Chapter 374: A Negotiation That Changed Dynasty History

Chapter 374: A Negotiation That Changed Dynasty History

Chapter 374 A Negotiation That Changed Dynasty History (Part )

"Yes." The elegant and sweet Xu Junling smiled and nodded, as if it was just the way it was.

"..." Zhao Duan was silent for a moment, then said faintly, "Why didn't the princess tell me before? If I remember correctly, the princess only said that she would take me to visit the lake pavilion at night and arranged a dinner."

King Huai'an wants to see him!

This really caught Zhao off guard, although he had vaguely sensed from the little princess's behavior along the way that this guy seemed to have prepared some surprise.

But on the first day of entering the city, I first met Prince Jing, and then Prince Huai'an, a native of the Huai River...

He still felt a little uncomfortable with the tight pace.

The key is……

No preparation.

Xu Junling pretended to be confused and said stupidly, "Really? Didn't I say that? Maybe I forgot for a moment? Or maybe the envoy didn't hear it?"

Zhao Duan sighed. He had no way to deal with this shrewd princess, but he did not feel unhappy in his heart.

In terms of position, if he, representing the court, could meet with King Huai'an, it would undoubtedly send a positive signal.

This is the clever thinking of the big family. They caught Zhao Duan off guard and left him no time to make full preparations, thus gaining the upper hand in this meeting.

But such a grand banquet was also beneficial to him, so he couldn't get angry...

Well, in this way, arranging Xu Junling, a woman, to handle this matter is also a reflection of his exquisite thoughts. If it was Xu Qian, the prince of Huai'an, who completed this "deception", Zhao Duan would not easily expose it.

As his thoughts turned, he perked up and turned to look at Eunuch Hai and the others following behind him:
"So many people..."

Xu Junling has a sweet smile:
"There are six floors in the Dafeng Tower. In addition to the top floor for viewing, my father is hosting a banquet for the envoy on the fifth floor. There is also a banquet on the fourth floor to entertain you all."

Okay... No wonder they booked the entire place with such a big fanfare, they even took guards into consideration.

The old worshipper smiled and said:
"Let's go, let's go. We are really hungry and want to taste the Huaishui river seafood. The last time we came to Dafenglou was decades ago."

Haitang, Lang Shiba, Jiyue, and the Jinyimen from Lihuatang were all tempted.

There's only one level between them, so there's no need to worry about any danger... Zhao Du'an pondered for a moment, nodded, and continued to climb the stairs.

The entire Dafeng Building is extremely quiet and has excellent sound insulation. When you walk inside, you can hardly hear the noise outside.

When we reached the fourth floor, there were indeed waiters from Dafeng Tower waiting respectfully. Standing at the front was the princess's brother, Crown Prince Xu Qian.

Xu Qian greeted Zhao Duan with a complicated look, and then said respectfully to Hai Gongfeng:

"Eunuch Hai, please."

If it were an ordinary guard, there would be no need for the prince to accompany him personally, but Hai Chunlin’s status was different.

As the head of the royal family's worship, a legendary figure who had served three generations of emperors must leave behind some important figures to accompany him.

"Haha, okay." Eunuch Hai said carelessly as he led the guards to take their seats.

The maidservants beside the princess, such as Lushui, also stayed on this floor.

Only Zhao Duan and Xu Junling were left to go up to the next level.

……

……

When Zhao Duan walked up the stairs to the fifth floor, he saw the entire spacious and luxurious floor, brightly lit.

The floor was covered with precious knitted carpets, and the lamp posts in the corners made it as bright as day.

On this floor, maids who were obviously servants of the Prince of Huai'an's Palace stood around with their heads bowed respectfully, and in the center, surrounded by everyone, there was a long table that particularly attracted attention.

On the long table, there was a spindle-shaped bamboo tray, on which lay a large, well-proportioned black carp.

At this moment, behind the long desk, there was an old man with a plump figure, fair face, and so well-maintained that his real age could hardly be identified.

She was wearing an apron and holding a narrow knife as she processed the herring. Every time her wet hands moved, a cut appeared on the fish's body. It seemed that she had reached the final step of cooking the ingredients.

"Father, Envoy Zhao is here." Xu Junling bowed softly.

This "rich businessman" who killed the fish is the King of Huai'an, Zhenbao's uncle, Xu An, who controls several fleets on the Huai River and holds great wealth?

Zhao Duan was surprised.

Although he had seen the portrait of the Eighth Prince, it was still difficult for him to associate a royal prince with a chef who killed fish himself in a restaurant.

Prince Huai'an just put away his last knife, raised his head, and the eyes on his fat face met Zhao Duan's.

"I'm Zhao Duan, your humble servant. Nice to meet you, Your Highness." Zhao Duan saluted with a smile.

His attitude towards this person is very different from that of Prince Jing.

When the King of Huai'an smiled, he looked like Maitreya in the temple:
"Haha, today is not a formal meeting. Since you are familiar with my daughter, you can just address her as a junior."

Zhao Duan followed suit and smiled:
"Your Highness is right. I never thought that besides being a well-known foodie in the Great Yu Dynasty, you also have this cooking skill."

Good praise must be put into practice. The corners of Huai'an King's mouth widened a little, and he heard the princess next to him smile and say:

"My father likes to cook when he is at home, but he doesn't cook very often. This time, it is thanks to you that I was able to taste the fish he cooked."

Zhao Duan was flattered.

But King Huai'an shook his head, picked up a rag and wiped his hands, and said seriously:
"My skill in cooking fish is not as good as that of the chef of Dafeng Tower, but I always feel at ease when I prepare good ingredients myself. Generally speaking, the chef accounts for 60% of the dishes, and the comprador accounts for 40%... Besides, each food has its own taste, and they cannot be mixed together..."

"For example, in recent years, the court of Dayu has been accustomed to using hot pot for winter banquets, which is annoying. Moreover, the taste of each dish has a certain degree of heat, and it is difficult to change it in an instant. Now, if you force it with fire, how can the taste be good? Nowadays, people use liquor instead of charcoal, thinking it is a good idea, but they don't know that things will change after being boiled for a long time..."

Zhao Duan was speechless. He didn't expect that once he brought up a topic, the other party would start talking nonstop and tell him a story... No wonder he was nicknamed "The Foodie Prince".

Although I don't know much about it, I can tell that he is indeed quite knowledgeable about "eating".

Xu Junling said helplessly: "Father, Envoy Zhao is hungry at night."

King Huai'an laughed and said, "I am being too long-winded. Someone, come and cook it and send it to the kitchen to serve."

Immediately, a maid came forward, took the big blue fish and went downstairs.

Some people even worked together to remove the long case.

Prince Huai'an took off his apron and made a gesture. Zhao Duan immediately followed and sat down with the father and daughter at the eight-immortal table that had been prepared nearby.

He and Xu An were facing each other, with the princess accompanying them.

As footsteps came one after another, the maids brought up dishes from downstairs. In the blink of an eye, all the beautifully presented, delicious dishes filled the table.

Only a large empty space was left in the middle, as if it was reserved for the fresh fish that was still being cooked.

Zhao Duan took a quick look and found that the dishes on the table were mainly "river fish", with the rest as supplements. Among them, the eight river fish plates in a circle were the most eye-catching.

He looked towards the side window again. This time the window was slightly open, and he could vaguely see a series of lights in the distance, which seemed to be coming from a pleasure boat.

"That's the Yansu Lake over there," King Huai'an explained.
"This lake has a history of more than a thousand years. When the Grand Canal was built in the previous dynasty, it was used to discharge floodwaters. Although it was originally a famous scenic spot, it was not very famous. Instead, the lake pavilion gradually became lively after the opening of the canal.

Although it is outside the city, it is not far away. There are pleasure boats staying there at night. However, its prosperity is inferior to the "Huaihe River" of the Huai River. Therefore, it is also called "Little Huaihe River" in recent years. Unfortunately, among the 18 prefectures of the Dayu Dynasty, there are more than ten prefectures vying to be the "Little Huaihe River".

Oh, the scenery here is nothing special except for the statue of the god carved on the ancient mountain wall. In my opinion, its reputation is greater than its actual reality, mostly due to the poems praised by scholars.

But my daughter had a different idea, saying it had a unique atmosphere, and she actually wrote a few poems about it. "

You'd better just say that the lake is covered with smoke instead of using metaphors... Zhao Duan smiled:
"I have only been at the lake pavilion for half a day, but I haven't had time to see it yet."

"Really? There's no rush." ​​King Huai'an smiled. He leaned back in his chair, and his voluptuous body filled the space.

"In my opinion, among the scenery in this world, natural scenery is secondary, and talents are the most worth appreciating."

"For example?" Zhao Duan asked.

King Huai'an said with great interest:

"For example, the lively scene between you and Xu Jinglong on the river, and the scene when Xu Wen came to the Humble Administrator's Garden."

Let’s get to the point!

Zhao Duan knew that the greetings were over, and he quietly tensed up. He suddenly had an idea and said in a joking tone:
"Your Highness is well-informed. He even knows about what happened between Prince Jing and I on the river. Did you see it with your own eyes?"

King Huai'an smiled and said, "Indeed, I saw it by chance."

He actually admitted it!
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, realizing that the source of the peeping that he had vaguely sensed on the official ship was the foodie prince in front of him.

Zhao Duan's thoughts raced, and a smile appeared on his face:
"Is that so? That's quite a coincidence. Well, then this banquet tonight couldn't have been a sudden idea after seeing Prince Jing go to the Humble Administrator's Garden, right?"

Prince Huai'an was slightly surprised, but he smiled and nodded: "Indeed."

Admitted it again!

Xu Junling, who was accompanying him, explained with a smile:
"Father did arrange this dinner party after hearing what I said, so it's not that I didn't tell the envoy in advance."

An innocent tone.

I would never trust you... Zhao Duan complained in his heart, watching the father and daughter singing the same tune, and they had the dominant control of this meeting from the beginning to the end.

This wouldn't work... He certainly didn't think that this was a simple banquet.

I also know that if I keep following the other party's rhythm, I will always be at a disadvantage.

Zhao Du'an thought for a moment, smiled with relief, and simply bent down to pick up the wine pot. He stood up and poured a glass for King Huai'an. He then looked at the princess, who raised her hand to protect the wine cup and smiled, saying that she would drink tea instead of wine.

Zhao Duan put down the wine jug and used this set of actions to artificially interrupt the conversation dominated by the father and daughter.

Then he slowly handed over a sentence:
"If word gets out that Your Highness met with me alone, aren't you afraid that Prince Jing will find out and misunderstand your position and intentions?"

……

Next chapter will be updated before midnight

(End of this chapter)