The young general fumbled around and walked to the door, then said: "My eyes seem to be better again, don't bother me..." Oh, by the way, Mr. Tang, there is a girl outside looking for you. She said her surname is Li...
"
Tang Ning knew only one girl named Li. He looked at Zhao Man and said, "Princess, wait here for a while, I'll go out for a while."
Zhao Man stood there and frowned: "A girl named Li?"
In the Splendid Palace, Tang Ning walked to a side hall, looked at Li Tianlan, and asked in surprise: "Why are you here?"
Li Tianlan said: "My father said that yesterday's banquet does not count and will be made up for today. Let me invite you over."
"But I've already eaten just now." Tangning shook her head and said, "It's better not to go."
Li Tianlan glanced at him, stood up and said, "It's up to you."
The sight of her made Tangning feel a little guilty, as if she was possessed by a demon.
"Wait a minute." Tangning stopped her and said, "Maybe your father has something important to say, so I'd better go back with you."
Zhao Man ran in from outside and asked, "Where are you going?"
Tang Ning explained: "I'm going to Prince Xin's Mansion and will be back soon."
Zhao Man looked at him and said, "I want to go with you."
Tangning walked up to her and whispered, "I'll be back soon. Just wait here."
Zhao Man looked at Li Tianlan, then looked at Tang Ning, and said, "Then I'll wait for you. Come back soon."
After walking out of Jinxiu Palace, Li Tianlan looked at him and asked, "Is that Princess Pingyang just now?"
Tangning nodded.
Li Tianlan looked forward and said, "This princess is very beautiful."
Tang Ning said: "You are each other."
"She's still young."
"Aren't you in your prime?"
"She is a princess and has a distinguished status."
"You can become a princess if you want."
…
The first meeting between the princess and the princess was quite harmonious. Tangning relied on her outstanding desire to survive and arrived at Prince Xin's Mansion without incident.
In the hall, Princess Xin looked at him with a smile and said, "Xiao Tang is here, sit down quickly."
Tangning cupped her hands and said, "I have met the prince and the princess."
"You're welcome." Princess Xin smiled and said, "Just treat this place as your own home."
The banquet in Prince Xin's Mansion was not elaborate. There was a table with people sitting on four sides, as if they were having a meal at home. Tangning sat opposite Prince Xin, with Li Tianlan on the left and Princess Xin on the right.
When they met for the second time, Princess Xin's attitude towards him was much more enthusiastic than yesterday, while Prince Xin still had a cold face, which always reminded Tang Ning of Rich Man Tang.
King Xin looked at him and said, "Eat."
Tang Ning picked up a piece of cucumber and put it in her mouth, then frowned slightly.
King Xin paused in his chopsticks, then dropped the cucumber he picked up on the table, and asked: "What, it's poisonous?"
"Too sour."
Tang Ning shook her head and said, "Who made this dish? There was too much vinegar."
King Xin glanced at him and said, "Just eat it."
Tang Ning glanced at him, what kind of attitude was this? Is this how you treat others to dinner? She didn't owe him money or favors. She was supposed to hold a banquet to repay his kindness, but she didn't expect that she would let him test poison.
of.
In fact, he doesn't need to be so careful at all. The most commonly used arsenic can be detected with a silver needle. The other doses are too small and useless. A large dose will definitely affect the taste. Chronic ones like whooping incense are almost unnoticeable.
The poison is not much.
If it weren't for the princess, Xin Wangfu, he wouldn't bother to come over.
Seeing that Tang Ning had tasted all the dishes, King Xin looked at Princess Xin and said, "You should feel relieved now. I'm always worried that wrinkles will appear on my face."
Princess Xin looked at him and frowned: "Do you think I'm old?"
King Xin looked at her and whispered: "There are still outsiders here."
"What kind of outsider is Xiao Tang?" Princess Xin looked at Tang Ning and said, "Will outsiders save us twice?"
Tang Ning took a bite of food and said, "I have a few recipes here that can be used on the face to eliminate wrinkles. If the princess likes them, I will write them down and bring them over next time."
Princess Xin looked at him and asked in surprise: "Is there such a recipe?"
Tang Ning nodded and said, "They are all secret recipes that have not been passed down. In the capital of Chen State, you can only buy patent medicines at a high price."
These prescriptions were found by Tang Ning from the prescriptions of the Imperial Hospital, and were improved by herself. They are all natural and pollution-free. They were originally used to please her mother-in-law, but the princess no longer treated him as an outsider, and just gave them to her as a personal favor.
It's okay to go out.
Women will never reject beauty. The ladies of Chen State have already been conquered. You can also consider opening a few branches in Chu State and build a reputation among the princesses first.
"That's so embarrassing." Princess Xin looked at him and said with a smile, "There's no need to wait for next time. I'll let Lanlan take you to her study later and write down a few recipes without delaying anything."
Tangning still underestimated middle-aged women's pursuit of beauty, nodded and said, "That's fine."
Li Tianlan's study is in her courtyard, where Tangning jumped over the wall last time.
When he walked into the study room, he saw neat rows of bookshelves filled with books.
Xiaoyi is called a talented woman because she can write poems and lyrics, and she can also write splendid articles. But in terms of breadth of knowledge, she still cannot compare with Li Tianlan.
You can pass the exam with this book.
He even found a bookshelf, which was full of books such as "The Romance of the West Chamber", "The Peony Pavilion" and "The Peach Blossom Fan" in various versions. These were genuine books from Tang Renzhai, and he didn't know how she bought them.
After Tangning finished writing the recipe, she said, "Although you need to be careful about your meals, you don't need to be too careful. Just have someone keep an eye on you throughout the process."
None of these royal nobles have any experience in guarding against assassins. If King Xin didn't even have these few trusted people, he wouldn't be where he is today.
Li Tianlan said: "My father just wants to make my mother and concubine feel at ease."
Tangning looked at her, thought for a while, and asked, "What exactly does King Xin think?"
"I don't know." Li Tianlan shook his head and said, "I only know that my father doesn't actually want to sit in that position."
Tang Ning didn't know whether King Xin had any intention of getting involved in the throne, but he definitely didn't look like someone who was just waiting to be killed. The situation in Kyoto and the mission of the Chen State delegation were all in his mind.
There were already turbulent waves in the court of Chu State. Although it was suppressed by the Emperor of Chu, the undercurrent was still constant. It could not be said that the country was overthrown and the country changed hands.
He returned from Prince Xin's Mansion, and soon He Rui knocked on the door and came in.
"Sir, Honglu Temple sent another post today." He put a post on the table and said: "Although the wedding banquet prepared by the Ministry of Rites has been postponed, the Emperor of Chu ordered Honglu Temple to entertain us and the grassland.
Envoy, the banquet is scheduled for two days later."
Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites share some of the same functions, but they are independent of each other. However, no matter what, the posts of these two departments are of an official nature.
He Rui looked at him, thought for a while and then said: "Sir, it is right for them to entertain us, but at the same time they also entertain the prairie people. What do they mean?"
Tang Ning asked: "What's going on over there in the grassland these past two days?"
"Another envoy has arrived, he seems to be of high status." He Rui looked at him and said solemnly: "The grassland people have raised the conditions for marrying Princess Changning to sending 3,000 Chu war horses every year and non-aggression within ten years.
…”
There are three thousand war horses every year, which is a number that cannot be ignored for Wanyan Dabu. It is hard to imagine that they would be willing to pay such a price just to marry a woman...
This will not bring them any substantial benefits. The only benefit is that it will damage the relationship between Chen and Chu, or they may have any follow-up plans...
"Then get ready for the banquet." Unable to think of anything further for the time being, Tang Ning looked at He Rui and said, "No matter what their plans are, the fox's tail will soon show up..."
