From the Valley of the Wicked to the Town of Demons

Today's Beijing is sunny and sunny, and the streets are bustling with people and cars, and Yanguilou, which is famous for its dim sum, is even more popular. After all, in the capital, Yanguilou's dim sum is the second best, and no one dares to say First.

"Hehe, Yan Guilou hasn't been here for a long time, and I don't know if the pastry chef has changed."

Several distinguished guests walked in, and the middle-aged man who led them smiled and said something to himself.

"Guest officers, please come to the private room on the second floor."

Xiao Er came up to meet them, and seeing the clothes and faces of these people, he knew that they were not ordinary people, so he immediately greeted them warmly and went to the private room on the second floor.

Can these people be ordinary people?Cao Xing, the emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty today, Zhen Jing, the chief steward of the palace, Liu Xun, the prime minister on the left, and Wang Bin, the prime minister on the right, who are not the most influential figures in the world today, who stomp their feet and make the whole world tremble.

Naturally, the emperor could not bring too many people with him when he left the palace in micro-clothes. Even though Cao Xing had a good face, he only brought six imperial guards with him, but these six guards were all waiting outside the building and did not follow in.

But they were not worried about His Majesty's safety, because the royal family of Great Wei had the habit of practicing martial arts. Cao Xing was originally a sixth-rank martial artist, and Zhen Jing beside him was not weak.

They chose a private room with a good view, and everyone sat in. Before they could open their mouths, Xiaoer brought a pot of high-quality tea, and tea bowls were placed on the table.

This is a common practice in dim sum shops. Rinse your mouth with green tea, so as not to taste the good taste of dim sum due to the bad taste in your mouth.

Everyone knew the rules, immediately rinsed off the smell in their mouths with tea, and then spit it into the empty tea bowl, Xiao Er took the tea bowl back, and then handed over the dessert order.

"You don't need to look at it, I just came here for the hibiscus osmanthus cake, you can order other things."

Cao Xing opened his mouth, he ordered what he wanted first, otherwise others would not dare to order.

Ever since, everyone ordered a few more items, Xiao Er wrote it down, and then immediately ran downstairs to pass the news to the back kitchen.

Yan Gui Lou is a famous store in the capital city, its location is very good, it is on a traffic artery in the inner city.This house is also specially built, with a very high frame, the second floor is equivalent to the third floor.So looking down from the second floor, not to mention the wide view, you can also see the imperial city from a distance. It can be said that being able to eat dim sum on the second floor of Yangui Building is a status symbol.

Everyone hid their real names, and without the shackles of the monarch and ministers, the atmosphere was extremely harmonious. After a while, the pastries were served, and the table was colorfully arranged. With a pot of good tea and listening to a little song, it was a special taste.

While everyone was enjoying themselves, suddenly there was noise from the second floor, and three guests came outside and sat next to them.

The private rooms in Yangui Tower are all hollowed out and carved wooden boards, so they are not soundproof, and they can see each other. These three people look gentle, but there is a trace of hostility on their bodies. Cao Xing didn't like it and frowned. frowned.

"If you want, I'll let them go."

Liu Xun asked in a low voice, as an old fritter, he is very good at observing words and expressions.

"No need, I came out this time just to feel the atmosphere of the market."

Cao Xing waved his hand, expressing that there is no need to do this, he went out of the palace in subdued clothes, isn't it just to feel the fireworks in this world.

Because there was no sound insulation, Cao Xing and the others heard what they were saying after the three of them opened their chatter box.

"Sun Shangshu has been dead for a long time, but no one in the ministry has succeeded to the position of Shangshu. Now it is a mess, and the work in hand cannot be delayed. It is really annoying."

One of them spoke, and as soon as the words came out, everyone knew that they were small officials from the household department.

Why do you say it's a petty official?Because they recognize the minister and the servant who are in charge of the household department, and the officials at the next level, the two prime ministers, King Liu, also recognize them.

Since none of them recognized who these three people were, they must be small roles in the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Three small officials from the household department were able to come to the second floor of Yangui Building to eat pastries, which shows that the hands and feet of this household department are generally not clean.

Not to mention anything else, just say that the table of cakes and tea in front of Cao Xing is worth more than ten taels of silver.The annual salary of the servant of the household department is only 60 taels of silver, and the salary of the lower officials is even less.

What's more, the food ordered by those three people is no worse than that of Cao Xing's table. One can imagine the financial resources.

"What I'm talking about is that I don't know who will succeed the position of Shangshu. If you ask me, Wang Shilang is the most likely. After all, he is the number one scholar appointed by the emperor."

Another person interjected, put the pastry in his mouth casually, and it tastes delicious.

"Wang Shilang is not bad. He is proficient in all kinds of poems and songs, and he is also meticulous in his work. Unfortunately, he is too pedantic. In charge of the household department, I am afraid that everyone will not have a good life.

Besides, his mouth is really..."

The last person also spoke, and when he mentioned Wang Peiyuan's watering can-like mouth, the three shuddered at the same time.

The No. [-] troll in the household department did not earn his name for nothing. From top to bottom in the entire household department, almost no one could escape his mouth.

Originally, the household department was a big dye vat, and the people in it were more or less unclean, but Wang Peiyuan was a master who couldn't tolerate sand in his eyes. If there was no minister in charge, the household department might have been smashed by him long ago.

But even if Wang Peiyuan went to sue the imperial court, Cao Xing would turn a blind eye and close one eye, and finally take a cold treatment. The reason is very simple, the emperor knows exactly what the household department is like.

The corruption of the household department is the corruption that Cao Xing tacitly approves of, because officials only have the motivation to work if they are greedy. If all officials were like Wang Peiyuan, I am afraid that the Wei Dynasty would have been torn apart.

What's more, the money that those people in the household department were greedy for was nothing more than a one-handed move, and it would eventually return to Cao Xing's hands.

Cao Xing is not short of money now, and the Great Wei Dynasty is not short of money, so it is up to you to be greedy.But one day, the money in the Ministry of Households is not enough, so I'm sorry, as much as you took in, you have to spit it out for me.

This is the art of the emperor. The courtiers selected by the emperor must be flawed. For example, Liu Xun likes to make friends, and Wang Binzhan looks forward and backward. They all have flaws, so Cao Xing dared to use them and reuse them.

"By the way, I feel that Huang Shilang has a chance."

"Who says no, Huang Shilang is a very good person, but unfortunately he has no backing. If he had climbed up to Prime Minister Liu, he might not even have the surname of Sun in the position of Minister."

"Yeah, Huang Shilang got on the wrong boat back then, why did he want to cling to the right prime minister? The right prime ministers in the Great Wei Dynasty have always had bad geomantic omens, and none of them have been more than ten years old."

"It is said that Huang Shilang was a fellow of Prime Minister You at the beginning, so he went to cling to him. It's a pity, otherwise he wouldn't have wasted more than ten years in the position of a servant."

"Forget it, that's all in the past. Anyway, the position of Minister is either Huang or Wang. It has nothing to do with the three of us."

"What I mean is, why bother to look for that trouble."

"That's it."

……

The three of them stopped discussing the position of Hubu Shangshu, but chatted about other things.

"Let's go, too, and go shopping elsewhere."

Cao Xing seemed to lose interest, and he got up and left after eating half of the cake.

The emperor was about to leave, there was no reason for the crowd to stop each other, so they hurriedly followed and left the Yangui Tower.

It had been agreed long ago that Liu Xun would pay for Yan Guilou's dim sum, so Liu Xun was a few steps behind, and when he came out, he found that Cao Xing had already mounted his horse and was heading for the imperial city with Zhen Jing and the guards.

"Prime Minister Liu, the emperor said that he didn't want to visit the capital any more today, so he went back."

Wang Bin, who was left behind, whispered to Liu Xun, but Liu Xun's reaction startled him.

Liu Xun patted his thigh and yelled, and immediately ran into Yangui Building, shouting as he ran, "Save the pastry for me and wrap it up. I'm going to have it as a supper tonight."

Wang Bin was stunned for a moment, thinking that today, the image of Liu Xun, the veteran of the three dynasties, the great Wei Zaifu, has completely collapsed.