The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 387

The waiter immediately replied, "Isn't this just white snowflakes drifting on a volcano?"

Duan Lun couldn't believe it. He turned to look at the cucumber salad next to him and said, "Is this 'Two Dragons Fighting for a Pearl'?"

The waiter proudly introduced, "The 'Two Dragons Fighting for a Pearl' dish is this vegetable dumpling."

Now it was Duan Lun's turn to be taken aback, then he pointed to the plate of fried peanuts in front of him and said, "What about this?"

The waiter then explained, "This is called 'A Sky Full of Stars'."

"What's this cucumber salad called?"

Duan Lun was furious.

The waiter simply said, "This dish of smashed cucumber is called 'Green Dragon Crossing the River'."

Duan Lun immediately stood up, threw down his chopsticks, and said, "It seems that Master Xu is not welcoming. This Minister has come here, and you are serving such meager dishes!"

Yang Chao recalled what Magistrate Chen had said when he first arrived in the village, and then respectfully said, "Lord Duan, please don't be angry. This Congling area can't compare to Chang'an. The poverty here is beyond imagination. It's already very good to have these vegetarian dishes." As he spoke, Xu Tian picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

After days of eating roasted whole lamb and barbecue, he finally had a bite of vegetarian food, which he found incredibly delicious.

Seeing his expression, Duan Lun realized he wasn't faking it, and his anger subsided somewhat. He then sat back down in his seat.

Thinking to myself, this village must be really so poor. Judging from how Xu Tian eats, he must not have eaten meat for many days.

Seeing Xu Tian enjoying his meal, Duan Lun coughed lightly and quietly put down his chopsticks.

"To be honest, I am here on imperial orders to oversee the project."

"Your Majesty..." Duan Lun hadn't finished speaking when he realized that Xu Tian seemed not to have heard him at all, so he simply changed the subject.

"I wonder if my nephew has caused trouble for the prince?"

Xu Tian was somewhat surprised, and then said, "Your nephew is a man of both literary and martial talents, but he doesn't have a very good appetite. I've been thinking about what to feed him these past few days."

Duan Lun was completely bewildered, not understanding what Xu Tian meant by that.

However, Xu Tian was quite clever; he didn't mention the project payment at all, so it seems he'll have to handle this matter.

"Now that we've arrived at the border, I'll be frank. Is there any error in the payment for this project?"

Xu Tian was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and said, "The project funds arrived just in time, and there was no robbery on the way. They are currently in the government treasury."

Unexpectedly, Minister of Works Duan Lun stood up and said, "That's good. May I take a look at the county government's treasury?"

Xu Tian was surprised that this old scoundrel was so good at causing trouble, and then he stood up.

Why should I show it to you?

Why...? Duan Lun was taken aback at first, then thought to himself that this kid's true colors had finally been revealed. He actually didn't take me, the Minister of Works, seriously. My nephew was also neglected by you here.

Xu Tianzhi sneered and said, "Minister, don't put on airs."

Seeing that Xu Tian had directly abandoned all pretense of civility, Duan Lun, the Minister of Works, immediately snorted coldly and said, "Guards!" A squad of guards rushed in.

"I have come here on the Emperor's orders. As long as Your Highness does not make things difficult for me, I guarantee that neither Your Highness nor I will make any mistakes."

Xu Tian then said, "Your Excellency, you have misunderstood. I have to go to the yamen to take care of some business at this time."