Tang Chen: Starting from the Xuanwu Gate Incident

Chapter 18 Han Xin's Troop Deployment

Having to go to work before dawn was extremely painful for Shen Ce. He couldn't remember if "five o'clock in the morning" was four or five o'clock.

In later generations, any capitalist who dared to make his employees work at this time would likely be beaten to death.

Shen Ce rode on his horse and watched the official trotting along. Although the official was covered in sweat, he was walking even faster, since Chang'an City spanned more than ten kilometers from east to west.

There's no way around it; living in the great city of Chang'an is no easy feat. Being able to settle down in the city is already a privilege, and as for a donkey, it's simply not something to aspire to.

The journey of three li (approximately 1.5 kilometers) can be completed in the time it takes to drink two cups of tea on horseback.

As dawn broke, Shen Ce took two baskets from a servant and entered the East Palace.

Instead of going to the Registrar's Office, I went straight to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Yesterday, I saw Wei Zheng drinking tea with Yuwen Shiji. He kept blowing on the teacup without a lid, even though it was obviously too hot to hold, but he still pretended to be elegant in front of him.

I'm determined to teach him a lesson; he even wants to impeach me.

So Shen Ce opened the basket, took out two tea sets, put them in his pocket, and went straight inside.

The clerks at the gate, seeing Shen Ce's bulging arms, exchanged a smile. After he entered, they closed the door and stood far away outside.

"This humble servant greets the two lords," Shen Ce said, bowing at the door.

Yuwen Shiji was not surprised to see Shen Ce arrive. It was a good habit for a young man to come and thank his superior, and there was nothing wrong with that. He raised his hand in response and then turned to serve his large bowl of tea.

Sitting opposite him, Wei Zheng closed the memorial in his hand and snorted coldly, "Instead of doing your job properly, you're always running around to your superiors. Where's today's memorial?"

Shen Ce was well aware of the two officials' emotions. Yuwen Shiji, like him, was a direct descendant of Li Er, with impeccable lineage. On the other hand, Wei Zheng's audience with Li Er aroused Li Er's interest in talent, which led to his entry into the Eastern Palace and his appointment as Junior Chamberlain.

Knowing that he would be promoted to Grand Counselor in two months, Shen Ce would simply stay far away from him afterward.

Shen Ce was not annoyed. He bowed and said, "Your Excellency, I informed my subordinates of all the key points for handling official documents yesterday. I will check them later. I dare not trouble you with your troubles."

After paying his respects to the two superiors, he stood to the side of Yuwen Shiji, quietly watching him prepare tea and porridge.

So-called literati and scholars naturally need to have a corresponding sense of ritual.

Tea is a very good symbol.

The tea leaves picked this spring are steamed and shaped into tea cakes the size of three inches in front of us. In the early Tang Dynasty, the gentry drank tea, which was also called tea porridge. It consisted of only a bare tea bowl, along with ginger, dried tangerine peel, and other ingredients.

Because the tea-making process was so poor, the bitterness of the tea leaves could not be removed.

The fine tea cake had to be roasted, ground into powder, and then poured into a boiling porcelain pot. Seeing this, Shen Ce pursed his lips, thinking it was a waste of such good tea leaves.

As Yuwen Shiji threw salt, ginger, dried tangerine peel, and mint into the porcelain pot and carefully stirred it with water, Shen Ce, who was standing to the side, could no longer hold back and hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Yesterday, I saw that it was quite inconvenient for you to drink this strong tea, my lord. Not only was the procedure cumbersome, but it also had a slightly astringent taste."

"A few years ago, when I accompanied the King of Qin on a military campaign, I happened to see a novel method of tea making. A few days ago, I had nothing to do at home, so I made a copy. I would like to ask you two gentlemen to appreciate it."

Yuwen Shiji seemed to have known Shen Ce's intentions all along. He tapped the table with his hand and said, "Boy, if what you have in your arms does not satisfy me, don't blame me for having my guards strip you naked and throw you into the chief clerk's hall."

Upon receiving Yuwen Shiji's reply, Shen Ce's eyes lit up. He dismissed Yuwen Shiji's threats as mere farts, immediately picked up the porcelain pot, opened the door, and poured out all the porridge inside. He even sniffed the lingering aroma in the pot—it was too intoxicating.

Wei Zheng, kneeling on the chair, couldn't help but mock Shen Ce's actions: "The tea soup has its own ancient methods; how dare you, a mere warrior, arbitrarily alter them?"

Shen Ce rolled his eyes at Wei Zheng without answering. He quickly took out a tea set consisting of a lid, a bowl, and a saucer from his pocket, along with several small cups.

He took out the tea leaves that he had just fried the day before from his pocket, put them into a teacup, and then poured in boiling water. After three breaths, he poured the tea into the teacup, covered it with the lid, leaving only a small gap, raised it to the air, and poured the tea into the air. Instantly, the room was filled with a refreshing tea aroma.

Yuwen Shiji, standing to the side, pointed to the tea in the porcelain pot and asked, "Why is it abandoned?"

Shen Ce stopped what he was doing and replied, "There's a little dust stuck in the tea leaves, so the first brew shouldn't be used."

Yuwen Shiji nodded: "Continue."

Shen Ce arranged the four small cups in a straight line, refilled them with tea, and used the method of Han Xin counting soldiers to fill all four cups before pushing them in front of the two men and the newly arrived Prefect Su.

Compared to the previous rich vegetable soup, the tea he stir-fried himself was clear and bright in color, with a fragrant aroma. A few tea leaves floated on top, like small boats, which was quite beautiful.

Seeing Shen Ce's hands moving swiftly and smoothly, without any auxiliary ingredients or crushing of the tea leaves, the three wondered how he removed the astringency. Their outstretched hands stopped in mid-air.

Seeing their hesitation, Shen Ce picked up the teacup in front of him and drank it all in one gulp, secretly thinking with disdain, "This is what you call drinking tea. What you're doing is just drinking vegetable soup."

Prefect Su was the one who gave him face, taking the first sip and then his eyes lit up: "Please enjoy, gentlemen. It is indeed very good."

Yuwen Shiji glanced at Wei Zheng, whose face had turned purplish-red, grinned, and downed the tea in front of him in one gulp.

After finishing his drink, before Shen Ce could recover, he snatched the teacup and began drinking on his own until the water turned pale, completely ignoring Wei Zheng standing to the side.

After closing his eyes and reflecting for a moment, Yuwen Shiji opened them, holding his teacup, and said, "Speak, what do you want to do?"

His little trick couldn't fool the cunning and shrewd Yuwen Shiji.

Seeing that the question was serious, he put away his joking attitude, cupped his hands and said solemnly, "I started from humble beginnings. My comrades in the army often serve in the Prince's Palace, so they are well-informed. Some time ago, I heard my soldiers say that some minor officials in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices are not discreet and have been spreading secrets of the palace in public. It is truly astonishing."

"Now that Your Highness is the Crown Prince, the documents in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices involve state secrets, so we wish to conduct a thorough investigation to prevent future troubles."

Shen Ce's words were very clear: the previous clerk hadn't managed things well, and now that I know there are loopholes, I want to arrest him first to avoid being blamed later if anything goes wrong.

When Wei Zheng saw that the registrar had been making a fuss for official business, his opinion of him changed considerably. He interjected, "If you're going to investigate, then investigate openly and honestly. Find that minor official and follow the clues."

Yuwen Shiji smiled knowingly and patted Wei Zheng on the shoulder: "Brother Xuancheng, you underestimated those petty officials. They only have a word to say, without any real evidence. If they insist on denying it, wouldn't that undermine the authority of our newly appointed registrar?"

Turning to Shen Ce, he asked, "What do you want?"

Shen Ce hesitated for a moment, then suddenly spoke up: "This humble official would like to request an imperial edict or fish-shaped tally."

"Absurd!" Wei Zheng slammed his teacup heavily on the table. "The imperial edict fish tally is the highest-ranking investigative token of the Crown Prince. How can it be given so lightly?"

Yuwen Shiji raised his eyelids and his gaze fell on Du Lan outside the door. He pointed and said, "Trade that with me, and add a pound of tea."

Shen Ce was immediately overjoyed and took it out of his pocket without hesitation, placing it in Yuwen Shiji's hand: "Master, this humble official has already prepared it."

Yuwen Shiji took it and handed it to a minor official beside him, then took out a fish-shaped tally from a hidden compartment: "Return it to me tomorrow, now you may leave."

"Yes, sir." Shen Ce bowed and took his leave.

Watching Shen Ce's departing figure, Wei Zheng asked curiously, "Brother Renren, since you trust this person so much, is there anything I'm unaware of?"

Yuwen Shiji shook his head and joked, "It's better if you don't know."