Chapter Fifty: Yang Gonggong

  The next day, the imperial edict bestowed by Li Shimin arrived in Qin Yu's hands. The eunuch who delivered the edict was named Yang Gonggong, twenty-five or six years old, with a sharp voice and fine words, which made Qin Yu's skin crawl all over.

  Qin Yu didn't have any bad feelings towards the eunuchs. It's said that the eunuchs of the Tang Dynasty weren't all evil and wicked, although their voices were unpleasant to hear and their bodies were incomplete. Qin Yu still smiled and welcomed them warmly, treating them sincerely, which won over Yang Gonggong's favor.

  Others may not take him seriously, but Yang felt an instant sense of camaraderie and spoke with much more sincerity.

  "His Highness, the Emperor's reward of granting him a palace entry permit shows how much he cares for Qin Gongzi. When Qin Gongzi has some free time, he should often go to the imperial palace to pay his respects to Your Majesty and the Empress, as well as the Princesses. If he can gain their favor, then the matter of him becoming the Emperor's son-in-law will also proceed smoothly." Yang Gonggong said with a smile on his face.

  Yang Gong's words were indeed correct, Qin Yu also thought so, but thinking is one thing, doing or not doing is another matter. The yield of sweet potatoes and potatoes made Qin Yu very confident, naturally he wouldn't take unnecessary actions. After all, the imperial palace wasn't just home to the emperor and empress, there was also Li Chengqian who would be having breakfast in a decade or so, it's better not to have contact if possible.

  However, these were things that Qin Yu would never dare to say out loud. He nodded in agreement and said, "Sir Yang's words are indeed correct. When I have the time, I will definitely go to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress."

  "It's good that you know, Miscellaneous. I'll return to the palace and report back, so I won't disturb you any further, Prince Qin." Yang Gonggong said with a smile, then stood up and prepared to leave Qingfeng Residence.

  Qin Yu suddenly remembered something and hastily opened his mouth to say, "Wait a moment, Yang Gonggong." He then whispered a few words to Xiaotao who was standing by and waiting on him. Xiaotao nodded and left immediately.

  Yang Gonggong didn't know what Qin Yu wanted, and looked at him with a puzzled face. Qin Yu smiled and said, "Qin has some tea leaves that he made himself to entrust Yang Gonggong to give to the Emperor, please wait for a moment."

  "Good, Prince Qin has a heart." Yang Gongzi was slightly stunned and smiled, but his face looked quite strange. It was clear that in his opinion, there was nothing special about sending tea leaves, as the imperial palace had a lot of them, and he hadn't seen Li Shimin drink any before.

  Before long, Xiaotao walked in with a jar and a cloth bag. Qin Yu took them over and handed the cloth bag to Yang Gonggong first, saying, "A small token of appreciation, not worth much, but Yang Gonggong must accept it."

  Old Man Yang took the bundle and touched it, immediately stunned. Clearly, what was being transmitted from the bundle was the feeling of silver coins. Ordinary people rarely see silver, but Old Man Yang was not unfamiliar with it. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "This."

  "Mr. Yang, just accept it and it's done, a small token of my appreciation, are you going to refuse me, Mr. Yang?" Qin Yu asked with a smile.

  Yang Gongzi thought for a moment, then put the cloth bag into his arms, made a fist and said with joy, "Thank you, Qin Gongzi. If our family hears anything in the future, we will definitely inform Qin Gongzi in time."

  Qin Yu nodded and gave Yang Gong a knowing look, Yang Gong understood and smiled, then Qin Yu handed the small peach jar to Yang Gong and said, "This is tea for His Majesty, just put a few leaves in a cup and rinse with boiling water."

  Yang Gongzi received the jar, but didn't directly respond. Instead, he said with a serious face, "Qin Gongzi, this food and drink is offered to His Majesty. From now on, try not to use others as intermediaries. If someone were to frame you, Qin Gongzi might...".

  This Mr. Yang was able to say such things, and it wasn't without reason. In the past when he transmitted imperial edicts or messages, no one ever gave him any silver, let alone silver, not even a single copper coin.

  Qin Yu was still the first, how could he not be excited? With this excitement, Qin Yu naturally became one of his own people, and what needed to be reminded was still to be reminded.

  It's worth noting that Yang Gonggong's reminder is indeed something to pay attention to. When serving food and drink to the emperor, if someone were to tamper with it, even if the emperor just got diarrhea, Qin Yu's life would be over. Of course, the probability of such a situation occurring is basically zero, after all, there are still people in the palace who taste food for poison.

  Qin Yu was slightly stunned, but immediately understood and nodded his head, saying "Thank you, Lord Yang, for reminding me. Since it's you who has brought it, I, Qin, am naturally at ease."

  Yang Gonggong listened with a smile on his face, and Orchid Flower covered her mouth with her fingers, saying, "Qin Gongzi's words are indeed sweet. In that case, I'll take my leave first."

  Qin Yu heard this and his goosebumps fell off again, secretly thinking, "Sister's, this eunuch's destructive power is overwhelming."

  "Alright, Qin will see Yang off." Qin Yu said and then escorted Yang out of Qingfeng Residence.

  On the way, Qin Yu suddenly remembered that the tea leaves were given to Li Shimin, and Empress Longsun would probably drink them too. He hastily spoke up, "Yang Gonggong, if Her Majesty wants to drink tea, she should be careful not to drink strong tea, especially when she has a cold. This must be told to His Majesty."

  Yang was startled and nearly dropped the tea canister, Qin Yu quickly opened his mouth to explain.

  "Drinking tea is beneficial to the body, so Yang Gonggong doesn't have to worry. Empress Changsun also benefits from drinking tea, it's just that one needs to pay attention to the way of drinking it. Qin naturally wouldn't joke with his own life, let alone harm Yang Gonggong."

  "Whew, scared the whole family to death. From now on, Qin Gongzi should speak more clearly." Yang Gonggong said with a long sigh of relief after hearing Qin Yu's explanation.

  "It's not Qin, haha, have a good trip, Lord Yang." Qin Yu reported with a fist bump, and Lord Yang nodded before getting on the horse carriage and leaving Qingfeng Residence.

  Generally speaking, tea is a healthy drink that can be consumed. When Empress Changsun drank tea, she only needed to pay attention to the fact that her asthma was acting up, and Qin Yu couldn't help but explain things to avoid any unexpected consequences.

  Qin Yu returned to the Clear Wind Residence, and Cheng Huailiang and Cheng Huaimo appeared together, looking at Qin Yu with a face of incomprehension. Only then did Cheng Huaimo open his mouth to ask, "Brother-in-law, what's the point of being so enthusiastic about a eunuch? And you even gave him silver."

  Qin Yu shook his head and thought to himself, "You don't know how formidable this eunuch is. It's not just the Tang Dynasty, but in later generations, which one didn't have a majestic aura that stirred up great chaos? Moreover, eunuchs are always well-informed about news. With a eunuch helping me gather information, I can also find out beforehand about any unfavorable news."

  Qin Yu thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Others are already physically disabled, we can't add fuel to the fire, Master taught me to be honest with people, eunuchs are also human beings".

  Cheng Huai Mo and Cheng Huai Liang were both speechless for a moment, looking at each other. After a while, Cheng Huai Mo finally spoke in a low voice, "Even if it's like this, you still need to be careful, this is not good for your reputation."

  Qin Yu nodded and said, "I know this, but it's not necessary to spread it everywhere, it's okay."

  Cheng Huai Mo and Cheng Hua Liang saw Qin Yu enter, only then did they nod their heads in satisfaction.

  Qin Yu was just about to return to his room to add punctuation marks to the book, when Cheng Huailiang suddenly spoke up and asked, "Brother-in-law, how much longer will it take for this wine to be brewed?"

  Cheng Huai also looked at Qin Yu with a face full of expectation. It is said that only Cheng Hualiang and Cheng Yaoguang have tasted the distilled liquor made by Qin Yu. Cheng Huai has heard Cheng Hualiang mention that distilled liquor many times, and he has been itching to try it for a long time. However, Cheng Yaoguang guarded those liquors tightly, and several times when Cheng Huai went to steal some, he was caught and beaten up by Cheng Yaoguang.

  Qin Yu saw the situation and smiled suddenly, thinking to himself, "Two wine ghosts." He then spoke up, saying, "I reckon in about three to five more days it'll be just about enough, don't rush, when the time comes I'll invite you to drink your fill."

  "Alright, brother-in-law is still brother-in-law, I know you care about your elder cousin." Cheng Huai Mo exclaimed excitedly, patting Qin Yu's shoulder as he spoke.

  Qin Yu's face suddenly stiffened, "Has something gone wrong? Talking is one thing, but using physical force, don't you know your strength is even greater than Cheng Huai Liang?" Of course, this was Qin Yu's inner monologue.

  Qin Yu nodded helplessly, "How can a brother-in-law be bad to his nephews? Wait for a few more days and it will be fine. I'll head back to my room first, there are still many things to do."

  Cheng Huai Mo and Cheng Hua Liang naturally knew what Qin Yu was going to do, nodded together and said, "Go, the matter is urgent."

  The emperor, Yang Gonggong handed over the tea leaves that Qin Yu gave to Li Shimin. At this time, Li Shimin was surprised for a while. Li Shimin and Yang Gonggong thought alike, what's so special about tea? However, Qin Yu's method of brewing tea is quite simple.

  Out of curiosity, Li Shimin ordered someone to boil a pot of water and prepare to brew a pot to taste what was so magical about this tea.

  When the palace maid brought hot water and opened the jar, a faint tea fragrance wafted out. Li Shimin smelled it and his spirit was suddenly refreshed. He praised, "Faint tea fragrance, refreshing and invigorating, not bad, not bad."

  Yang Gonggong was still a bit bumpy at first, after all, Qin Yu's method of drinking tea was too simple, and in the palace, who didn't want to put this or that. At this moment, hearing Li Shimin's praise, Yang Gonggong finally put his heart down, excitedly flushed with red light.

  Li Shimin praised the tea as good, so the person who sent the tea could also bask in the glory, and might even win some of Li Shimin's favor, even if it was little. Having entered Li Shimin's eyes, his status naturally rose with the tide, and he had more confidence when speaking among the eunuchs.

  The palace maid took out a few tea leaves and put them in the cup, then poured in boiling water according to Yang Gonggong's instructions. The originally shriveled tea leaves instantly unfolded, and with the water splashing up and down, the strong tea fragrance suddenly filled the air.

  Li Shimin closed his eyes, took a deep sniff, and then opened them again, saying with great relish, "Good tea! Now I know what real tea is. Excellent, excellent!"

  The tea water wasn't too hot, Li Shimin directly picked up the teacup and placed it under his nose to smell carefully. After that, he took a sip and savored it for a long time before letting out a long sigh, "This Qin Yunfei always manages to surprise me."

  Before Li Shimin drank, Yang Gonggong had someone test the tea leaves for poison. No matter how well Qin Yu spoke, he still had to be careful, and the result was obvious: there was no poison, otherwise Yang Gonggong wouldn't have dared to bring it for Li Shimin to drink.

  Yang Gonggong deeply understood the way of eunuchs, and although he had a good impression of Qin Yu, he couldn't openly praise him, or else he would be disliked by Li Shimin, which would be a loss. Moreover, Yang Gonggong didn't think this good impression was worth selling himself out for, so he remained silent and expressionless as usual.

  "Send some tea to the empress." Li Shimin ordered after tasting a few mouthfuls.

  At this time, Yang Gonggong hurriedly repeated Qin Yu's instructions. Li Shimin listened and nodded his head in satisfaction, saying, "Let's do it as the child said."

  Yang Gonggong bowed his head and accepted the order, with a flattering smile on his face, saying "Yes, Your Majesty." He then ordered the palace maid to pack some tea leaves and send them to Empress Changsun.