Number One Restaurant.
The Right Prime Minister was sitting opposite Xie Yanzhou.
A gentle breeze blew outside the window, but neither side spoke a word.
This state had persisted for quite some time.
After the morning court today, Rong Chenglin was suddenly stopped by Xie Yanzhou, who uncharacteristically invited him to the restaurant for a chat.
As a result, after entering the private room, Xie Yanzhou ordered a table full of delicacies, then said nothing and did nothing, standing still like a mountain rock.
During this time, Rong Chenglin tried to speak.
Xie Yanzhou shook his head: “No talking while eating or sleeping.”
“…”
Not to mention Rong Chenglin, even his personal guards were confused.
Their General stopped the Right Prime Minister, who had always been at odds with the army, and then chose to sit here peacefully.
Wasn’t this purely a waste of time?
After a brief period of fruitless suspicion, Rong Chenglin’s patience ran out, and he got up to take his leave.
Just then, stumbling footsteps suddenly came from the steps in front of the room.
“My Lord, my Lord, it’s bad—”
The voice arrived before the person. The manor’s head steward had managed to find out the Prime Minister’s whereabouts with great difficulty and ran over frantically, disregarding rules to report from outside the door.
“The Young Master… The Young Master just drove a carriage into the manor and ordered people to tie up Mr. Gu and carry him away.”
Slap!
Rong Chenglin’s hand paused, then slammed the silver chopsticks down: “What did you say?”
The steward repeated it with a bitter face.
Seemingly realizing something, Rong Chenglin looked sharply at Xie Yanzhou, only to see a trace of faint surprise on Xie Yanzhou’s face as well.
…
Rong Juan was still enjoying the peaceful years in his BMW carriage.
Tao Wen thought for a moment and asked, “Does the General know about this?”
Rong Juan: “He said he was willing.”
“?”
Although not those exact three words, the meaning was the same.
Through the curtain, Rong Juan explained further: “Your General has always wanted to hire a tutor for me, and I agreed.”
Sometimes when he spoke, the look Xie Yanzhou gave him overlapped with the look he gave the System.
“I feel Gu Wen is competent.”
Tao Wen fell silent. From the hostage’s perspective, he probably didn’t want them to feel, but wanted to feel for himself.
Gu Wen’s hypocritically friendly eyes widened, wanting to say something, but his mouth was gagged tightly.
Rong Juan felt at ease all the way, proud of finding a suitable cultured person for himself.
He was used to being lazy. Rong Hengsui wanted to enter officialdom, and Gu Wen was helping in secret; they would use underhanded tactics sooner or later.
Only a model worker would guard against thieves for a thousand days. He chose to pack the person up and take him away directly—problem solved.
When getting off the carriage, Gu Wen was carried into the General’s Manor like an object by two people, one holding the head and one holding the feet.
Rong Juan, walking at the very front, wore bright clothes and looked festive throughout.
The servants in the manor were dumbfounded.
Rong Juan said with a smile, “Please clean up a room and prepare some good food and drink.”
The room was for locking people up; the food and drink were for himself.
Looking at him, it seemed like he was celebrating the New Year.
And Gu Wen’s current state is like a pig to be slaughtered for the New Year. He had never suffered such humiliation.
Struggling, the gag in his mouth finally fell out.
Gu Wen said in a low voice, “As an official of the Ministry of Rites, my Lord is knowingly breaking the law.”
After bringing up laws and ethics, he softened his tone and said persuasively, “If my Lord releases me now, this matter can still be resolved peacefully.”
During this time, his gaze deliberately swept over everyone in the manor.
It was one thing for Rong Hengsong to mess around, but for the sake of the General’s Manor’s reputation, smarter people should know to do something to stop it.
Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed.
The stewards and servants in the manor acted as if they hadn’t seen this farce, doing whatever they usually did.
The Tao brothers acting as helpers meant the General likely knew about it. Even if he didn’t, given the General’s military achievements and status, it would be hard to implicate him afterward.
Moreover, Rong Hengsong didn’t kill anyone this time; he just snatched someone… they inexplicably felt it was acceptable.
After putting down the food Rong Juan requested, the steward went directly to the annex.
Since Rong Juan had queued up to buy pastries at Xiangwei Zhai once, the General’s Manor would prepare some every now and then.
Buffered by tea, the red bean cake was sweet but not greasy, melting in the mouth.
Watching him eat pastries leisurely, Gu Wen forcibly calmed down from the initial humiliation of being snatched.
Rong Juan nodded to the Tao brothers, and the hostage’s feet finally touched the ground.
The previous posture made Gu Wen’s cheeks a bit congested, making his usual mask of hypocrisy somewhat livelier.
“When the Prime Minister demands my return, things will get out of hand.”
The Great Liang was a dynasty that emphasized the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues. Even if the Rong father and son were at odds now, deep down, Rong Hengsong had to consider this father-son relationship.
“Oh.” Rong Juan showed no panic, feeling unsatisfied after eating.
Having just done “heavy work,” he needed to eat more.
He couldn’t help remembering the last time he met Xue Ren’s younger sister; she’d mentioned the vegetarian noodles at Hanzhong Temple were superb. He instantly got an idea.
After giving a few instructions to the Tao brothers and wiping the pastry crumbs from his fingertips, Rong Juan went out.
No matter how much logic there is, it fears the fist.
Gu Wen tried to persuade the Tao brothers.
However, no matter how much he said, Tao Wen repeated Rong Juan’s words verbatim: “My Lord said, as the dignified Right Prime Minister, if someone from his manor is snatched, of course, he should go through legal procedures. He can’t rush in screaming like a shrewish man to snatch him back; what would that look like?”
Rong Chenglin, who had just arrived at the General’s Manor with a dark face, heard this sentence drifting from afar.
The words “shrewish man” made Rong Chenglin’s already poor complexion even colder.
Xie Yanzhou walked calmly behind him, raising an eyebrow upon hearing this.
Rong Chenglin stopped and turned around, implying: “Presumably, the General doesn’t want to be labeled as harboring a criminal?”
He meant for him to hand the person over. Unexpectedly, the usually efficient Xie Yanzhou played Tai Chi: “The specific details are unknown. It’s better to report to the officials.”
Anyway, whether he handed the person over or not, Rong Chenglin wouldn’t let it go lightly. It was only a matter of time before it reached the Emperor.
Xie Yanzhou couldn’t be bothered to listen to his threats. After speaking, he summoned the steward: “The weather is hot. Prepare a carriage to send Lord Rong to the government office.”
The steward soon brought a small pushcart, bowing his back.
This was the vendor cart pushed to the Superintendent Bureau after Rong Juan killed the envoy last time. Later, Rong Juan bought it and stuck many fresh flowers on it when bored.
The steward explained: “The commoners now call this cart the ‘Hero’s Cart.’ Prime Minister, please get on.”
“…”
…
Hanzhong Temple was hailed as the most beautiful and efficacious temple.
The carriage swayed through the mountains.
Rong Juan glowed at the thought of delicious food.
The vegetarian noodles at Hanzhong Temple indeed didn’t disappoint him. Wild mountain mushrooms paired with green vegetables, and the noodles were fragrant, smooth, and soft.
Eating a mouthful of noodles with soup left a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth.
When Rong Juan returned to the manor leisurely holding a scented folding fan, he was still reminiscing: “So delicious. Pity I couldn’t pack some to take back.”
Stepping into the courtyard with happy little steps, he saw Xie Yanzhou sitting on a stone bench.
“Still thinking about eating. Seems you’re in a good mood.”
No underlying emotion could be seen in Xie Yanzhou’s eyes. Beside his hand was tea that had long gone cold: “Your good father’s face was green with anger when he left.”
Gu Wen, who had been left standing there under guard for an hour, inexplicably felt a strange balance in his heart upon hearing that his usually calm teacher turned red with anger.
If the dignified Prime Minister was like this, his own loss of composure earlier wasn’t too bad.
Besides the Tao brothers, several personal guards stood aside. They had come to confirm the assessment items for the end of the month with Xie Yanzhou.
At this moment, they regretted it immensely. Why pick this critical juncture?
Based on their experience, the General’s mood shouldn’t be very pleasant right now.
Rong Juan faced the difficulty head-on.
For a moment, the trusted aides admired his courage to walk over so carelessly.
After strolling around the temple, Rong Juan’s legs were incredibly sore, and he just wanted to go back and rest.
Without any preamble, he took out a gift directly: “Here, fresh out of the oven. Take it quickly.”
The safety talisman was in a vermilion brocade bag, shimmering slightly in the setting sun.
Rong Juan had asked for this at the temple. Xie Yanzhou treated him well daily and had the Tao brothers take care of him; otherwise, many things wouldn’t have been possible.
Seeing Xie Yanzhou staring at the safety talisman without taking or refusing it, Rong Juan thought there was something wrong with it.
The temple’s craftsmanship was actually average. He noticed the brocade bag on the outside seemed to have some loose threads.
However, just as Rong Juan was about to take it back for a closer look, the thin string of the safety talisman tied on the outside was suddenly hooked.
Before Rong Juan could react, Xie Yanzhou curled his finger back, and the safety talisman landed steadily in his palm.
He didn’t comment on the gift.
After closing his hand, Xie Yanzhou suddenly asked out of nowhere, “What did you eat today?”
Rong Juan shared with endless aftertaste: “Vegetarian noodles at Hanzhong Temple. The soup was super fresh, with at least three kinds of mushrooms…”
Mentioning the best food of the day, he immediately began to describe it vividly.
The personal guards listening even felt a bit greedy.
The atmosphere invisibly softened a lot.
Rong Juan was still talking incessantly.
With words praising food chattering in his ears, Xie Yanzhou looked at Rong Juan, then lowered his eyes slightly to look at the safety talisman in his hand.
Since he could remember, he had received only one safety talisman. Back then, when his mother went to ask for one for his father, she also asked for one for him.
Later, his father died in battle, and his mother passed away from illness. When he first put on armor and went into battle, there was no one left to ask for a safety talisman for him.
Amidst the harmony, only Gu Wen watched these two, his peripheral vision sweeping over the safety talisman, his thoughts unknown.
Rong Juan had always been quite sensitive to scrutiny.
He stopped talking and glanced sideways.
They say the eyes of the chronically ill are cloudy, but Rong Juan’s eyes were black and white, clear and distinct. Whenever his charming peach-blossom eyes curved, it was easy to soften people’s hearts.
“Brother Gu is a smart person and should know the basic qualities of a captive. Don’t run around, don’t think about pulling small tricks, otherwise…”
Gu Wen smiled slightly and cooperated: “Otherwise, what?”
A point of coldness suddenly touched his throat.
Rong Juan unexpectedly drew Tao Yong’s waist knife, the tip pressing against that fragile throat: “I still have a Gold Medal of Immunity from Death unused. If you run, I’ll chop you.”
“…”
One’s environment shapes one’s character. Having stayed in the General’s Manor for too long, he had acquired the habits of a martial artist.
The personal guards who had been standing there stared straight. Even on the front line, they hadn’t seen someone so unreasonable, acting as soon as he spoke.
Perhaps because of the Wurong diplomatic mission precedent, not a single person present doubted whether he would really strike to kill.
Actually, from a professional point of view, Rong Juan’s drawing action wasn’t very sharp, and his hand holding the knife was unsteady, wobbling. Yet Xie Yanzhou inexplicably found it very pleasing to the eye.
Even the way he threatened people was surprisingly aesthetically pleasing.
After Gu Wen nodded tactfully, Rong Juan finally sheathed the knife.
Amidst the sound of sheathing, a servant suddenly ran over to report: “Someone from the palace is here!”
He looked nervously at Rong Juan: “Said to take you to the palace. The eunuch delivering the edict is waiting outside.”
Author’s Note:
Unofficial History: The Emperor is brave, speaks little, and occasionally loves to wield a sword.