164 A Banquet in the Palace (1/2)
Chapter 164: A Banquet in the Palace
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
Upon hearing the word, the expression on Cao Youning's face suddenly changed.
It would naturally appear weird if he carried a desk back to the mansion of Grand Secretary, no matter how delicate it was packed. After all, it was unique in the world. However, a book of rubbings... could be copied without any limitation, if ink and paper were provided. If he really took the book of rubbings to the mansion, how could he explain to his brother-in-law?
Looking at the uninvited handmaiden with a slightly-black face, he sullenly said, ”Who are you?”
Having a glance at him and knowing his intention, Dewdrop reluctantly but smilingly said, ”The desk you want to buy belongs to that...Master Yan Se, but the writing was Ning Que's original works. The girl was Ning Que's handmaiden, whose voice, to be honest, matters a lot. If you really want to take something valuable home, I advise you to be more polite.”
Cao Youning was shocked and quickly accepted Dewdrop's suggestion. Politely greeting a bow with hands folded in front to Sangsang, he honestly said, ”Though the book of rubbings must be valuable in the future, yet now I just want to purchase something unique.”
Sangsang thought that the man should be treated well since he was the first customer after Ning Que became famous. With a short thinking, she peacefully said, ”I stamp a seal for you. If you are still unsatisfied with it, my young master will ask Master Yan Se to make a signature on this book of rubbings.”
After finishing the word, she fished out a seal from her clothes.
Cao Youning looked at the seal in her hand in excitement and asked, ”This is...the private seal of Mister Ning?”
Sangsang slightly frowned because she felt very strange that her young master was named Mister Ning, as it was very similar to the name of Mistress Jian.
After a short silence, Cao Youning made his condition, ”Could you promise that mine is the only one with a private seal?”
Sangsang nodded her head.
Raising his head and looking at Sangsang's eyes, Cao Youning said, ”Please make an offer.”
Sangsang said, ”Three hundred taels of silver.”
...
...
After exchanging a piece of paper and a red seal with three notes, Cao Youning left the house in excitement and disappointment. Until seeing his back disappear outside the door, Dewdrop and Sangsang retracted their eyes and looked at each other.
Xiaocao happily hugged Dewdrop's plump arm. She shook Dewdrop's arm and said, ”Sister Dewdrop, earn three hundred taels of silver only at the cost of some ink and cloth. Now you can make a big fortune.”
Dewdrop smilingly said, ”Only the first piece could worth this price. Besides, it was mainly due to Ning Que's private seal.”
”But it could be copied easily!” Xiaocao counted with her fingers and said, ”This business is much more cost-effective than dancing and singing.”
Dewdrop just smiled and didn't reply more. After taking a cup of tea and having a gentle sip, she kept looking at Sangsang.
During the period, Sangsang did nothing but just looked at Dewdrop in silence.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became a little weird.
Dewdrop slowly put down the cup. She raised her head and smilingly said to Sangsang, ”Seven-Three. You get seventy percent and I take Thirty percent.”
Sangsang rushed to House of Red Sleeves today because Ning Que asked her to find that Chicken Soup Calligraphy. However, it was too late. The original calligraphy had been taken by that Master Yan Se. In addition, the chirography trace left on the desk, also had already been a fortune maker of Dewdrop.
Previously, she just kept looking at Dewdrop quietly, because she wanted to know how Dewdrop would deal with it. Now listening to the suggestion, Sangsang felt very satisfied and smilingly nodded to Dewdrop.
Raising her sleeves in front of her laughing mouth, Dewdrop said in a low voice, ”With the old desk, I can easily overtake Lu Xue. You can bring Ning Que here when you are free. I want to make him comfortable and happy, even if at the risk of being punished by Mistress Jian.”
Sangsang just laughed and didn't catch the topic. She walked to the desk and watched it in curiosity.
When she entered the room just now, she just took a quick glance. It was her first time to witness the original works of Chicken Soup Calligraphy. The words of the calligraphy, which was appreciated by a Divine Talisman Master and caused sensation in the whole Chang'an City, were the following.
”Sangsang, your young master, I, am drunk today and won't come back to sleep, so you must remember to drink the stewed chicken soup left in the pot.”
Looking at the first two words of the scratchy handwriting, which was her name, Sangsang kept silent for a long time. Then she burst into laughter, with her slightly-black face full of pride and happiness.
After Sangsang left the courtyard in the company of Xiaocao, Dewdrop's maidservant came in and, with her eyes rolling, said, ”My girl, the memo was indeed written by Ning Que, but the desk belongs to us. Besides, it is this place where Master Yan Se stayed at night and made the writing back then. It is appropriate to share profits with Ning Que and his maidservant, but the Seven-Three proportion is really unfavorable for us.”
Smilingly and gently poking at the center between eyebrows of the loyal maidservant, Dewdrop said, ”Look at you. How shallow you are when analyzing some problem. First of all, the first two words of the handwriting is the name of Sangsang. What's more, if I take the bigger part now and one high official asks for it someday, how can I refuse? But now, Ning Que and his maidservant get the bigger part, so I am just an agent for them. If some people dare demand the desk forcibly one day, they have to get Ning Que's agreement first before targeting at me.”
The maidservant was a little confused at first and then realized what she meant. Gently biting her lower lip, she said, ”But Dewdrop...the relationship between you and young master Ning Que is quite good, and you two sometimes call each other in the name of elder sister and younger brother in private. This time, you push him to the frontline, is it a little...”
Watching her maidservant who wanted to say something but suddenly stopped, Dewdrop laughed and said, ”You think I am mean and unkind to him? I am wondering whether you are my maidservant or Ning Que's. He hasn't been here for several months, but you still miss him very much. There is no need to worry the thing this time. At present, Ning Que is appreciated by his Majesty and become the successor of a Divine Talisman Master. Even if he can't capriciously bully others in Chang'an City, but at least no one dares to bully him at random.”
...
...
Several types of fresh snacks and two pots of fruit wine lay on the desk beside the window of the second-floor private room in House of Red Sleeves. A woman sat beside the window and looked at Sangsang who was accompanied by Xiaocao. The woman smilingly said to that middle-aged customer beside her, ”Look at that girl. She was the little handmaiden of young master Ning Que. We all think that she must be Ning Que's woman in the future. If she doesn't have the identity, why would the maidservant of Mistress Jian be so close with her?”
The middle-aged man, with slightly-white eyebrows and iron-like complexion, looked a little old and experienced. He looked out of the window to where the woman pointed, and then curiously asked after a short silence, ”The young guy named Ning Que unexpectedly became well-known in Chang'an within a day. I just feel confused that why all of you call him young master Ning Que in such a merited and smooth way, given that he wasn't so famous as now some days ago?”
The woman laughed with her sleeves covering her mouth and then explained in a low voice, ”Young master Ning Que isn't an average person...though the women here didn't know his specialty before. However, there must be something distinctive in this young lad, because he can let Dewdrop lovingly call him 'younger brother, younger brother' and let Lu Xue specially come back to dance for him in her vacation.”
The middle-aged man slightly raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, ”Why?”
After a little thought, the woman found that it was very difficult to conclude why Ning Que was so popular and liked by the women here, though they truly quite liked him. Then she just shook her head and smilingly said, ”Since he entered here for the first time, Mistress Jian has found something special in him. Maybe Dewdrop knows more specialties about him? Anyway, he deserves our calling him young master, given Mistress Jian's attitude towards him.”
The middle-aged man just laughed and stopped talking about the matter. After drinking some fruit wine and having some chats with the woman, he left away.
After leaving House of Red Sleeves, the middle-aged man went on a carriage. He ordered the cart driver to travel around Chang'an City at random, and then the carriage stopped at the North City. After paying the carter for the fee and walking across two alleys, he reached behind a building group which was solemn and surrounded by green tress. With a knock on the back door, he entered into the mansion.
Inside the study room of Chang'an Local Government
Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him, Shangguan Yangyu coldly asked, ”It takes three months to narrow the number of suspects to seven. However, among the seven names, why Ning Que would appear at the last place? Why would you doubt him? Do you have any evidence?”
The middle-aged man was Tie Ying, a group leader of the Ministry of Penalty in Chang'an Local Government. He had worked for the Ministry of Penalty for more than ten years, so he was very experienced in investigating cases. Right now, upon hearing the question of his superior, he answered after short hesitation, ”Ning Que was in House of Red Sleeves when Zhang Yiqi died.”
With his facial expression suddenly changing, Shangguan Yangyu rebuked, ”There were over one hundred persons in House of Red Sleeves right then, and they all should be suspected?”
Tie Ying, lowering his head and holding his fists, said in a low and deep voice, ” But I feel there is something wrong in this guy.”
Shangguan Yangyu slightly frowned and unhappily said, ”How could we investigate cases by feeling?