Fighter of the Destiny

It was very quiet in Dongyu Shenjiang's mansion. Inside and outside the hall, except for the slight sound of footsteps and the friction of clothes, there was no sound, not even a cough. This was probably the so-called family tradition.

The stones paved on the road are like this, and so are the trees in the courtyard. They are thick, long and straight, far apart, but there are not many green leaves among the branches. They are silent, solemn and indifferent.

Chen Changsheng sat at the table, looking at the aged porcelain tableware in front of him, not knowing what to say - from the moment he entered the mansion to now, there has been no meaningful conversation.

Xu Shiji and his wife sat at the top, he sat in the guest seat, and Granny Hua waited on him quietly. The person serving the dishes was Shuang'er, an extremely arrogant girl.

There were only these five people in the hall, but there were many people serving outside the hall. Several steward women stared around with stern expressions. The maids kept going in and out carrying case trays. When Pomegranate Skirt crossed the high threshold, she was so relaxed. .

There are green orange water on the tables at the maid's end, hot and cold wet towels, ivory chopsticks and mahogany carved tiger squats to hold the chopsticks. In comparison, there are much fewer tables for serving dishes.

Tonight's dinner at the Higashikami Shogun Mansion is relatively simple. There are smoked cubed pork, fresh river fish steamed with green onion and ginger, and green bean sprouts blanched in soup. The dishes are delicious, but very ordinary. There is no rare sea fish that is common for banquets in Kyoto's powerful mansions. , there is no soup made from the marrow of monster beasts, and even the number of dishes is very small.

If you say it is a family dinner, it is really an ordinary family dinner.

Chen Changsheng roughly understood the purpose of Xu Mansion's gesture. He could only treat it silently and lowered his head to eat the vegetables. However, he noticed that apart from the rare birds, Xu Mansion's banquet did not include even the most common chicken. Among the more than ten flavor sauces, the most common duck gizzard sauce is not included.

He was curious, but didn't ask.

After the dishes were served, Mrs. Xu began to talk to him, just like this family banquet. They talked about things that were neither salty nor bland, and did not talk about the lack of salt and fat in the past.

The meal came to an end without any taste, and the house of Dongyu Divine General was still as quiet as before.

Mrs. Xu glanced at Xu Shiji, picked up the wine flask, and filled Chen Changsheng's glass with wine.

This is Chen Changsheng's second glass of wine tonight.

He thanked him.

Xu Shiji raised his glass, looked at him, and then drank it all.

Chen Changsheng drank all the wine.

Mrs. Xu poured wine.

Xu Shiji drank again.

Chen Changsheng drank with him.

Mrs. Xu poured more wine.

Xu Shiji held the wine glass, looked at him expressionlessly and said, "I admit that from the beginning to the end, I have no good intentions towards you."

Chen Changsheng remained silent.

Xu Shiji said indifferently: "But everyone must admit that I have no ill intentions towards you. Otherwise, it would be impossible for you to survive until now in Kyoto and still sit across from me."

Chen Changsheng still didn't speak. He stood up, took out a paper envelope from his arms, and put it on the table.

The paper envelope was a bit thick and obviously new. Although they couldn't see what was inside, everyone knew that the things inside must be old.

Mrs. Xu's expression changed suddenly, Granny Hua also looked slightly anxious, and only Shuang'er's eyes lit up.

"what do you mean?"

Xu Shiji looked at him with squinted eyes, his face getting colder, and the wine glass in his hand fell slowly. Although the speed was slow, the moment the bottom of the glass came into contact with the table, there was a very dull impact sound.

"I have no other intention, I just want to complete this matter. Originally, this matter should have been completed a year ago, but due to some misunderstandings, it never happened..."

Chen Changsheng looked at Mrs. Xu, Granny Hua, and Shuang'er, and said seriously: "I didn't lie at the beginning. I came to Beijing to break off the engagement, but you never believed it."

After listening to these words and looking at the heavy paper envelope on the table, Mrs. Xu's face suddenly became extremely ugly. The anxiety between Granny Hua's brows became more and more serious, while Shuang'er was obviously very shocked.

"Misunderstanding?" Xu Shiji stared into Chen Changsheng's eyes and said with a frosty face: "For a whole year, Kyoto was full of storms and the mainland was in constant turmoil. Is it because of a misunderstanding?"

Chen Changsheng did not answer his question, but looked at Mrs. Xu, bowed before saying: "Madam, you once said some things. I am not here to prove that you are wrong a year later. I just want to , now you probably won’t think that I am a young country Taoist priest who changed his life by clinging to the divine general, then, or it will be time for me to finish this thing.”

The hall was quiet, and the green-orange water reflected the light, like strong liquor. This was the atmosphere at this time, no one spoke, and the night breeze outside the threshold was so tense.

I don't know how much time passed, but Xu Shiji looked at Chen Changsheng and said with a hint of ridicule: "You have done all these things, and you are not even afraid to plunge into the waves that you are not qualified to touch. It turns out that it was just for my wife's sake." Because of that pitiful and ridiculous self-esteem?"

Chen Changsheng took some time to think about it carefully, and confirmed that there were not many problems with what he was doing, and replied: "Self-respect is indeed the reason, but I don't think it's ridiculous, let alone pitiful."

Xu Shiji stood up slowly, put his hands on his hands, and leaned forward slightly with his burly body. With an extremely unbearable pressure, he stared into Chen Changsheng's eyes and said word by word: "I won the first place in the Great Examination. In the eyes of the Pope, do you think...that you can prove that you are better than Mr. Qiu Shan? Can you pretend to be a winner and withdraw in style?"

Chen Changsheng was slightly startled, thinking that he had never thought of it this way before. He wanted to explain a few words, but found that he didn't know how to explain such a personal matter. Just as he was thinking about it, Xu Shiji turned around and left the banquet, and came back with the Taoist file after a while. , and threw it directly in front of him.

"See for yourself."

Xu Shiji looked at him expressionlessly and said: "This is no longer a secret. Tomorrow the entire continent will know why Qiu Shanjun did not participate in this year's imperial examination."

Granny Hua and Shuang'er have quietly retreated.

Chen Changsheng thought for a while, picked up the file from the table and opened it. As he read, his expression gradually changed and became a little complicated, and he understood why Xu Shiji said that.

This year's Imperial Examination is the most lively in the past ten years, and it is undoubtedly a great year. If there is any regret, it is probably that Qiu Shanjun and Xu Yourong did not show up.

With the blood talents and potential of Qiu Shanjun and Xu Yourong, of course, they can directly obtain the qualification to watch the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books without passing the imperial examination, but people always want to see them in the imperial examination.

Many people thought that Qiu Shanjun would participate in the imperial examination this year. The reason why he did not show up may be because Xu Yourong did not participate, but the more likely reason was Xu Yourong's engagement with Chen Changsheng.

Now after reading this file that was just compiled, Chen Changsheng knew the real reason why Qiu Shanjun did not participate in the imperial examination. After thinking about it silently, he found that he had to express his admiration.

…

…

(There were always things going on during the day. Dinner was at the top of the Guangzhou Tower. Mu En treated me to a buffet, which was said to be the highest revolving restaurant in the world. While they were eating happily, I silently wrote a thousand words on the table, and then, various I ran around, went back to the hotel, wrote another thousand words desperately, and then went out immediately. As you all know, I have always been lazy, but these days, although the number of updates is average, I know very well that I am not lazy. I All the diligent editors and readers who know my itinerary will shed tears silently. I will go to the airport at around six o'clock tomorrow, take an early flight, land, and then drive for several hours to the county seat to attend my dear niece's wedding. It depends on the road conditions. It depends on the work situation. Greetings to everyone. Please understand.)