Chapter 35: Langya Noble Son

Fortunately, Liu Zhao said: "Why not necessary? If you study alone without friends, you will be ignorant and ill-informed. Young Master taught me with the *Book of Documents* today, so I must entertain you!" Then he looked at Xie Xinghan: "Niece, you stay for dinner too."

Xie Xinghan smiled: "Since Uncle wants to entertain a distinguished guest, I won't disturb you." Then she looked at Wang Yang, smiling but not smiling: "Young Master has great talent, I will definitely ask you for advice on writing poetry when I have the opportunity."

Wang Yang felt a little hairy in his heart, forced a smile and arched his hands: "I don't understand poetry, but if it's discussing classics, I will definitely obey."

At the same time, in the imperial capital of the Southern Qi, Jiankang City, thousands of miles away, inside a manor on the outskirts of the city, guards stood in great numbers.

An extremely handsome young master in gorgeous clothes was learning to ride a horse.

Standing next to him were four highly skilled equestrian teachers, nervously watching every subtle movement of the young master, fearing that he would have a slip.

There was a little sweat on the young master's forehead, his movements were very unfamiliar, but his expression was extremely focused, pulling the reins, watching the steed under his crotch "rebelliously" twisting its neck, his interest growing higher and higher.

An old servant stepped forward, bowed and said: "Young Master, half an hour has passed."

The young master in gorgeous clothes was having fun, but when he heard that the time was up, he immediately turned off the horse without any reluctance.

Because the movement was too fast, his left foot stepped off when he got off the horse, his body tilted, and he almost fell.

The four equestrian teachers and more than a dozen guards saw this and hurriedly rushed forward to support him.

The young master in gorgeous clothes stood firm, smiled and waved his hand: "It doesn't matter."

The equestrian teachers and guards then returned to their original positions with peace of mind.

A little slave presented a face towel, and the young master walked out while wiping his sweat, sighing: "Half an hour is not enough."

Four attendants followed quickly, one holding a water basin, two changing clothes for the young master, and one holding a tray with a small cup of red wine on it.

This young master who had just dismounted was the noble son of the Langya Wang clan, the chief strategist of the Prince of Jingling's Mansion, Wang Rong, known as the "First Talented Scholar of Great Qi."

This person was the direct sixth-generation grandson of the Eastern Jin prime minister Wang Dao, and the branch he belonged to was the most noble and prosperous line of the Wang family. At the age of twenty-three, he had already reached the high position of Middle Secretary, and the court scholars all thought that "the speed of promotion is unprecedented in modern times."

So the court mostly regarded him as a seedling for prime minister and three dukes, believing that he was expected to be promoted to the position of prime minister within thirty years old!

Among all the young talents in the Southern Qi Empire, no one could compare with him in terms of popularity.

Wang Rong finished wiping his face, changed his clothes, drank a glass of wine, the four attendants retreated far away, and the old servant reported: "Five people are waiting to see you. Zhang Su, the Executive Officer of the Ministry of Personnel; Li Zhu, the Legal Counselor of the Grand Marshal's Mansion; Liu Man, the National School Doctor; Chu Zhen, the Governor of Yixing; and Niu Mu, the Cavalry Captain."

Wang Rong said while wiping his hands: "Give the list I drafted to Zhang Su; choose two plump beauties to accompany Chu Zhen; lead Liu Man to the study to wait; set up a banquet to invite Li Zhu, don't serve fish, and don't care about the rest; call Niu Mu to the mountain pavilion, I will see him first."

He spoke very fast, although he was talking about five different things, he spoke like one thing, continuous, without any pause.

The old servant was not simple either, remembering everything he heard, and went to take the order after listening. At this time, a person who looked like a housekeeper hurried over, bowed and whispered: "Someone from Jingzhou."

Wang Rong stopped the old servant: "Let Niu Mu wait a little longer, I will see the person from Jingzhou first."

Inside the secret room, a man in black with an eye patch on his left eye knelt and reported:

"The Prince of Badong is unwilling to contact outsiders. Usually, the only people who can approach him are those sixty personal guards. Even the Chief Clerk and the Sima find it difficult to see him, and the other civil and military officials have even less chance to meet him. Our people cannot get close. Lord Wang wants to ask for instructions, can we find a gap among the sixty personal guards."

"Of course not." Wang Rong categorically rejected, "The Prince of Badong is rough but fine, looking evil and crazy, but actually has his own rules. Tell my cousin that the sixty personal guards must not be touched, and let him think of another way."

The man hesitated for a moment and said again: "Lord Wang asked, if he still can't find an opportunity in the end, can we skip this link and launch the plan directly."

Wang Rong looked at the man without speaking, and the man immediately said: "The little one has advised him, but the Lord seems to have quite a lot of confidence..." Remembering the young master's temper, he hurriedly stopped his mouth, kowtowed and said: "The little one will advise Lord Wang to act strictly according to the young master's instructions."

Wang Rong said slowly: "Things, either don't do them; if you do them, you must do them securely. You can wait for the opportunity slowly, even if you wait for another year or a half, it doesn't matter. The first is to seek stability, and the second is success. If there is a problem, then neither of you needs to come back."

"Yes." The man who felt his back cold kowtowed again.

Wang Rong's tone turned gentle: "I know, you really want to return to the capital. You have worked hard during this time. Go back and tell my cousin that I have already arranged it. When he comes back, he will either be the Cavalry Attendant or the Nine Ministers. As for you, you will be the Captain of the White Straight Team in the Prince of Jingling's Mansion, how about it?"

The man said gratefully: "Thank you, Young Master, for your love! But the little one only wants to follow the Young Master and doesn't want to be any captain."

"Serving in the Prince's Mansion is not better than following me?" Wang Rong's tone was playful.

"The little one can have today, all given by the Young Master! Being able to serve in the Prince's Mansion is also because of the Young Master. In the future, maybe I can serve in the Imperial City, and I think it is still because of the Young Master. So the little one only wants to follow the Young Master and doesn't want anything else."

Wang Rong smiled: "You are quite clever. Then you should do things well, and maybe you can really serve in the Imperial City in the future."

"Thank you, Young Master, for your fulfillment! The little one will go back to report the news quickly."

"Rest for a day today, and leave tomorrow."

"Young Master..."

"Go back and see your mother, she misses you."

The man's eyes were wet, and he kowtowed heavily to Wang Rong.

Inside the Jingzhou Commandery School, Wang Yang was eating happily.

This was the first time he had eaten white rice since he traveled through time, accompanied by yellow chicken soup, dried meat roasted with sauce, fermented soybeans with green onions and wood ear (called "wood ear pickles" at that time), plus two fresh seasonal vegetables.

In addition, there was a very distinctive delicacy, made by wrapping rice and fish fillets in lotus leaves and marinating them, called "Guo Zha." In a trance, it actually made Wang Yang eat a bit of sushi.

No wonder Wang Xizhi liked this dish very much and even wrote "Guo Zha Tie," saying "Guo Zha tastes good." Now it seems that it is really not a false statement.

Liu Zhao diligently persuaded him to drink while picking up the topic of the *Book of Documents*. Wang Yang was half-drunk, and he was no longer limited to the exegetical method of exegesis and textual research. He chose this kind of topic earlier to gain trust and not be refuted. Now that he was chatting, Wang Yang was no longer restrained, talking about the brushwork and principles of the *Book of Documents*, and then extending to the ancient military system and criminal law, making Liu Zhao listen with great joy and feeling that it was a pity to meet late.

Under the catalysis of fine wine, the two became closer and closer, and Liu Zhao simply called Wang Yang's courtesy name—"Zhiyan"—to replace the distant "Young Master Wang."

Yu Yuling admired Wang Yang even more, and seeing Wang Yang's wine cup empty, he stood up himself and filled it with a pot. Wang Yang was also in high spirits, and coupled with the thin drunkenness, he unconsciously used the "knocking ceremony" in modern tea and wine social etiquette, bending his five fingers and gently knocking on the table three times, saying: "Thank you, thank you."

Yu Yuling and Liu Zhao were both stunned when they saw this. ===== CHAPTER 36 =====