down, there were two wine waiters from Li Shen's Mansion who sat on both sides of Xie An and poured wine with cups, which is one of the traditions of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The ancients once said that there is no feast without wine, and the colorless road is sparsely populated, and the food is also color-eating.

In the Great Zhou, especially in Jijing, the imperial city of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there are not a few people who raise Meiji at home, among which the largest number of Meiji in the family is Xie An and Li Shou who have gone to their mansion to feast on the Dasi Nong Zongzheng, the number of Meiji in the house is as many as more than 200, and when it comes to the best quality, it is undoubtedly the fifth prince Li Cheng, the Meiji in his house. Although the number is only a few dozen, each talent is unique.

What's even more commendable is that those beautiful women were not found by Li Cheng from the Qinglou in Jijing, those women, all of them were untrained young women, most of them came from the imperial music workshop in the palace, in other words, those women could have become musicians and female officials in the court, singing and dancing to the royal family. Even, these women are still eligible to participate in the draft, if they are favored by the emperor, it can be a step to the sky, it is conceivable. How high-quality these women are.

I have to say that these women are not at the right time, think about it, the son of the day before yesterday, Li Ji is over fifty years old, how can he have any energy to add concubines, and Li Chenggui is the younger brother of the crown prince Li Wei, and he picks a few women he values from the Royal Music Fang. Apparently not a problem either.

After all, in Xie An's view, in fact, the fifth prince Li Chengcai can be said to be a prince born with a golden key, and with the crown prince Li Wei, a brother who loves him, Li Cheng can be said to be windy and rainy in Jijing. There is almost nothing he can't get.

This is also the reason why Xie An was quite jealous of this prince at first, but right now, the [inheritance] of the fifth prince Li Cheng, those dozens of beautiful women who are both beautiful and artistic. has become a guest in Xie An's mansion, which makes Xie An feel a little uncomfortable.

After all, there are three extremely powerful women, Liang Qiu Wu, eldest grandson Xiangyu, and Jin Ling'er, who are in the house. Even if it was Xie An's ten guts, he wouldn't dare to touch those beautiful women, although those women would never be unhappy in the slightest.

It may be extremely disrespectful to women to say this, but in the area north of the Yangtze River in the Great Zhou Dynasty, generally speaking, the status of women is quite low, and even the items that can be traded are almost tradable, at least Xie An has heard of many sons of families who give each other beautiful women, unless, those women have such prominent families as Liang Qiu Wu and Changsun Xiangyu.

Because of this, whenever there is a wine banquet, the host of the banquet will prepare some Mei Ji who serves wine to accompany the guests and contribute to the atmosphere of the banquet, and even, if a guest takes a fancy to a certain Mei Ji, it is not an abrupt thing to ask for it like the host, after all, it has been explained before, although the Jia Ji is much higher than the wine Ji in the Qinglou, in a way, they are just an object, and there is no real freedom, and even the laws of the Great Zhou do not include them.

This point, as the Shaoqing of the Great Prison Temple, Xie An couldn't be clearer, after all, he had heard that Mei Ji in a certain family was beaten and beaten to death because she annoyed the son of the family, but afterwards, the son was not prosecuted as a criminal, the reason was that there was a thin contract of sale.

In the Great Zhou, the master killed the servants, and he would not be subject to any criminal law, because the servants were not in the category of [the people of the Great Zhou], they were not even [common people], if there was a prince in Jijing who killed a common man, Xie An, as the Shaoqing of the Great Prison Temple, had the right to arrest him and deal with it according to the law, but if it was the servants in his family who were killed, the Great Prison Temple would not even have room to interfere.

Although it is very inhumane, this is indeed the national condition of the Great Zhou, of course, although the status of women in the Great Zhou is quite low, but the general owner of the family will not persecute the Mei Ji of the house, because women are also one of the criteria for measuring the reputation of the man, similar to status and rights, unless the Mei Ji fornicates with someone behind the master's back, it is definitely a private execution, almost no light.

Of course, Jin Ling'er, who was born in the south of the Yangtze River, was obviously extremely disgusted with these worldliness, and she not only hated the unfairness of women in the region north of the Yangtze River in the Great Zhou Dynasty, but also angered that some women did not hesitate to degenerate and sell themselves into slavery for the comfort of life.

However, she also knew that with her strength, she would not be able to reverse the custom of the Great Zhou, not that she couldn't do it, even if she was tied to Liang Qiuwu and the eldest grandson Xiangyu.

But then again, seeing the two beautiful women sitting around Xie An and laughing and serving wine, she was really a little annoyed in her heart, and with a faint word [roll], coupled with her cold gaze, the two beautiful women were stunned and retreated in embarrassment.

Thinking about it, in the absence of Liang Qiuwu and the eldest grandson Xiangyu, the matter of pouring wine for Xie An should be done by her, the third lady of the Xie family, how can she sit back and watch some unclean women approach her husband Xie An?

I have to say that in this regard, Liang Qiuwu, eldest grandson Xiangyu, and Jin Ling'er are still quite affectionate, and they join forces with the outside world, not giving Xie An any chance to attract bees and butterflies, because they know very well what kind of person the husband they are marrying is, if they don't keep an eye on their husband, then what's the matter?

In fact, Xie An does lack a certain degree of resistance to women. Of course, it's not just him, what man in the world hasn't thought about hugging left and right and sleeping together, right?

Glancing at Mei Ji who was serving wine next to the other guests in the house, and looking back at Jin Ling'er who was dressed as a man next to him, Xie An scratched his head a little embarrassed, after all, since Jin Ling'er drank the two Mei Ji, many guests have looked at Xie An with strange eyes, as for what those people are guessing randomly. Go without saying.

Probably unable to withstand the strange gazes of those guests, Xie An coughed lightly, lowered his voice and said, "Sister Jin, or ...... Do you take off your mask first? ”

"Why?" Jin Ling'er, who was wearing a white young man's mask, asked suspiciously.

Why else could this be?

I don't want to be mistaken for thinking that I love Longyang. If someone sends a few handsome male pets over in order to please me in the future, will I be able to stand it?

"Ahem, Sister Jin......" Xie An said again in a low voice.

"What an event!" Jin Ling'er glanced at Xie An angrily, then raised her hand to wipe her face, put the human skin mask into her arms, and then coiled her hair up and fixed it with a bamboo chopstick. Revealing faces.

Sure enough, those guests who were secretly looking at Xie An were stunned when they saw this, and then suddenly realized, and the strange look in their eyes when they looked at Xie An also disappeared without a trace.

Of course. It is not excluded that there are still a few guests who are a little surprised by Xie An's unusual taste, after all, the two cross-shaped scars on Jin Ling'er's face are too penetrating, and even the fifth prince Li Cheng once wondered how Xie An could like such an ugly woman.

Perhaps noticing that some people were staring at their faces with consternation. Jin Ling'er was really a little unhappy in her heart, after all, she was also a woman. Don't care about your looks?

Maybe Xie An doesn't know, since she made a marriage contract with Xie An and moved to the north wing of Xie An's new mansion, Jin Ling'er secretly used medicinal juice and pearl powder to regulate the scars on her face in private, although she knew very well that it was impossible to completely eliminate them, but she still hoped to make those two knife marks lighter, although Xie An didn't care.

After three rounds of wine, the lively atmosphere in the banquet was slightly weakened compared to Fang Cai, seeing this, Li Shen stood up from the main seat, walked to Xie An with a glass of wine, and after drinking a glass with Xie An, he chuckled and lowered his voice and said, "Xie Shaoqing, you and I will discuss in the side hall...... Please! ”

"......" glanced at Li Shen suspiciously, and Xie An didn't refuse, after all, there was Jin Ling'er, a powerful personal guard, Xie An didn't think Li Shen could do anything to him.

Following Li Shen, Xie An came to the side hall, and glanced at the worthless furniture in the side hall, Xie An laughed and said deliberately, "I didn't expect His Royal Highness King Qin to live so poorly......

Li Shen was stunned, and glanced at Xie An deeply, how could he not hear a bit of irony in Xie An's words, and said with a smile, "Hahaha, Xiao Wang's mansion can't compare to the mansion that Lord Xie has newly moved into!" - But...... Don't hide it from Xie Shaoqing, it was Xiao Wang who sold his belongings, and Hanzhong is a long way away, and he needs a lot of entanglement...... This kind of thing, Xiao Wang is really not good to ask the court for shame! -- Xie Shaoqing also knows that these days, the national funeral is followed by the new emperor's canonization ceremony, and the expenses of the imperial court are really not small......"

Who do you want to give it to you?!

Xie Anxin pouted secretly, after all, in his opinion, if he didn't kill this Li Shen, he would already be on the net, and give him another sum of money? Don't even think about it!

But having said that, Xie An still admires Li Shen for being entangled in order to raise travel expenses and selling his belongings, instead of asking the court for it, at least, this Li Shen understands current affairs and knows how to judge the situation.

Come to think of it, but Xie An still has to give Li Shen enough face.

"I see...... Yes, these days, the household department does spend a lot of money! -- The government knew earlier that His Royal Highness the King of Qin was worried about Sheji, and today I can see it, admire, admire! ――It's a pity that the government scattered all the wealth for those marriages, otherwise, it would definitely fund His Royal Highness King Qin...... Alas, it's really ashamed to say it, Xie is so poor now that he is tinkling, no better than His Royal Highness the King of Qin......" arched his hand, Xie An said the scene with self-pity, but he sealed Li Shen's mouth in advance, lest Li Shen ask him Xie An for silver like he did with Li Shou.

Even, Xie An, this guy in turn, asked Li Shen for silver, think about it, Xie An, the future secretary of the criminal department and a first-class important minister in the court, got married, and if Li Shen, who was the king of Qin, was unreasonable.

What is a thing?

That's what it's called! When someone else wants to ask you for silver, he will knock the other party hard in turn!

Tell you to use your words to squeeze Li Shou's guy!

Shaking his head with a self-deprecating face, Xie Anxin secretly sneered, obviously. He deliberately wanted to vent a bad breath for Li Shou.

But what made Xie An feel a little surprised was that Li Shen's face was calm when he heard this, and he said with a wink and a smile, "Xie Shaoqing, don't worry, Xiao Wang has already prepared a little bit as a congratulatory gift!" ”

No way?

Is this guy really willing to prepare a congratulatory gift for himself? Isn't he all poor and ready to become a seller?

Although Xie An intended to knock Li Shen hard, it was best to scavenge all the money that this kid had turned into a seller, but now listening to Li Shen's words, he felt a little surprised.

Just when Xie An was puzzled. There was a knock on the door outside.

Under Xie An's puzzled gaze, Li Shen seemed to have already known who was outside the house, and said with a smile, "Wang Shilang, please come in!" ”

With the door creaking, Wang You, the waiter of the Ministry of Works, walked over. He smiled and said, "Xiaguan Wang You, I've seen His Royal Highness Shen, I've seen Xie Shaoqing!" ”

Although it looks a little funny, Wang You, the dignified waiter of the Sanpin Ministry of Works, actually saluted Xie An, who only has the official position of Shaoqing of the Wupin Prison Temple, but now everyone knows that once Li Shou officially ascends the throne in two days. As a trusted minister, Xie An must be a celebrity before the new emperor, so even if it is to curry favor with the future first-class officials of the court, Wang You is happy to salute Xie An. After all, Xie An's current power is not small, and even in just a few days, his power will be even greater.

"Lord Wang......" Xie An also arched his hand. Then he looked at Li Shen suspiciously.

Perhaps noticing Xie An's puzzled gaze, Li Shen said to Wang You with a smile. "Lord Wang, there are no outsiders here, if you have anything, just tell me directly......"

Wang You glanced at the woman with a scar on her face standing behind Xie An, hesitated, and said to Xie An, "Xie Shaoqing, His Royal Highness Tuoshen's invitation to the Lord is for the sake of His Highness's two nephews...... I hope that Xie Shaoqing can open up the net and get the two nephews of Xiaguan out of the prison in the Great Prison Temple, and Xiaguan is grateful! ”

Xie An was stunned when he heard this, and asked in surprise, "I don't know what Lord Wang's two virtuous nephews have committed?" ”

"This ......" Wang You licked his lips and said rather embarrassedly, "Actually, if you are more serious, the two nephews of the lower officials have not made any mistakes, they are just ...... Xiaguan will say it directly, the two brothers Wang Xu and Wang Fu next to His Royal Highness the former prince Li Wei are the nephews of Xiaguan! ”

When Xie An heard this, he suddenly realized, and he somewhat understood what Wang You meant.

As Wang You said, his two nephews really didn't do anything, after all, when the crown prince Li Wei rebelled, the two brothers were still locked up in the underground prison in the palace by Li Cheng, but the problem is that they are the guards of the crown prince Li Wei after all, although they have not participated in the rebellion, it is difficult to completely clear up the relationship.

In short, what happens to that brother in the future depends on how Xie An, who served as the Shaoqing of the Great Prison Temple, thinks about it.

"Well...... Xie An frowned slightly.

And Wang You is obviously an old man in the court, where would he not know the rules, he took out a piece of red paper from his sleeve, handed it to Xie An, and said with a chuckle, "I heard that Xie Shaoqing is about to get married soon, and the lower officials will prepare a little courtesy, which is not a respect, I hope Lord Shaoqing will smile and accept ......."

After taking the red paper and glancing at it a few times, Xie An raised his right eyebrow.

Good fellow, two million taels of silver, fifty gold letters, thirty brocade silks, ten jewels, one jade coral, two bronze horse lampstands, a pair of white jade Ruyi, and a pair of red candles......

Not to mention that the pair of red candles at the end is just to congratulate Xie An on his marriage, and the large number of precious gifts in front of him is amazing, it is not difficult to guess that the reason why Wang You gave such a heavy gift is not only to rescue his two nephews, but also to have a good relationship with Xie An, the future upstart in the DPRK and China.

It's really a horse without night grass and no fat, and people without windfall and no wealth......

Looking at the congratulatory gifts listed on the gift list in his hand, Xie An couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

After all, he is not a self-respecting person, how can he let it go when he sees such a heavy gift?

Quietly putting the gift slip into the small bag on the inside of the cuffs, Xie An said with a smile, "It's a big deal for Lord Wang...... Rest assured, Lord Wang, the things entrusted by the adults should be kept in mind! ”

Wang You's face was overjoyed when he heard this, and he arched his hand and said, "In this way, it depends on Xie Shaoqing...... Xie Shaoqing is young and promising, but he is really a young man in the court, and his future is limitless, if Xie Shaoqing does not dislike it, Xia Guan hopes to be more close to Lord Shaoqing in the future...... Oh, wrong. In a few days, it will be time to call Lord Shangshu......"

"Hehe, where is it, the affairs of the DPRK and China, the government still needs to ask Lord Wang for advice......" Xie An smiled and waved his hand.

"Lord Shaoqing's words are serious, and the lower officials dare not be ......"

Just as Xie An and Wang You were touting each other, a sneer suddenly sounded in the room, and then, a female voice mocked with mockery.

"Officials protect each other...... Tar someone with the same brush! ”

Apparently. couldn't help but ridicule Jin Ling'er, who had never been accustomed to this.

"......" Wang You's face froze when he heard this, and he looked at Jin Ling'er who was sneering behind Xie An in astonishment, his expression was really a little embarrassed, he opened his mouth, and asked as if he wanted to speak. This is ......"

As everyone knows, Xie An was even more embarrassed than Wang You, coughed, looked apologetic, and said to Wang You in a low voice, "Insider...... Insider......"

"Oh oh......" Wang You suddenly realized, and he was also puzzled when he thought about it. I wonder how the scary-looking female guard next to Xie An dared to be sarcastic, you know, this woman just said that, but Xie An was also included.

And now listen to Xie An's explanation. Wang You suddenly understood, after all, it was rumored in Jijing that Xie An treated his women with great love, and it sounded like love. To put it mildly, it is fear of guilt.

But think about it. Wang You was a little confused again, and asked suspiciously, "The one the adults are going to marry in a few days, isn't it ......?"

Wang You wanted to say, [Lord Xie is going to marry in a few days, isn't it the Eastern Army General Liang Qiuwu and Prime Minister Yingong's granddaughter Changsun Xiangyu?] It's just in front of Jin Ling'er, it's not easy for him to say it too clearly.

Obviously, Xie An also understood the meaning of Wang You's words, and secretly made a gesture of [three], lowered his voice and said, "Yes, it is also ......" The implication of the words is to imply that Wang You, Jin Ling'er, who has just spoken disrespectfully, is the third lady in his future family.

"Oh, I see...... Wang You understood, turned around and saluted Jin Ling'er, unfortunately, Jin Ling'er was very disgusted by his bribery, snorted coldly, and turned a blind eye.

Seeing this, Wang You couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, but fortunately, Xie An took someone else's hand and helped him out of the siege, but he didn't make Wang You too embarrassed.

After Wang You said goodbye, before Xie An rested for a while, many guests came to the side hall one by one with a tacit understanding and sent a grand gift to Xie An, including many court officials, as well as rich businessmen in Jijing, the purpose was undoubtedly to win over Xie An, an important minister in the court in the future.

It is not difficult to guess that most of the congratulatory gifts received by Xie An afterwards will definitely be scavenged by this woman, to fund the poor refugees and orphans who have lost their parents, it can only be said that Jin Ling'er because of what happened to her when she was young, caused her to be full of sympathy for refugees and orphans who had similar experiences to her, and maternal feelings were overflowing.

I don't know how long it took, until no one came in outside the house, Li Shen, who had been standing in the house smiling and silent, said to Xie An, "Xie Shaoqing, Xiao Wang's congratulatory gift, Xie Shaoqing is satisfied?" As he spoke, he also took out a gift slip from his cuff and handed it to Xie An.

But what is obvious is that the [congratulatory gift] he refers to is not his gift list, but to the luxurious gifts given by many people who came to congratulate Xie An, and in fact, compared to those people who have just come to congratulate Xie An, the things listed by Li Shen on the gift list seem to be more ordinary, but although it is ordinary, it is worth at least three hundred taels of silver.

A prince who is so poor that he even wants to sell it in exchange for a coil of entanglement, his face does not change after giving a congratulatory gift worth three hundred taels, there must be some mystery in this.

This guy must have received a lot of benefits from those people in private, otherwise, how would he be idle and have nothing to do to introduce himself on their behalf?

High!

It's really high!

He is worthy of being the deepest prince in the city among all the princes, and the king of Qin who will be sealed in Hanzhong in the future!

Xie An sincerely admired Li Shen's move, which was really clever.

What is a win-win situation?

It's called a win-win!

Xie An received so much silver, he would not feel at a loss, and those officials and tycoons who suffered a lot in his opinion must be complacent at this moment because they can get closer to him.

As for the Qin King Li Shen in front of him, he just acted as a middleman and invited Xie An to his mansion, not only did he not spend a tael of silver from beginning to end, but he could make a lot of money, otherwise, how could he give a heavy gift worth three million taels of silver without changing his face?

What a clever plan to borrow flowers to offer to the Buddha?

It is worthy of the praise of the [Eight Sages King] Li Xian, the hero who can compete with the crown prince Li Wei without falling behind, the third son of the emperor and [King of Qin] Li Shen!

Xiangyu is right......

If this person is not removed, he will become a trouble!