Chapter 149
The palace banquet was held in the Taiji Hall. It was an external banquet where only the emperor and his court officials feasted together.
Before entering the main hall, the eunuchs led waiters carrying trays to collect the swords from the generals one by one.
It was when Fan Changyu entered the palace to meet the emperor for the first time that he discovered that they would only be checked for badges and the visible weapons they carried would be taken away, but not searched one by one. That was why he tied a short blade around his leg before leaving.
A set of long boots, no one can tell.
After all, those who usually attend the court meeting with the emperor and those who came to the banquet today, except for the princes and nobles, are all ministers of high status. If every time they attend the court meeting or the palace banquet, they have to search the ministers one by one before they are allowed to enter the palace, not only is it time-consuming and laborious, but it will also damage the ministers' face and the friendship between the emperor and his ministers.
The rule issued by successive dynasties that military officers were not allowed to bring weapons into the palace was to avoid disrespect to the emperor and to prevent military officers from attacking the emperor in the palace.
But if there really were people who wanted to rebel, what could they do with just a sharp blade brought into the palace? If the other party forced the emperor to abdicate, it must be the Jinwu Guards who had already instigated the rebellion of the entire palace.
An ordinary minister would never dare to do such a shameless thing as bringing weapons into the palace privately.
Therefore, there has never been a rule in the imperial palace to search the bodies of ministers. Only the palace maids and eunuchs would be treated in this way.
The last time Fan Changyu entered the palace was during the day, and the entire palace was already majestic and solemn. Tonight, it was snowing heavily, and the entire palace was brightly lit. Hidden in the boundless night, it looked like a giant beast with its skin burned and cracked, revealing the red charcoal underneath. It was gorgeous and eerily shocking.
But the darkness that the lights could not reach also revealed endless devastation and gloom.
After entering the main hall of the Palace of Supreme Harmony, waiters led the ministers to their respective seats.
The left side is for civil servants, and the right side is for military officers.
The seats for the three dukes, nine ministers and the royal family were all at the front. As a third-rank official, Fan Changyu was led by the young eunuch to sit in the middle seat on the right side.
In the entire hall, Fan Changyu was the only woman, no matter whether she was a civil or military official.
As soon as she sat down, she attracted eyes from all directions, some of them curious, some of them scrutinizing her.
Although the court officials had seen Fan Changyu once before in the Golden Palace, it was a court meeting at that time, and she was standing at the front of the hall with Tang Peiyi and others when she met the emperor. The officials at the back could only see the scarlet cloak hanging behind her armor. Only tonight did these court officials truly see Fan Changyu.
Fan Changyu knelt in front of a mahogany low stool, her face calm and peaceful. The scarlet military robe of the third rank made her look heroic. She straightened her back, like a bamboo growing among the rugged rocks, which has become majestic after taking root and growing upward again and again. She did not show any fear among these ministers who had been in the officialdom for a long time.
The emperor had not arrived yet, and the first seat at the civil and military seats was still empty. The atmosphere in the hall was quite harmonious, and familiar courtiers were chatting in twos and threes.
Fan Changyu wanted to wait for the feast to start, but unexpectedly, a young military commander who he did not know walked straight to his table. "I have long heard of General Fan's great name. I only met General Fan once before in the Golden Palace. I am honored to see General Fan again tonight. I toast to General Fan!"
Yan Bi then held the cup with both hands and drank up the wine in it, then turned the cup upside down and looked at Fan Changyu.
It seemed that if Fan Changyu didn't drink, it would mean that he was not giving him face.
Previously at the celebration banquet in Lucheng, Fan Changyu was able to refuse the toast on the grounds that he was injured and not fit to drink. But at tonight's palace banquet, no matter how poor he was, he was still a fifth-rank official in the capital, and it would be difficult for him to refuse such a toast.
The generals of Lucheng were at most reluctant to refuse the hospitality, but this general came to toast before the banquet started. Even a broad-minded man like Fan Changyu could sense some undercurrents.
She glanced at the fourth-rank court dress on the general and said, "General, you are too honored."
He picked up the glass of wine in front of him and drank it down, then turned the glass over like the other person.
The general immediately praised Fan Changyu: "General Fan is very generous!"
He Xiujun also sensed something was wrong and was afraid that other generals would go to Fan Changyu to drink again, so he raised his cup and stood up and said, "General Song, why don't you drink with me?"
Zheng Wenchang stood up and said, "Who are you looking down on? In the battle to suppress the rebellion in Chongzhou, I contributed as much as General Fan did. General Song, you have to drink a glass with me too!"
After hearing what Zheng Wenchang said, the generals who came to Beijing from Jizhou to receive titles also wanted to go and have a drink with the general.
This time it was the general's turn and he had no choice but to drink seven or eight glasses of wine before he was allowed to return to his seat.
After this incident, the others who still wanted to come over to toast saw clearly that if they went to drink with Fan Changyu, they would definitely be forced to drink again by He Xiuyun and the others. Before the meal started, they did not dare to be too presumptuous, so no one went to toast Fan Changyu anymore.
Fan Changyu looked at Zheng Wenchang with some surprise. She used to think that this man was too rigid, but tonight it seemed that he still had a useful brain and could pretend to be one of those rough guys in the army quite well.
He Xiuyun sat next to Fan Changyu. After the conversation subsided, he lowered his voice and said to Fan Changyu, "Your Majesty's praise of our Jizhou Army in the Golden Palace must have made many generals feel dissatisfied. They will inevitably get us drunk at this palace banquet tonight."
Only then did Fan Changyu understand why the general suddenly came to him to toast.
The toast was fake, the real purpose was for a bunch of people to take turns drinking to intimidate them.
Fortunately, He Xiuyun and Zheng Wenchang were quick to intervene in time.
Fan Changyu nodded calmly and said, "I understand."
She looked around the hall, thinking that those who would take the initiative to toast her would have to be those with lower official positions or those of the same rank as her. Those with higher official positions than her would probably not be able to bring themselves to do so.
As for those low-ranking generals, the generals in Huzhou should be able to handle them if they work together.
Not long after, Xie Zheng and Li Taifu also arrived for the banquet one after another.
The two met again in the narrow road at the entrance of the Taiji Palace.
Li Taifu's face was still elegant, and he called out in a lukewarm tone, "My Lord."
Xie Zheng was wearing a black Wuhou court robe, with auspicious cloud patterns embroidered with gold and red threads on his knees, gleaming under the candlelight, so complex that it was dizzying. His jade-like face was filled with a bit of cold fatigue. He raised his eyelids casually and said, "What a coincidence, I meet the Master again."
He slightly stepped aside, but his tone lacked the respect he had in his words: "Grandmaster is a veteran of three dynasties, so please go first."
Li Taifu said: "Your Majesty has made great military achievements and played a great role in suppressing the rebellion. Tonight's annual banquet is also a celebration banquet, so Your Majesty should go first."
Compared with Xie Zheng's arrogance and contempt, Li Taifu's attitude could be said to be more humble. All of Li Taifu's followers were angry. Li Yuanting, who used to be the first to stand up when something happened, was unexpectedly silent this time.
Xie Zheng's gaze passed over Master Li and fell on Li Yuanting, with a hint of sneer in his eyes.
He said, "Since the Grand Master has given way to me, I would be disrespectful to him."
Yan Bi walked into the hall. The disciple behind Master Li was angry and wanted to speak out, but as soon as he took a step forward, Master Li stopped him with his hand.
The censor was puzzled and asked, "Grandmaster, are you going to let him be so arrogant? Even Wei Yan never acted like this in front of you."
The bottom of Li Taifu's eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of light blue-gray due to his age, which made his eyes reveal an indescribable indifference: "You are young and full of energy, and you are so arrogant at this moment, you will eventually fall."
Several officials of the Li Party had different expressions when they heard Li Taifu's ambiguous words.
As Xie Zheng and Li Taifu took their seats, the originally noisy Taihe Palace suddenly became quiet.
Fan Changyu looked towards Xie Zheng's seat. Perhaps it had been a long time since he last saw him. It was also the first time he saw him wearing court robes, and he was stunned for a moment.
She always felt that the saying "clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse" was not applicable to Xie Zheng. He was born with such a good-looking appearance that even if he was wearing beggar's clothes, he still had a noble and elegant temperament.
But this Wuhou court dress really made him look too good.
The golden and red embroidery on his dark court robes seemed to glow with a faint golden glow when illuminated by the candles in the hall, making his eyes look darker and his brows look even colder.
As if sensing Fan Changyu's gaze, Xie Zheng turned his head and a subtle wave of emotion flashed across his eyes.
She probably didn't know how heroic she looked in the red military officer's robe.
All the young men in the capital could not match the vitality and brightness between her brows that seemed to be pulled down from the rising sun.
There were many people at the banquet, and their eyes only touched briefly before moving away, but Fan Changyu's heart still skipped a beat.
When the emperor came, all the officials just stood up and paid homage to him as a formality.
Fan Changyu also noticed that the officials seemed to respect Xie Zheng and Li Taifu more than the emperor.
Wei Yan still took sick leave and did not attend the annual banquet. Taifu Li's seat should have been the first among civil officials, but he ordered his seat to be moved two feet back and directly occupied Wei Yan's seat without crossing the line.
Fan Changyu didn't know whether Master Li was being cautious or just pretending.
It was he who dug a big hole for Wei Yan and impeached Wei Yan. It was also he who, when the position seemed to be within his grasp, still followed the etiquette in everything and did not overstep the line.
All I can say is that this person is too patient and very cunning.
Perhaps Fan Changyu had been staring at Li Taifu for too long. Because of his old age, Li Taifu only ate soft and easily digestible food at the table, so he suddenly glanced in Fan Changyu's direction.
Fan Changyu did not hide, but just stared at Master Li.
One look seems gentle but is unfathomable; the other look is pure and resolute, as if a scorching sun is hidden in the eyes.
Finally, Master Li was the first to withdraw his gaze. He picked up a piece of light dish with his skinny hands and ate it slowly.
Suddenly, there was a crisp sound of porcelain breaking from the side of the military officer's seat.
A eunuch who was adding wine accidentally spilled the wine onto Xie Zheng's court dress. The eunuch was so frightened that his hands went limp and the wine jug he was holding fell to the ground.
Everyone at the table was drawn to it.
The eunuch turned pale with fear, not caring about the wine on the floor, and kept begging for mercy, "My Lord, please spare my life, my Lord, please spare my life..."
The emperor sitting on the dragon throne saw this scene, and his eyes were filled with uncontrollable excitement. He called the Jinwu Guards outside the palace and said, "Come here, take this servant who soiled the clothes of Marquis Wu'an down and execute him!"
The ministers were in an uproar, but no one dared to plead for mercy.
Fan Changyu knew that Xie Zheng might take this opportunity to leave the table. He just frowned when he heard Xie Zheng's cold voice: "It's just a spill of wine. This is a New Year's banquet. It's better not to see blood. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Qi Sheng had no intention of arguing with Xie Zheng on this issue, so he immediately said, "Since Marquis Wu'an has pleaded for a fool like you, why don't you thank him?"
The eunuch kowtowed like crazy: "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Marquis Wu'an!"
Qi Sheng tried hard to suppress the evil that was welling up in his heart and the ecstasy of fulfilling a certain wish, and put on a normal look and ordered the eunuch: "Take Wu Anhou down to change his clothes."
This was part of Xie Zheng's plan. He said "Thank you, Your Majesty" to Qi Sheng and followed the eunuch out of the hall.
As soon as Xie Zheng left, Qi Sheng seemed to be much happier. He raised his glass to the ministers in a very good mood and said, "Since I took the throne, Dayin has been plagued by external and internal troubles. Fortunately, I have you, my dear ministers, for Dayin to be what it is today. I have not failed to live up to the legacy of my ancestors. Tonight, my dear ministers, please enjoy yourselves and drink until you are drunk!"
He suddenly said this, and naturally all the officials had no choice but to follow suit and raise their glasses to toast.
Li Taifu said: "Your Majesty is wise and wise, and we are lucky to have you here."
The ministers followed suit and shouted: "Your Majesty is wise!"
Fan Changyu felt that the words "virtuous and wise" were somewhat ironic when used to describe Qi Sheng.
She sat back down after the blessing, but her eyelids began to twitch again.
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