#974 - Clouds cover the sun, swallows return to their nests (Part 2)
“This esteemed sir, please come in!”
“Yes, find me a quiet seat.”
“Alright! One quiet seat! Sir, what tea would you like to drink?”
“Pre-Qingming Dragon Well, and bring a few kinds of pastries.”
“Understood! One pot of Pre-Qingming Dragon Well! Osmanthus cake, water chestnut cake, and pea flour cake, one plate each!”
“.”
In a tea house not far from the Meridian Gate, the waiter walked out of a small, street-facing cubicle with a long trailing voice. Wei Changtian adjusted his clothes and sat down, raising his eyes to look at the scene on the street.
The so-called "quiet seat" was just a "semi-open" seat separated by screens. It wasn't very private, but it was convenient for him to observe the surroundings at any time.
This tea house was only a street away from the Meridian Gate, where Jing Guoqing was about to "speak", and sitting here, he could just see any movement there.
It was still early, so there were only a few Imperial Guards on the tall city wall, and for the time being, there was nothing unusual to be seen.
“This esteemed sir! Your Pre-Qingming Dragon Well!”
The enthusiastic shout quickly sounded again, and the waiter deftly placed a pot of tea and three plates of pastries on the table, then poured a cup of tea for Wei Changtian.
“Sir, take your time! Call me anytime if you need anything. We don’t charge extra for refilling tea here!”
“Mm.”
Nodding, Wei Changtian casually tossed the waiter a tael of silver that Cui'er had given him this morning, and said expressionlessly.
“Tip.”
“Oh! Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!”
The waiter hurriedly caught the silver, thanking him repeatedly with delight.
He didn't expect to arrive so early, so he had no choice but to wait.
And so, while drinking tea and eating snacks, he aimlessly watched the passersby on the street.
About half an hour later, just as Wei Changtian was giving the one hundred and twenty-eighth young lady who passed by a comprehensive score of sixty-three, a burst of shouts suddenly rang out in the tea house.
“Look! Mr. Zhang is here!”
“He’s finally here! Which part will he be telling today?”
“Hey, have you forgotten? It should be about how Wei Yanluo killed Lu Hongji!”
“That’s right, that’s right! Yesterday, Mr. Zhang stopped halfway, causing me to not sleep well all night!”
“Forget it, if that were really the case, would you have forgotten where he left off?”
“It’s just that I didn’t sleep well, my mind is muddled.”
“.”
As a storyteller holding a folding fan approached the tea house, many tea drinkers immediately began to discuss excitedly.
Listening to these conversations, Wei Changtian almost couldn't hold back.
Damn it, why are they talking about me again???!
Last time in Da Hui Yongding City, when he and Yang Liushi were strolling around the street, he heard a storyteller talking about his "history of evil deeds."
And now they’re still talking about it when he got to Da Qian??
Are his little deeds that popular??
More importantly, it’s fine if you use me as the subject of your stories, but at least be a little factual!
How I killed Lu Hongji? I myself don’t even know how Lu Hongji died!
Turning his head to look at the storyteller who was already sitting in the hall, Wei Changtian felt a little curious after complaining in his heart for a long time.
It wasn't that he thought this person knew any inside information, but he simply wanted to hear how the other party had made it up.
Then, Wei Changtian saw the storyteller clear his throat, and then slapped his folding fan and said loudly:
“Ladies and gentlemen! Let’s continue from the previous chapter!”
“The previous chapter talked about how the Da Hui Emperor, Lu Hongji, led several experts to launch a night attack on Fengyuan, intending to go straight to Huanglong and take the life of that Xu girl from Xin Feng!”
“You must know that this Lu Hongji is no simple man, not only is he an Emperor, but he also broke through to the Second Rank early on, and the Emperor Sword on his body is also a peerless divine weapon!”
“And the group of experts he brought this time all have great abilities.”
“.”
Animated and spattering saliva, the storyteller had unconsciously been talking for half an hour.
Perhaps because all "literary creators" in the world have the problem of "padding", he hadn't even talked about how Wei Changtian killed Lu Hongji.
The tea drinkers in the house didn't feel anything, and listened with relish.
But Wei Changtian was getting impatient.
Good fellow, this is too much padding!
Hurry up and get to the point!
If he wasn't afraid of arousing suspicion, Wei Changtian really wanted to rush up and slap the storyteller twice.
Of course, he definitely couldn't do that, so he could only hold his breath and continue listening.
Then, after about another quarter of an hour, the storyteller's voice became more and more excited, as if he was finally about to get to the point.
At this time, not only the tea drinkers in the tea house were holding their breath and staring wide-eyed, but even Wei Changtian looked like he was concentrating.
But in fact, according to normal circumstances, the more this kind of "climax plot" is, the more the storyteller has to create suspense.
And the fact is true, I saw the storyteller while speaking, while quietly raising the wake wood beside him, it is estimated that it will soon be heavily photographed to announce "cliffhanger".
But the next moment, before the wake wood fell, the Meridian Gate in the distance slowly opened with a loud "rumbling" sound, and then countless golden-armored Imperial Guards galloped out from it.
“Leave quickly!!”
“Do not linger on the street! Leave quickly!”
“Those who still linger on the street after a quarter of an hour! All will be regarded as rebels!”
“Da da da! Da da da!”
In just a moment, the streets, which were originally crowded with people, were filled with the sound of hurried hooves and shouts.
Most of the pedestrians on the street hurried away from the street, either closing their stalls and going home, or temporarily sheltering under the eaves of the shops on the street, whispering to each other.
“Officer, what’s going on?”
The shopkeeper of the tea house didn't know what had happened, so he quickly ran out and asked an Imperial Guard who was guarding the door of the tea house, “Why do you suddenly want to clear the street?”
“His Majesty will personally recite the Pacification Edict above the Meridian Gate at noon!”
The Imperial Guard glanced at the shopkeeper of the tea house, probably because there was an order saying that there was no need to hide it at this time, so he replied in a deep voice.
As soon as he said this, it naturally caused an uproar in the tea house.
“What? His Majesty is going to ascend the Meridian Gate to personally recite the Edict later?”
“What the Imperial Guards say can’t be false!”
“Oh, then can’t we just get to see the Emperor’s face!”
“You say it like you can see clearly.”
“I I can’t see clearly, but I can always hear the holy voice!”
“That’s true.”
In an instant, the excitement in the tea house was several times stronger than when the storyteller had just appeared. The tea drinkers in the hall all looked excitedly at the Meridian Gate, as if Jing Guoqing was already standing there.
Among them, only Wei Changtian's expression didn't change much.
“Waiter!”
Waving to call the waiter who had just greeted him, Wei Changtian took out a five-tael silver ingot from his arms.
“While the street hasn’t been completely cleared, go to the Wufang Zhai at the corner of the street and buy three boxes of mung bean cake back. The rest is your tip.”
“Ah?”
The waiter didn't expect Wei Changtian to ask him to buy something at this time, and subconsciously wanted to decline.
However, when he saw the white silver ingot, he couldn't help but whispered:
“Esteemed sir, can I go buy it after the Imperial Guards leave?”
“No.”
Wei Changtian smiled: “I’m in a hurry.”
