My father is Emperor Wu of Han, how can I be different from him?

Chapter 96 Who Bewitches Whom
"It doesn't have to be this way."

Wei Qing glanced at Xian Xuan and pointed to the seat next to him, "Sit down and enjoy the feast. I will do it myself."

"Yes."

Xian Xuan responded and sat back in his seat, but seeing that he was ready to pour the wine again at any moment, Wei Qing knew that he had wasted his breath.

now.

In the best private room on the second floor of Chunfeng Tower, Crown Prince Liu Ju, as the organizer of the banquet, sat in the main seat.

On the left are Wei Qing and Xian Xuan.

On the right are Huo Qubing and Huo Guang.

Today's banquet was originally held by Liu Ju to thank Xian Xuan. Previously, Xian Xuan had given him face many times in the Zhang Tang case, so he had to express his gratitude.

If you want to entertain Emperor Xianxuan, you have to invite his uncle Wei Qing as well.

Need to know.

Xianxuan was able to give face to the Crown Prince's Palace mainly for Wei Qing. If they wanted to express their gratitude, they certainly couldn't bypass the middleman, otherwise it would be against the rules...

Since Wei Qing has been invited, Huo Qubing naturally cannot be left behind. Now that Huo Qubing is here, shouldn't young Huo also give way?
Just right.

They came together to get to know Xian Xuan and expand their network.

It was just that the Left Internal Secretary was so focused on serving the General at the banquet that he failed to appreciate the good intentions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...

Xianxuan was from Hedong.

He started out as a minor official in Hedong County. One day, he encountered an opportunity. It happened that the general sent people to Hedong County to buy horses. Seeing that he was diligent and capable, the general recommended him.

immediately.

Xianxuan went straight to the capital, and many years later, he was promoted to the position of Zuo Neishi...

The official selection system of the Han Dynasty was so amazing that as long as one had the ability, a businessman could become a minister of agriculture, and a minor official could rise to the top overnight!
True.

The system of conscription and the system of recommendation have their pros and cons, but this is beyond the scope of today's discussion, so we will not mention it for now.

Back to the banquet.

Seeing that Xian Xuan would not listen to his advice, Wei Qing simply put down his wine cup and stopped drinking. He looked at the crown prince who was chatting with Huo Qubing and asked, "Does your highness have any hidden dangers in the matter of Zhang Tang?"

Hearing the sound, the idle chatter in the room gradually stopped.

Liu Ju said seriously: "Don't worry, uncle. In this matter, I mostly went with the flow and didn't leave any hidden dangers."

Wei Qing nodded slightly, "That's good."

When the three dukes were fighting before, he still adhered to the principle of not getting involved and kept silent. However, not saying anything and not getting involved did not mean that Wei Qing could not see clearly.

Regarding Zhang Tang’s resignation.

After thinking about it, the general understood most of it.

He was asking Liu Ju now to make sure that his nephew, who was "running around everywhere", had not brought bad luck to His Majesty...

The conversation between the two at this moment was rather obscure, but everyone in the room could understand it.

Huo Qubing raised his eyebrows and took over the conversation, "I think your Highness did nothing wrong. If you are indifferent to your guests who come to you for help, how can you convince them in the future?"

“How to attract others to invest?”

This is the truth, but there are some things that we still need to pay attention to.

Since this concerns Your Majesty's plan, it is not appropriate to say too much.

After alleviating his doubts, Wei Qing changed the subject at the right time. Liu Ju and others also tacitly avoided the matter, and the sound of toasting resumed.

If we don't talk about serious matters, we will naturally turn to trivial matters.

Talking and talking.

Everyone started talking about Liu Juzheng’s new restaurant.

The people of Chang'an did not know who the boss behind Chunfeng Tower was, but in the upper echelons of the court, this was not a secret.

The prince used the young eunuch beside him as a shield, with the intention of covering up, but not much...

First look at the cooking, then ask about the boss "Wei".

Did not run away.

It must have been the prince who did it!

"I see this place is quite large, Your Highness doesn't seem to be joking." Wei Qing asked doubtfully, "Is the Crown Prince's Palace short of money?"

The uncle's question touched the heart of his nephew. Liu Ju raised his voice several notches, "It's missing! Of course it's missing!"

Just to make money, he went to so much trouble to set up a restaurant.

High-end restaurant!

The luxury of this place is not reflected in the decoration. The previous statement that it is low-key, luxurious and has connotation is just a cliché. In fact, it is just large in scale and elegant in decoration.

Externally.

Liu Ju did not use anything fancy or beyond the cognition of this era; what truly embodies high-end quality is his signature dish, cooking!

Eh.

Even though Liu Ju found this thing easy to do, the Weiyang Palace also learned it, and even the ministers who were on good terms with the Crown Prince's Palace all learned it.

However, just because the emperor, prince, and ministers can learn it doesn’t mean that ordinary people can do the same.

first.

The iron smelting technology and economic level were not yet able to support every household having a large iron pot.

Secondly.

Oil is also a problem. Cooking cannot be done without oil, and nowadays people mainly get oil from animal sources.

But the imperial palace could slaughter pigs, cows, and sheep every day for meat and oil, but ordinary people couldn't do that. It was very difficult for ordinary people to have oil in every dish.

The reason why I mentioned so many difficulties is that I actually wanted to lay the groundwork for a phenomenon: the price of Chunfeng Tower is very expensive!
If we add some rumors that seem to be related to the Crown Prince's Palace, then it is -

Very expensive!
When Liu Ju told Young Master Wei to open Chunfenglou, he had already clearly specified the target customers: "We only want to make money from rich people!"

Chang'an City may lack anything.

The only thing that will not be lacking is rich people.

When Chunfeng Tower opened for business, some came for the exotic food, some came for the rumors about the Prince's Palace, and some even came specifically to show their support, knowing who the owner behind the restaurant was.

Or maybe it's a show of hospitality...

The chefs here are disciples of the imperial chefs in the palace. Their skills are impeccable, they use real ingredients, and they have fans. How can their business be bad?
This is not.

When Liu Ju wanted to host a banquet for his uncle and others, he had to "clear the place" first, otherwise there would be no place to eat... "The effect is good. I plan to open a few more restaurants in Guanzhong and Guandong. It would be best if there is one in every county."

"Haha."

Liu Ju first talked about his "grand blueprint", then with a frown, he explained why he wanted to make it so big.

Xian Xuan was present, and Liu Ju did not mention the money-eating beast [Jiawei], but only said: "Those old guys in Bowang Garden spend money like water!"

Bragging is fun for a while, but it will be a disaster later...

In order to retain the talents of Song Yi and Tang An, Liu Ju made a big promise, and they were not polite at all.

Call friends and recruit disciples.

Anyway, they were justified. Every time Liu Ju went to Bowang Garden, he could hear the crosstalk of the two old men.

“Do we have too many students?”

"Oh, not much. His Highness asked us to teach him the art of medicine and encouraged us to accept disciples. Don't worry, don't worry!"

"Oh, that's true, but as for money..."

"Well, His Highness has already said that he will cover all expenses, all of them!"

Although the money had to be spent, Liu Ju felt a toothache every time he saw the two old guys, Song Yi and Tang An, one tall and one short.

Everyone present felt the prince's resentment.

Wei Qing looked at his nephew with a dark face and asked in confusion: "I haven't asked you yet, why do you employ so many doctors?"

Nowadays, everyone knows that Bowang Garden has almost become a gathering place for doctors. In the past, Wei Qing just thought that the prince was just acting on a whim.

But now he has been forced to open a restaurant, so why are you still supporting him?

Another person also had this doubt. Huo Qubing looked concerned and asked seriously, "Yes, why do you have to go to so much trouble?"

Hear the words.

Liu Ju looked at Huo Qubing, then at Wei Qing. For a moment, he could only laugh dryly and said, "Haha, I just want to contribute to the medicine of the Han Dynasty."

"Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning."

After hearing this, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing raised their eyebrows. Even the Zuo Nei Shi Xianxuan raised his eyebrows and glanced at the prince, with suspicion flashing in his eyes.

At this moment, the three of them had the same thought in their minds: "Could it be that the prince has a hidden illness?"

Inside the house, it suddenly became a little quiet...

Just when the atmosphere was gradually becoming awkward, fortunately, Xiao Huo, who had been listening, said something serious and broke the awkwardness.

"cough!"

Huo Guang coughed and said, "Some time ago, the Imperial Physician went to Your Majesty to complain to Your Highness, saying that the Crown Prince had violated the rules and that doctors should be under the command of the Imperial Hospital."

This matter was serious enough that it immediately attracted everyone's attention.

After hearing this, Liu Ju's expression froze. When Yi Shuo entered the court as a medical officer, he was squeezed out by those guys in the Imperial Hospital. Now it's happening again?

"Humph!"

Huo Qubing's face turned cold, "Aren't you just worried that the doctors in the Crown Prince's Palace will surpass them and take their positions in the future?"

"He has no ability and will only exclude others! Besides, the doctors of the Prince's Palace belong to the Prince's Palace. Do they need him to be under the command of the Imperial Hospital? You are meddling in other people's business!"

Guan Jun Hou was very disdainful of this and looked at his younger brother.

"What did your Majesty say?"

Under the gaze of the crowd, Huo Guang's face was unnatural for a moment. He looked around and said, "Your Majesty said, minding your own business..."

After the words were spoken, everyone felt a little uncomfortable.

until……

"Ha!" Huo Qubing sneered, breaking the silence.

Then, there was a burst of laughter in the room. Liu Ju laughed wantonly, Wei Qing laughed and shook his head, and Huo Guang laughed a little helplessly.

Anyway, the atmosphere of the conversation returned to harmonious state. To use an impolite word to describe it, it would be: great!
……

at the same time.

Weiyang Palace, Changning Hall.

There was also a conversation going on here, but the atmosphere was a bit weird.

"Since my son was born, Your Majesty has often come to the palace to visit him. The Queen holds a grudge against me and has been bullying me repeatedly in recent days!"

"Woo~"

"What should we do if this continues?"

Li Ji was holding a baby in her arms, her expression was miserable, her almond eyes were filled with tears, and her delicate face was wet with tears.

She looks so pitiful that it makes people feel distressed.

pity.

Li Ji is playing the lute to a cow.

"The Queen bullied you?" Li Guang was puzzled, and then he said angrily: "Go to Your Majesty to seek justice! I don't believe that there is anyone in the harem who can cover up the world with one hand?"

Hear this.

Li Ji wiped her tears with a somewhat stiff movement. "Is it possible for me to go to His Majesty? Why would I tell you that?"

But even as she thought this in her heart, she still sobbed, "Now that Li Cai is gone, I rely entirely on the doctor for help outside the palace. Our Li family..."

Half the story.

Li Ji suddenly noticed that the air was a bit cold. When she looked up, she saw Li Guang glaring at her fiercely!

After the two met, they had only said a few words when Old Man Li could no longer pretend, "Don't mention Li Cai to me!"

Li Guang's eyes were filled with disgust, and he said without mercy, "If he hadn't been bewitched by you, would he have ended up like that!?"

This statement came out.

Li Ji couldn't pretend anymore.

She handed the baby in her arms to the palace maid and waved her hand to disperse the people around her. After doing all this, there was no more pitiful look on her face, only indifference.

"Doctor! You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"

"Who bewitched whom?"

(End of this chapter)