The Grand Void – Becoming a Dragon

Among the sixteen prefectures in Huai'an, Fengcheng can be regarded as a prosperous place.

It is precisely because of this that Zhuang Ming came to Fengcheng in person and spent several months of painstaking efforts to lay the foundation of Zhuang's business here.

It is also because Fengcheng is a prosperous place, and the forces can be described as intertwined. The major families, many celebrities, and their interests are entangled.

Even Zhuang Ming spent a lot of energy, wits and courage, to take root here under the joint struggle of all the families, so that all the families are willing to cooperate with him and seek common interests.

The moon hangs high tonight.

The streets of Fengcheng were brightly lit.

Hawkers selling on the street, shops on both sides.

The passing pedestrians and the noisy voices all showed the prosperity of this city.

"Within the Dongsheng Dynasty, apart from the most powerful capital in the world, Fengcheng should be one of the top ten cities in terms of prosperity."

Zhuang Ming sat in a wheelchair, looked at the night in Fengcheng, and smiled.

Yin Ming pushed the wheelchair, and Qian Yang walked on the left.

The little maid, Shuang Ling, was on the right side, looking left and right, in a very good mood.

"My lord, my lord, look, Gao Yuelou is here."

Frost Spirit pointed to the restaurant ahead.

The restaurant was luxuriously decorated and had about five floors. Lanterns were hung under the eaves extending from each floor.

There were laughter and laughter inside, and the guards in front of the door stood upright.

People come and go, all dressed luxuriously and behaved extraordinaryly.

——

And when Zhuang Ming arrived.

The atmosphere became weird again.

This young man who has stirred up the situation in Fengcheng has experienced ups and downs recently.

"Zhuang Ming is here?"

"It's him, I didn't expect that King Chen invited him."

"I heard that King Chen has unsealed all the Zhuang's commercial firms."

"It seems that it has turned hostility into friendship."

There is no shortage of people discussing in the dark.

Another person came to meet him, quite enthusiastically.

Zhuang Ming looked as usual, and said a few polite words.

These people were also on that boat last time. At that time, Zhuang's business was sealed up by the order of Chen Wang. The future was bleak and it was in danger of collapse.

At that time, even though these people didn't dare to taunt or add insult to injury, they didn't dare to talk to him too much, for fear of being remembered by King Chen and suffering disaster.

The attitude this time is completely different from the previous one.

Even hotter than before.

Zhuang Mingben is also a very deep-rooted person in the city, his emotions and anger are not visible, on the surface he still talks and laughs with these people.

——

"Previously, Lord Chen ordered a thorough investigation of all kinds of violations against the Dongsheng Dynasty, but it only closed down the Zhuang's firm, clearly targeting Zhuang Ming."

"This move can be said to be ruthless. Ordinary commercial firms can't stand it, so they also collapse."

"The meaning of the prince is clearly to kill him."

"Now that his shop and warehouse have been unsealed, and hearing the news, the government seems to be treating Zhuang's firm more favorably than before."

"It's really strange. How did a mere merchant change the prince's mind? What qualifications does he have to change the mind of the prince? Zhuang's firm is rich in financial resources, but how can the prince use gold and silver to bribe him?" What’s more, the prince seized the Zhuang’s business, he only needs to kill Zhuang Ming and order someone to take over, the entire Zhuang’s business is in the prince’s pocket, why bother to reconcile?”

"What trick did this young man use?" An old man stroked his beard slightly, looked down, and pondered: "In such a short period of time, such a change is simply turning decay into magic."

"Yes, the situation that must be destroyed has been reversed." Another middle-aged man said with emotion: "It is rumored that Mr. Thirteen is very wise, but the prince ordered that the government is under pressure, so it cannot be solved. However, he was able to survive the dead situation like turning the world around."

"However, I heard that many things have happened in the sixteen mansions of Huai'an in the past two days. Bandits plundered, killed many people, and robbed a lot of things. I don't know the details..."

"What does it matter?"

Everyone didn't know the real intention of King Chen's coming to Huai'an, so they didn't know how these things were connected.

What's more, how can a king with a different surname in the dignified court be a mere merchant or common people, who can be forced to compromise in this way?

If Zhuang Ming did this, even if there is no evidence, as long as the prince has doubts, he can arrest Zhuang Ming and put him in prison on trumped-up charges, and no one would dare to object.

Outsiders don't know the twists and turns, but they can only feel that Mr. Shisan of Zhuang's firm really has a clever plan to turn the world around and bring the dead back to life, making King Chen's murderous intentions disappear in smoke and change his mind.

——

"The prince is here."

Following the sound, everyone looked up.

I saw King Chen approaching slowly, majestic and heavy, with a hidden attitude of walking like a dragon or a tiger.

Seeing this, everyone saluted respectfully.

Even Zhuang Ming, who was sitting in a wheelchair, bowed his hands and saluted, showing a respectful expression in front of the crowd, which gave Chen Wang enough face.

Chen Wang glanced over the crowd, and paused for a moment on Zhuang Ming.

Originally, King Chen was in a bad mood, but now seeing Zhuang Ming's expression respectful, he cupped his hands in salute, even though he knew in his heart that this young man was bold and not necessarily respectful in his heart, and what he did was just superficial, but seeing such behavior, he felt a little relieved .

"You are welcome."

King Chen waved his hand and said, "Let's take a seat first. The last time Master Zhao hosted a banquet on Bailing Lake, I was very grateful for the enthusiasm you showed me...so this time, this king personally hosted a banquet for everyone."

Zhuang Ming's expression was as usual, and he secretly speculated in his heart.

This Chen Wang is not a kind person.

There must be a purpose for hosting a banquet this time.

However, for the time being, it shouldn't be for me.

After all, Chen Wang's side must still be finishing.

Besides, Qian Yang and Yin Ming are by his side, and there is a young dragon guarding him in the dark, so he has nothing to fear.

——

Tonight's banquet is different than before.

Everyone sat down, and the delicious food and wine were brought up one by one.

Another singer, Yingying stepped forward and danced gently.

The music sounded, light and joyful.

"Fine food, delicious food..."

Zhuang Ming looked at the dishes served in front of him, they looked extremely delicate.

This time, the banquet was held in the name of the prince, and the guests were the upper class figures of Fengcheng.

Therefore, most of these dishes are precious ingredients, and the various cooking methods are also extremely complicated.

The so-called "full color and fragrance", especially in the aspect of "color", has almost reached the extreme.

At this moment, King Chen stood up again, raised his glass to an old man, and then made a sound.

"I heard that Mr. Lin has prayed for his family recently, refrained from eating meat, and refrained from eating meat and meat. He is grateful for the grace of God. Therefore, you are at this table for vegetarian food. Please rest assured to eat."

When the old man heard the words, he showed a look of astonishment.

And everyone looked at it one after another.

I saw that in front of the old man, apart from a few dishes, there were also chicken, duck and fish meat, which was no different from the dishes in front of everyone.

The old man picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth, with a satisfied expression on his face, he said with a smile: "Good cooking skills, this fish itself is made of beans, its meat quality, taste, and real fish are not different, and more It's quite fragrant."

——

Shuang Ling looked at the old man a few times, and said softly behind Zhuang Ming: "Master, that old man is one of the great Confucians in Fengcheng. I heard that he hates our Zhuang's firm. His disciples before I also wrote a sentence, "The rich wine and meat stinks, and the road has frozen bones" to mock you."

Zhuang Ming chuckled, nodded and said, "I know."

That day on Bailing Lake, among the boats next door, this old man had a very happy conversation with Chen Wang.

After he boarded the ship, Chen Wang came to the building ship where he was.

In the eyes of those scholars, it was me, an ordinary person, who messed up their interest in talking about poetry and songs.

At that time, the old man was quite dissatisfied.

"Those who meditate and refrain from talking, don't eat meat, and are grateful for the grace of God, are very hypocritical..."

There was a scholar in the corner, who seemed quite dissatisfied, and muttered: "The meat tastes the same as real fish, so you just eat fish? This kind of vegetarian food is much more expensive than ordinary chicken, duck and fish, obviously It's just extravagance."

"If you really quit your mouth in meditation, wouldn't it be just plain food? You want to look like chicken, duck and fish, but also taste like chicken, duck and fish?"

"The old guy is obviously reluctant to part with delicacies from mountains and seas, but he is also afraid of people chewing his tongue. It makes the cook spend a lot of time and energy to make these many things. It's not true."

The voice was extremely low, and it was in a corner, so others couldn't hear it clearly.

But there was a young dragon in Zhuang Ming's sleeve, and Qian Yang and Yin Ming beside him, he could hear clearly, he was amused, glanced over there, and immediately showed a strange look.

The scholar was in his early twenties, and his clothes were plain, but judging by his attire, he must have belonged to an unusual family. After all, this banquet is different from the last one. Those who can attend the banquet this time, regardless of all walks of life, have one characteristic, that is, It's a good family background.

"There are faint traces of dust on this scholar's body."

Zhuang Ming withdrew his gaze calmly, and secretly said: "It seems to be a trace of trying to cultivate true qi, but I haven't started it yet, it's probably just to calm my mind and calm my mind, I have a vague sense of qi, but I haven't even condensed my true qi, most likely I got the mortal world Which family in the world has an incomplete Taoist inheritance."

In the Dongsheng Dynasty, there was also the theory of cultivating Taoism and nourishing Qi, but most of them were used for calming the mind and calming the mind, basically it was incomplete, or it was just a basic breathing method.

Therefore, the hermits in the deep mountains, who have left their names in history, are mostly elegant in temperament, rather than possessing magical powers.

On the contrary, in the market, there are many people who practice martial arts, and they can protect themselves and walk in the rivers and lakes after practicing martial arts.

Of course, there are quite a few people like this scholar who have learned the method of breathing and exhaling, which is conducive to meditation and rejuvenation.

Zhuang Ming withdrew his gaze, but he didn't care much about it, he just admired the scholar from the few words just now.

"Everyone..."

Chen Wang held up his wine glass, respected everyone, and said with deep pain, "The Dongsheng Dynasty, north of the Huaihe River, has suffered a drought, and the disaster is serious. I am afraid that from now on, the number of victims will increase day by day. I am afraid that many people will die of hunger and cold until the snow season.

He sighed, and said: "From today onwards, this king will pray for the people, and until today next year, they will eat vegetarian food."

Zhuang Ming glanced sideways at the scholar in the corner, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

I could only hear the scholar whispering again.

"Another hypocritical one."

"Pray for the people?"

"Is this to deceive ghosts?"

"You steal food at home, who would know?"

"If you don't eat it secretly, how bad is the texture and taste of these so-called vegetarian chicken, duck and fish meat?"

"This so-called vegetarian diet is more expensive than eating chicken, duck and fish directly. It is a waste of manpower, money and material resources. It is better to save some money and go to the victims of the disaster. You are pretending to eat a bird!"

——

The scholar was quite disdainful, but on the surface it was as usual, nestled in the corner, few people paid attention to him.

But Chen Wang's words are quite popular.

Everyone present, no matter what their thoughts were, they all echoed.

After King Chen's words fell, an old man got up and gave a salute.

"My lord is really benevolent. Praying for the disaster victims and refraining from the desire to talk is beyond my generation."

"My lord is benevolent!" Following what the old man said, everyone stood up one after another and echoed.

"It's just a little bit of effort, I just hope that the heavens will show mercy, and there will be no more disasters. This king prays alone, fearing that the manpower will be useless." Chen Wang smiled wryly and sighed.

"My lord, don't underestimate yourself." The old man said seriously: "You are the king in this world, you are a hero among the people, you are under one person, and you are above ten thousand people, even if there is a spirit in the sky, you should respond."

"I hope so."

Chen Wang raised his wine glass and drank it down.

Everyone responded one after another and drank the wine in their glasses.

But Chen Wang drank the wine, but his face turned pale.

Among the crowd, someone asked at the right time: "My lord, do you have any orders? Can we do our best?"

Hearing this, King Chen couldn't help sighing again, and said, "I'm ashamed to say that I'm hosting a banquet today, with delicious food and wine, but I can't help but think of the victims of the disaster in the northern region, facing famine. Frozen bones' shame..."

After speaking, he took a deep look at Zhuang Ming.

Zhuang Ming looked flat and did not respond.

Only then did King Chen retract his gaze and sighed: "My king prayed for blessings only because of my heart, but the disaster victims in the northern region need to be relieved... Now that the relief money from the imperial court has not arrived, this king has the audacity to host a banquet, which is actually for the northern region Fundraising for disaster victims."

After finishing speaking, he tossed the wine glass, made a big salute, and bowed down.

"For the disaster victims in the Northern Territory, I have the cheek to ask you to donate generously!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, and the scene was silent for a while.

Zhuang Ming reached into his sleeve, gently stroked the young dragon's head, his eyes were slightly fixed.

And at this moment, he heard the scholar in the corner murmuring again.

"This guy looks as usual, with a greedy look on his brows, it looks like he wants money."

"I bet three copper coins, this shameless Wang with a different surname, he himself is the disaster victim in the Northern Territory he said."

"This guy must be called a fundraiser, but it's really a money grab."

"The silver taels raised today will definitely go into his pocket."

"The more I think about it, the more correct I am. It must be so. It's a pity that no one accepts the bet, otherwise I can bet on another pair of underwear."