Songbailou is a time-honored restaurant in Chang'an City. The owner of this restaurant has a deep background. It is said that he has an unexplained relationship with a certain big shot in the court. Carriages with the logos of various wealthy families can often be seen here, and it is said that many adults in the court like to dine here.
The dishes at Songbailou are indeed exquisite. It is said that a master chef in the back kitchen once stayed in the palace. Another factor why business here is good is that the environment is great. The building of Songbai Building is actually only a quarter of the size of this store, and the yard behind it is the most expensive place for consumption here. In the backyard, there are small courtyards that are not connected to each other and separated by high walls. Even the guests in the two adjacent small courtyards do not know who is next door.
¡°And I don¡¯t know what means were used to insulate the house in the small courtyard, but the sound insulation effect is extremely good.
I didn't know that there was a hole in the back garden of Songbai Building. Before entering the house in the back garden, you would not know the magic of this house. Even if you come in, people who are not delicate will not pay attention to these things.
The most secluded courtyard in Songbai Building has its door closed for a long time, and few guests are seen coming in or out. Even when there are no guests inside, the courtyard is not open to outsiders. When a customer asks, the waiter will politely reply that it is our proprietor¡¯s resting place, not a private room in the restaurant.
Hearing such an answer, no one would doubt anything.
In fact, this is where many adults in the DPRK hold secret discussions. And unless there is important business, adults will not come here to get together. Some small matters were discussed while eating and drinking in other courtyards.
On the night of the second day of February, the door of this small courtyard opened and a dozen people with gloomy faces came in. They were all wearing thick cloaks, and their hats covered their foreheads. Only the face below the eyes could be seen clearly, but it could still be seen that they seemed not to be in a good mood.
The waiter who is responsible for serving is also a close confidant of the boss of Songbailou. On weekdays, he does not leave the courtyard at all when he has nothing to do.
After more than a dozen people entered the courtyard, the waiter immediately closed the courtyard door. The group of people quickly entered the house, took off their outer cloaks and hung them on the hangers at the door. They sat down on the chairs in the room, and no one spoke until the waiter served the tea and left.
"Wu Yiyi went too far."
A tall and thin man said dissatisfiedly: "Since we asked Prince Yi to come forward, we have left him a way out. If he is willing to hand over everything honestly and leave Chang'an City, it will be his goods." Traveling to the world is a big dream, and there is no chance that he will end up with a good job. Are money and business more important than his life? We have given him enough face, but he doesn't know what to do!"
Another fat man sighed: "We can't delay it no matter what. This time Wu Yiyi helped His Majesty transport troops to the northwest without telling us. His ability to transport troops all over the world has shocked Your Majesty. Your Majesty Before we make a decision to take Huotong Tianxiaxing into the possession of the imperial court, we must make Wu Yiyi bow his head!"
"right"
The person sitting in the outer seat said: "Your Majesty is obviously interested in Huotong Tianxiaxing. If there is a decree to take Huotong Tianxiaxing into the possession of the imperial court, there will definitely be people from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Personnel and even the Ministry of Punishment. I was ordered to go down and check the accounts If your majesty knew that half of the people in the imperial court were involved in Huotong Tianxiaxing, Long Yan would be furious! "
"That's not the keythe key is that none of us are clean."
One person sighed: "The news that Prince Yi revealed at the beginning was that it was a real money-making thing for investors to buy goods and sell them all over the world. How could we not believe what the prince said? So we all invested more or less. Who knew that guy Wu Daoyao? He was really courageous and refused to accept anyone who came Later, when we really made money, we spent more and more money on it, and naturally our hands became less and less clean. You and I know these things well. We may have had some disagreements over the issue of dividends before, but now we must sit down and work out a practical way to make Wu Yiyi bow his head."
"Before His Majesty's decree comes down, we must all withdraw, and withdraw cleanly!"
A man with an elegant temperament shook his head and said: "Have you ever thought about why Wu Daodao would rather offend half of the court officials than let go?"
"He is an idiot!"
Someone cursed bitterly.
"He is not an idiot!"
The person who spoke before thought for a while and said: "I guess Wu Daodao's thoughts were not there for a day or two, but it suddenly became clear yesterday. The reason why he did not hesitate to offend us all, and even contradicted Prince Yi, was because What?"
He paused and continued: "Of course he couldn't bear to part with his family business! He"The fight against us is not the real fight. The fight against His Majesty is the real fight." He held so many things in his hands and refused to let go, just to hold us hostage. Let us speak in the court to prevent His Majesty from collecting goods from all over the world! He wants to force us to help him keep his family business. No matter who has worked so hard to acquire such a large property, he will cherish it as his own children. Anyone who wants to get involved will resist, even His Majesty. "
"You mean, he won't give in no matter what?"
"Disaster!"
"What should we do?"
"kill?"
"What's the use of just killing Wu Yiyi? I don't know where he hid the account books, and all the shady things we did over the years. Wu Yiyi must have remembered them one by one. He must have put the things in his mind. Hidden somewhere where no one can find it, otherwise how could you be so confident?"
"Not knowing where things are is a troublesome thing after all. It's easy to kill Wu Yiyi. If killing someone can settle this matter, why would you and I sit here and discuss it?"
The elegant man from before hesitated and said: "We have analyzed it before. Wu Daodao sent his daughter Wu Yinyu to Qingle Mountain in the south of the Yangtze River before going to the northwest. Maybe that thing is in the hands of his daughter! Such an important thing. He won¡¯t trust others, so unless he keeps it himself, it will be with Wu Yinyu.¡±
¡°It¡¯s been almost two months!¡±
The tall and thin man said: "The people we sent to Jiangnan haven't heard back yet. This Wu Yiyi is an old fox! I'm afraid he had expected this day, so he spent a lot of money to send Wu Yinyu there. Qingleshan cultivates Taoism. I used to think that he just doted on his daughter and gave Wu Yinyu whatever he wanted. Now I understand that his thoughts are so far-reaching!"
"We can only wait any longer. If the people who go to Jiangnan can't bring back good news, the matter will have to be resolved in the capital. If that doesn't work, let's get rid of Wu Yiyi first. Then kill all his cronies. , In this way, even if your Majesty wants to find the account book, we can't get it, and no one can get it. Wu Daodao must not kill many people because he wants to keep it secret."
"That man named Fang Jiehas been living in the Sanjin Houfu a while ago. Do you thinkWu Dao will give the things to him?"
"It shouldn't be possible. How could Wu Daodao trust an outsider?"
"Prince Yi has sent people to that Fang Jie. If Wu Daodao really gave the things to Fang Jie, he will definitely be able to find out."
The last person who spoke was surprisingly Prince Yi¡¯s steward Qin Liuqi!
¡¡
¡¡
Qingfengguan
Prince Yi looked at the surrounding scenery while walking, and couldn't help but praise: "This temple is one of the cleanest and most comfortable places in Chang'an City. It's no wonder that the real person never goes out after arriving in Chang'an City. He has been here for a long time. , I¡¯m afraid even Gu will fall in love with this tranquility.¡±
Accompanying him is none other than the master of Yiqi Temple in Qingle Mountain, Xiao Zhenren, the leader of the Sui Dynasty Taoist Sect. This old Taoist with an outstanding position in the world does not seem to have any immortal temperament. If he were not wearing the black Taoist robe that symbolizes his identity, he would not be remembered by anyone if he were wearing ordinary people's clothes.
Such an old man, even if he passes you by on the street, he will not leave any impression on you. Ordinary, too ordinary. The leader of Qingfeng Temple and the Taoist Hezi in red robes walking a few meters behind them looked more like a Taoist master than Master Xiao.
"Master Xiao said with a smile: "The prince is living in the dust, but he never expected that he actually has a Taoist heart."
Prince Yi laughed loudly: "There is no Taoist heart, but I am tired of being in the hustle and bustle for too long. Suddenly being in this Taoist temple is like walking into a paradise, and my heart is much purer. According to Gu's temperament, If you really want to spend your days here alone with the oil lamp, you won¡¯t die of suffocation?¡±
Prince Yi laughed so hard that he said as he walked: "Zhenzhen Xiao can really see that Gu has been inseparable from three things in his whole life. One, good wine. Two, beauties. Three, delicious food. If Gu Zhen were in this courtyard, If you stay here, maybe the girls in the building in Chang'an City will come looking for you."
Master Xiao smiled and did not answer.
Prince Yi walked outside the main hall, turned around and looked at the road he had walked, and said with some emotion: "This is the highest point of the Taoist temple. When you look back, you can see the whole road. It is better to stand on a high place and enjoy the scenery. The higher the better." Standing at the highest point, it¡¯s worth the hardship to walk halfway.¡±
Prince Yi asked: "Is it because you stand too high?"
Master Xiao said: "You are not as tall as the prince, so how can you be considered too tall?"
He pointed at his feet, which was indeed one step shorter than Prince Yi. He did not walk onto the small square in front of the main hall, just one step away.
"Why don't you take another step to be as tall as you are standing alone?"
Prince Yi asked.
Master Xiao was silent for a while and then said seriously: "I stand where I should stand, no matter how high I am. If I stand where I shouldn't stand, no matter how short I am, I will still stand tall. And sometimes the prince looks down on heights. It's too beautiful. In fact, in terms of scenery, there is no difference between the top of the mountain and the place just one step away from the top. I am standing on a step below the prince, and I expect that there will be no difference between what he sees. "
Prince Yi nodded and said: "That makes sense."
He looked down and then up: "There is definitely not much difference between what you see when you stand on the top of the mountain and when you stand one step away from the top of the mountain. But what you see when you stand on the top of the mountain and when you stand halfway up the mountain Things must be very different. But as long as you are still in the world, what you can see from the top of the highest mountain is just a poor view. What if you leave the world and look down from the sky?"
Master Xiao smiled and shook his head: "No one can stand in the sky, no one can."
Prince Yi smiled, paused and asked: "Master Xiao, there is something I have always wanted to ask you, but I have been holding back because I was not polite enough. Since today happened to be about high and low, I will use this topic to ask ¡Do you think you are taller or Dean Zhou is taller?¡±
After Master Xiao was silent for a moment, he said word by word: "I don't know how tall Dean Zhou is, so I can't compare him. But I do know how tall I am I'm not afraid of the prince's jokes, I'm really tall."