The atmosphere of the palace banquet was quite good, at least before Prime Minister Lu and Lu Zongyuan appeared, everyone was toasting happily, and while they were drinking, they were also talking about the future development of Xuan Kingdom.

Prime Minister Lu arrived late. He walked into the hall with a hunched back and a cane. At this time, the eunuch's sharp voice rang out.

"Prime Minister Lu has arrived."

Everyone's eyes fell on Prime Minister Lu. Compared to the glory he had when Concubine Li regained the emperor's favor due to her pregnancy some time ago, Prime Minister Lu had lost a lot of weight after just a few days, as if he had been ill.

Lord Duan stroked his beard and raised his eyebrows, "The Prime Minister has not appeared recently. Could it be that he is ill? I wonder how the Prime Minister is doing?"

These words were undoubtedly from the heart. The fact that Prime Minister Lu was ill was fake, and the real reason was that he wanted to avoid disaster.

After all, the Minister of Revenue is the Prime Minister's man. Now that he has been punished by Emperor Shangwen, it will be difficult for Prime Minister Lu to make any more moves in the court in the future.

Prime Minister Lu felt a little hatred in his heart. He looked at Lord Duan with a dim gaze, and his pale expression brought out a helpless smile.

"I was infected with the plague half a month ago and fell ill. That's why I was absent from government affairs for many days. I'm sorry that you are worried about me, but you don't have to worry about me. I know my physical condition well and I have recovered in recent days."

Emperor Shangwen knew that it would still take time to eliminate the Prime Minister, and that it was important to take it step by step, so he spoke in a deep voice.

"Eunuch Yin, what are you standing there for? Why don't you invite the Prime Minister to take a seat?"

Eunuch Yin understood what Emperor Shangwen meant, and he followed Emperor Shangwen's words and invited Prime Minister Lu to take the table. The ministers, who had been chatting freely, now became a little restrained.

After Prime Minister Lu took his seat, he glanced at the seat beside the Emperor and found that Concubine Li was not there. He frowned and asked in confusion.

"Your Majesty, why didn't Concubine Li come to such an important occasion today?"

Emperor Shangwen raised his eyebrows. Concubine Li knew that a banquet was being held for all the ministers, and she had been clamoring for a long time in Qiwu Palace to attend the banquet, but was rejected by Emperor Shangwen.

Today, Concubine Li dressed up even more solemnly, but Emperor Shangwen did not agree to let Concubine Li leave Qiwu Palace.

Concubine Li could only feel helpless and furious, and smashed everything in the Qiwu Palace. There were quite a few valuable things in her palace.

In the past few months, she had spent a lot of money on him, and sometimes she was even tight on rewards for the maids in the palace.

Emperor Shangwen answered calmly.

"Concubine Li was ill some time ago, and the little princess has just recovered. I am worried that the princess may have passed away, so I asked Concubine Li to rest well in Qiwu Palace. Prime Minister, don't worry. She is my concubine. How can I treat her badly?"

Prime Minister Lu wanted to refute, but this was the imperial palace, and no matter what he said, it would seem a bit treasonous.

"Yes, I understand."

Prime Minister Lu had an unhappy look on his face. She was just a little princess, but the emperor took her so seriously.

Concubine Li was in poor health and the emperor did not come to visit her. Could it be that the emperor knew something?

The Prime Minister's doubts grew and he gradually didn't know what to say.

The banquet started as normal, and Lord Duan deliberately toasted Prime Minister Lu.

Prime Minister Lu couldn't refuse, so he had to accept Lord Duan's toast, but he felt indescribable emotions in his heart.

Although he had come to the banquet with great enthusiasm, the wine in Prime Minister Lu's glass now tasted tasteless.

Xiao Ruyu nestled in Eleven's arms, looking around and complaining secretly.

[Oh, Prime Minister Lu is really cunning. He clearly wanted to put pressure on the emperor to release Concubine Li, but he didn't expect the emperor to not buy it. He is indeed a wise man.]

When Emperor Shangwen heard the little princess's thoughts, he felt even better. After all, she was his flesh and blood and was indeed smart.

The banquet was in full swing. This plague made the court officials more united. At first, they were short of food and clothing, and the empresses in the palace spontaneously donated clothes and silver.

Those clothes were delivered to the people, and were also imitated by the families of civil and military officials.

Many ministers' wives also donated clothes to the refugees in the suburbs, and the excess food stored in the mansion was donated to Lord Duan.

In this way, everyone's worries were quickly alleviated.

The refugees were quickly treated and the number of casualties was not large. With Xiao Ruyu's miraculous medicine, the refugees recovered well.

Lord Duan stood up solemnly and said to Queen Duan.

"This crisis was only resolved thanks to the Queen and the ladies in the harem who donated clothes. Otherwise, even if we were willing, we would not be able to recover this loss."

Emperor Shangwen's smile showed a little more pride, and his eyes looking at Empress Duan also showed a little gentler.

"Once the refugee issue is completely resolved, I will personally reward the Queen and the concubines."

Queen Duan stood up and saluted, saying, "I am only trying my best. The sisters in the harem have contributed the most. I dare not take all the credit for myself."

Emperor Shangwen personally stood up and helped Empress Duan up. The empress was extremely beautiful, with a face like an autumn moon, which made Emperor Shangwen unable to take his eyes off her.

"I have rewarded you all. Although it is not the Queen's credit alone, it is also because the Queen is in charge of the harem. I am very relieved to have such a virtuous wife as the Queen."

The emperor and the empress stood side by side, and the scene was very pleasing to the eyes.

Xiao Ruyu took a bite of the banana that Eleven handed to her. After chewing for a long time, only the skin of the banana was slightly damaged. She was so angry that she refused to eat it.

Seeing the appearance of the emperor and empress, he couldn't help but exclaim.

[It’s perfect that the Queen Mother and the Emperor are an official couple, but the men are all pigs. Will the Emperor always love Yu’er and the Queen Mother? ]

When Emperor Shangwen heard this, he subconsciously glanced at Empress Duan's face and indeed saw that she looked a little bad.

He quickly took Queen Duan into his arms and spoke in a firm tone.

"Yun'er, I respect and love you. In my heart, you are the only one who is qualified to be the queen."

Although Emperor Shangwen did not say it directly, his love was obvious and he must have liked her very much.

Queen Duan curled her lips and said, "Okay, I believe Your Majesty."

She just wanted to protect her two children. As for the emperor's promise, if it was true, maybe it was just her good luck. If it was false, she would just pretend that she didn't know.

Prime Minister Lu's face became more and more uglier. Concubine Li was really stupid. Not only did she not get the favor of Emperor Shangwen, but she also let Empress Duan monopolize his favor. She was really stupid.

He was angry, and a glass of cold wine could not quench his rage, so Prime Minister Lu decided to take the risk and meet Concubine Li.

The Lu family has made great contributions throughout the ages and should not be abandoned by the emperor like this. If they were abandoned so easily, wouldn't their Lu family become a laughing stock?

Prime Minister Lu left the table quietly with a bad look on his face, thinking that no one noticed. However, he didn't realize that the little princess had been secretly watching him.

[Eleven, Prime Minister Lu has left the table. It might be something bad. Take me out.]

He nodded at eleven o'clock and was about to find an excuse when he heard Xiao Ruyu whimpering and crying.

Queen Duan had already heard Xiao Ruyu's thoughts, but she still came over.