Zhao Fujin, the Emperor who brought disaster to the country

Chapter 18 Luxury Restaurant
Zhao Fujin picked up the teacup, covered his face with his long sleeves and sipped the tea without answering.

Cai Chi didn't look at her.

He only focused on the foam of another tea that was being ground carefully: "Meng Niang sent a message yesterday, hoping that I could tell the officials that when Meng Jiangying and I were young, the two mistresses exchanged marriage letters. As soon as I came of age, we would marry each other. It’s a good match between two surnames.”

"She has the completed horoscopes and a long-standing marriage certificate as evidence."

"Even so, Cai Langjun planned to give up in the end?" Zhao Fujin put down the tea, no wonder Qiongzhi would tell himself that Cai Wei and Meng Jiangying were childhood sweethearts, and it turned out that they had a marriage certificate as proof.

However, this is too strange. Since they have a marriage certificate, why did Emperor Kangfu still marry Cai Ji in history?

"The marriage certificate was signed by the mothers of both families when I was not born. It didn't even indicate the date of birth and surname." Cai Wei explained: "Later, my grandfather committed a crime, and the Meng family tried their best to protect it. The young son of my maternal grandfather’s family also returned my marriage certificate.”

“What Empress Meng has in her hands right now was something that Empress Meng sent to Jiangyin to get back after I came to Beijing.

At that time, my mother was afraid that I would be bullied alone in Beijing, so as Empress Meng requested, she put her thumbprint on it and filled in my birth date. "

"It's just that at that time, Empress Meng didn't know where I could be used, so she only took the marriage certificate as a backup.

Later, when His Highness the Crown Prince came of age, in order to get in touch with the next official, she went to the official's door to beg him and promised the Meng family's daughter Jiang Ying to His Highness the Crown Prince. "

"At that time, the official family was interested, but the late queen refused on the grounds of discord and chose another daughter of the Zhu family as the crown princess. If it hadn't been for this, Empress Meng would have gone to the official family herself, and there would be no need for her to do so. I’ll pick it up myself.”

"Aren't there four or five ladies in the Meng family? Why is Empress Meng staring at such a scourge?" Zhao Fujin felt a little sympathetic to Meng Jiangying. In her opinion, this Meng Jiangying was just a brick of the Meng family. She would go wherever needed. Where to move.

"The current head of the Meng family is the direct brother of Empress Meng and a loyal supporter of the official family. He doesn't care what party is in power. He only cares about whether the glory of the Meng family can be continued." Cai Wei smiled slightly: "Meng Jiangying's father is the brother of the head of the Meng family. , when his father chose the second son as his successor, the eldest son's family had to live their lives looking at his brother's face.

Then Meng Jiangying was sent to Empress Meng, and she raised her personally. Although they were called nephews, they were as close as mother and daughter.

Meng Jiangying received his teachings and was very repelled by the new party in power. She only wanted to assist Empress Meng in restoring the Yuanyou Party, and she did not hesitate to sacrifice herself for this. "

"What about you?" Zhao Fujin asked.

"I have lived in Jiangyin since I was a child. As a low-class citizen, I have experienced two parties in power. I don't think which party is better." Cai Chi brought the cooked tea soup to the screen and then continued: "The Great Song Dynasty There are redundant officials and soldiers, low administrative efficiency, and a huge and bloated bureaucracy. No matter which side they are in, they have failed to fundamentally solve the problem."

Therefore, he is not of any party.

"At the moment, the official family has no plans to build Gen Yue anymore. Cai Xiang has lost his heart as a king and is not far away from being demoted." Cai Chi said of Cai Jing like a stranger: "I don't want to marry someone who talks about it day and night. Having a partisan wife next to me will definitely annoy Empress Meng and cause her to make trouble for me and the Cai family.

Therefore, I can only turn to Di Ji to help me get through this misfortune. "Cai Chi stood tall and tall, standing behind the screen. Facing Zhao Fujin in front of the screen, he leaned slightly and gave a careful and serious cross-hand salute, showing his sincerity.

No matter how sincere you are, what's the point? If you ask me to sacrifice my life to save you, there must be some benefit, right?
Just saying a few words in such a dry way, I want to achieve my wish, but I don’t know who I underestimated!

Qiong Yu and Qiong Ye looked at each other, speechless.

Originally, the matter concerning Master Cai Ji had already been put on the agenda by the officials and the eldest empress, and the Emperor Ji did not raise any objections. If nothing unexpected happened, the decree would be issued soon, but Cai Ji came to make an appointment at this time. , confessing so many unknown secrets, if Di Ji agrees to descend again, what a big hole will be in her head!
Cai Ji obviously did not care about Cai Jing, otherwise he would not have six sons in the family, so he chose this one to be the master.If Cai Chi was just a descendant of a powerful official, he would not be taken seriously. With the officials taking care of him, the emperor's life would not be difficult.

However, his life experience is so complicated, and it is also involved in the Yuanyou faction struggle - this could be a serious crime of genocide. Even if the emperor is favored, it will be difficult to end up in a good situation.

But this was outside, and no matter how worried they were, they couldn't interrupt at will. They could only look at Zhao Fujin eagerly, hoping that she would say a word of rejection.

Zhao Fujin stood up as if nothing had happened, bent down to pick up the tea bowl that was placed far away, picked up the tea lid and touched the tea cup gently, making a crisp porcelain sound: "This is Mr. Shen of Mingxing Building, I heard Are you attached to my third brother Zhao Kai?"

"Your Highness is indeed clear-sighted and clear-sighted." Cai Ji straightened up: "Shen Yue comes from Jiangyin and grew up with me."

"So, the person you support is Zhao Kai?" Zhao Jinfu pushed the tea foam aside, took a sip and said, "Actually, I didn't notice any difference in the three cups of tea Mr. Cai had."

"Your Highness is right. There is indeed no difference between His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Third Highness." Cai Ji said calmly: "The Third Highness is very much like an official. He loves calligraphy and painting. He is full of talent and learning, and he has done many benevolent deeds. Being an official in peacetime is more than enough."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is weak in holding the flag and can easily be influenced by others. If the Jurchens of the Liao Dynasty did not look down upon him, he would be able to be a peaceful king."

"Bold! Mr. Cai Wulang, how dare you talk about the prince at will!" Qiong Ye couldn't stand listening anymore. She bent down and saluted Zhao Fujin: "Di Ji, this person is too arrogant, let's go back!"

After hearing her words, Zhao Fujin sat down and said, "Cai Langjun treats me with sincerity, how can I abandon him?"

After saying that, he smiled sweetly: "Besides, we came to Mingxing Tower, wouldn't it be unfair if we returned without eating the signature dishes?"

"Your Highness is right, then I will go down and arrange the dishes. You can do it yourself!" Cai Jing stood up straight and glanced at the beautiful couple behind the screen. He didn't know what he thought of. His ears were slightly red and he walked out backwards. Peony Pavilion.

"Di Ji, this person has ulterior motives, don't be fooled by him!" Qiong Ye saw Cai Ji leaving the door and followed him to see him enter the kitchen on the side. He just closed the door and lowered his voice to persuade him. : "You are loved by the officials. It is easy to find a happy and peaceful family. Why bother to go through the flood of the Cai family?"

"I remember, Qiong Ye, you always mentioned Cai Wei with praise, why did you suddenly change it?" Zhao Fujin walked to the place where Cai Wei ordered tea and picked up a jade-green tea bowl on the tea table. , while studying it, he said: "No matter how it is changed, it doesn't matter. Take a look at this Peony Garden. How does it compare to my Qionghua Pavilion?"

There are six gardens on the fourth floor of Mingxing Building. In addition to Peony Garden, there are also Baihe Garden, Congju Garden, Magnolia Garden, Fragrant Plum Garden and Fengzhu Garden. Each garden is extremely luxuriously decorated.

Take the Peony Garden as an example. The tea set in Zhao Fujin's hand is a set of jade porcelain with 64 flowers. In modern times, it would cost at least a million to buy it.

The tea table under the tea set is made of huanghuali wood, and the screen frame is of the same style.

On one side of the screen are two large plum vases half as tall as a person. In the large plum vases are begonia flowers decorated with golden branches and jade leaves.

The interior furniture, tables, chairs, etc. are all made of huanghuali wood.

Even Zhao Fujin, who lived in the imperial city and was the most favored concubine, only had a rosewood bed and a screen frame.

Rosewood and huanghuali wood are four or five grades lower in price.

(End of this chapter)