The center hall of the Li family was also filled with guests. Although the people in this hall did not have the right to sit with the masters of the noble families, they were still famous people. If Yang Fan was not a guest specially invited by the Li family, he, as a fifth-rank official, would barely be able to sit at the end of the table.
After Yang Fan came out of the back of the house, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he went to the center hall to drink. Many things did not need to be said clearly. A small gesture could subtly convey your meaning to the other party. Although Yang Fan had decisively refused the invitation of the noble families, he did not leave in a huff. This meant that his refusal was not because he was opposing the noble families, but because he was not satisfied with the conditions they offered.
The hall was filled with guests drinking and chatting. Yang Fan went to the center hall and looked around. Just as he was trying to find an empty seat, the Chang 'an prefectural magistrate, Liu Qietian, stood up and waved at him with a smile on his face. "Yang Langzhong, come here, come here!"
Yang Fan responded with a smile and walked to Liu Qietian's side. Liu Qietian said with a smile, "Yang Langzhong, please sit!"
After he sat down, Liu Qietian poured him a cup of wine. The two drank first, then Liu Qietian turned his body and said in a low voice, "Erlang, you are too young and impetuous. When it comes to these noble families, we still have to be polite. Previously, you fought with the Lu family for a daughter and already offended the Lu family. Today, because of your poem, you offended both Prince Cui and Li Zheng. This will have a great impact on your reputation and future … "
Liu Qietian's words were sincere and sincere. It was very different from the watertight and smooth official speech that he used when Yang Fan went to visit him a few days ago. Yang Fan could tell that he was sincerely advising him and was slightly surprised.
Liu Qietian patted his shoulder and said sincerely, "As an official, the most taboo is to show off. People like that, no matter how powerful their backers are, they can only be arrogant for a while. The way of the King was to make peace amidst the difficulties and create good karma. Those who are not suitable to be enemies with, those who cannot be enemies with, and those who do not have any interest in the relationship for the time being, can all be friends. It doesn't matter if they are real friends or fake friends, but they cannot become real enemies! "
Yang Fan understood.
Today, he had come to attend the Li family's birthday banquet. This matter could not be hidden. Even the Emperor had sent people to congratulate him. Who knew how many high-ranking officials of the court had also sent people? How could they not see him at the Li family? What's more, there was also Liu Qiantian, the Empress's "golden secret agent"!
When the empress had seized the position of empress and emperor, the Guanlong Noble Family and the Shandong Noble Family had always been a great obstacle to her. However, the power of these two aristocratic families was really too great. Even if she had a lot of tricks up her sleeve, she could only use drastic measures to slowly weaken these aristocratic families.
For this domineering and tyrannical female Empress, even if it was the imperial family, she would still kill them. However, she could only deal with these aristocratic families carefully, which made her even more fearful of them. She promoted the commoners of the Han Clan in order to contend against the aristocratic families. She sent trusted aides like Liu Xiantian to Chang 'an to keep an eye on the aristocratic families.
Since Liu Xiantian was the Empress's trusted aide, his attitude towards the aristocratic families was naturally the same as the Empress's. Yang Fan's disdainful attitude and hostility towards the aristocratic families in the back garden had already become Liu Xiantian's confidante. As the Empress's loyal lackey, he would definitely report to the Empress about Yang Fan's performance at the Li family today.
In the information he had, Yang Fan was originally a high-ranking official of the Han Clan that the Empress thought highly of. Coupled with his hostile attitude towards the aristocratic families, he would definitely be favored and valued by the Empress in the future. Then, according to his theory of "making friends in the midst of difficulties", he naturally had to make friends with the Empress in advance.
Yang Fan's expression quickly became serious, and a trace of regret flashed across his eyes. He solemnly nodded and said, "You are right, Mr. Liu. Yang Fan was indeed reckless."
His change of expression was seen by Liu Xiantian. Liu Xiantian's smile became more amiable and gentle. He patted Yang Fan's shoulder and comforted him, "Fortunately, what you did this time did not conflict with the aristocratic families. I think the elders of the aristocratic families will not take it too seriously. However, from now on, you must remember the rules of being an official, and do not act recklessly!"
Yang Fan hurriedly nodded, grabbed the wine pot, and poured a cup of wine for Liu Xiantian. He raised the cup and sincerely thanked him, "I am young and inexperienced, so I do not know much about the affairs of the officialdom. From now on, I hope you can give me more advice!"
This Yang Fan was quite talented in acting. If he did not become an official, he might as well become a disciple of Master Rumei. Perhaps he could even surpass her and become a Great Minister of the Musical House!
…
Ning Ke sat quietly on the bed with her legs crossed and her hands gently placed on her knees.
A sandalwood incense was burning on the small table in front of the bed, and the smoke curled up, giving her pure and beautiful face a sense of holiness.
She wore a snow-white dress as thin as a cicada's wing. The snow-white silk clung to her arms and back, faintly revealing her ivory delicate skin. Although Ning Ke was very thin, her skin was as white as snow. She was not too thin, but looked extremely thin and slender.
As soon as a girl of the Dugu Family was born, the female elders of the family would use a secret formula passed down from their ancestors to bathe her every day. This secret method consumed a lot of precious medicinal materials, and it did not stop until the girl was seven years old. After using this formula, when the girl grew up, her skin would naturally be as smooth as satin, as white as snow, and as moist as jade, and would have a natural fragrance.
Holding such a girl in his arms was really like holding a ball of warm jade and fragrance, extremely ecstatic. Even a mediocre girl with such a rare skin was qualified to be called a stunner in the world.
The Dugu Family was not the only aristocratic family in the Guanlong Group, and the Dugu Family was not one of the most powerful families in the Guanlong Group, but only the Dugu Family frequently produced Empresses, and this was not without reason.
However, this formula was only in the hands of the daughter-in-law of the Dugu Family, and it was only passed on to the daughter-in-law, not the daughter. And only the daughter of the official wife of the Dugu Family was qualified to use it. Even the daughter of the other branch of the Dugu Family was not qualified to enjoy it.
At this time, Ning Ke was meditating, and this was the yoga kung fu passed down to her by a Tiandu Yogi. Her congenital chronic disease was difficult to cure, and she could not do other exercises because of her weak body, so she could only use medicine and this gentle yoga technique to regulate her body and mind. Although she was weak and thin, she was not emaciated, which was the credit of this technique.
The sunlight came in through the window and shone on Ning Ke's bed. Ning Ke was meditating with her legs crossed, her long hair hanging down, and her graceful charm was like a flowing waterfall between the mountains and rivers. Her beautiful butterfly bones, sunken spine, small waist, and thin body formed a beautiful picture in the soft sunlight.
The boat girl came to the girl's room, and after a moment of hesitation, she raised her hand and gently knocked on the door. There was no reply from the other side of the door, and the boat lady did not seem to expect an answer. She knocked on the door, waited for a moment, then gently opened the door and walked in. She stood by the girl's bedside and quietly said, "Yang Langzhong has arrived at the mansion."
Ning Ke's eyelids moved slightly, and a pair of lacquered eyes were fixed on the boat girl, and there was a vague expression in her eyes.
After helping the girl put on her clothes and put on her hair, the boat girl supported Ning Ke and slowly walked out of the boudoir.
Ning Ke was also a lively and active girl when she was young. Later, because of her health, she gradually stayed indoors and became more and more indifferent. She seldom went out, even when she was not in her boudoir, and only occasionally sat on the railing of the building. When guests came to her house, she would not see them. She would only go out to greet the close relatives and elders of her clan when they came.
She was born with a chronic disease that had been torturing her delicate body, but she would never show her illness in front of others. She was just lonely, living alone in the crowd, just like Chang 'e who lived alone in the Moon Palace. She was always cold and indifferent, with a cold temperament and a cold person.
Except when she discussed the family's future and important decisions with her brother, the boat girl was the one who talked with her the most. But most of the time, they would not talk more than five sentences in a day.
The boat girl had taken care of her since she was very young and had long regarded her as her own daughter. She was very sad to see her like this, but she could do nothing until Yang Fan appeared.
Yang Fan's appearance was like an elixir. The boat girl found that whenever he appeared, the young miss would talk more, smile more, and be more interested in the things that the young miss usually did not care about. Therefore, when Yang Fan came to the mansion today, there was no need for Miss to receive guests at all. But after thinking for a while, the boat girl came to tell Miss.
Sure enough, she was willing to see him.
The boat girl was very happy, but she could not show it at all. Miss was delicate, and if she noticed it, she might not leave the boudoir.
"Little sister!"
Dugu Yu was sitting and chatting with Yang Fan in the Flower Hall. Seeing Ning Ke suddenly coming, he rushed forward to help her. But Ning Ke broke away from his hand without a trace. It was a very inexplicable reason. Everyone knew that she was weak, but she just did not want to appear weak in front of Yang Fan.
"Erlang is here!"
As soon as Ning Ke spoke, her voice was a little bitter because she had not spoken all day.
Yang Fan smiled and saluted, "Miss Ning Ke!"
"Erlang, take a seat. Don't stand on ceremony!"
Ning Ke sat down in the seat next to Dugu Yu, glanced at Yang Fan with a smile, and praised happily, "Erlang's poem 'Crane Cries at the Nine Heights' was written in one step, and it shocked everyone. After coming back, Ning Ke specially recorded this poem and read it over and over again. I admire Erlang's talent and learning very much! "
Dugu Yu said with a smile, "I just talked about this with Erlang. Awesome! Really awesome! Erlang walked too fast, so he didn't see the clan heads' dumbfounded and shocked expressions. Haha … "
Yang Fan said with a smile, "To tell you the truth, Brother Dugu and Miss Ning Ke, I knew that Grand Duke Li would give me a hint before the banquet, so I wrote this poem at home in advance to scare people. Haha, speaking of poetry, I can do it, but it is impossible to write a poem in such a short time. "
Dugu Yu was stunned, and then laughed involuntarily, "I knew it. I have been immersed in poetry since I was a child, but how can I be so impatient like Erlang? After going to the banquet, I was very depressed because of this. It turned out that Erlang had already written this poem. Haha, Erlang is really scheming! "
Ning Ke said sweetly, "Then … what about the 'Banquet at Li's House'?" Ning Ke's voice was a little magnetic and hoarse at first, but after a few words, her vocal cords gradually relaxed and became clear and sweet.
Yang Fan replied slyly, "That poem was also written a long time ago. When I was in … Jiaozhi, I once attended an elder's birthday banquet and wrote this poem to celebrate his birthday. Now that I am being bullied, I changed the poem a little and used it!"
Dugu Yu and Ning Ke were both stunned, and then laughed heartily. Dugu Yu laughed, but Ning Ke usually didn't speak much. When she laughed, she couldn't help coughing, but she still laughed even though she coughed.
Standing on the side, the boat lady was so happy that she was about to cry tears of joy. She quickly turned her head and wiped her eyes with her sleeves when no one was paying attention.
Dugu Yu laughed so hard that he was out of breath. He pointed at Yang Fan and laughed, "You, you are so cunning!"
Ning Ke said, "Even if it was written a long time ago, it is still a good work. I wonder how long it took Erlang to write these two poems? "
Yang Fan said, "As long as the poem is drawn up, all that's left is to carefully consider the specific wording and words, so that the antithesis is neat, the tonal tones are alternating, and the rhyme is easy. It's just a word game. How much effort can be put into it? An hour should be enough."
When Yang Fan answered, he had already taken a crystal pear from the fruit plate and quickly peeled off the skin with a knife. By the time he finished speaking, a pear had just been peeled.
Ning Ke praised, "Erlang has never cared much about poetry, but you have such attainments. It is much better than Xingyang Zheng Yu's ten days of writing a poem."
Yang Fan said with a smile, "For a real poetry master, I actually admire his wonderful words and sentences very much. However, Zheng Yu is a bookworm. His poems should always be lively, but his poems are very conventional. He only cares about the flat and tonal tones and rhyme easily. There is nothing special about it. He is not the material for poetry!"
After saying that, Yang Fan peeled off the skin of the pear that was still attached to the flesh. He put the crystal-clear pear on a small plate and handed it to Ning Ke, saying, "This is good for your throat and cough."
"Thank you, Erlang!" Ning Ke gladly took it and sweetly took a bite. Dugu Yu and the boat lady looked at her with a strange look in their eyes.
Ning Ke was very clean. She never ate food that was handed to her. In addition, she was in poor health and her family was very particular about food, so she was even more picky about food. But when Yang Fan handed it to her, she ate it naturally.
Ning Ke didn't notice that her reaction was abnormal today. She took a bite, and the faint sweetness of the ripe flesh flowed between her lips and teeth. It was sweet in her mouth, and sweeter in her heart.
Yang Fan didn't know that his casual action was unprecedented for Ning Ke. After handing over the pear, his joking expression gradually became serious, saying, "Despise the aristocrats of Shandong, invite Guanlong's wedding, and appease the imperial court. These three goals have been achieved. Next, it is time to give the aristocrats of Shandong a strong medicine to force them to bow their heads and make concessions. Is this medicine ready?"
Dugu Yu smiled and replied calmly, "Everything is going well. Don't worry, Erlang. I believe that in a few days, the result will be clear!"
"Crack!"
Ning Ke took a bite of the crisp and sweet pear. Her smiling eyes turned into two crescent moons.
Dugu Yu's answer was crisp, and Ning Ke's bite was also crisp.
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