Standing in front of Huajue is a symbol of beauty, as if a soaring phoenix is ​​about to fly. The main hall is like the sky created by Zhu Ling, which shines brightly. The winding winds of the Qiu Chi support the flying beams of the heroic rainbow. The Cloud Pavilion is built in Nanyu, and the Congtai is erected in

Shaoyang.

In the palace of King Zhao, which is famous for its magnificence and splendor, just sitting outside the palace facing a small table and watching the singing and dancing in the palace through the threshold, Qian Zhao and others already felt dizzy. They young people

, especially the Youyan disciples who followed Gongsun Xun this year after he was granted the title of Marquis, how many of them would have thought that they could sit directly in the palace of King Zhao to attend the banquet after just following the Marquis for a few days?

Of course, those Yi Cong who came from Bingzhou were much calmer. They had visited Tongtuo Street, and the Taiwei's house had helped old Liu Kuan fight against the wine altar countless times. Cao Jie, who was in charge of the government, and Wang Fu's family also

After breaking through, some people even personally arranged for one or two regular attendants, and so on. Then facing a prince king who although the palace is very gorgeous, but has no real power, naturally it will be like that. He even drinks too much.

After a few drinks, Yang Kai, Qian Zhao and other newcomers were ridiculed by the veterans.

However, after such a joke, the guards and low-level officials of King Zhao who were sitting with him also looked at each other, and even became frightened... The atmosphere of the banquet was not good.

And not only that, in the main hall, which had been leaning for a moment, when the world-famous Zhao State dancers withdrew, Gongsun Xun casually mentioned the bad thing that the doctor Zhao Ping had done in the south of the city today, the atmosphere in the hall actually changed.

It became a little embarrassing. Zhao Wang Liu Yu, who had been laughing and joking, and having a good time with Gongsun Xun as host and guest, even excused himself as unwell and left directly.

"What does this mean? Does King Zhao despise me so much?!"

When Gongsun Xun saw this, he couldn't help but feel a little half-heartedly angry. Although the princes and kings enjoyed all the wealth and honor, they had no real power at all. They were the kind of people who gave each other face if they could get along with each other, but didn't need to give face to each other if they couldn't. During the Han Dynasty,

I don’t know how many ministers got to the position by stepping on the princes and kings... but in the end, I was actually disgraced by a prince and king?

To be honest, although I wouldn’t argue with this kind of person, when I first meet and receive such treatment in public for no reason, I will be looked down upon by others if I don’t get angry.

The rest of the people around looked at each other in confusion, as if they knew something about the inside story. However, Han Tuo, the leader of the country, could not speak due to his identity. In the end, these officials of King Zhao winked at each other, but they turned to the officials of King Zhao.

Another Qianshi official, Chen Li, the servant of King Zhao, came out.

"You really don't know about Wuyouhou?" Chen Li asked with a helpless smile.

"What do I know?" Gongsun Xun became more and more confused, and then became more and more angry. "Everyone in the city knows what Zhao Ping did today, and it was also in my hands. How can I not say it?"

At this time, Gongsun Xun was really angry... Thinking about it, nothing seemed to go well for him since he entered Handan City. The three most important people he met were more impressive than the last.

Powerless:

Xiang Xu, the Prime Minister of the country, is that virtuous; Zhao Ping, the doctor who relies on Zhao Zhong, is slippery; now a King Zhao who lives in a deep palace is actually looking down on him for no reason, and then these people still take it for granted?

Do you really think you are easy to bully?!

"It seems that Wulihou really doesn't know anymore." Chen Li sighed immediately. "However, please don't be too angry without Wulihou. My king thought Wulihou was laughing at him..."

"Is there any hidden secret here?" Gongsun Xun couldn't help but frown.

"It's fair to say," Chen Li said awkwardly. "His Royal Highness, King Zhao of the previous generation, once met a mulberry-picking woman on the roadside outside the city, and then intended to invite her to the car with her, but was scolded in public. Moreover, what the late king said at that time was

The person who invited him to ride with him was the wife of his family leader Wang Ren... Although this matter was not completed, the reputation of the late king was ruined. In addition, the late king had also put on makeup to go to Yecheng to have fun and was recognized, so he was recognized by others at that time.

Several matters concerning the state minister were directly reported to the late emperor. The late emperor was so angry that he even cut off the title of a county in the state of Zhao."

Gongsun Xun was immediately enlightened after hearing the gossip.

"A son never speaks of his father's fault," at this time, Zhao Guoguo Fu Hantuo, who was sitting at the top, also spoke at the right time. "Although the king is a little rude, but considering that he has a reason for doing things, please don't worry about it.

"

"It's me, Meng Lang." Since it was purely a misunderstanding, Gongsun Xun naturally wanted to show respect to the respected Han Tuo, so he immediately stood up, saluted, and avoided the table to apologize.

"Your Majesty's Servant," Han Tuo nodded slightly and ordered Chen Li again. "Since Wuxihou is unaware of this, go and talk to the King and persuade him to come back and have a drink together to prevent the matter from spreading and causing rumors."

Chen Li immediately bowed and walked away.

After leaning for a while, King Zhao also returned in embarrassment. However, this time Gongsun Xun did not take the initiative to stand up and apologize. He just sat down and took a drink with the other party, which was considered to be the end of the story... He had told Han Tuo before

The salute is to respect this Wangfu. He is an elder, knowledgeable, and a man appointed by the imperial court. Compared with this, what is Liu Yu, the king of Zhao who is less than thirty years old? He deserves it.

Bow one more time?

The grand visit to worship when the two met for the first time had already made Gongsun Xun very dissatisfied... The inheritance of the King of Goguryeo was decades longer than the inheritance of the King of Zhao in front of him. Wasn't it because of his own borrowing a knife to kill someone?

Hacked to death or burned to death?

But no matter what, the banquet got to this point. Although it was not dark yet, it was no longer possible to continue, so everyone reluctantly sat for a while, and as King Zhao drank a glass of wine, he said, "I can't bear the power of wine."

It ended smoothly.

Interestingly, the person who sent Gongsun Xun out on behalf of King Zhao was not the king's servant Chen Li, but the lofty state Fu Han Tuo.

Gongsun Xun didn't care at all about this. He actually walked slowly under the sunset in the palace of King Zhao with this man who, although he had no fame, was still one of the only two thousand stone men in the country, even talking to each other.

Very happy.

"Actually, how did the late king just force his wife on the roadside back then?" Han Tuo sneered and shook his head. "Your Majesty..."

"Han Gong is the elder, just call me Wenqi." Gongsun Xun said quickly.

"Forget it! Wen Qi didn't know that what he did that day was still filial piety! And after demanding Wang Ren's wife from his own family, he not only kicked Wang Ren out, but also bought seven or eight mistresses as a draft girl...

"

"What a bold act." Gongsun Xun could only say this.

"It's more than that." Han Tuo continued to sigh. "The time he left Simamen in white clothes and went to Yecheng to have fun, he also caused a life. On the way, he stayed in a pavilion with his servants, and someone recognized him next door.

After getting out of him, he actually asked his subordinates to use a knife to kill people and silence them. The knife was too small and did not kill the people on the spot. This alerted the chief of the pavilion and arrested him. However, for the sake of the venerable's confidentiality, he only

Saying that he came out of Sima Clan in white...otherwise, why would the late emperor be so angry?"

"It's really..." Gongsun Xun didn't know what to say at this time. "It's really ridiculous and shameful!"

"Forget it, let's not talk about it." Han Tuo smiled at Gongsun Xun. "In fact, most of the women of Zhao are famous for their beauty, and many of them are similar to what happened today when the doctor ordered Zhao Ping. They are not just allusions to the previous king...

…”

Only then did Gongsun Xun become more interested: "Besides the former King of Zhao, is there anything like this?"

"This is natural, and even more exciting." Han Tuo rolled up his sleeves and said casually. "It is said that there was a local woman decades ago. I don't know whether she was betrothed to the Wei family, the Handan family, or the Li family since she was a child.

A young and talented man, the two got married... However, only a few days after the marriage, the wife was only fifteen or sixteen, and the husband was twenty, so they separated because the husband was promoted to be filial and honest. The husband became a man in the court,

Then there was a lot of ups and downs in officialdom, and when I returned five or six years later, I was the magistrate of a county and took a special detour to pick up my wife."

Gongsun Xun listened to Zhao Wangfu strolling and talking next to him, and he probably guessed the subsequent story: "Could it be that the county magistrate's carriage walked to the field and met a beautiful mulberry picking woman, and he couldn't control it for a moment.

Live and invite the other person to ride with you?"

"That's right." Han Tuo immediately twisted his beard and smiled. "Wen Qi is really smart..."

It wasn't because he was smart, but because he had heard too many stories like this, Gongsun Xun was speechless. However, what he said next made him interested again.

"What's even more coincidental is that this mulberry-picking girl is the wife of the county magistrate who has not returned home for a long time." Han Tuo continued. "There are even two theories about this matter. One is that the county magistrate thought

He was married to his own wife, so he deliberately teased her to test her... If this is the case, it can be considered a good story; another theory is that he did not recognize his wife, but her wife strictly observed women's etiquette for him and strictly refused, but after returning home

, when husband and wife meet, the wife becomes angry and divorces her... This is an evil thing!"

"Then which one does Mr. Han think is true?" Gongsun Xun asked curiously.

"Hey, why do we need to distinguish the truth from the false in this kind of thing?" Han Tuo said easily. "Maybe it's just two stories compiled together. Even if we add the story of the late king and the story of today's Lang Zhongling, it actually doesn't matter.

, all of which make people admire the beauty of a woman picking mulberry... The beauty of this person lies in the color, the mulberry field on the road, and the integrity of a woman. To be honest with Wen Qi, I am planning to write a narrative ballad to make people praise this Handan

There are mulberry trees outside the city, and I am even planning to write only the woman's words of resistance, but not the consequences, just for the sake of lasting appeal."

"Sang, silk, is represented by a woman." Gongsun Xun couldn't help but sigh. "Mo Shang Sang is the daughter of the farmer, which is also clever, but the narrative ends abruptly, leaving no aftermath for people to guess, which is even more wonderful... It's just that

Mr. Han, if you write this kind of ballad, aren't you afraid that King Zhao, the Lang Zhongling, and the county magistrate of who knows which family will be angry with you because of this?"

"So what if you are angry?" Han Tuo still smiled. "I am Wangfu, the only one with two thousand stones in the country, and I am specifically in charge of this king... In this case, as long as the Prime Minister does not come to trouble me, who can do anything in this Zhao country?

But what about me, who spends all day reading and writing in the palace?"

"In that case," Gongsun Xun suddenly stopped and said seriously. "If this poem and ballad is written down, I hope Han Gong will let me have a preview."

"More than just a sneak peek?" Han Tuo also said sternly... "I also want to use your company to publish it... My career has not been smooth, so I guess this is the end of it, but I have collected quite a lot of Hebei folk songs over the years. , story, I am preparing to publish a small book to comfort my life."

"Definitely, definitely!" Gongsun Xun cupped his hands and smiled. "When I was in Fengshi Mountain, I heard Han Rui brag all day long, saying that although he himself was very poor in poetry, he had an uncle who was a first-rate scholar. I still didn't believe it. ...Actually, if it weren't for the fact that I have an Anping person among my friends, I would never have believed that Wang Fu was actually the uncle of my classmate."

"After all, it's just that he has no reputation." Han Tuo also laughed again. "For a person like Wen Qi, when you burned Danhan Mountain, my nephew stood in front of the house with a knife all day long, bragging to others and talking about Wen Qi. Qi, you are his classmate, as if he has fought alongside you... However, are there actually people from Anping Township among Wen Qi's attendants?"

"Zi Jing," Gongsun Xun immediately waved and introduced. "Zi Zhao Lian Zi Jing, from Anping Guanjin, studied under the famous scholar Le Yin..."

"Are you still Brother Le's student?" Han Tuo felt more and more friendly.

It turned out that when Zhao Wang Fu Hantuo and Gongsun Xun introduced each other, the latter noticed the intimacy in the former's words, and then he suddenly realized after being reminded by Qian Zhao, a native of Anping, that this Han Gong was actually himself. The elder of a classmate who I studied with in Fengshi Mountain that day!

Moreover, the classmate surnamed Han, who was born in Anping Kingdom, had killed people with Gongsun Xun in Julu County, not far east of Handan City... It seems that the person he killed was a brother of Zhao Ping today, of course. A distant clan brother of Zhao Yun.

This kind of encounter is said to be fate, but in fact it is inevitable. Just like Shen Yu, the county magistrate of Bairen County in the northernmost part of Zhao State, isn't he also a classmate? He is just a student of Liu Kuan. And this is the son of a nobleman. I have a network of contacts, find two good teachers, make a few good in-laws, serve as a minister in the Shangshutai, fight two battles in northern Xinjiang, and participate in a few political affairs in Luoyang... After completing these resumes, go to a random place It would be strange if you can't find any relatives or friends you meet in a roundabout way when you go to work in various places!

Gongsun Xun is not afraid of being sent to the state at this time. Doesn't he still have his former colleague Shi Xie to help take care of him?!

But on the other hand, if you think about it, what kind of connections do Yuan Benzhu and Yuan Jiujiu have? Just thinking about it may make people feel frightened and their scalp numb, right?

But back to the present, whether it was inevitable or accidental, the appearance of this person suddenly gave Gongsun Xun, who had nowhere to exert his strength, an additional fulcrum in Handan City... In addition to all the depression and helplessness today, it also gave him a little more comfort.

The two of them looked at each other and smiled, and then took advantage of the last ray of sunset to walk out of the Zhao palace. Han Tuo, the master of the country, also stopped on the steps in front of the palace... With his status, it was really difficult to continue sending him off.

"Wen Qi," Han Tuo finally said, pointing to the lights that were gradually lighting up outside the palace. "I am a national tutor. I can't talk much about national affairs, and there is nothing I can do to help you. But since you and my nephew are classmates, Friendship, I can't help but express it, so I'll just remind you here..."

"Mr. Han, please speak frankly." Gongsun Xun immediately leaned over and thanked him.
To be continued...