Chapter Ten: The fallen white-clad one is now as worthless as dirt, while the thousand-golden-embroidered robe

  The man in the blue robe narrowed his drunken eyes, silently staring at Qin Lei's affectation. When Qin Lei greeted him, he only slightly nodded, considering it a greeting, and then hugged the wine jug, ignoring him again.

  Tieying sat down with a huff, exchanging a glance with Qin Lei before quickly looking away. The two of them had strange expressions on their faces. To outsiders, it was clear that the master and servant had some kind of misunderstanding due to what happened earlier.

  Shangguan Yunhe saw Qin Lei being so timid and afraid of trouble, unexpectedly disregarding his status, sitting with commoners, couldn't help but feel slightly disdainful, and no longer mentioned the matter of penalizing him three cups of wine. The guests couldn't understand the Premier's intention, and for the time being also ignored Qin Lei.

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  The state of Qi is located in the eastern part of the Divine Land, and since ancient times it has been a place of prosperity and luxury. The country pursues extravagance and indulgence, so naturally they are not satisfied with ordinary food and drink. The people of Qi take pride in their refined taste, and if they get to try some rare and exotic delicacy, they will often celebrate by writing poems about it. There is even a famous gourmet who calls himself the "Gourmet Guest", and in the state of Qi he can be mentioned alongside the great military strategist Wu Zhilong, the great calligrapher Yan Xingxiu, and the great Confucian scholar Kong Jingwen as one of the "Four Unrivaled Ones".

  The banquet at the Prime Minister's mansion of Qi State is also one of the top few in Qi State. Qin Lei and Tieying, two country bumpkins, have indeed never seen so many exquisite dishes, staring at dish after dish without daring to pick up their chopsticks, this time not pretending.

  The man who was drinking suddenly regained his spirits and began to introduce himself. Just now, he had been drinking all along, and the dishes on the table were still intact. He pointed to a dish in the middle that was carved into a "Spring River Flower Moon Night" pattern: "This is 'Northern Qi Wucheng King's Raw Lamb Patty', made from top-grade young lamb, finely chopped Yellow River carp, mixed with golden jade chestnut flour and stir-fried to perfection, named after the Northern Qi Wucheng King's mansion. Another dish, just this big and scary moon." Qin Lei and others ruthlessly stabbed out their chopsticks, and as soon as the moon's surface was broken, a rich and fragrant aroma wafted up, and with one bite, it was crispy and refreshing, smooth but not greasy, and the aftertaste was endless. Immediately, they put down their chopsticks like flying, fully displaying their usual bitter practice skills.

  The man saw the two hungry ghosts fighting for food, and his appetite was also stirred. He stretched out his chopsticks to compete with them, and surprisingly didn't fall behind. In the blink of an eye, the plate was empty. The man picked up his teacup and rinsed his mouth, shaking his head regretfully: "The chef in the prime minister's mansion doesn't understand the true essence of this dish, using too many ingredients, wasting many precious food materials. He doesn't know that fish and mutton are fresh, like a neighbor's daughter, adding a little makes them fat, subtracting a little makes them thin."

  The guests at the next table had been paying attention to the commotion and sneered, "Autumn Wind Guest is used to being mysterious, eating for free yet causing so much trouble."

  The man in the linen robe blushed and argued: "How can today be considered a free meal? The prime minister said it was to bid me farewell!"

  "That's the prime minister driving you away..." The wicked guest mimicked his tone.

  "It's clear, it's clear that I'm a rustic who should take his leave first." Qin Lei noticed that the hand holding the chopsticks was trembling slightly.

  "That's because you, Autumn Breeze Guest, can't catch the autumn breeze anymore." The guests at the table were delighted that someone could argue with them, showing off their eloquence and quick wit, and if they could gain the favor of the Prime Minister, all the better.

  Qin Lei had made up his mind to pretend to be stupid, but he couldn't bear to see his own people being bullied. He slapped his forehead and said to Tieying, "Ah, it turns out we still have to pay for our meals. Did we pay that person?"

  Iron Eagle hummed in response: "No, but it's nothing, no one in the whole house has paid."

  "Isn't that just eating for free?" Qin Lei said anxiously.

  "Nothing's free in this house." Tiejing said indignantly. As the saying goes, "Those who live with ink get stained," after living with Qin Lei for over a month, Tiejing had learned many bad things.

  The guests on the side reacted only after a long time, looking at the master and servant's silly appearance, most likely it was an unintentional remark. If they were to make a fuss, it would be tantamount to admitting their own foolishness, so it's better to pretend not to know and let the matter pass, swallowing this silent humiliation, consoling myself by thinking that I won't stoop to the same level as these people.

  The two masters secretly enjoyed themselves, and then asked the commoner Hanzi about his dishes. The commoner Hanzi saw that the two were speaking up for him, and was deeply grateful. He exerted himself to introduce all sorts of royal delicacies such as "Yueguo Gong's Fragmented Golden Tripod", "Yu Gong's Awakening Sausage", "Cheng Mei Gong's Hidden Crab", and "Han Chun Hou's Newly Steamed Moonlight Rice". From the ingredients to the cooking, from the taste to the atmosphere, he quoted classics and referred to canons, speaking freely and unrestrainedly. The two masters listened with wide eyes and twitching fingers, and often before he had finished introducing a dish, it would be eaten clean by the three of them in just a few breaths.

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  Three people ate with relish, their eating manners not elegant. The chief official at the distant head table looked over and naturally didn't like it. He also didn't know about the quarrel between the two tables just now, those people wouldn't be foolish enough to bring out their own embarrassing affairs, so Qin Lei escaped a calamity.

  Shangguan Chengxiang cleared his throat, and the noisy hall suddenly fell silent. He raised his wine cup and toasted to the last seat: "Today I bid farewell to Guantao Xiansheng, I don't know when we'll meet again, I respect you."

  Qin Lei initially thought that Shangguan Lao was talking to him, and just as he was about to raise his cup, who would have thought that the other person was actually referring to the one beside him. His old face turned red with embarrassment, and he awkwardly put down his cup, scratching his head.

  The iron eagle looked at it and admired the five-body throw, the acting skills of the palace are truly out of this world, too real, too natural. As the palace said, it's what 'boiled to death card level'.

  He will never know that the Fifth Highness he worships just didn't act and only made a fool of himself.

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  A man in common attire, known as Guantao Xiansheng, stood up and raised his cup, saying: "Thank you, Chancellor, for your kind intentions."

  After finishing a cup, the high-ranking official asked with some bitterness: "Can't you change your mind, sir?"

  The man in linen clothes shook his head resolutely and said, "My mind is made up." Qin Lei, however, detected a hint of desolation.

  "What about the virtual right?" The old man's words were not surprising, he was the left prime minister, what is the virtual right? The right prime minister, with 60 million people and 20,000 miles of mountains and rivers, the vice premier of the State Council of Qi.

  The room is so quiet that one can hear a pin drop.

  One by one, the officials and nobles swallowed their saliva with a loud gulp, their eyes burning with envy as they stared at the lucky ones who had good fortune. Their eyes gleamed with malice, as if waiting for him to nod in agreement, ready to pounce on the newly appointed deputy prime minister and tear him to shreds!

  The air was tense, everyone was waiting for his answer, and Qin Lei was no exception.

  Mr. Guan Tao could no longer remain calm, and after a moment of contemplation, he finally broke the suffocating silence: "Lord Meng, you are mistaken in your love for me. Alas, this humble commoner's heart has grown cold and weary. I only wish to forget each other in the rivers and lakes, to entrust my emotions to the mountains and waters, to behold the beauty of our great nation, to savor the world's delicacies, and never again bow down for a mere five pecks of rice."

  Everyone sighed in unison.

  The Prime Minister's expression didn't change, he pondered for a moment, then burst out laughing: "It seems the people of the world are not fortunate enough to be born in the same era as your great talent. Let's finish this cup and consider our fates exhausted." He drained his cup in one gulp.

  Mr. Guantao's body swayed slightly, and he immediately stopped, also laughing loudly: "If the heavens have eyes in the future, I will surely make a monument for you to let the world know of your noble integrity, General." He downed his drink in one gulp.