Chapter 83 Wine and Cup Witnessing Righteousness

  There are five rooms in the backyard of Xiangyang Mountain Villa, which are the most spacious and luxurious. They are called Spring Rain, Summer Day, Autumn Wind, Winter Snow and Four Seasons.

  The four seasons are the master's rooms, and it is natural for Jiang Xia to live in them. The spring rain and winter snow have two adjacent rooms, so Cui Nian Nu and Cui Ru Shuang live separately, as for summer days, they are specially reserved for Zhu Hou Zuo, but he has never lived there, every time he comes to the Xiangyang Mountain Villa, even if he stays overnight, he lives in the girl's room.

  The last autumn wind, this house was given to Han Yu, it can be seen that Jiang Xia is quite fond of Han Yu, and that one sentence "Han Ge" is not just a casual greeting.

  The autumn wind is blowing through the house, and the layout of the four seasons is quite imaginative. It's a courtyard with a five-room suite, facing south and sitting north, which is excellent for lighting, ventilation, and feng shui.

  Han Yu stood in the courtyard, facing the direction of Siji Residence.

  His eyebrows were tightly locked, and the gaze revealed by his eyes was clearly struggling. After standing for a while, Han Yu looked down at the two things in his hand.

  In his left hand was a stack of banknotes, totaling 500 taels, which were exactly what the accountants from Jiangxia had sent him. In his right hand was an oil-paper package containing a small packet of medicine powder called "see blood and seal throat".

  This medicine is also quite famous in the history of China, it is made from the powder of "poison arrow wood". It is colorless and odorless when dissolved in water. Once ingested, not only does the toxin act quickly, but it also appears to be a sudden death from stroke, even experienced coroners have difficulty detecting any clues.

  Han Yu put away the stack of treasure bills into his bosom, then looked at the Blood Halter in his hand and thought back to the scene from more than two hours ago.

  At that time, Jiang Xia had just followed Zhong Bin out of the Xishan Mountain Villa, and then Han Yu met a messenger from the Eastern Depot who came to inform him to see the Factory Master.

  Upon arrival at the East Factory, Han Yu met with Liu Jin in a secret room. Liu Jin handed him a package containing "see blood seal throat" and said: "This package is see blood seal throat, after you return to Xiangyang Mountain Villa, remember to find an opportunity to put it into Jiang Xia's food or drink."

  "Poison Jiang Xia?" Han Yu was shocked, earlier he had received news from Liu Jin to win over Jiang Xia, how did it suddenly become poisoning Jiang Xia?

  Han Yu Da asked boldly: "Master, I don't understand, why do you want to poison Jiang Xia? Didn't you just...?"

  Liu Jin glanced at Han Yu, clearly blaming him for asking too many questions. However, Liu Jin still gave a simple explanation of the reason.

  "This time and that time, I didn't expect Li Dongyang, that old fox, to take the lead and establish a relationship with Jiang Xia. Now they are master and apprentice, and Jiang Xia is willing to risk his life to save him, which shows that their feelings for each other run deep. If it weren't for Jiang Xia, this 'Zhizheng 31' case would have cost Li Dongyang his head, even if he had ten lives."

  The Emperor really attaches too much importance to Jiang Xia, this child cannot be kept. Otherwise, after entering the officialdom, he will definitely stand on Li Dongyang's side and oppose me. At that time, Jiang Xia will rely on the Emperor's sacred decree to create a lot of trouble for me, so I must take the initiative to strike first.

  After finishing, Liu Jin looked at Han Yu and said: "Han Mu Feng, it's been nine years since I rescued you from the Heavenly Prison. I know you're not a person who likes to be controlled by others, so as long as you complete this task well, I'll allow you to leave the East Factory and live a free and easy life from now on."

  After listening to Liu Jin's words, Han Yu clenched his fists. He had almost forgotten the name "Han Mu Feng". The reputation of "Surprise Goose Knife" in Jianghu at that time was also unknown how many people remembered it. But these were not important to Han Yu, what was important was the last seven words of Liu Jin's speech: "Free and easy life".

  These seven words have a somewhat fatal attraction to Han Yu, and when he heard these seven words, Han Yu unhesitatingly put the "Jian Xue Feng Hou" into his arms. Now that he thinks of these seven words, the look in Han Yu's eyes has also become much more determined.

  On the other hand, Zhong Bin drove the carriage to the East Factory to have it repainted and restyled, then he rode a sorrel horse back to the Xianyao Manor.

  In the yard of Sizhi Ju, Zhong Bin met Jiang Xia. Jiang Xia was still somewhat worried about hitting Zhu Hou Xi, and as soon as he saw Zhong Bin, he asked: "How is it? Has the carriage been dealt with?"

  "Don't worry, it's fine." Zhong Bin nodded. He actually wanted to tell Jiang Xia that he didn't need to be afraid of Zhu Hou Xi at all. Zhu Hou Xi's father was indeed Xing Xian Wang Zhu You Ren, but Zhu You Ren's fiefdom was in Anlu State and had no control over the capital.

  The Ming dynasty had always been very strict in managing the royal family members, restricting them from leaving their fiefs without imperial summons, forbidding them from interacting with local officials, and even limiting the number of guards in the palace. Therefore, although Zhu Houxi's title as Xing Xian Wang was honorable, his influence within the Ming dynasty was definitely not comparable to that of Li Dongyang.

  Moreover, Jiang Xia's real background is not Li Dongyang, but the current emperor.

  However, Zhong Bin had received an imperial edict and absolutely could not reveal Zhu Houzhao's identity to Jiang Xia, nor even give any hint.

  Just as Zhong Bin was thinking of advising Jiang Xia not to be afraid, Jiang Xia suddenly laughed and said with a smile: "Although it's a bit troublesome to beat that prince, I think Liu Qingyun from the Murong Hou Mansion is definitely more headache-inducing than me."

  When he saw Jiang Xia's appearance, Zhong Bin finally understood that Jiang Xia was only worried, but not afraid. That's right, this guy is a typical fearless and daredevil personality.

  Suddenly, Zhong Bin remembered something and after some consideration, he said to Jiang Xia: "Han Yu, I advise you to be more careful."

  "Big Brother Han?" Jiang Xia was slightly stunned. He didn't understand why Zhong Bin said that, but he knew that Zhong Bin was absolutely not a person who spoke without thinking.

  Jiang Xia saw Zhong Bin's serious expression and nodded: "I will pay attention."

  Zhong Bin saw Jiang Xia Lian and knew that he hadn't taken his advice to heart, but after so many years of serving in the Brocade Guard, Zhong Bin's keen intuition told him that there was something wrong with Han Yu, especially today.

  Zhong Bin thought for a moment and decided to remind him again: "He knows martial arts, at least the level of the Eight Trigrams Cauldron."

  "Is Han Ge so formidable?" Jiang Xia said with a surprised face.

  Zhong Bin saw Jiang Xia and couldn't help but secretly shake his head, as he didn't see even a hint of basic doubt. There were some things that he wouldn't say without substantial evidence, and there were some matters that he was even more unwilling to get involved in randomly. After reminding him, Zhong Bin felt that he had already done what he should do.

  Zhong Bin hugged his long sword and turned away without saying a word, not even bidding farewell, but he had always been like this, Jiang Xia was already used to it.

  After Zhong Bin left, Jiang Xia's expression on his face suddenly changed. He had a thoughtful look and muttered to himself: "Han Yu, Ba Zhong Ding?"

  Huh? Footsteps?

  Jiang Xia, who had heightened senses, suddenly heard footsteps. He looked up towards the gate and saw Han Yu walking in with a jug of wine in his left hand and a food box in his right hand.

  Jiang Xia laughed and called out: "Big Brother Han." He pointed to the wine jug and smiled, saying: "Let me guess, you must have gotten some good wine from somewhere, so you want to find me to drink a couple of cups together?"

  Han nodded and smiled: "Thirty years of Shaoxing nu'er hong, a rare good wine."

  Jiang Xia shook her head and said, "The daughter of that family must be very ugly, she's already thirty years old and still can't get married."

  Jiang Xia said that this is actually derived from the custom of Shaoxing nu'er hong. In Shaoxing, many families would brew a vat of nu'er hong and bury it when they had a daughter, then dig it up and open it to entertain guests when the daughter got married.

  Han Yu said that the wine was thirty years old Shaoxing nu'er hong, so Jiang Xia joked that the daughter of that family must be very ugly. In fact, Shaoxing nu'er hong is a famous wine, and many wineries will specially brew and bury it for a long time because the more mellow the wine is, the more fragrant it is.

  But what Jiang Xia didn't expect was that his words seemed to have touched a sore spot in Han Yu's heart. He looked at the wine jar with a gloomy expression and said, "This wine was unearthed when she was 21 years old. The reason I haven't drunk it is because she jumped into the river and drowned herself on her wedding day. She wasn't ugly, on the contrary, she was actually very beautiful."

  Jiang Xia looked at Han Yu and was slightly stunned. With his keen eyesight, he could naturally see the genuine emotions revealed by Han Yu.

  Jiang Xia knew he had misspoken, so he didn't dwell on the issue anymore and changed the subject with a smile: "Alright, alright, let's not talk about beauty or ugliness anymore. Let's just taste the wine instead. The aroma has already awakened the wine worms in my stomach."

  "Good." Han Yu smiled and nodded, placing the wine jug on the stone table in the courtyard, then taking out several dishes of food and bowls, chopsticks, and cups from the food box.

  Han poured Jiang Xia a cup of wine and then poured one for himself too.

  "Good wine, the aroma is pure and rich but not greasy, this must be a rare good wine."

  Jiang Xia smiled and said: "Brother Han, then I won't be polite, let's have a drink first."

  As he spoke, Jiang Xia raised his wine cup and was about to take a drink.

  "Brother Jiang!" Han Yu suddenly called out to Jiang Xia, Jiang Xia's movements came to a halt. "What is it, Big Brother Han?"

  Han's eyes flashed with a hint of panic, and he nodded before saying: "Drinking on an empty stomach is not good for the body, let's eat something first before drinking."

  "It doesn't matter, I'll just have a drink to quench my thirst first. Anyway, by the time I get back, I would have already eaten at Chunfeng Building."

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia raised his wine cup and prepared to drink again.

  Han Yu suddenly grabbed Jiang Xia's arm and shouted again: "Brother Jiang!" This time, his tone was tinged with a hint of anxiety.

  Jiang Xia looked at Han Yu with a faint smile and said: "Big Brother Han, isn't it that you suddenly can't bear to part with this good wine? It's not right to have good things and not share them with your brothers."

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia flipped his right hand and the wine cup jumped up. Then Jiang Xia's arm suddenly slipped out of Han Yu's hand like a loach, and then Jiang Xia caught the wine cup, and not a single drop of wine spilled out.

  Jiang Xia made a gesture to drink again, but Han Yu suddenly stretched out his right hand. His wrist flipped, and his index and middle fingers merged to tap Jiang Xia's hand lightly along the back of his hand. Jiang Xia's hand felt like it had been electrocuted, and subconsciously loosened its grip, causing the wine cup to fall.

  Han took the wine cup with his left hand and said: "Good wine should be paired with good dishes, today's dishes are not good, let's drink another day."

  Jiang Xia's right hand shook, and then his left hand stretched out like a spiritual snake, snatching the wine cup in a flash. "From now on, I don't know if I'll ever meet such good wine again. What if Brother Han secretly drinks it all?"

  "How could I? I regarded you as a brother, how could I monopolize good things?"

  As they spoke, Han Yu and Jiang Xia had already exchanged several moves. Both of them used small grappling hands, the wine cup was snatched back and forth between the two, but the wine didn't spill a single drop.

  Suddenly, both of them grasped the wall of the wine glass with their thumbs and index fingers at the same time.

  Jiang Xia looked at Han Yu and smiled: "Han big brother, why don't we save that whole jug of wine for another day, and I'll just have this cup to quench my thirst first."

  "Bang!" Han Yu suddenly crushed the wine cup, shards flying everywhere, and the wine spilled to the ground. He stood up abruptly, looking at Jiang Xia, and said in a low voice: "I don't believe you didn't guess that there's something fishy about this wine."

  Jiang Xia smiled slightly and shook his head, saying: "Since you've already added the medicine, why don't you just let me drink it?"

  "I..." Han's words trailed off, and he suddenly let out a deep sigh. His eyes revealed intense sadness. "I won't use this wine to kill you, that would be an insult to the wine." "And also an insult to her..."

  "If you don't kill me, how will you explain it to Liu Jin?" Jiang Xia said with a faint smile.

  Han Yu stared at Jiang Xia in shock and exclaimed: "You know?"

  "It's not considered early just because you know it." Jiang Xia also stood up and stood with his hands behind his back.

  "I'm really stupid, a young man with the surname Zhu can just enter and exit the Imperial Brothel to make the current Grand Tutor issue an order to seal off the Imperial Brothel. He brought two subordinates, each of whom is either rich or noble. He sent out a bodyguard, who not only excels in swordsmanship but also happens to be a very young Nine Ding Wu martial arts prodigy. All these extraordinary things, I never thought that his true identity is actually the current Emperor."

  "Hehe......" Jiang Xia self-deprecatingly smiled and let out a long sigh, saying: "I didn't know the true face of Mount Lu, only because I was in this mountain... Who would have thought that even I, Jiang Xia, would have a day where I'm blinded by my own biases."

  "That... when did you know?" Han Yu's heart was shocked, knowing that Jiang Xia had already known the identities of Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin. Han Yu's understanding of Jiang Xia refreshed several times in an instant.

  During this period, Zhu Houzhao had been to the Xiangyang Mountain Villa before, but Jiang Xia's attitude towards him remained unchanged as ever. She would hit his head if she said so, and kick his butt if she said so, never being ambiguous about it.

  Originally, Han Yu had been considering whether to find a way to subtly hint to Jiang Xia, lest he one day truly offend the Emperor, but it never occurred to him that all of this was actually done intentionally by Jiang Xia.

  Jiang Xia looked at Han Yu and smiled slightly, brushing off the hem of his clothes: "The time I knew wasn't early or late, it was when Eldest Second accompanied me to Tianlao to rescue Master that time."

  At that time, I was shot by an arrow and lost too much blood, so I fainted. However, the situation was critical at that time, and I knew that if I really passed out, I would surely die, so I bit my tongue hard to force myself to get up again.

  Just then, Zhong Bin appeared, Liu Jin and the people from the East Depot arrived, and everyone knelt on the ground to pay their respects to Er'er, addressing him as... Your Majesty.