At noon, five or six well-dressed young masters appeared in front of Xin Chang Restaurant. There were dozens of servants accompanying them.
The two beauties standing in front of the door scratching their heads to attract business saw the clothing of this group and discovered that the jade pendants on the waists of some of the young masters were worth thousands of gold. They knew that they were noble young masters and did not dare to slight them. They hurried forward and greeted the people in the restaurant.
This group of people consisted of Wei, Du, Liu, and Su. The one in the middle was Du Wentian. As the eldest son of the Du family in Guanlong, Du Wentian naturally had his own group of friends. He had been unlucky recently and these friends knew that he was in a bad mood. Today, they specially invited him out to relax.
These friends only knew that Du Wentian had flirted with a beautiful girl in Xingjiao Temple. Unfortunately, the girl was a servant of Shangguan Daizhi. Du Wentian had been taught a lesson by Zhang Changzong and Shangguan Daizhi twice. After that, he helped Wu Chongxun and his wife organize a banquet in Bi You Palace. In the end, he was implicated by the fire and the Du family had to pay a large sum of money. Thus, he was in a bad mood.
But the true bitterness in Du Wentian's heart could not be told to others. After leaving Long Qing Lane that day, Princess Anle's attitude towards him was completely different from before. Du Wentian had suffered so much, but Princess Anle did not comfort him. Instead, she started to distance herself from him.
On the other hand, Prince Consort Wu, who did not know the truth, felt that the Du family lent him a mansion to live in and covered all the expenses of the banquet in Bi You Palace. They were helping him maintain his image. In the end, he was implicated and had to bear half of the expenses of rebuilding Bi You Palace. This was a shocking sum of money. He felt sorry and his attitude towards Du Wentian changed greatly.
Du Wentian did not give up. He always felt that he had done so much for Princess Anle and that she should return the favor. But in the end, Princess Anle no longer treated him with respect. These days, Du Wentian seemed to be suffering from lovesickness. Even when he was escorted to the top of the building, he was still in a daze.
At this time, there were not many customers on the second floor. There were only a few tables by the window. The middle seats were all reserved by Du Wentian and the others. Du Wentian drowned his sorrows with wine. The wine made his worries worse. His alcohol tolerance was average. Today, he indulged himself and soon, he was dead drunk.
Today, all the young masters had gathered together to accompany him to relieve his boredom. Who would have thought that not long after, he would be drunk to the point of staggering left and right. The Zhu family's young master, Zhu Hongjun, said, "Give Wen Tian some hangover soup, don't let him drink it."
The Zhu family wasn't considered a powerful family among the Guanlong nobles, but among these friends, Zhu Hongjun was the oldest. Moreover, he had a calm temperament and was very thorough in his work. Over time, he took care of all the things that the young masters needed to do, and everyone was willing to listen to his arrangements.
As soon as Zhu Hongjun said this, Hu Ji, who was serving Du Wentian, hurriedly asked someone to bring a bowl of soup to sober up. She fed Du Wentian half of the soup and told him to lean on her lap to dissipate the alcohol.
The young masters sat there and talked about all sorts of things. Suddenly, someone mentioned the rumors about Zhang Changzong and Shangguan Wan 'er. After a while, this rumor finally spread from the streets to the rich and powerful families.
As soon as Zhu Hongjun heard this topic, he immediately said to the man, "Xiao Hun, don't spread this kind of rumor. Be careful not to bring unnecessary trouble to yourself."
His surname was Wu, and his name was Wu Xiaohui. Although his family was well-off, and he had an uncle who was an official in another city, he was only a third-rate family compared to these rich and powerful aristocratic families. However, not all of the friends that the young master of a rich and powerful family often hung out with were of equal social status.
Among them, there had to be a few people who had good eyes and knew how to talk to make everyone happy. Wu Xiaohui played such a role. He often followed these noble young masters to eat and drink, and these young masters made fun of him. That was why they called him a homonym: Little Rascal.
Wei Derui was young, but he was a sensible youth. He immediately followed Zhu Hongjun's words and said seriously, "Brother Zhu is right. That day, Prince Consort Wu held a banquet at Biyou Palace. I accompanied my father to the banquet. Later, because it was difficult to determine the cause of the fire, Princess Anle invited me to meet Shangguan Daizhi at Longqing Lane.
I saw it with my own eyes. Shangguan Daizhi and the palace maid were riding horses. How could a pregnant woman ride a horse and do that? What's more, I saw clearly that Shangguan Daizhi's slender waist was definitely not a pregnant woman. This kind of false rumor must not be echoed by others. "
Zhu Hongjun was respected as the eldest brother, but his family's status was not high. He was tactful with others. Wei Derui was young, but his status was high. The leaders of the Guanlong family were the Fan Chuan, Wei, and Du families. His Wei family's status was higher than the Du family's, so he didn't speak so politely to Wu Xiaohun.
Wu Xiaohun blushed at his words. "Uh … I was just joking around," he said shyly.
Wei Derui said seriously, "How can you joke about something like this? This is a matter of ruining someone's reputation. If it's more serious, it might bring disaster to someone. There are many officials in our families, so we should be more cautious. Besides, Shangguan Daizhi belongs to my Guanlong family. We are all in the same boat. Shouldn't we protect him? "
His words made Wu Xiaohun's face turn red and he was speechless.
Unexpectedly, Du Wentian, who was lying on a beauty's thigh and was half drunk and half awake, heard their conversation. Du Wentian had always thought that his goddess ignored him because he had provided false information. But he saw it with his own eyes that day. He still didn't believe that he was wrong.
She was still the same person. If she wasn't pregnant, would the Wan 'er be so bored that she stuffed a pillow in her stomach? He was the one who spread the news, but Wei Derui said that it was nonsense. Du Wentian didn't like to hear that. He sat up and slammed the table, saying loudly, "Xiao Hun is right! Wan 'er … eh! She … she had an illicit relationship with someone and is pregnant. "
Wei Derui frowned. "Brother Wentian, you're drunk."
"I'm not drunk, I'm not drunk!"
Du Wentian stood up shakily. He walked as if he was walking on clouds. He patted his chest and said, "I … I'm sober. That carriage … there must be something wrong with that carriage! Someone had fallen off the horse, but was that person definitely Shangguan Wan 'er?
Hehe, I … I don't think … not necessarily. I thought about it over and over again. The more I thought about it … the more I felt something was wrong. Do you think they rode a horse to the bowing ground? Why is there a carriage next to the bowing ground? Zhang Changzong and Wan 'er, one is young and the other is charming. They both live in the palace for a long time. It's … it's normal to fall in love with each other. Hehe … "
Du Wentian sneered as he spun half a circle. His laughter suddenly stopped, and his expression changed.
A man and a woman were standing at the top of the stairs. The man was Zhang Changzong and the woman was Wan 'er.
Wan 'er went to Bi You Palace to check on the damage. She didn't want to show her face in front of people before. But now she wasn't afraid. She used the fire in Bi You Palace to appear in front of the world. On the way back, she accepted Zhang Changzong's invitation and went to Xin Chang Restaurant to eat. Who would have thought that she would run into Du Wentian and hear his nonsense.
Du Wentian saw that Zhang Changzong's face was distorted with anger. He couldn't help but shiver. He woke up from his drunkenness and secretly complained, "Oh no! How did I … how did I run into them? "
"Hehehehe …" Zhang Changzong suddenly let out a creepy laugh. It made Du Wentian's legs go soft. If it wasn't because there were too many friends here and he couldn't put down his face, his legs would have gone soft and he would have knelt on the ground.
Zhang Changzong looked at Du Wentian with a smile, but his eyes were as cold as ice. "Young Master Du, this Zhang and Shangguan Daizhi are standing in front of you. Please explain clearly. You say that this Zhang has an affair with Shangguan Daizhi and that Shangguan Daizhi is pregnant?"
Du Wentian didn't say a word.
Wan 'er's pretty face was pale. She didn't say a word and walked away with a flick of her sleeve. Yang Fan was still standing at the bottom of the stairs. Because the width of the stairs was limited, it was only suitable for two people to walk side by side. Yang Fan's status was not as high as Zhang Changzong and Wan 'er, so he fell behind.
Yang Fan didn't walk with Wan 'er. He walked past Wan' er and walked to Zhang Changzong's side. He shook his head and sighed at Du Wentian. "Young Master Du, that day, I invited Zhang Fengchen and Shangguan Daizhi to Xingjiao Temple. In order to not make too much noise and affect the mood, we all wore casual clothes. You didn't know our real identities and used your Du Clan's power to flirt with Shangguan Daizhi's maids. Zhang Fengchen taught you a lesson. I didn't expect you to hold a grudge against me.
Xingjiao Temple is in Fan Chuan. Your Du Clan is also in Fan Chuan. I was wondering why you, a young master of the Du Clan, suffered a great loss in your Du Clan's territory. Now I finally understand. When you suffered a loss, you might have called your minions to take revenge. You just didn't dare to show your face because you saw through our real identities.
Hehe, I think, such rumors in the marketplace should have been spread by your people, right? You held a grudge against Zhang Fengchen, but you couldn't take revenge. So you used such rumors to slander Zhang Fengchen and Shangguan Daizhi! Young Master Du, you came from a prestigious family. You are really shameless! "
The highest level of lying was to mix the truth with falsehood and falsehood with truth, making it difficult for people to tell the truth from the lies. Zhang Changzong glanced at Yang Fan, his heart filled with admiration. "I couldn't tell that General Yang isn't only good at punching and kicking, but his mouth is even better. With this, even the rumors have been resolved. Just the right time to clear my name."
Yang Fan knew from Zhang Changzong's eyes that he had understood what he meant, so he said, "Shangguan Waizhi is very angry. Don't let anything happen to him. I will go after him to appease him. Please take care of this place, Sixth Lang!"
Speaking up to this point, Yang Fan glanced at Du Wentian without any emotion or anger. It was as if he was looking at a dead man. If someone was determined to seek death, he would not be merciful. Being merciful to the enemy was being cruel to himself. Yang Fan was not a living Bodhisattva.
"Erlang, just go!"
Zhang Changzong took charge. After hearing what Yang Fan said, he also felt that this rumor was probably spread by Du Wentian. However, it was not important whether it was Du Wentian or not. What was important was that this was an opportunity for him. He could use this opportunity to clear his name.
With this rumor, it would be a hidden danger to him sooner or later. Therefore, he had to make a big fuss today. The bigger the better. Only then could he clear his name. The key to clearing his name was Du Wentian. Therefore, even if he was not the one who spread the rumor, he had to prove it today!
Two rows of imperial bodyguards spread out like goose feathers, just like an official entering the court to question a case. Zhang Changzong walked forward. Wei Derui and Zhu Hongjun, who were sitting at the head of the table, hurriedly retreated to the side. Zhang Changzong sat down at the back of the table. He grabbed a tin pot and slammed it on the table. He roared, "Surnamed Du, do you know your crime!"
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