Chapter 174

Li Xuancheng was a relative of the emperor. After Zhang Juzheng's death, Emperor Wanli had already begun to take charge of the government. The power of the relatives of the emperor had also increased. Although the Great Ming Dynasty suppressed the relatives of the emperor, those who could speak to the Empress Dowager would more or less have some influence on the emperor.

Thus, when Duke Wei saw that the Imperial Uncle and his youngest son were like old friends, he was happy to let them interact more. The Xu family had been the most meritorious official family for many years, but it wasn't all because of the influence of their ancestors. Generations of descendants paid great attention to building connections, so these days, Xu Qiyun's main task was to accompany Imperial Uncle Li.

Xu Qiyun only went to give out porridge to the people once, then left it to Guan Xiaokun and Rui Qingxing to handle. He only cared about accompanying Li Xuancheng to sightsee every day. But these two days, Li Xuancheng seemed to have something on his mind. He was often in low spirits and depressed, so Xu Qiyun paid more attention to him.

Today, Xu Qiyun asked Li Xuancheng out. They went to a few famous places, but Li Xuancheng wasn't interested in any of them. They went to the Qinhuai River, where there were lots of porridge and "hundreds of flowers", but the Imperial Uncle still didn't like them. It must be because he was obsessed with the arts of the gods since young and wholeheartedly pursued Dao.

Since it was like this, he would definitely be interested in the famed mountains, so Xu Qiyun wanted to take him to Qixia Mountain for a tour. The two of them walked past the courtyard, and there were a few sedan carriers sitting there chatting. A few words of their conversation accidentally entered his ears, and when Xu Qiyun heard it, he suddenly stopped.

He heard a sedan carrier say, "This morning, when we carried our master to the Garrison Residence, I heard from the sedan carriers of Minister Rui that the son of Minister of War Zhang is going to hold some charity sale at Baifan Restaurant. This is a rare thing. I've heard of selling things, but this is the first time I've heard of a charity sale."

Another sedan carrier said, "Don't be surprised. The so-called charity sale is still selling things, but the money is used for charity and can't fall into one's own pocket. It's a charity sale. I heard that when the Hangzhou government was raising money to fight against the Japanese, someone did this before. It's not new."

Xu Qiyun said, "What did you say? Zhang Hongyi is going to hold a charity sale?"

Only then did the bearers realize that the little duke was walking over. They hurriedly stood up and saluted, saying yes repeatedly. Xu Qiyun sneered, "These brats sure know how to make trouble. Charity sale? What do they have to sell? Do they think they can make people pay for it just because it's charity sale? "

Li Xuancheng smiled and said, "Brother Xu, I don't think we should go to Qixia Mountain. Why don't we go and see how they are doing the charity sale? It's more interesting than touring the mountains and rivers." These words were exactly what Xu Qiyun wanted. Xu Qiyun said, "Since Imperial Uncle also finds it interesting, let's go take a look."

Immediately, Xu Qiyun and Li Xuancheng rode their horses and rushed to the Hundred Dining Hall with seven or eight guards.

Outside the Hundred Dining Hall, the lion dance team and the dragon dance team were performing with all their might amidst the loud sounds of gongs and drums. Countless commoners had gathered around, forming a sea of people.

In the blink of an eye, firecrackers were lit. The smoke was deafening. Many children covered their ears and screamed. When the firecrackers stopped, they didn't care about the warnings from the adults. They rushed forward like a swarm of bees, stepping on the firecrackers and picking up the smelly ones that didn't explode.

Guan Xiaokun and Rui Qingxing stood by the side of the road. Seeing such a grand and lively scene, Guan Xiaokun laughed, "What are they doing? Making so much trouble, aren't they afraid that no one will buy it?"

At this time, someone patted Guan Xiaokun's shoulder. Guan Xiaokun turned around and saw Xu Qiyun and Li Xuancheng. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh, Duke, Imperial Uncle, why are you two here?"

Xu Qiyun frowned and looked at the Qiyun Family Family Family. He said, "Isn't this your family's business? Why did you lend it to him for a charity sale?"

Most of the families of officials in Jiangnan were businessmen. But business was a lowly business. It wasn't easy to announce it. Especially those who used their status as officials to benefit themselves, they had to be more secretive. Even Rui Qingxing didn't know that this restaurant was the Guan family's business. Hearing this, he couldn't help but look at Guan Xiaokun in surprise.

Guan Xiaokun said, "I don't usually manage this restaurant. I didn't know they rented it for a charity sale. I only heard about it by chance and came to take a look. I don't know what they want to sell. I heard that they went to the rich families to collect donations and were sent away with some trash. Don't tell me it's those trash from the charity sale? "

At this point, Guan Xiaokun couldn't help but laugh. Li Xuancheng waved his fan and smiled, "If you want to know what they are up to, won't you know by watching? Come, let's go in and take a look."

Hearing this, Guan Xiaokun hurriedly said, "If Imperial Uncle wants to watch the show, fine, I'll immediately arrange a good room for you!"

Li Xuancheng said, "No! Let's sit in the main hall! "With that said, he closed his fan and led the way. Guan Xiaokun was stunned at first, then came to a realization. He hurriedly said, "Right! Right, right, right! We want to see them embarrass themselves with our own eyes! "

Ye Xiaotian was directing the entire charity sale and didn't notice the arrival of Li Xuancheng, Xu Qiyun, and the others. Ye Xiaotian patted his chest and promised Zhang Hongyi that according to his idea, they would definitely be able to raise a large sum of money. After Zhang Hongyi and the others heard this, they also felt that Ye Xiaotian's idea was very reliable, so they specially chose this "Hundred Dining Hall" to hold the charity sale.

This Hundred Dining Hall was not far from Zhongyi Building. It was said that the chef of the Hundred Dining Hall was a retired official chef of Zhongyi Building. Although even the chef of Zhongyi Building might not be able to cook better than the chefs of the other big restaurants in Jinling City, the advantage was that the chef's dishes were rare. In the past, the dishes made by the chef were only available to foreign guests and officials who received them. The rarer something is, the greater its value. Therefore, the business of this Hundred Dining Hall was very good. After listening to Zhang Hongyi's introduction, Ye Xiaotian deliberately chose this place as the venue for the charity sale.

Ye Xiaotian said, "Alright, it's about time. Let the lion dance team enter the main hall and lead the guests in. We'll prepare now …"

As he spoke, there was suddenly a rancid smell. Ye Xiaotian couldn't help but cover his nose. He looked up and saw two garbage trucks passing by. The stench wafted over and everyone covered their noses to avoid it. Ye Xiaotian said, "Why are there people carrying garbage and swill at this time of the day?"

Kuai Peng was a Jinyi Guard, so he knew a little bit about this. He said, "There are more and more refugees. In order to prevent accidents, Nanjing City no longer allows refugees to enter. Because of this, it is very difficult to enter and exit the city. Therefore, during this period of time, it takes a lot of time to transport the toilet bowls, garbage, and swill buckets out of the city. They can't be transported in the morning, and some of them are even delayed until the afternoon."

At this time, the swill trucks had already slowly passed by. Ye Xiaotian waved his hand to get rid of the unpleasant smell in front of him and said, "Alright, let's start."

The two Golden Eyed Lions danced and walked toward the Hundred Dining Hall. As soon as they entered the door, they saw a long hallway. On the left and right side of the hallway, there were two empty rooms. These rooms were where the coachmen and servants of the guests waited for the host. They had always been separated by a screen. Today, the Hundred Dining Hall had been booked, so the two rooms were naturally empty.

The common people who came to watch the fun followed them in. The Hundred Dining Hall was decorated with red ribbons. On both sides of the door, there were eight large words written by Tang Xianzu himself. However, it changed from "Fundraising for disaster relief, collective wisdom and effort" to "Charity sale for disaster relief, collective wisdom and effort".

At the very front of the hall, there was a circular stage about three feet high and more than ten feet in diameter. This was where the operas and songs were performed. There were originally many scattered seats below the stage, but now they were arranged very neatly. Two lion dancers danced forward from the wide aisle between the two rows of tables and chairs. A male lion snatched a silk ball and stood up like a human, standing in front of the stage.

On the stage, the curtains were drawn, and the handsome Ye Xiaotian, dressed in a green robe, appeared. He happened to be in the center of the two lions snatching the silk ball. The big red silk ball seemed to be hanging in front of his chest. This appearance was very handsome, and immediately won the applause of the entire hall.

The Hundred Dining Hall was three stories high. The second and third floors were all private rooms. The space above the hall on the first floor led all the way to the roof. The private rooms on the second and third floors surrounded the hall. The side facing the hall had curtains hanging with golden hooks. If one wanted to watch the dance in the hall, they could hook up the curtains. If one wanted to talk quietly, they could put down the curtains.

At this time, the curtains were all lifted. In each private room, there was a well-dressed lady from a noble family, and there were two or three maids standing next to her. Those ladies were either waving round fans or holding preserved fruits, looking curiously at the hall below.

There were only three people sitting in one of the elegant rooms. The three of them sat by the window, looking downstairs with concern. They were Zhan Ning 'er, Xia Yingying, and Sister Taiyang.

Ye Xiaotian cupped his hands to the people below the stage with a smile on his face and said, "Thank you all for coming to support us. Our disaster relief bazaar can now be considered to have officially begun!"

The two lions shook their heads and threw the red embroidered pearl into the air. They opened their mouths and suddenly spat out two fireworks. The fireworks splashed and the fireworks exploded. Ye Xiaotian stretched his right arm into the air and just happened to catch the red embroidered pearl falling from the sky.

When the fireworks dispersed, the two lions had already circled backstage, leaving Ye Xiaotian alone on the stage with a red ball in his hand.

"Wow! Brother Tian is so awesome! "

Xia Yingying held her heart in her hands, her eyes sparkling with red hearts.

Although Sister Sun did not say anything, her cheeks were flushed with excitement. She looked like she was in love.

Zhan Ning'er curled her lips and poured cold water on them. "This is a bazaar, not an opera. Trying to be in the limelight! How boring! "

Even as she said that, she glanced at Ye Xiaotian below the stage and thought to herself, 'This damned bastard, he's really … pretty cool, pretty … pretty good looking!'

Seeing Ye Xiaotian in such a state, Li Xuancheng and Xu Qiyun simultaneously curled their left lips down, while the other curled their right lips down, revealing disdainful smiles at the same time.

At this moment, there was only the sound of tables and chairs rattling. The commoners who were watching the commotion left the venue like a receding tide. They fled faster than anyone else. They did not know what bazaar was. They only knew that this was for disaster relief. Since it was disaster relief, it must be money. They were afraid that they would be cheated if they were too slow, so they scrambled to escape.

Li Xuancheng and Xu Qiyun were sitting in the side seats. When they heard the commotion beside them, they turned their heads and could not help but laugh. Seeing this scene, Guan Xiaokun held his stomach and laughed. Rui Qingyun was already laughing so hard that she could not even sit steadily. The young ladies on the second and third floors were also stunned by this scene. The preserved fruit in a lady's hand slipped and fell from the third floor. It was trampled into pieces by the commoners who were rushing to leave.

When Zhang Hongyi saw this, his smile froze on his face. He whispered to Liu Junyang, "I say, Little Liu, will Little Ye's move work? If we fail again, we'll lose face all the way to our grandmother's house … "