Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 288 Liu Bing's Wrist

Gao Ming felt that he was also despised by a group of ancients.

Inexplicably, I feel a little stuck...

However, he did not become angry from embarrassment, but lowered his head again to look at the agarwood in his hand, and then frowned.

"The color is dark green, and it's already approaching black. It looks like a lot of oil, and the aroma is also very strong. This kind of agarwood will definitely be worth [-] yuan in later generations. How can it be inferior?"

Although Gao Ming has never really played agarwood, but as an old net nerd, he still has a very wide range of knowledge, so he feels very confused.

"Okay, since you say it's inferior, I'll see what medium looks like."

Thinking of this, he first put down the inferior agarwood in his hand, then opened the bag in the middle, and grabbed a few pieces of agarwood from it.

Just as he grabbed Chen Xiang out, Gao Ming's eyes suddenly widened.

"Extreme agarwood!"

At this time, the few pieces of agarwood in Gao Ming's hand were all black and shiny, and they felt cold and greasy to the touch.

There is no doubt that this is a collection-grade agarwood, and if it is auctioned by later generations, it will be worth tens of thousands per gram!

"Even this kind of agarwood is mediocre, so what exactly is a high-grade agarwood?"

Looking at the cloth bag on the left, Gao Ming suddenly felt like a pilgrimage. After taking a deep breath, he opened the cloth bag on the far left.

After opening the cloth bag, a familiar scent immediately permeated Gao Ming's nostrils. When he left, he could tell that the smell of agarwood in the bag was the one he often smelled in the Eastern Palace.

"That's right, this is it!"

Thinking of this, Gao Ming reached into the bag and took out a piece of agarwood from it, but after he took out this so-called "high-quality" agarwood, he was stunned.

Not out of shock, but out of doubt.

"Is this Chen Xiang?"

At this moment, the agarwood in his hand was not like the green or black ones he had often seen before, but an orange-yellow with black color, like a piece of old beeswax stained with dirt.

If it wasn't for the familiar smell, Gao Ming almost thought it was a fake.

Seeing Gao Ming frowned, the imperial doctor immediately bowed to Gao Ming.

"His Royal Highness, this is the high-quality agarwood produced in Annan this year. It was sent to Chang'an by the Annan Governor's Mansion. The officials have checked it. There is absolutely no problem. Your Highness, please rest assured."

"Annan?"

Hearing this strange place name, Gao Ming frowned immediately, and then turned to look at Shi Shu.

"Shishu, where is Annan? Is it in Lingnan?"

As soon as Gao Ming finished speaking, Shi Shu nodded his head immediately.

"His Royal Highness is wise, Annan is just west of Lingnan!"

West of Lingnan?

Hearing Shi Shu's explanation, Gao Ming frowned again.

"Lingnan is the side of Hainan Island. If you go further west, you will reach Vietnam?"

This time the servant did not speak, but the imperial doctor standing opposite Gao Ming laughed.

"His Royal Highness may have misremembered. Annan did have a name before, but it was not Vietnam, but Nanyue."

South Vietnam?

Hearing this name, Gao Ming was even more certain that this Annan was the later Vietnam!

Thinking of this, there was a smile on Gao Ming's face.

"I didn't expect that Vietnam is now a part of Datang. Later, I must ask the old man for a map of Datang to take a good look and see where our Smecta is in the world!"

Uh... something doesn't seem right there?

Just when Gao Ming was a little dazed, he suddenly heard a subordinate's voice behind him.

"His Royal Highness... Oh, Your Royal Highness, I finally found you!"

Hearing this voice, Gao Ming looked back immediately, and when he saw the person coming, he immediately laughed.

"Huh? Old Liu? Why are you here?"

It was Liu Bing who came, and after hearing Gao Ming's words, he immediately laughed.

"His Royal Highness, the old slave came to invite the prince to go to the imperial study according to the order of the sage. I didn't see you when I went to the East Palace just now. I thought you had left the palace, but the old slave asked Only then did the guards at the palace gate know that His Royal Highness, you have not left the palace, so this old servant came here."

Speaking of this, Gao Ming glanced at the agarwood in Gao Ming's hand, and then laughed.

"His Royal Highness is looking at the incense?"

Hearing Liu Bing's words, Gao Ming immediately smiled and nodded.

"Well, the agarwood in the East Palace is almost used up. Let me see if there is any suitable one. Liu Bing, take a look and see if this agarwood is the best."

With that said, Gao Ming handed the piece of agarwood in his hand to Liu Bing.

From Gao Ming's point of view, Liu Bing has been in the palace for so many years, and he knows Chen Xiang much better than himself, a half-hearted person. Instead of thinking about it by himself, it would be easier to ask him.

When Liu Bing saw that Gao Ming handed the agarwood to him, he quickly took it with both hands, first looked over and over carefully, then smelled it, and then shook his head.

"This is the high-quality agarwood that should be sent by Annan, but it is not the best."

After speaking, he handed the agarwood back to Gao Ming, and a smile appeared on his face.

"His Royal Highness, in fact, since the sixth year of Wude, Annan will send a batch of agarwood every year, ranging from a few stones to hundreds of stones. Some of them are indeed of very good quality, but they are not in Shangyao. bureau."

Liu Bing's words stopped here, and Gao Ming also showed a thoughtful expression on his face.

"If it's not at Shangyao Bureau, then it's at the old man's place!"

Thinking of this, Gao Ming excitedly patted Liu Bing on the shoulder, and smiled towards him.

"Hey, old Liu, you are really interesting, this is the reward for you!"

After speaking, Gao Ming stuffed the piece of high-grade agarwood in his hand into Liu Bing's hand.

Looking at the fist-sized piece of agarwood in his hand, Liu Bing's face suddenly revealed a gleam of joy.

"Thank you, Your Royal Highness!"

Liu Bing's happiness is not pretended, but from the heart, because eunuchs have physical defects, and often cannot hold back when they are in a hurry, so there will be a smell of urine on their body more or less, and this kind of The situation gets worse with age.

In order to cover this smell, a lot of spices are needed. Liu Bing usually uses sandalwood and musk. After all, Li Shimin would not use agarwood to cover his urine smell.

It was the first time that Gao Ming directly gave him a lump of high-grade agarwood, so he was a little moved.

"His Royal Highness..."

Liu Bing originally wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Gao Ming to show his loyalty, but before he could make a move, a young eunuch next to him knelt down with a "plop".

Seeing this scene, Liu Bing was stunned, and Gao Ming was also stunned.

"Uh……"

But Gao Ming quickly reacted, he patted Liu Bing on the shoulder, and then burst out laughing.

"Hey, Lao Liu, you are a good follower, haha!"

Gao Ming just said it casually, but Liu Bing thought about it for a long time, and his cold sweat broke out immediately.

"His Royal Highness, this..."

Seeing Liu Bing's frightened expression, Gao Ming smiled and shook his head immediately.

"Don't be afraid, I don't mean anything else, I just feel that your little follower is quite clever!"

As he spoke, Gao Ming took out another piece of agarwood from the cloth bag next to him, and then raised his chin towards the little eunuch kneeling on the ground.

"Hey, little eunuch, what's your name?"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, the little eunuch quickly replied respectfully: "Reporting to Your Highness, the servant's surname is Nian, and everyone calls the servant Xiaonianzi."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Ming laughed again.

"Okay, young man, my habit has always been to see what you see, and for your cleverness, this thing will be rewarded to you."

With that said, Gao Ming stuffed the agarwood in his hand into the little eunuch's hand.

If Gao Ming still regarded agarwood as a treasure before, then now he regards these things as grass. After all, when he thinks of the thousands of tons per year, he can't think of collecting it.

And even if you want to collect it, you have to collect the private goods left by Li Shimin, and that is valuable for collection.

Thinking of this, Gao Ming immediately raised his chin towards Liu Bing.

"Let's go, go to the imperial study, if you don't go to the old man, you should wait."

"Yes!"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Liu Bing immediately ran to lead the way with a smile on his face.

Both of them walked quickly, and arrived at their destination in a short while. After Gao Ming entered the imperial study, Liu Bing immediately put away his gentle smile, and then squinted at the little eunuch behind him with a gloomy expression. eyes.

"Young man, come with our house."

"Yes!"

Seeing Liu Bing's unkind expression, Xiao Nianzi quickly agreed, and then followed Liu Bing out of the yard.

Liu Bing kept walking. After leaving the courtyard of the imperial study, he led his young man through the forbidden garden. After walking for a few minutes, he finally came to an empty courtyard.

Looking at this courtyard, Xiao Nianzi immediately shuddered.

"Liu...Eunuch Liu, what are you planning to do by bringing me here?"

Seeing the look of fear on his face, Liu Bing suddenly laughed.

"Little boy, aren't you very clever? Can't you guess why we brought you here?"

If he had heard Liu Bing praise himself for his cleverness before, Xiaonianzi would have been very happy, but now that he heard this, his legs were so frightened that his legs went limp, and he knelt down in front of Liu Bing with a "plop".

"Eunuch Liu, please forgive me. I will never dare to do it next time. This is Chenxiang given to me by the crown prince. I am willing to show filial piety to Eunuch Liu."

As he spoke, he took out the agarwood that Gao Ming had given him just now, and handed it to Liu Bing with both hands.

Seeing his action, Liu Bing closed his eyes immediately, instead of picking up his Chen Xiang, he let out a long sigh.

"Hey...His Royal Highness is kind-hearted and doesn't have any scheming, so he always likes to think of the good of others. This old slave has been in the palace for more than 40 years. This is the first time he has met someone like His Royal Highness. Therefore, our family No one is allowed to play tricks in front of His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Having said that, Liu Bing opened his eyes immediately, and then turned to look at Xiao Nianzi.

"Young man, you entered the palace in March this year, and you have been with our family for three months. When our leg was broken, you were the one who served our family. Our family is a grateful person, so I won't kill you. I brought you here just to tell you, don't forget our duty as slaves."

"Eunuch Liu, I..."

Before Xiaonianzi finished speaking, Liu Bing waved to the two princes next to him.

"Come here, take Xiaonianzi in to purify his body. This time, he will be completely cut off. Don't keep anything!"

"Yes!"

Hearing Liu Bing's order, the two eunuchs immediately stepped forward, one of them grabbed Xiao Nianzi's hand, and dragged him into the room.

At this time, Xiao Nianzi also reacted, and immediately cried while struggling.

"Forgive me, Eunuch Liu... the young man knows his mistake, and the servant will never dare again, Eunuch Liu, please forgive the young man this time, don't cut me off again, save some for me... umm... "

As Xiao Nianzi was dragged into the house, his shouting suddenly changed to a whimper, and it sounded like someone had gagged his mouth with a cloth ball.

Hearing the whimpering sound from inside, Liu Bing stood outside the door and closed his eyes again.

"Young man, don't blame our family. You dare to play tricks in front of His Royal Highness in front of our family. If our family is not here, His Royal Highness may suffer from you. I hope this knife can make you feel good. Remember this lesson!"

In the Tang Dynasty, the eunuchs paid attention to "removing their potential". In Liu Bing's view, the young man belonged to the kind that was not cut thoroughly.

Therefore, in the face of such a situation, you have to cut it again!
About half an hour later, the closed door opened again, and two eunuchs with blood on their hands came out, and then saluted Liu Bing.

"Eunuch Liu, it's already been cut, so it's very clean, there's nothing left."

Hearing this answer, Liu Bing opened his eyes and nodded.

"It's better to cut it clean, so that he won't be disrespectful to His Royal Highness in the future. Well, I'll leave it to you guys, and our family has to go back."

"Congratulations to Eunuch Liu!"

Looking at the two respectful eunuchs, Liu Bing nodded immediately, and then returned to the imperial study.

As soon as Liu Bing entered the courtyard of the imperial study, he saw Gao Ming being kicked out of the room by Li Shimin. Seeing this scene, Liu Bing was a little dumbfounded.

"His Royal Highness... What's the matter, Your Majesty?"

Hearing Liu Bing's question, Gao Ming immediately sighed, then shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, it's really nothing. Didn't you say that he has the best agarwood before? So I planned to ask him for a little, but he refused and kicked me out. Do you think he is too stingy? gone?"

Seeing Gao Ming's helpless expression, Liu Bing suddenly showed doubts on his face.

"No way? Your Majesty thinks so much of you, His Royal Highness, so you shouldn't be angry because of Chen Xiang and His Royal Highness, right?"

As soon as Liu Bing finished speaking, Gao Ming nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I thought at first, so I told him that I wanted a hundred stones of agarwood to cook meat and eat, but he scolded me, saying that I was not cutting things like the old thief Yang Guang, and then he killed me." Get out."

"Uh……"

Seeing Liu Bing's dull expression, Gao Ming immediately sighed.

"Hey, let's not talk about these unhappy things, by the way, what about the young man who followed you just now?"

Hearing Gao Ming ask about Xiao Nianzi, Liu Bing didn't dare to hide anything, and immediately told the truth.

"Reporting to His Royal Highness, the young man didn't cut it clean last time, so the old slave sent him to wash his body. This time he was cut clean. Do you want to go and have a look?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)