Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 361: Random Notes, Keep It for Yourself

The Supreme Lord laughed heartily with great joy and drank with his ministers.

He would pat a member of the royal family on the shoulder and tease her: "Your belly is getting bigger and bigger."

After a while, he pinched the arm of a certain general and sighed: "Back then, my upper arms were much harder than yours!"

After a while, he cheerfully handed the cup to the civil servant opposite him and said, "I still remember your essay for the imperial examination. It was so hearty and every word was brilliant!"

But what he said most was the arm that was resting laboriously on King Dong's shoulder, pointing at the person in front of him and introducing him:

"This is Lao Niu's eldest grandson. Do you remember him? He was still a young man when you left. Now his back is bent.

"This is Chen Yi's family, his name is Chen Ruiwen. Haha, you held him when he was a child, but you haven't seen him since he grew up.

"These are from the Liu family, the Ma family, the old Hou family, and the old Shi family."

Those who were called out imitated Feng Ziying's actions just now, kneeling on one knee and bowing respectfully: "Greetings to the Grand Master, Greetings to Grandpa Mu."

The King of East was not polite and accepted their gifts. He sighed deeply and couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.

The Supreme Lord was old, had drunk a little bit of wine, and was very soft-hearted. When he saw this scene, tears started to fall from his eyes:

“All the old brothers are gone except us two.

"I want to talk about the past, but no one can talk to me anymore!

“You are the only one left, and you haven’t come back yet.

"How many years have you been in charge of the East China Sea? Why can't you find someone else? Why do you have to stay there?"

The King of the East swept his eyes across the faces before him that were hollowed out by alcohol and sex, trying to recognize the shadows of his old brothers who had once fought side by side with him, but to no avail.

After a while, the King of the East gritted his teeth and whispered, "Since the Supreme Lord has said so, I will go back and plow the army again to make it cleaner.

“Your Majesty, please find a reliable general in the army to take over.

"I have returned to the capital to accompany His Majesty in his later years!"

Tai Shang was pleasantly surprised and grabbed his hand: "We have a deal! You are not allowed to regret it after returning to the East China Sea!"

"I will never break my promise." The King of the East smiled and lifted up the wine jar, holding it before the eyes of the Supreme Lord, "I will come back to accompany you!"

The Supreme laughed heartily, extremely cheerfully, clinked cups with him, and drank the whole thing in one gulp. Then he extended the cup to Feng Ziying, "Pour some wine!"

Feng Ziying grinned, "Okay!" He poured the wine over carelessly. The wine jar seemed full, but it was actually only half full.

The Tai Shang's eyes were blurry and he didn't bother to check carefully. He just saw that the wine had been spilled, so he drank it all in one breath and then reached over again!

This happens three times!

The King of East couldn't help but become interested as well, so he also drank three cups.

Upon seeing this, everyone hurriedly asked the host for wine and drank three cups as well!

At this time, Hongchang had returned to the throne and sat next to Daiyu.

Daiyu looked down from above, and suddenly frowned. She whispered to Hongchang, "Why is it the West King who is pouring wine for the East King and the others?"

Hongchang also followed the direction and saw the Western King smilingly handing the wine jar to an attentive junior, while he took his own wine bottle from the Southern King.

"Oh. The King of the West is not a good drinker. I heard from my father that when people drink outside, the King of the West often escapes from the table."

Emperor Zhaoming also heard Daiyu's mumbling, and explained to her with a smile: "It's not that the King of the West can't drink much. It's just that he tends to act recklessly after drinking.

"In his early years, he once got drunk and tried to be a hero, beating up all the people who were at the banquet, including members of the royal family and military commanders."

"All?" Daiyu opened her eyes wide, extremely surprised, and scanned the fat body of the King of the West from top to bottom. "That was really a grand occasion! How come I haven't heard of it before?"

Emperor Zhaoming stroked his beard and smiled: "Every family has been beaten, and no one can be proud of it. How can they be willing to tell others?

"So now every family is pretending to have forgotten about it, and the children have no idea about it. Where did you hear that?"

Daiyu seemed to be thinking about something.

"It may be in your father's notes." Emperor Zhaoming suddenly said this.

Daiyu shuddered and pursed her lips slightly.

Emperor Zhaoming glanced at her tense shoulders, curled the corners of his lips, and said, "Keep it, treat it as a legendary ancient record, and read it for fun. It's not bad."

Daiyu lowered her eyes and looked at her hands which she had unconsciously clenched.

Is the emperor forcing her to hand it over? Or does he really not care and wants her to not worry about it?

Suddenly, people from the kitchen came and filed onto the throne, replacing the two food tables for the Supreme Lord and the Emperor with hot dishes.

"I want to clean up the court, so there is actually no need for that." Emperor Zhaoming gestured to Tao Xingjian to serve him a bowl of soup, and he drank it, sighing with comfort.

After the people from the kitchen left, he continued, "If you want to get to the bottom of your parents' case, your father's notes will probably be useful.

"No need to give it to me. Just give it to Master Zhitong."

This is the clear meaning.

Daiyu did not dare to disobey and bowed and agreed: "Yes. I will send it to you when the New Year begins."

"Yes. Don't be afraid. Zhitong has a good impression of your father and won't do anything rash."

Emperor Zhaoming comforted her again, then smiled at Hongchang and raised his voice: "Hongchang Anchang, it's almost time, go and bring back the emperor to rest."

The two of them quickly agreed and stood up. They walked down the steps with a smile, pushed aside the crowd, and dragged the Supreme back to the high platform, one on each side.

"If you don't go back, no one dares to sit down. Let's take a break, eat a few bites of food, watch some singing and dancing, and then have a drink."

The Emperor was already half drunk at this time, his legs were unsteady, and he was afraid that the Empress Dowager would worry. With the care of his two granddaughters, he felt at ease, so he followed their advice and returned to his desk.

Daiyu had already poured a bowl of soup and placed it in front of him, smiling and urging him to drink: "This soup is delicious, with a clear chicken soup base, no meat, just egg drops and chopped vegetables.

"I just took a sip. The kitchen staff was very creative and added vinegar and pepper. It's slightly sour and spicy, and it's the best way to sober up and stimulate your appetite. Please try it!"

After listening to her gentle explanation, Tai Shang felt his appetite open up. He quickly took the cup and took a sip. It was indeed refreshing. After finishing one bowl, he drank another.

Then he picked up his chopsticks and ate the food, which tasted even better.

Seeing him like this, Daiyu quickly reached back and took a plate of yam cake with jujube paste from Emperor Zhaoming's table and said, "Your Majesty, please try this! It's my favorite when I'm at home."

"Oh? Although I don't like sweet things, I'll give it a try based on what you said." Tai Shang smiled and ate half a piece.

Daiyu smiled and said, "In fact, the jujube paste is not greasy when it is made. It has a sweet taste and is very good for warming the spleen. Adding yam can nourish the stomach. This dessert is actually a medicinal food.

"When Aunt Meng was at my house, she racked her brains to keep me healthy. This snack is the most nourishing, so I eat it often."

Tai Shang smiled and nodded: "I see." Before he knew it, he had finished one piece and actually picked up another one, chewing it slowly.

Dai Quan, who was standing behind the Lord Taishang, was already smiling broadly and secretly gave Daiyu a thumbs up.

On the imperial steps, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

At this moment, behind the desk closest to the imperial steps, King Dong's face gradually turned pale and blue.

Immediately afterwards, a stream of blood spurted onto the ground!