Xue Tangcheng, who had been waiting for days that felt like years, finally saw the 'good day' of Lai Junchen's' roasted tail banquet 'at Dragon Gate.
'Roasted tail banquet' was a banquet held to welcome friends and relatives who came to congratulate a newly appointed official or an official who was promoted. The meaning was derived from the metaphor of a carp leaping over the dragon gate. The fish tail must be burned by heavenly fire before it can transform into a dragon. If not for Lai Junchen's intention to show off to his rival, Yang Fan, holding this' roasted tail banquet 'at Dragon Gate was in line with the meaning of' leaping over the dragon gate '. It was very auspicious.
Early in the morning, Xue Tangcheng, Xu Lushi, Su Zhangu and the others were waiting at the foot of the mountain, even though they knew that Lai Junchen couldn't possibly arrive so early. Because if Lai Junchen could appear at the foot of the mountain at this time, he would have to wake up in the middle of the night and leave the city as soon as the city gates opened.
They were all wearing very thick clothes that were very effective against the cold, but after standing at the foot of the mountain for more than two hours, their faces were blue and their feet were numb.
Xu Lushi stretched his neck to look up the mountain. Seeing that Yang Fan still hadn't appeared, he sniffed and said to Xue Tangcheng: "You don't say, our Tangjian Yang is really unyielding. Even now he is still lying in bed. Let's not talk about Shaoqing's fierce … reputation. Just based on the fact that he is our Sinong Temple's Second Master, I have to admit that Tangjian Yang dares to be so arrogant. "
Xue Tangcheng laughed and scolded: "What Second Master? We are not bandits. Don't compare yourself with Tangjian Yang. In front of Shaoqing, Tangjian Yang dares to put on airs, but we can't. Don't complain that you came down the mountain too early. I told you to come down early and freeze here for your own good! "
Xue Tangcheng stamped his foot and said: "You don't understand? Our Tangjian Yang clearly wants to go against Lai Shaoqing. If we offend Lai Shaoqing later, I'm afraid we will also be out of luck. Now that we are freezing, let's ask Shaoqing to come and see our sincerity. Otherwise, when these immortals fight, we little ghosts will suffer. "
Although Su Zhangu was young, his body was very thin and could not withstand the cold as well as Xue Tangcheng. Inspector Su was so cold that his belly was full of anger. Hearing Xue Tangcheng's words, he couldn't help but snort. He said with disdain: "Xue Tangcheng, Xu Lu, you two don't need to exaggerate Supervisor Yang so much. If he really wasn't afraid of Lai Shaoqing, why did he send his entire family back to the city yesterday?"
Xu Lushi rolled his eyes at him and said, "You know nothing! Tang Jian Yang's family owned more than 20 shops in Nan City. During the Lunar New Year Festival, shouldn't the owner reward the shopkeepers and workers of each shop? Wouldn't he have to go and collect debts all year round? The Yang Family's First Lady has returned to the city for official business. "
Inspector Su laughed coldly and said in a strange tone: "In any case … today Lai Shaoqing is going to Longmen to have a 'barbecue' banquet. Yesterday, Tang Jian Yang sent his entire family back to Luoyang. No matter how I look at it, it looks like he is admitting defeat."
Xue Tangcheng said: "If he really wanted to admit defeat, Tang Jian Yang would not have announced that he is not allowed to stay at Shaoqing's house or prepare food for him. In my opinion, Tang Jian Yang is doing this because he doesn't want Lai Shaoqing to have something to use against him. After all, Tang Jian Yang is living under someone else's roof, so this is understandable."
At this time, a servant ran from afar and shouted: "Tangcheng, Xue Tangcheng, there are people coming from outside the mountain!"
Xue Tangcheng said in surprise: "No way, so early and Shaoqing is already here?"
He covered his eyes with his hand and looked into the distance. At the end of the snowy plain, there was indeed a row of black shadows slowly approaching …
As the procession got closer, their silhouettes could already be seen clearly. Seven or eight large carriages and twenty or thirty riders escorted them as they walked down Longmen Mountain. Xue Tangcheng took a deep breath and called over a servant: "Go quickly, go up the mountain and tell Tang Jian Yang."
Inspector Su stared at him and said: "Tangcheng, doesn't Tang Jian Yang not care about Lai Shaoqing at all? Why tell him?"
Xue Tangcheng glared at him and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Whether or not Yang Tianguang is willing to go down the mountain to welcome us is Yang Tianguang's business. We still have to do our part. Yang Tianguang has always treated us brothers well, why are you talking so much nonsense?"
Inspector Su was reprimanded and did not say anything else. Xue Tangcheng waved his hand and said: "Let's go! Don't wait for Lai Shaoqing to reach the foot of the mountain. This master has a bad temper. Let's go up and welcome him! "
At Xue Tangcheng's order, a group of low-ranking officials who guarded the hot springs at Longmen, grew vegetables and raised horses, went up in a hubbub …
…
Yang Fan, dressed in short clothes, was practicing his saber in the courtyard.
Usually, Yang Fan's saber practice was a favorite show of his precious son. In Yang Nianzu's eyes, his father's saber practice was about the same as the monkeys doing somersaults in the Imperial Horse Gallery, it was all fun. Today his son's family was not here, so Yang Fan did not have to deliberately add some strange moves to amuse his son. He practiced like the wind and was very focused.
The snow in the courtyard had not been swept away. Under Yang Fan's daily practice, the snow had become very solid. Other than a layer of charcoal ash from the courtyard door to the room door to prevent slippage, the rest of the snow had become as smooth as a mirror. This kind of ground undoubtedly made it more difficult for him to move.
But on this kind of ground, Yang Fan was still as swift as a whirlwind, like a mad tiger, sometimes an eagle soaring in the sky, sometimes a lion hunting a rabbit, sometimes a falcon swooping down, like a lightning bolt. At times, the saber would wrap around his entire body like a waterfall, and at other times, it would be like a sudden clap of thunder and lightning, slashing out in arcs of cold light.
Compared to when he had just left the Southern Seas, his saber technique had already made great progress. The power of the saber was vigorous and copious, its momentum fierce and fierce. Moreover, its energy channels were long and solid like a boulder. This kind of power and overbearingness was the most prominent characteristic of the king of weapons — the saber. It was also the saber technique that could best display the martial arts of Curly Beard's lineage to the extreme.
A servant was standing at the door. He was clearly several feet away from Yang Fan, but he saw that Yang Fan had covered an area of several feet with just a few twists and turns, and the saber light was so dense that it was bone-chilling. He wisely chose to stay where he was. If he really walked forward and Yang Tangjian slipped, wouldn't he die an unjust death?
With a "whoosh", the frightening saber light that covered the sky and the earth suddenly disappeared. The whistling and shrill saber wind also stopped abruptly. Yang Fan hid the saber behind his elbow and said impatiently, "What's the matter now? Didn't I say that if he, Lai Junchen, is here for official business today, I, Yang, will naturally welcome him? Since it's a private matter, I can't be bothered to welcome him! "
The servant smiled and said, "Yang Tangjian, the person who came down the mountain is not Lai Shaoqing, but the Right Garrison General. He heard that you are the owner of this place and said that he is an old friend of you, so he specially came to see you. I came to inform you first!"
Yang Fan thought for a while, but did not remember any old friend of his who was the Right Garrison General. He could not help but be surprised and said, "The Right Garrison General, who is it?"
As Yang Fan spoke, he walked towards the door. The servant respectfully said, "I dare not say anything, I only remember that the General said his surname is Luo, Xue Tangcheng is accompanying him."
When Yang Fan heard that the General's surname was Luo, he suddenly thought of someone and could not help but exclaim in surprise, "It's him? Why is he here? "
Yang Fan walked out of the door and looked towards the mountain path. Sure enough, he saw Xue Tangcheng accompanying someone, walking slowly along the mountain path. That person was wearing a leopard skin robe with sleeves and a grey cloak. His waist was broad, his body fat and his gait was calm, looking extremely noble.
Yang Fan had already thought of someone, but when he saw this person's appearance, it was very different from the person in his impression, so he could not help but hesitate. At this time, that person had already seen Yang Fan. He immediately grinned and laughed out loud. From afar, he opened his arms and welcomed him cheerfully, saying with a smile, "Erlang, long time no see!"
When Yang Fan was practicing his saber on the mirror-like snow in the courtyard, he did not slip even once. Now that he heard him speak, he slipped and almost fell.
The person in front of him had rough red skin, a red brandy nose, the wings of his nose were fat, the muscles on his fat face were loose, his eye bags were very deep, and he looked to be around forty years old. If not for his light blue eyes and his slightly western accent, Yang Fan would not believe that this person was actually the loyal Khan Ashina Huseruo who gave himself the Han name Luo Kedi.
He remembered the first time he met Huseruo at White Horse Temple. At that time, Huseruo's skin was fair, his nose was sharp, his facial features were handsome and he looked valiant. But … how did he become like this in just a few years? His body was fat and his face was as wide as a basin. Yang Fan really could not bear to look at him.
Speaking of which, Huseruo was only five or six years older than Yang Fan. Right now, he was at most in his early thirties, but looking at his appearance, he was more than ten years older than his actual age.
Huseruo rushed over with large strides, his fat and large hands grasping Yang Fan's hands. He shook them repeatedly and affectionately said, "Erlang, long time no see! Haha, looking at your appearance, compared to when we first met at White Horse Temple, you haven't changed at all. I really envy you. I can't, I'm old … "
Huseruo grabbed Yang Fan's hands and shook his head enthusiastically, his round and fat belly trembling. That belly was almost touching Yang Fan's body. Yang Fan smiled bitterly and said, "Khan, this change of yours is really too shocking. I don't even dare to recognize you."
Huseruo laughed heartily. "That's right. I used to have a bow and a horse by my side, and now I have wine and women by my side. Although I have followed the customs of the Han, I can't get used to eating grains and vegetables. I still need fat cows and sheep to eat to my heart's content. I don't have anything to worry about, so how can I not be fat?"
Because of the deal he had made with Shen Mu to protect Wu Zhile, Yang Fan always felt that he had let his good friend down. Therefore, when Huseruo did not come looking for him, he rarely asked this old friend out to drink and chat. In addition, he had always been caught up in all sorts of bureaucratic disturbances and did not want to implicate this old friend. Therefore, this was the first time they had met in years.
Carefully listening to the meaning behind Huseruo's words, Yang Fan did not sense the slightest desolation or disappointment. It seemed that this loyal Khan was very satisfied with his luxurious life. Yang Fan could not help but be speechless. "Are all the children of the grasslands so broad-minded?"
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