Chapter 58 Banquet

Although the visits of envoys from various countries and the Queen Mother's birthday banquet were frugal in spending, they were still grand and could not be looked down upon by envoys from other countries.

Princes from all over the country were summoned to the capital, and soldiers patrolled Jing'an City every day. Even the people who were causing trouble in the streets became much more obedient.

The princes who came to Beijing were all arranged to stay in the temporary palace outside the palace.

Compared with the last time the new emperor ascended the throne, it has been several months since he returned to Beijing.

The King of Qi and the King of Xuan had a good relationship privately. Their fiefs were not far from each other, and they would occasionally meet up for drinks.

When the two met, they exchanged polite greetings, then dismissed the servants, sat down on the chairs with their arms and legs spread out, and started chatting with each other.

"Lao Zheng, did you see that rotten look on King Cheng's face just now? It seems that what the emperor has found out this time is enough to make that old dog King Cheng suffer."

The King of Qi was named Ji Zheng, the sixteenth brother of the late emperor, and the person who criticized King Cheng was Ji Bai, the twelfth brother of the late emperor.

The two were unwilling to participate in the struggle for imperial power during the previous emperor's time. One spent the whole day reciting poems and composing couplets, while the other was a frequent visitor to a brothel, indulging in the beauty of women.

It was quite shocking to the two of them that the new emperor was the sixth nephew, especially since he was assisted by the young man from the Wei family. This made them dare not look down on this nephew.

None of the Wei family members are simple. The late Duke of Wei is a simple example.

King Cheng also sent a secret letter to the two of them, and they even met together to discuss the matter.

King Cheng is determined to fight for the throne, and they don't know what the new emperor's methods will be.

If they directly rejected King Cheng, they would probably have a hard time when he really ascended the throne in the future. But if they really accepted King Cheng's recruitment, the new emperor had the means to deal with it, and they would be beheaded like their accomplices at that time.

In the end, after discussion, the two decided to remain neutral and watch, not taking sides.

When they saw that Wei Jiazi was dead, they both felt disheartened. King Cheng handed them a secret letter, asking them to consider the words carefully, but in the end Ji Zheng rejected King Cheng with a wave of his hand.

Ji Bai has been following Ji Zheng's steps.

He watched in fear and trepidation as the emperor handled the issue of disaster relief grain and executed most of the officials in the court. In particular, most of these officials had defected to King Cheng, and only managed to escape with the help of King Cheng who cut off their tail to save their own lives.

The emperor's counterattack opened the eyes of these vassal kings. Those who had secretly tried to get close to the king, after experiencing this incident, all distanced themselves from him and protected themselves.

King Cheng is now like a hot potato, who dares to touch it?

Now that envoys are coming to pay homage to the emperor and the Empress Dowager is hosting a birthday banquet, entertaining princes and officials from all over the country, Ji Zheng suspects that this man may not let it go so easily.

Therefore, I couldn't help but advise, "Drink less at the banquet and keep your mind clear."

Ji Bai was about to ask who would be so brazen as to start a fight at a banquet, but then he changed his mind and realized that people lose their rationality when they are pushed into a corner.

Compared to a few months ago when he was full of vigor and rosy cheeks, King Cheng has now lost a lot of weight, his cheeks are a little sunken, and there are dark circles under his eyes as if he has not slept for a long time.

The staff on the side also looked very bad. Looking at King Cheng with a gloomy face, they didn't dare to breathe.

"This banquet is our last chance. Are you ready with everything I asked you to prepare?"

The staff wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and spoke again, still unwilling to give up, "Your Majesty, please think twice! His Majesty will definitely strictly guard this banquet. The envoys from other countries have already arrived in the capital. If something happens to them in Jing'an, the consequences will be disastrous...ah!"

Before the aide could finish his words, King Cheng kicked him away. He flew out like a rag and fell heavily to the ground.

"This banquet is my only chance! If I fail, I'll die!"

When Wei Rong heard about the grand plan that King Cheng was going to implement, he almost sneered out loud.

He threw the letter to Shen Shi, picked up the wooden comb again, and combed the hair of Afu in his arms.

"This old thing, King Cheng, is as uncultured as his face."

When the weather got hot, Yun Fu's hair started falling off uncontrollably, so much so that her hair was stained on the bed and Wei Rong's clothes.

Fortunately, a diligent man often combs her hair, so the hair loss is not that severe.

Hearing the man's words, Yun Fu turned around and took a look at the words on the envelope, her cat eyes widening.

Is King Cheng crazy???

Wei Rong looked at Ah Fu in his arms and rubbed its pink little pads. "Ah Fu, do you want to see a good show?"

Yun Fu flicked her tail and said, "Who doesn't like a good show? A live show is much more interesting than a storybook."

"Meow!" Look!

In a blink of an eye, it was the night of the banquet, and the emperor set up a banquet in Minghe Garden.

All the officials and their families rode in carriages towards the palace.

Wei Rong is now the illegitimate son of the Minister of Personnel. Minister Ning originally did not want to take this insignificant illegitimate son with him, but His Majesty actually mentioned it to him.

Minister Ning couldn't help but look at this illegitimate son who traveled around and stayed indoors all day, just playing with cats, with a different eye.

I don’t know if it was Minister Ning’s illusion, but I always felt that after traveling, the temperament of this illegitimate son had changed. Although he still had the same face, the way he sat in the car with his eyes closed and dozed off with a cat in his arms made people feel afraid to approach him.

His eyes fell on the cat in his son's arms. It didn't look like a rare breed, but it was still cute.

Yun Fu noticed that the Minister of Personnel sitting opposite her was looking at her, so she opened her eyes and wagged her tail at him as a greeting.

Minister Ning: ???

Minister Ning's legitimate son felt a sense of crisis when he saw his father staring at the annoying illegitimate son from the moment he got on the carriage.

Looking at the man in a blue gown and a dark blue smock, his face was still the same, but I always felt something was wrong.

His eyes moved and fell on the big fat yellow cat.

How did he remember that this person was allergic to hair, so how did he suddenly get a cat? Or was he mistaken?

Wei Rong opened his eyes and met the gaze of Minister Ning's legitimate son.

Ning Heyuan's body stiffened.

Wei Rong stroked the cat in his arms and said calmly, "Brother, why are you looking at me?"

Ning Heyuan coughed lightly and said dryly, "It's been a long time since we last met. Brother Xuan has become even more handsome."

Wei Rong raised the corner of his lips, "Brother, you are wonderful. You have always been like this. On the other hand, you seem to be much more haggard. Make sure you get some rest."

Ning Heyuan touched his face. He had been preparing for his homework day and night recently, and had not eaten or slept well. He looked quite haggard indeed. However, he never expected that he, his half-brother who had just returned home not long ago, was the only one in the family who noticed it and showed concern for him.

My heart couldn't help but feel warm.

Minister Ning listened to the conversation between the two brothers, stroked his beard and coughed lightly.

Wei Rong looked over and didn't say anything. Instead, he lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked outside.

Minister Ning looked at his illegitimate son who ignored him and coughed twice inadvertently.

Ning Heyuan was just about to say a few words of concern to his father when a light voice came over.

"Dad, there's phlegm stuck in your throat? Do you need a spittoon?"

As he spoke, someone kicked a spittoon over from beside his feet.

Minister Ning looked at the spittoon at his feet, his face turning pale.

Unfilial son! He cares about his brother but not his old father?

The carriage soon arrived outside the palace gate.

At this time, many carriages were parked at the palace gate.

Many officials and their families got off the carriages, and some of those who knew each other started chatting about family matters.

At this moment, a gorgeously decorated red lacquer and gold-painted carriage slowly drove over.

A huge luminous pearl on the top of the carriage reflected a soft light. The two horses pulling the carriage had a rare dark black coat color. The windows were hung with thin mermaid silk gauze as thin as a cicada's wing, which was extremely luxurious.

"Whose official is this? Why does he come in such a luxurious carriage?"

"It seems that he is a fifth-rank Guanglu Shaoqing appointed by His Majesty himself. He is from the Nanling Zhu family, a merchant. Thanks to His Majesty's grace, he has entered the court as an official."

"Heh~ A mere fifth-rank Shaoqing dares to drive such a luxurious carriage, and isn't he afraid of His Majesty's blame?"

…

Wei Rong got off the carriage holding the cat, listened to what the people around him said, and looked up at the carriage.

The little guy in my arms seemed to sense something, stretched his neck to look at the carriage, and kept sniffing with his little nose.