Chapter 244 Changsun’s birthday banquet

Three years ago, because of his relationship with Cui Yuan, Changsun Nanfang seized the real position of Taichang Temple Minister by Pei Jun and promoted him to the young prince of the prince. In the eyes of others, this was an extremely unfortunate thing, but it was exactly what Changsun Nanfang had, without the trouble of chores, which allowed him to put all his body and mind on polo.

It was from then on that time that he turned a blind eye to the outside world and was dedicated to practicing polo masters. His hard work paid off. After three years of lying on firewood and tasting gall, in the polo competition two months ago, his polo team finally defeated his strong opponent Hedong polo team and won the third place among more than 100 participating teams. Changsun Nanfang was almost crazy. He gave each polo team member a farm without hesitation.

Although he regretted it very much afterwards, he still smiled at everyone, "Compared with the rankings they have won, several farms are nothing, haha!"

November 2nd is the second month of the commemoration of Changsun Nanfang's third place in the polo competition, and it is also his 60th birthday. In order to commemorate the victory, of course, he also celebrated his birthday. He decided to have a big banquet for guests and invite all Chang'an celebrities to the banquet.

It was a coincidence that when his family went to Lu Qi's mansion to deliver the post, he happened to see Zhang Huan's soldiers stationed in the camp and came back to report to the master. The eldest grandson Nanfang decided to invite the person who offended him a few years ago for the sake of his son-in-law Song Lianyu.

Although Song Lianyu is naturally clumsy in playing polo and has not made any progress in several years, he seems to have been enlightened in the officialdom, like a fish in water. In just a few years, he has risen to the fourth-rank Taichang Temple Shaoqing, which is admirable. He has become the most outstanding among all the son-in-laws in Changsun South. With such a high position, his wife also has glory on her face, so it doesn't matter if she can't play polo.

Early in the morning, Changsun’s mansion began to get busy, killing pigs and sheep, lanterns were decorated, gongs and drums were beating loudly, lions and girls were flying all over the sky, Changsun’s sons-in-law performed their duties, were extremely busy, some arranged seats, some checked the kitchen, some stood at the door to welcome guests, and some hid behind to receive gifts. Two people were responsible for welcome guests, one was the eldest son-in-law who was going to be the supervisor of Shaoqing Hou Yaozong, and the other was Song Lianyu, Shaoqing of Taichang Temple.

In the afternoon, the guests arrived one after another. The two of them greeted each other warmly, and they were polite in their advance and retreat, and they cooperated very well. A carriage stopped. Li Han, the Minister of War, and his wife, walked off the carriage. Hou Yaozong hurriedly greeted him and bowed to him and said, "Mr. Li can come in person, and my mansion will be more glorious. Welcome! Welcome!"

Li Han also bowed his hand and replied, "How dare you not come to Senior Changsun's birthday?"

He took out a gift list, "I'm so please accept it with a smile."

Hou Yaozong thanked him repeatedly and welcomed Li Han in. After a moment, another carriage stopped. Xin Gao, Shaoqing of Dali Temple, took his wife down. Song Lianyu quickly met him, smiled and punched him and said, "You ran away without drinking that glass of wine last night."

Xin Gao coughed twice quickly and gave a wink to the side. Seeing his wife beside him, Song Lianyu pretended to be in a daze, "No wonder Brother Xin never asks Jiuji to accompany him. It turns out that he has a beautiful wife at home. I am envious! I am envious!"

The words made Xin's wife's face turn from gloomy to sunny, and she looked at her husband happily. It turned out that he was drinking outside and not looking for a woman. Xin Gao laughed dryly and was secretly grateful to Song Lianyu. He quickly took out the gift list and handed it over and said, "This is a little gift, please accept it with a smile."

Song Lianyu thanked him, and he attached himself to Xin Gao's ear and whispered: "I will meet Jiayue later. I wish him the best polo next year, which is more effective than wishing him a hundred years of life."

Both of them laughed loudly. Song Lianyu invited Xin Gao and his wife into the mansion. When he returned to the door, he couldn't help but be stunned. Pei You, the Minister of Personnel, had arrived. Around him, many people stopped and wanted to wait for an opportunity to speak with him. However, Pei You seemed to be waiting for someone. Looking back, more than a hundred cavalry came from the street, guarding one person. When he saw his face clearly, Song Lianyu felt aroused. The person who came was his former close friend Zhang Huan. He thought that their classmates were studying and went to Beijing to take the exam together, but they embarked on different paths due to the Uighur invasion. Seven years have passed.

Zhang Huan also saw Song Lianyu from afar, and saw that his beard was one foot long, with a majestic temperament, and was calm in dealing with people and things. He was completely different from the poor child who was embarrassed and somewhat inferior in the past.

"When did you come to Beijing?" A voice sounded from beside him. Zhang Huan then found that Pei You was standing beside him. He hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. Among Pei Ying's uncles, Zhang Huan only had a good impression of Pei You, not only because he firmly opposed Pei Jun's troops to send troops to the northern part of Guanlong, but also in the appointment of officials in Hehuang, it was he who urged the court to finally accept the officials appointed by Zhang Huan so that these officials could become the official establishment of the court. With this alone, Zhang Huan was full of gratitude to him.

"I arrived yesterday and haven't visited you yet. Please forgive me."

Pei You looked back and saw that Zhang Huan was the only one. He asked in surprise: "Didn't Ying'er go back to Chang'an with you?"

Zhang Huan shook her head, "The war in Hexi is not over yet. I won't stay in Chang'an for too long this time, so she didn't come with me."

"It's better not to come, so as to avoid being embarrassed between father and husband." Pei You smiled, pulled Zhang Huan and walked towards the door.

"Uncle Pei Er, go first! I have an old friend here." Zhang Huan pointed to Song Lianyu. Pei You understood and patted Zhang Huan on the shoulder and smiled, "Okay, let's see you later."

Zhang Huan walked to Song Lianyu, looked him up and down, and smiled and said, "I haven't seen you for a few years. If I walk on the street, I really can't recognize you."

"Aren't you the same? Your change is not about appearance, but about recognizing you and not daring to come forward." Seeing that there were not many guests for a while, Song Lianyu greeted Hou Yaozong and pulled Zhang Huan into the mansion. The two of them came to a secluded place and found a clean stone to sit down. Song Lianyu said seriously: "Give up the disease, shouldn't you go back to Beijing to work this time?"

"Why?" Zhang Huan asked in confusion.

"This time the court has granted three princes, one is your Zhangye prince, one is your Zhu Qinggong Ruyang prince, and the other is Zhu Li's Hanzhong prince. I also heard that Zhu Tao had given up his cabinet assistant and asked his brother Zhu Li to serve as the position. In this way, the three of you entered the cabinet together, and the court put you and the other two together in everything. Who are they, just a traitor? You originally seized Hehuang and Hexi, and had a very high reputation among the people, but I am worried that if you always get involved with them, it will ruin your reputation."

Zhang Huan pondered for a moment and asked again: "You mean, is the court intending to compare me with them?"

Song Lianyu nodded solemnly, "That's right, I have a few colleagues who say that there must be any unspeakable transactions between you and the court. To get rid of illness, these details are small, but the impact is great, so you should not take it lightly."

Zhang Huan shook his head slowly and smiled: "I want to be fair and free in the hearts of the people. After a long time, everyone will naturally understand. However, I am very grateful to you for your consideration for me."

"Just do your best to be an old friend." Song Lianyu smiled, and then changed the topic and said, "Do you still remember that fat man Zheng Qingming?"

"How could he not remember, how was he?" Zhang Huan was excited. After he took down Shuzhong, he specially sent someone to find Zheng Qingming's family, but learned that their family had moved away several years ago.

Song Lianyu smiled bitterly, "I met him at the beginning of the year. Now he has made a fortune, specializing in overseas trade with Japan and Silla, and has married more than a hundred wives, half of whom are Japanese and Silla women."

Zhang Huan couldn't help laughing, "This lustful guy has a hard nature to change, but he is also a little capable."

"What is his ability? He went to Guangling County to find Zhao Yan and took the Japanese trade line." Song Lianyu said disdainfully: "Zhao Yan introduced him to a Japanese businessman and asked him to do porcelain business, but he went to Japan to sell a group of Japanese women to the Tang Dynasty and made his first fortune."

"That's not bad!" Zhang Huan smiled slightly and said, "How is Zhao Yan's situation?"

"He is always pretty good. He is now the chief minister of Danyang County. Even if his wife is too fierce, he doesn't know how to take a concubine. He is not as good as me, ha! Ha!"

As soon as Song Lianyu finished speaking, she heard a woman outside the courtyard wall shouting, "Song Huzi! Where did you die? Don't make Old Nong angry."

Song Lianyu was so scared that she was like a mouse who had met a cat. She jumped up from the stone in a 'tween' and shouted in panic: "Here! Come! Madam, I'm here."

He ran to the gate of the yard, but suddenly remembered Zhang Huan, and hurriedly turned around and bowed, "You can do whatever you want, I will lose my companion first."

Zhang Huan waved his hand angrily and amusedly, "Go!"

The vestibule was noisy, and Zhang Huan was too lazy to join in the fun, so he walked along the path. Bamboo was planted on both sides, and now it was covered with snow. It seemed that few people walked on this path, and the snow was squeaking under his feet.

After walking for a while, he saw that the road ahead was still deep and there was still no one. He turned around and walked back, but just after taking two steps, he heard a ruthless voice behind the bamboo forest: "No! I have lent you all the five thousand guan last time for half a year. I promised to pay it back last month, but now not only will I not repay it, but I will borrow it again. Do you think I am a minting money?"

"Little sister, you also know that your brother-in-law has no ability, and he is in the yamen that is free from wealth and water. He can only improve himself by favors. Isn't it coming soon? I have to give gifts to my boss, but there are less than 5,000 guan, and I don't want them at all. I also have to manage the people of the Ministry of Personnel. There are only tens of thousands of guans. You know the situation of our family. Little sister, please help me and lend me 5,000 guan. I promise you that the interest rate will be increased."

This was the voice of two young women, one of them seemed a little familiar. When Zhang Huan heard the word "Suanxiao" and quietly walked forward. Through the bamboo branches, he saw a young young woman leaning against the trunk, crossing her hands in front of her chest, staring fiercely at the woman opposite her face, and then looking at her face, applying a thick layer of makeup, with slender eyebrows, and blood-red lips tightly stretched, and she looked pretty.

Zhang Huan suddenly recognized this woman. This woman was Changsun Yiyi, who wanted to coach polo for him back then. However, her lively and tolerant spirit was gone. With the word "money", she seemed a bit mean.

Zhang Huan heard Pei Ying say that Changsun Yiyi finally married into the royal family, and her husband was the son of Li Fu, the king of Jiyin. It seemed that the relationship between the husband and wife was not very good.

At this time, Changsun Yiyi snorted again, "Last time I lent you five thousand guan, and I should pay me 6,200 guan in total. Now you want to borrow another 5,000 guan, that's tens of thousands. Tell me, what mortgage do you want to use to pay me?"

The woman who borrowed money was silent for a long time before whispering: "All of them are their own sisters, what else do you need to have a mortgage!"

Changsun Yiyi sneered, "Then why don't you ask your father to lend it? Humph! I can't tell you this. The three thousand guan I borrowed last year were denied by you. Of course, I have to learn from my father's lesson."

"Then I don't have anything valuable to you!"

"Don't my brother-in-law have a farm in his hometown..."

At this moment, a crow suddenly flew out of the bamboo forest and flew into the sky, which scared Zhang Huan and Zhuhou. Changsun Yiyi saw a person standing behind the bamboo branches at a glance. She whispered: "Who is it! Come out."

Zhang Huan didn't want to see her, so she turned around and quickly left the bamboo forest. Changsun Yiyi chased her out. She also recognized Zhang Huan. The back that had been staring at him gradually disappeared, and a complicated expression slowly flashed in her eyes.

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"The subordinate official is Li Suhe, the governor of the Ministry of Education, and see Mr. Zhang." As soon as Zhang Huan walked out of the yard, a man in his forties came forward respectfully and saluted him.

Buquelang was originally a censor. After Wu Zetian established the Si Gu to serve the informants of the world, Buquelang was in charge of the southern Hongkou. However, in the fifth year of Qingzhi, after the Si Gu was abolished by Cui Yuan, Buquelang became a false position and had no real position.

This Li Suhe is not an ordinary person. He was originally a Tang envoy from Japan. His original name was Suhe. He studied in the Tang Dynasty for two years. Because he was obsessed with the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, he did not think of Fusang. He changed his name to Li Suhe, married his wife, ate food from the Tang Dynasty, and spoke Chinese in the Tang Dynasty. For more than ten years, he had long regarded himself as a Tang Dynasty man. By chance, someone mentioned that he was once a Japanese, so he became furious and denied it, deeply ashamed of being a Japanese.

He passed the imperial examination in the eighth year of Qingzhi and achieved the position of Quelang step by step. He was not qualified to attend Changsun Nanfang's birthday party. Because he had a very good relationship with Hou Yaozong, he sneaked in and tried his luck to see if he could meet any high-ranking officials.

Pei You, a powerful high-ranking official, was crowded with people, and he did not dare to approach him. However, after a search, he found that Song Lianyu pulled Zhang Huan into the side courtyard. Zhang Huan was not only the second highest official in the province, but also a prince with strong strength. If he could surrender to him, his future would be bright. Li Suhe hid next to the courtyard gate and waited for Zhang Huan to appear.

"You don't have to be polite to Li Buque." Zhang Huan also bowed to Gong, turned around and was about to walk away, but Li Suhe followed closely like a shadow. He smiled and said, "The Xiaguan has been in the Ministry of Menxia Province for six years and has a very good understanding of the relationships in the province. Is the Minister interested in listening to me?"

Zhang Huan stopped and glanced at the man who had been bent into shrimps. He was indeed interested, "Tell me! I'll listen."

Zhang Huan walked slowly with his hands behind his back while listening to his narrative.

Seeing that the minister gave him a chance, Li Xuhe quickly sorted out his thoughts and said, "Since the minister of the school was transferred to the Political Affairs Hall three years ago, our disciples have become a stagnant pool. All the memorials and approvals are no longer here. Even Prime Minister Cui rarely comes. The minister of the disciples has actually become an empty yamen. Everyone has tried their own ways to transfer them to another place. It turns out that the close confidants of the Prime Minister Pei were transferred, and a group of old people from the former Prime Minister Cui, as well as small officials like me who have no backers."

"What old man has been demoted?" Zhang Huan asked in anger.

For example, Zhang Yanshang, the clan of the Secretariat, was demoted to the Ju Lang, Yang Yan, the minister of the Taifu Temple, was demoted to the left censor, Zhang Chongguang, the secretary of the Shangshu, was demoted to the Chengmen Lang, and even Cui Zhao, the imperial court of Jingzhao, was demoted to the Zuo Sanqi Chang.

"It seems that the disciples have a lot of talents." Zhang Huan remembered something, smiled and asked again: "Is there a son-in-law of the Changsun family who is in the disciples?"

"Yes! Yes!" Li Suhe hurriedly said, "That's right, Wanliang."

"Oh! Zuo Shiyi." Zhang Huan nodded, "Thank you for your enthusiasm, what else do you have to tell me?"

Seeing that Zhang Huan was about to step into the door of the banquet hall, he could not enter the door no matter what. Seeing that his chance to disappear this time, Li Xuhe made a fuss and whispered: "Actually, it is not difficult for the Minister to regain power. There is a good way for his subordinates, but this is not a place to speak."

Zhang Huan stopped. He turned around and looked at the humble official deeply. He saw that he had a pair of shrewd eyes and his face was filled with expectations.

Zhang Huan smiled faintly, took out a stinger and handed it to him, "You can come to my mansion to find me tomorrow."

Li Suhe took the Mingta with her hands trembling and carefully put it away. He bowed to Zhang Huan again, looked at both sides, turned around and left quickly.
Chapter completed!