comeback [rebirth]

The dinner party is scheduled to be held at the palace at three o'clock in the unitary hour.

Although according to the small official who reported back, this banquet is more of a family banquet, just a meal and a chat, so that they don't have to pay attention to it, as if they were at their own home.But Cen Yuan and the others are well aware that even if it is concise, it may not be so concise.

What's more, whether it is more "exquisite" here or Chang'an, I am afraid it is also a question to be discussed.

Logically speaking, Cen Yuan seems to have to dress up to attend the event, but he is convenient and neatly dressed, and almost all of his clothes are narrow-sleeved clothes, so when the two arrived in front of the Chu Palace, it was more like a coincidence The passers-by who passed by were only superior in appearance and temperament.

There were already several people waiting in front of the palace gate, and the two figures were recognized in the crowd immediately, and the leader quickly greeted them warmly.

"Second Highness." It was the King of Chu who came.

If it is based on seniority, Cen Yuan should actually call him Uncle Huang.

The current king of Chu is the inherited throne of the old prince, who is the father of Emperor Ning and the younger brother of Emperor Ningwen, the previous emperor.

Perhaps it is because the water and soil in the south of the Yangtze River have fattened the chickens, ducks and fishes. The king of Chu has just reached the age of [-], but he is already as round as a ball. Watching him walk, Cen Yuan feels that he will be killed at any time. The big belly was so exhausted that it threw itself on the ground.

In addition, Cen Yuan just remembered that he had heard before that the King of Chu loved singing and dancing, and he often held singing and dancing activities in the county. The woman came here to compete.

It is precisely because of this that there is almost every two or three streets in Chudi a place for people to watch singing and dancing. When walking along the way just now, Cen Yuan felt that he saw many faces that were deeper than ordinary people.

In fact, if Cen Yuan hadn't come to investigate this matter in person, if he were asked to name the princes and kings who might have treasonous intentions, he would never have thought of the Chu king in the first place—after all, besides singing and dancing, He hadn't heard that this idle prince was "famous all over the world", and he didn't seem to be someone who would have anything to do with Li Bing.

However, he changed his mind and thought, didn't he deliberately show his idle side in front of others before, and why don't others just pretend?

As a result, he inadvertently smiled, but the smile was quickly suppressed.Then he said to the king of Chu, "I have seen the emperor."

King Chu boasted that their relationship was far away, and he was not worthy of the title, so he quickly saluted, "Second Highness, please don't be polite."

After finishing speaking, he turned his attention to Yan Xuan: "This is General Yan."

It seems that compared with the official position, in the heart of the King of Chu, Yan Xuan's status as a cavalry general is obviously more important.

Yan Xuan only said: "I have seen the prince."

The king of Chu nodded when he heard the words, with a smile on his face, but this smile looked a little silly because of the fatness of his face.

"It's a real honor for the two of you to visit the Chu Kingdom this time." He said, "But before that, it's time to congratulate the two of you for getting married."

On the day of getting married, Cen Yuan's ears were almost callused when he heard this sentence, but after a few days, he still feels a little embarrassed when he hears this sentence.

At this time, the sun had completely set, and the lantern hanging high at the gate of the palace reflected his face from the front, making the blushing blushing behind his ears completely immersed in the shadows, making it difficult for people to notice.

He coughed lightly, and before he could say anything, Yan Xuan, who was at the side, still remembered what Cen Yuan said, and took the initiative to take over the drudgery of talking: "My lord, you are welcome."

Cen Yuan raised his eyebrows when he heard the words, and then simply stood with his hands behind his back, entrusting full authority to the little general.

Perhaps it was because a group of people stood at the door—it was still the door of the palace, which was particularly eye-catching, and people passing by all cast curious glances.

The king of Chu didn't like the sight of being scrutinized, and it was not good for the other party to stand in full view. After all, he heard that these two were traveling in low clothes, so he quickly laughed and pointed to the mansion: "Second Highness, General Yan, let's go into the mansion, let's have a banquet and talk."

Waiting for the sight from the outside to be completely blocked by the gate, the King of Chu personally led them to the main hall where the banquet was held.

The few people who were with the King of Chu just now naturally followed up together, and Cen Yuan glanced at them.

King Chu followed Cen Yuan's line of sight, and quickly realized that he hadn't made an introduction, so he patted his head: "Look at my elm head, I almost forgot."

He first introduced one of the women and the fat boy, who were no different from what Cen Yuan guessed privately, they were Princess Chu and the prince respectively.

That son doesn't know how old he is this year, he looks exactly like his father, even his figure seems to have been reduced by a size, round head and round brain are quite cute, but it can't help but make people worry about this Stools and beds in the palace.

And from what the king of Chu accidentally said, it can be heard that the prince himself seems to be suffering from minor ailments due to physical reasons, and he is also worried about his own brat.

Cen Yuan's thoughts had long drifted to the koi in the lotus pond during his long speech, until Princess Chu came forward with her son to salute the two.

"Second Highness, General Yan."

Cen Yuan looked away from the koi carp, replied politely, and then heard Princess Chu say: "You two are newcomers, logically speaking, I should give you some gifts."

Originally, the words came in from Cen Yuan's left ear and out of his right ear, and he was waiting for Yan Xuan to say some words of approval for him. However, from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the lips of the person next to him, and he only nodded slightly at Princess Chu as a signal. It looks like he's about to speak.

If it's a gift, he can't accept a big gift, it's a small gift, who knows what "exquisiteness" will be in it.

As a last resort, Cen Yuan had no choice but to answer by himself: "Princess, you are being polite. Actually, it doesn't take so much trouble."

However, as soon as he opened his mouth, he felt Yan Xuan's eyes lightly fall on him.

Concubine Chu shook her head: "It should be. But I think about it, the two adults should be well-clothed and well-fed in Chang'an, and many things here may not look good, so I can only take these."

As she spoke, she took out two sachets from her bosom.

The sachet looked like an ordinary cloth bag, but now that Princess Chu took it out and got closer, she could still smell an extremely light fragrance.

"My concubine and my younger sister opened a shop specializing in rouge gouache in Danlin County, but presumably the two of you don't need rouge gouache, so you can only make two sachets." Princess Chu said.

"Earlier, a friend came from a place called Amu in the Western Regions, and specially brought a strange flower called Yonghun flower from them. It is said that it only grows on the top of the holy mountain. It is extremely difficult to harvest, and the yield is not much. According to them According to the saying there, this flower has the effect of calming the nerves and strengthening the soul, so as to prolong the life of a person, but in the final analysis, it is actually some effect of refreshing the heart and benefiting the circulation of qi and blood."

Cen Yuan responded, "Is there such a rare flower?"

"That's what the concubine's friend said. I don't know if it's an exaggeration, but at least it's harmless to the body." She teased with a smile, and then handed the sachet to the two, "Although the flowers can be eaten, but The best way is to crush a petal and mix it into a sachet. The Eternal Soul Flower itself has a faint ice-cold smell, which lasts for a long time and is light in taste. smell, so people who are sensitive to smell will not feel that the smell is too strong. Why don't you two just believe it, if you don't dislike it, please accept it."

Princess Chu made such a long speech, and it was difficult for the two of them to make excuses, so they each accepted it.

After accepting it, Yan Xuan said, "For such a precious thing, Princess Chu must have made a similar sachet for King Chu."

The king of Chu laughed twice before taking over the conversation: "That's natural."

He showed his waist to the two, and there was a sachet hung there.

Yan Xuan narrowed his eyes and took a look, and said, "The pattern of this cloth bag is different."

The colors of the three cloth bags were completely different, but Cen Yuan didn't pay attention to it. Now after Yan Xuan said it, he realized that each cloth bag was embroidered with different flowers.

Princess Chu quickly explained: "The Eternal Soul Flower has eight petals in total, and I took eight cloth bags for myself. Because there happened to be one rose embroidered on it, I also embroidered on the other ones. The patterns of different flowers. Moreover, the prince's cloth pouch has also added some other medicinal herbs for healing, so it will be easy to distinguish by then."

She immediately took off the one she was wearing and showed it in front of the two of them—it was a platycodon flower on it.

Cen Yuan took a closer look and found that the two cloth bags he and Yan Xuan received were embroidered with irises and hyacinths, while the one on King Chu's body looked like marigolds.

In addition, he also saw a sachet of the same type on Shizi, but he didn't think there was any problem.What made him strange was that the other person who accompanied him also had the same thing on his waist.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the man took advantage of the situation and introduced himself: "Second Highness, Lord Yan, and I am Li Ping, Captain of Hua Chu."

Cen Yuan nodded knowingly—this is the person in charge of the Confederate Army's conscription.

That is to say, if there is an abnormality in the recruited soldiers, it is impossible for Li Duwei not to know about it.

His thoughts flashed across his mind quickly, but in fact it was only a moment.In the next moment, Princess Chu explained: "This is my father, so I also made a sachet for him."

This was something Cen Yuan had never understood before, he raised his eyebrows and sighed: "I see."

At this time, Princess Chu suddenly said "Hey": "Master Zhao, are you not wearing a sachet?"

Hearing this question, the rest of the people all turned their attention to a young man who had never spoken.

Cen Yuan smacked that person's name in his heart——Zhao Yu.

In fact, just by looking at his appearance and age, it is easy to guess that this person is Zhao Yu, but because after entering the palace, he stayed behind the crowd all by himself without saying a word, so Cen Yuan didn't give him too much. It wasn't until now that he was able to look at the other party openly.

This Mr. Zhao is dressed in a crimson brocade robe with wide sleeves and a jade crown on his head. He looks pretty good, with upturned eyes and a faint smile in his eyes. At first glance, he looks a bit demonic.

Cen Yuan thought about the prime minister's appearance, and thought that Mr. Zhao should follow his mother a lot, otherwise he wouldn't look like this.

It's just that I don't know if it's Cen Yuan's preconceived psychological effect. When he met Zhao Yu's eyes, he tasted something similar to the prime minister.

——It looks harmless at first glance, but there is almost imperceptible shrewdness reflected in his eyes.

At the same time, Zhao Yu also saluted the two first: "Hua Chu Taishou Zhao Yu, I have seen the Second Highness, and I have seen Lord Yan."

The two nodded each other, as a response.

The other party didn't say much, and then turned to Princess Chu: "After learning about the dinner tonight, I went back home and changed a set of clothes. I'm afraid I forgot to put them on at that time."

"That's how it is." Princess Chu said lightly, and then she didn't say much.

On the contrary, the King of Chu added with a smile: "Lord Zhao, you obviously have to forget once every three days. I didn't see you wearing it when I met you this morning."

Perhaps it was because King Chu's tone was relaxed, and Zhao Yu also laughed when he heard the words: "I'm afraid I forgot this morning. The officials are dull, and this sachet is too small, and the smell is not obvious. If you forget to wear it for a while, It’s really hard to remember.”

"Princess, go back and talk to your sister. It's better to add a few more herbs with stronger flavors to Mr. Zhao's sachet." Chu Wang said with a smile, then turned his head and said to the two: "These two Although they are important officials in the county, they are also family members at the same time, the two of you must never mind."

Cen Yuan only responded with a smile, and then he heard the king of Chu turn to Yan Xuan very naturally, as if he said casually: "General Yan, I know that it is time for the Southern Army to recruit soldiers, and you are now in an important position. The second is to travel, but I think you will probably be more concerned about this matter, so I told Lord Li in advance - if you want to see the situation, or have any questions, just ask Lord Li .”

Hearing this, Cen Yuan was stunned.

——The King of Chu is really not afraid, thinking that no matter how they investigate, they will not be able to find him, or is it true that he has nothing to do with this matter?

Cen Yuan stared at the other person's expression, didn't see anything wrong for a while, and glanced at Yan Xuan without any trace.

Seeing that the latter nodded and simply echoed, in order not to startle the snake, and because of his personality, he didn't say much.

They talked while walking, and stopped for a few steps in the middle. They just walked out of the covered bridge at this moment, and the main hall was in front of them.

"But that's all for later." King Chu laughed, "tonight is just like what I said just now, it's a family feast. I specially invited Yu Niang from Pingpei Tower to dance for fun. This Yu Niang's Wu is Danlin's best, you two are lucky."

Yan Xuan didn't respond, so Cen Yuan made a look of anticipation at the right time, and answered instinctively: "Oh? I really can't wait."

"Haha, I promise to satisfy the Second Highness." The king of Chu smiled and led them into the room, then pointed to the wine jars on the lower side, and said, "This is the peach wine that is abundant in Huachu, and now is the season when the peaches are ripe. You guys might as well try it, it must taste different from Chang'an wine."

As soon as he saw the wine jar, the look of anticipation on Cen Yuan's face changed from fake to sincere. He could almost smell the aroma of wine, and his eyes lit up obviously.

However, at this time, Yan Xuan suddenly said: "Your Highness was drunk last night, and he hasn't recovered from it today. I'm afraid he will disappoint King Chu's kindness."

Cen Yuan: "???"

The little general is quick to grab the words right now!