NIP #160 - Chapter 160 Apology Banquet
#160 - Chapter 160 Apology Banquet
The reason was simple.
Old Marquis Zhao Mingyuan actually had two sons.
The eldest son, Zhao Weisong, died in battle at Tiexia Pass in Zhongchuan Road ten years ago while resisting the Northern Barbarians.
Zhao Chengzhi had an excellent relationship with his elder brother, and the young marquis was devastated by his brother's death on the battlefield.
For a while, he even wanted to go to the border to avenge his brother.
Unfortunately, his martial arts skills were poor and his aptitude was lacking.
These days, the young marquis had heard many stories about Marquis Longxiang's great victory over the Tiele and Lieutenant Li's slaying of the Bohu warrior in teahouses and taverns.
He listened with great interest every time.
He even fantasized about being in the battle formation at the Chishui River, fighting the enemy and serving the country alongside the other soldiers.
He also wanted to become close friends with the legendary Lieutenant Li.
At yesterday's triumphal ceremony, although the young marquis was standing far away and couldn't see Li Yuan's appearance clearly,
He could clearly see Li Yuan's various actions.
Especially his forceful beheading of the Tiele envoy Bo Jiya in front of the Imperial City gate.
This made him admire Li Yuan even more.
He was determined to visit Qingyuan Count in the next few days.
Feeling happy, he drank a few more cups with some cronies in Jiutan Alley that night.
As a result, he got drunk and lost his composure, bumping into Li Yuan and his wife on their way home.
Seeing the beauty of the Bai sisters, the young marquis was momentarily overcome with alcohol and committed an act of rudeness.
He was even beaten up by Li Yuan on the spot.
When he heard that the person in front of him was the great hero Li Yuan, whom he had been dreaming of, the young marquis was filled with remorse.
All he could do at the time was to flee in shame.
When he returned home, he thought he would be reprimanded by his father.
But he was surprised to find that his old man was actually enjoying a pleasant drink at home.
He was even humming a tune from beyond the Great Wall that he didn't understand.
This surprised the young marquis.
He knew that the old marquis usually had regular meals and didn't drink at all.
When Marquis Beining saw his son return, he actually asked this unfilial son to drink with him.
This frightened the young marquis quite a bit.
He even thought that his old man had some kind of mental illness.
As a result, after sitting down, the father and son had a pleasant conversation, and the young marquis learned the reason for his old man's happiness.
Compared to the storybooks on the streets,
Zhao Mingyuan, as Marquis Beining, could obtain more detailed battle reports from the Ministry of War.
The old man had many years of experience in leading troops and was rich in battlefield experience, so he compiled all the news and battle reports he obtained.
He immediately pieced together the whole picture of the Chishui River victory.
He was amazed by Marquis Longxiang Bai Jing's incredible good luck and Lieutenant Li's bravery and wisdom.
Confirming the victory of Great Liang made the old marquis very happy.
This led the kitchen in the mansion to prepare wine and dishes, and he poured himself a drink and felt very gratified.
Seeing his unpromising son, he was no longer as strict as usual.
He just pulled him over and told him about the thrilling battle of Chishui River.
The father and son drank together, and the young marquis drank a lot too.
He recalled the Tiele waist tags all over the ground outside the Desheng Gate during the day.
He also recalled the dozens of ferocious heads of the Tiele generals at the ceremony of presenting prisoners and heads.
Then, Li Yuan beheaded the Tiele envoy to avenge the people of Shangjing.
The young marquis felt even more ashamed and remorseful.
He actually knelt on the ground and cried non-stop.
Marquis Beining was very puzzled when he saw this.
Instead, he wept bitterly and regretted it endlessly.
The old marquis couldn't bear it, so he told him to go to Qingyuan Count's mansion during the day to plead guilty and let Li Yuan punish him.
This time, the young marquis was very obedient.
He changed out of his usual flamboyant embroidered brocade robe and put on plain linen clothes.
He also washed his oily hair clean.
As soon as it dawned, he found the gate of Qingyuan Count's residence, knelt down to plead guilty, and asked Li Yuan to punish him.
After hearing the whole story, Li Yuan admired Marquis Beining's understanding of righteousness.
Seeing that the young marquis Zhao Chengzhi's attitude of admitting his mistake was sincere,
He no longer felt much resentment in his heart.
So he said to him.
"Young Marquis, you were just confused for a moment."
"You have sincerely repented."
"Let's just let this matter pass and not mention it again in the future."
Zhao Chengzhi saw that Qingyuan Count was generous and no longer cared about what happened last night.
Li Yuan also asked him to come into the courtyard for tea.
The young marquis was so moved that he couldn't stop crying.
After a few conversations.
Li Yuan found that although this young marquis was a bit of a rascal, he couldn't be considered a bad person.
He was just usually arrogant.
Seeing that Li Yuan had forgiven him, Zhao Chengzhi relaxed a little.
They chatted about everyday life.
Li Yuan then discovered that this young marquis knew the entertainment industry in Shangjing like the back of his hand.
There was no tavern he hadn't eaten at, and no brothel he hadn't visited.
Li Yuan's heart stirred.
He then asked the young marquis if he knew how to sell wine in Shangjing.
When Zhao Chengzhi heard that Li Yuan wanted to do some business in Shangjing,
He immediately patted his chest and guaranteed that he would take care of everything.
He also very diligently offered that, since he had nothing to do today, he might as well take Li Yuan to stroll around Shangjing.
Li Yuan thought for a moment and didn't refuse. The young marquis had connections with all sorts of people in Shangjing.
Having such a local guide would make many things much more convenient.
Today, the female marquis and her younger sister were going back to the Longxiang Army's garrison to deal with some daily chores.
They also wanted to go back to the Marquis's mansion to see how the cleaning and repairs were going.
Wu Ling was going back to see the Xuandao Guard brothers she had brought out.
She also had to send a letter to her father, informing him that she and Qingyuan Count had been betrothed by the female marquis.
After the three women left, Li Yuan also went out with the young marquis.
Having this local as a guide.
Things were indeed much more convenient.
The young marquis took Li Yuan to the wine workshop street in Shangjing first, and inquired about the prices of various wines in the city.
He also visited several large and small restaurants in Shangjing.
The owners of these restaurants were very attentive, flattering, and polite when they saw that it was the young marquis.
Obviously, this Young Master Zhao was a regular at various restaurants in Shangjing.
With the young marquis's guidance and introduction, Li Yuan quickly figured out the prices of various wines in Shangjing.
The price of wine here was much higher than in Beichuan Road.
If Forget-Worry Brew entered Shangjing, it could conservatively earn three to four times the profit.
Li Yuan turned around for a morning and obtained first-hand data.
He felt that selling wine to Shangjing was definitely promising.
As noon approached, he wanted to invite the young marquis for a few drinks.
But the young marquis had already booked a banquet to apologize at Jinyu Tower, the best restaurant in Shangjing.
He also invited several sons of meritorious officials to witness.
Li Yuan smiled bitterly in his heart, but seeing that the young marquis's attitude was extremely sincere, he couldn't refuse and hurt his feelings.
At noon, inside the elegant room on the third floor of Jinyu Tower.
A group of people sat around in a circle.
Li Yuan sat at the head, and the young marquis served on the side.
In addition, there were five or six sons of meritorious officials who were usually friends with the young marquis accompanying them.
Li Yuan also saw a few people who were acquaintances from that night.
These people were also respectful and apologized when they saw Li Yuan.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Young Master Zhao called the waiter and asked.
"Do you have any good wine here?"
Hearing this, the waiter said proudly.
"Young Marquis, you've come to the right place today. Our Jinyu Tower got a good wine a few days ago."
"It's called Heavenly Fragrance Brew, and the taste is absolutely amazing."
"But there's not much left, and there are only two bottles left in the store."
Hearing that there was good wine, the young marquis said very generously.
"Today, I'm hosting a distinguished guest."
"Two bottles it is, bring them all to me."
The waiter hesitated for a moment, then reminded him.
"Young Marquis, it's not difficult to bring the wine here,"
"But this wine is very precious."
"One bottle costs twenty-five strings of cash."
"The boss has ordered that I have to pay the money first before I can go to the counter to get it for you."
Hearing this, the young marquis's face showed displeasure.
"Do you think I'm short of this little money?"
"I've drunk all kinds of good wine in Shangjing, this is the first time I've seen such a big rule."
However, with Li Yuan at the table, he naturally didn't dare to be too arrogant.
So he directly took out fifty taels of silver notes from his pocket, handed them to the waiter, and ordered.
"Go, bring both bottles to me."
"Okay, you wait."
Before long, the waiter indeed came in, carefully holding two wine bottles on a red lacquer tray.
Li Yuan was also very curious about this so-called [Heavenly Immortal Brew]. He also wanted to see what the best wine in Shangjing looked like.
Two extremely exquisite wine bottles were placed on the table.
The workmanship of this bottle was very particular, and it was actually made of tri-color porcelain.
It is said that this kind of tri-color porcelain is considered a luxury item in Great Liang.
Not to mention how the wine inside is, the cost of this colored porcelain bottle alone is worth at least three strings of cash.
Amidst everyone's expectations, the waiter first opened a bottle.
A rich aroma of wine instantly wafted into the air.