Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

Chapter 247 Wulian County Duke

No wonder Cui Bianxu said he'd send someone home with news that night, but no one showed up all night. How big of a deal is it to have someone murdered at a palace banquet? Those who attended the banquet last night were all prominent figures in the court...

But Zhou Ying didn't know much. She only knew that someone died at the palace banquet, and she knew nothing else. Knowing the general history, Jiang Shangxian was not worried. She was even a little immorally happy.

It is known that Wu Meiniang died at the age of 82 and died due to a prophecy. Please tell me: who was the deceased?

No matter how this problem is solved, Wu Meiniang should be fine.

As for who exactly died, Cui Bianxu would definitely tell her when he arrived.

Sure enough, at noon, Xiao Cui came on horseback. He looked normal and it was hard to tell that he had experienced the shock of having a colleague killed in front of him last night.

"You know?" Cui Bianxu saw her face full of curiosity and guessed that she might have heard some news. "Yes, there are always a lot of news in the restaurant."

Jiang Shangxian nodded, and with both hands he used force to move the stool closer to him. "I don't know much, but I do know that someone died at the palace banquet last night, and that in the middle of the night, Jinwu Guards rode past my house very fast."

"Not dead..."

Cui Bianxu was surprised, as if he had heard something outrageous. Then, remembering how outrageous the rumors in Chang'an were, he felt it wasn't too surprising. "It was General of the Left Guard, Duke of Wulian, Li Junxian, who was demoted yesterday. He was stripped of his official position, but retains his title and is staying in the palace to reflect on his actions. The noise you heard last night must have been the Jinwu Guard escorting him back to the palace."

"Ah? Not dead?" Jiang Shangxian was stunned and decided to take back his previous praise of Zhou Ying. What the hell was going on? This rumor was too unreliable. This man was not dead yet. He was just demoted and dismissed from his post and asked to reflect at home. But in his mouth, he was dead.

"Amitabha, I heard this morning that she died because of a prophecy. I was really shocked." Xiao Jiang lowered his head and patted his chest lightly, pretending to be sympathetic. "If someone suddenly died during a nice palace banquet, wouldn't Wu Niang be terrified? I was thinking of taking some time this afternoon to go see her."

"How could that be? Your Majesty is a wise ruler..."

Cui Bianxu raised his eyebrows, suggesting something: "How could they kill someone in public for such a fabricated charge?"

"If you want to kill someone, you should slowly find a good excuse before killing him..." Jiang Shangxian muttered what he hadn't said yet. Cui Bianxu's originally serious expression relaxed, and a smile appeared between his eyebrows. However, he still scolded him lightly: "Don't talk nonsense. I will tell you about this later..."

He paused, as if afraid of scaring the other person so that he wouldn't dare to speak carelessly in front of him in the future. He then slowed down his tone and added, "From now on, you can only talk to me."

"Yes, I know." Jiang Shangxian responded obediently, silently complaining: My sister can even talk to herself!

"But what did His Majesty punish the Duke of Wulian for yesterday?" Li Junxian knew. It was played by Zhao Wenzhuo, and he and Alyssa Chia played Wu Meiniang. How could Xiao Jiang not know about the TV series she watched as a child?

Cui Bianxu pushed a glass of wine in front of her and said, "Try it! This is from Youzhou. It's called horse wine. They say it tastes like melted nectar and has a fragrance like brewed sweet spring water. I'm not used to it, but my mother loves it. She says it has a milky taste. If you like it, send it to me along with the lychee wine."

Horse wine?

Jiang Shangxian picked up the wine glass and took a sip. It was milky white, probably brewed with mare's milk. However, with her sense of smell, she didn't even need to get close to smell it. The sour smell of fermented milk wine rushed straight to her head. "This wine is sour."

"Yes, it tastes very sour." Cui Bian swallowed subconsciously as he spoke. He didn't want to drink it a second time after having tasted it once. If Zhao Yue hadn't loved it very much, he wouldn't have specially given it to Jiang Shangxian to try, thinking that women's tastes should be similar.

Out of politeness, Jiang Shangxian took a quick sip, and immediately grimaced at the sour taste, his features distorted: "Oh, oh."

Cui Bianxu burst out laughing and reached out to take the cup from her hand: "If you're not used to it, don't drink it. Most milk wines are like this."

Camel milk, goat milk, horse milk, yak milk...they are all sour anyway.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Shangxian, with a face full of ghostly eyes, drank the rest in one gulp, shuddering a little after finishing it. "Shh, this taste should be okay once you get used to it. But even if Madam Cui likes it, I can't take it away from her. I'll save this for her."

This wine is not too sweet, but has a strong sour taste and a rich milky flavor. The alcohol content is not high. If someone is used to drinking it, they will probably love it. She doesn't like to drink wine with a strong sour taste. In comparison, she prefers to drink sweet and light wine like osmanthus rice wine.

Just now she drank it with gritted teeth for fear of wasting it. If she was given a few more jars, in order to avoid wasting it, her family would have to drink it together while trembling. Just thinking about that scene was a little too wonderful.

Cui Bianxu suppressed a laugh and took the remaining small jar of horse wine a little further away before continuing to answer her previous question: "The Duke of Wulian, after drinking, rudely offended the concubines in the harem, causing His Majesty to become furious..."

"Who? Could it be..." Jiang Shangxian felt that his eyebrows might be twitching, right?

Cui Bianxu nodded: "Just as you thought."

What is this? What is this?!

Could this be the legendary fate? To be honest, if it weren't for the TV series, Jiang Shangxian would never have known that there was such a person as Li Junxian. She thought it was all made up on TV, but she didn't expect it to be true.

She had long forgotten the details of the incident. She only remembered that Jia Jingwen's Taoist nun costume was very thin and transparent, that Yingying was a ruthless person, and that a young eunuch was tortured to death by her. As for Li Junxian, she only remembered how handsome Zhao Wenzhuo was...

"I heard that Duke Wulian is very handsome..." She was so curious that the gossip fire burning in her eyes could not be suppressed at all! This was the guy who was in love with Wu Meiniang and was competing with the emperor for a woman!

What a niche track! After him, the only ones who dared to be so obsessed with the emperor's women were Doctor Wen and Dorgon!

Cui Bianxu couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth twice. He felt that he needed to get to know his future wife again. Why was she so interested in a man's appearance?

It's all fine if you're interested, but the question is: "Where did you hear that rumor from?"

How come he'd never heard anyone say the Duke of Wulian was good-looking? He'd seen him several times with his own eyes; he was big and strong, a typical warrior, and not very tall...

The most important thing is: "Duke Wulian is already forty-six years old this year..."