Looking at the resolute face and firm eyes of the Zhao family, Zhao Defang really could not bear to reject the request of her father, who was quite good to her.
Moreover, after careful consideration just now, Zhao Defang should step forward at this time and be the savior and hero that often appeared in the American blockbusters in her previous life. Now that the Great Song was in danger, he could not just sit back and do nothing. He needed to display his intelligence!
If not, he would have wasted his intelligence, which was higher than that of the people and the ancients, to have a doctor studying in America.
However, for a foodie like Zhao Defang, she was naturally unwilling to be sent away with just a small plate of snacks. In his opinion, he had taken such a huge risk. Once the Zhao family agreed, he would be the one to plan the three rounds of competition. If he lost in two of the rounds, he would be left with the notoriety of "betraying the country for glory".
As for whether he would be notorious for thousands of years or famous for hundreds of years, it would depend on his good fortune this time. Taking such a big risk, it would be unreasonable if they didn't prepare a banquet.
"Imperial Father, if you really agree to the best of three competition proposed by the princess of Liao Kingdom, I will definitely be willing to think of a countermeasure for Imperial Father. However, Imperial Father, your son has said this first. If the countermeasures that your son has come up with do not work on the Khitan warriors who participated in wrestling and archery, then your son will have committed a great sin. I hope Imperial Father will spare your son's life at that time. As for the various serious consequences that this would bring, I hope Imperial Father can think about it.”After some careful consideration, Zhao Defang immediately reported. Although she had promised to think of a countermeasure for the Zhao family, she was still thinking about how she could escape unscathed.
"Fang 'er, you can rest assured about this. Since I have agreed to the competition proposed by the princess of Liao Kingdom, I will be responsible for all the consequences and responsibilities if my Great Song loses the competition. I have nothing to do with you, Fang 'er. As long as Fang 'er can promise zhen, take out your extraordinary wisdom and do your best to come up with a complete plan for zhen.”Zhao Guanjia put on a stance of going all out. He nodded slightly at Zhao Defang in front of him and replied.
Under this test, Zhao Defang saw that her father's will was still as firm and unshakable as before. Then, he did not continue to persuade her. And he himself no longer retreated. In his opinion, since his father was not afraid of taking responsibility, then what was there for his son to be afraid of?
For Zhao Defang, who had been hungry for a long time, the small plate of snacks he had just eaten was equivalent to the snacks he had eaten when he watched football matches in his previous life. After entering his stomach, it would be digested very quickly. It was useless at all. Therefore, since his father had asked him to do something, he had the idea of having a feast at the Funing Palace.
"Reporting, reporting to Imperial Father, son, this son has a presumptuous request. I, I hope Imperial Father can agree to this son.”Zhao Defang pretended to look pitiful and said.
"Fang 'er, what are you doing? There is no need for us father and son to speak in such an indirect manner. If you have anything to say, just say it. Is there anything in this world that I can't do?”To be able to obtain the full help of his four intelligent sons, the Zhao family's official face immediately became very happy. After hearing Zhao Defang's request, he first rebuked him. Then, he patted his slightly plump belly and solemnly said,
"Father, it's like this. This son was in a hurry to report to the Chamberlain of Dependencies 'yamen this morning, so he only ate a few mouthfuls of congee. Up until now, it has been nearly six hours, and this son has not eaten a grain of rice or a mouthful of water. Right now, your son can be said to be hungry and thirsty. I hope Imperial Father can bestow your son with a table of imperial food and a jar of wine so that your son can have a full meal and quench his thirst.
"Only, only when your son is full can I think of a perfect countermeasure for Imperial Father. I guarantee that the ungrateful Khitans of Liao will lose all three rounds of the competition, allowing our Song Dynasty to win all three rounds.”Zhao Defang, who was so hungry that his stomach was growling, quickly spoke his true thoughts as a veteran foodie after receiving the approval of the Zhao family. At the same time, he didn't forget to link the meal to the bet with the Khitans and asked in a probing tone.
When Zhao Defang finished speaking, Zhao Guanjia let out a long sigh of relief and even broke out in a cold sweat. At first, he thought that his four sons, whom he now relied heavily on, would make some excessive demands, such as agreeing to make him the crown prince after the matter was done, or giving him a higher official position.
However, none of this happened as Zhao Guanjia had expected. When he heard that his fourth son only asked him for a table of banquet, he immediately felt relieved, but at the same time, he was secretly shocked. This was because helping him come up with a way to deal with the Khitans was nothing compared to a banquet. In his opinion, even if his four sons did not take the initiative to ask him for a promotion, he would still reward them according to their merits after the matter was done.
What Zhao Guanjia never expected was that after waiting for so long, this "presumptuous request" was just a simple banquet. How could he not be surprised and happy? Even though their four sons were not blinded by high interests, they secretly felt that they had chosen the right person to nurture their four sons to inherit the throne. What he wanted was a successor who did not pursue fame and fortune. After his second son disappointed him, he finally took a fancy to his fourth son.
"Fang 'er, why didn't you tell zhen earlier? Even if it's a banquet, even if it's ten tables, zhen will prepare it for you.”The Zhao family's official, who had a benevolent father's expression, nodded in satisfaction at Zhao Defang, who was standing in front of him, and agreed without hesitation.
When Zhao Guanjia raised his head and swept his gaze towards the entrance of the hall, he ordered Wang Fugui, the manager of the inner court, who was standing outside the hall waiting for orders, in a clear voice,"Wang Fugui, order the imperial kitchen to quickly prepare a table of top-grade imperial food and a jar of wine for this emperor. This emperor wants to drink well with this emperor's fourth son in this hall. Continue to pass on the word that from this afternoon until nightfall, all those who come to Funing Palace to see me are to be chased away.”
"Here." Steward Wang, who was standing under the porch of the hall, immediately stood outside the threshold and bowed after hearing the orders from the Zhao family.
When Steward Wang brought the two little servants and hurried to the imperial kitchen, what made him secretly suspicious and scratching his ears and cheeks was: What was wrong with the officials today? They actually wanted to hold a banquet in the main hall of Funing Palace. That was where she read books and read memorials. This was the first time she saw an official hold a banquet in the main hall where they dealt with government affairs.
What made Steward Wang even more shocked was that ever since the Fourth Prince had kowtowed a few days ago, he had changed his temperament and won the favor of the officials in an instant. Even the King of Jin and the King of Wei, who the officials usually relied on, were not often summoned to discuss matters.
The Fourth Prince had been conferred the title of King of Qin, and he was the legitimate son of Empress Wang. Could it be that this Fourth Prince was the best candidate for the Crown Prince? Thinking about it this way, he was definitely the best candidate.
For the Zhao family, who was determined to win, if his four intelligent sons could think of a way to defeat the Khitans in the three competition subjects, he would not hesitate to be promoted, let alone a banquet.
Moreover, he had long been certain that as long as his fourth son settled the Khitan envoy, as for the position of Crown Prince that had been vacant for many years, if he did not confer it to his fourth son, he was afraid that there would not be a second person among his few sons who would take on this important task.
In less than an hour, a table full of good food was prepared in the main hall of Funing Palace. Zhao Guanjia, who had already had lunch, used his hand to touch his slightly protruding belly. He hardened his heart and sat opposite Zhao Defang. He watched Zhao Defang wolfing down the delicious food on the imperial table while pouring himself a glass of wine. He opened his mouth, raised his neck, and drank it all in one gulp.
After Zhao Defang stuffed herself with food for two quarters of an hour, her stomach was stuffed with all kinds of dishes on the table that she could name and could not name. After burping, she was so excited that she started toasting with her father, Zhao Guanjia. Immediately, the father and son downed the wine one glass at a time.
After about an hour and a half, Zhao Defang finally filled her stomach and ate to her heart's content. She also finished the jar of high-quality wine. While he was eating and drinking to his heart's content, he saw that the sky outside was gradually turning black. He quickly got up and left, returning to Prince Qin's Mansion to think of a countermeasure.
The good wine and dishes had all been served. When Zhao Guanjia saw that his fourth son was young but had a big appetite, he immediately suspected that his son was a hungry ghost.
However, he thought about it again. A 15 or 16-year-old youth was still growing. Eating more would be very helpful for his growth. He thought about how his appetite was even more shocking when he was Zhao Defang's age. If a meal did not have seven or eight steamed buns, it would not be enough to fill his stomach.
It was more important to get down to business. Time waits for no man. Before Zhao Defang left, the slightly tipsy Zhao official had instructed him to come up with a countermeasure at noon tomorrow so that he could inform the Khitan princess after noon to agree to their competition request. The prerequisite was that the Great Song had to win two of the three matches before they could agree. If one did not have full confidence, once they lost two of the matches, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Seeing that his young son had eaten so much wine, the Zhao family was worried that he would not be able to find his way back to King Qin's residence or cause trouble. They ordered Wang Fugui, the manager of the internal servants 'workshop, to call two internal servants and five or six imperial guards to escort Zhao Defang to King Qin's residence in the Eastern Palace.
Along the way, the moment Zhao Defang walked out of the gates of the Funing Palace, Wang Fugui, the manager of the Inner Attendants Workshop, came up to Zhao Defang with a fawning expression and asked him indirectly why the Zhao family had eaten so much wine today. Moreover, he even set the banquet in the main hall of the Funing Palace where the government affairs were handled.
Zhao Defang, who had only eaten about 2.5 catties of imperial wine that was almost as strong as beer, drank white wine with a strength of 50 to 60 at the table in her previous life. One catty or two was nothing.
Now, he was not drunk at all. However, after all, his current body was only fifteen or sixteen years old. If he ate so much wine and was not drunk at all, it would definitely make others suspicious. Not to mention others, even Zhao Guanjia, who was drinking with him just now, found it unbelievable. Furthermore, it was the group of servants and guards who escorted him back to Prince Qin's mansion.
Hence, Zhao Defang pretended to be a little drunk. At first, she answered Wang Fugui's question in a way that did not match what she had said. In his heart, he was hinting to himself that he was going to pretend to be a drunkard who was talking nonsense.
Wang Fugui, the manager of the palace hall, frowned at Zhao Defang's nonsense. However, ever since Zhao Defang entered the main hall of the Funing Palace, he had been waiting behind the door for orders. In the main hall, Zhao Guanjia and Zhao Defang, the father and son, were five feet away from the entrance of the hall. In addition, the door of the hall had always been open.
Therefore, Wang Fugui, the manager of the Imperial Attendants Workshop, could vaguely hear the father and son's intermittent conversation in the main hall. However, because the distance was too far, he did not dare to stand with the dozens of imperial guards, as well as more than a dozen inner servants and palace maids. Naturally, he did not dare to walk forward. He placed his ear on the side of the open window under the eaves of the hall and carefully listened to the conversation coming from the hall.
However, even so, Wang Fugui, the manager of the Imperial Attendants Workshop, still heard bits and pieces of the conversation between Zhao Guanjia and Zhao Defang from the main hall. Unfortunately, he only knew a few fragments of it, and he couldn't even hear the whole thing.
He only knew that the Zhao family was going to compete with the Khitan envoys who had come to the Great Song, but he did not hear about the content of the competition or the rewards and punishments for winning or losing. And these were all things he fervently hoped to hear.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so anxious to listen to Zhao Defang, who was pretending to be drunk, on the way to escort Zhao Defang. Because there were still servants and guards around, he could only use a tactful method to get Zhao Defang to say something. However, after he tried several times, he was repeatedly rejected by Zhao Defang. He could not get any valuable information or clues.
Zhao Defang, who had been disguised as a drunkard and was being driven by three to five imperial guards, saw that the usually taciturn Wang Fugui, the manager of the Inner Attendants Workshop, seemed to have gone crazy today. He had been listening to the contents of the three rounds of competition that the Zhao family had not agreed to the Liao Kingdom's diplomatic mission, as well as the rewards and punishments that would come with winning or losing the competition. This made him feel a little strange and immediately alerted him.
Before Zhao Defang left the main hall of Funing Palace, the slightly tipsy but very clear-headed Zhao official gave him a lot of instructions. The matter of their discussion with the Khitan envoy in the hall was a top secret. He had already sent a confidant to pass the message to Li Guanyu, the Zuo Shaoqing of the Chamberlain of Dependencies. If this matter was leaked from him before he agreed, not only would his entire family be executed, but the three clans would also be exterminated.
As for what they discussed later, it was even more secretive. Therefore, the Zhao family told his four sons, who he thought were young and inexperienced, that only the heavens and earth knew about this matter, as well as the father and son.
If this matter were to spread out from Zhao Defang, the Zhao family would even pretend to be serious and threaten Zhao Defang, saying that he would imprison him and his mother, Empress Wang, in the Cold Palace, and that they would not be pardoned.
Seeing that the consequences of leaking the secret were so serious, Zhao Defang naturally did not dare to be negligent. She secretly remembered Zhao Guanjia's threatening words and kept her mouth shut. Therefore, even though Wang Fugui, the manager of the Imperial Attendants Workshop, had tried his best to talk, the young and mature Zhao Defang did not even reveal a single word of truth to him. She just kept changing the subject.
As Zhao Defang, who was pretending to be drunk, could not move easily, he could only be supported by three to five guards standing beside him along the way. As such, his movements were slowed down. In addition, Wang Fugui, the manager of the palace hall, who had been asking him for information, deliberately asked the escorts around him to slow down. This caused them to take less than a quarter of an hour to travel.
Fortunately, after fifteen minutes, Zhao Defang returned to the Eastern Palace, which was now King Qin's residence, safe and sound. After asking Wang Fugui, the chief steward of the Imperial Attendants Workshop, who had been nagging at his ears, Zhao Defang returned to normal after entering the residence for a moment. She secretly wondered why this Chief Steward Wang, who had always been quiet, kept asking her questions today. In his opinion, Steward Wang's abnormal actions today were rather strange.
However, in view of the fact that this Steward Wang was already over sixty years old, according to Li Heiniu, he had been the Steward of the Inner Attendants Workshop since he was less than thirty years old in the Later Tang Dynasty. Now, this old guy had experienced the Later Tang Dynasty, the Later Zhou Dynasty, and the current Song Dynasty. He could be said to be a "senior" figure in the three imperial palaces.
However, why was such a highly respected old eunuch so interested in the matters between the Great Song and the Khitans? This made Zhao Defang, who was sitting in the east wing room, think about it for a long time, but she was still puzzled.
Since he could not determine the purpose of Steward Wang asking him for information, Zhao Defang put it down. After all, compared to this, he had a more important matter to come up with before noon tomorrow. That was how to make the Great Song contestants have the confidence to defeat the Khitan contestants in wrestling, archery, and couplets.
After sitting on the chair and eating the hangover soup cooked by the palace maid Cui Er for the entire night, Zhao Defang, who was already green in the head, suddenly felt a little muddle-headed. Sleepiness gradually came. Under the service of the palace maid Cui Er, Zhao Defang lay on the bed in Jinxiu and had a good sleep. Perhaps she would think of a way tomorrow morning.
Not even a moment after the palace maid Cui Er left the room, in Zhao Defang's groggy subconscious, she was worried about this matter and kept thinking about it.
In that split second, he suddenly frowned slightly and widened his eyes in surprise. I've finally thought of a way to defeat the Khitans! Oh yeah, the heavens are helping me! Arrogant Khitans, arrogant princess Xiao Chuo, roar roar, you shall die for this king!
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。