pappabearbooks Chapter 66 Poetry and Wine Party
Chapter 66 Poetry and Wine Party
We boarded the carriage, left the gate, and drove onto the main road of the western city, stopping at the agreed-upon location.
After a short while, the Zhang family's carriage arrived. Zhang Su lifted the curtain and smiled at Jia Lian, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled you to wait so long, Brother Lian."
"Second Brother Su, you're too kind. I just arrived too. Shall we leave now?"
"Wait a moment, I still have an appointment with someone."
Jia Lian nodded. While waiting for the others, Jia Lian spoke to Zhang Su across the carriage and casually asked, "How long have you known the Fourth Prince, Second Brother?"
"Since I completed my studies, I have been appointed by His Majesty as His Highness's study companion, and it has been almost three years now."
Upon hearing this, Jia Lian thought to himself that being able to study had its advantages. For example, compared to Zhang Su, the Jia family was actually of a higher social standing, and Zhang Su was only the second grandson of the Zhang family, yet he had already been mingling with princes and imperial relatives.
To this day, he probably doesn't even recognize a single prince, let alone have any relationship with him.
During his vacation, the Fourth Prince held a poetry and wine party at his new residence and invited Zhang Su.
During this period, under Jia Lian's deliberate efforts to befriend him, Zhang Su's relationship with Jia Lian quickly warmed up. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and this applies to men as well. As children, they had urinated together and peeked at other people's young ladies together. Now, after many years, they have rekindled their old friendship, which is naturally closer than that of ordinary cousins.
Therefore, Zhang Su invited Jia Lian to accompany him to the Fourth Prince's residence today, and Jia Lian did not refuse.
Not long after they finished speaking, another carriage drove up from the east end of the street, also lightly equipped.
As soon as they approached, a tall, slender young man dressed in a green robe nimbly jumped down.
He stepped forward, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, and said, "I apologize for keeping you both waiting."
Zhang Su smiled and said, "Let me introduce you, Brother Lian. This is the son of General Feng, the Divine Martial General. His given name is Zi (紫) above Ying (英). I wonder if you recognize him?"
Jia Lian looked at Feng Ziying, who was smiling at him from the ground, and nodded, saying, "I have met Brother Feng a few times, but we rarely keep in touch."
Feng Ziying then bowed to Jia Lian, saying, "I didn't expect to see you here, Brother Lian. I am very pleased."
Seeing that the two knew each other, Zhang Su didn't say much, let Feng Ziying get into the carriage, and then ordered them to set off.
Zhang Su frequently entered and exited the imperial city, so the city gate guards all recognized him and did not question them, letting them pass directly.
The imperial city was much quieter than the city center, especially in the dead of winter. There were hardly any people on the main roads, with only the occasional passing carriage making some noise, which quickly subsided.
Before even reaching the newly built residence of the Fourth Prince, this place was much more vibrant than other places.
As you approach the gate, you can feel the restless atmosphere inside.
Jia Lian and his two companions alighted from their carriages one by one, having prepared simple gifts of congratulations. As they were registering their arrival, a large carriage suddenly sped towards them and abruptly stopped in front of the mansion gate. Behind it followed a large retinue of servants.
A young man in fine clothes was helped down from the carriage, and he cursed, "Damn it, it's getting colder and colder!"
Then he turned around and ordered, "Quickly bring out my Black General... Hmph, he's been hiding for so long, today I'll see how he can hide now, and what he can use to deal with my Black General."
As he finished speaking, two attendants respectfully carried a cage out of the carriage. Through the ornate mesh, one could clearly see a proud and spirited rooster inside. However, most of its black feathers had fallen off, revealing its dark, grimy body, making it look quite comical.
The young man didn't seem to care. Upon seeing the black chicken, he treated it like his own wife, quickly taking it and holding it in his arms. He covered it with his sleeve as he walked forward, seemingly afraid that his "beloved wife" would be exposed to a bit of cold wind.
Jia Lian had seen cockfighting before, but he still couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
Zhang Su also found it amusing, but he recognized the young man, so he subtly tugged at Jia Lian, telling him to be careful.
Jia Lian found it amusing, and a slight smile involuntarily appeared on his face, but he did not make any mocking gestures or utter any discordant sounds.
However, the young man seemed to sense the way Jia Lian and the other two were looking at him like he was a monkey. He glanced at them, and seeing they weren't royalty, sneered, "Country bumpkins!"
Upon hearing this, Jia Lian found it even more intriguing. He felt he had witnessed this scene before, and certainly more than once.
Fortunately, the story didn't turn out the way he had imagined. The young man didn't seem to want to cause them any trouble. He just snorted and carried his wife into the house, looking quite smug.
Zhang Su then revealed the same smile as Jia Lian and introduced, "This is the heir of Prince Duan, a top-notch rogue of the royal family, and he has quite a history of grudges and entanglements with our Fourth Prince."
Jia Lian and Feng Ziying both expressed their understanding. Indeed, there are some people in the world who don't need to speak; as soon as they appear, all their information except their names is revealed. This Prince Duan's heir is clearly one of them.
Zhang Su was quite familiar with the Fourth Prince's residence, so he didn't need the servants' guidance and led Jia Lian and the other man deeper into the area.
During this time, Jia Lian also inspected the newly built prince's residence. To be honest, apart from being brand new and having dragon and phoenix carvings on some walls and pillars, its layout and splendor were actually slightly inferior to the Rongguo Mansion. Moreover, judging from the appearance, the entire prince's residence was much smaller than the Rongguo Mansion.
It's unclear whether the emperor didn't allocate enough funds for the fourth prince to build his residence, or whether land in the capital was simply too scarce.
If we compare them in this way, wouldn't the Ning and Rong mansions be suspected of violating regulations? Fortunately, they were built by imperial decree, otherwise this one charge would have been enough to get the Jia family into serious trouble.
Soon they arrived at the training ground, which was already quite crowded.
Around the martial arts arena, besides the neatly arranged and gleaming swords, spears, and halberds on all four sides, there are tables and chairs scattered in the other empty spaces, and the tables are covered with food and wine.
On the high platform, a magnificent and thrilling competition has begun.
The main characters are two chickens.
Jia Lian paid no attention to the fighting roosters above; he was observing the people present.
As expected, the princes and nobles all belong to their own circles. He didn't recognize most of the people here; they were probably princes, imperial relatives, or other members of the royal family. Zhang Su, on the other hand, was recognized by many people, and he was constantly greeted by others along the way.
The three found a relatively empty spot to sit down, and then they saw that the battle above had come to an end. In the end, the black chicken was unstoppable and pecked its opponent until it was on the verge of death.
The smug laughter of the Prince Duan's heir spread uncontrollably in all directions.
Suddenly, a dark-skinned boy jumped onto the stage and kicked the proud, arrogant black rooster with several black feet, startling it into clucking and fleeing in panic.
"Wei Ling, have you no shame?!" The Prince of Duan was furious and rushed to protect his beloved wife.
Having already landed a kick and feeling much better, the Fourth Prince, seeing his chance was gone, didn't press the matter further. Instead, he put his hands on his hips and cursed, "You smug little brat! If my Divine Might General hadn't been killed by my father, what would you be, you black devil? Just a defeated opponent!"
"Fine, I've recently changed my hobby and become obsessed with cricket fighting. If you can beat me at cricket fighting, then I'll truly respect you."
The Prince Duan's heir sneered, "You're still the same, stubborn even after losing. Who knew you wanted to have a cricket fight today? I didn't bring any, so how could I fight you?"
"Crickets are easy to find. There are plenty in the grass outside my yard. Go and dig them up. With the help of my new mansion, you might be able to find an invincible one. Don't worry, I won't charge you any money."
"Hmph, do you think I'm stupid?"
The two argued in front of dozens of young noblemen, but everyone was used to it and treated it as a show. Until a rather authoritative young voice came from under the eaves: "Alright, you are all members of the royal family. What kind of behavior is this, arguing back and forth on the stage? Get down and leave the dueling platform to everyone else."
Upon hearing this voice, even the arrogant Prince Duan hurriedly turned around, bowed, exchanged a disapproving glance with the Fourth Prince, and jumped off the stage.