When the first snowflakes fell from the sky, Yang Yuyao was standing at the door to greet her guests. Today she deliberately wore a pure white cotton robe, trailing from her shoulders to her feet. Her long black hair was untouched.
The tie slid down behind the ears, sliding down the back like a waterfall. Slender waist, plump hips, slim legs, and jade neck. Her face was filled with happiness, and a pair of bright black eyes looked forward to the waves.
Like a quiet lotus, blooming quietly on the side of the autumn water. Lei Wanchun, who had just seen how charming she was a few days ago, couldn't help but be stunned, blinked, and the polite words he had prepared were instantly
I completely forgot about it.
"What's the matter? Did Master Lei lose sight of me so quickly?" Yang Yuyao had long expected that Lei Wanchun would have such an expression on his face after seeing her. Yang Yuyao smiled narrowly and pursed her lips as she asked.
"Well..." Lei Wanchun scratched the back of his neck, not hiding his embarrassment at all. "It does feel different from the day before yesterday. Madam, madam, the way she is dressed today, looks like
, like..."
"It's like" for a long time, but he didn't say anything. It seemed that all the words in the world were eclipsed in front of the beauty, but it was only appropriate to say it without any words.
Yang Yuyao smiled again, took the gift from Lei Wanchun, and held it gently in her arms, "Master Lei, you are so polite. I just arranged a simple meal today to thank you for your life-saving grace. Why bother bringing it with you?"
What a gift! Please come inside, it’s windy outside, so please go inside first and have some tea, Mr. Lei."
"Well, haha. Of course, the items that I, Lao Lei, brought out will not be in the eyes of Madam. But it would be too rude to come to the door empty-handed. It's just a small gadget. If Madam likes it, she can play with it for two days. If it doesn't, she will play with it for two days.
, just reward anyone you want!"
As they spoke, the host and guest walked side by side towards the main hall where they would receive guests tonight, with a distance of about three inches. The beeswax in the lanterns on both sides of the corridor danced, causing a pair of shadows to suddenly push forward and suddenly pull apart. It was just the sweet fragrance of flowers.
But it became thicker and thicker, wrapping up the pavilions, courtyards and people in the courtyard, as if they were entering a sweet dream.
Yang Yuyao walked into the main hall holding the gift from Lei Wanchun, and her mood suddenly became as impatient as a little girl. She introduced the guests to their seats, served a cup of tea with her own hands, and said with a smile: "I wonder what kind of treasure is inside.
My benefactor, would you mind if I open the box now?"
"Don't call me benefactor!" Lei Wanchun almost spit out his hot tea, "I'm just passing by and it's just a matter of effort. If you call me benefactor twice more, I won't know how much I weigh. Open the box as you like.
, I have already said that it is not a valuable thing. Madam may not know that I, Lao Lei, am just a soldier at the moment..."
Before he could finish his modest words, Yang Yuyao had already gently opened the gift box. Inside was a piece of Yuezhou white porcelain, which was already valuable to ordinary people's homes. For someone who used beeswax as a pine torch,
The Madame's Mansion of Guo Kingdom seemed too shabby. The only commendable thing was that the entire piece of white porcelain was fired into the shape of a horse, with no saddle or harness, and four hooves flying in the air.
"What a horse, Benxiao! I have never seen such a beautiful horse!" Yang Yuyao, who was used to seeing all kinds of treasures and treating gold like dirt, was interested in a porcelain horse. She held it up in front of her eyes and carefully looked at it.
I looked at it carefully and looked at it. After admiring it for a long time, I carefully placed it in the Duobao Pavilion in the house, and then supported it with my hands, lest it be placed unstablely and fall into pieces. (Note 1)
"My friend helped me choose it. I didn't expect that it would catch Madam's eye!" Seeing that the other party valued the gift he gave so much, Lei Wanchun was in a good mood and added with a smile.
"Are they those two brothers from the Qin family?" Yang Yuyao took her eyes away from the horse and walked over to sit opposite Lei Wanchun. Since it was just a small banquet for two people, she chose a square table instead of the usual large one.
The kind of small table used in banquets. But in this case, the two of them knelt down opposite each other, raised their heads slightly, and could clearly see the light in each other's eyes.
At this time, Lei Wanchun noticed the abnormality in his seat. Embarrassed by his slow reaction, he quickly sat up straight and replied with a smile: "No, Guo model, the two brothers Guozhen have a lot of things at home recently and don't have time.
My immediate boss, Mr. Zhang, helped me choose this person to accompany me when I am wandering around. He has read more books and has a more delicate mind!"
"My benefactor..." he asked casually, and suddenly realized that he had violated Lei Wanchun's taboo again. Yang Yuyao quickly covered her red lips with spring onion-like fingers, "Look at my memory. I asked you to be my benefactor again."
But if I don’t call you my benefactor, what should I call you?”
"Hey, you can just call me Lao Lei, a strong man. Or you can just call me by my name. I'm a rough guy, and I'm not that particular!" Lei Wanchun waved his hand carelessly, indicating that the other party was casual, and at the same time tried his best to be nice.
Gotta relax a little bit.
It's not like he had never seen a beautiful woman before. Before coming to the banquet, he swore to Zhang Xun and Wang Xun that he was upright and straight and would never fall into chaos just because of beauty.
But all the promises began to fail the moment I saw Mrs. Guo Guo. I always felt panicked in my heart, as if there were hundreds of hands scratching at her.
"Then don't call me madam!" Yang Yuyao pouted, bargaining with Lei Wanchun like a little girl. "My name is Yang Yuyao, or Pei'er. Brother Lei can call me Yuyao, or Pei'er!"
"I obey my lady's order!" Lei Wanchun nodded solemnly and opened his mouth, but he couldn't pronounce the few syllables that the other party was expecting. He shook his head and said with a smile: "I'm not used to calling people by their nicknames.
Let's just keep it simple, you and I are equal. Anyway, there won't be a third person tonight!"
"Okay!" Yang Yuyao felt a faint disappointment in her heart, and soon a smile broke out on her face, "What does Brother Lei like to eat?"
"What do you have here?" Lei Wanchun stopped being polite and asked with a smile, "It's up to the guest to do as he pleases. As long as you have wine and meat. Don't prepare any delicacies from all over the world. Even if you give it to me, I can't eat it.
It’s great. But it may not fill your stomach!”
Yang Yuyao was stunned again. She didn't expect that Lei Wanchun's request was so simple. She had put a lot of thought into this banquet in advance. Not only were royal banquets these days particular about luxury, even ordinary wealthy families in Chang'an City were treating guests, as long as they were not
If you are so poor that you can't live any longer, you can't live without bird's nests, shark's fins, deer lips, bear paws, camel hooves, etc.
Unexpectedly, Lei Wanchun's request was so simple. He didn't want to taste those delicacies, he just wanted to be drunk and full. For the cook in Mrs. Guo's house, this request was too general. But it was not difficult for Yang Yuyao.
I saw her thinking deeply, having an idea in her mind, clapped her hands, and ordered to the maid beside her who was serving the banquet: "Let the kitchen prepare a freshly slaughtered deer, skin it, and bring it directly over here. Then prepare the charcoal."
Basin, stone slab and grill. It’s snowing today, so we just have a warm meal!”
This time, Lei Wanchun was a little overjoyed. He smiled, glared and asked, "Are you also willing to eat barbecue? Darling, I thought only rough people like me could enjoy this!"
"It's roasted, of course it's better to bake it and eat it right away." Yang Yuyao responded with a smile, a light flashing in her eyes.
After a while, a freshly skinned fawn was delivered. Yang Yuyao waved the maid who came to serve her to leave. She rolled up her sleeves and cut off a piece of meat with a bit of light yellow fat from the deer's back, using an iron drill to cut it off.
After putting it on, he slowly placed it on the white copper charcoal basin that the servants had just brought in.
The pot was made of fine white charcoal, without a trace of smoke, and the faint blue flames were jumping up and down. When the fat venison was smoked by the heat, a layer of oil immediately appeared. I saw the oil droplets gathering more and more.
It was so big that it slowly gathered into drops. Finally it could no longer hang on the piece of meat and fell into the brazier with a "snap" sound.
The blue flames in the brazier immediately jumped up and turned into a bright golden color in mid-air. Yang Yuyao did not dodge, but grabbed the iron stick with the meat on it and slowly turned it over the yellow flame. Watching the surface of the meat turn into
When it was golden brown, he took off the meat with a smile, put it on a silver tray, and gently cut it into thin slices with a knife. Then he brought the seasoning and meat slices to Lei Wanchun, "I haven't done this for a long time.
My hand is already raw. I hope Brother Lei can eat it!"
"If this is still considered a skill, the things Lao Lei usually bakes by himself are only worthy of feeding dogs!" Lei Wanchun, who was already dumbfounded, shook his head, laughed and took the tray over. He couldn't remember clearly.
This was the first time tonight that he was shocked. He didn't expect that the hostess would grill meat for him after he casually said it. What's more, he didn't expect that a well-dressed woman could even cook barbecue.
Be so skilled.
"It's my brother's taste!" Yang Yuyao asked in a low voice as he watched Lei Wanchun eat a few pieces of meat with a smile.
"Very good, very good. This taste is so authentic!" With meat in his mouth, Lei Wanchun relaxed a lot, nodded, and praised with a smile.
Suddenly, he found that all the roasted meat was in front of him. He quickly pushed the plate forward and said politely with a smile: "You can eat too. Why did you give all the good things to me, Lao Lei?!"
Yang Yuyao nodded, picked up a small piece of meat with chopsticks, dipped it in the seasoning box in front of her, put it in her mouth and tasted it slowly. Fresh barbecue has a mellow taste. She originally thought it was too irritating, so tonight
It tasted very smooth. So I picked up a few more pieces with chopsticks and ate them all gracefully. Then I used an iron skewer to pierce a few pieces of deer spine at the same time and roasted them slowly.
"I'm here to help you!" Lei Wanchun was too embarrassed to just eat and not work. He grabbed a few iron sticks and slowly turned them on the brazier like Yang Yuyao. Yang Yuyao looked at him with a smile and did not refuse.
, staring at the flames quietly, enjoying the warmth and tranquility of the moment.
After a while, several pieces of meat were cooked. The host and guest cut the meat open, without distinguishing which piece was roasted, and ate it happily with a sip of wine and a piece of meat. After a while, both of them had tattoos on their foreheads.
Beads of sweat broke out from the heat, and my face became red and unspeakably hot.
"Brother just said, Xiao Zhang Tanhua is your immediate boss?" Yang Yuyao had a weak appetite, so she was full after eating a few slices. She then put it on a stone board and slowly smoked it, preparing to use it to grill the deer legs later.
"Yeah!" Lei Wanchun put down his wine cup and responded with a smile. "Yes, I started following him seven or eight years ago. At that time, he had not yet been released as an official, and I was trapped in the capital with him.
Thanks to the help of Mr. Qin from the Qin Mansion, he got a job as a county magistrate!"
Yang Yuyao has already inquired about Lei Wanchun's past through various channels, but now hearing the other person talk about it in person, she still feels very cordial. "My sister feels that the eldest brother and Xiao Zhang Tanhua should be two completely different types of people. You
How could you ignore the relaxed and comfortable ranger and listen to his orders instead?!"
"This is a long story!" Lei Wanchun drank another bowl of wine and shook his head with a smile.
"Can you tell me, little sister?" Yang Yuyao tilted her head, obviously very curious about the reason.
"Haha, if you are interested in listening, it's okay to talk to you!" Lei Wanchun replied with a smile, and put a piece of barbecue into his mouth. While chewing the mellow country flavor, he said with a smile: "Then
I had just killed a vicious thief in 2008, and I was in a good mood. Then I met him in a Taoist temple who was also staying there. Several friends praised me for my great ability and eliminating harm for the people. He was the only one who heard it.
I just gave him a cold snort!"
"Why?" Maybe it was because she had been lonely for too long. When Yang Yuyao first heard about these legends, her interest was so strong that she could not hide it.
Lei Wanchun smiled and continued: "I asked him the same question at that time. You are a nerd who doesn't understand shit, but you dare to laugh at me? As a result, he stopped me in a few words."
"He asked me why I killed the villain. I said that the villain was disrespectful of human life and deserved to be killed. Then he asked me, if you killed someone without the permission of the government, does that constitute disrespect of human life?"
"Of course it doesn't count!" Yang Yuyao immediately raised her eyes and defended Lei Wanchun.
"I think so too. That villain must have deserved his punishment for killing innocent people. But he also asked me, how can I conclude that?
Do villains kill innocent people? Before I kill a villain, do I ask him why he kills people? If the villain kills people for a reason, does my behavior count as indiscriminate killing of innocent people?"
Talking while eating is a very rude behavior in a banquet, but Lei Wanchun's carefree attitude of taking a sip of wine and a sip of meat gave people a very relaxed and comfortable feeling. Yang Yuyao listened and accepted it
The other party was infected, so he also grabbed the wine cup, took a sip of wine and a bite of meat and started eating again.
"I was stunned by Zhang Xun. I told him to go away and don't spoil my fun. But he asked me again, knowing that I might have done something wrong but not allowing others to tell me, was it a kind of evil?
Okay. If he is better than me at this moment, if he chops me up with a knife, does that count as eliminating harm for the people?!"
"This man is really annoying. If I were you, I would beat him up!" Yang Yuyao curled her lips and said with great disdain.
"But if I beat him up, I would be able to bully others with my strength." Lei Wanchun shook his head, put away his smile, and said in a low voice. "Then I asked him, if it were me instead, what would he do?
What should we do? He said that everything in the world must be governed by rules. No one can replace the law with his own likes and dislikes. In his place, he would arrest the villain to file a lawsuit and let the government judge it. The decision should be made.
If everyone should be beheaded, behead them. If everyone is like me and relies entirely on their own personal judgment to decide the life and death of others, what will be left in the world will not be heroes, but a group of robbers!"
This theory was quite new, and Yang Yuyao was confused when she heard it. She knew in her heart that Zhang Xun's words were too childish and would never be realized in the Tang Dynasty. The so-called rules have always been to protect the powerful, and those without power.
Those without power will be crushed alive by the rules.
"He said that if there is something wrong with the rules, he can try to get the court to change the rules. If an official is illegal, he can impeach the court and ask the court to replace the official. Only everyone can use their own likes and dislikes as the standard to practice chivalry.
It is forbidden to be righteous. It seems that you are doing harm to the people, but in fact you may have become a big disaster. If there are lawless people who use their martial arts to kill people everywhere, but they keep saying that they are doing chivalry and justice. The government
I have no power to restrain him. In the end, whoever has the biggest fist in this world has the final say. It’s no different from a pack of wolves!”
"I couldn't defeat him. I had to call him a nerd. But he said, 'You haven't seen how I do things, how do you know what I say won't work?' So I made a bet with him. If he became an official,
Sooner or later, I will forget what I said today. He told me, 'You can always watch by my side. If you find that I have forgotten, just take a knife and cut my head.' I drank too much at the time, so I
I agreed on impulse. As a result, who knew that boy had not yet become an official at that time. It would be several years before he became a small county magistrate!"
Lei Wanchun was not a man of words to begin with, so what he said was very long-winded. But Yang Yuyao listened with gusto. She stretched out her hand to pour a glass of wine for him, poured half a glass for herself, and raised it to her eyebrows.
, summed up with a smile: "In the final analysis, the eldest brother is still a hero who promises a thousand pieces of gold. If it were the younger sister who found out that she said the wrong thing in the heat of the moment, she would just walk away. No one named Zhang can catch up with me anyway!"
"Later I discovered that what he said actually made sense!" Lei Wanchun sighed, grabbed the wine cup, and took a sip. "Although he has encountered obstacles in recent years, a good official like him, no matter where he goes,
The local villains will restrain their behavior. The effect is indeed a hundred times better than me carrying a sword and going around killing people!"
"That's not necessarily true. How can there be so many good officials like Xiao Zhang Tanhua in the world!" Yang Yuyao had long forgotten her identity, smiled, and commented in a low voice. "It's not all about bending the knee to flatter the superiors and plundering the inferiors.
Wudu? Xiao Zhang Tanhua can't do anything to them. On the contrary, holding a sword like the big brother did before makes them even more afraid!"
"I can't do anything about them!" Lei Wanchun shook his head with a smile. "Not all people who learn martial arts like to be knights. The bigger the official, the stronger the warriors he raises. Officials like county magistrates, I
If you go to assassinate them, you might still be able to succeed. When you reach the level of the governor, it will be difficult to escape unscathed. As for the higher ones, such as your brother, I guess he was shot to death by a hard crossbow before I could get within ten steps of him.
sieve!"
"Brother?" Yang Yuyao suddenly woke up, widened her soul-stirring eyebrows, and asked with a smile. "In your eyes, is my brother a heinous crime?"
"I was just making an analogy casually, not to say that your brother is a heinous person!" Lei Wanchun woke up in an instant and explained sarcastically.
Note 1: Benxiao, also known as Baiyi, is one of the eight horses of King Mu.
